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Show H Sil cnALLE ERMINE PIVE3 ill II il ILLUSTRATIONS T LAUREN 5TOUT J ffHIHS 'mfAhi , 1MB B 1 SYNOPSIS. HH Jolin Vnllnnt, iv rlrli soclcly favorll", HH iKl(li nlly illhcivrrN Mint Hie Viillnnt em- HM I JOrillloM. Willi li lil fiilhfl fnuiiiliil an 1 M! I wlilili wah tli jirltif ImI mmrm of In HI I wonlili, tin full.,! lie vuluniiirlly tun t RJ B vr IiIh iirlviiti- fori mui in tli iphU r IB I tor I In' (iiriiriitliii. IIIm ciitirx riMiiiiliilux H C piiKRFRnloim ruimlit of hii 11M iii'itnr i'r. n Hi if uhltp bull 1I0K a ml IMmury rinirt, il iipk- H looted entile In VlrKlnln On the wiiy i' B Damory court lie iimi'tn Hlilrley Duiil- n rldRf, an nuliurti-linlrcil hpuutv. nml il' H Clilen that lie Ik kIhk Id llkn VlrKlnln Im- Ht mrnii'ly. Hhlrly' mntliur. Mm. Dnnd- HH rldfli', mui Mnliir Ilrlsluw oxiIi.iiikd rorn- M IB lnlncmHH iliirlnif whlrli It U tevenluil HHHi Mint tlir innjur, Vnlliint's fnthiT, nml n MHM rnnn immeil Hni"nin vtx rlvnU for tliu BBIfli fiaiul nf Mrs D.milrlilKn In tier youth itlBM Hnnwinn nml Vnllnnt fouKlit n duet nn lit-r HHHS nrcount In width Uic former huh kllleil Hi Vnllnnt fltiiU Ilamorv court uverKrown HHHi With wet-tin nml (TceprrH Hint tlin liulld- HhnX Iniri In vi-ry imuli nt-Klrrtt-il rotnllilnu HI Valiant exnlurei lil.i ameatrnl linmu. tin HAM t surprised hy u fox liuntlnir party whltii M lnvnlua IiIh i-MMiv Mb rt-cuKiilzus Hlililey HUH nt 111" lieml nf the fmrtv 1 1 1 Rives snno- HHV tunry to llio (tiriirrt-il fox. (Inaslpi ill- MB cum thn nilveiit of the new nwripr nml ro- call thn trnKrily In which tho elder Vnl- Innt look purl. Vnllnnt ilnrlilrn to ro- fintillltatn linninry court nml nuiko thn unJ produce a living for lihn. i IR CHAPTCR XIII Continued. MW They Htoml on thn edge of n ntony flu ravlno which widened nt ona cud to a ' gHf hnllow mnrshy valley. Tho rucks HI voro covered with grny-greoii loath wHj ry croppprj!, oiiwounil with curly yol- HBI low trndrllfl of lovo-vlno. AcroRB tho BJH rnvlno, on a lower lovel, bemui a HH grovo of flplomllil trees that marched HttVJ np fntp tho long strotch of neglected IHBm forest ho had noon from tho Iioiiho. "You love It?" ho asked, without MBS tvlthilrnuliiR his eyes. HBJ "I'vo loved It all my llfo. I lovo I9R evcrythlnK nhout Dnmory Court. n Ruined ati It Is, It la still ono of tho yHB most hcautiriil estatua In nil Virginia. HbH Tharo'n nothing liner oven In Italy. Hnj Just behind us, whero those hemlocks BH stand, 1 whero tho duel tho chlldron Hu spolto (il was fought." HbH Ho turned his hond. "Tell mo nbout BH U," ho snlil. Sho glanced at him curious. "Uldn't J 'ou know? That was tho reason tho HH I'laco w(u abandoned. Valiant, who HHH lived her, and tho owner of nnothor HHH plantatlou, who was named Sassoon, quarroled. Thoy fought, tho story Is, HHH under thoso big hemlock trees. Sas- HHH soon was killed." HHj Ho looked out across tho distance; fco could not trust UIb faco. "And VallaiitT" "1I wont awny tho samo day and H novor came back; ho lived )n Now HVM Vork till ho died. Ho was the father HB pf tho court's present owner. You HHb Hover heard tho story?" WH "No," ho admitted. "I tilt qulto re- HtS c-ontly I novor beard of D.imory UsM Court." RH "That was the hist duol ovor fought HBJ In Tlrglnla. Dueling was u dreadful UR oiiBtom. I'm glad It's gono. Aron't BH you?" HHH "Yes,;' 'lie said slowly, "It was a HHHj thing that cut two ways. Perhaps V HHH Jlant, If lio could have had his choU-u HHH .aftcrwnrdf would rnther have been ,; HHH JiiK thurti that morning than Pas- BttHJ soon," HHB "Ho must hnvo sutTorcd, too," sho HHH ngroud, "or ho wouldn't liavo exiled HHH lilniBoi: as ho did. I used to wonder H HJ If It was n lovo-(uarrel whether thoy W H could hnvo been lu loo with the sumo H HJ jorann." HJ M -"JJut why shuuld bo go away?" m "I tnirt tmnglne, uuIcbs hIio had H U really loved tho other man. It so, sho HjHJ couldn't lmvo borno seeing Valiant HHB afterward." 3ho paused with a Uttlo jflnj augh. "Hut then," sho said, "It may HIH liavo been nolhlng bo romantic. Va HflHj limit's grandfather, who was known ns HJHJ PovllJolm, Is snld to hnvo called a PtWfl nan out becnubo ha rodo past him NR on tho wrong side. Our ancestors In HHj Virginia, I'm ufrald, didn't stand on HfB ceremony when thoy felt uppish." HHHJ Ho did not smllo. Ho wns looking HbH out onco more over tho luminous BffH etrutcti of fields, his sldo-faco towards HkH I'er. Curious and painful questions HHH wero running through his brain. With HHH nn effort, ho thrust thoso back and ro- HHJ called his attention to what sho was EHH paying. HH "You wonder, I Btipposo. that we HHH fc) ns wo do toward theso old cstntcs, HHJ and set store by them, ami yes, and HHH brag of them Insufferably ub wo do, HI Hut It's In our blood. You Northern- HHHj era think we're desperately con- HHH celled," sho smiled, "but it's true IfiVJ We're still uh proud of our land, and HJHJ Its old, old places, and loo them ns BHH ell as our nuccstors ever did. Do HHH you wander wo resent their passing HJHJ to peuplo who don't caro for them lu HHH thn Southern way?" HHH "Hut supposo tho newcomers do HHH enro for them?" HMHJ Her lips o tried. "A young million- HH nlro who ha-- lived nil his llfo lu New HHH York, to ca.p (or Dainory Court I A HJHJ iouth hlKitU til) rich, biougnt up In a HHH riiporhcatei uimosphoro of nolso and HHHj HHH Ua Marten uucantrollably. Ho that HHJ as what alio thought! Ho felt him- HMH Bdlf flhHhlng. Ho had wondered whnt JltHj would bo his Impression of tho neigh- ID borhooa and its people; their possible J HH opinion of blmsolt had nouir occurred I Wb to blm. I IPI "You think there's no chance of hie jSjst chii'.niuK to Etay hero bucauso he W jict'iaiiy tikes It?" !, I "Not the bllghtest," sho said Indif- ip'. ferrntiy. f ' "Ynu aro so certnln of this without vor having seen hlmr k Bh glanced at blm covertly, an- wL rHr iltJHHMi no) cilly nenslble of tho impropriety of the discussion, slnco the man discussed dis-cussed was certainly Ills patron may-bo may-bo his friend Hut his Insistence had loused n certnln balky wilfulness that would liavo It3 way. 'It's true I'vo never seen blm," sho said, "hut I'vo read about him n hundred times In the Sunday supplements. He's a regular fenturo of tho high roller section. His Idea of n good tlmo Is n dogbnnntiot nt Sherry's. Why, a girl told mo onco that there was a cigarette nnmed niter him tho Vanity Valiant!" "Isn't that beside tho point? Ho-cause Ho-cause ho has been nn Idler, must ho necoHBnrlly bo a vandal?' Sho laughed again. "Ho wouldn't rail It vandalism He'd think It decided de-cided ImproM-nient to mako Dainory Court as fr.mtlc.illy different ns possible. possi-ble. I supposo he'll erect a glass cupola and n porte-corhero, all upto-date upto-date and vnrnlshy, and put orchid hothouses hot-houses whero tho wilderness garden wns, and n modorn marblo cupid Instead In-stead of tho siinimcr-liouso, and lay out n klte-Hhaped track " Kverythlng that was impulslvo nnd cxploslvo In John Valiant's nature camo out with a bang. "Not" ho cried, "whatover else ho Is, he's not such n preposterous nss ns that!" Sho fnced him squnrely now. Her eyes were sparkling. "Slnco you know him so Intimately nnd to highly approve ap-prove of him " "No, no," ho Interrupted. "You mis-(ako mis-(ako mo. I shouldn't try to Justify him." Ills Hush had risen to the roots of his brown hair, but ho did not lower his gnzo. Now tho red color slowly ebbed, leaving him pnlo. "Ho has been an Idler that's truo enough and till a week ngo ho wns 'Idiotically 'Idiotic-ally rich.' Hut his Idling Is ovor now. At this moment, except for this ono property, ho Is Uttlo better than a begenr." Sho hnd taken n hasty step or two back from him, nnd her eyes were now fixed on his with a dawning half-fearful question In them. "Till tho falluro of tho Vnllnnt Corporation, Cor-poration, ho hnd nover henrd of Dnmory Dn-mory Court, much less been awaro that ho owned It. It wasn't becauso ho loved It that ho camo here no! How could It bo? Ho had novor set foot in Virginia In his mortal life." Sho put up her hands to her throat with a start "Camo?" sho echoed, "Camo!" "Hut If you think that even he could be so crassly stupid, so monumontally blind to nil that Is really fine and beautiful" "Oh!" sho crlod with flashing comprehension. com-prehension. "Oh, how could yout Vgu " Ho nodded curtly. "Yes," he said. "1 nm that haphazard harlequin, John Valiant, hlniBolf." CHAPTER XIV. On the Edge of the World. Thero wnB n pnus not to bo rock-oned rock-oned by minutes but sufTocntlngly long. She hnd grown ns pnlo ns he. "That was ungenerous of you." sho snld then with icy slowness. "Though no doubt you found It entertaining. It must hnvo still furthor amused )ou to bo taken for an architect?" "I nm nattered." ho replied, with a trnco of bitterness, "to have suggested The Next Moment, With Clenched Teeth, He Wat Vlclouily Stamping His Heel Again and Again. wen for n moment, so worthy a call-ing." call-ing." At his nnswer she put out her hand with sudden gesture, ns If bluntly thrusting tho mntter from her con-ecu. con-ecu. and turning went back along the troo-shadowed path. Ho followed glumly, gnawing his Up, wnnting to pay he knew not what, lint wretchedly tongue-tied, noting 'hat the grent white moth was still waving its creamy wings on the dead stump and wondering If Bho would take the capo Jessamines. Ho felt an embairassed relief when, passing the roots whero thoy lay, she stooped to raise them Then all at onco tho blood seemed to shrink from his heart With a hoarso cry he leaped toward her, bolzed her wrist and roughly dragged her back, feeling ns ho did so. n sharp Hery sting on his Instep The next moment, with clenched teeth, ho was vlclouily btamplng his heel again and again, driving Into tho soft earth n twisting root-Uku something that slapped the brown wintered leaves lu-1 t n hissing turmoil, Ho had Hung her from him with I mcli violence that she had fallen bUIiv wise. Now bIio raised herself, kneel-J Ing In the feathery light, both hands , clasped close to her breast, trembling excessively with loathing and feeling the dun earth floor billow like a canvas can-vas sea In a theater. Little puffs of dust from tho protesting ground were wreathing about her sot face, and she pressed one hand agalnsU nor shoulder to repress her shlverB. 'Tho horrible horrible thing!" sho said whispering!. "It would bavo bitten me!" Ho camo townrd her, panting, nnd grasping her hand, lifted her to her feet. Ho staggered slightly as he did so, and sho saw hla lips twist together to-gether oddly. "Ah." she gaBped, "It bit you! It bit you!" "No," he said, "I think not." "Look! Thero on )our nnklo that spot!" "I did feel something, Just that first moment." Ho laughed uncertainly. "It's queer. My foot's gono fast asleep." Every remnant of color left nir faco. Sho had known a negro child who had died of a water-moccasln's blto some years before tho child of a house-servant. It hnd been wading In tho crook In tho gorge. The doctor hnd snld then that If ono of tho other children. Sho grnsped his nrm. "Sit down." she commanded, "hero, on this log, and seo." Her pnle fright cnught him. Ho oboyed, drngged off tho low shoo nnd barod tho tingling spot. Tho firm whlto flesh wns pulling up around two tiny bluorlmmed punctures. He reached Into his pocket, thon remembered remem-bered that ho hnd no knlfo. As the next best thing ho knotted hla hnnd-kerchief hnnd-kerchief quickly nbovo tho ankle, thrust a stick through tho loop and twisted it till tho ligature cut doeply, whllo Bho knolt beside him, her lips moving soundlessly, saying over and over to herself words like these: "I must not bo frightened. He doesn't realize the danger, but I dol I must be quite collected. It Is a mile to the doctor's. I might run to tho house and send Una' Jefferson, but It would take too long. Besides, the doctor might not bo thero. Thero is no ona to do anything but mo." She crouchod besldo him, putting her hands by his on tho stick and wrenching it over with all her strength. "Tighter, tighter," sho said. "It must bo tighter' But, to her dismay, dis-may, at tho last turn the lmprovtied cord snapped, and the roleaied stick flew a dozen foot away. Her heart leaped chokingly, then dropped Into hammer-liko thudding. Ho leaned back on ono arm, trying to laugh, but sho noted thnt his breath came shortly ns If he hail been running. run-ning. "Absurd!" ho said, frowning. "How such n fool thine can hurt!" Suddenly sho throw herself on tho ground nnd grnsped tho fcot with both hnndB. He could seo her faco twitch with shuddering, and her ryes dilating with some determined purpoe. "What nro )ou going to dn" "This," sho said, and ho felt her shrinking lips, warm and tremulous, pressed hard against his Instep. Ho drew nway sharply, with savago denial "No no! Not that! You shan't! My lord ) on shan't!" Ho drngged his numbing foot from her despernto grasp, lifting himself, pushing push-ing nor from him; but bIio fought with blm, clinging, panting broken sen-tonres; sen-tonres; "You must! It's tho only way. It was a moccasin, r.nd It's deadly. Every mlntito counts!" "I won't. No. Btop! How do you know? ifH not going to here, llstenl Tako your hands nway. Listen! Lla-ten! Lla-ten! I can go to tho hotiso and send Unelo Jefferson for the doctor and ho -No' stop, I say! Oh I'm sorry If 1 hurt you. How strong )ou are!" "Let mo!" "No! Your lips aro not for that-good that-good Cod, that damnable thing' You )ourself might be " "Let nio! Oh. how cruel you are! It wns my fault. Hut for me It would nover liavo" "No! I would rather" "Let mo! Oh If u died!" With nil tho force of her strong young body sin wrenoiiod away his Protestant hands A tnlrnt and a sick-Ish sick-Ish feeling were upon him. a curious IrrespoiiBlblo glddinn.H. ami her hair which that struggle had bioiight In tumbled timsses about her Hlioulilers, seemed to have little HameB running all over it. Ills foot hud entirely lost its feeling. Thero was a strange weak-hubs weak-hubs In his HmbH Moments of half coiiHcloushem), or consciousness Jumbled with strange Imaginings, followed At times ho felt tho pressure upon the wounded foot, was senslblo of the suction of tho joung mouth striving desperately to draw tho poison from the wound, rrom tlmo to tlmo he was conscious of a whlto desperato face haloed with hair that wns n mist ol woven sparkles. spar-kles. At times ho thought hlmsolf a recumbent stono Btatue in a wood, and ber n great tall golden headed flower lying broken at his feet Again 'W8'l11 ralt0 Mulder nnd she a vine with yollow irate, wmdlne and I clinging about blm. Then a blank a sense of movement nnd of troublour dlBturbance, of Insistent voices that ! called to him and Inquisitive hands j that plucked nt him, nnd then voices growing dlstnnt ngiiln, and hands falling fall-ing away, ond at last sllenco. Inky clouds wcro gathering ovor tho sunlight when Shirley camo from Dainory Court, along tho narrow wood-path wood-path under the hemlocks, and tho way was striped with blue-black shadows and filled with sighing iioIscb. She walked warily, halting often nt somo leafy ruBtlo to catch n quick breath of dread. As sho npproachod the tree-roots tree-roots where the enpe Jessamines lay, sho had to force her feet forward by sheer effort of will. At a Uttlo distance dis-tance from them sho broke .-. stick and with It managed to drag tho bunch to her, turning her cyea with a shiver from the trampled spot near by. Sho picked up tho ilowors, and treadjng with caution, retraced ber Lteps to tho wider path. She stepped Into tho Hcd Road at length lu the teeth of a thunder-storm, which had arisen almost without warning warn-ing to brenk with tho pnsslonato Intensity In-tensity of electric storms in the Squth. Thero wns no shelter, but oven hnd there been, sho would not liavo sought It. Tho turbulence of nnturo nround her matched, In n way, her overstrained over-strained feeling, nnd sho welcomed the Ilorco bulge of tho wind in the up-blowing whorls of her hair and the drenching wetness of the rain. She tried to fix her mind on near things, the bending grasses, tho scurrying red runnels and flapping shrubbory, but her thoughts wilfully escaped tho tether, turning again nnd again to tho events of the lnst two hours. Sho pictured pic-tured Unc' JefferBon's eyes rolling up In ridiculous alarm, his winnowing arm lashing his Indignant rnulo In his flight for tho doctor. At tho mental picturo she choked with hysterical laughter, then crlngod suddenly against tho sopping bark. She saw again the doctor'B gaze lift from his first examination of the tiny punctures to send a swift penetrant glance at her, before he bent hla great body to carry the unconscious man to the house. Again a fit of shuddering swept over her. Then, all at once, tears came, strangling sobs that bent and swayed her. It was the discharge of the Leyden Jar, the losing; of the tense bow-string and It brought relief. re-lief. After a time she grew quletor. He would get well! The thought that perhaps she hnd savod his life gave her a thrill that ran over her whole body. And until yesterday she had never seen him! She kneeled In tho blurred half-light, pushing her wet hair back from her forehead and smiling smil-ing up In Uio rain that still fell faBt. In a fow moments she rose and went on. At tho gato of the Uosewood lano Btool a mall-box on a cedar post and she paused to fish out n draggled Richmond Rich-mond newspaper. As shu thrust It under un-der her arm hor eyo cnught a word of a head-lino. With a Mush Bho tore It from Its Boggy wrapper, tho '.vetted liber parting In her eager fingers, and resting her foot on the lower rail of tho gate, spread it open on her knee. She Btood Btock-Btill until Bho had read tho whole. It waB tho Btory of John Valiant's sncrlflco of his private fortune to save the ruin of tho Involved In-volved corporntlon. Its effoct upon her wns n shock. Sho felt her throat swell nH she read; then sho was chilled by tho memory of what sho had said to him: "Whnt has ho ovor dono except play polo ami furnish spicy paragraphs for tho society so-ciety columns?" "Whnt a beast I wns!" she Bald, ad-dresBlng ad-dresBlng the wet hedge. "Ho hnd Just done that splendid thing. It was be cause of thnt that he w.ib Uttlo better than a beggar, and I said those horrible hor-rible things!" Again sho bent her eyes, rereading tho sentences: "Took liis detractors by surprlso hnd Just sustained n grilling nt tho hnnds of tho stnto's examiner which might well have dried at their fount tho springs of sympathy." Sho crushed up tho paper in hor hand nnd rested hor forehend on tho wot mil. Idlotlcnlly rich a vnndnl a useless, purse-proud flaneur. Sho had culled him all that! She could still Bee tho paleness of his look as she hnd snld it. Shirley, ovcroxclted ns sho still was, felt the sobs returning. These, however, how-ever, did not lnst long nnd In n mo-ment mo-ment sho found herself smiling again. Though alio had hurt blm, sho had saved him, too! When sho whispered this over to herself It still thrilled and startled her. She folded tho pnper and hastened on under tho cherry-trees. cherry-trees. Emmallno, tho negro maid wns waiting wait-ing nnxloiiBly on the porch. Sho wns thin to spareness, with a face ns brown as a tobacco leaf, restless black eyes and wool ncntly pinned and sot off by nn amber comb. "Honey," called Emmallne, "I'se been fenrin' fo' yo' wid nil that light-nln' light-nln' r'arln' oroun". Yo' got tli' Jess'-mine? Jess'-mine? OIvo 'cm to Em'llno. Shoil fix om nil nice, Jes' how Mis' Judith like." "All right, Emmallne," replied Shir-ley. Shir-ley. "And I'll go and dress. Has mother missed mo?" "No'm. Sho nln' let huh room this wholo blessed day. Now yo' barth's all ready nil 'cep'n th hot watnh, en I sen' Ranston with that th' fua' thing. Yo' hurry en peol them wet close off yo'so'f, or yo' hnvo ono o' them digested chills." Her young mistress flown nnd tho hot wator despatched, tho negro woman wom-an spread n cloth on tho lloor nnd bognn to cut nnd dress tho long stalks of iho flowers. This dono sho fetched bowls and vnBes, mid set the pearly-whlto pearly-whlto clumps hero and there on the dining-room sideboard, tho hall mantel man-tel and tho desk of the living-room till tho dellcato fragrance filled tho house, qulto vanquishing tho roso-scent roso-scent from the arbors. As tho trim colored woman moved lightly about in tho growing dusk, with tho low click of glass and muffled muf-fled clash of silver, the light tat-tat of a cane sounded, and she ran to the hall, whero Mrs. Daudrldgo was descending de-scending the stairway, ono slim white hnnd holding the bnnlster, under tho edge of a white silk' shawl which drooped Its heavy fringes to hor dalnt-lly-shod feot. On tho lower step sho halted, looking smilingly about at tho blossomln:; bowls. "Don' thoy smell up th' wholo hotiBo?" said Emmallno. "I know'd y'o bo pleas', Mis' Judith. Now put yo' ban' on mail ahouldah on I'll tako yo' to yo' big cha'h." They crossed the hall, tho dusky form bending to tho fragile pressure ot tho fingers. "Now hoah's yo' cha'h. Ranston ho niado up a Uttlo flah Job' to take th' damp out, on th' big lamp's lit, en MIkb Shlrloy'U bo down right quick." A moment lator, In fnct, 3hlrloy descended de-scended tho stnlr, In a filmy gown ol Inilln-muslln, with n nnrrow bolting of gold, against whoso flowing sleeves hor bnro arms allowed with a flushed plnkuesB tho huo of tho pnlo coral bends about hor neck, Tho damp newspaper wns In her hand. At ber stop her mother turned hoi head: she was listening Intently to voices that camo from tho garden a child's shrill troblo opposing Run ston's stentorian grumble. (TO lilj CONTINUKD.) |