Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-10-27
CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III,
The natural adjustments which time
brought about had little comfort for
John Olmstead's nephew. The one
disagrecable feature in the past which
he had not been able to put away was
his uncle's determination that he
should marry. Now the whole world
seeemd to have risen up to carry on
the argument.
1t was natural enough that social at
tention should be more drawn to him
than ever, and especially to be expected
that the trustees, Judge Russell and Dir.
Borden, knowing of the condition
hanging over him, should lose no OPP
portunity to present such of their
friends as might aid him to meet it..
Stanton failed to grasp the natural
philosophy of it. however. and simply
realized state of things that was i'll
tensely disagreeable. The fact that his
uncle, being dead, was yet speaking,
only held him the more firmly in in
stinctive resistance, and where John
Olmstead's arguments failed there was
little hope that the rest of the world
could succeed, The only result was
that Stanton shrank more and more
from society, and delved deeper and
more earnestly In his profession,
1t was an excellent thing for his
progress at the bar, aud he really began
to develop into what everyone had pre-
dicted-something of prodigy.
Straightway it began to be commonly
acknowledged that he was one of the
shrewdest cross-examiners in the state.
1t only tended, however, to make So
ciety more charitable with his eccen-
tricities and more relentlessly adoring.
A weak man would have yielded at
once; strong man never. Stanton was
neither. He had elements of strength,
but he was not strong.
| After five years of it he said to him
self: II believe that the only way to
make life worth living is to have a
wife to attend to the social side.
| There's no sense in social side, any,
way. What does it amount to? But
it is, and apparently it is something
that always will be. Il can't attend
| to it. But Pm always expected to, and
| evidently I've either to keep on making
excuses or making myself miserable,
all my life, or else to find q wife who
| will attend to it for me-"
Obviously he had not the faintest
conception of what the agony was all
| about, nor had his uncle's will any
thing whatever to do with his consid-
| erations. They were carried on upon
| lines Of pure and unadulterated in
stinct-just as young duck polles its
fat bill about in stupid search for
the delicious mud which it has never
seen nor heard of, except In the sweet
babble of some soft nursery clucking
over its pipped egg.
II wonder how the thing should be
brought about" Stanton muttered, as
he lay on the sofa in the library, smok-
ing and dreaming.
Even then the innocently stupid fell
low did not dream that he was doing
| precisely what everyone was bent on
having him do; if he had, he would
not have done it. In fact, he never
even fully realized how the thing was
done, 1t was SO quickly and easily ac-
complished when once he turned his
attention that way. But that was i'm
material. 1t was surely done. He I'M
questionably became engaged, and it
was great relief to him to know and
to have Others knew that so much prog
ress at least had been made towards
the relief from society which he sought.
The really strange thing about it
| was that it was a love-match. At least
the Lombards all said so, and every one
| admitted that they were the last peo-
pie in the world to be influenced by
any mans millions-which proved to
be the case, a little later.
The immediate effects of the engage
ment were not-in precise line with the
final results he sought, but he reasoned
with himself: II suppose it's fellows
duty to the lady he's to marry to go
with her into society, just as it's his
duty to stay with her at home after
they're married." so the poor, deluded
fellow honestly, earnestly and patient
ly plunged into n grand whirl of So
cial life at Miss Lombard's side, only
| longing to have the transition state
over with, that he might arrive at the
stage where he could be let alone. Z
Stanton had hardly adjusted himself
to this when another disagreeable fea-
ture presented itself, Young Lombard,
his future brother-in-law, was a client
of his whom he had always consid-
| cred an ideal business man; but it sud-
denly appeared that he was also an
ideal society man. It was simply a
side Of him with which Stanton had
never CHANGED to come in contact. He
| insisted upon putting him up at two
fashionable clubs.
I'm already a member of the pro-
fessional club over in the city," he
said. That has some point to it. But
what's the sense of social club?"
TITS good place to meet the fell
lows and kill an hour or two of an even
ing now and them" Lombard urged.
"But haven't time enough as it is,
without killing any," Stanton objected.
Still, he allowed himself to be put up.
There was really no help for it; it
occurred to him, too, that there was
acertain underlined duty which fellow
owed to the brother of lady he was
about to marry; and Lombard took it
upon himself to see that, after he was
once we'll inside, he was not allowed
to become dead letter.
"1t's astonishing what : difference 1t
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