The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1900-02-01

Il can't tell YOU"
You mean by that, of course, that
you won't"
always mean, Mr.. Longworth. ex-
actly what say. mean that i can't
tell you. l don't know myself"
"Really?"
"Yes, really. You seem to have some
difficulty in believing that anybody can
speak the truth"
swell, it isn't common vice-sneak-
ing the truth. You must forgive little
SURPRISE" He nursed his knee for 4
moment, and looked meditatively up at
the ceiling. "Now would you like to
know who furnished that money!" ~
II have no curiosity in the matter
whatever"
Have you not? Well, you are singu-
lar man. 1t seems to me that a person
into whose lap 100000 drops from the
skies would have some little curiosity
to know from whom the money camel
Il haven't the slightest
Nevertheless, l will tell YOU who
gave the money to Wentworth. 1t was
my dear friend Melville. didn't tel
you in New York, of course, that Me4-
vile and had a little quarrel about this
matter, and he went home decidedly
huffy. had no idea he would take this
method of revenge, but see it quite
clearly now. He knew had received
the option Of the mine. There was q
little trouble as to what each of our
respective shares was to be, and
thought, as had secured the option. 1
had the right to dictate terms. He
thought differently. He was going e
Won Brent to explain the whole matter.
but l pointed out that such course
would do no good, the option beng
legally made out in my name, so that
the moment your claim expired, mine
began. When this dawned upon him.
he took the steamer and went to Eng
land. Now l can see his hand in this
finish to the affair. 1t was a pretty
sharp trick of Melville's, and give him
credit for it. He is a very much
shrewder and cleverer man than
thought"
1T seems to me, Mr.. Longworth, that
your inordinate conceit makes YOU al
ways underestimate your friends, or
your enemies, either, for that matter"
There is something in that, Ken
yon; l think you are more than haf
right, but I thought, perhaps, could
make it advantageous to you to do me
favor in this matter. thought you
might have no objection to writing a
little document to the effect that the
money did not come in time, and con
sequently I had secured the mine
Then, If you would sign that, could
take it over to Melville and make terms
with him. Of course, if he knows that
he has the mine, there will not be
much chance of coming to any arrange
ment with him.
You can make no arrangements with
me, Mr.. Longworth, that involve a sac
rifice of the TRUTH
"Ah, well, suspected as much. butt
thought it was worth while to trv.
However, my dear sir, may make
terms with Melville yet, and then I
imagine you won't have much to do
with the mine''
Il shall not have anything to do
with it if you and Melville have share
in it. And if, as you suspect, Melville
has the mine, I consider you are in d
bad way. My opinion is that when
one rascal gets an advantage over an
other rascal, the other rascal will be.
as you say, left"
Longworth unused over this for a nc
ment and said: Eyes, fear YOU are
right-in fact, am certain of it. Well.
that is all I wanted to know. will bid
you good-by. shan't see you again in
Ottawa, as shall sail very shortly for
England. Have you any messages you
would like given to your friends ovec
&here?" ~
"None, thank you"
well, ia ta," and the young man
left John to his packing.
When that necessary operation was
concluded Kenyon sat down and
thought over what young Longworth
had told him. His triumph, after all,
had been shOrt-lived. The choice be-
tween the two scoundrels was so smaR
that he felt he didn't care which of
them owned the mine. Meditating upon
this disagreeable subject, he suddenly
remembered a request he had asked
Wentworth to make to the new owner
OF the mine. He wanted no favor from
Melville, so he wrote a second letter
contradicting the request made in the
hrst. and, after posting it, returned
to his hotel and went to bed, probably
the most tired man in the CITY OF Of
tawa. ~S'
s.> CHAPTER XVII,
This chapter consists largely of let
tiers. AS a general thing letters are ef
little concern to anyone except the
writer's and the receivers, but they are
inserted here under the hope that the
reader is already well enough acquaint
ed with the correspondents to feel some
interest in what they have written.
1t waS nearly a fOrfnirht after tho