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I
JHE ROWERS COLLECTION
VOLUME XLU—NUMBER TORTY-TWO.
Atlanta, 6a., Week Ending December >7, 1904
The Man Behind the Stars
Jt Christmas
Present
“Good:" cried Leo cheerfully, pocketing
the letter, "[ think— yea, Alias Bertha
Moon, l will go to Atlanta and deliver
your dollar to you in person. J am en
amoured of your personality and I am
determined to investigate and learn if
you be the violet woman or the orchid. I
believe, though, fliat you are a species
of the cacti. Xo matter whatever you
are l am going to find out what manner
of flower woman you are."
The correspondence between Miss Moon
and Leo bad !.c-gun several weeks previ
ously with Miss Moon inclosing a dime
for a horoscope, as requested by Leo
through th*' advertising columns of the
Atlanta morning paper. Promptly Leo
■had forwarded-a pink, printed slip, set
ting forth in stereotyped phrases the vir
tues and merits of those fortunate enough
to he horn under the sight of Libra, but
advising that a dollar be sent for a full
prophesy of the stars, together with a
map of the heavens at the time of the
birth of the subject. Tills request was
as promptly complied with by Miss Moon,
and then Leo, interested now in the
writer of the little notes, replied that un
less the young lady’s picture, lock of
hair and personal data be forthcoming
the most complete horoscope could not ha
sent.
All In a moment Miss .Moon lost, her
temper and wrote lo have her money re
funded. she wanted nothirrg further of
Leo, nor his predictions of money, misery
or marriage.
With one of those si range, whimsical
emotions that sometimes change the des
tiny of nations or undo th > system of
empires. Leo decided to ta-k e the train
that night and confront Miss Bertha
Moon face to face.
Tt seemed to John Fernold. Jr., that
the south bound vestibule would never
reach Atlanta. There was a stop of three
Sours at Washington and a five-hour de
lay at Danville. Finally when he reached
Ids place of destination and was com
fortably quartered at the Freertmont ho
tel he felt a sense of exhilaration that
made him think of the days of his boy
hood. when he was successfully playing
some interesting game.
Next morn'nsi dawned, one of those
erlsn. sunshiny days that f’rrms the
northern heart to the bon
south'. A fl.af was if (her ei
with nerve and enthuriftRm
and"find Miss Bertha Moon n
hcv her dollar.
~t was ensy erous-h to <•*-,
The number was nbitnlv wi
heiib of or. e of !he lo (-tors
T’eeobtree street.
By LOLLIE BELLE WYLIE.
By G B Burgin, Author
of "The Shutters of Silence/'
Etc *•* * * *
command. 1 should simply
wither you. Wit her you,"
repeated Mr. Gellatiy
Grime, with emphasis. “As
it If. door, Ja—”
"Pardon me,” said the
young man, "but you do
not seem to be aware that,
as yet. all the discussion
of this somewhat Import
ant matter lias been on
your side."
ell? I am the young lady's
the verge of collapse
at his present attitude to
ward life and society. The novelty of
bis position had worn threadbare, and
in his heart ho was ready to be the
prodigal son, and return unto the house
of his father. That, however, he could
not do. There was a bar to such an
act. the bar was a woman. A women
whom his father had selected for him
to wife, and whom ho insisted upon him
marrying, whether he would or not, and
upon whose charms John. Jr., had never
-rested his eyes save at second hand.
"I think you are unreasonable, father,"
the son remonstrated in the stormy in
terview that followed the revelation ol
bis father's plan. ‘T have never; seen
the young lady, and 1 do riot care to.
She may be some adventuress you hap
pened to meet out in California."
"That is not true,’’ cried John, Sr.,
wrathfully. “She is the -prettiest woman
I ever saw. and she’s got blood. Good
southern blood! Either you marry 'act
or you pack and go from my home!"
"Provided the will have me." said
John, Jr., scornfully.
"Oh, she'll have you all right,” an
swered the irate father, “for she likes
me, and I have already told her i
wantc-d her to accept you. Either you
marry her, or I will cut yon off without
a penny.”
Then why don't you marry her- your-
to your request for my daugntet. xionn-
ria's, hand, may I ask what are your
expectations, and how do you propose t -
live?"
We expected to live--”
"On me?”
"With your assistance. for a little
while.” modestly returned the young
man. "We should feel it. our duty to
comfort your dec lining years.”
"They are only declining to the extent
-if not aeeepilng your offer," said Air.
Gellatiy Grim®. He touched i he hell,
but Hartley Muttra, with the brazen srlf-
sulfi.’leney of happy and inexperienced
,- oulh, put ills hand on his arm. "tine
moment, m.v dear sir. One moment.
Mr. Gellatiy Grime glared at him. “Ale
• mi aware, sir, that I am the director of
several public companies, and that every
.•second of my time is golden'.’”
■ ft':; only just after dinner. Be
sides, we don't Ifk- you to work so hard
our benefit," suggested Hartley Mnn-
iii. "Wr.ut'.s the good "f it?"
■■ ‘Our* benefit ?"
y. -o>r benefit. You'll have to die
some day. you km-A; and yotl also know
that you can't take your money with
d the hours.
■Itfen on the
and was on
Did i further know that as long as ir
pleases Providence to spare me to carry
o i tic morn nlous undertakiur.s in which
f am interested"—be was quoting from
he just great speech- "i Intend to--to--"
"Stick to it," sympathetically suggested
Munro. "Quito right, sir. Quite right,
only we'd like to have, you with us as
long as possible. Don't want any more
undertaking's in the family, you know "
Mr. Gellatiy Grime nearly foamed at
ih,- mouth. “Your effrontery! Door—"
"Pardon - no-, my dear sir. You will
make this discussion so one-sided; Yon
invito me to dlnitei—and a very exe-.ilent
dinner it Is." he added. "Never had
such a good dinner i:i my life."
Mr. Gellatiy Grime was partly rnollifi--1.
"Well, sir." Dinner always appealed
io :.ls highest Instincts. Indeed, that
part of his frame which nowadays we
euphemistically ' .ill "Little Mary” (there-
oy Irretrievably degrading one ol the
loveliest feminine names) eoiikl no longer
truthfully be called “little." partaking
as P so largely 'did of (he shape of i
suburban bow window.
"it would be well if you'd only listen
to im-,” pleaded the happy young man.
"With your assistance, this invention of
mine could be developed. I could marry
Honorla. you eo-MU come on the (ourd
of the company, and make some money
for ns. or go into parliament; and we
should all be happy together. Of course,
if you eieev to become the customary
stage parent, decline to help us, foam at
the mouth and all that sort of thing,
you'll probably have a lit, and die with
out words of sweet forgiveness on your
lips. You men of strict business habits
never do make wills, because you are
so afraid to die. Consequently, when
Honoria. arid 1 reap.the benefit of all your
money, wherever you are, you will doubt-
less be very much annoyed."
Mr. Gellatiy Grime stood on the li earth-
rug and swelled,, physically and mentally.
"Your proposition savours of blackmail,
sir. You could not give my daughter
the luxuries to which she Is accustomed.
What is your present Income?”
"Just now"—the young man looked at
his watch—"it Is a hundred and fifty a
year. If, as I expect, the syndicate
which is considering nty invention at this
moment lias resolved to take it up, it is
probably increasing every second."
.Mr. Gellatiy Grime was struck by
Monro’s coolness. “What did you say
the name of your invention was?"
“Pardon me, sir. but i am pledged to
the syndicate not to mention even the
name or the nature of it until January
next, and this is .only Christmas Eve,”
aid the young man.
Mr. GeMaUr Grime reflected. He bad
'•'th a; • .f iii-d by a syn-di ate that
fternoon tfhmit a i-i.tcnt -which promised
a o-mplet* revolution in the construc
tion of steam engines a. patent which
was to make a small engine do the
work of a big one. He had contemptu
ously dooilnod to “go in" with the pro-
mctfirs. “besides corrifnlly advising them
tint they were throwing money away.
‘rom
me 1 j
hi Idi
o» his opat. In a moment. < by some
divine inright, lie Jenei* that he. stood
b"i» In fa re -with Miss p-'rt.hi Moon,
alia-- Miss Somebody E : se. But -whv was
he • i-lden to ad to the back door? Was
(here another Bertha Moon? Some
lady's maid or some French -bonne, *whn=e
duty it was to at tent} the whims of the
beautiful woman before lii-m? Tie did
not try io determine, for ill" -beautiful
WCman was waving him lo-war.l the -walk
that Ic.l to the rear of tlie hou,-.
“Ch. 1 thank you!"
Something in the man's voW made ihc
young woman glance ,n Leo, the World
Renowned Astrologer." but before she
•could -see hi- -face he was hurrying
through the crepe myrtle hushes toward
Hie back of the house,
“Weil. T like her nerve!" said John
Fernold, Jr., under his breath. "An
other score to settle." and lie laughed
At the .same tinn* he had made a note to
get behind the promoters, if possible,
ami iln-J out the real value of. their, pat-
■ ’-1. But it was absurd to suppose tiiat a
lUppun; young man like Munro could by
any possibility have anything to do -with
such a patent, lie sneered.
"1 waste a good dinner on you," he
said, with imposing majesty, "and in re
turn yon propose to rob me of my only
.laughter! Be content With your dinner,
and l-'L us part in amity."
Tin* young man hesitated. "Impossible,
my dear sir. iifipo.ssiTrie."
"Why impossible?” Air. Gellatiy Grime
softened, -for Munro evidently began to
see l hi rugs in their true light.
“For a good many reasons,” ATunro de-
-•!..)•■ d. "Your dinner was so good that
1 can't help thinking what a lot Honoria
is sure to know about the production of
explain the situation ro Honor—Ah! there
you are, dearest," he said, as the door
opened, and llonoria, in all her wealth
oȣ fresh young beauty, sailed into the
room.
Ills brothers and sisters instead of help
ing himself; and 1 love 1:im. lie's though'
of a wonderful invention, which will help
himself, and I love ham for that, too. And
I want you to love him."
Air. Gellatiy Grime looked at the d-irk -
haired, handsome young fellow with the
clear-cu-t. determined features and -bright
eyes. “I can't by any possibility imagine
m.yaeftf loving such a young jackanapes,"
he declared, with unnecessary emphasis.
“Oh. you’ll grow used to me in time,
sir,” the young man said, cheerfully. “Ed
dodge you a bit until you'd -giot recon riled
to the inevitable.”
“It Is not inevitable, and I won’t be
come used to you. Understand me, sir.
my decision is final."
Honoria moved slowly toward the
young fellow. This time her hand went
into his. With an effort, she kept back
the tears m her lovely blue eyes. "Of
course, I'm a sensible girl, daddy, and,
dearly as I love you, I’m -much too sen
sible to prefer all this”—she gave a
sweep of her pretty, jeweled lingers con
temptuously round the somewhat over
gorgeous apartment—“to the something
which comes to a true-hearted girl only
once In a lifetime. We—we didn't know
it was coming; but it has come. Wo
can't help it. daddy. Don’t you try to
help it, because it will only mean sorrow
for us all. Now, do be sensible.”
"I will not be sensible.”
"Then 1 shall have to go to aunt's."
said the girl, sorrowfully. "It's a sad
thing, daddy”—her proud young voice
faltered a little—"It’s a sad thins, daddy.
"Bright as a star .when only one is shin
ing in the sky."
“Well, dear?" She paused expectantly.
‘•Have you settled thing-s with papa?”
"X—not quite.” said young Mr. Alunro.
dazzled by her beauty. "He—lie’ was
just beginning to come around when you
entered.”
“1 wasn’t beginning to do anything of
the sort," declared Mr. Gellatiy Grime.
"Brough of this nonsense. I lutve other
aims for Honorla.”
Honorla came softly toward him. ‘It’s
no use, daddy; it’s no use."
"What’s no use. Honorla?"
“It’s no use, for tiie first time in your
life, daddy, denying me something f
want."
"But, Honorla, can't you see. you are
throwing yourself away?”
"N—no, daddy."
"But you are. Throwing yourself away
on—that!" He pointed to Alu-nro, who
laughed at -being; calleil “that."
The girl pot her pretty white arms
around his neck. "Don't be disagreeable,
daddy. You’re a bit jealous because I
I’ve found some one to love."
“I—I'm not jealous, Honoria. I—I'm
hurt, surprised, annoyed, disgusted.”
The girl drew 'her arms away. “He s
very -good,” she said, simply; “and I love
him. He’s kept his dear old mother all
tl ese years instead of saving money Cor
liimseilf; and I love him- He's helped
"Sin- may know, hut good dinners cost
money, young man. Aloney!" He jin-
g!< I his seals impressively.
"iif rcourse, my dear sir; but when we
get money, as we shall do. It is just as
well to make the best use of it, and I
am sure Honoria, under your able tuition,
must have learned to know a good dinner
when she sees one.”
"Possi'i ly,” sail the oi l man. drily.
"Boss,'fly! The only flaw in your reason
ing. Munro, is that there is no necessity
for her to share her knowledge with you.
You’d holier not come up to the drawing
room. 1-will tell Honoria that you are
suddenly va-llcd away.”
"Never," said the young man firmly.
“Never will J consent to your burdening
your conscious -With such a lie. I will
As the intrepid young man rearin'!
t*he .kitchen door tin- savory odor of cook
ing fruit cake came to him, with the
voice of an old negro -woman who was
singing:
"I tek ’m brudder
I bury him in de -f
Ole Uncle Peter,
call ?
Len’ me ten dollars
Ole “Uncle Peter,
call ?”
There was something pathetic and
■weiird in the singing, an.l Leo hai.l not
the heart to interrupt her until the last