The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1904-10-12
The *
COnquerOr
BY KEITH GORDON
Copyright, 1891. hY VI McKen


The tired clerks and shining pnen-
matte tubes seemed To he in league IL
detain him, ana he WAS strollmg i'm
patiently up and down. imwardly re
Wiling the system that made such dciay
possible, when the sight of tall, fair
girl. also waiting for change trans
formed his feelings like the touch of
fairy wand. His Impotence vanished;
his engagement was forgotten. He
had seen his ideal woman!
\ weaker man might have fniled To
detect his chance In the mere passing
glimpse of Il face in the crowd Not
81 Manice. If fate. In effect, said 10
him, Don't you wish you knew herr
he mdomitably answered. "Trust me
| shall know her" And SO the game
began
Social customs he regarded rs so
many fences inclosinE and dividing the
field of action. Under ordinary eircum-
stances lac respected these defeHses
and skirtcd them decorously until he
came to gatcways, like any other we'll
bred individual But the ease in hand
wis comparable only To II cross CONN
try ride when the man who would be
in ut the death must 70 over the
fences. jump the bitches and stay him
not for gatcways and bridges
All of which means that Floyd Man
ice usually the most diGnited and con.
sentative of men, spent the rest of the
afternoon following slim, erect young
Woman ut Il very respectful distance
and utterly without her knowledge.
At & T. m he had the satisfaction
Of seeing her enter smart trap nj
Moristown, \. j.. whittier she had
unWittnely led him, aud satisfied
from her manner that she WIS at home
he paced the platform waiting for the
train back to town and making plans
with an eNultant confidence horn of
long Success
Going to Morristown for the sum
lucr. ohf" exclaimed his partner in
some surprise when he announced his
intention a wcel, Inter. Il thought You
loathed New Jersey"
Mistaken idea Of yours" responded
Manice, with mcudacious brcvity. by
the way. do YOU know any one there|
Events usually moved with business.
like precision when Maniee started to
accomplish an end Within two weeks
from the day on which he first saw
his star us he called her to himself,
he WAS established in MorristoWn
waiting In strong, serene yet humble
expectation for her to appear once
more upon his horizon
The days passed like n procession
of snails, but she did not appear and
though through the kindness of city
friends he had n number of introduce
tions, he made no effort to discover
her identity He had n strange sweet
consciousness to which he held in
spite Of disappointment and the de
plorablc sentlmcntnlity into which II
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
ward him. every line of her 1.-THE,
graceful figure standing out glorlously
against the pure background Of the
sky, her brown hair framing her face
in bcwitching disorder
ON this glimpse Of her Manice lived
for another week, and then his friend
Duncan Brown, descended upon him
for the weeks end stay. Duncan would
hive been welcome under any circum
stances, but when he announced that n
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 lac was entertaining
an angel unawarcs.
So indeed ii proved.
Il think | saw you on the links the
other day" Miss Aston remarked,
turning to Manicc 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 n confusing
sense of having been projected unex-
pectedly into the very midst of heaven.
That impression. however, WIS not
lasting. Time revealed that If Miss
Aston was guiding star others be
sides himself were looking, raising their
eyes to her and following where she
led
Still he drew n sigh OF relief at the
thought that he had two rivals instead
OF one Always In these matters there
was safety in numbers.
Keeping n watchful eye upon two
rivals Is wearing work even for II
strong man. If Manice had been fas-
cinated by Betty Alston's face, at the
end Of two months 1t was loyeller to
him than ever, for the better he knew
her the more assured he became of her
sweetness and womanliness. Counted
by conventional standards 1t was n
pitifully short time that they had
known each other, but he felt as If he
had been aware Of her through all the
thirty-fve years Of waiting.
Thus his love, like a mighty wave.
whose crest, poised for moment
must inevitably spend itself in foam.
broke into words Simple, manly
words they Mere.
You are the only woman In the
world for me-" he concluded, the color
that usually glowcd under his tan
noticahly absent. From the first mo-
ment | knew 1t. / would dave follow
ed you to the ends OF tie earth to tell
Won this oven thoupb I had knovvt1
that you would refuse me!'
Betty Aston, her face as white as
his own. turned to him with quivering
lips. His earnestness frightened her.
But there was Jack Winter dear
Jack with the laughing eyes and the
gay smile! And yet Jack would never
have followed her out of the crowd,
and
She covered her face with her hands,