The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1919-11-06
"A Freak Of
Fortune
o0
lConHzixhr, 1918. BY the wssteEl Nswl
paper unioa.l
By RALPH HAMILTON

"a penny for your thoughts, VIII
bur-" spoke pretty Erna Barton. and |
the somber face OF Wilbur Gray. evil
dencing mood Of profound abstrae-
ton, frightened up magically, as 1t
always did when this charming girl
was beside him.
Am sure of the compensation Of
feredg' challenged the young man
lightly. III,
aTherew and Erna pressed an old
battered copper coin into his hand.
Nov confess. sir! Not only do J re-
ward you with the conventional PEN
ny, but present what may be rare
coin"
$50 rare and old that It's inscrip-
ton Is fairly undecipherable," replied
Wilbur 1T seems to wear the green
and CRIME of the centuries.
q II found it among lot of relics of
the olden, olden time that poor dear
grandfather so cherished" explained
Erna. 'sHe also left some old pieces
of delftware and ancient, firearms.
81 shall keep the coin always, Erna."
said Wilbur. Il hope it viii be q
guardian Of good fortune"
..But what about the pay" inquired
Erna, archly. II bought your thoughts
what were they?'
"Well. Erna," answered Wilbur. his
glance >softening and replete with
sentiment, II was thinking how dear
~ loved you when came home for
the holiday vacation"
Erna's fair golden head dropped.
but she drew nearer to him on the
! porch seat.
"And how much more l love you
| now" continued Wilbur seriously.
"And when come home next summer
l hope can add to it all by asking
you to become my wife,
| II hope So" said Erna spontaneous
~, lifting her clear, honest eyes to
meet his own, "but you must not think
Of that until your are sure that little
Eva and will lot be a burden to
you. All grandfather has left US is
this little place, and some money is
owing on that"
II hope to be able to clear up every
thing and more" spoke Wilbur conf
IDENTIFY. "Send your sweet, best wishes
after me when go back to work in
the city, that may find some way OF
earning more money than do now"
BE patient, DEAR" soothed Erna en-
couragingly. "Our ship is sure to
come in some day, and it will be the
more precious for the waiting
Il Wilbur was employed in broker.
! age Office. Opportunity came to him
through this business connection OF
making money, but he had no capital
! to invest. About two weeks after his
return to the city close friend
Paul Warfield. dropped into his room
4 at his boarding house.
/ II wish l had a thousand dollars
Wilbur" he said. I've got tip that
would make me fortune in month.
! Wilbur smiled incredulously. he
had always kept away from tips and
speculative propositions generally
and, besides. he realized that War
field was a good deal of dreamer.
''Don't laugh at me, Wilbur said
Paul ''This is no wild fantasy, but
sure thing
"Some stock on the boom, eh?"
Nothing Of the sort. It's sure
prospect, with a sound, substantial
basis. It's. land-land that never de
| Gays, never burns up, never wears
out Wall street can't play with 1t
Land with a gold mine on it, l sup
pose?" intimated Wilbur quizzically
mo, Wilbur, It's an eight-acre striI
and last week on the next forty 8
prospector made a strike. He sealed
the well, and is trying to keep hi:
discovery quiet until he can interes
some capitalist to buy up all the Other
land In the vicinity. The very choic
est Is the piece have a chance Il
buy. My old aunt is willing to in
vest half Of the money required
Couldn't you raise the other five hun
dred in some way. Wilbur"
ooh, yes, sure; certainly! !" deridet
Wilbur. 'See." and he emptied hi!
pocket OF the few coins it held. g
might buy a hundredth part Of al
! acre" and just then one Of the coin!
slipped through his careless fingers
and rolled against Paul's foot.
The latter picked it up to restore I
to it's owner. Then with a profound
stare and voluble: Hello! Wher'
did you ever get that?' He held clos
to the light the copper penny Err;
Barton had given to Wilbur. FL
rubbed it, took out magnifying glass
and added: "sSay, did you know tina
you have treasurer"
What do you mean?" questioned
Wilbur.
why. that this is Cirencestel
penny Of the period Of King Stephen
probably one OF the rarest coins II
the world, centuries old. Will you le
me take it to an old collector
know? I'll be back in an hour. !" ts
The hour was Just up when Paul
excited and breathless returned "On'
of the only two known!" he fairl.
shouted. '''AThe other is in the Brit