Show fp 77 00 2 Z P I 1 0 I 1 I 1 A L A STOR y 4 THE LO 0 7 4 ARABELLA by MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL copyright 1900 bobbs merrill co if SYNOPSIS N at 14 years aca 3 of age admiral sir peter hawkshawe Hawk shaWs nephew richard glyn fell deeply in love at first bight with lady arabella stormont mont who spurned his attentions tent ions T the lie lad an orphan was given giel 6 a berth barth as midshipman on tile the jJ ajax a by 1 op his uncle giles vainon nephew 0 of sir st r thomas vernon became the boys pal they attended a theater where blaik shaws saw lady arabella vernon met philip overton next in line for sir thomas vernons Ver estate the they y stal stait t ed a duel which was interrupted vernon overton and hawkshawe Hawk shaws nephew found themselves attracted by pretty lady arabella 4 vile the ajax in battle defeated frei french ch worships in the mediterranean ate terra n ean Ric richard liard 4 glyn got 2000 prize money I ile he le was called homo home by bv lady hawkshaw as 09 lie ho was about to blow in his earnings with vernon at a hawkshaw party glyn discovered K covered that lady arabella was a poor but persistent gambler he talked much with lier her causin cousin daphne lady Ar arabella again showed love for gaming later gatei she held glyn find and overton prisoners thus delaying the duel CHAPTER VI As LVer toil had said the mooting meeting P was delayed exactly 24 hours I 1 my aly courage always liaman has an odd way ot 0 disappearing when I 1 am expecting S to use it although I 1 must say when I 1 imp have had actual occasion for it I 1 have always found it easily at hand I 1 cannot deny that I 1 was very much frightened tz for giles on the morning of the meeting eting and to add to my misery int sery I 1 heard that overton was considered one of the best shots in england the dreary breakfast gulped down the rattling latt ling up to the door 1 I had hoped until the last moment that it would not come the bumping a long along the road in the cool bright summer suma morning the gruesome long narrow V 1 box that lay on the front seat of 7 the chaise the packet of letters which giles had given me and which seemed to weigh wei gh a hundred tons in in my y pocket all these were so many horrors to haunt the memory forever but I 1 must say th that at apparently the misery was all mine for I 1 never saw giles vernon show chow so much as by the nicker flicker of an an eyelash that he was disturbed in any way about half way from the meeting ground we left tile the highway and turned into a byi byroad by i road 0 o ad and scarcely had bad we gone half a mile when we almost drove into a broken down chaise and standing on oil the roadside among the furze bushes were the coachman the surgeon a most bloody minded man I 1 always believed him mr buxton and overton our chaise stopped and giles putting his head out of the window said pleasantly good morning gentlemen man you have had bad an accident I 1 see A bad one replied mr buxton who saw that their chaise was beyond help and who as aa he said afterward was playing for a place in our chaise not liking to walk the rest of the distance giles jumped out and so did 1 I and the most courteous greetings were exchanged the two drivers as experts ex e d PC qa 4 1 1 al 61 tho the broken chaise and agreed there was no patching it up p for service vice one wheel was splintered mr buxton looked at giles I 1 and then at me and giles whispered to me i offer to tako take em up tip by jupiter they shall see we are no shirkers shir kers which I 1 did and to my amazement in a few moments ts we were all lumbering along the road overton and mr buxton on the back seat and giles and I 1 with our backs to the horses while the surgeon was alongside the coachman on oil the box nothing could exceed the politeness between the two principals about the seats as about everything else overton oye r was with difficulty persuaded to talce take the back seat scat mr buxton seated himself there without any introduction 1 I 1 hope it will never gain again a be my fortune to negotiate ne so delicate in an affair as it a meeting between gentlemen with ono one so much my superior perlor iti in rank as mr buxton may I 1 ask mr overtop overton if you prefer the window down or up ill asked giles with great deference either Lit lier tear dear sir responded overton 1 I believe it was up ill when you kindly invited us to enter anfor true but you may be sensitive to the air and may catch dold cold at which mr buxton grinned in a heartless ni manner anner the window remained up wo we were much crowded with the two pistol cases and the surgeons box I 1 I 1 05 0 C A aj I 1 overton took off his hat and bowed of instrument instruments a which to me appeared more appalling than the pistols at last we reached the spot a small flat place under a sweetly blooming hawthorn hedge with some verdant oaks bahs at either e end id giles and overton were so scrupulous about taking t precedence of each other in getting out of the chacto that I 1 had strong hopes the day would pass before they came to a decision but mr buxton finally got out himself and pulled his man after him and then we were soon marking oft off the ground and I 1 was feeling that mortal sickness which had attacked me the first time I 1 was under fire in the ajax overton won the toss for position and at that I 1 could have lain down and wept our men were placed 20 paces apart with their backs to each other at the word one they were to turn advance and fire between the words two and three this seemed to me the most murderous arrangement arran ement I 1 had ever heard of tile the stories I 1 had so lately hear 1 about overtones Ov ertons proficiency with thu tho pistol made me think even if he did not kill giles intentionally he would a attempt some expert trick with the pistol which would do the business equally well I 1 know knew giles to be a very poor shot and concluded that he through awkwardness would probably put an end to overton and I 1 regarded them both as loomed doomed men ishall I 1 shall never forget my feelings a as s we were placing our men or after nir mr buxton and I 1 had retired to a place under the hedge just as we had selected our places giles looking over its his shoulder said in his usual cool soft t voice dont you think gentlemen you had better move two or three furlon furlongs gs off mr overton may grow excited an and delro fire wild 1 thought this a most dangerous as well as foolish speech and calculated calculate to irritate ate ove itoh and andhor foi the first time I 1 saw it a gleam n of anger in lits ills eye which had hitherto been mild and even sad for I 1 believed then and knew afterward that his mind was far from easy on the subject of dueling I 1 wish to say here that I 1 also believe had lie he been fully convinced that dueh ing was wrong lie he would have declined decline to fight no matter what the consequence had beon been for I 1 never knew a man with more moral courage but at the time although ii hs s views were aeo c hanging changing on the subject they were not wholly glian changed ged mr buxton without noticing giles sp speech eccli coughed once or twice and then w waited two or three minutes before giving the word the si summer minner sun shone brilliantly turning the be dis distant river to a silver ribbon A thrush rioted musically in the li hawthorn hedge all things spoke of life and hope but to my 2 sinking heart insensate nature only mocked us I 1 heard as in a dream the words one two three slowly uttered by T mr ali buxton and saw still as in a dream both men turn and raise their pistols overtones Ov ertons was discharged first farst then as lie he stood like a man in marble waiting for foi his fire giles raised his pistol and taking deliberate alm aim at the bird still singing in the hedge brought it dowid it was a mere lucky shot but overton took off his hat and bowed to the ground and giles responded respond ed by taking off his hat and a showing a hole through the brim you see mr glyn said overton 1 I have done according to my promise it was not my intention to kill mr vernon but only to frighten him which speech mr buxton and I 1 considered as a setoff set off to giles speech speed just before shots were exchanged the two principals remained whore where they were ivere w while hile mr buxton andi retired behind the hedge bedge to confer or rather for mr buxton to say to me another shot would be damned nonsense my man is gatis satisfied fied or shall be else 1 I am a dutch trooper certainly you have nothing to complain of I 1 was only too happy to accept this polut solution lon but more out of objection to being browbeaten by mr buxton than anything else I 1 said we shall require an explanation of your principals observation just now sir shall you angrily asked mr buxton exactly in the tone he used when the carpenters mate complained that the jacko jack 0 o th edu lad had cribbed crabbed his best saw then I 1 shall call your man to account in regard to his late observation and we can keep them popping away at each other all day but this is no slaughter pen mr glyn nor am I 1 the ships butcher and I 1 shall talce take my man back to town and give him it a glass of spirits and some breakfast and I 1 advise you to do the same you are very young mr glyn and you still need to know a thing or two then advancing from behind the hedge lie he said in the dulcet tone he used when the admiral asked him to have wine gentlemen M mr glyn and myself after conferring have agreed that the honor of our principals is fully established and that the controversy is completely at an end allow me to congratulate you both and was a general handshaking hand shaking all around I 1 noticed that the coachman who was attentively watching the performance looked slightly disappointed a the turn of affairs straightway we all climbed into the chaise and I 1 think I 1 shall be believed when I 1 say that our return to town was more cheerful than our departure S had been we ve all agreed to line dine er at the next night and andi I 1 saw no f IT reason to believe that there was any 4 remnant of III feeling between th tho Y two late combatants U I 1 returned to berkeley square that afternoon with much uneasiness con corning my meeting and intercourse with lady arabella for I 1 ha h iv not seen her since the occurrence in rt 1 sir peters study although my affection for lier her was forever killed by that box on tile car sho she gave tile me yet no man ean can see a woman shamed be fore him without pain and the antica pation of lady marabellas Ara Artt bellas bollas feelings when slie she saw mo ino troubled me but this was what actually happonen when we met lady Ara arabella hella wash was sitting in ili u t the he chinese di drawing awing room her lap f log dog in ili hot her arms surrounded surround cd by half X a dozen doxen fops lady hawkshaw had I 1 left C ft tho room for it a inbi moment nent and ara A ra bella had taken the opportunity of sli showing dwing hor her trick of holding out her i dog dogs paws and kissing his ats nose which she called measuring love ribbon tills this J performance nover never failed to till throw 0 W I 1 gentlemen into ecstasies daphne sat at byl near with her work in lier her lap and a book on the table by lier her smiling rath or disdainfully it till y I 1 do not think thinh mhd 1 cousins loved each other t j on my iny alpe appearance aranco in ih the dr drawing altig f room roo ii I 1 scarcely scare ely dared look toward lady arabella but she called 1 out fa far B mili mill arly 1 k come hero here dicky her habit of calling nie me dicky annoyed me very much and lot let ili me show you how bow I 1 kiss bidos nose and if you are a 6 good lo 10 od boy and tell me all about the mooting this till sm morning sjorning perhaps I 1 may hold your 1 l paws out and kiss your nose ilose at 1 which all the gentlemen present laughed loudly I 1 never was so cm bari ua ar sed in my af life e and my luy chagrin i n was increased when suddenly iid denly dropping the dog she rushed at me seized af my hands hailds and holding them off at full arms length imprinted a sounding I 1 ng ka smack upon my nose and and laughingly ci cried led out one yard smack on rai my y nose again two yaros yards v smack three yards Sni smack 4 1 1 at this juncture 1 I recovered my t c z presence of mind enough to seize her around the waist and return aier ier smacks with interest full in the mouth and it at this stage of the proceed proceedings ingi lady hawkshaw appeared upon taps alio scene in an instant an awful hush fell upon us for my part I 1 felt my knees sinking und under e r me and I 1 had that feel fee 1 in ing of mortal sickness which I 1 had felt in my first sea fight and itt at the instant I 1 thou thought glit my friends life in jeopardy lady arabella Ara bellit stood up for once confused the gentlemen all ro rc tired gracefully to the wall in order 4 not to interrupt the proceedings ind and 1 l Dap daphne lineL fixed her eyes upon me ine spar V kling with indignation lady hawkshawe Hawk Hawks shaws baws voice when she spoke seemed to come from the tombs of the pharaohs Phara 4 what is this country lum I 1 see she asked and nobody answered a word f james the tall footman stood be hind lier her and to him she turned say ing in li a tone like thunder 1 jeames go and toll tell sir peter ha hawkshaw that I 1 desire his presence I 1 immediately m med lately upon a matter of the great est importance 4 the footman literally ran down x stairs and presently sir peter carno cama puffing up tip from the lower regions lady arabella had recovered herself then enough to hum a little tune and to pat pac the floor with her satin slipper sir peter walked in surveyed us all and turned pale I 1 verily believe he thought arabella had been caught caugh t f cheating at cards TO BE CONTINUED t |