Show blady ay jr ay CHAPTER ill III continued 10 get some dry clothes for this man and lock him up iu in the tool house be sure he has blankets and better give him some hot coffee the captive manifested relief at my decision and broke his silence to thank me which he did in very good english his submissiveness only deepened my perplexity but I 1 help laughing as he walked away surrounded by the troops with dutch leading the wa way autti fully C conscious kus that thai be he had vindicated himself and disposed to be rather disdainful of ills his comrades I 1 hurried to the house where here v I 1 found alice and sirs mrs farnsworth ministering to elsie who had been taken there by their order elsie sharing with dutch the honors of the night lay on a dayenport davenport where she had received first aid alice rose from tier hep knees as I 1 entered gathering up strips of bandages and turned to me laughingly eldies El sies injuries are not serious only disagreeable bruises in the face there will be no scars im sure well keep her at the house for a few days until ashes quite fit again surely any one who has questioned eldies loyalty ought to be satisfied now you certainly managed it very cleverly elsie were all very grateful 11 elsie her face covered with bandages acknowledged my thanks by wiggling her foot mrs farnsworth said she would put elsie to bed now I 1 thought alice would make some sign if she knew anything that would explain montant and the prisoner in the tool house but the whole affair only moved her to laughter and she seemed less a grown woman than ever in tier iier white robe my efforts to impress her with the seriousness of the attempt to secure the tan fan only added to her delight how flow droll how very droll I 1 you possibly have arranged anything that would please me morel more 1 leg ita I 1 delicious I 1 As you say in america its perfectly killing I 1 I 1 suggested that the holding of a prisoner without process of law might present embarrassments embarrass ments 1 I know she cried clapping her lands hands joyfully you mean we are arc likely to bump into dear old habeas corpus 1 the sheriff will come and read a solemn paper to you and you will have to ta life hie you to court and produce the body of the prisoner that will be splendid I 1 it wont be so tunny funny it if constance and I 1 so love the unusual and it Is so hard to fiudo she continued and yet from the moment I 1 reached the gates or of these premises things have happened happe I 1 nothing is omitted strange Stra tige visitors fierce attacks upon our guards and still the mystery depends in the wee stan sma hours urs with heroes and heroines at every turn I 1 to think that that absurd little dutch was asleep in the garden and really eally r captured the spy or what ever he Is but you are a hero too I 1 you behall be decorated decorate dl 1 she walked to a stand and pondered a moment before a vase of roses chose a long stemmed red one and struck me lightly across the shoulder with it arise sir knight you should have knelt but to kneel in skirts requires practice you could hardly have managed in that monks robe I 1 be sure whether she was mocking me or whether there was really liking under this non nonsense sense I 1 was beyond the point of being impatient with her I 1 was helpless in her hands she would do with me as she willed and it was in my Y business to laugh with her to meet her as best I 1 could in the realm of folly you must got go I 1 she exclaimed suddenly constance will be calling down the stairs for me in a moment tomorrow I 1 begar began the wistful look fool she i had at times came into her eyes as she stood in the center of the room playing with the flower tomorrow she repeated and then tomorrow there must be endless tomorrows for you and me I 1 said and took the flower from her hand band the died in her eyes and they were awake with reproach and dismissal at the door I 1 looked back she moved and she said very quietly but smiling a little nothing must happen to make me sorry I 1 came please remember I 1 CHAPTER IV pursuing knights I 1 sleep until near daybreak and was aroused at nine by flynn who appeared at the door in his chauffeurs togs carrying a tray the wife come back but I 1 made coffee and toast sorry to waken you but im the new car into the city I 1 sat up and rubbed ray my eyes chos going to the city I 1 demanded the ladles ladies Is goin at once they sent orders an hour ago to be VP A im late and have to excuse me 11 ready with the new machine im late and have to excuse me I 1 sprang out of bed and pled pl ed him with questions most of 0 which he we was unable to answer I 1 did however extract from him the alie information that nothing had occurred after I 1 retired tor for the night that could have alarmed the women at the residence and prompted this abrupt departure there was no reason why alice run to town if it pleased her to do so and yet it was odd that she mentioned tile the matter flynn hurried away find and from the w aindow I 1 followed the cars course to the house and a moment later caught a glimpse of it on its way to tile the gates I 1 called from the window to one of the gardeners who knew how to manage a machine and told him to be ready to drive me to the village in halt half nn an hour there was an express ss at ten forty and by taking it I 1 would out at least have the antis satisfaction faction of being somewhere in new york when the runaways arrived antoine packed my suitcase I 1 am not sure that ile he shed tears on my belongings the old fellow was awed into silence by the rapidity with will which history had been made in the past twenty four hours and clearly was not pleased by my illy desertion we drove past tile the tool house n here chere I 1 found tile the prisoner seated on a wheelbarrow smoking a cigarette lie was no more communicative than when I 1 had questioned him after his capture lie ile smiled in a bored fash ion biben hen 1 I asked it if he wanted anything ind said lie he would be obliged for cigarettes and reading matter lie volunteered nothing as aa to his identity and the guards said that a thorough gt gli search ot of the captives clothing had disclosed dla closed nothing incriminating ha H had three hundred dollars in currency this was to cover MI aisles bribe money I 1 conjectured a handkerchief a cigar ette case and a box ot of matches I 1 dt dl j erected that he be well fed and given all the reading matter he wanted and hurried hurri edon on to catch my train I 1 took a room at the thackeray club and pondered carefully whether in spite of my misgivings I 1 better see torrence Torre and tell him all that had happened since his call on mrs bashford it if there was any chance of doing the wrong thing in any matter not prescribed in the laws governing th the i administration ot of estates he be would be sure to do it but I 1 was far from satisfied with the results of ray my own management of affairs tit at barton I 1 finally called up the trust company a and nd learned that torrence was in albany attending the trial of a will cas cara find and might not be in town tor for a couple of days his secretary said he had bad instructions to wire my daily report to albany I 1 told him there hail had be been en no developments at carton barton and went out and walked inquiries at hotels large aal small occupied me until seven no one had heard of a mrs bashford or a mrs farnsworth my inspection of the occupants of several thousand automobiles proved equally fruitless I 1 ate a lonely dinner at the club find and resumed my search hanging about theater doors staring at the crowd Is not a dignified occupation and by nine having seen the most belated theatergoers vanish 1 I was tired fired and footsore the flaming sign of searles who killed cock hoban over the door of the As you like it caught my eye I 1 sought a seat the last in the rack and squeezed into my place in the middle of the last row As I 1 had seen tho the piece at least a dozen times its novelty was gone for me but the laughter of the delighted audience was wag cheering the first act was reaching Us its culmination and I 1 watched it with a glow of pride in searles and his skillful craftsmanship As the curtain fell and the lights went up amid murmurs of pleasure and expectancy I 1 glanced across the rows of heads the halt half turned face of a man three rows in front of me suddenly caught my attention there was something curiously in ills his outlines and the gesture with which at the moment he was drawing ills his handkerchief across his forehead it was beyond any question and I 1 instinctively shrank in my seat and lifted my program as lie he turned round and swiftly surveyed the rows behind him I 1 watched his big black head intently until I 1 remembered the superstition that by staring at a peram n in a public place you can make him look at you Mon taril knew a great many things I 1 wanted to know but brit I 1 must have time to adjust myself to the tha shock of his propinquity the house now took note of a stirring in the boxes there was an excited buzz as the tall form and unmistakable features of cil cecil arrowsmith the english actor were recognized reco I 1 had read that day of hi his s arrival la in new york with him were two women my bly breath came hard and I 1 clutched the iron frame of the seat in front of me so violently that its occupant turned and glared the trio settled into their places quickly but not before I 1 had satisfied myself that Arrow arrowsmiths smiths companions were alice and mrs farnsworth As aa they fell into animated talk I 1 saw sav that alice was in her gayest humor the distinguished tragedian seemed greatly amused by what she was saying to him must be members of Arrow arrowsmiths smiths company one of my neighbors remarked they open in two weeks in shakespearian repertoire montant had half risen the better to focus an opera glass on the box the gong solemnly announced the second act and alice moved her chair to face the stage once more mon taut scanned the party with his glass As the lights faded alice with tho the pretty languorous gesture I 1 so well remembered opened her fan the fan of ostrich plumes that became a blur of white that held my eye through the dusk after the curtain rose alice Monta nl and the fan I 1 to this combination I 1 had now to add the new element introduced into the situation by the apparent familiar acquaintance of alice and mrs farnsworth arnsworth ir with cecil arrowsmith and yet as aa the play proceeded on its swift moving course cours e I 1 reasoned that there was noth ing extraordinary in their knowing tile the eminent actor ile he had long been a personage in england and had lately been knighted their appearance with him at the theater really disposed of tile the idea that they might be impostors posters Im the presence of arrowsmith had put zest into the company and I 1 seen a better performance of searles play the trio in the box joined in the prolonged applause at the end of the act singleton finds aunt alice in new york and the mystery deepens TO BE CONTINUED |