Show 2 U SERIAL STORY D ep L a JUG AT MEREDITH NICHOLSON illusto eions sy RAY WALTERS copyright IMS by tho the bobbs morrill Clomp company any 6 SYNOPSIS TI mas bored millionaire ond and 10 henry maine professor in tile university of virginia take trains out of 0 atlanta Atlan tn griswold Orl awold to lo his college ard ardmore more in pursuit of a girl tarl who had winked kea ot at him All staken tor for gov Os oa borno horno borno horno of south carolina Gris griswoldsr wolds ufa life la is t threatened ireat ened lie ile goes to Coluni columbia bla to warn va r n the governor Ko vernor and meets barbara amb laborne Oa borne orne up cpr remains to assist her in the absence ot 1 tier er father CHAPTER III continued you under understand sta d of course that this hla discussion tat Is painful to me extremely painful and yet so much has been published about my sisters domestic affairs exactly mr ardmore what we want Is to print your side of the story well the fact Is but please never mention it the fact is that ills his grace owes me four dollars 1 I gave it to him in two bills I 1 remember the incident perfectly two crisp new bills I 1 lad had just got at the bank ills grace borrowed the money to pay a cabman it wits was tho the very day before he married my slater sister the reporter stared a moment then laughed ile he abandoned the idea of getting material for a sensational article and scented the possibilities ot of a character sketch of tile tho whimsical young millionaire if you dont mind saying where you are going mr ardmore id tell you in a minute only I 1 fully decided yet but I 1 shall probably take the sambo flyer at it you dont make me lose it ardmore looked tho the reporter over carefully as they shook hands he was an attractive young fellow alert and good humored and ardmore liked him as in his shy ally way he really liked almost every one who seemed to be a human being ill tell you what ill do with you it if forget this rot weve been talking and come up tip to ardsley as soon eoon as I 1 get home ill see it if I 1 cant keel heep you amused tor for a couple of weeks what did you say your name is colllns collins frank colllns collins I 1 never forget anything so dont disappoint me the young man laughed outright ill remember I 1 really believe you mean for me to come of course I 1 do its all settled make it next week good byl by ardmore ate his dinner oblivious of the tact fact that people at the neighboring table turned to look at him lie ile finally waved away his hia plate and called for coffee and at that moment a middle aged man appeared at the door scanned the room for a moment and then threaded his way among the tables to ardmore 1 I heard you were here and thought id look you up how are youarda you ardy very well thank you mr air billings have you dined sorry which way are you heading tile the newcomer new comer corner had the bearing ot of a gentleman used to consideration ile he was indeed the secretary a of f the bronx loan and trust company whose business was chiefly the administration of the ardmore estate and ardmore knew him very well tm im looking for a man and im not good at the business ive lost him and I 1 dont understand it I 1 dont understand der stand it and the secretary seemed to bo be half musing to himself as lie he sat down and rested ills his arms on the table you might give me the job im follow following ilig a slight clew myself just at present the secretary who had no great opinion of Ard mores mental capacity stared at the young man vacantly then it occurred to him that possibly ardmore might be or of service have you been at ardsley recently hs he asked left there only a rew few days ago you seen your governor lately have you my aly ga governor ardmore stared blankly why mr billings dont you remember that fit fathers dead 1 I dont mean your fattier father ardy replied billings with the exaggerated care cara of one who deals with extreme stupidity 1 I mean the governor ot of north Caroli carolina zin one of the american states ardsley ardailey Is still in north carolina it oh yf s of course mit but bless bleas your soul I 1 dont know the governor why should one olle 1 I 1 dont know why ardy but people sometimes do know governors anil and find it useful im not in lna iq any more mr illais this persons name dangerfield don you ever read the newspapers the see sec retney striving to c his inner rage rag no I 1 quit reading newspapers otter aft the noble duke of Bally winkle I 1 did ri t break the bank at monte carlo that last time you be so thin skinned yo you u pay the penalty of at belonging to one of the wealthiest families in america and billings tone was paternal so ive heard but im not so terribly proud of it what about this governor chals what troubles me what of the governor billings dropped his voice so that no one but ardmore could hear iles missing disappeared the first interesting thing I 1 ever heard of a governor doing said ardmore Ard moro tell me more iles hes had bad a row with the governor of oc south carolina at new orleans cans I 1 was waa to have met him here on an ira important matter of business this afternoon but ties lies cleared out and nobody knows become of him ills ilia daughter even who was in now new orleans with him know where he la Is all ah I 1 the daughter she remains behind to guard hla his retreat tile the daughter la 18 still here ashes a peppery little piece and hillings billings looked guardedly around the room she alone over there in the corner the girl with the white feather in her hat chos just signing tier her check there ashes getting cupl up ardmore gazed across tho the room intently then suddenly a slight smile played about his lips to gain the door the girl must pass by his table and he be scrutinized her closely as she drew near and passed she was a little girl and tier lier light fluffy hair swept out from under tinder a small blue hat in a shell like curve and the short skirt of tier her tailor made gown robbed her it seemed of years to which the calendar might entitle her she gave me the steadiest eye 1 I ever looked into when I 1 asked tier her where her father had bad gone remarked billings grimly as the girl passed she said she thought hed gone fishing for whales so ashes miss alias dangerfield Is she asked ardmore indifferently and he rose leaving on the plate by a sudden impulse of good feeling toward the world exactly double the generous tip lie he had intended giving hlll ings inga was glad to be rid of ardmore and they parted in tile the hotel lobby without waste of words Ard morea mores effects had been brought down and were already piled on a carriage at the door in his blocket was his passage to new orleans and a stateroom ticket at the cashiers desk miss dangerfield paid her bill just ahead of him it any telegrams rome come for my rather father please forward them to raleigh said the girl the mar manager came out personally to show allow her to tier her carriage and having shut the door upon her be wished ardmore who stood discreetly by a safe journey off for new orleans are you mr ardmore asked the manager courteously no said ardmore im going to raleigh to look at tho the tall buildings whereat the manager returned to hla his duties gravely shaking ills his head at the station ardmore caught sight 0 of f miss dangerfield attended by two porters hurrying toward coward the tar heel express ile he bought a ticket to raleigh and secured the last available berth from the conductor on the platform at the moment of departure ardmore did not like to be hurried and thus sudden change of plans had been almost too much for him but lie he was consoled by tile the reflection that after all these years of waiting for just such an adventure lie he had proved himself equal to an emergency that required quick thought and swift action lie ile had not only found the girl with the playful eye but he haq had learned her identity without as aa it were turning over his land hand the stateroom door stood open and from its his seat scat at the farther end of the car ardmore caught a fleeting glimpse of miss dangerfield as she threw off her ter jacket and hat then she summoned the porter give him her tickets bade him a smiling good night and the door closed upon her ardmore went back to smoke and plan hla his future movements for the first time in his life he faced tomor to mor row with eager anticipations resolved that nothing should thwart his high resolves though these to be sure were somewhat hazy ile he did not know why billings was so anxious to 1 find miss MIBS dangerfie Danger Dang erfle nelas a fattier father but as between a man mail of timings billings purely commercial instincts and the governor of a great state like north carolina ardmore resolved to stand by the danger fields to the end of the chapter lie he was proud to remember ills his estate at ardsley which was in gov danger fields jurisdiction and had been visited by the game warden the state forester and various other members of the governors official household though ardmore could not remember their names ile he had never in his life visited raleigh but far down some dim vista of memory he saw baw sir walter covering a mud puddle with his cloak for queen elizabeth ardmore smoked many pipes und and did not turn in until arter after midnight the car was ft as hot and stuffy and he slept badly at some hour of tile the morning being again awake and restless he fished hla his dressing gown and slippers out of at his bag and went out on the rear platform ills was the last car and he found a u campstool camp stool and crouched down upon it in a cornet corner ner of the vestibule and stared out into the dark the aum hum ium and click of the rails so thed him and ht ho yielded himself to pleasant reveries ardmore was halt dazing when the train stopped so ao abruptly that he was pitched from the campstool camp stool into a corner of the entry ile he got himsel 4 together and leaned out 1 aiu luu moist air the ported porte r came out and stared to fo a gentleman in n a blue silk wrapper who sat up all night in a vesti vestibule bult was new to his hl experience exper lenco what place 1 tills porter kildare sali sah this place la Is wha we go from south clana into noab bilna aint yo beth comfor blo sail sah perfectly thank you kildare was a familiar name and the station that lay at tho the outskirts of 0 the town and a long grim barracks bar like building that he identified its as a cotton mill recalled the fact that he was not far from his own ample acres which lay on off somewhere to westward lie ile had occasionally taken this route from the north in going to ardsley riding or driving from kildare about ten miles to his house in this way he was enabled to go or como come without appearing at all in the little village of ardsley tile tho porter left him lie ile felt ready for sleep now and resolved to go back to bed as soon as the train started just then a dark shadow appeared in the track and a m mana ans voice asked cautiously air yu the conductor the questioner saw that he was not before ardmore could reply and hesitated it a moment the porters in the car you can get aboard up forward Ardi ardmore suggested de be govnor dangerfield on this train asked the man whom ardmore now saw dimly outlined in fit the track below certainly my friend the governors 0 rs asleep but im his private secretary what can I 1 do tor for you well heehs so methin ter fer im lits ita confidential sure air ye th govnore gov nora nors in they the an man a tall bearded countryman in a slouch hat handed up tip to ardmore a jug a plain brown old fashioned american kallon gallon jug its a present ter fer govnor dangerfield hell understand and the man mail vanished ns its mysteriously as lie he had appeared leaving ardmore holding the jug by its handle and feeling a little litlie dazed by the transaction the train lingered and ardmore was speculating as to which one ot of tile the carolina commonwealths was beneath him when another figure appeared below in tile coe track that of a bareheaded tousled boy this time ho he 1 stared up tip at ardmore sleepily having apparently been roused on the arrival of the train air yu the govnor he piped yes my lad in what way can I 1 serve you ou and ardmore put down his jug and leaned over afie guard 41 I 1 at C mt HIS its a present for govnor danger field hell understand rail it was just as easy to be the governor as the governors private secretary and his vanity was touched by the readiness with which the boy accepted him film in disnew his new role ills cos cog tieme vaguely discernible in the vest bule light evidently struck the lad as is being some amazing robe of state affected by governors the youngster was lifting something and ho he now held field up to ardmore a jug as like tile thra other its as one pea resembles another pa aint home and ma says heehs yet yer jug 0 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