Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1904-02-05

full. Stella Dysart scarcely came up
to her shoulder, being as petite and as
pretty as Dresden shepher6ess.
The four young people had known
one another from childhood, when
they romped together in tie woods OF
Denecroft or roamed over the daisy
meadows of Gatewood, the Churchill
I-operty. AS boys the two Dysarts
WED with each other as to who should
be Marcia's champion, and with char
acteristic feminine impartia1ity she
sEoWered her favors upon each in turn
Now it was Arthur's week, and again
Richard would be her knight.
The rivalry continued, more quietly
but fully as intense, after the brothers
came back from Cambridge, but both
of them feared to put the question of
precedence to the test. Marcia went
through two seasons scathless and ap-
parently heart-free, so perhaps her
mind was made up after all.
If Arthur Dysart had the advantage
of the heirship on his side and of
nearness to the Churchill estates while
Richard was grinding away at his
lawbooks in London, the latter had his
own, little compensations, for he saw
the girl constantly during the season,
and lost no occasion of quietly keeping
himself to the fore. Richard OWNED
someh ow that Arthur would not pro-
pose while his father lived, and so
was content to wait, hoping the while
that his own ship would come into
port.
Matters were at this stage of truce
and tension when there came the news
of Sir Arthur's death.
Richard went down for the funeral,
: and then it was discovered that there
was no will. Immediately his position
flashed upon him; he was absolutely
dependent upon his brothers bounty,
for naturally his allowance stopped
with the demise of his father. 1t also
dawned upon him that now Marcia
would be called upon to make de-
cision, and that she would perhaps pre-
fer baronet de facto and dejure to
a penniless young barrister with no
law and few facts in his favor.
1t is not surprising, then, that he
felt very much like modern Esau,
and in no pleasant mood, when, on
the third day after the funeral, as the
brothers were at breakfast, the new
Sir Arthur said, in his hesitating habit
of speech:
"Er-er-Rick. If you're not going
out this morning should like a word
with you"
Sir Arthur had what is called bad
manner; he was self-conscious and
bashful to degree; upon ordinary
occasions he was apt to hesitate and
falter and founder, although at other
times and upon other topics where he
was sure of his ground he could be
terse and even epigramatic.
Rick looked up from his letters, and,
being in the dumps" as he would
have expressed it, merely grunted an
assent
Nothing more was said until the
meal was ended. Then, leaning back
in his leather chair and lighting
cigar-Sir Arthur abhorred tobacco-he
said sulkily, sarcastically giving his
brother his title
"Well, Sir Arthur what is it?''
1t was not a very inviting opening.
Yet it may be conceded that fate had
certainly not been kind to Richard.
At bottom he loved his brother, and
in his heart he knew that Sir Arthur
wanted to do the right thing. But
perverse humor held him that morn
ing, and he would make no effort at
complaisance or conciliation.
Sir Arthur flushed painfully at Rick's
for mt En
and went to the window, where he
stood in silence while the secondhand
of the old clock licked solemnly half
way round it's dial.
'I-I-want to put things right, old
man, he said at length, facing inward,
towards Rick, who sat moodily smok-
ing, his cigar tilted towards the CELL
ing.
do you? That's kind!" was the
curt rejoinder.
The baronet looked at his brother in
mute surprise; the hot color famed
in his sallow face and as suddenly
left it paler than it's wont. He had
never before seen Rick like this But
he controlled himself and went on, a
little more fluently, as though the other
mad not spoken.
Eyes. I happen to know what
fathers intentions were about money
matters, and l am prepared to carry
them out to the letter."
Did he tell you to do it?' inquired
Rick laconically.
"You remember he never spoke after
they carried him home" said Sir
Arthur reproachfully, "but knew from
what he said to me at times that you
were to be taken care of-that you
would have been provided for If there
had been a willard simply mean to
act in his stead
All this was certainly very fair and
generous, and the baronet looked ex-
pectantly at Richard for some sign of
a relenting humor. But the perverse
I,S~ :, ,% f,,3,