The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-12-29
The *
Conqueror
By KEITH GORDON
CopyTtott 1901, bH n. AoKes

ten minutes past ( and he was al
ready late for an engagement. Never
theless he dashed hastily into the big
department. store. determined to pro-
cure the driving gloves that he socely
needed.
The tired clerks and shining pneu-
matte tubes seemed to be in league to
detain him. and be was stolling i'm
patiently up and down. inwardly re-
Wiling tho system that made such delay
possible. when the sight OF tall, fair
girl, also waiting for change, trans
formed bis feelings like the touch Of a
fairy wand. His impattence vanished; i;
his engagement was forgotten. he
bad seen hts ideal womanl
A weaker man might have failed TO
deteet his chance In the mere passing
glimpse OF face In the crowd Not
30 Manice. II fate In effect, said to
him, Don't yox wish you knew hegT'
be tndomitably answered. Trust me
shall know herr And 50 the game
began.
Social customs he regarded as so
many fences inclosing and dividing the
field Of action. Under ordinary circum-
stances be respected these defenses
and skirted them decorousfy until he
came to gateways, Ike any other well
bred Individual But the case In hand
was comparable only to q Cross coun-
try ride, when the man who would be
In at the death must go over the
fences, Jump the bitches and. stay him
not for gateways and bridges.
All Of which means that Floyd Man
ice, usually the most dgnified and con-
servative Of men, spent the rest Of the
afternoon following slim, erect young
woman at a very respectful distance
and utterly without her knowledge.
At 6 p. NJ he bad the satisfaction
Of seeing her enter smart trap at
Morristown, N. J., whittier she had
unwittingly led him, and satisfied
from her manner that she was at home
be paced the platform waiting for the
train back to town and making plans
with an exultant confidence born OF
hong success.
"Going TO Morristown for the sum-
mer. eh?' exclaimed his partner in
some surprise when he announced his
intention q week later. II thought you
loathed New JerseyT
Mistaken idea Of yours" responded
Manice, with mendacious brevity. by
the way, do you know any one there"
Events usually moved with business
Ike precision when Manice started to
accomplish an end. Within two weeks
from the day on which he first saw
his star, as he called her to himself,
be was established in Morristown,
waiting In strong, serene, yet humble
expectation for her to appear once
more upon his horizon.
The days passed like procession
Of snails, but she did not appear, and,
though through the kindness Of city
friends he had number Of 1ntroduc-
lions, he made no effort to discover
her identity. He had a strange, sweet
consciousness which he held In
spite Of disappointment and the de-
p1orable sentimentality into which 1t
was leading him-that she was surely
drifting toward him and that each day
brought them nearer together.
Near the end Of the third week his
faith was rewarded. 1t was on the
golf links, and ripple OF peculiarly
clear, frank laughter somewhere near
him caused him to turn his head She
and a companion were sauntering to-
ward him, every Hne OF her 1.-the,
graceful figure standing out gloriously
against the pure background OF the
sty, her brown hair framing her face
IN a bewitching disorder.
On this glimpse Of her Manice Hved
for another week, and then bis friend,
Duncan Brown, descended upon him
for the weeks end stay. Duncan would
have been welcome under any ctrcum-
stances, but when he announced that a
great friend Of his, Betty Aston, lived
in Morristown and offered to take
Manice to see her the latter pressed
the freedom Of his bachelor quarters
upon him with added fervency, Won
dering If by chance he was entertaining
an angel unawares.
So indeed it proved.
sI think I saw you on. the links the
other day." Miss Aston remarked,
turning to Manice after the greetings
were over, and that gentleman always
wondered what he said in reply. The
one impression that he carried away
from that meeting was a confusing
sense Of having been projected une1-
pectedly into the very midst Of heaven.
That impression, however, was not
lasting. Time revealed that # Miss
Aston vas a guiding star others be-
sides himself were looking, raising their
eyes to her and following where she
led.
Still he drew a sigh Of relief at the
thought that he had two rivals instead
Of one. Always in these matters there
was safety In numbers,
Tooo3,. a xrofrhful ovo rnO0 fUro