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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1889)
Ill WKST SHORE. plainly could lit' tract' hin iih t Iht'i hand in thin. lit' was used to it, hud Ihm-ii cilice childhood ; hut in spite of what Ik- had ofliin.n termed "injustice" lie hud ever ken singularly filial toward hin paniitu ; and never had ho gone contrary to their known wishen save it illicit U in the matter of falling in love with the In-an-tiful "ocean waif." Hut thwarted in thin plan, he felt he could not Ik-, 'twiiH nothing to In- lightly set abide or over ruled. " I tn t father, you encouraged my going at the time when iMike of it to you licfore." " Yen, yen I I know, and crhiip it in iih well, only I -hut Sloeuin in uite ellicient, and we will get on. Act your ileaMure." Thwuention wan. however, nuddeiily and unexpect edly settled hy the hanker contracting a cold the fol lowing day which resulted in a prolonged illncHH. The remainder of the w inter he nM iit in hi lihrary rather than the hank, and the care of the latter fell entirely on Arthur. Thus ended a project that might have made a difference to muiicliody, nomctimc. lv Mamiii cut at hin dehk, n ii in hand, hut he wan not writing. Hin forehead wan wrinkled, and an an noyed frown clouded hin whole face an he watched, in an ahnent-miinled manner, the anticn of two kittcim in tint tiny hack yard vinihlo from hin private ullicc win dow. Certainly there wan nothing in the frolic of the iniurciit creaturen to provoke nuch an expression. There wan nothing wrong with hin l-kn (l.ir Manon wan the ik oil of precision), and the roomy salesroom lieyond wan wcll-till'-d with cunt. mum heing promptly nerved hy nnue half doen olUMm clerkn. There really necmcd nothing in hin nurruulingn to irritate or annoy the young proprietor, who wan nucceeding in hiisiiicsn hrvond hin most niiguine riectutioiin ; hut he frownetl on, occnnionally gnawing a corner of hin mustache savagely until at hint he hmke into the fol lowing noiliMuy : " Confound the fellow 'a impudence! How dare he come into my hoiim- and mI me of my darling whom I have loved from the firnl hour Mildred mid Mux brought her home a tiny ocean-waif. I would not mind no much if he were a man, a decent American ciliieii, hut to have to surrender In r to that oily French man, a fraud and adventurer I am nure, I cannot do it, I cannot ; hut what am I to do? Mildred -emn to countenance the allnir, and an for JVtnie" he had always called her that'! cannot make her out One minute I think that she adores him, and the next de led aomething like fi aror hate, poor child, she in mi delicate and, to me, ntiiii to U failing AX were In re, he would know what to do, and not he blind ed hy the nneak'n blandishments an the women are. I k i w not " So absorbed was he that he did not no. tice a stranger on the threshold until a voice said : " Ilcg pardon, sir I Imt have I the honor of address ing Mr. Lee Manon ?" " That in my name, can I he of service to you ?" " We will know in a few moments. I will hrietly explain my errand, if first you will he kind enough to inform me if your family resided in San Francisco in IK-when a vessel known as the Storm Bird wont down?" Lee started, hut promptly replied in the allirma tive. " And were any of you present at the 'date' at the time she foundered?" " My sister was, had lieen waiting at a friend's there for two days, as she she exacted a friend on the Sturm Hint." " Indeed ? ami is your sister in this city now?" " She is." " My errand in Portland is to see her if I may. I was told in San Francisco that she was interested in the fate of the vessel, in some -way. I came here to advertise for her wherealxmtu as I also learned of her removal to Oregon some years since." " 1 will take you to her at once if" " A word more in explanation, and then I will be most grateful to meet her. My wife jierished on that steamer, and I long to Bee some one actually knowing of the disaster." " We will go at once," Lee rcjieated, extending his hand while a look of genuine sympathy ohliterated the last vestige of the recent frown. Mildred ltrowning sat alone in the family sitting room. Her mother was visiting at the home of a friend, and Pet was in her room with one of the numerous headaches no common to her of late, when Lee and the stranger entered. "Prof, (icttwood," he said furtively consulting the card in hin hand, "this is my sister, Mrs. Prowning. Millie thin gentleman wishes to see you for a little time, you w ill kindly excuse me," and was gone. There was a moment's silence as the two, wlne liven had Wn running close together, unknown to themselves, stood for the first time face to face. " Mrs. ltrowning, my husinessin Portland, even in Oregon, in wholly to see you, to ask a favor of you. I was told in San Francisco, and the statement is cor Migrated hy your hrothcr, that you were present on the show at the going down of the Storm KM." Mildred grew very white as she answered with evi dent trceditinn : " I wan, sir." " On that vessel were my two choicest earthly treas ure, all, in fact, that I held dear, my wife and child. For fifteen years I mourned them hoth as dead ; hut