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Show WAY DF THE WORLD By VICTOR REDCLIFFE. (Copyright 1914. by W. G. Chapman.) "It's settled," announced John Ritchie gloomily, as he entered the humble home kitchen and threw himself him-self into a chair with an abandon that evidenced strong emotion. His patient-faced wife looker.', up anxiously, their pretty daughter, Ina, with quick eagerness. Both knew what he referred to, but silently waited wait-ed for him to explain. "The lawyer filed the will In court today," proceeded Mr. Ritchie. "It leaves everything to Blanche Morton." - Mrs. Ritchie grew" a trifle white about the lips, the hopeful gleam died out of her faded eyes. Ina's face quivered. quiv-ered. She was not avaricious, but she bad to confess secretly to a severe d)8 appointment. She left the kitchen, passed out into the garden, chose a shaded corner and sat down and cried. "Hardly right, is it, Nancy7" submitted submit-ted Mr. Ritchie to his wife. "It's hard, John, and unjust," responded re-sponded his helpmeet with a gulp, bitterly. bit-terly. "My own brother, too! I see it all now. My dead sister's folks have been courting favor with Uncle Ralph for over a year in the Interests of Blanche. Of course, she's my niece, but we know that she is selfish and scheming. They tell me that she and her father just had Brother Ralph under un-der their thumb for the last year. I don't doubt they poisoned his mind against us and Ina. Poor Ina!" and Mrs. Ritchie wiped a tear from her eye with the corner of her apron and resumed her drudgery tasks with a hopeless sigh of desolation. It was, indeed, hard for the Ritchies. Things had gone wrong with John Ritchie for the past year or two, and he was desperately in debt. There was an old mortgage on the little home, hel-' by Uncle Ralph. They had hoped at the least that he would remit this. It seemed not, however. Everything had gone to Blanche, mort- llwl :JS She Inspected It. jage and all. Knowing the ways and worth of that self-centered young lady, Mr. Ritchie doubted if Bhe would show much mercy. He came upon Ina as he strolled ibout the garden. She was not aware jf his near presence, and he softr.' itole back to the house, his face more saddened than ever. "Nancy," he said to his wife, "I want you to be more gentle with Ina than ever. She's out in the gar-len gar-len crying out her heart. Poor child! Fou know what that means." "Disappointment about the fortune, 1 suppose," observed Mrs. Ritchie, irtariiy. "She had a right to expect something, and we certainly needed It badly." "I'm afraid it's that young man, Albert Al-bert Telford," said Ritchie, bluntly. "Why, I didn't think it had gone :hat far," remarked Mrs. Ritchie, with i start. "I knew he was friendly to Ina, and to Blanche, too. In fact, to ialf the girls in the village." "Yes, but lately he has about equally equal-ly divided his attentions between Ina ind Blanche," explained her husband. 'And I think he has favored Ina. Of ;ourse, that's all over and done with DOW." "What do you mean?" questioned Mrs. Ritchie. "It's the way of the world. Ina poor, 31ancte rich. He's a likely chap and ;an take his pick. It will be Blanche ind the fortune, naturally." However, twice during the ensuing week young Telford called at the Ritchie home, as was his wont. He was courteous as usual, but Ina 'ancied there was a new subdued air ibout him. She learned that he also risited her cousin, Blanche. Telford leemed to be studying her. She could lot fathom him. No word of love had lasacd between them. She wondered If, In his genorous-hearted way, he was not making an effort to break off their clOBe friendship gracefully She heard great Dews of het fortunate for-tunate cousin, the heiress. Blanche had started out to make a great spread. She was arranging to sell all tne property which shefhad Inherited. Inher-ited. She was talking of building a mansion home. She had entered on a career of reckless extravagance. One day she Invited Ina to come down to the old home. Ina's heart saddened as she entered the place, to find it dismantled. dis-mantled. Blanche was selling off everything. ev-erything. She offered Ina some of the old relics of the family. In tears Ina selected only a framed, faded picture pic-ture of her dead uncle, which hung In the room where he had died. A month went by. Blanche was urging the closing up of the estate as speedily as possible. One day Mr. Ritchie came home with a serious, jorrled face. "There are Bome pretty heartless people In the world," he remarked, dejectedly. de-jectedly. "What now?" questioned his wife. "Blanche. What do you think? Her lawyer notified me today that we must pay up the mortgage on the place here, now owned by her." A dull blow fell upon all the heartg within the room. It had meant pov erty before. It was sheer destitution now. The selfish avarice of Blanche was apparent. The family '.".ecided to move to another town. Then came a vast surprise. There came by mall one day a week later a package. It contained the mortgage, the notes afld a release deed. The dear old homestead home-stead was free of debt! "Blanche has relented!" cried Mrs. Ritchie Joyfully. "No," dissented her husband. "1 have learned positively that Blanche had no hand In this blessed deed. It is some benefactor friend who does not wish his name known," but the next day he found out who it was Albert Telford. What did It mean? Should Ina feel humiliated, or glad? She could not analyze the situation, yet she felt It needed an explanation. She went to the Telford home. It was to learn that Albert had gone to the city to Ell a new and setter position. "Oh, my dear," said his mother, "don't you understand? It was love that prompted him to give all he had for your sake." Then it was not the .-ich Blanche, but the poor Ina whom he lovedl What could Ina do but feel happy! And then a second .wonderful thing came to light unheard of, extraordinary. extraordi-nary. In cleaning the old picture of her uncle, Ina noticed a sheet of paper folded in its back. She inspected in-spected it. There was the latest will of Uncle Ralph. Practically a prisoner of Blanche and her friends, he had seized a favored moment to make this latter will, just before he died. It had been witnessed secretly by two old servants, serv-ants, whom Blanche had later discharged. dis-charged. There was a great commotion In the town when the news came out In shame and chagrin Blanche Morton disappeared, meanly taking with her what money she had been able already al-ready to secure from the estate. "Come home," ran a telegram to Albert in the city, and it was signed by Ina. "I have sent for you to return the money you so nobly gave to us," she told him. "Your mother misses you, and and " "You, too, want me to stay?" inquired in-quired Albert softly. And her blushes, her quivering lips, her ardent grateful eyes answered him lovingly. |