The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-11-11


ed, as becomes Lawson. | have felt
what beautiful thing it was that we
two could marry and so prevent any
break up in the firm of Lawson & Fair
lie."
Il said as much to your grandpapa
when he wanted to forbid Ford Lenox
the house." grandmamma answered,
her eyes twinkling family Corinne
flushed the least bit
"Grandmamma, how could Mason
permit himself to grow up so short? A
scant five foot four! Think of promis-
ing in the sight of all the world to obey
the man you look down at by three
inchesv'
"There are worse lacks than height"
Grandmamma Lawson began. Corinne
shook her head impatiently. mot in.
my case" she said. ''Pve been SO
strenuous about it always, said SO
many times over and over the man |
married had to be taller than myself"
Don't decide offhand. Wait until
you have known Mason six months in
stead of six hours. You can't deny
that he has a fine face and is through
out gentleman"
ooh, he's splendid as far as he goesv
Corinne said. But, dear, dearl Fancy
going through life trying to keep step
with those short legs! Why couldn't
Mason be tall-as tall as Ford LenoxT'
Leave the question to settle itself
tomorrow-its time you were In bed
now" grandmamma said, kissing Co
rhine upon both cheeks. A wise wom-
an was grandmamma-toO wise to give
up at once a cherished plan or to
strengthen Corinne's whimsical opposi-
ton by reasoning against it. Corinne
had really heart full of romance for
all her pretense of practicability. She
would end by loving Mason all the bet
ter through feeling that to love him
she had sacrificed something
Upon day three months later
Grandmamma Lawson sadly owned
herself mistaken. Corinne had said
NO to Mason Fairlie's suit and so de-
cisively that young gentleman was go
ing back to his distant home the very
next day. Worse still, grandmamma
was pretty sure Corinne meanA to ac-
cept Ford Lenox as soon as poor Mason
was well out of the way. Lenox had
been at the house almost constantly of
late, running in at all hours, as one
assured of welco;e. He was staying
with his uncle, the rector.
The rectory stood in narrowish
grounds between the Lawson place,
which was wide and handsome, and
the Fairlie homestead, wider and still
handsomer. The rectory's ragged
shrubbery and unkempt grass made it
something of an eyesore to its neigh
bors, but respect for the rector for
babe any protest. The utmost that
could be done was metaphorically to
turn their backs to it by keeping win
dows looking out upon II shut and sit
ting upon porches which faced the 9th
er way.
Thus 1t happened that upon the night
after Mason's dismissal the rectory got
afre from top to bottom before any
body knew. Across the street there
were vacant woods. The shout of
chance passerby gave the alarm and
sent everybody within hearing scurry-
ing to the rescue, Ford Lenox and Co
rinne among the rest. They had been
together since twilight fell, sitting in
the garden seat In plain sight of grand
mamma and grandpapa, though al
most out of hearing. The old people
had sat hand in hand, now and then
signing little at sound of chance ex-
CARNATIONS or Corinne's laughter, sweet
and shrill-too shrill to come from a
perfectly quiet heart.
They found the rectory a pillar of
fire. 1t was an old house, almost the
oldest In town, and though its brick
walls were thick and stanch the
woodwork was dry enough to flash up
like finder. Every open window belch-
ed smoke-on the easterly side the
smoke was shot through with flame.
A light wind drove the flames back
ward from the west wing, though
smoke wreaths eddied well underneath
the gable, round about loaded fan
light
The masther! The mastherl He's
up therer' the housemaid cried, dart
ing at Lenox as he rushed through the
gate Lenox groaned. His uncle, he
knew, had made place In the attic
for his best beloved books. If, indeed,
the fire had found him there, he was
doomed beyond hope. The hall was full
of flame, the stairway burning 1t
would be madness to risk passing it ex-
cept In the face of certain death. The
window was narrow and thirty feet
above ground, with not ladder about
that would reach within ten feet Of the
SILL
"You-you will not let your uncle
burn! You must notr' Corinne cried.
"Be quick! See the smoke! He will
be dead before the engine comes"
u VIII save him-n possible" Lenox