The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1886-08-06
CHAPTER III.
THE MILLIONAIRE.

There is hardly n brighter booth in
"Vanity Fair" to adopt Thackerays met
aphor, than Scarborough; and its gayety
was at the highest point when l 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.
1t 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 tho Grand hotel.
Day after day 1 went, Immediately after
breakfast, to the famous Spa grounds,
haunting them till 1 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
of the balls at the various hotels, and
mingled with the frislzy 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 l 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
...I II Nfa ,x.. Al
scene and forgetting everything in distant
travel But whenever was on the point of
carrying out this intention my resolution
failed me- The picture of the loveliest face
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 l admitted to
myself that l had met my fate-and sue
cumbed to it.
Yet there was nothing that was pleasur-
able in my mood, even at those moments
when thought only 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 struck down at the
railway station ut York. Whenever /
thought of the one, thu features of the other
obtruded themselves upon me-
What was the reason of that strange
scene, when she had appealed to me to drive
this man from her presencei My heart
grew hot with anger and bitter with un-
availing jealousy as l reflected that at least
he must have known her far better than l
did, and that, deeply as she might hate him
or fear him, no possessed some power over
her of which 1 knew nothing.
What was the mystery associated with
that beautiful facet In vain l racked my
brain for some solution of the enigma. L
only knew that in some fashion, holy or
unholy, this girl, who in brief hour of time
had made me moro 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
shudder. There were not wanting other
diversions In Scarborough beside those of
which have spoken, but I cared for none