Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-01-23
The Argus Daily Story
A Fortune for Dance-By Henrietta Deering
Copyrighted 1911 by Associated Literary Bureau

the enemy, but every southern man Of
responsibility within fifty miles. rich
or poor, had assembled. some of them
suitors for one of the young ladies to
be auctioned. not only for the dance,
but in marriage.
When the hand of Constance was
put up some one started it at $50. A
man dressed rs Mephistopheles made
second bid Of hundred dollars. A
third person offered a hundred and
fifty. Mephistopheles astouished every
one now by bidding $500. Here the
bidding ceased for awhile. but the
auctioneer did not make the sale It
had been arranged that a number Of
married men. in order to be ready to
stimulate the bidding In Miss Run
let's case. should form pool to be put
in one mans hands to be used for this
purpose. Presently a man in Louis
XIV. costume raised the last bid to
500. Mephistopheles made it a thou.
sand
Now wealthy widower was IN the
pool, who had long wished to marry
Constance, and the bidding Of the fund
had been placed in his hands. He
doubled Mephistopheles' bid. The lat
ter raised his thousand. making the
amount offered $1,000. Louis XIV and
Mephistopheles from this point con.
tinued to bid against each other till
finally the latter offered $4,000.
By this time the bidders interested
everybody; but, being masked, no one
knew who they were. Cries OF I'm
mask" were raised, and finally. after
consultation with others who had
made up the pool, Louis XIV. raised
his mask. Mephistopheles remained
concealed. This only tended to In.
crease the excitement.
Louis XIV. was recognized as Gen.
eral Bernard, who had distinguished
himself on the Confederate side dur
ing the war. He was fifty years old,
well of and considered a desirable
years old. He had been spoken Of in
connection with Constance. and his
appearing in this role was received
with intense interest. Since Mephis-
topheles continued to bid the gen.
eral did the same. Finally, when the
amount offered reached $4,000, after
a conference among the members OF
the pool Colonel Runlet approached
Mephistopheles and asked him who1
he was.
"Incognito," replied the other.
II must request'you, sir. to give some
evidence Of your ability to make good
your bid In case you are accorded the
privilege forwhich You are contending."
Mephfstopheles thrust his hand into
a pocket Of his doublet and took OUT
a certified check for 500, 900 on a bank
in the nearest city. The colonel with
drew and reported what he had seen.
Then the bidding continued.
General Bernard continued to raise
his bid $1,000 at every offer. and
Mephistopheles continued to go a thou
sand higher. Since the latter seemed
determined to win at any cost the gen.
eral kept raising him till Mephistophe-
les had bid $4,000. Then the general
nodded to the auctioneer, signifying
that he did not care to go any further
in egging on his opponent. The amount
he had gained for the poor was quite
enough and had not cost him cent.
Then a cry arose for Mephistopheles
to unmask.
mot without Miss Runlet's order"
he said
Constance advanced and requested
him to make himself known.
He threw off his cape, then his doub-
let, revealing the uniform Of United
States army officer, with the silver leaf
Of lieutenant colonel on his shoulders.
Then, casting aside his mask, he stood
revealed to all as a middle aged stran-
ger whom no guest recognized. Con-
stance gave a cry Of joy, and he took
her in his arms.
Lawrence Desborough had gone north
and had become northern man. The
Colorado gold fever at that time oc-
cupied the attention of the nation. and.
putting his money into what miners
needed. he sailed around the Horn and
sold his stock at an enormous profit.
AS a commission merchant he had ac-
cumulated capital which he invested in
mining property. When the war broke
out he volunteered in the Federal army.
BEFORE the surrender one OF MS mines
had made him very rich AS soon as
he learned of this he came to claim his
former love.
His appearance In United States uni
form produced a commotion. Many
felt bitter toward him as south
erner who had fought against the
south, but he had given $4,000 to the
poor in and about his former home,
and this tended to alleviate the preju
| dice against him.
The music struck up for the first
| dance. a quadrille, and Lawrence Des-
/ borough and Constance Runlet danced
it together. he displaying on his shout
| ders the insignia Of a Federal officer,
the only such present.
In time he bought back the planta-
| ton Of his ancestors and established in
it his parents. who were now old per-
sons. He married Colonel Runlet's
daughter. but since he had become
northernized be took Ter to the more
active field to be found in the northern
| states