| Show corblies Corbi hs ies folly Z by H IRVING KING mcclure syndicate service arhe THE old place was called corbins Col bins L folly some envious person had named it that when old colonel corbin built it toward the close of the mexican war and brought his bride there and the name stuck judge corbin had been born in m the old house and now at eighty odd was as straight as a ramrod fresh of complexion and with keen eyes judge corbin t aved ved alone in the big house with nis servants he had retired from the bench more than twenty years before when his wife died and had been alone since his quarrel with his only son the occasion I 1 of the quarrel was the usual thing the son insisting upon picking out his own wife instead of marrying the girl his father had selected for him the son had died in south america years ago to shake off his lonesomeness the judge began at the age of eighty one to write an elaborate treatise on the code napoleon finding he needed a secretary he advertised for one and as a result now employed a young man of twenty one bearing the name of lloyd foster but the young man who traveled under the name of lloyd foster was in reality the judges grandson alvin corbin whose father the old man had cast out lloyd arild an d the judge got along fairly well together remarkably well in fact considering that the judge was dictatorial and irascible and lloyd was only twenty one in such an isolated and little visited place as corbins faily from which the judge allo allowed werl him to be away but seldom it is next door to a miracle that lloyd saw enough youthful specimens of the feminine gender to fall in love with one but he did her name was mary cranston and she he was as pretty as a picture much prettier than many pictures she was governess in a family living a few miles away from corbins folly an orphan without money so was lloyd mary and lloyd went into session as a committee of ways and means their living expenses were nil now but if they were married they would of course have to set up housekeeping for themselves and it would take their combined salaries to support them in anything like the style and comfort in which they desired to live they would have to go on working after they were married then lloyd had an idea the matter with my asking the judge for a raise said he that would help out some do answered mary 1 I am sure you are worth a thousand times what he is paying you the tightwad mary mary dont speak that way about the judge please because because well there is something I 1 was going to tell you before we were married and I 1 might as well tell you now and he did the whole story who he was and all about it 1 I dont know why I 1 took the position at corbins folly in the first place he concluded the homing pigeon instinct I 1 guess and now do you know I 1 have really become fond of the old judge in spite of his cranky ways but if he had any suspicious of who I 1 was he would show me the door in short order I 1 wonder what he will say when I 1 tell him I 1 want to get married when the next day lloyd told the judge of his desire praising mary to the skies of course he was prepared for an explosion but not for the calm meditative manner in in which the judge regarded him finally breaking a long silence by saying too young you ought not to think of marriage for five years yet bring the girl over here and let me talk with her lloyd brought mary to the interview and when she had told all their plans the he judge turned to his desk saying too young too impractical no it wont do good day lloyd came back from seeing the weeping and disappointed mary off angry and rebellious judge corbin he said 1 I am going to marry mary cranston whether you like it or not I 1 dont think it is a matter mater in which you have any right to interfere oh you dont snarled the judge well you are fired lloyd fell into a troubled sleep at last that night and the first gray light of dawn was struggling through his windows when he suddenly became aware of someone standing by his bedside and a voice saying alvill get up at the sound of that name his own and his fathers he was wide awake at once and springing up sat staring in wonder at the old judge who half dressed and looking haggard and worn was standing before him why why do you call me alvin he gasped my son albins boy said the judge most tenderly you are so much like your father that I 1 suspected and I 1 investigated you had not been in the house a month when I 1 found out who you were I 1 have not slept all night thinking things over this place is well called corbins folly there has been too much of corbins folly here in the past it is time to end it in one year from now if mary and you are still of the same mind you shall be married and here shall be your home |
