The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 1 — page 157: what you’re looking at

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

eindeer. on n the ee seas i oe ae ey ee oe Joseph Ivers Lawrence - E. * OU are a self-confessed fortune Y hunter—no more, no less!” Colonel Crofton spoke with little of malice or contempt in his tone; merely with characteristic superiority. “The stigma of that impeachment is more fancied than real,” replied the young man who had nominated himself as a candidate for son-in-law to Colonel Crofton. “If I were a big-game hunter I should be a guest of honor in your drawing-room, but you name me a fortune hunter and bar your doors to me—yet, believe me, the latter sport requires the higher courage.” “ T would give the qualification another name, Mr. Spencer,” retorted Crofton dryly. ‘ A man who can come to me and ask for my daughter, and not only ad- _ mit, but stipulate, that he has no money and expects the lady to bring a sub- stantial dowry—that man has one pre- eminent trait! I could hardly dignify it as courage.” “Do I assume too much if I suggest the word honesty?”’ inquired Spencer. “Perhaps not,” was the answer. “Honesty appears in many varieties and degrees, to be sure.” “ Hypocrisy is a thing so common, so- general,” Spencer continued rapidly, “that it is scarcely reckoned with nowa- days; the absence of it is not noticed. If I were a smooth-tongued rascal, pro- fessing love for your daughter and con- tempt for your wealth, all in the same breath, you would be stone-blind to my mendacity, hail me as a son, and force a princely wedding gift upon my shrinking modesty. . “As it is, I have given your conven- tional sensibilities a rude shock; it’s the first time, no doubt, that you have met a man having the courage to tell the whole truth. I do not beat about the bush; I tell you that Flora and I love each other devotedly; that I love her far too much to ask her to share my present fortune, which is practically negative. With five thousand dollars, to finance the enterprise that my brother and I are pro- moting, I shall be reasonably sure of a comfortable income in a short time. Then, with my energy and my natural instinct for large business, I shall proba- bly be as wealthy, or wealthier, than you are now, in the course of a few years.” “You have the advantage of not being hampered by excessive modesty,” re-. marked Colonel Crofton. 147 DOO Eomile (E@)