Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-04-12
CHAPTER I.
THE ANDRoMEDA.
"A - AIRY Mr.. Bulmer! That
" horrid old man! Uncle,
what are -you sayingT
CHAPTER l.

ture of-the wild aroused from sylvan
broodings by knowledge Of imminent
danger. In her terror she upset three
wineglasses OH the luncheon table.
One. rose tinted aud ornate. crashed
to the floor. and the noise seemed to
irritate the owner Of Linden House
more than his uiece's shrill terror
mo need to bust up our best set Of
'ock glasses Just because l 'appen to
mention ovid Dickey Bulmer," he
growled.
I'm sorry" she said and stopped to
pick up the fragments scattered over
the carpet.
Leave that alone" came the sharp
order. Its Ugh time You an me 'ad
a straight talk. an l can't do wi folk
bouncin' about like an injia rubber
ball when I've got things to say to
EN-"
He gulped down some of the wine.
darted his tongue several times In and
out between his teeth. smacked his
lips, replaced his cigar In his mouth
and leaned back In his chair until II
creaked.
Iris Yorke. accustomed to this rit.
ual, found herself even in her pres
ent trouble wondering how 1t was
possible that David Verify could be
her mothers brother. This coarse
hammered man. brother to the sweet
voiced. tender hearted gentlewoman
| whose gracious wrath was left un-
| dimmed In the girls memory by the
lapse Of years-it would be unbeliev
able II Il were not true. But he had
shown kindness to her In his dom.
ineering way. Shocked almost ut the
disloyalty Of her thoughts. Iris tried to
close the rift that had opened 30 un-
expectedly.
"Yt was stupid of me to take you
seriously" she said. "You cannot real
" mean that Mr.. Bulmer wishes to
marry me?"
81 meant It right enough. my lass"
he said.
"But. uncle. dear
stop a bit. Listen to me first an
say your say when I've finished. Like
everybody else, you think I'm a rich
man. David Verify. ESQ.,. shipowner
of Linden House an Exchange build
ings-it looks all right. don't 1t. like
one Of them furrin apples with rosy
peel an a maggot inside? You're the
first I've told about the maggot. Fact
Is, I'm broke. Shipownin' Is rotten
nowadays unless you've lots Of capi-
tai. I've lost mine. Unless ] get help.
an a thumpin' big slice Of 1t. my name
figures 10 the Gazette. want 100000,
an oo's goin' to give 1t to ME? put
1t to owd Dickey yesterday, an e SAID
you couldn't raise money in Liverpool
today to build ferryboat. But e said
summit else. II you wed i'm e makes
you a partner In the 6rm OF verify
Bulmer & Co. See? Wot's wrong
with that? I've done everything for
you up to date. Now it's your turn
Simple, isn't it7 P'raps ought to
have explained things differently, but
It didn't occur to me you'd hobject to
bein' the wife Of q millionaire. even u
e Is a doddrin' owd idiot to talk Of
marryin' ag'in."
"Oh. unclew
With a wall of despair the girl sank
back and covered her face with her
hands. Now that she believed the IN
credible she could utter no protest
The sacrifice demanded was too great
Verify was angry. almost alarmed
Resistance, even Of this passive sort
raised the savage in him. Hitherto
Iris had been ready to obey his slight
est whim.
There's no use cryin' oh. uncle,
an kickin' up fuss" he snapped vi
ciously. "Where would you ave bin
I'd like to know. II 1t wasn't for me-
In the gutter-that's where your pre-
cious fool Of q father left your motne'
an you. You're the best dressed an
best lookin' an best dedicated girl
Bootle today-thanks to me. WheT
| your mother kem ere ten year ago an
said her lit'rary gent Of q 'usband wal
dead. neither of you 'ad 'ad square
meal for weeks-remember that. VII
you? It isn't my fault you've got u
marry Bulmer. It's Just bit OF IN
fernal bad luck-the same for both o.
us II 1t comes to that An wh,
shouldn't you ave some Of the sour
after I've given you all the sweetsT
The girl staggered to her feet
"I will do what you ask" she muf
INJURED, though there was a pitiful quiv
erinx ut the corners Of her mouth tina
bespoke an agony beyond the relief o
tears. but please don't. say any NOR
and never again allude to my dear n
ther In that way or l may-I may fos
get what I owe you"
The door closed and be was alone.
81 Taking a small notebook from ni
pocket. he jotted down an array OF no
ures. he was 50 absorbed IN tnel
analysis that he did not see Iris wal
0 | listlessly across the lawn that sprea'
its summer greenery In front OF tn
I dining room windows. And that We
an, ASs.~ -, nsvlA Tha li0ht OF IA