Show nallie ERNINIE RIVES 6 LAUPEN TOUT y cowcer CY ay goob w SYNOPSIS J n a rich society favorite tt at the valiant cor por atlon which his father founded and which the principal source of hla wealth has failed he voluntarily turns over alb private fortune to the receiver for the corporation ilia entire remaining consist of an old motor car a white bull dog and damory court a neg lifted estate in virginia on the way to damory court he meets dand ridge an auburn haired and de aldea that he la going to like virginia lin a mother airs dand aldge and major beltow exchange rem during which it Is revealed that the major al lanta father and a man named hagson were rivals tor the land of mra dandradge in her auth fabion and valiant fought duel on her account in which the former wag killed anda damory court overgrown with weeds and creepers and the build inan in a very much neglected condition ie decides to rehabilitate the place and make the land produce a living for him valiant saves from the bite of a nake which him knowing the of the bite sharley sucks the poison from the wound and eaves his life CHAPTER XIV continued listen harley what s that alc la telling ranston don yo come ceab ald yo no count play acton cyan fool ranston wad no filch anek story neldah aln no moc sin at dam ry co ot en neb bah was thero waa too insisted rackey one bt him and miss sharley found him and sent uncle jefferson for doctor southall and it saved bis life so there doctor southall told mrs ma son and be isn t a man who s just come to fix it up either lies the rodely truly man that owns if who on earth Is that child talking ayoutt sharley put her arm around her mother and kissed her her heart was beating quickly the owner has come to damory court he the small book mrs dandradge held fell to the floor the owner what owner mr valiant mr john valiant the eon of the man who abandoned U BO long ago As she picked up the fallen volume and put it into her mothers hands sharley wis startled by the whiteness of her face dearest she cried aou are ayou t have come down no it s nothing I 1 ve been shut up all day go and open the other sharley threw it wide can I 1 get your salts she asked anxiously her mother shook her bead no she said almost sharply theres nothing whatever the matter with me only my series aren t what they used to be I 1 suppose and snakes always dirt get on them now give me the gist of it first I 1 can wait tor the rest there a a tenant at damory court and bis names john valiant and he was bitten by a moccasin when this afternoon mrs dandradge s voice shook will he will he recover oh yes beyond any question the doctor sa s so and you found him sharley ou I 1 as there when it happened she had crouched lown on tho rug in her favorite posture her coppery hair her mother s knee catching barange reddish overtones like molten metal from the shaded lamp mrs dandridge Uan dridge angered her cane nervous but more tha once sharley saw her hands claeps themselves together ly then she dropped her hand on the s bead now she said tell me all about n CHAPTER XV the anniversary the stor ft an not a long one though it omitted the morn ang ox hunt and the identification of 1 pie new at damory court as a the owner 0 yesterday B stalled motor the afternoon raid on the jessamine the conversation with john va auant in tte mrs dandradge gazing into the alre without comment but more than once shirley baw her hands clasp together and thought too that the seemed strangely pale the and tragic sequel to that meet ing was the hardest to tell and as she ceded she put up her hand to her shoulder holding it hard it was bhe bald yet now she did abot ehud ter strangely enough the lense of loathing which had been eang over her at recurrent inter vals ever since that hour in the wood had vanished utterly she read the newspaper article aloud and her mother listened with an expression that puzzled her when she finished both were silent for a moment then she asked you must have known bis father dearest dlan t ou yes said mrs dandridge after a pause I knew hla father shirley said no more and facing each other in the candle glow across the spotless damask they talked as with common consent of other things she thought she had never seen her mother more brilliant an odd excite ment was flooding her cheek with red and she chatted and laughed as she bad not done for years but after dinner the gaiety and ef faded quickly and mrs dandradge went early to her room she mounted the stair with her arm thrown about shirley s pliant waist at her door she kissed her looking at her with a strange smile how cu rious she said as it to herself that it should have happened today the reading lamp had been lighted on her table she drew a slim gold chain from the bosom of her dress and held to the light a little locket brooch it carried it was of black en amel with a tiny laurel wreath of pearls on one side encircling a single diamond the other side was of crystal and covered a baby s russet col ored curl in her fingers it opened and disclosed a miniature at which she looked closely tor a moment her eyes turned restlessly about the room it had been hers as a girl for rosewood bad been the old garland homestead it seemed now all at once to be full of calling memories of her auth how strange that it should have been today it had been on shirley s lips to question but the door had closed and she went slowly down stairs she sat a while thinking but at length grew restless and began to walk to and fro across the floor her hands clasped behind her head so that the cool air filled her flowing sleeves in the hall she could hear the leisurely kon kon kon kon of the tall clock the evening outside was exquisitely still and the metallic monotone was threaded with the airy fiddle fiddle of crickets in the grass and punctuated with the rain glad cloap of a frog shirley stepped lightly down to the wet grass looking back she could see her mothers lighted blind AH around the ground was splotched with rose petals looking in the squares of light like bloody rain she skimmed the lawn and ran a little way down mhd lane A shuffling sound presently fell on her ear Is that vou unc jefferson she called softly the footsteps came near er ets me miss he tit alered noiselessly and she could see his bent form vibrating in the gloom 0 o ah done no indeed I 1 knew you wouldn t do that how is he he right much battah he replied in the bame guarded tone he say he be all right in er few days on y he gotter lay up er while dat was r ugly nip he got torn dat able restyle rep tyle do you think there can be any others about the grounds no m dey mos ly keeps ter de ma sh lan en on y runs de un dan bresh ez thick I 1 fix dat ter morrow mars valiant he tell me ter grub et alf out en make er bon fiah ob it that s right unc jefferson good night and thank you tor coming she started back to the bouse when his voice stopped her mis shirley yo don keer et de ole man two er three ob dem seems lak young mars ton ob dem he got one in er glass but et s mos dald now walt a minute she said and disappeared in the darkness returning quickly with a handful which she put in his grasp there she whispered and slipped back through the perfumed dark an hour later she stood in the cozy stillness of her bedroom she threw off her gown slipped into a soft loose robe of maize colored hlll and stood before the small glass she pulled out the amber pins and drew her wonderful hair on either side 0 her face looking out at her reflection like a mermaid from between the rip plang waves of a moon golden sea at last she turned and seating her self at the desk took from it a diary she scanned the pages at random her eyes catching lines here and there A good run today hetty and judge chalmers and the pendleton boya my fourth brush this season A frown drew itself across her brows and she turned the page one of the hounds broke hla leg and I 1 gave him to rickey chilly lusk to dinner today after swimming the lor ang rapid she bit her lip turned abruptly to the new page and took up her pen this morning a mlle run to damory court she wrote this afternoon went for cape there che paused the happenings and sensations of that day would not be recorded they were she laid down her pen and put her forehead on her clasped bands how empty and inane these entries seemed beside this rich and eventful twenty four hours just what had she been doing a year ago today she wondered the lower drawer ot the desk held a number 0 slim diaries like the one before her she pulled it iut took up the last years volume and opened it why she said in surprise 1 I got jessamine tor mother this very same day last year she pondered frown ing then reached for a third and a fourth prom these she looked up startled that date in her mother s calendar called tor cape jessa mines hat was the fourteenth of may to her she bent a slow troubled gaze about her the room had been hers as a child she seemed suddenly back in that childhood with her mother bend ing over her pillow and fondling her rebellious hair when the wind cried for loneliness out in the dark she had im tempted to stay sick and do nothing but eat sung old songs to her sad songs even in those pinafore years shirley had vaguely realized that pain lay behind the brave gay mask was there something some event that had caused that dull colored life and un fulfillment fulfilment and was today perhaps its anniversary john valiant sat propped up on the library couch an open magazine un heeded on hs knee the reading stand beside him was a litter of leti d papers the bow window was open and the honeysuckle breeze blew about him lifting bis hair and ruffling the leaves of the papers in the garden three d arkles were labor ing under the supervision of uncle jefferson the unsightly weeds and lichen were gone from the graveled paths and from the fountain pool whose shaft now spouted a blender spray shivered by the breeze into a million diamonds which fell back into the pool with a trickle and drip the master of damory court closed the magazine with a sigh if I 1 could only do it all at once he muttered it takes such a confounded time four days they ve been working now and they haven t done much more than clean up he laughed and threw the magazine at the dog who dodged it with injured alacrity after all chum he remarked it S been thirty years getting in this condition I 1 guess we re doing pretty well he stretched luxuriously I 1 II 11 take a hand at it myself tomorrow I 1 m as right as rain again now thanks to aunt and the doctor some thing of a crusty citizen the doctor but hes all to the good A heavy step came along the porch and uncle jefferson appeared with a tray holding a covered dish with a plate of biscuit and a round jam pot look here said john valiant 1 I had my luncheon three hours ago I 1 m being stuffed like a milk fed turkey the old man smiled widely ets jes er snack er broth he said ehll kinder float aroun de suddah things als yeah pots dat apple battah miss mattle sue sen yo by rackey snyder valiant sniffed with satisfaction I 1 m getting so confoundedly spoiled be said that I 1 m tempted to stay sick and do nothing but eat by the way uncle jefferson where did rackey come does she belong here no suh she come torn hells half acre what s that dats dat ornery 0 folks condah on de dome explained un cle jefferson dey s been dah long s ah kin jes er ram shackle lot 0 shiftless shit less po white trash git derlong t all interesting said valiant so nickey belonged there yas suh debbah d a come down beah cep in fo mis shirley she de one fotch de gal dat place en put huh ald mis mattle sue three yeah ergo A sudden color came into john va hants cheeks tell me about it his voice vibrated eagerly well suh continued uncle jefferson dey was one 0 dem low dow hell 6 isalt ackers name greet king call beset de mayah ob de dome en ho went on de rampage one day en took bis wife she was cr po sickly boman ald er III gal alve yeah of by er fust husban he done beat huh heap 0 times bafo but als time ho boun ter finish huh ah he wag too drunk fo dat en she got errair en run down bean et was wintah time en dab s abow on do aroun dagg cr road torn de dome i dat hits de red road dost ter rosewood dat ar a de dandridge place en she come dab reck n she auz er pitiful lookin obstacle peas lak she done put de gal up in de cabin lor en hid de faddah en she moa crazy to bah greet git huh she let he hunten fo de oung un when sie run erway dey was on y mis judith en mis sharley en de gal em line at rosewood well sun dey wa n no time ter sen fo men abut 0 o mis sharley do she aln afeard 0 on dla en she on y se benteen yeah ol 01 den too she don tell mis judith no suh she run out ter de stable en saddle huh boss en she gallop up dat road ter hell s half acre lak er shot er shovel valiant brought bis hands together sharply yes yes be said and then when she come ter greet kings cabin he done oun de ladday en one er he foots was on de rung he bad er ax in be ban de po gal was down taboo de cracks 0 de flo en de bestes she know how she say dat she de good bawd sen er angel to mis shatley were all in white she dlan stop ter change huh close she dlan eay buffin mis sharley dlan she ony lay huh ban on greet kings ahm en be look at hub face n he drop be ax en go den she dumb de faddah en totcy de chile down in huh adms en take hub on de boss en come back dat de way et happen suh and rackey was that little child yas suh she sho was in de er posse done ride up ter hell s halt affre en take greet king in de cajah he argyry de case to de state en when he done git thoo dey mos put de tow aroun kings nek in de coot room he done got six yeah en et mos broke de cajah a baat dat dey coulden couldn give him no mo he auz cert n y er bad alg dat greet auz dey say he done sw ah he do up de cajah when he git out such was the sory which uncle jefferson told standing in the door way when his shuffling step had re treaded valiant to the table and picked up a slim tooled volume that lay there it was luclle which he bad found in the hall the night ot his arrival he opened it to a page where pressed and wrinkled but still retain ing its bright red pigment lay what had been a rose he stood looking at it abstractedly hia nostrils widening to its crushed spicy scent then closed it and slipped it into his pocket CHAPTER XVI n devil johns day he was sitting motionless when there came a knock at the door and it opened to admit the gruff voice of doctor southall A big form was dose behind him hell up I 1 see I 1 took the liberty ot bringing major the roaster ot damory court came forward limping the least trifle and shook bands glad to know you sah said ohp major allow me to congratulate you its not every one who gets alt ten by one of those infernal mocca bins that lives to talk about it you must be a pet of providence or else you have a cast iron constitution sah waved bis hand toward the man of medicine who bald 1 I reckon miss sharley was the providence in the case she had sense enough to send for me quick and speed did it well sah the major said I 1 reckon under the circumstances your first impressions of the section aren t anything for us to brag about im delighted its bard for me t tell how much walt till you know the fool place growled the doctor testily youl change your tune the major smiled genially don t be taken in by the doctor a pessimism have to get a yoke of three year oxen to drag him out of this state it would take as many for me valiant laughed a little you who have always lived here can scarcely understand what I 1 am feeling I 1 imag ine you see I 1 never knew till quite recently my childhood was largely spent abroad and I 1 have no near rela alves that my father was a virginian and that my ancestors always lived here why there s a room upstairs with the very toys they played with when they were children to learn that I 1 belong to it all that I 1 myself am the last link in such a |