Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-04-11

Rivers, oven though through the old fash
Toned wooden medicines Of his cotrustee
he did not have the actual handling of a
penny Of her money. The cotrustee was
4 lawyer with en- admiration for per
cent corporation stocks, ard he insisted on
Miss Rivers fortune staying in these and
showed cause why the script should re-
main in his own office safe. The money
tempted Theodore Shelf to the sin of COW
ateCusnoss continaally-kc could have
made such excellent use of it-but to the
mans credit be it said he never visited
his irritation on his ward. Indeed he was
only known to be disagreeable to her once,
and that once wasthc last timo he and she
had speech together, and what he had said
was entirely t. her interest and without
any profit to himself. ltwas on the morn
ing Of the great ball, and he called her to
him in his room and asked if Fairfax
would bc there that evening.
'Of course, +" she said, Why"
After what has passed between us?"
You mean in the city,"
Il do, my dear. Mr.. Fairfax has dis
pleased Inc much. First of all, he resigned
from the directorate Of my new company,
the Brothers steamship association, on
which had placed him, n very 1attoring
position for so young n man, and then lie
caused me deep sorrow in doubling tho
purcDess of my motives in floating tho
company ut all. l am long suffering,
Amy, and because it Is my duty to bear
with the hasty ! do so as much as posi-
BILE. But Mr.. Fairfax overstepped the
mark. Such Il spirit as his would cause dis
scnsion among our simple minded work
crs, and. felt it due to them tina; ne should
no longer be at their side -
SO you gave him the-wcll. the sack
OF course / know"
Perhaps, - said Mr.. Shelf, with smile
of pain, ''hc will he able to obtain employ
ment elsewhere, or being a young man of
means he may choose to set up in business
for himself. but / fear uiy dear, that he
will miss many OF the Christian influences
which so elevate and purify the dependents
OF Marinadukc Rivers * Shelf"
Miss Rivers shrugged her shoulders.
Isn't this" she said, Ito do with the
city and not Park lane: AS Mrs. Shelf
says, were ordinary society heathens
when were here, and as she sent Hamil-
ton his card don't see that it matters.
It's Mrs. Shells at home"
And not mine, ANY, You are right in
| TIE word, my dear, but not in the spirit.
AS Il Christian, OF course, 1 have already
forgiven the wrong Mr.. Fairfax has done
mo in doubling the pureness of my mo-
| tives. Bat this humble roof is mine, Amy,
and it would Gricye me to receive under it
any one with whom am not on terms OF
brothcrly ainity. But perhaps you can as
sure me- my dear, that MIR. Fairfax has
already repcnted him of his hasty and I'M
just words"
Not that" said Miss Rivers. I'm sure
! he hasn't"
Then" replied Mr.. Theodore Shelf,
| with sorrowful firmncss, Il cannot re-
ceive him. couldn't do it,"
II suppose you KNOW" the girl retortcd
| sharply, that if Hamilton does not come
here tonight l shan't either"
"You are my ward"
II may be. But You We never tyranniZed
| over me, and you are not going to begin
now. l tell you fatty that if it's no
Hamilton it's going 10 be no me. shall
| go to Hampstead to stay with my cousin. {"
Il cannot give way in this, Amy. My
conscience will not permit me-"
Very well. May have a carriage, or
must / order a hansomr'
| My dear child, can refuse you moth
ing in reason. The brougham is now, as
it always has been, entirely at your dis
posal.
1
Shelf scrubbed his dogs ragged head.
"She's angry with me now, George" he
| said, with n fat, satisfied smile, but I
think she'll change her mind aftcrward.
| She's n clever girl. and she'll see. So with
that young .besgar Fairfax, confound
him."
| Then Mr.. Shelf put George on q COM
| Portable chair and turned to his table. He
had. as may be imagined, n good deal of
| writing to get through, and Il considerable
| deal of burning. ard the work took him
| till very late Then he dressed, slipped
out for dinner ard returned by IL O'Clock;
| TO stand behind his wife and watch her as
| she received her guests. He thought he
| had never seen the woman look SO hand
| some or SO Quccnly, and once or twice he
half regretted the blow which he was 60
ing to bring down upon her. But then his
eyes would fall on the walls of the room,
| and the silver lamps. ard the flowers, and
| tho items of that gorgeous display would
90 into his soul and wither up any morscl
Of compassion which might have been
there.
"A mans impelling motive is not al
ways under his own hat" he overheard
some one saying as they passed him, and
he applied the words TO himself, and when
he remembered the ruthless extravaganza
which no words or cntrca:ies of his own
could stay, and which alone-so he be-
licved-had forced him into knavery, he
felt that social death was n poor recUital
to the woman who had worked his ruin
\ knife was more her due. And yet-and
yet she was such n monstrous fine woman
and SO thoroughly clever in the role she
had set herself to play,
! 1t certainly was a gorgeous assembly,
not made up exclusively of the very best
people perhaps, though many of them
were there, but it looked wealth unspcak-
able. Men in evening dress cannot show
this. If they fail to appear like walters,
that is the utmost they can expect. But
the women, They carried it on their
shoulders and backs, as they have dons
| since the beginning of time. Their dresses
were dream Of cost and loneliness, their
| jewelry chain of rainbows.
"Oh Lord" said one young man with
predatory instincts who propped a wall.
why aren't l n practicing bushraneer
just now. There's some of the finest dia-
monds here in all the world, and two
Johnnies with pistols could stick up the
whole house Why's England such a