Show r f 4 11 b i p t I 1 A R il lupu X axx X 5 by MEREDITH NICHOLSON 41 i copyright br scribners boo y AUNT ALICE synopsis rilchard searles sue american playwright confines to hi hla a friend deb singleton tte ite fact act that inspired by the tha of a young ti atress whom tie fie had seen been in london h he 0 has written a play lady larkspur solely with the thought that she s he should interpret the leading th ar acter this girl violet dewing has haa disappeared singleton an aviator has just juat returned on in vali ded front from france ills uncle Ilay raymond 93 a wealthy man had contracted a in marriage arriage a short time before hla his death while on a visit to japan ile ha left singleton a comparatively small amount of money and the privilege of residence in the garage of his hie um cum mer homo home barton on the sound connecticut airs bashford Bash tord in 1 believed bleed to td be traveling in the orient the household at barton Is made up P of broken down employees ot of a new york hotel where bashford Baah ford made ills his home singleton goo goes to carton barton taking with him tile the manu script of 0 lady larkspur Laik spur them chero he ha ands the household strangely upset toma some of its ita members being K suspected by their comrades of pro germani in an Anlo colne lne head of 0 the establishment informs him that he has been perplexed by the tha somewhat mysterious visits of 0 a stranger tr ancer apparently a foreigner seeking mrs airs dashford bashford antoine antohne has haa formed the male members of tile the household into a guard tor for protection torrence Bash bashford fords s law yer informs singleton that mrs dashford bashford Is in america and may bo be expected at barton at any time singleton reads searles Se arlea play and thinks highly of it CHAPTER 11 II 4 the amazing widow As soon na AS torrence left I 1 to the garage feeling that with willi mrs mra bassford on american soll soil my use of ilie alio residence even ns as a loafing place was ivas unbecoming mrs airs bashford aris not no only in america but with a moter nt her lier command site she might rench reach r Ilo irton tit nt any hour and the vigor ouy us woman who had captured my uncle bash burled buried him in a far country and then effected a hop skip and jump from bangkok to Se seattle atIle was likely to be a prodigal spender of gasoline ner iler propensity for traveling encouraged the hope ceat t int she would quickly weary of carton barton and pine for lands where tile the elephant find and nourish flourish I 1 I 1 had brought with no ino tile the manuscript of sea searles rips play and I 1 fell upon it irritably and began reading the list first act the dialogue ita logue moved briskly and I 1 read on oil nj aa though en folded in the air of i crisp spring morning my grujich over the upsetting of my plans yielded under tile the spell of ills humor lady larkspur aa was the name assumed by the daughter of a 11 recluse naturalist in the valley alley of virginia she lind known no life but that of 1 the file open country where site she ran wild all summer riding tier her father catl cr in col looting plants and butterflies ho tin hal edu educated caled tile tho girl in such a man nor ncr that flint only the cheor cheer and joy of life were known to tier her hitting hating mankind he find encouraged tier her in nature worship site knew no literature crept lie clas classics iles nil lil history artory even he file history of the storied valley talley in which she lived was it sealed hook book fc toi to tier her hie girls curiosity Is roused by tho the sudden appearance of strangers train from the unknown world beyond whom site elie mystifies by her quaint old world ashness Ish ness searles searle had find taken an old cleme tl erne and given a twist to it the solution of if tile ho mystery of tile tho fathers exile und and tin nn amusing com coin of laverg afforded a interest well weil sustained to tile tho end in the last act the girl I 1 appears nt at n ball nt at a country house in raiment and tile the story ends lit in the key of marth in n which it began it was was it a delightful blending anil and modernization of diann diana atalanta cinderella and but even lit in the typewritten an anse e it was ila amazingly alive ond and well calculated to evoke tent tears ud laughter that a ploy play so enthralling should about be burled buried in a safety vault was not to 0 o ho he 1 thought of andi and I sat doyn don und and wrote searles a n long letter demanding that he be nt at once forget the lost star for he atrid written tile the piece suggesting the Immes 1 nines at 0 several well known actresses I 1 thought thou glit worth con si dering for the difficult lending role not satisfied with ilith tills I 1 telephoned a telegram to the bo agent at barton for transmission to searles Sear lesat at thoO lilo address lie he had given me the rite next tny t ny passed without lent dent and tin on the second hearing nellil nothing tig from torrence I 1 began to doubt ill mrs Bash fords proximity on the lle third thin still hearing nothing I 1 hirk ened tu to nn an invitation froin friends a i new london and drove in the tha r runabout I 1 for dinner it wat wa midnight when I 1 got back and when I 1 reached the ho gates he gooral verall men dashed out of tile lodge and halted me inc coine sir air announced autoine Aut Alit olne emerging from lie darkness nud and speaking under stress of deep mandame tho the widow tills hog arrived sir why not cleopatra or tile tho quero queen of sheba I 1 exclaimed testily to anver my annoyance that my aunt had effected tier her descent in roy my absence vall site she was expected the house la Is herb abat do you wantee want me to do about ita ft I 1 ended with affected jocularity we received her harthe tile test lest we could but it was most unfortunate your not being here sir la is that hat your idea antoine Ant olne or do you reflect the ho ladys sentiments im properly humiliated either way tell we me just what she said well sir site she just laughed when I 1 took ook tie lie liberty of apologizing the rite laughter of outraged go a ahead ant give me the rest of it it was ans at ten on she cho came sir air and tho the guard held her bar up not recognizing tier her here tit at tile ho gate and when tile tho car stop the he boys chased tier her arid fired at the ho tires irea of tier her machine V I 1 waa very dreadful sir air and at the house at the door sip air the guard was very harsh with her sir air most regrettable you certainly mado made a messof mess of iff I 1 dut but you did let her in nto into tier her own house wo we must remember rome niber you did grant tier her the tha courtesy of a lodging for tho the night might I 1 inquired ironically sites retired sir thero there wah a lady with tier her maybe a mald maid I 1 cant exactly say and we did everything sir to wake inako tier her comfortable sho was not what you might say bay fussy but quite humanlike burnan like I 1 hope pardon us sir air which was duo due to not being warned 11 oil oh its all right with me but in the he morning shell probably bounce tile tho whole lot of us an old lady fatigued train from a journey cross country and shot at on her own promises premises its a very pretty story antoine was vos sv swallowing allowing hard bard in ills his cort to con continue tho the recital you say tin an old lady sir air tile the t 0 ess s Is wit really what you would call so BO old not exactly sir air no tilly a youngish party I 1 should bay any volunteered graves the gardener just what these veterans would call old was a matter of oc conjecture young or old she would hardly relish tier her reception thero there was a mold maid and they capio camo in a machine did you put up the he chauffeur or did you shoot him on tho the spot it was a hired hire machine sir and maclaine sent it away tito the driver was a good lent deal upset over tho the shooting one of tho the rear tires was quite blown away youre in luck if ho he have you all arrested tomorrow to morrow I 1 remarked consolingly airs bas bashford aford seemed quite amused by bythe the occurrence antoine continued wonderful america I 1 slip inept opt saying after wed got tier inside we grac tier her ten tea which was all she asked for we did our best to make tier her comfortable and there was waa a log dog sir I 1 recall that the master was not tend fond of dogs antoine spoke trul trill if there here was anything my uncle hash bash detested it was it a dog but I 1 reflected reflect that a bovid shipping widow who a could corral so difficult a subject as my uncle would be quite capable of inspiring him with delight lit in the lie canine species my respect for the won comans womans inns powers of persuasion was intensified by tills disclosure to make sure nothing was required c me until morning I 1 drove past the house with willi the army hali ging to tile hie footboard tho the lower rating were dark but bill lights twinkled through the second story shutters tty aunt was waa established es on the promises premises and tier her coming and the of her advent coul constituted a good joko joke of which I 1 and not she rite was the victim when I 1 reached my quarters lu in the garage I 1 sat ant down and laughed until rinn flynn appeared oppen red frightened by my noisy nola mirth that tact had penetrated to ills hla quarters I 1 wakened early rang a bell connecting my rooms with the ha alinur f curs end of the ho garca its as a warn in ing to tg tho tha flantis flynns to prepare breakfast and was waa dressed when tile man came in with willi the tray in tile the absence of a morning paper I 1 clung citing to him for company 1 I trust you will not be ba leaving he remarked eyeing my half racked trunk very soon flynn I 1 then ehte and I 1 will be going too 00 oo borr its ita most uncomfortable making us dutch and the rest chilt antoine anil and his army anrep adeep us und and callin 1 I llull aluni it ita a most anost d ive 0 o mid it tile lie wita nail me 1 suffer and lie ile strong tenta the we will hope that mra birs linchford Is a n of sound nl sence and met fact who mho will exert berttie to restore pence on tier her property wile blieu I 1 call en II 11 to 0 o pay my respects laid ninke make tn in allens I 1 thell to her of the und and vouch for your our loyalty you ha venti I 1 suppose seen alio widow yet abes probably sleeping late into quite tile tho contrary sa s1 alioa los been up and around for an hour on inore sites been nit all over the P place I 1 tace and stopped iod for n squint at the garage her and tile tho pup site sho boria been here inspecting tile ho I 1 asked gin neing nt at tay my watch it in tars cs not yet eight the banter lied filed out of me ine clearly it lind hild been my duty to bo be on hand to pilot tier her over tile ho estate 01 at least to receive her nt at tile tho garage just what was tit tl eidya frame of mind as to things generally peeved was sho rite over the row last night oil oh no quite cheerful on an friendly chos ordered n big car from now YOM and told me it w would be coming coining vp up to adny and to make a place for it here wn nag s news newa indeed destroying nil my hopes that sho she meditated only a brief bilet sojourn journ Bo the purchase of a machine meant definitely that she mould tor for some time perhaps for the winter I 1 poured a second cup of cf coffee swallowed it grabbed my hat nn ant stick and asked ached enlightenment ur to tho the course token taken by mrs bashford when sit she left tho garage tile sho she took tho lower road toward tho the sound souad and stopped stepped of kofl agulto brisk like it was the nie sc se renest at 0 september mornings and I 1 hurried away thinking tile tho cloudless blue arch the twinkling sea and tho the crisp air might serve to soften my anunti displeasure nt at her hostile reception from froin tho the conservatories conserva tories I 1 caught a glimpse of a woman on tile the beach a slender agile woman throwing aa i bull ball for the amusement if a fox terrier tito the two were lining no end of a good time sho bile laughed joyfully when tho the ball fell into her hands and tho the terrier barked hla his discomfiture and eagerness for a chance to redeem bilm himself antoinet An equivocal statement na as to urs mrs Bash fords ago age was ridiculous instead of tile tho middle aged woman whom hom I 1 was waa prepared to meet kneet hero here was beyond question a vigorous healthy being whose every movement spoke tor for youth und tho the joy of life it might after all bo be the mald maid of whom nhom antoine had spoken I 1 reached a low stone wall that separated tho the lawn front me beach just jas as she effected a running bip ot of tim ilie br kip she turned swiftly and flung it straight at my load head involuntarily I 1 put up my band nad and caught it lust just as sho saw me and cried out a cry of warning aud and contrition I 1 tossed tile the ball to the be dog what must yon think of met roe I 1 she exclaimed 1 I was blinded by tit the sunlight aud I 1 see bolt really I 1 did not P 1 1 I had no business being in the way I 1 laughed noting first her gib glowing wIng color her violet eyes uno line eyes they wre mere her bor fair hair with its golden glint tier her plain black gown with fawn collar and wristbands wrist bands it was tier her age however thal thai roused me to instant speculation ula ul tion twenty alve I 1 decided was vita a maximum more ith likely cly slie she was not more that than twenty two nud and it if I 1 lind bad boon been told that eighteen was tile the total of tier her years fears I 1 have had tho the heart to dispute it dob singleton I 1 said and stupidly added and you aro are mrs bashford nash ford unable for the life of mo me to avoid turning tile statement into an inquiry 1 11 I ain yv your aunt alice i bile said bald with a smile putting out tier her hand down itell oie commanded tile tho dancing terrier lie ito down schools over now whereupon rex ilex obediently sprawled in tile the sand and began trying to swallow the ball that hilly of mo me to try to kill you the first time we met iler her eyes danced with merriment 1 I know of course that any onu ono was about lut flat you made a very nice cotch catch of iti I 1 tin had expected to receive you trost formally lit in the drawing room but tills this really serves very well wall that tree down yonder Is inviting suppose tup pose we stay out hero here and talk a bev bit |