Show SERIAL STORY I THE LITTLE BROWN JUG IATi i I I KILDARE Ay MEREDITH NICHOLSON IlUistrntlonn DRAY D-RAY WALTERS Copyright 1S08 bjr Tho DoblxMcrrlll Compar 21 SYNOPSIS I Thomns Ardmore and Henry Maine I GrlHuold stumble upon Intrigue when the Rnxcrnnrs of North and South Carolina i arc reported 1 to have quarreled Both states are In a turmoil over one Apple weight nn outlaw with political Influence Hrlswnld allies himself with Barbara Os borne daughter of the governor of South Carolina while Ardmore espouses the cause of Jerry Dan erlleld daughter of he governor of North Carolina These two Indies are trying to fill the shoes of their fathers whllo the latter are missing miss-ing Unaware of each others position both Orlswold and Ardmore set out to mako the other prosecute Ardmore organizes or-ganizes a big hunt Orlswolds men cap tuie Applowelght Jerry Dnncerlleld discover Allrlewehht covers the captive and lends him to Ards ley her own prisoner drlswold and Barbara Bar-bara explore the eceno of the disappearance disappear-ance and meet Ardmore and Jerry Grill wold refuses to recognize hIs friend CHAPTER XIVContlnued Grlswolds companion spoke to him earnestly In a low tone for a moment and then GrIswold addressed Ardmore incisively I dont know what you pretend to be sir but it may Interest you to know that I am tho governor of South Carolina I And this gentleman cried Jerry pointing to Ardmoro with her riding crop though his hair is mussed and hIs scarf visibly untied is none other than tho governor of North Carolina and ho is not only on his own property proper-ty but In tho sovereign state ot which he Is the chief executive Prof Griswold lifted his hat with tho least flourish I congratulate tho state of North Carolina on having reposed authority In hands so capable If this young lady Is correct sir I will serve official notice no-tice on you that I have reason to believe be-lieve that a person named Apple weight a fugitive from justice is hiding on your property and In your state and I now formally demand that you surrender him forthwith If I may Introduce myself interposed inter-posed Jerry I will say to you that my name Is Geraldine Dangerfield and that this Applewolght person Is now at Mr Ardmores house I suppose replied Miss Osborne with gentlo Irony that ho has tho pink parlor and leads tho conversation conversa-tion at table You aro quite mistaken replied Ardmoro but If It would afford you any satisfaction to see tho outlaw you may look upon him In my wIno cellar where only an hour ago I left him sitting sit-ting on a case of Chateau Bizet 82 My further Intentions touching this scoundrelly South Carolinian I need not now disclose but I give you warning warn-ing that the Applowelght Issue will soon and forever bo terminated and In a manner that will greatly redound to tho credit and the glory of the Old I North State I trust said Grlswold that tho prisoner whom wo cannot for a moment mo-ment concede to be tho real Apple weight will not be exposed to scarlet fever pending a settlement of this matter And now I havo tho honor to bid you both good morning He and Barbara swung their horses round and retraced their way leaving leav-ing Ardmore and Jerry gazing after them When the shabby beasts from the stable at Turner Court House had borne Miss Osborne and GrIswold out of sight beyond the bungalow Ard moro turned blankly to Jerry Havo I gone blind or anything Unless Im crazy that was dear old Grlssy but who is that girl That Is Miss Barbara Osborne and I hopo she has learned such a lesson that she will not be snippy to mo anymore any-more If she Is the president general of the Daughters of the Seminole War WarBut But where do you suppose she found Grlssy I dont know Im sure nor Mr Ardmore do I caro Ho said ho represented the stato of South Carolina do you suppose the governor has really employed him I do not said Jerry emphatically for he appears intelligent and Intel llgenco is something that would never appeal to Gov Osborne It Is quite possible mused Jerry aloud that Miss Osbornos father has disappeared like mine and she is running his office of-fice with Mr Groswolds aid It so we shall probably havo some fun before be-fore wo get through with this If thats truo wo shall havo more than fun exclaimed Ardmore thoroughly thor-oughly aroused You dont know Grlssy HOB the smartest man alive and it hos running this Applowelgh case for Gov Osborne hell keep us guessing I wish you to remember Mr Ard more that you still have your opportunity oppor-tunity and that I expect you to carry this matter through to a safe conclu I slon nnd to tho honor of tho Old North I Slate I Imvo no intention of falling Miss Dangcrflcld and with this they turned and rode slowly back toward the house Prof Griswold and Miss Osborno were flllciit until tho forest again shut hem In Then in a sequestered spot Qrls wold suddenly throw up his head and laughed long nnd loud Do you suppose they really have Applewelght asked Barbara Not for a minute They told ua that story merely to annoy us when hey found what wo wero looking for That touch about tho wino cellar is characteristically Ardmoresquo If they had Applewelght you may bo sure they wouldnt keep him on the premises Whereupon they rodo back to Turner Tur-ner Court House much faster than they had come CHAPTER XV The Prisoner In the CornCrib Jerry and Ardmore sat at a long table In the commodious Ardsloy 11 brary which was a modification of a Gothic chapel A large accumulation of mall from the governors office at Raleigh had been forwarded and Jerry Jer-ry insisted that It must be opened and disposed of In some way Gov Dan gerfield was It appeared a subscriber to a clipping bureau and they had been examining critically a batch of cuttings relating to tho Now Orleans incident Its a good thing wo got hold of Collins observed Ardmoro putting down a clipping from a Now York paper In which the reports of Gov Dangerfields disappearance were analyzed ana-lyzed and tersely dismissed for he knows how to write and hos done a splendid picture of your father on his throne attending to business and his little stingers for Oitborno are the work of a genius Theres a certain finish about Mr Collins lying that Is refreshing replied re-plied Jerry and I cannot help thinking think-ing that he has a brilliant future before be-fore him it ho enters politics Nothing Noth-ing pains me moro than a careless considered silly lie which Is tho best that most people can do But It would be very Interesting to know whether Gov Osborno has really disappeared dis-appeared or just how your friend the Virginia professor has seized tho reins of state Do you suppose ho got a jug from somewhere and met Miss Osborne and Do you think do you think Bho may havccr possIblyclosed ono eyo In his direction asked Ardmore dubiously Mr Ardmore and Jerry pointed at him with a bronze papercutter to make sure ot his attention = Mr Ard more It you ever Imply again by act word or deed that I winked at you I suall never never speak to you again I should think that a man with a nice sister like Mrs Atchison would have a better opinion of women than you seem to have I never saw you until you came to my fathers house to tell me about the jugand you know I didnt And as for that Barbara Os e o II I I I utry Do You Suppose They Really Have Applewelght borne while I dont doubt that oven in South Carolina a Daughter ot the Seminole War might wink at a gentleman gen-tleman In a moment of extreme provocation provo-cation I doubt If she did for she lacks animation and has no moro soul than a gum overshoe Tho discussion ceased abruptly on tho appearance of Dig Paul tho forester for-ester A body of South Carolina militia Is marching across country from the south One of my men heard of it down at Turner Court House last night and rode to where tho troops were encamped Ho learned that it was a practice march for the militia Theres several companies of Infantry so ho reports and a piece of artillery Bully bar old Grissy exclaimed Ardmore Theyre coming this way are they Paul And tho three bent over tho map This Is the place sir They seem to be planning to get around Turners without stirring up the town But it would take a good deal to wake up Turners laughed the big German Jerry placed her finger on tho state line If they dare cross thntIf they as much as dare If they dare wo shall show them a tow things Take all the men you need Paul to watch their movements That will do The forester lingered You remember that we spoke the other day of the log housQ on Raccoon Rac-coon creek where tho Appfewelghts had driven oft our man Yes Paul It Is whero tho stato lino crosses the heavy woods and tho farthest outpost BO to speak on my property Also you said Homo ot these Applewelght fellows had been cutting oft tho timber down there iiI 1 II-I remember rightly Yes sir replied too forestor twirling his cup awkwardly But somo of tho people on the estate have said saidHo broke off In an embarrassment so unlike him thnt Jerry and Ardmore looked at him curiously Well Paul whats the matter It the cabin has bran burned down Its no serious matter Why sir some of tho men passing there at night Ray they seo lights and hear sounds In the cabin though no one from the estate goes there A child died in the house last spring andwell you know how somo of theso people are I Cheer up Paul We have bigger business on hand than the chasing of ghosts Just now When wo got through with these other things Ill go over there myself and take a look at the spook As Paul hurried away Jerry seized a pen and wrote this message Rutherford Gllllngwntcr AdjutantGeneral Camp Dangerfleld Azbell N C Move all available troops by shortest route to Klldorp at once and report to me personally at Ardsley lake no statements state-ments to newspapers Answer DANOERFIELD Governor I guess that will bring him running run-ning said Ardmore calling a servant serv-ant and ordering tho message dispatched dis-patched Immediately Before luncheon a message was receIved re-ceived from Glllingwater to this effect ef-fect Gov William Dangerfleld Ardsloy N C En route with our entire available force Un the field I am riding ahead with all speed and will report at Ardsley at nine oclock Is full military dress de rlgucur Gllllngwater AdjutantGeneral Isnt that Just like Rutherford I Hes afraid he wont bo dressy enough but if he knew that the South Carolina troops might shoot holes In his uniform uni-form ho wouldnt be duo here for a couple of weeks instead of at nine oclock and Jerry laughed merrily They debated more seriously this telegram from Collins at Raleigh sent the previous evening Cant maintain this bluff much longer Even the friendly newspapers are growing grow-ing suspicious State credit jeopardized by disappearance of Treasurer Foster Billings of Bronx Loan and Trust herein here-In a great fury over bond matter Do you know governors whereabouts Things are certainly growing more exciting was Ardmores comment I suppose even a gifted liar like Collins Col-lins cant muzzle the press forever You cant go on fooling all North Carolina all the time either said Jerry and I suppose when papa gets tired of being scared ho will turn up In Raleigh und tell some plausible story about where he has been and what has happened When it comes to being plausible no one can tduch papaMaybe Maybe hes dead suggested Ard more gloomily Thats a real Inspiration on your part Mr Ardmore and its very sweet of you to mention It but I have no idea that any harm has come to papa Its too much trouble to get I elected governor without dying in office and besides papa is none too friendly with the lieutenant governor and would never think of allowing such a person to succeed him But those bonds seem rather serious and I dont like the idea of your Mr BillIngs I Bill-Ings making a fuss at Raleigh I I That will bo all right remarked Ardmore blotting the last of a number num-ber of telegrams which he had been I writing and pressing a button Its much more Important for us to get Applewelght Into a South Carolina jail and Its not going to be so easy to do now that Grlssy Is working on tho other side and angry at me about thnt scarlet fever telegram There may bo trouble said Ard1 I more n to his guests as they sat at luncheon But I should bate to havo it said that my guests could not betaken be-taken care of here perfectly I beg that you will all remain Tho luncheon was Interrupted by tho arrival of a summons for Ard more who hurriedly left the table Big Paul awaited him below mounted mount-ed and holding a ledhorse TO BE CONTINUED |