The herald., 1917-01-18
At SHERIfF'S SALE
BY CATHERINE cRANMER.

civil lawyer with some very big names
on the list of clients. With profes.
sional success had come also social
sive bachelor quarters. All this had
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,
he had not been back to visit the little
county-seat town.
Seated in his book-lined Office one
summer morning, John Morton was
going over his personal accounts.
Just then the postman came in and
deposited some mail on Johns desk.
There were some letters of profess
sional import, club notice Of a ban.
quet 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 I'm.
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 a row of legal no.
tees. 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, the undersigned, sher-
if 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
he 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
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 it 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 a 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 all
day, 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
Andersen homestead.
With the directness and determine
tion which had in five years time put
him on professional plane with men
ten years his senior, John had, in five |
time, told Barbara that sue |
cess had brought him nothing that |
took the place OF their comradeshtp of |
five years before, and he begged her |
to renew it and to let him be a fire.
quent visitor at the old home as be-
fore.
You'd always be welcome, John"
she said cordially, but sadly, but the
old home is being sold this minute at |
the courthouse door. II it brings
enough to pay the mortgages and to
keep me In New York until l can quail
lily for office work, I'll be in luck You
see, l couldn't leave mother to earn
anything, and to give her the comfort
she needed the home was heavily
Perhaps you didn't know
Of her DEATH"
John was ready to begin an explana-
ton when the telephone rang.
Its the sheriff, I'm sure" said Bar.
bara nervously. "He is to call me I'D
to say when and where to come to
sign the deed; but can't talk. Won't
9ou answer him."
John held brief conversation over
he telephone, ending with an assur-
ance that they would come right down.
Barbara rose bravely and advanced
coward the door. With her hand on.
he door knob, she turned to John.
who bought it-St. Roses parish
,r the Masonic lodge?"
Neither" he answered.
But there couldn't have been any
'ther buyers! Were there no bids
It all?" Both hope and fear were in
Ter surprised inquiry.
eyes, Barb, there was buyer" John
poke quietly, and he took Barbara's
land from the door knob and held It
n his own. The man who bought
vas acting for another man. The price
laid was five thousand, but that other
nan wants something with the home.
hat is worth more than any number
Il thousands. The man who bought n