The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 97: what you’re looking at

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

HAMPTON OF if you will feel friendly to him in the fu- ture. He said that it would be no more than natural if you never came to see us again, but I could hardly believe that.” “Tt would not be natural—in me,” Jerry responded. “I liked your father from the very first, you know. If you—if you want me to come to your house, Miss Delroy, I shall certainly be there.” “Vou’re not afraid of meeting Mr. Fox- ford?” she inquired, with a suggestion of mischievousness. i “Mr. Foxford,” said Jerry soberly, “is still a mystery to me.” “T know,” she returned quickly. “My father left him out of his explanations be- cause he did not think ‘of him. When my father met Mr. Foxford, he learned that the man who brought me up, you know, was still yielding to his passion for swin- dling. Mr. Foxford had become his vic- tim and had been bled of a large part of his fortune. That was why so much mys- tery existed in that case, you see. “My father told Foxford that he would bring the man to terms and get back some of the money he had lost. Mr. Foxford is rather a simple young man, and he was so glad to see a ray of hope that he be- came almost too enthusisatic an assistant to father. You can see, now, why he was so active in the case.” Jerry smiled, slightly embarrassed. “Have you or has your father heard anything of Del—of Mr. Exmoor, since that night?” he asked. “That is really why I came here to- day,” she said. “Father wants to see you soon, and he will come here, or receive you at our house, as you please. He has seen Mr. Exmoor, and I suppose because Mr. Exmoor dreads to meet you again, he asked my father to act as his agent in a matter that affects you. “T was given leave to tell you that he wants to make over deeds of property to you, and that the property is worth some- thing like five hundred thousand dollars. Tt was worth much less than that, of course, when he robbed your father of it, THE THE HEIGHTS. 87 but it is rightfully yours, and father says that the transfer will be made without any trouble or delay.” Jerry was stricken dumb for the mo- ment. He studied the pebbles in the garden path and wondered what a man should say at such a time to such a bearer of good tidings. “T hardly think you will ever see Mr. Exmoor again,” Eugenia went on, in an effort to relieve the tension. “He is ab- solutely a broken man, and he is going away—far away, I guess. He caused my father a great many years of misery and I can’t help feeling bitter toward him when I think of all he did, but neither can I help feeling sorry for him now. He seems overwhelmed with remorse, and my father shook hands with and forgave him. “He wanted to give me the house in Inwood where I lived so long, but we couldn’t accept it. He told father that he was making plans for the restitution of thousands of dollars that he took from his victims, and we believe that he is sincere about it.” “T will call on your father soon,” Jerry said gravely, “and talk with him. Nat- urally, I am overwhelmed by such news.” “And when you are through talking of business with him,” said Eugenia naively, “you will call on me, I hope.” She began moving toward the gate as she spoke, and she held out her hand to bid him good-by. Jerry took the hand and held it, and she did not try to withdraw it. “T have looked at you from a distance for a long time,” he said, “and I never dared come very near. You were accus- tomed to wealth and social advantages, and I had neither of those things. I didn’t dare look at you or hear your voice, for I didn’t want to become any more miserable than I was. But now, it seems —it seems that I am to be a person of wealth and some importance, so—” “So now you'll dare!”’-she cried, with a merry laugh, and ran gaily out of the garden. = END, CORMIGLOOOLK (E@)