Evening star., 1918-02-10
= Under His Own Hand =
"Nox where does Marmaduke come ,n?..

Now where does Marmaduke come fn?'
"Clive lives with his uncle in a beau
tiful house in Park lane. but the house
Gives. and he-that is. cMve-has a
wonderful property in Kent. with
woods and rivers and great park with
deer in it, and. oh! such lovely house.
/ was all over it last week. But there
was a cruel thing put in his fathers
will-that he was not to get the prop
erty until he was twenty-five. unless he
married before that with his uncle's
consent But If he married before
twenty-five without the consent, the
property was all to go II his uncle.
The uncle. Marmaddke Meredith. Is
a big, pompous thing, with an ugly
smile that l hate. and I'm sure he will
never give his consent. But Give says
he will. and that anyway he couldn't
wait for two years even for a million.
1t isn't two years. you know-only
year and a half, and Give says he'll
get called to the bar and earn lots for
both. 1 have a. little money of my own
that would help US 1t isn't the money
/ care about, but I'm afraid he'd be
sorry afterward. and that would kill
me. Still, if l don't consent he might
think it's his property 1 care for. not
himself. oh. please do help me. Mr..
Beck. I'm very miserable"
She had been patting Mr.. Beck's
shoulders nervously while she spoke:
now she suddenly buried her face in
her hands and burst into tears.
Mr.. Beck'S compoSure vanished in
moment. He could never bear to see a
woman cry He jumped from his chair.
set the weeping girl in 1t and bent over
her. mumbling soothingly In a kindly,
awkward attempt to comfort her. 1t
was like n big Newfoundland dog
fondling small child.
Mamie kept on crying bitterly, partly
because she wanted to, partly because
she was of the few women who
look we'll in tears, but mainly because
she knew it was the most effective
method with Mr. Beck.
Suddenly Mr.. Beck turned his back on
her and proceeded to fix lump of
sugar between the bars of his canary's
cage, chirping the while
A lovers ears, we know on high au-
thority. will hear the slightest sound.
But Mr. Beck's ears were more than
human, and it was he, not Mamie, who
heard that quick, light step on the
thick carpet of the stairs.
The next moment there came an i'm
patient knock at the door. Mamie
jumped from her seat, the sobs ceasing
suddenly.
Come in" cried Mr.. Beck. without
looking around.
Mr.. Beck was more awkward than
usual. 1t was a long minute before
sugar to his liking. When at last he
did look around Mamie was radiant.
though a tear still tren1bled on her
round cheek like a dewdrop on a wild
rose leaf.
A tall, handsome young fellow stood
close beside her, looking down upon
her smiling face with love and longing
in his blue-black eyes.
"Well?" said Mr.. Beck, after a pause.
for they looked shyly at him wothout
speaking.
..oh. it's all right cried Give Mer-
edith cheerily. "Uncie Marmaduke will
do the straight thing. I'm sure. He hint
ed as much to me today. 1 knew
1t would be all right when I took Ma
mie to see him. He fell in love with
her, OF course. straight away"
Il don't trust him." broke in Mamie.
"He's an old hypocrite. He has some
trick in his head. You know he wants
money. Clive-you told me that your
self, and there are ugly stories about
him. Tell Mr.. Beck what you told me,
sir
We'll" said Give reluctantly. "it's
not his fault. you know, II he is hard
up, and of course he is dunned and all
that. A fellow came about six months
ago-an impudent chap. was out at
the time. but he forced his way into
ed on payment. 1t was a big thing
more than a thousand. I beIieve-and
uncle paid him and received a receipt.
But the man swore that uncle's check
was only a blank. He brought an ac-
tion and told his story in court. But
he had to admit on cross-eXamination
he saw my uncle fill in the check and
sign it. That settled the case. The
Judge gave him dressing down he's
not likely to forget. and the jury found
verdict for the defendant. and-well.
that's the whole story"
where does your uncle live. Mr..
Meredith?" asked Mr.. Beck, apropos
of nothing.
I'm my home-that is. in Park lane.
but I don't see what"
y t.