Show I 1 AJ sass h M aste 1 y roand B by y E PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM copyright br little oron brown A co MYRTILE cef 8 LIFE sargon a young coun statius by the of france I 1 girl white A road at the end 0 of f rek es I 1 she in IB pretty lane n and desperate iler her odest od is dead she has been bee n other household dudge now her has picked out a hue hua ther ginther git her hern n it mn man she aho loath lo athoa on na for and down the road BB up mcches rises stretches out to tho the gr treat eat tt world that road means known r edom to her and life dare travel latt it anything seems la 11 e what she ahe must face tarl tier tt rl than A tire halts halte stays ya ithe bouny of wealth englishmen 1 lr social social position tho dla dis nd ded A SW gir I 1 begs beg a then them to take from her misery in a sway take her adventure they irit of t carlo to thern them to monte lionte ith like fairy iki they seem eom rrb jes An anyway Yay they are men rs lionor nor they balte ta ice the girl tin ns ayrd ward and thus myrtile ajr aging ii 8 to t 0 see e life ll 11 f e thus u begins b n t he h e sti story ory of the S road poad the life that y ni teea sees quickly grows grown eso biting artile fl the scene shifts fr iroff oh curio carlo to london then io tit be anglish english countryside chento the th ento n to haisla of the soviet new a na striking chara charac etera tero men and rutn men make ake their entrance en tranee affairs adventure british v 19 bomsey jom sey and malego nee are much in evidence the th author why my that prince f atory tellero 11 phillips oppen elm m who has charmed the eng ene sh sPeaking peoples with no en ell than seventy novels novela no vela I 1 BOOK ONE chapter 1 I yelle stood upon the crazy veran tier her shaded by her hand annd gaz down donn the lie straight narrow foot i a sundering alln aaros tiL ross th bly plowed field which led to tile ige ge in the hollow below the mol ng white stone cottage from which had bad issued was set in a cleft of pine covered hills it seethed to gge against its inborn ti gliness to succeed only because of tile the ity ty of its setting in the fore ind ad the brown earth with its neat rained vines and its quarter of an of fragrant violets the orchard and white with masses j of cherry som beyond a level stretch of aly turned brown parth earth soon to be e carpet offender of tender green by the time 1110 tie vines should ut aut itcea a sea of deep gold ll li was waa the leal cat homestead of the small french att ly rUles hand dropped to her side aide three figures wore were plainly visible she remained quiescent watch them with a loute tragedy in her e which to tiny iny one ignorant of the et significance of this approaching cession must have seemed tt a little ding vor there was nothing de dc about jean middle il I 1 typical ill peasant of the district li coarsened coari ened face and weather ten iten skin kin or about the companion 0 hung on ills his arin a 0 plump darl nun man with gitil black hair aind eyes vow find fluent of gesture Kc sture wath a pitched i ched voice und end apparently 1 to say gay the third person who ted in the rear seemed even less OY ly to incite apprehension lie ile was t corpulent than iiii rel gAbor jean 90 lit end ills his whilo appearance was i 0 of discomfort yet tile the perls eyes they rested upon him ware were filled li terror ey y were near enough now for wand dald her stepfather waving ills 1 called out to tier her t Is 13 tile the widow dumny little one alend friend find neighbor alerre imps who come to drink 1 a ii glass etli us hurry with the tit e table some abe chair 9 and bring ono one two i ot if last years vintage el billak ank into the which it bad d til rendy placed upon the dr M elrre ills his a in ill a safe cor 1 he e kept the little cafe in tha vil a d the strip of land which went it he e let it to 0 otile others jq ills HI pule pale lad flabby icilda told their heir own jean an barg aargot ot about nebout him abe pride of tile the proprietor tor lo 10 0 bad this 1 I 1 little dwelling te fial ja aimed four rooms till all whid ii a bed such im n one line selim and a be inada hy by my nd father jacques the SS it pleases ses t aliee I 1 lee marie wido ked around her lie r with a I 1 there tight te worse 11 s elie conceio conceded conce ld dod r the he ell children ildren I 1 lear only q margot rw replied and it thin or go 8 th they ey will wl all ala lit Io inthe in ille ira alpa IR 1 inacy V awan 8 M the e tin ll flerl 1 ifie the crip BI rip to to 80 want more vines ca children deos lad 1111 en hilry little or er ann A 4 ones ea org re c enough ca k b jut thy eld has not nr it the air of all 1011 up at t tile girl alio sa ym e 9 them at this and 1 9 j ilass she aai wan of s will and her er coo ca bot y b Y ve th fa i ath 1 4 alek and arms nab borowi ller clerment ment belr I 1 r att of cot the darkest shade of brown with here and there glints of n lighter color tier her silkily fringed wore were of a wonderful shade of deep mile blue her let mouth tremulous and beautiful there was something a little exotic about tier appearance pe pen arance rance although no actual indication of ill health the widow looked tit nt tier her critically alerre tile the Itin innkeeper keeper with things in tits his black bendy beady eyes tooh pool I 1 she Is well enough her stepfather declared never it 11 doctor has cross crossed pl this threshold since tier her mother died many years ago myrelle Myr lifter after she lind filled kllc d the glasses would have slipped bad back into tho the house but jean grasped tier by tile the arm tonight my child ho he insisted you must lust leave your our books alone you must drink a glass of wine vine with us it la Is an occasion this myrtile looked from one to the other of tile the two visitors she had for a moment the air of a trapped animal madame dumny made a little grimace hut pierre only laughed she was a newer flower tills myrelle Myr not like other girls even E yen tile young men complained of tier her aloofness lie ile knew well how to deal eat with such Ie Ile hold lOld tier her stepfather continued continue our two best friends frien dol I 1 here la Is good madame dumay A nice little income she makes nt at tile the shop and a tidy sum in her nc oil oh la in lal tile tho widow interrupted what has that to do will tile thee my friend and also jean fargot went on W without taking inking heed of the interruption the brave alerre oh 01 a pay gay dog that Le 1 A man of property mark you child and listen I 1 why do you think these friends of mine are here 1 I cannot tell myrelle faltered madame dumay will become my wife it Is what we need here and tam I 1 p 4 her feet seemed scarcely to touch the grate grass grown track pierre deschamps Le licar tills this little one he see becks is a wife he ihas chosen you I 1 have given my consent Le had risen to lils lilg feet myrtile shrank hack back against th the ewall wall the terror had leaped now into life ill i will not marry monsieur les champs chain ps she declared the other Is your affair but as for me I 1 will not marry I 1 jean jann aargot leaned back in his chair mofid drank tits his witie wine 1118 ill a 1 two wp guests followed hla his example 1110 ho hoi boll lie laughed come that 1 Is 18 good I 1 you were always a shy myrelle Myr alerre shall woo you into it n differ different eilt humor ay Inde indeed edl I 1 the lie innkeeper us its dented leering across nt at the girl with covetous eyes eyed vp VP shall understand one smother nother 1 presently prent lY little one yo you U need have no fear marriage la Is a pleasant thing you will find it so like all the others it 1 Is nn an institution to be tonstad jean declared ming 11 ling tile lie glasses and glancing amorously it to wards its the widow trouble not about friend brierre slip ls Is my iny thine we shall drink t tills gins af wine to an marriage it will bo be ft festival jant ph ell marlo myrelle slipped through tho the i on en doorthy ilow door way Tny iler her prospective husband after her for a moment and half row rose then he ionic looked ed buck at the wine flowing into ills hla P glass myrtile would keep wine ine by the falle aide of jean beverl never I 1 ile HP re resumed sullied his lila spat in a minute or two lie he would fullow herns heras s soon on as an the second bottle was vas t lipty across tile the S it noor floor nut through throng 11 tile the little g garden and the the rotia myrtele to CT cypress press avenue fled slie she was 11 ke a terrified young fown n in the half light tier her hair nying behind tier her her large ey ayea en filled fl d with fear her feet track ick rne arv tile lie grown to touch grajs ganss evil 1 l d a as a 0 one ne who leaves behind looked over she ehe things only once tier shoulder no one was stirring deemed to hav av thought 0 or nt no one ehte 0 irate gate reached pursuit pur BUlt phe to road and clunet clun led out oat on to the it for a ibo moment ment as though lor or protection tec tion on oil the other side was freedom her eyes tilled with passionate desire it if only she knew how to anin they were singing now down nt at tile the cottage cott ngo site she heard jean Sar gots strident voice in some edmo country acing of harvest and vintage and they called love As she stood ali there re in the quiet of tile the evening there seemed boomed sit suddenly to into life a very fur ance ice of revolt she was weary of her monotonous tasks the abuse of tier her stepfather the caro care of those motherless children not of tier her own stock yet set dependent upon tier her tile the gray tedium of a life and hopeless and now this fresh terror 1 tier her fingers tore nt int the rough splinters of tile the rate gate iler her eyes traveled hungrily niong along that grent great stretch of road here and there through the forests rising in the for distance to tile lie top of the brown hillside and disappearing in mystery inester y A at t the other end of the road one might ind find flop annu I 1 V A chapter 11 II the two young nien men adopted clin characteristic rile terl te attitudes when confronted with the slight misadventure of a hurst tire wid and n delay of hilf half nn an hour christopher bent deliberately ailed and lit a pipe and seating him self on the top of a low gray stone wall anve himself up tip to the joy of a wonderful view ind the pleasure of unusual surroundings ills his compan ion gerald dombey stood peevishly in the middle of the road with hla his hands in ills his pockets cursing the flint strewn i road the rottenness of oil all motor tires and the evil chance which led to this mishap in the lost last lap of their journey W well he on tile the rond road again in twenty minutes your lordship the chauffeur promised as lie he paused for a moment to wipe the perspiration from ills fore forehead liend ills his master nodded with some signs of returning equanimity dont distress yourself john ho he said theres no real hurry so I 1 long ong as we pet get into monte carlo before dark come on christopher he added turning to ills his companion get off that wall and let us ex explore pore 11 the two young men strolled olt oft to gether get lier gerald paused to point to tile the little discolored house of je jcak r aargot are they real people penpit who live it 1 these quaint cotta cottages gesl he speculated that place for instance e looks like IWO a toy farm with its patch of viol violetia etil its tiny liny vineyard its belt of plowed land antil tills this little grove of cy presses it Is just as tho though dg h some child had taken them nil all from ills his play piny box and laid them out there christopher withdrew the pipe f from rom his mouth for a moment lie he was I 1 looking 0 at the opening in attl grove of cy presses and there he murmured must be the child to whom they all belong I 1 think you are right gerald there Is something unreal about the place gerald too was suddenly cons clou of the girl who stood clutching the top of the wooden gate her faco fac corbeg turned turne f a little awny from them absorbed in the contemplation of that distant spot where the road vanished I 1 in Q it a faint haze of blue mist we will talk to her he fie declared you shall practice your french upon this little rustic chris she probably wont be able to understand a word you say at tile the sound of their voices myrelle turned her head and nt at the which they in tier lier face there was no longer any thought of frivolous conversation on the part of the two young voting nn n n they stood for a mam moment nt indeed speechless christopher spellbound gerald of quicker sensibility carried for fop a moment into tile world from which she seemed to have fallen then ills his old wilts habits asserted themselves she was as beautiful as an angel but her feet were on the ground and she was obviously in distress are you alive mademoiselle ha h askari raisins hla him cap nut but certainly mons monsieur leur she nn an scored gravely 11 1 I nm am alive lut verl berj im unhappY i f you can tell n n ilk tile the wai to cannes christopher inquired she pointed to where the thin rib bon of road in the distance d te t melt the hoopii hoo iii of the clot clouds ids cannes Is 19 over there mon leur sho she eaid and there it ir no other rond tills one anu go there often perhaps christopher ventured A damsel in distress and two romanah and adventurous young men how hov can they avo her TO ro bm BE ONT INUrn |