Show ra the aa A 9 a t A top 0 0 NN by pictures b y edith weil huntington waiters mason rey can bell 1 aleli 1 e wilson C cop right 1007 by A t C JHc Clurg co J CHAPTER C 1 I 1 never quite know knew how it was that I 1 took vincent with me except that we both needed a holiday at tile the s same ame g time and the same kind hind of holiday ap pealed to us both vincents whole name and title is lord wilfred vin cent for lie he is the younger son of the el aduke of totten men of ills his own f ase call him freddy but I 1 call hm vincent or wilfred because I 1 cons coils alder der curtailed appellations appel lations undignified vincent i bi art an artist that is lie he calls f himself one his friends call him a j dabbler in art he really go gai in for fbi it seriously you know but he did little sketches of cows and that A sort of thin thing rather well I 1 fancy so A A 4 5 we agreed that our alin aim was wa s to find v a little old village far away from london and get rooms in some old farmhouse my idea was that vincent al would go out and paint th acho e cows while I 1 would lie ile in the hammock and hy ad the old lady would bring biding me buttermilk wilfred jaad had an idea that a good bit of his thile in it a hammock but with this dif A re le clerence r rence e n c e t that h a t the did ladys lady s beautiful daughter daugh was to bring him film lemonade kut I 1 pointed out olit to tb him that the chief calef reason that thai I 1 was r tinning running away 1 from town was to get rid of the 1 debutantes anti and therefore hed have to t leave the fair ones out of our air castle our plan was just to bask in nature ind and we llad had six weeks to bask basic in the foreign office seem to require ire much of Wil 1171 vilfreds freds time and lie he do any anything thin else except dabble of course being a younger son lie he a shilling of ills his own but the old duke makes him a comfortable allowance because lie he dotes on oil wilfred as much is as lie he detests his eldest son edmund the heir to the dukedom so when vincent complained of feeling all run ran down own it was easy for him to get six weeks off although as I 1 tell him lie he atas 1 as been getting six weeks off ever 1 I since ince s lie he left oxford two years ago ile he 24 yet nevertie Ne nevertheless less vincent is one of the best little chaps in the world I 1 dont mean that lie he is undersized for lie he stands six feet two in ills his stockings hut but is so t good natured so joll v and an amiable liable and straight well just ii tur ally nice dont you know emoi that everybody is just crazy cray about him as the american girl I 1 met last summer used to say arid and all the men young and old alike have gotten to talling calling him little vincent or freddy from ills his mon eton days just by way of endearment of course im much older than vincent 1 to be more exact theres a in matter at of 12 I 1 or 15 years between us but I 1 must say I 1 cant help being drawn to him ive known him ever since lie he was born and then you see were both oxford men belong to the same clubs and of course terhune is as old a name as vincent 0 oien ven if it any handle to it and if I 1 do say it alie theres es never a dinner given in lonion london town that archibald Ter terhune linne is not invited but somehow in this my tenth soa season son I 1 became utterly weary of the linic limelight light tile the din dinners nors the balls I 1 I 1 the matchmaking match making c mammas for I 1 am I 1 n nil n eligible bachelor all and most of nl the debutantes with their edu JA A cadei sm binges singes les ani and stares sareg I 1 felt that I 1 must flee from london to escape and thus as vincent Is always ready for a holiday we found ourselves one fine day well started on our jurney we had taken the noon train for ings bridge and changing there wore were to go 0 o on to which an artist f mend friend of vincents had recommended to us as just the place we were looking for I 1 jolly lark this said vincent after we had been some time on our way only deonly hope cumpstone Cupp stone and damers Dar ners farm farin will be what we want graham cracked it ur up to the skies tile the trouble I 1 complained when a things talked up too much its sure to disappoint one wait till you see it old pessimist sal said vincent with a cheerful grin its got cows bows which provide buttermilk and art and ive got some lemons in my grip for tile the lemonade the only thing that troubles me is the land ladys beautiful daug daughter liter im afraid shell be a minus quantity of then lie he put ills his feet across on my side bide of 0 the carriage and lit a nas nasty cyp smelly old pipe the worst of vj vincent 11 cent lies hes so young lie he think how a thing like that may got get on ones nerves but I 1 hurt ills his feelings for anything and so I 1 had to let him smoke about three in the afternoon when we had left the comfortable carriages of the main line for the ramshackle ones of the branch line became we canie to a sudden stop in tho the center of a bir big stretch of meadow ond land A few miles away we could see the he spires and roofs of a little village nud and what was more noticeable a big castle that stood on higher ground ame dl above the town but ss fear f att tea ahem the sead stopped I 1 faked the ur what tho the trouble as and he t mo MD hi chilt something was wrong with thy the englee and it might be a couple of hous hours b before 0 orew we e could go ahead d just as he finished ills his explanation Vin NIn cort cert who had been looking out of arst fp 9 ills his feet and shook m my y shoulder excitedly cit edly look there do you see them lie he earled aed pointing ngat at the beautiful ticul meadows with their winding s stream ream t and gentle t slopes S se what I 1 demanded somewhat testily adjusting my glas glasses seti and surveying the landscape without perceiving in r anything of unusual interest Int irest but vincent in a fever of bf haq haste te was kneeling and un strapping hit hiis golf clubs honnay PIo Ho oray onay lie he cried terhune To rhune a golf course as im a sinner shine come on well have some sport tile the old trains due to wait an hour anyhow I 1 looked again and sure enough I 1 saw that at intervals the close cropped ayass was dotted with little red flags in like sparks of lire fire on a carpet of green careen velvet vincent has many fads b but 1 l 1 I thick he Is keener on oil golf than anything else 1 I was disgusted with h anu hii vincent Vina ent I 1 said with decision abi this is nonsense rionE nonze ense nse you can wait till wo we A gar I 1 or to to play golf graham iani said UR re public links there yes and lie he also said that it wa was s tile the rottenest rott enest course bourse he ever played over said vinvent vincent with some heat beat 1 I made him admit it and this one is a beauty A private one ill wager look at that turf T it t is just like velvet my dear fe below allow like velvet and lie he swept a pra practiced ey eyo nver aver tile the wide green slopes now I 1 am fond of the game myself within reason and certainly tile the prospect was inviting for I 1 was tired of the confinement of the carriage carnage and vincent was waa nio most t persua persuasive sivo I 1 knew it ft was a fool sai thing to do the tran train agh not stay fio 0 o loir as wo we expected ande ire paa 1 gat at aft c yet tu 03 i I 1 liay arzy it I 1 ra perfuse V nt any t io i o i U Z him to got bufe yav c at yc bar T 7 aked the guard cac siu sr to tho na 1 castle Yes ciT replied tha nr belong to c castl dyckhoff Wyck hofF botT tho the family seat of baron I 1 dyckhoff Wyck hoff boff all dead now though all capt tho ao honorable agatha and she es v in tho the cas le ie and owns all 1 these tile so act acre es s sir all a I 1 I 1 r r you ou can see and ine griott wavord IN ills his liani hand grandiloquently the imposing im posing old pile on the jia 1111 1 1 and the green meadows a away far below belo wAt it Y sho mus must have money T said reflectively vincent cent meanwhile nican while was iv z hunting 0 in inah ills grip gilb gi lb fd for an at atrocious ro clous red coat lie wears when lie A money loncy r repeated a 1 e a t e 1 I llie gp auard ard money lor bless you sir she as minions millions an millions ekr H own father was baron dyckhoff Wyck hoff but 0 e o died when is darter wore were a little thing ae E nov never erad ad a shilling but er stepfather father that married baroness dyckhoff Wyck hoff two years later was Hafner ican and ad m more ore pounds pound s than there is stones ini that castle sir an arter f is wife d died ed e ad the place built up again 0 an now ilow both dead sir and is stepdaughter the honorable agatha as or er title is sir is fa heiress of all ills his millions and or er mothers estate she oua ought ht to ina marry r ry I 1 said still reflectively and bout any p personal meaning the fouard a d s smiled M I 1 I 1 ed knowingly t theres many a one arter lier her sir lie he said but they dont seem to make no progress against or er stepfathers step fathers will her stepfathers step fathers will I 1 repeated with interest int orest do you hear that vincent but vincent ills his beloved coat at last found was was half lia if out of the carriage come on lie he shouted were was wa S titto 1 I time and ana I 1 perforce was obliged to follow him although althou 11 the guards story promised promise to be very interesting te after we had played the first hole and I 1 had won 1 I seldom win a hole from vincent so I 1 was in a good humor I 1 told him what tile the guard had said so these alese grounds belong to the honorable agatha I 1 concluded and I 1 have eu curiosity dosity enough to wish that we might behold till this mysterious lady dul bu vincent a bit bib excited you can call never depend upon him when hes playing golf bosh he said td on hecq inks than sa her if she saw us its she might put pui us off ill ell bet ashes a crabbed old maid im surprised at you terhune with your romantic notions I 1 thought left all that sort of thing behind you in ill london I 1 felt myself reddening slightly though cholle I 1 knew vincent mean anything and was waa about to make some retort when lie he drove off unexpectedly an and d I 1 stopped in aamir admiration aaion of the ali clean fast shot he made it just cleared a natural bunker and sped on beyond at that instant a discordant mixture of sound burst upon our ears as that of a dog yelping and a vigorous scolding in ili a high but sweet 1 I 1 bem fem feminine anine voice with one accord we rushed up the le t 1 gentle tn rise nd in the depression beyond b e we beheld ono one of the handsomest girls I 1 hod ever seen in my lily life she was bonding over a setter puppy and scolding hini him the dogs yelps had subsided to a whimper and lie he was holding iii one of ills his paws if he had been hurt 1 I loul loid nut to come rudolph she was saying and I 1 told you to keep out of A tile the way and I 1 told you ou 0 get hurt burt if you she was a tall tail gari 1 but beautifully proportioned an and wore no hat on hei be mass of dark daric hair when V ben we got nearer we saw haw that her eyes were big bland bl and black hr ber uronie perfect and her col coi orang to lie by continued I 1 |