El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-08-18
[Continued from last Saturday.
She bowed ner race graveIy.

She bowed Ker race gravely-
"And so,'' he said bitterly, LATTER all
that I have gone through and all I've
done, you want me to give this fortune
up. My God, Elsie, you know what a
hateful thing poverty is as we'll as do!
Think what this money would buyl Love
for one another we have already, and we
can get besides every pleasure the heart
can wish for 1 know as well as you do
that it was dirtily earned, and hated the
work Of getting it, and I'll never dabble in
anything SO foul again. My instincts bid
me live as an upright gentleman, and
with the income I'd do that and forget l
was ever anything else. When 1 cease to be
poor, cease to be in the way of tempta-
ton. Don't you see? And, besides, there
is no chance of being found out. The
money is supposed to be blotted ont of ex-
istence, and it's there now in the Glades
as a private mine to dig at as we choose.
Besides I'm bound in honor to go on aft
er getting thus far. 1t isn't as if I were
working for my own hand alone. Shelf's
my partner, and can't neglect his inter
eSts for sentiment.
''Mr. Shelf may do as he chooses, Pat.
You yourself may do as you choose, dear,
but 1 can't alter what I've said. 1 love
money, heaven knows, but 1 couldn't use
money of that sort. You might forget
how it came. 1 couldn't. / can't forget
some things. I've u terrible memory when
1 don't want it to act 1 tried to forget
you, Pat, ever since you left us in Eng
land till the day 1 saw you here, but 1
couldn't 1 used to pray for forgetfulness
all those years. and it wouldn't come, and
if 1 were to marry you now, dear, with
that money, 1 should always remember,
just in the same way
..What is the use of carrying thumb
screws in your pocket?' he asked half an
grily.
She smiled a little panied smile. Cant
help it, Pat. 1 suppose it's the way I'm
built. But I'm only telling you facts
Il thought, he said brusquely, you
wanted to go back into society and have
q steam yacht and do things comfortably
Now, without this quarter of a million,
which is lying ready to be picked up, you
have e20O a year, and have $500, which
makes $500 in all. Now, I might point
out to you that one can't do much contin-
nous splashing among smart people on
that. in London or anywhere else, I'M
less, of course, you married some one
else
She flushed painfully. "Oh, Patti" she
said, Il don't think 1 deserved that from
you"
He dropped his arms round her and
drew her to him tenderly. No, dear, you
didn't was a brute. But it's hard for
a man to speak soberly when he's just
had all his plans smashed to the smallest
kind of fragments and stamped upon by
the only person in the world whose opin-
ion be cares a rap about. OF course 1
know all this business was theft, piece
of piracy pure and simple. But circum
stances elbowed me into it, and L bowed
my head to them. Circumstances-you
that is, and you entirely-now drag me
out of it, and L IN going to bow again and
say 'kismet.' Only / wonder what will
become of the money. / swear Shelf
shan't have the whole half million and
the steamer too. But 1 don't see how we
are to give my share back to the rightful
owners. One can't very well draw
check the Everglades and send it to
them anonymously by post