5abatini's greatest tilvty of love and adventure I V tW by RAFAEL SABATINf deep furrow stood between them. Then slowly the smile came forth again, but no longer that erstwhile gentle pensive smile. It was transformed trans-formed Into a smile of resolve and determination, a smile that tightened tight-ened his lips even as his brows relaxed. re-laxed. Came Nicholas his servant to announce an-nounce Master Peter Godolphin, and close upon the lackey's heels came Master Godolphin himself, leaning upon bis beribboned cane and carrying his broad Spanish hat. He was a tall, slender gentleman, gentle-man, with a shaven, handsome countenance, stamped with an air of haughtiness; like Sir Oliver, he bad a high-bridged, intrepid nose, and in age he was the younger by some two or three years. He wore i ii Is auburn hair rather longer than i was the mode just then, but In his that Rosamund Is but seventeen and that Bhe Is under my guardianship guardian-ship and that of Sir John KJIU-grew. KJIU-grew. Neither Sir John nor I can sanction this betrothal." "Good lack!" broke oat Sir Oliver. Oli-ver. "Who asks your sanction or Sir John's? By God's grace your sister will grow to be a woman soon and mistress of herself. I am in no desperate haste to get me wed, and by nature as you may be observing I am a wondrous patient man. Fll even wait" And he pulled at his pipe. "Waiting can not avail yoa In this. Sir Oliver. T1b best you should understand. We are re solved, Sir John and I." "Are you so? God's light! Send Sir John to me to tell me of his resolves, and I'll tell him some thing of mine. Tell him from me, j p "He leaned across the board, raised his long cane and struck Sir Oliver sharply on the shoulder." $W NTCKflT.Tia l I a! t S4a um ta th lofty ! ! J ra bOQM Of PeOATTOW, whteh h owed to the en terprise at bis father oC lamented j ! aa4 lamentabla memoir and to the j j skill and Invention of an Italian en- ' flneer named Bajnolo who had , 1 i Jkad come to En t land half a century t , ' ' tffo aa one of the assistants of the ' ' ) ' famous Torrlglanl. j 1 ' 1 ' This house deserves, together ( with the story of Its construction, I 5 a word in passing. 1 1 The Italian Bagnolo had the mis-' mis-' chance to kill a man in a brawl in i i j a Southwark tavern. As a result J - he fled the town, nor paused In his . . j headlong flight from the conse-i conse-i quences of that murderous deed ij,: until he had all but reached the 'i very ends of England. To the fugitive, Ralph " afforded shelter; ! , and Bagnolo repaid the service s' by offering to rebuild the decaying half-timbered house of Penarrow. V;' Having taken the task in hand he ) went about it with all the enthusi- l", asm of your true artist, and I , achieved for his protector a resi I !) dence that was a marvel of grace ;') In that crude age and outlandish I district. ' The main doorway was set In a i1' projecting wing and was overhung , t by a massive balcony, the whole surmounted by a pillared pediment 1 " ; of extraordinary grace, now partly ii, clad in a green mantle of creepers. ,1 ' Above the burnt red tiles of the jilt roof soared massive twisted chim- r 1 1' neys in lofty majesty. . . : , But the glory of Penarrow was I. the garden fashioned out of the ;' ;j tangled wilderness about the old , . ; ! 'ise that had crowned the heights ( ,,H', ve Penarrow point. Time and i i i- re had smoothed the lawns to f ' i Y tet surface, had thickened the 1 jnie boxwood hedges, and , 9 ot up those black spear-like i ! - poplars that completed the very p t Italianate appearance of that Cor-,' Cor-,' ' p nish demesne. , ' Sir Oliver took his ease in his 1 ' j i1 dining-room considering all this as ' 1 1 . it was displayed before him in the i if j l? mellowing September sunshine, and .K t ? found it all very good to see, and ji Juife very good to live. Now no man : j 'has ever been known so to find life If without some immediate cause, oth-(V oth-(V :er than that of his environment, ; 'fl !for his optimism. Sir Oliver had ! 'j i-several causes. The first of these , ijalthough it was one which he may JI ,have been far from suspecting . j.':1 iwas his equipment of youth, wealth, and good digestion: the second was f; ! (Chat he had achieved honor and re-i re-i ' u'nown both upon the Spanish Main t j .', ''land in the late harrying of the In-I In-I '.'. invincible Armada and that he had ii ',! '.received in that the twenty-fifth , ; year of his life the honor of knight-: knight-: '-'j'.lood from the Virgin Queen; the ' u Lhird and last contributor to his , ,j.3leasant mood was Dan Cupid who 1 j j !. i iad so contrived matters that Sir i '; i .,Dliver's wooing of Mistress Rosa-j Rosa-j . 'i(;nund Godolphin ran an entirely i ' i 'imooth and happy course. ;j So, then. Sir Oliver sat at his fj V ase in his tall, carved chair, his j loublot untrussed, his long legs j I i i tretched before hira, 0 pensive Ij i mile about the firm lips that as ' ! " 1 ',vet were darkened by no more than ' ' ! 1 Tl snaH black line of muctachios. It '; ! ' .-.-as noon, and our gentleman had j j ' . just dined, as the platters, the bro-)l bro-)l ! : en meats and the half-empty flagon ': '' n the board beside him testified, i .: 'il le pulled Qioughtfully at a long ? '; ! :. ipe for he had acquired this new-; new-; V f imported habit of tobacco-drink-.' ' ..;(. ig and dreamed of his mistress, ,' ' i,;1' nd was properly and gallantly '' i rateful that fortune had used him ; ' j o handsomely as to enable him to -'j:jss a title and some measure of re-'; re-'; jj'-iown Into his Rosamund's lap. ' "fs py nature Sir Oliver was a . I S hrewd fellow and he was also a i 'j . J. H tan of somp not inconsiderable ". ; lj 'i J -arning. v4c neither his natural i . t; ., 'it npris acquired endowments )' y'r f.yeixr to have taught him that of J : 'jil the gods that rule the desti-I desti-I i ics of mankind there is none more j .; onic and malicious than that same I ; !;an Cupid. The ancients knew that ;') ! 'j i r-.inocent-seeming boy for a cruel, ' I j 1 :ipish knave, and they mistrusted ?j .:". p' i m. Sir Oliver either did not M f bow or did not heed that sound . ,: u ece of ancient wisdom. It was "J j ii ' l 06 Dorne 1Q upon him by grim ; jiperience, and even as his light t "j ; SnBive eyes smiled upon the sun--? j l itne that flooded the terrace be-j; be-j; "-j.ind the long mullioned window, . j JJ shadow fell athwart It, which he i 'I :tle dreamed to be symbolic of i - ' l a shadow that was even falling jl : VTosa the sunshine of bis life. ! After that shadow came the sub- ; J ' 1 J anc tall and gay of raiment 1 : 1 l.' ider a broad black Spanish hat 1 1 f : cked with blood-red plumea. ' ' .The smile perished on Sir Olivers i:ll't. Hi swarthy face rrew I ,' oughtfal, hi black brows con- ; 'v acted tratH no more than a single Sir Orlvar radioed L ul oon't think I shall trpoM! tf send them," said he. Master Godolphin vheeled, tollj to face him again. "How? wm yoa take a bkn Sir Oliver shmrged. j "None saw It given," said ha. j "But I shall publish It abroad that 1 have caned yoa." "You'll publish yourself a liar if you do; for none will believe you." 1 Then ho changed his tone yet again. "Come, Peter, we are behaving anworthily. As for the blow, I con-Jess con-Jess that I deserved it, A man's nother Is more sacred than his .'ather. So we may cry quits on .hat score. Can we not cry quits jn all else? What can it profit us to perpetuate a foolish quarrel that sprang up between our fathers?" 'There Is more than that between be-tween us," answered Master Go-iolphin. Go-iolphin. "I'll not have my sister wed a pirate," "A pirate? God's light! I am ilad there's none to hear you, for since her Grace has knighted me for my doings upon the seas, your vords go verys near to treason. Surely, lad, what the queen approve ap-prove Master Peter Godolphin may approve, and even your mentor, Sir John Killigrew. You've been listening lis-tening to him. 'Twas he sent yuu hither." "I am no man's lackey," answered answer-ed the other hotly,- resenting the imputation and resenting it the more because of the truth in it. "To call me a pirate is to say a foolish thing. Hawkins, with whom I sailed, has also received che accolade, and who dubs us pirates pi-rates Insults the queen herself. Apart from that, which, as you see, is a very empty charge, what else have you against me? I am, I hope, as good as any other here in Cornwall; Corn-wall; Rosamund honors me with her affection; and I am rich, and shall be richer still ere the wedding wed-ding bells are heard." "Rich with the fruit of thieving upon the seas, rich with the treasures treas-ures of scuttled ships and the price of slaves captured in Africa and sold to the plantations, rich as the vampire is glutted with the blood of dead men!" "Does Sir John say that?" asked Sir Oliver in a soft, deadly voice "1 say IL" "I heard you; but I am asking where you learnt that pretty lesson? les-son? Is Sir John your preceptor? He is, he is. No need to tell me. I'll deal with him. Meanwhile let me disclose to you the sure and disinterested source of Sir John's rancor. You will see what an upright up-right and honest gentleman is Sir John, who was your father's friend and has been your guardian." "I'll not listen to what you say of him." "Nay, but you shall, in return for having made me listen to what he says of me. Sir John desires to obtain a license to build at the mouth of the Fal. He hopes to see a town spring up above the haven there under the shadow of his own manor of Arwenack. He represents himself as nobly disinterested and all concerned for the prosperity of the country, and he neglects to mention that the land is his own and that It is his own prosperity and that of his family which he is concerned to foster We met in London by a fortunate chance whilst Sir John was about his business busi-ness at the Court. "Now it happens that 1, too, have interests in Truro and Penryn; but, unlike Sir John, I am honest in the matter, and proclaim it. If any growth should take place about Smithick it follows from its more advantageous situation that Truro and Penryn must suffer, and that suits me as little as the other matter mat-ter would suit Sir John. 1 told him so, for I can be blunt, and I told the queen in the form of a counter petition to Sir John's." He shrugged. "The moment was propitious to me. I was one of the seamen who had helped to conquer the unconquerable uncon-querable Armada of King Philip. I was therefore not to be deuied, and Sir John was sent home as empty-handed as he went to Court. D'ye marvel that he hates me? Knowing him for what he Is, d'ye marvel that he dubs me pirate and worse? " 'Tis natural enough to misrepresent mis-represent my doings upon the sea, since it Is those doings have afforded me the power to hurt his profit. He has chosen the weapons of calumny for this combat, but those weapons are not mine, as I shall show him this very day. If you do not credit what I say, come with me and be present at the little lit-tle talk I hope to have with that curmudgeon.' "You forget," said Master Godolphin, Go-dolphin, "that I, too, have Interests In the neighborhood of Smithick, and that you are hurting those." To be continued) . j apparel there was no more foppishness foppish-ness than Is tolerable in a gentleman gentle-man of his years. Sir Oliver rose and bowed from his great height in welcome. But a wave of tobacco-smoke took his graceful visitor In the throat and set him coughing and grimacing. "I see," he choked, "that ye have acquired that filthy habit." "I have known filthier," said Sir Oliver composedly. "1 nothing doubt it," rejoined Master Godolphin, thus early giving judications of his humor and the object of his visit, j Sir Oliver checked an answer that must have helped his visitor I to his ends, which was no part of j the knight's intent. "Therefore," he said ironically. "I hope you will be patient with my shortcomings. Nick, a chair for Master Godolphin and another cup. I bid you welcome to Pen-i Pen-i arrow." A sneer flickered over the young- er man's face. "You pay me a compliment, sir, I which I fear me 'tis not mine to I return you." "Time enough for that when I come to seek It," said Sir Oliver with easy, if assumed, good humor. "When you come to seek It?" "The hospitality of your house," Sir Oliver explained. "It Is on that very matter I am come to talk with you," "Will you sit?" Sir Oliver invited in-vited him, and spread a hand toward to-ward the chair which Nicholas had set. In the same gesture he waved the servant away. Master Godolphin Ignored the invitation. in-vitation. "You were." he Baid. "at Godolphin Go-dolphin Court but yesterday, I hear." He paused, and as Sir Oliver ottered ot-tered no denial, he added stiffiy "I am come, sir, to inform you that the honor of your visits is one we shall be happy to forego." In the effort he made to preserve his self-control before so direct an affront Sir Oliver paled a little under un-der his tan. "You will understand, Peter," he replied slowly, "that you have said too much unless you add something some-thing more." He paused, considering his visitor visi-tor a moment "I do not know whether Rosamund Rosa-mund has told you that yesterday she did me the honor to consent to become my wife." "She Is a child that does not know her mind," broke In the other. "Do you know of any good reason rea-son why she should come to change It?" asked Sir Oliver with a slight air of challenge. Master Godolphin sat down, crossed his legs and placed his hat on his knee. "1 know a dozen," he answered. "But I need not urge them. Sufficient Suffi-cient should It be to remind you Master Godolphin, that if be will trouble to come as far as Penarrow Penar-row I'll do by him what the hangman hang-man should have done long since. I'll crop his ears for him, by this hand!" "Meanwhile." 6ald Master Godolphin Go-dolphin whettingly, "will you not essay your rover's prowess upon me?" "You?" quoth Sir Oliver, and looked him over with good-humored contempt, "I'm no butcher of fledglings, my lad. Besides, you are your sister's brother, and 'tis no aim of mine to increase the obstacles ob-stacles already In my path." Then his tone changed. He leaned lean-ed across the table. "Come now, Peter. What Is at the root of all this matter? Can we not compose such differences as you conceive exist? Out with them! 'Tis no matter for Sir John. He's a curmudgeon who signifies not a finger's snap. But you, 'tis different. differ-ent. You are her brother. Out with your plaints, then! Let us be frank and friendly." "Friendly?" The other sneered again. "Our fathers set us an example ex-ample in that." "Does it matter what our fathers did? More shame to thern if, being be-ing neighbors, they could not be friends. Shall we follow so deplorably deplor-ably an example?" "You'll not impute that the fault was with my father!" cried the other, oth-er, with a show of ready anger. "I impute nothing, lad. I cry shame upon them both." "'Swounds!" swore Master Peter. Pe-ter. "Do you malign the dead?" "If I do, I malign them both. But I do not. I no more than condemn a fault that both must acknowledge could they return to life." "Then, sir, confine your con-demnings con-demnings to your own father with whom no man of honor could have lived at peace." "Softly, softly, good sir." "There's no call to go softly. Ralph Tressilian was a dishonor, a scandal to the countryside. Not a hamlet between here and Truro,, or between here and Helston, but swarms with big Tressilian noses like your own. in memory of your debauched parent." Sir Oliver's eyes grew narrower; he smiled. "I wonder how you came by your own nose?" he wondered. Master Godolphin got to his feet in a passion, and his chair crashed over behind him. "Sir," he blazed, "you insult my mother's memory!" Sir Oliver laughed. "I make a little free with it, perhaps, per-haps, in return for your pleasantries pleasant-ries on the score of my father." Master Godolphin pondered him in speechless anger; then, swayed by his passion, he leaned across the board, raised his long cane and struck Sir Oliver sharply on the shoulder. That done, he strode off magnificently mag-nificently toward the door. Halfway Half-way thither he paused. "I shall expect your friends and the length of your sword' said he.