The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-11-18

NNNf.. us w D. II
stood MS duly
respectable and characterless on that
June morning as its hundreds of dup
Heated neighbors.
Inside there was the awed stiffness o;
the presence Of the king of terrors.
For Number Six was dead.
Mrs. Evesham, the landlady, had an.
ticipated his fate from the moment that
summoned by her chambermaid, she
had found him delirious and writhina
with pain on his bed; the physician,
who had arrived just five minutes toe
late to be Of service, had dropped the
limp, cold. hand with professional In
difference and pronounced life extinct
and the coroner had already given notice
Of his intention to hold an inquest or
the body.
Poor Mrs. Evesham was plunged into
sincere grief at the catastrophe, for no,
only was her tender nature touched by
the sudden and awful incident, but she
saw, at a critical time in her affairs
one Of the principal sources of hei
income abruptly cut off.
Ambrose Arlington - the unhappy
Number Six-had been TO her prince
of dodgers, prompt and liberal, unob
trusive, easily satisfied, and, In the briei
communications she had had with him,
furbane and considerate. His very re.
serve, which TO some might have been
obnoxious, was to her, who had seen
more prosperous days, his best recon
mendation, for she had not long reigned
over the fortunes Of the present domi'
cile.
Nor must II be understood that the
house was o common boarding place,
No lone bachelor In that wellregulated
establishment growled over the tough,
ness Of his beefsteak nor bcwailed the
feebleness Of his coffee. Only room,
ers," and those Of the very best class,
found an abiding place under its hospt
table roof. 4fr if.S
To the inmates II was not sociable
way Of living, for they knew little on
nothing Of each other, while among the
servants their individuality was obliter
ated and they were only spoken Of by
the numbers Of their rooms. Thus In
this democratic atmosphere every
guests name became absorbed in the
humble figures painted on his chamber
door.
With some of her patrons Mrs. Eve.
sham did enjoy passing acquaintance,
but this man, Ambrose Arlington, who
now lay dead in number six, was as
much stranger to her as though he
had not dwelt beneath her roof.
The whole Evesham family sat in
mournful consultation over the morn
ing's disaster. There was the widow
herself, still. in the generous summer Of
life, retaining the matured beauty ot
the sweet girl face which, sixteen years
ago, had won the love OF the light
hearted Hal Evesham, the prince OF
good fellows and life and soul Of the
press club, who was now lying at rest
In Brooklyn cemetery, and had left, ah
mel such a pittance for his wife and
little ones to begin the world upon.
There was blue-cyed. brown-haired
Alice, q thoughtful maiden Of thirteen;
there was Kate. the exuberant, of
twelve, whose wild, glorious hair would
not keep out of her sparkling eyes; and
last, though not least in the widows
estimation, Harry, ptat ten, whose
short, crisp, auburn curls were in per-
fectsympathy with his clear, sharp, In
telligent features and trim figure.
They were sounding fearful p@ans OF
praise 10 the virtues Of the dead.
$50 quiet and regular in his pay
ments," sighed the widow, with prac-
teal sympathy.
80 delightfully."- mysterious" rnur-
INJURED Alice.
Never scolded when he caught me
stufing paper In the keyhole Of his
door" moaned Kate.
''Nor blabbed to ma when hit him
on the head with my ball, though of
course didn't mean TO-" whined Harry.
"1e must have been rich, for he
seemed to follow no profession, yet had
always plenty Of money" Mrs. Evesham
continued, still, poor soul, harping on
the loaves and fishes.
''Then, TO think that next Tuesday
his sister Is to arrive from London on
the steamer" Alice lamented. "What
on earth we shall say TO the poor girl
or what we shall do with her when she
comes ! am sure do not know, nam
darlinO.v N