Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-06-28

mcnt meted out to her on every hand, she
thoroughly enjoyed herself.
icy no means the least attentive mem
Der of the compan was the noble earl
himself. who, several times took her over
the estate. explaining at length the work
Ing of The huge coal mine from which he
derived a large portion of his income.
one thing. however, Barbara noticed.
though without troubling herself to ac-
count for 1T, and that was that the earl
In the course of his remarks. was continu-
ally drawing comparisons between his own
property and that of Sir George Mcldrum.
who owned the adjoining estate; and al
ways greatly to the disadvantage of the
former.
Really, my dear young lady" he said
on one occasion: you should see Sir
Georges place. Why the fellow could buy
mo twice over. He's the coal king of the
county. you know: whereas l possess but
a single mine, and If anything happened
to the place, i should be practically a
pauper."
1t may. or 1t may not have been this
newly acquired knowledge that Sir George
Heldrum was the coal king" which made
barbara so i~neffably gracious to him
throughout the whole OF that evening.
The middle-aged baronet had been a fire.
queft visitor during Barbara's stay at
Rotherficld hall. and had contrived, one
"tS atAN u.iCliCI 10 pay IlOIc
to that lady than the Honorable Nell quite
liked.
Barbara found Sir George a distinctly
pleasant If rather ordinary sort of man.
and as for the fact OF his being 4 bachelor.
that affected her neither one way nor the
other, oven If she ever gave 1t a thought.
She never quite knew prompted
her to sit out that last dance with him.
Suffice 1t to say that. wearied by her pre-
vious exertions. she had suffered herself
to be led away. and that the next thing
she realized was that the baronct was
pouring out protestations OF eternal love.
with an oarnestness that at once startled
and repealed her.
VeXed that he had not known of her po-
sition and angry with herself for having
behaved to him in such "A manner as to
Justify the course he had taken. she was
about to disillusion him in a few we'll
chosen words when the sound of approach
ing footsteps well upon her ears.
"A terrible thing" came in the deep
tones Of n man. 1.-THE workings are flood
cd. Mines no earthly use now
Poor old Ralston. I'm afraid he'll never
survive 1t. Poverty comes hard to men
like him."
No more; the voices passed out of ear
shot. Stunned and dazed, Barbara tried
to realize what 1t was that had happened.
Gradually out of the whirling chaos of
IDEAS her mind grasped the salient fact
that with her lay the choice-of poverty.
with its mean surroundings, or of wealth.
with all that mokes life worth living. Pow
erty. want. weariness; the cramped stuff
ness of rooms in n suburban street; the
hideous ALTERATION Of a life of endless
toll. The prospect slclsened her.
Her mother. too: how could she tell her
that it had all come to an end? That the
future held nothing for them but what
was gray and gaunt and sordid. Oh, the
unspeakable horror of IT.
dearest" the low. per-
sIias.vc voice at her side. may | take
silence for consent?'
She came to herself then, and remem-
bered. Neil loved her. Before all the
beautiful women of his own set he had
CHOSEN her-the little actress. She could
bring him ncthing-nothing-but her
beauty. her purity. and her love: his was
the sacrifice. And she did love him? oh.
yes. yes. more than anything: more than
all the wealth and luXury. the wide world
held: more than life itself!
"Oh. no, no." she breathed. Sir George,
am deeply conscious of the honor you do
me. b~ut-oh-it cannot be-" And then in
Il moment she was up and speeding from
him as a wild thing fees from the foot of
man.
"Oh. Neil. Neil!'-she was sobbing in his
arms-"don't let 1t make any difference.
"~'t. wv arc SOuuS, LIiI We Cdl WOTk.
and oh. my darling, l want you more than
anything. Poverty doesn't matter if 1
have YOU
The flooding of the mine did not prove
such Il serious affair after all; being. as Il
matter of fact. confined to IL single work
ing and a disused one at that. Also, when
four men met in conciave in the hall IL
brary. some things We're said which threw
a somewhat startling light on the occur
renee in question. Two of the number
werc we'll known sporting characters. the
third was Sir George Meldrum, and the
fourth was the earl himself.
All I've got to say" remarked one OF
the former, lis that the tilly came out Of
the test we'll. You should nave seen her
jump though when Charley. here, laid it
on thick about the poverty"
Nothing like a trial to bring out the
quality. is there?' he said.
"There isn't" agreed Sir George. But
with a comical grimacc-'1 half wish
she'd disappointed YOU. Ralston. after all.
l could have done with her myself"
You" Laughed the earl. She's heaps
too good for you. Look here. boys: that
y%oungster OF mine has hooked Il treasure.
I'm sure of it now; and although it's cost
me over thirty pounds to flood that blessed
working 1 don't regret It,"
VI H-A ~ @---