The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-21

months before this story opens that the old
man plainly told his nephew that he had
decided to make him his heir.
Whether he had made a will to that effect,
or was on the point of doing so, he did not
say.
In such matters it was his custom to con-
f1de solely in John Iago, his faithful coun-
sellor and friend-hs contemporary likewise,
for oddly enough, the two men, squire and
solicitor, were born on the same day, and
christened on the same day, and had both a
tendency, one to heart disease, the other to
apoplexy, which the doctors in both cases
had declared likely to bring life to an alb
rupt and sudden close.
DR.. Sherwood, born and bred in Appledore,
as were the squire and the solicitor, on
that very intimate footing with both which
would justify us in saying he was the friend
of each.
Dr. Sherwood like the solicitor, was a
whoever, and, like him, though not rich
man, was decidedly we'll off.
His only child, Amy, was universally al
lowed to be the prettiest girl in the neigh
borhood.
Her lovely face, with its exquisite pink
and-white complexion framed in with a
wealth of golden brown hair, and the large,
darkly-fringed eyes of lobelia-blue, and rose
red lips, had already brought the two best
parts the place afforded to her dainty feet,
each of whom was 1nadly in love with her,
and furously jealous of his rival, and these
two were Captain Irevlyn, heir presumptiye
to APpledoreF Court, and Mat Iago the solicit
tors son.
AS the latter:turned out of the High Street,
into; the lane leading past the doctors house
"a picturesque old house, standing back from
the road, in a large garden full Of beech
trees through the leafy branches of which
the red :creeper-covered walls were, in sum-
mer time, only just visible-the young mans
thoughts were wholly coupled with the beau
tifu! girl whose home was here, and whom
he loved with the passionate pertinacity and
jealous selfishness peculiar to such charac-
tiers as his.
81 love her." he said to himself Life to
me is worth nothing without her. She will
marry the man who wins her heart, and that
man is either Trevlyn myself. Which does
she prefer? Sometimes I fancy I the
fortunate one and then, when l see her with
Trevlyn, it seems to. me her sweet face lights
up at his approach. 1t is more than possible
he may win her. but, if he does, he will pay
dearly for his triumph
The garden of DR.. Sherwoods house was
enclosed by a high thick hedge, and in this
was a gap, through which one could see into
the shrubbery, and, by standing close to it,
obtain a glimpse of corner of the lawn
where a group of fine copper beeches cast a
broad pleasant shadow over the grass.
Outside that gap, on this particular after
noon, Mat Iago came to standstiI, his quick
eye having been attracted, he passed, by
the sight of two figures, those of a young
man and young girl who were standing
at the end of the shrubbery path just outside
a summer house, with their backs turned to
the road.
The girl was looking up into her compan-
ions face, listening to what he was saying,
and now and again. answering.
The sound of their voices reached Mat Iago
as he stood by the gap in the hedge; but,
though the summer air clear and still,
he was too far off to be able to catch a single
word of what was evidently a very earnest
conversation.
He ground his heel into the grass then
glanced swiftly and searchingly up and down
the road, and into the garden.
Not a soul was in sight.
The servants of the house-the doctor kept
three-were indoors.
AS for the doctor Himself, Mat had met him
as he came along the High Street, driving
away from the town in an opposite direction,
so that the young man knew there no
fear of his returning for some time yet
The two figures that mad attracted his at
tention had, meanwhile, gone nearer to the
summer house, the opening to which was on
the opposite side, and in all probability were
continuing their conversation there.
eff only [ could h1ar what they say
ing" he muttered; 81 should possibly save
myself the needless humiliation of REFUSAL -
Familiar as he was with the garden-for,
owing to the fact of his father being the
doctors oldest friend, he had for years had
the run of the realized that it would be
an easy matter to approach the summer