Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-01-19
CHAPTER III.

Mrs. Gray lived in Fortieth street.
For years Montgomery Brewster had
regarded her quiet old fashioned home
as his own. The house had once been
her grandfather's, and it was one OF the
pioneers in that part of the town. 1t
was there she was born, in its quaint
old parlor she was married, and all her
girlhood. her brief welded life and her
widowhood We're connected with 1t.
Mrs. Gray and Montgomery's mother
had been schoolmates and playmates,
and their friendship endured. When
old Edwin Peter Brewster looked about
for a place to house his orphaned
grandson, Mrs. Gray begged him to let
her care for the little fellow. He was
three years older than her Margaret,
and the children grew up as brother
and sister. Mr. Brewster was generous
in providing for the boy, while he was
away at college, spending money in a
manner that caused the old gentleman
to marvel at his own liberality. Mrs.
Gray was we'll paid for the unused, but
we'll kept apartments, and there never
was murmur of complaint from Ed
vim Peter Brewster. He was hard, but
he was not niggardly.
1t had been something of struggle
for Mrs. Gray to make both ends meet.
The property in Fortieth street was her
snly possession. But little money had
come to her at her husbands death,
md an unfortunate speculation of his
had swept away all that had fallen to
h from her father, the late Judge
Merriweather. For years she kept the
old home unincumbered, teaching
French and English until Margaret was
well into her teens. The girl was sent
to one of the good old boarding schools
! on the Hudson and came out well pre-
pared to help her mother in the battle
to keep the wolf down and appearances
up. Margaret was rich in friendships,
and pride alone stood between her and
| the advantages they offered. Good
| looking, bright and cheerful, she knew
no natural privations. With a heart as
light and joyous as May morning she
faced adversely as thought it were a
pleasure, and no one would have sus-
pected that even for moment her
courage wavered.
Now that Brewster had come into
| his splendid fortune he could conceive
no greater delight than to share it
with them TO walk into the little
drawing room and serenely lay large
sums before them as their own, seemed
such a natural proceeding that he re-
fused to see an obstacle. But he knew
| il was there. The proffer of such a
gift TO Mrs. Gray would mean Il wound
to the pride inherited from naughty
generations of men sufficient unto
themselves. There was small but
troublesome mortgage on the house, a
matter of two or three thousand dol
lars and Brewster tried TO evolve q
plan by which he could assume the
burden without giving deep and lasting
offense. A hundred wild designs had
come to him, but they were quickly rel
egated to the growing heap OF subter-
fuges and preteXts condemned by his
tenderness for the pride of these two
women who meant so much to him.
Leaving the bank, he FASTENED by
electric car to FortiCth street and
Broadway ana then walked eagerly off
into the street Of the numeral. He bad
not yet come to the point where IL felt
like scornng the cars even thou D. q
roll Of bank notes was tucked s. .E'N
away in a pocket that seemed 70 s'ei:
with sudden affluence. Old Hend i".
faithful servitor through two gel 90 IT,
tions. was sweeping the autumn L..