The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-09-27
O0g IN Hy "A Fascinating
90 Romance
" CIV ~ Alan Adair.,

| He remembered the financial. crisis
only the next morning, when he saw
Hutchinson again. He told Dempster
Of his interview; but here he found
himself in a difficulty. 1t was difficult
to talk to his chief OF the man he mis-
trusted. and yet to know that he was
valuable to the firm and knew many Of
/ Its secrets. He could not tell Demp-
| ster that what he suspected was that
Hutchinson had secret dealings with
the government, and that he mostly
knew of events before they became
public property, rand SO could buy and
sell to greater advantage, using the
capital OF the firm for his own pur-
pose, for that was what Alan sus-.
pected.
Richard Dempster saw that the
young man was keeping something
back, although of course he could not
guess what it was.
4 Look here, Mackenzie" he said. II
don't want to force your confidence.
can see you have something on your
mind; but I can trust your fathers
son sufficiently to know that If it
ought to be brought to my notice you
would not hesitate to do So"
"The fact is, sir" said Alan, "that I
have as yet nothing tangible to lay be-
fore you; but that, not having any
proof at all, it is rather difficult to
come to you and to say, DO you trust
this man or that man."
Quite right" said Dempster And
then they began talking of something
else. and had good long consulta-
ton on the present state Of affairs. 1t
was only when he was leaving that
his chief said to him: by the way,
did you have any difficulty in finding
Hutchinson's little cottage. He tells
me that it is some way out; he pre-
fers the country"
i Alan looked at Dempster to see if
he were speaking jestingly; but no,
his words were evidently uttered in
perfect good faith. He believed in
Hutchinson's cottage. 81 had no diff
ficulty, sir" he replied. "Any one could
tell you it is not cottage, but fine,
large place."
Oh said Dempster, laughing.
then that is Hutchinson's nodesty,
Is 1T? must chaff him about 1t"
i Il hope you won't, sir" said Alan
4 quickly. Please say nothing about
/ it!'
Dempster looked at the young man
curiously. II will say nothing if you
do not wish it; but 1 own that your
manner makes me, strangely uneasy"
Il want it to do that" said Alan,
and left him.
Matters, however, grew very dis
turbed, and Dempster had reason to
believe that the government was very
unstable. Alan Mackenzie was sent
backwards and forwards to La Paz. It
a began to be very exciting, for every
day he seemed to see more clearly
that Hutchinson was playing double
game. He had Dempster's conf
dence. Alan knew that, among other
things the firm was importing, there
4 were firearms, and he felt almost sure
that Hutchinson was in league with
some malcontents, and that these
arms were meant for them Life
grew very interesting, and every day
seemed big with chances; and every
evening that he made his way to La
Paz he found Veronica awaiting him.
First of all she came to warn him,
then she came because she feared him,
Z and lastly she came because she loved
him. And he-he felt that he loved
her, too. 1t was not the same tender,
all-enduring affection that he would
have given to an English girl, not the
love that desires nothing except to be
loved in the same absorbing way; but
it was more the tender, protective love
that man gives to one weaker than
himself. Veronica was not his equal
in mental power he knew.
She had had very little education.
and could hardly do more than read
and write. She sang in sweet, full
voice without any art, because sing
ing came natural to her, and she play
ed guitar by ear; but she had no ac-
complishments nor any learning.
She was pure, innocent, beautiful
child, who wanted to be loved and
cherished. Her father had been cruel
to her, and she feared him. Alan had
been good to her, and she loved him
passionately, and would have gone
through fire and water to serve him.
And SO weeks went by, and at last
there came a day when the proofs of
Hutchinson's double dealing were in
Alan's hands. He must go with them
to Dempster or the ruin of the firm
q might ensue. II by any chance the
existing government learned that the
respected English firm was providing
the insurgents with firearms there
would be an end to the house that
Richard Dempster had built up with
SO much care.
But then there was Veronica. Alan
knew that she must participate in her
fathers ruin. The thought of the
! poor, gentle girl, made to suffer by her
father, without soul to help her, was
too much for the young man. He
loved her quite sufficiently to want to
shield her from any harm. There was
only one thing to do: He must tell
Dempster Of Hutchinson's treachery,
and be must persuade Veronica to be-
q come his wife secretly. 1t must be
a secretly, for no one knew either Of
w.. n -