The Dugdale Millions — page 123: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A FoLEVERSE MAIGLN, 113 young nobleman continue to be the guest of Mr. Het- low during that year. Five days had passed since he and Mr. Stanton had had their free talk, and he had heard nothing from the old lawyer. He was sitting at his desk in his office endeavoring to invent some valid excuse for his go- ing to Spring Hill, when a letter from Wallis was put into his hands. Mr. Stanton desired to see him and had instructed Wallis to write him, suggesting that Dick should put in an appearance as soon as possible and come prepared for a stay of several days. Tortured as he was by doubts as to the sentiment of Bessie with regard to himself, and: by fears as to the influence Merrimount’s daily contact would exert upon her, he eagerly determined to comply, and to carry the acceptance of Mr. Stanton’s invitation in his own person and at once. As a consequence he arrived at Spring Hill at an hour when he was not expected. The family were gone upon a day’s excursion on the river, upon Mr. Hetlow’s steam yacht. This, however, led to no em- barrassment, for he was already on the footing ofa frequent and favored guest in the Stanton household. Left to his own amusement he started out for a stroll. His thoughts tended naturally and inevitably to the misunderstanding which had arisen between himself and Bessie, and as to what could be done to bring matters back to the old ground. Though Wallis had confidently promised to clear the atmosphere, appar- ently she had failed. And because of this apparent failure Dick concluded that her interpretation of Bes- sie’s singular attitude to himself was not the true one, and that there was some other reason, of which neither he nor she had aconception. As he strolled on he also determined that while he was staying at Spring Hill he would seek an oppor- tunity to bring matters to an issue; to force an ex- planation from Bessie, and to demand from her the Comicbookks CO 3