Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-08-03
AN ALPINE ADVENTURE.


I back TO London.
Charlie Courtney kicked his foot saw
agely against the petrified kidneys
which did duty for paving stones in
/ The little square outside the Hotel de
I Ia COurOnne at Brigue.
Poor old cnap. I'm awfully sorry
/ for you; but I'm hanged if I'd give in
I so easily if I were in your shoes. II
hasn't exactly OccErred to me that
Mss Haltord dislikes YOU
No" and COurJney's lips relaxed
into a smile.
well. then?"
I Where's the use? Besides. she's so
abOminably rich, don't you know, and
the old man would declare it was her
I fortune / wanted. Where a girls got
I such a lot of tin as Au9rey-as Miss
l HaifOrd-a man cane let himself car
~ her OF without her fathers consent,
don't you see?'
Rubbish, wouldn't cut it so fine
If / were you However, you know
year own aEalrs best, Of course; but
1 promised Mrs. CaVeudish TO get you
to join the party this afternoon. l
rather fancy that the good OLD soul
was merely her niece's spokeswOman.
You'd better come.
"Oh, / suppose / must, but it's only
piling on the agony Leave me alone
Tor bit, Jack. I'm grumpy beggaT,
and not lit for company and, with q
rather fOrlCTn laugh, Charley Court
ney strOlled away toward the Carmel
lite convent, which is pelcded on an
inaccessi ble-lOOking hill OvGTuanging
the pCiysl0t Little towns very modest
. Grande place
Jack Lester watched him go and
put his HANDS In his pockets and whis-
tied There is always something q lit
lie ludiCrCUs 10 6 man in sound moral
. health 90 see another suffering from
wound Of the most erIatic of bow
men.
Poor OLD Charlie, he's pretty hard
hit. it's a ply, for audrey IlalfOrd
As a nice little girl, not the sort who'd
give her husbands old friend the cod
shoulder and turn up her nose at the
smell of q cigarette. I wish Old Hal
1 ard wasn't such an Impossible old
idiut.' With which complimentary
mental comment he sUolled into the
hotel
The Impossible old idiot was<fn
reality jeremiah HalfOrd, Ii. r..
mayor of CCu0uham and proprietor Of
one Of the most considerable iron
fouudrles i'm EnslanI one Of the
shrewdesJ Of business men and the
simplest of Wo.idllngs.
One fair laug5Cer and no more" had
Mr.. Hallords -S/Eirl whose mother had
Uied in yS1ns her birth, and who had
pee.HrrCusht up by her fathers sis
~ the most amiable, easy-going and
mdu.senJ ol widows. Audrey was
now 10, very charming, but stopping
on this side Of beauty and c0ntendns
herself with beiEg exceedingly pretty.
She had been OuL year, had had Of
fers enough already 10 turn her head
had no. a keen sense Of hUmOr pre-
vented her from taking any Of them
too seriously-any Of them, that is,
XII Charlie Courtney appeared on the
scene, and him she had perversely
inclined 20 look upon without the
shadow oil q smIe-2 fact which was
gradually working poor HalfOrd's in
Oiguauou 60 the sticking point.
1t was with the object Of turning the
current OF his daughters thoughts into
more eligible channels that the iron
master had undertaken this Swiss tour.
In London the young people were con-
stantly meeting al the houses OF com
mon friends. but Sir Halford had reck-
Cled without his hosts and with Curl
Gus SpOutanciy q desire Tor mountain
climbing had seized Charlie Courtney
aud his friend Jack Lester. at precisely
the same time that Mr.. HaI0rd had
comfortably packed his party into the
Swiss express
Mir. Haif0rj was annoyed but what
could he OO3 Short OF Cha-tering the
whole hotel ne could not keep his young
cOunuymel out Of it,; besides, which,
i'm spite oil everything. Courtney was 40
amiahle yUU1g tOOl and no, amiss as a
travelling companion. VINO knew mis-
Bradshaw by heart AID was more
practically useful than any courier
"tIe dear boy. and why on earth
Audrey shouldn't marry him / GOn t
know" Mrs. CaYeudish had said to her
brother this very morning when the
subject had cropped up between them.
Because I don't choose that she
should ne replied Dramatically.
Mrs. CavendiSh gave vent TO long
sniff Charming woman as she was,
she was not altogether superior to fe-
minnie weaknesses. and an unqualified
SniI is q decided and unattackabie wea-
pom of defense.
"Hes too frivolous" continued Jere-
mlah. gOaded by the sniff; laughs at
everything, takes nothing seriously,
makes a joke about the most important
matters
on that's because he pOked fun at
your Mutual Improvement Society at
CJttOGham, and isn't impressed when
YOU talk Of UNFOLDING the British con-
s,ituti0n, i suppCse-made suggestions
as % your forming a COttOnham Alpine
Club
jeremiah HalfCrd grew red.
"It doesn't matter about details The
long and the short of il is. that / OBJ
ject 10 Audrey getting any ideas about
him in her head. and YOU can tell her
SO for me. with which shot the iron
master had abruptly quilted his sister,
and by iuluck. having encountered
young Courtney. whose frivolous jokes
REGARDING the mGyOralty of CottOnham
and the mayors influence in local az
fairs scll ranked in that worthy'S
mind. he had insinuated pretty plainly
TO the yOung man that Brigue was not
the only place on the habitGble elcbe
and that a change in travelling cOmpan-
ions was sometimes agreeable.
Meanwhile Charlie had climbed up
to the convent. and had taken melar-
chOly survey Of the surrounding coun-