San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-06-26

CrOlOSef. Yes, ma, he went on, address
ing the old woman, who gave no slightest
sign of interest, "the oriice burned down,
and / had to get home quick. Wouldn't
"a done for them Rapelyea street folks to
see me scuttin' off in my orfice clo'es."
He had shed Brant's huge overcoat, and
his wife was passing her hand over his thin
| flannel suit.
Law, Simmonsr' she said, you're all
| wetp'
''Pll dry all right in these fiannels," said
| ZoZo. Don't you bother to get no other
clo'es."
He had forgotten that he had told Brant
| that the suit in his Office was his only suit.
| Or perhaps he wished to spare his wife the
humiliation of such an admission.
Pm dryin' off first rate" he said cheer
fully; Mamie, pepper amt wet where
| you're settin', is he? No. Well, now,
mommer, you get out the whisky and give
| Mr.-Mr. Banda glass, with some hot wa
ter, and then he won't get no chill We're
all pro'bitionsts here" he said, addressing
Brant, but we b'lieve in spirits for medic
inal use. Yes, mother, you'd oughter've
seen that place burn. Why, the flames was
on me before | know'd where was, and !
| jis thought to myself, thinks |, if these
here people see me a-runnin' away from a
fire, won't cast no horoscope in Rapelyea
| street after this, and tell you, the way /
| got outer the back window and over the
back fence was cautionl There's your
| whisky, sir; you'll excuse me if l don't
| take none myself We amt in the habit
| here"
Brant did not greatly wonder at their
not being in tue habit when he tasted the
| whisky . 1t was bad enough to wean a
topper on, but he slipped it and made over
| lures To the baby. And after a while she
showed an inclination to come and look at
| his wonderful watch that struck the hour
when you told it to. Before long she was
sitting on his knee. Her father was tell
| ing the female members of the family
about the fire, and she felt both sleepy and
| shut out. She played with Brant's watch
for a while, and then fell asleep on his
breast. He held her tenderly, and listened
to the astrologer rs he told his pitiful tale
| over and over again, trying to fix the first
| second when he had smelled the smoke.
| He was full of the excitement of the af-
| fair; TIC full of the consciousness of his
| own achievement to realize the extent of
| the disaster But his wife suddenly broke
| down, crying out:
ooh, Simmons, where'll you get $500 to
| build new oriice?"
Brant spoke up, but very softly, lest he
might wake the baby, who was sleeping
with her head on his shoulder.
| "Fll be happy to to advance the money"
he said.
| Zozo lOokcI at him almost sourly.
81 aiI I got no security to give you. This
is bull ling society house, and there's all
the mortgage OH it that it's worth.
couldn do BETTER" he concluded sullenly.
| Brant had been poor enough himself to
understand ting quick suspicion of the DOOR
"Your note will do, Mr.. Simmons" he
said. ~ think Won will pay me back. !
| shan't worry about it."
| But it was some time before the Simmons
| family could understand that loan OF the
magnitude of 1900 could be made so easily.
| When the glorious possibility did dawn
upon them nothing would do but that Mr..
| Brant should take anothe 10 rink of whisky.
| 1t was not for medicinal purposes this
| time; it was for pure conviviality, and
Brant was expected, not being a prohibi-
! zionist, to revel vicariously for the whole
| family. He drank, wondering what he had
at home to take the taste out of his mouth.
| Then he handed the baby to her mother
and started to CO. But Simmons suddenly
and unexpectedly turned into ZoZo and
| insisted on casting his benefactor's hOro-
scope His beuefactor told him the day of
| his birth, and guessed at the hour. Zozo
| figured on a slate, drawing astronomical
| characters very neatly indeed, and at last
began to read off the meaning of his stel-
lar stenography in a hushed, important
! voice.
He told Brant everything that had hap
pened to him (only none of it had hap
| pened, but Brant did not say him nay)
| Then he told him various things that were
to happen to him, and Zozo cheered up
| greatly when his impressive and sleepy
guest sighed as he spoke of blonde wom-
an who was troubling his heart and who
would be his some day There was a
blonde woman troubling Brant's heart,
but there was small probability of her be
| ing his some day or any day. And Zozo
went on to talk about Il dark woman who
| would disturb the course of true love, but
only temporarily and as a side issue, so to
| speak.
''She amt serious" he said. "She may
make muss; but she amt reel serious"
Good night" said Brant.
you don't b'lieve in the science" said
ZoZO IN voice or genuine regret. but
you jist see if it don't come true. Good
| night. Look out you don't trip over the
| scraper."
The blonde woman in Mr.. Brant's case
was Madame Comtesse de Renette. No,
| she was not a french woman; she was 2
loyal American She was the daughter of
an American millionaire; she had lived for
org in, Eranra and har naran "a had
married her, at the age of eighteen, to a
title. The title was owned by a disagree
able and highly immoral old spendthrift,
,,-rntnLnl LEO