The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-09-25

to the table, opened il out before him,
adjusted his spectacles and read it over
and over again.
"Id give a ten-pound note" he said,
chuckling, ''to see the old fellows ia ce
when he hears how Harry has done
him."
1t was the custom of Mr.. Sheldon to
read his newspaper at breakfast while
waiting for his only child and dauglrt-
er, who, a little spoiled by over-indul-
gence, was generally late.
But this morning Matte was later
than ever.
The banker had read all the foreign,
rs well as the home news, and even re-
perused Harry's note again, and still
she had not made her appearance.
"The lazy puss ~ he said at last.
Then he looked up at the clock. "Half
an hour late! Now this is really too
bad. john" he cried, addressing the
man servant at the sideboard, ''send
and see why Miss Sheldon doesn't
come down. Tell her." with severe
air, ~ am tired of waiting"
John came back in about five min
utes looking very much fiustered.
''If you please, sir" he stammered,
"Miss Sheldon is not i'm her room, and
the maid says that the bed looks rs if
it hadn't been slept in all night"
The rich merchants jaw fell.
If there was one thing he loved bet
ter than money, better even than life
itself, it was his motherless child.
What had become of his darling?
What awful tragedy was about to be
revealed to him? Had she gone out
for walk the evening before and
stumbled into the river? No; he re-
membered parting with her at 10
o'clock. Had she been looking from
the window of her room and fallen
out?
He started up, with cry of agony,
to go and see, beholding, in imagina-
ton, her mangled and lifeless form.
But he was prevented by the footman
appearing at the door with a telegram.
"a telegram >" cried the merchant,
unfolding it with trembling hands.
"What can it mean? Has she been
found dead anywhere ?"
This was the telegram
DEAR FATHER Harry and | were
married at s o'clock this morning. i
would not consent to an elopement till
Harry assured me you had advised il,
and had shown me your check As
proof He says you promised to stand
by us, and | know you pride yourself
on never breaking promise. We wait
for your blessing.
MAITIIE.
swell, / neverr' calculated Mr..
Sheldon, when he had recovered his
breath. ''The impudent, disobe-"
But here he stopped-stopped and
mopped his bald head, which, in his
excitement, had broken out into great
drops of perspiratiOn. He remembered
i'm time that both the butler and foot
man would overhear him. He remem-
bered also that he had himself advised
Harry to elope, and that if the story
got wind he would be the laughing
stock of the town, including-hardest
cut of all-Mr. Meadows He remem-
bered, too, that he had but one child,
and that she was all in all to him. So
he accepted the inevitable and tele-
graphed back:
"You may come home, and the soon
er the better, so as to keep the fifty
pounds for pin money. Tell Harry
he's too sharp to remain clerk, and
to-day / take him into partnership.
Only he must remember that partners
never tell tales out of school.
III. SHELDON"
The runaways returned by the next
train. The marriage proved, too, an
eminently happy one. The story never
got out. We only tell it now in conf
dence.-Hours at Home.