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Show BY STRATEGY B'J ,..,..i Luiiiix iiAiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiAiiii ifi i luiitiiiintnttiiitutH Jaok Ellington dropped oft of a prlg-I prlg-I ham street car a block farther on than was his custom, but he seemed to know what he was about. Without giving J even a glance to his surroundings, save a furtive one shot at the palatial resl-denco resl-denco oC Colo. Rlgby, he reached the , sidewalk. The Rlgby home stood a block back up 1 tho street, and In that direction Jack 1 bent his steps. He walked spryly at first, but as he ncared the gate leading to the homestead of .the Colonel, he . slackened his pace and searched the , house with inquiring eyes. A shaft of Hi light was coming out into tho night from one uncurtained window, while Hj , the others with their blinds drawn were dimly aglow with hidden lamps. Re-Hjj Re-Hjj yond that, the house waft just a dark H pile, an indistinct bulk. Jack stopped at the gate as though 1 uncertuin of liis purpose, and peered Hj long and searchlngly Into the shining H3 window. Presently, he drew forth his ' watch, and, In the streaming light, read the hour. It was not late, not so late as he had thought, and the timepiece found Its way back into his pocket with Hj a nervous jerk of his arm. In fact, nil .1 of his actions betrayed a state of ner-vousncss ner-vousncss on his part that was strangely at variance with the deep .tranquillity '1 of the summer night. But, at length, Rj he shook off his indecision, and, setting H his lips to a straight line, stepped bold-B' bold-B' ly through the gateway and started for : the house. HL1 But scarcely had his feet begun to Hjjj grind upon the gravel walk that runs Hj between the well-kept, extending Hw lawns of tho Rlgby estate than the W' door of the house opened and in the square of light appeared the figure of , a man. At this, Jack lost the powers of H-i locomotion, and stood like a statue fro-'1 fro-'1 zen to the earth. But, In a moment, 1 the door had closed, and the man was ! coming toward him. With a few steps i the dark figure stopped and struck a match on the sole of Its shoe and put j fire to a cigar. As the light revealed H' the face of the stranger, Jack recovered H1' his lost powers, and hurriedly walking H up to a man, said: "Good evening, Mr. Rlgby." The man addressed held the light so that It shone in the other's face. He then said: "Oh. you, Jack?" "Yes, sir;" was the answer, "and I've come to see you on a matter of impor-H, impor-H, tance, Mr. Rigby." Hl "Mel" H' The exclamation was so lnsinuating-ly lnsinuating-ly peculiar that both men smiled, and the young one began to button his coat. Meanwhile he stammered: "Ye-cs," and his voice was strange and husky. "The fact le a-hem the fact is, I desire to marry your daughter a-hem and I've come to ask your con- "Well; that is a matter of some lm-portance. lm-portance. Isn't It. What do you want H' to marry heror?" The question seemed to be touched with humor, but Mr. Rigby was serious; he really wished to know, and the young suitor was glad to lay bare his heart to "Because I love her," he answered bravely. i "Are you sure of that?" asked the elder man, after a pause. "Yes, sir." The young man was very positive. "I ask because a great many people H, think they arc In love, but find out af-terward af-terward that they were mistaken, and H, a great deal of unhapplness is the re- "But I am not mistaken," was the as-surance as-surance of the suitor. "I know I love her, and it's for her sake alone, too. The fact that you are rich cuts no Ice with "You'd love her just the same if she were as poor as a church mouse, would "I would." "And how about Grade?" "Well, I think she loves me as deeply as I love her. She says she does, and I believe she knows her own heart." A silence ensued, a long, dragging ln-tcrval ln-tcrval of several years duration, as it seemed to the young man on the grld-Iron, grld-Iron, during which he heard nothing but the merry drumming of his own heart and saw nothing but the cigar of the other wax and wane in regular meas-ure, meas-ure, and a deliberate jet of smoke an-swer an-swer every glow of the weed. But at last, the Sphinx spoke: "Well, Jack, If you really love her and she loves you, you have my consent to T marry." "O. thank you, Mr. Rigby, thank you," burst joyously from Jack; and out of the fullness oC his heart he Hj grabbed the hand of Col. Rigby with 1 both of his and shook it. H; But the Colonel didn't seem to be moved deeply by the operation. With-out With-out appearing- to notice it, he continued: "But you had better see Mrs. Rigby. I'm sure she'll have something to say about It, as, of course, she should. Af-ter Af-ter that we can put our heads together. I'll wait out here while you go In and sec her. I don't think you'll be gone Rigby, who received him with Icy pb-Hteness. pb-Hteness. But that was her usual man-ner. man-ner. He had never known her to un- "Mrs. Rlgby, I have come to ask you for Grade's hand in marriage. I love her, and I wish to make her my wife," he said. "You"' she almost shrieked. Jack's heart stood still, and for an in-stant in-stant he was tongue-tied. Then he be-took be-took himself to wrestling with: "Of course, I'm a poor man, but I be-lleve be-lleve I can support her " "Y'ou really think you can!" Inler-rupted Inler-rupted the woman. "That Is Indeed gfatlfylng'." "Perhaps not In the style to which Ehe Is accustomed, but In time I may "Not," again Interrupted the woman rudely. "No, Mr. Ellington. If you are nursing any hopes of marrying Grade, spare yourself further exertions In that line. She will never marry a man so far beneath her station in life as you are. When she marrlea, it must be to become a wife, not a slave." "But I love her, Mrs. Rlgby, I love her, and I think "That she loves you; and that the most priceless joys to which man Is heir will be pearl before swlnc unless you are allowed to live your lives to-gether, to-gether, but it doesn't make any diffcr-ence diffcr-ence what you think, Mr. Ellington," again interposed the woman with de- 1 "I beg your pardon, Mrs. Rlgby; I hope you'll excuse me" "You arc excused," broke in the wo, man, ut last swept away by her rlslngj anger, and she waved a hand toward the door. "My answer Is no, Mr, Elllng-ton. Elllng-ton. You are not an eligible person. H-tttt tttrrTTTTTTTTT T T T T T Further, I forbid you to hold any Intercourse In-tercourse with Grade whatever." The young man left the house with the best grace possible under the circumstances. cir-cumstances. Outside he met Mr, Rlgby. Rlg-by. That gentleman was pacing up and down tho gravel walk smoking his cigar. "Well, what luck?" he asked as Jack came near him. "The worst," was the answer, given In an unsteady voice. "Just ns r expected. Mrs. Rigby haB high hopes for her daughter. Damned if I don't believe she'd marry her to a lord If she could. The glitter of old names Is gold to her. But don't despair, de-spair, Jack. Where there Is a will there is a way " The young man made no reply. He dare not trust his voice. Something, started by the kindness of Mr. Rlgby as contrasted by the harshness of his wife, was welling up within him, and he was struggling to keep It from spilling- over. But Mr. Rlgby noticed noth-thlng. noth-thlng. He was very dull In bucIi matters, mat-ters, and just then his cigar demanded an unusual amount of hlB attention. So It happened that the two men began to walk away together without a word. They headed toward Main street, plodding plod-ding on in silence. At length, -Mr. Rlgby Rlg-by spoke. "Well, Jack, If I were you, I'd marry that girl, anyhow," he said. "I married my wife against the wishes of her parents, pa-rents, and I don't think Mrs. Rlgby has forgotten It, either. Her folks didn't want me for a son-in-law under any circumstances. Their hearts were set upon another young man, but I think the girl preferred me. Her parents seemed to think so too, and, therefore, did nil sorts of things to checkmate my advances. So the course of my suit was not smooth. I had a hard nut to crack, but I cracked it and got the kernel, ker-nel, too. "But I didn't do it without effort. When matters were at their worst, I saw Polly Ann that's my wife, as she is now and together we canvassed the situation. It gave little promise of a marriage with the consent of her parents pa-rents In fact, I might say, it gave none. Still Polly Ann was opposed to a runaway run-away match, or, at least, pretended to be. But It was only pretence. What she wanted was coaxing. I knew that, and took up my cue accordingly. So it came to pass that we eloped, and, upon up-on the whole, our lives have been a joy ever since. Not only that, but the old folks saw the error of their ways In time to borrow much gladness from us. "Now, that's what I did, and if Grade's Gra-de's husband should do likewise, I don't believe Mrs. Rlgby would think him guilty of an unpardonable sin. So, In your place, I'd talk the matter over with the girl she's a sensible mortal, Grade Is and then I'd go to Farjnlng-ton Farjnlng-ton and have the knot tied. That dono I'd go up and confess the marriage to her parents, praying for their pardon and blessing. It will then be up to them." Once the Ice was broken, Mr. Rlgby paddled around In the subject quite freely so freely, in fact, as to astonish aston-ish Jack. But at the Eagle Gale they separated, the elder man -going to the Alta club and the younger continuing on toward Main street. What thoughts were running In 'the young man's mind the next few days no man, other than himself, knoweth, for "Mum" appears to have been his watchword. But in about two weeks events in the drama were moving forward for-ward again. -Jack then stepped off of a street car at the foot of South Templo street, and had soon climbed into an open excursion car that stood upon tha Bamberger line. He was dressed as for a holiday, but no merry companions accompanied ac-companied him. Alone, apparently, ho sought the pleasure grounds of Lagoon; and alone, apparently, he intended to remain. At least, he took no interest In his fellow passengers, not even in Mr. Rlgby and the tender blossom of humanity hu-manity at his side, who boarded the train at a cross street a little farther on. But then Mr. Rlgby arfd his fair companion com-panion did not enter the same car as the one in which Jack was riding. They might have done so, but they seemed to prefer another, and certainly Jack cared not True, he saw them as the train slid up to their crossing with Its brakes grinding and hissing, and also as they mounted the steps of the next car, but his eye dwelt not upon them. He was not particularly Interested. But at Farmington, Just as the train began to crawl away, he got off, and, behold 1 there stood that young lady. But Col. Rlgby, where was he? Jack's quick-traveling eye found him not and It went to the girl with the question. She only smiled. A few words followed, and they went away together, hand clasping hand. They had little to say, and occasionally, In the long silences, a deep-drawn, quivering quiv-ering breath gave token of a heart struggle, but It drew forth no comment. Each seemed lost to all, save their hidden hid-den purpose. Even their new and Interesting In-teresting surroundings the shady lane along which they walked, running away to the gray, rugged height at their front; the green fields below them, sloping away to the white floor o a dying sea; the oppressed bearing of nature na-ture beneath the hotbreath of summer; and the offending sun, standing above the shining levels of the Great Salt lake knocked at their doors in vain. It was quite dark when they returned to the city. The great, gray bulk of the Mormon Temple was lifting Itself up Into ghostly Indistinctness while Moroni was trumpeting among the stars, when they let themselves off of a enr at the foot of the Brlgham Young statue. "Your papa must be home by this time," observed Jack, looking- at his watch "I think so," murmured the girl. "What time Is it?" Jack told her, and she said: "Well, he's there then. Ho promised to be there by this time, and he alwavs keeps his promises." They boarded a car and slid along Brlgham street with a home-going throng. Opposite the homo of the Rlg-bys Rlg-bys they got off, and started for the house. At the gate they could see Mr. and Mrs. Rlgby through the lighted window. They were seated comfortably comfort-ably at either side of a table. Mr. Rlgby was burled In a newspaper, and his wife was cutting the leaves of a magazine, which her husband had brought up that evening. "They are there," came from both In almost one voice. ' At the door the girl held back long enough to ask teaslngly, "Are you afraid?" Jack kissed her half by stealth and bravely answered, "Lay on, Mc-Duff." Mc-Duff." Without warning they entered the room in which Mr. Rlgby ard his wife sat. A dark suspicion ot toe kind seemed to bolt Into the roman's mind as she looked up and saw them. She came to her feet as If forced by a spring; a hand went to her heart; a dark wrinkle caine between, her eye- t t t , rr y t t i t t f t t t t t t t t t brows; her Hps started apart; and her whole demeanor demanded to know the j meaning of the association she beheld. Mr. Rlgby half lowered his paper. "Papa and mamma," said the young woman, "permit me to introduce my husband. Jack and I were mnrried this afternoon at Farmington." "Married!" groaned Mrs. Rlgby. her hands clenching and twisting under her chin. "Yes; and we hope that our disobedience disobed-ience might be forgiven, and that we may be enabled to commence life with your blessing." "Never!" roared Mrs. Rlgbj'. "Your marriage Is Illegal and must be annulled." an-nulled." "No. never!" shouted Mr. Rigby in almost al-most the same voice. "But on the con. trary that young rascal must end his life with my curse. The man who steals my daughter from my house must dlo under my hand. So make your peace with your God. villain." Mr. Rlgby had snatched up the paper knife with which his wife had been cutting cut-ting tho pages of her magazine, and when tho thunder was at Its worst, the glittering blade bolted at the bridegroom. bride-groom. But It fell vlthout harm on the breast of the offending man; but again the murderous steel was uplifted, again the blood-seeking father fumed and blustered, and again the shining agent of death leaped thrbugh the lump-light: but again It turned from the breast ot the bridegroom as from a charmed life. "O, Edward, Edward!" screamed Mrs. Rltfby. after a moment of dumfounded Inaction, throwing herself at the breast of her husband In a frantio effort to lock him In her arms. "Unhand me, woman!" thundered the crazed man. and his wife went spinning across tlu lloor. "I must have this scoundrel's life. I must cut his damned heart out and feed It to the dogs!" The bridegroom, dazed until now, began be-gan to move spryly around the table and toward the door, but the madman skillfully skill-fully cut off his retreat. "Ah-ha, you can't escape me," he laughed, demon-llkc. But before ha could again go upon his mission of death, the arms of his wife went around him In a strenuous grip, and her cheek scrubbed against his till her lips reached his ear. Then she whispered: "Have you forgotten! It was just thirty-four years ago tonight that another an-other naughty boy stole another man's daughter," and her hands clawed gently at his back. What magical remembrance the whispered whis-pered words must have awakened. The knife fell to the carpet: the murderous arm went to Its owner's side, as limp as a dfshrag; his whole body relaxed Its tension, and hb shrank from his wife In a stagger. Mrs. Rlgby turned to the young people, "Come here," she said, and her heart was In the call. Her arms went round the two, and upon the forehead of each Bhc planted a kiss, and on their union breathed a blessing. Three heads then nestled down together In a prayerful silence, but only for an Instant. Mr. Rigby was upon the floor, face downward. Ills body was twisting and jerking like a man in a fit, and his voice was choking and struggling. He half turned his face up to his wife as she broke from the bridal pair to go to him. Mrs. Rlgby saw something white streaming from his mouth, but the eye she caught was tho eye of laughter. "Oh, It's a trick," she cried, and bounced like a tomboy to the back of the man upon the lloor. Her hands dropped like two claws Into his scenty locks, and she knocked his head against the floor again and again, quite vigorously vigor-ously the first time. She then boxed his ears, also quite vigorously, cooed "Trickster," and came to her feet. Her face was red, very, and a row of whlto teeth was breaking through her lips In a confused but satisfied smile. Mr. Rigby wheeled to a sitting posture, pos-ture, Jerked a white handkerchief from his mouth, slapped his thigh vigorously, vigorous-ly, and shouted laughter at his wife. |