TONY'S SACRIFICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11853, 3 January 1902, Page 3

TONY'S SACRIFICE.

Lambert,"; of ■ the ': Original Oil 'Oligarchy,, tucked his telegram, into his vest pocket, with a loving little pat. This was the moment lie had been working and living for all .these long months. " Veterinary daffodil jinks," it read, and, translated by his private cipher code, it meant lie was to go ahead, buy : the whole tract, and draw on the company for the first payment. .The burning August sun beat relentlessly upon his unaccustomed head, his collar took on the hue of the road, his face was blistered and his eyeballs scorched by the heat, but so absorbed was he in the schemes that unrolled themselves before him, that he forgot; to fume because of his discomfort. He chuckled gleefully to -, himself, notwithstanding the act involved the breathing of a mouthful of Kern County dust, for this was the climax he had almost despaired "f reaching. Although he had : never for a moment lost faith in the richness of this little strip of foothill country, the company had never until now been willing to raise the money for the first payment and the erection of the works necessary for its development, and he had come to realise that, of a verity, "faith without works is dead." 'His company was not- rich; Lambert, its heaviest stockholder, was worse than poor, being heels over head in debt. There were plenty of people he did not dare to meet because of overdue notes, several clubs he could not go near on account of delinquent dues, and numberless Underbred tradesmen who made his life a burden. But in the success of this deal he saw the end of all his troubles. The loungers around the little hotel eyed him curiously as he drove up, and followed at his hsels as he made his way into the office, for such a turn-out' was not often seen in that part of the country. Lambert pushed his way through the crowd without Feeing them,. and drank champagne to his rising fortunes as the uncooled beer trickled down his dusty throat. The name" of Johnson, of the Mammoth Mineral Monopoly, on the register, made him open his eyes a trifle wider. Of course there was no reason why Johnson should not be there if he chose, but there was a- coolness between the members of the two companies, especially between. Johnson and himself. The county records showed the title of the land to be vested in one Antonia Maria Lopez, so early the next morning Lambert started off to find her. But once out on the country roads in the wastes of brown; stubblefields, the directions he had received at the hotel became confused. No one seemed to know anything about the distance, and it had been variously estimated from "'bout fifteen mile "to twenty. x\fter following for several hours a road that seemed to have no turning, he locked about for: someone of whom he might inquire the way. And the first sign of life that came in sight was the figure of a woman walking towards him. But when he was almost near enough to address her, she stopped, drew her sun bonnet over her eyes, tucked her skirts into one hand, and scaled the four-railed fence as neatly as a boy might have done. Then, looking over her shoulder towards the duStcloud down the road, she slipped behind a boulder and waited for the wheels to pass. As the dust enveloped her in a blinding cloud, 'the smart trap was brought up short with a clanking of chains and silver mountings. " Gould you tell me whether or not. this i 3 the road to the Lopez place?" Lambert asked. " The sun bonnet jerked forward in an affirmative nod. "Then perhaps you will be so good as to direct me to it," Lambert answered. "Yep," answered the girl, "it's right here." A pause followed, while the man in the cart looked over the girl's head at the abomination of desolation epitomised in the prospect before him— tumbledown fen-; ces, the unpainted, half-finished house, the ricketty outbuildiugs, then at the forlorn little figure beside the boulder. His eyes sought hers for further information, but the bonnet had closed down over her features ; like the shell of an oyster. .. "Then perhaps you are Miss Lopez," he ■ ventured, "the heiress of the estate?",; ,;,;■:.'■ " Nope," returned the bonnet," I'm Tony Lopez; my folks are. dead, and this here ranch won't be mine till I'm of age, that's It was evident, Lambert told himself, as he followed the girl into the house, that the purchase would be an easy matter, for she certainly had no idea,(of the value of her scrawny acres. Lambert's reputation was that he had " a way with.women," whatever that may mean; but certain it is that when his gray eyes looked straight out from their black lashes the object they rested upon, providing it was of the feminine gender, felt herself for the moment the centre of the universe, , and many a wiser girl than Tony might tell you so. Perhaps that was the reason she stammered and blushed, slipping her chinela on and off at the ..heel in embarrassment, when he said: Have you ever thought of selling your property, Miss Lopez?" Miss Lopez, to his surprise, he found non-committal to the last degree. Al 1 his cross-questioning elicited nothing more than a laconic "Nope." Then Lambert deliberately trained his gray eyes upon her and smiled down into her little freckled face, with the result that she told him the whole story. "Ye gods!" he ejaculated, inwardly, as she explained that Johnson, of the Mammoth Mineral Monopoly, had made her an offer. 'at a figure that the Original Oil Oligarchy could never touch, much less outbid. So this was not his own exclusive scheme, after all! The new debts he had incurred on the strength of his prospects arose before him as he stared blankly at the wall. Johnson's company was rich, backed by substantial business men, while his was worse than poor, its heaviest stockholder a miserable spendthrift up to his ears in debt, his one hope now shattered by. Joluison's rivalry, Johnson's eagerness to get the land was only another proof of its value ; he must have it, he simply had to have it, and he would have it, he was, saying to himself, while Tony, her tongue once loosened, babbled on, telling him the terms of Johnson's proposition, and ending by saying he had pledged her to sscrecy as to his part in it, and cautioned her against all other would-be buyers. ,- Lambert smoked long and furiously that night over this new phase of his difficulties, and as the smoke wreaths grew denser they evolved the vision of a rosy girl, with laughing eyes, who had promised to share his fortunes, however great they might.be. Tony's little freckled face, he remembered, always beamed with pleasure from the depth of her bonnet when she saw him, and Tony, with a rich oil web back of her, and foreign travel, private tutors, Paris gowns, might' in time become like other people; but here the laughing blue eyes arose, through the smoke wreaths to mock j him. He, drew the difference between. this j lovely creature, the finished product of care ! and cultivation, and little Mexican -What's-Her-Name slipping: her chinela- on and off at the ; heel as she talked to him. Still, Tony was a good little thing; sue was slim : and straight, and if she could he Induced not to tog herself out in such outlandish colours she might be almost pretty, he mused. Then he stopped short and laughed at himself, derisively. .Whatcould it matter to': him whether she were pretty or not? Tony was waiting for him the next time his trap clattered down- the dusty road. She had .that confiding manner that is so flattering to a man who knows the weakness of his strength. Johnson, she told him, had : raised his offer for the whole tract, .several thousand rocky, unproductive acres. Lambert groaned. He had to have it, there was no choice so, with the figure of Johnson's offer staring him in the face, the prospect of bankruptcy; pursuing him from i behind, and the:only means of obtaining the prospective millions walking close beside him, Blue Eyes was forgotten" and lie did it. : , . * ',',- '■<: "■■ ■,:

It .was quickly said. Then he kissed her blushing cheeks and the ; coveted land was hisand Tony:'He had discreetly refrained from saying anything more 'about her property: after hearing Johnsoiu's. offer, so, she. did not know he cared anything about \ it, .and there was nob a doubt'as to her sincerity in her simple , little heart.v Johnson was the first man Lambert met when he'. went back-to the hotel. -He made a strained effort .to'.', be affable,;; and Lambert, who .'could afford 'how to be, generous, pitied him for the disappointment in store for him. and tried to outdo him in forced friendliness. ; They; walked up to the . bar

like two'old friends, and Lambert proposed a toast to "Success;" Each ; man drank deep to himself,., eyeing •, the ■: ■ other ;? commiseratingly for the shock he was about to receive. • , Tony was undeniably a good little thing, although Lambert regarded her merely as his means of escape from insolvency, and his only feeling for her was; a vague sort of gratitude. She bored him by the abject devotion' she, lavished upon him. '-':- Once, however, ,it t had really touched : him, ? when she had said: "For' you there is nothing in the world I would not gladly sacrifice." >■ But he had only said: "Yes, yes, that's a good girl, but you :shouldn't wear bright pink. It is not becoming." Lambert's success went to his head, and made him long to throw his arms around the neck of the whole world and treat. He spent money with a princely lavishness, and Johnson came in for all;■ his share. And Tony, too, was happy; she went about with a ; suppressed mirthfulness in her eyes, as if she had. a secret : source of happiness • nobody but herself knew—indeed, was the case." -; V- '/-"•■•■ ■.'••■ '•':-• • '■■-. /-^ And so they were married. The : little bride was decked, not in shimmering white," but in all the gaudy colours her primitive soul loved. "A gorgeous yellow; gown > with variegated furbelows > and red slippers. Lambert wondered' if ' she would slip them on and off at the heel during the ceremony. But nothing could ruffle his serenity; ho looked his animated rainbow over , in goodnatured amusementshe. would soon be wearing Paris gowns, her tawdry finery left behind. As soon as he could bring the subject up he said, as if 'he had not thought it all out weeks: before : ." If you would rather deed this ranch over to me to save you the trouble of looking'after it. I suppose; I could attend to it. You know.you are, of age now and can do as you like." ; But, Tony, the glow of pride still in her heart from the conscious . success of her wedding ( gown_. : looked up and answered sweetly: " Did : I not tell' you there was no sacrifice I would not gladly make for you'?" *" What ?" cried .Lambert" what are you. saying?" • ■ ".I-'could not think of letting you be ashamed of my clothes among all your fine friends, so I have made a surprise for you." She glanced up archly, expecting the approbation her surprise deserved. "I know you don't care for the money, because you are so rich yourself" '.' What are you saying ? Are you crazy? Say quick what you have done?" shrieked the "happy bridegroom." .• • ,' "Why, I sold my ranch to Mr. Johnson," she explained, while her eyes widened; in. childlike wonder. :*.'i "That cleared off the mortgage and bought all my beautiful wedding clothes, and, oh! I have got trunks full of the sweetest tilings!" - : .