Show n rr 4 = A Loss and a Gain J By May Belleville Brown Copyright by Joseph D Howies Hope Winslow gloried in tho fact that she was a descendant of tho Mayflower May-flower pilgrims The threevolume genealogy on tho library shelf which showed tho effects of frequent use established the fact as well as tho letters and relics that in tho division and rcdlvlalon of household gods had fallen to her branch of tho family She proudly woro tho badges of tho Daughters of the American Revolution of the Colonial Dames and of tho Mayflower Descendants and sat In tho councils of these orders Her portrait had been painted In the fashion fash-ion of tho Puritan Hope Winslow and sho had a colonial room fitted up In her homo I think you are very provoking sho exclaimed and quite lacking in tho right kind of pride You know that your namo was originally Alden and Hint you could establish your line through tho original Alden family Of course admitted tho young man goodnaturedly but my father and grandfather wore both John Kill on and their example Is a good one for mo to emulate In all things since both left the world better for having lived In it But you miss my meaning persisted per-sisted Hope tapping tho floor with her foot It would really bo adding honor to their memory to establish such ancestry through them How was John Alden any better than John IClden 1 queried the young man a trifle Indignantly What does history have to any of him more Important Im-portant than the fact that he was so thlckhclded that poor llttlo Prlscllla had to propose to him I dont think that the little crippled ones down at the Eldcn Homo would revere my fathers memory any more If I woro to tell them that his ancestor came over in the Mayflower Hope coquettish fenced his indignation indig-nation Yes but John I wish you would become eligible to attend tho costume ball of our Now England society so-ciety so that you might dance tho minuet with 1I1eanl1ohl ever so many others Thank you said John still grimly grim-ly I you know I love to dance with you Hope but I only wear knee trousers when I golf and since I loft the football team I have given up long hair I might as well toll you now Hope that your Now England society seems a makobellevo to mo when almost all your members wore born In the Mississippi valley and all of them live here Your duty Is to bo doing something to build up tho west rather than That will do Mr Elden glared Hope rising to her feet Fortunately your opinion is a matter of Indifference Indiffer-ence to mo so further enlargement upon tho topic Is unnecessary And you will please excuse mo now as I have some committee work for the Now England society this afternoon Ivo done It soliloquized tho young man dejectedly as ho strode down street Made a fool of myself as usual and now Hopo Is angry clear through This will mean that Thurby with his Declaration of Independence record will have a clear field I wish tho memory of the Puritan Fathers was in Halifax or that I could keep my beastly temper And because of these circumstances the business of tho North Star Milling company the presidency and management manage-ment of which had fallen by Inheritance Inherit-ance Into John Eldcns hands received re-ceived redoubled attention from him while the forthcoming costume ball of the Now England society became tho apparent aim of hope WInslows ox Istenco But as sho viewed herself In tho mirror on tho night of the ball arrayed ar-rayed as a graygowned whitecapped Puritan maiden she gavo a little sigh for the John Alden of her dream Then sho ran downstairs whoro her aunt In tho finery of a Martha Washington Wash-ington dame was beaming upon Thur by who as a continental officer was to act as their escort The ballroom was thronged with a picturesque crowd Puritan and cavalier cava-lier quakor and courtier straight locks and perfumed curls Ijomespun and brocado flashed back and forth as they marched and swung and courte slcd In tho oldtime measures Hopes continental officer had excused ex-cused himself during tho evening and only returned in time to put the two ladles Into their carriage Ho was breathless rather dishevelled and minus his sword and u cocked hat Thn I situation plainly demanded an explanation expla-nation I cannot tell you how sorry I was to leave you particularly without tolling toll-Ing you tho reason ho began but I did not want to spoil your evening Has anything happened that con corns mo queried Hope leaning forward for-ward In alarm Something that concerns ono of your friends returned tho young man Fire started In tho North Star elevators this evening and when I I heard of it hurried across tho city to see If I could help Eldon ho and I were college chums you know Hopo had partly risen from tho aeat opposite as sho asked eagerly Oh was it entirely destroyed Yes Miss Winslow was the reluctant reluc-tant answer Not only two of tho elevators but the mill as well as three cars of flour The buildings wore so close together that with tho high wind it was Impossible to savo anything IU + any-thing but elevator No 3 which wat I on tho other side of tho wind About s 15000 bushels of grain wero destroyed too and whiles there was a largo in II I JI Buranco tho loss Is likely to cripple tho company I stayed with John until un-til it was over and I bad persuaded i him to go homo i Take me to him at once later t ruptod liaise Imperiously Then as H tho young man hesitated and glancct Hat H-at her aunt oho added pleadingly 1 Please take mo to him you and II AuntieI nm ono of Johns friends 1 1 too nndoh dont you seo that I must go just for a moment Thurby turned n searching glance upon her received a gesture of assent as-sent from tho colonial dame beside her and then leaning forward gave an order to tho coachman t1 Thoro was dejection as well as ox haustlon In John Kldons attitude as ho sat deeply In his study chair with ono arm thrown llhiply across his desk Smoke and grlmo marked his faco and dress and his eyes looking darkly Into the future saw years of toll ahead of him The weight of sudden sud-den and awful misfortune was heavy 1 upon him 1 Whats the uso of trying ho was It asking himself Theres no ono to I carono ono to work for The door from the hall opened softly soft-ly and a flguro advanced to the lamplights lamp-lights rim Ho stared on ono In a trance Before him stood a demure and sweet Priscilla her graygowned figure thrown Into relief against the t dark red lining of her cloaka lovely CI I F I IIt C1i f I Juct Heard About It John whitecapped Puritan maiden with changing color and shining eyed Foi + 1 a moment longer ho looked hope he whispered I just heard about It John she said softly and I came right to you to tell you how sorry I am Ho forgot his loss forgot tho black hours through which ho had Kane a wonder seemed to fill him And you camo to met You aro nol angry you forgive my rudeness Why John sho said In sweet expostulation ex-postulation how could I think of anything any-thing but your trouble Sho stopped and an agonized lush swept to her hair A senso of all that was implied by her Impulsive action overwhelmed her Only for a moment did her confusion last for the young man before her seemed to recall suddenly sud-denly all that Ills trouble Involved and dropped his head Ipon his arir with u groan In a moment Hopo was at his side You must not grieve sho seld You arc young and havo much ablll ty and can soon And I am practically ruined ht groaned I must not talk to you noi think of you nor belong to your work any moro I must go to the bottom o < tho ladder and must put all sweetness and joy behind me But Indeed you must think of me Insisted Hope Now is when yot need your friends moro than over IB your life and wo will stand by you But Hopo you do not realize hi said almost fiercely why I cannot Jaro not think of you I havo had such thoughts such longings and now everything must bo put behind mo Hope was kneeling beside him now her hands on his arm as she answered an-swered between laughing and crying cry-ing I verily believe John that you arc a true descendant of John Aldon You called him thickheaded because poor little Priscilla had to propose to him I and you aro every bit as bad But if John Eldon was as slow to realize his possible happiness as the Puritan lover ho had the twentieth century quickness of comprehension and in tho seconds flash before he gathered his Priscilla Into his arms ho weighed tho nights loss against tho nights gain and tho burden rolled from his heart leaving Joy to reign there along with a zest for the tasks ahead of him e t r |