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Show ii ,i THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND i CANDLES ; y MEREDITH NICHOLSON I Astfer ! "TBt MAIN ClUICt," XtltA OVMIIQI " F.K. trlhl M lr Sutw-Mtftlll i CHAPTER III. Continued. An resentment I felt on flmt hear In tho terms if my grandfather's will had passed Ho hail treated ins an well kii I deserved, ami thn least I ' couM di waa to accept the venally lie had latil iihii me In a sane ami amla tl spirit Thin tram of thought oceii 1 pled me an wo traniHil along thn high i ) Tho trout now led away from th lake ami through a heavy wood Presently, on the right loomed a ilnrk barrier, ami I put out my hand nml touched a wall of ninth alone that row to a height of about eight feet "What la this, Hates'" I asked. , "Thl It (lloiiarm lantl, lr The wall was one nf your grandfather's Ideas ll'n a quarter of a mll long nnd cost hltn a pntty penn), I warrant you Tli itmiI turn nit from the lake now, but tho Glenarm property la nil lake front." So there won n wall alioul my prison pris-on limine' I grinned cheerfully to myaclf. When, n few moment later, tny guido paused nt nn arched gatuway In the long wall, drew from hla over-rent over-rent n hunch of keya nnd fumbled at tho loci: of nn Iron gnto, I felt the vptrlt of ndventurn quicken within mo Tho Rata clicked behind us and Hates found n lantern nnd lighted It with tho enao of custom "I uo this gato becauso It's nearer, t Tho regular entrance Is farther down .' ' " " tho road Keep close, sir, ns tho llm- 1 .. - bor Isn't much cleared " The undergrowth was Indeed heavy, nnd 1 follow il tho lantern of my guide with dllllcutty In darkness the place seemed as wild and rough as a tropl cnl wilderness "Only n little farther." rose Ilatna' ' . voice ahead of me. nnd then: "Them's I J -, . the light sir." and. lifting my ees I as 1 stiimhleil over tho nol of a I great tree, I saw for tho first tlmo tho J j" dark outlines of (llenarm House ? "lloro wo are. air'" exclaimed ,l Hates, slnmplnK his feet iiKin a wnlk j 1 followed him to whnt I nstumed to I bo tho front door of the liouso, where a lamp shono brightly nt cither sido of a mnsslva entrance llntcs Hung It open without ado. nnd t stepped quick y Into a great hnll that was lighted dimly by candles fastened Into brackets brack-ets on tho walla. "I hopo you'vo not oxpectod too much, Mr. Olonnrm." said Hates, with C n tone of mild apology. "It's Tory In- hk' IlHiIumshi rr-r'"'" for living purioies" mJft ,"- ""Welipwrrvc-gm-..nik tlie'host QMgpMr1MSJsrorlt,'aI'iinBwered, though without ''vJBss" much cheer. Tho sound of our steps echoed in tho well of a groat stair- , case. There was not, ns far as I could see, a stugto artlclo of furnlturo In tho plnco. "Here's something ou'll like better air," and Hates panned far down the ball nnd opened n door. A single candle, mado n little pool of light In what I felt to be n largo room. I was prepared for n disclosure ' of barren ugliness, and waited, In heartsick foreboding, for the silent ' fruldo to roeal a dreary prison. "Pleoao sit here, sir," said Hates, "while I make a better light " Ho moved through tho dark room t with perfect ease, struck a match, lighted a taper and went swiftly nnd softly about. Ho touched the taper to ono can llo after another. they seem-3 seem-3 cd to bo everywhere, nnd won from tho dark a faint twilight, Unit yielded f slowly to n growing mellow splendor ' of light. I havo often watched the : ' acolytes In dim cathedrals nf tho Old World set countless candles nhlazo on 4 magnificent altars, nlw a) s with nwn -? for the beauty nf thn spectacle; but 1 J In this unknown liouso tho austere sorting man summoned from tho ahnd uws n lovllnr nnd more honllderlng en- ' chnntment Youth alone, of beautiful things. Is lovi Her than light i Tho lines of tho wall receded as tho $ light Increased, and tho raftered cell I lng drow awny, luring tho eyes up- I ward, 1 roso with a smothored ox- yj clamatlon on my lips nnd stared about, 8 matching off my hat In reference, as i tho spirit of the plnco wavo Its spell 4 about mo. Kvcr) where thcro wore J books; they covered tho walla to tho ) celling, with only long I'ronch win 3 dows and nn enormous fireplace break-jjj break-jjj lng tlio lino Above tho fireplace n j masslvo dark oak chimney breast J further emphasized I bo grand scala of 9 1 tho room Prom every concelvnbla 3 place from shelves built for the pur-Jj pur-Jj pose, from brackets that thrust out JjT . long arms nmong the books, from a great crystal chandelier suspended from tho colling, and from tho breast of the chimney Innumerable candles 5 blazed with daitllng brilliancy I ox- claimed In wonder and pleasure as , Ilatos paused, his sorcerer's wand In 1 hand, 1 "Mr. Olenarm was very fond of can- 1 dlo-llght, ho liked to gather up candle sticks, and bis collection Is vory fine. Ho often called thla 'Tho House of a ' Thousand Candles' There's only about 1 a hundred hero, but It was ono of his conceits that when tho house was fin-lahed fin-lahed there would be a thouaand lights. 1 Ho had qulto a Joking way, j our grand- I fathor. It suited lila humor to call It n ! I ' t nn I 1 )d 1 In own plots I I fain i he il I i r- lied staring In tevvUib iinent Oil lamps might be more suited to , our nwn taste, sir lint your grand I father would not bare them Old brass and rn iier were spi-rlaltles with him, ' and In I ad a particular taste Mr Qlin I arm I ..d In glass tsidlesilcks Ho held tha the crystal was moat effec the of all I II go and let In tbe baggageman bag-gageman and then serve you some supper sup-per He went somberly out and 1 examined exam-ined the mom with amated and delighted de-lighted eye. Il was 60 feet long and half as wide Tbe hard wood floor was covered with handsome nigs, every piece of furniture was quaint or Interesting Inter-esting t'srved In the heavy oak paneling panel-ing above the fireplace. In large Old Kngllsh letters, was the Inscription: Cbt Spirit ct nun It trit CAttJIt ct itit Cord and on either side great candelabra sent long arms across the hearth All the books seemed related to arcbltec tore, (lerman and Krench works stood side b) side among those by Kngllsh and American authorities 1 found arcbaeolog) represented In a division where all the titles were 111 11 or Ital Ian. 1 0ened several cabinets that contained sketches and drawings, all In careful order, and In another I found an elaborate card catalogue, evidently the work of a practiced hand The minute examination was too much for me, t threw myself Into a great chair that might have been sikiII from a cathedral, satisfied to enjo) the gen era! effect. To find an apartment so handsome nnd so marked by good taste In tbe midst of nn Indiana wood staggered 1110. I was so lost In con temptation that I did not hear a door I Liked the Fellow's Humility. He Served With Great Deference. open behind mo The respectful, mournful voice nf Ilatos nnnounccd: "There's a bite ready for )ou, sir." I followed him through the hall to a small hlgh-wninscotod room where u table was simply set. "This Is what Mr. Olenarm called thn refectory. Ho took his own meals hero. Tho llbrnry was tho main thing with him. Ho never lived to finish tho house, morn's thn pity, sir. Ha would havo mado something very hnndsomo of it If he'd had a few years moro Hut ho hoped, sir, that jou'd siu It com pteted. The work was near his heart, sir." "Vcs, to bo stiro," I replied Ho brought cold fowl and a salad, and produced n bit of Stilton of un mlstaknble authenticity. "1 trust tho ale Is cooled to 5 our liking. lik-ing. It's jour grandfather's favorite, If I may say It, sir" I liked tho fellow's humility. Ho served mo with n gruvo deference nnd an accustomed hand Candles In crystal crys-tal holders shod an ngreeablo light upon tho tnblo; tho room was snug nnd comfortable, and hickory logs In a small fireplace crackled cheerily. If my grandfather had doslgncd to punish me, with loneliness as his weapon, his shade, If It lurked near me, must have been grievously disappointed. I had often oaten my bread alonn, and 1 found a pleasure In the quiet of tho strange, unknown house. There stnlo over me, too, tho satisfaction Hint I was at last obotlng a wIbIi of m grandfather's, that I was doing something some-thing ho would have me da. I was touched by tho traces everywhere of his Interest In what was to him the art of arts, there was something quite flna In his devotion to It Tho little refectory re-fectory bad Us nlr of distinction, though It was without decoration Thcro had been, wo always said In the family, something whimsical or oven morbid In my grandslre's devotion to architecture; but I felt that It had really appealed to something dignified and noble In his own mind and chnr-aoter, chnr-aoter, and a gentler mood than I hail known In years possessed my heart. Ho bad asked little of me, and I do termini d 'I at In that little I would not rail I Halts save me mv coffee, put! mati his within reach and left thn I room 1 drew out my cigarette case 1 and held It half-opened In my hand, when the glaas In tbe window back of me cracked sharply, a bullet whistled over my head, struck ' ipposlte wall and tell flattened and marred on the table under my hand CHAPTER IV. A Voice from the Lake. I ran to the window and peered out Into the night The wood through which we had approached the tioiise-eemed tioiise-eemed to encompass It. The branches! of a ureal tree brushed tbe ne. u was tugging at the fastening of tho window when I became aware of Hates at my elbow. "Ild something happen, slrr Ills unbroken calm nngered m&i Some one had fired at me through n window and 1 had narrowly escape being shot I resented the unconcern with which this servant accepted tho situation "Nothing worth mentioning. 8omo body tried to assassinate mo, that's all.' I said. In a voice that failed to bo calmly Ironical I was still fumbling at the cnlih of the window. ' "Allow me. sir." and he threw up the sash with an ease that Increased 111) Irritation. I leaned out and tried to find soma clue to in) assailant. Hates opened another window nnd surveyed tho dark landscape, with me "It was a shot from without, was It, slrr "Of course It was; von didn't sup-ixme sup-ixme I shot nt til) self, did you?" He examined the broken pnno and picked up the bulli t from tho tablo. "It's a rlflo ball, I should say." Tho bullet was half flattened by Its contact with tho wall. It was a cartridge cart-ridge hall of largo caliber that mlfht have been fired from cither rlflo or pistol "It's very unuaunl, sir!" I wheeled upon him angrily nnd found him fumbling fum-bling with tho bit of motnl, a troubled look on his fnco. Ho at onco continued, con-tinued, as though anxious to allay my fears. "Quito accidental, most llksly. Probably boys on tho Inko aro shooting shoot-ing nt ducks " I laughed out so suddonly that Ilatei started back In alarm. "You Idlotl" I roared, celling him by the collar with both hands and shaking hint Icrccly. "You fool, do tho people nrt mil hero shoot ducks nt night? Io the shoot waterfowl with elephant guns nnd fire at peoplo through windows Just for fun?" I threw him back against the tablo so that It leaped away from him, and ha foil prone on tho floor. "(let up!" I commanded, "and fetch n lantern " Ho said nothing but did as I bads him. Wo traversed tho long, cheorlca hall to tho front door, and I sent him, before mo Into tho woodland My noJ tlons of tho geography of tho region were tho aguost, but I wished to ex. amino for myself tho premises, that evidently contained a dangerous prow, Ir I was very nngry and my rags. Increased as I followed Hates, wild had suddenly retired within himself, Wo stood soon beneath thu lights o( the refectory window. 1 The ground was covered with leave which broko crisply under our feet. "What lies beyond hero?" I de manded. ' "About a quarter of mllo of "woodsl sir, and then tho Inko." ! 'Oo ahead," I ordorod, "straight td tho Inko " ' (TO HE CONTINUED) |