The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-07-03

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They found Mr. gilbert lying on the
floor unconscious
On the other, and for a moment there
was wild fear in Dorothy's heart that
her father had in some way killed him
self. His business failure had been
the great humiliation of his life.
Kirk put her mind at rest.
"He has had shock or stroke of
some kind" He lifted the body up,
placed it on the lounge and instantly
ran out of the house for the doctor who
lived only few doors away.
When he came, he pronounced the
case serious. but gave Dorothy hope.
Malcom Kirk came back, but in the
excitement he could do nothing but
express his sympathy and finally go
back to his room after the presidents
wife and some others had come in to
stay with Dorothy for the night.
Mr.. Gilbert had been a typical New
England business man Of the old
school When his failure came and
he had begun to recover from the first
effect of the blow, he had no thought
of any other course but to pay dollar
for dollar of his honest Indebtedness.
To do it meant the loss Of his beautiful
home in Hermon. Dorothy felt as he
did about it. He had no fears on her
score. The integrity and irmness Of
such a moral course were never in
question with either of them. So he
had come back from where he had
been staying with his sister, and the
night Kirk called he was busy in his
library arranging the business Of the
Hermon property, going over all the
details Of his recent loss and making
what provision he could for the fu-
ture. He was nearly 55, still, as he
supposed, in the prime of life, and he
manfully determined to begin all over
again. He could leave Dorothy with
her aunt, who was alone much Of the
time and needed her at present, and
| himself struggle into place again with
honor untarnished and the good name
of the firm free from commercial stain.
| So the honest, sturdy publisher
| thought as he sat at his desk with his
| papers before him. Then suddenly,
| just little after Dorothy had ceased
to play, he felt a new and awful pain
seize him, he reeled in his chair, vain
ly tried to call out for help and sank
unconscious to the floor.
The next few days were days of
great anxiety to Malcom Kirk. He
could see the doctors carriage before
the Gilbert house every morning. One
morning he saw the doctor go up the
steps with another man who entered
with him. The doctors carriage re-
mained in, front of the house that day
until noon. In the afternoon Kirk call
ed to inquire, and the servant came out
at the back porch and told him Mr.. Gil
bert had been sinking rapidly. cele-
brated physician from Boston had beer
in consultation, and he said there was
little hope.
Kirk passed an almost sleepless
night, and next morning as be looked
across the campus he knew that the
| woman he loved best was alone with
her grief He could see the wreath OF
flowers on the door, and it told him al
once that John Gilbert had passed on
never more to be vexed with the strug
gle of the life that now is on the
earth.
The week following was one of the
most trying that Malcom Kirk evel
knew. The funeral of John Gilber
was held in the seminary chapel ant
attended by the professors and towns
people generally. Dorothy's aunt was
with her. Kirk had no opportunity tt
see Dorothy and be to her the comfor
he longed to be. 1t was agony to hin
after the funeral was over to thinl
that there across the campus in th'
great house was the woman he love(
passing through great sorrow, and h'
had no right to go to her and shar
that sorrow with her. He felt as If b.
| could not break in on her grief to speal
even of his love. So the days passe,
restlessly for him, and he tried to worl
on his report, but made very little rea
progress He laid the miniature OF
his table and tried to write with tn
face looking up at him, but he mad
no progress at all then, and the clos
of the week found him walking hi
room in great uncertainty of heart an
mind.
On Monday the week following b
was obliged to go down to Boston t
consult some authorities in Settlemen
work, and when he came back tn
next day the Gilbert house was CLOSED
and Dorothy and her aunt had gone t
Beverly.
1t was the very next day that Kir
saw in a Boston paper the name O
Francis Raleigh, arrived a few day
, before from Liverpool on the Cepha
lonia. Looking over the columns
little farther down, he saw in the Il
cal news from Beverly this statement
. 'Mr. Francis Raleigh, the Hermo