The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1913-12-12
A Novel Of Absorbing In
terest, With a Beautiful
Girl as the Intended Pawn
In a Marriage Of Finan-
cial Convenience. {:
CHAPTER |.
The Squire.

"HE proprietor Of Mon Desir.
Captain Kemyss, commonly
called the squire by his Eng
fish friends, became a planter
through falling in love.
About five and twenty years before
this story opens, when people in the
island Of Palmiste were beginning to
think that they might try to forget the
calamity of their great and terrible
cholera year and to leave off telling
each other horrible stories, there ar
rived in the island an extremely
sprightly regiment, the officers in
which were nearly all young, rich and
disposed to make things cheerful for
themselves and all their friends so far
as lies in the power Of the English OFF,
Ger.
Of young men who were close friends
and not, like their companions, wholly
given over to sport and amusement.
They had, in fact, the unusual good
sense to perceive that life cannot be
all champagne and skittles. Where
fore they sometimes went to bed early,
did not take soda and brandy as a
pick me up before breakfast, observed
a liberal moderation in strong drink
during the day and did not look upon
all pretty girls az made solely for the
amusement Of the man with the scar
let jacket. In fact, they were the
small minority which among every
madcap crew are always found to
spoil sport by square toed temperance.
So the regiment heard with great re-
lief and thankfulness that not only
were these two engaged to be married
to girls Of the island, but that they
were going to sell out at once.
They became. in fact, engaged to
two cousins, girls Of French descent.
who had been brought up together and
were to each other as two sisters.
They were alike In appearance, in
tastes and in accomplishments. They
reSembled each other in agreeing to be
very much in love each with her own
English wooer. They were both young,
both beautiful and both amiable.
They differed. however, in one small
point, felt by both young ladies to be
Of no Importance whatever-namely,
that one was rich and the other poor.
Captain Ferrier, the grandson Of a
peer. who married the rich girl, was
himself already tolerably we'll provid-
ed. Captain Kemyss. the son Of a
bishop, who had only a moderate pat
rimony. married the one who was poor.
Now, If he had stayed in the army or
had gone home and lived quietly upon
his modest income he would have got
along very we'll. But when he found
that Ferrier intended to remain In Pal
miste and cultivate his wife's sugar es-
tate; when he learned further that bis
own wife would like nothing in the
world so we'll as to remain all her days
In the place where she was born; when
he considered the fertility and good
ness Of the land; when the pleasures
Of a planters life were pointed out to
him, with the chances Of a great for
tune, he yielded to temptation and
bought an estate.
Observe the difference at the outset
between the two friends. Captain Fer
rier married a girl who was the only
child of a planter with the largest and
most fertile estate in the island. With
his own money and with the money al
ready made out Of the estate he would
be enabled, whatever happened, to ride
out the storm. Therefore, with ordi-
nary care, his prosperity was assured.
Captain kemyss, on the other hand,
invested the whole Of his own very
moderate fortune in purchasing an
estate. To complete the purchase he
had, like most Of his brother planters,
to borrow of the bank a third Of the
purchase money. He, therefore, be
came for life a man encountered with
a hopeless debt. One son was born to
him, Tom by name, now his manager
partner and overseer.
His friend Terrier had several chill
dren. but all died except one. a girl
Virginie. When Ferrier died himself
Captain Kemyss became the guardian
of the child and the executor Of the
will. Nine. Ferrier and her daughter
came to live with him, and they form
ed, creole fashion, one household.
Captain Kemyss. the squire" car
ried on in the quiet Palmistie bunga.
low the kind Of life to which he hac
been himself brought up. He was OF
his tropical estate an English countr,
gentleman. He educated his son in hi>
own ideas. It was through him tina
Tom showed no rusticity and Virgini,
no creole insularity.
EIe was now a man Of sixty. tall
gray headed. with a gray mustache
La had a noiifaeu hooriuo still II