| Show ulma maleff MAL Lff rp U illustrations lueit ae LAUREN TOUT ay aowad aoto c oaf adv SYNOPSIS john valiant it rich favorite slid leilly lenly discovers that the valiant cor I 1 porn llon britell ahli 1119 rather foai founded I 1 ded find which lich was wag tho the source 0 of r lilu his V balth ting has foiled failed ilo 11 e voluntarily turns river over wa private fort foreline line to tho the receiver for the corpor corporation atlon ills alii entire remaining consist of an old motor car a white bull IOK dog and court a nen neg butted pat ate in virginia on tho way to arim 0 r y court lie hu meets shirley dand alk 1 nn in hilred beautt jeanty te anty and to e rides that lin lie Is IH going to like V irginia ini im men mely shirleyn mother mrs mra dandridge and ami major rem in during which it t is IH reve altO eliat tho the n insor Vallan tm fitcher fit ther aind it antin named tin rivals for or th tho 0 hand of mrs dandridge in her boutil and V Valli a lant int fought a title buol on lied her account it in ili I 1 vit the lie former wan killed ailant finds damory court overgrown with wd ard and creepers and tile belld in ank in ill it very much neglected condition I 1 lie to rehabilitate tho the of placa ico anti anil malio mak alie land anti produce a 11 living for him nt sa ven chirley from fro ri I 1 tho t he alto b of a 11 inake which 11 lh licca him I 1 Cn I 1 h e denall neso of tho the title tilte shirley auck 11 ahn h n 1 pon from the wound wid raven his life calbon 11 tells tella her mother of ft the incident and taic t ie latter Is IH strangely moved nt at nil that a 11 valiant lg is again living nt damory damory court vallant carom for the irot time that film father fittl irr left virginia on ic count of a n duel in which doctor southall Rou and major bristow feted as aa lilt hla fathers fat tiers seconds vallant and shirley y become rood good dandridge ra ints when she first meets valiant CHAPTER continued lie ho sat ant down on oil a massed boulder breathless ilia his eyes sparkling ito iio had thought himself almost a beggar and here in ilia hla hand was a small fortu nol talk about engagement rings lie ho muttered why a i dozen of these ought to buy a whole tiara 1 at length lie ho roso rose and climbed on presently turning fit at a right angle to bisect tile tho strip to its bound boundary nry before no na paused tb rest im no lie timber crul cruller ser ho he said to himself ns as lie ho wiped tits his brow but I 1 calculate thoro there iro till nil of three hundred bundred trees big to cut why suppose they are worth north on an average only a hundred d luieco that would make good artil ho he muttered and ivo been about poverty tyll the growth was smaller and sparser now and before long lie ho come camo on the hills very crest to the edge of a ragged clearing it held ft a squalid settlement flo tl perhaps a score of dirt daubed abina little better than hovels some of them roero more mud walled loan lean tos tog with sod roofs and windowpanes window panes 0 of f flour bour sacking fences and outhouses out housea houses there hero was none littered paths rambled aimlessly hither and thither from chip strown yards to starved patches of corn under cultivated aud and blighter bligh blighted teT over the whole place hung an indescribable atmosphere of disconsolate filth of at unredeemed doomed squalor and vile lie nob with one hand on tho the dogs collar 0 hushing bushing him to silence valiant unseen looked at tho the wretched place with a shiver lie he had glimpsed man many Y wretched pur purlieus purlie licus us in the slums of great cities but this in the open sunlight with tho clean woods about it find and tho the sweet clear blue above stood out with an unrelieved boldness and con contrast trait that was doubly sinister and forbidding lie ho know instantly that the tawdry corner was the community known as aa hells halt acre tho the place to which shirley had made her night ride to rescue rickey snyder A quick glad realization of her courage 1 rushed through him on its heels came a feeling of shame that a 11 spot like this could exist a foul blot on such buch a landscape it was on tile his own landl land its denizens held place by squatter sovereignty but ho he was nevertheless their landlord the thought brod bred a now sense of responsibility onal something should bo be done for them too As he gazed an uproar in a cabin reached a climax A rod bearded figure in nondescript garments shot from tile tho door and collapsed 1 in a hp heap 1 in tile alio flirt dirt he got up with a dreadful oath ft a jug thrown at himi him grazing his templo temple as ho he did so and shaking ills his flat fist behind him staggered into a nearby near by leanto lean to valiant turned away with a feeling almost of at nat nausea isea and plunged back down tho the forest hill hillside olde CHAPTER bot X the Oar deni lie he saw BOW them comilla through the gate on the red rond Road the major and shirley in a n lilac iliac by hla his side and strode to meet them behind thorn them ranston propelled a handcart hand cart felled with paper bundles from each of which protruded a bunch of flowering stems there was a flush in shirley a cheek as her hand lay in vallant Vali ants s As for him ilia his eyes like a wilful wilful drunkards returned again anu again between the majors compliments to her face you have accomplished wonders sahl I 1 had no idea so much could be done in such a limited time you bavo certainly primped drimped the old place up I 1 could almost think I 1 was looking nt at damory court in tho the alit sixties log sahl ah quite the nicest thing you could have hare laid eald major responded valiant dut but it needs the flowers he looked at shirley with sparkling OYOS ercy how splendid of you ou to bring them I 1 feel fee litre like a robber with our bushels of them wo ishall never miam them at all have you set bet out the others 1 I have indeed lvery one has rooted too loo you shall see them thein ile he led tho the way up the drive till they stood before the porch fadl chuckled tho the major who would think it had boon been unoccupied for decades at tills this rate soon bo be giving dances ball 1 all ah said valiant the very tilt thing ng I 1 want to suggest the tournament comoh olt off next week I 1 understand and its been tho the diatom custom to havo lava a ball that night tho the tourney ground ison this estate and damory court la Is handler than tho the country club why it bo be appropriate to hold tile tho danco dance here tile tho ground floor rooms agoan aro in order and it if tile tho young oung people would put up with it it would bo be a great pleasure to mo me I 1 assure you ou ohl oh I 1 bren breathed thed shirley that would ho be too wonderful I 1 tho the major seized tits his hand anil and shook it heartily 1 I can answer for tho the committee committed ho he said eald jump it at it why ball bah tho file now flow generation aaion hits never bet act eyes inside tile tho its a golden legend to them then ill go ahead with arrangements ila iio to led them around tho the house anti and town down tho the terraces of tile the formal gar den anti hero here tile tho majors encomiums broke forth again you are going to take us old folks back ball bah lie he said with real feeling this gaarden in its original lines was wag unique it had a piquancy and a that thank god aro are to bo be restored resto redl I 1 on onn can call understand the owner of an estate like this having no ito desire 1 to spend tits his life philandering abroad wo we all hope sah bah that you will recur to tile the habit of your ancestors and count damory court homo valiant smiled slowly 1 I dont dream of 0 anything else he bo aid my aly life as I 1 map mail it out seems to begin hero here the rest count only the years when I 1 wile was little anti and had my father tile tho major carefully adjusted his eyeglasses eye OYO glasses ills hend head was turned away ali ah yes yea he bo said 0 1 the last twenty years continued tho the other from my present viewpoint are valuable mainly for contrast As a consistent cons regimen ot at pate do de tole fole gras said shirley quizzically makes ono one value bread and butter ile ho shook his head at her AB starvation makes ono one appreciate plenty the next twenty years are to be here dut but they hold side trips too now and then theres a jaunt back to the city contrast again she aho asked inter yes and no yes yea because no one who has haa over ever known that blazing clanging life can really understand the peace and blessedness of a place like this no because there aro are so some methin things ga which aro are to bo be found only there there are the galleries and tho the opera I 1 need a breath ot at them both b oth and semi occasional longer flights too the major reflected alook A look see abroad once in a blue moon why not yes for mental photographs photograph a impress lons sione one cant get train from between book covers theres an old cloister clouate r garden I 1 know in italy and a particular riverbank river bankin bank in japan in the blos sorn season and a tiny island with LUD MR he leaned slightly toward her one hind hand on the dials dial time notched rim a greek castle on it in the aegean little colored memories for mo me to bring away to dream over dut but always I 1 come back here to damory court for this is bomel 1 they walked beneath the pergola to the lake where shirley gave a cry ot of delight dalight at sight of at its feathered population where tild did you ou get them from she bhe asked washington lu in crates that explains it she exclaimed ono one day last week the tha little darlles darkles in the village ill all insisted a circus was coming they must have seen these being hauled here they watched the whole afternoon for or the elephants poor young steral lie ho said I ita t a i shame to fool them dut but ivo ive had all the circus I 1 want getting tho live stock installed they wont suffer stiffer said the major clitty get them up a three ringed show nt at the drop of a hat and drop droll it herself resides besides theres ainest day coming and they tan can live on that I 1 sea youve dredged out same of tile the lilles lilies yes yea I 1 tako take roy my dip hero every morning wo used to havo have a diving board when we were little shavers sha vcra pursued tile major 1 I 1 remember once your father ho fie cleared ills his throat and stopped dead please said john valiant 1 1 I l 1 I like to hear about him it was only that I 1 struck rn my head on a rock on the bottom find and stayed down tile tho others were frightened but hobe ho be he love dove down again and again till lie brought me out it was a narrow squeak I 1 reckon A silence fell looking at the ta tall 11 muscular form beside her shirley had a sudden vision of a determined little body cleaving tile the dark water over find and over now rising panting for breath now plunging again ne never ver giving up tip and all she told herself that the son was the same sort that hard set of the ho jaw those firm lips would know no flinching ila ho might but lie he would bo be strong unit half unconsciously she spoke her thought aloud you look like your father do you not yes he replied theres a strong likeness I 1 have a photograph which ill show allow you sometime but how did you ou know perhaps I 1 only guessed she bho said in some contusion confusion to cover this she bho stooped by the pebbly margo marge and hold out her hand to the bronze ducks that pushed end and gobbled about her fingerit fin geri what havo have you named them she asked nothing you christen thorn them very well tho the light ono shall bo be and the ho dark one gilgar lie I 1 got the names from john jasper h he was VIrgIn virginias las famous negro preacher I 1 once heard him hold forth when he bo read train from ono one of the psalms the ono one about the harp and tho the psaltery and he called it 11 Vali ants laugh rang out over the lake to be answered by a sudden sharp screech from the terrace where the peacock strutted a blaze of at spangled purple and gold they turned to soo seo aunt daphno daphne issue issue from the kitchen twig broom in ili hand II If dieahl eahl she exclaimed what to yo on like or er wll wil won we got company comp ny yo trifila 01 ol at fan tall yot yet olt git beahl she waved her weapon and the bird with a raucous shriek of 0 di danco flanco retired in ruffled disorder the master of damory court looked at shirley what shall wo we name him id call him firecracker fire cracker it if he goes off like that she said eald and firecracker the bird was christened forthwith anti and now said shirley lots set get out the ramblers the major had bad brought a rough plan sketched from memory of the old arrangement ran gement of the formal garden I ill 11 just go over the lines of the beds with une unc jefferson he be proposed while you two potter over these roses so valiant and shirley walked back up the slope beneath the pergola together putting and blowing like a black porpoise over his bla creaking go ro cart they planted the ramblers crimson and pink and white valiant much of the time on his bis knees his hands plunging deep into the black spongy earth and shirley with broad hat flung filing on the grass her fingers separating the clinging threadlike thread like roots and her small arched foot tamping down the soil about them her hair the color of wet raw wood in the sunlight was very near the brown head and sometimes som etimos their fingers touched over the work once as they stood up flushed with the exercise n great black and orange butterfly dazed with the sun glow alighted on Vali ants rolled up lip sleeve ho it hold held his arm perfectly still and blew gently on tho the wavering pinions till it swam away when a redbird flirted by to his delight she whistled its call so perfectly that it wheeled in midnight mid night flight and tilted inquiringly back toward them As they descended the terrace again to the pergola he said theres only one thing lacking at damory court a sundial sun dial then you found it she cried delightedly come and let me show you she led the way through the maa of beds at one side till they reached a hedge laced thickly with virginia creeper ile he parted this leafy screen bending back the springing fronds that thrust against tile the flimsy muslin ot of her gown and threatened to spear the pink rosed hat that cast an adorable warm tint over her creamy face thinking that never had bad the old place seen such a picture as she ehe made framed in the deep green some such thought was in the majors mind too as he came slowly up the terrace below ile he paused to take off his hat bat and wipe lila big brow ay with the place all fixed up tip this w way he sighed ao to himself 1 I could believe it was waa only last week that beauty valiant and southall Bou and I 1 wore boys loafing around this ayar iden den and to think that now its va hants son and judiths daughtry daugh tirl trl why it seems like yesterday that ley there was only knee high to a grass grasshopper ila apo r and I 1 used to tell her her hair that color becaas she ran through hell bareheaded im about a i thousand years old I 1 re cRonl Alean meanwhile whilo the two to figures above had pushed through the tangle into a circular cli cular sunny space where stood a short round pillar of red onyx it was i a bun dial its vine clad disk cut of gray polished stone in which its metal tongue was docketed sock eted round hound the outer edge of the disk ran an inscription in archaic lettering visitant valiant pulled away the clustering ivy leaves and read 1 I count no hotca but the happy ones if that had only been truel true he said it Is true soo sen how tho the vines hid tho lie sun aun from it it ceased to mark the time after the court was deserted ill put moonflowers moon flowers nt at its base and where yoa you aro are standing madonna lilies |
