Show can A heir to by frederick cauther ff the other atan etc illustrations by ray walters copyright by J B lippincott co 8 i 1 SYNOPSIS andy abeleen aged millionaire miner Is 13 dying and orders a will drawn up leaving all his property to the son of a sister of whom lie he lins has heard nothing for years and whose married name he does not know meleen was married years before but left his wife after a quarrel in which lie he sart struck k her he learned carried later that s she lie and t their h r daughter were dead the scene shifts to new york introducing wilfrid stennis Stenn ls glidis who Is telling his fl fiancee ancee E unice eunice Tre what lie he would do if he ha were F the possessor of wealth in the law ot of face of carboy passavant cozina attorneys for the estate of meleen roger hews reports the result of his search fo for heirs of meleen he conceals the fact that ho he has discovered that melcena Mel cens daughter Is living wilfrid stennis replies to an advertisement verti for information concerning his dead mother martha moleen Alc leen and Is told that lie he Is the heir to andy meleena Me leens millions he wants to marry eunice bunice at once but she resolutely demurs he meets clara passavant frivolous daughter r of his attorney eunice becomes M jealous of wilfrida Wilf rids attentions to clara he builds a yacht and starts on a trip abroad tho the Pass avants being included in the alie party roger hows hews having discovered that eunice Tre Is the daughter of andy meleen plans to use the information to his own advantage he proposes to eunice and Is rejected jaded after two years of gaiety in E europe drope wilfrid returns ond and immediately calls on eunice CHAPTER VII VI I 1 continued that was very kind of you said eunice as she led the way to the old familiar room only a little dimmer and duller than usual but nevertheless to wilfrid a very haverl haven of restfulness ful ness father will be delighted to see you and hear all about your travels 11 and what about yourself eunice 7 said wilt wilf moving closer to her but not venturing to touch her although he be was possessed with an unutterable longing to take her to his heart as of yore us as she stood there in her fresh cool beauty a little more mature a little more sedate and womanly and to his tired spirit infinitely grateful and soothing of course I 1 am glad to see you she said in quietly level tones lifting her eyes to his as she spoke with a steadfast and limpid regard their depths unstirred by any sign of deeper feeling within if her heartstrings heart strings vibrated little or much she had herself wonderfully in hand stennis turned away with a half petulant sigh and dropped into a chair his bis old favorite seat 1 I have been several kinds of a fool since I 1 saw you ho he was beginning when whan eunice broke in banteringly obb ob pray dont begin your confessions so soon I 1 would rather hear A ka about the pleasant things you have AW seen and done stennis looked at her in conler wonderment P this was a new eunice altogether out of his ken she had rk seated herself by the window and was already busied over a bit tl i delicate drawn work which the slightest tremor of hand or dimness of eye might ruin her coolness was disappointing even aggravating in what school had she acquired this insouciance sou ciance of voice and manner clearly he thought she had bad not been wearing her heart away during his absence perhaps there was a successor to her favor he reflected jealously dut but then and there he registered a mighty oath that he be would try to win her back if he had to begin his wooing all over again thoughts fly quickly as aniels girdle and eunicee Eu nices last words had scarcely ceased vibrating on the air than wilfrid found himself replying with a smile must I 1 begin at the very beginning like the children from the very bec be c commencement as one of my little sunday gunday school tots tota says well then oh hang it all eunice I 1 cant begin in cold blood in that way ask me questions give me a start you know I 1 never was famous for ticketing and labeling my thoughts eunice laughed quietly a delicious ly low ripple of merriment all right she exclaimed with just a trace of her old occasionally piquant manner but if I 1 put any impertinent queries mr stennis you may decline to answer on the usual legal grounds and what may they be inquired wilfrid whose wits were certainly not at their sharpest that day on the score that the answer would degrade or incriminate you she retorted saucily wilfrid drew himself up stiffly seeing which eunice hastened to say contritely therel there I 1 mean that mr stennis but you gave me too easy an opening but it if you insist on calling me mr stennis put in the instantly mollified wilfrid making the most of this momentary softening in manner 1 I shant be able to go on at all it was L J hard and bitter am 1711 always wilf and eunice before I 1 went away ah said the girl in low and vibrant tones we used to do a great many foolish things in those days we were both rather silly I 1 dare say now you are a man of the world and 1 am getting to be an old maid so we must put all ail nonsense behind us how can she speak that way mused wilfrid nonsense slid she calls it well perhaps it was then aloud it was the sweetest time of my life 1 I have found that out he said fervently you did not think so then eunice flashed back at him with P n comans womans fondness for a lively retort she could have bitten out her tongue the next instant for she was determined that the conversation should not take a sentimental or a reminiscent turn if she could help it that was one of the fool things I 1 started to confess awhile ago said stennis ruefully pulling at his fair mustache confessions are expressly prohibited hibi ted said eunice quickly now I 1 F going to begin my cross examina tion in the first place are we to congratulate you for what asked wilfrid blankly upon your engagement or your f w marriage to miss passavant 1 I do not know which not having heard from you this with much sweetness but the papers have had you engaged and married three or four times papers be 1 exclaimed wilfrid 1 I tell you eunice all off there never was a word of truth in it anyway any vay why I 1 seen clara Pass passavant vant for six months month sl in his earnestness he leaned towards her half out of his chair oh im so sorry murmured eunice bending over her work are you and why pray Be because dause it always seemed to me a very wise arrange arrangement mene for both of you she has beauty refinement and social position you have the money what more could the world ask there it was out and eunice felt that she could breathe more freely again and again during the past two years she had schooled herself to mako make some such indifferent speech as anis wilfrid gasped this was the girl who had promised always to wear his ring who had assured him that whatever happened she would never cease to care for him I 1 by jove he thought ashes hard as nails gave her credit for that sort of thing but aloud he said with some show of dignity you seem to have left one item out of your calculations eunice and what may that be inquired the girl holding her work up to the light and inspecting it very earnestly 1 I care for her in that way poor thing eunice retorted mockingly how dreadful did she ever find it out 1 I dont know and I 1 dont care exclaimed the baited wilfrid let me tell you one thing eunice you are now please dont exclaimed I 1 eunice elevating an admonitory linger finger 1 I can imagine just what you are going to say and id rather you are you ever going to begin on those adventures of yours think of othello what has he got to do with it eunice sighed in simulated distress its very easily seen that foreign travel has not broadened your mind d to the extent you hoped it would that sir is a classical allusion 1 I cant see what you lyou are ard driving at protested wilfrid you are not a bit as you used to be I 1 dont dant know what to make of you what went ye out for to see quoted Ei eunice inice looking at him quizzically zi but stennis chose to ignore this remark why are you so hard and so bitter what I 1 want to know at this unjust accusation eunice rose and confronted him her bosom rising and falling tempestuously at last hard and bitter am IV I 1 she repeated in deep chest tunes tones and moving towards the door if the interview were prolonged another moment she felt that she would collapse hard and bitter she reiterated perhaps I 1 am you made me so how do you like your work and she fled from the room he made his way uptown to the rooms which had been retained for him du during ring his absence and where by this time his man might be expected to have everything in order here too he found his secretary with a sheaf of letters wanting replies especially ally a lengthy communication from carboy passavant cozine beseeching see ching his personal attention to sundry matters connected with his vast properties despite his bis indish expenditure e X pend iture he had not disbursed disburse A half his income consequently there was always a surplus of cash on hand d demanding e investment mr passavant had evidently seen his name among the arrivals and lost no time in trying to get at him tell old passavant to go to the devil e claimed stennis irritably or no ill go there myself I 1 mean ill run downtown in the morning write and tell him so please I 1 want to be alone this evening g thus left to himself he exton gulshen the lights and went to thi the balcon balconied led open window com commanding command mandini a 4 view of the riverside drive and the silver hudson hero here he sat smoking and taking stock of himself u until the night was far spent the inventory was not a very satisfactory one from any point of view where were his former roseate dreams of serene and supreme happiness which were to become concrete realities with the possession posse of boundless wealth true he had achieved achieve many things which none but a spoiled 6 darling of fortune could have accomplished ho he had quaffed the cup of pleasure to tho dregs he had seen and tasted merely tasted V gilded vice there his innate cleanness of nature and clarity of mind had kept him from any great damage to health or reputation but that sort of thing was only negative virtue and he knea knew it it he had wrought no serious harm to others or to himself lie he had of an equal surety accomplished no good there must bo be something in life for him beyond mere spending catt eating ng drinking and wearing fine clothes but where and how to find it not among the fashionable and frivolous folk with whom he had cast his lot hitherto nor among of the type of clara pass passavant avan t though she was not by any means the worst product of her guild indeed come to think of it she was the best of the bunch her influence on nn the whole had made for good looking backward lie he chuld see how much he be really owed her she had molded him and made a man of him in those early days of his newfound new found riches when without her aid or in the hands of a woman of commoner clay he might have gone to perdition yes he had every reason to thinie thin kindly of clara passavant he might have married her lie he could now it if he chose to say the word berh perhaps apse that would be the best thing that ithac could happen to him eunice had cast him off unjustly of course weakly ready in his chagrin to blamo blame someone else for his own short sight edness he had said that ho he did not lovo clara which was perfectly true wits was there in the world any such thing as love real pure disinterested love once upon a time he had thought so but now too late he discerned that in letting eunice Tre slip through his fingers he had lost what might havo have proved a sheet anchor for happiness with her by his side as guide coun friend and wife what might he not have accomplished was it too late it looked that way nevertheless the next night found him in greenwich village again this time old john Tre was at home and the evening passed in recounting his adventures and in going over some choice photographs ho he had gathered together for eunice but not for an instant did she permit herself to be alone with him and although he called again and again on many successive days and nights he never succeeded in seeing her tete a tete how was he to establish himself anew in her good graces how win back the footing he had spurned it 1 she never gave ave him the chance and so for want of anything better and to stifle regret he took up the gay round and routine of social diversion and fashionable where he had left them off two years before one other thing he did however on a beautiful site near what Is now called cathedral heights he began the erection of a dwelling which would embody all his hio old ideals of what such a place should be enriched with tho the newer ideas picked up during his travels and to clara passavant and her friends it began to seem as if after all she might at some day not far distant become the mistress of this worthy addition to the millionaire houses of now york TO BE CONTINUED |