The Portland daily press., 1893-08-10
LOVES STRATEGEN.

4 The warm light of July morning sun
streamed through the widely opened
French window of the well furnished
breakfast apartment of large vile res
idence at Dulwich, named 'sThe Cedars."
The inhaGtant and owner of this resi-
dence was widower between 80 and
60 yeaEs Of age, a building contractor,
named GTukbsr. His ward and niece,
Miss Eva Vernon, and four female serv-
ants resided with him.
MIR. 0rubber was a hard, stern man, a
self made man he called himself, whose
wife soon after his marriage had come
into asfortnne OF $780, 1000, which enabled
her husband TO rise from the position of
a builders foreman to that Of a master
builder and contractor.
4 At the time at which this story is
opened Mr. John Grubber, whom all his
acquaintance and employees would in
sist upon calling Mr.. Money Grubber,
had amassed large fortune and had
been widpwere for 30 years.
Ten years after his bereavement his
only sister, Mrs. Vernon, died, leaving
him the guardian of her only daughter,
Eva, child4then of 10 years of age and
possessing fortune Of SEC, 200 in her
own right.
Hard, stern man that he was, John
Grubber did his duty to his ward, and 1t
was NOT till She had reached the age of
18 that she ieft school to become the mis-
tress of her uncle's establishment at
Dufwich.
It was a strange contrast that the I'M
Gle and niece presented ON this beautiful
morning in the month of July as they
sat at breakfastssome two pears after her
home coming to: her uncle's house.
AZ one end ofsthe liable sat the man Of
business perusing the market article in
the morning paper, his iron gray hair
standing erect ON his head, his heavy
eyebrows contracted over his small,
dark, piercing eyes, and his iron bound
chin extended by his tightly pressed and
seam puckered lips.
Eva, who sat opposite to him in her
neat morning wrapper, with a wreath
of uncoiled golden hair falling over her
smooth white neck and shoulders, seemed
to have fixed her liquid eyes on space
while she toyed aimlessly with her spoon
in the cup.
Her thoughts were certainly not with
her immediate surroundings, or she
would not have started SO violently or
colored SO deeply when her uncle ex-
claimed in his sharp, gruff voice:
''Confound it, bricks have gone up 8
shillings a Thousand, and have just
taken that big contract for the new
board school"
'fWhat did you say, uncleY' asked
Eva, shaking off the reverie into which
she had fallen.
'sSay," replied the other testify. II
said bricks had gone up and sand and
lime are bound to follow. shall lose a
thousand pounds on the job"
And the old gentleman flung the paper
down on the breakfast table and rose to
his feet.
IT must be off at once" he said, "and
find out if all the yards have raised their
prices, and if not must secure the low
est at once before they follow suit"
''But you have not eaten your toastor
drank your coffee, UNCLE" said his niece.
J Bother the coffee; hang the toast, - he
cried. "Those who have not yet quoted
so high are sure to do 30 when they see
the paper. / must go at once"
"rm so sorry, uncle" said Eva as he
stood in the doorway, 81 did SO wish
you to be at home this morning. I
thought perhaps"
"You must do your thinking while I'm
gone" he interrupted. ''It is only fools
who think; .s:e people act L ! had
stopped to - as womsn do, should
not have been IA successful man Of bust
ness I am. There, cannot stop, not a
minute Confusion COMPOUNDED! Only
to think that the very day after I signed
that contract that bricks should advance
shillings a thousand, and cannot do
with less than 1 ,000 loads"
He dashed open a side door that led
into the hall, and the next moment Eva
Vernon, standing, with one white hssad
on the breakfast table, and her face,
with half panied expression upon it,
turned toward the doorway through
which he had passed, heard her uncle
exclaim in sharp, angry tones:
'.Jane, fetch me a cab. I cannot wait
for tho brougham. There, if you must
wait to put your list and boots on, I'll
get one myself"
And then Eva heard the front door
bang, and she knew that her uncle had
gone.
She sank down upon her chair with a
sigh, and with her clasped hands resting
upon the edge Of the table she said:
'.How unfortunate that anything
should have occurred to annoy uncle
this morning. had hoped SO to be able
to keep his irritshle temper in allegiance
till Arthur had told him the story of our
love and i1nplorsd his consent to our
union"
What, weeping, dear Eva:"
It was rich, manly voice that utter
ed the words as it's possessor strobe
through the cpeE French window into
the room.
Eva, whose forehead had sunk down
L Il L.. ,,,I