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Show I THE HOUSE OF I I A THOUSAND 1 j CANDLES H Br MEREDITH NICHOLSON H Aslhar ! "TDK MAIN CHANCE,' ZZLDA j DAKEIQH," Elc Copjrlght not br liobbi-Mtrrlll Co. H CHAPTER I. Hj The Will of John Marshall Glenarm. HJ Pickering's letter bringing news of HJ my grandfather's death found mo at HI Naples early In October. John HI Marshall Olcnarm had died In Juno, HJ leaving a will which gavo mo his prop- HI orty conditionally, Pickering wrote, HJ and It was necessary for mo to roturn HI Immediately to qualify as legatee It HJ was by the merest luck that the letter Hff , camo to my hands at nil, for It had HJj been sent to Constantinople, In care all of tho consul-general Instead of my U bankor thore, nnd It was not Picker- HJ Ing's fault that the consul was a friend of mlno who kept track of my wander- HJ lugs and was nblo to hurry tho cxecu- H tor's letter after mo to Italy, where- H I had gone to meet an English flnnn- HI clcr who had, I was advised, unlimited HI money to spend on African railways. I v I am an englnoor, a graduate of an j f American Institution familiarly known Hj -as "Tho Tech," nnd ns my funds wero HI running low I naturally turned to my HI profession for employment. Iuut this letter changed my plans, and tho following day I cabled Pickering Pick-ering of my departuro and wns outward out-ward bound on a steamer for Now York. Fourteen days later I sat in rickcr'ng's offlco In tho Alexis Building Build-ing anl listened Intently whllo ho read, w th much ponderous emphasis, tho pre -lslons of my grandfathor'a will. ion ho concluded I laughed. PIckorlnr was a sorlous man, and I was glad to sco that my levity pained him. I h:d, for that matter, always been n bo ireo of annoyanco to him, and his k k of distrust and rcbtiko ' did not tro, bio mo In tho least. I reached across tho tnblo for the paper, and l.j gavo the scaled and bo-rlbboned bo-rlbboned copy of John Marshall Glen-nrm's Glen-nrm's will into my hands. I read It through for myself, feeling conscious mcanwhllo that Pickering's cool gazo was bent Inquiringly upon mo. Thoso aro tho paragraphs that Interested mo most: "I glvo and dcvlso unto 'my said grandson, John Glenarm, sometlmo a . resident of tho city and stato of Now ft York, and Inter a vagabond of parts ' unknown, a certain property known as Glenarm House, with tho land and hereditaments thereunto pertaining and hereinafter moro particularly described, de-scribed, and nil pcrsonnl effects, goods and other property that may bo located In tho premises and on tho land herein described, tho said realty lying In tho county of Wnbana In tho stato of Indiana, upon this condition, faithfully nnd honestly porformed: "That Bald John Glenarm Bhall ro-maln ro-maln an occupant of said Glenarm Houso and of my lands appurtenant r thereto, demeaning himself mcanwhllo In an ordprly and tempornto mannor. Should ho fall at any tlmo during said year to comply with this provision, said property shnll at onco revert to my general estato, shall become, without with-out reservation and without necessity for any process of law tho proporty, absolutely, of Marian Dovereux, of tho county nnd stato of Now York." "Well," ho demanded, striking his HH hands upon tho arms of his chair, HI "what do you think of It?" HH For tho llfo of mo I could not help HH laughing again. Thero was, in tho HH first place, n delicious Irony 'In tho HJ, fact that I should learn through him HH f of my grandfather's wishes with ro- HH spect to mysoir. Pickering nnd I had HJ grown up In tho same town In Vcr- HHJ inont; wo had attended tho snmo pre- HH pnratory school, but thero had been HH i from boyhood a certain antagonism HHJ between us, Ho had always sticcoeded HH whero I failed, which Is to say, I must HHJ admit, that ho, had succeeded pretty HH frequently. Whon I refused to sqttl'o HH down to my profession, but choso to HH sco something of tho world first, Pick- HH erlng gavo himself seriously to tho HH Jaw, and thoro was, I know from tho HH beginning, no mnnncr of chnnco that HHJ ho would fall. HH I am not moro or loss than humnn, HHJ and I remembered with joy that onco HH I had thrashed him soundly nt tho HH prep school for bullying, a Binnllor boy, HH but our score from school days was HH not without tallies on his sldo. Ho HH was easily tho bettor scholar I grant HH him that; and ho was shrowd nnd HH) plausible. You novor qulto know tho HH extent of his powers and resources, HH and ho had, I always mnntnlnod, tho HHj most amazing good luck, as witness HHI tho fact that John Marshall Glenarm HHI had taken a friendly Interest in him, HHI It wns wholly llko my grandfather, HJI who was a man of many whlniB, to HS f glvo his affairs into Pickering's koop- HHI lng; and I could not complain, for I HW had mlssod my own chnnco with him. HH It wns, I know readily enough, pnrt of HH my punishment for having succeeded HI so signally In Incurring my grand- HI fathor's dlsploasuro that ho had mado HH It necessary for mo to treat with HH Arthur Pickering In this matter of tho HH will; and Plckorlng wns enjoying tho HH situation to tho full. HI nut thero was somotlilng not wholly HI honest In my mirth, for my conduct HI during tho three preceding years lind 1 HJ boon roprohenslblo. I had uaod my grandfather shabbily. My parents died when I wns a child, nnd ho had cared for moas far back as my memory ran. Ho had suffered mo to spend tho fortune for-tune left by my father without restraint; re-straint; ho hnd expected much of mo, and I had grlovously disappointed him? It was his hope that I should dovoto myself to architecture, a profession for which he hnd the greatest admiration, admira-tion, whereas I had Insisted on engineering. I am nor . n apology for my life, and I shu ' iHempt to extenrj-ato extenrj-ato my conduct u going abroad at tho end of my courso at Tech and, making Lauranco Donovan's acquaintance, sotting sot-ting off with him on a career of adventure ad-venture I do not regret, though possibly pos-sibly It would bo moro to ray credit If I did, tho months spent in leisurely following tho Danubo oast of tho Iron Gate Lauranco Donovan always with mo, whllo wo urged tho villagers and inn-loafers to all mannor of sedition, ncqulttlng oursolves so well that, when wo camo out Into tho Black sea for further pleasure, Russia did us tho honor to keep a spy at our heels. I should llk for my own satisfaction, at least, to set down an account of certain affairs In which wo wero concerned con-cerned nt Bolgrad, but without Larry's consent I am not at liberty to do bo. Nor shall I take tlmo hero to descrlbo our travels In Africa, though our study of tho Atlas mountain dwnrfs won us honorablo mention by tho British Ethnological Society. Thesb wero my yesterdays; but today to-day I sat In Arthur Pickering's offlco In tho towering Alexis Building, conscious con-scious of tho muffled roar of Broadway, Broad-way, discussing tho terms of my grandfather Olenarm's will with a man whom I disliked as heartily as it is safo for ono man to dlsllko nnother. Pickering had asked mo a question, and I was suddenly awaro that his I llko," ho replied coolly. Ho did not look upon mo as llkoly to becomo it formldablo litigant. My staying qualities qual-ities had boon proved weak long ago, as Plckorlng know woll enough, "No doubt' you would llko that," I answored. "But I'm not going to give you tho pleasure. I abldo by tho torm of tho will. My grandfather was n lino old gontloman. I shan't drag his namo through tho courts, not ovon to pleaso you, Arthur Pickering," I declared de-clared hotly. "Tho sontlmont Is worthy of a good man, Glonarm," ho rejoined. "But this womnn who Is to Biiccood to my rjghts, I, don't seem to remember remem-ber her." . "It is not surprising that you novor henrd of hor." "Thon Bho's not p, connection of tho family, no long-lost cousin whom I ought to romembor?" "No; sho was tl lato acqunlntnnco of your graudfatlior. Ho mot hor through an ofd friend of his, Miss Evans,' known us Sister Theresa. Miss Dover-oux Dover-oux is Sister Thorcsa's niece." I whistled. I had n dim recollection that during my grandfnther's long wld-owerhood wld-owerhood thero were occasional reports re-ports that ho was about to marry. The nnmo of Miss Evans had been men' tloncd In this connection. I hnd heard It spoken of In my fnmlly, and not, I remembered, with much kindness Later I heard of her Joining a Sister hood, and ppcnlng n' school somowhore In tho West!. "And Miss Dovereux, Is sho ar elderly nun, too?" "I don't know how elderly sho Is but sho Isn't a nun at present. Still Bho'a very much nlono In tho world and sho and Sister Theresa aro vcr) Intimate." "Pass tho will again, Pickering whllo I mnko suro I grasp theso divert lng ideas. Sister Theresa Isn't th ono I mustn't marry Is she? It's tb other ecclesiastical embroidery artist tho ono with tho "x" In her namo suggesting tho algebra of my vanish lng youth." I rend aloud this paragraph: "Provided, furthor, that In event slid John Glenarm aforesaid shall marry tho said Marian Dovereux, or In tho event of nny promlso or contract con-tract of marriage between said pop sons within flvo years from tho dato of said John Glcnnrm's acceptance of tho provisions of this will, tho wholo ostato Bhall becomo tho proporty absolutely abso-lutely of St. Agatha's School, at An-nnndnlo, An-nnndnlo, Wnbann county, Indiana, a corporation under tho laws of said stato." "For a touch of comedy commend mo to my grandfather! Pickering, you always woro a well-meaning fellow, fel-low, I'll turn over to you all my right, Interest and tltlo In and to theso an- SSVSNV Think of it?" oyoa woro fixed upon mo and that ho awaited my answer. "What do I think of It?" I repeated. "I don't know that It makes any dlf-foronco dlf-foronco what I think, but I'll toll you, If you wnnt to know, that I call it Infamous, In-famous, outrageous, that a man should leavo n ridiculous will of that sort bo-hind bo-hind him. All tho old monoy-bags who pllu up fortunes magnify tho Importance Im-portance of their money. Thoy Imagine Im-agine that ovory kindness, every ordinary ordi-nary courtesy shown them, Is moroly u bid for a slice of tho cako. I'm disappointed dis-appointed In my grandfather. Ho wns a splendid old man, though God knows ho hnd his queer ways. I'll bet n thousand thou-sand dollars, If I havo so much monoy In tho world, that this schonio Is yours, Plckorlng, and not his. It smacks of your ancient vlndlctlvcnoss, and John Marshall Glcnnrm had iioiio of that in his blood. That stipulation about my rosldonco out thoro Is fantnstlc. 1 don't havo to bo a lawyor to know that; and no doubt I could br"tk tho will; I'vo n good notion to try .t, anyhow." any-how." "To bo suro. You can tlo, up tho i I ostato for a half dozen years If von gelio Slaters. Marry! I llko tho idea! I sup.poso somo ono will try to marry mo for my monoy. Marrlago, Pickering, Picker-ing, Is not embraced in my Bchorao of llfo!" "I should hnrdly call you a marrying marry-ing mnn," ho observed. "Porfcctly right, my frlond! Sister Theresa was consldorod a possible match for my grandfather In my youth. I'm qulto out of It with hor And tho othor lady with tho fascinating fascina-ting rilgobrnlc climax to hor namo, sho, too, j Impossible; It seeniB thnt I can't got tho monoy by marrying hor I'd bettor let her tako It. She's as poor as tho dovll, I dnro say." "I Imagino not. Tho Evanses aro n wealthy family, In spots, nnd she ought to havo boiuo money of hor own, If hor nunt doesn't coax It out of hor for educational schomos." "And whoro on tho mnp nro these lovely croaturos to bo found?" "Sister Thorcsa's school adjoins your preserve; Miss Dovoroux hns, I think, somo of your own weakness for travel. Slstor Thoresa Is hor nearest relative, rela-tive, and sho occasionally vIbUs sl Agatha's that's tho school." "I supposo thoy embroldor altar-cloths altar-cloths together and othorwlso labor valiantly to bring confusion upon satan and his cohorts. Just tho poo-plo poo-plo to pull tho wool ovor tho oyoa of my grandfather!" Plckorlng smiled nt my rosontmont. "You'd bettor glvb thorn a wldo borth; thoy might catch you In tholr not. Slstor Thoresa Is said to havo qulto a winning wny. Sho cortalnly pluckod your grandfather." "Nuns in Bpectncles, tho gontlo educators edu-cators of youth and thnt Bort of thing, with a goodnutured old man for tholr proy. Nono of them for mo!" "I rnthor thought bo," remarked Pickering, nnd ho pullod his watch from his pockot nnd turned tho stem with his heavy fingers. Ho was short, thickset and sleek, with a Bquaro Jaw, hair already thin and n closo-cllppod niUBtacho. Ago, I mentally reflected, wob not Improving him. (TO BK CONTINUED.) |
