Nelson The Newsboy. Stratemeyer Edward

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      "Did you see about those stocks to-day, Homer?" went on Mark Horton. "I had forgotten about them."

      "I did, sir."

      "And what did the broker say?"

      "He urged me to hold on awhile longer."

      "And you have them still?"

      "Yes, uncle."

      "Very well; do as he advises. Some day, when I am stronger, I must attend to many other business matters."

      "Oh, Uncle Mark, don't worry about business," pleaded Gertrude, passing her arm around his neck.

      There was another pause and Mark Horton gazed sharply at Gertrude. Then he turned to Homer Bulson.

      "She won't marry you, Homer—I don't know why," he said.

      The face of the young man fell, and he bit his lip.

      "Well, I suppose she will do as she pleases," he remarked, somewhat sarcastically.

      "I think I should be allowed to make my own choice," said Gertrude. She had already refused Bulson several times.

      "I can't understand it," said the invalid. "To my mind you are just suited to each other."

      "I do not think so," answered Gertrude.

      "And why not?"

      "I would rather not say, Uncle Mark."

      "You can't have anything against me personally," put in Bulson, with a scowl.

      "But I have!" cried the girl. "You go to the race-track, and drink, and gamble, and I do not like it."

      A stormy scene followed, in which all three in the room took part. Strange to say, Mark Horton sided with his nephew, for he did not realize the blackness of Bulson's character.

      "You are prejudiced and foolish," cried the invalid at last, turning to his niece. "You do not wish to please me in anything." And so speaking, he arose and tottered from the room. Homer Bulson made as if to follow him, then reconsidered the matter and sank back into a chair. Poor Gertrude burst into a flood of tears.

      CHAPTER VIII.

      THE COMBINATION OF THE SAFE

      "Gertrude, you are making a great mistake," said Homer Bulson, after a pause broken only by the sobbing of the girl.

      "Please don't speak to me, Homer," she answered. "I have heard enough for one day."