Ruby's Reward — page 155: what you’re looking at

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

“ Bless your heart, Miss Ruby, nor I either,” returned the old gentleman, wiping }the perspiiation from his glowing face, ‘and I guess mother’s having a good time, too, by the look of her,” he added, as Mr Gordon and his partner caine flying down the centre with an air of exhilaration and enjoyment that was contagious. ‘Lreckon I shall have to try it again,” he went on, after watching the lying flenres for a few moments ; ‘I guess 1 can manage to get through one of them—‘ quard-zills,’ you call ‘em, though the old-fashioned name was ‘cotillion.’ Do you suppose there’s any hody else here who'd be willing to dance with an old antediluvian like mo?” : ‘Oh, yes, L think so,” Ruby responded, loohing about to see whom she would dare to ask, But she cid nob find ib difficult to get him a partner, for it hac! been whispered about that the stranger was the owner of a rich coal mino and several oil wells, and there were plenty who were willing to wink at his eccentricities, ancl who really enjoyed the novelty of dancing with him, while anything that Ruby Gor don could do was considered as above reproach, and it had been observed that she had shown him marked attention during the ey ening. Edmund Carpenter adroitly managed to secure Ruby for the supper hour, though she had hope.l that Walter would ask to be her escort ; but she saw that he was being pleasantly entertained by her friend Florence, and 50 she bure Mr Carponter’s society with what patience she could. He suddenly became unusually marked in his attentions—so much so, in fact, that Ruby began to feel extr emely uncomfor table in his presence, comikcneoles.coun