Show LADY L A da r LARKSPUR L r 5 v w U R by MEREDITH NICHOLSON copyright by charles scribners boo bona 11 4 YOU SCOUNDREL Ill richard bowles seal leg sue successful american playwright conides to his hl friend dob singleton the fact act that inspired by tile the grilus of a young actress whom he had seen in london ondon Ii he has written tt a play lady I solely with the thought that she should hould interpret the leading character this girl violet dewing lias has disappeared singleton an aviator has haa just returned in vali ded tram from francs franco Ws ills uncle raymond bashford had contracted a marriage a short time before his death while on a visit to J japan pan ile ho left singleton a comparatively smalle small amount of money and the lie arl privilege v go of residing ng in the garage of hla his summer ui niner home clarton on the sound connecticut mrs 13 ashford Is in believed to be traveling in the orient the h household 0 Us 0 told at parton Is made up of bro broken ken down employees employee a of a new york hotel where Bas ll ashford liford made bin home singleton goes to darton taking with him film the manuscript of lady larkspur there lie finds the household strangely upset lom of its iti members being suspected by their comrades of pro pra afir antoine Anlo lne head of at tile the an e informs him that he has hai been perplexed by the some what mysterious visits of a stranger apparently a foreigner se elting biro bashford Bas liford antoine liaa an farmed tho male members of the ho household in into t 0 a g guard u ard for protection tec tion singleton reads reada searles play with approval app ruvat auni aenk alice arrives unexpectedly meets with a lively reception and turns out to be young and charming mrs airs yarns rams worth la her traveling companion torrence Dash fords lawyer suspects the two women and warns singleton aunt alice may lie be an impostor the mysterious stranger count Alon Monta tant nl makes a call and Is seen en to bo be very much interested in aunt At alices ices ostrich plume pluma fan an which has haa been repaired by a jeweler in jap japan a it singleton is s fas faa by aunt alice antoine reports a spy has fins been tempting empt lne a woman servant to steal tile hip tan fan y CHAPTER Ill continued 9 I 1 lind had noticed that she elio lind had fulcd a tiny japanese fan for the agne QUO lint montant bud bad inspected so BO eager ly when I 1 spoke of tile tho change silo had gilld the other was too loo precious for everyday uw lisp and silo alio to keep it locked up lip 11 1 I linto hate to bother you sir knowing ll 11 roti roil the mention of the tan fan lind had brought tie no to till abrupt halt I 1 resented having ilia thing thrust tin list tit nt me in the Pe ecstatic static mood in which I 1 left ilia house but the visit of the ilia german speaking stranger was serious and antoine knew that tits hla story livid startled me ile iio told me inc further that the ilia man lind had carefully outlined to eltie elite just how flow she could take advantage of her ber freedom fre edoin of tho ilia house to ampro printe tho the fan when the ladles were out and tile servants oft of tile second floor door site was to bo be paid for her ns as stance two hundred dollars lind had been promised even more lind had been suggested viale elslo awl tho the stranger had left tho the garage and passed out of car shot before elsie fully consented but had given antoine the ilia impression that she would make the ilia attempt i it was to bo be for or the kalser kaiser for germany garmany many declared antoine bitterly and silo sho was va to bo careful about flynn I 1 alwayn thought rinn flynn was straight I 1 did indeed sir I 1 11 1 I think P lynn and ills his vo ii J aa are both honest but well take tie no chance warn tho the guards to bo be on tile the alert wo dont want elslo elsie to get the idea that ashes being watched so tell tho ilia men lucu to keep keel away from the gar garage fige ill keep an eye on tho ilia flynne flynns Blyn ns you go homo home end and go to bed tito tho deep calm of the country night had settled upon ilia shere and ilia alio Ar lynns quarters qu artera were perfectly tranquil it seem possible that an international episode was in process of 0 incubation in that quiet neighborhood I 1 began to think that tho ilia general distrust ot of tho the german woman by her associates so socia tes might bo responsible tor for ri fierros erros story but viewed in any light bight I 1 had a duty to perform it elsie had visited tho the house bouso nud and purloined the fan silo she would be very likely to get rid of it as quickly as possible and I 1 determined ter mined to keep watch I 1 drew draw tho the blinds got into my dressing gown and ro re enforcing tho the lampshade lamp shade with ith a newspaper to deaden tho the light proceeded to read it was on toward one and I 1 wa dozing when ft sound bound roused ms me A door on tile the flynn sido aldo of tile hall creaked there wild silence elle then I 1 heard beard furtive steps on the iho stair I 1 snapped out ont my light end and peered out of 0 tile tho window just as elsoos robust cguire disappeared into tho the shadows I 1 W a about to follow when the creaking ing of abo F flynn yon door was repeated repented in a moment mother another peep through the hade gshade showed me rlynn himself and be too quickly vanished alere was a situation indeed I 1 it if aisle was keep lag ing tryst with her conspirator co of tho ilia afternoon and her ter husband lius band was spying upon her a row of large proportions was likely to result at any moment I 1 leaned from the window As far as I 1 aera and saw daw the woman close to thu tho V I at the further farther end the building hiie ale scene was weil set bet for er trouble and I 1 was ons 9 va I 1 could do to 3 avart avert the disturbance and tile the exposure ot of tile alie foolish woman when the whole matter was token taken out of my hands you fool yon scoundrel undrell silo bellowed in carman that you yon should think ino inc it piny plaything thIng to commit a robbery for you I 1 that I 1 should steal from wy my mistress to satisfy you you piece of swine flesh 11 I 1 I 1 had often hear lienard elslo elsie vocally disciplining cip lining her ter irish irysh husband and knew ilia lie power of her lungs and tho the vigor of her invective but she seemed bent upon lipon apprising the lie aholo common wealth of connecticut of the fact that ablio was vill vastly itlY displeased will tile person she wits was addressing who was certainly not flynn amid sounds bounds of n scuffle and the continuous outpouring of billin billingsgate tile light over tho ilia garnge garage door hashed flashed on oil suddenly and disclosed flynn in the act of precipitating himself into the tray fray elsie had grasped and was stoutly clinging to a tall nil man who was trying to free III himself of her muscular embrace ller her cries meanwhile included some of tile the raciest terms in tho the german dictionary and othera mouth mouthfuls fuls of that I 1 recognize when I 1 reached tho the open flynn was dancing round the belligerents like an all excited boxer occasionally springing in to land a blow and all tile tho while lisle elsie continued to address her ter captive and the world tit at largo in her ter native tongue flynn was rather more than sixty and hisle elslo was not much ills his junior while the invader was young and agile the find loosened one arin and drawn a revolver with which ito ho was pounding elsie in tile face I 1 knocked tho ilia gun from tits ills hand with my walking stick and shouted to enslo to lot let go of him iler her shouts had roused the guards and hearing answering cries and the iho beat of hurrying feet on oil tile the walks lie redoubled tits ills efforts to escape ci capo I 1 lind hardly got my hands on him in when with a twist of ills his body lie he wrenched himself free cud and sped away ih ilia darkness 1 I gone far lit in pursuit of him before I 1 tripped over tho the skirts of my dressing gown and fell into a be bed of 10 flung him backward over the stone curbing ca cannad linns tills this would have been less melancholy it flynn hard behind stumbled over mo me and believing lie ho hail had captured cap turcO the enemy gripped P ed my legs until I 1 could persuade mm to let go tito the lights now flared on till nil tho the walks and driveways and antoine was bellowing orders to the guards to sur but round tho the sunken garden I 1 surmised that tho the fugitive surprised by the attack lind had lost tits hta hearings bearings and wits was now far from the boundary wall back of tile the garage fromi from which presumably lio to had entered the grounds with tho sound cutting off tits hla exit beyond tile tho residence there was a fair chanco chance of catching him it antoinet An veterans were nt at all I 1 found antoine Antol nc armed with a club and swinging a lantern majestically posed tit at the nearer entrance to the lie garden with a swallowtail swallow tail tall coat over ills nightshirt and ills his inight nightcap eop upped tipped dyer one car lie ho was an enthralling figure As lie he strode borodo toward me ills his slippers lopped flopped weirdly upon the brick N walk alk theroa theres somebody in tho the garden at sir rs ho he whispered huskily the troops hoi it surrounded surround til no gener general iii lit in ell all lils ills tory reporting in some critical hour tho the dl di position of his army could have been more composed 41 you have dono done well An antolec Anto tolue luc shall you illg dig in until morning or aver over the tp now As you say clr its better you should take charge I 1 walked round the garden and found ilia his men mell well vv but ohp ho ild follows fellows nerv nervous our Ws its a bit sir air that lie ho broke for the gardezi garde ii zed antohne Ant olne lie iio broke for or the lie garden I 1 suggested because his line of retreat wits was cut off and ho he had to go somewhere its queer though sir air when dutch has been sleeping on the long bench down there by the fountain you know how we feet feel about him sir lie he being of that race dutch told mo me he was capping camping in tile the tool house I 1 answered tito boys boya drove him out sir and he took to the garden nasty of the boys I 1 should say any it if that lint interloper should murder him film A yell roso rose from the midst of the garden followed by a crash and an instant later inter by a splash that interrupted another yell I 1 snatched An Antol nea lantern and ran down the steps toward ilia scene of commotion when I 1 reached rea cheil ilia pool the jet was still playing gayly but the waters on ono one side were in furious agitation two men were rolling and tumbling about as though bent upon drowning each other I 1 swung the lantern over them just as dutch got upon tits his feet gripping tits his antagonist by the collar ile iio hung flung film backward over the stone 1 a curbing of the pool and fell nhim in tile the walk with a swish of wet garments the guards from the outer edges of tile the garden had clambered down and they gathered about us as I 1 began questioning dutch dutch undoubtedly enjoying his blis victorious encounter was tearing open tile lie prostrate captives collar to give him air and with his knees clamping the ho mans body was disposed to delay the story of ills his adventures to I 1 increase n its dramatic effect affect it happens tills this evenin lie ho began spouting water that I 1 seen elsie chos been sn sneak eakin ln mo me meals to tile old stables ps an she eho says to me dutch elio bho says bays Iti theys leys all agan us its here callin us huns an w wo a gotta show ani wosa fosgood good americans she says an silo she tole me a feller been to see fico er at wanter ler er to rob the house ter fill lie ler er likely to do ut far love 0 the ho li alser site she said ns as low ow shed null fill when lie ho comes tonight to git a n fan ashes promised to lift fer far am silo said prove silo she no dutchwoman Dutch woman and recommended it if T got tile chance to do tile same baltic I 1 thought auz coln to happen an wim on oil mo me bench hero here in ilia ho garden when the hollerin holler ln nt at the garage woke mo ilia up lip I 1 sits quiet ils tencil nn an tills this guy drops into the garden an auz craw in past roe me bench oil an I 1 pinches lm lint lie ile auz ter fer havin a fight tin an we knocks over one of 0 tile ho big urn urna sant nn lit in the tank lie ile says its a thousand bones an yo turn me loose lie ho says an I 1 soused doused lm alm agin far that tito man was still choking arora tho sousing cousing and dutch turned him over and pounded him vigorously on the back assisted by zimmerman tile the obliging valet who had seized the occasion to show his liand hand on oil the lie side of the lie allies shall I 1 telephone for the lie barton police sirl asked antoine Ant olne with nn an extreme exaggeration of his hid professional manner tula tills was obviously the thing to do but I 1 feigned not to hear the question whilo while I 1 debated the ilia matter it was plain that many things relating to the capture were veiled in mystery i that it if mrs airs bashford Bas liford and her companion were involved in an international tan tall glo gle anil and had in III their possession some thing that vitally concerned the na eions nt at war common chivalry demanded that I 1 handle the arrest of ionta fills agent in such a manner as to shield them I 1 was thinking hard and in my perplexity even considered sending a messenger to torrence Tor renco but lie ho wait already suspicious suspicions find and would be very likely to summon immediately med lately and precipitate a crisis I 1 wits not prepared to face to invite ilia lie attention of the american state department part ment to the iho increasingly complex situation would not bo be giving my aunt the chance I 1 meant silo she should have to clear herself lier the captive had got upon ills feet and stood dazedly staring at us lie ile refused to answer my questions even evell when I 1 suggested that it if lie he could give alvo a satisfactory account of himself lie hu would bo be released lie ile only doggedly shook ills his head when I 1 asked it he lind had been hurt in tits his bout with dutch ho he smiled and extended his arms la in denial lie ile was ivaa a very decent fellow bloyed bauo eyed and smooth shaven who seemed to accept his big plight with a degree of good suroor I 1 decided that au As nothing would be gained vy by sent sending ling him to the harton barton that night 1 I would assume the responsibility of detaining him until 1 I I 1 had groped ray ny way through the haze of suspicions and cIrcumstance iii that enveloped him |