The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1890-11-06

Holborne held for you. 1t is alt very
vague! He was a man of whom they
said he turned every thing he touched
to gold. Every speculation he made
was success, and when he went West
his good luck followed him."
Il will go now-to-dayw Hester cried,
But, mother, if he has money of
father's-it can not honestly be mine"
You had better go, dear. l wish I
could RENE Der better!''
Two hundred and forty-seven L.
street proved to be private residence;
house Of magnificent proportions,
furnished with taste and wealth, and
Hester was ushered into a room filled
with treasures of art and beauty, while
her card was carried to the master of
the house. He came to her at once, a
fine-looking, portly man nearly seventy
years old, with kindly blue eyes and a
pleasant smile.
And this is my little godchild." he
said, as he took both Hester's hands in
his own. Dear. dear! You were in
long clothes when 1 saw you last And
you have had heavy sorrow. l did not
know until yesterday, or l should have
found your mother before. I have just
come from Europe. You saw my adver-
tisement?"
sit was that that made me venture to
CALL" Hester said, all her pride of bear
ing broken by this genial reception.
"You-you say you know our troubles"
Yes! yes! But this little affair of
ours. 1t has nothing to do with your
fathers business He told you, certain
ly he must have told you, of your in
vcstment with me-"
mo! l know nothing about it."
$50! Well! we'll! Why, my dear, 1
have held some money of yours over
twenty years. Did you never hear of
your gold mine?'
"Never!"
"How strange! Perhaps your father
forgot it'll 1t was just after the war was
over! You were baby, and on the day
you were christened your father gave a
dinner party to some of his most inti-
mate friends, all gentlemen. 1 was
your godfather, and mentioned to all
the guests the occasion for the dinner.
Gold was very scarce in those days, very
scarce, and held at high premium. So
we, the gentlemen who were invited to
the dinner, made our choice of gift for
you in gold. Dear! dear! how we'll l
remember it all! Your mother presided
at the dinner, but left us, after the des-
sert, to our wine and cigars. But be-
fore we began to smoke, your father, at
my request, sent for you. You were a
beauty even then, a queen of babies.
While you sat, as erect as soldier, in
your fathers arms, we presented you
with silver cup, filled with gold coins,
five hundred dollars in all. But after
you were taken away the cup still stood
upon the table, and your father asked
me to invest it for you, until you came
of age. He made some testing allusion
to my success in business, and exacted
from me promise to hold the money,
turn and twist it, to use his own ex-
preston, and return it to you upon your
twenty first birthday. I accepted the
trust taking the gold, and making a
careful entry of the date upon which it
was to be returned. And this is the
day.
Hester's voice trent led as she said:
This morning, Mr.. Holborne, l
counted the money that stood between
US and starvation, and it was two dol
lars and forty cents 1 have tried in
vain to obtain steady employment,
since my fathers death. The mantle
of his fault" she said, with a ring of
the old bitterness, was supposed to be
wrapped about me. No one would trust
me. l proposed, far more in earnest
than in jest, to invest the forty cen is in
charcoal and end the tragedy by
deeper one. And now you tell me 1
have five hundred dollars all my ownw
BLESS the childv' cried the old
gentleman, does she suppose put the
money in an old stocking and locked it
up? Five hundred dollars! No, no,
my dear! turned and twisted it, as
your father wished, and really, took
quite a comical interest in watching it
roll itself up and come out of every in
vestment with flying colors. l kept it
quite by itself, and have detailed
memorandum to show you, if you wish,
precisely how your christening present
became thirty thousand dollars"
lyon are laughing at mer'
mo. l am quite serious The last
twenty years have offered great chances
for speculation, and you have been fort
innate. And remember, it is yours.
know all. can speak to you frankly,
and tell you this money is your own,
a gift from friends. Your father never
held it in his hands. From your silver
cup it went into my pocket! Now!
now! to cry over your good fortune!
Poor child! There, cheer up! Bright
days are comingv
But" said Hester, smiling through
her tears, surely the money must be
yours"
mot a dollar, not a cent Of it! 1t is
yours, honestly and fairly. And now,
tell me more of yourself"
There was long talk, ending in Mr..
Holhorne's promise to call upon Mrs
Wright, and then Hester, with bank
bills that took her breath away, lust
for present emergencies" her godfather
explained, hurried home.
1t had been Harry who had urged a
wedding, to give him a right to care for
Hester, aid Hester who resisted, refus-
ing to burden him. But, once estab-
lished in what Mrs. Wright tearfully
! called "a home Of their own, once more. +"