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Show Lbiio.a bio. Or sT'eTroj aaas'Tsafj mwmmmm awatJessirasaarasaaeag-w,4J. ji jn,nr r UXS ' : r t'..t. V" r nl toward the 1 ' ' Imn. ..-.. I' c '-r H-n tr.a".-;'-; i . . . vt, i u . . i ( ia ciua la a u t i-J nrir.J laui tred: ., ; car . cf a r-jrry the boy La it. T: i t v i i - I.: ii n e ;re aa tho v -.i't .-ir it tke boia i f I ill. j f t 1 ' l t n'y tK'.i in I iu, o Lut to my ax.yii.i114 aoout hia for-I for-I tunel" 1 . stood with a IMrle verd itinJaw on I h: f"i fjr a rwmcni Tnen another bi ' .1 1 w-na Lorn In hie brain. "iut I olJii't T rv .'-4 cut to wrtta." He -went to 1 da.-hfrd o,t a taw Uru on a; r 1 c.;l t : boy: "i.jT 11 lv tho h')Ja ar.4 give that to !!! 1 ia. -Yfi t! t fran Cainaron (U- t acnaa ta 'r-iT It rm 00 r.ot t ti.ra beXora ba do, i'u Uiachaxga yo'J " lc boy nn out ni rarly fava Ms emp.oj-ar a a'roVa cf '.araJvf a by Jumping Into a cab a-nl aeJln up Uaa tract. ; EntH-a nk'a bour of triumph had conn". Camei on r J arrived aad askd tor a ir:vsia Interview lth her. Ot couraa a.a kncr what ha woulJ ay. Sha wouldn l bo afraid to ! any tUn from Ker new -old bracaleta to ber ot of ermine that ho aad Mra to a.ter Mmaalf. Wouldn't h wither Mm wlih bor UUdlnT Vv OUldri't It bo are-1 1 ua to 0 him crlnga? 8ho drew her he" 1 uo and btaaened her yea eiertmentaily tefore ho mirror to awa how aha woul 1 look rfitnf him. She wlahad ho had feironr'e ocpootaUoaa, or 8cror. had bia apptnuanco. A rnald handM he a nvta JoaU aa ho waa ready to deacand to the paxlor. Sao rU'ic-d It tmw th,t " wa" lR hfcr fi; -r'm handwriting;, and laid It aald, thinklrif that a ho would bava tlma ta read It afior a whna. Sno rwapt down tho atalrs and into th rlchly-furniha4 drawln-roooa like a orlnuoaa THZ TTALT THAT EAT r03 COLD. s Beatrice Flake swept aeroea tha ma nlflcent ballroom of her faiher'a FUth avenue mansion, a beautiful picture In white. There waa hardly one anions tha 204 couplea that did not turn and watch her ta admiration. ' Aa eho strolled proudly toward tha IttUo cluster of dancer in which Richard Cameron Cam-eron was standing her handkerchief fluttered flut-tered to tha floor almost at bla feet. Cameron picked up tha bit of laco and tava U back to the small, whlt-s:ovd hand from which It had slipped. In return for his courtesy ha received a smile, a bow and a musical "Thank you." If Cameron had been a younr man of wealth -and position tha bow might have been the thousandth part of an Inch low. er, and the smile a trifle eweeter. and the "Thank you" perhaps would have sparkled with more of the sunohlne In Its silver melody. But Cameron waa only a poor clerk of her father's, with a salary of S900 a year, and no personal posaeaaions In the world beyond a handaome fac. fine rurg4d flrur and a widowed mother, the latter Item to be supported out of bis ta) per year. . KUa Flake, .conducted herself accordingly. , Cameron walked leisurely up the Hoot with Miae Beatrice's younaer sister upon hie arm. Mlaa Flake let her' great, black eyes follow him admiringly for a moment. mo-ment. If his sfilary had not been but tJQ she could not have helped admiring his strong face and sturdy, military bearing. After a short glance she turned bar eyes back, half languidly, half disdainfully, to the expressionless countenance of Theodore Theo-dore Strong, who had Just come alongside of her. foot. of the social ladder), but to knock him down Je 1 tun hr fucker's f niai.alon and hr own fnii ar of FiXJi avenue contempt. As Cameron waa pw.r.g with tv fa'r Mabel, ieatrlw. by a ri- rno . -1 cf her hand, managed to Ut har Jw.ed fan fall to the floor .almust d.roi y In front of the couple. Cameion c.-. ,jod h.S arm from tdat of his corcytuiluu and restored re-stored tne lout treasure. btrong turned bla head for fear of an Introduction In-troduction li nue the attempt at faa-clnation faa-clnation In the beaming g'anee with which Beatrice's auperb ye atinowlaugad to politeness. Of cure, too, Ceraron fna to be awar of any art ta the way charming Beatrice managed to engage him in sentimental senti-mental ooiiyersatlon. r the couuoitah maneuver by which ahe managed to lead him along In the promenade, with her sister sis-ter a clinging subsutwt following with the Insipid Theodore. Perhapa, however, he noticed the I'ftie shadow of disappointment which flitted over Mabel's faoe, a the evening drew to "J0?"' n wnd no chance to apeak with ber again. How eould she know that it waa not his Inclination, but Xxaa Bea trice, that held htm oepUveT After the boll was over-. Beatrice, locTir-Ing locTir-Ing In her room. Just before retiring, waa remarking with a wearisome yawn whloh stretched her little rooe of a mouth to a width that would hav aoofced the dell, cate and faatldlous Theodore, that "that Cameron la a preeumlng fellow, and earn near making love to me. I wlU take him down a litue, If l die for It. I do wieh Mr. Stronr would dye hia mustache." Mabel, hatenmg -with buraloa; oheeka. nuegled her golden head dowa deeper Into In-to .the great downy Dlilows, and Ut the embroidered sleeve of her night robe fall across bar face la aueh a way aa to conceal con-ceal tha suspicious glitter of something very like teare on her silken laahea. . . e It waa Juat as she had, expected. Cam-oron Cam-oron made bar an offer of bis heart, his hand and fortune, couching his proposal in words rather eold. . The "fortune"' seemed like Irony to the girl, and she amlled aa It waa spoken. It wasn't what .she had expected of auch a man not halt ardent enough. She swallowed her chagrin, cha-grin, however, and gave her head two or three extra tosaes out of shoer eptte. Cameron fidgeted uneasily la his chair during the moment of elleneo that followed? fol-lowed? He began to be afraid that he would bo accepted. Then he stubbornly made up his mind that he would not raarry her et any post. If he could hot have Mabel he did not want any one. Beatrice's first words pat htm at rest: 'fri'r. la t poeoible you hava mteundef-stood mteundef-stood my condescension in this way? You are very presumptuous. ;My father shall hear of tiite. Shall I call the butler to show yon to the door?" - "Don't trouble yourself. Miss Flake. It, waa your fathar'e wish and not mine thar brought me here.- If I had not been eur what your amwsc would have been I should never hava oome. If you pleaaa. I ahould like to speak to Sfabel." With biasing face the baffled coquette left ber unscathed victim aad ran up to her room to drown In a flood of anrry tears her shame, mortification and wonder. She didn't know what to make of her visitor. visit-or. But one thing she was certainJlint he had burned her own fingers Instead of his. An hour later Mabel, stealing In bi ashing ash-ing and happy, to tell of her betrothal to Richard Cameron, found Beatrice Juat tearing up her father's note, and goUg up beside her. leaned over her shoulder. The two sisters read together: "Beatrice If Cameron offers himself, accept. He'a eorno into poeaesalon r.f a splendid fortune. I've pot time to explain. J shall take him into partnrHhlp neat week. Be sure and accept him. 'Tis tha beet match In tho city. r' AT HER. "P. S.-Old Strong- haa fal!e4." i.i?orVln '!. womB for fickleness. She .IK to make men woo her ardently and long and then when they think ber won. and begin to bask In the glory of her smllea, to slip like a sunbeam from their embrace and, eoquette-lik, fling heraelf into the arms of some disheartened suitor -JorTb??oreh' h" B wMa??; rtc,hJ Tn-Ti " bed at night mumbling golden vargariea of speculation when he should be saying his prayers, and wakes up Jn the morning ta find himself ?ii FY- . Manv beggar erawla to his ,trw e over In his drearae the bitterneaa of want, and wakens to find the coffers of some dead millionaire emptied emp-tied at hia feet, and the aame hands that denied him alms yesterday stretched out dav Rln elaap of good-fellowship to- ! Richard Cameron went to tha pogtofflce . one morning -and got a letter a very important-looking document. It was thick, awkward, and with a foreign postmark. He had only two correspondents In the world, his mother and a cousin. He turned tho strarure epistle over two or i three times, wondering where and who It , could be from. ; He broke the aeal In the street; read a few lines and turned white, a few more and turned red and then started on a trot down the street. In a tew minutes he was standing In the counting-room of John Flake St Co., canting, cant-ing, flushed and trembling trying to stammer stam-mer something about giving ud his si cue- tlon two hundred thCJS6.nd-Kajt aunt--ladlea dead. When the exelted young man repeated his Intention of giving up bt eierkshtp and entering Into business for himself. Mr. Flake demurred, hesitated a moment. Strong was a young man who haa a habit- of aaylng and doing all manner of soft things to please the women. He was the owner of a pair of weak eyes, a pile, yellow mustache, the reputation of 'a niun-abont-town, and, an expectation of a cool half million in hla own right when the paternal Strong Anally went the way of all, rich men. Mlas Fluke again conducted herself ae cortilnKly. "A fine-looking fellow, that Mr. Cameron, Cam-eron, don't you think so. Mr. Strong?" she asked, arching her pretty brows. "Fawaxble." replied the young man. lift, tng an oeglase and scrutinising Cameron ; through It with one of thoae long, aristocratic aristo-cratic stares so much affected by those , who would appear .to be high-born. "But who le he?" i Strong was nof'asklng for Information.-He Information.-He knew. The question, taken In connection connec-tion with the Inquiring lift of the eyelids eye-lids an the slightly severe tone In which it was put, was intended to indicate. In a I delicate way, the great difference be- i 'tween 1900 annually, with a widowed mother to- ho -supported, and an inheritance inherit-ance of half a million, with onlv a alx- I foot mahogany coffin between him and ltw possession. ' i Miss Flake understood and appreciated, and again acted accordingly. "Oh he'a nobody, to be aure! But father fa-ther has aome queer notions and Insists upon evr eekliu; hlxn to all our parties, M much as though he were a young I lord." Young Cameron during thia conversation had made the round of the ballroom and 1 vas again approaching the place -where he had been picked to piecea only a few aec. ouds before. With Miss Mabel he prof sen ted a striking picture. - There couldn't have been a greater contrast con-trast had i some little roseate morning cloud, taken It into Its head to run away with the midnight than there was between be-tween this couple. Cameron.- with his tall, proud figure, in hia well-worn evening clothes, his dark, manly face and Piercing black eyes, and Mabel slight, sylph-like, sunshiny, in her robe of white lace, with her violet eyes, rose-tinted cheeks and silt curls floating to her, waist like a golden mist. Thev looked well together and Beatrice angrily bit a line of milky white teeth into the rose of her under Hp on seeing them still in each other's company. She had been thinking for the past few minutes min-utes what a nice subject Cameron would be for a flirtation. She was tired of the yellow mustache, -weak eye and atupld gallantries of her Insipid Theodora and, thougft she In time intended to become Mrs. Strong, with half a million dollars to play with, unless some suitor with an extra ex-tra hundred thousand or two happened along, she couldn't see why for that reason rea-son she should not succeed in breaking the heart of her father's handsome clerk In the meantime. He was Juat the one to coquette with. It would be so dellahtful to entangle him In the silken snare of her witcheries and arts, and then slay him, not ns Lady Clare Vere de Vere waa supposed- to slav her humble suitor, "with her noble birth" for Beatrice's grand fa-ther fa-ther himself commenced life at the vet slapped him on the, shoulder, called him a capital fellow, and offered to take him into partnership. . . - "On one condition." stoutly declared Cameron. ' f I "What ia Itr "That you allow me to enter two fart, nerships at once one mercantile, the oth matrimonial one with yourself, the other with your daughter." "You mean Beatrice, of course? , "No, Mabel." - . - ' "But I can't spare Mabel. She ta nothing noth-ing but a child. Beatrice ia Just the right age to marry, and bealdoa, besidea ' - Flake stammered her. He did not like to aay that Beatrice waa creeping along In age and that he i anxious to get her married off. Ha aerate had hie head and looked puasled. "I believe Mabel le engaged to a young lawyer," he said. "You needn't look ao crestfallen. Beatrice lan't engaged1 She certainly Is the handsomer of the iwrand would make the better wife, I think1." "Oh, hut Beatrice wouldn't marry me.1 "Try her and see." "May I have Mabel If Beatrice wQl net marry me?" VYes." "And you won't say a word to either of the girls about my inheritance?" "No no." Flake wanted Cameron to wait until after af-ter the dinner hour. Cameron did not have |