The bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-12-01
FORBIDDEN
FRUIT
By WILLARD BLAKEMAN


His name should have begun with q
! &C." for he was the gruffest spoken
man I ever knew. ! was sent to
Boarding school till was seventeen
and then to college. Upon graduating
I received letter from my guardian
uncle to come to his house.
@" When I reached 1t, leaving the auto
In which I arrived with my hand bag.
gage, I saw looking at me through an
upper window young girl evidently
about seventeen, the sweetest face
had ever seen. was thrilled at the
Idea of being In house with such q
lovely creature, being Of an age to be
easily struck by a pretty girl
On entering the house saw another
face, the antipodes Of the first. 1t was
that Of my uncle. His face was
square, his mouth curved down at the
corners, bis eyes set deep in his head
and overhung by beetling brows.
GLOW old are your was bis nrst
remark to me.
II will be twenty-five next Septem-
ber."
by the term of your fathers will
you are to have $4,000 the day you
are twenty-five years old; $4,000 the
day you are twenty-five and the bal
ance when you are thirty. In the mat
ter OF marriage. you cant take wife
Of whom do not approve. You may
live In this house with me as long as
you like, but I have q warning for
you. have ward who has been left
in my care by her father who was 4
bosom friend Of mine. He left her Z
fortune with the provision that she
should not inherit 1t II she married
without my consent, and her father
charged me to bring about, II posi-
bic, a marriage with young man who
Is part owner In certain property which
will fall to her. care nothing about
the wife you select except this GIRL
In her case 1t IL hands off,"
With the last words my uncle looked
at me so savagely that I believed If I
married his ward there would be in
finite trouble. This gave me deep con-
cern. for 1t struck me that the girl I
had seen at the window was this same
ward, by whom was already stricken.
My uncle's bark proved worse than
bis bite-that is, on all subjects except
my Interfering with the plans laid
down for his ward. OF course the for
hidden fruit was altogether too tempt
ing for me, and soon learned that
she had received warning similar to
mine, which had q like effect on her.
But our guardian seemed singularly
obtuse to the interest with which I
and Edith Sterling inspired each 9TH
er. AT, any rate, he made no effort to
prevent our being much together. We
drove, played tennis and rode on horse
back together without q, word Of re-
monstrance from him. Edith and I
talked over his action, or, rather,
want Of action, apd came to the con-
clusion that since by the terms Of our
inheritances he held the whip hand Of
us he did not propose to interfere
with our temporary relations. When
the time for action came we would
feel his power
When September came and with 1t
legal age for me I received $4,000 Of
my estate. Nothing could have been
more adverse to the plans laid down
for me and Edith Sterling. The pos
session Of this money brought with 1t
an added temptation. I sounded Edith
to learn If she would give up her for
tune for me and this first payment Of
my patrimony. which, If def1ed my
guardian, was all l could hope for.
She was not only willing, but eager
to do so. should not have permitted
this, but I was young and deeply In
love. Indeed, felt guilty in having
suggested such thing, and found It
difficult to look my uncle in the face.
This feeling was enhanced from the
fact that his harshness was all on the
surface, and was often used to render
more effective certain bursts of humor.
Well; the Inevitable result Of putting
two youngsters Of opposite sex under
the same roof forbidding them to love
each other. followed. One morning I
took. Edith out to ride, and driving to
a town across the border Of the state
we were married. I telegraphed my
uncle Of the fact, and awaited his re-
ply. It was very short, simply, "Shall
expect you for dinner" (which
means" said to Edith, III you, too,
choose to give up wealth for love, it is
no concern Of his" .s 49,
We reached my uncle's house half
an hour before dinner. He was not at
home, but expected soon. When he
arrived he found us in the library
waiting for him. He shook hands cor
daily with me and kissed Edith, then
led the way into the dining room. !
4 The moment we entered It both
Edith and myself were astonished. 1t
seemed to have been set for a wedding
feast. A bottle of champagne was in
a cooler beside my uncle's chair and
as soon as we were served with food
1t was uncorked, and our glasses being
filed my uncle raised his glass.
ITO the folly Of youth" he said.
"Those who put you two under my
management found one who, under
standing these same follies, has been
well able to carry out their designs.
sihfs mar rfapa was Manned for YOU