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Show THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CANDLES EL By MEREDITH NICHOLSON Author ol "HIE MAIN CHANCE." ZELDA IMMEROM," Etc. Cop;rltfht lwU bjr Uubtit-Uerrlll Co. CHAPTER XX. Continued. Tlio piano pounding continued and I waited for what seemed nn Inter-mlnnblo Inter-mlnnblo time. It was growing dark ' and a tnald brought lamps. I took a book from tlio table. It waa "The Life of Henvcnuto Cellini" and Marian Dov-crctix Dov-crctix was written on tlio fly leaf, by unmistakably tlio same hand that bad ponned tho apology for Olivia's performances. per-formances. I Baw In tho clear, flowing lines of tho signature, in their lack of superfluity, her own case, graco and charm; and, In tho deeper stroke with which tho "x" was crossed, I felt a challenge, a readiness to abldo by consequences con-sequences once her word was given. Then my own Inclination to think well of her nngered 1110, and I dropped tho book Impatiently as bIio crossed tho threshold. "I am sorry to have kept you waiting, wait-ing, Mr. Gienarm. Hut this Is my busy hour." , "I shall not detain you long. I came," I hesitated, not knowing why I had jy come. alio took a chair near tho open door and bent forward with nn air of attention atten-tion that was disquieting. Sho woro black perhaps to fit her the bettor ' Into tho houso of a somber Sisterhood. I seemed suddenly to remember her from n time long gone, and tho effort of memory throw mo off guard. Stoddard Stod-dard had said there wero several . Olivia Armstrongs; there wero cor- tnlnly mnny Marian Dovorouxs. Tho sllenco grow Intolerable; sho was wait-lug wait-lug for mo to speak, and I blurted: "I suppose you hnvo conio to tako chargo of the property." . "Do you?" sho asked. "And you came bach with the executor execu-tor to facilitate matters. I'm glad to sco that you lose no time." "Oh!" sho said Hngerlngly, as though . she wero finding with dlfllculty tho note In which I wished to pitch tho conversation. Her calmness was maddening. mad-dening. "I suppose you thought It unwise to wnlt for tho bluebird when you hnd bo-gulled bo-gulled mo Into breaking a promise, when I was trapped, defeated, " Her elbow on tho arm of tho chair, her hand resting against hor cheek, n tho light rippling goldenly In her hair, her eyes bent upon 1110 Inquiringly, mournfully, mournfully, ns I had seen them whore? onco before! My heart leaped In that moment, with that thought. "I remember now tho first tlmo," I said, nioro angry than I had over boon beforo In my llfo. "That Is quite remarkable" bIio said, and nodded her head ironically. "It was at Shorry's; you wero with Pickering you dropped your fan and ho picked It up, and you turned 1 toward mo for a moment. You wero In black that night; It was tho unhappl-ness unhappl-ness In your faco, In your oyes, that inado ma remember." I was Intent upon tho recollection, eager to fix and establish It. "You nro qulto right. It was at Sherry's. I was wearing black then; many things mado mo unhappy that i night." Hor forehead contracted slightly and sho pressed her Hps together. "I supposo that oven thon tho con-1 con-1 splracy was thoroughly nrranged," I said tauntingly, laughing a littlo por-haps, por-haps, In my brutal Impulso to wound j hor, to tako vengeanco upon hor. Sho roso nnd stood by her chair, ono hand resting upon It. I faced her; hor oyes woro like violet seas. Sho spoko very quietly. I "Mr. Clcunrm, has It occurred to you that when I talked to you thoro In tho j park, when I risked unpleasant gossip In recolvlng you In u houso whoro you . fc had no possible right to bo, thnt I was counting upon something, foolishly nnd stupidly, yet counting upon it?" I "You probably thought I was a fool," .1 ,' I retorted. J "No," sho smiled slightly. "I UJ thought I bcllovo I have said this to 7 you beforo! that you wero n gontlo- man. I really did, Mr. Glonarm. I must say It to justify myself. I rolled upon your chivalry, I oven thought, when I played being Ollvln, that you i had a senso of humor. Hut you nro not tho ono and you haven't tho other, i I ovon went so far, after you know por- ( fectly well who I was, to try to help j you to encourago you to provo your- I self tho man your grandfather wished you to bo. And now you conio to mo in a shocking bad humor, I really think you would llko to bo Insulting, Mr. Gienarm, If you could." "Hut Pickering, you camo back f with him; ho Is horo and ho Is going to Cj stny! And now that tho proporty bo-longs bo-longs to you, thoro Is not tho Bllghtost reason why wo should make nny pro-tenso pro-tenso of anything but enmity. Whon you and Arthur Pickering stand to-gothor to-gothor I tako tho othor sldo of tho bar-rlcadol bar-rlcadol I supposo chivalry would re-qulro re-qulro mo to vacato, bo that you may onjoy at onco tho spoils of war," I stormed with growing heat. t fc "I fancy It would not bo very dim- 71 cult to eliminate you as a factor In tho situation," sho remarked Icily. "And I suppose, after tho unsuccoss- ful efforts of Mr. Pickering's allies to assassinate me, as n mild form of elimination, elim-ination, ono would naturally expect mo to sit calmly down and wait to bo shot In tho back. Hut you may tell Mr. Pickering that I throw myself upon your mercy. I have no other homo than this shell over tho way, and I beg to bo allowed to remain until nt least the bluebirds come." "I qulto sympathize with your reluctance re-luctance to deliver the nicssago yourself," your-self," sho said, "is this all you camo to say?" "I came to toll you that you could havo tho house, and everything In its j hideous walls," I snapped; "to tell you j that my chivalry Is enough for somo I situations and thnt I don't Intend to light n woman, I had accepted your own renouncement of tho legacy in good part, but now, plcnso bellovo 1110, it shall bo yours to-morrow. I'll yield possession to you whenover you ask It, but never to Arthur Pickering! As against him and his treasure-hunters and assassins I will hold out for a dozen years!" "Nobly spoken, Mr. Gienarm! Yours is really an admirable, though somewhat some-what complex character." "My character Is my own, whatever It is," 1 blurted. "I shouldn't call thnt a debatable proposition," sho replied, and I was angry an-gry to flud how the mirth I had loved In her could suddenly becotno so hateful. hate-ful. Sho half-turned away so that I might not see her face. The thought that bIio should countennnco Pickering Picker-ing in any way tore 1110 with Jealous rage. "Mr. Glonnrm, you nro what I havo heard called n quitter, defined In com- you arc, to bo bold, my, lad, to bo bold, a good deal of a damned fool." Tho trilling of his r'a wns llko tho whirring rlso of n covey of qunll. "Dinner Is sorved," announced Hates, I and Larry led tho way, mockingly I chanting nn Irish love-song. CHAPTEFl XXI. The Door of Bewilderment. Wo had established tho practlco ol barring nil tho gates and doors at nightfall. Thcro wns no way of guarding guard-ing against an attack from tho lake, whoso frozen surfneo Increased the danger from without; but wo counted on our night patrol to provent a stir priBo from that quarter. I was well awaro that I must prepnro to resist the militant arm of tho law, which Pickering Picker-ing would no doubt Invoko to aid him but I Intended to exhaust tho posslblH tics In searching for tho lost trensu.V beforo I yielded. Pickering might, i1 ho would, transfer tho cstnto of Johr Marshall Gienarm to Marian Dovoreu) nnd mnko tho most ho could of tha-service, tha-service, but ho should not drlvo mi forth until I had satisfied myself of tin exact character of my grandfather! fortune Tho phraso, "Tho Door of Howilder mont," hnd novcr ceased to rclterati Itself In my mind; thero was a cortalr fascination and charm In It. Wo dls cussed a thousand explanations of h ns wo pondered over tho scrap of popoi I had found In tho library, and ovorj book In tho houso wns examined Ir tho search for further clows. Tho passago between tho houso nnd tho chnpcl seemed to fnsclnato Larry Ho held that It must havo somo pnr I I ' ' Mty n "I Quite Sympathize Reluctance She Said. man Amerlcaneso as ono who quits! Your blustering can hardly conceal tho fact of your failures. I had hoped you would really bo of somo help to Sister Theresa, nnd Incidentally to mo, but wo both sadly misjudged you." Hor tono, changing from amused In-dlffercnco In-dlffercnco to sovercst disdain, stung mo Into self-pity for my stupidity In having sought her. My anger wns not against hor, but ngalnst Pickering, who had, I persuaded myself, always blocked my path. Sho went on. "Mr. Pickering Is decidedly moro than n match for wou, Mr. Gienarm, oven in humor." Sho drew herself up with tragic scorn in every lino of hor figure, then relaxed, laughed and was Olivia again; nnd ns I watched her, wondering, por-ploxcd, por-ploxcd, chagrined, sho turned swiftly away and ran I am sure sho ran from tho room. Sho loft 1110 so quickly, so softly, that I stood staring llko a fool at tho spot whoro Bho had boon, nnd thon I went gloomily back to Glcnnrm Houbo, angry, ashamed and crestfallen. Whllo wo wero waiting for dlnnor I mado a clean breast of my acquaint-unco acquaint-unco with lior to Larry, omitting nothing, noth-ing, rejoicing oven to pnlnt my own conduct ub black as possible "You may remember hor," I concluded, con-cluded, "sho wns tho girl wo saw at Sherry's that night wo dined thoro. Sho wns with Pickering, and you no-tlcod no-tlcod her, spoko of hor, ns sho wont out?" "That littlo girl who seemed so bored, or tired or sick? Hless mo, why hor oyes haunted mo for dnys. Lord, man, do you mean to say " A look of uttor .corn camo Into his faco, and ho eyed me contemptuously, "Of course I mean It!" I thundered nt him. Ho took tho plpo from his mouth, prossod tho tobacco viciously into tho bowl, nnd sworo steadily In Gaollo until un-til I was ready to choko him. "Stop!" 1 bawled. "Do you think that's holplng mo? And to havo you curso in your blackguardly Irish dialect! dia-lect! I wanted a little Anglo-Saxon Bympnthy, you fool! I didn't moan for you to Invoko your Infamous godB agaltiBt tho gill!" "Don't bo violent, lad. VIolenco Is reprehonslblc," ho admonished with maddening sweetness and patience "What I was trying to Intlmato very mildly was tho fact, borne In upon rao through years of ncnualntnnco, that tlculnr uso and ho dovotod his tlmo ti oxplorlng It. Ho camo up at noon It was tho 29tl of Docembor with grimy faco and hands and a grin on his face I had spont my morning In tho towers to n purpose and wns In no mood for tin ready accoptnnco of now theories. "I'vo found something," ho said, fill Ing his pipe "Not soap, evidently!" "No, but I'm going to say 'So last word on tho tunnel, nnd within ai hour. GIvo mo a glass of beor and t plcco of bread, and wo'll go back nnc seo whether wo'ro sold again or not" "Go ahoad nud lot us bo dono wltl It. Wnlt till I tell Stoddard when wo'ro going." Tho chaplain was trying tho second floor walls, and I asked him to ea-some ea-some luncheon nnd stand guard whlli Larry and I went to tho tunnel. Wo took with us an Iron bar, an a and a couplo of hammers. Larry wonl ahead with a lantern. "You seo," ho oxplnlnod, as wc dropped through tho trap Into tho pns sage, "I'vo tried a compass on thli tunnol nnd find that wo'vo boon work ing on tho wrong thoory. Tho passagt itself runs a straight lino from the houso undor tho gato to tho crypt; the ravino is a rough cresoont-shapo one for a short dlstnnco tho tunnol touchei It. How deep does thnt ravino avor ago about 30 feet?" "Yes; It's shallowest whoro the houso stands. It drops sharply froir. thoro on to the lake" "Very good; but tho ravino Is all op tho Gienarm side of tho wall, Isn't It! Now when wo get undor tho wall I'll show yon something." "Horo wo aro," said Larry, as the cold air blow In through tho hollow posts. "Now wo'ro pretty near that sharp curvo of tho ravino that dips away from tho wall. Take tho lantom whtlo I got out tho compass. What do you think thnt C on tho pleco of paper means? Why, chapol, of course 1 havo measured tho distance from the houso, tho point of doparturo, wo may assume to the chapol, and thrco-fourths thrco-fourths of It brings us undor those bonutlful posts. Tho directions nro nB plain as daylight. Tho passago It-solf It-solf is your N. W., as tho compass proves, nnd tho ravino cuts close In hero; thorcfnro, our business Is to ex-ploro ex-ploro tho wall on tho ravine side." |