The San Francisco call., 1909-04-11
: III N0ROaZzHRZL C0E31YT

My dear boy. that was the most
delectable dish on the entire menu.
have been reserving II. I don't mind
owning. that might better enjoy the
full relish or IT. may an
swer you best. perhaps. by asking you
TO scan what offered to the fat scOun-
drePs respectful consideration, my dear
sir
He leveled f0fehnger at the card
At first glance It conveyed nothing to
the younger mans benighted intelli-
gence He puzzled over II, twisting
his brows out OF alignment An or
binary oblong slip OF thin white card
board. 1t was engraved In fine script
Mr.. GEORGE BUReorNE cALEtDAR
81. Aspen Villas S. W.
"Oh" exclaimed Kirkwood at length.
standing up. his face bright with un-
derstanding. YOU"
IT." laconically' assentsd the elder
man.
ImpuIsively Kirkwood leaned across
the table Dorothy" he said tender
ly; and when the girls happy eyes met
his. quietly drew her attention TO, the
card.
Then he rose hastily and went over
to stand by the window. staring mistily
into the blank face OF night beyond its
unseen panes.
Behind him there was confusion OF
little noises; the sound OF a chair
pushed hurriedly aside. a rustic OF
skirts. happy sob or two. low voices
interminglings sighs. Out OF IL
finally came the fathers accents.
There. there. my dear. Ny dearest
dearY' protested the old gentleman.
Positively I don't deserve a tithe OF
this. T." The young old voice quav-
cred and broke in a happy laugh.
You must understand" he con-
tinued more soberly. that no con-
sideration OF any sort Is due me.
When we married I was too old
for your mother, child; we both knew
It, both believed II would never matter
But IL did. BY her wish I went back
to America; we were to see what sep
aration would do to heal the wounds
dissension had caused. It was very
foolish experiment. Your mother died
before I could return"
There fell a silence. a asaIn broken by
the father. After that I was IN no
haste 20 return But some years ago
came TO London TO live. I communf-
Gated with the old colonel asking per-
mission to see you 1t was refused In
a manner which precluded the subject
being reopened by me: was informed
that II 1 persisted IN attempting 10
see YOU you would be dfsinherited.
Justly. 1 admit one must grow
old before one can see how unfOr-
givably one was wrong IN youth
So I settled down 70 a quiet
old age, determined not to disturb you
IN your happiness An-hirK-
wood"
The old gentleman was standing. his
arm round his daughters shoulders
when Kirkwood turned
Come here. Philip; I'm explaining
to Dorothy, but you should near
e.. The evening I called on you.
dear boy, at the Pless. returning home
I received a message from my solicit
tors whom I had instructed 70 keep an
eve on DorOthy's welfare They In
formed me that she had disappeared
Naturally I Cancelled my plans TO go TO
Munich, and stayed. employing detec-
tfves One Of the first things they dis
covered was that Dorothy had run on
with an elderly person calling himself
George Burgoyne Calendar-the name
I had discarded when I found that TO
acknowledge me would impern my
daughters fortune. The IN
yestigatfons went deeper; Charles
let US continue to call him
had been 10 see me only this
afternoon to inform me OF the plot
they had discovered. This Hallam
woman and her son-it seems that they
were legftima1ely IN the line or int
herftance. Dorothy out OF the way But
the woman was-ah-a bad lot Some
how she got into communication with
this fat rogue and together they
plotted 1t out. Charles doesn't believe
that the HaIIam woman expected TO
enjoy the Burgoyne estates for very
many DAYS Her plan was to step In
when Dorothy stepped out, gather up
what she could, realize on It. and de-
camp. That IS why there was so much
excitement about the jewels; naturally
the most valuable item on her list. the
most easy to convert into cash.
The man Mulready we do not place; he
seems to have been a shady character
the fat rogue picked up somewhere.
The latter's ordinary line OF business
was diamond smuggling. though he
would condescend 10 almost anything
In order to turn dishonest penny
That seems TO exhaust the subject.
But one word more Dorothy.
am old enough and have suffered
enough to know the wisdom OF seizing
ones happiness when one may. My
dear. a little while ago. you did a
very brave deed Under FIRE you said
a most courageous. womanly. creditable
thing. And Philips rejoinder was only
second IN nobility to yours
do hope to goodness that you two
blessed youngsters won't let any ad-
dIepated scrupIes stand between your
selves and-the prize OF Romance, your
inalienable inheritance!
Abruptly Brentwick. who was no
longer Brentwick. but the actual Cal
endar. released the girl from his en-
brace and hoped nimbly toward the
door Really. I must see about that
petroli" he cried. While it's perfectly
true that Charles lied about It's run
ming out. we must be getting on. I'll
call you when we're ready to start"
And the door-srashed to behind him.
Between them was the table Be-
yond II the girl stood with head erect.
dim tears glimmering on the lashes OF
those eyes with which she met Philips
steady gaze so feariessly-
Singing about them. the silence
deepened. Fascinated. though his heart
was faint with longing. Kirkwood
faltered on the threshold OF his king
DOM
'Dorothyi You ala mean It.
dearT'
She laughed. n little, low. sobbing
laugh that had its source deep IN the
hidden sanctuary OF her heart Of
child.
'I@meant 1t. my dearest II
you'll have a girl so bold and forward.
who can't wait till she's asked but
throws herself Into the arms OF the