Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-08-01
A WILL AND A WAY.
BY WRIGHT A. PATTERSON.

ID EFORE you talk TO me about
ID marrying my daughter, young
man. develop some of the prospects
you talk about. Prospects are well
enough in their way, but undeyeloped
ones will never keep family"
But, sir, your daughter loves me,
and can you not give me some more
definite answer 10 my suit; something
IN which can place more hope of a
final contamination Of our wishes?"
NO. Again l say, develop the pros
poets of which you talk so glibly before
you talk To me of marriage with my
daughter. In the future, until they are
developed, | must inform you that my
house viii be closed to you"
rs that"
Nothing more. have no time for
this kind Of nonsense. If the girl loves
you, it viii not hurt her to wait until
your so-called prospects are in better
condition than they are at present.
Good day"
The conversation had taken place in
the elegant private office of a wealthy
banker. Edward Chalmers, the sutton
for the hand Of Banker Noyes' daugh-
ter, had been known to the wealthy
man since boyhood He had gone to
school with the bankers daughter,
Margie, until the girl had reached the
age where her father thought the pub
lie schools beneath the dignity of his
house. The two children had loved
each other ever since the days when
they made mud pies together or dug
holes in the sand along the shore OF
the lake. When she had reached a
coming OUT age she had gone into
society-a society which he could not
enter, but through it al she remained
true to the promise made in her girl.
hood days-thut Edward and Edward
only would she marry.
Edward Chalmers left the public
schools al is. The first work that he
had found was as a clerk in a railroad
office. but the labor was uncongenial,
and he failed to advance in il after two
years of trial. His ambition was a
place on the staff of daily newspaper.
He knew one or two young reporters,
and the life they led appealed to his
fancy. But il was not until he had
passed % that he was offered an OPP
portunity to realize his ambition. lie
was given a chance as a space writer"
or emergency reporter" on one of the
city dailies. From a financial stand
point il was not much of a situation,
but when the eight dollars that he
earned the first week was increased TO
ten the second, and twelve the third,
he felt that his rising prospects war
ranted his speaking TO Margie's IA
Their.
But Margie's father knew more of
the newspaper business than did the
young sutton for The girls hand in
marriage. He had at one time been
appointed receiver for a bankrupt
newspaper, and had Investigated the
pay rolls to some extent at that time.
In his estimation the newspaper man
made. at the best, but a precarious
living, and then, too, he had other
plans for his daughter besides seeing
her married to a beggarly newspaper
reporter who could give her neither
fame nor fortune. And so it came
about that the young man was uncere-
moniously dismissed.
Extra paper, here All bout the
big bank failure!"
The cry went from one end Of the
great city TO the other as rapidly as
enterprising newsboys could travel.
The news the extra contained Travelled
even faster than the newsboys. Tele-
phone and telegraph lines were
brought into use to transmit the mes
sage to interested parties that the
banking house of Moves & Co. had
failed to open its doors. People
poured out of the homes, stores and
factories. and gathered about the bank
building. They were depositors; men
and women whose savings had been
carried there TO be saved for them;
men and women whose greatest inter
est in life seemed now to be locked be-
hind those closed doors. Rapidly the
crowd grew until there were hundreds
of people standing in the cold about
the great building. Rumor followed
rumor through the crowd. The heavy
doors opened and a boy came out. lie
was but a young clerk, and could have
known but little of the affairs of the
bank. He said nothing as he pushed
his way through the mass OF despond-
ent humanity. The failure OF the
hank meant loss of employment to
him. and the gloom on his face was
transferred to every other face in all
the great struggling crowd.
They say it's a bad 'un, said one
man TO a little woman beside him.
Don't suppose we will ever git any
thing"
In the announcement of the failure
in the late afternoon papers was the
statement that the bankrupt banker
would say nothing for publication
There was not an afternoon paper IN
the CITY that contained line from
him.
The morning dailies, attempting to