Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1883 — A “BUSINEŚ ARRANGEMENT.” [ARTICLE]

A “BUSINEŚ ARRANGEMENT.”

BY M. C. FARLEY.

She was tall and strong and resolute looking, with a handsome da?fk face that somehow impressed the beholder with the feeling that the owner .was a person of very high courage, and of more than average strength of mind, j She stood leaning lightly against one of the big stone pillars of the veranda, carelessly pulling off the tops of the long grasses that grew about her, the clinging cloth dress revealing the fine outlines of a figure that was almost statuesque in its elegance. She was saying in a tranquil tone* to fief small audience, consisting of one person only, as she scattered the heads of grass in heaps about her trim feet, that she hated lovers, and that marriage was only another form of slavery scarcely less obnoxious than that annulled by the Emancipation proclamation. “All of which I grant you, but which still doesn’t change the present circumstances,” placidly remarked her 1 ' interested auditor, as he calmly life's fresh cigar and changed his position on the garden bench. “Though I mjist confess Miss Renfrew that to my mind there is a ‘distinction with, a differ-

ence.’” , r ... The young lady frowned. “In this case it is a moneyed ‘difference’ and a moneyed ‘ distinction’ Capt. Hazard,” said she', pointedly. . “You are a great flirt, and I have heard ‘you declare a hundred times that matrimony is a folly you would neveri)4 guilty of.« “To be sure*!’; assented the Captain, lazily blowing the blue rings of smoke upon the air. “But cumstances alter cases, particularly in the presefit instance.”’ “But I do übt. cheerful sflwkfe that enragwi his fair. companioJK(tore than wqjrds omßd.have done. “But you know the terms, of. the, will as well ‘as E It is unfortunate that, while our ihutual friend' adored us both, and with her worldly goods in her last whl and testament, we'find it so hard to comply with the obligations it imposes upon us. However, you dan Tenoqjice your share of the fortune, Miss Renfrew, “by refusing to become my wife. That alternative is always left you.” She shut her teeth tightly together, and looked defiantly at her companion. She saw a tall, slightly-stooped figure, clad in the undress uniform of a Captain of the Guards. The sun that now threw his slanting beams .through the foliage of the s old elm tree shone on a face that had seen a hundred battles, and that was, aS proud and cold and resolute her own. “I am too poor to throw away my inheritance,” said she, haughtily, pulling at the grass again. “And you know that I am poor; too “For W | he. : ; And you are faking ad vantage of my poverty-/^’O >UF * & “Indeed, no,”/disclaimed the Captain, hastily; “you can always refuse to comply with the obligations laid down in the angrily. ref Wee. 31 ark that dovxn. Ca< W* **•'■ A dark bmiihdiiX.tho Cap* tain’s pale* cheeks’for an instant- afid-J he • sighedßkfMplyh But' the

sigh was cwuse by a feeling of relief Or disappointment was impossible to determine. * “Then be my wife?” “I will naarry yoii to secure my share in the estate of the late Mrs. Ford, and. for that only,” said . she, slowly, and scornnilly. 4 You. are not to suppose that Hove “Thank suppose*an& thing, «’ '?f?r. ? “It is tolia..paMlyabu!<*SssarFaiyge> ment,” shs* coh'tfhued,’ with' an angry stamp. •*— “Oh, certainly! A business arrangement only—l understand you, ” assented he, politely. “Viewing marriage in the light of a business relation will enable us to manage the whole affair with a circumspection and precision that might be wanting were we prompted by other than mercenary motives.” “I shall continue on flirting after -we —that is—l shall do exactly as I please after—” She choked and hesitated. “After we are married,” said the Captain, quietly, finishing the sentence for her. “That is to be expected, and, ’pon my word, I think I will, too. None of those hum-drum lives for me, where Darby and Joan seclude themselves from the world and its fascinations, for each other. No, Miss Renfrew, we’ll each have a hundred strings to our bow—if we can get ’em, and we will manage to spend our late friend’s money in decent though good style and have a pleasant time while it lasts. We will look upon this marriage from now on in the light of a business affair—a sort of partnership, as it were, which does not limit either one of us to any certain and circumscribed round of duties. By the terms of the will, we shall have to keep the house on the avenue open a certain portion of each year, and do some entertaining. But that is easily managed. You can have your great friend and adorer, Jackey Littlefield, at the house as often as you

like, and I hope you won’t forget to invite a few of the young ladies whom you know I have a preference for. I’m certain that we’ll get along famously in thia way.” * Miss Renfrew stared hard at the Captain. yfas there the faintest, almost imperceptible, ring of sarcasm in his words and tone? But no, that could not be. Capt. Hazard had been a flirt and lady-killer from his youth up, and the sentiments he now expressed were, of course, his real ones. Both the Captain and Miss Renfrew were the proteges of one who, though now removed by death, seemed to reach out to them her protecting arms from the grave. Both had been very distantly related to the late Mrs. Ford, though they were in no wise connected by ties of blood to each other. They were the only relatives Mrs. Ford had left in the worjd, and as a conseqttencb were her natural heirs. It had been Jier favorite plan fit life to see thosertwo obdurate people each other! and thus keep her fortupe united in the family. But, as they disappointed tier in this, and each ohe seemed to in an opposite direction as.-if anxious to conquer worlds for Mrs. Ford had given up* in despair, and in a fit of chagrin made her last will and testament after-a fkshion , peculiarly her own. foytune, valued in stocks and bonds, besides the elegant residence on the avenue,- ran up into round numbers. All this she left unreservedly to the Captain and Miss Renfrew, providing they married each other in a given length of tune. .Tailing to do this, the property whs to go to the State, the exception Eof a few hundreds.

It had been difficult, to conjecture what the Captain’s thoughts were as he listened to that. singular will. 'As for Miss Renfrew, if she was veXy liigli and mighty before she found out what the wifi was, she became twice as high and mighty afterward, and it did seem for sofne time as if the State would actually be the beneficiary after all. Neither the Captain npr Miss Renfrew were in the first fltish of youth. The Captain was 40 yfears old, if a day. H 6 had endured the hardships Wwar, and bad-come home while yet a ' very youift man, a sorf of battle-Worn hero, with a halting step that seemed the perfection of grace to the women, who immediately set him up as a god of war; and worshiped at his shrine accordingly. It’s of no use to deny but that the Captain took kindly to this Soft Of treat-* ment —men invariably do. But it -spoiled him all tile same, and he developed by degrees into one bf the most coh- • Bummate and skillful “coquettes” that ever graced or the male pert suasion. Stillthe yomen like hini all the better for this, and he went on his way fbnqrfering all before t and that exception was Miss Renfrew. When the Captain came home from the' wars, he had found, domiciled under the

at Miss Ford’s, a thin, angular gfrl t of 16, dap i phinfulbr shy and plain as.. he | waste any of his ammunition in that direction. So he had boldly carried on his manifold flinations under her keen and scomfiil eyes, and boasted of his conquests, and laughed under his breath at the readiness-with which women fell in Jove with him, and otherwise chaffed and tormented her, until the chrysalis gradually emerged from her husk of reserve and diffidence, . and developed, to the gallant Captain’s unbounded amazement, into a full-blown butterfly, capping the climax by picking up the Captain’s own weapons and turning them full upon himself. It had been said that Hazard was the greatest flirt iu; the city, but Miss Renfrew soon wrested this doubtful honor from him, and 'people now declared solemnly that, in the light of her performances in that line, the Captain’s efforts paled into insignificance. . ' The angular girl of 16, with her deep, dark eyes, and a mouth, aS Hazard ungallantly assured her, as big M her hiit, and that covered an acre—she affected the Gainsborough style and he hated it—bloomed into a magbi&c,£ut ‘woman at 26. perhaps nobody was more surp’fted than the,- Captain was himself onfPfeay, to' discover a certain party—fii& bwn exaci pattern at that—violently Renfrew *in the back |nd making certain,. Tyild and somewhat incoherent offers of*» heart, hand, arid pocket-book to that young lady. He had a dihr remembrance that these offers of himself and his possessions had been treated with scorn and contumely, and that he had bedri then and there so awfully “sat upon,” metaphorically speaking, that life, in consequence, seemed a howling wilderness IfbWome time afterwar'd. this was a long time ago. The 'Captain apparently did not take his •'disappointment • vdrj*’ much' to heart, though he. refraiped. .from '.offering the remnants of his hffefe’tions to ariybody rind' Miss Renfrew waxed, fatter /and* handsomer and wickeder, and counted Jier conquests as the Captain had done his afc^the 1 yeigs roMed . on Until ndw WsrisisTin their lives in the shape of Mrs. Ford’s will that neither one could avoid. Without this iponey they were both poor as church inice. The Captain had a beggarly pension and expensive habits, afid Miss Renfrew had the expensive habits » without the beggarly pension, and neither of them had ever earned a cent of money or did a day’s work in their •' lives. This simplified matters, and brought the obdurate couple to a focus. Not long after a wedding ceremony was celebrated with great eclat in the most fashionable church in the city, and the Captain and his wife entered at once into the full enjoyment of what Mrs. Hazard was pleased to call a “business arrangement.” Six months passed. In this short length of time, and while in the full possession of his old-time liberty, the Captain had become moody and morose, and Mrs. Hazard developed a tendency toward hysterics that even her best friends had never suspeeted her of before her marriage. She had everthing she wanted, even to the presence of Jacob Littlefield, who danced attendance - upon her whims, even more patiently and attentively than

fie ever had done before her marriage. Indeed, Ims made love to Mrs. Hazard in such a brazen and confident manner, that the Captain's hands itched to take Mr. Littlefield by the nap of the neck and the slack of the pants and pitch him head and heels out of the house. But this he dared not do. He remembered, with a feeling es burning rage, that Mr. Littlefield was a part of that “business arrangment* which we had so blindly entered into. A thousand times he cursed his mad folly in making such a bargain. A blind fool, he thought, would have known better than to do as he had done. Miserably jealous, and unhappy in the bargain, the Captain gradually withdrew from his own flirtations in order that he .might better, watch his wife. Matters went on in this way from bad to worse until one evening he discovered Mrs.'Hazard and Littlefield in the conservatory, and surprised the quondam: lover making a very frenzied declaration, and urging an elopment. “ I will that trouble/’ said the Captan turning upon his heel. Mrs. Hiteard gave a little frightened scream, as she saw her husband’s determined face. “Perhaps that last was a trifle too much,” said Jacob, hurriedly, as Mrs. Hazard left the room in pursuit of the Captain. “By jove! he looked as if he meant murder.” • ‘ Impelled by 'Some undefinable fear Mrs. Hazard hurried tq her private sitting-room. A folded paper lay qn the'table. Tremblingly she opened it. Ms Deab Wife: When j’ou read thisi' trie hateful bonds that bind us together will be broken. 1 only hope when you look down on my dead face that you may feel at least one ping of sorrow for one that has loved you, not very wisely; perhaps, but at least very well. You must certainly know that it wasn’t the money alone which prompted me to urge our marriage, for I should have urged thfe marriage if neither of us had gained a cent by so doing, because I'loved you. Hazard.

She flew rather than ran into the Captain’s apartments. As she pushed open the door, the smothered report of a pistol struck her ear; The room >as in darkness. Turning on the gas qhe saw extended on the couch before Her the body of Capt. Hazard, apparently lifeless. She was not a woman to faint, or to suddenly loose presence of foil®, ij time of a crisis. Quickly directing the servant, who answered her ring, to fetch a surgeon and .to make haste about it, »he stooped over her husband and put her hand upon his heart. He was alive though unconscious. When he came to himself again, which he did presently, he found a light bondage wound about hid head, and the first person his eyes rested upon was Jack Littlefield. . t. “I you’ll pul! through/’ said Jack. “You here,” gasped Hazard, “but 1 might know you would be. I shall look for you to follow me down to purgatory.” “Ob! But you needn’t though, if the court knows himself, and he thinks he does, you know, he never intends to bring up at that stopping place, ” said Littlefield cheerfully. “By gad, Littlefield,” panted the Captain, “if I were myself just now I’d pound the ground with you, you infernal scoundrel.” “And a blooming fine time you’d have of it, I fancy,’’retorted Jack, with a laugh. “Look here, Hazard,” he continued seriously, “If you suppose that I really wished to elope with your wife then I want to undeceive you now. That little scene in the conservatory was planned expressly for your benefit, as many others have been. Your wife never cared a silver rupee—that’s 46 cents worth, you know—for Jack Littlefield nor for any other fellow except Capt. Hazard. If you hadn’t . been blind as a mole and jealous as a Turk, besides being stuffed full of conceit in the bargain, you’d have found this out for yourself long years ago. Btefore you came home from the wars she heard your praises sounded so Continuously that she sekyou up apedesteLin her dipagination and worshiped you.’ But when you. came back rind fbok to flirting and to boasting how easy it was to make the women adore -yoti, she voWed to herself that come what would she nefiet would admit that she cared a straw for ycu. Years ago I discovered her secret and lrave helped her keep it by carrying on this tremendous flirtation that has nearly killed you, though I never had the remotest idea that you’d get so desperate over it as to make a corpse of yourself. But I’m free to say that you deserve all the bad usage you’ve had, for wheq a man marries as a dernirfr resort, he must expect to have unpleasant things happen. Still, since I find that youTdo actually care more fortyhur wife than you do for the belles and the actresses and the ballet girls who have claimed so big a share of yotir attention, •! promise -you that in future Mrs. Hazard and I will quietly fold up our weapons and flirt no more.” “The campaign seems to be over and I think the enemy is ‘ yours,’ ” gasped Hazard’; fainting dead away.

Hazard came partly back to consciousness again shortly. Littlefield was gone, and he could feel some slow, hot trs dropping on his Uncovered hands. d he hearopas in a d'team, the remembered voice of his wife calling his name in such accents as he had never heard her use before. It produced in his mind an exquisite sensation. And as. he tried, though vaguely, to collect his wandering senses, he thought vaguely that “if he ever got well and she should freeze him away, by gad, as she had done before, why, by gad, he’d shoot himself again just to hear that ridiculous but delightful nonsense repeated.” And then he dropped oft into an insensibility that lasted for days. And weeks went by before Capt. Hazard realized anything that was going on in the world about him. Eventually he recovered, though a purple scar ever after marked his forehead, which he parried to his grave. But with his return to health there was no return of that liking for belles and actresses and ballet-girls that Littlefield had complained of. Neither did Mrs. Hazard go back to her ball-rooms and her flirtations, and never after did she count her conquests on the tips of her white fingers. Indeed, even to tftis day, for all this happened long ago, if you should chance to ask Jack Littlefield what about that couple who perpetrated

matrimony as a “business arrange ment," that worthy will make a sudden grimace, after the spasmodic fashion of a sea-sick person, and belch forth “It’s a dear case of spoons—spoons on both sides, bloomed if it is isn’t.” — Chicago Ledger. _____________’