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Show The Mystery Road By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM Ooprrlrhl fcy Little, Brow Oe. ' touch of sublime pity la thm the realised the change. But from ber face ehone the lame things. "You will come In and see my borne?' she begged. The car can turn In here. The road tt better thin It used to be." "I am tired of the car," Gerald aald. "1 would rather walk." They moved alowly down through the cypres avenue, Oerald leaning a little on Myrtlle's arm, Christopher loitering behind. "It Is the most restful and the most beautiful place I have ever been In," Herald murmured. "Tell me, Myrtlle," be added, "do you know all that baa happened to meT" "Everything I Christopher has written writ-ten and I had a long letter, too, from your father. Please do not speak of those things which are finished. Ton are here to forget." CHAPTER IX Continued 27 "But what made her want to leaver Oerald persisted. Christopher did not hesitate for moment. He meant to take every possible pos-sible advantage of this, the first sign f any real Interest In life whlcb Oerald Oer-ald bsd showo for months. "Because she is very finely strung," he said, "and the situation was becoming Impossible for her. She wss very much In love with you. and you were craty about some one eUe. I wss very much In love with ner, ss I always had been, end I was ass enough to try ant persuade ber to marry me. Of course," he went nn. "I ought to have realised the unconvertible uncon-vertible fidelity of a nature like hers. An ordinary woman," be went on, leaning buck In his comer and discussing dis-cussing the matter very much as he would have done a legal point pre- Involuntarily he looked away toward the road and turned back with a shiver. shiv-er. Whatever his thoughts might live been, be said nothing. A little French mold, In spotless white cap and apron, came out on the veranda In reply to Myrtlle'i call. "A bottle of our own wine and glasses," Myrtlle ordered, "some fruit and the sandwiches I told you to hi.ve ready, Marie. Come, we have an otber half-hour of sunshine. Oerald, you must take the sofa chair." Oerald sank Into a sea of cushions. Myrtlle, bending over him. arrar.gd them more comfortably. Her eyes were soft with the shadow of tears. Oerhld, more weary than be bad confessed, seemed for a moment almost to doie. "He Is very weak." Myrtlle whispered, whis-pered, looking anxiously across towards Christopher. , Christopher nodded. "It Is the Journey," be answered. "I wish that It were over." The wine wss brought, but Oerald was now In a deep sleep. Christopher and Myrtlle sat at the other end of the veranda and talked In an undertone. aid should have been so content, Mary remarked. "Is this the piece, Clirlstopherr Christopher nodded. The car wal alowltig up. On their right wss the little grove of cypress trees and the gate. "Here they are!" Mary exclaimed. "Why, Just look at Oerald r The two young people came down the cypress grove, arm In arm. Oerald was walking with much of his old swagger. Once more his head wss thrown back ; once more there wna all the Joy of wild spirits In the abandon of bis enthusiastic greeting. Myrtlle, on the other band, seemed quieter than usual. "Gerald, what have you been up tor" Ills father demanded. Oerald laughed. "Listen to that, dad," be said, "and see If yon can't guess." The bell from the little white church was tinkling away craslly. Gersld passed his arm around Myrtlle. "She's terrified to death," he declared. de-clared. "Please every one Fell ber that they're glad." Myrtlle was easily persuaded. Her father-in-law dispossessed Gerald at they turned towards the bouse. Mary walked on the other aide. "You have now arrived la time for the celebrations,"- Oerald continued. "The feasting tenantry are In view oa the far side of the house. Yon will presently hsve the opportunity of hearing hear-ing me make a little speech In ivy most perfect French,' whlcb I have Just learnt by heart." "8o you are really married!" Msry exclaimed Incredulously. "Gerald Myrtlle how wonderful It all seems 1" "Amazing!" Oersld agreed. "Matrimony "Matri-mony was evidently my predestined Mecca. I am no longer III. I have never been so happy In my life. I was plowing for four hours yesterdsy, and practicing approach shots over the road to get rid of a Uttla superfluous energy after tea. What I really covet Is the Job of Pierre, the head man, but Myrtlle won't listen' to It. She says I don't understand the soil." As they reached the house, the old cure came shuffling out, beaming with smiles, delighted to find that every one spoke his own language and that he could talk to them about Myrtlle. Luncheon was spread out on the veranda, ver-anda, and Marie and a young friend from the village, with great bunches of white carnations fastened to their fmcks, were waiting to serve. Gerald himself uncorked the wine. "I propose to make a speech," Lord Hlnterleys announced, holding out his fosming glass. "It must be a short one." Gerald Insisted. In-sisted. "The omelette won't wait." "Then, as sn omelette Is my favorite dish snd that one appears to be a chef-d'oeuvre, chef-d'oeuvre, I drop the speech," his father assented. "I wilt only say, Oerald, that you have made Mnry and me very bappy, and that no bride In the world was ever more welcome then Myrtlle to our borne snd Uvea." Every one began to talk at once. By and by, that curious sense of unreality, un-reality, the feeling that the whole thing waa a scene out of an old-fashioned comedy, passed away. Gerald, wbo waa shamelessly holding Myrtlle'i hand under the tablecloth, raised his glass and looked Into her eyes, "It was I, after all," he whispered, "who hod no Idea what lay at the end of the road. You were the wise lady and I the fool.". All through the afternoon the villagers vil-lagers came and went, snd the young people danced In the field at the back of the farm. Many toasts were exchanged. ex-changed. Every one was extraordinarily extraordi-narily happy. Then the time came for Dirlstopher, who was on his way back to England, to leave. Mary, who was spending the night with her father at Cannes, walked with him to the rosd. They psused for s moment at the gate. "And It was really here thst you found Myrtlle Msry remarked, looking look-ing arounl her with Interest. sented for his opinion, "might select and prefer one man to all others, but If, for some reason or other, he did not return her i flection, she would be able, in course of time, to feel practically prac-tically the same thlug for another man. Myrtlle could never do that. She has that saint like fidelity whlcb ta the Joy and the curse of the best women. You are a very dear fellow, Gerald, and I am very fond of you, but I sometimes some-times get fed up with your nerves, your blindness, your grand duchesses and your Stark Idiocy." ' Oerald Hi up In his place and tared at hli friend Id amazement. "Bow long bava you been keeping tbat bottled ap, Chris r be ssked. "Ever tine Myrtlle turned me down," waa the prompt reply. "She was at kind aa aha coald be about it, but ah did ker Job like turgeon. She hurt, but I knew It wsa no use ever thinking about her again that - way. I am a dispassionate observer bow and I can see the truth." 4 "I suppose I hsve been rather an -Ma-, Gerald acknowledged, "but you t,..-- -"""must remember, Chris, I didn't quite know what I was In for when I took on thst visit to Russia, snd I dm't think any one could go through what I had to go through without getting bowled over. Fancy being takeq care of like a baby by that amazing womsn, Elsa Francks! Having to owe ber your life balf-a-dozen times overl See-Jng See-Jng thst great, cosrse creature, with ber bank of yellow hair, and ber breath smelling of drink and patchouli, standing up one moment and defying death, and lying the next without a tremor to guards who would have set as np against the . wall and shot ua on sight If they bsd known the truth I" "She waa an epic figure," Christopher Christo-pher declared. "I wonder what bas become of ber." "Heaven knows I" Oerald answered. "We msy meet her queening It at Monte Carlo, or she may have married a respectable German tradesman i.nd burled the past. She Is wealthy enough. She got that fellow Kross-aeya' Kross-aeya' share of the money I took out, as well aa ber own. How these pine trees smell, Chris I And what sunshine sun-shine I One could sleep here." Oerald leaned back In his place with half-closed eyea and Christopher was well content to leave blm alone. Thla was the first time he bad spoken naturally nat-urally of bis Journey to Russia and the terrible experience through which be had passed. , All. through the summer sum-mer mouths he had lain about the gardens at Hlnterleys, accepting life ss an inevitable burden, gaining no strength, sleeping little, all the time engaged In a morbid struggle with the tyranny of his nerves. Nothing had moved or Interested him. These last few sentence of hla were the first evidence of hla return to a natural outlook. Physically be bad shrunken almost to a shadow. There waa very little left of the gay and debonair young man who had passed his arm round .,.,jw Myrtlle'i waist and drawn her Into the ear, mocked at Christopher's remonstrances, remon-strances, and, with a few careless words, built up in M.vrt lie's heart the fairyland at the end of the road. Yet, as they drew near the place where "Lsave Him to Me, Christopher," She Begged, "He Needs Rest." Presently the sun began to sink behind be-hind the forest-crowned hills, westwards. west-wards. A cool breeze came stealing across the valley. Myrtlle rose suddenly sud-denly to her feet. "He must not sleep any longer," she said firmly. "He ought not to be out at all aa late as this." They tried to rouse him. Three times Christopher laid his hand upon hla ahoulder and called blm by name. There was no response. Oerald waa sleeping heavily, his breathing was regular, reg-ular, the lines seemed to have faded from hla face. "Thla may be his salvation," Christopher Chris-topher declared hopeAilly There were tears in Myrtlle'a eyea. All the time aba seemod to be listening. "Leave him to me, Christopher," "We lound her on this very spot." Chrls'opher answered, "gazing along the road to the bills. All her life she had wondered what lay on the other side. Many of ns never flnt out. I think that Gerald has been very fortunate.' for-tunate.' "I nm glad that you are hsppy shout It." she ssld, with quiet but tactful significance. "It Is because I am happy about It," Christopher rejoined, turning towards her. "that I am going to venture that, Mary well, I think I feel a little like the man who walked for s few minutes of his life In the moonlight and fancied fan-cied that It was a day. I honestly thought that 1 was In love with Myrtlle. I know now that there Is no one I ever really cared for but you, Mary." She raised her head and looked at him. yielding unresistingly to the arm which was drawn around her. "I am quite sure," she murmured, "that this Is an enchanted land." THE END she begged. "He needs rest." Christopher nodded. "I'll send two of his bags down from the car," he proposed, "and some of us will come and have a look at him In a few days. His servant can stay here if you like, so that you have help if you want It." f'.he smiled through her tears, "I shall need no help," she promised. prom-ised. I will cure Gerald. Tell Lady Mary and Lord Hlnterleys that 1 promise It. Only leave him alone with me. Do not come, any of you, until I send. If he wishes to leave, I can hire a car from San Raphael he csn be with you In a few hours. But-1 think he will be content. I think he will get better here." Chapter X "And now," Christopher said, as their car crawled up the last ascent, "to see if Myrtlle has kept ber word!" "Personally," Lord Hlnterleys declared, de-clared, 1 em confident. That young woman bas powers beyond the ordinary human" being's. Besides, our telegrams tele-grams every day have assured us that all Is well." "It seems curious to me tbat Gr- tbey bad found her, he seemed to shake off some of bis torpor. He sat up and looked about him with reminiscent reminis-cent eyes. One more bend snd they would see the gatel "Would you like to stop for a moment?", mo-ment?", Christopher asked "Myrtlle is almost certain to be here," This was most assuredly a changed Gerald. . He was almost diffident. "If you think she would like to see us," be assented. ' He sat upright now, leaning a little forward.-They were round the corner, cor-ner, in sight of the little grove of cypresses. And there at the gate Myrtlle! Gerald gave a little exclamation excla-mation which sounded almost like a sob. His incredulous stare had something some-thing in It alike of pain and fear. .. "I wrote bar days ago and said that wa should be passing," Christopher hastily explained. . She stepped out Into the road to greet them. Even to Christopher ber coming wa almost like a vision. The amaU differences ot clothing and circumstance cir-cumstance seemed scarcely to exist It was Myrtlle wbo welcomed them, shyly bat Joyfully. Hor eyes were abast spofl. Qmld, aid there ws a |