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Show QOOCQOCPOCOOOOQOOCQOOO The Happy Pair By IZOLA FORRESTER ocooooooococ Copyrighted, 1910, by Associated Liter4ry Press "I shall take the credit for the entire en-tire affair," said Mrs. Ted, with a sigh of absolute relief. She leaned forward In the coupe, and watched the bridal carriage move leisurely away from the curb before the church. Through the open window she caught a glimpse of Rosamond's head, with its veiling of old rose points, and orange blossoms for a crown. "She hasn't a thousand dollars to her name, and he thinks she has millions." Cousin Dexter did not smile. In the first place, he was too well bred ever to smile at any of Mrs. Ted's social maneuvers, and another thing, it did not appear to be a comic moment mo-ment to him as he listened. "So Charlton thinks he is getting an heiress?" he queried Innocently. "I have told no untruths'," Mrs. Ted returned, placidly. "I merely suggested suggest-ed things. You know the way. She was my guest, and so was he. And It will be splendid for her." "Why?" Dexter's tone was odd. "Why? Because he has the fortune." for-tune." "So Charlton has a fortune?" Dexter Dex-ter merely repeated her words as though they amused him, and it irritated irri-tated the lady. "He is Stephen Charlton, is he not of Nevada? What more do you want to know? After the senator, his father, fath-er, died, he went out West and turned into a marvel at silver mining, and has reaped a fortune. It is a splendid thing for them both. He said he would prefer to marry a girl with money, so she would be happy, and while I don't pretend to understand what he meant, of course, I knew as long as he had so much it couldn't possibly matter whether Rosamond had any or not, and they love each other dearly, so there you are." "Clever cousin mine," laughed Dexter, Dex-ter, suddenly, as they drove away from the gray stone church awaiting the happy pair." "What do you mean?" Mrs. Ted demanded quickly. "Nothing at all," smiled Dexter. Rosamond had tossed his suit over her impertinent, thin, young shoulders with no regard for his feelings or bank account whatever, and had chosen chos-en Steve Charlton as her prince of dreams. And Dexter knew the truth about Charlton. A strange silence had settled over the happy pair as the train whirled them out of the Grand Central on their honeymoon. Mrs. Ted had even "Dear, Don't Cry. Don't, I Can't Stand It." loaned them her bungalow up on the Cape Cod coast, and all the wings of fortune seemed fanning adverse happenings hap-penings away from them, but the two sat facing each other in the parlor car, and neither spoke. "How beautiful you looked under that rose point veil," Charlton said suddenly. "We will treasure it dear, won't we?" Rosamond smiled with a flash of her old whimsical self. "We cannot treasure it Steve," she answered. "It was loaned to nu by Mrs. Ted." Steve said nothing. It seemed odd that the heiress to many millions should have to borrow a rose point lace veil to be married In, yet he fancied fan-cied there might be some sentiment about it too deep for the mind of man to fathom. "Are we going straight out to Nevada Ne-vada after Cape Cod, Steve?" she asked ask-ed presently, as the train turned out of Mount Vernon towards the sound. Mrs. Ted had painted pictures of the Charlton lodge In the mountains that had cost close to $200,000 to build, where the waning days of the honeymoon honey-moon would be spent. Ted grinned a bit grimly. "I'm afraid the life would be too rough for you. Rosebud mine, there In that old shack of mine. We'll take a place at the Springs for a while, until you get used to it all, I can ride back and forth once or twice a week." "But I want to go with you, Steve." "It would be too lonely for you." "Oh, I suppose It would." She said no more. Why couldn't he understand under-stand that no place on earth would be lonely where he was, that she would gladly wear doeskin and moccasins and tramp the wild ways with him? But tihe wondered how a palace of a $200,000 lodge could be lonesome. A telegram had been handed her by Mrs. Ted at the depot She had crushed it in her hand, unopened, but now, as Steve took up a magazine, and actually started to read it, she remembered remem-bered the envelope, and tore it open. It was brief, and from her only brother broth-er in Seattle. "Best love and congratulations to the happy pair." Something In the message made the quick tears spring to her eyes, and tremble on her lashes. The happy pair. How could she ever be really happy when she knew that Mrs. Ted had deliberately invited her to Beau-volr, Beau-volr, in the hope that Steve Charlton would take a fancy to her, and marry her? He had seen her portrait first of all, and had fallen in love with that, so Mrs. Ted declared, and it was a good match. Rosamond hated the word a match, a bargain, and excellent excel-lent sale! She looked up, and met Steve's troubled glance. He saw the tears, and reached for her hands, in spite of the rest of the passengers. "Dear, don't cry, don't, I can't stand it. If any one has made a mistake, it is I, and I'll stand for it. I should have known better all around. But 1 knew it was what you had been used to, and as long as I couldn't give it to you I thought it didn't matter. We loved each other, and my cousin is bully good to me out at the mines " "Your cousin?" faltered Rosamond. "The other Steve Charlton, you know. The millionaire kid they call him out there. I'm only the understudy. under-study. I'm chief mining engineer at the Dominic Coalition, that's all, dear. But I'll make good. I'm getting three thousand "a year now, and making stray bunches on the side. As the Coalition grows, I will grow, too. If you can just be patient, and fio as you please with your own fortune, I will climb up beside you soon, in the money line " "My fortune? I have no fortune, Steve." Rosamond's hands grew chilled chill-ed In his strong, close clasp. "What do you mean?" "Mrs. Ted told me you were heiress to Heaven knows how much real glitter," glit-ter," Steve explained, laboriously. "I've hated your money ever since I heard of it, but it had to go with you, and I couldn't afford to wait I wanted want-ed you, don't you know, girlie? You don't blame me, do you?" "And you haven't any fortune yourself?" your-self?" Rosamond's eyes were soft and tender. "Divil a bit," laughed Steve, recklessly. reck-lessly. "It's coming." "Neither have I, dear," she told him, happily. "Mrs. Ted Just made It all up so we would marry. She evidently thought you were the millionaire kid, as you say, for she told me so, and I've been miserable playing the part of the beggar maid to my king. Is is it a nice little shack, Steve, where we're going to, 'way up In the mountains?" moun-tains?" Steve thought for a minute, and pulled out a time-table. "It Is," he said. Anally, emphatically, emphati-cally, "and we're going to It now. We'll get off this train at New Ro-chelle, Ro-chelle, catch an express back, and go straight for Charlton Peak, Nevada, as fast as a western limited will take us. I don't like being patronized, and petted, do you, lady?" Rosamond flashed back a smile, In her old, happy way. "I may not be an heiress, Steve." she said, half seriously. "But I'm a splendid cook." "You won't have to cook. I keep a 'heathen Chinee.' " At the New Rochelle station, a wire went back to Mrs. Ted. "Don't worry about us. Going west Have one thousand In cash In the whole world between us. "The Happy Pair." |