The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-06-21
At SHERIFPS SALE
BY CATHERINE cRANMER.

Five years after John Morton lef
Pr1neville he had become a successful
civil lawyer with some very big name
on the list OF clients. With profes
sional success had come also socia
recognition and establishment in exclu
sive bachelor quarters. All this hat
Kept him so occupied that scant time
had been left to keep up friendly in
tercourse with the Prineville people
and since the death of his only Prime
Vile relative. John Daniels, the law.
yer with whom he had first read law
ne had not been back to visit the little
county-seat town.
Seated in his book-lined Office one
summer morning, John Morton was
gong over his personal accounts.
Just then the postman came in and
deposited some mail on Johns desk.
There were some letters of profes-
sional import, a club notice of a BAN
ouet for distinguished visitor to
the city. legal publication or two and
the little home paper from Prineville.
Many copy Of the Weekly Argus
had gone into the waste basket un.
opened, but on this particular morn
ing It was the paper that claimed
precedence over all the other mail.
over in the right-hand column of
the third page was row of legal no
tices, and a glance over these
brought an indrawn whistle of sur
prise from John.
The cause of his agitation was this
notice: Pursuant to the order of the
county court, l the undersigned. sher-
Ia OF Cornwall county, will on Mon
DAY, June the twelfth, at the north
door OF the courthouse, at ten o'clock
In the forenoon, sell at public sale
to the highest bidder for cash certain
property of Barbara Anderson, con-
sisting Of the following" Then fol-
lowed a detailed description of what
John readily recognized as the old
Anderson homestead, which stood on
the outskirts of Prineville, and which
ne recalled as the scene of many a
lively tennis game with Barbara. With
his elbows on the desk and his head
In his hands. John sat staring at the
notice, but what he really saw was
thousand incidents of summers
gone by.
He also thought Of the friendly cor
respondence he had kept up with
Barbara when he first came to the
city, and he WINGED as he realized
that 1t was largely due to his negli- |
gence that the correspondence had en- |
tirely died out. Other causes were |
that he had been busy with his pro-
fession and Barbara had been tied |
down by the invalidism Of her mother
following the shock of her fathers
death in railroad accident.
He called the stenographer in and
let loose such an avalanche of rapid |
dictation that she had to bend over
her notebook with flying fingers and
alert ears to catch all he said. At ten
o'clock Monday morning, enough of
her whirlwind notes still remained to
be transcribed to keep her busy an
Gay, but there was no danger of her
work being augmented, for John Nor
ton was hundred miles away and was
at that moment alighting from his
dusty roadster in front of the old
Anderson homestead.
With the directness and determine
ton which had in five years time put
MIN on q professional plane with men
ten years his senior, John had, in five
minutes time, told Barbara that sue
cess had brought him nothing that
took the place of their comradeship of
I'VE years before, and he begged her
70 renew it and to let him be a fire.
luent visitor at the old home as be-
lore.
You'd always be welcome, John"
The said cordially, but sadly, but the
DID home is being sold this minute at
me courthouse door. II 1t brings
enough to pay the mortgages and to
keep me in New York until can quail
~ for ONCE work, I'll be in luck. You
ZEE. / couldn't leave mother to earn
lnything, and to give her the comfort
he needed the home was heavily
nortgaged. Perhaps you didn't know
Il her DEATH"
John was ready to begin an explana-
ton when the telephone rang.
It's the sheriff, I'm sure" said Bar
ARA nervously. He is to call me up
o say when and where to come to
ign the deed; but can't talk. Won't
'ou answer him?"
John held a brief conversation over
he telephone, ending with an assur-
nee that they would come right down.
barbara rose bravely and advanced /,
oward the door. With her hand on
ne door knob, she turned to John.
Who bought it-St. Roses parish
r the Masonic lodge?" hss
Neither" he answered.
But there couldn't have been any :
Their buyers! Were there no bids
{ all?" Both hope and fear were in
er surprised inquiry. :
''Yes. Barb, there was buyer" John ,
poke quietly, and he took Barbara's
and from the door knob and held it
his own. "The man who bought
as acting for another man. The price
aid was five thousand, but that other
ian wants something with the home,
lat is worth more than any number
thousands. The man who bought it
as acting for me, and what l want
bove all else is you"
After a few blissful moments had 4
Used in silence, John added: IF
Q were married before we sign the c
BED we could make it a joint owner n
IN. What do Won say2s O