The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1886-08-11
CHAPTER IL
TIE MrLLrorArRE.

TIE MILLIONAIRE
There is hardly a brighter booth in
~Vanity Fair" to adopt Thackerays met
aphor. than Scarborough and its gayety
was at the highest point when | reached it
on that pleasant August afternoon The
hotels were full, the promenade was crowded
every morning and evening the band
played its best, the weather was perfect dur
ing the long warm days, and every night
there was ball at one or other of the hotels
It should have been impossible for young
man who had no private cares to worry
him, who was passably well off, and who
was now emerging from the shadow of
bereavement, to feel dull in such place.
And yet never did / spend duller or more
miserable week than that which followed
my arrival at the Grand hotel
Day after day / went. Immediately after
breakfast. to the famous Spa grounds.
haunting them till l became conscious of
the fact that men and women alike specu-
lated as to my identity Night after night /
was found in the same spot watching the
giddy, laughing throng Of pleasure seekers.
the young the old, the rich, the poor, the
wise the foolish, as they sauntered up and
down listening to the mingled music Of the
band and OF the sea. | even went to some
uf the balls at the various hotels, and
mingled with the risky matrons, the dowdy
country girls, and the men Of doubtful antece-
dents and unprepoSsessing appearance who
seemed to constitute the stock company at
these entertainments went everywhere
where my fellow creatures were in the habit
Of congregating, and gave every hour of my
time that was not spent in sleep to the search
on which | was intent. But all was in vain
Twas angry with myself because Of the bond
age in which my fancy held me, and again
and again | thought Of flying from the
scene and forgetting everything in distant
travel But whenever ] was on tn, point OF
carrying out this intention my resolution
failed me. The picture of the loveliest face
l had ever seen rose before my eyes [ saw
her once again, as had seen her when she
stood before me, her hand resting lightly in
my own, and her glance answering mine, as
she spoke the few commonplace words which
were her only farewell And whenever that
vision presented itself to me, the spell was
thrown over me afresh, and | admitted to
myself that l bad met my fate-an1 sue
cumbed lit.
Yet there was nothing that was pleasur-
able in my mood, even at those moments
when thought on.y of the girls beauty and
grace. could not drive from my recollec-
ton the memory Of that other face-the face
of the man whom / had ST uck down at the
railway station at York Whenever !
thought of the one, the features of the other
obtruded themselves upo me-
What was the reason of that strange
scene, when she had appealed to me to drive
this man from her presence9 Ny heart
grew hot with anger and bitter with un-
ayailing jealousy as reflected that at least
be must havs known her far better than l
did, and that. deeply as she might hate him
or fear him, he possessed some power over
her of which ] knew nothing.
What was the mystery associated with
that beautiful facet In vain l racked my
brain for some solution of the enigma /
only knew that in some fashion, holy or
unholy, this girl, who in a brief hour of time
had made me more completely her slave
than any other human being had ever done,
was associated with the man, vicious and
vulgar, whose air of insolent triumph as he
greeted her ! could never recall without q
shudder There were not wanting other
diversions in Scarborough beside those of
which have spoken, but | cared for uone
Of them, and, as the days passed, and my
search met with no success, | would fain
have shrunk even from the accidental ac-
quaintances had made in the hotel 1t was
only at the dinner table, indeed, or in the
smoking room late at night, that l ever ex-
changed word with fellow creature.
All round me, however, there was enough,
and more than enough, Of noisy talk TO hide
my sullen and self-absorbed silence Nor
could ! shut my mind to knowledge of the
fact that all Scarborough was just then
buzzing vita excitement over a new topic of
interesting gossip
It was one OF the society journals which
had set the story, about which all were now
talking. afoat. The gay watering place had,
it seemed, received, among its many summer
guests, oze who was exceptionally distin-
guished. 1t was not that he was of high rank
or of great genius. Rank and genius are novel
ties to be found at times even at Scarbor-
ough, tut they do not appear to make any
great impression upon the ordinary fire.
quenters of the place. That which set every
body talking about Mr.. Mauleverer, the
gentleman whose presence in Scarborough
had been chronicled in the society Journal In
question, was his enormous wealth People
talked Of it, speculated upon it, gloated over
It; and men and women alike were wild
with anxiety to be brought into close con-
tact with one whose riches were said to be
fabulous in their amount
Mr. Mauleverer, discovered from what l
saw in the ne ewspapers and heard from those
around me, was millionaire of the new
style. He was supposed to be some distant
connection of the old Lancashire family of
the same name. But though English in
blood and name, he was not English either
by birth or upbringing He was colonist,
and had been born and had spent all his life
In Australia The scandal-loving throng with
whom mixed in the hotel or on the prone
made made light of his origin There were
some, indeed, some who profsssed to know
on that best authority which the tale
bearer always has at his command, that he
was the son of a convict, man who had
disgraced his family in the early part OF the
present century, aud who had expiated his
sins BY transportation. There were others
who even hinted that he himself was not
free from reproach. But upon two points
there was no doubt in the mind of any body.
The first was, that the man was enormously
rich-rich beyond the dreams of avarice-
and the other. that he was a bachelor OF
something more than middle age
As TO the manner in which he had made
the five millions sterling, with the possession
of which he was credited, all sorts of stories
were told It was of course in keeping with
the way OF the world that some of these
stories should be anything but creditable to
the millionaire himself. But, young as was
had learned enough to know that it does
not do to believe all the evil that is spoken OF
ones fellows. and for my part ! inclired to
the more charitable theory which alleged
that Mauleverer's wealth had been accumu-
lated by the simplest and most natural of all
processes-the enormous increase which had
taken place in the value of land in he colony
IN which be had been born Starting life in
the DAYS when Australia was still in its in
fancy. as the owner of vast tracts Of country,
then comparatively valueless, he had seen
his great sheep-wallks, and the barren
stretches Of sandy soil which he owned in thu
neighborhood of the little ports that had
since developed into fourishing cities. turned
literally into gold without any effort on his
own part
aFIve millions, Il 1t Is a pennylH This was
what a young barrister namei Harding,
whose acquaintance | mad male in the hotel
smoking room, was never tired of saying.
aFive millions and not an encumbrancs of
any kind, or chick or child 10 whom 70
leave it.
any dear fellow responded feebly. for
felt but little interested in this all-absorb-
ing topic, awhat does it matter to you OF to
me how much the man is worthi We shall
never reap any benefit from his golt
aAh. YOU are young. said my lively com
nanion. who was really no older than my
self aYou don't understand the worl yet,
r.rtcn Havanst Won seer how nj; til dow
ayers ID the hotel here are laying thsir plans
to capture the unfortunate wretch as soon as
he make. his appearance amo & iheml
When YOU have lived little longer you viii
berln to realizs the power Of gold | tell