Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-26

I CHAPTER XIV DAN GOES A-wOOING.
Just about the time that Walter May
hew received Nellie Pemberton's note
mine host of the Star might have been
seen making his way along Manchester
| road, Warringham.
The afternoon was a fine one, and that
was perhaps the reason Dan Ashton had
! dighted himself in his best garments He
! had on a pair of light tweed trousers,
| dark coat and vest, spotless "dickey'
and cuffs, light blue necktie of silk,
| and billycock which had left the hat
| ter s only few hours ago.
Dan was now IN the very prime of life,
being only few years over forty, and he
was perhaps better looking in his middle
age than he had ever been in his youth.
Since he effected that agreement with
Richard Harwood, spoken of in the pro-
logue, prosperity had shOwered favors
upon Dan, and he had been enabled to
take life very easily. With the money
wrung from the halloween he had taken
the old tavern he now tenanted, and his
occupation of the Star had been a success
from the very beginning.
Ashton was just the man to make a
boniface, being fond of glass himself,
a free talker, good company for either
the frequenters of the vault or bar par
lor, a bit of a sportsman-in fact, all
things to all men.
The natural result of these things was
that Dan was pretty we'll off. Every
year of the seventeen he had lived at the
Star had increased his savings, and dur
ing the past two or three years he had
been lucky in some property investments
he had made.
non had haaT1 he
never permitted HARDWOOD to depart from
the strict letter of their compact. Now
and again the halloween, seeing that his
old workman was doing well, had en-
deavored to free himself from the obli-
cation of paying the other the weekly
sum agreed upon. Dan, however,
had always set his face against this,
and had exacted from Harwood every
farthing ne had promised to pay.
The wife of NINE host of the Star had
not lived long enough to share her hus-
band IS prosperity. Half dozen years
ago she had faded away, victim, many
SAID, to the privations and troubles she
had experienced in the early days of her
Wifehood.
Dams daughter had died years before
this, and the remainder of his family,
two sons, were now grown up, married,
and lived in nests of their own.
From that it will be seen that Dan was
left alone in his middle age; but he did
not intend to remain alone much longer,
provided that he could only persuade a
certain buXom widow to accompany him
to the altar. He was even on his way
then to lay siege TO that widows heart.
From the aspect of Dan s countenance
anyone, who had known OF his errand,
would have said that he was contem-
plating a refusal, for he was most grave
and thoughtful as he went along the row
OF houses aud stopped beside the door of
No. Al.
Lightly tapping on the panel with his
knuckles. Dan lifted the latch and en-
tered, to find Mrs. Msrsden standing
beside the kitchen table with the smooth
ing iron in her hand, and small heap
of starched things before her.
The sleeves of the bonny Widows
print ''bedgown were tucked up, dis
playing pair OF plump red arms; her
chubby, comely face was flushed with
the heat Of her labors, and as she stood
there looking at him Dan Ashton vowed
that Nancy was one of the ''prettiest''
women in WarTingham.
"Good afternoon, Nancy. A nahce
dey, ism Il it?' said Dan, as he wiped
his face with his new silk handkerchief.