Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1907-04-24
THE
SPENDERS|
A Tale of the Third Generation
BY HARRY LEON WILSON
Copyright, by Lothrop Publishing Company.
CHAPTER II.-CoNT1NrED,

manded markets to rise and they rose,
or to fall and they fell-Shepler beg
ging, entreating child OF his Despite
the soul-sickening tragedy of it, the
situation was not without its element
of sublmity
She will consider; she will redect??"
You're guessing now, and you're as
keen at that as l. Avice is not only
amazingly self-willed. as you intimated
a moment since, but she is intensely
secretive. When she left me | could
get nothing from her whatever She
was wretchedly sullen and taciturn."
But why should she hesitate: Shep-
ler-Rulon Shepler! My God! is the
girl crazy? The very idea of hesta-
ton is preposterous!'
Il can't divine her. You know she
has acted perversely in the past
used to think she might have some
affair of which we knew nothing
something silly and romantic. But if
she had any such thing I'm sure it
was ended, and she'd have jumped at
this chance a year ago. You know
yourself she was ready TO marry young
Bines, and was really disappointed
when he aldn't propose"
'RAt, this is too serious" He tin
Killed. the little silver bell.
Find out if Miss Avice will be down
to breakfast"
Yes sir"
IF she's not coming down l shall go
up, declared Mr.. Milbrey when the
man had gone.
She's stubborn" cautioned his wife.
Cad! don't know it,
! Jarvis returned
Miss Avice won't be down sir. and
I'm 10 fetch her up a pot of coffee,
sir"
Take it at once, and tell her l shall
be up to see her presently.' Jarvis
vanished.
Il think l see way to put pressure
on her, that is if the morning hash t
already brought her back to her
senses
At four o'clock that afternoon. Avice
Milbrey's ring brought Mrs. van
Geists butler to the door.
''Sandon, is Aunt Cornelia at home q"
Yes, Miss Milbrey. she's confined to
her room h'account h'of a cold, m ss."
Thank heaven
Yes, miss-certainly! will you go
h'up to her?'
And Mutterchen. dear, it was a reg
Mar bombshell.' she concluded after
she had futtered some of the Eovem-
Der freshness into Mrs. Van Geists
room, and breathlessly related the
facts.
You demented creatrxe! l should
say it must have BEEN
Now. don't lecture.'
But Shepler is one of the richest
men in New York..
Dad already suspects as MUCH
And he's kind. he's a big-hearted
chap, man Of the world generous
"a"
"A woman fancier, Fidelia Old
aker calls him"
My dear. if he fancies YOU
There. you old conservative, I've
heard all his good points. and my duty
has been written before me in letters
writing it this morning, so don't
please. say over any of the moral
maAims I'm likely to have heard
But why are you unwilling?"
"Because-because I'm wild, l fancy
just because | don't like the idea of
marrying that man. He's such big.
funny, round head. and positively no
;c
his big. pillowy shonlders-and then
he gets little right at once, tapers right
off to point with those tiny feet.
1T isn't easy to have eyerythng."
''It wouldn't be easy to have him,
either
Mrs. Van Geist fixed her niece with
q sudden look of suspicion
"Has-has that man anything to do
with your refusal?'
"No-nOt thing give you my
word, auntie. If he had been what
once dreamed he was, no one would
be asking me to marry him now. but
do you know what I've decided?
Why, that he is a joke-that's all
just joke. You needn't think of him,
Mutterchen-I don't, except to think it
was funny that he should have i'm
pressed me so-he's simply a JOKE
Il could have told you as much long
ago.
Tell me something now. Suppose
: Fred marries that Wybert woman"
.S It will be sorry day for Fred"
s5 "'Of course! Now see how I'm
u pinned. Dad and the mater both say
the same now-they're more severe
than was. Only We were never in
such straits for money. 1t must be
had. So this is the gist Of it: I ought
to marry Rulon Shepler in order to
save Fred from marriage that might
get us into all sorts of scandal"
"Well?"
well, l would do a lot for Fred.
He has faults, but he's always been
good to me-"
And so?'
And so it's a question whether he
narries a very certain kind of woman
or whether I marry a very different
kind of man."
How do you feel?"
For one thing, Fred sha'n't get into
that kind of muss if l can save him
from it."
Then you'll marry Shepler?"
I'm still uncertain about Mr.. Shep-
ler.'
But you say"