wm.
i",,i,i,ri111' tiiMirions
HOME AND FAim MAttAznnr. SECTION
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL.
By
Geo. Barr
McCutchcon
Copyright, 1013,
Jiy Goo. Bnrr
McCutehcon.
A Fool and His Money
, OT Hi
i
CWnnovM . ...
In tho opcnlnc liulallmcntii of "A Fool and HI, ,,, -, 1"t'VI0"3 INSTALLMENTS.
story. e j"J wrii.cn nm urn novel, and at thn iimflW h fii. i i . . c"arn'"B novel, we earn of John Bellamy Smart,
.i.irers an onrlcnt castle, which ho ntirehisn mm .... I.."..,"'"0 "" 'alien heir to nn Inimenm form,.., i. 1.1.J V 1.1" " .. 7. ..V'
Uh, .ml his family, tho Behmleta S,nr C"fla. a" wanE " iV"' "T 'f"".?- l'P"..lyVo7 l.e "taKo, f.essloT' It I. supposed
to leave, iiir ..... "Hi";'" "kuo wihi iicr. and Smart ! In ,..' ..-''. " ' ""' "' "e thai Is barrel to him. Bho
s?" :.rJ"iV".r K,nfl,7.m..vMwv!''ii 111- cu,.o!iy-,',;,. ,"wr. n.s, r'l'1" " .. ". .?."" --'
nn ni-uM. --- - -. .--,, . : " "- .iii nnu ioff the cost e n n iii.ii,. ,t ";" "f vuuni orinami n minion 110 an irom
.Uliouicli ho warns Mm of tho dancer. A number of visitors make? It .nmiui , ril1."'0, HmatJ te" I'""1'1" le authorities, hilt
simnsi "'"" "I" " " " -n unaware. '1 he woman cseaii.r. .ii .i.' "", l" resenre of me I'ountcss In tho castle.
,,ltt. l'inally tho parly leaves and Hmart Is relieved. ""man escapes but slams a door behind her. Tho visitor suspects Smart 0
the young man who Is telllnc this
a inp an tno Hirer nantibo. 110
to bo tenanted only br tho care
irrants a brief intervlpu'. but refuses
leauty. Ho finds that sho Is divorced
ins rich Amcricau fathcr-ln-law, when
decides to assist tho fair divorcer.
O110 guest, familiar with tho rastlo.
an intriguo v.ltn tho wlfo of his
at
0 YOU MKAN to say, Countess,
if
lr u vou
U thnt
"It has nil been quito satisfac
torily attended to through Mr. I'oopcn
dyke," sho said. "Ho consulted mo be
fore definitely engaging any ono, Mr.
Smart, and I referred him to my law
yers in Vicuna. I do hopo Hawkins and
Ulatchford nnd Henri, tho chef, nro
(tiito satisfnetory to you. They wcro
recently employed by somo ono in the
Uritish embassy nt "
Troy rest easy, Countess," I man
aged to sny, interrupting out of con
sideration for Hnwkes nnd Iilntchford,
who, I thought, might feel uncomfort
able nt henring themselves discussed so
impersonally. "Everything is most sat
isfactory. 1 did not realize thnt 1 had
you to thank for my present mental
and gastronomicnl comfort. You have
surrounde-l mo with diadems."
JlnwhciJ nnd iilntchford very gravely
nnd in unison said: "Thank you, sir."
"And now let us tulle about some
thing else," sho said complacently, as
if tho project of getting tho rest of her
family into tho castle woro ulrendy off
her mind. "I can" tell you how much
I enjoyed your Inst book, Mr. Sninrt.
It is so exciting. Why do you call it
'Tho Fairest of tho Fnlr'T"
"Uccnuso my publisher insisted on
substituting thnt titlo for tho ono I
had chosen myself. I'll admit thnt It
doesn't fit tho story, my doar Coun
tess, but whnt is tin nuthor to do when
his publisher announces that ho has
a beautiful head of n girl ho wants
to put on tho cover nnd Hint the titlo
must fit tho rover, so to spcakf"
"Hut I don't consider it n beautiful
bond, Mr. Smart. A very flashy blondo
with nil tho earmarks of having posed
in tho chorus between tho dnyH when
sho posed for your artist. And your
hcrolno hns very dnrlc hnir in tho book.
JVby did they mnko her n bloudo on tho
cover I"
"llecnuso they didri't happen to havo
anything but bloudo pictures in stock,"
said I, cheerfully. "A Htllo thing llko
that doesn't mutter, when it comes to
literature, my denr Countess. It isn't
the hair thnt counts. It'ri tho lint."
"Uut I should think it would con
fu so tho render," sho insisted, "Tho
last plcturo in tho book lias her witli
inky black hair, whilo in all tho others
sho Is quito blonde."
"A really Intelligent reader doesn't
havo to bo told that tho nrtist chnnged
lils model boforo ho got to tho Intt pic
ture," said I, nnd I am quito confi
dent she didn't hear mo grnto my teeth.
"Ihit tho critics must havo noticed
tho error nnd commented upon it."
"My denr Countess, tho critics never
wo tho last plcturo in n book. They
aro much too clover for thnt."
Sho pondorcd. "I supposo thoy must
get horribly sick of all the books they
Jrnvo to read."
"And thoy nover havo a chnnco to
cxpericuco tho delicious period of con
valesccnco thnt persons with loss
chronic afflictions havo to look for
ward To," said I, very gently. "They
go from ono dlscaso to another, poor
chaps, ' '
"I onco know nn nuthor nt Newport
who said ho bated every critic on
earth," sho said.
"I Bhould thluk ho might," said I,
without hesitation. It was not until
tho noxt afternoon that sho got tho full
significance cf tho remark.
As I never encourago any ono who
seeks to discuss my stories with me,
boing a modest chap with a flaw in
my vanity, sho abandoned tho subject
after a fow ineffectual attempts to
find out bow I got my plots, how 1
writo my books, nud bow I keep from
losing my mind.
"Would you bo ontcrtnlned by n real
mystery f" sbo nsked, Jrnnlng toward
mo with n gleam of excitement in her
eyes. Very promptly I said I should
be. Wo woro hnvjng our coffee,
llawkea and Dlatch'ford had left the
r . ,,' tra,'itlon y that one
of tho old barons buried n vast treasure
in tho cellar of this "
"Htopl" I commanded, shaking my
bead. "Hnvcn't I jBt said that 1
uon-c wnnt to ta k nl.nut tu..,i
IJuricil treasure is tho very worst form
of literature."
'Vcry well," sho said indignantly.
lou will bo sorry when you hear I've
dug it up nnd made off with it."
I pricked up my ears. This made n
difference. "Aro you going to hunt for
it yourself"
"I nm," sho said resolutely.
"In thoso dnrlc, dunk, grews'otno cel
lars!" "Certainly."
"AloneT"
"If necessary," sho said, looklni? nt
mo over tho edge of the coffee cup.
"Tell mo all about it," said I.
"Oh, wo sha'n't find it, of course,"
said sho calmly. I made note of the
pronoun. "They've been searching for
it for two centuries without success.
My that is, Mr. I'less has spent llnys
down there. He is very hard-up, you
know. It would come in vorv handvfor
him." '
I glowered. "I'm glad bo's gone, I
don't IiKo tho Idcn of his looking for
treasures in my castle."
Sho gavo mo a stnilo for that.
other one. His elbows were crooked at
tho proper angle 1 noticed, so I must
have been doing him an injustice. Ho
couiiiu t have had anything disrc
spectful in mind.
"Scud Mr. I'nonciidvko to mo,
CIIAI'THK X.
I Agrco to Moot tho Enemy.
THAT NIGHT I dreamed of going
down, down, down Into the bowels
of tho earth after buried treasure,
and finding nt tho end of mv hours
of travel tho countew' mother sitting
in bleak splendor on n chest of gold
with her feet drnwn up nnd surround
ed by nn nudlcnco of spiders.
For nn hour or moro nftcr leaving
tho enchanted rooms near tho roof, I
lounged in my study, persistently at
tentive to the portrait of i.udwlg the
lied, with my cars straining for hounds
from the other sldo of tho secret panels.
Alas! thoso panels wero many cubits
thick nnd ns staunch as the sides of u
battleship. Hut there was n vnst sat
isfnctlon in knowing that she was there,
asleep perhaps, with her brown bend
pillowed closo to tho wnll but littlo
more than nn arm's length from tho
crimson waistcoat of Ludwig tho Ned
for ho sat rather low like n C'hlnoso
god nnd supported Ills waistcoat with
his knees. A gro, forbidding chap was
hoi Tho story was told of him that
ho could quaff n flagon of nlo nt n
single gulp. Looking nt his portrait,
ono could not holp thinking what n
pitifully Infinitesimal thing a fleigou
of nlo Is nftcr nil.
Morning enmo nnd with a sullen do
tdrminntiou to got down to work on my
long neglected novel. 1 wont down to
breakfast. Everything about tho plneo
looked bleak nnd dreary nnd n gray
ns n grnnito tombstone. Hnwkes, who
but twelve hours boforo had seemed the
ombodlmont of life in its most resilient
form, now appeared as n drab nemesis
with wooden legs nnd a frosten leer. My
coffeo was bitter, tho peaches wore llko
sponges, tho bacon and rolls of mil'
form sogginoss and tno eggs or n
strango liverish hue. I sut thero alone,
gloomy nnd depressed, contrasting the
fantoful sunshino with tho soft, witch
ing rcfulgcnco of twenty-four candles
nnd tho light thnt lies in a woman's
eye.
"A fine morning, sir," said Hawko
in a volco that scorned to come from
tho grave It was tho first time I had
over heard him speak so dolorously of
tho morning. Ordinarily ho was a pleas
nnt voiced fellow.
"Is it!" said I, nnd my voice sound
ed gloomier than bis. I was not sure
of it, but it seemed to mo that ho
in ado a movement with his hand as if
about to put it to bis lips. Seoing that
1 was regarding him rathor fixedly, bo
allowed it to remain suspended a littlo
above bis hip, c.uito on a lino with tho
Hnwkes, Immediately nftor I've fin
islieil my breakfast."
"Very good, sir. Oil, I beg pardon,
sir. I am forgetting, Mr. Toopendyko Is
out. He asked me to toll you ho
wouldn't return boforo eleven."
"Out? What business has ho to bo
outf"
"Well, sir, I mean to say, bo's not
precisely out, nnd ho isn't just what
ono would call in. Ho is tin in tin
nhoml the east wing, sir, taking down
somo correspondence for the for tho
lady, sir."
1 nroc to the occasion. "Quito so,
quite so. I nnd forgotten tho appoint
ment."
"Yes, sir, 1 thought you had."
"Ahem! I daresay Ilrlttnn will do
quite as well. Tell him to"
"Urltton, sir, lias gone over to tho
city for the newspapers. You forget
that ho goes every morning ns soon ns
lie has had his "
" yes! Certainly," I said
hastily. "Tho pnpon. Ha. bnl Quite
right."
It was news to me, but it wouldn't
do to let him know it. Tho countess
rend the paixirs, I did not. 1 stead
fastly persisted in ignoring tho I'nris
edition of tho New York Herald for
fear (lint the delightful mystery might
disintegrate, so to speak, before my
eyes, or become the commonplace scan
dal that nil the world was enjoying,
As It stooil now, I had it nil to my
selfthat is to sny, the mystory. Mr.
I'oopcndyke rends nloud tho baseball
scores to me, and nothing else.
It wns nonrly twelvo when my sec
rotary reported to mo on tills pnrtlcu
Inr morning, nnd ho seemed n trifle
hnxy ns to the results of tho games.
After he had mumbled something nbnut
rain or wet grounds, I coldly enquired:
"Mr. 1'oopondyke, nro you employed
by me or by thnt woman upstairs J" I
would never hnve spoken of her as
"thnt woman," bollcvo me, if 1 hud
not been in n stnto of irritation.
He looked positively stunned. "Sir I"
ho gasped.
1 did not repeat tho question, but
managed to demand rather fiercely:
"Are youf"
"Tho countoM bnd got dreadfully
behind with her' work, sir, nud I
thought you wouldn't mind if I helped
hor out a bit," lie explained nervously.
"Work 7 Wlmt work 7"
"lfer diary, sir. Sho lit keeping n
ainry."
"Indeed!"
"It is vory interesting, Mr. Smnrt.
Itather boots any novel I 'vo road late
ly. Wo we've brought It quito up to
dntc. I wrote at least tbreo pages about
tho dinner last night. If I nm to be
lieve what she puts into her diary, It
must have been u delightful occasion,
ns tho newspnpors would sny."
I wus somowhnt mollified. "Whnt
did slio havo to say about it, Fredf"
I nsked. It always pleased him to bo
cnlled I red.
"That would bo botrnylng a confi
dence," said he. "I will say this much,
howevor: I think I wroto your nnmo
fifty tlmos or moro in connection with
it."
"Itubblshl"saldl.
"Not at nlll" said he, with ngreo
able spirit.
A sudden chill camo over roe'. "Sho
isn't figuring on having it published,
is sho!"
"I can't say ns to thnt," wns his.
disquieting roply. "It wasn't nny of
my buslnoss, so I didn't ask."
"Oh," said I, "I see."
"I think it is snfo to assume, bow
ever, that it is not meant for publica
tion," fe.'tiu tie. "it strikes mo ns bo
ing a bit too personal. There uo parts
of it thnt I don't bollcvo sho'd daro
to put into print, although sho reeled
them off to me without so much ns a
blush. Ton my soul, Mr. Smart, I
never wns so embarrassed in my life
She"
"Nover mind," I Interrupted hastily,
"Don't tell tales out of school."
Ho wns silent for a moment, finger-ing-his
big eye-glasses nervously. "It
may plcaso you to know thnt sho tblnka
you aro nn exceedingly nice man."
"No, it doesn't I" I roared irascibly.
"I'm damned if 1 like being culled nu
exceedingly nlco man."
"They woro my word", sir, not hers,"
he explained desperately. "1 was mere
ly putting two nnd two together form
iug a opinion from Iter manner not
from her words. Sho is very particular
to mention everything you do for her,
nnd thanks me if 1 call her attention to
anything she may have forgotten. Sho
certainly appreciates your kindness to
tho baby."
"That is extremely gratifying," said
I acidly.
Ho hesitated once more. "Of course,
you understand thnt tho divorce itself
is absolute. It's only tho matter of tho
child Hint remnlns unsettled. Tho "
I fnlrly barked at him. "Whnt tho
devil do you menu by thnt, sir! What
has tho divorce got to do with it!"
"A great deal, I should say," said
lie, with the rare, almost superhuman
patience that has mndo him so vnluublo
to mo.
"Upon my soull " wns all that I could
say.
HnwkoH rapped on tho door luckily nt
thnt instance.
"Tho men from tho telephone com
jinny arc here, sir, nnd tho electricians.
Where nro they to begin, slrl"
"Tell them to wait," said I. Then I
hurried to the top o.f tho cast wing to
nsk If she hml the lenst objection to tin
extension 'phone being placed in my
study. She thought It would bo very
nice, so I returned with Instructions for
tho men to put in three Instruments
ono In her room, ono in inlno nud one In
tho butler's pan try. It seemed n very
jolly nrrnugement nil 'round. As for tho
dcctrlc bell system, it would spenk for
itself.
Toward tho mlddlo of tho afternoon
when Mr. I'oopcndyke nud I wero hard
nt work on my synopsis wo wero startled
by it dull, mysterious pounding on tho
wall lmrd by. Wo paused to listen. It
was quite Impossible to locnto tho sound,
which censed almost immediately. Our
first thought wns that tho telephone
men wero drilling it hole through tho
wnll into my study. Then enmo tin.
sharp mt-a-utii-tat once more, l.vou ns
wo looked about us in bewilderment, tho
portly facade of Ludwlg tho lied moved
out of alignment with u hoart-rending
squeak and n long thin streak of black
nppenred at the inner edge of tho frame,
growing wider and blacker If unytklni;
beforo our startled eyes.
"Aro you nt homo!" inquired a voico
that couldn't by any means l.nvn ema
nated from tho chest of Ludwlg, even la
his mellowest hours.
I leaped to my feet and started across
tho room with great strides. My secre
tary's eyes wero glued to tho maglo por
trait. His fingers, looking llko dawn,
bung suspended over tho keyboard of
tho typewriter.
"Hy tho Lord Harry 1" I cried.
"Ycsl"
Tho secret door swung quietly open,
laying Lud wig's fnco to tho wall, and iu
tho nperturo stood my amazing neighbor,
ns joveiy u portrait r.s you'd sea in a
year's trip through all tho galleries In.
tho world. Sho wns smiling down upon
us from tho MIghtly elevated position, a
charming figure In tho very latest '
I'nrlslnu lint and gown. Something gray
and black and exceedingly chic. I ro
membor saying to I'oopcndyko after
wards in rosjionso to r. question of bis.
(To bo continued.)
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