15
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL.
A Fool and His Money
By
Geo. Barr
McCutcheon
Copyright, 1913,
By Geo. Barr
McCutcheon.
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
8TNOP8I8 OP PREVIOUS S
IM3TALLMEHTS.
" In the opening instalments of "A S
Pool and Hi Money," Geo. Barr Me- $
$ Ontcheon'i thartnins; novel, aerial 8
riS"H for which hare been specially
f obtained for the Home and Farm
- Vajtaiino Section, we learn of John 8
Bellamy Smart, the younj nan who $
S i tolling thia itory. He ha just
9 written hia first novel, and at tha
& lama time haa fallen heir to an im-
9 menae fortune left him by hia uncle. $
Ho is 35 ycara of age.
After a visit to London, Smart Q
takaa a trip on the River Danube.
a j'U ""ding n old-world town, ha Q
di-vra an ancient castle, which lie jj
purchases from ill owner, the Count.
With hia secretary, Poopendyke, ha
S takes possession of the immense
J structure, which ii supposed lo be
? tenanted only by the caretaker and
hia family, the Bchmick. Later Smart
finda a woman who 1a in poaseaaion i
S of a wing of the castle that is barred
3 to him. She eraata a brief interview,
but refuses to leave. The servants
0 appear to bo in league wish her, and
S Smart is in a quandary. J,tcr ho is
Q captivated by the wit and bea-Jty of
$ tho mysterious lady and no longer 3
X nntea her departure. i
$5 $ $ . $ s
BUT I was dumb. I stood just inside
the door of tho inot remarkable
apartment it has ever been my
good fortmio to look upon. My senses
reeled. Was i awake! Wns this a nart
of the bleak, sinister, weather racked
cartlo in whieh I was striving so hard
to find a coiniortablo corner!
"Weill" f-ho demanded relentlessly.
"Hy tlio Lord Harry," I began, find
mg my tongue only to lose it again.
My bewilderment increased, and for an
excellent reason.
Tho room was completely furnished.
bodecked and rendered halnlabb bv an
i j - i i . .. , ..."
uuuumi ana ono articles mat were
mysteriously missing from my side of
tho castle. Kugs, tapestries, curtains of
tho rarest quality, chairs, couches, and
cushions; tables, cabinets and chests
that would have caused the eyes of the
most conservative collector of antiques
to Dulgo witti not wonder but greed;
stands, pedestals, brasses, bronzes, por
celains but why enumerate I On the
massive; oaken centra table atood the
priceless silver vase wo had missed on
the second day of our occupancy, and
it waa filled with fresh yellow roses.
1 sniffed. Their fragraneo filled the
room.
And so eomplcto had been the ri fling
or my rooms by tho devotod vandals jn
their efforts to make this lady cosy and
comfortable that they did not overlook
a silver framed photograph of my dear
omthcr! Her sweet face met my gaze
as it awopt tho mantel piece, beneath
which a coal fire crackled merrily. I
am not quite sure, but I. think I re
peated "by tho Lord Harry" once if
not twice before I caught myself up.
I tried to smile. "How how cosy
yon aro here," I said.
"You couldn't expect mc to live in
this awful place without somo of the
comforts and conveniences of life, Mr.
Smart," she said defiantly.
"Certainly not," I said, promptly.
"I am sure that you will excuse me,
however, if I gloat. I was afraid we
had lost all these things. Yon 've no
idea how relieved I am to find them
all Bafe and Bound in my in their
proper place. I was beginning to dis
trust the Schmicks. Now I am con
vinced of their integrity."
"I suppose you mean to be sarcas
tic." "Sarcasm at any price, madam,
would bo worse than useless, I am
sure."
Crossing to the fireplace, I selected a
lump of coal from the scuttle and ex
amined it with great Mrs. She watched
mo curiously.
"Do yon recognize HI" she asked.
"I do," said I, looking up. "It has
been in our family for generations. My
favorite chunk, believe me. Still, I
part with it cheerfully." Thereupon I
tossed it into the fire. "Don't be
ehoekedt I shan't miss it. We have
coals to burn, madam I"
She looked me soberly for a moment.
There was something hurt and wistful
in her dark eyes,
"Of course, Mr. Smart, I shall pay
yon for everything down to the small
est trifle when the time comes for mo
to leavo this place, I have kept strict
account of"
She turned away, with a beaten droop
of the proud little head, and again I
was ashamed. Never have I felt so
grotesquely out of proportion with my
self as at that moment. My stature
seemed to increase from an even six
feet to something like twelve, and my
bulk became elephantine. She was so
slender, so lissom, so weak, and I so
gargantuan, so gorilla-like, so heavy
handed! And I had come gaily np to
crush her! What a fine figure of a
man I was!
She did not complete the sentence,
but walked slowly towards the window.
I had a faint glimpse of a dainty lace
hankerchief fiercely clutched in a little
hand.
By nature I am chivalrous, even gal
lant. You may have reason to doubt
it, but it is quite true. Ag I've never
had a chanco to be chivalrous except in
my dreams or my imagination, I made
haste to seize this opportunity before it
was too late.
"Madam," I said, with considerable
feeling. "I have behaved like a down
right rotter today. I do not know who
you are, nor why yon are here, but I
assure you it is of no real consequence
if you will but condescend to overlook
my insufferable "
Sho turned towards me. The wistful,
appealing look still lingered in her eyes.
Tho soft red nether lip seemed a bit
tremulous.
"I am an intruder," she interrupted,
smiling faintly. "You have every right
to put me out of your your home, Mr.
Smart. 1 was a horrid pig to deprive
you of all your nice comfortable ehairs
and"
"I I haven't missed them."
"Don't you ever sit down!"
"I will sit down if you'll let me,"
said I, feeling that I wouldn't ap
pear quite so gigantic if 1 was sitting.
"Please do. The chairs all belong
to you."
"Im sorry you put it in that way.
They aro yours as long as you chooso
to to occupy a furnished apartment
here,"
"I have been very selfish, and cat
tish, and inconsiderate, Mr. Smart. You
sec, I'm a spoilt child. I've always had
my own way in everything. You must
look upon me as a very horrid, sneak
itig conspiring, person, and I I really
think you ought to turn me out."
Sho came a few stops nearer. Under
the circumstances I could not sit down.
So I stood towering above her, but
somehow going through a process of
physical and mental shrinkage the
longer I remained confronting her.
Suddenly it was revealed to me that
sho was the loveliest woman I had ever
seen in all my life! How could I have
been so slow in grasping this great, be
wildcring truth I The prettiest woman I
had ever looked upon! Of course I had
known it from the first instant that I
looked into her eyes, but I must have
been existing in a state of stupefaction
up to this illuminating moment.
I am afraid that I stared.
"Turn you out!" I cried. "Turn you
out of this delightful room alter you 've
had so much trouble getting it into
shape! Never!"
"Oh, you don't know how I've im
posed upon you!" she cried plaintively.
"Yon don t know how I've robbed you,
and bothered you"
"Yes, I do," said I promptly. "I
know all about it. You've been stealing
my coals, my milk, my ice, my potatoes,
my servants, my sleep and" here I
gave a comprehensive sweep of my
hand "everything in sight. And
you've made us walk on tip-toe to keep
from waking the baby, and "I stop
ped suddenly. "By the way, whose
baby is it! Not yours, I'm sure."
To my surprise her eyes filled with
tears.
"Yes. She is my baby, Mr. Smart."
My face fell. "Oh!" said I. and got
Li further for a moment or two. "I
I please don't tell me you are mar
ried!" "What would you think of me if I
were to tell you I'm not!" she cried
indignantly.
I beg your pardon," I stammered,
blushing i the roots of my hair.
Stupid ass!" I muttered.
Crossing to tho fireplace, Bhe stood
'looking down into the coals for a long
time, while I remained where i was, an
awkward, gauche spectator, conscious
of having put my clumsiest foot into
my mouth every time I opened it and
wondering whether I eould now safely
get it out again, without further disas
ter. Her back was toward me. She was
dressed in a dainty, pinkish house gown
or maybe it was light blue. At any
rate it was a very pretty gown and she
was wonderfully graceful in it. Ordi
narily in my fiction I am quite clever
at describing gowns that do not exist;
but when it comes to telling what a
real woman is wearing, I am not only
as vague as a savage, but painfully
stupid about colors. Still, I think it
was pink. I recall the way her soft
brown hair grew above the slender
neck, and the lovely white skin; the
smooth, delicate contour of her half
averted check and the firm little chin
with the trembling red lips above it;
the shapely back and shoulders and the
graceful curves of her hips, suggestive
of a secret perfection. She was taller
than I had thought at first sight, or
was it that I seemed to be getting
smaller myself! A hasty bit of com
parison placed her height at five feet
Bix, using my own as something to go
by. She couldn 't have been a day over
twenty-two. But she had a baby!
Facing me once more she said: "If
you will sit down, Mr. Smart, and be
patient and generous with me, I shall
try to explain everything. You have a
right to demand it of me, and I shall
feel more comfortable after it is done."
I drew up a chair beside the table
and sat down. She sank gracefully into
another, facing me. A delicate frown
appeared on her brow.
"Doubtless you are very much
puzzled by my presence in this gloomy
old castle. You have been asking your
self a thousand questions about me,
and you have been shocked by my out
rageous impositions upon your good na
ture. I confess I have been shocking
ly impudent and "
"Pardon me; you aro the only sauce
I've had for an excessively bad bar
gain." "Please do not interrupt me," she
said coldly. "I am here, Mr. Smart, be
cause it is the last place in the world
whero my husband would be likely to
look for me."
"Your husband? Look for you?"
"Yes. I shall bo quite frank with
you. My husband and I have separated.
A provisional divorce was granted, how
ever, just seven months ago. The final
decree cannot bo issued for one year."
"But why should you hide from
him!"
"The the court gave him the cus
tody of our child during the proba
tionary year. I I have run away with
her. They are looking for me every
where. That i3 why I came here. Do
you understand?"
I was stunned. "Then, I take it, the
court granted him tne divorce and not
you," I said, experiencing a sudden
chill about the heart. "You were de
prived of the child, I see. Dear me!"
'You are mistaken," she said, a
flash in her eyes. "It was an Aus
trian court. The Count my husband,
I should say is an Austrian subject.
His interests must bo protected."' She
said this with a sneer on her pretty
lips. "You see, my father, knowing
him now for what he really is, has re
fused to pay over to him something
like a million dollars, still due for the
marriage settlement The Count eon
tends that it is a jus. and legal debt
and the court supports him to this ex
tent the child is to be his until the
Gillespie School of Expression
VOCAL, PHYSICAL AND ESTHETIC CULTURE
LITERATURE, WITH ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETIVE RENDERING
RHETORIC, ORATORY AND DRAMATIC ART
A STUDENTS' CLUB FOR DRILL IN EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING
DEBATE AND PARLIAMENTARY LAW
CONTINUOUS FORENOON CLASSES
INDIVIDUAL WORK AFTERNOON AND EVENINGS
A rUBLIO CLASS EVERY MONDAY EVENING
Fall Term Opens October 13, 1914
Individual Work Begins September 9.
EMMA WILSON GILLESPIE, Principal.
634 Morrison Street. Phonos Main 6034, A-4872. Portland, Oregon,
debt is eJ eared up, or something to that
effect. I really don't understand the
legal complications involved. Perhaps
it were better if I did."
"I see," said I, scornful in spite of
myself. "One of those happy intern
tional marriages where a bride is
thrown in for good measure with a
couple of millions. Won't we ever
learn!"
"That's it precisely," she said, with
the utmost calmness and candour,
"American dollars and an American
girl in exchange for a title, a lot of
debts and a ruined life,"
"And they always turn out just thia
way. What a lot of Withering f oola ,
we have in the land of the free and
the home of the knave!"
"My father objected to tie who!
arrangement from the first, bo yon moat t
not speak of him as a knave," she pro
tested. ' ' He doesn 't like Counts and
sueh things."
"I don't see that it helps matters;
I can hardly substitute the word
'brave' for the one I used," said I,
trying to conceal my disgust.
"Please dont misunderstand me, Me.
Smart," she said haughtily. "I am. not
asking for pity. I made my bed and I
shall lie in it. The only thing I ask
of you is well, kindness."
She seemed to falter again, and ones
more I was at her feet, figuratively
speaking.
"You are in distress, in dread of
something, madam," I cried. "Con
sider ine your friend. "
She shook her head ruefully. "Totj
poor man! You don't know what yon
are in for, I fear. Wait till I have told
you everything. Throe weeks ago, I
laid myself liable to imprisonment and
heaven knows what else by abducting
my little girl. That is really what it
comes to abduction. The court haa
ordered my arrest, and all aorta of
police persons are searching high and
low for me. Now don't you see youi
peril? If they find me here, you will
be in a dreadful predicament. You will
be charged with criminal complicity,
or whatever it ia called, and Oh, it
will be frightfully unpleasant for you,
Mr. Smart."
My expression must have convicted
me. She couldn't help seeing the dis
may in my face. So she went on, quit
humbly.
"Of course you have but to act at
once and all may be well for you. I I
will go if you if you command me
to"
I struck my knee forcibly. "What
do you take me for, madam! Ilang the
consequences! If you feel that you are
safa here that is, comparatively safe
stav!"
"It will be terrible if you get into
trouble with the law," she murmured
in distress. "I I really don't know
what might happen to you." Still he
eyes brightened. Like all the rest of
her ilk, she was selfish.
I tried to laugh, but it was a dismal
failure. After all, wasn't it likely to
prove a most unpleasant matter! I felt
the chill moisture breaking out on my
forehead.
"Pray do not consider my position
at all," I managed to say, with a reso
lute assumption of gallantry. "I I
shall be perfectly able to look out for
myself that is, to explain everything
if it should come to the worst." I
could not help adding, however; "I
certainly hope, however, that they,
don't get on to your trail and " I
stopped in confusion.
(To Be Continued.)