Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

THE RECEPTION. — 68 Everet smiled, for he knew well enough what these questions meant. “Oh, yes; she and my father were second cousins, and they were married in 1853.” “Ah! in ’53,” remarked Mr. Huntress, reflectively ; “and was that Colonel Mapleson’s first marriage ?” “Yes, sir; and it was a somewhat romantic - affair. They had an uncle who was very wealthy, and when he died it was found that he had madea very singular will. He divided his fortune equally between them, but ex- pressed a wish that they should unite it again by mar- riage; indeed, he made the possession of it conditional, and in this way. My father was about twenty, my mother seventeen, at the time of his death. Both were to come into their share of the property at once, but if either married some one else before my mother reached the age of twenty-five, he or she would forfeit that por- tion and it should go to the other. If both refused to carry out the conditions of the will and married contrary | to his wishes, or remained single after my mother, who was the younger, reached the age of twenty-five, the whole fortune was to be made over to a bachelor cousin of the testator, and who was also a very singular character.” “That was an exceedingly strange will,” observed Mr. Huntress. “Very, though it was not more eccentric than the man who made it; but my father and mother chose to fulfill the conditions of the will; thus the property was all kept in the family.” “And are you their only child ?” “Yes, sir. I never had either brother or sister.” Le: is very strange,” murmured Mr. Huntress, mus: ingly. Everet Mapleson regarded him curiously. “You are thinking of my resemblance to Mr. Geoffrey Huntress,” he said, somewhat stiffly, after a brief pause. ’-¥ 68:1 atmhicy ‘Surely you can have no idea that we are in any way related.” “* I1—do—not know, of course; but——” ‘You do not know !” interrupted the young Southerner, “Why, you surely ought to beable to trace his genealogy, since he is your nephew.” “But he is not my nephew.” a4 How 3" “T never saw the boy until about eight years-ago.” GOMmIiGcboDoo S com _