Show aa SERI A L STORY the ram I 1 agath by ay edith weil huntington kalteis F mason C bell wilson C co SYNOPSIS horii wiifred ilaw lit alid archilbald To rhinie ato introduced tit at tile lie opening of the s tl orv lit in till latter nhe alio tale tin ja it pull pait on oil art an outing lulus their jil recreation input kwet tile tho flunor ablo agatha whose hand la Is much oti Blit arter lia ile inifi of tier wealth vive ne other lira aro the dic deco eamil amed te prather in iiri ati rie moment intje his film will so that tile the real u ail agatha listless to ills film mortime akitt the nimio at t wye aye I 1 alight wed cil tier lier thus J hus 4 MIH rm annistene Anni stend eli awron was wali jn in cluty bonal to heft the robil identity u 1 h 1 an ali ay by iy terhune lei lune to wi killion Killi 0 or r it i djey from till alic chape chaperon roq falla fileds of olt hooks pio oc tum or of it 11 fIM 1101 which la in exactly allce akitsu sixth whan tm ho Is 16 courting agathluk cori reses I 1 linn for vincent unil and also that slit she to Is tha real loat heiress hel tea ito ho lier let propos ill clews to of the prova pimo agatha fifth 1 later aitor conro sem sit jm in not tile lie liess more lilt fit ailing lows clouvis I 1 izo ze vincent confesses s love for mis alias mareli wilo told terhune she aho Is IB inar rieti aliss carali own startling that Afat lia sixth Is 13 the real leil heiress 11 iio IN ever VInee tit to minatry alsi 4 marsh la 14 partly persuaded by Terl Ter litin iune e to demist delist lit in ills hit because ot of difference fer tince lit in their stations CHAPTER VI continued rin im awfully sorry bony arch lie said that I 1 was such a beast last night ill never forgive myself for trying to you only you ou soc see I 1 lost my lily head and I 1 know quite what I 1 was waa doing of course I 1 said 1 I 1 understand under hut but lie ho would not let mo me stem tho the tide of ills remorse morse le arld ami then you know what you said was very liard hard to bear and you seo sea after nil all it ft true sho she told me it did y you 1 lu hear her i yes yea I 1 asi assented 1 ted and I 1 believe she codou you the truths ti uth I 1 qt Of course but U t then youre always ia r always right V when aen lad I 1 ga awa away 7 fion hera and abd never see hr any bior ahta lips quivered un I 1 agay be able to forget her in iier i y i of t you will I 1 assured him cheerily cl ily though there was a jump ump in 1 my throat threat men have died but not for love many have been as hard hit bit ns as you and have recovered oh yes yea agreed my patient but without enthusiasm but at any rate I 1 had gained my iny point and vincent had agreed with me that marriage with the secretary was too rash and foolish for him to contemplate uy by thelby the by arch he said carelessly as we still sat before the fire trying to make believe that tho the incident t r t n t y e e agathas identity for balt bait como come on to bod bed lie added with a little return 9 2 its his old spirit better get rested for your last try for the twenty millions it if you make up for past neglect you ought to win agatha sixth hands down then you dont moan mean to try his face clouded again 1 I dont mean to try lie he said and we went up ill to our rooms in ili silence and so we came to the last four days of our stay at castle Wyck dyckhoff hoff and I 1 began subtly and by degrees to win back my former place in the regard of agatha sixth and with every inch of ground I 1 gained in my pursuit of the honorable agatha I 1 thought of vincent with a fresh pity the evening before the last day of fur cur stay wo we all spent together la in the music room we wore were very jolly and et underneath it all I 1 think tho the girls were ere a little saddened by our approaching pro aching departure and wilfred and I 1 felt a certain regret that tho the end ot our delightful lilt visit had bad come of course I 1 had fully determined to propose to agatha sixth on the morrow I 1 was rather surprised therefore when vincent suddenly complained of headache and excusing himself went up to his room when I 1 went up to my own room I 1 rapped ott on hla his door doar but he be made no answer aud I 1 concluded that ho he must be adeep the next morning much to my astonishment he be did not saunter in r and out of my room ashe as he was ac to do 10 of a morning but 1 alii t ij J tier her bed has haa been slept tit in but sin she had lier ter breakfast and ami I 1 cant find tier liar anywhere you dont mean it I 1 ejaculated ejaculate and a sickening feat fear turned me cold tills this has something to do with it said mrs alis at ill istead 1 I found it on the front hall table underneath the mall mail bag lier her anxiety was apparently sincere and yet soni momchow chow it rang false to me ine with impatient fingers I 1 seized the folded paper sho she drew from her rett culo cule it road as follows rear doar old arch sorry to deceive you so ro but ive rone gone and dono done it that rash ahli i foolish thing you told rno riot not to IQ 10 at it least liy fly the ehno you got this note lot ill the deed will lia dono done and I 1 so your reproaches that I 1 never lie HO is as asked you boll to lo ile 10 tile epst inan lit hut t I 1 help it aceb lie lion est I 1 co I 1 ll 11 1 11 not to save my iny she ibave had eyes like stars stara and hair lilt nutt irrin leav B As am for or the money hang tile stuffy old millions I 1 mn bayt y livery pound ot of it Is 14 so fro niam glass beatis to na ano in to I 1 havo tills this day gained I 1 NV 11 1 it yota ou joy ol 01 0 them and ol of tile agatha old boy forgive me ine if you yell cn and it if you want tu to do tile me ofir last favor conia down to tile station in ill kilili to meet tile ajl fur for lantion anil izoar my iny lust last injunctions VINCENT when did you ind find this I 1 gasped nut but I 1 wait to hear lier her reply for a glance at the hall clock told me that it was five minutes of eleven dare 0 v the real agatha headed I 1 rushed around to tho the stables and fortunately found christopher just putting the mare into the do dogcart geart get in fit I 1 yelled celled and drive like glint aln sin sli sir where sir asked chils copher tile tho station I 1 cried jumping up tip beside him and we flow down tit the winding drive at a pace that I 1 would not think of attempting tit in cold blood through mrs criminal delay in handing banding me tile the noto note many valuable minutes lind had been wasted yet I 1 thought I 1 should still be in time per haps hapa to save vincent from carrying out the last fatal step ot of ills his incredible folly it might inight not be too late to part them for in spite of what he had said in ills hla note I 1 could not believe that the worst had actually hap happened penea As we approached tile the last strip of woods before wo we reached tile the station I 1 caught slight sight of a of white smoke imoh e down the track kracl A moment later when we drew up at the platform the great locomotive thundered into the station and there at the other end of the platform I 1 saw them there was vincent clad in the things ho be had worn on the train when whan we had bad first come through the fields of wye and with him was a remarkably pretty girl with beautiful wavy red hair la in a gray tailor suit and a smart black hat of course it was the secretary I 1 waved at them frantically and they waved in return and I 1 could see vincent sniffing happily at me as they entered one of the carriages As I 1 came up with their carriage vincent opened the window wide and thrust ills head out oh vincent Vincen tl was all I 1 said am I 1 too late not at all lie ho said genial genially youre just in time to condrat congratulate roe me but what I 1 wanted of you arch and he be leaned toward me analow and lowered hla his voice was to ask you to break it to rny my father then its true I 1 said not quite able to believe it even yet yes its true ho he said aloud and with a radiant smile sallo he be drew hack back a little so that I 1 could see the erstwhile miss marsh its true that ive ilya married the secretary thit hut its not said that lady rauch much to my lily stir prise and thrusting out her pretty head its ita not truo a hit bit ito he married mairley the secie tary at alt I 1 was only playing secretary iles hes man married led no one but blit the honorable agatha the first lasts last anil and only honor abler and alta for foi proof of 0 her astonishing words she gnat snatched ched off her ter gloye and displayed to my marveling gaze gae the big emerald cross of the Wych hoff ring ling winking win kingIn lit tile sunshine at this moment the train began to move and I 1 was filled with a sudden and justifiable Justi flable rage that vincent should have so BO deceived me to think that lie he had been in fit the secret all the lie time and had helped to make mah a fool of if mp me but ono look at his faco face proved to me that I 1 had done him an injustice ile he was as stricken with amazement as I 1 was and I 1 knew that then and not until then ilion had he become acquainted with the truth gath cring my wits quickly for the train was moving faster I 1 ran after their carriage till I 1 caught up lip with tile the wn wint dow again good byl I 1 shouted and god bless you oil and ana vincent reaching leaching out ills hla big hand had just time to catch mine in ills hla strong ng grasp before I 1 dropped back outstripped and he had withdrawn his hla laplant atit faco face front from my iny view afterward After waid I 1 earned many things first that they had been married very early that morning before the rest lest ol of lib is were up lip in ill tile lie little chapel at wye with mrs mis armistead who was wag lit in tile secret as witness that explained her delay in ili giving mo me tile the note dreading my lily interference they had not wished me ine to know until the whole thing thine was well over and mrs armistead bach babli at castle dyckhoff Wyck hoff second that it had been the honorable agathas own idea to play the part pait of societal secretary y to tier lier aunt thus improving upon hor her fathers plan and making it still morg mora difficult dini cult for foi the competing suitors tg tc discover her lot identity third that tier her reason for telling vincent that agatha sixth was the real leal honorable agatha was only to prove him once more and to the lattermost litter most and vincent had stood the trial without faltering and had oven even crovea himself equal to ills regarding my wishes yet I 1 really think that on oil that night when lie he had agrecio with mo ine that it was best to give tier ill up lie meant to do so but ills his love for tile girl gill proved stronger sti than ills big love tor for gold bold or ills his feeling for ills his friend and it was thus that the tha boy won because lie ho had loved truly and faithfully and I 1 also learned afterward that the six Agat agathas haq shortly after the tha elopement of vincent and tile the secre secie tary that thal was had all gone to cheh homes in ill ameilia Ame Ahi ilca erica later some of them married certain suitors who had ones once been gues guests tsat at castle dyckhoff Wyck hoff among these were agatha first arid and young Hiance Drance peth who 1 I am happy to say has led a reformed life since his mar man ilage arid and it 11 also came to pass that vincent and his bride took possession of oc castle Wyck hoft as their coun country trl seat beat when they came back from theli honeymoon and there I 1 often afien visited them but on that eventful lay day when tin tho train had pulled out of the ilie station none of these things was known to me and I 1 stood on tile the platform guttorm dizzy wl walh lit the unexpected turn events had bad taken I 1 A and lid so it was that vincent got ahead of if me just as he has always done and so it was also that I 1 returned to london still six an eligible bachelor still the prey of match ma king mammas and smiling debutantes there was but one comforting thought in the mixture of disappoint ment and chagrin that made the sum of my feelings as 1 I 1 drove slowly macli to the castle this much had been given me at least I 1 hod had not made the tha fatal mistake of proposing to tile the wrong agatha and I 1 hugged myself as aa I 1 thought how inear I 1 had come to putting tile the question to agatha sixth that very iery morning that at least I 1 had inan managed aged to avoid from that folly the innate caution and unerring in of archibald terhune had preserved him thank heaven THE END |