The Alaska citizen., 1910-09-05
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CHAPTER 1.

my sun 10 q iooi. lcdu tIlt VIII LII old John Burnit q am, however, also | convinced that I allowed him to be- come so by too much absorption in my own affairs and too little in his, and, therefore, his being fool is | hereditary; consequently, l feel it my duty. first. to give him fair trial at making his own way, and second, | to place the balance of my fortune in such trust that he cannot starve The trusteeship is already created and the details are nobody's present | business. My son Robert will take over the John Burnt Store and per sonally conduct it, as his only re- source, without further question as i to what else I may have left behind me. This is my last will and testa- ment"
 | That is how cheerful Bobby Burnt, with no thought heretofore above healthy amusements and Agnes Ellis ton. suddenly became a business man, after having been raised to become the idle heir to about three million. Of course, having no kith nor kin in all this wide world, he went i'm mediately to consult Agnes It is quite likely that if he had been sup piled with dozens of uncles and aunts he would have gone to Agnes first anyhow, having a mighty regard for her keen judgment, even though her clear gaze rested now and then all too critically upon himself Just as he came whirling up the avenue he saw Nick Allstyne's white car, sever al blocks ahead of him, stop at her door, and a figure which he knew must be Nick jump out and trip up the steps. Almost immediately the | figure came down again, much more | slowly. and climb into the car, which whizzed away.
 Not at home" grumbled Bobby It was like him, however, that he should continue straight to the quaint old house of the Ellistons and prof. fer his own card, for, though his | aims could seldom be called really worth while, he invariably finished the thing he set out to do. It seemed to be sort of a disease He could not help it. To his surprise, the Cerberus who guarded the Ellston door received him with a smile and a bow, and observed:
 Miss Elliston says you are to walk right on up to the Turkish alcove, sir"
 While Wilkins took his hat and coat Bobby paused for a moment to fguratively hug himself At home to no one else! Expecting him!
 "Ill ask her again" said Bobby to himself with determination, and stalked on up to the second floor hall, upon which opened delightful cozy corner where Aunt Constance Elliston permitted the more family like" male callers to smoke and loll and be at mannish ease
 As he reached the landing the door of the library below opened, and in it appeared Agnes and an unusually Well-set-up young mana new one, who wore a silky mustache and most fastidious tailoring. The two were talking, laughing gayly as the door opened, but as Agnes glanced up and saw Bobby she suddenly stopped laughing, and he almost thought that he overheard her say something in an aside to her companion. The i'm pression was but feeting, however, for she immediately nodded brightly Bobby bowed rather stiffly in return, and continued his ascent of the stairs with less spritely foOtstep Crest fallen, and conscious that Agnes had again closed the door of the library without either herself or the strange visitor having emerged into the hall, he strode into the Turkish alcove and let himself drop upon a divan with a thump. He extracted a cigar from his cigar-case, carefully cut off the tip and as carefully restored the cigar to it's place. Then he clasped his interlocked fingers around his knee, and for the next ten minutes strove, like a gentleman, not to lis ten.
 When Agnes came up presently she made no mention whatever of her caller, and, of course, Bobby had no loophole upon which to hang an impertinent question, though the sharp barbs of them were darting through and through him. Such fum- ing as he felt, however, was instantly allayed by the warm and thoroughly honest clasp she gave him when she shook hands with him. It was one of the twenty-two million things he liked about her that she did not shake hands like two ounces of cold fish, as did some of the girls he knew. She was dressed in half-in- formal, housegown, and the one curl of her waving brown hair that would persistently struggle down upon her forehead was in it's accustomed place.