Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-07-31
A hundred thousand dollars p"

"A hundred thousand dollars?"
Tho diplomat. glanced amusedly at
his American friend. II suppose that
sounds small enough to you rich Amer
leans. But to a clerk 1t reads wealth
The American was silent. A terri
BILE thought flashed through his brain
thought that he repulsed almost i'm
mediately.
"Of course, am only specializing;
nothing has been done as yet"
Then something is going to be
done?" asked the American. clearing
his voice.
"One day OF another If we can not
And the clerk. we shall look higher.
We should consider million francs
well invested. America is rapidly be-
coming a great power. But let us
drop the subject and turn to some
thing more agreeable to us both. Your
daughter is charming. I honestly con-
fess to you that l have not met her
equal in any country. Pardon my
presumption, but may ask If she
Is engaged to be married."
Not to my ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS sur
prised and at the same time pleased.
Are you averse to foreign alli-
ances?" The diplomat dipped the end
of his fresh-lghted cigar into his cof-
fee.
MY dear count, am not averse to
foreign alliances, but rather suspect
that my daughter is. This aversion
might be overcome, however"
What vista was opened to this
wretched father! If only she might
marry riches, how easily he might con-
TESS what he had done, how easily all
this despair and terror might be dis
persed! And here was man who was
known in the great world, rich, young
and handsome.
The other gazed dreamily at the
ceiling; from there his gaze travelled
about the coffee-room, with its gath
ering OF coffee drinkers, and at length
came back to his vis-a-vis
you will return to Washington? he
asked.
II shall live there for the winter;
that is, expect to-"
Doubtless we shall see each other
this winter, then, "-and the count
threw away his cigar, babe his COM
panion good night, and went to his
room.
How adroitly he had sown the seed!
At that period he had no positive idea
upon what kind of ground he had cast
1t. But he took that chance which all
far-sighted men take, and then
waited. There was little he had not
learned about this handsome American
with the beautiful daughter. How he
had learned will always remain dark to
me. My own opinion is that he had
been studying him during his tenure
of Office in Washington, and, with that
patience which is making Russia so
formidable, waited for this opportu-
nifty.
shall give the Russian all the JUS
tice of impartiality. When he saw
the girl, he rather shrank from the
affair. But he had gone too far, he
had promised too much; to withdraw
now meant his own defeat, his gov
ernment's anger, his political oblivion.
And there was zest in this life of his.
He could no more resist the call Of
intrigue than gambler can resist the
croupier's Make your game, gentle
men!" / believe that he loved the girl
the moment he set eyes upon her. Her
beauty and bearing distinguished her
from the other women he had met, and
her personality was SO engaging that
her conquest Of him was complete and
spontaneous. How to win this girl
and at the same time ruin her father
was an embarrassing problem. The
plan which finally came to him he re-
PEELED again and again, but at length
he surrendered. To get the parent IN
his power and then to coerce the girl In
case she refused him! To my knowl-
edge this affair was the first dishonor-
able act Of very honorable man.
But love makes fools and rogues of us
all.
When the American returned to the
world. his cigar was out and his coffee
was stale and cold.
"A million francs!" he rnurmured
1.-TWO hundred thousand"
The seed had fallen on fruitful
ground.