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Show I SVALIANT$Vm(iINlA I HI & HALLLT EKMN1EPIVK M I S ILLUSTRATIONS T LAUREN STOUT J Jg BtJ . aJtha B 8YNOP8I8. H John V-.tl-.nl. rich society favorite. BK tudilenly dlacovera that the Valliinl cor- HK pnrntlon, whlrh lila follur founded anil BE? which wna the principal aource of hl BB? wealth. ha failed. He voluntarily turn- BEf over his private fortune to the receiver BK for the corporation. Ilia entire remnlnlnK Br jHofiilon coimlat of an old motor car, a Ei white hull don nnd Damory court, a ney- M; Ii-ctiil eitate In Vlrftlnla. On the way to Pamory court he meets Bhlrley Dnnil- fHr iIiIkc. nn Biihurn-halreil hcauty, and de- Hi ride- that he la Kolnn to like Virginia Im- BEt ineracly. Hhlrley'a mother. Mm, Dand- BEp rliltre. arxl Major Hrl-tnw exttianice rem- BBk lnl-er.rea during which It In revealed H:',' tVtit the mnjor, Vnllnnt'a father, and o Kf ttnn named Haannn were rlvk for the BK ' hand of Mm Dnndrldire In lif youth flSf i. PiiBinn nnd Valiant foiiKht a duel on her nffi i.. count In which the former wa killed BB Valiant Untie Damory court oversown BBK nllli werila nnd creciem nnd thn build L Inica In a very much neglected condition I; He decide to rehnlillltnto the plnco and ft make thn land produce a llvlriK for him, mmk, Valiant .'vea Hhlrlev from the blto of n " make, width bite him Knowing the J' demltlneaa r( the bite, Hhlrley aucka the ( r-olann from the wound nnd eaves till life K i'lilrley telle ler mother of the Incident H end the liilUr U atrntiKely moved at BK! hearing thnt a Vnllant la ngnd) living at K Uumory court HL CHAPTER XVI Continued. K. Ttio nmor nodded, "Ah, yes," ho B al(1' "Tho Continental prlsoncnmp." E "And Just over tills rluo there I can Hi sno nn old court-house, and tlio Vlr- BBY glnln ABsombly boiling undor tho H golden tonguc-lashlng of loan rnw- Ha boned Patrick Henry. I sco a messcn- Hp Cur ewllop up nnd bco tho members Bf icrnmblo to thulr saddles nnd then. BBk Tnrlcton nnd Ills I'dconts streaming BBg up, too .nto." BJK "Well." rommrntod tho doctor dnllb- K erately, "nil I bnvo to say la, don't BB& mntcrlall-.ii too much to Mrs. Poly E nilTord whon you moot her. Bho'll I K bnvo you lecturing to tho I.ndlcs' K': Church Guild before you know It." K "I hopo jou rldo, Mr, Valiant?" tho BV latter naked genially. K "I'm fond of It.' said Vnllant. "but Hb I bnvo no liorso as yet." Kg "I wns thlnklnK." pursued tho ma- H Jor. "of the coming tournament." BJBJ "Tournnment?" Hf Tho doctor cut In. "A rldlclilotiB Hj cock-n-doodln-do which gives tho young BJB bucks n chnncu to rip out In silly teg- BJH gory nnd pranco their colts boforo a lot BBs of pettlcontsl" H "It's an nununl affair," explained tho B major; "a kind of spoctnclo. For M many years, by tho way. It has been held on n pnrt of this cstata perhaps you will havo no objection to Its ubo nSS this season T and at nlRht thcro Is a dance nt tho Country Club. Uy tbo M way, jou must lot mo Introduce you I her tomorrow, I'vu taken tho llborty B9 already of putting your name up." BBS "Good lord!" growled tbo doctor, ! tsldo. "He counts himself young! If uSa I'd reached your ago, Hrlstow " B "You have," said tho major, nettled. BBM "Four years ago! As I waa saying, BBS Mr. Vnllnnt. thoy rldo (or a prlzo. It's BBS a ver) ancient thing I'vo scon rofor- BBG ences to It In a colonial manuscript ' In the Dyrd Library nt Wcstovor. No B doubt It's coino down directly from BBbJ tbo old JouBts." t "You don't mean to say, cried his BBm hcaror In genutno nstonlshmcnt, "that BBjB Virginia has a lineal descendant of tho RBul tourney T" BHK The major nodded. "Yes. Certain BBBJ icctlons of Kentucky used to hnvo It, Kl too, but It has died out thcro. It BBk. exists now only In this Btnto. It's BBC ccrlous thing that tho old knightly BBK. racotlugs of tho middle nges should IBBw survlvo today only ou American soil BBje and In n corner of Virginia." JB& Doctor Southall, mcanwhllo, had set mmM hls Kazo un "10 "ttcr of pnmpb'ets. Ho BBh turned with an appreciative eyo. BBf "You'ro bcglunlng In earnest. Tho HBtj The Other Got Up and Stood Before BB the Mantel-Piece In a Napoleonic HK; Attitude. HflK.' Agricultural Department. And tbu BDB, CongresHlonal (rank." BuWi "I'm afraid I'm a Bad sketch as a HBn rInutlBt." laughed Vnllant. "My BBBX olnt of vlow tins to bo a Botpowhat BBBb practical one. I muut bo self-support- BBBt I0K, Damory Court la a big estate. B If hns grain hinds nnd forest ns well Bf f my anccatora lived from It. 1 can. BH It's not only I list," be wont un more H9K. slowly, "I want to make tho moat of H tho place (or Its owu sake, too. Not BBe only of Its possibilities for onrnlng, Bt but ot Its natural beauties, I luck the BB resources I once had, but I can give HB It Ihouglx aud work, and If they nan HBB bring Dumory Court buck to anything HnW even roiMiioly mucmbllng what it once BBJ was. I'll u-i spare elthor" mm ',1 Tbn P'n'i" smote bia knea nnd oven Fr tho' ilr.rto a face showed a grim. If '. tr c ii si !)rovai "I bxl'co ou'U t f ' do It!" exclaimed tho former. "And let mo say, sah, that ibo neighborhood neighbor-hood la not unnwaro of the splendid generosity which la respontlblo for tho present Inck o( which you Bpeak." Vnllant put out his hand with a little gesturo o( doprocntlon, but tho other disregarded It "Confound It, sah. It was to bo expected of n Valiant. Va-liant. Your ancestors wroto tholr names In capital lottors over this country. Thoy wore nn up nnd down lot, but good or bad (and, aa Southnll aays, I reckon" ho nodded townrd tho great portrait nbovo tho couch "they weren't nil llttlo woolly lamba) thoy did big thlnga In n big way." Vallnnt leaned forward eagerly, a question on tils lips. Hut nt tbo moment mo-ment n diversion occurred tn the Blmpo of Undo Jefforson, who ro-on toreI, hearing a tray on which sot sun dry Jugs and clinking glnsaes. glowing glow-ing with whlto and green nnd gold. "You old humbug." said tho doctor, "don't you know tho major's that pol-Boned pol-Boned with mlnt-Julepa nlrcady that ho can't get up boforo eight In tho morning?" morn-ing?" "Woll, suh," tlttcrod Undo Joffer-son, Joffer-son, "Ah dono foun' er mint-bald down below do kitchens dls mawnlh'. Yo'-nil Yo'-nil gommtin' 'bout do blggcs' cxpuhts In dla yenb county, en Ah' rock'n Mars' Valiant sho 'slat on yo' earn-plln' earn-plln' et." "Sah," aald tho major (oollngly, turning to his host, "I'm proud to drink your henlth In tho typical bev-orago bev-orago of Virginia!" Ho touched glasses with Vnllant and glnred nt tho doctor, who wns sipping his own thoughtfully. "I'ooma havo boon writ-ton writ-ton on tho Julop, sah." "Thoy mako good epitaphs, too." observed ob-served the doctor. "I notlcod your gl lan't going begging." tho mnjor retorted. "Unc' Jefferson, that's as good mint ns tuow In tho gynrdeu of Eden. Sou that thoso lazy niggers of yours don't grub tho patch out by mlatnko." "Yaa, sah," said Undo Jefforson, aa bo retired with tho troy, "Ah gwlno-tor gwlno-tor put or (enco oroun' dat nr bald (o' Bundown." Tho queatlon that had sprung to Valiant's lips now found uttoranco. "I bow you look at tho portrait thoro." ho said to the major. "Which of my ancestors Is It?" Tho other got up nnd stood bofore tho mautelpleco In a Napoleonic attitude. atti-tude. "That," ho said, fixing his eye-glassoa, eye-glassoa, "It your grcnt-grandfatbor. Devil-John Va'.lant." "Devil-John I" echoed his hosL "Yes. I'vo heard tho name." Tho doctor guffawed. "Ho earned It, I reckon. I never roallzed what a sinister expression that missing optic gives tho old ruffian. Thcro was a skirmish during tbo war on tho hillside hill-side yonder and a bullet cut It out. Whon wo wero boys wo used to call him 'Old Ono-Eyo.' " "It Interests mo enormously," John Vnllant spoko explosively. "Tho stories of Davll-John would fill n mighty big book." said tho niator. "Uy all accounts ho ought to havo lived In tbo mlddlo ages." Crossing tho library, ho looked Into tho dining-room. dining-room. "I thought 1 romembered. The portrait over the consolo thcro la his wl(o, your great-grandmother. Thoy say ho bet that whon ho brought his brldo homo, she should wnlk Into Damory Da-mory Court between rows of candle-Htlcks candle-Htlcks worth twenty-thousand dollars. Ho mado tho wager good, too, for when sho came up thoso steps out there, there wns a row of ten candles burning on otthor nldo of tho doorwny, each held by a young slnve worth a thousand dollars In tho mnrkct. "Soino say bo grow Jealous of his wlfo'B beauty. Thero wero any num-bor num-bor of stories told of his cruelties to hor that aren't worth repeating. Sho died early poor lady and your grandfather wns tho only Ibuio. Devil-John Devil-John hluiBolf lived to bo pnBt neventy, nnd nt that ago, when most men wero stacking their sins and groaning with tho gout, he was dicing ind fox hunting hunt-ing with tho youngest cf them Ho always sworo ho would dlo with his boots on, and they say when tho doctor doc-tor told him he had only n fow hours leeway, ho mado his slaves dross him completely and prop him on his horao. They galloped out so, n negro on either sldo of him. It waa a stormy night, black aa tho Earl of Hell's rid-Ing-boots, with wind and llghtulng, and ho todo cursing at both. There's an old black-gum trco a mlln from hero thnt thoy sthl call DovllJohn'-tree. DovllJohn'-tree. Thoy were Just passing under it when the lightning struck It Light-ulng Light-ulng has no effect on tho black-gum, you know Tho bolt glanced from tbo tree ncd struck him between the two Blnvcs without harming cither of them. It killed his horao, too That's trio story To bo suro ut this date nobody can separate fnct from Action. Ac-tion. Possibly ho wasn't so much worso than tho rest o' hla neighbors not excepting tho parsons. 'Other times other manuors.'" "They weren't nny worso than the present generation," said tho doctor mnlovolently "Your (our bottlo men then know only claret: now they punish pun-ish whlskoy straight." Tbo mnjor burled his noao In his Julep (or a long moment beforo hs looked nt tho doctor blandly "I agrco Mtb you, UrUtow." ho aald 'but it'i I tho first tlmo I ever heard you admit that much good of your ancestora." "Good!" said tho doctor belligerently. belligerent-ly. "Mo? 1 don't! I said peoptd now were no hotter. As for tho men of that tlmo, thoy woro a choap swaggering swagger-ing lot of bullion and awash-bucktors. When I read history I'm ashamed to bo descendod from them." "I deslro to Inform you, sah," said tho major, stung, "that I too am a d Bcondnnt of thoso bullion and swashbucklers, swash-bucklers, as you call them. And I wish from my heart I thought wo, nowadays, now-adays, could bold a tnllow-dlp to them." "You rofor, no doubt," said tho cs-tor cs-tor with BarcaBm, "to our friend DovllJohn Dovll-John and his Ideal treatment ot hla wlfo!" "No, Bah," ropllod tho major warmly. warm-ly. "I'm not rcforrlng to, Dovtl-John. Thoro wero exceptions, no doubt, but (or tho moBt part thoy treated their women (oik as I bollevo their Maker mado thorn to bo treated! Tbo man, TS II 6 IB What Ho Had Drawn From tho Shelf Was the Morocco Case That Held tho Rutted Dueling-Pistol! who failed In hla courtesy thero, sab, wns called to account for It. Ho was mighty apt to find himself standing In tho cool dawn nt the butt-end of a" Ho broko off and coughed. There was an awkward pauso In whlcb be set down his glass noisily and ro aqd stood before tho open bookesaa. "I envy you this, sab," he said with somewhat of haste. "A fine old collection. col-lection. Ulesa my soul, what a curious volume!" As he spoke, hla hand Jerked out a honvy-looklng leather-back. Valiant, who had risen and stood beside htm, saw Instantly that what ho bad drawn from tho shelf was tho morocco case that hold tbo rusted dueling-pistol I In tho major's hands tho broken box opened. A audden startled look darted across his lconlno faco. With smothered smoth-ered exclamation ho thrust It back between tho books and closed the glass door Valiant had paled. Ills provlous finding of tho wenpon had escaped hla mind. Now he read, aa clearly as If It had been printed In black-letter ncross tho sunny wall, tho significance of tho mnjor's confusion. That woap-on woap-on had been in his father's hand whon ho fnced hla opponent In that fntal duel! It (lashed across his mind as tho doctor lunged for his bat nnd stick nnd got to his feet. "Come. Hrlstow," said the latter Irritably. Irri-tably. "Your feet will grow fast to tho floor presently Wo mustn't tnlk n now neighbor to death. I'vo got to boo a patient at six." CHAPTER XVII. John Valiant Asks a Question. Vnllont went with them to thp outor door. A pnlnful thought wnB flooding his mind It hampered his, speech nnd It was only by a violent effort thnt ho found voice "Ono moment! There Is a question I would Uko to ask," lloth gentlemen had turned upon the stops nnd as ther faced him he thought n swift glanco nsseJ between them, They waited courteously, tho doctor with his habitual frown, tho major's hnnd fumbling for tho black ribbon on his waistcoat "Since I camo hero. I hnvo hoard" his tono wns unoven -"of a duol In which m) father wna a principal. Thoro wns such a meeting" "Thero wna," Bald the doctor after tho slightest pause o! surprise. "Had you known nothing of If" "Absolutely nothing." Tho major cleared hla throat ."It wna something he might naturally not havo mado a record of." bo said. "Tho two hnd been friends, and It It was a fatal encountor for tho other. Tho doctor and I wero your father's seconds." sec-onds." Thoro was n moment's sllenco beforo be-foro Vnllant spoko ngnln When ho did bla olco wna stead), though drops had sprung to his forehead. "Waa thero nny circumstance m tnat mooting moot-ing that might be construed as reflecting re-flecting on bla honor" "Good God. no!" said tho major ex-plOBlvely ex-plOBlvely "On his bearing as a gentloman?" There waa a hiatus this tlmo In which ho could bear his heart baat. In thnt slnglo exclamation the major seemed to havo exhausted his vocabulary. vocabu-lary. Ho was looking at tho ground. It was tho doctor who spoko at last. In n silence that to tho man In tho doorwny weighed Uko a hundrod atmospheres. at-mospheres. "No!" ho said bluntly. "Certainly not What put that Into your head?" Vhen he wns alone In tho library Valiant oponod tho glass door nnd took (rom tho shelf the morocco cnao. Tho old shiver o( repugnanco ran over him nt the very touch o( tho loathor. In tbo (nrthest corner was a low commode. com-mode. Ho sot the caso on this and moved tbo big tapeatry screen across tho angle, hiding It (rom view. , In tho great hall ot Damory Court tho candles In their brass wall-sconces blinked back from tho polished parquetry par-quetry nnd tho shining (ire-dogs, filling fill-ing tho rather solemn gloom with an nlr o( warmth and creaturo-comfort. Leaning ngnlnst tho nowel-poat, Valiant Va-liant gazed about him. How different It all looked (rom tbo night o( hit coming! Ho began (o walk up and down the1 floor, teasing pricks of restlessness urging him. Ho opened tho door and passed Into tho unllghtcd dining-room. On tho sideboard" set a silver loving-cup loving-cup that hod arrived the day boforo In a hugo box with his books and knick-knacks. Ho bad won It at polo. He lifted It, fingering Its carved handles. han-dles. He remembered that when that particular scoro had been made, Kath-arino Kath-arino Forgo had sat In one of the drags kt tie sldo-llno. Hut tho memory evoked no thrill. Instead, tho thought of her palely-cold, passionless beauty colled up another mobllo thoroughbred (aco Instinct with quick flashings of mirth nnd hauteur. Again ho folt the (lorco clutch of small fingers, as they fought with his In thnt struggle (or hie llfo. Each Mno of thnt faco stood beforo him tho arching arch-ing brows, the cameo-delicacy of pro-flic, pro-flic, tbo magnolia skin and hair llko a brown-gold cloud across tho sun. Ho stopped down to tho graveled drive nnd followed It to tho gato, then, bareheaded, took tho Itcd Iload. Along this highway ho had rattled In Uncle Jefferson's crazy hack with her red roso In his hand. Tho musky scent of the pressed leaves In tho book In his pocket seemed to be all about him. Tho odor of living roses, In (act, waa in tho air. It camo on the scarce-felt scarce-felt breeze, a heavy calling parfumo. He walked on, keeping the road by the misty Infiltrating shimmer of the stars, with a sensation rather of gliding glid-ing than of walking. It occurred to him thnt If, ns scientists say, colors emit sound-tones, scents also should possess a music of their own: the honeysuckle frngranco, maybo soft mollow fluting as of dlmlnutlvo wind-instruments; wind-instruments; tho far-faint sickly odor of lilies tho upper reglstor of faery violins; this spicy breath of roBns blending, throbbing chords llko elfin .echoes o( nn Italian hnrp. Tho (ancy pleased him: he could Imadno the per(umo no In tho air carried with It an undcr-muslc. llko a ghostly harping. harp-ing. It enmo to him nt tho samo Instnnt that this wns no raoro fancy. Some-whero Some-whero In tho languorous night n harp was being played. Ho paused and listened lis-tened Intently, then wont on toward the sound. The rose scent had grown stronger; It wna almost In thnt henvy air. as If he were brenstlng nn otherlal sea ot attar. Ho folt as If ho wero treading on n path of rose-leave" down which tho Increasing melod) flowed crlmsonly to him. calling, calling. call-ing. Ho stopped stock-etlll. He had been skirting n closo-oropped hodgo of box. This had ended abruptl and tie was looking straight up a bar of greon- yellow radiance from a double door- f wty. Tho lnttor opined on a porch nnd the light, (lung ncross this, drenched on arbor o( climbing rosea, mnklng It stand out a mass of wovon rubles sot In emerald. Ho drew a long sigh of moro than delight, for framed In tho doorway ho saw a figure in mUty whlto, leaning to tho gilded upright of a harp. Ho knew at once that it wns Shlrloy. Holding hla breath, ho camo closer, hla foot muffled in tho thick grass. Ho stood In tho donee obscurity, ono hand gripping tho gnarled limb of a catnlpa. his eyes following tho shapely arras (rom wrist to shoulder, tho flngors atraylng across the strings, tho bending cheek caresalng the carved wood. Sho wns playing the melody of Sholloy's "Indian Sorencdo" .-touching tho chords softly and tenderlyand ten-derlyand nfa lips taovod, molding themsolvos soundlessly to tho words. Tho aereundo died In n single long note. As if in answor to It thoro rose n flood of blrd-muslo (rom beyond the arbor Jota of song thnt swelled nnd rippled to a sonrlng melody. Bhe heard It, too, for tho grocllo fingers (ell (rom the strings. Sho listened a moment, with head hold to ono side, then sprang up nnd camo through the door and down tho steps. Ho hesltntcd n moment, then a slnglo sln-glo stride took him (rom the shadow. CHAPTER XVIII. Beyond the Dox-Hedrro. As ho greeted her. his gazo pltmscd deop Into hers. She hnd recoiled n step, startled, to rccognlzo him almost al-most Instnntly. Ho noted tho shrinking shrink-ing and thought It duo to n stnbblng momory o( thnt (oreat-horror. His first words woro prosaic enough: "I'm on unconBClonablo trespasser," ho said. "It must seem awfully prow-ly, prow-ly, but I didn't renllzo I wns on private pri-vate property till 1 passed tho hedge there." As her hand lay In his, a strnngo tnncy stirred In him: in that wood-meeting wood-meeting sho hnd seemed something wttch-llko, tho wilful spirit of tho pna-atonato pna-atonato spring herself, mixed of her aerial essences and Jungle wildernesses; wilder-nesses; In thta scented Jim-lit close she was grave-eyed, subdued, a paler pen-slvo pen-slvo woman of under ..nlf-gucssed sadnesses sad-nesses and haunting moods. With her answor, howover, this gravity Boomed to slip from hor llko a garment Sho laughod lightly. "I lovo o prowl myself. I think sometimes I llko the night hotter than tho dny. I bollevo In ono of my Incarnations In-carnations I must have been a panther." pan-ther." They both laughod. "I'm growing superstitious about flowers,"- ho Bald "You know a roso figured In our first mooting. And In our Inst" Sho shrank momentarily. "The cnp Jessamines! I shall always think ol that when I seo them!" "Ah. forglvo mo!" ho begged. "Dut when I remember whnt you did for mo! Oh, I know! Hut for you. I must havo died." "Hut (or mo you wouldn't hnvo been bitten. Dut don't let's tnlk o( It " Sho shivered suddenly. (TO I1K CONTINUED.) Mi&MS, |