new enough of such matters to see that it was neither
a hoax nor a chimera. He did have a good thing, and if the five thousand
dollars had been my own--But I soon came to consider the question
without that conditional. He was so specious in his manner of putting
the affair before me, so masterful in the way he held on to the money,
he gave me no time to think. 'Say the word,' cried he, 'and in two
months I bring you back ten thousand for your five. Only two months,' he
repeated, and then slowly, 'Ona was born for luxury.'

"Paula, you cannot realize what that temptation was. To amass wealth had
never been my ambition before, but now everything seemed to urge it upon
me. Dreams of unimagined luxury came to my mind as these words were
uttered. A vision of Ona clad in garments worthy of her beauty floated
before my eyes; the humble home I had hitherto pictured for myself,
broadened and towered away into a palace; I beheld myself honored and
accepted as the nabob of the town. I caught a glimpse of a new paradise,
and hesitated to shut down the gate upon it. 'I will think of it,' said
I, and went into the other room to speak to Ona.

"Ah, if some angel had met me on the threshold! If my mother's spirit or
the thought of your dear face could have risen before me then and
stopped me! Dizzy, intoxicated with love and ambition, I crossed the
room to where she sat reeling off a skein of blue silk with hands that
were whiter than alabaster. Kneeling down by her side, I caught those
fair hands in mine.

"'Ona,' I cried, 'will you marry me? Your father has given his consent,
and we shall be very happy.'

"She bestowed upon me a little pout, and half mockingly, half earnestly
inquired, 'What kind of a house are you going to put me in? I cannot
live in a cottage.'

"'I will put you in a palace,' I whispered, 'if you will only say that
you will be mine.'

"'A palace! Oh, I don't expect palaces; a house like the Japhas' would
do. Not but what I should feel at home in a palace,' she added, lifting
her lordly head and looking beautiful enough to grace a sceptre. Then,
archly for her, 'And papa has given his consent?'

"'Yes,' I ardently cried.

"'Then Dr. Burton might as well go,' she answered. 'I will trust my
father's judgment, and take the palace--when it comes.'

"After that, it was impossible to disappoint her.

"Paula, in stating all this, I have purposely confined myself to
relating bare facts. You must see us as we wer