The St. Johns herald., 1898-04-30

A her fault that she irretrievably in
 jured her social standing before she
 had been at Horizon Ferry two hours
 Grace Wright was an actress who had
 entered the theatrical profession as a
 chorus girl. She had now reached the
 rank of an ingenue in one of the popu.
 lar theaters.
 Everybody at Horizon Ferry goes tC
 the landing to inquire for mail and tC see what manner of people are going
 up the lake. The morning and evening
 steamer arrivals are the two incidents
 of the day, and John Treadwell was as
 curious as the rest of the little colony
 which dwelt on the point of land which
 juts out into the upper lake. He was
 holding 6 faring red parasol over the
 head of his richest aunt, when he saw
 Grace Wright hastening over the gang
 plank. Before he could beat a retreat
 the girl had nodded to him, and he was
 compelled to acknowledge her saIuta-
 ton with a perfunctOry dip of his hat.
 The next moment the girl had given
 her baggage to porter, thereby pro- claiming her intention of becoming a guest of Horizon Ferry's one hotel.
 Il did not know" said Miss Jemimah
 Pettingill, sister of John Treadwelrs mother recently deceased, that you had any acquaintances among the ho
 tel people,
 Well" replied the young man, uer- vously twisting his mustache, "a fellow who is reporter on a New York ncwS- paper, as am, is bound to meet few persons who are not eligible to the harn- let set at Horizon Ferry"
 Il trust, nephew" said Miss Pettia- gill that you will remember that 1t ls decidedly improper to mlngle your bus mess and social acquaintances. Sine is rather handsome, too. Has her meth CT with her. Evidently makes some pretense to responsibility"
 Aunt Jeremiah" said the young man, "the young woman Is a member Of MT. PaysOn's company. She Is girl of sterling character She has been on the stage almost from childhood"
 From that day John Treadwell had no peace of mind at Lake George. He was at Horlcon landing principally be- cause his aunt had told him to come. and incidentally because the family of his iancee, Agnes Shelton, had a cot tage there. He thought rather guiltily of the evenings wEen he had called on Grace Wright, and of the talks they had had upon literature and the uplif.- Ing of the stage from its present sor- rowful plight. They had read the same book, and had spent many an afternoon at the picture galleries. That was in the days when he was struggling for bare existence upon a paper whose principal stock in trade consisted of n!ggardly pay to its reporters. He was glad in those days when the weekly payday arrived, and brought with it the blessed assurance that he might have breast of veal, with green peas. for at least one dinner of the week
 Then somebody discovered that ha could write, and he found himself unon q paper who;e his weekly space bills ran above the three figure mark. ana he was hailed by that proudest of Park Row titles, "a good man." Then te fell Into the good graces of his aunt Jeml- nah. That meant receptions and af- ternoon teas, and an introduction imo one of the smart" sets of New York. That is how he met Agnes Shelton. She thought that his life was "so inter- esting," and so fascinating," and ne. who had almost forgotten the days when he was a drudge and a pack horse, never told her anything to the contrary. She had money enough for two. He saw his opportunity and availed himself of 1t. They were en- gagged.
 Grace Wright saw him once or twice after his rise in fortune. It was very easy for him to tell her that he could find no time to call upon her, for men who are under the beck and call of city editor have little time that they may call ,Ieir own. She saw him for the first time in months at the landing at Horicon Ferry.
 The principal occupation of the so- 1 called society" element at Horizon Landing consisted in making life unen- l durable to the majority of those who l came there. There were three distinct estates-the hotel set, the Justin set and the Hamlet set. Anybody who had ] either owned or rented a cottage for three years In succession was entitled to the rank "Hamleteer." He had the right to snug anybody who came within sight of the little cluster of cot tages at the end of the point. There was also an overgrown country farm house, not far from the Hamlet. kept by the venerable Mrs. Justin. A few. and only a few, of those who stopned at JuStin's were recognized by the Hamleteers. Those who stopped at the hotel were considered beneath social They belonged to a class that never came to Horizon Ferry for more than one year.
 After the strictest sect of Hamleteers was Miss Jemimah Pettingill a cot tager. It was her pride that in all the ten years she had been coming to Lake George no hotel guest had ever dark aned her threshold. By right of senior fly, she was the social law giver of Hor- con Ferry, and Grace Wright had not been at the hotel more than three days before she was obliged to assert her One of the Hamleteers, who lad once seen the young woman In a