Ruby's Reward — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

and ~leasure; wealth, position, and style were more to her than either love or home, hence ber noble and sensi- ive husband had been heart-starved and homesick dur ng all his married life, and it was no wonder that he had cherished the memory of, and longed for, the gentle, beautiful girl whom be had loved so fondly in the days of his early manhood. He had confided to his son the story of this early love when he brought Walter to his home, telling Lim how sweet Sadie Walcot had been true to her affection ior him for long years, and then, being friendless and alone In the world, had given her hand to a man who loved her well enough to take her to his heart, even though he could never occupy the first place in hers. But all this confidence wag sadly misplaced, for the high-spirited youth had regarded the confession as an Insult tothe proud woman whom he had called mother ; he had regarded it as an insult to himself, also, to thus force upon him, the son of a millionaire, the society of a low-born beggar,” for thus he regarded Walter, and bis aversion continwed to increase from year to year as he saw how fondly his father was growing to love him, and how the boy devoted himself to the frlend pnd benefactor to whom he owed so much, Ralph Carpenter had never hinted that he intended to make a wlll; but Edmund had long suspected that he had done soz Had he not sald from the first, ‘Henceforth Walter is to be the same as 4 brother to you. I want you to love each other as brothers, and sare alike In all things ?” And he had made mp distinction in the years that fol- lowed, Walter had had every thing that heart could wish; every luxury 3nd pleasure, every advantage of education, the same as if he had beep an own son, But of course he could not share in the property unless some legal measures had been adopted to secure a por- tlon of it tohim. It Ralph Carpenter made no will, all his large estate—his bonds, mortgages, and bank ac- count, would fall, by the law of inherltance, to Mdmund, hisson. This, he knew, would not be In accordance with his father’s wishes, consequently he had been very sure that there was a will somewhere, and when he knew that he could not llve many hours, he had set himself the task of finding that will, determined to know {ts contents before it could pass into other hands. What more he intended to do we cannot say. We simply know that he found the will, yet he did not learn one word that it contained, for a strange fate wrested it Lat a grasp before his desecrating hand could tamer