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Show -. , , , , n , . ,u,LTI,M.LLiMnn i ihv"hm'i.hv..h..j By THEHESE BENSON (J), The P.otibs-Mei-rlll Company.) ' WXT7 Bfrvl'! , . . i; ' THE STORY FROM THE OPENING CHAPTER Matll.l.i Smith lively ("Smlf.") younBcst and physically the weightiest of the four Lovely sisters, finds herself in de-:Me.lly de-:Me.lly T.-tltei.e.l circumstances. The family estate. Lovely lea. In Virginia, Is owned by Smifs brother, bill-Lee, w no lives In Chile. .Smifi dearest wish i. to own Lovely lea. It is rented to a Mr. Johnstone Nesblt. Under the name .Madame Saltou" Smlf establishes herself as a "Little Sister of the Rich," a consultant. She has a client who desires to evade the loverlike pursuit of an extraordinarily stout lady, whom he refers to as Mercy. Later, the lady in question. Miss Martha Washinston Mercedes, comes. Her story is that because of her excess weight she has lost her lover, Johnny. Smif advl.s.s h.,r to diet until she has reduced. Mercy proposes that Smif should try the 'cure, and if the results are satisfactory Mercy will follow her example. For a generous fee, Smif consents. "Johnny" discovers Smlf 3 identity and Is himself recognized by Smif as the tenant of Lovelylea, Johnstone Ne.sbit. He tells her a pathetic story of his childhood child-hood in France and England. Circumstances made him the lessee of Lovelylea. Unused to Virginias ways, he thoughtlessly thought-lessly violates the conventions, and is condemned by his neighbors as "not a gentleman." He has a miniature of his great-grandmother great-grandmother and tells Smlf the portrait Is that of Lorraine Lovely, also an ancestress of Smif. According to Virginia traditions tra-ditions he and Smif are "cousins." Smlf's "redueins" course gives promise of splendid results. Nesblt takes an apartment In New York. Ilia real name is Kockwell, but for family reasons he took the name of Nesbit. Johnstone Nesblt. familiarly familiar-ly "Stone." dure to lay Ills hand on me! 1 thought of comin'g to you, but something warned me that I would be wise to be at home on time. I had doubts of Cousin Carola. And Smif, sue was there waiting for me, which was most unusual. Po you think my cousin could he snake enough to frame up a thing like that?" "Probably not," Smlf said with the Intention of soothing the girl. "I presume pre-sume you gave her no satisfaction?" ".Naturally not," Pam assured her. "Pd had plenty of time to cool off on the way home. Yet the whole affair how, even before father and mother sailed, I had begun to take lessons. Monsieur Mabeuse had a little studio In his house. I never saw the man work but he talked largely of pictures he had exhibited abroad. I had been asked If I wanted private lessons, which were more expensive, and Cousin Carola, who went with me to Introduce me, at once said that they would be advisable. I didn't want that. 1 wanted want-ed to do as much work as I could unaided, un-aided, and I thought I could learn something too from watching the other pupils, so I said I would prefer to go into a class. Cousin Carola didn't like that at all. Against her determined deter-mined opposition, I insisted on having my own way. I joined a class. There was one man, or boy rather, a shabby and unattractive Jew, but with talent I thought; two other girls besides me. They didn't always come, except just at first. His wife and the children wandered In now and then, and It developed de-veloped that the oldest child, a boy. named Eugene, was crazy about auto mobiles. So, one particularly fine day. I suggested that Brennan should take Madame Mabeuse and the children was so evidently planned that I was convinced I hadn't henrd the end of It, and I was right. This morning a man called me on the phone, said he represented Madame Mabeuse and that she did not wish to embarrass me by publicity of a suit for alienation of affection. She however had her children chil-dren to consider. Loss of their father meant loss of their sole support, and there were three little ones to feed and educate. In fine, she was pre pared to settle out of court for two hundred thousand dollars." "And then what?" "I said I could not make out what he was talking about, that the connection connec-tion was bad, that. I was leaving for town on the instant and had no time to bother with trifles and that they had better see you. I knew If anyone could save me you could." "God bless you, darling," said Smlf. Having unburdened herself and en listed help in her difficulty, Pamela was decidedly cheered. "And now," she said, as one who had shifted her responsibility, "what are you going to do about it?" "The first move, my child, Is for CHAPTER VIII Continued 9 "She doesn't like Carola Mason However, If she gets out of going to Kurope, Klie can't expect to have- every thing her own way." "Why not ask Mr. Mason to stay with Puin In Sill ton place until the children's schools close?" "I thought you would he with I'uni " "No," Smlf spoke conclusively "When ('Intra married, I promised my nelf never again to shoulder the re Bponslbillty of a young girl. As you Buy, Pain must be prepared to make Borne concession. Send her to me If she objects too seriously and I'll talk her Into agreeing." This, after several conferences, was the final arrangement, Susan and Charles sailed. Pain and Mrs. Mason settled Into a state of armed neutrality. neutral-ity. Stone came and went. Smlf saw little of her sisters, excusing herself from family dinners on the score of tier banting, an excuse they accepted readily although hopeless of a change for the bettor In her appearance. As a mutter of fact she was loslntr weight more rapidly now, and Doeton Blanton Beemed to think it advisable to keep a close watch over her. Madame Georgette had been obliged to alter her clothes several times, and the Improvement In her looks was at last perceptible even to herself ; while the Irish woman was loud In her expressions ex-pressions of admiration as she set pins to Indicate the line she wished. Stone had gone back to Virginia ten days before and Smif was surprised to find how much she missed both him and the dogs. As companions, the dogs hud taken precedence over all other breeds and were first among the things she promised herself for Love lylea. Coming back at dusk along the Fifth avenue boundary of Central park, a man far down the street slipped a leash and two dogs came racing toward her to leap upon her with enthusiasm. "They knew you before I did," .Stone explained when he came up to her. "They nearly pulled me off my feet." Then, as If the comment was forced from him: "Jove, yqu are like my great-grandmother !" "I certainly am," Smlf agreed, "I should think you would find yourself calling me 'grandmother.' How's Lovelylea?" Love-lylea?" "Perfect," Stone replied. "Its neigh bors are its only drawback. One of them caught my train today." "Honestly?" Smif asked. Then In recognition of an affirmative nod, "Such singleness of purpose deserves some reward. . . . What brings you here?" "Same thing that brought her to see you," Stone assured her. "I've had a real Inspiration. Why don't you come and pay me a visit? You'd like to see Lovelylea again, wouldn't you? It certainly deserves Its name In early glimmer." ' Like to see Lovelylea again? It eeemed to Smif as if the muscles of on, a trifle Incoherently. "I'm afraid she wouldn't make them happy I'm afraid she doesn't really understand bulldogs. When you're married, you'd better give them to me, Stone." "And how about making me happy?" Stone demanded. "I keep asking yon that. Isn't that worthy of considera Hon?" Of a sudden Smlf doubted the au thentlclty of tils news. "I don't believe you're engaged to Mercy at all," she said, trying to eon ceal the relief the thought gave her. "I don't believe you have the nerve to impose to her. When the time comes I'll pruhnhly have to do It for you You'd be afraid." "Of course I'd be afraid afraid she'd accept me. Looking on it as her last chance, perhaps, while you've been banting she's been stuffing her self. Indulging In a perfect orgy of rich food. Walt till you see her!" "Wait till she sees me I I prophesy-that prophesy-that she'll rush to the telephone and make an Immediate appointment with Doctor Blanton. And when he has brought her back to her former love liness you'll sing a different tune." "Indeed?" Stone stared at her curiously. curi-ously. "I'm Interested to know what makes you so certain of that? At her best, I wasn't stuck on Mercy. Why should you both be so sure I will be now?" Smlf stared back at him, her mouth slightly open, her whole expression that of one transfixed by amazement. Why Indeed? "But you said " she began weakly. "I said I hated fat people. Well, so I do. But I'm not of so loving a disposition that I love everybody who happens to be thin. And for all of me, Mercy will die an old maid, fat or thin." "That certainly complicates matters," mat-ters," Smif admitted. She had surprised herself by her sudden revulsion of feeling at the suggestion sug-gestion of his engagement to Mercy, since It would be so convenient an arrangement. ar-rangement. It occurred to her that it was not so much that she objected to the marriage as that she objected to his succumbing voluntarily. Arrived at the Badminton, she said good-by to the dogs while Stone asked if he could take her out to dinner somewhere. "You forget that I no longer eat," she said with a smile. "May I come to see you after dinner then? Have a heart, Smif. I've got to go somewhere to escape Mercy. She'll be dropping in to see my 'sweet little bachelor apartment,' as sure as fate." For a moment Smif hesitated. "Come, of course," she said. "Only Doctor Blanton will be here and I don't know whether you will like him or not." "Doctor Blanton will be here? You mean upstairs, in your own living room?" "Certainly," Smif returned, surprised. sur-prised. "Why not? I prefer to see my friends In my own quarters." "Unless he comes as your doctor. 1 don't think you should receive him in cedes' soul. She became humble under It and said everything she could to convince Doctor Blanton of her foril tude and rectitude. Smif was growing more and more discontented with her business. She was constantly busy and almost as constantly bored. The monetary return re-turn was all that she had pictured it In her most sanguine moments, but the human Interest was lacking. "1 might as well be a trained nurse, specializing In the care of the feeble minded, for all the fun I get out of it." she groaned, as she went to answer a call on the telephone. "I can't takp Imaginary ills seriously." Some time before, Pamela Phelps had taken up miniature painting. Set tied at the Manor for the summer months, she still came to town for les sons. It was she now, who was on the phone, speaking from a distance and in evident agitation. "I'm on my way to town. Don't go out till 1 get there. I must see you Promise me you won't go out. And. oh, Smif, try to see me at once. My nerves are all shot." "What Is the matter?" Smif asked sharply. "Of course I'll see you but what's wrong?" The phone was dead. Instantly on receiving her promise Pam had hung up. When the girl arrived, looking white and strained, her hair straggling out from beneath her smart hat, the first thing Smif asked was: "Tell me have you killed anyone?' "No," Pam answered. "I wish I had I only slapped the fool's face. Like an angel, give me a cigarette while I pull myself together. I've driven in so fast everything's still moving, and it's one of the world's wonders why I wasn't given a whole bunch of tickets." "Let's have it, Pam. I doubt if It's as bad as you think It is," Smlf sng gested gently. Pam drew a deep and audible breath. "I'm being blackmailed," she said sue cinctly. That was something she had not expected, yet Smif never winced. 'What form has the blackmail taken?" she Inquired. "A demand for two hundred thou sand dollars," Pam answered "Which, of course, not being of age, 1 haven't got." "Give me nil the details, Pam, and don't look so desperate." "I feel desperate," the girl said wltn a painful gulp. "I feel soiled, as If I'd really done something disgraceful the moment my mother's hack was turned. But honestly. I've done nothing. Smif." "Yon don't have to tell me that." Smif replied, "don't I know you?" At this the girl began to cry, child ish tears of relaxed tension. "You're a brick, Smif. I might have known you'd stand by me, you are always al-ways such a rock to lean on." She vvijied her eyes determinedly and sat forward in her chair. "Now listen." she said. "I'll try to tell you every thing exactly as it happened, and "Then the Door Was Opened and His Wife and Two Men Appeared." you to move yourself away from here. We don't want these crooks to find us In anxious consultation." "I can't go away !" cried Pam. aghast. "I'd go crazy, not knowing what has happened. And I don't want you to call me at the Manor. There's an extension in my room but anyone can listen in all over the house." Smif pondered on this. If Mrs. Mason Ma-son were really mixed up in the affair af-fair it was doubly Important to keep Tarn's morale up, and she could syra palhize with the girl's anxiety. for a drive in the park instead of waiting wait-ing idly for me. After that, they were always standing about wistfully when I arrived, and it seemed so little to do for them that It became a regular custom. cus-tom. Let me think. Did I say Monsieur Mon-sieur Mabeuse was handsome? Not in a way that had any appeal for me. Now have I told you everything? No, I committed one other sin. Madame Mabeuse is German. Her husband begged me to speak French with him, since he so seldom heard the language lan-guage that he was losing all facility In speaking it. He said his Truile understood un-derstood it but dared not speak because be-cause of an atrocious accent. "That was all, up to yesterday. There were no other pupils in the studio when I arrived. Madame Mabeuse Ma-beuse and the children went out as itauol In ,n n nr irl fnr nKi-Mit K.,lf "As a matter of fact nothing will happen today," she said at length. "These people, one or all of them, will come here -and state their case. 1 don't know whether they will try to bluster. Probably they will. Whatever What-ever their tactics, I'm going to play Mteff f win your private rooms." Smif stamped her foot. "Stone, how can you be so ridiculous? ridicu-lous? Don't I receive you tliertj?" "Yes," Stone admitted with portentous porten-tous gravity. "Yes. yon do. And that Is entirely different. Plainly, this man's in love with you. while I'm only your cousin." Unable to find words to fit the case. Smif whirled and left him standing on the pavement. Miss Mercedes paid the second Instalment In-stalment of the ten thousand dollars with secret unwillingness and outward alacrity. There was no excusp for her to evade the payment, as she was grn uinely impressed with the change In Smif's figure. "The woman actually appeared to be passably good looking," she said to Stone. "Probably II was In contrast to her previous weight. Now If this doctor will only do as much for me " The magnificence of the result expected expect-ed evidently baffled description. As an unwilling martyr, she submitted sub-mitted to Doctor Rlanton's examination examina-tion and was aghast at his advice and prognosis, he being of the opinion thai kindness was wasted on women of her type. "Certainly I reduced Madame Sai-tou," Sai-tou," he said. "She was an obedient tnd uncomplaining patient. She had ihe nerve to stick to her regime under nil temptation. You won't have; bin I warn you I'll find out and if you lie to me about it, I'll not only charge you double but I'll probably refuse to bother myself any more about you." Bullylnc was good for Miss Mer you'll he able to see if I'm "-o blame in any way. I'd been looking around for something to do. I can draw a little, and Cousin Carola suggested that I might be able to do miniatures, copying from photographs, yor understand. under-stand. Mother then remarked that she would love to have a good eopy of a miniature of one of the Phelps ancestors. an-cestors. Father has the nrsritml. I was feeling pretty mushy nbou' mothei because she had consented to let me stay at home, and I determined to copy it for her. and. If I didn't succeed, suc-ceed, I'd have some one else do It ns a surprise, understand? "I wanted to take some lessons, thinking that a teacher would be able to correct my drawing, keep me up to the mark generally and solve the dilli-culties dilli-culties I was bound to have with 11 medium that was neu to me. Cousin Carola, It turned out. had beard of exactly the rigid person. This was a .Monsieur Mabeuse. a Belgian refugee who bad first gone to England with his old mother When she died, he came here and, not having the right introductions, had not been very sue. cessful. Also, he hail married, had a sweet little vire and three babies. These expenses bad made It necessary for him to give lessons, although nat urally he was nothing short nf a genius ami Cousin Carola appeared to consider it a great condescension on his part." "Cousin Carola seems to play quite a part In this taW Smif remarked dryiy. Pamela colored. "It would be ler ' riblp to suspect her," she said rreui hlingl.v. "She's niv own oons;n n I an hour I worked without speaking to the man, who stood by the window looking down Into the street. Happening Happen-ing to look up, I caught him consulting his wrist-watch, a ehenp thing that I hnd bought for Prennan's son but gave to him when he hinted that he had no way to tell when his classes should end. - "1 think now that he and his wife had everything carefully timed. At all events, 1 consulted my own watch and found that I had at least half an hour more, but decided tha' If for any reason he was In a hurry I had better get my criticism over with. "1 asked him to look at what I had done. He delayed on one pretext or another for about ten minutes. At last he came over to me and put his hand on the shoulder that was farthest from him. That Is, his arm was across the back of my neck. It made me furious, Smif. He bad never touched even my fingers before. I shook him off and sprang to my feet, saying something like: 'How dare yon? Take your band away.' And then, lust t)P door was opened and bis wife and two men appeared on the threshold, be grabbed bold of me and began to spot ter out in English which he find never talked with me- -bow glad he was flint I loved him. bow proud and happy I bad made him !" "And what did you do?" asked Smlf. "1 slapped his face just as bard as I could, picked up my minialures. the original and the unfinished copy, mid my paints, refused to listen to a won I : 1 1 1 of then, said dashed out and drove home. I was simply burning up with rage. That dirty little rut to tor rime. Ann remember they re more nervous than you are. This attempt of theirs Is outside the law. I think it's called the badger game and is usually put up ou a man. with an outraged husband coming In opportunely. Anyhow, go now. After luncheon come on foot to Madame Georgette's. If anything has happened. I'll leave word for you and you can come right up. If not. buy a gown and loiter around till I send for you. Madame Georgette will be glad of your patronage." Somewhat mechanically, Smlf worked through her appointments, wondering the while why she heard nothing from Madame Mabeuse and her cohorts. It was a relief to her when Buttons at last came to announce that "two men and a lady" were In the outer waiting room and had given him the message that Miss Phelps had sent them. "Tell them that as they have no ap polntment. Madame Saltou regrets tha'. her time will be fully engaged for at least two hours. If they object to waiting, tell them It would be safer to count on three hours; but If Ihey re. turn In Iwo, I will see them the' first moment It is possible." Bullous returned breathless from his errand. "They've gone," be announced. "The Utile lady made 'em go. Say, she's nwTuI pretty. Like a kcwp'lo doll, sort of." When the enemy returned at the end of two hours, she decided not to make the men angry by furl her delay. Thy two males si rode into the room side by side, the woman following meekly In the rear. (TO ntC OONTlilUTUD.) "It Would Be Terrible to Suspect Her. She's My Own Cousin." her chest tightened around tier heart at the mere thought ; hut she shook her head in the negative. Not yet was she ready to go back to Virginia. They walked on for some moments In silence. "Mercy'U he down on you bright and early tomorrow," Stone warned her at length. "She'd have been after you tonight If she'd known where you live. I've never told her your name Isn't Madame Saitou." "Don't," said Smif. "It's none of her business as long as I don't know her socially." "Smif, dear, I'm afraid you don't really like my future wife." Smif halted as abruptly as If the traffic signals were against tier. "Have you tied yourself up with that woman?' she asked, tight lipped "Didn't you advise me to?' Stone adopted an Injured air. "I never advise anybody." Smi! avered." "Well, well," Stone looked at her tldewise. "I evidently misunderstood you " "It'a because of the dogs," Smlf went |