The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1897-11-11

I "
will lose you; II stay here and try to
study profession, it will take years
and years, and ! couldn't ask you TO
wait for me-" fE3 81
She patted his hand tenderly. oh,
Jack" she said, t'it would be dreadful
for you to goawful for you to leave
me with mamma and the count; think
Of it! Why would be brutal" Tears
welled in her eyes. II could be true; /
wouldn't forget, and would be brave;
but think Of mamma and the count 49,
YES" said Jack, touching the soft
love locks about her forehead; ''but
think Of the hole I'm in. 81 Yousee, that
plantationsof mine 5s.
"Oh, Jack, do you own plantation9
Why, of course you do; all southernera
have. plantations =
eyes, and mine is the worst of the lot;
and that's saying a great deal. I never
told you about it because : get hot.
Whenever I think Of. it want to fight.
! wantto fight 2. woman, and that's IN.
gallant" -
The scarlet mounted to his brow and
and his voice was low and tense with
hatred. -y.#'r i
"Well,, I will tell you" he went on.
Its a fine Virginia plantation and it'll
all have insthe world. TWAS my moth
er's property, and when she died my
father married again an old maid, his
housekeeper and when he died my
stepmother, being aishrewdswomansand
as mean as the mischief, employed
some tricky lawyers, who got her a
widows dover out of thesrent rseof my
mothers plantation-asw widows dover
of $4,000 q year out of mymother's prop
erty. That's all the income the planta-
ton affords. You wouldn't think I'd
stay there andswork it, would you?"
s5t II should thinkznot." p
Its my property, and every cent Of
the income goes to that old harpy."E
"But, dear, she will die some day"
> "Die!" with bitter incredulity.
"Never! Never! The knotty variety of
parasites, like mistletoe live forever"
"And so you have nothing-absolute-
ly nothing-out of what is rightfully
yours through your, mother? Shame
full! Shameful" said the girl.
I'm big coward to tell you all this -
he went on, ''but felt so down in my
luck that 1 had to talk. Now, might
have made money out of the plantation
if had staid and worked it instead of
leaving it to tenants. I might have
made five hundred, perhaps thousand
dollars extra for myself out of it, but
l couldn't do it, Dolly; just couldn't
stay there and clothe and feed that old
woman with my own hands. She lives
in the house, and-oh, we'll"
eyes. dear, I have mammal
eyes, but your mother is--excuse me,
Dolly, but your mother is fat-plump, T
mean to say-and portly women must
be more endurable than thin ones with
claws and beaks.''
80 "Jack!"
EYES,"
I'm thinking of that plantation.
I'm so glad you've got it,"
swell, I'm not"
j 'Oh, but you will be. You see didn't
know you had property; and that was
making it hard for me. I thought of
that collection of old family miniatures
OF yours you showed me, and thought
that might do: T.
! ''Do2@' Do for what ?" he CALCULATED.
~ 'Never mind. 1t really wouldn' t any
way. What want you to give me now
is mortgage-a genuine mortgage for
$4,000 on that Virginia property"
"What?"
"How much is the property worth?"
'Oh, perhaps $4,000 1 should say.
But what on earth-'
well, it's just this" said the girl, ex-
,citedly. Il am to give you $4,000. 1t is
the income have saved from some prop
erty left me. am to give you SIS 900
and you are to borrow it from me by
liking up a mortgage on your planta-
ton for that amount. My lawyer will
attend to it in regular form. Papa didn't
leave me his business head for nothing.
Jack, DEAR
"And what am to do with the mon-
ey?' asked the youth, aghast.
snow, I've been thinking out all that
for months. I thought it out when E
was dancing and I had long, restful, de-
licious thinks over it while men were
twaddling their nonsense at me. Papa
made his pile mining, you know, and
what have you studied mining and en-
gineering for, if you can't make yours
that way, too. You remember talking to.
me about gold possibilities in Alaska :?
Well, want you to take this money and
try your luck there. 4And-oh, Jack.
don't be SO rude, and don't kiss me
while I'm talking, and don't look at me,
as if you'd cry with feeling if yo,,
weren't six feet inyour stockings-your
socks, I mean. You are to. go to Alaska1
and make fortune-a great big for
tune, Jack, bigsenough to make mamma.
quail before you and to-. convert the
count into poor, little, black trickling;;
grease spot at your mighty feet j. .ss
Dolly Radnorwas a little body, and
she was almost breathless and decided
~ tumbled and out of order when she
emerged from her enthusiastic recop-
milton Of her devotion. The big fel-
low stood up and held her at arms
length and looked at her-oh, can't be-
gin to tell you how he looked at her.
apd then he gathered her up in his arms
again, and presently they both sat
down, and he said: "Oh, Dolly" in u
with tender emotion. ''Oh,
Dolly I can't accept
And then she put her little soft, white
hand across his lips, and said. in the
decisive way belonging to small wom-
en-: "You are accepting nothing. I
am making you loan, sir. If a girl