The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-07-28


pose. His object in providing in the
win that you should marry me was to
insure to you the enjoyment Of the
wealth he was leaving you. Had he
left you free to marry whom you liked
vou would doubtless have married some
young man utterly unified to manage
| q fortune that was tied up In q very in.
tr1cate business. The result would
have been what l have said-ruin for
the business and poverty for you. He
brought you up with the understand
ing that you were to marry the man.
ager Of the business he left you"
This sounded so plausible that for
the time being Griffin appeared in
Anne's eyes a very noble man. 1t
seemed to her that she was the guilty
one In not carrying out her fathers
wishes, to which she had tacitly con-
sented. Nevertheless her whole being
rebelled against marriage with Grif-
fin. Indeed. 1t was not to be thought
Of. She would marry the man Of her
choice even IL she must relinquish a
fortune. She was quite sure he would
marry her even II she were poor as a
church mouse.
But Anne found on consultation with
others that they were not disposed to
take her view Of Griffin's noble mo-
tives in not permitting her to enjoy
her inheritance with the man she loved
by refusing to marry her. Her lawyer
told her frankly that Griffin wanted
the half million Of dollars he would get
with her. Corwin said that he wanted
her, fortune or no fortune, but some
way must be found to persuade or
force Griffin to refuse to marry her,
thus enabling her to come into her
own. He consulted lawyers, who told
him that to comply with the statutes
Griffin must voluntarily refuse He
could not be trapped or forced into a
refusal.
There was a time limit in the will
to Anne's marriage with Griffin. BY
the time she was twenty-one she must
marry him or lose her property. When
her father died she had just turned
nineteen. Therefore two years re-
mained before she was compelled to
decide. 1t was decided between David
and Anne that David should 20 to
some unknown place. Anne had NOT
told Griffin that he had a rival, and 1t
was determined to still keep the matter
secret. There was no difficulty In
doing this, for thus far it was known
only to Anne and David.
Theodore Griffin was one of those
men who combine the social and busi-
ness world. His success lay in becom-
ing intimate with rich persons and
using them In business way. He
used his club, his friends, even his
church, for profit. One evening at the
opera, scanning the occupants Of the
boxes, he encountered pair of binocu-
lars In the hands of a handsomely
dressed woman leveled upon him. The
glasses We're dropped at once, but
Griffin wondered why the woman, who
was young and well favored, had been
gazing at him. Later, pointing to the
woman. he asked friend who she
was and was informed that she was
Sonora De Barancas, the widow Of a
Brazilian coffee planter and worth mil.
lions.
Would you like to know herr" asked
gentleman sitting near Griffin.
Il certainly would" was the reply.
Il am friend Of hers, and II you
will give me references will be
pleased to present you. She has only
just arrived in the city and is un-
known"
Griffin found a friend who vouched
for him and was presented to Sonora
Barancas. He found confirmation of
his belief that he had attracted her at
tentiOn, because she had admired his
appearance, in the reception she gave
him, which was. to say the least, cor
dial. She lamented being in a great
city where there was SO much to en-
JOY with no one to enjoy It with except
her business manager, the man who
had introduced Griffin, and Griffin told
her that 1t would give him great pleas
ure to make her stay pleasant She
told him that she had but a week In
the city, for she had the misfortune,
though woman, to be bur1ened with
the management of large interests.
Griffin devoted himself to the young
widow for a week, at the end Of which
he prevailed upon her to remain an
other week. One morning Anne Red
field received a note from an attorney
suggesting that compromise might
be effected in the matter of the condi-
t1on In her fathers will requiring her
to marry Griffln. Anne referred the
note to her attorney, who advised her
to begin negotiations by offering Griffin
$4,000 to refuse TO marry her
But before a reply to the offer was
received David Corwin turned I'D and,
taking Anne In his arms, announced
that Griffin had been married the eve.
ming before
Corwin was In a position to give his
hancee lot Of information as to the
bride, for he had brought her from Rio
de Janeiro himself, had arranged her
meeting with iff1n-indeed, had ar.
ranged a trap for that gentleman
which had been worked out very sue
cessfully. Sonora Barancas was a
hired adventures and David bad