The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-08-01

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u ond Adonis,'
the ladfes pbnt to call him.
What a#s1l pity that Tom Row
en- has ha 5RoneE," they said to them
selves, Ith 9most pathetic empha-
sis. IfiH face and his manners are
H. to flirt with me-" he said.
with aSH of self-disdain, but they
know bef than to say Yes to me-"
To an 0bserver her eyes seemed
restiDgfon his now, but he knew they
were only Idly glancing.
t'Do you1Value the trinket so highly"
Rowen had just asked.
The trinket:" she exclaimed indig-
nantlys II do not call it trinket. 1t
is a most precious relic; it has been in
the family almost 200 years. would
give anything TO have the bracelet
back again-anything"
Let US be practical. What would
YOU bestow upon the man who will re-
store your bracelet to you?'
Notwithstanding" cried Miss
Kent, attnt upright, her eyes spark
lingS sYou have no idea how much I
btacelet. Besides my affec-
don pr it, do you know there is le-
;gend hosnected with it, to the effect
that 50 long as it is kept in the family
good luck will never desert the Kents"
But the reward?" quietly persisted
the Young man.
fyra Kent iaughed-the sweet, sim
'cere laugh which Rowen had come to
kn0W so well, and which was so differ
sent From that of most girls of fashion.
There is little l would not give"
she said, half in earnest. Il believe l
WaflfiES my hand if the man did me
thE Ehon@ to want it,
Tom Rowen rose to his feet. Though
his eyes glowed peculiarly, though his
face was pale, he yet commanded his
Hoice.iso as to say. mockinSly:
sfsOf course, Miss Kent YOU are safe
8kpugh I'M adding that last clause to
y0Hr effers of reward. You know the
bracket Is, gone irrecoverably. You
lost It on the highway more than a
week ago; you have yourself looked
over eTery foot of the road. Some
tramp has found it: it is probably in
some !obscure pawnbroker's shop by
this time"
He added a few more words on some
other subject, and then he sauntered
slowly away down one of the walks
of the garden and disappeared among
the trees.
AS soon as he was out of sight his
whole appearance changed. He looked
alert aud alive. He stood still a mo-
mpn1. glancing about him.
1T is all folly, know, but I am
going to try to find the bracelet for her.
l should like to do that. or course l
cannot ask her to be my wife; she is
the last person under the sun to be a
poor mans wife. Her father would
disinherit her and how am going to
get her the fol-de-rols which are neces-
sary to her existence"
While he walked he was looking
among the dust covered golden rod
and grasses along the roadside. He
went on thus for half mile. then he
reached turn. and retraced his steps
on the other side of the way. He
gave up the next three hours to Il thor
ough examination of the space Of road
where the bracelet had been lost.
Like all people who are looking for
some lost article, it seemed to him
that underneath every shrub, secreted
behind every stone, he should find the
treasure. There is a wonderful fasci-
nation il such Il search.
Ii was not until dusk that Rowen
gave it up for that day. and returned
to the hotel in the village where he
was staying.
For the next two days he was en-
Gagged in the same way, and he did not
see Miss Kent. who wondered ut his
absence.
But why should she remember him?
Was not rich young Townsend, who
was said to be dying for her." really
at her call? And were there not pic
MICS and parties and excursions in
which Myra Kent was the principal
figure?
Rowen. asked himself if the girl
knew that she had not seen him.. II
WIS in vain that he scoffod at himself.
for every hour in the day he must own
that he loved hcr-that the thought
that he must live his life without her
was SO unbearable to him that he
fought against it.
On the fourth day from that on
which the conversation on the balcony
had been held. Rowen said that he
would give this one day to the search,
and, if the bauble was not found, he
would summarily cut short the fasci'
nation which bound him-he would
take the evening train to London.
Il think | AIN losing my senses,
he said, as he Strolled down the road
his eyes fixed OH the ground, his ciSal