The Portland daily press., 1894-01-01
A GOLD REEF.

You dear OLD boy, SAID the girl, Il am
sureI wish it could be-with all my heart
If have any heart"
II don't believe you have" replied the
boy gloomily.
''WelI, but, Eeg, consider. You've got
nc money"
stPve got e5, 900. If man can't make
his way upon that he must be a poor stick"
"You would go abroad with it and dig
and take yory wife with you to wash and
COOK
eve would do something with the mon
ey here. You should stay in London,
Rosie"
Eyes, in suburban villa at Shepherds
Bush perhaps. No, Reg, when marry,
If ever dol am in no hurry-I will step
out of this room into one exactly like il"
The room was splendid drawing room
in Palace Gardens, luxuriously furnished.
81 shall have my footman and my car
rage, and l shall''-
"Rosie give me the right to earn all
these things for you!' the young man cried
impetuously.
'You can only earn them for me by the
time you have one foot in the grave.
Hadn't I better in the meantime marry
some old getleman with his one foot in the
grave, so as to be ready for you against
the time when you come home? In two or
three years the other foot, I dare say,
would slide into the grave as we'll"
"You laugh at my trouble. You feel
nothing"
eff the pater would part-but he won't
he says he wants all his money for him
self, and that I've got to marry well. Be
sides, Reg'-here her face clouded and she
lowered her voice. there are times when
he looks anxious. We didn't always live
in Palace Gardens. Suppose we should
lose it all as quickly as we got it? Ohn'
She shivered and trembled. ''No, / will
never, never marry poor man. Get rich,
my Gear boy, and you may aspire even to
the valuable possessions of this heartless
hand"
She held it out. He took it, pressed it,
stopped and kissed her. Then he dropped
her hand and walked quickly out OF the
room.
''Poor Reggier' she murmured. 81 wish
Il wish-but what is the use of wishing?"
= y Y
Two men-one young, the other about
50-sat in the veranda Of a small bunga-
low. 1t was after breakfast. They lay
back in long bamboo chairs, each with a
cigar. 1t looked as if they were resting.
In reality they were talking business,
and that very seriously.
ayes, sir,'' said the older man, with
something of an American accent, 81 have
somehow taken fancy to this place. The
situation is healthy"
t'Well, don't know. I've had more
than one touch of the fever here"
''The climate is lovely"-
HExcept in the rains"
'sThe soil is fertile''-
's1've dropped e5 1000 in it, and they
have not come up again YETI
'sThey will have been round the es-
tate, and I see money in it. Well, sir,
here's my offer. Five thousand down, hard
cash, as soon as the papers are signed"
Reginald sat up. He was on the point
Of accepting the proposal, when pony
rode up to the house, and the rider, ma
tive groom, jumped off and gave him a
note. He opened it and read. 1t was from
his nearest neighbor, two or three miles
away:
Don't sell that man your estate. Gold has
been found. The whole country is full of gold.
Hold on. He's an assayer. II he offers to buy,
be quite sure that he has found gold on your
land. FIG.
He put the note into his pocket, gave a
his guest without betraying the least as
constituent Or emotion.
III beg your pardon. The note was from
Bellamy, my next neighbor. Well? You
were SAYING
"Only that I have taken fancy-per-
haps foolish fancy-to this place of yours
and I'll give you, if you like, all that you
have spent upon it"
"Well, )" he replied refectively, but with
a Little twinkle in his eye, "that seems
handsome. But the place ism It really worth
the half that l have spent upon it. Any
body would tell you that. Come, let us
be honest, whatever we are. I'll tell you
a better way. We will put the matter into
the hands of Bellamy. He knows what a
coffee plantation is worth. He shall name
price, and if we can agree upon that we
will make deal of it."
The other man changed color. He want
ed to settle the thing at once as between
gentlemen. What need of third parties?
But Reginald stood firm, and he presently
rode away, quite sure that in a day or two
this planter, too, would have heard the
news,
A month later the young coffee planter
stood on the deck of a steamer homeward
bound. In his pocket was a plan of his
.oriferious estate, in a bag hanging around
his neck was small collection of yellow
nuggets; in his boxes was chosen assert
.snent OF quartz
"Well, SIR" said the fnancier, 'tyou
have brought this thing to me. You want
my advice. Well, my advice is, don't fool
away the only good thing that will ever
happen to you. Luck such as this doesn't
como more than once in lifetime'
III have been offered SIC, 900 for my es-
tate.''
ooh, have you? Ten thousand? That
was very liberal-very liberal indeed Ten
thousand for gold reef!'
''E'it thought as an old friend of my
father you would perhaps"-
young man, don't fool it away. He's
waiting for you, suppose, round the cor
ner, with bottle Of fizz, ready to close. -
''He is
"Well, so and drink his champagne
Always get whatever you can and then
tell him that you wild see him"--
II certainly will, sir, if you advise it,
And then?'
"And then--leaveit to me- And, young