Milford chronicle., 1906-01-12
Queen CopI1etva
And the Beggar
Man By KEITH GORDON
Copyright, 1901, by Keith Gordon
COPYRIGHT 1901, bv Keith Gordon

ing MS hostess intently with Just that
touch of cool mastery in his glance
which always made her wonder if the
telltale blood were rising in her checks
and which, at the present moment.
caused her somewhat haqghty eyes to
avoid him, like quivering, cornered ami
mails. - mans manhood is a greater
thing even than his love! And the
poor man who asks a rich woman to
marry him is like the chap who sold
his birthright for d mess of pOttage."
you place high value upon lovel"
she murmured. and despite her efforts
there was a little catch in her breath.
"Yes, think do" he resumed i'm
perturbably, so high a value in fact.
that | would place it above all sus-
picion above even the suspicion of
suspicionw he ended in an emphatic
tone.
Considering that the two were pla-
tonic friends of several years stand.
Ing, the air of the drawing room seem,
ed curiously surcharged with meaning.
Though they sat in. silence with their |
eyes fixed upon the open fire for some |
time after AslSew's last remark, each |
was fully aware of tie others
thoughts, and each listened to the reg
ular ticking of the clock with vague
impression that the sound was ON
iRous with love and heartbreak. +
Askew was a man of thirty, with
square jaw, strongly cut features and
that pronounced air of masculinity that
caused Miss Vance to realize with
thrill that to such man his manhood.
as he had said, must be first! It could
not possibly be otherwise. Deep down
in his heart of hearts a woman might
'eign-loved with the passion that only
such natures can feel, but never really t
his life. (
Always he would be complete master
Il himself-and of her! He would love c
Ter with a tenderness strong and deep. v
n her own domain she would be su- D
rene, but that domain would never n
e coeXtensive with his own larger il
fe. And vet. to the tips of her fin Il
ers, she felt that she would rather be
wed by him than by any other man in
l the worldl W
Moreover she was loved by him!
he knew it. though he had never by Ie
} much as word admitted it. She ri
MS as sure OF it as she was of her sp
vn love for him, and at the mere of
ought the blood danced riotously sh
rough her veins and her head fnvol- if
ltarily went up. No queen could be sh
ouder, no mere woman more hum VIC
e, than that thought made her til,
Few of her associates would have sht
cognized the expression that soften kn
and glOrified the face of the "haugh- an,
Miss Vance" as she was called be- be
Id her back. as she turned more full wit
toward Donald Askew and demand I
softly: VIII
Do you mean to say that If you hap. Low,
red to fall in love With a rich wom- ed
-and-and"- ricl
And?" he interrogated. tha
And she loved you-or you had rea the.
to think that she did, In
or the second time she paused with von
onfused impression that the air of TT
room was suddenly exhausted and notl
t breathing was by no means the the
pie, natural matter it had always cove
ned. that
10 you mean to say" she blurted lean
with schoolgirlish impetuosity. her
It you would not tell her that you touc
d herY' az
ever In the world!' was the delib- groa
e reply. 'Never" Then he added ''Y
", 'But should be careful not to was
so asinine as to fall in
with rich girl in the first place, -
wing, as do, that the money max
talent is not one to which / can .
,laim."
+ moment her heart turned to
Then the blood flowed back warm
strong, and she understood. He
taking this stand in the hope of
wing her of the track, because his
site sense Of honor put him out Of
and he wished to divest -
elf even of the interest that an
,lareo love might arouse in her.
ould Lave laughed for very joy at
hat would you do assuming that
tie OF yourself you should fall In
WIN al nNACSbA bnc RCLSAnNcus
fenced manfully. "Well, think
uld clear out 1t would be the
hing to do in case like that"
J Vance, the naughty Miss Vance,
siress Of the Vance millions, re-
/ him demurely She was a
who was accustomed to having
ishes complied with. She won
vaguely what it was about the
'efore her that made her ready,
even, to step down from the re-
sition she had always occupied
e for his favor; why in her eyes
uld seem the king! And when
she spoke her voice was almost
] ]. ! !. j !. ! J. !. ] ! ! ! ! ]: ! !. !. ! ! ! !. ] ] .
what about the woman-the NA
ch woman? Perhaps-perhaps
ght hate her riches-she might M
1.-THE them. But what could she ~
erhaps they came to her and ~
uld not get rid Of them any
nan she could change the color AhNI
eyes or the shape of her nosel