Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-05-22

FtA - 40 AOb away liz DNNNSST NANAc -
Ben"
''Ay, you're right there, sir, for it were
no death that rohted me Of my joy. 1t
was such a simple story, l suppose, yet
it weren't very simple to me. / had built
the whole of my life's dream on my love
for my lass We had grown up together,
sir; she was the bonniest little soul mans
eyes could see. Fool that / was" Ben
said, bitterly, Il never dreamed that 9TH
ers would look upon her as l looked, or
that she would find it easy to turn from
my love. Anyhow, sir, that's the story
of why l left the old place and came out
here
Hubert Tenby said nothing, only his
hand rested a little more closely on Ben's
shoulder.
Il was a little lad then, just between
seven and eight, happy as the day was
long, playing about in that old garden !;
and l had many friend, too, in the vii
lage, and, child as | was, had paid more
than one visit down to the bottom of the
mine where you worked in the old days.
Life is full Of changes, indeed Who
would have ever imagined that / should
have come to what | ami"
Il don't listen TO what the world says,
sir" Ben answered. Tell me yourself,
just what happened. Put it in your own
words, and will believe you-for, as
told you the first day l met you, know
you to be an honest man."
1T is an ugly story" Hubert Tenby
said, his voice growing hoarse. II am
not going. to deny that l did run a bit
wild at Oxford-it is rather hard, you
know, Ben, not to do as others do-and
then l was launched with the reputation
of being my fathers son-that is to say,
a man with unlimited money at his dis
posal, and that is a bad thing to start on.
| had plenty, but | had not as much as
the others imagined, and what had soon
took wings to itself"
The young man paused and sighed.
How the money went | don't know,
but go it certainly did; and then came
disagreeables-fo l was ashamed to ask
my father to pay heavy bills when he
made me such a fine allowance. Ny cous-
in Gerald, who happened to be working in
Oxford as private tutor at the time
was there, used to tell me l was a fool.
What is the USE he would say to me, of
having a father who, is simply rolling in
money, and worrying your brain as you do
about finding a miserable few hundreds ?
l wish now, Ben, l had let his advice
urge me to go to my father"
HE must be older than you sir. by
a considerable few years, this Mr.. Ger
aid Tenby," said Ben. II lnind him per-
fectly. He used TO come to Mill Cross
Court and stay there. He was not liked
in the village" Ben said, dryly. THE
folk said he had a tight hand and a cum
ming eye. He took thsl from his father.
Many a time | have heard the old people
in the village marvel at the difference
there was between the head branch of
the family and the other side. OF course,
the money was with your father; but no
money could ever have put your fathers
nature into his cousin Robert. OF course.
you remember him, sir?'
mo. not at all. The fact is that there
was a kind of quarrel between my father
and Gerald's father; and yet when Ger
aid lost his father, no one was kinder to
him than mine. The old house was open
to him to come to whenever he liked; my
father did everything in his power to give
him a start in life. There was no money
for Gerald to claim; but Sir Maurice
never let him realize how poor he was. He
stinted him in nothing, and Gerald al
ways professed to love my father very
deeply"
"Mayhap l wrong him." Ben Coop said.
slowly; "but if he's his fathers son there
cannot be much that is good in his heart.
l speak very frankly, you see, sir; but l
remember lots of little things done to the
village people by Mr.. Robert Tenby, and
l know what am saying. They were not
the real family, you see that's why we
found it hard to trust them. But | am
interrupting you, sir"
II don't feel eager to 90 on" Hubert
Tenby said, land yet feel that must.
Instead of taxing my cousins advice /
struggled on as best l could, and here
Gerald helped me to meet my difficulties.
He arranged loan. l dare say you un-
derstand what followed"
"Ay," Ben Coop answered, quietly; II
am not learned man, but l know what
borrowing means"
Il managed to scrape along" Hubert
said, "and pay the interest as it fell due !;
but / did not realize till nearly a year
had gone that, instead of clearing the
way for myself, had only put fresh STUN
bling blocks in my path. Gerald was al
ways coming to ask me either to settle the
loan or to pay a heavier interest, and
things got worse and worse, until / came
to a kind of crisis and / had to find a
sum four times the amount of what | had
originally owed in a space of few days.
1t was useless to ask Gerald TO show me
a way out of this difficulty, for he told me
plainly he saw none, except that of put
ting the matter before my father and ask
ing him TO pay the debt. l would not
hear what nc urged. / made myself al
mosl i'll with worry | felt like a mad
man. Just at this time my old aunt and
godmother, Lady Charlotte Singleton.
wrote and asked me TO go and stay with
her for a few days. She had a charming
old country house not far from Oxford.
and l was in the habit of going to see
her constantly. In fact. she was kind 70
both Gerald and myself, although l be-
lieve that she, like my father, had had
good reason to quarrel with Gerald's faith
er. 1t was an open secret that Lady
Charlotte intended to divide what she pos
sessed between my sister and myself"
AANNN@S EeANSNO AAOAG viii q AlNllt SlSu ;
then he Went on with his story.
''She was not rich, but she had a GER
tain amount of property, and, among 9th
er things, she possessed a collection of
beautiful jewels, of which she was very
proud, and which were valued at fairly
large sum of money. l was sorely tempt
ed to tell the dear old lady all that was
troubling NE while l was with her: and
here again l see the working of a malig-
nant fate, for if l had spoken then, Ben,
l might have spared myself all that fol-
lowed. Pride, however, and the nervous
fear lest she should imagine 1 wanted her
70 help me, kept my Ups sealed. When
| got back te Oxford the first question
Gerald asked me was if Lady Charlotte
wOulf be able to help me- / replied sharp
ly that l had said nothing 10 nv god
mother of the matter. He looked at me
in a strange way for a little while, and
then turned on his heel and left me. say
ing as he went: You are about the big
gest fool have ever known, and you will
realize it enc day. was very angry with
him.
They had ceased strolling up and down
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