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Show Si bl...ii In'l say so! Im a great my grandfather's Jtrange house and I really shouldnt be been chosen for the Investigation. Clearly 1 was not prepared to do talking i you at all! It's against the i rules! And we don't age smok- the Incident, but the idea of fright-lumy visitors appealed to my sens ing." 1 1 of humor. "Tiie chaplain doesn't smoke, suptiptoed to the fnnt stair Tlirre wa nn duunt aNmt his sur- after tbe flying figure of the careprise: lie fell hack, biariua at me hard, taker. lie clearly had the ad van tags and iustiiu'iiv-!)- ' drav. it- -; tlu- hammer of familial ity v.iih the wood, striking over hia shoulder aa though to ilias it off boldly lnio the heart of It, and at me. quickly widening Hie distance between "Jin.; vtay where you are a mo- us; but 1 kept on, even after 1 c ased I said pleasantly, ami to hear him threshing through the ment. dropped to a sitting position no the undergrowth, and came nut presently wall tor greater ease in unking to at the margin of the lake about SO . I waited In feet from the him. lie stood sullenly, tbe hammer dan- its shadow for some time, expecting gling at arm's length, while my re- to see the fellow again, but he did not volver covered hia head. appear. 1 found the wall with difficulty and 'Now, If you please. I'd like to know what you mean by prowling about followed it buck to the gate. It would be Just aa well, I thought, to possess here and rummaging my house!" Mr. Glenarm? la It. It's Oh. myself of the hammer; and I dropped you, By MEREDITH NICHOLSON Well, you certainly gave me a bad down on the St. Agatha side of the wall and groped about among the scare." Arthw rf THE Na!B CHANCE. ZEIBA BANEliIH. Etc. Hia air waa one of relief and bis leaves until I found It. Then 1 walked home, went Into the teeth showed pleasantly through his si awnit u. beard. library, alight with its many candles "It certainly is I. But you haven't Just aa I had left 'it. and Mt own CHAPTER VII Continued. What were before the fire to meditate. I had been answered 1 my question. found the slight One thing only absent from the house only forty-fivou the oak you doing in my house ? scar of a hamuier-ht-ithead. bia minutes. smiled He shaking again, ran bedthat around the paneling You're really fooling, Mr. Glenarm. room. The wood had been struck 1 never CHAPTER VIII. rear the base and at the top of every I wasn't In your house In life! In was it my panel, for though the mark was not Ilia white teeth gleamed In fcle light A String of Gold Beads. perceptible on all, a test had evidently hia hat waa pushed bark from beard; made A moment after I had flung myself Hieen systematically. With this as a beginning, 1 found a moment his forehead so that I mw hia eyes down before the lire, Bate entered later a spot of tallow under a heavy and he wore unmistakablyIsthe air of with a fresh supply of wood. I perfectly watched him narrowly for some sign table in one corner. Kvideully the a man whose conscience furniture had been moved u permit clear. I waa confident that heI lied, of perturbation, but he was not to be was but without spiraling to Bates of the closest scrutiny of the pam-llug- . caught off guard. Ioasihly he had not Glenarm House really promised to not prepared to prove It. heard the shots In the wood; nt any 1 took from a drawer But you can't deny that you're on rate, he tended the lire with hia nsual pfOXP exciting. I bad a small revolver, filled Its chambers my grounds now. can you? gravity, and after brushing the hearth with cartridges and thrust it luto my dropped the revolver to my knee, but paused respectfully. I raised it again. "Is there anything further, sir?" hip pocket, whistling meanwhile If I believe not. Bates. Oh! here's a Donovan's favorite air, "The Marche Certainly not, Mr. Glenann. unebre de Msrionnettes." My heart you'll allow me to explain hammer I picked up out In the grounds went out to Larry as I scented adven That's precisely what 1 want you a bit ago. 1 wish you'd see If it beI wished him with but and me; turn, to do." longs to the house." he It doesn't belong here, I think, sir. speculations . as to Larry's whereWell, It may seem strange. abouts were always profitless, and toughed, and I felt the least bit fool- - But we sometimes find tools toft by quite likely be waa in Jail somewhere. The ham of whose excellence Bates had hinted was no disappointment. There is, I have always held, nothing better In this world than a properly baked ham, and the specimen Bates placed before me was a delight to the ye, so adorned was it with spices; o crisply brown its outer coat; and a taste, that first tentative taste, before tbe sauce was added. wm like a dream of Luciillus come true. 1 felt that I could forgive a good deal In a cook with that touch, anything short of arson and assassination! Bates, I Hid, as he stood forth where I could see him, "you cook amazingly well. Where did you learn ths business . "I can hardly say 1 know it, sir. Yoar lamented grandfather grew very captious, Mr. Glenarm. I had to learn to Mtlsfy him, and I believe I did it, sir, if youll pardon the conceit' "He didn't die of gout did he? I cai readily Imagine it." "No, Mr. Glenarm. It waa his heart He had his warning of It. Ah, yes; to be sure. The heart or 1 lAl STORYS en-uu- STORYgj pose. believe it isn't Nut in chajiel; done! And we rarely see him anywhere else." She had idled with the paddle so far, but now she lifted her eyes and drew back the blade for a long stroke. "But In the wood, this morning by the wall! 1 bate myself to this day for having so startled her. The poised blade dropped Into the water with a splash; she brought the .canoe a trifle nearer to the wharf with an almost Imperceptible stroke, and turned toward me with wonder and dismay in her eyes. "So yon are an eavesdropper and detective, are you? I beg that you will I give your master my compliments! really owe you an apology; I thought you were n gentleman," the exclaimed with withering emphasis, and dipped her blade deep In flight. 1 called, stammering incoherently, after her, but her light argoey skimmed the water steadily. The paddle rose and fell with trained precision, making scarcely a ripple aa she stole softly away toward the fairy towers of the sunset. I stood looking after her, A glory of goaded with purple and scarlet and gold filled the west Suddenly the wind moaned In the wood behind the line of cottages, swept over me and rippled the surface of the lake. I watched Its flight until It caught her canoe and I marked the flimsy craft's quick response, aa the shaken waters bore her alert figure upward on the swell, her blade still maintaining Its regular dip, until she disappeared behind a little peninsula that 1 THE HOUSE OF THOUSAND A CANDLES By MEREDITH NICHOLSON Awkw ai "TU MAH CHANCE. MNEBUH, tu. ZELAA Uwnilu ua t) IMMMrrUl (a Continued. I turned to itund (nee to face with the (iri la the red 1 beg your pardon, 1 Mid, tapping away from tho canoe. She did not wear the covert coat of the morning, but a rod knit Jacket, but toned tight about her. She waa young with every emphaaia of youth. A pair of dark blue eyea examined me with curiosity. She was on good terms with the sun I rejoiced In the brown of her cheeks, so eloquent of companionship with the outdoor world a certificate indeed of the of Heaven. Show me, in October, a girl with a face of tan, whose hands have plied a paddle or driven a golf ball or cast a fly beneath the blue arches of summer, and I will suffer her scorn in Joy. She may vote me dull and refute my wisest word with laughter, for hers are the privileges of the sisterhood of Diana; and that soft b rouse, those daring fugitive freckles beneath her eyes, link her to times when Pan whistled upon his reed and all the days were long. Her rubber-soleouting shoes had made possible her silent approach, and she enjoyed, I was sure, my dlscom flture at being taken unawares. I had snatched off iny cap and stood waiting beside the canoe, feeling, I must admit, a trifle guilty at being caught in the unwarrantable inspection of another persons property particularly a person so wholly pleasing to the eye. I believe I believe that is my paddle," she said, a little timidly I thought, and yet with definiteness. I looked down and found to my an noyance that I held her paddle in my hand, was in fact leaning . upon it with a cool air of proprietorship. Again, I beg your pardon, I said. I hadnt expected " She eyed me calmly, with the stare of the child that arrives at a drawingroom door by mistake the guesbs without awe. I didnt know what I J?ld expected or had not expect-ed, ff u she manifested no Intention of 7 Doffing me to explain. Her short skirt ot more and ) suggested. IS1' or such being the case there was no reason why 1 should not be master of the situation. As I fumbled my pipe the hot coals of tobacco burned my ha and I cast the thing from me. ' She laughed a little,' then caught herself and gravely watched the pipe bound from the dock into the water. Too bad! she said, her eyes upon it; "but if you hurry you may get it before it floats away. Thank you for the suggestion I said. But I did not relish the Idea a kneeling on the dock to fish tor pp before a strange school girl to lMj t me. I felt sure, anxious toward Une by She took a step flstenea. which her boat was CHAPTER VI good-humore- d fa-vo- r way, ran lightly down, found the front doer, and, from the inside, opened slammed It. I heard instantly a bur rled acaniM-- r above, and the heavy fail of one who had stumbled In the dark. 1 grinned with real pleasure at the sound of the mishap, hastened to the groat library, which was aa dark M a well, and, opening one of the long via dowa, stepiied out on the balcony. At once from the rear of the house came the sound of n stealthy step, which Increased to a run at the ravine bridge. 1 listened to the flight of the fugitive through the wood until the sounds died away toward the lake. Then, turning to the library window, I mw Bates, with a candle held above his head, peering about Hello, Bates, 1 called cheerfully. I Just got home and stepped out to see If the moon had risen. I dual believe I know where to look for It to this country. He began lighting the tapero his usual deliberation. It's a trifle early, I think, sir. About eight o'clock. I should My, was the hour, Mr. Glenann.' There was, of course, no doubt whatever that Bates had been one of the men I heard In my room. It was wholly possible that he had been compelled to assist In some lawless act gainst his will; but why, If he had been forced into aiding a criminal. should he not Invoke my own aid to protect himself? I kicked the logs in the fireplace Impatiently at my uncertainty. The man slowly lighted the many enndlea In the great apartment He was certainly n deep one. Mc-ftan- ,' CANDLES unea e to-da- 1, r - my digestion going ns long ns possible. ThoM grilled sweet imtatocs again, If you please, Bates. I Beg Your Pardon," I Said, Stepping Away from the Canoe." Sink rou cu.utelx." she made a harbor near the Iyou the laughter that lurked in grounds. and ald; twitching vainly at the rope, which was tied securely in unfamiliar loops. She was singularly unresponsive. The thought that she was probably laughing at my clumsiness did not make my fingers more nimble. The nautical instructor at St. Agathas is undoubtedly a woman. This knot must come in the course. But my gallantry is equal, 1 trust, to your patience. The maid in the red continued silent. - The wet rope waa obdurate, the knot more and more hopeless, and my efforts to make light of the situation awakened no response In the girt. I tugged away at the rope, attacking Us tangle on various theories. A case for surgery. Im afraid. A truly gordian knot, but 1 haven't my knife. she exOh, but you wouldnt! claimed. "I think I ran manage. 8be bent down I was aware that the sleeve of her Jacket brushed my shoulder seized an end that I had Ignored, gave it a sharp tug with a slim, brown hand and pulled the knot free. There! she exclaimed with a little laugh; I might have Mved you all the bother. How dull of me! But I didn't have the combination. 1 said, steadying the canoe carefully to mitigate the Ignominy of my failure. She scorned the hand I extended, but embarked with light, confident step and took the paddle. It was growing late. The shadows In the wood were deepening; a chill crept over the water, and. beyond ths tower of the chapel, the sky wss bright with the glory of sunset With a few skillful strokes she , brought her little craft beside my pipe, watch, she deftly caught on the paddle blade and tossed to the wharf. Perhaps you can pipe a tune upon It she said, dipping the paddle. You put me under great obligations, I declared. "Are all the girls as amiable? at St. post-graduat- e -- Af-ith- boat-house- THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND d me. her eyes annoyed knot Is designed for The feminine I observed, of man, confusion the - school and his case grew more puzzling as I studied it in relation to the rifle shot seemed at of the night before, his collision with The red last to merge In the red sky, and 1 Morgan In the wood, which I had witturned cheerlessly to my canoe. nessed; and now the house Itself had been invaded by some one with his connivance. The rifle shot might have CHAPTER VII. been innocent enough; but taken in connection with these other matters The Man on the Wall. it could hardly be brushed aside. I waa so thoroughly angry with my- -' Bates lighted me to the self that after Idling along the shores and said as 1 passed him: stairway, for an hour I lost my way in the dark There's a baked ham for dinner, wood when I landed and brought up at should call It extra delicate, Mr. Glen-arthe rear door used by Bates for comI suppose there's no change In munication with the villagers who sup- the dinner hour, sir? plied us with provender. I readily not. I said with asperity; found my way to the kitchen and to a for Certainly I am not n person to inaugurate a flight of stairs beyond, which connect- dinner hour one day and change It the ed the first and second floors. I stum- next Bates wished to make conver-Mtlothe unfamiliar bled up way in the dark, the sure sign of s guilty conwith, I fear, a malediction upon my science In a servant, and 1 waa not Inbuilt who and had left grandfather, to him. disposed encourage complete a house so utterly preposI closed the doors carefully and beterous. My unpardonable fling at the a thorough examination of hbth gan I girl still rankled; and waa cold from the alttlng-rooand the little bedthe quick descent of the night chill on I waa chamber. quite sure that my and to water anxious get into some the comfortable clothes. Once on the sec- own effects could not have attracted two men who had taken advantage ond floor I waa sure of the location of the of absence to visit my quarters. my my room, and I was feeling my way Bates had helped unpack my trunk toward it over the rough floor when 1 and undoubtedly knew every Item ol heard low voices rising apparently my simple wardrobe. I threw open from my alttlng-room- . the doors of my three closets sad was the halL I in dark It pitch found them nil In the good order stopped short and listened. The door of my room was open and a faint light established by Bates. He had carried flashed once Into the hall and dlMp-- I Bf trunks and bags to a store-rooso that everything I must have tea rod. I heard now n sound ns of a passed under his eye wood-work- . My money hammer tapping upon Then it ceased, and a vdlce whis- Ieven, the remnant of my fortune that haddlrawn from the New York bank, pered: I had placed carelessly enough In the TfoIl kill me tf he finds me here. drawer of a chiffonier otherwise filled 1 swear to ID try again with collars. It took but a moment to God I'll help you, but no more now satisfy myself that this had not been Then the sound of a scuffle and touched. And, to be sure, a hammer of the hammer. the tapping again After several minutes more of this was not necesMry to open n drawer had, from its appearance, never there was a whispered dialogue which that been locked. The game was I could not bear. deeper Whatever waa occurring two or than I had Imagined; I had scratched the crust without result, and my wits three points struck me on the instant. were busy with speculations as 1 One of the conspirator! waa an unwillbrushed my clothes, pausing frequenting party to an net as yet unknown; ly to examine ths furniture, even the been unsuccessful second, they had and must wait for another opportu- bricks on the hearth. (TO BE CONTINUED.) nity; and third, the business, whatever it waa, was clearly of some importance french Is the language that carries to myself, as my own apartments in Vat over the telephone. n m Tbe game that he and I were playing appealed to me strongly. It was altogether worth while, and as I ate guars Jelly with cheese and toasted crackers, and then lighted one of my owb cigars over a cup of Kate's unfailing coffee, my spirit was livelier than at say time since n certain evening on which Larry and I had escaped from Tastier with our lives and tbe curses of tbe police. The day had offered much material for I reside reflection, and I reviewed its history calmly. There was, however, one Incident that I found unpleasant In the retrospect I had been guilty of most unchlvalrous conduct toward one of the girls of St Agatha's. It had certainly been unbecoming In me to sit on the wall, however unwillingly, and listen to the words few though they were that passed between her and the chaplain. I forgot the shot through the window; 1 forgot Bates and the foterest my room possessed for him and his unknown accomplice; but the sudden distrust and contempt I had awakened In the girl by my clownish behavior annoyed me Increasingly. I rose presently, found my cap and went out Into the moon-floode-d wood toward the lake. The tangle was not so great when you knew the way, and there was Indeed, aa I had found, the faint suggestion of n path. The moon glorified n broad highway across the water; the air was sharp and still. 1 followed tbe wall of 8t Agathas to the gate, climbed up aud Mt down In tbe shadow of the pillar farthest from the lake. I drew out a cigarette and was stout to light it when I heard a sound as of a step on stone. There was, I, knew, no stone pavement at hand, but peering toward the lake I saw a man walking boldly along tbe top of the wall toward me. The moonlight threw his figure into clear relief. Several times he paused, bent down and rapped upon the wall with an object be carried In his hand. Tip, tP. tap! The man with the hammer was examining the farther side of tk gate, and very likely he would carry his investigations beyond it. I drew up my legs and crouched in ths shadow of the pillar, revolver la band. I waa not anxious to Invite an encounter; I much preferred to disclosure of tbe purpose wait foe that lay behind this mysterious tapping upon walla. But tbe matter waa taken out of my own hands before I had n chance to debate It- - The man dropped to the ground, soundod the stone base under the gats likewise the pillars, evidently without results, struck a spiteful crack upon the Iron bars, then stood up abruptly and looked me straight in tbe eye- - It was Morgan, the caretaker of the summer colony. -- Good evening. Mr. Morgan." I Mid. aoltllns the revolver into my hand. Llks a Flash Hs Flung ths Hammer Over His Hsad andDrovs It at Ms. Ish to be pointing n pistol at the head the carpenters that worked on the of a fellow of so amiable a spirit house. Shall put this In the tool cheat, airT' Hurry, I commanded. Never mind. I need auch a thing Well, as I waa Hying, it may seem strange; but I waa just examining the now and then and I'll keep It handy. wall to determine the character of the Very good, Mr. Glenarm. We were not getting anywhere; the work. One of the cottagers on the lake left me with the Job of building a fellow waa certainly an Incomparable fence on his place, and I've been ex- actor. You must find it pretty lonely here. pecting to come over to look nt this all fall. You see, Mr. Glenarm, your Bates? Don't hesitate to go to the vilhonored grandfather, waa a master in lage when you like." I thank you, Mr. Glenann; but I such matters, and I didn't see any j ham In getting the benefit to put It am not much for idling. I keep a few books by me for the evenings. so of hia experience. is not what you would exactly I laughed. He bad denied having entered the house with so much assur- call a diverting village.' I fancy not. Hut the caretaker ance that I bad been prepared for some really plausible explanation of over at the summer resort has even a lonelier time, I suppose. That's what his Interest in tbe wall. Pretty cheerless job, watch-didn- 't Morgan you Mid It was Morgan. I'd summer cottages In the winter. Ing n are undoubtedly you? you "That's MorRnn. sir. I meet him scoundrel of the first water." Men have been killed for saying occasionally when I go to the village; he's n very worthy person. 1 should less, he Mid. And fordoing less than fire through call him, on slight acquaintance."' No doubt of it, Kates. Any time windows at a mans head. It wasn't through the winter you want to have friendly of you." I don't see why you center all your him In for a social glass, it's all right me. suspicions on me. You exaggerate with When I plunged into tbe wood in I'm my importance, Mr. at a summer j the middle of the next afternoon it only the ' was with the definite purport if reresort." 1 wouldn't believe you. Morgan, If turning to the tipiier end of the lake you swore on a stack of Bibles as high for an interview with Morgan, Aho had, ao Bates informed me, a small as this wall." Thanks! he ejaculated mockingly. bouse bark of the cottages. I took the canoe I had chosen for Like a flash he swung tbe hammer and over his head and drove It at me, and my own use from the at the unie moment 1 fired. The hamme- paddled up the lake. Tbe air was r-head struck the pillar near the atlll warm, but the wind that blew out outer edge and In such a manner that of the south tasted of rain. 1 scanned the handle flew around and smote me ' the water and the borders of the lake smartly in the face. By the time I for signs of life, more particularly, I reached tbe ground tbe man was al- may as well admit, for a rertaln maready running rapidly through the roon canoe and a girl In a red but lake and summer cotpark, darting in and out among tbe trees, and 1 made after him at hot tages were mine alone. I landed and began at once my search for Morgan. speed. had struck my There were many paths through the Tbe hammer-handlmouth, aud the whole lower half of woods back of the cottages, and 1 folmy face stung from the blow. I lowed several futllely lx1 fore I at tost abused myself roundly for managing, found a small house snugly hid away the encounter so stupidly, and In my in a thicket of young maples. (TO 'E CONTI rage fired twice with ki Him xbi(9r i .An-nanda- le . , j Gli-nar- ; k boat-hous- e e ::!. |