Show th mystery M J abery road roa I 1 r A BEAUTY SYNOPSIS fleeing from a brutal stepfather an unhappy home and a proposed husband she detests young french girl stands in a country road on the verge of desperation halted by an exploded tire two young el englishmen lord lard gerald dombey and christopher dent bent are attracted by the girls distracted appearance she begs them to take her away from her misery in a spirit of adventure they do go BO conveying her to monte curio carlo and putting her in safe hands for the night myrtile speaks r inglish english her mother having been an educated woman chapter III 3 lady mary dombey was a young woman of very ising appearance but there were occasions upon which she bhe could look stern this was one of them 1 I am never surprised at anything that gerald does she told christopher who was seated next lier her nt at the dinner table but I 1 must say that I 1 should never have expected you to have been mixed up in one of his escapades what are you going to do with the girl we hoped christopher ventured a little doubtfully that you might be able to make use of her as a kind of under sewing maid or something of that sort thank you lady mary replied without enthusiasm 1 I am perfectly satis satisfied fled with the services of my own maid lord Hinter leys who had bad taken only a lati languid guld interest in the conversation intervened for tile the first time where Is the young person nowr now he inquired in some rooms one of the housekeepers at the hotel found for me air gerald replied lady mary rose to her feet 1 I cant decide slip she said which of you two has ham lost his heart to this paragon of village loveliness however I 1 feel sure that my advice Is the best send lier her back to tier her people gerald strolled to the door with tile his tester sister and returned to his place fingering hla his cigarette case irritably lord HInter leys sipped his him wine thoughtfully 1 I itin am not suggesting for a single moment lie observed that your attl tude toward this young woman Is rl not t and will not always be entirely irreproachable proa chable but fit at the same time you must remember that we ii ri in a country where such adventures ure are likely to the misunderstood I 1 feel inclined therefore to indorse your sisters advice I 1 should do all that I 1 could to encourage tier her to return to her people well talk to lier her in the morning sir gerald promised 1 I shall retire to the drawing room and persuade mary to sing to me and you two young fellows can smoke to your hearts heat ts content contat give we me your arm gerald dont think we shall stop long it if excuse us sir gerald confided as lie rose to tits ills feet its first night in monte carlo and I 1 want to show him the ropes come along old chap and make your adieux he be added turning to his friend ludy lady mary made room for christopher by her side she was scarcely scarce lv possessed of her brothers good looks but her complexion was good her features unexceptionable her eyes eves clear and as a rule sympathetic tier lier tone and manner attractive her figure especially ally in a riding hohlt was undeniable her skill at golf and tennis far above the ordinary amateur it was not for luck inck of offers that at twenty four years of age she die was still unworried unmarried they talked for foi some time with interest lady marys maryb wit wits keen and her insight unusual during a pause in their conversation lord Hinter leys looked across the lie room through his bis horn rimmed eyeglass your friend seems to get on very we well I 1 wit with mary he be remarked always been pals gerald acquiesced doing pretty well at the bar her thundering well they say hes certain to baabe ne of our youngest K Cs ca leys aff lord Hint said eald nothing for several mon moments tents mary has her aunts hundred thousand pounds he said at length she la is a difficult young person to marry knows her own mind though I 1 should never interfere chris Is a good fellow but I 1 dont fancy he has any thought of marrying just yet gerald remarked you wont mind if I 1 take him off now sir air we shall mee luce for lunch tit nt the golf club tomorrow obeyed hla his friends summons without enthusiasm gerald boweres bowe bow eves vei was both Ins insistent Intent and aw ua I 1 by E phillips oppenheim by little brown a co patient and the two young men took their leave a few minutes later gerald dragged his friend into the bureau of the casino where they obtained their thear tickets for the cercle and afterwards on to the sporting club the mecca of geralds desires for tile the evening nt at any rate christopher breathed a little more freely here than in the casino the atmosphere atmo phere was less pernicious the crowd by which lie he was surrounded far more attractive after gerald had taken a sent at the baccarat table he wandered around for sortie some time fascinated by this strange cosmopolitan gathering their diversity in class manners and dress presently he be found a sent in the he little bar ordered a whisky and soda and leaned back to watch the never ceasing stream of pleasure seeking loiterers loiter ers suddenly without any warning ills thoughts played him a queer trick lie ile was back on oil the cool sunlit hillside with the odor of the violets and the he pines in ills bis nostrils and the girl looking over the gate she turned tier her head and he saw her face her beautiful eyes with their passionate terrified appeal her quivering lips her childs figure the tender appell of her the he soul and sweetness of her innocent youth clinging like some fresh sweet perfume to her trembling body gerald stood suddenly before him his face aflame his eyes brilliant ills his voice quivered slightly with subdued excitement christopher you moonstruck moon struck old dodderer lie he cried wake apt up I 1 I 1 have hae seen the most wonderful creature on earth I 1 wont leave this place until I 1 find out who she Is what another adventure christopher exclaimed youre not thinking about that child noll nol was the imm lent rejoinder 1 I tell you its sortie some one here tonight either french or russian or italian I 1 cant make up my mind which she Is with an older woman who seems to be a sort of attendant every ones talking eliout here but no one seems to know who she Is walt wait all you see her berl I 1 im not easily led away ive seen the he most beautiful women in most of the lie capitals of the world I 1 was at vienna A and rome before the lie war you ou know but I 1 never dont move chris dont look as though ive been talking about uw 0 hey comel christopher watched the approach of tile he two women with an interest casual at first but real enough as they drew nearer the younger ol of the two walked slightly in advance nd vance she was rather over the medium height and tier her carriage although she bhe was not in the least assertive was full of the simple dignity of one who has haa been accustomed to command respect she was slim yet the outlines of her figure were so soft as to become almost voluptuous she wore a dress dresa of perfectly plain black lace against which tile the skin of her neck and ders seemed of almost alabaster whiteness tier her only ornament was a long double string of pearls of unusual size hair glossy and absolutely jet black was brushed from her forehead find and around her ears so that it seemed almost like a sheath her cimpl completion ion was absolutely pallid her lips a natural scarlet her eyes were of a deep shade of brown inclined to be half closed as though she were shortsighted short sighted birr eyelashes were long and silky her eyebrows looked as though they lind had bc han n penciled and yet left a conviction of entire naturalness uch details as remained of tier her to toilette liette were unique yet simple the woman who followed her possessed also an air of distine tion but slie she was middle aged with pray gray hair and somewhat unwieldy she carried herself with an air of deference toward her companion well gerald whispered excitedly she Is very beautiful and very nn lan usual christopher admitted have you no idea who she Is if I 1 had found any one who knew who they were I 1 should have aceti introduced before now was waa the blunt reply freddie carruthers Carru there has gone down to ask the superintendent the two women subsided on to a couch the elder one gave an order to a waiter the younger one glanced indifferently around 1 I wish carruthers would come gerald muttered impatiently 1 I exaggerate did 1 I chris no the latter admitted 1 I 1 cant say that you yon did she la Is very wonderful and very interesting it la IS quite your day for adventures gerald laughed scornfully youre not comparing our little from the wits hills with with her are your couf he be demanded each has haa her charm christopher Coriat opher replied PIled gernia gerald leaned back in tits chair and laughed long and heartily our little wild rose ho sold said Is like a thousand others a pretty face a f fascinating alcina ng age confiding manners fourlow in twenty four hours urs she would have taught you all that she could know of love and life she Is as much a yokel intellectually as this girl Is a mystery are there hero any queens or royal princesses wandering about the world nowadays chris chrysl I 1 swear that she looks as though she had stepped down from a throne thank heavens here comes Carrut li AL young man who had ad been blaring in at the doorway recognized gerald and came across to them no go old thing he confided leaning down they are registered here as madame and mademoiselle de aunt and niece the old buffer downstairs however admitted that he believed that to be an assumed name you bribe ailin or some bome thing gerald asked eagerly old johnny fairly cornered TOO me carruthers Carr uthera explained the two ladles d ICS I 1 he 1 1 I t told 01 d me n ie had declared their desire to remain incognito it was wa not ther therefore etore tile the business of a gentleman to be inquisitive whereupon I 1 came away with ray my tall tail between my legs leg 8 all the same I 1 dont believe he has the least idea who they ore are gerald sighed 1 I shall know her sooner or later inter he muttered but its such a waste of 01 precious time you wont forget that we promised to go and see myrtile early chris copher reminded him gerald stared at ills his friend myrdle Myr who the lie devil why tho the child from froin the violet farm ot of coursel course I 1 id forgotten all about her 0 0 0 0 myrtile came hying flying to the door christopher saw tier her eyes travel over ills his shoulder sli he saw the sudden cloud upon her face A queer little stab of pain startled him film by its very poignancy monsieur gerald he Is not with you she asked disconsolately christopher shook ills his head lle ik was up late last night lie ho explained pla ined 1 I went to tits his room but he wits was fast asleep I 1 dare oily bay he be will come on presently lie ile promised to be here early she said bald uns lies he spoken of me has lie he said anything about sending nie me back nothing christopher assured har bar TO do you still feel that you dont want to go back she stood quite still in the middle of the little apartment and looked at him something about tier was altered it seemed almost as though she aho had passed from girlhood to womanhood in the night 1 I will not go back she declared fiercely it Is not that I 1 mind poverty or hard work it Is pierre deschamps Les Le champa I 1 could not bear him near me he H shall never come nar me otherwise I 1 shall die even you monsieur christopher you do not wish me to die her eyes were swimming with tears she leaned a little towards him and christopher patted her encouragingly her lips were very close to his frech and sweet and quivering christopher conscious of a rare and almost overmastering temptation turned away brusquely conic come outside he invited 17 1 I will tale take you on the terrace and we will sit in the sunshine 11 she clapped her hands herself again almost immediately they wandered down from tile the fashionable part of the promenade to the pebbly bench and along lie sands myrtile was never tired of the wonder of it all often however she cart an aa anxious look backwards you do not think monsieur gerald will be searching for us she alto asked timidly christopher was conscious of a curious sense of annoyance which he could not altogether explain ile he led the way up the steps and on to the terrace we will take a seat here he be suggested we can see the hotel and the turning to your lodgings and you yon can watch for him soo shew acquiesced willingly and foi fm the next half hour site she divided tier her attention between the entrance to the hotel and the passersby passers by at the alie end of that time she became a little self conscious it Is not right monsieur chris copher she raid bald that I 1 sit here with you in these there clothes and without a hat people look at us so strangely you look very nice christopher a as tier lier and besides it Is no one eases business but our own |