The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-05-01
beginning with F. Why do you call him

promised-because he has asked me-"
| On! If / could only have spoken boldly;
| but with those eyes on me, and those thin
lips twitching 10 interrupt me, l could
not keep from stammering.
81 can help you out, he said, grimly,
because Mr. Ferrars-you said Ferrars,
didn't you ?-has already let me into the
secret. According to his version, he,
penniless young fellow, who has just fin
ished walking the hospitals, hopes to
make a good thing out OF marrying the
niece of the great contractor, ehP.
ale doesn't hope anything of the sort! J"
1 cried, angrily.
"Ah, indeed; then l misunderstood. l
cleaned from what he said-in fact he put
IT in the plainest terms-that he did wish
to marry you and that you wished to
marry him."
"Yes, that is quite true; but he does
not want me because | am your niece,
nor because he hopes to benefit by a con-
nectiOn with you, but because he loves
me-"
Indeed, that is most disinterested
of him." returned my uncle, with a sneer
'Then his visit to me was merely to see
how | should take the news that my
penniless niece wanted to marry
pauper2"
II don't know what you mean by a
| pauper. Duncan has money enough to
buy practice. and to furnish a small
| house"
every good-for him-but that makes
no difference 10 the other part of the pro-
gram. If he isn't absolutely a beggar-
you are"
"Pm not beggar, Uncle Andrew" 1
cried, Indignantly. II was too despotic
fiat to be submitted TO.
"Ain't you, Miss Pert? think you had
| better think matters over before you give
me a fiat contradiction"
"But you-you-" l began, too much
excited to get on with my answer.
II said So" he broke in. You have
calculated on me; you know l am well-to-
do, and your high-fiown young saw-bones
thinks a wealthy contractor would be a
very comfortable figure in the background
of his domestic felicity"
whenever took YOU and your wealth into
account at all" l retorted. eve should
have been most foolish to expect any as
sistance from you. But / should like to
know how can be a beggar, when my
father invested all his money in the bust
ness which has made a millionaire of
YOU"
My uncle had leaned back in his chair
again. | could not see his face, partly be-
cause of the shadow and partly because
my eyes swan with the difficulty and ex-
over my lips. He did not answer, and |
felt had gained an advantage.
Audrey and l cannot have cost you so
very much" / went on, gathering cour-
age. I'VE have been brought up more
inexpensively than girls generally are"
''In fact, have defrauded you from
your childhood" he said dryly; land now
you are going to have it out with me-"
you did as you thought right, I re-
piled, more submissively; the sound of
his voice told me that i was going to be
humb'ed. "But now 1 am twenty-one
ard Audrey Is twenty-tiiree, and we have
talked it over with Duncan, and we should
like"
ITO have your fathers money, with
compound interest, he interrupted again.
''In two words, that is what it all means,
eh?"
I'VE hope you will settle something.
Please do, Uncle Andrew. 1 don't under
stand about money matters, but Duncan
says"
Once more he interrupted me, and this
time even more impatiently than before.
"Don't understand about money mat
tersl No, should think you didn't; but
for all that, you and your iourneyman
doctor want to audit my accounts and 10
Pry into my private concerns for the last
tive-and-twenty years. Well, then, you'd
better have the bank books and the check
books and the letter books, public and
private, and work hack through them, if
you could, to the year lS6S-the year we
were out in Canada: YOU would find the
funds OF Alison Brothers at a very low
level at that epoch; and you would also
find that the elder brother-you know"
he broke off, (which was the elder brother,
/ SUPPOSE"
1T was father" l rejoined, and in my
inmOst heart l believed that he was build
ing up a story as he went on which should
justify his making no settlement on us.
"Yes, il was your father and you'll find
that he, the elder one, who signed for the
firm, was mixed up in a lot of risky specu-
lations, and that, in spite of the younger
brothers expostulations, he made several
visits TO New York and one to Mexico.
He was going to grow rich all at once
that is quite within a woman's compre-
hension-only, unfortunately, there were
some complications, and out of the COM
pications came terrible crisis, the whole
details of which did not transpire to the
public And one fine morning the younger
brother found himself alone in the world,
facing a heavy responsibility, which he
had not incurred himself, but for which
he was not wholly unprepared. hope
you understand it all. II required i'm
mense exertions TO regain the lost prestige,
and most asslduous work to recover from
the money damage; but i have done it.
And now hope you understand"
''You mean," l said-though my mind
absolutely refused to accept this story of
which had never before heard hint
that my father lost everything of his
own, therefore we have nothing; and that,
as he nearly ruined you, we must consider
you most generous to have fed US, clothed
US, and educated us from the time we we're
left orphans"
"That is near enough TO my meaning"
he said.
"Well, Uncle Andrew" / said, $50 far
from this being an impediment to my
marriage, consider it an additional rea-
son for il. Mr.. Ferrars loves me; he will
be only too glad to take me from depend
ence on charity TO a home OF my own"
1t was an ungrateful speech; il was the
only way in which | could give vent TO
the bitterness of the doubt which his
words had awakened in me. Ny uncle
bent his head.
81 shall be very well rid of the charge
of you. You have always been a trouble
some, hot-headed girl. If you had de-
ferred to my wishes, or shown any COM