Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-01-24

her. and was wild with curiosity 10
know who her unknown admirei
Constant Harbison) could be. What
wonder that when few nights after
the actual Constant HARRISON was
presented to her that she should trem-
BILE, blush, look down and then raise
her eyes up and gaze fxedly into
hose of the handsome young man, in
jul evening dress, who spoke to her.
DO you know you are very pretty,
my little charmerf' he said with a
half languid draw; Quickly and
nervouSiy she anSwered
You must not speak TO me like
that, sir. am an honest girl. although
/ am in a ballet And. here her eyes
sparkled. Il do not see why young
men should come here to insult honest
girls
Abashed and confused, he made an
awkward bow and retired But Con
slant Har bison had made too many
conquests in higher circles to be re
buffed by balletgirl. Through his in
fluence with the manager, Florence
was speedily advanced from the fourth
to the first row of the coryphees, and
it was not long before she became one
the leading dancers. Then she counted
admirers by the score, and F'lorella,
as she was now called, was the rage
/ of the town. Yet she did not forget
! Constant HARRISON and he took good
care she should not. She felt she owed
him debt of gratitude. He intended
to play upon that feeling Of gratitude
to its fullest extent. The young man
was not entirely vicious, yet he had
been reared in school which recognized
no such a commodity as virtue in a
ballet-girl, and shaped his course ac-
cordingly. Well versed in the arts of
the world, he had at first approached
Florence with respectful admiration;
then he had shown his friendship in
securing her advancement; little by
little his advances became more mark
ed, and the poor girl, unconscious of the
net in which she was being enmeshed,
was beginning to have a feeling
stronger than that of gratitude for
the young man she believed to be her
benefactor. But all this was becoming
entirely too burdensome for Constant
HARRISON, and he concluded that the
WOlE ildu tOilt lDE DiAIi W oiilht.
1t was one evening, just after the
conclusion of the ballet, that he stood
at the stage door waiting for Florence
to come out from the theatre The
ar was frosty and nipping, and as he
kicked his heels on the sidewalk he
felt half ashamed of himself for hay
ing entered into the plot he had I'M
dertaken. Bye and bye, Florence APP
peared; her face flushed with excite
ment, caused by the applause with |
which her efforts had been received |
She greeted him with a sunny smile |
and placed her arm in his. AS they |
walked away she looked up into his
face and said
"Ah, Mr.. HARRISON, how can ever
thank you for all your kindness to a
poor little giol9"
Don't thank me at all, Flo" he |
answered lightly. 81 have done no
more for you than | would have done
for any other deserving girl. And,
perhaps, too, have been little sci
fish; for love you, my darling, and
| want you to return my love"
''You love me2' she cried, looking
up with an expression of fear and sur
prise. you, the son of one of the
wealthiest merchants in the city, love
a ballet dancer2'
Yes, Flo, / love you very, very
dearly, and ] want you to let me think
that my love is returned"
'Your love returned Oh, / am too
insignificant to ever think of return
ing such love"
prove to me that you love me by
going to supper tonight. You have
always refused before ask you to-
night as a test of your love.
But, Constant Mr.. HARRISON, l
mean would it be right"
Right Why not2 l know a quiet
little place, near by, where we will
not be seen, and where we can talk
quietly together of the future
well, | consent, she answered
half reluctantly; only let me run
home first to tell papa. -
He acquiesced, and together they
walked toward Florenee's humble
abode. Reaching there, they found
crowd standing in front of the door.
Florence, not needing them, hurried
into the house TO her fathers apart
ment She opened the door and was
startled to find two policemen and a
grave-looking man standing by her
fathers bedside, and lying on the bed
was John Monahan with deep cash
in his forehead and his white hair dap
pied with blood.
The way it all happened was thus
John Monahan had stumbled into a
newspaper office that night in search
of work. AS he did so an alarm of
fire was sent over the telephone from
Police Headquarters The city editor
was short handed and John was sent
out to report the fire, which threaten
ed to be extensive. AL the instincts
of his craft came over him and he
started out with a brisker step and
more erect carriage than he had borne
for many days. The conilagration
had broken out in a large cotton ware
/ lao,