Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1896-07-22
THE FORTUNET TELLER
ooh ,nona nfui, how can you?"

ooh papa, pfui! how can youT
The old high bailiff of Krohn pushed
away the pretty little hand that his
eldest daughter sought to place over
his mouth.
NO" he said, 81 will not keep quiet.
repeat that the whole custom of send
ing New Years cards is n d--n bad
one, and 1t is time to put an end to it.
What are the results of such nonsense?
First, get my mail bag later than
usual, and, secondly, it is crammed so
full with the stupid stuff that | can
hardly get it openw
At length the old gentleman's efforts
were rewarded the bag sprang open,
and he emptied its contents with i'm
patience on the breakfast table.
'ToFraulein Katharine Won Krohn,
he read. my God! are they all
for you, Kathinka|
Don't be 80 unbearable, papa, and
please don't call me Kathinka."
The old gentleman replied to his
daughters request with an unintelligi-
BILE growl and went on drinking his cof-
fee.
Gust look what a lot there are for
mer cried Katharine, piling the letters
upon the table in front of her and her
face lighting up with pleasure.
Are they all for you"
"Yes, ALL Now you can see what 1t Is
to be known as beauty"
"And an heiress," added the father.
"Yes, and an heiress, she repeated,
thoughtfully.
"But is there nothing there for my lit
tie Lill?" asked her father.
Katharine shrugged her shapely
shoulders impatiently.
"Why, of course not. If girl ex-
poets to be shown much attention she
must be little more pushing and i'm
portant."
"And an heiress, too,' was the faith
er's laconic addition to the sentence.
II really should be very grateful,
father, If you would not allude so much
to my money" was the rather curt pro-
test
~ can't help 1t, Katharine, when | see
my little Lii here, as beautiful as the
flower that gave her the name, and
well, she is not an heiress, do you I'M
derstand? That's the whole thing"
Katharine made no answer. She
was buslly studying the handwriting
on the envelopes.
A young girl who had hitherto sat op-
posite to her In silence left her seat,
went up to the high bailiff, and putting
her fair young arms round his neck,
gave him kiss.
A world Of love shone in his eyes as
he looked at her with pleasure and
stroked her soft cheeks.
''Never mind, ILL.," he said, slowly,
~ am glad that you don't get such
pile of letters. I'm grateful, too, that
you're not an heiress. Perhaps then
no one will take you away from me-"
Tears came into the girls eyes, for,
though she said no word, yet the
thought that no one had remembered
her or cared enough for her to send her
q New Years card made her sad. But
she forced herself not to cry and tried
to conceal the few tears that would
not be kept back by kissing her father
again lovingly on the eyes and lips.
The high bailiff OF Krohn, the father
Of these two girls, had married twice
His first wife, a lovely, proud but vain,
woman, died soon after the birth of
little daughter and left her the whole
of large fortune. His second wife,
the daughter of a country clergyman,
brought him no wealth but sweet and
beautiful disposition. When she, too,
died after two years married life he
felt overwhelmed and had never since
wholly recovered from the blow.
Katharine, the elder of tine stepchil-
children, had just finished her TWEEN
tieth year, and, as she was as proud,
pretty, and just as vain as her mother,
had already laughed at many proposals
for her hand-and money. No one had
80 far been able to take her fancy.
Lii was in almost every respect the
opposite of h~r sister. Small of figure,
quiet and retiring, it happened that she
was often entirely overlooked. 1t GER
tainly was not right of father to love
one daughter more than another.
StiIl he did so, and 1t was plain to
everybody that 1t was the soft, sweet,
patient Lii who was his favorite.
1t made Katharine feel annoyed to
see her father SO gentle and affectionate