Show m LADY LARK l P Q a A COPY Y lUJ CHA tJ r f JO fJ f o 4 AND AS TO FANS FANS- Synopsis Richard Searles successful successful suc suc- American playwright confides confides con- con fides to his friend Bob Singleton the fact that Inspired by the tho genius of f a young actress whom he ho had seen In London he ho has written a 0 play Lady Larkspur solely with the thought that she should interpret the leading character char char- acter This girl Violet Dewing has disappeared Singleton an aviator has just returned In Invalided In In- from France His Ills uncle Raymond Bashford Bash ford a wealthy man had contracted a n marriage a short time before beCore his death while on a visit to Japan Japan- He left Singleton a comparatively small amount of money and the privilege of oC residence residence residence resi resi- dence In the garage of oC his summer summer summer sum sum- mer home the Sound Connecticut Mrs Bashford Is believed believed believed be be- to be traveling in the Orient The household at Barton Is made up of DC down broken-down employees of ofa ofa ofa a New York hotel where Bashford made his home Singleton goes to Barton Darton taking with him the manuscript manuscript manuscript manu manu- script of oC Lady Larkspur There Thero he finds the household strangely upset some of its members being suspected by their comrades of oC pro- pro Antoine head of oC the establishment firms him that ho he hohas hohas has been perplexed by the somewhat somewhat somewhat some some- what mysterious visits of oC a stranger apparently a foreigner seeking Mrs Bashford Antoine has has' formed the tho male mole members of the household into a guard for protection pro pro- Singleton reads Searles Searles' play and thinks highly of oC it IL Aunt Alice arrives unexpectedly meets with a lively reception and turns out to be young and charmIng charm- charm Ing Mrs Farnsworth Is her traveling traveling traveling trav trav- eling companion Torrence Bashford's Bashford's Bash- Bash fords ford's lawyer suspects tho the two women and warns Singleton Aunt Alice may be bo an Impostor Tho The mysterious stranger Count Mon- Mon makes a call o 0 O CHAPTER I III III I Continued I 8 spoke of 01 the porcelains Oh to be s slue I They The dont don't show to best advantage In electric light do o they But nut I can have a few of the prize plIze pieces taken Into the dining- dining room said Alice Mrs Irs l Farnsworth had excused herself herself herself her her- self to finish a n letter and aud from my ray chair I could cold see her head bent over the big desk In the library Alice Allee rang for tor Antoine and I followed her Into the hall to offer my aid ald Oh dont don't trouble she said Antoine Antoine An toine tolne can do anything necessary Yes thanks I If you oU will turn on the dining dining- room lights I was gone hardly half a minute When I reached readied the room drawing-room door had crossed the room to the table on which Alice Allee had dropped the fan and was examining it closely lie He faced the door and the moment he detected me exclaimed carelessly An exquisite little bauble I II II I am always as curious cUllous as to the source of such trifles I was looking for tor the makers maker's Imprimatur I know a Parisian Parisian Parisian Pari Pari- sian who is the leading manufacturer of the world But it Is not his ills I see As we stood talking of other oilier things lie he plied piled the fan carelessly as us though for the pleasure of ot the faint scent It exhaled and when Alice called us he put it down carefully where he had found It lie He really did to know something something something some some- thing about ceramics and praised with lively enthusiasm the pieces that had been set out on the table One piece as to whose authenticity my uncle had entertained serious doubts 1 unhesitatingly pronounced genuine and stated very plausible reasons for his opinion On the whole he was an nn Interesting fellow When he had finished his inspections Inspections In he lingered for only a few minutes and took his leave sa saying that ho was spending the night at an Inn near Stamford Well said Alice Allee when the whir of ot Ills his machine had died away what do you think of ot him A ver very agreeable gentleman I answered an an- If It he doesn't know porcelains porcelains ponce ponce- lains hams he fakes his talk admirably And as to fans fans fans- suggested Mrs 1 Farnsworth I had not intended to mention Mon- Mon taul's tanis interest in Alices Alice's fan and the remark surprised me Oh I saw It all from the library laughed Mrs Farnsworth My Iy back was to the door but I was facing a mirror The moment you OU and nud Alice went into the hall he lie pounced upon the tho fan pounced fan pounced Is the only word that describes It lie concealed his Interest In it ft very neatly when you OU caught him examining it It Fans are harmless things said Alice and If it theres there's any story attached attached attached at at- to this one Im I'm not aware of it My father tather bought it in Paris about three years ago and It has never been out of ot my possession except to have haveIt It repaired Th ros ro's a Japanese jeweler jeweler jeweler jew jew- eler who does wonderful things In the I way of at repairing trinkets of at every kind I left it with him for tor a few tew I days I cant can't tell teU now which panel I was wu broken he did his work so deftly I took look It from her and balanced itIn ItIn it itIn In m ray my fingers It was a beautiful piece of ot workmanship with the simplest sim- sim carvings on the Ivor Ivory panels lie He couldn't have seen it anywhere before tonight observed Alice mus mus- In fact I hadn't used It at nt all for a n year rear It was really b by mistake e I that my maid put It Into my trunk when I went to Japan I didn't want to risk breaking It again so Ive I've been carrying it In a handbag The last day we were In I think I had It ItIn ItIn itin In our sitting room In the hotel to tomake tomake tomake make sure it wasn't Jammed Into the trunk again We had a good many callers a callers a number of at people came In Into Into into to bid us good good good-by by but Im I'm sure Count was not among them and it would have been Impossible for him to see It at nt any other time Oh there Is nothing disturbing In Inthe Inthe inthe the counts count's interest in the thing said Mrs Farnsworth with an air all of 01 dismissing dismissing dismissing dis dis- missing the matter If It were n a jade trinket inscribed with Chinese rays mys- m s 's ter teris s s you might imagine that it would be sought by some one one one-l I have heard of ot such things things but but Alices Alice's fan has no such history We weren't very hospitable said sale Alice I might have asked Count to dine us tomorrow and we might even have put him up ut for the night t In this vast house Not with Antoine on the pr premises I 1 exclaimed Antoine Is convinced I that the man Is what we call in AmerIca America Amer Amer- Ica lea a n crol crook k And Antoine takes his responsibilities very seriously While I was breakfasting at the rage garage the next morning Antoine ap- ap appeared and waiting until Flynn FInn was out of ot hearing handed me ing a slip of at paper a New York automobile number he said It was on the tag of ot that machine the party came in last las night I heard hp-ard him saying saIng sir as how 0 1 a ha l l' l lr m c r 4 I Clung to the Sideboard Listening he had bad motored up from the tile Elkton Inn at Stamford Visitors from Stamford Stam Stara ford would hardly send in to the city cUy for tor a machine I bade him wait walt while I called the Elkton by telephone No such person personas as Giuseppe 1 had spent the night there or had been a guest of the house within the memory of ot the clerk Antoine's chest swelled at this confirmation confirmation confirmation mation of ot his suspicions suspicious If It the thc man returns treat him as ns you OU did last night night night-as as though he were entitled to the highest consideration lie He wont won't come back not back not the tile same way said Antol Antoine nee lie Ile mentioned the Elkton Just to throw you O l otT The rhe next you hear of him will be quite dif dif- ferent feren t. t You mean menn hell he'll come conic as ns a burglar what's In Ill my mind Mr hh Singleton Sin Sin- gleton Everything seems Yer very queer sir Such as what Antoine The widow has been telegraphing and telephoning considerable sir There must be no spying upon I these ladles Indies l I 1 admonished severely All AU the people on the place must remember remember re re- re- re member that Mrs Bashford Is mistress mistress mistress mis mis- tress here and entitled to fullest respect re re- lIe He lead hud hardly gone before Torrence had me on the wire to hear henr my report and to say that Raynor had hind left WashIngton Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington for tor a week-end week in Virginia I 1 assured him that nothing had occurred occurred oc oe- oc- oc to encourage n a suspicion that Mrs 1 Bashford was not nil all that she pretended to be The day was marked by unusual activities on the part of ot the waiters walters and bell bellhops Instead of ot the company f drills to which I had become become become be be- come accustomed the they they- they moved moved about In pairs along the shore and the lines of ot the fences I learned that Antoine had bad ordered this and the troops were obeying him with the utmost se se- The service on the estate es es' estate tate was VIlS certainly abundant It was only necessary to whistle and one of ot the veterans would come running In spite of or the complete satisfaction 1 J hind had expressed to Torrence as us to the te perfect Integrity und and honest Intentions ns of the two women the curios curiosity It of ot the American state department and the tho visit of required elucidation beyond my powers At dinner they were In the merriest humor The performances performances per per- of ot the little army through through- throughout bout b- b out the day had hind amused them greatly How delightfully feudal l exclaImed exclaimed exclaimed ex ex- ex- ex claimed Alice Allee Really we should have haven havea n a moat and drawbridge to make the thing perfect Constance and aud I are the best protected women In tho the world 1 Wo We extracted all aU the fun tun possible from the idea Iden that the estate was WalS under under under un un- un- un der siege that Alice was the chatelaine chatelaine chatelaine chate chate- laine of a beleaguered castle and that before help could reach us we were In la danger of being starved out by the enemy They called Into play pray the poetry poetry poetry poe poe- try which had so o roused Antoine's apprehensions and their talk bristled with quotations Alice rose after the tho salad and repeated at least a page of ot Malory 1 and the Knights of 01 the Round Hound Table having thus been Introduced introduced Introduced Intro Intro- Mrs Farnsworth recited several sever sever- al sonorous passages from The Idyls of or the King They flung lines from Brownings Browning's In a Balcony at each other as though they were ing The befuddlement of ot Antoine and the waiter walter who assisted him added to the general Joy They were undoubtedly undoubtedly undoubtedly edly thought the two women quite out of ot their heads and It was plain that I 1 suffered greatly In Antoine's estimation estimation estimation estima estima- tion by my encouragement of ot this frivolity fri fri- Mrs Farnsworth walked majestically maj round the table and addressed to me the lines from Macbeth beginning beginning beginning begin begin- ning thou art ard aid Cawdor and ancS be What thou art ort promised while Antoine clung to the sideboard JI listening with mouth open and eyes tolling rolling Later in the living room Alice sang some some- old ballads She was more adorable adorable ador ador- able than ever at the piano It was wasa a happiness beyond any in my experience experience experience ence of ot women to watch her bel to note the play pIny of ot light upon lien her golden head bra to yield to the spell of ot her voice Bounds Ballads had never been sung before with the charm and feeling she put Into Int them and after ending with Douglas Douglas she responded to tomy tomy tomy my Importunity with Ben Bolt and then dashed Into a sparkling thing of played It brilliantly and rofo laughingly mocking my applause I 1 left leet the house like a man over whom an enchantment has been spoken and was not pleased when Antoine Antome An- An tome tolne blocked my ray path Pardon me sir Bother my pardon what's troubling troubling troubling trou trou- trou- trou bling you OU now I 1 demanded Its nothing troubling me sir not particularly If It you OU give gi me rue me time I think Ill I'll grow used to the poetry talk and playing at being queens Its It's like In a family I served once an h family most respectable Buin But Bu ButIn Butin in widow sir sir- a sir God knows we ought to be gla glad when grown grownups ups have the heart to play at being children and can get awa away with it as beautifully as those women do l What else is on your our mind Its about Elsie sir I 1 groaned n at atthe atthe the mention of Flynns Flynn's G German wife Im sorry sir j but I thought I should report it It was a man who came to see her this afternoon You was ou out for your our walk and Flynn had taken the ladles for a n drive so Elsie was alone at the garage This person rode In on the grocers grocer's truck from the village village vil vil- lage which Is how ho he got by the gate As it happened Pierre Pierre Pierre-he he was a waiter at the Tyringham a Swiss who understands German German had had gone into the garage for a nap hes he's quite old sir and has his snooze every after oner- noon lies Hes entitled to it it I remarked he be must be a n thousand years old From what he lie heard Pierre Pierro thought the man a spy sir He De wanted Elsie to steal something from the house It i was n a fan he lie wanted her to take most particular and it was to be done soon today toda If It she could manage mannge It was for the lie love of the Fatherland that he wanted her to do it Did you notice sir that Mrs ItS Bashford didn't have havethe havethe the tho fan tonight Not ot that one she carried last night Antoine's guard makes an exciting capture TO BE DE CONTINUED |