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Show The Recluse of h wwdham I p.f' i A MARTYN ff r iitli Avenue ' I 4 Vi, CopyricM In the United StatM Igj a WSU Service " P CHAPTER VIII Continued 15 "Not exactly, but lie's n sneering swiiie. Told Hradney and me only this morning that men-servants were merely mere-ly parasitic growths. Said that only timidity drove husky men like Alf and me Into domestic service. I hope there's a time Khen he'll think differently." differ-ently." "Milman wants you to familiarize yourself with Iiaxon's private rooms, jroni an Interview in a New York paper, pa-per, it appears lie lives in a tower." "He does. Since I've been here, not even his wife has ventured into it. I go In regularly to carry cedar logs for his open tire. The doors are fitted with special locks. I've taken an Impression Im-pression of the keys. Alf goes (o town tomorrow. He'll fetch them. I'm not worrying. Nit a and Peter I never noticed those names rhymed beforeare be-foreare running this show. Raxon expects a great deal from you. lis says you are the only expert he ever got for nothing." Mrs. McKlmher, whose fortune had enabled her husband to become one of the wealthiest mer, In a wealthy state, enjoyed staying in new houses and meeting new sets of people. She saw in this invitation to Great Rock the opportunity of discussing reduction to music, fruit diet, and the gospel of calories. On each of these points Mrs. McKlmber had her experiences to relate. Her son Robin, a good-looking man of five-and-twenty, did not welcome new friends unless he knew all about them and that knowledge proved satisfactory. sat-isfactory. On the drive from the hotel ho-tel in New York where the MoKimbers always stayed he kept questioning his father about the Raxons. Why should f lis father waste a week here when he could be touring the state and strengthening his political position? Robin desired to be a senator's son and taste Washington life under the happiest conditions. Although Raxon had planned that McKimber should visit him, the manufacturer man-ufacturer had no Idea of It. McKim-lier McKim-lier on his way to Great Rock felt humiliated with the knowledge that he had virtually asked for an invitation invita-tion litre. A few months before such a thing would have seemed Impossible. McKimber had learned suddenly that Paul Raxon was working to gain a primary nomination for the exalted position McKimber believed was already al-ready in his own grasp. At first he laughed the Idea to scorn. Rut his campaign manager had showed hha Innumerable clippings filled with Interviews In-terviews in which Paul Raxon had spoken spo-ken enthusiastically about beautifying beautify-ing American cities so that the Old world sent her tourists to see them. Uaxon had spoken before a federation of women's clubs and had been very well received. He was described as ii ready and eloquent speaker. "He's got a peach of a press agent." raid McKlmber's campaign manager ploomily, "and his line is absolutely new. It's making a great hit with the Infuentlal women." "He can't win on that stuff," Me Kiniher growled. He was one of those, "lil-time politicians who distrust worn-"i worn-"i and underestimate their power. "Maybe not, but he can split the Parly vote, can't he? His platform is winner. He promises the building trades plenty of work and he has been llieir man for twenty years. As I've fid. Hie women will vote for him, and f" Wjili the Intellectuals. I tell you, '"hn, he's got to be stopped. If he tins, our party loses out. That's sure." ""'hat sort of a fellow Is he?" "Nobody seems to know. You've fit to get under his skin. No good Cuing to lils office. In another man's "lice the cards are stacked against Nil. Try the social end of it. He's J"st bought Reilington's place and is E"ing to entertain. I've got it. I know Herman Loddon pretty well. I'll "rli It so he asks you for a week-enl. week-enl. How about It?" In the end McKimber agreed this "'is the best plan. Eventually he. ,,rs. McKimber and their son were asked for a week. McKimber did not '""k forward to his task. Rut he did t(t doubt his success. He had been "spd to dealing with men, and he w"iild have little trouble with a dieainer with a better architecture complex. ' Itobin refused to be one of the party. JJC "greed to drive his parents to re;it Hock, where they would make excuses. ''ni sure you would enjoy yourself," his mother. "I can't think why !"e so particular. Do stay will) Unhin." Hie McKimber car described a sud-' sud-' alarming lurch. lf .vou've accepted. I suppose I ut to stay," said Robin. "Gee, what 8 beauty !" (!',s"'t .it?" His mother agreed. !"ikitig he had obtained some new e"' of the big house thev were ap- "iirhing. Rut it Wlls n()t n -v!(?w (lf Grellt Ro,.i; "'" influenced him. Just for a few ,)n,!s as the heavy car swung 0'nd a iUrve Rohiu McKimber had ooked into the .amethyst eves of a lovely K,.i. He had looked into ''' eyes, but these were different! "fiig alluring, inviting, repelling. He had barely time to see she was tall and slim and golden-haired. "I hear," said Ids mother's placid voice, "that the oldest Raxon girl is good-looking." "Good-looking," he said indignantly "She Is a peach I" "When did you see her?" Mrs. McKimber Mc-Kimber looked at him curiously. "I moan I've heard she is a peach," he explained. "They lived in Paris for some years," Mrs. McKimber added. "I imagine they are chic." "You bet," said Robin heartily. McKimber sighed and spoke for the first time for some miles. "You nearly ran us off the road a while ago," he said. ' "There was a drop of thirty feet at that point. I want to go to Washington. I don't want to end up here." "I must have the wheel tightened," Rohin answered. He hoped he was not flushing. He had thought himself to be above such displays of emotion. But then he had never seen such a girl before. Until now he had believed that writers who described heroines' eyes as violet or amethyst were merely mere-ly lying. He knew now he had misjudged mis-judged them. They too must have seen the eldest Raxon girl. It took Robin's utmost composure to keep his face becomingly wreathed In smiles when he was Introduced to the Misses Raxon. They were nothing; noth-ing; usual types, overdressed and badly made up. When they suggested he might like to see the estate he agreed readily, so readily that the eldest eld-est girl dismissed her sisters with a gesture. As the 'eldest she was to have the first chance. Robin saw the golden girl as. he crossed the golf links. "One of your house guests?" he asked, as he hoped, without apparent interest. "That's Miss Brown," said the Raxon Rax-on girl. "No, she isn't a guest." "A neighbor, perhaps?" The eldest Miss Raxon laughed maliciously. ma-liciously. "She's a sort of housekeeper-secretary. Mother and we girls haven't time to think about ordering meals or firing servants, so we hired her." Miss Brown had a mashie and was practicing short approaches. "Of all the nerve," said Gertrude Raxon. "I'll see mother stops that. She can't learn how to play golf here." Robin watched Miss Brown swing. The ball cleared three pine trees and nestled within putting distance of the hole. As "pretty a stroke as he, a scratch man, could ever hope to make. "I imagine she has learnt a good bit of golf somewhere else." he said dryly. Gertrude Raxon became more and more distasteful to him. She was au empty-headed little flirt and could not interest him. As soon as he could he went back to his room. His reward came at dinner. Miss P,rown was there, quite well dressed. They were not Introduced, and she sat some distance from him. Robin determined deter-mined to get an Introduction after din n sr. After dinner came a dance, and the evasion of the two elder Raxon girls was not easy. Robin looked sourly sour-ly at an animated and gesticulating Frenchman a viscount, as he recalled ft who carried on a long conversation In his native tongue with Miss Brown. Only once Robin stared into the violet vio-let eyes. They seemed to look through him. But he was sure Miss Brown remembered that moment when there was a reasonably good chance of the extinction of the McKimber family. He wished he could dance with her. He detested very small clinging girls like Gertrude Raxon. - And since lie was himself dark, he preferred the blonde type. Of course the Raxon girls were jeulous. And well they might be. Probably Miss Brown had a hard time to placate the furies her charms and beauty 'aroused in her employer's daughters. Finally poor Robin had to introduce himself. He did It very well. It came in the nature of an apology. Robin was so good-looking that most girls forgave him minor breac.es of etiquette. eti-quette. "My name Is Robin McKimber," he began. "And as I know you are Miss Brown, we are Introduced, aren't we?" "And this Is your idea of an introduction?" intro-duction?" Miss Brown spoke without enthusiasm. He was a little staggered. stag-gered. His smile was what people usually termed infectious. "I had to introduce myself," he returned, re-turned, "because nobody else would." "Exactly what was the necessity?" she demanded. "I wanted to apologize for nearly running you down on the drive this afternoon." She was not making It easy. "I'm afraid you exaggerate," she said calmly. "I was standing on a rock fxlly two feet above the road level when you turned the corner so recklessly." His face fell. She could not help smiling a little. "But, of course, if you really do want to apologize apolo-gize for being so careless " ' "I do," he said earnestly. "Then you must apologize to your parents. They were in real danger and I was not." "I'm a most careful driver," he said. "Ask my mother. What happened today to-day never happened to me before." "What was that?" There was n trace of a smile which passed over her face and was gone. "I saw that eyes could really be violet," vio-let," he answered. He looked Into them admiringly. "I forgot everything." every-thing." "Y'ou should lose your license," she said severely. But there was no doubt that she smiled as she turned away with a slight bow. She was more used to verbal fencing fenc-ing than he had Imagined. On the 'whole, he. decided he had behaved very stupidly. This was no browbeaten brow-beaten dependent thirsting for kind words. Robin's evening was spoiled. John McKimber was puzzled concerning con-cerning Paul Raxon. He had known of Raxon for years, b'ut he had never met him nor believed very much in his Influence. McKimber had thought of him as a younger man who would look up to him as one having long ago won his spurs. McKimber had come hero sure that victory would be his in the strugg! e. He was uneasily aware that Raxon was not easy to impress. The younger man's knowledge of politics and politicians poli-ticians seemed uncanny. He was without reverence for the dead or respect re-spect for the living. Once or twice McKimber believed his host was laughing, laugh-ing, at him. It would not be advisable to start any serious discussions until the two were on more friendly terms. Raxon's would not be the first political polit-ical aspirations that McKimber had nipped in the bud. That was the duty of all sound machine politicians or popular government might creep In and destroy the machinery. Raxon would see he was wrong to Imperil his party because of his new-born ambitions. ambi-tions. For almost a generation now John McKimber had been the mainstay main-stay of his party In his own section of the state. If honors were to be awarded it was to him they should come. Raxon would probably see It in that light. If he did not there would be summoned the big men who must be obeyed. Raxon had two big rooms for himself him-self in a tower from which an uninterrupted unin-terrupted view of the sound could be enjoyed. One of the rooms was a library, deep-pon?led find splendid. The other was his bedroom and bath. To this retreat none came but the servants. Here he dreamed of power and planned the new life. None could overhear what he would say to Mc-Kinibec Mc-Kinibec when the hour came to which he had long looked forward. There would be no tinkling telephones to Interrupt. He chuckled as he thought of McKimber. He knew the manufacturer manu-facturer for an honest If stubborn man, who had long been regarded as ri valued party prop. Well, the McKimber Mc-Kimber who would come to this talk would not be the man who went down the tower stairs. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |