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Show I The Siege I of the I Seven Suitors I ' H MEREDITH NICHOLSON H ' Copyrlibt. 1910. by Meredith NlchoUoa B -lriJ-u-cnrJ-u-fjnj-,-rtJ m H . CHAPTER III. HJ At Hopefield Manor. MISS IIOLLISTEU'S summons lay on my desk tlio noxt mornlns niul was of tlio HB briefest. I wns requested to B will nt Hopellold Mnnor nt 4 o'clock BJ tlio following afternoon, being Thurs- day. A trap would meat mo at Kato HJ Dab, ii nil It was suggested tliat I como HB prepared to spend tbo night, so that HI tbo condition of tbo flues might bo dis- Bfl cussed and any necessary change BB planned during tbo evening. Tbo note, signed Octavla Holllster, was written BB In n flowing band on a wholly lmpec- cable noto sbeot stamped Uopefleld Bb j Mnnor, Katonab. j Ileforo taking tbo train I sought Wig- BB gins by tclepbono at his offlco and at Bfl tbo Hiiro and Tortoise, whero bo lodg- Bfl ' ed, but without learning anything as BBj to his whereabouts. Ills ofllco did not Bfl ' answer, but Wiggins' ofllco bad naver BH , been responsive to tlio telephone, so BB j this was not significant. Tbo moro 1 BJ considered bis conduct during tbo re- Bfl- cltal of my visit to the Asolnndo tbo Imoro I wondered, and In splto of my wish to Ignore utterly Jowctt's revelations revela-tions ns to Wiggins' summer abroad, I was forced to tlio conclusion that Jew- Bl I ctt bad not lied. I bad known Wig- BI j gins long, nnd this was the first tlmo tbnt I bad ever been conscious of any BJ I withholding of confldenco on his part, Bfl and on my own I had not merely con- BB ' (lil od all my hope nnil nlm to blm, but I linil lonnod npnn blm often In BJ my perplexities, There wns. Indeed, n HH i kind of 1iovI.mIi rompiict between us Bfl tli.it we should support cneli other BM through nil 'dlllleiiltles, II In reserve BB ' hid. I knew, n illllldeut and sensitive BJ nature, mid It was wholly possible that Bfl If his nffnlr with Cecilia UnlllKter bad BH not prospered be had lied to his ranch BBj there to wrestlo In seclusion with bis BH disappointment. My uilnd was busy BH with such speculations as I sped to- BH ward Kiitotnh, where I found tbo trap BH from Uopefleld Manor nwnltlng me. B "It's rather poor going over tbo BB hills: about five miles, sir," said the ! driver ns we set off. This wns tlio first week in October. , Thero was Just rest enough In the nlr Bfl to ninko n top coat comfortnblo. Tlio Bfl team of blucks spoke well for Miss Bfl Ilolllster's stable, and tbo liveried Bfl j -driver kept them moving steadily, but H ' -cased the pace ns wc roso on the fro- H qucut slopes to tlio shoulders of tbo H pleasant Westchester hills. Early HB frosts bnd already wrought their mini- H cle In the foliage, and the battlo ban- BH ners of winter's vnnguard Hashed H along the horizons. I rejoiced that my H business, vexatious enough In many H ways, yet afforded mo so charming an H outing as this, H Presently we climbed a hill that H shouldered Its wny well abovo Its fel- H lows nnd en me out upon n broad ridge, H where wc entered nt onco a noble H gateway set In nu old stone wall and H struck off smartly nlong a (lm lilt of H mnrndnm. The Iimum', the driver In- H formed me. was u quarter of u mllu H from the gate. The wny led through H wild woodland, In which elms nud H muples iiredniiilnnti'd, nud before this B hnd grown monotonous wc ennie nl- H ruptly upon nu Itnlliiu gnrden, beyond H which rose the house. 1 knew It nt H onco for one of lViperton's sound per- H formnuces. I'epperton Is enslly our H best mnii In domestic Tudor, and the H Whole setting of Hopellold Mnnnr-the H sunken garden, the superb view, the HBj billowing Ileitis nml woodlands beyond BH nil testified to u tnsto which no igno BBJ rnut owner bnd thwnrted. The boirat BH wns Tudor, but In no servile sense. It H wns also Pcppeitoti. I lifted my eyes H with I mined In to professional lutntvv H to the chimnejpot.s on the roof, it oc- HB curred to nn on the lustnnt that 1 had Hfl never before been called to retouch Hfl an of Pcppcrton's work, Pep knew HBJ as much ns I about tine construction. I had nn Imt'iievne'riiifiect for Pep. and as my specialising In chimneys had been n subject if frequent cbafflug bot tween us, I nutiolpnted with n chuckle iko pleasure I should havo later In telling film that ut lust one of his Hues had required my services. My good opinion of Miss Uolllster did not diminish ns I stepped within tbo broad ball. Houses have their own manner of speech, nnd Uopefleld Manor spoko ij nil tho senses In accents ac-cents of tasto and reflnomcnt A servant serv-ant took my bug mid ushered me Into a chnrmlng library. A fire smoldered lazily In the great flrcplaco; thero was In tho room the faintest scent of burnt wood, but tho smoko roso in tbo flue In a perfectly mannerly fashion, and on thrusting In my hand I felt a good draft of nir. I Instinctively knelt on the hearth and peered up, but snw nothing unworkmanlike Pepper-ton Pepper-ton was not n fellow to leave obvious mistakes behind blm. Dut possibly that was not one of tho recalcitrant fireplaces 1 had been called to Inspect, and I roso and was continuing my ow- She Advanced at Once and 8pok My Name. Joymeut of the beautiful room when I became conscious, by rather curious nud mixed processes not wholly of the eye, that n young woman had drawn back the light portieres Uiey were dark brown, with borders of burnt orange and stood gravely gazing at mo. She held the curtains apart they made. Indeed, n kind of frame for her but as our eyes met sho advnnced at onco and spoko my nnmc. "l'ou nru Mr. Ames. My nunt expected ex-pected you. 1 regret to say that aha Is not lu tho bouse Just now, but sho will doubtless return for tea. I am her niece. Won't you sit down?" As she found n sent for herself, I mndo bold to survey her with somo particularity. Shu carried her Uuo height with beautiful dignity. Shu wns u cronture of grace, and It was n grnco of strength, the suppleness and enso that marl: our later outdoor American Amer-ican woman. Sho could do her miles over those hills I wns sure of thnt. Her Uuo olive face, crowned with dark hair, verified tho Impression I bad gntliered from Jowett thnt sbo wns u woman of cultivation. Sho had read the poets; Dnnto and Petrarch spoke from her eyes. Cecilia was no bad name for her; sho suggested heavenly harmonies! harmo-nies! And ns for Jowett's story of Wiggins' Wig-gins' Infatuation, I was content She wns talking meanwhile of the day and Its buoyant nlr and of the tapestries hung lu the woodlands In n volco deep with rare Intimations of viol chords "It's very quiet here. It doesn't jeem possible that wo are so near thu city My aunt choso tbo place with care, ami she uinde uo mistake about It. Yes, the house was built by Mr. I'epperton. but not for us. My nunt bought It of thu estate of tho gentle-limn gentle-limn who built It. This will be her first winter here." Miss Holllster herself nppenred. She greeted mo without surprise nnd much as she might have spoken to any guest in her house. 1 bad sometimes been tlented ns though I wero the agent of n decorator's shop, or u delinquent plumber, by tho people whom 1 served, but Miss Uolllster nnd her niece established estab-lished mo upon a plane tlmt wns wholly social. 1 was mndo to feel that it was tho most natural thing In tho world for mo to bo there, having tcu, with no business abend of me but to bo agreeable. agree-able. The fact that I had como to correct cor-rect tbo distemper of their flues was utterly negligible. I remembered with satisfaction that I bad Journeyed from towu In a now business suit that made the best of my attenuated tlguro, and 1 will not deny thnt I felt at ease. Miss Holllster talked briskly as sho made tea. ''It Is not necessary for you to tako tea If you don't euro for It, Mr. Ames," she said, us I roso and handed tho first cup to Cecilia. "If you will touch tbo bell nt your elbow you may bnvo liquids of quite another sort" "You nru most generous. Miss Hal-listcr. Hal-listcr. Tea will sutflco for the moment mo-ment It Is fitting that I should take It here, it having been n weakness for tea as well as curiosity and chanco that threw mo In your wuy at tho Aso londo." "That nbstird-thnt preposterous bole In tho wall!" Sbo put down her cup nnd fnced me, rontluulng: "M Ames, I will not deny thnt It It had not been tor (Jcneral tcuderjitngrs cordial Indorsement ol you, and tho further fact that I had net your late father, I should not have tnvlted you to my houso on tho occasion occa-sion to which you refer. My contempt for the Asolnndo and the things It stands for Is beyond such language us a lady may use before the young. I tall back upon tho privilege of my nge to beg thnt you will hereafter give the Asolnndo a wide berth." I laughed at her earnestness, but on turuingttoward Miss Cecilia I saw that abe was placidly stirring her cup. It might bo that one was not expected to mnnlfcst amusement In Miss llollls-ter's llollls-ter's utterances, nnd I wns anxious to adjust myself to tho proper key In my Intercourse, no mutter how brief It might be, with this remarkable old lady. In my embarrassment I roso nnd offered of-fered tl9 r.ud nnd butter to Cecilia, who s:llncd It The austerity of her rejection rather unnerved mo. "I assure you. Miss Holllster, that I havo no wish to become a hnbltue of tbo place," I said. "And yet you will pardon me If I repeat thnt. but for It, I should not now be enjoying tho hospitality hos-pitality of Uopefleld Manor." She lifted her bead from her cup and bowed, but I wns Immediately Interested Interest-ed In the fact that her niece was speaking. "I think Aunt Octavla Is hard on the Asolnndo," she was saying. "Aunt Octavla is Interested In tbo revival of romance, and romanco without poetry scorns to mo wholly Impossible." "The age Is decadent, and I know no better way of restoring the race to Its ancient vim and energy than by sending send-ing men back to the enmp nnd Held ,or to sail the high seas In now armadas. Tbo men of this ngo have become a lot of sordid shopkeepers, and to my moral sense tho looting of cities In far moro honorable than tbo creation of trusts and tho manipulation of prices, though I cannot deny that but for my late father's zeal In destroying his competitors competi-tors In tho baby buggy business wo might not now bo enjoying the delicate deli-cate fragrance of caravan tea." "I assure you. Mr. Ames," said Cecilia, Ce-cilia, "that the Asolando Is n very harmless place, and that as a matter of fact Its alms aro wholly consonant with thoso of Aunt Octnvic I myself acrved thero for n time, nnd thoso woro nmong the most delightful days of ray life. There nro times when I miss the Asolnndo." i "Mr. Ames," began Miss Octnrln ' presently In her crisp, direct fashion. which had tho efTect of leading me In i my nnxlety to nppenr rendy with nn-swers nn-swers to tnke n flattering view of my own courage nnd resourcefulness. "Mr Ames, are you equal to the feat of swimming u moat under n shntterlng Are from tho castle?" "I bnve every renson to think I nui, Miss Holllster." I replied modestly. "And If n white band waved to yon from the grilled window of the lonely tower, would you rldo on Indifferently I or pauso nnd thunder nt tho gate?" ' "Wblto hands bnvo never wnved to ! me, save occasionally when 1 have ! gone n-rldlng lu tho Sixth nvcnuo ete- vnted, but it is my honest belief thnt ! my sword would promptly leave its scabbard If tho hand ever waved from tbo Ivied tower." My friends nt the Hnro nnd Tortoise would have heard this uvownl with somo surprise, for no man's life bnd ever been tnmcr thnn mine. 1 nm by nnture timid, and fall but n llttlo short of being ofrnld of tho dnrk. Prayers for deliverance from buttle, murder and sudden death cannot be too strong. ly oxprcssed for me. My answer had, however, pleused Miss Octavla, and she clapped her buuds with plcusure. I "Cecilln," sho cried, "somothlng told j me that afternoon nt tho Asolnndo thnt i my belief lu tbo potential soven was j not 111 placed, nnd now you see that In I Introducing myself to Mr. Ames at the Kovcnth table from the door, in the soventh shop from I'lfth avenue. 1 was led to u meeting with n gentleman I hud been predestined to know." As we talked further n servant nppenred np-penred and In Id fiesti logs across the still smoldering tire. This I thought would suggest to Miss Uolllster the professional character of my visit, but tho tire kindled readily, thu smoke rose freely In tho Hue. and Miss Uolllster paid no attention to It. The merits of chain armor, 1 think It wns, that held us for half nu hour, Cecilia nnd I listening lis-tening with respect to whnt. In my ig-uomiice. ig-uomiice. seemed n remnrkable fund ol knowledge on this recondite subject "We dine nt 7, Mr, Ames, nud you , niny uiiiuse yourself us you like until thnt hour. Cecilln, you may order din ner In tbo gun room tonight." j "Certainly, Aunt Octnvln." I Onco more I glnuced at tbo girl, hoping hop-ing thnt some glimmer lu her eyes would sot me right nnd cstnbllsh u com mon understanding nnd sympathy be-J be-J tween us, but she wns moving out ol tho room at her Hunt's sldo. The man , who bnd tended tho Ore met mo lu the t ball and, conducting me to my room, suggested various offices that bo wal 1 roady to perform for my comfort The houso faced south, nnd my windows, ( midway of the east wing, afforded a lino view of the hills. The room was largo enough for n chamber of state, and its furniture was massivo A tuur poster invited to luxurious repose; half ' a dozen etchlugs by famous artists Parrlsh and Van i:iteu among them I hung upon the walls. My bag had been opened nnd my things put out, so that, there being ( moro than nu hour to pass before I need dress for dinner, 1 went below and explored tho garden nnd wnndered off nlong n winding path thnt Btole j with chnrmlng furtiveness townrd a . Tenerablo orchard of gnarled iipple trees. From the height thus gained I : looked down upon the house, nnd cnught n gllmpso beyond It of ono of the chain of lakes, on which the west ern sun tfftnted goldculy. Thus seeing the house from u new angle I was lm pressed ns I bnd not bceu ut llrst by Its size. It was n huge establishment, gr.d I thought with envy of I'epperton, to whom such amplo commissions were ant rare. I'epperton, I rocalled n llttlo bitterly, had arrived, whereas I, who had enjoyed exactly bis own training for the architect's profession, hud failed fail-ed at It and been obliged to turn my hand .to tbo doctoring of chimneys. Hut as I reflected upon the odd circumstances cir-cumstances of my being thero my spirits spir-its rose. Miss Holllster wns beyond question u singular person, but her whims were nmuslng. I felt that she was less cryptic than her nclce. and the thought of Cecilia drove me back upon Jewett's story of Wiggins' Interest Inter-est lu that quarter. I resolved to write to Wiggins when I got back to town the next dny nnd abuse him roundly for running off without so much ns goodby. Thnt. most emphatically, was not like dear old Wiggins. CHAPTER IV. I Fall Into a Brier Patch. I HAD been Rtttlug on a stono wall watching the shadows lengthen. I rose now and followed tho wall toward a highway along which wagons and un occasional motorcar had passed during my revorle. The loping pasture was rough and frequently fre-quently sent me along at a trot Tho wall that marked tbo boundary at the roadside was hidden by a tanglo of. raspberry bushes, and my foot turning turn-ing on a stono concealed in tho wild grasses, I fell clumsily and rolled a dozen yards Into a tanglo of tbo berry bushes. As I picked myself up I heard voices In the road, but should bavo thought nothing of It bad 1 not seen through a break In the vines and almost al-most within reach of my hand Cecilia Uolllster talking earnestly to somo ono not yet disclosed. Sbo was hatless, but had flung n golf cape over her shoulders. The scarlet lining of tho bood turned up about her neck mndo nn effective Retting for her noble bead. "Ob. 1 cau't tell you! 1 can't help you! I mustn't even appear to give you auy udvnntnge. I went Into It with my eyes open, nnd I'm In honor bound not to tell you anything. You bnvo said nothing nothing, remember that There Is absolutely nothing between be-tween us." "Dut I must say everything. I re-fuso re-fuso to bo blinded by these absurd restrictions, re-strictions, whatever they nre. It's not fnlr. It's Inviting mo Into a gnmo whero the curds nre not nil ou the table. ta-ble. I've come to mnko nn end of It!" My hands had suffered by contact with tho brlnrs, nnd I had been ministering minis-tering to them with my handkerchief, but I fell back upon the slope in my astonishment nt this colloquy. Cecilln t Holllster I hnd seen plainly enough, though tho man's back had been to- wnrd me, but anywhero on earth I should havo known Wiggins' voice. I protest that It Is not my wny to be-como be-como nu envesdropper voluntarily, but to dlscloso myself now was Impossible. If it bnd not been Wigglns-but Wig-gins Wig-gins would never bavo understood or forgiven, nor could I bnvo explained plausibly to Cecilia Holllster that I bad not followed her from tiio houso to spy upon her. 1 should havo mado tbo noise of an invading nrmy if I had attempted to effect nn exit by creeping out through tho windrow of crisp leaves in which I lay, and to turn back and ascend tho slopo tho way I had como would bnvo been to ndvertlso my presence to tbo figures In tho road. "Sp "You mutt go pleaeel" There seemed nothing for me but to keep still and hope that this discussion discus-sion between Cecilia Uolllstor and Hartley Wiggins would not bo continued contin-ued within earshot To my relief they moved a trlflo farther on, but 1 still beard their voices. "I cannot listen to you. Now that I'm committed I cannot honorably countonanco you at all, and I can explain ex-plain nothing. I enmo hero to meet you only to tell you this. You must go please! And do not attempt to seo mo In this wny again." I was grntoful that Wiggins' volco sank so low In his reply that I did not heur it but I know that ho was pleading plead-ing hard. Then n motor flashed by. nnd when tho whir of Its passing bnd ceased tho voices wero inaudible, nut a moment Inter I beard n light, quick step beyond tho wnll, nnd Cecilln passed pass-ed hurriedly, her fnco turned townrd tbo bouse. Tho cape was drawn tl?b- j atvf.il her shoulders, nnd Bhe walked walk-ed with her bend bowed. 1 breathed a sigh of relief, and when I felt safe from detectlou, climbed the llopc. Pausing ou the crest to survey the landscape, 1 saw u man, wearing a derby der-by hat and a light tocoat, leaning against u feme that Inclosed u pasture. As I glnncisl In his direction be moved , away hastily townrd the roud below. The feeling of being wntched Is not agreeable, ami I could not account far him. Ah lie passed out of sight still anotlier mull appeared, emerging from a strip of woodbind further ou. Even through the evening buze 1 should bnvo snld tbnt he wus u geutlemuu. The two men apparently boio no relation to each other, though they were walking in tbo same direction, bound, I Judged, for tho highway below. 1 had an uncomfortable un-comfortable feeling that they had both been observing me, though for what purposo I could not Imagine. Then inco more, Just as 1 was about to enter en-ter tho Italian garden from a fallow Odd that hung slightly above It, a third man appeared as mysteriously as though bo hod sprung from tho ground, and ran at a sharp dog trot along tho fence, headed, like tbo others, oth-ers, for tho road. In tho third instance tho stranger undoubtedly took pains to bide his face, but bo, too, was well dressed and wore a topcoat and a fo-dora fo-dora hat of current style. I did not know why these gentlemen were ranging tho neighborhood or what object they had in vtow, but their several sev-eral appearances bad Interested me, and I went ou Into tho house well satisfied sat-isfied that events of an unusual character char-acter wero likely to mark my visit to the homo of Miss Octavla Holllster. Cecilia sat reading alone when I entered en-tered the library shortly before tho dinner din-ner hour. Sho put down her book and wo fell Into fitful talk. "I took a walk after tea. I always feel that sunsets aro best .seen from tho fields. You can't quite do them Justlco from windows," sho began. Sho seemed preoccupied. Wiggins wns In bor recollection of tbo glowing landscape I was confident of this, nnd poor Wiggins was oven now wandering wander-ing these bills, no doubt, brooding upon his troubles under clear October stars. Dinner was announced the moment Miss Holllster entered, and I walked out between tbem. Miss Octnvln Holllster Hol-llster wns a surprising person, but in nothing wns sho so delightfully wny-wnrd wny-wnrd as lu tho gowns sbo wore. My lgnornnco of such mutters Is lmmcas- i ucuble, but 1 fancy tbnt sho designed I her own raiment nnd had her ideas wero thereupon carried out by n tailor of skill. At the Asolnndo, nnd when wo hnd met nt ten In her own house, she had worn the severest of tailored gowns, with short skirt nud n cont . into whose pockets she wns fond of thrusting ber hands. Tonight tho ma- ' terlnl wns lavender silk trimmed in j white, but the skirt had not lengthened, nnd over n white silk wnlst sho woro a kind of cutaway cut thnt matched tbo skirt. An nlgrct in her lovely white hnlr coutrlbutcd n piquant noto to tho wholo Impression. As we passed pass-ed down the ball she talked with great ; animation of The Hague tribunal, Just then holding n prominent place in the I newspapers for somo reason that has escaped me. "Tho whole thing Is absurd, perfect- I ly nbsurd. I know of nothing that would contribute moro to human enjoyment enjoy-ment than n real wnr between Ger-many Ger-many mid England. Tho Ilnguo Idea Is puro sentlmentullsm if sentimental-Ism sentimental-Ism can ever beisald to bo pure. I will go further and say that I consider It positively Immoral." She hnd ordered dinner In tho gun room, but I thought this merely a turn of her humor, nnd I was taken aback when sho led tho way Into a low, heavily heavi-ly raftered room, whero electric sconces of an odd typo woro thrust at Irregular Intervals along the walls, which were otherwise hung with arms of many sorts In orderly combinations. They wero not the litter of antique shops, I snw In a hasty gtnnce, but rifles and guns of tho Intest pnttorns, and beside tho sideboard stood a gun rack and a cabinet which I assumed contained still other nnd perhaps -deadlier weapons. nut for the presenco of Miss Cecilia, who was essentially typical of our twentieth century American woman, I think I might readily have yielded to the Illusion that I was tho guest of somo eccentric cbatelnlno who had Invited In-vited me to dine with ber In a bastion of bor fortress beforu ordering mo to somo chamber of horrors for elocution. elocu-tion. No refereuco was mndo to tho character char-acter of tho room. I felt, Jn fact, that Cecilia rather pleaded with hor eyes that I should make uo reference to It And Miss Holllster remarked qulto casually as though In comment upon my thoughts: "Consistency has buried Its thou-snnds thou-snnds nnd habit Us tens of thousands. Wo should Hvo. Mr. Ames, for the changes and chances of this troubled life. Hetwoeu an opera box and a villa at Nowport many of my best friends havo perished." Tbon with startling abruptness sho put down ber fork and, bending her wonderfully direct gazo upon mo, asked ask-ed n question that caused mo to strangle stran-gle on a bit of asparagus. "1 lmagluo, Mr. Ames, that you aro a member of somo of tho better clubs In town. If by any chanco you belong to tho Hnro nnd Tortolso tho nnrao of which has always pleased me do you by nny chanco happen to enjoy tho acquaintance ac-quaintance of Hartley Wiggins?" Cecilia lifted her bond. I snw thnt sho bnd been as startled as I. It crossed my mind tbnt n denial of nny ncquolntonco with Wiggins might best servo him In tho circumstances. Hut I am not, I hope, without n senBo of shame, and I responded promptly; "Yes. I know him well. We nre old I friends, i always see a good deal ot HBI blm during tbo winter. His summers BB are spent usually on bis ranch In the BBS west We dined together two days KHfl ngo at the Hare and Tortoise, Just be- BBI fore he left for the west" H( "You will pardon me If I say that It BBB is wholly to his credit that he Las for- flflc sworn the professions and Identified HHJt himself with the honorable calling of Bflf tho husbandman." Bflf "We met Mr. Wiggins vttMe travel- Ing abroad last summer." Interposed flflK Cecilia, meeting my eyes quite frankly. HflK' "Met htm! Did you soy met him, lB Cecilia? On the contrary, we found ijflB blm waiting for us nt the dock the EtTK morning we sailed," corrected Miss Hjt fW" Holllster, "and we never lost him a IUi dny in thrco mouths of rapid travel. BflV I had never met him before, but 1 can- IBB not deny tbnt bo made himself exceed- K tngly agreeable. If, ns I suspected, bo m had deliberately planned to travel on BBC tbo same steamer with my two nieces, BBJf I have only praise for his conduct, BBS for In theso days, Mr. Ames, It warms BBS my heart to find young men showing Bfl something of tbo old cblvalrlc ardor In BBV their affairs of the heart" flBH "I'm sure Mr. Wiggins made himself J very agreeable," remarked Cecilia col- HBM orlessly. HBl 'Tor myself," retorted Miss Hollls- HBJ tcr, "I should speak oven more strong- BBV ly. Ho repeatedly served ns with tact K and delicacy. I bad formed so high BBJi on opinion of Mr. Wiggins that I learn- BBJ ed with aincerest regret that his an- BBl cestors were Tories and took no part HBE In tho struggle for American lndepend- BH ence. There aro times when I serious- fl ly question the wisdom'of the colonists B In breaking with the mother country, B but certainly no man of character In H that day could have hesitated as to his H proper course." H Then, as tbough by Intention, Miss H nolltster dropped upon tbe smooth cur- H rent of our talk a sentence that drove B tho color from Cecilia's face. B "Hczeklah and Mr. Wiggins were tbe H best of friends," was Miss Holllster's Hj remark. H Cecilia's eyc3 were on ber plate, but B ber aunt went on In her blithest fash- H flflj "You may not know that Hczeklah Is H another niece. Cecilia's sister. Sho K was named, at my suggestion, for my father, thero being no son In tbe fam- B lly, nnd 1 trust that so unusual a name IH In n young girl docs not strike you ns B Indefensible." BBl "On the contrary, it seems to mo BJ wholly refreshing nnd delightful. As BK I recnll the Sundny school of my youth, flHb Hczeklah wus a monarch of great nu- H tborlty, whose animosity toward Sen- m nncberlb wns Justified In tbe fullest H degree. The very nnmc bristles with H spenrs and Is musical with tho trum- Iflfll pets of Israel. Nothing would mnko K mo happier than to meet tbe young jH lady who bears this Illustrious name." iH "As to tlio your knowledgo of ancient flkT vy history, Mr. Ames," began Miss Hoi- f Ml lister ns she helped herself to tbo WSm cheese sweets, I noted, wero not in- LAV eluded in the very nmple meal 1 had HflJ enjoyed "It is elenr that you wero flflfl well taught in your youth. I am not HSfl surprised, however, for I should havo fl expected nothing less of a son of tho flflfl lata General Ames of Hartford. As to BBI meeting my nleco Hczeklnb, I fear that flflv that Is nt present Impossible. While H Cecilia remains with mo Hczeklah's HH duty Is to tier father, and I must say B In all kludness that nczeklah's ways, B like thoso of Provldenco and tho cus- H torn house, nre beyond my feeble un- H dcrstandtug. In n word, Mr. Ames. Bfl Hczeklah Is different" "Ilezoklah," added Cecilln, with feeling, "Is n dear." H "Pleaso don't bring scntlmentallsm H to tho table!" cried Miss Holllster. H "Mr. Wiggins onco Informed mo In a B moment of forgctfulncss It was at BB 1'ontalneblcnu, 1 remember, when BB i Ilezoklah persisted In reminding a one K armed French colonel wbo was bang- H lng about that we named cities In B America for Illsniarck It was thero at H the Inn tbnt Mr. Wiggins confided to H mo his belief that Hczeklah bears a H strong rcBcmblanco to the common or H domestic peach. As a single peach at H thnt place was charged in the bill at IBH 10 francs, tbo remark wns HI timed, to jflfll sny tbe least, nut Mr. Wiggins was jHan so contrlto when I rebuked him thnt I flflT allowed him to pay for our luncheon jH no small matter, Indeed, for Hezo- M klah's appetlto is nothing If not ro- H Miss Uolllster gavo so many turns to H tbo conversation thnt 1 could reach no BH conclusion as to her feeling toward jHj Wiggins or Hczeklah Holllster, and, as H for Cecilia, 1 was unable to determine M whether she was a prlsouor at Hope- flfll Held Manor or tho wllllug and devoted ' H companion of her aunt H In this bewildored state ot mind, H wbllo wo lingered over our coffee, the M servant appeared with a card for each H of the ladles. 1 saw Cecilia start as flfla sbo read tho namo. HflJ "Mr. Wiggins! How remarkable that H bo Bhould have nppenred Just as wo BflJ wero speaking of him!" said Miss Hoi- BJ lister, "lie sure tho gentleman Is com- BBl fortablo In tho library. James. We Ffl Bhall be In ut once. Mr. Ames, you RjiM will, of course, bo delighted to meet fl Hr5W your friend here, and you will assist us MLr3 In dispensing our meager hospitality." flil to bo cont'nuod B i iiiiV |