The Argosy — page 333: what you’re looking at

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

312 Her One Chance: and Hs. that if the real state of affairs was discovered he would be sent home to his mother in disgrace, and that there would be, as he expressed it, ‘a devil of a row all round,” and Miss Maverick suspected that her stay with Mrs. Lanster might be of extremely short duration, should the full extent of her intimacy with the young heir become known. Both knew this, and yet, perhaps this knowledge was partly that which made the situation so pleasant—a spice of danger is always fascinating ; and so, as the days passed, Regy found himself doing precisely the thing which he ought not to have done, falling tremen- dously in love with this fine girl, fathoms deeper than he had ever gone before. And Katherine Maverick? She laughed at him, petted him, scolded him, and called him a “ foolish boy,” unconscious that she daily made the net stronger and stronger. She was not a scheming woman, nor a hard-hearted woman, but she was poor, and sick to death of her hard life, and perhaps this rendered her less scrupulous than she would have been. Besides, why did they think her not good enough to pay visits with them ?—that stung her; why did they leave her alone to Regy’s society ? If Reginald Lanster some fine day asked her to marry him—ah! what a prospect it would be! Should she say Yes ? It seemed to be her one chance of lifting herself out of her un- desirable life. One consideration would be a drawback to it, and that was Dot. | The child was so honestly fond of her, she confided all the secrets of her innocent heart to her, and the chiefest of these was about her cousin Regy. Katherine felt a little conscience-stricken as the girl talked to her on this subject. ‘I love him so dearly,” Dot said one day; ‘‘I wouldn’t tell anyone else in the world but you, you seem like a sister now, and I know you can be trusted.” And thus, with her curly head on her friend’s shoulder, she would talk of Regy and herself and of the ‘‘some day” which was coming in the future. One Saturday afternoon, when Mr. Lanster returned from town, he brought with him a friend, Mr. Sarmiento. Dora observed that she supposed it must be a Greek name, as Mr. Sarmiento was a Greek merchant ; very rich and powerful. He lived in a beautiful house near town, and had one little girl, but no wife, for she was dead. A tall, fine man of some six-and-thirty years, sensible, well-informed, with a pleasant voice and manner. He sat next to Katherine at dinner and seemed greatly pleased with her; and was with her afterwards during a good part of the evening. “That’s a very nice young woman you have staying with you, Lanster,” he remarked to his host, when they went out together, with their cigars, for a short stroll the last thing. “ Ay; so I think,” warmly replied Mr. Lanster. You remember Maverick, who was in the Colonial trade seven or eight years ago?” COPMICMOOKS CO