The Monticellonian., 1919-01-10
CHAPTER XV-Contirued.

had said about his daughter and JO- seph Stagg was quite true. In his self ishness he had been glad all these years that the hardware merchant was baked of happiness.
 The carpenter had always been a self-centered individual, desirous of his own comfort, and rather miSerly. He had not approved in the first place, of the intimacy between Joseph Stagg and his daughter Amanda.
 No soodll come O that he had told himself.
 That is no good tt Jedidiah Parlow, He foresaw at the start the loss of the girls help about the house, for his wife was then a helpless invalid
 Then Mrs. Parlow died This death made pIainer still 1o the carpenter that Aandy's marriage was bound to bring inconvenience to him. Especial ly if she married Il eloSe-hSted young business man like Joe Staee would this be true. For af The reading of his Wife's will Mr. pafte# discovered that the property they occupied, even the shop in which he worked, which had been given to Mrs. Pafl6w HF hef par ents, was to be the sole probtrtv of her daughter. Mandy was the heir. Mir Pariow did not possess even q life interest in the estate.
 Ii was T blow to the carpenter. He made a good income and had money in bank. but he loved money too well to wish to spend if after he had made f. He did not want to give up the place. If Mandy remained unmarried there would never be any question be- tween them of rent or the like.
 Therefore if he WAS not actually the cause of the difference that arose be tween the two young people. he seized and enlarged upon il and did all in his power to make q mere misunder- standing grow into quarrel that nei- ther of the proud, hish-spirited lovers would bridge
 .Jedidiah Parlow knew why Joe Sfagg had taken that other girl 10 Faith camp meeting The young man had stopped at the Parlow place when Amanda was absent and explained to the girls father. But the latter had never mentioned this fact to his daugh- ter
 Instead ne had made .ioe's supposed offense the greater hY suggestion and Innuendo And it=Was he. too who had urged the hurt Mandy to fetaliate by going to the dance with another young man. Meeting Joe Stagg later, the carpenter had said bitter things 10 him, Parporting To come from Mandy. t was all mean and vile; the old man knew it now-as he had known if then.
 All these years he had tried to add fuel to the fire of his daughters anger against Joe Stagg. And he believed he had benefited thereby But. some how, during the past few months, he had begun 10 wonder if. after all, 'the game was worth the candle.'
 Suddenly he had gained vision of what Amanda Parlow's empty fife meant to her
 Carolyn May, interested only in see Ing her friends made happy had no idea of the turmoil she had created in Mir. Parlow's mind.
 During the time that the nurse was at the abandoned lumber camp caring for Judy Mason, Carolyn May hoped tEat something might take Uncle Joe there.
 The next Friday, after school was out Miss Amanda appeared It rhe Stagg home and suggested t1kins Caro- lyn May into the woods with her for the weekend" as she Iuughinaty said. Tim, the haekman, had brought the nurse home for few hours and would take her back to Judy's cabin.
 Poor old Judy K much better. but she is still suffering and cannot he left alone for long" Miss Amanda said. Carolyn May will cheer her up.
 Mir. Parlow would drive over on Sun day afternoon and bring the little girl home. Of course, Prince had to go along.
 That Friday evening at supper mat ters in the big kitchen of the Stagg house were really at Il serious pass, Jo- seph Stagg sat down to the table YiSi- bly, without appetite. Aunty Rose drank one cup of tea after another NltilOuI IultlHS Il =SItiilib ptlA6tu htl lips.
 Say, Aunty Rose" demanded Mir Stagg, what under the sun did We do before HaHnah's Carlyn came here anyway? Seems to me we didn { really live did we?'
 Aunty Rose had no answer to make 10 these questions.
 In the morning there was smoky fog over everythins-a fog that the sun did not diSsipate, and behind which it looked like an enormous saf- iron ball.
 Alr Stagg went down to the store as usual. News came over the longdis- tance wires that thousands of acres of woodland were burning, that the for est reserves were out, and that the farm CTS of an entire township on the far side of the mountain were engaged in trying to make a barrier over which the flames would not leap. It was the consensus of opinion, however, that the fire would not cross the range.
 Scarcely any chance of it's swoOp- Ing down on us," decided Mir Stagg. "Reckon I won't have to go home to blow fire furrows.a
 At the usual hour he started for The Corners for dinner. Having remained in the store all the morning. he had not realized how much stronger the