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About Gresham outlook. (Gresham, Multnomah County, Or.) 1911-1991 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1914)
15 HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL. By Oeo. B arr M cCutcheon A Fool and His Money Copyright, 1Ö13, By Oeo. B arr McCutcheon. the story! We are all sworn to secrecy. m ay happen to her. I t is ju s t such silly to do so, and to defend her if th e w orst It was only on th a t condition th a t he acts as th is th a t m ake A m erican girls were to happen. Q consented to eome w ith u s .” Mr. Pie»» tos»ed hi» c ig arette over the laughing stocks of the whole world. '.$> “ Indeed! ” I give you my w ord I am alm ost the railing and sauntered over to join <$> She hesitated, u ncom fortably placed asham ed to have people point me out as. “ I suppose y o u ’ve been discussing betw een tw o d uties. She owed one to and say : ‘T here goes an A m erican. >^> the view, ’ he said as be came up. I’o<di! ' “ <e> him and one to me. By th is tim e I had m yself p re tty There was a mean smile on his—yes, it “ It is only fa ir, Jo h n , th a t you should 4 ■?> know th a t Pless is no t his real n am e,” well in hand. was a rath e r haudsoino face and the 5> “ I d aresay the m other loved the two ladies sta rte d guiltily. The atta c k she said, low ering her voice. ‘ ‘ But, of <£ <•> course, we stan d sponsor fo r him, so child, w hich ought to condone one on hi» part was particularly direct when among her m ultitude of sins. 1 ta k e it, one stops to consider th a t there wusu t it is all r ig h t.” “ Your word is su ffic ie n t, E lsie .” of course, th a t she was e n tirely to any view to be had from where we <e> She seemed to be d eb atin g some in blame fo r ev ery th in g th a t happened. ” were sittin g , unless one could call a They nt once proceeded to te a r the three-decked p la s te re r's scaffolding a <$> w ard question. The n ex t I knew she <•> moved a little closer to me. poor little m other to shreds, delicately view. <•> “ W e've been discussing the recent “ His life is a—a tr a g e d y ,” she w his and w ith finesse, to bo sure, b u t none <•> No doubt they im provem ents about th e castle, Mr. <§- pered. “ H is h e a rt is broken, 1 firm ly th e less completely. P le s s,” said I w ith so much directness <?> believe. O h !” m eant to be charitable. <•' The B illy Sm iths came up. Elsie p ro “ This is w hat a silly A m erican no th at I felt Mrs. B illy S m ith 's arm body gets for try in g to be somebody stiffen ami suspected a general tension <$> ceeded to w ithdraw into herself. “ We were sp eak in g o f Mr. P le ss,” over here just because her fa th e r has of nerves from head to foot. <e> “ You sh o u ld n 't s|«iil the place, Mr. said 1. “ He has a broken h e a rt.” a tru n k fu l of m illions,” said Elsie, eon The newcomers looked hard at poor eluding a ra th e r peevish estim ate of S m a rt,” said lie, w ith a careless glauce 0. the conjugal effro n te ry laid a t the door about him. <*x Elsie. <£ “ D o n ’t ruin the ru in s,” added Billy “ Broken fid d le s tic k s ,” said Billy of Mr. P le s s ’ late wife. <£• Sm ith, of the diplom atic corps. Sm ith, nudging Elsie until she made “ Or ju s t because one of these spend • “ W hat tim e do we d in e ? “ asked Mr. room for him beside her on the long th r if t foreigners has a title fo r s a le ," Pless, w ith a suppressed yawn. <$> eouch. I prom ptly made room for B etty said Billy Sm ith sarcastically. <$> “ A t e ig h t,” said Elsie prom ptly. “ H e was deeply in love w ith her Bd|y. We were in the h abit of dining a t “ We ought to tell John just a little when they were m arrie d ,” said his wife. <$> *•£ about h im ,“ said Elsie defensively. “ It ” 1 d o n ’t believe it was his fa u lt th at seven th irty , but 1 was grow ing accus <•' is due him, B illy .” they d id n 't get along well to g e th e r.” tomed to the over riding process, so a l <$,■ “ But d o n 't tell him th e fellow 's “ The tru th of th e m a tte r is ,” said lowed my dinner hour to be changed <?• Elsie w ith fin a lity , “ «lie c o u ld n ’t live w ithout a word. <$> heart is broken. T h a t's r o t .” “ 1 th in k I ’ll ta k e a n a p .” said he. <♦? “ I t i s n ’t r o t ,” said his wife. up to her estate. She was a drug, a <$ “ W o u ld n 't your h eart be b ro k e n ? ” stone about his neck I t was like put W ith a languid smile and a little flau n t ♦ He crossed his legs com fortably. tin g o n e ’s w aitress at the heuil of the of his hand as if dism issing us, he “ W o u ld n 't i t ? ” repeated B etty Billy. tab le and expecting her to m ake good moved languidly off, but stop|>ed a fte r H E R E was .1 Russian baron (th e a few steps to say to me: “ W e'll ex “ N ot if i t were as porous as his. as a h o stess.” man who had to bo kneaded) tho last syllable o f whose name You c a n 't break a sponge, my d e a r.” “ W hat was her social stan d in g in plore the castle tom orrow , Mr. Sm art, if i t 's ju s t the same to y o u .” He spoke “ W hat happened to i t ? ” 1 inquired, New Y o rk ? " I enquired. w as vitcli, the first five evading me in a perpetual chase up and niildlv interested. “ Oh, good en o u g h .” said B etty w ith a very slight accent and in a “ W om en,” said B illy impresaively. down the alphabet. F or I rev ity ‘s sake, Billy. “ She was in th e sm artest set, peculiarly a ttra c tiv e manner. There was charm to the man, I was bound to ad “ Then i t 's easily p a tc h e d ,” said I. if th a t is a reco m m endation.” I ’ll call him Fm oviteh. The French v a le t's m aster was a Viennese gentle ‘ ‘ Like cures like. ” “ Then you adm it, both of you, that mit. “ 1 knew Schlosa H ethhoefeu very “ You d o n 't un d erstan d , J o h n ,” said th e best of our A m erican girls fall well. I t is an old stam ping ground of man of tw enty six or eig h t ( 1 heard ), but who looked forty. 1 found myself Elsie g rav ely . “ He was m arried to a short of being all th a t is required over m in e.' ’ “ In d eed ,” said I, a ffectin g surprise. w ondering how dear, p u ritan ic, little tieaut ifu l— ' ’ here. In other words, they c a n 't hold “ 1 spent a very joyous season here “ Now, Elsie, y o u ’re te llin g ,” ca u a candle to th e E u ro p ean s.” Elsie Hazz.srd could have fallen in with two such uuam iable . r e e k s as these fel tioned B etty .B illy . “ N ot at a ll ,” they both said in a not so many years ago. H oheudahl is lows appeared to be a t firs t sight. “ W ell,” said Elsie doggedly, “ I'm flash. a bosom tr ie n d .” W hen he was quite out of hearing, The A u stria n 's name teas Pleas. He determ ined to tell th is much— his name “ T h a t's the w ay it sounds to m e.” was a plain m ister. The more I saw of is n 't Pless. his w ife got a divorce from Elsie seemed repu-ntant. ‘ ‘ I suppose B illy Sm ith leaned over and said to me: him the firs t afternoon th e more I won him, and now she lias tak en th eir child we are a little hard on the poor thing. “ He spent ins honeymoon here, old dered at George H azzard 's carelessness. and run o ff w ith it and th ey c a n 't find ¡She was very young, you se e .” man. I t was the g ir ls ’ idea to bring Then th ere were two v ery b right and —w h a t’s th e m a tte r ? ” “ Wfiat you mean to say, then, is th a t him here to assuage the present w ith My eyes w ere alm ost popping from she w a sn 't good enough for Mr. Pless memories of the p ast. Q uite a p re tty charm ing A m ericans, th e B illy Smiths. He was connected w ith the American my head. sentim ent, c li? ” and his c o te rie .” “ Is— is he a c o u n t? ” I cried, so loud Em bassy a t V ienna, and I liked him “ I t depends on how he spent i t , ” “ N o , not ju s t precisely th a t ,” ad from the sta rt. You could tell th a t he ly th a t th e y all said “ a h !” and shot m itted B etty Billy Sm ith. ‘ ‘ She made I said significantly. Sm ith grinned p- was th e sort of a chap who is bound apprehensive glances tow ard th e pseudo a bid for him and got him, and my con provingly. Being a diplom at, he sensed to get on in th e world by simply look Mr Bless. ten tio n is th a t she should have lived my m eaning a t once. “ G oodness!” said Elsie in alarm . up to th e b a rg a in .” ing a t his wife. The man who could “ I t w as a lot of m oney,” he said. win the love and support o f such an a t ‘ ‘ Don t shout, John. ’ ’ A t dinner the Russian baron, who “ W a sn 't he p aid in fu ll? ” I asked, B illv Sm ith regarded me sjieculative- w ith a slig h t sneer. tra c tiv e creatu re must of necessity have exam ined every p article of food he ate qu alificatio n s to spare. She was very- ly. “ I d aresay Mr. S m art has read all w ith g reat care and discrim ination, evi “ W hat do you m e a n ? ” b eau tifu l and very clever. Somehow the about the a f f a ir in the newspapers. dently looking fo r poison, em barrassed “ D id n ’t he g et his m oney?” u n fo rg etab le resplendency of my erst T h ey 'v e had n othing else lately. I “ 1 am sure I d o n ’t see w hat money me in the usual fashion by asking how while ty p ist i who m arried the jew ele r's w o n 't say he is a count, and 1 w o n 't has to do w ith the e a se .” said Elsie, 1 w rite my books, w here 1 get my plots, clerk) fad ed into a pale, in effectiv e say he is n 't. W e're bound by a deep, w ith dig n ity . “ Mr. I’less is a poor man and all th e rest of tho questions th a t drab when opposed to th e eharm s of dark, sin ister o ath, sealed w ith blood.” I 'v e heard. T here could net have been have become so h atefu lly unansw erable, “ I h a v e n 't seen a n y th in g about it very mnch of a m arriage se ttle m e n t.” ending up by blandly enquiring w hat I Mrs. B etty Billy Sm ith. (They all call in the p a p e rs ,” said 1, try in g to recover ed her B e tty Billy.) ‘ ‘ A mere million t«i s ta rt w ith ,” re had w ritten . This was made especially A fte r luncheon I got Elsie o ff in a my self possession which had sustained m arked B illy S m ith ironically. ‘ ‘ I t ’s hum iliating by the p refato ry rem ark corner and plied her w ith questions con a most trem endous shock. all gone, my d ear Elsie, and I g ath er th a t ho bad ’ived in W ashington for “ T hank h e a v e n !” cried Elsie d ev o u t th a t fath er-in -law locked the trunk you five y ears anil had read ev ery th in g th a t eerning her friends. The Billy Sm iths were easily accounted for. T hey be ly- speak of and hid the key. You d o n 't was w orth reading. “ Do you mean to say you w o n 't tell know women as well as I de, Mr. Sm art. longed to the most exclusive set in I f Elsie nail been a man I should have New York sn d N ew port. He had an me his n a m e ? ” T dem anded. Both of these rliarriiing ladies pro kicked her for fu rth e r confounding ine Elsie eyed me suspiciously. “ W hy fessed to adore Mr. Vies»' w ife up to by m entioning the title s o f all my books incom prehensible lot o f money and a ta s te for th e diplom atic service. Some did you ask if he is a c o u n t? ” th e tim e th e tria l fo r divorce came up. and saying th a t be surely m ust have “ I have a vague recollection of hear Now th e y 'v e g o t th eir hammers and read them , as everybody did, th ereb y day he would be an am bassador. The Baron was in th e R ussian embassy and ing some one speak of a count having hat pins out for her a n d — ” supplying him with th e chance to Irtiim- trouble w ith his young A m erican wife, w as really a very nice boy. “ T h at is n 't tru e, B illy S m ith ,” cried phantly say th a t h e 'd be hanged if h e 'd divorce, or som ething of th e sort. A Elsie in a fierce whisper. “ We stood ever heard o f any one of them . I shall “ B oyI ” I exclaimed. “ H e is not more th a n th ir ty ,’ ’ said very prom inent New York g irl, if I'm by her until she disobeyed the m andate alw ays console m yself with the jo y she. “ Yon w o u ld n 't call th a t o ld .” not m istaken. All very hazy, however. — or w hatever jo u call it—of the court. ful th o n g .i. th a t I c o u ld n 't rem em ber T here w as nothing I eonld say to th a t W hat is his n a m e ? ” She did steal th e child, and you c a n ’t his in fern al nam e and would now make “ J o h n ,” said Mrs. H azxard firm ly, deny i t . ” and still be a p erfect host. B ut to you it a point never to do so. I declare th a t he w a s n 't a day under “ you m ust not ask us to tell you. W on't Mr. l ’lrss openly made love to Elsie “ Poor little k id d ie ,” said he, and fifty . How blind women can be! Or you please u n d e rs ta n d ? ” from his tone I g ath ered th at all was and th e Baron openly m ade love to “ The poor fellow is alm ost distracted. is silly the word I not rosy in th e life o f the in fa n t in B etty B illy. B eing a sort of non-com From w here we sat th e figure of Mr. Really, Mr S m art, we planned th is little, th is game of b a ttled o re and shuttle m ittal bachelor, I ranged m yself w ith Pless was p lainly risib le in the loggia. visit here sim ply in o rd er to— to tak e eock. the tw o abandoned husbands and we He was alone, leaning ag ain st the low him out o f him self fo r a while. I t has had quite a reckless tim e of it, talking To my disgust, tbe thre-> of them r e wall and looking down upon the river. been such a trag ed y fo r him. He wor w ith u n in terru p ted devilishneaa about fused tc en lig h ten me fu rth e r as to He p uffed idly at a cig arette. H is Coal shipped th e c h ild .” I t was Mrs. Billy the grow th of A m erican d e n tistry in the history, id en tity or ch aracter of black h air grew very sleek on his small who spoke. European cap itals, th e w ay one has hie “ And th e m other made way with eith er Mr. or Mr«. Pless, but o f coarse nails m anicured in G erm any, tb e upset ish head and his shoulders were rath er I knew th a t 1 was e n te rta in in g under high, as if pinched upw ard by a tend h im ? ” I queried, reso rtin g to a sud my roof, by th e most ex trao rd in ary co price of hot bouse straw berries, th e denly acquired cunning. ency to defy a weak spine. relativ e m erit o f Freneh and English “ I t is a g ir l,” said Elsie in a loud incidence, th e C ount snd Countess o f bulls, the continued progress of tho “ And th is Mr. Pless. who is b e t ” Som ething or oth er, who were a t war, The Elsie was looking a t th e rakish yonng w hisper. “ The lov eliest girl. w eather and sundry other topics of man w ith a p ity in g expression in her m other appeared in V ienna about three and the ehild th e y were fig h tin g for similar piquancy w ith m otives o f an en tirely opposite weeks or a mouth ngo an d —w h iff! O ff tender bine eyes. (T o Be C ontinued.) “ Poor fello w ,' she sighed. “ H e is goes th e ehild. A bducted— kidnapied! nature. Right or wrong, my sympathies were in g reat trouble, John. We hoped th a t And the co u rt had g ran ted him th e eus Hheep will sometimes eat weeds, but if we got him o ff here w here it is quiet tody of tb e child. T h a t ’s w h at make» with tbe refuge* in the lonely oast wing. he m ight be able to fo rg e t— Oh,-fc*it ■t so terrib le. I f she is eau g b t anyw here I was ail tb e more determ ined now to it is gen. rally tmasua* they have noth I am not supposed to tell you a word of ia E urope—well, 1 don't know « h a t shield her as fa r as it lay ia my power ing better. ♦ ♦ 4' 4* ** SY N O P SIS OF PR E V IO U S , IN STA LLM EN TS. In the opening instalm ent« of “ A Fool and H is M oney,” Geo. Barr Mr C uteheon’s charming novel, serial rights for which have been specially obtained for the Home and Farm M agazine Section, we learn of John B ellam y Smart, the young man who <?> ia tellin g this story. l ie ha» ju st 4* w ritten his first novel, and at tho sam e tim e has fallen heir to an im- m ense fortune left him by his uncle ♦ A fter a v isit to London, Smart tak es a trip on the River Danube. A fter fin ding an old world town, he discovers an ancient castle, which he purchases from its owner, the Count. W ith h is secretary, Poopendyke, he €> tak es poasession o f tho immense structure, which is supposed to be <» tenanted only by the caretaker and h it fam ily, the Schm idts. Later Smart fin d s a woman who is in possession o f a wing of the castle that is barred to him. She grants a brief interview , but refuses to leave The servants appear to be in league with her, and €> Kmart is in a quandary. Later he is €> captivated by the w it and beauty of 4?» the m ysterious lady and no longer urges her departure. l i e fiuds that she is divorced from a w orthless and schem ing A ustrian Count, who w as *•» awarded the custody of the la d y 's child. The Count dem ands a m illion £» dollars from his rich American father <£> in law, when he would give it up. Tho mother abducts the child and selects the castle as a hiding place. Smart <•> fears trouble with tli« authorities, <?> but decides to a ssist the fair divorcee, although she warns him of tho 4> danger. A number o f v isito rs makes 4»> it d ifficu lt to keep secret the pres 4*> ence of the Countess in the castle. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 4 • • • • • ? ♦ ♦ ♦ , T <$>
