"Can that be possible?" inquired the squire, and appearing to be deeply interested in the gentleman's statements.
"Yes, and that is her father, that fine-looking man with the snow-white hair. Five years ago he was known as one of the money-kings of New York, but he lost every dollar of it by a series of misfortunes, and came here and went to work as a clerk for the government. Then he was taken ill, lost his position, and was reduced almost to the verge of beggary; but his daughter, like the true-blue she is, came nobly to the front, got a situation as private secretary to a wealthy old Frenchman who had some mission to this country, and supported herself and her father."
"But where did she get her present fortune?" inquired Squire Talford.
"Well, it is quite a story, and I cannot go into the details just now," his companion replied, "but the girl proved herself a heroine in two or three instances, and saved the life of the Frenchman's grandchild, prevented a robbery in the house, and won his confidence to such an extent that he made her the guardian of the child, to whom he left an immense amount of money, and a snug sum to Miss Heatherford herself. She has only recently appeared in society here, but every one has fallen in love with her--men and women alike. She is spoken for, however, for she is soon going to marry a fine fellow who bids fair to become a prominent man in the world if he keeps on as he has begun, for he is as smart as chain-lightning--there he is now, just in the act of introducing a lady to Miss Heatherford."
Squire Talford started and flushed crimson as he instantly recognized Cliff. He had not observed him before, and now to find him in that brilliant assemblage, and apparently received on an equal footing with the most distinguished, was a shock which he had not been prepared for.
"Humph! So she is going to marry him!" he managed to say without betraying how much he had been startled.
"Yes, the engagement was announced the first of the season, and, of course, any one can see that, morally and mentally, the young man is her equal in every respect. But it has leaked out that he has worked his own way up from boyhood. His name is Faxon--Clifford Faxon--and I am told that he first met his fiancée in a railroad accident--or, rather, what would have proved to be a terrible smash-up but for the boy's superhuman efforts to remove an obstruction that lay upon the track, and which made a veritable hero of him. It seems that the girl was on board the train, and she was so impressed by the wonderful achievement that she gave him a very handsome ring, which he wears constantly."
