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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1914)
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE RECTfON 15 HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL. By too. Bur McCntclieon Copyright, 1913, By Geo. Barr McCutcieon. A Fool and His Money i . , . The rmo47 VtdnVta th. T rhnrf T . ,ne custody ol the lady s child. The Count demands a mi The mother abducts the child and selects the castle as a hiding place. Bmart fears trouble with the him of the danger. A number of visitor, make, it difficult to keep secret the present of the oWnte .t.Ji."!il"D"in ""'" ecP-but .lams a doo, - behind her The visiSir .vTaT-.. .kJ . Vi awaraea tne custody ol the lady's child. The Count demands a million dollar, from bis rich American fatherin-lsw. when wouia jive it up. although ahe ware. almoat comes upon authorities, but decides to asaist the fair divorcee. Countess in the castle. One guest, familiar with the castas, lot. finally the party leave. and Smart is rel.ev J, 10". upTgd l,?io . Ln of'toney, touS&JT' . " " T .. SYNOPSIS OP PREVIOUS IKSTALLMENTS lory. H has just written his first novel Tnd Y. i. . 1 . i ' 7,, cVDt,an omg novel, we learn of John Bellamy Smart, the young man who Is telling ihia discovers M ,'c"t m e .Mi h. ZL, ( t Jam. tim. has fallen heir U, an immense fortune left h.m by hi. ancle. Smart taKes . trip on the Hirer Danube H. taker d"ia family ioSchnuck. Cter Smart nd. i ""i ' -,th h" "9nt7- P0PdyVe, he take, possession. It i. supposed to be tenanted only by the - o lea... The esrvsn'ts aowsuTto be ic i lei, with . A 2 "I ' ln "' ' mg the castle that ia barred to him. She grant, a brief interview, hot refuses rotrr ,alhU.l? .h,? .,0A.1i ,.",.w"l.k":. nd """'.V n "ndary. Later he meet, her and i. eaptivate.1 by her wit and beauty. He find, that ah, i, divorce S CANNOT explain why, but at the slightest unusual sound that morning, I found my self shooting an Involuntary glance at the imperturbable feature, of Ludwig the lied Kumetimes I .topped in the middle of a sen tence, to look and to listen rather more in tently than .earned absolutely necessary, and iu each occasion I was obliged to begin the sentence ail over again, because, for the lif" :f me, I couldn't remember what it was I bad sot out to .ay in dictation. Poopendyke It -id an air of patient tolerance about him that irritated me intensely. More than once J thought 1 detected him in the act ol sup pressing a smile. At elevon o'clock, Blatehford came to the ilaor. Hi. ordinarily stoical feature, bore signs of a great, though subdued excitement. 1 had a fleeting glimpse of Britton in the distance, a sort of passing shadow, as it were. "A note for yon, sir, if you please," said he. He wa. holding the salver almoat on a levon with hi. nose. It seemed lo bio that he was looking at it out of the corner of his eye. My heart my incomprehensible heart pave a leap tbat sent the blood rushing to my fare, lie advanced, not with hi. usual imposing tread but with a sprigtlinees thst pleased me vastly. I took the little pearl grey envelope from the salver, and carelessly glanced at the superscription. There was a curious ringing in my ears. "Thank you, Blatehford; that will do." "I beg your pardon, sir, but there ia to be an answer." "Oh," .aid i. I had the feeling that at least fifty eyes were upon me, although I am bound to admit that both Poopendyke and the footman were actively engaged in looking it, anulhcr direction. 1 tore open the envelope. ."Have yob deserted me entirely! Wont you please come and see me! Thanks for Ihe violets, but I can't talk to violets, you know. Please come up for luncheon." I managed to dash off a brief note in a fairly nonchalant manner. Blatehford almost committed the unpardonable crime of slam ming the door brhind him, be was in such a hurry to be off with the message. Then I Went over and stood above Mr. Poopendyke. "Mr. Poopendyke," said I slowly, darkly, "what do you know about those violetsf" Ho quailed. "I hope you don't mind, Mr. Smart. It's all right. I put one of youi eards in, so that there couldn't be any mis take." CHAPTER XIII. I Visit and Am Tinted. ALFWAY up the windings stairway., 1 B - paused in some astonishment. It had just occurred to me that I waa going p the steps two at a time and that my heart was beating like mad. I reflected. Here Was I racing along like a schoolboy, and whereforf What occasion wa. then for uch unseemly haste t Is the first plaee, it was now but a few minutes -after eleven, and ahe bad asked me for luncheon; there was no getting around that. At best luncheon was two hour. off. So why was I galloping like this. The series of self inflicted questions found me utterly unpre pared; I couldn't get at them Intelligently; i waa befuddled. I progressed more slowly, more deliberately, finally coming to a full top tn a sitting po.ture in one of the win dow easements, where I lighted a cigarette nd proceeded to thresh the thing out in my Bind before going any farther. The fundamental problem was this: why wa. I breaking my neck to get to her be fore Blatehford had time to deliver my re iponse to her appealing little note! It was something of a facer, and it set me U won dering. Why was I so eager! Could It be possible that there was anything is the spec wJatlon of my servants I I recalled the sen lation of supreme delight that shot through me when I received her note, but after that 1 queer sort of oblivion seem, to have rur nunded me, from which I waa but sow merging in a timely struggle for .elf-control. There was something really startling about It, after all. I profess to be a steady, level headed, pro ale sort of person, and this surprising re version to extreme youthfulness rather stag gered me. In fact It brought a cold chill of suspicion into existence. Grown-up men do sot, as a rule, fly off the head unless con fronted by some prodigious (motion, such as terror, grief or guilt. And yet here was I going into a perfect rampage of rapture ever a simple, unconventional communication from a lady whom I had known for less than 1 month and for whom I had no real feeling f sympathy whatever. The chill of suspicion continued to incroase. If it had been a cigar that I waa smoking it would have gone out through neglect. A eigarotto goes on forever and smells. After ten minutes f serious, undisturbed consideration of the matter, I came to the final conclusion that it was not love bnt pity that had driven me (o such abnormal activ : ity. It was nonsense to even argue the point Having thoroughly settled the matter to my own satisfaction and relief, I acknow ledged a feeling of ahame for having been so precipitous. I shudder to think of the look she would hare given me if I had burn in upon her while in the throes of that ex traordinary aeisure. Obviously I had lost my wits. Mow I had them once more, I knew what to do with them. First of all, I would wait until one o'clock before presenting my self for luncheon. Clearly that was the thing to do. Secondly, I would wait on this side of the castle instead of returning to my own rooms, thereby avoiding a very unpleaa ant gauntlet. Luckily I had profited by the discussion in the servants' quarters and was not wearing a three days' growth of beard. Moreover, I had taken considerable pain, in dressing that morning. Evidently a pres entiment. For an hour and a half by my watch, bnt fire or .ix by my nerves, I paoed the lonely, sequestered halls in the lower regions of the castle. Two or three times I was sure that my watch had stopped, the hands seemed so stationary. The third time I tried to wind it, I broke the mainspring, but as it waa nearly one o'clock not much harm was done. That one little sentence, "nave you deserted mef" grew to be a voluminous indictment. I could think of nothing else. There was something ineffably sad and pathetic about it. Had she been unhappy because of my beastly behaviousf Was her poor little heart sore over my incomprehensible conduct. Per haps she had cried through sheer loneli ness But no I It would never do for me to even think of her in tears. I remembered having detected tears in her lovely ayes early in our acquaintance and the signt of them or the sensation, if you please quite unmanned me. At last I approached her deor. Upon my soul, my legs were trembling I I experienced a silly sensation of fear. A sew problem confronted me: what was I to say to her' Following cloae npou this came another and even graver question: what would she say to mef Suppose she were to look at me with hurt, reproachful eyes and speak to mc with a little quaver in her voice as she held out her hand to me timidly what then! What would become of me! - By Jove, the answer that flashed through my whole body almost deprived mo of reason I I hesitated, then, plucking up my courage .and putting all silly questions behind me, I rapped resoundingly upon the door. The excellent Hawkes opened it I I started back ln dismay. He stood aside impres sively. ' M r. Smart I " - he announced. Damm H all! ' T caught sight of the Countess. She was arranging some flowers on tlje table. Blateh ford was placing the knives and forks. Helen Marie Louise Aitoinette stood beside her mistress holding a box of flowers in her, hands. What wa. it that I had been thinking out there in those gloomy halls! That .he would greet ma with a pathetic, hurt look and . . . "Good morning I" she cried gaily. Hurt Pathetic! She was radiant I "So glad to see you again. Hawkes has told me how busy you've been." She dried her hands on the abbreviated apron of Helen Marie Louise An toinette and then quite composedly extended one for me to shako. I bowed low over it. "Awfully, awfully busy," I murmured. Was it relief st find ug her so happy and unconcerned that swept through me! I am morally, but shamelessly certain it wasn'tl Don't you think the roses art lovely tn that old silver bowl!" "Exquisite." "Blatehford found it is Ihe plate vault," she said, standing off to admire the effect. Do you mind if I go on arranging them!" she asked, and without waiting for an an swer resumed her employment. "Bon jour, m'sieur," said Helen Varie Louise Antoinette over her mistress' shoul der. One never knows whether a French maid is polite or merely spiteful. "It seems ages since I saw you last," aid the Countess in a matter of-faet tone, jiggling a rose into position and then stand ing off to study the effect, her head cocked prettily at an angle of Inquiry. It suddenly occurred to me that she go on very well without me during the ages. The discovery irritated me. She was not behaving at all as I had expected. This cool, even easnal reception certainly was not in kocping with my idea of what it ought to have been. "But Mr, Poopendyko has been awfully kind. He ha. given me all the news." Poopendyke I nad he been visiting her without my knowledgo or was I about to say consontf "There hasn't been s rest deal of news," I said. Bhe dropped a long-stemmed rose and waited for me to pick it up. "Thank you," she said. "Oh, did it prick you!" "Yes," said I flatly. Then we both gave the closest attention to the end of my thumb while I triumphantly squeezed a tiny drop of blood ont of it. I sucked It. The incident was closed. She was no longer in terested in the laceration. "Mr. Poopendyke knew how lonely I would be. He telephoned twice a day." I thought I detected a slight note of piqne in her voice. But it was so alight that it was hardly werth while to exult "So you thought I had deserted pes," I said, and was a little surprised at the gruffness in my voice. "The violets appeased me," ahe said, with a smile. For the first time I noticed that she wss wearing a lar.e bunch of them. "You will be bankrupt, Mr. Smart, if you keep on buying roses and violets and orchids for mo." So the roses were mine also I I shot a swift glance at the mantelpiece, irresistibly moved by some mysterious force. There were two bowls of orchids there. I couldn't help thinking of the meddling, over-sealous geni that served the hero of Anstey's "Brass Bottle" tale. He was being outdone by my efficacious secretary, "But they are lovely," she cried, noting the expression in my face and misconstruing it. You are an angel." That was the last straw. "I am nothing of the sort," I exclaimed, very hot and uncomfortable. You are," was her retort. "There! Isn't it a lovely centre-piece! Now, you must come and see Rosemary. She adores the new elephant you sent to her." 'JEle i-' ' I began, blinking my eyes. "Oh oh, yes, yes. Ha, ha! the elephant. Good Heavens, had that idiotic Poopendyke started a menagerie in my castle! I was vastly relieved to find that the elephant Was made of felt and not too large to keep Rosemary from wielding it skilfully in an assault upon the hapless Jinko. She had it firmly gripped by the proboacis, and she was shrieking with delight. Jinko was barking in vain glorious defence. The racket was terrible. The Countess succeeded in quelling the dis turbance, and Rosemary ran np to kiss me Jinko, who disliked me because I looked like the Count, also ran up, bnt his ubjeet was to bite me. I made up my mind, there and then that if I should ever, by any chance, fall in love with his mistress I would In augurate the courting period by slaying Jinko, Rosemary gleefully permitted me to sip honey from that warm little spot os her seek, and I forgtft many odious things. As I held her in -my arms I experieneel a vivid longing to have a child of my own, just like Rosemary. Our hincheon was not as gay nor as un conventional as ethers that had preceded It The Countess vainly tried to make it as sprightly is its predecessors, but gave over in despair in the face of my taciturnity. Her spirits drooped. She became strangely uneasy and, I thought, preoccupied. "What is on your mind, Oountess f" I asked rather gruffly, after a painful silence of some duration. She regarded me fixedly for a moment. She seemed to be searching my thoughts. "You," she said very succinctly. "Why are yon so quiet, so funeral f" I observed a faint tinge of red in her cheeks and an ominous steadineae in her game. Was there anger also! I apologized for my manners, and assured her that my work was responsible,- But her moodiness increased. At last, apparently at the end of her reaources, she announced that she was tired that after we had had cigarette she would ask to be excused, as ahe wanted to lie down. Would I come te see her the next day! "But don't think of coming, Mr. Smart," she declared, "if you feel you cannot spare the time awoy from your work." I began to feel heartily ashamed ef my beorichness. After all, why should i expend my unpleasant humor n her! "My dear Countess," I exclaimed, 4is- playing a livelier interest than at any time before, "I shall be delighted to some. Per mit me to add that my work may go hang." Her face brightened. "But men must work," she objected. "Not when women are wining to play," I said. "Splendid!" she cried. "Ton are re viving. I feel better. If you are going to be nice, I'll let you stay." "Thanks. I'll do my best." She seemed to he weighing something in her mind. Her ehin was in her hands, her elbows resting on the edge of the table. Bhs was regarding me with speculative eyes. 'II you don t mind what the servants sre saying about us, Mr. Smsrt, I am quite sure I do not." I caught my breath. "Oh, I understand everything," she erie.l mischievously, before I eould stammer any thing in reply. "They are building a de lightful romance around us. And why notf Why begrudge them the pleasure! No harm can come of it, you see." "Certainly no harm," I floundered. "The gossip is confined to the castle. It win not go any farther. We can afford to laugh in our sleeves, can't we!" "Ha, ha!" I laughed is a strained effort, but sot into my sleeve. "I rejoice to heaz you say that you don't mind. No more da I It's rather jolly." "Fancy any one thinking we eould poo sibly fall in love with each other," ahe scoffed. Her eyes were very bright. Then was a suggestion of cold water iu that re mark. "Yes, just fancy," I agreed. "Absurd!" "But, of course, as you say, if they cam get any pleasure out of it, why should w object! It's a difficult matter keeping cook any way." "Well, we are bosom friends one man. are we sot! I am so relieved." "I suppose Poopendyke told you the tha gossip!" "Oh, not I had it from my maid. She is perfectly terrible. All French maids are, Xn, Smart. Beware of French maids I She wun"l have it any other way than that I am des perately in love with you. Isn't she deli cious I" "Eh!" I gasped. "And she confides the wonderful secret to every one in the castle, from Rosemary down to Jinko. " 'Pon my soult" I murmured. "And so now they all are saying that I sm in love with you," she laughed. "Isn't it perfectly ludicrous." "Perfectly," I said without enthusiemv My heart sank like head. Ludicrous ! Wa that the way it appeared to her! I had s) little spirit left. "Quite as ludicrous fi the fancy Britton has about me. He ia ob sessed by the idea that I sm in love with you. What do you think of thatt" - She started. I thought her eyes narrowed for a second. "Ridaeuaoua," she said, rery simply. Then she arose abruptly. "Pf Baas ring the bell for Hawkes." I did so. Hawkea appeared. "Clear th" table, Hawtes," she said. "I want you ts read all these newspapers dippings. Mat Smart," she went on, pointing to a bondha on a chair near the window. We crossed tha room. "Now that yon know Who I am, I insist on you reading all that the papers have been saying about me during the past five or six weeks." I protested, bnt she was firm. "Every oM else in the world has bees reading about my affairs, so you must do likewise. No, ft isn't necessary to read all of them. I will select the most lurid and the most glowing. You see there are two sides to the casa. The papers that father can control sre united is defending my actios; the European press is just the other way. Bit down, please. I'll hand them to you." For as hour I sat there in the window ab sorbing the astonishing history of the Tas aowsy abduction ease. I felt rather than observed the intense- scrutiny with which she favored me. At last she tossed the remainder of the bundle unread, into a corner. Her face was aglow with pleasure. "You've read both sides, and I've watches you oh, so closely. Yon don't believe what the papers over here have to say. I saw. the scowls when you read the translations that Mr. Poopendyke has typed for me. Now I know thst you do not feel so bitterly toward ne as you did at first." I was resolved to make a last determined stand for my original convictions. "But our own papers, the New York, Bos- tan, Philadelphia, Chicago journals etfll voice, tn a way, my principal contention ia the matter, Countess. They deplore the wretched custom among the idle but ambi tious rich that made possible this whole lamentable stats of affairs. I mean the cus tom of getting a title into the family at any cost." My dear Mr. Smart," she said serious ly, "do you really contend that all of the conjugal unhappine.s and unrest of the world is confined to the Ameriesn girls who marry noblemen I Has it escaped your notice that there are thousands of unhappy marriages and equally happy divorces in America every year in which noblemen do not figure at alll Have you not read of countless cases over there is which conditions are quite similar, to those which make the Tarnowsy fiasco as notorious! Are not American women stealing their children from American husbands! Are all American husbands so perfect that Count Tarnowsy would appear black among them I Are there no American men who marry for money, and are there no American girls gives in marrinpe to wealthy suitors of all acres, ereeds and habits! Why do you msintais lhat an unfortunate alliance with a foreign nobleman is any worse than an unhappy marriaco witb an ordinary American bmtet Are there no bad husbands in America." i.T. B. Guar
