Show ERIA EE F I 1 A TORY V THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CANDLES by MEREDITH NICHOLSON lallor of THE mal MAIK 1 ZELDA lie lic tul aright IK by i CHAPTER XVI continued pray do not trouble double about it SIB bis ter thereca there are a good many things about my grandfathers grandfather B affairs that I 1 dout don t understand but im 1 m not going to see an old friend of his swin biln doltl there a moro more in oil all this than appears my grandfather acma to have mislaid millaid or lost most moat ot of hla big assets before he be died and yet he had the ie leput atlon of being a pretty cautious loua business man the impression la Is abroad an all you must know inov that your grandfather con his fortune before life his death the people hwa bouta believe so BO and mr air pickering Pick tring tho has been unable to broce it yet yea I 1 believe mr bir dg b haa as not hien buen able to sova the problem I 1 said and laughed but of course ou and he will co operate in an eltoft to find the lost property properly she bent forward slightly liei het eyes as they nit mine examined mo me with ith a ken interest why t 11 I 1 be frank with you Ther Theresa cea 7 I 1 have every reason for bu lievIng arthur pickering a I 1 lie ile does not care to cooperate with ith mo me in searching for thle this money the fact Is that lie he Is very much wishes to eliminate me a as a a fac tor in tile the of tho the estate I 1 speak carefully caie fully I 1 know exactly what I 1 am saying she bowed tier her head slightly and was silent tar or a moment the silence was wag tile the more marked bioni the fact that the hood of tier her habit concealed tier her taco face what you say la Is very serious yes yea and ills his offense ofT oiso Is squally so rious it may scein odd for me to be saying this to you when ahen I 1 an am a strang strains er whon when ion may ile bo pardoned for having no very high opinion of me she turned her face to mo ino it was singularly antle and kenned not a face to associate with an idea of self seeking or duplicity I 1 I sent bent for ou oil mr air glenard glenarm Ol Gl bo be causo cause I 1 had it a very good opinion of you because for one reason you are the grandson of your grandfather and the fit il endly light in her gray eyes drove away any 11 lingering doubt I 1 may have had bid as ae to her I 1 wished to warn you to have a care car for bour 3 our own safet 1 I ton don t warn arn you against arthur pickering ering alone but against the countryside tho the idea of a 0 hlelen fortune lit a a mi rn a bouso and a lost treasure make a very enticing combination I 1 fancy mr air nt did not realize that lo be was ci eating cating dangers for or the peo yle tile he wished to calp she was as silent client again her eyes bont bent meditatively upon me tien she spoke abruptly I 1 mr air pickering wishes to marry my niece ah I 1 have been waiting to hear that I 1 am glad to know that he has haa so BO noble an ambition but miss de breux ism eliut t encouraging him as near ns as I 1 con can ninke out she re fused to go to california with his parti part I 1 happen to know that 11 that whole hole california w would have been amusing it it had bad not been ridiculous mailan never had the slightest iden idea of going with him but she elie la is a little shall I 1 say bay pei please alonse do I 1 like the word and the quality tyll and mr pickering a rattier rather blab orate orata methods of wooing ilea as aa heavy beery as aa lead leada I 1 I 1 declared amuse marian up to a certain point then they annoy her lie he has haa implied wrongly that tho the claim against me could bo easily adjusted it marian marries him but sho she will never marry hini whether she by your grandfather will or however thit th it may bell bo I 1 should say not I 1 declared with a w warmth that causel cause 1 sister theresa to sweep me with those wonderful gray eyes dut but first he expects to find this fortune and endow miss deveroux with it that Is ie a part of the scheme and my own interest in the estate tate must be ba eliminated bf before fore lie he can bring that condition about aboul but sla SIB ter 1 I 1 horesa lui rewa I 1 ant am not so easily got rid of as aa arthur not etIng my aly staying qualities which at al ways weak tn in the es of my family have been braced up a trifle yes 11 I 1 thought pleasure and hope hopa were expressed in the monosyllable liable and my heart beart warmed to lier hir sister theresa you and I 1 are un der ferstanding standIng each other much better than I 1 imagined we should and we loth both laughed feeling a real sympathy growing between us u yet I 1 believe we are I 1 and the smile lighted hoc her face again so I 1 can tell you yon two the first Is that arthur pickering will III aver had find my grandfathers grandfather lost for tune assuming that any exists the second la is that lu in no event will lie he marry m our niece you speak with a good deal of via j s fl fi dence she said bald and laughed a low murmuring laugh I 1 thought there was U tw h f relief relict in it dili bill I 1 dian didn t suppose ma ila pin lin a aff ills later inter sted sied ou T iliev hon don i slater theresa ifer her affairs aie not of the slightest import ince t iut hut she li Is tin a was as frank inu liv in her ebes ow but bui v u don k iw w lie he vot von hive misled v air mr opportunity to ie be I 1 ion don I 1 know tier but 1 I now olivia clad gladys 9 armstrong shea a particular friend of mine we have chased rabbits together and elie bhe told me a gloat leal feel I 1 have formed a voly good opinion of miss devereux in I 1 that at way oh that note you wrote about olivia a intrusions beyond the wall I 1 ought to thank you for it but I 1 really dida t mind A note botet I 1 never wrote you a note until today to day well some one did I 1 said then she smiled oh that must lave have been marian she was always olivias loyal friend and apologist I 1 should say so BO dut but you dri t have known olivia it Is unpardonable if she played tricks upon you you should not have taken advantage of them to make her acquaintance that wasa t fair to me I 1 suppose nott not cut but I 1 protect against this deportation the land hereabouts Is only so BO much sky snow and lumber without olivia we miss tier her too replied slater sister theresa wo we have less to do I 1 went home and studied the time table CHAPTER golden butterflies if you are one of those captious peo via pie who must verify by the calendar bought a seat in the I 1 sleeper and after supper in the dincic car made myself comfortable and dozed and dreamed amid as aa the train plunged t through hr ou gh the dark tho the through about me went to bed and I 1 was waa left spra sprawled led out in my oven open section lurking on the tha shadowy frontier b lif tween the known world and dreamland we re run nto into cincinnati ten minutes late said the potters voice and in a moment I 1 was in we beatt biale and out hurrying to a hotel at the st botolph I 1 ordered a carriage carr laga and broke all records changing ray my clothes the timetable time timo table informed me ma that the chicago express left at halt half past one there was ns ho reason why I 1 should not be safe at glenara glenarm house by my usual breakfast hour in the tha morning if 1 all went well to avoid loss lose of time in returning to the station I 1 paid the hotel charge and carried my bag away with ana m doctor armstrongs armstrong a residence yes sir I 1 ve already taken two loads there the carriage was soon climbing what lemed to be a mountain to the tha heights above cincinnati to this day I 1 associate ohio 9 most interesting city with a lonely carr carrline lige ride that was waa as strange to me as a trackless jungle in the wilds of africa and my heart began to perform strange tattoos on my ribs I 1 was wag going to the house of a gentleman Rent lenan who did not know of my existence to see a girl who ho was hla his guest to whom I 1 had never as the conventions go been presented it did not seem halt half so easy now that I 1 was well launched upon the adventure I 1 stopped the cabman just as aa he was about to enter an iron gateway whose posts bore two to great lamps W W IV 11 I 1 A I 1 swung myself out upon the limb of a big maple every now new moon you read of in a book and it if you are pained to discover the histo historian iian lifting anchor and spreading ball contrary to the reckonings of 0 the nautical almanac I 1 beg to call your attention to these theme items from the time table of the mid and southern railway for december 1901 the southbound express passed annandale at exactly 63 minutes after foai p m it was waa scheduled to reach cincinnati at 11 0 clock sharp this I 1 trust Is sufficiently explicit to the student of motels and mo tives I 1 will say any a further word I 1 had resolved to practice deception in run ning aft aay ay from Glo narin to keep my promise to marlan marian devereux dy by leaving I 1 forfeit ray my right to any part of my grandfather a es tate but of moie immediate impost ance nas mas my absence front from glen GIen rm Ilo titie at this juncture when the at tacks of morgan an I 1 the strange ways of dates made it dearly my duty to remain pickering and I 1 were en in a sharp contest and I 1 was bg brinning inning to enjoy it to the full but I 1 did not falter in my determination to visit cincinnati hoping to return without roy my absence being discovered so the next afternoon I 1 began ing for my journey dates bates I 1 fear that I 1 in taking a so se vere cold and I 1 m going to lose TO self va with ith whisky and quinine and go to bod bed I 1 shan t want any dinner noth lug lag until you see me again I 1 I 1 yawned dawned and stretched myself with a gioan I 1 in very sorri or 1 shan t I 1 call doctor not a bit tit i it sleep it olt off and be as lively as a cricket in the mot moia a ing at four I 1 told hint him to carry some hot water and lemons lemona to my rooms bade hint him rn an emphatic good night and locked the door as he lift then I 1 packed my evening clothes in a suitcase suit case I 1 threw the bag and heavy beavy ulster from a window swung myself out upon ahn limb of a big nix ma pie and lot it bend ruo me to its ita sharpest and then dropped lightly to tho the ground I 1 passed tile gite and amuck on it toward the village mith a joyful sense ut of freedom I 1 leichel the station without incident ond and waited in tile tha freight shed to kop out of 0 eight ot of the station loafers until roy my train drew up then jumped aboard I 1 that a all right sir air I 1 can drive right in dut you I 1 said jumping out walt wait right here bore doctor armstrongs armstrong a residence was brilliantly lighted find and the tha strains ot of a waltz stole etolo across the lawn cheerily I 1 made a detour an aal I 1 stud studied led the house seeking a door by which I 1 could enter without passing the unfriendly gib baltar 0 of a host and hostess on guard to Vi welcome elcome belated guests A long conservatory filled with trop leal ical plants gave gate me in an opportunity promenades adera aders were passing idly through it and out into another part of the house by an exit I 1 could not see A handsome spectacled gentleman opened a glass door within a yard of where I 1 stood sniffed the air and said to his companion as aa he be turn ed back with a shrug into the conser conger katory theres no sign of snow it lan t christmas christinas weather nt at all lie ile strolled away through the palms and I 1 instantly off my dilser and cap cast them behind some bushes and boldly opened the door and elit tred the ball room was waa on the third floor but the guests were strangling straggling down to supper and I 1 took my stand eland at the foot of the broad sta stairway ir ay and glanced up tip carelessly as aa though walteg tor for some borne one ona it was as a large and bril llant ilant company and many a lovely face baca 1 pissed assed me as I 1 stood waiting the very size of the gathering gave me security and I 1 am clothed my gloves clovea 1 aho I he spectacled gentleman Kent leman whose in terest in the weather had given me a valued hint of tho the open conservator 3 door came now ant stood beside me lie ile even put hla his hand on oil my arm with intimate friendliness TO lin I 1 |