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. The Saturday evening post. he vast estate. She leaned forward, clasping herknee, and her eyes strayed fromhis. Backward over the gardenswealth of color they traveled, pastthe iris-bordered swimming pool tothe immeasurable stretch of park and woodland, then upto the house set imperiously above it all. They came backwaveringly, shaded by the dark, thick lashes. She felt theintensity of his question—would have avoided his steadystare. But it brought them once more to his. Their bluewas no longer untroubled. How important? he persisted. Hiram Blake knew how important it all was when hemade the k
. The Saturday evening post. he vast estate. She leaned forward, clasping herknee, and her eyes strayed fromhis. Backward over the gardenswealth of color they traveled, pastthe iris-bordered swimming pool tothe immeasurable stretch of park and woodland, then upto the house set imperiously above it all. They came backwaveringly, shaded by the dark, thick lashes. She felt theintensity of his question—would have avoided his steadystare. But it brought them once more to his. Their bluewas no longer untroubled. How important? he persisted. Hiram Blake knew how important it all was when hemade the kind of will he did, came finally. He cared fortwo things in the world—his money and me; and he knewI didnt marry him for his youth or manly beauty. She said it defiantly, as if hurling it into the lip curled as it always did when she permitted herselfto think—which was not often—of the way the millionairehad tied her to him for the rest of her days. People had 6 THE SATURDAY EVENING POST December IS, 1920. said that old man Blake wouldcarry his possessions to the grave;and he had, in a way. Havingpurchased a jewel of rare priceand put her in a setting equally rare, he had made reasonably sure that both would remainhis even after death. He had fastened the two togetherwith rivets of gold. Nina, in the unpleasant momentswhen she dwelt on it, could visualize quite plainly thecanny smile with which he had affixed his signature tothe red-sealed document which affirmed that if NinaBlake married again, all the estates, monies and proper-ties, the use of which was to be hers during her lifetime,would instantly revert to the Blake estate, be sold and therevenue devoted to charity in his name. It had brought about no real problem during the sevenyears of her widowhood. She had stretched her beautifulyoung body in the lap of luxury, content to let the protect-ing arms of great wealth close her in. She loved California,but when the rainy season descended in unceasing cl
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