Show SE R I 1 A L STORY rp IN A A if ia juirl 11 n ik H fi isom t n HIS T OW N B y IMARIE VAN VORST illustrations by M G KETTNER 11 loper h 16 19 0 by the built bobbs merrul merrill co go 1 CHAPTER I 1 dan blair the fact that much he said because of his unconscionable slang was in comprehensible did not take from the charm of his conversation as far as the duchess of breakwater was con berned the brightness of his espre elon sion his quick clear look upon them hie his beautiful young smile his not too frequent laugh his new gayness as the duchess called his spirits his su pernal youth his difference credited hid him with what nine tenths of the hu bu man race lack charm his tone was not too crudely west era ern neither did he suggest the ultra east with which they were familiar american women went nent down well enough with them but american men were vere unpopular and when the visitor arrived lady galore did not even an bounce him to the party gathered tor for the first shoot the others were in the armory when the ninth gun a young chap six feet of him b ond as the wheat cleanly set up and very good to look at came in with lily duchess of breakwater lady gallrey his hostess greeted them oh here you are are youa you lord mersey sir john Fair she mumbled the rest of the names of her companions as though she did not want them understood then waved to ward the young chap calling him mr air dan blair and he as she hesitated added from Blair blairtown town montana ind nd give him a gun will you gor dona lady gallrey spoke to her husband I 1 discovered mr blair edie edle the duchess announced and he didn dian t even know there was a shoot on tor for today fancy I 1 guess dan blair said clemant plea ant ly IY take a gun out of this bunch and be he chose one at random from sev eral indicated to him by the game keeper I 1 get my best luck when I 1 go it blind right thanks that s so lady gallrey I 1 know there was to be any shooting until the duch duell ess let it out to himself he thought with good na aured amusement afraid spoil their game record maybe and went out al along g with them following the in Tob sular noblemen lemen like a ray of sun smiling on the pretty woman who nho had di discovered covered him in the grounds where he had been poking about by himself where in heaven heavens s name did you corral word of 0 his avii ov n the dear boy editha how did he get to Os dene park or in fact anywhere just as he is fresh from edena thought I 1 d let him take you by surprise dearest where d you find dan down by the gardn house feeding the rabbits on hs his knees like a little boy his hands full of lettuces id just come a cropper myself on the mare she fell I 1 in sorry to say edie edle and hacked her knees quite a lot one of those disguised ditches you know 1 I was coming along leading her when I 1 ran tan on your friend the young duchess was slender as a willow iery brunette with a tul fill discontented face I 1 in going to show dan blair off lady gallrey responded going to give the debutantes a chance chalice placidly nodding the duchess lit a cigarette and began quoting from dan blair a conversation I 1 fancy he WOE wor t let them worry him he s too buy you mealii mean that oure cure going to keep him occupied the duchess didn dian t notice this Is he uch a catch Is either neither of the women had walked out with the guns th tho duchess had a tad id foot and lady gallrey never went anywhere she co id help with her husband she no now 7 drew her chair up to the table in the morning room to wh ch they had both gone alter after the departure of the guns an and d regarded with atis satisfaction faction a quantity of sta and the red leather desk ap po sit down and smoke if you like lily I 1 m going to fill out some lists no thanks I 1 to in going up to my rooms and get parkins to maey macsey this beastly foot of mine I 1 must have fall en on it but tell me first Is mr blair a catchi lady gallrey had opened an ad dress book and looked up from it to reply something alq ten million pounds r t heavens Heaven st disgusting the richest youn giman west aest of some river or other at any rate he told me last night that it was clean money I 1 dare say the river 1 Is to re for ltd its cleanliness but that fact seemed to give him satisfaction the duchess was leaning on the ta ole ble at lady Galo gallrey reys s side dan a father took gordon all over the west that time he went to the states for a big hunt in the hockles he got to know mr blair awfully well and liked him the old gentleman bought a little property about that time that turned out to be a gold mine with persistency the duchess said how d you know it Is clean money edith not that it makes a rap of dif ference she laughed prettily but how do you know that he Is rich to this horrible extents lady gallrey put down her address boob book impatiently does he look like an Impostor 7 9 the other returned even the archangel fell my dear edith well returned ler friend this one Is too young to have fallen far and she shut up her list in despera derpera t alon on the duchess sat down on the edge of the lounge and raised her espres ive eyes to lady gallrey who once more looked at her sarcastically and went on gordon liked the old gentleman he was extraordinarily generous Fe generous nerous quite a type they called the town after him that Is where the son halls hails from he ile was a little lad when gordon was out olit and mr blair prom ased that dan should come over here and see us one day and this she tapped the table with her pen seems murmured well dan blab a of eden poor dear it he met her by the gate A fortune of a round ten million pounds was a small part of what this young man had come into by direct in from the copper king ot of Blair blairtown town montana for once the money figure had not been abed but lady gallrey did not know about the rest of dan dans s inheritance the young man whistling in his rooms in the bachelor quarters of Os dene park house dressed for dinner without the aid of a valet when lord gallrey had asked him where his man servant was dan had grinned gosh I 1 t gave one of those johnnies hanging around me never did have I 1 can put on my stockings all right there was a chap on the boat I 1 came over in who let his man put on his stockings can you beat that blair bad had laughed again I 1 think if anybody tickled my feet that way I 1 would be likely to kick him in the eye dressing in his room he whistled un der his breath a song from a newly popular comic opera and he intoned with a clear young voice a line of the words should you go to mandalay out through his high window if he had looked he would have seen the misty sweep of the park under the faint moonrise and fine shadows that the leaves made in the veiled light but he did not look out he was dressing for dinner without a valet and giving a great deal of care to his to toilet let for or it the e first time me he e was to N sv 01 A ar 1 11 IL is feeding the rabbits on his knees like a little boy to be the day for he came down upon us in this breehey way without even sending a wire just turned up last night gordon a mad about him his father has been dead a year and he Is just t twenty enty two good heavens heaven st murmured the duchess lady gallrey opened her i address book again gordons got him terribly on his mind my dear he has forbidden any gambling or any bridge as long as the boy 1 19 with us her companion rose and thrust her hands into the pocket of her tweed coat she laughed softly then went over to the long window where with au out t across the pane the early winter m ats were flying chased by a furtive sun gordon said that the boy s father treated him like a king and that while the boy Is here he Is going to look out for him over her shoulder the other threw out coldly you speak as though he were in a den of thieves I 1 didn dian t know gor don dons s honor was so fine As for me I 1 dont gamble you know lady gallrey bad had decided that lily 13 insistent remaining gave her a chance to fill her fountain pen she was therefore carefully squirting in the ink and she flushed at her friend s last words lady gallrey herself was the best bridge placer player in london and cards acre vi ere her passion she did not remind the lady in the window that there were other games besides bridge but kept both her tongue and her temper after a little silence in which the women followed each her own thoughts the duchess murmured toddle upstairs edie edle let you write where did you say we were going to meet the guns for foode at the gate by the white pastures there 11 be a cart and a motor going whichever you like around two right her grace nodded III be on time dearest and lady gallrey with a relieved sigh heard the door close behind the duchess wiping her fountain pen delicately with a mt bit of chamois she dine in the house of a nobleman and in the presence of a duchess not that it meant a great deal to him he thought it was funny in dan blair a twenty two years ot of utterly happy days his one grief had been the death of his father As soon as the old man had died dan had gone off into the with his guides and not shown up for months when he came back to as he ex pressed it he packed his grip and beat it while his shoes were good for the one place he could remember his father had suggested for him to go was very much impressed when the heir came in from the rock ies les with a big kill and the orphan orphans s ease did not seem especially dis but no one in the town knew how the boy a heart ached tor for the old man when dan was six years old his father had liberally literally picked him up by the nape of the neck and thrown him into the water like a pup and watched him swim at eight he sent the boy off with a gun to rough camp then he took dan down in the mines with the men his ills education had been non men in Blair blairtown town at a school called public but which in reality was noth lug fug more than a pioneer district school on sundays dan dressed up and went with his father to church twice a day and in the week days his fath father er took him to the prayer meetings and at sixteen dan went to college in call fornia he had just completed his course when old blair died then he inherited fifty million dollars TO BE CONTINUED |