Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1901-11-14
CHAPTER |.

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adventures on my own account; for
now can you make regulation hero
out OF fellow only five feet four in his
stockings, with hair which rude people
call sandy, short nose (some people
call 1t pug nose, but that deny), and
skin all overfreckles. The thing couldn't
be done, that's clear So it Is not in
the character of her that | pose in the
relation of the strange events which
have befallen me during the last two
years.
| But somebody does come out in the
story as a bit of hero; and II only for
the sake of recording an uncommon in
stance of some fine qualities in this
person, | think the story is worth the
telling
| had always ben a wealthy, miserable
specimen OF humanity catching meas
els and whooping cough and Group and
things whenever they were to be caught
as child. and following UP this record
as young man by breaking down I'M
DER the least strain, whether of work
or amusement.
| AS my father, Sir Edward Blair.
whose only son | am, was a rich man,
| perhaps | need not say which sort of
strain it was oftenest broke down un-
| derl
| had left Oxford and had been loaf
ing about between town and my fathers
place in Yorkshire for couple of years,
when my health gave way so complete
| ly that | was ordered sea voyage.
60 4,
er had conceived the idea that a cruise
on one of the big advertising pleasure
| yachts was only long orgie. On his
| own yacht | refused to go, as he always
shipped with him company of fossil
friends, contemporaries of his own boy
hood, who sat around me and talked to
me and talked at me and made things
uncomfortable for me all the time.
| So my passage was booked on one of
the Castle" liners for voyage to the
Cape which was, was assured, to set
me up and bring me back to England a
picture of health and manly beauty,
| There were not many saloon passen-
gers on board. hut among the few there
| were, soon found, two liked the looks
| of.
| The one was brisk and active man
of about 60 years of age. with white hair
and a well-trimmed white beard and
moustache; his merry blue eyes and
| fresh-colored. kindly face at once took
my fancy Something about the cut of
the man made me prepared to learn
that he was a doctor: and perhaps |
| was helped to this conclusion by the ex
cee0ing interest my own sickly appear
ance evidently aroused in him.
| His name was Dr. Mullion.
| The other person | liked the look of
was. of course. a girl
She was jolly girl and no mistake
And as pretty as a picture. I'm not a
very good hand at description, especial
| ly of girls. When you like a girl or
admire her. or whatever you call il, she
seems somehow to get into your head
and make you see her through a special
sort of glass that takes away from
what's wrong and adds to what's right
in her, till she seems to you quite diff
! ferent sort of person from what she
seems to everybody else.
| But Jennie Atkinson was a beauty.
and it was not only who thought SO.
| for all the men on board were mad
about her If | were to take Ter TO
her ewes and nose and mouth, ar1 tell
| what colors a painter would have used
| in representing her hair and complex
| ion | shouldn't be a bit nearer to the
real description of her as she was. But
she had one of those faces that the
word lovely" seems made for, and
there's an end of it, And as she WASH I
tall and she wasn't short. and she
wasn't stout and she wasn't thin, nor
! very fair nor yet very dark. az shall
say is that her eyes were just the
prettiest / ever saw, and that they,
sometimes looked blue and sometimes
| looked gray, and that she vas as lively
and amiable as she was good-louking.
fell over head and ears in love with
her at once, and | went out of my way
to be particularly civil To her father, a
balheaded stock-broker OF the most
unattractiye type.
But the men on board couldn't have
made more fuss with him if he had
been the Prince of Wales.
Not that ought 10 sneer at the old
/ boy. For he singled me out for his par
| ticular favor. and did his best 10 en-
courage his daughter TO look upon me
| as kindly as he did himself. | hope /
am not doing the old gentleman in
Justice in supposing that the fact of my
being the only son of man OF money
and position had good deal to do with
| this.
But pretty Miss Jennie. like all beau
ties had views Of her own, and she
would have none of me.
Now. if she had preferred to me any
one OF the half dozen awfnlly nice
Young fellows there were on board am
quite sure | should have been man
enough to take her rebnffs easily. But
she chose TO bestow her unmistakable
| favor upon the very nan OF all those on
| board 10 whom had taken an immedi-
! ate and intense dislike. This was
/ fellow named Dick Mullion. nephew
Of the good doctors. and one OF I've
most forbidding looking chaps ! have
| ever seen
| He was big. broad hnlking fellow
| some six feet high with dark com
pIexion. thick wiry black hair and
| heavy black moustAhe. and black eyes
/ which silly woman would. | suppose,