The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-08
CHAPTER XVII. A Joint Stock Daughter.

A When Vie Morris arrived at the Gate Cottage the next night, he came upon an earlier visitor making himself very
 much at home. He was a tallsh, thin man, with reddish hair plentifully salted
 with gray and wearing thin on the top.
 At sight of Vic he took pair of smoked
 glasses, as if by instinct, out of his
 pocket. Then, instantly changing his
 mind. he peered at the intruder with
 deep-set, black, humorously twinkling
 eyes.
 As Vic's huge shoulders and clean-cut
 granite features filled up the doorway. the man in possession turned his eyes upon him, with request to be informed Who in kingdom-come he might be?' Vic re- turned the compliment in kind. and his
 query was answered by the ruddy-gray
 man, without a shadow of smile on his
 face. He would tell him name-certainly.
 He would even give particulars.
 Maybe ye have heard OMahony, the
 celebrated robber and murderer? He fair
 ly walows in gore and landagents. does
 Mahony-Im him. We'll I've just pol
 ished off the lot here, and now I'm wash
 ing up, as it were. And l would be
 obliged to you, sorr, for the information
 why you come showing your ugly nose
 into amy mans business. Dye want to
 see my license to commit homicide at any
 moment? What, ye doubt me worrud!
 Well, then, come in with ye and sit down m see what is the best I can do for
 you in the cold-tea and bread-and-butter
 line. For ye look as if ye needed 1t.
 young man."
 q called to see my friends said the engineer with dignity.
 And what might your friends be callin' theirselves when the police wasn't
 afther thim?'
 "Mr Richard Finnan and" Good" cried the piebald Irishman, 'owld Dick wud nivver know himself by
 that name. Too yard-wide for him. my
 son! And your other friends-all now
 dead and gone and their first term paid to the Cimitry Company! Excuse me while I dhrop a tear!'
 He searched but in vain, for hand
 kerchief, and finally went into a corner
 and dropped the tear noiselessly on the floor
 When he returned, he said in a confi- dential whisper "If ye have anything
 rale comfortin' about ye. sir I'll take drop afore I hear the name of amy | more of your friends
 But the engineer had had quite enough
 of this form of humor. which might be called the piebald Irishman's speciality. This is the house of my friend. MT.
 Finnan, and his daughter, Miss Vida
 Bryan" said Vic, squaring his shoulders
 with the evident intention of combat.
 ''and I shall be glad to know what your
 business is here?"
 The Irishman also squared his should
 CTS with an outrageous caricature of the
 underground managers grand manner.
 My name is Billy Bryan he said,
 Ireland is my nation, as maybe yell
 have had the penetration to take note of
 already-more by token that I never ac-
 quired the poor, mean,, snip-scissors En-
 glish brogue. And I do not ask you what you are doing in this house.'
 know Sorr, phat are your honorable
 intntions with regard to me da-a-a-ugh-
 ter?"
 And. with his arms folded and a DOT tentously beetling frown on his jovial
 countenance. the lighthouseman paused
 for an answer.'
 1t was evident that Mir. Vic Morris was taken very much aback. He had heard, vaguely. that Vida had been a castaway from some ship. and had a romantic
 story attached to her. But he was not the sort of young man to lay much stress upon romantic stories. It was all the same to him whether Vida was called Finnan or Bryan or Smith. or Brown or Jones or Robinson. All that he asked
 was that she would consent to take as permanency the name of Vida Morris He expected no dowry. His two strong iidlluS, tiit pIOltsSlotiui 1NtfoWicNSC lay packed away in his energetic and well squared head, were dowry enough for two. He had a rough-shod will. and an overriding belief in the skill of his own combinations, to which he would expect wife to conform Otherwise. he was completely indifferent to the claims of long descent. Lady Clara We're de We're and Susan Sugg had, so far as he was concerned no start in the race of life-ex- cept that. as he would have stated the case to himself, the probabilities were that the Lady Clara had her head stuffed
 with all sorts of nonsense. He did not pause to consider that in all likelihood Miss Sugg took in The Farthing Novel; ette-and that. consequently. the two were much on the same intellectual level. The Salt-and- d-Cayenne-pepper Irishman had indeed paused for reply, and that reply was hard to find.
 My intentions with regard to your daughter?" repeated the underground engineer duly.
 Aye, just that said the Irishman, what ye are up to is clear-coming here night after night--Coortin'! That's it! What ye are goin to be up to, and you