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Show Ithe house of a thousand CANDLES lly MEKUDITII NICHOLSON A.lk.r it 'THt Htll CKtt." 1UDK HHUell" tu ..ftiftl lm b -tM-a.riiit CHAPTER XXIV. Continued. Tlnit waa nrlalnall) a iri-mh for naluiil v pipes There was once a lara. i.utiitiliiK siiillon on the slle of this house wlih a til trunk main run nlim off arross i-nuntry lo aupld) the I towns west of hen- The a;aa a o i liauaifd and the plpea were taken up before I bean to build I should i lever have thought of that tunnel In the world If the tivnch hadn't suggested suggest-ed It I merely deepened and wldeneil It a little and plastered It with cheap cement as far aa the chapel, and that ! little room there where I put l'icker lug's notes ha.l once been the cellar of a house hull! for the superintendent superintend-ent of ihe gaa plant I never hail any Idea that I should use that passage aa a nieana of getting Into my own honae. but Marian met me at the si a I Ion, told inn that there waa trouble here, and came Willi me through the chapel Into the cellar, and through the hidden alalrwny that winds around Hie rhlui ney from that room where we kaep the caiiilte-alleka." ' Hut who waa the ghisU'" 1 demand ed, "If you were really nllvo nnd in Kgipt-" llatea laughed now 'Oh, I wits tho glioat! I vent th li there iK-raalonally to atlmu l our curbMll) alsiiit lint homo An ' hi nearly caught nm once'" 'One thing more, If we're not wear Ing you out I'd like to know whether Ulster Theresa owea ou nny moner My grandfather turned iiin Ticker Inx wllh blailng eyea "You scoundrel, )ou Infernal acoun drel. Slater Theresa never burrowed n cent of mo In her life1 Ami )ou havo made war pn that woman" Ilia rngn chnkeil 111 in lie told llatea to close, thn door of tho ateel cheat, nnd then turned to me "Where nro those notea of Ticker Inn's?" ho dciiunded, and I brought Hut iHirket. "(lentlemen, Mr Tlckerlim Ima sono to ugly lengths In thla nITalr. How many mimlera hnto )ou nvntlemen commllteilT" "Wo wero nbout to begin nctunl kill-ttnat'wnniyotiarr'jg'l-lt"tf1-'T- "Tho sheriff got nil Ida men oft tho premise morn or lees nllvo. ilr," aald Unlet "Tlmt la good, It wa nil a great mUlnke, n very great mlstnko; 1 had no Idisi such thlnga could happen," nnd my grandfather turned to Ticker Ing. "TIckerliiK. whnt a contemptlblo scoundrel . cm and I lent you that I30U.000 to buy securitlos to glo oti belter atnndlng In jour railroad enter-prlseii, enter-prlseii, nnd thu Inst ttnui I saw you, )ou got iuu to rcleaso tho collateral so you could nil so money to buy more slimes. Then, after I died" ho chuckled "you thought )ou"il tlnd and deatroy tho notea nnd that would end thn transaction: mid If yon had boon smart enough to Hud them you might havo had them nnd welcome.. Hut na It Is. they go to Jack. If ho shows any mercy on ou In collecting them lio'n not tho boy I think ho Is." Pickering rose, soiled his hat nnd backed nway toward tho shuttered library door. Ho paused for a moment, his faro livid with ruKu. "You old fool!" ho screamed nt my grandfather. "You old lunatic. I wish to tlod I had nover seen )onl No wonder won-der )ou camo back to llfo! You're a tricky old devil nnd too mean to die!" Mo turned toward ma with somoslm llnr complaint ready nt hit tonguo'a end. but fltu.til.ird caught him by tho aohiildera nnd thrust him out upon tho terrace A moment Inter wo saw him croaa tho meadow and hurry toward 8t. Agutha'a CHAPTER XXV. Changes and Chances. John Marshall tllcnnrm hnd probably never boon ao happy In Ida llfo as on thnt day of Ida amailtiR homo-coming. Ho lnughed nt us nnd ho laughed with ut, and as ho went about tho house explaining ex-plaining his plana for Ita completion, ho chaffed us all with hit shrewd humor that had been tho terror of my bo) hood. "Ah, If )ou had bad tho plant of course )ou would havo been wived n lot of trouble, hut that little sketch of Ihe IXxir of llewlldurment was tho only thing I left. and jou found It. Jack, you really opened theso good books of mlno." Ho tent ut all nway to rcmovo tho marks of battle, and wo gavo llntea a hand In cleaning up tho wreckage. llntea, thu keeper of secrets, llatea, the Inscrutable nnd m tterlout, llntot, the real hero of the affair at Olennrm My grandfather led ut through tho narrow etnlrway by which ho had entered, en-tered, which hud been built between falsi) walls, and wo plaed ghott for one another, to thaw just how- the troad of a human Ixilng around tho chimney sounded. There waa much In wvpluln, nnd my grandfather's contrition contri-tion for having placed iuu In so haiard- m m ii i rd lament waa ao alnctfl and Mk wi h to make amends ao evident, i in i mi heart waimed to hint He ii id- ine d scribe In detail all the In 1 1. 1, ins of my stav at lbs hottae listen in nub boyish di light to my tdven no. h liiiss my soul'- he MetalmcJ er nnd ox-r again And at I hrmittit "u i.i friends Into Ihe Itnrjr Ida pleasure I new no lioiinde. and h krf trim k-linu k-linu io himself, half a doom times ihaklng hands with tarry nnd HkkI dint who were, he deoUrrd, his frl i.ds aa well aa mine. The prisoner In the otato pillar re lived our due attention; an! niv grandfaiher'a iy Ih thn fnet tki an agent of ih" llrltlah wfnornmeat " held laptlve In (llenarm II mm i-cheering i-cheering to t. Hut tho maa'a ih-tenllnn ih-tenllnn waa a grave mnltiT. at nl1 realtced. and made lmiritlUo the im mnllate ronalderatlon of tarrr's fu tore "I must ro and ojo nt once' ' de elared I Jim-Mr Jim-Mr Doiiovsn, 1 aliimkl feel honon'l to have vou remain," told my grim I father "I hope to held .luck here nml I wish you would tlmrc the house i'h na." ' The sheriff and those follow won t squeal ver) hard nlmiit their w rfurni ancea here," aald Btinlilaid. "And itm won't try to reacite the prlaonor mn for a reword, from a tinutu whir He' dead come back Io llfo." ' No. hut you can't bold n limit. h prisoner In an American private home forever Too many people know tu has been III thla part of tho coianlr and you may he sum that the Itghi hern and tho return of Mr. fllenariu will not fall of Inrgo advertisement All I enn nsk of you, Mr. (llcnnnn llmt )ou di-tnln tho fellow n fow tiuurs niter I leave, to glvo mo n ttnrL" After a Into luncheon, for whhh tho nmnilng Hntoa produced chntn pegue thn others left us Stoddtrd to mine," I replied, trjlng to smile, "i ve 'een a leek leas spendthrift all my .la) a. and now I'm going to work. If mil were Infirm nnd needed me, I .hoiild not hesitate, hut the workl lll have Ita ees tin me now," 'Jack, that will of mine did you n (rent wrong. It put n mark upon )ou, nut that's what hurt! me; that's what I want to make amen.lt for! Don't net tee? Now don't punish me, Iniy. t onie! Let ut be frlende!" , Hu rote and put out hit hands 1 "I dldn t mean that' I don't care ihoiit that' It wna nothing more than I deserved Theso months here havo .hanged me. Haven't you heard mo iui I waa going to work?" vnd I tried to laugh nwny further I .liinisslon of my future 1 'It will be more cheerful hern In thn spring," ho aald, aa though tcck I lug an Inducement for mo to remain. When tho resort colony down here i unlet to llfo the laku Is really guy " , I shook my head. Tho lake, thnt "I Wlih to Cod I Had Never Sjen You." help tarry get Ids thlnga together nnd my grandfather and 1 talked for nn hour. "You will tay on here. yon will help mo to finish the limine'" tho old gentleman naked with iininlstnknblo eugorneaa of look and tone It teemed liarth nnd ungeneruut to tell him that I wished (o go. that tho groat world la beyond ihe conflnot nt tllcnnrm for mo to compter thnt I had lost as well as gained by thoto few months nt (llenium House, and wished to go nwni It was not tho mystery, now fathomed nor tho struggle, now ended tlmt m uppermost upper-most In my mind and he in hut mem- orlea of a girl who hint inoikcd mo with delirious girlish laughii r. who hnd luriMl me awuy from tho Indiana woodlands thnt I might her trnns-formiil trnns-formiil Into another mine charming, being, only to shatter m fnlth at tho end It was n comfort ii know that Tlrkerlng, trapped nnd k tinted, was not to benefit by the hold trie K sho had lielpeil him play upon me Hit lost wat ben as well and I was glad In my bitterness thnt I had found her In tho paasngo seeking for plunder nt tho holiest ho-liest of tho auino muster whom Mor-gnn, Mor-gnn, Ferguson nnd the resi of thorn served I did not mention tier to my grandfather, 1 resolved never io think or tpenk of her ngnln Thn light was over and there waa nothing mora for mo to do In the houto by tho lake. After n week or to 1 should go forth nnd tr to w In a placo for in) self. I had my profusion; I wna nn engineer, and I did mu question ques-tion that I should bo able to tlnd employment. em-ployment. At for in) gi indfothor. Holes would care fur him, an 1 1 should visit him often I was u-Huhed not to give him any further rn i- for anxiety anx-iety on account of my ilunturout and roving wat Ho kmw well enough that hit old hope of miking nn nrchlteit of me was lost fouser; and now I wished to depart In pi aco and seek tome part of the world where, tho trail were new and there were tracks to lay and brldget to build These thoughts to tilled mv mind that I forgot thai mi gian Hather was pat.intlv walling for an ansaer I should like to do anvthlng von ask I ahoutd like to siai hre alwiiin, but I ran t tkin t misunderstand me I have no Intention of going bark to my old ways I squandered enough money In my wanderings and I hid mv )ov of that kind of thing I shall tlnd employment somewhere and go to work " "Hut. Jack," he bent toward me kindly. "Jack, you mustn't be led away by any mere (Jiilvotlam Into lav log the foundation of your own for nine What I have It youra, boy What la In the Ikk In the chimney It voura now to-day." ' I wlah yon wouldn't' You were al waya too kind, and I deserve nothing, absolutely nothing." ' I'm not trying to pay you. Jack I want to eaae my own conscience, that'a all." "Hut money can do nothing for protty cupful of water, tho dip and glide of n maroon canoe, tho remembrance remem-brance of a red tnm-o'-thantor merging merg-ing afar oil In an October sunset' my purpose to leava tho placo strengthened nt I thought of theso things. My nerves wero keyed to a breaking pitch and, losing control of myself, I turned upon him ttormlly "So MIm Devorciix wat tho other person who thnred your confidence! Do you understand, do you appreciate appre-ciate tho fact that alio wui 1'lckcrlng'i ally?" "I certainly do not," ho replied coldly. "I'm surprised to hear you apeak to of a woman whom you can scarcely Know" "Yet, 1 know her' My flod. 1 have reason to know her! Hut ovon when 1 found her nut I did not dream thai tho plot wat nt deep at It It. She know that It was a schema to teat mo and alio played mo Into TIckerlttK'i hands. 1 caught her down thorn Ir tho tunnel acting at lilt spy, looking for tho lost notea, that tho might gain graco In hit cyet by turning their ovor to him. You know how I alwnyi hated I'lckorlng, ho wm too imooth too smug, and you and everybody else wero forovor praising him to me. He was always held up to mo as a model, and thn first tlmo I taw Marian Dover out alio wat with him It was al Shcrry'a tho night beforo 1 camo hero I aupiKMie tho reached St. Agatha'i only a fow hours ahead of mo." "Yet, Slitor Theresa wat her guar dlau. Hr father wat a dear friend and I know her from her early child hoot. You nro mistaken, Jack. Hoi knowing Pickering means nothlng,-they nothlng,-they both lived In Now York nnt moved In tho tamo circle." "Hut It doesn't explain her efforti to help lilm, doet It'" 1 blatod. "Hi wished to marry her, Slslar Thereat told mo that, and I failed I failed mlternbly to keep my obligation hen 1 ran nway to follow her"' (TO UK CONTINUED.) |