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Show : Mil & HALLE EEMNIE RIVK llj I, JJJLU5TRATION3 T LAUREN 3TOL1 gH , .j. aara. P t SYNOPSIS. 'lb John Valiant, rich nocloty fnvorlto, fl suddenly illficovm tl.at tlio VHlliuit cor- IMirntlun, which hln falhcr fuundud and ' which was tho frlncliial nourco of lila wenllh. had fallml. I la voluntarily turn , vrr hi private fortune to thu rticolyer , for the corporation. Ilia entire ranialnlnx poaaeaslmm cutinlat of an old motor cur, a 1 whlto bull do anil Dninory court, a nou ' bwted ratato In VlrKlnla. On tho way to Damory court ho mwta Shirley IJiiml- ridgo, an atiliurn-hilrml lienuty. and d- chjes that he la Knlnn to Ilko Vlrslnla lni- notinoly. Hhlrlny'a mothar, Mm. Diind- M Mrc and Major llrltow bxi'Iiiiiiko rem- p tnIcunu- .lurliiB v.hlch It la revenled , that tho major, Valiant's father, ami a aian named Himimn wero rivals for tho ,. nnd of Mrs IMmlililKii In her youth ! Kiunuan and Valiant f.iught H duel on her account In which tho former was killed tit Vulhint fltuls Dumnry court overgrown 3f -with weeds and creepers and decides to li rehabllllato tho nlarc. Valiant sayei 15 Hlilrlry from tho hltn of ft snake, which hltes him. Knnwlnit tho deadllness of tho j Mle. Hhlrley siickt tho poison froin the t mound and suves hit life. Valiant J"1"''" 9 lor tho first tlmo tint his father left ylr- h Klnla on ncrnunt of a duel In which Hoc , tor Houtlwill nnd M ior Ilrlsltw acted as ri Ids father's womR Valiant and Hhlrley l liocnme Rood friends Mrs DnndrldK u faints when slio meets Valiant for tho 5 first time Valiant dlicovcrs that ho has 2 a fortuno In old walnut trees. The yearly ?! I tournament, n survival of tho Jouitlntc of -, feuilal tlni's. Is held at Damory court. At 1 tho Inst moment Vallnnt takes tin place ffl, r one nf tho knlRhta, who Is sick, and 18 nUrs tho lists IIh wins and chooses , Ehlrley OandrlilKo as qiieon of bounty to tho dismay of Kathcrlne Karito. a former Wl wielhoiirt. who Is vUltlnp in VlrKlnla. Sii , The tournament bill at Damory court yj drown the ellto of tho countryside. Hhlr- M toy I s crowned by Valiant as queen of B heauty. Valiant tells Shirley of his lovo sill and they becomo etiriiKed. Kntncrlna la?' Karen. iletermlnlnK not to kUo up Vnll- fi tnt without a striiKKlo, points out to Hhlr- ,m ley how terrible It would bo for tho worn- W n who caused tho duel to meet Valium. V' who looks so much like lili father. 'l CHAPTER XXVIII. Continued. S "Vouiik maTa' feel 'way up In do J. clouds dls day," ho said to Aunt iUnphno. "Ho wnko up oz Bind oz r lio dono 'tensed 'llglon Ins' night. Well, all do folksos corfn'y 'Joyed doysulvrs. 01' MlBtnh Knrgo dono oat bout forty uh dom Jumhles. Ah honh blm tnlkln' ter Mnrs' John. 'Itock'n yo' mus' nab or ernckahjnek cook down honh,' ho say. Ilyuli, hyuh!" "Q'wny wld yo' blnckynrdln'I " sniffed Aunt Daphne, delighted. "Don" need tor cntno orotin' honoy-ciiffuddlln' tnol "Dat'a whnt ho say," Insisted Undo Jofforsou; "ho did fo' or fnc'l" 8ho drow hor hnnds from tho suds nd looked at him anxiously. "Joff'tton, yo' rcck'n MnrH' John gwlnotor fotch dnt Yunkco 'ooman hoah tor Dam'ry Co'ot, tor ho ounh mlstla?" "Humphl" scoffed hor spouse. "Dat nlRhfalutln' gnl wliut dono swallor do ramrod? No suh-rco-bob-talll Do oldnh yo' Rita, do mo' foollulmh yo' cltntlons Is I Don' yo' tek no mo' trouble on yo' back don yo' kin keek ofl'n yo' hoolsl 8ho nln Rwlnotcr run dut placo, or ol' Devil-John tutin ovah In ho Rravol" StinBet found Valiant Bitting In tho music-room hoforo tho old squaro pi-.no. pi-.no. In tho shadowy chnmbor tho koyn of mothor-of-puarl gleamed with dull colorB undur his flngors. Ho struck at llrst only broken chords, that Vocumo finally tho haunting bnrenrolo ot "Tales of Hoffmnnn," It was tho air tbnt had drifted ncross tho garden when ho had stood with Shirley by tho uundlal, In tho moment of their first kiss. Over nnd over ho played It, Improvising dreamy vnrlntlons, till tho taudur molody soumed tho dear ghost of tbnt einbrnco. At length ho ?f S, For an Instant Ho Stared Unbellev- I! wont luto tho library mid In tho crlm- I eonlng light snt down at tho dusk, i and hogan to wrlta: Dear Hlueblrd of MIno: I "I can't wait nny longer to tnlk to i you. Leas than a dny has passed lnco wo woro together, but It might have been eons, If ono measured lime by heart-bents. What havo you been doing nnd thinking, I wandor? I have pent thoso tons In ths anion, Just andorlng about, dreaming over thoso wonderful, woudorful mononts by the un-dlnl. Ah, doar IUIji wild huirrt born of tho llowvrs, tvltt (ho soul of a bird (yet you tiro woirnu., too!) that old disk Is murklug happy houro now for mo I "How havo I deserved this thing that has como to mo? sad bunglor that I havo boon I Sometimes It scorns too glad and sweat, and 1 nm Buddonly desperately ufruld I shall wnko to tlnd m)3nlf faring another dull morning to-thul old, useless, empty llfo of mine, 1 m vei humlilw riuar, boforo your "Shall I tell you when It began with I mo? Not Inst night nor tho dny wo planted tho ramblers. (Do you know, when your llttlo muddy boot went trampling down tho earth about their roots, I wanted to utoop down nnd kiss It? So donr ovtirythlng nbout you wnsl) Not that evening at Hosi-wood, Hosi-wood, with tho arbor frngrnnco nbout us. (I think I shall always picture you with roses nil about you. Hcd roses thu color of you MpsI) No, It was not then that It began nor that dreadful hour whon you fought with mo to snvo my life nor tho morning you sat your liorsn In tho box-rows In that ew-greon ew-greon hnblt that made your hnlr look like molten copper. No, It began tho llrst nftornoon, when I sat In my motor mo-tor with your roo In my hand I It has novor left mo since, by day or by night. And yet there nro jwopla In this ago of airships and honking high-wnyH high-wnyH nnd typewriters who think love-tit-llrst-slght is ns out-of-date ns our little grandmothers' hoops rusting In tho gnrrot. Ah, sweetheart, I, for ono. know bettor! "Supposo 1 had not como to Vlr-glnln Vlr-glnln nnd known youl My honrt Jumps when I think of It It mnkes ono bellevu In fnte. Hern at tho Court I found nn old leaf-calendnr It sits at my elbow now, Just ns 1 came on It. Tho dnto It shows Is May 14th, and Its motto is: 'Kvory man cnrrlea his foto upon a riband nbout his neck.' I Ilko that. "That llrst Sunday at St. Andrew's, I thought of n day may It bo soon! whon you and I might stand beforo that altar, with your pcoplo (my pcoplo, too, now) nround us, nnd I shnll hear you say: 'I, Shlrloy, tako thco, John' And to think It Is rcnlly to como truo! Do you remember tho text tho minister preached from? It was 'Hut all men perceive that they havo riches, and thnt their faces shino ns tho fnecs of angels.' 1 think I shall go about henceforth with my fnco shining, so that nil men will see thnt I hnvo riches your lovo for mo, dear. "1 um so happy I can hardly see the words or perhaps It Is that tho sun hns set. I am sending till over by Undo Jefferson. Send mo back Just n word by him, sweetheart, to say 1 may como to ybu tonight. And add tho threo short words I am bo thirsty to hear over and over ono verb bo-twoon bo-twoon two pronouns so that 1 can kiss them all at oncol" Ho rnlsod his head, a llttlo flushed nnd with eyes brilliant, lighted a candle, sonlod tho letter with tho ring ho woro nnd dispatched It. Thereafter ho snt looking Into tho growing dusk, watching tho palo lamps ot tho constellations deopen to green gilt against tho lnplslnzull ot tho sky, nnd Intoning lo tho Insect noises dulling Into tho woven chorus of evening. Undo Jefferson was long In returning, nnd ho grew Impntlont llnnlly and began to prowl through tho dusty corridors Ilko a leopnrd, thon to tho front porch nnd flnnlly to tho driveway, listening at every turn for tho familiar slouching step. When nt longth tho old negro appeared, ap-peared, Valiant took tho noto he brought, his heart beating rapidly, and carried It hastily In to tho candlo-light. candlo-light. Ho did not open It at onco, but sat for n full mlnuto pressing It between be-tween his pnlms ns though to extract from tho dellcnto paper tho beloved thrill of hor touch. His hand Bhook slightly ns ho drow tho folded lenves from tho envelope. How would It begin? be-gin? "My Knight of tho Crimson Koso?" or "Denr Gnrdener?" (Sho nnd called him Qardoner tho dny thoy had But out tho roses) or perhaps oven "Sweetheart?" It would not bo long, ouly n mcro "Yes" or "Come to mo," perhnpa; yet oven tho shortost missive had Us boglnnlng nnd Its ending. Ho opened nnd read. For an instant ho stnred unbellov-Ingly. unbellov-Ingly. Then tho pnper crnckled to n bnll In hlH clutched hand, and ho made n hoarse sound which wns half cry, then sat perfectly still, his whole fnco shuddorlng. Whnt ho crushed In IiIb hand was no noto of tender lovo-Idirascs; lovo-Idirascs; It was an abrupt dlsmlsnal. Tho staggering contretemps struck tho color from his fnco nnd luft overy nervo raw nnd quivering. To be "nothing "noth-ing to her. ns shn could bo nothlnc to him?" Ho felt n ghastly inclination to laugh. Nothing to her! Presently, his brows frowning heavily, heav-ily, he upread out tho crumpled pa pur and reread It with bitter bIowiiobs, weighing each phrnso "Something which bIio hnd learned since sho Inat saw him, which lay between them" Sho had not known It, thon, Inst night, whon they had kissed boslde tho sundial! sun-dial! Sho had loved hltn then! What could thero bo 'hat thrust them Irrov ocably apart? Without stopping to think of thu darkness or thut the frlondly .loors of tho odlllce would bo closed, ho caught up hlti hat and wont swiftly down the drlvo to tho road, along which ho Plunged breathlessly. The blue star-Bpangled star-Bpangled sky was now streaked with clouds Ilko fndod orchids, and tho shadows on tho uneven ground under his hurried feet mndu him glddv Through tho din and hurly-burly of bis thoughts ho . conscious of dimly, moving shapes ncrot fences the sweet breath of cows, nnd n negro pu deutj-lan who greeted him In paS8iL Ho won stricken suddenly with Uu I thought thnt Shlrlej wns sufforlng, too. It Beomod lncredlblo thnt ho should now bo raging along a country rond at nightfall to find something that so horribly hurt thorn both. It was almost dark savo for tho starlight whon ho saw tho shadow of tho squaro Ivy-grown splro rcnrlng Blark from Its huddlo ot foliage against tho blurred background. Ho pushed open tho gnto nnd wont slowly up tho worn path toward tho great Iron-bound and hodcd door. Under tho larches on either hnnd tho outlines of tho grnvestonos loomed pallidly, and from tho bell tower enmo tho faint Inquiring cry of a smnll owl. Valiant stood looking nbout him. Whnt could hu learn hero? do rend no nnswor to the riddle. A llttlo to ono Bldo of tho path something showed snow-llko on tho ground, nrd ho went toward It. Nearer, ho saw that It was n mass of (lowers, staring up whltoly from tho He Bent Over, Suddenly Noting the Scent; It Was Cape Jessamine. Bcml obscurity from within nn Iron railing. Ho bont over, suddenly noting tho Bcent; It wna capo JeeBamlno. With tho curious sensation ot almost prescience plucking at him, ho took a box of vestas from his pocket and struck ono. It flared up Illuminating a tint granite slab In which was cut a namo nnd inscription: v EDWARD SASSOON. "KorKlve us our trespasses." Tho sllonco seemed to crash to earth Ilko a great looking-glass and shiver Into a million plcceo. Tho wax dropped from his flngorB and in tho supervening superven-ing darkness a numb fright gripped him by tho throat. Shirley had laid these. Ihcre, on tho gravo ot the man his father had killed tho capo Jessamines Jessa-mines sho h,ad wnnted that day, for hor mother! Ho understood. it camo to him nt last that thero was a chill mist groping nmong the trees nnd thnt ho was very cold. Ho went back along the Hed Road Btumbllngly. Was this to be tho end of tho dream, which ho had fancied would lat forever? Could It bo that sho was not for him? Was It no hoary Ho that tho sins of tho fathers were vUIted upon tho third and fourth gen-orntlon? gen-orntlon? Whon ho re-entered tho library tho candlo was guttering In tho burned wings of a night-moth. Tho place looked all nt onco gnunt and desolate and despoiled. What could Virginia, what could Damory Court, bo to him without hor? Tho wrinkled noto lay on thu desk and ho bent suddenly with n Bhnrp catching brenth and kissed It Thero welled over him n wave of rebellious longing. Tho cnndle sprend to n hazy yellow blur. Tho walls fell away. Ho utood under tho moonlight, with his nrini about her, his lips on hers and his heart beating to tho sound of tho viollnB behind them. He laughed a harsh wild laugh that rang through thu gloomy room. Then ho throw himself on tho couch nnd hurled his fnco In his hands. Ho was still lying thero when tho misty rain-wot rain-wot dawn camo through tho shutters. CHAPTER XXIX. The Comlno of Greef King. It was Sunday nftornoon, nnd under tho homlocks, Rickey Snjdor had gathered gath-ered hor mlnlont, a dozen children from tho near-by houses with the usual sprinkling of llttlo blncks from thu kitchens. Thoru were puronts of court.0, to whom this mingling of color and degreo was a mnttur of conventional conven-tional prohibition, but slnco tho nd-unt nd-unt of Kickii), in whose boul lay n Napoleonic Instinct of leadership this wns more honored In thu breach than In tho observance. "My! Ain't it scrumptious hero now!" said Cozy Cabell, hanging yol low lady-slippers over her ears " wish wo could play hnro nlwnys" "Mr. Vmlant will lot us." said Rick-oy Rick-oy "I asked him." ,Iv"0i ,,,0)w'1'-" responded Cozy gloomily, gloom-ily, but ho'll probably go and rnarrj somebody who'll bo mean about t" "Kvorybody doesn't Rot married," said ono of tho liyloo twins, with mas rullno assurnnce. "Maybe he won't" i Much n boy knows about if" re. tort. Ju, p.ornfullj omin hBvi to. ai.d sunn uUy 0f then w.li umku hltn. (Greenvlllo Fomnlo Seminary Slmms, If you slap thnt llttlo nlggor again, I'll fllnp you!)" Orcenlo rolled over on tho grass and tittered. "Miss Mnttlo Suo dldn'," she snld. "Ah honh huh say do yuddah dny et wuz or moughty good foolln' tor go ter bald Mtstls en git up Mars-tah!" Mars-tah!" "Well," said Cozy, tossing her head till tho flower cnrrlngs danced, "I'm going to get mnrrlcd If the man hasn't got nnythlng but n character nnd a rod mustache. Married women don't havo to provo thoy could have got a husband If they had wanted to." "Let's play something," proposed Rosebud Moredlth, on whom tho discussion dis-cussion palled. "Lot's play King, King Kntlko." "It's Sunday!" this from her smaller small-er and moro righteous sister. "We're forbidden to play anything but Bible games on Sundny, and If Rosebud does, I'll tell." "Jay-bird tattlo-tnlo!" sane Rosebud derisively. "Don't enro If you do!" "Well," decreed Rickey. "Wo'll play Sundny Bchool then. It would tnko a ealnt to object to that, I'm superintendent superin-tendent nnd this stump's my desk. All you children Bit down under that tree." They ranged themselves In two rows, tho whlto children, In clean Sabbath Sab-bath pinafores nnd go-to-meeting knickerbockers, In front and tho colored col-ored ones, In ginghams and cotton-prints, cotton-prints, In tho rear tho habitual expression ex-pression of n differing soclnl station. "Ohl" shrieked Miss Cabell, "and I'll bo Mrs. Merrywenther Mason and teach tho Infants' class." "Thero Isn't nny Infant class," said Rickey. "How could thero bo whon thero nren't nny Infants? Tho lesson Is over nnd I'vo Just rung tho bell for silence. Children, this Is Missionary Sunday, and I'm glad to seo so many happy faces hero today. Cozy," sho said relenting, "you can bo tho organ-tat organ-tat If you want to." "I won't," snld Cozy sullenly. "If 1 can't bo table-cloth I won't bo dish-rag." dish-rag." "All right, you needn't," retorted Rlckoy freezlngly. "Sit up, Grcenle. Pcoplo don't lio on their backs In Sunday-school." Greenlo yawned dismally, and righted right-ed herself with Injured slowness. "Ah diffuses ter 'cop' yo' Insult, Rlckoy Snydah," sho said. "Ah'd ruthah lose man 'Ilglo'n dan mnh laz'ness; En Ah 'splses yo' splssablo dlsslsltlon!" "Lot us all llso," continued Rickey, unmoved, "and sing 'Kingdom Coming.'" Com-ing.'" And sho struck up luBtlly, beating tlmo on the stump with a stick, nnd tho rows of children Joined In with unction, tho colored contingent coming out strong on tho chorus: De yerf shall be full ob do wunduhful story As watahs dnt covah do sea! Tho clenr voices In tho qulot nlr startled tno fluttering birds nnd Bent a squlrrol to thu tiptop of nn oak, from which ho looked down, flirting hU brush. They roused a man, too, who hnd Iain In n sodden sleep under a bush at a llttlo distance. Ho was ragged nnd soiled and his heavy brutal bru-tal face, covered with a dark Btubblo of somo dn' growth, had nn ugly senr elantlng back from chock to hair. Without getting up, ho rolled over to command a better vlow, nnd set his eyes, blinking from their slumber, o;i tho children. "Wo will now tnko up tho collection," collec-tion," snld Rlckoy. ("You can do It, Junu. Uso a flat pleco of bark.) Ro-mombor Ro-mombor that what we glvo todny Is for tho poor heathen In In Alabama." Tho bark-slab mado Its rounds, receiving re-ceiving leaves, acorns, nnd nn occn-slonnl occn-slonnl pin. Midway, howover, thero arose a shrill shriek from tho bearer and tho collection was scattered broad- cast. "Rosebud Mcroutin," sum nit ey wlthorlngly, "It would servo you right for putting that toad In tho plat If your hnnd would got nil ovor wnrtsl I'm suro I hopo It will." Sho rescued tho fnllon pleco of bnrk and announced: an-nounced: "Tho collodion this afternoon after-noon hns amounted to n hundred do. lnra nnd seven cents. And now, chH" drcn, wo will skip tho catechism nnd I will toll you a story." Her nudltora hunched themselves nearer, a doublo row of nttnntlve whltfl nnd blnck faces, ns Rlckoy with a preliminary pre-liminary bnss cough, began In a drawling drawl-ing tone whoso mimicry cnllcd forth giggles of csctnsy. "Thero wero onco two llttlo eletors who went to Sunday-school and loved their tenchor vo-o-ory much. Thoy wero nlways good nnd nttentlvo not Ilko thnt llttlo nlggor over thero! Tho ono with his thumb in his mouth! Ona wns llttlo Mary nnd tho other wna llttlo Susy. They hnd n mighty rich uncle who lived In Richmond, nnd onco ho camo to see them nnd gavo them each a dollar. And I hoy wero vo-e-ery Rind. It wasn't a mean old paper dollar, all dirt and creases; nor a battered whltcy silver dollar; bul It waB n bright round gold dol'ar, right out of tho mint. Llttlo Mary And little Susy could hnrdly sleep that night for thinking of what they could buy with thoso (,'old dollars. "ICarly noxt morning thoy went down-town, hand In hand, to tho storo, and llttlo Susy bought n bag of goober-peas, goober-peas, nnd sticks nnd sticks of strlpod enndy, nnd a llmboc Jnck, nnd a gold ring, nnd n wax doll with a silk dross on thnt could opon and shut Its eyes" "Huh!" Bald tho captious Cozy. "You can't buy n wax doll for a dollar My littlest, littlest ono cost three, and sho didn't havo a stitch to her back!" "Shut up!" said Rickey briefly. "Dolls were cheaper thon." Sho looked nt tho row of llttlo negroes, goggle eyed nt tho vision of such largess. "What do you think llttlo Mary did with her gold dollar? Sho loved dolls nnd candy, too, but sho had hetud about tho poo-oo-r heathen. Thero ws n tear In her eye, but she took tho dollar dol-lar home, and noxt day when she went to Sunday-school, sho dropped II In tho missionary-box. "Llttlo children, whnt do you reckon became of that dollar? It bought n big satchclful of tracts for a missionary. mission-ary. Ho had been a poor man with six chlldron nnd a wife with a bone-felon bone-felon on her right hnnd not a child old enough to wash dishes and nil of them young enough to fnll In tho lire so hu hnd to go nnd bo a missionary. Ho wnB going to Alnbnm to a cannibal canni-bal Island, and hu took the tracts and Railed nwny In n ship that landed him on tho shore. And when tho heathen cannibals bow him thoy wero ve-c-ery glnd, for thero hndn't been hny ship wrecked Bnllors for n long tlmo, und thoy woro vu-e-ory hungry. So they tied up tho missionary nnd gathered a lot of wood to make a lire and cook him. "Hut Is had rnlned and rnincd nnd rnlncd for so long that tho wood wai all wet, and It wouldn't burn, nnd the) all cried becauso thoy wero so hungry. And then thoy happened to llnd the sntchelful of tracts, and tho tracts wero vc-o-ory dry. Thoy took them nnd Htuck them under iho wet wood, and tho trncts burned and tho wood caught llro nnd thoy cooked tho mis slonnry and ate him. "Now, Httlu children, which do you think did tho most good with her del lnr llttlo Susy or little Mury?" Tho front row sniggered, nnd n sigh came from tho colorttd ranks. "Dom ar' can'bals," gaspen o dusky Infant breathlessly, "-dey dono eat up all dat candy and dem l.oober-pcas, too?" (To m: roNTWui:.i |