The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-01-27


who need him. answered. tba r;s,
laughing. s"i'
l certainly needed him." murnnrad
Ralph. - - ~ u Gu
lhey were to be married in oho,.
'nree months. In the wonder of the
onsasement Ralph did not realize
what his first meeting with Dorotbv
'nouiu nave taught him-that his fan
gee combined a certain inherited hot.
ness OF temper with her sweetness
once or twice he had to humble him.
sell TO get forgiveness for omissions
ne mad kept her waiting. being nm.
avoidably detained; he had been nm.
aoie 10 accompany her to the theater
one evening. He thought nothing of
.nis' LOT he knew Dorothy was the
dearest girl in the world. But soma.
thing happened which upset all his
calculations. The colonel fell dead in
the street. "
After the funeral it was discovered
that the mortgage on the property had
" oe met Immediately. The paper was
taken over by an old rival of Colonel
sharpe, and Ralph's and Dorothy's fu.
lure lett up in the air."
The girl hardened. Ralphs protests
Tell unheeded on her ears. 1T would
have killed my uncle, if he had
known" she said.
But was not to blame, dear"
oh, you should have been more
ousinesslike. What are you going to
do now?"
For the first time Ralph lost his tenn.
per l am going to offer you your
freedom, If you only care for the bust
ness, he said Indignantly.
He knew he had misjudged her. He
would have been at her feet the next
moment. But Dorothy, Indignantly on
her part, too, flung the ring across
the table and walked out of the room
with a high head and trembling lips.
Ralph left the house, crushed. A
penitent letter from him remained un-
answered. He knew that he had lost
Dorothy forever.
She had adored her uncle. She
could never forgive the fact that Ralph
had let the paper fall into the hands
OF the old mans bitterest rival. The
old Mirror-Advocate, which had always
stood for the cleanest of clean poll.
tics. had become the organ of the low
politician. Its circulation went up by
leaps and bounds. Ralph would rather
have had the prestige of the old sheet.
A desperate resolution that came to
him was stimulated by discovery he
made. The new owners had no legal
right to the name. The Mirror-Advo-
cate had changed hands. and the title
was his, therefore the newcomers
bought the plant. Ralph found a
wealthy man to back him and resolved
to resuscitate the old paper under it's
own name
After lawyers interview Ralph
refusing an offer of $4,000 for the title,
restarted the Mirror-Advocate on a
hand press pending the arrival of the
linotypes. He knew that would please
Dorothy-that and the revival of the
paper.
Its success was amazing. Before
the paper was anything more than a
four-page sheet it had circulation Of
seven thousand. Advertisers began
to come in. Ralph wrote to Dorothy
again. He asked her if she would for
give him when he had restored the old
prestige of the paper. But no answer
came, and whenever they met the girl
hurried past him with high head and
flaming cheeks.
1t was about six months after the
paper had been re-established that
Misfortune suddenly reappeared.
Where he had been Ralph did not
not with Dorothy. He
as unconventionally as he
had gone away, and took up his abode
with Ralph in the boarding house.
This solitary reminder of the old
days was grateful to the young man.
Once Dorothy saw him and the dog
together. That was the time she
passed with head bent low instead of
held high. That was the time when
Ralph almost dared to speak to her.
And then came the days when Ralph
knew very little about anything. Ty-
phoid was raging in the town, thanks
to the slackness Of the health board.
whose head was creature OF Rout-
ledge, the owner Of the aforetime
and now the Sentinel.
Ralph was one Of the first victims.
He knew very little; he could not
even recall how he came to sicken.
1t was, in fact, at the beginning of
his convalesccnce, in the third week,
that he realized he was In the hospi-
tai, attended by a strange nurse, and
his heart filled with an aching empti-
ness that only one person could fill.
He almost wept in his weakness. He
lay back with closed eyes. He did not
care, he did not know that the door
had opened softly until-she stood be-
side him.
He looked at her duly. 1t seemed
phantom come to torture him. But Dor
othy knelt at the bedside and wept.
Dearest! ! have always wanted
you," she pleaded. Il have put my
hateful pride away. | did not know
that you were i'll until an hour ago.
Dorothy! am so glad"
1T was Misfortune. They wouldn't
let him inside the hospital. He had
howled outside my house fer days, and
I would not listen. | drove him away
because he made me remember my
wrong to you. But today he found me
and caught my skirt and made me