| OCR Text |
Show ! The Siege '; of the Seven Suitors By i ' MEREDITH NICHOLSON '! f . i Copjrljbt, 1910. by Meredltb Mcholion t - ' CHAPTER V. Tho Strongs Behavior of a Chimney. TIIUIli: unit no i-lmiroii In tho world why Hartley Wiggins shoultl not cull upon two In-i In-i dies living In Westchester J county, mid I must miy (lint he Ap peared to ndvnutiiKo In Miss Ilolllster's library. no had got Into his evening clothes 1 1 somewhere, perhnps at a neighboring 1 1 Inn or maybe nt the liouso of a friend, 1 f for ho could not possibly liavo motored 1 Into town and back slnco bis Interview wlth'Cc'cIITa in tfie'hTghwny.' no had Impressed tbo clerk at the Uaro and Tortolso with tbo Idea that bo bad left Now York for a Ions absence, and ho bad apparently camped nt tbo gates of Uopcflcld to be near Cecilia. When ho bad paid his compliments to tho ladles ho turned to mo with an almost Imporceptlblo lifting of tho brows, but bo was cordial enough. If be was surprised or disappointed ntseo-Ing ntseo-Ing mo his mnuncr did not betray tho feeling. "Glad to see yon, Ames. Itather nice weather this." "Even Dakota couldn't do better," I affirmed with a grin, but bo Ignored tho fling. Cecilia stirred restlessly, and I felt decidedly 111 at caso. Miss Uoltlstcr crossed to the Oreplaco and poked tho logs. Just what part nczcklab nolllster played In tho situation was boyond mo. If I bad not' witnessed Wiggins' clandestine clan-destine meeting with Cecilia matters would havo been clearer to my comprehension, com-prehension, but his appcaranco at tbo bouso after tho colloquy I bad overheard over-heard from tho brier patch was In Itself It-self Inozpitcnblc. Miss Uolllstcr's singular sin-gular references to Ilczcklah a person about whom my curiosity was now a good deal aroused added to tho mystery mys-tery that Infolded tbo library. ItcBponslvo to Miss 'Ilolllster's energetic ener-getic prodding, tho flames In tho fireplace fire-place leaped Into tho gTeat thront of tho chimney with a roar. She turned, ber back to the blare, and looked upon her guests bcnlgtinntly. "If all your Hues drnw Ilka that ono they are not seriously In need of doctoring." doc-toring." I remarked. "Flues nre nothing If not erratic." replied re-plied Miss Holltster. The subject did not appear to Interest her, nor had sho. by tho remotest suggestion, referred refer-red to tho object of my coming. I had sniffed vainly In the balls above and below for nny trace of tho stale smoko which usually greeted me nt onco on my arrival at tho houso of a client "The bouso was built, you may not know, for n manufacturer of umbrellas, umbrel-las, who died beforo he had occupied It. In circumstances I may later disclose dis-close to you, which uccounts, Mr. Ames, for that llgure of Cupid under n pink parasol on tho drawing room celling. At tho llrst opportunity 1 shnll remove It, as bnby Cupids aro Irreconcilable Ir-reconcilable with tho militant lovo-making lovo-making I ml ml re. 1 consider umbrellas umbrel-las detestable nnd never enrry ono when 1 can command n mackintosh." "When I'm on tho ranch I wear a slicker," said Wiggins. "It's bullet proof, nnd that I havo found nt times a decided ndnntugc." We discussed mackintoshes for nt least ten minutes with far moro sprlghtllness than 1 had Imagined the subject could evoke. Then Miss llol-llster, llol-llster, after u turn up and down tbo room, paused besldo me. "Mr. Ames," sho snld, "would you enro to Join mo In n gamo of. billiards? I'm not In my best form, but I think wo might profitably knock tho bails for half nn hour." I acquiesced with nlacrlty. I assumed assum-ed It to bo Miss Ilolllster's purposo to leavo Cecilia nnd Wiggins nlono. I should be rendering Wiggins and Cecilia Ce-cilia n senli'i by withdrawing, and I was glad of u chnuco to escape. To my Infinite surprise they both protested, pro-tested, not In mere polite murmurs, but With cotixir ibli1 elit'mence. "It's quit mi tonight, nnd I don't believe jnu .nuht to use tho billiard I Seized the Tongi and Poker and Began Be-gan Adjuitlnu the Logs. room until tho plumber has Died the radiator," suld Cecilia. "And If you knew Mr. Ames' gamo I'm suro you wouldn't enro to wasto tlmo on him," piped Wiggins, whom I had frequently vanquished In billiard bouts at the Hiiro and Tortolso, where, I may say modestly, I bad long been considered ono of tbo most formldablo of tho club's plnycrs. v Doth ho and Cecilia had risen, nud wo stood, I remember, JUBt beforo the hearth during this exchange. At this moment n singular thing happened. Tho flro that had been sweeping in a broad unvellko curvo Into tho chimney chim-ney wns'checked suddenly. I had repeatedly re-peatedly remnrked tho admtrablo druft, the facile graco of tho llamo ns It rose nnd vanished. Tho ccssntlon of the draft was unmarked by any of those premonitory symptoms by which n flro usually gives warning of ovll intentions inten-tions the upward current of air had , iimwiI" utterly and without apparent i ii use. We were all aware of u uhoklng. ii gasping In tho deep due, which could not be accounted for by any natural stoppage Incident to chimneys the dislodging of masonry or n pttckltii: of soot. Tho former wns hardly possible und tbo bouso was not old enough in intiko tho latter theory plausible From my survey of tho flue on my unit u I. tho afternoon I Judged Mint l p.i tlcular chimney had been little l Tbo smoko now rolled out In i ...ou-and ...ou-and drove us back from the hearth I seized tho tongs nnd poker and re::-tn readjusting tho logs, without, lum ever, any liopo of correcting n dlilli-ult that lay patcutly In the upper regions of tho Quo Itself. Tho smoke, after n courageous effort to rise, encountered an obstruction of some sort und ebbed back upon the hearth nnd out Into the room. My efforts to stop tbo troublo by shifting the logs were fuUlc, as 1 expected them to be. and I retreated quickly, making, 1 fear, no very gallant gal-lant appcaranco ns I mopped my face and eyes. "Well," exclaimed Miss Uolllstcr, who had rung for n servant to open tho doors nnd windows, "this is certainly cer-tainly most extraordinary. What solution so-lution do you offer, Mr. Ames?" "Tbo matter requires InvosUgaUon. I can't venture nn opinion until I have made a thorough Investigation. The night Is perfectly quiet, and the wind Is hardly responsible. I think wo had ' better abandon the room until I enn solve this rlddlo In tho morning." The prompt opening of the windows and doors cnuscd tho slow dispersion of tbo smoke, but tbo lights In tho room still shono dimly as through a fog. "It's beastly!" ejaculated Wiggins, coughing. "I didn't supposo Pepper-ton Pepper-ton would put a fluo like that into a house. He ought to bo shot!" "It Is fortunntc," said Miss Uolllstcr, Uollls-tcr, "that Mr. Ames Is on tho grdund. Ho now has n case that will test his most ucuto powers of diagnosis." The logs that had burned so brightly before tho chimney choked still held their flames stubbornly, and I hnd ad vised against pouring wntcr upon thoin, fearing to crack tho brick and stono work. Wo were nbout to adjourn to tho drawing room. Miss Uolllstcr nnd tho others had In fnct reached tho door, leaving me nlone before the hearth. Then, us I stood half blinded wntchlng the smoke pour out Into the room nnd more puzzled Minn 1 had over been beforo In" nny of my employments, em-ployments, tho chimney, with a deep Intake of breath, began drawing the smoko upward ngnln. Tho Unmes caught and sprend with renewed ardor, and when the trio still loitering In tho hull returned In unswer to my cxclnmatlou of surprise, tho Hue hnd recovered Its composure nnd wns behaving In n sane nnd nonnnl manner. "A swnllow undoubtedly fell Into the chimneypot nnd then got Itself out ngnln," suggested Cecilia. "Tho ldgs must havo been wet The snp hadn't dried out yet" proposed Wiggins. "Tho wood wns as dry ns tinder," averred Miss HollIster, not without Irritation. "And ono swallow does not innko a summer or n chimney smoke. It must havo been n chnugltig current of nlr. I wns lending a look on ballooning bal-looning the other day, nnd It is remarkable re-markable how tho nlr currents chnnge." "That Is quite possible, as the air cools rapidly after sunset nt this season, sea-son, nnd that Is bound to havo an effect ef-fect on tho quality nnd resistance of the atmosphere," I replied sngcly. "Perhnps." suggested Miss HollIster, with ono of thoso flashes of animation that wero bo delightful In her, "It was a ghost Tho prcsenco of a ghost In this liouso would glvo mo tho greatest pleasure. I should look upon a ghost's nppoaranco at Hopefleld Manor as a great compliment If any reputable, decent ghost should by nny chanco tnko up his residence In this liouso I should give him every encouragement" Miss Uolllstcr seemed to have forgotten for-gotten tbo proposed gamo of billiards. Tbo chimney's lawless demonstration had, lu fuct given a now turn to tho evening. Wo discussed ghosts for half an hour, and then, without having enjoyed en-joyed nny opportunity for a single private pri-vate word with Cecilia, Wiggins rose to lenvo. Ho shook bands nil around and bowed from tho door. It wns In my mind to follow, making a pretext of walking with htm to tho station or of helping him Hud bis car, but nothing noth-ing In his good night to mo encouraged such attentions, nud us I pondered tho outer door closed upon my irresolution. irresolu-tion. At tbo stroke of 10 Miss nolllster roso nnd excused herself. "Wo break-fat break-fat at 8, Mr. Ames. I trust the hour does not conflict with your habits." I assured her that the hour was wholly agreeable, and she gavo me her1 hand with great dignity. When I turned toward Cecilia sho bad moved to a seat closo by tbo hearth and wns gazing dreamily Into Uio fire, now n bed of glowing coals. "It wns odd," I remarked. "You mean tbo chimney?" "Yes. It was quite unaccountable. I confess that I never knew a chimney's chim-ney's mood to change so abruptly." Sho sat silent for several minutes and then sho lifted her bead and ber ryes met mlno. "Pnrdon mo, Mr. Ames, but did my aunt ask you hero to examine tho chimneys? I didn't qulto understand. Wo havo been here only a week; tho weather has been warm, and I bellovo this flro had not been lighted beforo today. You will pardon my frankness, but I enn't qulto understand why my aunt Invited you hero If you camo professionally. pro-fessionally. I thought when you appeared ap-peared this afternoon that jou wero a tuest nothing more or less." "You had heard nothing of any trouble trou-ble with the fireplaces? Then I am In Uio dark an much as you. As I under- sluod It, I "was cnried" hero tn examine the flues: but. now that I think of It, she did not sny explicitly that ber chimneys wero behaving badly, though that was. of course. Implied. I naturally natu-rally assumed that sho summoned me hero In my professional capacity. I wns a stranger to your aunt: sho would hardly have Invited mo otherwise. I Imagine, however, that your aunt acts a good deal on Impulse. Her asking mo hero may havo been only n whim." "Plcaso don't Imnglno that your com Ing ban not been agreeable to mo." Cecilia Ce-cilia protested. "My aunt is quite capable of Inviting a stranger to flu house. She met you, I believe, nt the Asolando. I bopo you understand Mint It Is only becnuso I am In deep trouble, trou-ble, Mr. Ames, trouble of tbo gravcRt nature, that I havo ventured to speak to you In this way of my aunt, for whom I hno all respect and affection." affec-tion." Sho had never, I was sure, been lovelier than nt this moment Her I eyes filled, but sho lifted nor head I proudly. Whatever tbo troublo might 1 be I was sorry for It on her own account, ac-count, nnd If It Involved Hartley Wiggins Wig-gins my sympathy went out to him also. On an lmpulso I spoko of him. "I was surprised to meet Hartlej Wiggins here. He's a dear friend ol mine, you know. I thought he had gone to his ranch. He left tho Han nnd Tortolso veryabropOy a fow nlghti ago Just after wo had dined together. Ho must be stopping somowhero 1e tho neighborhood." "It's qulto possiblo. And there's an ' Inn, you know. I fancy be drove ovci from there" , I "I hadn't thought of thnt-tho Pros , cott Arms I supposoyou mean." ' Sho nodded, but she was clearly not interested In me. nnd when I found ' myself falling dismally to divert bei thoughts to cheerfulor channels I ros , nnd bade ber good night I Tho servnnt who bad previously nt j tended mo uppenred promptly when 1 I reached my room, bearing a tray, wltt j biscuits and n bottle of nle. He gave me nil envelope addressed In n hnnd I already knew ns Miss Octnvla's. and 1 opened nud rend: The follonlng 1 either detest or distrust, j so kindly refrain from mentioning them wlille you nre n sucst of Hopefleld Manor- i Automobiles Mashed potatoes. Whiskers. Chopin's Concerto In C minor (op 11) ' Wallop's Coadjutor I.lmcrlcks ' Cats OCTAVIA HOI-LISTER. Before 1 slept I threw up my window nnd stepped out upon n narrow Iml- , cony that nftorded n ciipltul view of the fields nnd woods to tho oust. The night was fine, with the sky bright with stars nnd moon. As my eyes dropped from the horizon to the near landscape I saw u man peiched on u knoll In thr midst of it (.urn Held. He stood ns rigid ns n sentry on duty, or like ii forlorn commnuder counting tho spenrs of his tattered battalions. 1 wns not sure that ho saw me, for the balcony wus slightly shadowed, but. nt nny rate, he wns sharply outlined to my vision. HI; derby bnt nnd overcoat gavo him un odd nppearnnce ns lie stood brooding abovo the corn. Then he vanished suddenly, sud-denly, though ns he retired toward the highway I followed him for sonio time by tho shaking nnd Jerking of the corn stnlks. I determined to mnke every effort ef-fort to see Wiggins the next day and learn tho exnet status of Ills uffnlr with Cecilia HollIster. to bo cont'nued j |
