15
HOME AND FAKM MAGAZINE SECTION
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL^
By
Geo. Barr
McCutcheon
A Fool and His Money
Copyright, 1913,
By Geo. Barr
MeCuteheon.
SY N O P SIS OP PR E V IO U S INSTA LLM EN TS.
In t h . opening in»u!lm «nt» of " A Pool and H ia M oney." Gao. Barr M cC utcheon’« ehann ing novel, wa learn of John B ellam y Smart, the young man who ¡« te llin g thia
story. H e has ju st w ritten his first novel, and at the sam e time has fallen heir to a ’* imm ense fortune left him by his uncle. Sm art takes a trip on t h e R i v e r D a n u b e .
I ls
discovers an ancient castle, which he purchases from an Austrian count. With hie secretary, Poopend) ke, he takes possession. It is supposed to be tenanted only by the c a r e
taker and h is fam ily, the Schm icks. Later Sm art finds a woman who is In p '»session of a w ing of the castle that is barred to him. She grants a brief interview , but refu ses
to leave. T he servants appear to be in league with her, and Sm art is in a quandary. L ater he m eets her and is captivated by her w it and beauty
He finds that sh e is divorced
frem a w orthless and schem ing A ustrian Count, who was awarded the custody - f the la d y ’s child. The Couut demands a m illion dollars from his rich American father-in law, when
he would g iv e it up
The mother abducts the child and selects the castle a s a hiding place. Smart fears trouble w ith the authorities, hut decides to assist the fair divorcee,
although she warns him of the danger
A number of v isitors m akes it difficu lt to k eep secret the presence of the C ountess in the castle. One guest, fam iliar with the castle,
alm ost comes upon Smart aud the C ountess unawares. The woman escape»— but slam s a door behind her. The visitor susp ects Smart of au intrigue w ith the w ife of hi»
valet. F in a lly the party leave» and Sm art is relieved.
d<f>Y
»
*
♦
“ Then you aro aware that her father has
T H E W A V ,” said I, “ I have had
no word from our mutual friends. defaulted under the term s of an ante nuptial
H ave you s<en th e m !”
agreem ent. There is s till due me, under the
Mr. P less stiffen ed d. H is face grew per contract, a round m illion of your exceedingly
ceptibly.
useful dollars.”
” 1 regret to inform you, Mr. Smart, that
“ With the interest to be added.” said
our relations aro not quite as friendly as the lawyer, thrumming on th« chair arm with
they once were. I have reasons to suspect his fingers som ething after the fashion my
that Mr. Sm ith has been w orking against mother alw ays em ploys in com puting a sim ple
me for the past two or three days, to such sum in addition.
an extent, I may say, that the Ambassador
“ C ertain ly,”
said Mr. Pless. sharply.
now declin es to adviso your governm ent to “ Mr. Smart understands that quite clearly.
grai.t us certain p riv ileg es we had hoped to Mr. Schem ansky. It is n 't necessary to en
secure w ith out trouble In short, w e have ligh ten him .”
just heard that he w ill not ask the U nited
T he law yer cleared his throat. I knew him
States to consider anything in the shape of at once for a shyster. Mr. P less continued,
an extradition if the C ountess is apprehended addressing me.
in her own country.
L’p to yesterday we
“ Of course li£ w ill have to pay this money
felt confident that he would advise your State before his daughter
even hope to gain
D epartm ent to turn the child over to our from me the right to share the custody of
rep resen tatives in case she is to be found I cur little girl, who loves tno devotedly. When
there. T here has been underhand work going 1 the debt is fu lly liquidated, I may consent to
on, and Mr. Sm ith is at the bottom of it. He 1 an arrangem ent by which she shall have the
w antonly in su lted me the day we left Roth- child part of the time at le a s t.”
hoefen.
I have challenged him, but he— he
“ It seem s to me she has the upper hand
com m itted the most diabolical breach of eti of you at present, how ever,” I said, not w ith
quetto by th reatenin g to kick my friend the out secret satisfaction.
“ She may be in
Baron out o f his rooms when he w aited upon America by th is tim e.”
him yesterday m orning.”
“ I think n o t,” said he.
“ E very steam
W ith d ifficu lty I restrained a desire to ship has been w atched for days, and we are
shout the sin g le w ord: “ G o o d !”
I was quite p ositivo she has not sailed. T here is
proud of B illy Sm ith. Controlling my ex u l the p ossib ility, however, that aho m ay have
tation, I m erely said:
‘ ‘P erfectly diab olic' been taken by motor to some out-of the-w ay
P e r fe c tly ! ’ ’
pi,, 'e where she w ill aw ait the chance to
• ‘I have no doubt, however, should our slip away by m eans of a specially chartered
M inister make a formal demand upon your ship. It is thiz wery thing that we are seek
Secretary o f State, the cause o f ju stice wonld ing to prevent.
do not hesitate to admit
be sustained.
It is a clear case of abduc that if she once gets the child to New York,
tion, as you so forcibly declare in the in ter we may expect serious d ifficu lty in obtain
view s, Mr. Sm art.
I cannot adequately ex ing our rights. 1 humbly confess that I have
press my gratification for the stand you have not the means to figh t her in a land where
taken.
W ill you be offended if I add that her fath er's m illions count for so much. I
it w as rather unexpected ? I had the feeling am a poor man. My estates are h eavily In
that you w ere against me, that you did not volved through litigation started by my for
bears.
You understand my p o s itio n !”
He
lik e m e.”
I sm iled deprecatingly. “ As I seldom read said it w ith a rather pathetic tw ist of h is
the new spapers. I am not quite sure that lips.
they have done ju stice to ray real feelin gs in
“ I understand that you received a m il
lion in cash at the time of the w eddin g,”
the m atter.”
T he law yer sittin g directly opposite to me, «aid I. “ What has becom e of all t h a t!”
was w atching ray face intently. " T h ey quot
H e shrugged his shoulders. “ Can you ex
ed you rather freely, s ir ,” said he.
In pect mo to indulge an extravagant w ife , who
stin ctiv ely I felt that hero w as a w ily per seek s to become a social queen, and still save
son whom it would be difficu lt to deceive. anything out of a paltry m illio n !”
“ T he Count is to be congratulated upon hav
“ Oh, I sec. T his is a new phase of the
ing the good w ill of so distin guished a gen • m atter that h a sn 't been revealed to me. It
tleman as .John Bellam y Kmart. It w ill carry | was she who »pent the m illion .”
“ After a fashion, y e s,'' said he, w ithout a
great w eight, b elieve m e .”
“ Oh, you w ill find to your sorrow that I spark of shame. “ The chateau w as in rather
cut a very sm all figu re in national p o litic s,” a dilapidated condition, and she in sisted on
said I. " P ra y do not deceive y o u rselv es.”
its restoration.
It w as also necessary to
“ May I offer you a brandy and so d a .” spend a great deal of m oney in the effort to
aakod Mr. P less. tapping sharply on the ta soenre for h erself a certain position in so
ble top w ith his seal ring.
In sta n tly his ciety. My own position w as not su fficien t for
She w anted to improve upon it, I
French valet, still bearing fain t traces o f the her.
drubbing he had sustained at B ritto n 's hands, , m ight say. W e entertained a great deal, and
J lavishly. She w as accustom ed to gratifying
appeared in the bedcham ber door.
• ‘Thank you. n o ,” I made haste to say. every taste and whim that m oney could pur
chase. Naturally, it w as not long before we
“ I am on the water w agon.”
• ‘I beg your pardon,” said Mr. P less in wore hard pressed for funds. I w ent to New
York a year ago and put the m atter clearly
perplexity.
• tl am not drinking, Mr. P lesa ,” I ex before her father. He m et me w ith another
proposition which rather disgusted me. I am
plained.
If I
“ S o rry ,” said he. and curtly dism issed the a man who believes in fair dealing.
mar.. I had a notion that the great law yer have an obligation I meet it. I s n ’t that true,
looked a tr ifle disappointed.
“ I fancy you Mr. Schyn tansky! ”
are w ondering why I sen t for you, Mr
” I t i t , ” said the law yer.
“ Her father revoked his original plan and
Sm art. ’ ’
suggested
an alternative. H e proposed to put
“ I a m .”
the million in trust for his granddaughter,
“ Am I to assum e that the new spapers were our R osem ary,— a name, sir, that I abom inate
•oerect in sta tin g that you mean to support and which was given to her after my w ife had
my cause w ith — I may say, to the fu ll extent sulked for w eeks,— the in terest to be paid to
af your pow ers I ”
b is daughter un til the child reached the age
“ It depends on circum stances, Mr P lea s.” of tw enty one.
Of course, I could not a c
“ C ircum stances ! ” l ie eyed ms rather cold cept such an arrangem ent. lb-—”
ly as if to say. “ W hat right have you to
“ A cting on my advice,— for I w as present
suggest c irc u m s ta n c e s .”
at the in terview .— the Count em phatically de
• ‘Perhaps I should have said that it de clined to entertain— ”
pends som ewhat on w hat my powers repre
“ N ever mind, Schem ansky,” broke in the
sent. ’
Count petulantly.
“ W hat it the use of go
H e crossed his slender leg s com fortably ing to t il t h a t ! ”
n * appeared to reflect for
and looked at me with a queer little tilt of a moment.
“ W ill yon be good enough to
his le ft eyebrow , but w ith an unsm iling vis leave the room for aw hile, Mr. S th y m a n sk y !
age.
He w as too cocksure of him self to I think. Mr. Sm art and I can safely manage
grant me even So much as an ingratiating a friendly compact w ithout your assistance.
sm ile. W as not I a glory seekin g American Eh, Mr. S m a rt!”
and h» one o f the g lo rio u s!
It w ould he
I couldn’t feel sorry for flrhym ansky. He
doing me a favour to let me help him.
had n't the backbone of an angleworm . I f I
“ I trust yon w ill understand, Mr. Smart, ware a law yer and a client e f mine were to
that I do not ask a f avoir. of you, but rather speak to me as Pless spoke to him. I firm ly
put m yself under a certain obligation for the believe I should have had at least a fair
time being. You have become a land-owner sprinkling ef his blood upon my hands.
in th is country, and as such, you should ally
“ I beg of you, Count, to observe caution
yo u rself w ith the rep resen tative people of our
land.
It is not an easy m atter for a for
If you pleas*, s ir ! ” cut in the Count,
signer to plan t him self in our midst. to to w ith the austerity that m akes the continental
gpeak, — as a m ushroom .— and expect to thrive nobleman what he is
on lim ited favors. I can be of assistan ce to
“ If you require my services, you w ill find
yon. My position, as you doubtless know, is me in the— ”
rather a superior one in the capital. An un
“ Not in the hall. I tr u st,” said his client
fortunate marriage has not lessened the power in a most in su ltin g way.
that I po ssess as a birthright nor the esteem
gehym ansky left the room w ithout so mueb
In w hich I am held throughout Europe. The •a a glance at me. He struck a « as a man
disgraceful methods em ployed by my former who knew his place better than any menial
w ife in securing a divorce are well known to I'v e ever teen.
I particularly noticed that
you. I take it. and I am gratified to observe not even bis ears were red.
that you frown upon them.
I suppose you
"R ath er rough w ay to handle a law yer, it
know the w hole s to r y !”
strikes m e,” I said
“ Isn t be any g o o d !”
“ He is as good as th* best of th em .”
••I think I d o ,” said I, quietly
I have
s ev e r known such cor sum m ate self assurance ^ . «4 tbe Count, ligh ting h is fourth or fifth
figarett»
“ I have no patience with thv way
as the fellow displayed
My pleasant little m ystery had come to a
they muddle m atters by alw ays talk ing law.
law, law !
If it were left to me, I should sharp and rather depressing end. The lovely
dism iss the wholo lot of them and depend countess about whom I had cast the veil o f
entirely upon my common sense, i t It hadn't secrecy w as no other than the much discussed
been for tho law yers, I am convinced that all A line T itus and Mr P less tho exp en sive
this trouble could have been avoided, or at Count T arnow sy. Cold, hard facts took tha
least am icably adjusted out o f court. B ut I place of indulgent fan cies. The dream wax
am saddled with half a dosen of them, simply over. I w as sorry to have it end. A joyou s
because two or three banks and as many pri enthusiasm had attended me w hile I w orked
rate in terests are in clin ed to be officious in the dark; now a dreary reality stared me
The sparkle w as gone.
Is
T hey claim that my in terests are theirs, but in tho face.
thore anything so sad as a g la ss of cham-
I doubt it, by Jove, I do. T h e y ’re a blood
sucking lot. these bankers.
But I s h a 'n ’t pagne when it has gone flat and lifele ss.
T he Count»
bore you with trivialities.
Now here is tho • My cogitations w ere brief.
after w aitin g for a rninuto or two to le t ma
situation In a word.
It Is qu ite Im possible
grasp the fu ll importance of the sacrifice ha
for roe to prosecute the search for my child
w ith out financial assistan ce from outside was ready to make in order to secure ma
against personal loss, blandly announced that
sources. My funds are practically exhausted
thero were but two m ortgages on tho chateau,
and the banks refuse to extend my credit.
w hereas nearly every other place of tho kind
You have publicly declared you rself to be my
w ithin hia know ledge had thrice as many.
friend and w ell w isher.
I have asked you
“ You w ish mo to accept a third m ortgaga
to come here tonight, Mr. Smart, to put yon
on the p la c e !” I inquired, pursing my lip s.
to the real test, so to speak.
I w ant one
" T h e Chateau is w orth at least a m illio n ,”
hundred thousand dollars for six m on ths.”
he said earnestly.
" B u t why worry about
W hile I w as prepared In a sen se for th*
that, Mr. S m art! My personal note is all
request, the brarenees with w hich he pnt it
that is necessary. Tho m atter of a m ortgaga
up to me took m y breath aw ay
I am afraid
is m erely incid en tal.
I behove it is con«
that the degage manner in w hich he paid
sidered bu sin ess-lik e by you Americana, so
com plim ent to my affluence w as too much
I stand quite ready to abide by your hab its.
for me I blinked my eyes rapidly for a see
I shall soon be in p ossession of a m illion ia
ond or two and then allow ed them settle into
any event, so you are quite safe in advancing
a stare of perplexity.
me any amount up to— ”
“ R eally. Mr. P le s s ,” I mumbled In direct
“ Ju st a moment. Count,” I interrupted ,
contrast to his sangfroid, “ you— you surprise leaning forward In my ehair. “ May I Inquire
me. ”
where and from whom you received tho im
H e laughed quietly, alm ost reassuringly, pression that I am a rich m a n !”
as he leaned forward in h is chair the better
H e laughed ea sily .
“ One who indulges a
to study my face. “ I hope you do not think whim, Mr Smart, is alw ays rich.
Sohlosg
that T expect yon to produce so much ready Roth hoe fen condem ns you to tho purpatory of
money tonight, Mr. Smart.
Oh, no! Any
C roesus.”
tim e w ithin the n ext few days w ill be satis
“ C roesus w ould be a poor man in th ess
factory. Take yonr tim e. air. I appreciate d a y s,” said I.
“ If he lived in New Y ork
that it requires tim e to arrange for the— ”
ho would ba w ondering where h is n ext meal
I held up my hand w ith a rather lo fty air. w as to come from. Yon have mado a very
‘ ‘W as it one hundred and fifty thousand that poor guess as to my wealth. I am not a rich
you m entioned or— ”
man. ’ '
‘ ‘T hat w as the am ount,” said he, a sadden
Ho eyed mo coldly.
“ H ave you suddenly
glitter in hia eyes.
discovered the fact, s i r ! ”
I studied the cellin g w ith a calcnlating
“ What do you m e a n !”
•quint, as If trying to approxim ate my b a l
•‘I su ggest a w ay in which you can be of
ance in bank.
He w atched me closely, a l a ssistan ce to mo, and you h esitate. H ow nrfl
most b reath lessly.
At last, unable to con I to have it, s i r ! ”
trol his eagerness, he said :
ILis infernal air of superiority aggravated
••A t the usual rate of interest, you under mo.
“ You may tako it ju st aa you i>leasey
s ta n d .”
Mr P le s s.”
••C ertainly,” T said, and resumed my c al
“ I beg yon to rem em ber that I am Count
culations. H e got the Impression that I was Tarnowsy. Mr.—•”
annoyed by the interruption.
I arose. “ Tho gist of the m atter is th is:
“ I beg your pardon,” he said
you w ant to borrow one hundred and fifty
“ W hat secu rity can you give. Mr P l e s s ! ” thousand dollars of me. T hat i s —- ”
I demanded in a very b u sin ess lik e way.
H e hastened to correct me. “ 1 do not call
••Ob, you A m eriean sI” be cried, his face it borrow ing when one gives ample secu rity
beam ing w ith prem ature relief.
“ You will for the amount in volved .”
pin us down. T see
I do not wonder that
“ W hat is your idea of borrow ing, m ay I
you are so rich.
I shall give you my per ask I ”
•onal note, Mr. Smart, for the amount, ae
“ B orrow ing is the same thing as asking
cured b y a m ortgage— a supplem entary m ort a favor according to onr conception o f the
g a g e —on the C hateau T arn nw sy.”
transaction.
I am not asking a favor of
T arnow sy! Now I remembered everything you, sir. Far from it. I am offerin g you an
Tarnnw sy I The nam e struck my memory like opportunity to put a certain am ount of money
a blow . What a stupid dolt I had been! The out at a high rate of in te r e st.”
w hole world had rung w edding b ells for the
(T o Be C ontinued.)
m arriage of fbe Count M aris Tarnowsy. scion
of one of the greatest H ungarian houses, and
A line, the nineteen year-old daughter of
Gwendolen and Jasper T itus, of New York,
Newport. Tuxedo, H ot 8prings, Palm Beach
and so forth. Jasper T itu s, the banker and |
railw ay m agnate, whose name as well as h is J
hand w as to be seen In every great financial
movem ent of the la st two decades 1
W hat a fool T w as not to recall a marriage I
that had been not only on the lip s of every
man, woman and child In the States but on
mine in particular, for I had bitteriy axe
crated the deliverance into bondage of this
young girl of w hose beauty and charm I had
heard so muck.
The w hole spectacular travesty esm e hack
to m e w ith a rush, as T sat there in th*
presence of the only man who had ever been
known to gat the better of Jasper T itus in a
trade. T rem em bered w ith some vividness my
Having our order»placed be
scornful attitud e toward the new spapers of
fore w e outbreak of the
the m etropolis, all of which fairly sloshed I
European War raised the
over with the new s of the great event w eeks
prices of glove« makes this
beforehand and w eeks afterward
I was not
price possible. A variety of
the only man who said harsh things about
style« and colors to choose
Jasper T itu s in those days. I was but one
from tw o clasp, ov e r seam <11 see;
of the m ultitude.
P iq u e L im b w ith self o r contract
I also recalled my scathing comments st
ing wide em b ro idery; English Cape
in new shades of T an ando n« clasp
the time of the divorce proceedings
They
genuine
A rabian Mocha. Packed
w ere too caustic to he repeated hers. It Is
in H oliday boxes if desired.
only necessary to state that the proceedings
came near to pu ttin g two friendly nation«
Send for now ralalog
Into very bad temper. Statesm en and diplo
o f Glovot, P o tte ry
m ats w ere drawn into the mess, and Jingo
an d I'm brellat
congressm en on onr side of the w ater Intro
dneed sen sational b ills bearing specifically
upon the international m arriage market
N ew spaper hum orists stood together a« one
man In advocating a revision of the tariff up
ward on all foreign purchase« com ing under
the head of the sons o f old m asters
Aa I
O . P. BERG. M k n a «KR
h are said before. I did not follow the course
of the nasty squabble very closely, and was
309
qu ite indifferent as to the result. I have a
Portland. Oregon
vagu* recollection of s«m* one tellin g me
that a divorre had been granted but that is
all. T here w as also som ething said about a
obild.
1
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