The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-10-28

way, shall have your land. Il thai
sense, or is it notY'
Hard common sense" said George.
$50 it is" said David. Its always
hard common sense when he takes an
other mans land"
II am sorry for you, George" the ole
man went on; yet his face expressed 8
certain satisfaction. Nobody will blame
you, I'm sure; or me either, for thai
matter; and when your poor father Dor
rowed the money the land was worth
three times as much as 1t Is now, &c
that nobody will blame him. don't ex
pect ever to get the value Of my money
back. So we're all losers by the hard
times. 1 shall want a tenant, George
the old man went on, "and we will moi
quarrel about the rent. Easy terms you
shall have, and when you've got your
head we'll above water again, We will
consider about you and Mary. DOM
think shall be hard upon you"
mo-" said George; II am going te
emigrate."
ITO foreign lands, Georgel Has II
come to that? Dear-dearw
| II am going to Tasmania"
| tut, tut; this il very bad. To for
eign lands! David went to foreign lands
and see how he came home. George
you had better stay at Sidcote and be my
| tenant
| "No," George said, shortly. well, the
long and the short Of it il that we are
here to-day-Mary and Ito ask your
consent to our marriage"
mo. George; l shall not consent
| What LAT Morv uoorpv mon 0ho ha q
lost his own land and Is going to foreign
lands? Certainly not! not on any &C
COUNT
when your sister left Mary all he1
| fortune"
at was mine by rights. made II
for her."
She put In the clause about your
consent to protect her. You know, al
we'll as l, that she herself would never
object to me for Mary's husband"
| ''She began with a thousand pounds.
BY my advice she made It into six thou
sand pounds. Do you mean to tell me
that am to have no voice in the dis
posal of all this money!"
This kind of talk will not help any
body. Well, l have had my answer,
suppose. Mary, dear, it Is for you to
choose between your uncle and me-"
Il have chosen, George, you know
well. Uncle, you will have to give that
money to David or to me. Here is Da.
vid, and here am l. To which Of us
will you give it?''
Suppose, Mary" David interposed-
suppose there was a secret arrange
ment-I don't say there Is, but suppose
| hot
Suppose that was to sell my chance
for so much down, and he was to keep
| the rest"
Uncle! you would not-you could not
do such thingw Mary cried.
Suppose, say"-David went on
that arrangement was to exist. Then.
you see, George and Mary"-David put
the thing in his slow and elaborate man
ner, 30 as to bring out the full meaning
of the transa ction-"you see that if you
don't marry without his consent, he will
lose the money he's got to pay me; but il
he does not pay me that money before
you get married, he will have to pay me
the whole afterward. Therefore he nat
urally wants you to marry without his
consent You are going to play his game
| for him."
| At this unexpected blow Daniel was
covered with confusion. When two peo-
pie make such a treaty, secrecy is the
very essence Of it; and for one of the par
ties concerned to blurt out the truth Is,
in a sense, breach of contract. The
old man actually turned red-at seventy
he had still the grace to husband hung
his head, but he could not speak.
| how 1e<a
rying withouty our consent! You have
actually bought David's chance, and now
you want us to marry, so that you may
keep the whole to yourselfv'
"NOt the WHOLE" said David. "What
viii be left after he has bought me outv'
| Mary" her uncle replied, evadinR the
question, why do you want to get mar.
ried yeti Stay with me- Let George
stay at Sidcote and be my tenant And
l will consider-I will consider. Besides
think. Mary; | am an old man now, and
you will have all my money and ali my
land when I die
Have you bought up David 20 that
you may keep the money az long a. you
please, by always refusing your consent
Answer that" said George, hotly.
Il shall answer nothing" Daniel r.
piled angrily-"n nothing nothing! You
have come here and asked for my con.
sent to your marriage. Very well; 70.
fuse 1t. Now you can 60"
"Mary," said George. 1T IL no longe,
possible to leave you in this house. Your
uncle has deliberately set himself to rot
you. Come with me, dear; my mother
will take care Of you till We are mar
RED" Mary hesitated. 'Go, Mary, pul
on your hat and come with me. As fol
you, Daniel Leighan"-he waited till
Mary had left the room-''ws leave you
alone. Nothing worse can happen to you
When you have no longer Mary to pro
vide beforehand all your wants-wher
you are alone all the day and Ill thu
evening. you will remember what yor
have thrown away. Oh, you are seventy
years of age, and you are rich already
and you rob your sisters daughter In or
der for yeAr or two to call yourself
richer stiill''
The old man crouched among his Pill
lows and made no answer. Mary wal
leaving Elm. But II she stayed he must
give his consent, and then no would loo.
the land Ten minutes later Mary -