Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-01-04

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hand, and before he was aware o.
what he was doing. We have seer
the paper before. 1t was the brief let
ter in which Alice Arnden had dis
missed George Fenby.
Ralph Warden stood for a long
time with the letter in his hand.
1--WE read it once; it can do no harm
to read it again" he said.
And he read it again-not once only
but dozen times. 1t seemed as If he
was trying to draw something from
the bit of paper which be did not fino
there
After time he picked up the other
paper, long folded document, but
the action was merely a mechanical
| one. He did not open it to see what
it was, but his head bent forward on
| his breast, and with a very grave
face he went on his way. He walked
more slowly than before; he some
times stopped, and talked to himself
| from time to time.
eff this is final" he commenced
aloud, and then ralapsed into silence
ga hinderer. Then, after standing
and thinking for awhile, he went on
''She never was that to him. And she
was moody and self -distrustful. :"
He thought for many minutes now
Il don't understand What she means
by his higher ambition His highest
ambition lately seems to have been tc
win her. 1t has cost her great deaI
10 give him up-anyone can see thai
with half an eye. And his freedom is
not welcome to him; he neither want
ed it nor expected it.
The MONDAY sun was shining and
making everything pleasant. There
was glow in the wlntery air which
seemed to have promise of summer
in it..
He seated himself at his table,
placed Alice Arnden's letter upon it,
and read it again. Then for the first
time he looked at the other paper
which he had picked up. He turned
it over and saw at once what it was
deed from Bertram Kingsley, con
veying certain lands and buildings to
George Fenby.
Suddenly he stood still, and hot,
fierce flush crept up into his face.
II wonder if il is true that hearts
are ever caught in the rebound, as
they sometimes say they are2 | wilI'-
And he clenched his hands and hur,
ried on his way.
He did not stop again until her each
ed his home, where his mother and
sister were waiting for him, nor did
he think his. thoughts aloud any more.
With few words of greeting and a
few more Of excuse he put his mother
and sister aside for the present, and
went up to his own room.
Ralph Warden drew long breath,
and the light faded slowly out of his
face. In single moment he had
seen the whole secret of the mlsundcr.
standing 1t might be necessary to
90 over it all to see the details, but
the general outline of the unfortunate
aft air was, he felt, as certainly in his
possession as it could have been if he
had been given the privilege of look
ing fully and freely into the minds of
the two lovers whose lives were drift
ing SO far apart.
Down went his head upon his hands
on the table-the winter sunshine
shone that day on no nobler head
and from his lips came those words,
of which frail humanity has deepest
need, Lead us not into tempta ion.
He thought it all out. Bertram
Kingsley owned the finest place in all
Marsham, or had until the deed was
made which conveyed it to George
Fenby. Estella Kingsley, the daugh-
ter of Bertram, was a beauty and
something of 1irt.
More than one lady at Marsham
had quarrelled with her lover on Els
telIa Kingsley's account. And last
night there had been little gathering
of young people in the church, and
circumstances had done their worst
seemingly. In the first place, George
Fenby came with Estella Kingsley {;
the meeting was not of character to
make it unkind for him to leave his
promised wife to come with her ia
Their, as she had but his coming with
Miss Kingsley had been noticed by
several. With the deed before him,
Ralph Warden had no difficulty in
the deciding why George had been at
Mr.. Kingsley's, and consequently
why he had come as he had.
Ralph was well acquainted with a
young man living where the Kings
leys had formerly resided, and through
him he knew of the engagement of
Miss Kingsley to a gentleman living
there. He had known this for long
time; and knowing it, had thought
little of events which might other
wise have deeply affected him.
Last night, for instance, a laughing
group of gentlemen had spoken of
Miss Kingsley. One had said: she
is beauty and an heiress. Whoever
wins her will have beautiful hons.
The Kingsley estate is the finest one
i'll Marsham.
Now, every gentleman in the group
knew that the Kingsley estate was for
sale and every one had counted at its
true value the answer which George
Fenby had made. Indeed his devo-
ton to Alice Arnden was so absolute
and complete that no one, save her
modest self, would ever have doubted
it for n moment.
Its my highest ambition to be the
master of that estate, laughed George,
land | have made an offer which |
think will be accepted. | am to have
an answer tonight If l succeed l
snail be supremacy happy. If not
why.l will do rs other men have done
failing of what ! want, l will take
what can get"
Ralph could not remember where
Alice Arnden had been when these in
uocent words had been spoken That
she had been near enough to hear
them was evidenced by her letter,
which was before him.
He could only dimly imagine how
she must have suffered III trying to
evolve the truth Jas she believed the
truth to be- from what she had heard.
When human idol .alls from the
place it has held in. the least of the
pain comes from what we see, or be-
lieve we see, of its unworthineSs. To
find our gold but gilded clay is a sor-
rowful thing. So he sat there, and
pitied Alice Arnden for the faith in
the man which she had lost as we'll as
the man himself who had been put
from her. With what pain beyond
that which would come to her from y
belief that her lover would think aud
do what his words seemed to imply,
must she face the added shame of his
STOPPING TO tell it; nay, more, to boast
of it.