The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-15
BOOK Nv.
Love Will Have Its Way.
CHAPTER XIX.

CHAPTER XIX.
The Play, the Stake. and the Players
Meanwhile, what of the Countess Anne
ana Captain Grafton? They had passed
through week of such mingled emotions
Snch tons of Joy and sorrow, of
love and jealousy. of remcmbrances and
anticipation, as could scarcely be de-
scribed
When the woman he loved left him alone
the night he recognized her. after that
rapturous exchange Of kisses. Grafton felt
himself transported to heaven. He forgot
IN the happiness consequent upon his dis
covery of her identity, the racial antago-
nisms which should lie between them; he
forgot the great gulf Of war which held
them asunder; he even forgot the engage
ment of Anne to dc Wire. But the next
morning, when the first glow of his pas
sion had left him. he was enabled to view
things in clearer light.
He carefully took account OF the differ
ent obstacles which separated, or might
tend to separate, him from the woman he
loved. He intended to win her. come
what might, and as the campaign was
an ,5A''y wb,c To prove a. difficult one,
AL ao w., "h'Gn the odds were mainly
against him. it behooved him to take
stock of all opposition and carefully look
over the field. He must think, he must
Qlan' he must leave no stone unturned
lose no point In the game.
FIRST OF all he was an American and
mat was different from being an English
man. Anne. although she showed little of
1t to a casual inspection, was an Ameri-
can as we'll. That was point gained
me war. he believed, would presently be
over. lhat was another point in his
FAVOR. If she loved him--if she loved him.
Who could doubt it after last night? IN
deed. God had created them for each
other. Rnt ho HI,
brave the anger and defy the opposition
Of her grandfather? Did she love him
enough to marry him in despite Of coun-
try. nationality, public opinion? He
thought 80.
She had great pride of race. and from
the french point of view she would be
condescending ineffably in marrying a
mere commoner. For the matter Of that
ne thought. in his loving humility that
no man was fit to possess this priceless
jewel Of womanhood. He placed her upon
level so high that she would have been
compelled to condescend to marry even a
King. much less a simple American gen
1leman. Marriage with him meant for
her the remuneration of title, rank. sta
ton, possessions country. family, friends
traditions-he piled up the catalogue of
sacrifices involved, in gloomy. ever-deep-
ening humility. Still, other women had
done such things; these were not in .
superable obstacles.
The last difficulty was the grea test
There was de Vitre--a stumbling block
indeed. No man could have done more
for another than he had done for the
young Frenchman.- He had twice ga we'd
his life. he had established his honour
and. by singular ironic trick Of fate. he
feared he had been the means of bestow-
ing upon him the hand Of the woman they
both loved.
His own sense Of the obligation he had
r0nfarrad fnnf L.,
heavily upon his soul. He could not de-
mand from him freely or even take from
him by force what he would have wrested
cheerfully from another A benefit con :
ferred. however it may be considered by
the recipient as a benefit forgot, nvari-
ably establishes a sense Of obligation on
him who confers it. Therefore, de Wire
was an obstacle Of the most serious mo-
ment to the future progress of his hap
piness. How to- contend with him he
knew not. Certainly he could not make
the REIMBURSEMENT Of the Frenchman's
desire for Anne the price, or the reward.
Of his own past services. A genuine man.
he could not even bear to have these
services mentioned: and that they so per-
sistently remained in his thoughts gave
him honorable uneasiness. A very ex-
allied and chivalric nature had Philip
Grafton. He was particularly nice on the
point Of honor.
That was not all either. for connected
with de Vitre was the honor of the de
Rohans Anne. in the most public man
ner and Of her own free will. had be-
trothed herself to the young Frenchman.
She had voluntarily entered upon the
relationship and assumed the obliga l.
ton Her sense Of honor was not
less keen than his. She was a WON
an, he remembered. imbued with all the
traditions Of that race whose proud boast
1t was that while they had not been born
~ L inSY1I- Il t1,1,-
condescend to the princey rank. vet they
were Ruhans. Was Anne capable o:
sacrificing her word for her love: It was
doubtful.
The last consideration that arose in his
mind was an acute conjecture that the
marquis would not be much better salts
fed with de Wire for a sutton for hi.
grand daughter than he would have beer
with Grafton. The old man proba bly, IVA Y
certainly. had formed his own plans. an(
there was without doubt third sutton
OF his personal choosing awaiting Anne ,r
France. This meant much. If Ora flor
could succeed III tching the MARQUIS
determination against Anne's will power
between de Wire and the other, he might
the more easily achieve success.
He realized all these things. weighed
them carefully, considered them exhaus
lively. and racked his brain in an endea va,
to solve the problem. His resolute deter
mination was undated. That his love
FOR her, and her feeling for him were
the three things he counted upon to on
able him to have his way and win her fo1
his own He was no longer q boy: he
did not approach the problem lightly anc
care1essy, but with a deliberat e cal,nnes!
which outwardly belied his passion FL
was a man thoughtful by nature ant
strengthened in character by the respon
sibilities of his position as the captain O
q ship, and he deliberately determined t.