Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-06-06

exclamation Of terror and dismay.
The purse and money were both gone.
Her waiter stood beside her with out
stretched hands, faint smile of incred-
ulity on his smooth countenance. Peo-
pie who couldn't find their purses were
by no means rare.
"But I have lost it!' faltered poor
Nan, pale and trembling with genuine
terror and distress; ''or else some one
has stolen it from me-my purse with
five dollars in it,
Curtis Van Tassels had heard every
word. He looked at Nan critically, and
at the same time sympathetically. The
troubled look In the brown eyes was SO
painfully apparent that he did not for a
moment share the walters suspicion.
A brilliant idea came to him. Stoop-
ing down, quick as thought he extracted
a five dollar bill from his own wallet.
Nan had not seen the action, but the
quick-witted waiter had.
CT beg your pardon - Curtis said,
quickly and courteousl y, "but / think
this must be the missing bill. / found
it beside your chair just now. Doubt
less you have taken it out of your own
purse, laid it beside your plate, and then
forgotten it. Very luckily [ CHANGED to
look down..
How can I ever thank you, STRIP"
Nan exclaimed; while the waiter gave
Curtis slight wink, and discreetIy kept
all knowledge of the little ruse to him
self. So long as he was paid it was no
business of his from whose pocket the
money came.
But dihgent search on Mans part,
aided by both the waiter and Curtis Van
Tassels, brought no purse to light, and
she was compelled to go home without
it. How the money could be there and
not the purse was mystery she was I'M
able to solve.
Only day or two later Curtis was
passing Harrison's book store when a
painting In the window attracted his at
tention. Its execution was graceful and
vigorous, but it was the. central fig
ure in it that he noticed. 1t was the
very girl whom he had met at the cafe.
IS am foolI" he thought as he en-
tered and asked the price of the picture.
But for all that he bought it, paying q
hundred dollars for it, though Mr. Har-
rison declared that the artist would con-
slider seventy five munifcent sum.
Very fine indeed" Mr.. Harrison
said volubly, glad of chance to make a
bargain, even if it brought no money in
his own pocket, "and a perfect likeness
of the artist, Miss Kendall, sir. If she
wasn't as poor as a church mouse the
world would have heard of her long ago,
I'll be bound"
Curtis thought so, too, and wanted
very much to know Miss Kendall's adj
dress, but did not say so.
My mother has long wished to have
her portrait painted" he said, artfully;
81 but she wants it to be the work of q
lady's brush. Do you think if [ seut
Miss Kendall her photograph, she would
copy an oil portrait from it ?"
Il" She would only be too glad, I guess,
Mr.. Van Tassels," said Mr.. Harrison,
land you couldn't get lady
better fitted for the work than she."
And Nan worked diligently and hap
PLY on her first order, never dreaming
by what chain of circumstances the loss
of her shabby purse had brought all this
good fortune.
She knew nothing about Mr.. Van Tas-
" Under the Lilacs," and was so pleased
with it that he wanted his mothers por-
trait from it.
81 hope he will like it," she said on
the very afternoon when Curtis Van
Tassels was coming for the finished pic
ture. 81 have certainly done my best :"
Mr.. Van Tassels did like it, and he
liked the little artist, too, so well that
he came again and again, on one pre-
text or another.
And before many months, he had
asked Nan Kendall to marry him, and
she had answered, Yesr'
"Nan," said Curtis, quizzically, one
day, "did you ever lose five dollars?"
Nan started and laughed.
"What do you mean, Curtis ?" she
said. "No; but [ thou ght I did last
spring"
" Thought you did?" Curtis ex-
claimed. "Why, didn't you really lose
it?'
Curtis, your not the gentleman
who
Nan stopped.
eyes," nodded Curtis Van Tassels,
with smiling lips.
81 have sometimes wondered where l
have seen you before. Oh, it was mon
strous of you to deceive me as you
did! [ don't think [ can ever forgive
you"
sob, yes, you CAM" said Curtis, con-
fdently. "But how do you know 1 ever
deceived you"
f Mr.. Harrison sent me my purse the
varv noyt dow with Tho Hro dolI,r,. -,
tact. [ had left it on one of his coun-
tiers. I felt very angry with you then,
and if I had known you, [ would have
sent the money you gave me right
back"
"And now that you do know me,
you are going to give yourself to me,
insteadi'' exclaimed Curtis, triumphant
ly. s. 1t was only loan, you see!"
Pursued by Wolves in Canada