The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-04-26

BY CAROLYN WELLS.
(copydi sht. 1909. by J. 8. Lippineott
Company
CHAPTER I.
The Van Normans.


Ct its own Importance. and its
white. Colonial columns g'oamed
through the trees. like sentine,e
guarding the entrance to the stately
hall
All Mapleton was proud of the pic
turesquc old pace and it was shown
TO visiting strangers with the same
pride that the native villagers point.
ed out the Memorial Library and
the new church.
More than a half.century old. the
patrician white house seemed tn
glance coldly on the upstart cot
tages. whose inadequate pillars sup
ported beetling second stories, and
whose spacious. fligreed verandas
left woefully small area for rooms
inside the house.
The Van Norman mansion was not
like that. II was long rectangle,
and each of it's four stories was a
series of commodious. well.shaped
apartments.
Ans It's owner. the beautiful Mad.
ele'ne Van Norman, was the NO"t
envied IA well as the most adm I'd
young woman In the town.
Magnificent Madeleine. "a she was
sometimes called. was one OF teh
naughty, imperious type which in
spires admiration and respect rather
than love. An orphan and an nelress
she had lived all of her twenty-t~o
years of life I'm the old house. and
since the death of her uncle, two
years before, had continued as mis-.
tress OF the place. ably assisted by
a pleasant. motherly chaperon. a
clever social secretary. and a corps
of capable servants.
The mansion itself and an income
sufficient to maintain 1t were already
legally her own, but by the terms
of her uncle's will she was sooD
to come into possession Of the bulk
of the great fortune he had left.
Maieleine was the only Twins
descendant of old Richard Van Nor
man. save for one distant cousin, a
young man Of scapegrace and
ne'er.do-well sort. who of late years
had lived abroad.
This young mans early life had
been spent in Mapleton, but. his
fiery temper having brought abou
n serious quarrel with his uncle, hi
had wisely concluded to take him
self away
And yet Tom Willard was not o
a qaarrclsome disposition. His ba,
temper was of the impulsive sort
reused suddenly, and as quickly sup
pressed. Nor was II often in evi
dence. Goodnatured, easy-going Ton
would put up with his uncle's crit
icism and fault-fnding for weeks a
; time, and then, perhaps goade
beyond endurance, he would fly int
a rage and express himself in III
ent IL rather vigorous English.
For Richard Van Norman had bee
By no means an easy man to liv
with. And II was Toms general am
ability that had made him the usui
) scapegoat for his uncle's i'll tempe
Miss Madeleine would have non
y Of il. Quite as dictatorial as the oil
man himself she allowed no interfe
ence with her own plans and u
criticism of her own actions.
This had proved the right wa
i, to manage Mr.. Van Norman, an
he had always acceded to Madeleine
n requests or submitted 10 her deere,
n without objection, though there h,
=, never been any demonstration OF ,
T., fection between the two.
:, But demonstration was quite Il
), cign 10 the nature OF both uncle al
- niece. and in truth they were real
fond of each other in their quit
;, reserved way Tom Willard was d
ferent, His affection was of the nc
est and outspoken sort, and he ma
friends easily, though he often Il
~ them with equal rapldity.
On account, then, OF his deyoti
TO Madeleine, and his enmity towa
young Tom Willard, Richard V
Norman had willed the old place
his neice, ann had further dlrec,
that the whole of his large fortu
should be unrestrictedly bestowed
on her on her wedding day, or
her twenty.third birthday should s
reach that age unmarried. In eve
OF her death before her maria
and also before her twentyth
birthday. the whole estate would
to Tom Willard.
II was with the greatest reluctaI
that Richard Van Norman decr'
this, but a provision had TO be m;
in case Of Madeleine's early dee
~