Show VIRGINIA MALUE rivea illustrations LAUREN TOUT y vr ay doaa wran cow u SYNOPSIS john valiant a rich society favorite suddenly discovers that the valiant cor aeration De ration which bla father founded and which waa the principal beurce of his wealth had tailed he voluntarily turns over hl private fortune to the receiver for the corporation ills entire remaining possession consist of an old motor car a white bull dog and damory court a neg bectel estate in virginia on the way to damory court he meets dand ridge an auburn haired beauta and do ldes that he Is going to like virginia am densely sharley B nother mr dand ridge and major exchange rem during which it Is revealed that the major father and a man named bassoon were rivals for the hand of mrs in her youth sassoon and V ailant fought a duel on her account in which alia former was killed valiant ands damory court overgrown grown etli weeds and creepers and decides to rehabilitate the alace valiant saves from the alto of a snake which bites him knowing the deadliness of the bite sucks the poison from the wound and saves ahli life valiant learns for the fart time that his father left virginia on account of a duel in which doc tor and major acted a ahli fathers seconds valiant and sharley become rood friends mrs dandradge faints when she moots valiant for the fart time valiant discovers that he has A fortune in old walnut trees the yearly tournament survival of the jousting ot feudal times Is held at damory court at the baat moment ailant takes the place f one of the knights who Is sick and enters the lists lie wins and chooses ar queen of beauty to the dismay of katherane fargo a former sweetheart who tn visiting in virginia the tournament ball at damory court draws the elite of the countryside shir ley 1 s brownt d by valiant as queen of beauty valiant tells sharley of his love and they become engaged katherane Kather lne bargo determining not to give up vail ant without a struggle points out to shirley how terrible it would be tor the woman who caused tha duel to meet valiant who looks BO much like his father shar ley uncertain but feeling that her moth er ass in love with the victim of vail ant s pistol breaks the engagement CHAPTER continued the inquiry waa drowned in a shriek several children in unison they to their feet casting tearful glances over their shoulders the man ho bad been lying behind the bush bad risen and was coming toward them at a slouching amble one foot dragging slightly his appearance in deed was enough to cause panic with his savage face set now in a grin and djs tramp like costume he looked alerce and animal like white and black the children fled like startled rabbits older ones dragging younger without a backward look all save rackey who stood quite her ald enang fixed on him in a kind of blanched fascinated terror he came close to her never taking his eyes from hers then put his heavy crimy hand under her chin and turned her twitching face upward chuckling aint afeard d n mel be said with admiration wouldn t with th fine folks white livered young inal know who I 1 am don t ye greet king lips rather formed than spoke the name right an I 1 know you too got lea th same look ez when ye higher n my knee so ye aln t at th dome no mo eh 7 purkle an fine an a hobot ho bot coln er make ye another like the tweet ducky dovey that ye from th lovan embrace 0 yer fond step eh rackey s small arm went suddenly out and her fingers tore at his shirt then ho goel he said with bit ter hatred band dont you she burst in a paroxysm of passion dont you even speak her name I 1 it you do ill kill you so fierce was her leap that he tell back a step in sheer surprise then he laughed loudly why ye little wile cat he grinned he leaned suddenly gripped her wrist and covering her mouth tightly with bis palm dragged her behind a clump of dogwood bushes A heavy tep was coming along the wood path tie held her motionless and breathless in this cruel grip till the pedestrian baad passed it was major bristow his pruce white hat on the back of his head bis unsullied waistcoat dappled with the leaf shadows he stepped out briskly toward damory court his stick all unconscious of the fierce scrutiny bent on him from behind the dogwoods dog woods greet king did not withdraw his band till the steps had died in the als tance when he did he clenched his bet and shook it in the air there he goes he said with bitter hatred yer noble friend that sent me up or six years t break my heart on th rock pile I 1 oh hes a he is but he a got greet king to reckon with lie looked at her balefully and shook her look a yere he said in a hissing voice ye remember me I 1 m a bad one ter fool with yer maw foun that out I 1 reckon now ye 11 promise me ye II 11 tell nobody who yeve seen I 1 m only a tramp dye heart he shook her roughly rackey B fingers and teeth were clenched hard and she said no word he shook her again viciously the blood pouring into his scarred face ye brat ye he snarled show aerl he began to drag her after him through the bushes A few yards and they were on the brink of the headlong ugly chasm of lovers leap she cast one desperate look about her and shut her eyes catching her about the waist he leaned over and held her out in mid air as if ehe had been a kitten ye aln t seen me hev promise or over ye go ye won t look so pretty when ye re gayln down there on them rocks 1 the child a face was paper white and she had begun to tremble like a leaf but her eyes remained closed one two be counted bellber abely her eyes opened she turned one shuddering glance below then her resolution broke she clutched his arm and broke into wild supplications ions I 1 promise I 1 promise ehe cried oh dont let gol I 1 promise I 1 he set her on the solid ground and released her looking at her with a sneering laugh now we 11 see et ye belong here or up ter hell s half acre he said fine folks keeps their promises ive heerd tell rackey looked at him a moment shaking then she burst into a passion of bobs and with her face averted ran from him like a deer through the bushes CHAPTER in the rain sharley stood looking out at the rain it was falling in no steady downpour which held forth promise of ending but with a gentle constancy that gave the hills a look of sudden discomfort and made disconsolate miry pools by the roadside the clouds were not too thick however to let through a dismal gray brightness that shone on the foliage and touched with glistening lines of highlight the draggled dragg led tufts of the soaked bluegrass now and then across the dripping fields fraying skeins of mist wandered to lie curdled in the flooded hollows where here and there cattle stood lowing at intervals in a mourn tul key the indoors had become impossible to her she was alck of trying to read sick of the endless facings and purposeless invention of needless tasks she wanted movement the cobwebby mist about her knees the wet rain in her face she ran upstairs and came down clad in a close scarlet jersey with leather gaiters and a soft bat emmalane Emm allne saw her thus accoutered accouter ed with disapproval lawdy mercy chelel she urged you aint coln its calnin cats en I 1 m neither sugar nor salt emma line responded sharley listlessly dragging on her raincoat rain coat and the walk will do me good on the sopping lawn she glanced up at her mother s window since the night of the ball her own self consciousness bad overlaid the fine and sensitive association between them she had been full of horrible feeling that her face must betray her and the cause of her loss of spirits be guessed her mother had in fact been troubled by this but was tar from guessing the truth A somewhat long indisposition had followed her first sight of valiant and she bad not witnessed the tournament she bad hung upon description of if however with an excited interest that the other was later to translate in the light of her own discovery it the thought bad flirted flitted to her that fate might hold something deeper than friendship in sharley s acquaintance with valiant it had been of the vaguest his choice of her as queen of beauty had seemed a natural bom age to that swift and unflinching act of hers which bad saved his life there was in her mind a more obvious explanation of altered demeanor perhaps it s chilly lusk she bad said to herself have they had a foolish quarrel I 1 wonder t ah well in her own time she will tell me there was some relief to overcharged over charged feelings in the very discomfort of the drenched weather the sucking pull of the wet clay on her boots and the uart of the drops on her cheeks and hair she thrust her dog skin gloves into her pocket and held her arms outstretched to let the wind blow through her fingers the mola ture clung in damp wreaths to her hair and rolled in great drops down her coat as she went the wildest most secluded walks bad always drawn her most and she instinctively chose one of these today it was the road whereon squatted mad anthony s whitewashed cabin dah s er man gwane look in dem eyes honey en gwine make cm cry en cry she had forgotten the incident of that day when he had read her fortune but now the quavering prophecy came back to her with a shivering sense of reality fo daha flah en she aln d en dan a en she aln d et s de thing abut eat de ha at de breas dat she d it it were only fire and water that threatened her I 1 she struck her hands together with an inarticulate cry she remembered the laugh in valiant s eyes as they had planted the roses the characteristic gesture with which he tossed the dav ing hair from his forehead how she had named the ducks and the pea cock and chosen the spots for bis flowers and she smiled tor such mem orles even in the stabbing knowledge that these dear trivial things could mean nothing to her in the future she tried to realize that be was gone from her life that he was the one man on earth whom to marry would that prove what I 1 say ho said bending toward her be to strike to the heart her love and loyalty to her mother and she said this over and over to herself in varying phrases you can tl no matter how much you love him you canal ills father deliberately ruined your mothers alte your own its bad enough to love him you can t help that but you can help marrying him you would hate yourself you can never kiss him again or feel his arms around you you can t touch his band you austn t even see him not it it breaks your heart as your mother s heart was broken 1 she bad turned into an unbeaten vay that ambled from the road through a track of tall oaks and pines scarce more than a bridle path wind ing aimlessly through bracken strewn depths so dense that even the wild roses bad not found them in her childish hurts she had always fled to the companionship of the trees she had known them every one the black gum and pale dogwood and gnarled hickory the prickly balled button wood the lowly mulberry and the majestic red oak and walnut they had seemed friendly and pitying coun delors standing about her with arms intertwined now with the rain weeping in soughing gusts through them they offered her no comfort she sud denly threw herself face down on the soaked moss oh god I 1 she cried 1 I love him so and I 1 had only that one evening it doean t seem just if I 1 could only have him and suffer some other hes suffering too and it our fault we neither of us harmed any one lie responsible for what his father did why he hardly knew him oh god why must it be so hard tor us millions of other people love each other and nothing separates them like sharley s warm breath made a little fog against the etar eyed moss she was scarcely conscious of her wet and clinging clothing and the soaked strands of her hair she was so wrapped in her desolation that she no longer heard the sound of the persevering rain and the wet swishing of the bushes parting now to a hurried step that tell almost without sound on the spongy forest soil she started up suddenly to see valiant before her he was in a somewhat battered walking suit of brown khaki with a leather belt and a felt bat whose brim stiff with the cef was curved down visor wise over his brow in an in stant be had drawn her upright and they stood looking at each other drenched and trembling how can you he said with a roughness that sounded akin to anger here in this atrocious weather like talal he laid a hand on her arm youre wet through 1 I I 1 dont mind the rain she answered drawing away yet feeling with a guilty thrill the of his tone as well as its real concern im often wet his gaze searched her face feature by feature noting her pallor the blue black shadows beneath her eyes the caught breath uneven like a child s from crying he still held her hands in bis sharley he said I 1 know what you intended to tell me by those flowers I 1 went to at andrew s that night in the dark after I 1 read your letter who told you T your mother no nol ehe cried she would neter have told me his face lighted with an Irre slat ible movement he caught her to him sharley I 1 he cried it shant bel it shant I 1 tell you you cant break our lives in two like this its un thinkable no nol she said piteously push ing him from her you don t understand you are a man and men cant I 1 do understand he insisted oh my darling my darling it isn t right tor that spectral thing to come between us why it belonged to a past generation however sad the out come ot that duel it held no dishonor I 1 know only too well the ruin it brought my father its enough that it wrecked three lives it shant rise again like banquot ghost to haunt oural I 1 know what you think I 1 would love you the more it I 1 could love you more for that sweet loyalty but its wrong dear its wrong its the only way listen your mother loves you it she knew you loved me she would bear anything rather than have you suffer like this you say she wouldn t have told you herself why it my ather she tore her hande from his and faced him with a cry ah that Is it you knew your father so little he was never to you what she Is to me why I 1 ve been all the life she has had I 1 remember when she mended my dolls and held me when I 1 bad scarlet fever and sang me the songs the trees sang to themselves at night I 1 said my prayers at her knee till I 1 was twelve years old we were never apart a day till I 1 went away to school she paused breathless thai prove what I 1 bayt he eald bending toward her she loves you far better than herself she wants your happiness could that mean hers she demanded her bosom heaving to see us together always always to be reminded in everything the lines of your face the tones of your voice maybe of that oh you don t know how women feel how they remember how they grieve I 1 ve gone over all you can say till my soul cries out but it can t change it it can t valiant felt as though he were bat bering with bruised knuckles at a stone wall A helpless anger simmered in him suppose he said bitterly that your mother one day perhaps after long years learne of your sacrifice she Is likely to guess in the end I 1 think will it add to her pleasure do you fancy to discover that out of this conception of filial loyalty tor its that I 1 suppose you have spoiled your own life she shuddered she will never learn she said brokenly oh I 1 know she would not have spoken she would suffer anything for my happl ness dut I 1 wouldn t have her bear any more for my sake hla anger faded suddenly and when he looked at her again tears were burning in his eyes sharley 1 be said its my heart too that you are binding on the wheel I 1 love you I 1 want nothing but you I 1 id rather beg my bread from door to door with your hand in mine than sit on a throne without youl what can there be in life for me unless you share itt think of our lovel think of the fate that brought me here to find you in virginia think of our garden where I 1 thought we would live and work and dream till we were old and gray together darling I 1 don t |