The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-11-19

"You did as you thought right" | re-
piled, more submissively; the sound of his
voice told me that I was going to be hum
bled "But now 1 am twenty-one and
Audrey is twenty three, and We have
,alked it over with Duncan, and We should
like"
80 have your fathers money, with
compound interest" he interrupted again.
'In two words, that is what it all means,
eh -
"We hope you will settle something.
Please do, Uncle Andrew 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 mattersl
No, should think you didn't; but for all
that, you and your journeyman doctor want
to audit my accounts and to pry into my
private concerns for the last tfve-and-twenty
rears Well, then, you'd better have the
4nl. books and the check books and the
letter books, public and private, and work
back through them, if you could, to the
year 186S-the year we were out in Can
ada; you would find the funds of Alison
Brothers at 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 p
at was father" I reioined, and in my
inmost. heart believed that he was build
ing up story as he went on which should
justify his making no settlement on us.
''Yes, it was your father, and you'll find
that he, the elder one who signed for the
firm, was mixed upin lot Of risky specu
lations, and that, in spite of the younger
brothers expostuations, he made several
visits to New York and one into Mexico.
He was going to grow rich all at once
that is quite within woman's compre-
hension-only, unfortunately, there were
some complications, and out of the compli-
cations came terrible crisis, the whole
details of which did not transpire to the
public And one fine morning the young
er brother found himself alone in the world,
facing heavy responsibility, which he
had not incurred himself, but for which
he was not wholly unprepared. | hope
you understand it all. 1t required i'm
mense exertions to regain the lost prestige,
and most assiduous work to recover from
the money damage; but have done it.
And now l hope you understand"
"You mean" | 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 were
left orphans y
s--'TLat is near enough to my meaning.
he said
"Well, Uncle Andrew" said, $50 far
from this being an impeachment to my
marriage, consider it an additional reason
for it. Mr. Ferrars loves me; he will be
only too glad to take me from dependence
on charity to home of my own"
1t was an ungrateful speech; it was the
only way in which l could give vent to the
bitterness of the doubt which his words
had awakened in me. My uncle bent his
head
Il shall be very well rid of the charge
of you. You have always been trouble
some, hot-headed girl. Ifyou had deferr-
ed to my wishes, or shown any common
sense about your marriage, l should have
made you an allowance-for my own sake,
and because people would expect it Of me;
but, since you take this defiant tone, |
give you full leave to go to-morrow-to
paupcrism, if the doctor is ready You
are your father over again; you want to
play with ruin. You won't find it very
pleasant companion. | have no more to
say to you-you can go.
went slowly and heavily back to the
sitting room, where Audrey was still at
the piano. She looked up inquiringly.
you've been long time, and you look
perfectly ghastly," she said What did
he please to say p
ale told me a great tissue of the basest
lies" cried, my indignation breaking
forth II couldn't have believed he could
have done anything so bad"
''Lies about Duncan she asked. "And
how do you know they are lies ~
''Not about Duncan-about father.
Audrey, do you think it possible that our
father was swindling speculatOr, and
that he died bankrupt"
Il never heard u before, sald Audrey,
composedly "But We know so little about
him that it might be possible Railway
folks do speculate and swindle sometimes,
and fall bankrupt, don't they? ?"
"0h, Audrey, how can you talk so?
Cyril knows nothing of this am sure. |
wont believe it unless some one else tells
it me. And | repeated the whole tale to
Audrey.
81 don't see why it shouldn't be true,
she said, at the end. "Of course Uncle
Andrew wouldn't talk about it unecessa-
rily, and as it all happened in America
nearly 20 years ago, why should Cyril
who is only 80, known about it? And