The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-02-12
By
Concordia Merrel
(Copyright.)-wNU Service.

in the pictured group of which the
gold-haired girl was the central figure.
there were the pictures of two other
people. Two men. Two men whose
branded indelibly upon his men,
Mechanically, he read the legend be-
meath the picture. which ran:
"A charming picture of Miss Lucy
Gresham, whose nineteenth birthday
to be given at Ter fathers town house
on the twenty-sixth. She is here seen
with her father, Sir John Gresham.
and her cousin. Mr.. Oliver Ames."
James Lee didn't need to be told
who those two men were. All the
same he read it again and again, in
sort of stunned surprise, before say
ing half aloud:
That's who she is My Cd!
II I'd known :" And then, slowly.
after a pause: "The last three and
half years haven't marked them" The
accent was bitter. From the faces of
the two men, he presently TUNED his
attention to the girl again.
Very young and sweet and happy,
her pictured eyes looked up from the
page. straight into his; just as yester-
day, they had looked. when he stood
before her, apologizing for his clumsy
driving. Her curving lips smiled. as
if, even though it was only picture,
she challenged his grimness with the
exquisite young beauty of her.
$50 that's who she is" he said to
himself again. I'D forgotten that
John Gresham had daughter. :.
I'd forgotten that.
"Odd," he thought, ''how Fate or
Destiny or whatever it is. can knock
you down with one hand, and then
politely help you to rise with the
other. Lies queer show :. >"
His attention came back to the pic
ture.
1.-THE last three and a half years
haven't changed them much" he
thought again. "Old Gresham's little
whittier. perhaps; and Ames, shade
stOuter. Otherwise. :" His
thoughts broke off and turned toward
himself. If his picture were to APP
pear in the papers. would those two
know him as readily as he had known
them? Would James Lee of today
suggest to them James Warrington Of
three and half years ago? He
81
half years had not left him so un-
altered.
The door opened and young man
with curly hair, wide eyes, most en-
gaging grin and Saville row written
all over his clothes, came in. This
was Peregrine st. Abb, James Lees
secretary. and social guide; and, in
cidentally, his very sincere friend.
MY dear old sir" said this young
man easily. "If you have no use for
my valued services between the hours
of ten tonight and breakfast time to-
morrow. I'd rather like to look in at
a do my Aunt Cordelia is giving. She
rang me up to say that she's man
short and could :"
Certainly" broke in Lee and then.
after moment: "Perry, do you know
the Greshams?"
''Not frightfully well I've met
his daughter here and there A
pippin, l assure you"
"Yes; see her here" Lee crossed
and handed it to st. Abb. ST. Abb-The
Molt hu ia
silis ST. Abb, to give him the style to
which he had been born-took it and
said:
"Oh, she's much better than that in
real life . j. say. my jolly old sir,
you haven't fallen for her, have you?
mean to say, it's 10 go; she's booked.
My Aunt Cordelia told me that this
handsome bloke, Ames, has been mad
about her ever since she left the nur.
sery, and that papa Gresham is all
ready to do the heavy paternal. :"
Lee stretched out a hand and took
the paper back.
"Ames loves her, does he?" he said
sharply. Something in his tone made
st. Abb look at him a moment, with
puzzled, rather boyish eyes. There
was something about his chief that he
never could get at. There he was, with
more money than any man could pos
sibly know what to do with able to do
any mortal thing he liked; only twen-
ty-seven, though he looked good
thirty-five; big, strong, healthy and
distinctly good-looker; and yet he
went about with a dark expression in
his eyes, bitterness around his lips
and didn't seem to know what real
laugh was
Lee sat looking down at the picture.
and a new thought began to make it's
rather ugly wav into his mind.
How could he make of that smiling,
sweet girl, beloved of Ames, adored
by her father, weapon against them
both. Skies above! But he
owed them the utmost of suffering
that it was in his power to give! {. ).
In the flashing of mere few moments
so incredibly swift is the inner
vision-he saw again his boyhood.
motherless from his first day of life.
and fatherless, too. when he was only
lust fifteen. He saw his struggle
against poverty; his passionate ambi-
ton to rise anG make place for him.
self in this great, working world; all
his STUMBLE 'g, boyish efforts 70 get on.
He saw his first job in the great ship
building yards at Gresham's; not a
big job, but beginning; therefore,
with glory all its own. to him.
He remembered how hard and how
faithfully ne had worked-he had al
,r-o no hoan made that wav-hnw ha