Show T 11 ll THE LOVES of the LADY ARABELLA by MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL copyright 1106 bobba merriu co SYNOPSIS at 14 years of age admiral sir peter hawkshawe Hawk nephew elchard glyn tell deeply in love at first sight with lady arabella stormont who spurned hla attentions tent ions the lad an orphan was alven a berth a midshipman on the ajax by Us uncle giles vernon nephew ot sir thomas vernon became the boy s pal they attended a theater where hawkshaw s saw lady arabella vernon met I 1 overton next in line for sir thomas vernon s estate they started a duel which was interrupted vernon berton and hawkshaw s nephew found themselves attracted bv pretty jadv arabella the ajax in bittle defeated I 1 rench in the mediterranean elchard glyn got 2000 prize money he was railed home by lady hawkshaw as he nas about to blow in his earnings with vernon at a party glyn als covered that lady arabella was a poor but persistent rambler he talked much with her cousin daphne lady arabella agraan showed lovo for latex she held glyn and overton prisoners thus the duel CHAPTER VI As had said the meeting was adelaed exactly 24 hours my courage always has an odd way of disappearing when I 1 am expecting to use it although I 1 must say when I 1 have had actual occasion for it I 1 have always found it easily at hand I 1 can not deny that I 1 was very much fright for giles on the morning of the meeting and to add to my misery 1 heard that overton was considered one of the best shots in england the dreary breakfast gulped down the rattling up to the door I 1 had hoped until the last moment that it would not come the bumping along the road in the cool bright sum mer morning the gruesome long nar row box that lay on the front seat of the chaise the packet of letters which giles had given me and which seemed to weigh a hundred tons in my pocket all these were so many horrors to haunt the memory forever but I 1 must say that apparently the misery was all mine for I 1 never saw giles vernon show so much as by the nicker of an eyelash that he was disturbed in any way about halt way from the meeting ground we left the highway and turned into a byroad and scarcely had we gone halt a mile when we almost drove into a down standing on the roadside among the furze bushes were the coachman the surgeon a most bloody minded man I 1 always believed him mr buxton and overton our chaise stopped and giles put ting his head out of the window said pleasantly good morning gentle men you have had an accidental see A bad one replied mr buxton who saw that their chaise was beyond help and who as he said afterward was playing for a place in our chaise not liking to walk the rest of the als tance giles jumped out and so did I 1 and the most courteous greetings were ex changed the two drivers as experts ex the broken chaise and agreed there was no patching it up tor sei vice one wheel was splintered mr buxton looked at giles mean angly and then at me and giles whispered to roe offer to take cm up by jupiter they shall see we are no shirkers shir kers which I 1 did and to my amazement in a few moments w were all lumber ing along the road overton and mr buxton on the back seat and giles and I 1 with our backs to the horses while the surgeon was alongside the coachman on the box nothing could exceed the politeness between the two principals about the seats as about everything else over ton was with difficulty persuaded to tako the back seat mr buxton seated himself there without any introduction 1 I hope it will never again be my for tune to negotiate so affair as a meeting between gentlemen with one so much my superior in rank as mr buxton may I 1 ask mr overton it you prefer the window down or up asked giles with great deference either dear sir responded over ton 1 I believe it was up when you kindly invited us to enter true but you may be sensitive to the air and anny catch cold at which mr buxton grinned in a heartless manner the window re up we were much crowded with the two pistol cases and the surgeon s box of instruments which to me appeared more appalling than the pistols at last wo reached the spot a mall flat place under a sweetly blooming hawthorn hedge with some verdant oaks at either end giles and overton were BO iw about taking precedence of each ither in getting out ot tho chaise that had strong hopes the day would pass before they came to a decision but mr buxton finally got out him self and pulled hla man atter him and then we were soon marking off the ground and I 1 was feeling that mortal sickness which had attacked me the first time I 1 was under fire in the ajax overton won the toss for position and at that I 1 could have lain down and wept our men were placed 20 paces apart with their backs to each other at the word one they were to turn ad vance and fire between the words two and three this seemed to me the most murderous arrangement I 1 had ever heard of the stories I 1 had so lately heard about overton s proficiency with the pistol made me think even if be did not kill giles intentionally he would attempt some expert trick with the pistol which would do the business equally well I 1 knew giles to be a very poor shot and concluded that he through awkwardness would ably put an end to overton and I 1 regarded them both as doomed men I 1 shall never forget my feelings as we were placing our men or atter mr buxton and I 1 bad retired to a place under the hedge just as we had se lecter our places giles looking over shoulder said in his usual cool soft voice don t you think gentlemen you hid better move two or three furlongs off mr overton may grow excited and fire wild I 1 thought this a most dangerous as well as foolish speech and calculated to irritate overton and tor the first time I 1 saw a gleam of anger in his eye which had hitherto been mild and even sad for I 1 believed then and knew afterward that his mind was tar from easy on the subject of dueling I 1 wish to say here that I 1 also believe had he been fully convinced that duel ing was wrong be would have declined to fight no matter what the conse quence had been for I 1 never knew a man with more moral courage but at the time although his views were changing on the subject they were not wholly changed arr buxton without noticing giles speech coughed once or twice and overton took off his hat and bowed then waited two or three minutes before giving the word the summer eun shone brilliantly turning the distant river to a silver ribbon A thrush rioted musically in the hawthorn hedge all things spoke of life and hope but to my sinking heart insensate nature only mocked Us I 1 beard as in a dream the words one two three slowly uttered by mr buxton and saw still as in a dream both men turn and their pistols Ov ertons was discharged first then as he stood like a man in marble waiting for his adversary s fire giles raised his pistol and taking deliberate aim at the bird still singing in the hedge brought it down it was a mere lucky shot but overton took oft his hat and bowed to the ground and giles responded by taking off his hat and showing a bole through the brim you see mr glyn said overton 1 I have done according to my prom ige it was not my intention to kill mr vernon but only to frighten him which speech mr buxton and I 1 con soldered as a setoff set off to giles speech juat before shots were exchanged the two principals remil ned where they were while mr buxton and I 1 re tired behind the hedge to confer or rather for mr buxton to say to me another shot would be damned nonsense my man Is satisfied or shall be else I 1 am a dutch trooper certainly you have nothing to corn plain of I 1 wasl only too happy to accept this solution but more out of objection to being browbeaten by mr buxton than anything else I 1 said we shall raqu e an explanation of our principals observation just now sir shall you angrlo asked mr bux ton exactly in the tone he used when the carpenters mite complained that the jack jacko o the dust had crabbed cribbed his best saw then I 1 shall call your man tp account in regard to his late and we can keep them pop ping away at each other all day but athla Is no slaughter pen mr glyn nor am I 1 the ship a butcher and I 1 shall take my man back to town and give him a glascot glas sot spirits and some break fast and I 1 advise you to do the some you are very young mr glyn and you still need to know a thing or two then advancing from behind the hedge he said in the dulcet tone be used when the admiral asked bin to have wine gentlemen mr glyn and myself after conferring have agreed that the honor of our principals Is fully established and that tho controversy la completely at an end allow me to congratulate you both and there was a general band shaking all around I 1 noticed that the coachman who was attentively watching tho performance looked slightly disappointed at the turn of affairs straightway we all climbed into the chaise and I 1 think I 1 shall be believed when I 1 say that our return to town was more cheerful than our departure had been we all agreed to dine together at elvart s the next night and I 1 saw no reason to believe tha there was any remnant of feeling between the two late combatants J returned to berkeley square that afternoon with much uneasiness con my meeting and future inter course with lady arabella for had not seen her since the occurrence in sir peters study although my at for her was forever killed by that box on the ear she gave me yet no man can see a woman shamed before him without pain and the antic of lady marabellas Ara bellas feelings when she saw me troubled me but this was what actually happened when we met lady arabella was sitting in the chinese drawing room her lap dog in her arms surrounded by halt a dozen tops lady hawkshaw had left the room for a moment and ara bella had taken the opportunity of showing her trick of holding out her dog s paws and kissing his nose which she called measuring love ribbon this performance never failed to throw gentlemen into ecstasies daphne sat near with her work in her lap and a book on the table by her smiling rath er disdainfully I 1 do not think the cousins loved each other on my appearance in the drawing room I 1 scarcely dared look tow ard lady arabella but she called out ta come here dicky her habit of calling me dicky annoyed me ery much and let me show you how I 1 tilsa aldo s nose and it you arp a good boy and tell me all about the meeting ahls morning perhaps I 1 may hold your paws out and kiss your nose at which all the gentlemen present laughed loudly I 1 never was so em barr assed in my life and my chagrin was increased when suddenly dropping the dog she rushed at me seized my hands and holding them oft at full arm s length imprinted a sounding smack upon my nose and laughingly cried out one yard smack on my nose again two yards smack three yards smack at this juncture I 1 recovered my presence of mind enough to seize her around the waist and return he smacks alth interest full in the mouth and at this stage of the proceedings lady hawkshaw appeared upon the scene in an instant an awful hush tell upon us for my part I 1 felt my knees sinking under me I 1 had that feel ing of mortal sickness which I 1 had felt in my first sea fight and at the instant I 1 thought my friends life in jeopardy leo pardy lady arabella stood up tor once confused contused cont used the gentlemen all re tired gracefully to the wall in order not to interrupt the proceedings and daphne fixed her ayea upon me spar klang with indignation lady hawkshawe Hawk shaws voice when she spoke seemed to come from the tombs of the pharaohs Phara ahat la this country torn I 1 sec she asked and nobody answered a word james the tall to otman stood behind her and to him she turned say ing in a tone like thunder jeames go and tell bar peter hawk shaw that I 1 desire his presence am mediately upon a matter of the great est importance the bootman literally ran down stairs and presently sir peter came puffing up from tha lower regions ady arabella had recovered herself then enough to hum a little tune and to pat the floor with her satin slipper sir peter walked in surveyed us all and turned pale I 1 verily believe ha thought arabella had been caught cheating at cards TO HG CONTINUED |