The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-10-28
Continued from Page o.

tie hope Of seeing her and perhaps
take her for drive if the weather
clears and she is well CROUCH"
At > he was at Fair Oaks in a worse
doWnpour than ever, only to find him
| self rebUfcd Half soaked. he stood
! On the threshold and was told that
| Miss Marshall could see no one and
that the doctor had given her some
Steering stuff. The general. too, had
intrrnchcd himself against callers.
| Matt climbed into his buggy and drove
off. sick with despair.
Spla>hing along the muddy road, he
wondered at himself for refusing that
Saoo1o With the money they had of
frrcd him Chris for was not this what
il amounted to: With $4,000 in his
pocket he might go up to that big
house and take her bodily away. mar
rs her, have her for his very own?
Nnnty-nine men out of hundred
would have taken the mOney-wOuld
have jumped ut it. Fifty thousand
dollars 1t might be years before he
would be worth quarter as much.
And here he was throwing it out of the
window like a quixotic fool. 1t was
not in him to betray John Mort. 1t
was simply thlt he was incapable of
it, He almost wished that he was not.
II MAS not principle nor religion nor
anything but n fact. He himself was
quite helpless. Noition lay altogether
beyond him 1t was something he
could not do, that was all.
At home there was a telegram await
ing him. 1t read.
Matthew Broughton. Care Mrs. Sattane
ManaSwan, Conn:
Experts pronounce ruby tlaWed and
worth $500 only. Firm faces substantial
loss on advance already made IF accrued
interest be not promptly paid shall dis
pose of ring at end Of statutory period
Telegraph instructions
SNOOD e IIARGREANFS
1t was blow to make any man
Stagger; defenSclcSs. his first instinct
was to hide in his room. Matt locked
the door and with desperation read the
telegram again. Good God. all he had
then was the money in his pocket.
Were 1t not for Chris he would have
been less unnamed. The sea is
hard master, but it will always feed
and clothe man who has made it his
trade He couldn't staryc it wasn't
that. But it meant losing Chris -aban,
doning all thought and dreams of her
as his wife.
How did he know that he wasn't be-
ing cheated? There was no flaw in
the ruby Everything John Mort had
was Of The best. of the finest IN
perts pronounce ruby tlawed" The
hap would have paid him $1,000 then
sDd there for the ring. He was an
expert himself, that bald man. He
hadn't dillydallied or anything, but
had been cagcrncSS itself to clinrh the
bargain. 1t was inconccivable that he
had been mistaken lie was a thief.
that was what he was. low. con
tcmptible thief. who had discovered
how to get the ring for thousand
the thousand originally advanced.
lie ragged up and down the room in
tmpotent wrath. People knocked and
spoke through the keyho!e. but he dis
regarded them. One, alone could have
been of the least Solace to him. and
she was lying in that great. grim house
beyond those miles of dripping woods.
But she would know soon enough
too soon. \ few days and they would
say goodby for the last time. forever,
unless a miracle happened The gen
eral was the only person capable of
figuring In Il miracle But Matt built
no hopes there, 1t was impossible to
associate Bless you. my children"
with that keen. proud face-rather. Il
whitening sentiment and a glance that
would strike like knife The miracle
would he how to get ont alive-how to
escape with the lest shred of self re-
spect,
No. with $1,000. with paggancourt
and the aid of Chris intrepid spirit. it
had been within the bounds of reason
The rose could have been plnckel
general or no general, and carried in
triumph to that Kentucky farm. But
$50 was eighty nothin2
BY supper time he had somewhat re-
covered his compoSur2 and. though
very pale, contrived in other respects
to conceal the crushing nature of his
misfortune. He announced gravely
begged that he might be excused from
giving the particulars.
After supper he got his ovprcoat and
settled himself in Il dry corner of the
veranda. where his reflections were
suddenly arrested by the stoppage of
an automobile ut the gate and the de
scent of vaguely familiar figure. 1t
was an immense limousine. not unlike
the one he had associated with Mr..
Kay's departure the night before. In
fact the vaguely familiar figure was
Mr.. Kay himself. advancing hurriedly
up the board walk.
Brought the mint with you?" asked
Matt.
why. certainly | have" exclaimed
Mt. Kay with undisguised eagerness.
Il am ready to raise our offer TO n