Show in the na eb a y s of sroor richard dy IRVING BACHELLER copyright by irvina Dc hUf A PRETTY DRAMA DRAM A SYNOPSIS solomon veteran scout and interpreter Intel prefer anti tila ills young comp companion anlon jack irons passing through clorse valley now new york in september 1768 to warn bottlers settlors sett lors of an indian uprising rescue from a band of redskins red skins tile tho wife and daughter of colonel ilare hare of B england jack distinguishes himself in the fight and later inter rescues Ain margaret rgaret hare from froin the river jack and margarot margaret fall in love on reaching fort stanwix colonel ilare hare says saya both are too young to marry the allaro family sail for england and the irons family move to J albany unrest grows glows in tho the colonies colon tea because of the ho oppressive measures meas urea of the english government solomon and jack visit doston boston in november 1770 jack goes to philadelphia and ana works in don jamin franklins Frankil ns printing plant nearly throe three years yeara later margaret writes him from london reminding him that her youth Is passing and saying she eho has appealed to doctor franklin has received a letter from washington to bo carried across the ocean ani and jack malls balls with him arria lal inga in englund Is arrested but jack lias the tha letter and proceeds to london jack delivers dell veri the papers to franklin in london nicus Is released and joins thom tham in tho the groat city jack orders fashionable clothes CHAPTER VI a the lovers the fashionable tailor was done with jacks equipment franklin had bad seen been and tip approved proved the alio admirably soaped and fitted garments the young man nna tits his friend solomon had moved to their new nev lodgings on bloomsbury square the scout had acquired n suit for street wear and was now nov able to walk abroad without exciting the multitudes the doctor was plu planning nnIng mint lie ho called a snug little party so lie ha announced when jack and solomon canie came adding but first you tire are to meet marguret margaret and her mother hero here at half after four jack made careful preparation for that event fortunately it was a clear bright day after foggy weather solomon tin had refused to go with jack for fear of being lit in the way 1 I want to see tier tin nn tier her folks but I 1 reckon yell lia hove ve yer hands full today lie ho remarked yo ye dont need no scout on that kind ol 01 0 you go on attend an git through with yer sm smacking smack ackin ln an ayin by ill straggle in 11 precisely at four thirty alve jack presented himself at me lodgings of his distinguished friend ile ho has sat said in a letter when hla his dramatic adventures were till all behind hini that this his was tas the most thrilling moment lie he had known tit alie butler lind told tod me that cere tile ladles indies wro there lie ho wrote upon my word it put me out of breath climbing that little flight of stairs nut but it was lit in fact the end of a long journey it Is curious that my feeling then should renit remind tid me as it does of moments when I 1 have been close up tip to tho the enemy cri ciny within his lines and lying hard against the ground lit in some thicket while british soldiers were avero train tramping pIng so near I 1 could feel the ground shake lit in the room I 1 saw lady nitro and doctor franklin standing side by side bide what a smile lie ho wore amaie as he looked at antel I 1 fieve never known a human being who had such a cli cering i light lit in ills his countenance ten te nance tince I 1 have seen it brighten the lie darkest days of tho the war aided by the light of lit his 4 words ills falth faith and good alicer were immovable I 1 felt the latter when lie said 11 see the look of alarm alarin in hi tits ills fate face now for a pretty drama 1 mrs nitro gave me itic her liand band anti I 1 hissed it and sald said that I 1 hit biad ex beefed anti hoped that she was not ill there was it a thistledown touch on my cheek check from behind and turning I 1 saw the laughing face I 1 sought looking up tit nt at me ine I 1 tell you my mother thoro there ter never was such a pair of eyes their long dark lushes and the glow between morn I 1 remember chiefly the latto latte was vas the friendly light of tier lier to nie me it was wai ilke n candle in tho window to guide my illy feet come it seemed to say I 1 here Is a welcome for you ou I 1 saw the 1 buik vik in tier lier cheeks checks the crimson in her lips the white oilier of her nock neck the glow giov or of tier lier abundant hair the shapeliness of brow and noso hose and nd ehin in that first glance I 1 saw the beating of lier her heart even I 1 renic remember anber there was n tiny mole on her temple under the edge of that beautiful golden crown of hers it did not escape my iny eye 03 e I 1 lell ell you she bhe was fair ng as the farst vl vi oleta in meadow vale on a dewy morning of course site ehe was at tier her best it was the last moment in years of waiting in which tier lier imagination had furnished me with endowments too romantic I 1 bave seen been great moir moments writs as you know but this Is s the on ona I 1 could least afford to give up I 1 had bad lone iong been wondering what I 1 should do dg it camo now it was come and there was waa no taking thought of what wo should to do alint would seem to have been settled out of court I 1 kissed tier lips illis and she kissed mine and for a few moments I 1 think we could have stood in a half bushel measure thou then die doctor lau glied wid and gave tier her ladyship a smack on tile cheek 11 1 I dont inov about you my lady but it fills mo me with the glow of youth to see such going on lie ho remarked im only twenty one and nobody knows it nobody suspects it even these wrinkles and gruy hair linar are only a mask that covers the heart of a boy 1 I confess that flint such a scene does doea push mo ine back into my girlhood sald said lady nitro alual I 1 feel tho the old suddenly solomon arrived of courso course where solomon tion Is otie ono would expect solecisms they were not wint wanting ing 1 I had not tried to prepare him for the ordeal Solon solomon ibn Is bound to bo be wherever lie ho Is anti and why not there Is no better man living 11 youre as us as a golden robin lie iio said to Al margaret argaret shaking lier her hand baud in tits his big one ile iio was ans not so much put out as I 1 thought lie iio would be I 1 never saw a gentler man with women As liard as iron in a fight there tins has always been a curious vein of chivalry in tho the old scout no lie stood and joked with the girl in tits ills odd fashion and set ug its all laughing margaret and tier her mother enjoyed its ills talk and spoke of it often after that 1 I dressed and went to dine with the hares that evening they lived in a largo house on a fashionable roada as certain or the streets were called it was a typical upper tipper class EnglI english sli home there were many fine old things tit in it but no bright colors not nothing hInL to dazzle or astonish you like the wooden indian in war paint wid and fen feathers and the stuffed sniffed bear and high colored rugs in the parlor of mr gosport in philadelphia 1 I was shown into the library where sir benjamin sat mono alone rending reading a newspaper ile iio greeted me the news lg Is disquieting lie he said bald presently what have you yet to tell us of the situation in america it Is critical I 1 answered it can be mended however if 11 the government will net act promptly what should it do wake make concessions sir stop shipping ton tea for a time dont try to force an export with a duty on it I 1 think tho alio government should not tho the mailed fist alst at us 0 nut but think of tho the violence and the destruct destruction lon of property 11 all that hlll abate and disappear if the cause Is removed wo we who keep our affection for england have done our best to hold tho the passions of the people in check but we get no help from tills this side of the ocean sir benjamin sat thoughtfully feeling its ills slivered silvered inu stache lie ile had grown stouter and fuller faced since we had parted in albany when lie he had looked ilice a prosperous well bred merchant in military dross dress and had been timbered limbered and soiled by knocking about in the bush now lie wore a whito wig and ruffles and looked as aa dignified ns as a tory magistrate in the moment of silence I 1 mustered up tip my courage and spoke out sir benjamin BenJam ln 1 I 1 said 1 I have come colne to claim your daughter under the promise you gave tile me at fort stan elx I 1 have not ceased to lovo love tier her and if she continues to love mo me I 1 am sure that our wishes will v have your favor and blessing 1 1 I inive not forgotten the promise lie he said but america tins lias clain changed ged li it Is likely to be a hotbed of r rebellion ob ellion perhaps even the seeria of a bloody war I 1 roust consider my iny daughters Imp happiness 1 11 conditions in america sir are not so bad as you take them to be I 1 assured him 1 I hope you are right he answered 1 I a im tit told that alint tho the whole matter rests with your doctor franklin it if wo we are to go on from bad to worse lie he will bo be responsible if it rests with him I 1 can assure you sir that hat our troubles will end I 1 salt said looking only tit at the surface of tile tho matter and speaking conil confidently dently out of the bottomless pit of my inexperience peri pori ence as the hie young are like to do 1 I believe you are right lie ho declared and went on with a 1 smile now my young friend the girl has a notion that she loves you I 1 am abaro of that so ire are you I 1 happen to know through doctor franklins influence we have allowed her to receive your letters latto s and to answer view them I 1 havo no doubt of your our sincerity or hers but I 1 did not foresee what tins lias come to pass she Is our only cl lid and you can scarcely blime blame me if I 1 balk at a marriage which pron promises ilses to turn tier her awny away from us find and III fill our 0 ur family f am 11 y with dissen dissension slon may alay we not respect each other and disagree in po politics iltis I 1 in politics yes but not in war I 1 begin to see danger of war and that ip isi full of the bitterness of death if doctor franklin F will do what he can to reestablish establish re loyalty and order in tho the colonies my fear will be remo removed ved lind and I 1 shall welcome you to my family 1 I began to show a glint of intelligence and said if the ministers will co onerato it will not be difficult tha ministers will do anything it lg is in their power to do then the timely entrance ot of margaret and tier her mother 1 I suppose that I 1 shail shock my fattier father but I 1 cannot help it said the girl ns as site she kissed hissed h me you iou may inny be sure that I 1 had my part in that game she stood beside me tier her arm around my waist and mine around tier her shoulders father can you blame me for loving tills this big splendid hero who saved ua its front from tho the indiana and the bandits it la Is unlike you to bo be such a 0 hardened wretch dut for litin him you would have neither wife nor daughter she put it on thick but I 1 held my peace as I 1 have done many any a time in tho presence of a womans comans cunning anyhow she Is 18 apt to believe herself hersel and in it matter of the heart can find and tier her way through difficulties which would appall a ninn man keep yourself in bounds my daughter tier her fattier answered 1 I know tits ills merits and should like to see you married and liopo to but I 1 must ask you to be patient until you can go to a loyal colony with your husband it was a pleasant dinner through which they kept hept me telling of my adventures in the bush save the immediate family only mrs biggars a sister of lady hare and it 0 young nephew of sir benjamin were nvere at the table CHAPTER VII the dawn franklin whom jack saw the next day liked not the attitude of the baronet ile he Is one of the kings men on the big chiess board said the old philosopher os opher all that lie ho said eald to you has the sound of strategy I 1 have reason to believe that they are trying to tow us into port and margaret Is only one of ninny many ropes hares attitude Is not that of an honest man only three days before the philosopher had had bad a talk with north tit at the urgent request of howe who to his credit was eager for reconciliation the aings friend and minister was contemptuous 1 I am quite indifferent to war he I 1 ie had cynically declared nt at last the confiscations it would produce will provide for many or of our fric friends nas it was an astonishing bit of frankness 1 I talce take this opportunity of assuring i your lordship that for all the ho property you seize or destroy in america you will pay to the last farthing sat said franklin tills this treatment was like that lie had received from other members of the government since the unfortunate publication li of the rogers and oliver letters they seemed to entertain tain tile notion vint that lie he had forfeited tho the respect duo due a gentlemen gentleman A lew few days dars after franklin had given air to tits his suspicion that the government party would try to tow him into port three stout british ships lind had broken their cables on him an invitation not likely to bo be received by one who had really forfeited the respect of gentlemen was tit in tits his hands the shrewd philosopher did dia not think twice about it ilo ile knew that here was the first farst step in a change of tactics he could not properly decline to accept it and so lie ho went to dine ani and spend the night with a most distinguished company at the country seat of lord howe sone some ambe best people were there lord and lady cathcart lord anti and lady hyde lord and lady dartmouth sir william erskine Ersk lne sir henry clinton sir james baard sir benjamin ilare hare and their ladles indies were also present doctor franklin said that the punch was calculated to promote cheerfulness and high sentiment As was the custom at like functions the ladles sat together at one end of the table franklin being seated at tho the right of lady howe who was most gracious and entertaining the first toast was to the venerable philosopher the dinner over lady howe conducted doctor franklin to the library where she nahed him to sit down there wore were no other persons in the room she sat near him and began to speak of the misfortunes of the colony off of massachusetts bay i lord howe joined them in a moment 1 I nm am sensible of the fact that you have been mistreated nil by the ministry lie said 1 41 I have not approved of their conduct I 1 am unconnected with those men save through personal friendships friendship s my ay zent zeal for the public welfare Is 19 my only excuse for asking you to open your mind the plan Is now to seni send a commission com isslyn to tile tho colonies as you have bave urged your lordship I 1 am not looking for rewards but only for justice TO U BE Z continua CONTI NUm |