Show The Mer Bobba-Mer- Co Publish Publish- The era t 1 I 1 Dy Mr ERMINIE rt Poet of I Virginia y irginia READ THIS THIS- THIS THIS- 0 Or OF INSTALMENTS TS THAT mAX yE VI I APPEASED BEFORE je e W known ra firm of ot Valiant Co L The vice president John Valiant VaUnt ety etT man and son on of or th founder of or held r responsible for firm is 3 unjustly misdeeds of the me conniving lD president manager nger and other members of tho their rather who worked fox for own E. E n the company's Inter Interests ts At th the le- le proceedings Kate Farro of Virginia hex hei uncle feS him Innocent as doe re To it t Is also established that Uta t Valiant ailant ver er received a cent of E salary as vice of ot the corporation and never nevera of tho the others W 1 a of ot the chicanery Fohn ohn Valiant hands bands over o to the receiver er oooo In securities his entire private ate tune to eave cave the tho corporation He reS reS reng re- re ng S It 11 Its vice rice presidency and starts Uv- Uv the simple life after pa paying alL it at left him 2800 an old automobile J clothes He bAd had follo followed M his hU fathers father's ample of ot business s honor bonor Valiant aIlant found from legal papers he was Virginia that he was waa fallen heir to tomoO moO Court the family estate In Vira Viz- Viz ila a a. a He decided to take pou possession slon Accordingly h he ho went South to Virginia his ls estate and meets Shirley Dan Dan- dge Chalmers Shirley and others Damory Court Mad Anthony Anthon hold old oId negro tells Shirleys Shirley's fortune lots fortune lots t ahead and e with a aU aan an an U n from the North orth who will live Uve at mory Court ohn olin ohn Valiant Is tak taken n with his trunk toward towai-d pm m his broken down on amory mory mon Court b by an old negro of ot the I estate Uncle Jefferson who Tho I If lea Shirley ShrleY Dandridge In resounding mil John Valiant unlocks the front door of mory nor Court and enters the tho Ion long aban- aban med Ded re He e C examines the house closely and ana then home for the thet s g to sleep leep In his old new t t time I He le breaks up a hunt next t da day b by giving In Damory Court t fox sees him e en though Shirley Dandridge t the hunted animal Into the house beethe bere be be- re ethe the hounds hound reach It St The he village i Is much stirred over ung arrival Memories lemories of the tho old Vallant-Sassoon Vallant el disturb the tho village Hla e ns AS Damory Court reoccupied by this Northerner He o 0 turns farmer and starts to work his tate Ute into good order He helps help Shirley ut t of a bramble that had caught her He hears more about th tho duel luel Efe e C. C ea paves eaves s Shirley Dandridge from a a. aCc Cc r casin tn ln If Is bitten himself and she Bhe In I m rn nt saves U his life hIrle changes chants her mind a about Valiant ter reading about his sacrificing his fortun fortune tl to a aid If those otherwise med Ined b by the failure of the firm Orm Ura 5 is told the the- incident b by byM bya M a Shirley y wonders onders wh why her mother always Je on May fay 14 H. Uncle Jef- Jef tells Valiant of Shirleys Shirley's rescue of ickey ekey from her poor trash Ui r from Hells Hell's Half Halt Acre years cars ago aUant meets more of his neighbors d learns i le of olden days daz in fn 1 NOW GO ON WITH THE TIlE STORY BC The major smote his knee noe and G oven n t faco face Eho showed cd a grim if approval ul I r Grit GulL exclaimed tho former And And say gar sab that the neighborhood not unaware of the splendid gener gener- which is responsible for tor the pres pres- of which you speak Valiant put ut out his hand with a a. little or of deprecation but the other r regarded it Confound it sah sab it s fo be he expected of a Valiant lour our wrote their names Dames in in capital tiers over this county They were an anand 9 and nd down lot but good or bad and andl Southall says S I re reckon reckon he kon be he nodded I ward the great reat portrait o abo the i luch they they I the weren't erent all Ii little woolly I the they did id b big J things s in in a bi big bigay bigay ay ay- ay valiant leaned forward ca eagerly erly a estion on his bis lips But at the tho mo mo- ent a diversion occurred in the shape f Uncle Jefferson who w-ho reentered entered ariD a tm tray on which set sundry S 5 and clinking glasses glowing glowin with wit I hit hiter te and greet green reeD and gold old You old humbug said the thc doctor dont don't yon on know the majors major's that poi poi- tied with mth mint juleps already that ho he up before S in the mornin morning f Well W ll suh tittered Uncle J JotTer JotTer- a Ah Ah lone clone foun or cr mint baid down n donlo lo low do de kitchens dis To Yo all Yo all bout de bi es ex in ins in s eab count county en Cu Ah Ah reck reckon n a Mars Mars' sho on yo n et Sah ab said sail the major feelingly to bis his host H Im I proud roud to drink mr Ur health in tho the typical al era be beverage e of ot He lie touched glasses with anant anI and glared lared at the doctor who whoa a as lS sipping his Ins own thou thoughtfully In he said T 1 have have- become with a drink called re which contains all the tho colors of rainbow But for chaste beauty n hi h give me this No Xo garish IU ID- ID you OU will ill observe e A frosted gob Rob t olden golden at the bottom as if an autumn jn m ear shading into emerald and then to snow On top ton a white Dite rim of ice ice- ice ice- with the mint sprigs I like liko fairy air no trees Poems have hao been written on on tab tah Thos- Thos make mako good epitaphs too ob ob- l ed tho ho doctor I notice noticed your our glass i mt isn't join going g King in the major retorted Unc erson that's that as as rood good mint as grew the of Eden See Sec that tho those e enl 2 nl ers of yours dont don't grub the ich out bv by mistake I aae euh sun Uh said Uncle Jefferson as with the tho tm- tm tray Ab Ah i rut cr er fence dat fat ar baid bud fo fol l Mown do IJ The that bad had sprung to aliat Giants Giant's g 8 lips now found utterance I 1 1100 1 look at the tho portrait ortT it there he hela la Id d to the Which major of my antt an an- tt tors rs is it t Too lo bo other got ot up lip and stood before in a Napoleonic atti- atti J JC That ho no said id fixing axing his eye eye- IT I your ur great grandfather reat Vil JI Valiant Devil De echoed his host J es 9 T Ive I've e heard tho the name ne' ne ine doctor guffawed He earned it re reckon kon I never realized what a n sini sin sin- t r. r that missing optic gives cs i Le Old ruffian There was a skirmish the war ar on the tho hillside yonder da a bullet cut it out When Whon we o were vero lye TI w we e used to call can him Old One One- ye rt It Interests 1 m mn enormously John lant Int inu BP spoke HC explosively Wp ie e stories of John Devil would fill nil my big biJ book said ail the tho major ft f Uc an counts accounts he ought to have hn lived I Uke a ages rs Cro Crowing Crossing in tho H. H rii b. b be D looked into iulo the dining room f thought nou ht I r remembered The por por- it over er the tho console them is his wife wil Lr r. r rd- rd She Sho was a i swimmer b by the way he It I Iwas wont went on returning to his bis seat was eaid paid she he had bad 8 swum um across the Potomac Po Po- ro tomac in her hunting t togs gR When John Devil heard of the tho feat he swore ho he would marry her ber and ho he did I Iwas It was a love o match no doubt on her sido side he be must have e been one to take with Women I Even in in those days dars when men mei mentill weren't al all allcut allcut till lived picturesquely and cut to 10 the same pattern he must have havo been unique There was something sa sa- sa splendid and savage ava e about abou him My lUy uncle great used to sa say eay he stood 6 feet 2 and walked w liko an emperor em em- peTer on a love 8 spree He was a man mai manof manof of sky high ra rages es with fingers that could bend a gold coin double They say eay he bet that when he brou brought t his bride home homo she should walk into Damory Court between ro rows ros s 's of oi candlesticks worth He made the wager good too for when she came up those stops steps out there there thero was Vas a arow arow row rov of ten candles burning on either side of the doorway each held neld br bY a n noung oung slave e worth a thousand dollars dollar in ln in the market The whole state talked of the w- w wedding and for a a. time Damory Court was w-as ablaze with tea parties anc an and dances That was in the old days of coaching and red heeled slippers when Virginia planters lived like vi viceroys and money was only to throw to the birds The They Thoy were fast livers and hard drinkers drink drink- ers era and their passions ran away with them Johns Devil knew neither saddle sad sad- dIe dle nor bridle Some say eay he grew jealous of his wife's wife IS beauty There were any number of stories told of his Ms cruelties to her that arent aren't worth re r re- re She died earl early poor early poor lady lady lady- and your Jour grandfather was Wae the oni only issue isue John devil himself jive n neato to h be past 70 and at that age when most men were f stacking their sins and groaning with the gout ut he be was WM diem diemand dicing and fox huntin hunting with the youngest o of them Ho He always swore ho would die with his bis boots on and they say sa- when the doctor told him ho he had bad only a few hours bours leeway ho he made his slaves s dress him bim completely and prop him on his bis horse borse Thc They galloped out out- so a n negro on either side aide of him It lt was wag a stormy ni night ht black as ns the Earl of Hell Hells Hell's s 's riding I boots with wind and lightning and he herode herode I rode cursing at both Theres There's an old blackgum um tree a mile from here that they still call De Johns Devil s 's tree They were just passin passing under it when the li lightning struck it t. t Lighting has bas no effect on tho black blackgum lm you know The bolt spit glanced from the tree and struck him aim between the tho two slaves 65 without harming either cither of them It killed his horse lorse too That's tho the story To be sure at this date nobody can separate fact act from fiction Possibly ho be wasn't so much worse than the rest of his neigh neigh- not bors-not ors not executing even the parsons Other times other manners manners They weren't any aDY worse than the pre present ent generation on said the tho doctor malevolently malc Your Your four bottle men then hen kne knew only claret now they punish pun pun- sh ish whisky i ht The still trice up their heir gouty lC legs 8 to take after harmless foxes And I dare daro say the women will willbe willbe willo be o wearing rod heeled slippers a again ain next year rear The Tho major buried his nose in his julep jule for or a lon long moment before he looked looke at zit the doctor blandly I I agree ag with you YOU ou Bristow ho he said but its it's the first time I over ever heard you you admit that much good of your our ancestors ancestor Good I said the doctor Mel Me e 1 I dont don'tS I said people now were no better As for the men of that time the they were a cheap swaggering swag swag- goring gering rin lot of bullies and swash When I read history Im I'm ashamed to be descended from them I desire to inform you rOUe sah said the he wa major lor stung tb that t I too am a descendant ant of those bullies and swashbucklers swash swash- bucklers as you ou call them And I wish from my heart I thou thought ht we nowadays could hold a n tallow dip to them hem Whatever their habits babita the they had bad their heir ideals and they thoy lived cd up to them hem You refer no doubt said aid the docor doctor doc doe tor or with sarcasm to our friend Devil Devil- John and his bis ideal treatment of hi his wifel No No sah replied the major warmly U Im I m not referring to Devil There here were exceptions no doubt but butor for or the most part they treated their women folk as I beHave their maker mado made them to be The man who failed failer in his courtes courtesy there sah was called to account for it He Ho was as mi mighty apt to find himself standing in inbe inthe the be cool dawn at tho end butt of a aHe a- a He Hc broke broko off and coughed There was an an awkward pause in which he be set down hi his his' lie gl glass s noisily and rose and stood I before eforo the tho open bookcase I envy you ou this eab sab he said with somewhat of f haste baste A A fine old oM collection Bless my mr soul what a curious curious volume As he be spoke his bis hand jerked out a u leavy heavy leather back Valiant who had risen risen and stood beside him saw instantly that what bat he be had bad drawn from rom the shelf was tho the morocco case that hat held the rusted dueling t pistol Inthe la Iu laho the ho majors major's hands tho the broken box opened A A. sudden startled look darted across cross his bit leonine face W With th smothered exclamation ho thrust it back between I the he books and closed the tho glass door Valiant had paled His previous of the weapon bad had escaped his i mind Now he read as clearly as if it t thad had iad been printed in black letters across ho the sunny wall walls tho the significance of th the majors major's confusIon That weapon had haa been een in his fathers father's hand band whon when bo ho had lad faced his opponent n in that fatal duel luel It flashed across his bis mind as tho the doctor lun lunged ed for his hat bat and etI stick and got rot ot to his feet Come ComeZ Bristow said the latter irn- irn ably Your feet will crow fast to the he floor J presently We mustn't talk a anew new now nei neighbor to death I Ive I've e got ot to see Bce seea a patient at 6 John Valiant Asks a Question went went with them to the outer door A painful thou thought ht was flooding his is mind It hampered his bis speech and andt it t was only b by a violent effort that ho he found voice One There Thore is a question I would like ike to ask Both gentlemen had bad turned upon the steps and as they f faced him hint ho thought Ii n swift glance clance pas passed ed between eon them They waited courteously the doctor with hi his hi habitual frown the tho majors major's band haid fumbling for or the black ribbon on his waistcoat Since I T camo came here I have o heard heard bis his tone tono was a uneven uneven of of a duel in which my Dt- father was a principal There was such a meeting There was said the doctor after alter the slightest pause pauso of surprise Had Had you rou known nothing of it f Absolutely nothing The major maior cleared his nis throat It was tras he be might naturally not have ha made a record of he he said The two had bad been frion friends 8 and it-it it was as a fatal encounter for the other The doctor and I were your our fathers father's seconds There was a moments moment's silence before Valiant spoke again When ho he did his oi voice was steady though h drops had sprung to his bis forehead 4 Was Vas there therean an any circumstance in that meeting that might be construed as reflecting on his honor Good God Gad not said tho the no major exOn ex ex- On his is bearing as a gentleman There Thero was a hiatus this timo time in which ho he 10 could hear bear his heart beat boat In that Bin lo exclamation the maior major seemed to o have exhausted his vocabulary Ho He was looking at the ground round It was the doctor who spoke at last in a silence that to the man in the doorway weighed liko like a R. Dun hundred red atmospheres No Nol he said bluntly C Certainly not What put that into your head bend 7 It When be he was as alono alone in the library Valiant opened tho the glass lass door and took from the shelf tho the morocco case caso Theold Tho The old shiver er of repugnance ran over him himat himat himat at the very touch of the tho leather In Inthe tho the farthest corner cornor was waR a low commodo Ho He set et the case on this and moved the bi big tapestry screen |