The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-06-26

should be unwilling to see 1t revived"
Revived" Rhoda blazed at him.
1--WE aren't going to revive it; we're
going to kill it. We're going to prove
that it wasn't true"
you're going to attempt to prove
that it wasn't true" Uncle William
answered, land that, my dear child,
Is very difficult thing. Your father
is dead. Technically there is no stain
on his character, since the jury ac-
quilted him. Any attempt to go be-
yond that, even if there were no other
aspects of the affair to be considered.
would be most unwise."
Rhoda, turning desperately away
from him, saw harbor and went to it,
in Babes arms. She heard what Will
liam Royce went on saying, but with
no other emotion than a passionate
wish that he would stop talking.
"Your father wrote to me shortly be-
fore his death requesting me to take
care Of you and look after your in
terests. l couldn't find you at that
time. The management of the hotel
where you had lived informed me that
you had gone to live with friends in
Denver. l assumed you were in good
hands and there seemed to be moth
ing more for me to do in the matter
until i saw recently in San Fran
cisco paper an advertisement for your
whereabouts. Seeing that, l came to
the conclusion that certain contract
which your father had enclosed with
his letter might have value for you,
and that you ought to be found"
Good lord !" Martin exclaimed. do
you mean to say you've got the con-
tract that everybody has been trying
to steal? Did you see Forster this
afternoon and tell him you had it?"
81 REFER" said Uncle William ma
jestically, ito contract which my late
brOther-in-law entered into with G. J.
Forster. l was speaking to my niece.
l cannot see that it concerns you in
any way"
Everything that concerns Rhoda
concerns me-" Martin told him. "She
and | are engaged to be married"
''Humph" snorted Uncle William.
He was perfectly terrible person.
Martin didn't wonder that poor Rhoda
had changed her name and hidden her
self away from him like frightened
little rabbit. Martin could see him
now majestically pausing before he
hurled a thunderbolt.
If" he said, your matrimonial in
tentiOns toward my niece are in any
way predicated upon your knowledge
of the existence of that contract,
think it only right to tell you that it
is of small value and doubtful
validity
"That's what Forster told us this
evening" Martin observed. "He said
he had told you that it wasn't worth
a nickel"
I'll have no more of this i'm,
pertinence," Uncle William roared.
'You can't marry my niece. She's
still minor, and 1 shall never con-
sent
Look here" Martin interrupted
him, 1--WE don't like each other at all,
but there's no good in our quarreling
unless we have something to quarrel
about. And unless you're Rhodas
legal guardian 1 can't see that we
have. Are you?
I'm her natural guardian" said
Uncle William.
0Not hor laool opo fbo,, Nfor%;v,
observed. But as he turned to Rhoda
he saw a panic awake once more in
her eyes. eve won't have any more
of this tonight" he went on. "Rhoda's
had terrible day, and she's come
clear to the end of it. I'm going to
ask Babe to put her to be bed at once
I'll go back with you to your hotel and
put you abreast of the situation"
This was Napoleonic move. Babe
came into action instantly. Before he
finished speaking she was leading
Rhoda toward the little stairway that
went up to the loft where their bed
rooms were.
Martin followed along to the foot Of
the stairs. "She's not to get up in the
morning." he told Babe as if he were
a doctor giving a nurse instructions
about an unconscious patient, at
least not until late. I'll come around
some time after ten with the docu-
ments and we'll go down to the bag
gage master and get her trunk"
Then, ceasing to treat Rhoda as If
she were unconscious, he kissed her
and she heard him murmur, his lips
so close to her ear that it tickled,
Don't you worry, darling. The bunch
is coming along all right. You leave
Uncle William to me-"
Evidently Martin was the right sort
Of person to leave him to. Her last
glimpse from the balcony was of her
uncle, smoldering and tuning like
Vesuvius getting ready for an erup-
ton but going out just the same
through the door Martin held open,
obedient after all.
When Rhoda really walked up the
next morning-rather a long process
after an unusually solid nights sleep
she felt very adult and sensible.
She didn't precisely regret her childish
terror of the night before, since it had
brought out once more what a peach
Martin was. She didn't believe he
liked her the less for it, either. He
was like that. He understood things
But her line with him when he came
this morning to take her down to the
station and get the trunk must be one
of sturdy common sense. Above all
she must let him see instantly that she
took their pretended engagement as a
brilliantly clever maneuver for out
flanking Uncle William and nothing