The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-04

Copyright. 1898, by Clinton Ross.)
"a mans past will catch him sooner
or later
They had been five days over the sea.
the young man and the girl. He had
forgotten whether this were the Allan
tic or the sea that sweeps the shore of
Elysium. Now. on the fifth day. they
were on deck. and talking somewhat in
this way:
You must walk with me-" she called
from her chair.
It's delightful punishment
Thanks: 1 believe that's a compli-
ment"
Truths a compliment. eh?" he said,
smiling.
The best compliments, suppose, are
those that pretend TO be truths, but are
lies"
I am afraid this is getting rather too
fast for me-" he said. Wait until 1
think about it,
ITO carry out what you have begun.
you should say TO me, I can't think
about it. for 1 have to think about
you
rs it needful to say that?" he said.
looking down at the girl. How beau
tiful you are"
by the rules of conventional CONVEX
sation it was an utterly inane remark,
and the girls laughter rolled out, full
and delightful, but her voice was low.
I am glad you think So
A deeper red tinged his bronze cheeks
as he realized his temerity.
You know I do he said.
20, do you? This is the fifth day of
our acquaintance. Today We shall be
at Sandy Hook"
He drew a long breath. and his voice
was earnest. New York, and work, and
to see her no more.
Two elderly persons wrapped to their
ears were watching the two.
What a remarkable girl Nell VOL
Verton is2" one was saying.
She's certainly carrying on a re-
markable Irritation with that young
man. Who is he?" said the other with
the severity of position gained by eff
fort.
Some sort of engineer in the en-
ploy of the Winfield company. Mary
Winfield introduced him to Nell"
That girl would fiirt with anybody.
She seems to find all men infinitely
amusing Isn't she handsome? Now,
you would suppose she was somebody
or other But the Wolvertons-O, you
knowi" duoth the other lady.
Her mother was one Of the most
pushing women 1 ever knew" assented
her companion.
"Of the dead. nihil nisi bonum." said
the imposing one She was an eX-
traordinarily ambitious woman. With
pluck and ten millions, and a daughter
like that. an ambitious, clever woman
can do any thing in New York. The
Wolverton money is said to be indefi-
mite millions instead. And now they be-
long in Far Westchester. o, dear, how
many men have been after that girl!
There was the MARQUIS di Rodiri and
the little Duke of Sussex, and Freddy
Van Brule. and-she flirts and laughs
at 'em all. just as she does with that
young man."
Mary Winfield was watching the two
with much the same thoughts. This
poor young man didn't understand So
phisticated young women; it was
abominable of Nell Wolverton; she was
sorry she had introduced them: she
might have known that Nell would
play with any man as she would with
a cat or a dog. o, dear, this Melville
was so out of it: so busy and capable.
and such an efficient servant of the
Winfield company. But Nell was Nell,
and Mary ought to have known better.
If Nell were Nell, she was proving 1t
with a vengeance. She was making
Melville tell her of himself and she was
giving him nothing of herself in return.
L uey were SGdlGu AON, iOOh4HS OubU ~
the frothing white and green in the
ships wake. She was glancing at him
again and again with mild interested
eyes. He was forgetting himself. and
was telling how his father had left him
only money enough for school and coll
lege. which he had increased by some
tutoring; of how he had worked and
won a position in a machine shop of
the Winfield company; of how he had
nv cd a hnr mr.
thu head of his department,
and had been sent to London
on an important mission, and
A young man came lightly across the
deck. and bowed and exchanged some
remarks with Miss Wolverton, and
nodded at Melville with a ''who-the-
devil-are-you" air. and passed on after
a moment. Melville's condolences sud
denly chilled. This youngster repre-
scented what he never had known. The
girl by his side understood.
Don't mind BERTHE; he's just BERTHE"
80. you know" Melville began, I'm
so out of that set"
Its the Far Westchester set, you
mean," she said graciously. as if she
would imply politely that there were
many others which he doubtless fire.
uuented. The men are very stupid in
it. It's all very stupid. It's just sport
and gossip. For my part give me men
that do things"
II think" said the. young man max
-his-way, that I prefer other men
to do things, and leave 'em to me al
ready done. Now. my father"
He paused, wondering whether he had
better tell her, and then it seemed to
him, now that he remembered il, that
this put him on sort of equality with
Miss Wolverton, as though the inequal-
ity that stood between them was sud
denly swept away by the thoughts of
this story. But had he a right to tell
her? No, she wouldn't, couldn't know;
that was So long ago, and forgotten.
And your father? Go OIL am in
terested.'
HE might have had the things, the
money, to have put me in your friend
Bertie's position, if luck had been his
way, and if he hadn't been cheated
Il never can think of you as a man
like BERTHE" Miss Wolverton said de-
cisively. with that calm confidence in
her eyes; the eyes may have been
rather more expressive because this
was the last day of all. and he would
slip out of her life so soon. She was
fair to look upon, clever, accomplished.
charming; this fence of the sexes was
her delight; she could no more avoid
it than she could breathing. One unso-
phisticated young man failed to I'M
derstand her. Later, common sense was
to reach out from the grim. matter-of-
fact depths of his nature, and grasp his
sentimentality until it hurt him.
40. it's a little story of what might
have been years ago in Red Nugget
Gulch, California. My father was out
there after gold, like the rest, and he
foil in with a man with whom he made