Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-03-01

shall not dispute it, Oh. l couldn't dis
pute it,
The woman who faced her lifted her
head boldly. She was dark, thick
set woman, as unlike the late Geoffrey
Kaye as it was possible to be. Yet,
nevertheless, there seemed to be not the
slightest doubt that she was his daugh-
ter. Mr.. Guest, the solicitor, and old
DR.. Grey had tried to find some flaw in
her story, but it seemed right enough.
Twenty-Five years ago Mr.. Hayes wife
had deserted him, taking with her her
two-year-Old baby. They had been very
poor, and Mrs. Kaye hated poverty as
fercely as foolish, empty headed women
do sometimes hate it. 1t was Mrs.
Hayes one strong emotion-hatred OF
luxuries of life, and she left it for what
she stupidity believed was far better.
When Mr.. Kaye got his divorce she
married again, only to plunge some
years later, when her second husband
had run through his fortune, into pow
erty deeper still. Apparently it broke
her, heart, for she died leaving her child
to the care of her husband-an adven-
turer, swindler and thief
How they had lived since her moth
er's death Claudia Kaye did not care to
say, but she had come upon Treherne
Court by accident ESQ she informed
them), had probably tried to blackmail
Mr.. Kaye, and would no doubt have tried
again had he not met with the accident.
She had seen him and spoken to him,
she said, and he had owned her as his
daughter.
Now she claimed the estate; and both
Mr.. Guest and DR.. Grey were disheart-
ened and troubled for the last will Mr..
Kaye had made had upset everything
and played straight into the hands of
the woman before them, for he had dis
tinctly written his daughter" instead.
of his adopted daughter" as he had
meant to do. His other wills, each had
adopted" prefxed but this last-that
strange fancy to rewrite his will-had
undone everything.
And it was absolutely unnecessary
unless, indeed, the memory of the past
had affected him and made him wish to
reinstate his own daughter.
Yet they could net believe that, for he
had not mentioned her-had not even
limited at her existence-before he died
1t was Marys name which had been on
his lips.
well, said Mr.. Guest to the claimant,
IF you can prove that you are indeed
Mr.. Hayes daughter, l am afraid you
will have a clear case. But you must
prove it first
A week later the news was spread in
the town that Mary was an heiress no
lo1ger-but poor girl with her living
to get. Hen. Arthur Tenby could not
realize it-could not believe that such
misfortune would overtake him, for
Mary was the prettiest girl he knew, and
it was SO hard to give her up.
Still, he did it as gently as he could, in
Dr. Grey's house, where she had gone
to live for awhile. 1t was such pitifuI
thing, he thought, that people SO well
suited to each other should have to part,
and at one moment he was almost
tempted to risk everything-to throw
away his ambition to marry an heiress
and fight poverty with Mary
The feeling vanished in an instant
when he remembered his embarrassed
affairs, and he told her outright that he
could not afford to marry yet-that they
would have to wait for years, perhaps
forever, and Mary decided at once to
wait forever.
The odd part of it was that Mary did
not care.
After he had gone she sat listlessly
over the fire. What would become OF her
she could not tell; it broke her heart
to think. She had not friend in the
world except DR.. Grey, and she could
not live forever upon him. She would
have to go out to earn her living in some
way, though how she did not know.
Life seemed horribly hopeless, and she
almost wished she lay dead beside the
old man whom she had loved as her ia
Their.
She was shaking with sobs when the
door opened suddenly and young man
entered. He was tall and straight, with
clean-cut, handsome face.
DIR. Grey said 1 should find you here"
he began, and then stopped.
She got up hurriedly, trying to stop
her tears; and then an odd thing hap
pened considering she was a penniless
girl whom nobody seemed to want
Dick Marlone went up to her and held
out his hands.
You know what 1 want to say" he
cried. you know love you and have
done so for long time. Now you are
poor and Capt. Tenby has gone can
speak. You know-Mary, you know |
love you. Will you be my wife?''
Mary looked up and gave little quick
sob of happiness.
ooh, Dick, believe the will has done
me some good after ALL she cried.
The odd part Of it was that the woman
who called herself Claudia Kaye was not
Claudia Kaye at all, and that Mr.. Kaye
had known it and had handed full proofs
of the death of his child % years before