| Show v vat 4 5 yr v 0 0 0 F 4 STOR STORY 0 VA till PRESS CHAPTER I 1 THE NEW COMERS F YOU mum said the voice of a domestic from somewhere round the angle of on the door number three Is moving in two I 1 atle old la a dies who were sit ting at either side of a table spra ig to their feet with ejaculations of in terest and rushed to the window of the sitting room take care monica dear said one q shrouding I 1 ersele in the lace curtain don t let them see us no no bertha we must not give then reason to say that their neigh bore bors are inquisitive but I 1 think that we are safe if we stand I 1 ke this the open window looked out upon a sloping lawn well trimmed and pleas ant willi fuzzy rosebushes and a star sta shaped bed of sweet william it W was as bounded by a low wooden fence which screened it off from a broad modern new road at the other side of this road were three large detached deep bodied villas with peaky eaves and small wooden balconies ear each earh h standing in its own little square of grass and of flowers all three were equally new but numbers one and two were curtained and sedate with a human sociable look to them while number three with lawr ing door and unkempt garden had apparently only just re calved its furniture and made itself ready for its occupants A four wheeler had driven up to the gate and it was at this that alie the old ladles peeping out bird like from behind their curtains dl erected an eager and questioning gaze the cabman had bad descended and the passengers within were handing out the articles which they desired him to carry tarry up to the house lie ile stood red faced and blinking with his crooked arms 0 it stretched while a male hand protruding from the window kept p I 1 ing up upon him a series of articles ae sight of which filled the curious old ladies with bew my goodness me cried monica the smaller the drier and the more wiz ened of the pair what do you call that berthaa it looks to me like tour four batter puddings those are what young men box each other with said bertha with a con air of superior worldly knowl edge and two great bottle sl aped pieces of yel low shining wood had been heaped up tin on the cabman oh I 1 don t know what those are confessed bertha indian clubs ha hal I 1 never before obtruded themselves up on her peaceful and very feminine ex istance these mysterious articles were fol lowed however by others which were more within their range of comprehend compre hen slon by a pair of dumb bells a purple cricket bag a set of golf clubs and a tennis racket F nally when the cab man all top heavy and bristling ha I 1 staggered up off the garden path the e emerged in a very leisurely way fro n the cab a big powerfully built young joung man with a bull pup under one arm and a pink sporting paper in hia his hand the paper he crammed into the pocket of his light yellow dust coat and ex tended his I 1 and as if to assist some one else from the vehicle to the surprise of the two old lad es however the only thing which his open palm received was a violent slap and a tall lady bounded unassisted out of the cab with a re gal wave she motioned the young man towards the door and then with one I 1 and upon her hip she stood in a care less lounging attitude by the gate kicking her toe against the wall and 1 I st essiy awaiting the return of the irl r as si she turned slowly round and the sunshine struck upon her face the two watchers were amazed to see that this very active and energetic lady was vias far from being in her first youth so far that she the had certainly come of age again since ale sl e first passed that land mark in life s journey her finely chis tied clean cut face with something red indian about the firm mouth and strongly etron gly marked cheek bones showed even at that distance traces of the trie fric tion of the passing years yeas and yet she was very handsome her features were as firm in repose as those of a greek bust and her great dark dank eyes were arched over by two brows so 30 black so thick and so delicately curved that the eye turned away from the harsher details of the face to mar vel at their grace and strength her figure too wis straight as a dart a little portly perhaps but curving into magnificent outlines which were half accentuated by the strange costume which she wore her hair black but plentifully shot with grey was brushed plainly back from her high forehead and was gath gathered ered under a small round felt hat like that of a man with one sprig of feather in the band as a co i cession to her sec sex A double breasted jacket of some dark frieze I 1 ke material fitted closely to her egure while her straight blue skirt untrimmed and ur gathered was cut so short that the lover 0 o ver curve of her finely turned legs was plainly vis ble beneath it terminal nat ing ng in a pair of broad flat low heeled and square toed shoes such was tha th lady who loul loui ged at the gate of num ber her three under the curious eyes of her two opposite neighbors BY A CONAN DOYL LOYLE but if her conduct and appearance had already somewhat jaried upon their thel r limited and precise sense of the fitness of things what were they to think of the next lit ie le act in this tableaux vivanta the cabman red and heava had come back from I 1 Is labors and held out his han ban I 1 for his fare the lady passed him a coin there was a moment of mumbling and gestl gesti culat ing and suddenly she had him with both hands by the red cravat which girt Ms neck and was shaking him as a terrier would a rat right across the pavement he thrust him and pushing him u up against the wheel sl si e banged I 1 I 1 I 1 is S b head e d tl ree several ti times tines nes against the s de of his own i vehicle can I 1 be of any use to you aunt asked the large youth framing I 1 itself in the open doorway not the slightest panted the th e 11 raged lady there you low black guard tl at will teach you to be imper to a lady the cabman looked helplessly about him with a bewildered bewilder pd questioning gaze as one to whom alone of all men this unheard of and extra ord nary thing had bad happened then rubbing his lies heal I 1 he mounted slowly on to the box and drove away with an up tossed hand ap pealing to the universe the lady smoothed down her dress pushed back her hair under her little felt hat and strode in through the hall door which she closed behind her As with a whisk her short skirts vanished into the darkness the two spectators miss bertha and misa miss monica williams sat looking at each other in speechless amazement for fifty years they had peeped through that little window and across that trim garden but never yet had such a sight as this come to con found them I 1 wish said monica at last that we had kept the field I 1 am sure I 1 wish we had answered her sister CHAT vr R II 11 i THE ICE H E from the window of which the misses williams had looked out stands and has stood for many a year in that pleasant su b u r b a n district which lies between I 1 norwood aberley and forest hill long before there had been a thought of a township there when the metropolis was still quite a distant thing old mr williams had in habited the brambles as the little house was called and had owned all the fields about it six or eight such cottages scattered over a rolling coun try side were all the houses to be found there in the days when the century was young from afar when the breeze came from the north the dull low boar of the great city might be headd I 1 ke the breaking of the tide of life while along the horizon might be seen the dim curtain of smoke the grin grim spray which that tide threw up grad bally however as the years passed the city had thrown out a long brick feeler here and there curving exten extending cling an I 1 coalescing until at last ile tt e little cot had been gripped round by these red tentacles tentacle and had been absorbed to make room for the modern villa field by field the estate of old mr wll wil hams liams had been sold to the speculative bunder and had borne rich crops of snug suburban dwellings arranged in curving crescents and tree lined ava av the father had passed away be fore his cottage was entirely bricked round but his two daughters to whom the property had descended lived to see the last vestige of country taken fron fro in them thorn for years they had clung to the one field which faced their windows and it was only after much argument and many heart burnings that they had at last consented that it should sl are the fate of the others A broad road was driven through their quiet domain the quarter was re named the wilderness and three square staring uncompromising villas began to sprout up on the other side with sore hearts the two shy little old maids watched their steady progress and speculated as to what fashion of nelga bors hors chance would bring into the little nook which had always been their own and at last they were all three fin dished wooden balconies and overhang ing eaves had been added to them so that in the language of the advertise ment there were vacant three eligible swiss built villas with sixteen rooms no basement electric bells hot and cold water and every modern convenience including a common tennis lawn to be let at 1100 a year or ia 1 purchase so tempting an offer did not long re main open within a few weeks the card had vanished from number one and it was known that admiral hay denver v C C B with mrs hay denver and their only son were about to move into it the news brought peace to the hearts of the williams sisters they had lived with a settled conviction that some wild impossible colony some shouting sing ing family of would break in upon their peace this establishment at least was irreproachable A reference to men of the time showed them that admiral hay denver was a most dis officer who had begun his active career at bomarsund Bomar Domar sund and had ended it at alexandria having man aged between these two episodes to see as much service as any man of his years from the taku forts and the shannon brigade to dhow harrying oft off zanzibar there was no variety of naval work which did not appear in his rec ord while the victoria cross and the albert medal for saving life vouched for it that in peace ak a n k war his cour age was still of the same true temper clearly a very eligible neighbor this the more so as they had been confident ly assured by the estate agent that mr harold denver the son was a most quiet young gentleman and that he was busy from morning to night on tir tho str sir exchange 1 I 1 hay danvers had hardly moved in before number two also struck its placard and again the ladles ladies found that they had no reason to be ed with their neighbors doctor balthazar 4 walker was a very well known name in the medical world did not his qualifications his membership and arid the record of 0 his writings fill nil a long ion half column in the medical directory from his first little paper on tha the gouty diathesis in 1809 to his treatise upon affections of the vasomotor system in 1884 A successful medlia career which promised to end in a of a college and a baronetcy had been cut short by his sudden inheritance of a considerable sum from a grateful patient which ha I 1 rendered him independent for life and had enabled him to turn his attention to the more scientific part of his probes slon sion which had always had a greater charm for him than its more practical and commercial aspect to this end he had given up his house in weymouth street and had taken this opportunity of mon moving ing himself his scientific inspru ments and his two charming daughters we ate had been a widower for some years into the more peaceful atmosphere of norwood there was thus but one villa enoc coupled and it was no wonder that the two maiden ladles watched with a keen interest which deepened into a dire apprehension the curious incidents which heralded the coming of the new tenants they had already learned from the agent that the family consist ed of two only mrs a widow and her nephew charles west wet bacott how itow simple and how select it I 1 ad sounded who could have foreseen from it these fearful portents which seemed to threaten violence and dis cord among the dwellers dweller 3 in the wilder ness again these two old maids cried in heartfelt he arttelt chorus that they wished they had not wid their field well at least monica remarked bertha as they sat over their teacups k that afternoon however strange these people may be it Is our duty to be as polite to them as to the others most certainly acquiesced her sis ter since we have called upon mrs hay denver and upon the misses walker we must call upon this mrs also certainly dear As long as they are living upon our land I 1 feel as if they were in a sense our guests and that it la Is our duty to welcome them then we shall call tomorrow said bertha with decision yes dear we shall but oh I 1 wish it was over at 4 0 clock on the next day the two maiden ladies set off upon their hospitable errand in their stiff crackling dresses of black silk with jet be spangled jackets and little rows of cylindrical grey curls drooping down on either side of their black bonnets they looked like two old fashion plates which had wandered off into the wrong decade halt half curious and halt half tearful fearful they knocked at the door of number three which was instantly opened by a red headed page boy yes mrs was at home he ushered them thern into the front room furnished as a drawing room where in spite of the fine skiing weather a large fire was burning in the grate the boy took their cards and then as they sat down together upon a settee he set their nerves in a thrill by darting behind a t curtain with a shrill cry and prodding at something with his foot the bull pup which they had seen upon the day be fore bolted from its hiding place and scuttled snarling from the room TO BB BE CONTINUED |
