The Washington times., 1906-09-30

ascended somewhat all the way. until
the end OF the forest was reached, and
the hrst view Of the house was gained,
Helen could scarcely restrain 3 cry OF
pleasure as she saw Il. for II was real
ly magnificent old mansion built OF
weather-beaten gray stone. and stand
ing upon a high plateau, surrounded
by lawn and shaded by half a dozen
great oaks: below II the lawn sloped in
"A broad terrace and iu the valley thus
formed cleaned little trout pond. set
OF az the back by a thickly- wooded
hillside
Isn't e splendid" the girl exclaim-
ed. gazing about her
81 thought il was rather good. said
Mr.. Harrison. deprecatingly. 1T can
be made much finer. of course"
When you take your last years
hay crop from the iawne FOR one
thing, laughed She. .But I had no
idea there was anything SD beautiful
near our little OakdaJe. Just look at
thar tremendous entrance.
ITS all bunt IN royal style" said
Mr., Harrison. ''The family must have
been wealthy Tn the ola days"
Probably slaEe-dcalers or some
t2i0g OF that kind. observed Helen.
is tho house an furnished Inside.
Yes. said the other bat / expect
10 do most OF It over. Wouldn't you
Ike 10 look lie asked the question
as he saw the gate-keepe- coming up
the road. presumably with the KEYS.
The girl gazed about her dubiouelv.
she would have liked 70 go On except
proper. Helen had never had much re-
spect for the uroprIetles. however. be
Ing accustomed a. rely upon her own
opinions Of thing, and in the present
case. besides. she reflected that no one
would ever know anything about II.
Wed not have nuse 20 do more
than glance around continued the
other, but We might do that. II won
like"
Yes. - said Helen after moment
more OF hesitation. II think 7 should "
Tier heart vas beating very fast as
the two ascended the great stone stems
and as the door opened before them.
her mind could not but be filled with
the overwhelming thought tHat all that
she saw might be hers n sHe really
wan ed #. The mere imagining of Afr.
Harrison's wealth had been enough 10
make her thrill and burn go u was to
be expected that the actual uraSenra
OF some Of It would not rail OF lts erect.
II Is TO be observed that the greet
temptation took place uron a hfgh
mountain. where the kingdom OF the
earth could really be seen. and Helen
as she gazed around had tho further
%. HtFE# Ia. e
and palaJial house. which 10 her w4s
almost too splendid 20 be real. were
after all but a slight Jrife 20 her COM
panlon.
The girl entered the great hallway.
with iIs huge fireplace and its Winding
stairway. and tHeu srroIIed through
tie parlors of the vast house. Helen
had .n -N its f4lluess O e Wouau's pas
sion for spending money for beautiful
things. and .t had been her chief noe
ia all her travels that the furniture
drd pictures and tapestry she g8zed
az with s#ch Keen delight must be
forever as-o1d her thoughts. just at
present Ler fancy was turned loose
uud mgJIy reEelug lu these memories.
while always above Ier widest flights
was the intoxicating certainty that
t.ere was no reason why they should
not all be possible. Size could not but
rrcoN'ot with. wondering smile that
only Yesterday she had been happy at
tie thought OF arranging one dingy
little UariCr il her country parsonage,
and mad been trySg TO persuade Her
father 90 tEg eX-ravagance OF recover
ms two chairs.
1t would have been hard for Helen
70 Keep H-r emotions from Mr. Harri-
son, and he must have guessed the
Ie-sau why she was Sc flushed and ex-
cited TL-y Wiere standiag just then
4u tae se-tar Of tbe EreHt dining room.
Vii. its massive furniture OF black
mahogany. and she was saying that Il
ought to be p8pered in dark red. and
Was coujuTIuE up the snect 10 herself.
'Son-thirg rich. you know, 20 set on
tie furniture" she explained
And you must take that dreadful
portrait from over The mantsl," she
added laughing Ut was q picture Of
a revolutionary warrior on horseback
ard iu full uniform. the coloring look
Hg Ike faded OuclothJ
II had thought OF that myself" said
Mr. Harrison. Its the founder Of ths
Eversons, there's q picture gallery IN q
hall back or there. with two whole
rows Of ancestors in it."
why don't you adopt themT' asked
EeIeu miscnievously.
.Oue can buy all the ancestors one
wants 20, nowadays" laughed Mr.
Harrison. 81 thought Ia make some
thing more interesting out OF II. I'm
not mach OF a judge OF art you know,
but I thought If ever went abroad Ia
tuy UP some OF the great paintings
that one reads ab0ut-some Of the old
ancestors. YOU know"
I'm afraid you'd find very few of
them for sale" said Helen. smiling.
I'm not accustomed 10 fail in buy
ing things that I want was the 9th
ers reply. Are you fond of pic
lures %
'Nerv much. indeed" answered the
girl As a matter OF fact the mere
mention Of the subject opened a new
Kingdom TO her. for she could not
count the number Of times she had sat
before beautiful pictures and almost
wept at tho thought that she could
never own one tina; was really worth
looking at II brought home few
myself" she said to her companion