Show 7fIT n FIAi n THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CANDLES By MEREDITH NICHOLSON u ol THE MAIN CHANCE ZELDA Aulhor dIiUAtIEaAOpCeABCL AMERON Elc Tult iwi W UobbiMMrlll CO CHAPTER XXIVContlnued I That was originally a trench for Ural gas plpcs I Thoro was onco a t Iree pumping station on the slto of Is house with a big trunk main run L ng off across country to supply tho l wits west of here Tho gas was ex busted and tho pipes were taken up feforc I began to build 1 should have thought of that tunnel In fetor e world If tho trench hadnt suggest and widened It k i merely deepened la little and plastered It with cheap meat as far as the chapel and that fctle room there where I put Picker IKS notes had onco been tho cellar a house built for tho superintend I kt of tho gas plant I never had any ea that I should use that passage as + i means of getting Into my own house t Marian met mo at tho station told o Je that there was trouble hero and Lie with mo through the chapel Into Ie cellar and through the hidden fairway that winds around the chlm y ftom that room where we lieop tho I Indlestlcks tlE ° Dut who was the ghost I demand If you wero really alive and in d jptr I Dates laughed now w Oh I was tho ghost I went log rough there occasionally to stlmu tt te your curiosity about tho house ht d you nearly caught mo onco lot ° One thing more If woro not wear r it Is you outId like to know whether Ister Theresa owes you any money hit My grandfather turned upon Picker et g with blazing eyes rdi You scoundrel you Infernal scoun t el 1 Sister Theresa never borrowed ant tel a-nt of mo In her life And you havo neI de war on that woman tie His rage choked him lie told Bates to close the door of chuff e steel chest and then turned toe fog u to-e Where are those notes of Picker cne Bs he demanded and I brought mlth j packet On Gentlemen Mr Pickering has gone to j ugly lengths In this affair How Thal ny murders have you gentlemen ho h mmltted s I iWe were about to begin actual kill of a when you arrived replied Larry Th inning e mni The sheriff got all his men off the etad1 emlses more or less alive sir said then lies lieshat tasu That Is good It was all a great mOtt stakea very great mistake I had nth i Idea such things could happen mu d my grandfather turned to Picker tea a wont Pickering what a contemptible GIs undrel you are I lent you that 00000 to buy securities to give you ng ohm liter standing In your railroad enter ance fises and tho last time I saw you ebaq u got me to release the collateral so could raise money to buy more loos ires Then after I died1 ho otmtrl iuckled = you thought youd find and of tit jfitroy the notes and that would end rtesktl i transaction and If you had been ape art enough to find them you might bol fe s had them and welcome But as y el Is they go to Jack If ho shows any r roY on you In collecting them leos hairs t the boy I think ho Is lettering rose seized his hat and aid IA ked away toward tho shattered hoe rary door Ho paused for a moment I face livid with rage j You old fool ho screamed at my ice Nfather You old lunatic I wish to 1 + God sad 1 had never seen you No won s you came back to life Youre a agog h Rold devil and too mean to dlol 1 A turned toward me with some elm cL srpsttel complaint ready at his tongues P but Stoddard caught him by tho their ueeud piers and thrust him out upon tho ace I anales wemoment aht moment later wo saw him cross ry meadow and hurry toward St eileoca Pthag ut wldu ingnf ito CHAPTER XXV E 11r Changes and Chances 6teaot I l ° im Marshall Qlenarm had probably irek P r been so happy in his life as on pre The I1 day of his amazing home coming und or IMghed I at us and ho laughed with dream Ca as ho went about tho house ox Jill fling his plans for Its completion thaged leaT alted us all with his shrewd f be of hor that had been the torror of my hood iMd oriel Cu r Ah lf f you had had tho plans of lie you would havo been saved a Cover of trouble but that little Ikotch of lot tte Iv boar of licwH < lorment was thong T thl tho-ng I leftand k you found It Iv ka sou really opened these good I e or mlno arked a sent us all nnn A ks mi away to remove the Thep thaalhl d i al w of battle and we gave Bates a cleaning up tho wreckago e8 I scthe keeper of secrets Bates cant Inscrutable mysterious s ° and I h mysterious Bates Pr real hero ° f the affair at Olcnarm r ernni hw grandfather led ns through tho OW PrepMok L d tnlrway by which ho lead > on > rhlclt phecf e xiTii had been built between walls It ano and wo played ghost for aflother r to show lit Just how tho aud of H 1111 tun t being around Use thsr5S ney Bounded rB mluch am There was much to fur and my grandfathers contrl havinglplaeeail namg piacc1 me In so hazard r luasJttli ds III ous a predicament was so sincere and his wish to make amends so evident that my heart warmed to him He made mo describe In detail all tho In cldents of lnytav at the house listen lag with boyish delight to my adven LltrCSBless Bless my soul ho claimed over and over again And as 1 brought m mv two friends Into tho story his pleasure Knew no bounds and ho kept I chuck ling to himself half a dozen times shaking hands with Larry and Stod dard who were ho declared his friends as well as urine Tho prisoner In the potato cellar re celved our duo attention and my grandfathers Joy In tho fact that nn agent of the British government was held captive In Glenarm House was cheering to see But tho mans de tentlon was a grave matter as we all realized and made Imperative tho Immediate Im-mediate consideration of Larrys fu tureI I must goand go at once declared de-clared Larry Mr Donovan I should feel honored to havo you remain said my grandfather grand-father I hope to hold Jack here and I wish you would share tho house with us Tho sheriff and those fellows wont squeal very hard abort their performances perform-ances here said Stoddard And they wont try to rescue tho prisoner oven for a reward from a house where tho dead come back to life No but you cant hold a British prisoner In an American private house forever Too many people know ho has been In this part of the country and yrtu may bo sure that tho fight here and the return of Mr Glenarm will not fall of largo advertisement All I can ask of you Mr Glenarm is that you detain tho fellow a few hours niter I leave to give me a start After a late luncheon for which I the amazing Bates produced champagne cham-pagne tho others left usStoddard to = that I forgot that my grandfather was patiently waiting for an answer I should like to do anything yon ask 1 should like to stay here always but I cant Dont misunderstand me I have no Intention of back going to my old ways 1 squandered enough money In my wanderings nnd I had my Joy of that kill of thing I shall mid employment somewhere and go to work I But Jnckhe bent toward me klndlJacl you mustnt bo led away by any mere Quixotism Into lay ing tho foundation of your own fortune for-tune What I have Is yours boy What Is In tho box In the chimney Is yours now today I wish you wouldnt You were always al-ways too kind and 1 deserve nothing absolutely nothing Im not trying to pay you Jack I want to easo my own conscience thats all I But money can do nothing for mine I replied trying to smile Ivo been a reckless spendthrift all my days and now Im going to work If you wero Infirm anil needed me I should not hesitate but the world I will have Its eyes on mo now Jack that will of mlno did you ft great wrong It put a mark upon you and thats what hurts mo thats what 1 want to make amends for Dont you see Now dont punish me boy Come Let us be friends Ho rose and put out his hands I didnt mean that I dont caro about that It was nothing more than I deserved These months hero havo changed me Havent you heard mo say I was going to work I And I tried to laugh away further I discussion of my future It will bo more cheerful hero In tho spring he said as though seekIng seek-Ing an Inducement for me to remain When tho resort colony down here comesto life tho lake Is really gay I shook my head Tho lake that C f 1iritit I l J I I I III a J rw cL I Wish to God I Had Never Seen You help Larry get his things together and my grandfather and I talked for an hour You will stay on hereyou will help mo to finish the house the old gentleman asked with unmistakable eagerness of look and tone It seemed harsh and ungenerous to tell him that I wished to go that tho great world lay beyond the confines of Glenarm for me to conquer that I had lost as well as gained by those few months at Glenarm House and wished to go away It was not tho mystery now fathomednor the struggle now endedthat was uppermost upper-most In my mind and heart but memories mem-ories of a girl who had mocked me with delicious girlish laughter who had lured me away from the Indiana woodlands that I might see her transformed trans-formed Into another more charming being only to shatter my faith at the that know end It was a comfort to Pickering trapped and defeated was not to benefit by the bold trick sho had loss me Ices helped him play upon was hers as well and I was glad In my bitterness that I had found her In tho passage seeking for plunder at the behest master whom Mor best of tho same gan Ferguson and the rest of them served I did not mention her to my grandfather I resolved never to think or speak of her again and thero was Tho fight was over nothing mon for mo to do In the house I week or so the lake After a by forth and try to win a Place should go I profession for myself I had my and I did not ques engineer was an that I should be able tc find em ion ion grandfather As for mY G ployment him and I should for would care Dates resolved not visit him often I was cause for anx him any further to give allvonturous of my account loty on 110 know well and roving ways of malting an his old hope enouGh that nnd lost forevor was of mO architect ver and to depart In Ileaco 1 wlshl now I where tho worlel 113rt of tho scele somo tracks noW and the a wero trails wore t to build bridges to lay and mind These thoughts so filled my r pretty cupful of water tho dip and glide of a maroon canoe tho remembrance remem-brance of a red tamoshanter merging merg-ing afar oft in an October sunset my purpose to leave the place strengthened as I thought of these things My nerves wero keyed to a breaking pitch and losing control ot myself I turned upon him stormily So Miss Doveroux was the other person who shared your confidence Do ypu understand do you appreciate appre-ciate the fact that she was Pickerings ally I certainly do not ho replied coldly Im surprised to hear you speak so of a woman whom you can scarcely know Yes I know her My God I have reason to know her But oven when I found her out I did not dream thai tho plot was as deep as It Is She knew that It was a scheme to test mo and she played me Into Pickerings I hands I caught her down there Ir I I the tunnel acting as his spy looking for the lost notes that she might gain grace In his eyes by turning their over to him You know how I alwaYf hated Pickering he was too smooth too smug and you and everybody else wero forever praising him to me He was always hold up to mo as a model and the first time I saw Marian Dover she was with himIt was at eux I Sherrys tho night before I came hero I suppose she reached St Agathai pnly a fpw hours ahead of mo Yes Sister Theresa was her guardian guar-dian Her father was a dear friend and I know her from her early childhood child-hood You are mistaken Jack Hoi knowing Pickering means nothing they both lived In New York anc moved In tho same circle But it doesnt explain her effort to help him does its I blazed HI Thoresi wished to marry herSIster told mo thatand I falledI failed miserably to keep my obligation hen her I ran away to follow TO BE CONTINUED |