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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Green Fancy, by George Barr McCutcheon
+#7 in our series by George Barr McCutcheon
+
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Green Fancy
+
+Author: George Barr McCutcheon
+
+Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5871]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on September 15, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREEN FANCY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE RED GLEAM FROM THE BLAZING LOGS FELL UPON HER
+SHINING HAIR; IT GLISTENED LIKE GOLD. SHE WORE A SIMPLE EVENING GOWN
+OF WHITE.]
+
+GREEN FANCY
+
+BY
+
+GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
+
+AUTHOR OF "GRAUSTARK," "THE HOLLOW OF HER HAND,"
+"THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK," ETC.
+
+WITH FRONTISPIECE BY
+C. ALLAN GILBERT
+
+NEW YORK
+
+1917
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+I.     THE FIRST WAYFARER AND THE SECOND WAYFARER MEET AND PART ON THE
+         HIGHWAY
+
+II.    THE FIRST WAYFARER LAYS HIS PACK ASIDE AND FALLS IN WITH
+         FRIENDS
+
+III.   MR. RUSHCROFT DISSOLVES, MR. JONES INTERVENES, AND TWO MEN RIDE
+         AWAY
+
+IV.    AN EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERMAID, A MIDNIGHT TRAGEDY, AND A MAN WHO
+         SAID "THANK YOU"
+
+V.     THE FARM-BOY TELLS A GHASTLY STORY, AND AN IRISHMAN ENTERS
+
+VI.    CHARITY BEGINS FAR FROM HOME, AND A STROLL IN THE WILDWOOD
+         FOLLOWS
+
+VII.   SPUN-GOLD HAIR, BLUE EYES, AND VARIOUS ENCOUNTERS
+
+VIII.  A NOTE, SOME FANCIES, AND AN EXPEDITION IN QUEST OF FACTS
+
+IX.    THE FIRST WAYFARER, THE SECOND WAYFARER, AND THE SPIRIT OF
+         CHIVALRY ASCENDANT
+
+X.     THE PRISONER OF GREEN FANCY, AND THE LAMENT OF PETER THE
+         CHAUFFEUR
+
+XI.    MR. SPROUSE ABANDONS LITERATURE AT AN EARLY HOUR IN THE MORNING
+
+XII.   THE FIRST WAYFARER ACCEPTS AN INVITATION, AND MR. DILLINGFORD
+         BELABORS A PROXY
+
+XIII.  THE SECOND WAYFARER RECEIVES TWO VISITORS AT MIDNIGHT
+
+XIV.   A FLIGHT, A STONE-CUTTER'S SHED, AND A VOICE OUTSIDE
+
+XV.    LARGE BODIES MOVE SLOWLY,--BUT MR. SPROUSE WAS SMALLER THAN THE
+         AVERAGE
+
+XVI.   THE FIRST WAYFARER VISITS A SHRINE, CONFESSES, AND TAKES AN
+         OATH
+
+XVII.  THE SECOND WAYFARER IS TRANSFORMED, AND MARRIAGE IS FLOUTED
+
+XVIII. MR. SPROUSE CONTINUES TO BE PERPLEXING, BUT PUTS HIS NOSE TO
+         THE GROUND
+
+XIX.   A TRIP BY NIGHT, A SUPPER, AND A LATE ARRIVAL
+
+XX.    THE FIRST WAYFARER HAS ONE TREASURE THRUST UPON HIM,--AND
+         FORTHWITH CLAIMS ANOTHER
+
+XXI.   THE END IN SIGHT
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE FIRST WAYFARER AND THE SECOND WAYFARER MEET AND PART ON THE
+HIGHWAY
+
+
+A solitary figure trudged along the narrow road that wound its
+serpentinous way through the dismal, forbidding depths of the forest:
+a man who, though weary and footsore, lagged not in his swift,
+resolute advance. Night was coming on, and with it the no uncertain
+prospects of storm. Through the foliage that overhung the wretched
+road, his ever-lifting and apprehensive eye caught sight of the
+thunder-black, low-lying clouds that swept over the mountain and bore
+down upon the green, whistling tops of the trees. At a cross-road
+below he had encountered a small girl driving homeward the cows. She
+was afraid of the big, strange man with the bundle on his back and the
+stout walking stick in his hand: to her a remarkable creature who wore
+"knee pants" and stockings like a boy on Sunday, and hob-nail shoes,
+and a funny coat with "pleats" and a belt, and a green hat with a
+feather sticking up from the band. His agreeable voice and his amiable
+smile had no charm for her. He merely wanted to know how far it was to
+the nearest village, but she stared in alarm and edged away as if
+preparing to break into mad flight the instant she was safely past him
+with a clear way ahead.
+
+"Don't be afraid," he said gently. "And here! Catch it if you can." He
+tossed a coin across the road. It struck at her feet and rolled into
+the high grass. She did not divert her gaze for the fraction of a
+second. "I'm a stranger up here and I want to find some place to sleep
+for the night. Surely you have a tongue, haven't you?" By dint of
+persuasive smiles and smirks that would have sickened him at any other
+time he finally induced her to say that if he kept right on until he
+came to the turnpike he would find a sign-post telling him where to
+get gasolene.
+
+"But I don't want gasolene. I want bread and butter," he said.
+
+"Well, you can git bread an' butter there too," she said. "Food fer
+man an' beast, it says."
+
+"A hotel?"
+
+"Whut?"
+
+"A boarding-house?" he substituted.
+
+"It's a shindy," she said, painfully. "Men get drunk there. Pap calls
+it a tavern, but Ma says it's a shindy."
+
+"A road-house, eh?" She was puzzled--and silent. "Thank you. You'll
+find the quarter in the grass. Good-bye."
+
+He lifted his queer green hat and strode away, too much of a gentleman
+to embarrass her by looking back. If he had done so he would have seen
+her grubbing stealthily in the grass, not with her brown little hands,
+but with the wriggling toes of a bare foot on which the mud, perhaps
+of yesterday, had caked. She was too proud to stoop.
+
+At last he came to the "pike" and there, sure enough, was the sign-
+post. A huge, crudely painted hand pointed to the left, and on what
+was intended to be the sleeve of a very stiff and unflinching arm
+these words were printed in scaly white: "Hart's Tavern. Food for Man
+and Beast. Also Gasolene. Established 1798. 1 mile." "Also Gasolene"
+was freshly painted and crowded its elders in a most disrespectful
+manner.
+
+The chill spring wind of the gale was sweeping in the direction
+indicated by the giant forefinger. There was little consolation in the
+thought that a mile lay between him and shelter, but it was a relief
+to know that he would have the wind at his back. Darkness was settling
+over the land. The lofty hills seemed to be closing in as if to
+smother the breath out of this insolent adventurer who walked alone
+among them. He was an outsider. He did not belong there. He came from
+the lowlands and he was an object of scorn.
+
+On the opposite side of the "pike," in the angle formed by a junction
+with the narrow mountain road, stood a humbler sign-post, lettered so
+indistinctly that it deserved the compassion of all observers because
+of its humility. Swerving in his hurried passage, the tall stranger
+drew near this shrinking friend to the uncertain traveller, and was
+suddenly aware of another presence in the roadway.
+
+A woman appeared, as if from nowhere, almost at his side. He drew back
+to let her pass. She stopped before the little sign-post, and together
+they made out the faint directions.
+
+To the right and up the mountain road Frogg's Corner lay four miles
+and a half away; Pitcairn was six miles back over the road which the
+man had travelled. Two miles and a half down the turnpike was Spanish
+Falls, a railway station, and four miles above the cross-roads where
+the man and woman stood peering through the darkness at the laconic
+sign-post reposed the village of Saint Elizabeth. Hart's Tavern was on
+the road to Saint Elizabeth, and the man, with barely a glance at his
+fellow-traveller, started briskly off in that direction.
+
+Lightning was flashing fitfully beyond the barrier heights and faraway
+thunder came to his ears. He knew that these wild mountain storms
+moved swiftly; his chance of reaching the tavern ahead of the deluge
+was exceedingly slim. His long, powerful legs had carried him twenty
+or thirty paces before he came to a sudden halt.
+
+What of this lone woman who traversed the highway? Obviously she too
+was a stranger on the road, and a glance over his shoulder supported a
+first impression: she was carrying a stout travelling bag. His first
+glimpse of her had been extremely casual,--indeed he had paid no
+attention to her at all, so eager was he to read the directions and be
+on his way.
+
+She was standing quite still in front of the sign-post, peering up the
+road toward Frogg's Corner,--confronted by a steep climb that led into
+black and sinister timberlands above the narrow strip of pasture
+bordering the pike.
+
+The fierce wind pinned her skirts to her slender body as she leaned
+against the gale, gripping her hat tightly with one hand and straining
+under the weight of the bag in the other. The ends of a veil whipped
+furiously about her head, and, even in the gathering darkness, he
+could see a strand or two of hair keeping them company.
+
+He hesitated. Evidently her way was up the steep, winding road and
+into the dark forest, a far from appealing prospect. Not a sign of
+habitation was visible along the black ridge of the wood; no lighted
+window peeped down from the shadows, no smoke curled up from unseen
+kitchen stoves. Gallantry ordered him to proffer his aid or, at the
+least, advice to the woman, be she young or old, native or stranger.
+
+Retracing his steps, he called out to her above the gale:
+
+"Can I be of any assistance to you?"
+
+She turned quickly. He saw that the veil was drawn tightly over her
+face.
+
+"No, thank you," she replied. Her voice, despite a certain nervous
+note, was soft and clear and gentle,--the voice and speech of a well-
+bred person who was young and resolute.
+
+"Pardon me, but have you much farther to go? The storm will soon be
+upon us, and--surely you will not consider me presumptuous--I don't
+like the idea of your being caught out in--"
+
+"What is to be done about it?" she inquired, resignedly. "I must go
+on. I can't wait here, you know, to be washed back to the place I
+started from."
+
+He smiled. She had wit as well as determination. There was the
+suggestion of mirth in her voice--and certainly it was a most
+pleasing, agreeable voice.
+
+"If I can be of the least assistance to you, pray don't hesitate to
+command me. I am a sort of tramp, you might say, and I travel as well
+by night as I do by day,--so don't feel that you are putting me to any
+inconvenience. Are you by any chance bound for Hart's Tavern? If so, I
+will be glad to lag behind and carry your bag."
+
+"You are very good, but I am not bound for Hart's Tavern, wherever
+that may be. Thank you, just the same. You appear to be an uncommonly
+genteel tramp, and it isn't because I am afraid you might make off
+with my belongings." She added the last by way of apology.
+
+He smiled--and then frowned as he cast an uneasy look at the black
+clouds now rolling ominously up over the mountain ridge.
+
+"By Jove, we're going to catch it good and hard," he exclaimed.
+"Better take my advice. These storms are terrible. I know, for I've
+encountered half a dozen of them in the past week. They fairly tear
+one to pieces."
+
+"Are you trying to frighten me?"
+
+"Yes," he confessed. "Better to frighten you in advance than to let it
+come later on when you haven't any one to turn to in your terror. You
+are a stranger in these parts?"
+
+"Yes. The railway station is a few miles below here. I have walked all
+the way. There was no one to meet me. You are a stranger also, so it
+is useless to inquire if you know whether this road leads to Green
+Fancy."
+
+"Green Fancy? Sounds attractive. I'm sorry I can't enlighten you." He
+drew a small electric torch from his pocket and directed its slender
+ray upon the sign-post. So fierce was the gale by this time that he
+was compelled to brace his strong body against the wind.
+
+"It is on the road to Frogg's Corner," she explained nervously. "A
+mile and a half, so I am told. It isn't on the sign-post. It is a
+house, not a village. Thank you for your kindness. And I am not at all
+frightened," she added, raising her voice slightly.
+
+"But you ARE" he cried. "You're scared half out of your wits. You
+can't fool me. I'd be scared myself at the thought of venturing into
+those woods up yonder."
+
+"Well, then, I AM frightened," she confessed plaintively. "Almost out
+of my boots."
+
+"That settles it," he said flatly. "You shall not undertake it."
+
+"Oh, but I must. I am expected. It is import--"
+
+"If you are expected, why didn't some one meet you at the station?
+Seems to me--"
+
+"Hark! Do you hear--doesn't that sound like an automobile--Ah!" The
+hoarse honk of an automobile horn rose above the howling wind, and an
+instant later two faint lights came rushing toward them around a bend
+in the mountain road. "Better late than never," she cried, her voice
+vibrant once more.
+
+He grasped her arm and jerked her out of the path of the on-coming
+machine, whose driver was sending it along at a mad rate, regardless
+of ruts and stones and curves. The car careened as it swung into the
+pike, skidded alarmingly, and then the brakes were jammed down.
+Attended by a vast grinding of gears and wheels, the rattling old car
+came to a stop fifty feet or more beyond them.
+
+"I'd sooner walk than take my chances in an antediluvian rattle-trap
+like that," said the tall wayfarer, bending quite close to her ear.
+"It will fall to pieces before you--"
+
+But she was running down the road towards the car, calling out sharply
+to the driver. He stooped over and took up the travelling bag she had
+dropped in her haste and excitement. It was heavy, amazingly heavy.
+
+"I shouldn't like to carry that a mile and a half," he said to
+himself.
+
+The voice of the belated driver came to his ears on the swift wind. It
+was high pitched and unmistakably apologetic. He could not hear what
+she was saying to him, but there wasn't much doubt as to the nature of
+her remarks. She was roundly upbraiding him.
+
+Urged to action by thoughts of his own plight, he hurried to her side
+and said:
+
+"Excuse me, please. You dropped something. Shall I put it up in front
+or in the tonneau?"
+
+The whimsical note in his voice brought a quick, responsive laugh from
+her lips.
+
+"Thank you so much. I am frightfully careless with my valuables. Would
+you mind putting it in behind? Thanks!" Her tone altered completely as
+she ordered the man to turn the car around--"And be quick about it,"
+she added.
+
+The first drops of rain pelted down from the now thoroughly black dome
+above them, striking in the road with the sharpness of pebbles.
+
+"Lucky it's a limousine," said the tall traveller. "Better hop in.
+We'll be getting it hard in a second or two."
+
+"I can't very well hop in while he's backing and twisting like that,
+can I?" she laughed. He was acutely aware of a strained, nervous note
+in her voice, as of one who is confronted by an undertaking calling
+for considerable fortitude.
+
+"Are you quite sure of this man?" he asked.
+
+"Absolutely," she replied, after a pause.
+
+"You know him, eh?"
+
+"By reputation," she said briefly, and without a trace of laughter.
+
+"Well, that comforts me to some extent," he said, but dubiously.
+
+She was silent for a moment and then turned to him impulsively.
+
+"You must let me take you on to the Tavern in the car," she said.
+"Turn about is fair play. I cannot allow you to--"
+
+"Never mind about me," he broke in cheerily. He had been wondering if
+she would make the offer, and he felt better now that she had done so.
+"I'm accustomed to roughing it. I don't mind a soaking. I've had
+hundreds of 'em."
+
+"Just the same, you shall not have one to-night," she announced
+firmly. The car stopped beside them. "Get in behind. I shall sit with
+the driver."
+
+If any one had told him that this rattling, dilapidated automobile,--
+ten years old, at the very least, he would have sworn,--was capable of
+covering the mile in less than two minutes, he would have laughed in
+his face. Almost before he realised that they were on the way up the
+straight, dark road, the lights in the windows of Hart's Tavern came
+into view. Once more the bounding, swaying car came to a stop under
+brakes, and he was relaxing after the strain of the most hair-raising
+ride he had ever experienced.
+
+Not a word had been spoken during the trip. The front windows were
+lowered. The driver,--an old, hatchet-faced man,--had uttered a single
+word just before throwing in the clutch at the cross-roads in response
+to the young woman's crisp command to drive to Hart's Tavern. That
+word was uttered under his breath and it is not necessary to repeat it
+here.
+
+He lost no time in climbing out of the car. As he leaped to the ground
+and raised his green hat, he took a second look at the automobile,--a
+look of mingled wonder and respect. It was an old-fashioned, high-
+powered Panhard, capable, despite its antiquity, of astonishing speed
+in any sort of going.
+
+"For heaven's sake," he began, shouting to her above the roar of the
+wind and rain, "don't let him drive like that over those--"
+
+"You're getting wet," she cried out, a thrill in her voice. "Good
+night,--and thank you!"
+
+"Look out!" rasped the unpleasant driver, and in went the clutch. The
+man in the road jumped hastily to one side as the car shot backward
+with a jerk, curved sharply, stopped for the fraction of a second, and
+then bounded forward again, headed for the cross-roads.
+
+"Thanks!" shouted the late passenger after the receding tail light,
+and dashed up the steps to the porch that ran the full length of
+Hart's Tavern. In the shelter of its low-lying roof, he stopped short
+and once more peered down the dark, rain-swept road. A flash of
+lightning revealed the flying automobile. He waited for a second
+flash. It came an instant later, but the car was no longer visible. He
+shook his head. "I hope the blamed old fool knows what he's doing,
+hitting it up like that over a wet road. There'll be a double funeral
+in this neck of the woods if anything goes wrong," he reflected. Still
+shaking his head, he faced the closed door of the Tavern.
+
+A huge, old-fashioned lantern hung above the portal, creaking and
+straining in the wind, dragging at its stout supports and threatening
+every instant to break loose and go frolicking away with the storm.
+
+The sound of the rain on the clap-board roof was deafening. At the
+lower end of the porch the water swished in with all the velocity of a
+gigantic wave breaking over a ship at sea. The wind howled, the
+thunder roared and almost like cannon-fire were the successive crashes
+of lightning among the trees out there in the path of fury.
+
+There were lights in several of the windows opening upon the porch;
+the wooden shutters not only were ajar but were banging savagely
+against the walls. Even in the dim, grim light shed by the lantern he
+could see that the building was of an age far beyond the ken of any
+living man. He recalled the words of the informing sign-post:
+"Established in 1798." One hundred and eighteen years old, and still
+baffling the assaults of all the elements in a region where they were
+never timid!
+
+It may, in all truth, be a "shindy," thought he, but it had led a
+gallant life.
+
+The broad, thick weather-boarding, overlapping in layers, was brown
+with age and smooth with the polishing of time and the backs, no
+doubt, of countless loiterers who had come and gone in the making of
+the narrative that Hart's Tavern could relate. The porch itself, while
+old, was comparatively modern; it did not belong to the century in
+which the inn itself was built, for in those far-off days men did not
+waste time, timber or thought on the unnecessary. While the planks in
+the floor were worn and the uprights battered and whittled out of
+their pristine shapeliness, they were but grandchildren to the parent
+building to which they clung. Stout and, beyond question, venerable
+benches stood close to the wall on both sides of the entrance.
+Directly over the broad, low door with its big wooden latch and bar,
+was the word "Welcome," rudely carved in the oak beam. It required no
+cultured eye to see that the letters had been cut, deep and strong,
+into the timber, not with the tool of the skilled wood carver but with
+the hunting knife of an ambitious pioneer.
+
+A shocking incongruity marred the whole effect. Suspended at the side
+of this hundred-year-old doorway was a black and gold, shield-shaped
+ornament of no inconsiderable dimensions informing the observer that a
+certain brand of lager beer was to be had inside.
+
+He lifted the latch and, being a tall man, involuntarily stooped as he
+passed through the door, a needless precaution, for gaunt, gigantic
+mountaineers had entered there before him and without bending their
+arrogant heads.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE FIRST WAYFARER LAYS HIS PACK ASIDE AND FALLS IN WITH FRIENDS
+
+
+The little hall in which he found himself was the "office" through
+which all men must pass who come as guests to Hart's Tavern. A steep,
+angular staircase took up one end of the room. Set in beneath its
+upper turn was the counter over which the business of the house was
+transacted, and behind this a man was engaged in the peaceful
+occupation of smoking a corn-cob pipe. He removed the pipe, brushed
+his long moustache with the back of a bony hand, and bowed slowly and
+with grave ceremony to the arrival.
+
+An open door to the right of the stairway gave entrance to a room from
+which came the sound of a deep, sonorous voice, employed in what
+turned out to be a conversational solo. To the left another door led
+to what was evidently the dining-room. The glance that the stranger
+sent in that direction revealed two or three tables, covered with
+white cloths.
+
+"Can you put me up for the night?" he inquired, advancing to the
+counter.
+
+"You look like a feller who'd want a room with bath," drawled the man
+behind the counter, surveying the applicant from head to foot. "Which
+we ain't got," he added.
+
+"I'll be satisfied to have a room with a bed," said the other.
+
+"Sign here," was the laconic response. He went to the trouble of
+actually putting his finger on the line where the guest was expected
+to write his name.
+
+"Can I have supper?"
+
+"Food for man and beast," said the other patiently. He slapped his
+palm upon a cracked call-bell, and then looked at the fresh name on
+the page. "Thomas K. Barnes, New York," he read aloud. He eyed the
+newcomer once more. "And automobile?"
+
+"No. I'm walking."
+
+"Didn't I hear you just come up in a car?"
+
+"A fellow gave me a lift from the cross-roads."
+
+"I see. My name is Jones, Putnam Jones. I run this place. My father
+an' grandfather run it before me. Glad to meet you, Mr. Barnes. We
+used to have a hostler here named Barnes. What's your idea fer footin'
+it this time o' the year?"
+
+"I do something like this every spring. A month or six weeks of it
+puts me in fine shape for a vacation later on," supplied Mr. Barnes
+whimsically.
+
+Mr. Jones allowed a grin to steal over his seamed face. He re-inserted
+the corn-cob pipe and took a couple of pulls at it.
+
+"I never been to New York, but it must be a heavenly place for a
+vacation, if a feller c'n judge by what some of my present boarders
+have to say about it. It's a sort of play-actor's paradise, ain't it?"
+
+"It is paradise to every actor who happens to be on the road, Mr.
+Jones," said Barnes, slipping his big pack from his shoulders and
+letting it slide to the floor.
+
+"Hear that feller in the tap-room talkin'? Well, he is one of the
+leading actors in New York,--in the world, for that matter. He's been
+talkin' about Broadway for nearly a week now, steady."
+
+"May I enquire what he is doing up here in the wilds?"
+
+"At present he ain't doing anything except talk. Last week he was
+treadin' the boards, as he puts it himself. Busted. Up the flue.
+Showed last Saturday night in Hornville, eighteen mile north of here,
+and immediately after the performance him and his whole troupe started
+to walk back to New York, a good four hunderd mile. They started out
+the back way of the opery house and nobody missed 'em till next
+mornin' except the sheriff, and he didn't miss 'em till they'd got
+over the county line into our bailiwick. Four of 'em are still
+stoppin' here just because I ain't got the heart to turn 'em out ner
+the spare money to buy 'em tickets to New York. Here comes one of 'em
+now. Mr. Dillingford, will you show this gentleman to room eleven, and
+carry his baggage up fer him? And maybe he'll want a pitcher of warm
+water to wash and shave in." He turned to the new guest and smiled
+apologetically.
+
+"We're a little short o' help just now, Mr. Barnes, and Mr.
+Dillingford has kindly consented to--"
+
+"My God!" gasped Mr. Dillingford, staring at the register. "Some one
+from little old New York? My word, sir, you--Won't you have a--er--
+little something to drink with me before you--"
+
+"He wants something to eat," interrupted Mr. Jones sharply. "Tell Mr.
+Bacon to step up to his room and take the order."
+
+"All right, old chap,--nothing easier," said Mr. Dillingford genially.
+"Just climb up the elevator, Mr. Barnes. We do this to get up an
+appetite. When did you leave New York?"
+
+Taking up a lighted kerosene lamp and the heavy pack, Mr. Clarence
+Dillingford led the way up the stairs. He was a chubby individual of
+indefinite age. At a glance you would have said he was under twenty-
+one; a second look would have convinced you that he was nearer forty-
+one. He was quite shabby, but chin and cheek were as clean as that of
+a freshly scrubbed boy. He may not have changed his collar for days
+but he lived up to the traditions of his profession by shaving twice
+every twenty-four hours.
+
+Depositing Barnes' pack on a chair in the little bedroom at the end of
+the hall upstairs, he favoured the guest with a perfectly unabashed
+grin.
+
+"I'm not doing this to oblige old man Jones, you know. I won't attempt
+to deceive you. I'm working out a daily bread-bill. Chuck three times
+a day and a bed to sleep in, that's what I'm doing it for, so don't
+get it into your head that I applied for the job. Let me take a look
+at you. I want to get a good square peep at a man who has the means to
+go somewhere else and yet is boob enough to come to this gosh-awful
+place of his own free will and accord. Darn it, you LOOK intelligent.
+I don't get you at all. What's the matter? Are you a fugitive from
+justice?"
+
+Barnes laughed aloud. There was no withstanding the fellow's sprightly
+impudence.
+
+"I happen to enjoy walking," said he.
+
+"If I enjoyed it as much as you do, I'd be limping into Harlem by this
+time," said Mr. Dillingford sadly. "But, you see, I'm an actor. I'm
+too proud to walk."
+
+"Up against poor business, I presume?"
+
+"Up against no business at all," said Mr. Dillingford. "We couldn't
+even get 'em to come in on passes. Last Saturday night we had out
+enough paper to fill the house and, by gosh, only eleven people showed
+up. You can't beat that, can you? Three of 'em paid to get in. That
+made a dollar and a half, box office. We nearly had to give it back."
+
+"Bad weather?" suggested Barnes feelingly. He had removed his wet
+coat, and stood waiting.
+
+"Nope. Moving pictures. They'd sooner pay ten cents to see a movie
+than to come in and see us free. The old man was so desperate he tried
+to kill himself the morning we arrived at this joint."
+
+"You mean the star? Poison, rope or pistol?"
+
+"Whiskey. He tried to drink himself to death. Before old Jones got
+onto him he had put down seven dollars' worth of booze, and now we've
+got to help wipe out the account. But why complain? It's all in a
+day's--"
+
+The cracked bell on the office desk interrupted him, somewhat
+peremptorially. Mr. Dillingford's face assumed an expression of
+profound dignity. He lowered his voice as he gave vent to the
+following:
+
+"That man Jones is the meanest human being God ever let--Yes, sir,
+coming, sir!" He started for the open door with surprising alacrity.
+
+"Never mind the hot water," said Barnes, sorry for the little man.
+
+"No use," said Mr. Dillingford dejectedly. "He charges ten cents for
+hot water. You've got to have it whether you want it or not. Remember
+that you are in the very last stages of New England. The worst
+affliction known to the human race. So long. I'll be back in two
+shakes of a lamb's--" The remainder of his promise was lost in the
+rush of exit.
+
+Barnes surveyed the little bed-chamber. It was just what he had
+expected it would be. The walls were covered with a garish paper
+selected by one who had an eye but not a taste for colour: bright pink
+flowers that looked more or less like chunks of a shattered water
+melon spilt promiscuously over a background of pearl grey. There was
+every indication that it had been hung recently. Indeed there was a
+distinct aroma of fresh flour paste. The bedstead, bureau and
+washstand were likewise offensively modern. Everything was as clean as
+a pin, however, and the bed looked comfortable. He stepped to the
+small, many-paned window and looked out into the night. The storm was
+at its height. In all his life he never had heard such a clatter of
+rain, nor a wind that shrieked so appallingly.
+
+His thoughts went quite naturally to the woman who was out there in
+the thick of it. He wondered how she was faring, and lamented that she
+was not in his place now and he in hers. A smile lighted his eyes. She
+had such a nice voice and such a quaint way of putting things into
+words. What was she doing up in this God-forsaken country? And how
+could she be so certain of that grumpy old man whom she had never laid
+eyes on before? What was the name of the place she was bound for?
+Green Fancy! What an odd name for a house! And what sort of house--
+
+His reflections were interrupted by the return of Mr. Dillingford, who
+carried a huge pewter pitcher from which steam arose in volume. At his
+heels strode a tall, cadaverous person in a checked suit.
+
+Never had Barnes seen anything quite so overpowering in the way of a
+suit. Joseph's coat of many colours was no longer a vision of
+childhood. It was a reality. The checks were an inch square, and each
+cube had a narrow border of azure blue. The general tone was a dirty
+grey, due no doubt to age and a constitution that would not allow it
+to outlive its usefulness.
+
+"Meet Mr. Bacon, Mr. Barnes," introduced Mr. Dillingford, going to the
+needless exertion of indicating Mr. Bacon with a generous sweep of his
+free hand. "Our heavy leads. Mr. Montague Bacon, also of New York."
+
+"Ham and eggs, pork tenderloin, country sausage, rump steak and spring
+chicken," said Mr. Bacon, in a cavernous voice, getting it over with
+while the list was fresh in his memory. "Fried and boiled potatoes,
+beans, succotash, onions, stewed tomatoes and--er--just a moment,
+please. Fried and boiled potatoes, beans--"
+
+"Learn your lines, Ague," said Mr. Dillingford, from the washstand.
+"We call him Ague for short, Mr. Barnes, because he's always shaky
+with his lines."
+
+"Ham and eggs, potatoes and a cup or two of coffee," said Barnes,
+suppressing a desire to laugh.
+
+"And apple pie," concluded the waiter, triumphantly. "I knew I'd get
+it if you gave me time. As you may have observed, my dear sir, I am
+not what you would call an experienced waiter. As a matter of fact, I--"
+
+"I told him you were an actor," interrupted his friend. "Run along now
+and give the order to Mother Jones. Mr. Barnes is hungry."
+
+"I am delighted to meet you, Mr. Barnes," said Mr. Bacon, extending
+his hand. As he did so, his coat sleeve receded half way to the elbow,
+revealing the full expanse of a frayed cuff. "So delighted, in fact,
+that it gives me great pleasure to inform you that you have at last
+encountered a waiter who does not expect a tip. God forbid that I
+should ever sink so low as that. I have been a villain of the deepest
+dye in a score or more of productions--many of them depending to a
+large extent upon the character of the work I did in--"
+
+"Actor stuff," inserted Mr. Dillingford, unfeelingly.
+
+"--And I have been hissed a thousand times by gallery gods and kitchen
+angels from one end of this broad land to the other, but never, sir,
+never in all my career have I been obliged to play such a diabolical
+part as I am playing here, and, dammit, sir, I am denied even the
+tribute of a healthy hiss. This is--"
+
+The bell downstairs rang violently. Mr. Bacon departed in great haste.
+
+While the traveller performed his ablutions, Mr. Dillingford, for the
+moment disengaged, sat upon the edge of the bed and enjoyed himself.
+He talked.
+
+"We were nine at the start," said he, pensively. "Gradually we were
+reduced to seven, not including the manager. I doubled and so did Miss
+Hughes,--a very charming actress, by the way, who will soon be heard
+of on Broadway unless I miss my guess. The last week I was playing
+Dick Cranford, light juvenile, and General Parsons, comedy old man. In
+the second act Dick has to meet the general face to face and ask him
+for his daughter's hand. Miss Hughes was Amy Parsons, and, as I say,
+doubled along toward the end. She played her own mother. The best you
+could say for the arrangement was that the family resemblance was
+remarkable. I never saw a mother and daughter look so much alike. You
+see, she didn't have time to change her make-up or costume, so all she
+could do was to put on a long shawl and a grey wig, and that made a
+mother of her. Well, we had a terrible time getting around that scene
+between Dick and the general. Amy and her mother were in on it too,
+and Mrs. Parsons was supposed to faint. It looked absolutely
+impossible for Miss Hughes. But we got around it, all right."
+
+"How, may I ask?" enquired Barnes, over the edge of a towel.
+
+"Just as I was about to enter to tackle the old man, who was seated in
+his library with Mrs. Parsons, the lights went out. I jumped up and
+addressed the audience, telling 'em (almost in a confidential whisper,
+there were so darned few of 'em) that there was nothing to be alarmed
+about and the act would go right on. Then Amy and Dick came on in
+total darkness, and the audience never got wise to the game. When the
+lights went up, there was Amy and Dick embracing each other in plain
+view, the old folks nowhere in sight. General Parsons had dragged the
+old lady into the next room. We made our changes right there on the
+stage, speaking all four parts at the same time."
+
+"Pretty clever," said Barnes.
+
+"My idea," announced Mr. Dillingford calmly.
+
+"What has become of the rest of the company?"
+
+"Well, as I said before, two of 'em escaped before the smash. The low
+comedian and character old woman. Joe Beckley and his wife. That left
+the old man,--I mean Mr. Rushcroft, the star--Lyndon Rushcroft, you
+know,--myself and Bacon, Tommy Gray, Miss Rushcroft, Miss Hughes and a
+woman named Bradley, seven of us. Miss Hughes happened to know a chap
+who was travelling around the country for his health, always meeting
+up with us,--accidentally, of course,--and he staked her to a ticket
+to New York. The woman named Bradley said her mother was dying in
+Buffalo, so the rest of us scraped together all the money we had,--
+nine dollars and sixty cents,--and did the right thing by her. Actors
+are always doing darn-fool things like that, Mr. Barnes. And what do
+you suppose she did? She took that money and bought two tickets to
+Albany, one for herself and another for the manager of the company,--
+the lowest, meanest, orneriest white man that ever,--But I am crabbing
+the old man's part. You ought to hear what HE has to say about Mr.
+Manager. He can use words I never even heard of before. So, that
+leaves just the four of us here, working off the two days' board bill
+of Bradley and the manager, Rushcroft's ungodly spree, and at the same
+time keeping our own slate clean. Miss Thackeray will no doubt make up
+your bed in the morning. She is temporarily a chambermaid. Cracking
+fine girl, too, if I do say--"
+
+"Miss Thackeray? I don't recall your mentioning--"
+
+"Mercedes Thackeray on the programme, but in real life, as they say,
+Emma Smith. She is Rushcroft's daughter."
+
+"Somewhat involved, isn't it?"
+
+"Not in the least. Rushcroft's real name is Otterbein Smith. Horrible,
+isn't it? He sprung from some place in Indiana, where the authors come
+from. Miss Thackeray was our ingenue. A trifle large for that sort of
+thing, perhaps, but--very sprightly, just the same. She's had her full
+growth upwards, but not outwards. Tommy Gray, the other member of the
+company, is driving a taxi in Hornville. He used to own his own car in
+Springfield, Mass., by the way. Comes of a very good family. At least,
+so he says. Are you all ready? I'll lead you to the dining-room. Or
+would you prefer a little appetiser beforehand? The tap-room is right
+on the way. You mustn't call it the bar. Everybody in that little
+graveyard down the road would turn over completely if you did.
+Hallowed tradition, you know."
+
+"I don't mind having a cocktail. Will you join me?"
+
+"As a matter of fact, I'm expected to," confessed Mr. Dillingford.
+"We've been drawing quite a bit of custom to the tap-room. The rubes
+like to sit around and listen to conversation about Broadway and
+Bunker Hill and Old Point Comfort and other places, and then go home
+and tell the neighbours that they know quite a number of stage people.
+Human nature, I guess. I used to think that if I could ever meet an
+actress I'd be the happiest thing in the world. Well, I've met a lot
+of 'em, and God knows I'm not as happy as I was when I was WISHING I
+could meet one of them. Listen! Hear that? Rushcroft is reciting Gunga
+Din. You can't hear the thunder for the noise he's making."
+
+They descended the stairs and entered the tap-room, where a dozen men
+were seated around the tables, all of them with pewter mugs in front
+of them. Standing at the top table,--that is to say, the one farthest
+removed from the door and commanding the attention of every creature
+in the room--was the imposing figure of Lyndon Rushcroft. He was
+reciting, in a sonorous voice and with tremendous fervour, the famous
+Kipling poem. Barnes had heard it given a score of times at The
+Players in New York, and knew it by heart. He was therefore able to
+catch Mr. Rushcroft in the very reprehensible act of taking liberties
+with the designs of the author. The "star," after a sharp and rather
+startled look at the newcomer, deliberately "cut" four stanzas and
+rushed somewhat hastily through the concluding verse, marring a
+tremendous climax.
+
+A genial smile wiped the tragic expression from his face. He advanced
+upon Barnes and the beaming Mr. Dillingford, his hand extended.
+
+"My dear fellow," he exclaimed resoundingly, "how are you?" Cordiality
+boomed in his voice. "I heard you had arrived. Welcome,--thricefold
+welcome!" He neglected to say that Mr. Montague Bacon, in passing a
+few minutes before, had leaned over and whispered behind his hand:
+
+"Fellow upstairs from New York, Mr. Rushcroft,--fellow named Barnes.
+Quite a swell, believe me."
+
+It was a well-placed tip, for Mr. Rushcroft had been telling the
+natives for days that he knew everybody worth knowing in New York.
+
+Barnes was momentarily taken aback. Then he rose to the spirit of the
+occasion.
+
+"Hello, Rushcroft," he greeted, as if meeting an old time and greatly
+beloved friend. "This IS good. 'Pon my soul, you are like a thriving
+date palm in the middle of an endless desert. How are you?"
+
+They shook hands warmly. Mr. Dillingford slapped the newcomer on the
+shoulder, affectionately, familiarly, and shouted:
+
+"Who would have dreamed we'd run across good old Barnesy up here? By
+Jove, it's marvellous!"
+
+"Friends, countrymen," boomed Mr. Rushcroft, "this is Mr. Barnes of
+New York. Not the man the book was written about, but one of the best
+fellows God ever put into this little world of ours. I do not recall
+your names, gentlemen, or I would introduce each of you separately and
+divisibly. And when did you leave New York, my dear fellow?"
+
+"A fortnight ago," replied Barnes. "I have been walking for the past
+two weeks."
+
+Mr. Rushcroft's expression changed. His face fell.
+
+"Walking?" he repeated, a trifle stiffly. Was the fellow a tramp? Was
+he in no better condition of life than himself and his stranded
+companions, against whom the mockery of the assemblage was slyly but
+indubitably directed? If so, what was to be gained by claiming
+friendship with him? It behooved him to go slow. He drew himself up to
+his full height. "Well, well! Really?" he said.
+
+The others looked on with interest. The majority were farmers, hardy,
+rawboned men with misty eyes. Two of them looked like mechanics,--
+blacksmiths, was Barnes' swift estimate,--and as there was an odor of
+gasolene in the low, heavy-timbered room, others were no doubt
+connected with the tavern garage. For that matter, there was also an
+atmosphere of the stables.
+
+Lyndon Rushcroft was a tall, saggy man of fifty. Despite his
+determined erectness, he was inclined to sag from the shoulders down.
+His head, huge and grey, appeared to be much too ponderous for his
+yielding body, and yet he carried it manfully, even theatrically. The
+lines in his dark, seasoned face were like furrows; his nose was large
+and somewhat bulbous, his mouth wide and grim. Thick, black eyebrows
+shaded a pair of eyes in which white was no longer apparent; it had
+given way to a permanent red. A two days' stubble covered his chin and
+cheeks. Altogether he was a singular exemplification of one's idea of
+the old-time actor. He was far better dressed than the two male
+members of his company who had come under Barnes' observation. A
+fashionably made cutaway coat of black, a fancy waistcoat, and
+trousers with a delicate stripe (sadly in need of creasing) gave him
+an air of distinction totally missing in his subordinates. (Afterwards
+Barnes was to learn that he was making daily use of his last act
+drawing-room costume, which included a silk hat and a pair of pearl
+grey gloves.) Evidently he had possessed the foresight to "skip out"
+in the best that the wardrobe afforded, leaving his ordinary garments
+for the sheriff to lay hands upon.
+
+"A customary adventure with me," said Barnes. "I take a month's
+walking tour every spring, usually timing my pilgrimage so as to miss
+the hoi-polloi that blunders into the choice spots of the world later
+on and spoils them completely for me. This is my first jaunt into this
+part of New England. Most attractive walking, my dear fellow.
+Wonderful scenery, splendid air--" "Deliver me from the hoi-polloi,"
+said Mr. Rushcroft, at his ease once more. "I may also add, deliver me
+from walking. I'm damned if I can see anything in it. What will you
+have to drink, old chap?"
+
+He turned toward the broad aperture which served as a passageway in
+the wall for drinks leaving the hands of a fat bartender beyond to
+fall into the clutches of thirsty customers in the tap-room. There was
+no outstanding bar. A time-polished shelf, as old as the house itself,
+provided the afore-said bartender with a place on which to spread his
+elbows while not actively engaged in advancing mugs and bottles from
+more remote resting-places at his back.
+
+"Everything comes through 'the hole in the wall,'" explained
+Rushcroft, wrinkling his face into a smile.
+
+He unceremoniously turned his back on the audience of a moment before,
+and pounded smartly on the shelf, notwithstanding the fact that the
+bartender was less than a yard away and facing him expectantly. "What
+ho! Give ear, professor. Ye gods, what a night! Devil-brewed
+pandemonium--I beg pardon?"
+
+"I was just about to ask what you will have," said Barnes, lining up
+beside him with Mr. Dillingford.
+
+Mr. Rushcroft drew himself up once more. "My dear fellow, I asked you
+to have a--"
+
+"But I had already invited Dillingford. You must allow me to extend
+the invitation--"
+
+"Say no more, sir. I understand perfectly. A flagon of ale, Bob, for
+me." He leaned closer to Barnes and said, in what was supposed to be a
+confidential aside: "Don't tackle the whiskey. It would kill a
+rattlesnake."
+
+A few minutes later he laid one hand fondly upon Barnes' shoulder and,
+with a graceful sweep of the other in the direction of the hall,
+addressed himself to Dillingford.
+
+"Lead the way to the banquet-hall, good fellow. We follow." To the
+patrons he was abandoning:
+
+"We return anon." Passing through the office, his arm linked in one of
+Barnes', Mr. Rushcroft hesitated long enough to impress upon Landlord
+Jones the importance of providing his "distinguished friend, Robert W.
+Barnes," with the very best that the establishment afforded. Putnam
+Jones blinked slightly and his eyes sought the register as if to
+accuse or justify his memory. Then he spat copiously into the corner,
+a necessary preliminary to a grin. He hadn't much use for the great
+Lyndon Rushcroft. His grin was sardonic. Something told him that Mr.
+Rushcroft was about to be liberally fed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+MR. RUSHCROFT DISSOLVES, MR. JONES INTERVENES, AND TWO MEN RIDE AWAY
+
+
+Mr. Rushcroft explained that he had had his supper. In fact, he went
+on to confess, he had been compelled, like the dog, to "speak" for it.
+What could be more disgusting, more degrading, he mourned, than the
+spectacle of a man who had appeared in all of the principal theatres
+of the land as star and leading support to stars, settling for his
+supper by telling stories and reciting poetry in the tap-room of a
+tavern?
+
+"Still," he consented, when Barnes insisted that it would be a
+kindness to him, "since you put it that way, I dare say I could do
+with a little snack, as you so aptly put it. Just a bite or two. Like
+you, my dear fellow, I loathe and detest eating alone. I covet
+companionship, convivial com--what have you ready, Miss Tilly?"
+
+Miss Tilly was a buxom female of forty or thereabouts, with
+spectacles. She was one of a pair of sedentary waitresses who had been
+so long in the employ of Mr. Jones that he hated the sight of them.
+Close proximity to a real star affected her intensely. In fact, she
+was dazzled. For something like twenty years she had nursed an
+ambition that wavered between the desire to become an actress or an
+authoress. At present she despised literature. More than once she had
+confessed to Mr. Rushcroft that she hated like poison to write out the
+bill-o'-fare, a duty devolving solely upon her, it appears, because of
+a local tradition that she possessed literary talent. Every one said
+that she wrote the best hand in the county.
+
+Mr. Rushcroft's conception of a bite or two may have staggered Barnes
+but it did not bewilder Miss Tilly. He had four eggs with his ham, and
+other things in proportion. He talked a great deal, proving in that
+way that it was a supper well worth speaking for. Among other things,
+he dilated at great length upon his reasons for not being a member of
+The Players or The Lambs in New York City. It seems that he had
+promised his dear, devoted wife that he would never join a club of any
+description. Dear old girl, he would as soon have cut off his right
+hand as to break any promise made to her. He brushed something away
+from his eyes, and his chin, contracting, trembled slightly.
+
+"Quite right," said Barnes, sympathetically. "And how long has Mrs.
+Rushcroft been dead?"
+
+A hurt, incredulous look came into Mr. Rushcroft's eyes. "Is it
+possible that you have forgotten the celebrated case of Rushcroft vs.
+Rushcroft, not more than six years back? Good Lord, man, it was one of
+the most sensational cases that ever--But I see that you do not recall
+it. You must have been abroad at the time. I don't believe I ever knew
+of a case being quite so admirably handled by the press as that one
+was. She got it after a bitter and protracted fight. Infidelity.
+Nothing so rotten as cruelty or desertion,--no sir!"
+
+"Ahem!" coughed Miss Tilly.
+
+"The dear old girl married again," sighed Mr. Rushcroft, helping
+himself to Barnes' butter. "Did very well, too. Man in the wine trade.
+He saves a great deal, you see, by getting it at cost, and I can
+assure you, on my word of honour, sir, that he'll find it quite an
+item. What is it, Mr. Bacon? Any word from New York?"
+
+Mr. Bacon hovered near, perhaps hungrily.
+
+"Our genial host has instructed me to say to his latest guest that the
+rates are two dollars a day, in advance, all dining-room checks
+payable on presentation," said Mr. Bacon, apologetically.
+
+Rushcroft exploded. "A scurvy insult," he boomed. "Confound his--"
+
+The new guest was amiable. He interrupted the outraged star. "Tell Mr.
+Jones that I shall settle promptly," he said, with a smile.
+
+The "heavy leads" lowered his voice. "He told me that he had had a
+horrible thought."
+
+"He never has anything else," said Mr. Rushcroft.
+
+"It has just entered his bean that you may be an actor, Mr. Barnes,"
+said Bacon.
+
+Miss Tilly, overhearing, drew a step or two nearer. A sudden interest
+in Mr. Barnes developed. She had not noticed before that he was an
+uncommonly good-looking fellow. She always had said that she adored
+strong, "athletic" faces.
+
+"Hence the insult," said Mr. Rushcroft bitterly. He raised both arms
+in a gesture of complete dejection. "My God!"
+
+"Says it looks suspicious," went on Mr. Bacon, "flocking with us as
+you do. He mentioned something about birds of a feather."
+
+Mr. Rushcroft arose majestically. "I shall see the man myself, Mr.
+Barnes. His infernal insolence--"
+
+"Pray do not distress yourself, my dear Rushcroft," interrupted
+Barnes. "He is quite within his rights. I may be even worse than an
+actor. I may turn out to be an ordinary tramp." He took a wallet from
+his pocket, and smiled engagingly upon Miss Tilly. "The check,
+please."
+
+"For both?" inquired she, blinking.
+
+"Certainly. Mr. Rushcroft was my guest."
+
+"Four twenty five," she announced, after computation on the back of
+the menu.
+
+He selected a five dollar bill from the rather plethoric purse and
+handed it to her.
+
+"Be so good as to keep the change," he said, and Miss Tilly went away
+in a daze from which she did not emerge for a long, long time.
+
+Later on she felt inspired to jot down, for use no doubt in some
+future literary production, a concise, though general, description of
+the magnificent Mr. Barnes. She utilised the back of the bill-of-fare
+and she wrote with the feverish ardour of one who dreads the loss of a
+first impression. I herewith append her visual estimate of the hero of
+this story.
+
+"He was a tall, shapely speciman of mankind," wrote Miss Tilly.
+"Broad-shouldered. Smooth shaved face. Penetrating grey eyes. Short
+curly hair about the colour of mine. Strong hands of good shape. Face
+tanned considerable. Heavy dark eyebrows. Good teeth, very white.
+Square chin. Lovely smile that seemed to light up the room for
+everybody within hearing. Nose ideal. Mouth same. Voice aristocratic
+and reverberating with education. Age about thirty or thirty one. Rich
+as Croesus. Costume resembling the picture in the English novel the
+woman forgot and left here last summer. Well turned legs. Would make a
+good nobleman."
+
+All this would appear to be reasonably definite were it not for the
+note regarding the colour of his hair. It leaves to me the simple task
+of completing the very admirable description of Mr. Barnes by
+announcing that Miss Tilly's hair was an extremely dark brown.
+
+Also it is advisable to append the following biographical information:
+Thomas Kingsbury Barnes, engineer, born in Montclair, New Jersey,
+Sept. 26, 1885. Cornell and Beaux Arts, Paris. Son of the late Stephen
+S. Barnes, engineer, and Edith (Valentine) Barnes. Office,
+Metropolitan Building, New York City. Residence, Amsterdam Mansions.
+Clubs: (Lack of space prevents listing them here). Recreations: golf,
+tennis, and horseback riding. Author of numerous articles resulting
+from expeditions and discoveries in Peru and Ecuador. Fellow of the
+Royal Geographic Society. Member of the Loyal Legion and the Sons of
+the American Revolution.
+
+Added to this, the mere announcement that he was in a position to
+indulge a fancy for long and perhaps aimless walking tours through
+more or less out of the way sections of his own country, to say
+nothing of excursions in Europe.
+
+Needless to say, he obtained a great deal of pleasure from these
+lonely jaunts, and at the same time laid up for future use an ample
+supply of mind's ease. His was undoubtedly a romantic nature. He loved
+the fancies that his susceptibilities garnered from the hills and
+dales and fields and forests. He never tired of the changing prospect;
+the simple meadow and the inspiring mountain peak were as one to his
+generous imagination. He found something worth while in every mile he
+traversed in these long and solitary tramps, and he covered no fewer
+than twenty of them between breakfast and dinner unless ordered by
+circumstance to loiter along the way.
+
+Each succeeding spring he set out from his "diggings" in New York
+without having the remotest idea where his peregrinations would carry
+him. It was his habit to select a starting point in advance, approach
+that spot by train or ship or motor, and then divest himself of all
+purpose except to fare forward until he came upon some haven for the
+night. He went east or west, north or south, even as the winds of
+heaven blow; indeed, he not infrequently followed them.
+
+For five or six weeks in the early spring it was his custom to forge
+his daily chain of miles and, when the end was reached, climb
+contentedly aboard a train and be transported, often by arduous means,
+to the city where millions of men walk with a definite aim in view. He
+liked the spring of the year. He liked the rains and the winds of
+early spring. They meant the beginning of things to him.
+
+He was rich. Perhaps not as riches are measured in these Midas-like
+days, but rich beyond the demands of avarice. His legacy had been an
+ample one. The fact that he worked hard at his profession from one
+year's end to the other,--not excluding the six weeks devoted to these
+mentally productive jaunts,--is proof sufficient that he was not
+content to subsist on the fruits of another man's enterprise. He was a
+worker. He was a creator, a builder and a destroyer. It was part of
+his ambition to destroy in order that he might build the better.
+
+The first fortnight of a proposed six weeks' jaunt through Upper New
+England terminated when he laid aside his heavy pack in the little
+bed-room at Hart's Tavern. Cock-crow would find him ready and eager to
+begin his third week. At least, so he thought. But, truth is, he had
+come to his journey's end; he was not to sling his pack for many a day
+to come.
+
+After setting the mind of the landlord at rest, Barnes declined Mr.
+Rushcroft's invitation to "quaff" a cordial with him in the tap-room,
+explaining that he was exceedingly tired and intended to retire early
+(an announcement that caused unmistakable distress to the actor, who
+held forth for some time on the folly of "letting a thing like that go
+without taking it in time," although it was not made quite clear just
+what he meant by "thing"). Barnes was left to infer that he considered
+fatigue a malady that ought to be treated.
+
+Instead of going up to his room immediately, however, he decided to
+have a look at the weather. He stepped out upon the wet porch and
+closed the door behind him. The wind was still high; the lantern
+creaked and the dingy sign that hung above the steps gave forth
+raucous, spasmodic wails as it swung back and forth in the stiff, raw
+wind. Far away to the north lightning flashed dimly; the roar of
+thunder had diminished to a low, half-hearted growl.
+
+His uneasiness concerning the young woman of the cross-roads increased
+as he peered at the wall of blackness looming up beyond the circle of
+light. He could not see the towering hills, but memory pictured them
+as they were revealed to him in the gathering darkness before the
+storm. She was somewhere outside that sinister black wall and in the
+smothering grasp of those invisible hills, but was she living or dead?
+Had she reached her journey's end safely? He tried to extract comfort
+from the confidence she had expressed in the ability and integrity of
+the old man who drove with far greater recklessness than one would
+have looked for in a wild and irresponsible youngster.
+
+He recalled, with a thrill, the imperious manner in which she gave
+directions to the man, and his surprising servility. It suddenly
+occurred to him that she was no ordinary person; he was rather amazed
+that he had not thought of it before.
+
+She had confessed to total ignorance regarding the driver of that
+ramshackle conveyance; to being utterly at sea in the neighbourhood;
+to having walked like any country bumpkin from the railroad station,
+lugging an unconscionably heavy bag; and yet, despite all this, she
+seemed amazingly sure of herself. He recalled her frivolous remark
+about her jewels, and now wondered if there had not been more truth
+than jest in her words. Then there was the rather significant
+alteration in tone and manner when she spoke to the driver. The soft,
+somewhat deliberate drawl gave way to sharp, crisp sentences; the
+quaint good humour vanished and in its place he had no difficulty in
+remembering a very decided note of command.
+
+Moreover, now that he thought of it, there was, even in the agreeable
+rejoinders she had made to his offerings, the faint suggestion of an
+accent that should have struck him at the time but did not for the
+obvious reason that he was then not at all interested in her. Her
+English was so perfect that he had failed to detect the almost
+imperceptible foreign flavour that now took definite form in his
+reflections. He tried to place this accent. Was it French, or Italian,
+or Spanish? Certainly it was not German. The lightness of the Latin
+was evident, he decided, but it was all so faint and remote that
+classification was impossible, notwithstanding his years of
+association with the peoples of many countries where English is spoken
+more perfectly by the upper classes, who have a language of their own,
+than it is in England itself.
+
+He took a few turns up and down the long porch, stopping finally at
+the upper end. The clear, inspiring clang of a hammer on an anvil fell
+suddenly upon his ears. He looked at his watch. The hour was nine,
+certainly an unusual time for men to be at work in a forge. He
+remembered the two men in the tap-room who were bare-armed and wore
+the shapeless leather aprons of the smithy.
+
+He had been standing there not more than half a minute peering in the
+direction from whence came the rhythmic bang of the anvil,--at no
+great distance, he was convinced,--when some one spoke suddenly at his
+elbow. He whirled and found himself facing the gaunt landlord.
+
+"Good Lord! You startled me," he exclaimed. He had not heard the
+approach of the man, nor the opening and closing of the tavern door.
+His gaze travelled past the tall figure of Putnam Jones and rested on
+that of a second man, who leaned, with legs crossed and arms folded,
+against the porch post directly in front of the entrance to the house,
+his features almost wholly concealed by the broad-brimmed slouch hat
+that came far down over his eyes. He too, it seemed to Barnes, had
+sprung from nowhere.
+
+"Fierce night," said Putnam Jones, removing the corn-cob pipe from his
+lips. Then, as an after thought: "Sorry I skeert you. I thought you
+heerd me."
+
+"I was listening to the song of the anvil," said Barnes, as the
+landlord moved forward and took his place beside him. "It has always
+possessed a singular charm for me."
+
+"Special hurry-up job," said Jones, and no more.
+
+"Shoeing?"
+
+"Yep. You'd think these hayseeds could git their horses in here durin'
+regular hours, wouldn't you?"
+
+"I dare say they consider their own regular hours instead of yours,
+Mr. Jones."
+
+"I didn't quite ketch that."
+
+"I mean that they bring their horses in after their regular day's work
+is done."
+
+"I see. Yes, I reckon that's the idee." After a few pulls at his pipe,
+the landlord inquired: "Where'd you walk from to-day?" "I slept in a
+farm-house last night, about fifteen miles south of this place I
+should say."
+
+"That'd be a little ways out of East Cobb," speculated Mr. Jones.
+
+"Five or six miles."
+
+"Goin' over into Canada?"
+
+"No. I shall turn west, I think, and strike for the Lake Champlain
+country."
+
+"Canadian line is only a few miles from here," said Jones. "Last
+summer we had a couple of crooks from Boston here, makin' a dash for
+the border. Didn't know it till they'd been gone a day, however. The
+officers were just a day behind 'em. Likely lookin' fellers, too. Last
+men in the world you'd take for bank robbers."
+
+"Bank robbers, as a rule, are very classy looking customers," said
+Barnes.
+
+Mr. Jones grunted. After a short silence, he branched off on a new
+line. "What you think about the war? Think it'll be over soon?"
+
+"It has been going on for nearly two years, and I can't see any signs
+of abatement. Looks to me like a draw. They're all tired of it."
+
+"Think the Germans are going to win?"
+
+"No. They can't win. On the other hand, I don't see how the Allies can
+win. I may be wrong, of course. The Allies are getting stronger every
+day and the Germans must surely be getting weaker. As a matter of
+fact, Mr. Jones, I've long since stopped speculating on the outcome of
+the war. It is too big for me. I am not one of your know-it-alls who
+figure the whole thing out from day to day, and then wonder why the
+fool generals didn't have sense enough to perform as expected."
+
+"I wish them countries over there would let me fix 'em out with
+generals," drawled Mr. Jones. "I could pick out fifteen or twenty men
+right here in this district that could show 'em in ten minutes just
+how to win the war. You'd be surprised to know how many great generals
+we have running two by four farms and choppin' wood for a livin' up
+here. And there are fellers settin' right in there now that never saw
+a body of water bigger'n Plum Pond, an' every blamed one of 'em knows
+more'n the whole British navy about ketchin' submarines. The quickest
+way to end the war, says Jim Roudebush,--one of our leadin' ice-
+cutters,--is for the British navy to bombard Berlin from both sides,
+an' he don't see why in thunder they've never thought of it. I suppose
+you've travelled right smart in Europe?"
+
+"Quite a bit, Mr. Jones."
+
+"Any partic'lar part?"
+
+"No," said Barnes, suddenly divining that he was being "pumped." "One
+end to the other, you might say."
+
+"What about them countries down around Bulgaria and Roumania? I've
+been considerable interested in what's going to become of them if
+Germany gets licked. What do they get out of it, either way?"
+
+Barnes spent the next ten minutes expatiating upon the future of the
+Balkan states. Jones had little to say. He was interested, and drank
+in all the information that Barnes had to impart. He puffed at his
+pipe, nodded his head from time to time, and occasionally put a
+leading question. And quite as abruptly as he introduced the topic he
+changed it.
+
+"Not many automobiles up here at this time 'o the year," he said. "I
+was a little surprised when you said a feller had given you a lift.
+Where from?"
+
+"The cross-roads, a mile down. He came from the direction of Frogg's
+Corner and was on his way to meet some one at Spanish Falls." Barnes
+shrewdly leaped to the conclusion that the landlord's interest in the
+European War was more or less assumed. The man's purpose was beginning
+to reveal itself. He was evidently curious, if not actually concerned,
+about his guest's arrival by motor.
+
+"That's queer," he said, after a moment. "There's no train arrivin' at
+Spanish Falls as late as six o'clock. Gets in at four-ten, if she's on
+time. And she was reported on time to-day."
+
+"It appears that there was a misunderstanding. The driver didn't meet
+the train, so the person he was going after walked all the way to the
+forks. We happened upon each other there, Mr. Jones, and we studied
+the sign-post together. She was bound for a place called Green Fancy."
+
+"Did you say SHE?"
+
+"Yes. I was proposing to help her out of her predicament when the
+belated motor came racing down the slope. As a matter of fact, I was
+wrong when I said that a man brought me here in an automobile. It was
+she who did it. She gave the order. He merely obeyed,--and not very
+willingly, I suspect."
+
+"What for sort of looking lady was she?"
+
+"She wore a veil," said Barnes, succinctly.
+
+"Young?"
+
+"I had that impression. By the way, Mr. Jones, what and where is Green
+Fancy?"
+
+Jones looked over his shoulder, and his guest's glance followed. The
+man near the entrance had been joined by another.
+
+"Well," began the landlord, lowering his voice, "it's about two mile
+and a half from here, up the mountain. It's a house and people live in
+it, same as any other house. That's about all there is to say about
+it."
+
+"Why is it called Green Fancy?"
+
+"Because it's a green house," replied Jones succinctly.
+
+"You mean that it is painted green?"
+
+"Exactly. Green as a gourd. A man named Curtis built it a couple o'
+year ago and he had a fool idee about paintin' it green. Might ha'
+been a little crazy, for all I know. Anyhow, after he got it finished
+he settled down to live in it, and from that day to this he's never
+been off'n the place. He didn't seem sick or anything, so we can't
+make out his object in shuttin' himself up in the house an' seldom
+ever stickin' his nose outside the door."
+
+"Isn't it possible that he isn't there at all?"
+
+"He's there all right. Every now an' then he has visitors,--just like
+this woman to-day,--and sometimes they come down here for supper. They
+don't hesitate to speak of him, so he must be there. Miss Tilly has
+got the idee that he is a reecluse, if you know what that is."
+
+"It's all very interesting. I should say, judging by the visitor who
+came this evening, that he entertains extremely nice people."
+
+"Well," said Jones drily, "they claim to be from New York. But," he
+added, "so do them cheapskate actors in there." Which was as much as
+to say that he had his doubts.
+
+Further conversation was interrupted by the irregular clatter of
+horses' hoofs on the macadam. Off to the left a dull red glow of light
+spread across the roadway, and a man's voice called out: "Whoa, dang
+ye!"
+
+The door of the smithy had been thrown open and some one was leading
+forth freshly shod horses.
+
+A moment later the horses,--prancing, high-spirited animals,--their
+bridle-bits held by a strapping blacksmith, came into view. Barnes
+looked in the direction of the steps. The two men had disappeared.
+Instead of stopping directly in front of the steps, the smith led his
+charges quite a distance beyond and into the darkness.
+
+Putnam Jones abruptly changed his position. He insinuated his long
+body between Barnes and the doorway, at the same time rather loudly
+proclaiming that the rain appeared to be over.
+
+"Yes, sir," he repeated, "she seems to have let up altogether. Ought
+to have a nice day to-morrow, Mr. Barnes,--nice, cool day for
+walkin'."
+
+Voices came up from the darkness. Jones had not been able to cover
+them with his own. Barnes caught two or three sharp commands, rising
+above the pawing of horses' hoofs, and then a great clatter as the
+mounted horsemen rode off in the direction of the cross-roads. The
+beat of the hoofs became rhythmical as the animals steadied into a
+swinging lope.
+
+Barnes waited until they were muffled by distance, and then turned to
+Jones with the laconic remark:
+
+"They seem to be foreigners, Mr. Jones." Jones's manner became natural
+once more. He leaned against one of the posts and, striking a match on
+his leg, relighted his pipe.
+
+"Kind o' curious about 'em, eh?" he drawled.
+
+"It never entered my mind until this instant to be curious," said
+Barnes.
+
+"Well, it entered their minds about an hour ago to be curious about
+you," said the other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+AN EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERMAID, A MIDNIGHT TRAGEDY, AND A MAN WHO SAID
+"THANK YOU"
+
+
+Miss Thackeray was "turning down" his bed when he entered his room
+after bidding his new actor friends good night. All three promised to
+be up bright and early in the morning to speed him on his way with
+good wishes. Mr. Rushcroft declared that he would break the habit of
+years and get up in time to partake of a seven o'clock breakfast with
+him. Mr. Dillingford and Mr. Bacon, though under sentence to eat at
+six with the rest of the "help," were quite sanguine that old man
+Jones wouldn't mind if they ate again at seven. So it was left that
+Barnes was to have company for breakfast.
+
+He was staggered and somewhat abashed by the appearance of Miss
+Thackeray. She was by no means dressed as a chambermaid should be, nor
+was she as dumb. On the contrary, she confronted him in the choicest
+raiment that her wardrobe contained, and she was bright and cheery and
+exceedingly incompetent. It was her costume that shocked him. Not only
+was she attired in a low-necked, rose-coloured evening gown, liberally
+bespangled with tinsel, but she wore a vast top-heavy picture-hat
+whose crown of black was almost wholly obscured by a gorgeous white
+feather that once must have adorned the king of all ostriches. She was
+not at all his idea of a chambermaid. He started to back out of the
+door with an apology for having blundered into the wrong room by
+mistake.
+
+"Come right in," she said cheerily. "I'll soon be through. I suppose I
+should have done all this an hour ago, but I just had to write a few
+letters." She went on with her clumsy operations. "I don't know who
+made up this bed but whoever did was determined that it should stay
+put. I never knew that bed clothes could be tucked in as far and as
+tight as these. Tight enough for old Mother Jones to have done it
+herself, and heaven knows she's a tight one. I am Miss Thackeray. This
+is Mr. Barnes, I believe."
+
+He bowed, still quite overcome.
+
+"You needn't be scared," she cried, observing his confusion. "This is
+my regular uniform. I'm starting a new style for chambermaids. Did it
+paralyse you to find me here?"
+
+"I must confess to a moment of indecision," he said, smiling.
+
+"Followed by a moment of uneasiness," she added, slapping the bolster.
+"You didn't know what to think, now did you?"
+
+"I couldn't believe my eyes."
+
+She abandoned her easy, careless manner. A look of mortification came
+into her eyes as she straightened up and faced him. Her voice was a
+trifle husky when she spoke again, after a moment's pause.
+
+"You see, Mr. Barnes, these are the only duds I have with me. It
+wasn't necessary to put on this hat, of course, but I did it simply to
+make the character complete. I might just as well make beds and clean
+washstands in a picture hat as in a low-necked gown, so here I am."
+
+She was a tall, pleasant-faced girl of twenty-three or four, not
+unlike her father in many respects. Her features were rather heavy,
+her mouth large but comely, her eyes dark and lustrous behind heavy
+lashes. As she now appeared before Barnes, she was the typical stage
+society woman: in other words, utterly commonplace. In a drawing-room
+she would have been as conspicuously out of place as she was in her
+present occupation.
+
+"I am very sorry," he said lamely. "I have heard something of your
+misfortunes from your father and--the others. It's--it's really hard
+luck."
+
+"I call it rather good luck to have got away with the only dress in
+the lot that cost more than tuppence," she said, smiling again. "Lord
+knows what would have happened to me if they had dropped down on us at
+the end of the first act. I was the beggar's daughter, you see,--
+absolutely in rags."
+
+"You might have got away in your ordinary street clothes, however," he
+said; "which would have been pleasanter, I dare say."
+
+"I dare say," she agreed brightly. "Glad to have met you. I think
+you'll find everything NEARLY all right. Good night, sir."
+
+She smiled brightly, unaffectedly, as she turned toward the open door.
+There was something forelorn about her, after all, and his heart was
+touched.
+
+"Better luck, Miss Thackeray. Every cloud has its silver lining."
+
+She stopped and faced him once more. "That's the worst bromide in the
+language," she said. "If I were to tell you how many clouds I've seen
+and how little silver, you'd think I was lying. This experience? Why,
+it's a joy compared to some of the jolts we've had,--dad and me. And
+the others, too, for that matter. We've had to get used to it. Five
+years ago I would have jumped out of a ten story window before I'd
+have let you see me in this get-up. I know you'll laugh yourself sick
+over the way I look, and so will your friends when you tell them about
+me, but, thank the Lord, I shan't be in a position to hear you. So why
+should I mind? What a fellow doesn't know, isn't going to hurt him.
+You haven't laughed in my face, and I'm grateful for that. What you do
+afterward can't make the least bit of difference to me."
+
+"I assure you, Miss Thackeray, that I shall not laugh, nor shall I
+ever relate the story of your--"
+
+"There is one more bromide that I've never found much virtue in," she
+interrupted, not disagreeably, "and that is: 'it's too good to be
+true.' Good night. Sleep tight."
+
+She closed the door behind her, leaving him standing in the middle of
+the room, perplexed but amused.
+
+"By George," he said to himself, still staring at the closed door,
+"they're wonders, all of them. We could all take lessons in philosophy
+from such as they. I wish I could do something to help them out of--"
+He sat down abruptly on the edge of the bed and pulled his wallet from
+his pocket. He set about counting the bills, a calculating frown in
+his eyes. Then he stared at the ceiling, summing up. "I'll do it," he
+said, after a moment of mental figuring. He told off a half dozen
+bills and slipped them into his pocket. The wallet sought its usual
+resting place for the night: under a pillow.
+
+He was healthy and he was tired. Two minutes after his head touched
+the pillow he was sound asleep, losing consciousness even as he fought
+to stay awake in order that he might continue to vex himself with the
+extraordinary behavior and statement of Putnam Jones.
+
+He was aroused shortly after midnight by shouts, apparently just
+outside his window. A man was calling in a loud voice from the road
+below; an instant later he heard a tremendous pounding on the tavern
+door.
+
+Springing out of bed, he rushed to the window. There were horses in
+front of the house,--several of them,--and men on foot moving like
+shadows among them. A shuffling of feet came up to his open window;
+the intervening roof shut off his view of the porch and all that was
+transpiring. His eyes, accustomed to darkness, made out at least five
+horses in the now unlighted area before the tavern.
+
+Turning from the window, he unlocked and opened the door into the
+hall. Some one was clattering down the narrow staircase. The bolts on
+the front door shot back with resounding force, and there came the
+hoarse jumble of excited voices as men crowded through the entrance.
+Putnam Jones's voice rose above the clamour.
+
+"Keep quiet! Do you want to wake everybody on the place?" he was
+saying angrily. "What's up? This is a fine time o' night to be--Good
+Lord! What's the matter with him?"
+
+"Telephone for a doctor, Put,--damn' quick! This one's still alive.
+The other one is dead as a door nail up at Jim Conley's house. Git ole
+Doc James down from Saint Liz. Bring him in here, boys. Where's your
+lights? Easy now! Eas-EE!"
+
+Barnes waited to hear no more. His blood seemed to be running ice-cold
+as he retreated into the room and began scrambling for his clothes.
+The thing he feared had come to pass. Disaster had overtaken her in
+that wild, senseless dash up the mountain road. He was cursing half
+aloud as he dressed, cursing the fool who drove that machine and who
+now was perhaps dying down there in the tap-room. "The other one is
+dead as a door nail," kept running through his head,--"the other one."
+
+The rumble of voices and the shuffling of feet continued, indistinct
+but laden with tragedy. The curious hush of catastrophe seemed to top
+the confusion that infected the place, inside and out. Barnes found
+his electric pocket torch and dressed hurriedly, though not fully, by
+its constricted light. As he was pulling on his heavy walking shoes, a
+head was inserted through the half open door, and an excited voice
+called out:
+
+"You awake? Good work! Hustle along, will you? No more sleep to-night,
+old chap. Man dying downstairs. Shot smack through the lungs. Get a
+move--"
+
+"Shot?" exclaimed Barnes.
+
+"So they say," replied the agitated Mr. Dillingford, entering the
+room. He had slipped on his trousers and was then in the act of
+pulling his suspenders over his shoulders. His unlaced shoes gaped
+broadly; the upper part of his body was closely encased in a once blue
+undershirt; his abundant black hair was tousled,--some of it, indeed,
+having the appearance of standing on end. And in his wide eyes there
+was a look of horror. "I didn't hear much of the story. Old man Jones
+is telephoning for a doctor and--"
+
+"Did you say that the man was shot?" repeated Barnes, bewildered.
+"Wasn't it an automobile accident?"
+
+"Search ME. Gosh, I had one look at that fellow's face down there and
+--I didn't hear another word that was said. I never saw a man's face
+look like that. It was the colour of grey wall paper. Hurry up! Old
+man Jones told me to call you. He says you understand some of the
+foreign languages, and maybe you can make out what the poor devil is
+trying to say." "Do they know who he is?"
+
+"Sure. He's been staying in the house for three days. The other one
+spoke English all right but this one not a word."
+
+"Did they ride away from here about nine o'clock?"
+
+"Yes. They had their own horses and said they were going to spend the
+night at Spanish Falls so's they could meet the down train that goes
+through at five o'clock in the morning. But hustle along, please. He's
+trying to talk and he's nearly gone."
+
+Barnes, buoyed by a sharp feeling of relief, followed the actor
+downstairs and into the tap-room. A dozen men were there, gathered
+around two tables that had been drawn together. Transient lodgers, in
+various stages of dishabille, popped out of all sorts of passageways
+and joined the throng. The men about the table, on which was stretched
+the figure of the wounded man, were undoubtedly natives: farmers,
+woodsmen or employees of the tavern. At a word from Putnam Jones, they
+opened up and allowed Barnes to advance to the side of the man.
+
+"See if you c'n understand him, Mr. Barnes," said the landlord.
+Perspiration was dripping from his long, raw-boned face. "And you,
+Bacon,--you and Dillingford hustle upstairs and get a mattress off'n
+one of the beds. Stand at the door there, Pike, and don't let any
+women in here. Go away, Miss Thackeray! This is no place for you."
+
+Miss Thackeray pushed her way past the man who tried to stop her and
+joined Barnes. Her long black hair hung in braids down her back; above
+her forehead clustered a mass of ringlets, vastly disordered but not
+untidy. A glance would have revealed the gaudy rose-coloured skirt
+hanging below the bottom of the long rain-coat she had snatched from a
+peg in the hall-way.
+
+"It is the place for me," she said sharply. "Haven't you men got sense
+enough to put something under his head? Where is he hurt? Get that
+cushion, you. Stick, it under here when I lift his head. Oh, you poor
+thing! We'll be as quick as possible. There!"
+
+"You'd better go away," said Barnes, himself ghastly pale. "He's been
+shot. There is a lot of blood--don't you know. It's splendid of you--"
+
+"Dangerously?" she cried, shrinking back, her eyes fixed in dread upon
+the white face.
+
+The man's eyes were closed, but at the sound of a woman's voice he
+opened them. The hand with which he clutched at his breast slid off
+and seemed to be groping for hers. His breathing was terrible. There
+was blood at the corners of his mouth, and more oozed forth when his
+lips parted in an effort to speak.
+
+With a courage that surprised even herself, the girl took his hand in
+hers. It was wet and warm. She did not dare look at it.
+
+"Merci, madame," struggled from the man's lips, and he smiled.
+
+Barnes had heard of the French soldiers who, as they died, said "thank
+you" to those who ministered to them, and smiled as they said it. He
+had always marvelled at the fortitude that could put gratefulness
+above physical suffering, and his blood never failed to respond to an
+exquisite thrill of exaltation under such recitals. He at once deduced
+that the injured man, while probably not a Frenchman, at least was
+familiar with the language.
+
+He was young, dark-haired and swarthy. His riding-clothes were well-
+made and modish.
+
+Barnes leaned over and spoke to him in French. The dark, pain-stricken
+eyes closed, and an almost imperceptible shake of the head signified
+that he did not understand. Evidently he had acquired only a few of
+the simple French expressions. Barnes had a slight knowledge of
+Spanish and Italian, and tried again with no better results. German
+was his last resort, and he knew he would fail once more, for the man
+obviously was not Teutonic.
+
+The bloody lips parted, however, and the eyes opened with a piteous,
+appealing expression in their depths. It was apparent that there was
+something he wanted to say, something he had to say before he died. He
+gasped a dozen words or more in a tongue utterly unknown to Barnes,
+who bent closer to catch the feeble effort. It was he who now shook
+his head; with a groan the sufferer closed his eyes in despair. He
+choked and coughed violently an instant later.
+
+"Get some water and a towel," cried Miss Thackeray, tremulously. She
+was very white, but still clung to the man's hand. "Be quick! Behind
+the bar." Then she turned to Jones. "Don't call my father. He can't
+stand the sight of blood," she said.
+
+Barnes unbuttoned the coat and revealed the blood-soaked white shirt.
+
+"Better leave this to me," he said in her ear. "There's nothing you
+can do. He's done for. Please go away."
+
+"Oh, I sha'n't faint--at least, not yet. Poor fellow! I've seen him
+upstairs and wondered who he was. Is he really going to die?"
+
+"Looks bad," said Barnes, gently opening the shirt front. Several of
+the craning men turned away suddenly.
+
+"Can't you understand him?" demanded Putnam Jones, from the opposite
+side.
+
+"No. Did you get the doctor?"
+
+"He's on the way by this time. He's got a little automobile. Ought to
+be here in ten or fifteen minutes."
+
+"Who is he, Mr. Jones?"
+
+"He is registered as Andrew Paul, from New York. That's all I know.
+The other man put his name down as Albert Roon. He seemed to be the
+boss and this man a sort of servant, far as I could make out. They
+never talked much and seldom came downstairs. They had their meals in
+their room. Bacon served them. Where is Bacon? Where the hell--oh, the
+mattress. Now, we'll lift him up gentle-like while you fellers slip it
+under him. Easy now. Brace up, my lad, we--we won't hurt you. Lordy!
+Lordy! I'm sorry--Gosh! I thought he was gone!" He wiped his brow with
+a shaking hand.
+
+"There is nothing we can do," said Barnes, "except try to stanch the
+flow of blood. He is bleeding inwardly, I'm afraid. It's a clean
+wound, Mr. Jones. Like a rifle shot, I should say."
+
+"That's just what it is," said one of the men, a tall woodsman. "The
+feller who did it was a dead shot, you c'n bet on that. He got t'
+other man square through the heart."
+
+"Lordy, but this will raise a rumpus," groaned the landlord. "We'll
+have detectives an'--"
+
+"I guess they got what was comin' to 'em," said another of the men.
+
+"What's that? Why, they was ridin' peaceful as could be to Spanish
+Falls. What do you mean by sayin' that, Jim Conley? But wait a minute!
+How does it happen that they were up near your dad's house? That
+certainly ain't on the road to Span--"
+
+"Spanish Falls nothin'! They wasn't goin' to Spanish Falls any more'n
+I am at this minute. They tied their hosses up the road just above our
+house," said young Conley, lowering his voice out of consideration for
+the feelings of the helpless man. "It was about 'leven o'clock, I
+reckon. I was comin' home from singin' school up at Number Ten, an' I
+passed the hosses hitched to the fence. Naturally I stopped, curious
+like. There wasn't no one around, fer as I could see, so I thought I'd
+take a look to see whose hosses they were. I thought it was derned
+funny, them hosses bein' there at that time o' night an' no one
+around. So as I said before, I thought I'd take a look. I know every
+hoss fer ten mile around. So I thought I'd take--"
+
+"You said that three times," broke in Jones impatiently.
+
+"Well, to make a long story short, I thought I'd take a look. I never
+seen either of them animals before. They didn't belong around here. So
+I thought I'd better hustle down to the house an' speak to pa about
+it. Looked mighty queer to me. Course, thinks I, they might belong to
+somebody visitin' in there at Green Fancy, so I thought I'd--"
+
+"Green Fancy?" said Barnes, starting.
+
+"Was it up that far?" demanded Jones.
+
+"They was hitched jest about a hundred yards below Mr. Curtis's
+propity, on the off side o' the road. Course it's quite a ways in from
+the road to the house, an' I couldn't see why if it was anybody
+callin' up there they didn't ride all the ways up, 'stead o' walkin'
+through the woods. So I thought I'd speak to pa about it. Say," and he
+paused abruptly, a queer expression in his eyes, "you don't suppose he
+knows what I'm sayin', do you? I wouldn't say anything to hurt the
+poor feller's feelin's fer--"
+
+"He doesn't know what you are saying," said Barnes.
+
+"But, dern it, he jest now looked at me in the funniest way. It's
+given me the creeps."
+
+"Go on," said one of the men.
+
+"Well, I hadn't any more'n got to our front gate when I heard some one
+running in the road up there behind me. 'Fore I knowed what was
+happenin', bang went a gun. I almost jumped out'n my boots. I lept
+behind that big locus' tree in front of our house and listened. The
+runnin' had stopped. The hosses was rarin' an' tearin' so I thought
+I'd--"
+
+"Where'd the shot come from?" demanded Jones.
+
+"Up the road some'eres, I couldn't swear just where. Must 'a' been up
+by the road that cuts in to Green Fancy. So I thought I'd hustle in
+an' see if pa was awake, an' git my gun. Looked mighty suspicious,
+thinks I, that gun shot. Jest then pa stuck his head out'n the winder
+an' yelled what the hell's the matter. You betcher life I sung out who
+I was mighty quick, 'cause pa's purty spry with a gun an' I didn't
+want him takin' me fer burglars sneakin' around the house. While we
+wuz talkin' there, one of the hosses started our way lickety-split,
+an' in about two seconds it went by us. It was purty dark but we see
+plain as day that there was a man in the saddle, bendin' low over the
+hoss's neck and shoutin' to it. Well, we shore was guessin'. We waited
+a couple o' minutes, wonderin' what to do, an' listenin' to the hoss
+gittin' furder and furder away in the direction of the cross-roads.
+Then, 'way down there by the pike we heerd another shot. Right there
+an' then pa said he'd put on his clothes an' we'd set out to see what
+it was all about. I had it figgered out that the feller on the hoss
+had shot the other one and was streakin' it fer town or some'eres.
+That second shot had me guessin' though. Who wuz he shootin' at now,
+thinks I.
+
+"Well, pa come out with my gun an' his'n an' we walks up to where I
+seen the hosses. Shore 'nough, one of 'em was still hitched to the
+fence, an' t'other was gone. We stood around a minute or two examinin'
+the hoss an' then pa says let's go up the road aways an' see if we c'n
+see anything. An' by gosh, we hadn't gone more'n fifty feet afore we
+come plumb on a man layin' in the middle of the road. Pa shook him an'
+he didn't let out a sound. He was warm but deader'n a tombstone. I wuz
+fer leavin' him there till we c'd git the coroner, but pa says no.
+We'd carry him down to our porch, an' lay him there, so's he'd be out
+o' danger. Ma an' the kids wuz all up when we got him there, an' pa
+sent Bill and Charley over to Mr. Pike's and Uncle John's to fetch 'em
+quick. I jumps on Polly an' lights out fer here, Mr. Jones, to
+telephone up to Saint Liz fer the sheriff an' the coroner, not givin'
+a dang what I run into on the way. Polly shied somethin' terrible jest
+afore we got to the pike an' I come derned near bein' throwed. An'
+right there 'side the road was this feller, all in a heap. I went back
+an' jumped off. He was groanin' somethin' awful. Thinks I, you poor
+cuss, you must 'a' tried to stop that feller on hossback an' he
+plunked you. That accounted fer the second shot. But while I wuz
+tryin' to lift him up an' git somethin' out'n him about the matter, I
+sees his boss standin' in the road a couple o' rods away. I couldn't
+understand a word he said, so I thought I better go back home an' git
+some help, seein's I couldn't manage him by myself. So I dragged him
+up on the bank an' made him comfortable as I could, and lit out fer
+home. We thought we'd better bring him up here, Mr. Jones, it bein'
+just as near an' you could git the doctor sooner. I hitched up the
+buck-board and went back. Pa an' some of the other fellers took their
+guns an' went up in the woods lookin' fer the man that done the
+shootin'. The thing that worries all of us is did the same man do the
+shootin', or was there two of 'em, one waitin' down at the cross-
+roads?"
+
+"Must have been two," said Jones, thoughtfully. "The same man couldn't
+have got down there ahead of him, that's sure. Did anybody go up to
+Green Fancy to make inquiries?"
+
+"'Twasn't necessary. Mr. Curtis heard the shootin' an' jest before we
+left he sent a man out to see what it was all about. The old skeezicks
+that's been drivin' his car lately come down half-dressed. He said
+nothin' out of the way had happened up at Green Fancy. Nobody had been
+nosin' around their place, an' if they had, he said, there wasn't
+anybody there who could hit the side of a barn with a rifle."
+
+"It's most mysterious," said Barnes, glancing around the circle of
+awed faces. "There must have been some one lying in wait for these
+men, and with a very definite purpose in mind."
+
+"Strikes me," said Jones, "that these two men were up to some kind of
+dirty work themselves, else why did they say they were goin' to
+Spanish Falls? It's my idee that they went up that road to lay fer
+somebody comin' down from the border, and they got theirs good an'
+plenty instead of the other way round. They were queer actin' men,
+I'll have to say that."
+
+His eyes met Barnes' and there was a queer light in them.
+
+"You don't happen to know anything about this, do you, Mr. Barnes?" he
+demanded, suddenly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE FARM-BOY TELLS A GHASTLY STORY AND AN IRISHMAN ENTERS
+
+
+Barnes stared. "What do you mean?" he demanded sharply.
+
+"I mean just what I said. What do you know about this business?"
+
+"How should I know ANYTHING about it?"
+
+"Well, we don't know who you are, nor what you're doing up here, nor
+what your real profession is. That's why I ask the question."
+
+"I see," said Barnes, after a moment. He grasped the situation and he
+admitted to himself that Jones had cause for his suspicions. "It has
+occurred to you that I may be a detective or a secret service man,
+isn't that the case? Well, I am neither. Moreover, this man and his
+companion evidently had their doubts about me, if I am to judge by
+your remark and your actions on the porch earlier in the evening."
+
+"I only said that they were curious about you. The man named Roon
+asked me a good many questions about you while you were in at supper.
+Who knows but what he was justified in thinkin' you didn't mean any
+good to him and his friend?"
+
+"Did you know any more about these two men, Mr. Jones, than you know
+about me?"
+
+"I don't know anything about 'em. They came here like any one else,
+paid their bills regular, 'tended to their own business, and that's
+all."
+
+"What was their business?"
+
+"Mr. Roon was lookin' for a place to bring his daughter who has
+consumption. He didn't want to take her to a reg'lar consumptive
+community, he said, an' so he was lookin' for a quiet place where she
+wouldn't be associatin' with lungers all the time. Some big doctor in
+New York told him to come up here an' look around. That was his
+business, Mr. Barnes, an' I guess you'd call it respectable, wouldn't
+you?"
+
+"Perfectly. But why should he be troubled by my presence here if--"
+Miss Thackeray put an end to the discussion in a most effectual
+manner.
+
+"Oh, for the Lord's sake, cut it out! Wait till he's dead, can't you?"
+she whispered fiercely. "You've got all the time in the world to talk,
+and he hasn't more than ten minutes left to breathe unless that rube
+doctor gets here pretty soon. If you've GOT to settle the question
+right away, at least have the decency to go out of this room."
+
+Barnes flushed to the roots of his hair. Jones was aghast, dumb with
+surprise and anger.
+
+"You are right, Miss Thackeray," said the former, deeply mortified.
+"This is not the time nor the place to----"
+
+"He can't understand a word we say," said Putnam Jones loudly. "You
+better get out of here yourself, young woman. This is a job for men,
+not--"
+
+"I think he's going now," she whispered in an awe-struck voice. "Keep
+still, all of you. Is he breathing, Mr. Barnes? That awful cough just
+now seemed to--"
+
+"Come away, please," said Barnes, taking her gently by the arm. "I--I
+believe that was the end. Don't stay here, Miss Thackeray.
+Dillingford, will you be good enough to escort Miss--"
+
+"I've never seen any one die before," she said in a low, tense voice.
+Her eyes were fixed on the still face. "Why--why, how tightly he holds
+my hand! I can't get it away--he must be alive, Mr. Barnes. Where is
+that silly doctor?"
+
+Barnes unclasped the rigid fingers of the man called Andrew Paul, and,
+shaking his head sadly, drew her away from the improvised bier. He and
+the shivering Mr. Dillingford conducted her to the dining-room, where
+a single kerosene lamp gave out a feeble, rather ghastly light. The
+tall Bacon followed, the upper part of his person enveloped in the
+blanket Putnam Jones had hastily snatched from the mattress before it
+was slipped under the dying man. Several of the women of the house,
+including the wife of the landlord, clogged the little entrance hall,
+chattering in hushed undertones.
+
+"Would you like a little brandy?" inquired Barnes, as she sat down
+limply in the chair he pulled out for her. "I have a flask upstairs in
+my--"
+
+"I never touch it," she said. "I'm all right. My legs wabble a little
+but--Sit down, Mr. Barnes. I've got something to say to you and I'd
+better say it now, because it may come in pretty handy for you later
+on. Don't let those women come in here, Dilly."
+
+Barnes drew a chair close beside her. Bacon, with scant regard for
+elegance, seated himself on the edge of the table and bent an ear.
+
+"It's all rot about that man Roon being here to look for a place for
+his daughter." She spoke rapidly and cautiously. "I don't know whether
+Jones knows, but that certainly wasn't what he was here for. The young
+fellow in there was a sort of secretary. Roon had a room at the other
+end of the hall from yours, on the corner, facing the road and also
+looking toward the cross-roads. Young Paul had the next room, with a
+door between. I was supposed to make up their rooms after they'd gone
+out in the forenoon for a horseback ride. I kept out of their sight,
+because I knew they were the kind of men who would laugh at me. They
+couldn't understand, and, of course, I couldn't explain. Yesterday
+morning I found a sort of map on the floor under young Paul's
+washstand. The wind had blown it off the table by the window and he
+hadn't missed it. It was in lead pencil and looked like a map of the
+roads around here. I couldn't read the notations, but it required only
+a glance to convince me that this place was the central point. All of
+the little mountain roads were there, and the cross-roads. There
+wasn't anything queer about it, so I laid it on his table and put a
+book on it.
+
+"This afternoon I walked up in the woods back of the Tavern to go over
+some lines in a new piece we are to do later on,--God knows when! I
+could see the house from where I was sitting. Roon's windows were
+plainly visible. I wasn't very far away, you see, the climb being too
+steep for me. I saw Roon standing at a window looking toward the
+cross-roads with a pair of field-glasses. Every once in awhile he
+would turn to Paul, who stood beside him with a notebook, and say
+something to him. Paul wrote it down. Then he would look again,
+turning the glasses this way and that. I wouldn't have thought much
+about it if they hadn't spent so much time there. I believe I watched
+them for an hour. Suddenly my eyes almost popped out of my head. Paul
+had gone away from the window. He came back and he had a couple of
+revolvers in his hands. They stood there for a few minutes carefully
+examining the weapons and reloading them with fresh cartridges. The
+storm was coming up, but I love it so that I waited almost until dark,
+watching the clouds and listening to the roar of the wind in the
+trees. I'm a queer girl in that way. I like turmoil. I could sit out
+in the most dreadful thunder storm and just revel in the crashes. Just
+as I was about to start down to the house--it was a little after six
+o'clock, and getting awfully dark and overcast,--Roon took up the
+glasses again. He seemed to be excited and called his companion. Paul
+grabbed the glasses and looked down the road. They both became very
+much excited, pointing and gesticulating, and taking turn about with
+the glasses."
+
+"About six o'clock, you say?" said Barnes, greatly interested.
+
+"It was a quarter after six when I got back to the house. I spoke to
+Mr. Bacon about what I'd seen and he said he believed they were German
+spies, up to some kind of mischief along the Canadian border.
+Everybody is a German spy nowadays, Mr. Barnes, if he looks cross-
+wise. Then about half an hour later you came to the Tavern. I saw Roon
+sneak out to the head of the stairs and listen to your conversation
+with Jones when you registered. That gave me an idea. It was you they
+were watching the road for. They saw you long before you got here, and
+it was--"
+
+Barnes held up his hand for silence. "Listen," he said in a low voice,
+"I will tell you who they were looking for." As briefly as possible he
+recounted his experience with the strange young woman at the cross-
+roads. "From the beginning I have connected this tragedy with the
+place called Green Fancy. I'll stake my last penny that they have been
+hanging around here waiting for the arrival of that young woman. They
+knew she was coming and they doubtless knew what she was bringing with
+her. They went to Green Fancy to-night with a very sinister purpose in
+mind, and things didn't turn out as they expected. What do you know
+about the place called Green Fancy?"
+
+He was vastly excited. His active imagination was creating all sorts
+of possibilities and complications, depredations and intrigues.
+
+Bacon was the one who answered. He drew the blanket closer about his
+lean form and shivered as with a chill.
+
+"I know this much about the place from hearsay," he said in a guttural
+whisper. "It's supposed to be haunted. I've heard more than one of
+these jays,--big huskies too,--say they wouldn't go near the place
+after dark for all the money in the state."
+
+"That's just talk to scare you, Ague," said Dillingford. "People live
+up there and since we've been here two or three men visitors have come
+down from the place to sample our stock of wet goods. Nothing
+suspicious looking or ghostly about them either. I talked with a
+couple of 'em day before yesterday. They were out for a horseback ride
+and stopped here for a mug of ale."
+
+"Were they foreigners?" inquired Barnes.
+
+"If you want to call an Irishman a foreigner, I'll have to say one of
+them was. He had a beautiful brogue. I'd never seen an Irishman in
+slick riding clothes, however, so I doubted my ears at first. You
+don't associate a plain Mick with anything so swell as that, you know.
+The other was an American, I'm sure. Yesterday they rode past here
+with a couple of swell looking women. I saw them turn up the road to
+Green Fancy, so that knocks your ghost story all to smash, Bacon."
+
+"It isn't MY ghost story," began Mr. Bacon indignantly. The arrival of
+four or five men, who stamped into the already crowded hallway from
+the porch outside, claimed the attention of the quartette. Among them
+was the doctor who, they were soon to discover, was also the coroner
+of the county. A very officious deputy sheriff was also in the group.
+
+Before rejoining the crowd in the tap-room, Barnes advised his
+companions, especially the girl, to say as little as possible about
+what they had heard and seen.
+
+"This thing is going to turn out to be a whacking sensation, and it
+may be a great deal more important than we think. You don't want to
+become involved in the investigation, which may become a national
+affair. I'd like to have a hand in clearing it up. My head is chock-
+full of theories that might--"
+
+"Maybe Roon was right," said Dillingford, slowly, as he edged a step
+or two away from Barnes.
+
+"In what respect?"
+
+"He certainly thought you were a detective or something like that.
+Maybe he thought you came with that young woman, or maybe he thought
+you were shadowing her, or--"
+
+"There are a lot of things he may have thought," interrupted Barnes,
+smiling. "It is barely possible that my arrival may have caused him to
+act more hastily than he intended. That may be the reason why the job
+ended so disastrously for him."
+
+Mrs. Jones called out from the doorway. "Mr. Barnes, you're wanted in
+there."
+
+"All right," he responded.
+
+"Better let me get you a wet towel to wash your hand," said Bacon to
+Miss Thackeray. "My God, I wouldn't have THAT on my hand for a million
+dollars."
+
+The doctor had been working over the prostrate form on the tables. As
+Barnes entered the room, he looked up and declared that the man was
+dead.
+
+"This is Mr. Barnes," said Putnam Jones, indicating the tall traveller
+with a short jerk of his thumb.
+
+"I am from the sheriff's office," said the man who stood beside the
+doctor. The rest of the crowd evidently had been ordered to stand back
+from the tables. The sheriff was a burly fellow, whose voice shook in
+a most incongruous manner, despite his efforts to appear composed and
+otherwise efficient. "Did you ever see this man before?"
+
+"Not until he was carried in here half an hour ago. I arrived here
+this evening."
+
+"What's your business up here, Mr. Barnes?"
+
+"I have no business up here. I just happened to stroll in this
+evening."
+
+"Well," said the sheriff darkly, "I guess I'll have to ask you to
+stick around here till we clear this business up. We don't know you
+an'--Well, we can't take any chances. You understand, I reckon."
+
+"I certainly fail to understand, Mr. Sheriff. I know nothing whatever
+of this affair and I intend to continue on my way to-morrow morning."
+
+"Well, I guess not."
+
+"Do you mean to say that I am to be detained here against my--"
+
+"You got to stay here till we are satisfied that you don't know
+anything about this business. That's all."
+
+"Am I to consider myself under arrest, sir?"
+
+"I wouldn't go as far as to say that. You just stick around here,
+that's all I got to say. If you're all right, we'll soon find it out.
+What's more, if you are all right you'll be willin' to stay. Do you
+get me?"
+
+"I certainly do. And I can now assure you, Mr. Sheriff, that I'd like
+nothing better than to stick around here, as you put it. I'd like to
+help clear this matter up. In the meantime, you may readily find out
+who I am and why I am here by telegraphing to the Mayor of New York
+City. This document, which experience has taught me to carry for just
+such an emergency as this, may have some weight with you." He opened
+his bill-folder and drew forth a neatly creased sheet of paper. This
+he handed to the sheriff. "Read it, please, and note the date, the
+signature, the official seal of the New York Police department, and
+also the rather interesting silver print pasted in the lower left hand
+corner. I think you will agree that it is a good likeness of me. Each
+year I take the precaution of having myself properly certified by the
+police department at home before venturing into unknown and perhaps
+unfriendly communities. This, in a word, is a guarantee of good
+citizenship, good intentions and-good health. I was once taken up by a
+rural Sherlock on suspicion of being connected with the theft of a
+horse and buggy, although all the evidence seemed to indicate that I
+was absolutely afoot and weary at the time, and didn't have the outfit
+concealed about my person. I languished in the calaboose for twenty-
+four hours, and might have remained there indefinitely if the real
+desperado hadn't been captured in the nick o' time. Have you read it?"
+
+"Yes," said the sheriff dubiously; "but how do I know it ain't a
+forgery?"
+
+"You don't know, of course. But in case it shouldn't be a forgery and
+I am subjected to the indignity of arrest or even detention, you would
+have a nasty time defending yourself in a civil suit for damages.
+Don't misunderstand me. I appreciate your position. I shall remain
+here, as you suggest, but only for the purpose of aiding you in
+getting to the bottom of this affair."
+
+"What do you think about it, Doc?"
+
+"He says he's willing to stay, don't he? Well, what more can you ask?"
+snapped the old doctor. "I should say the best thing for you to do,
+Abner, is to get a posse of men together and begin raking the woods up
+yonder for the men that did the shooting. You say there is another one
+dead up at Jim Conley's? Well, I'll go over and view him at once. The
+first thing to do is to establish the corpus delicti. We've got to be
+able to say the men are dead before we can charge anybody with murder.
+This man was shot in the chest, from in front. Now we'll examine his
+clothes and so forth and see if they throw any additional light on the
+matter."
+
+The most careful search of Andrew Paul's person established one thing
+beyond all question: the man had deliberately removed everything that
+might in any way serve to aid the authorities in determining who he
+really was and whence he came. The tailor's tags had been cut from the
+smart, well-fitting garments; the buttons on the same had been
+replaced by others of an ordinary character; the names of the
+haberdasher, the hat dealer and the boot maker had been as effectually
+destroyed. There were no papers of any description in his pockets. His
+wrist watch bore neither name, date nor initials. Indeed, nothing had
+been overlooked in his very palpable effort to prevent actual
+identification, either in life or death.
+
+Subsequent search of the two rooms disclosed the same extreme
+precautions. Not a single object, not even a scrap of paper had been
+left there on the departure of the men at nine o'clock. Ashes in an
+old-fashioned fireplace in Roon's room suggested the destruction of
+tell-tale papers. Everything had vanished. A large calibre automatic
+revolver, all cartridges unexploded, was found in Paul's coat pocket.
+In another pocket, lying loose, were a few bank notes and some silver,
+amounting all told to about thirty dollars.
+
+The same thorough search of the dead body of Roon later on by the
+coroner and sheriff, revealed a similar condition. The field-glasses,
+of English make, were found slung across his shoulder, and a fully
+loaded revolver, evidently his, was discovered the next morning in the
+grass beside the road near the point where he fell. There were several
+hundred dollars in the roll of bills they found in his inside coat
+pocket.
+
+Roon was a man of fifty or thereabouts. Although both men were smooth-
+faced, there was reason to suspect that Roon at least had but recently
+worn a mustache. His upper lip had the thick, stiff look of one from
+which a beard of long-standing recently had been shaved.
+
+Later on it was learned that they purchased the two horses in
+Hornville, paying cash for the beasts and the trappings. The
+transaction took place a day or two before they came to Hart's Tavern
+for what had been announced as a short stay.
+
+Standing on Jim Conley's front porch a little after sunrise, Barnes
+made the following declaration:
+
+"Everything goes to show that these men were up here for one of two
+reasons. They were either trying to prevent or to enact a crime. The
+latter is my belief. They were afraid of me. Why? Because they
+believed I was trailing them and likely to spoil their game.
+Gentlemen, those fellows were here for the purpose of robbing the
+place you call Green Fancy."
+
+"What's that?" came a rich, mellow voice from the outskirts of the
+crowd. A man pushed his way through and confronted Barnes. He was a
+tall, good-looking fellow of thirty-five, and it was apparent that he
+had dressed in haste. "My name is O'Dowd, and I am a guest of Mr.
+Curtis at Green Fancy. Why do you think they meant to rob his place?"
+
+"Well," began Barnes drily, "it would seem that his place is the only
+one in the neighbourhood that would BEAR robbing. My name is Barnes.
+Of course, Mr. O'Dowd, it is mere speculation on my part."
+
+"But who shot the man?" demanded the Irishman. "He certainly wasn't
+winged by any one from our place. Wouldn't we have known something
+about it if he had attempted to get into the house and was nailed by--
+Why, Lord love you, sir, there isn't a soul at Green Fancy who could
+shoot a thief if he saw one. This is Mr. De Soto, also a guest at
+Green Fancy. He will, I think, bear me out in upsetting your theory."
+
+A second man approached, shaking his head vigorously. He was a thin,
+pale man with a singularly scholastic face. Quite an unprepossessing,
+unsanguinary person, thought Barnes.
+
+"Mr. Curtis's chauffeur, I think it was, said the killing occurred
+just above this house," said he, visibly excited. "Green Fancy is at
+least a mile from here, isn't it? You don't shoot burglars a mile from
+the place they are planning to rob, do you? Is the man a native of
+this community?"
+
+"No," said Barnes, on whom devolved the duties of spokesman. "By the
+way, his companion lies dead at Hart's Tavern. He was shot from his
+horse at the cross-roads."
+
+"God bless me soul," gasped O'Dowd. "The chauffeur didn't mention a
+second one. And were there two of them?"
+
+"And both of them dead?" cried De Soto. "At the cross-roads? My dear
+sir, how can you reconcile--" He broke off with a gesture of
+impatience.
+
+"I'll admit it's a bit out of reason," said Barnes. "The second man
+could only have been shot by some one who was lying in wait for him."
+
+"Why, the thing's as clear as day," cried O'Dowd, facing the crowd.
+His cheerful, sprightly face was alive with excitement. "They were not
+trying to rob any one. They were either trying to get across the
+border into Canada themselves or else trying to head some one off who
+was coming from that side of the line."
+
+"Gad, you may be right," agreed Barnes instantly. "If you'd like to
+hear more of the story I'll be happy to relate all that we know at
+present."
+
+While the coroner and the others were loading the body of Albert Roon
+into a farm wagon for conveyance to the county-seat, Barnes, who had
+taken a sudden fancy to the two men from Green Fancy, gave them a
+brief but full account of the tragedy and the result of investigations
+as far as they had gone.
+
+"Bedad," said O'Dowd, "it beats the devil. There's something big in
+this thing, Mr. Barnes,--something a long shot bigger than any of us
+suspects. The extraordinary secrecy of these fellows, their evident
+gentility, their doubtful nationality--why, bedad, it sounds like a
+penny-dreadful thriller."
+
+"You'll find that it resolves itself into a problem for Washington to
+solve," said De Soto darkly. "Nothing local about it, take my word for
+it. These men were up to some international devilment. I'm not saying
+that Germany is at the back of it, but, by Jove, I don't put anything
+beyond the beggars. They are the cleverest, most resourceful people in
+the world, damn 'em. You wait and see if I'm not right. There'll be a
+stir in Washington over this, sure as anything."
+
+"What time was it that you heard the shots up at Green Fancy?"
+ventured Barnes.
+
+"Lord love you," cried O'Dowd, "we didn't hear a sound. Mr. Curtis,
+who has insomnia the worst way, poor devil, heard them and sent some
+one out to see what all the racket was about. It wasn't till half an
+hour or so ago that De Soto and I were routed out of our peaceful
+nests and ordered,--virtually ordered, mind you,--to get up and guard
+the house. Mr. Curtis was in a pitiful state of nerves over the
+killing, and so were the ladies. 'Gad, everybody seemed to know all
+about the business except De Soto and me. The man, it seems, made such
+a devil of a racket when he came home with the news that the whole
+house was up in pajamas and peignoirs. He didn't say anything about a
+second Johnnie being shot, however. I'm glad he didn't know about it,
+for that matter. He'll be seeing one ghost for the rest of his days
+and that's enough, without having another foisted upon him."
+
+"I think I have a slight acquaintance with the chauffeur," said
+Barnes. "He gave me the most thrilling motor ride I've ever
+experienced. 'Gad, I'll never forget it."
+
+The two men looked at him, plainly perplexed.
+
+"When was all this?" inquired De Soto.
+
+"Early last evening. He took me from the cross-roads to Hart's Tavern
+in a minute and a half, I'll bet my soul."
+
+"Last evening?" said O'Dowd, something like skepticism in his tone.
+
+"Yes. He picked up your latest guest at the corners, and she insisted
+on his driving me to the Tavern before the storm broke. I've been
+terribly anxious about her. She must have been caught out in all that
+frightful--"
+
+"What's this you are saying, Mr. Barnes?" cut in De Soto, frowning.
+"No guest arrived at Green Fancy last evening, nor was one expected."
+
+Barnes stared. "Do you mean to say that she didn't get there, after
+all?"
+
+"She? A woman, was it?" demanded O'Dowd. "Bedad, if she said she was
+coming to Green Fancy she was spoofing you. Are you sure it was old
+Peter who gave you that jolly ride?"
+
+"No, I am not sure," said Barnes, uneasily. "She was afoot, having
+walked from the station below. I met her at the corners and she asked
+me if I knew how far it was to Green Fancy, or something like that.
+Said she was going there. Then along came the automobile, rattling
+down this very road,--an ancient Panhard driven by an old codger. She
+seemed to think it was all right to hop in and trust herself to him,
+although she'd never seen him before."
+
+"The antique Panhard fits in all right," said O'Dowd, "but I'm hanged
+if the woman fits at all. No such person arrived at Green Fancy last
+night."
+
+"Did you get a square look at the driver's face?" demanded De Soto.
+
+"It was almost too dark to see, but he was old, hatchet-faced, and
+spoke with an accent."
+
+"Then it couldn't have been Peter," said De Soto positively. "He's
+old, right enough, but he is as big as the side of a house, with a
+face like a full moon, and he is Yankee to his toes. By gad, Barnes,
+the plot thickens! A woman has been added to the mystery. Now, who the
+devil is she and what has become of her?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+CHARITY BEGINS FAR FROM HOME, AND A STROLL IN THE WILDWOOD FOLLOWS
+
+
+Mr. Rushcroft as furious when he arose at eleven o'clock on the
+morning after the double murder, having slept like a top through all
+of the commotion. He boomed all over the place, vocal castigations
+falling right and left on the guilty and the innocent without
+distinction. He wouldn't have missed the excitement for anything in
+the world. He didn't mind missing the breakfast he was to have had
+with Barnes, but he did feel outraged over the pusillanimous trick
+played upon him by the remaining members of his troupe. Nothing was to
+have been expected of Putnam Jones and his damnation crew; they
+wouldn't have called him if the house was afire; they would let him
+roast to death; but certainly something was due him from the members
+of his company, something better than utter abandonment!
+
+He was still deep in the sulks when he came upon Barnes, who was
+pacing the sunlit porch, deep in thought.
+
+"There will never be another opportunity like that," he groaned, at
+the close of a ten minute dissertation on the treachery of friends;
+"never in all the years to come. The driveling fools! What do I pay
+them for? To let me lie there snoring so loud that I couldn't hear
+opportunity for the noise I was making? As in everything else I
+undertake, my dear Barnes, I excel at snoring. My lung capacity is
+something amazing. It has to have an outlet. They let me lie there
+like a log while the richest publicity material that ever fell to the
+lot of an actor went to waste,--utter waste. Why, damme, sir, I could
+have made that scene in the tap-room historic; I could have made it so
+dramatic that it would have thrilled to the marrow every man, woman
+and child in the United States of America. That's what I mean. They
+allowed a chance like that to get away. Can you beat it? Tragedy at my
+very elbow,--by gad, almost nudging me, you might say,--and no one to
+tell me to get up. Think of the awful requiem I could have--But what's
+the use thinking about it now? I am so exasperated I can't think of
+anything but anathemas, so--"
+
+"I don't see how you managed to sleep through it," Barnes broke in.
+"You must have an unusually clear conscience, Mr. Rushcroft."
+
+"I haven't any conscience at all, sir," roared the star. "I had an
+unusually full stomach, that's what was the matter with me. Damme, I
+ought to have known better. I take oath now, sir, never to eat again
+as long as I live. A man who cannot govern his beastly appetite ought
+to defy it, if nothing else."
+
+"I gather from that remark that you omitted breakfast this morning."
+
+"Breakfast, sir? In God's name, I implore you not to refer to anything
+so disgusting as stewed prunes and bacon at a time like this. My mind
+is--"
+
+"How about luncheon? Will you join me at twelve-thirty?"
+
+"That's quite another matter," said Mr. Rushcroft readily. "Luncheon
+is an aesthetic tribute to the physical intelligence of man, if you
+know what I mean. I shall be delighted to join you. Twelve-thirty, did
+you say?"
+
+"It would give me great pleasure if your daughter would also grace the
+festal board."
+
+"Ahem! My daughter and I are--er--what you might say 'on the outs' at
+present. I dare say I was a trifle crusty with her this morning. She
+was a bit inconsiderate, too, I may add. As a matter of fact she told
+me to go and soak my head." Mr. Rushcroft actually blushed as he said
+it. "I don't know where the devil she learned such language, unless
+she's been overhearing the disrespectful remarks that some of these
+confounded opera house managers make when I try to argue with them
+about--But never mind! She's a splendid creature, isn't she? She has
+it born in her to be one of the greatest actresses in--"
+
+"I think it is too bad that she has to go about in the gown she wears,
+Mr. Rushcroft," said Barnes. "She's much too splendid for that. I have
+a proposition I'd like to make to you later on. I cannot make it,
+however, without consulting Miss Thackeray's feelings."
+
+"My dear fellow!" beamed Rushcroft, seizing the other's hand. "One
+frequently reads in books about it coming like this, at first sight,
+but, damme, I never dreamed that it ever really happened. Count on me!
+She ought to leave the stage, the dear child. No more fitted to it
+than an Easter lily. Her place is in the home, the--"
+
+"Good Lord, I'm not thinking of--" And Barnes, aghast, stopped before
+blurting out the words that leaped to his lips. "I mean to say, this
+is a proposition that may also affect your excellent companions, Bacon
+and Dillingford, as well as yourselves."
+
+"Abominations!" snorted Rushcroft. "I fired both of them this morning.
+They are no longer connected with my company. I won't have 'em around.
+What's more, they can't act and never will. The best bit of acting
+that Bacon ever did in his life was when he told me to go to hell a
+little while ago. I say 'acting,' mind you, because the wretch
+COULDN'T have been in earnest, and yet he gave the most convincing
+performance of his life. If I'd ever dreamed that he had it in him to
+do it so well, I'd have had the line in every play we've done since he
+joined us, author or no author."
+
+At twelve-thirty sharp, Barnes came down from his room freshly shaved
+and brushed, to find not only Mr. Rushcroft and Miss Thackeray
+awaiting him in the office, but the Messrs. Dillingford and Bacon as
+well. Putnam Jones, gloomy and preoccupied behind the counter, allowed
+his eyes to brighten a little as the latest guest of the house
+approached the group.
+
+"I've given all of 'em an hour or two off," he said genially. "Do what
+you like to 'em."
+
+Rushcroft expanded. "My good man, what the devil do you mean by a
+remark like that? Remember--"
+
+"Never mind, dad," said Miss Thackeray, lifting her chin haughtily.
+"Forgive us our trespassers as we forgive our trespasses. And
+remember, also, that poor, dear Mr. Jones is all out of sorts to-day.
+He is all keyed up over the notoriety his house is going to achieve
+before the government gets through annoying him."
+
+"See here, Miss," began Mr. Jones, threateningly, and then, overcome
+by his Yankee shrewdness, stopped as suddenly as he started. "Go on in
+and have your dinner. Don't mind me. I am out of sorts." He was smart
+enough to realise that it was wiser to have the good rather than the
+ill-will of these people. He dreaded the inquiry that was imminent.
+
+"That's better," mumbled Mr. Rushcroft, partially mollified. "I took
+the liberty, old fellow," he went on, addressing Barnes, "of asking my
+excellent co-workers to join us in our repast. In all my career I have
+not known more capable, intelligent players than these--"
+
+"Delighted to have you with us, gentlemen," said Barnes affably. "In
+fact, I was going to ask Mr. Rushcroft if he had the slightest
+objection to including you--"
+
+"Oh, the row's all over," broke in Mr. Dillingford magnanimously. "It
+didn't amount to anything. I'm sure if Mr. Rushcroft doesn't object to
+us, we don't object to him."
+
+"Peace reigns throughout the land," said Mr. Bacon, in his deepest
+bass. "Precede us, my dear Miss Thackeray."
+
+The sole topic of conversation for the first half hour was the
+mysterious slaying of their fellow lodgers. Mr. Rushcroft complained
+bitterly of the outrageous, high-handed action of the coroner and
+sheriff in imposing upon him and his company the same restrictions
+that had been applied to Barnes. They were not to leave the county
+until the authorities gave the word. One would have thought, to hear
+the star's indignant lamentations, that he and his party were in a
+position to depart when they pleased. It would have been difficult to
+imagine that he was not actually rolling in money instead of being
+absolutely penniless.
+
+"What were these confounded rascals to me?" he demanded, scowling at
+Miss Tilly as if she were solely to blame for his misfortune. "Why
+should I be held up in this God-forsaken place because a couple of
+scoundrels got their just deserts? Why, I repeat? I'd--"
+
+"I--I'm sure I--I don't know," stammered Miss Tilly, wetting her dry
+lips with her tongue in an attempt to be lucid.
+
+"What?" exploded Mr. Rushcroft, somewhat taken aback by the retort
+from an unexpected quarter. "Upon my soul, I--I--What?"
+
+"He won't bite, Miss Tilly," said Miss Thackeray soothingly.
+
+"Oh, dear!" said Miss Tilly, putting her hand over her mouth.
+
+Barnes had been immersed in his own thoughts for some time. A slight
+frown, as of reflection, darkened his eyes. Suddenly,--perhaps
+impolitely,--he interrupted Mr. Rushcroft's flow of eloquence.
+
+"Have you any objection, Mr. Rushcroft, to a more or less personal
+question concerning your own private--er--misfortunes?" he asked,
+leaning forward.
+
+For a moment one could have heard a pin drop. Mr. Rushcroft evidently
+held his breath. There could be no mistake about that.
+
+"I don't mean to be offensive," Barnes made haste to add.
+
+"My misfortunes are not private," said Mr. Rushcroft, with dignity.
+"They are decidedly public. Ask all the questions you please, my dear
+fellow."
+
+"Well, it's rather delicate, but would you mind telling me just how
+much you were stuck up for by the--er--was it a writ of attachment?"
+
+"It was," said the star. "A writ of inquisition, you might as well
+substitute. The act of a polluted, impecunious, parsimonious,--what
+shall I say? Well, I will be as simple as possible: hotel keeper. In
+other words, a damnation blighter, sir. Ninety-seven dollars and forty
+cents. For that pitiful amount he subjected me to--"
+
+"Well, that isn't so bad," said Barnes, vastly relieved. "It would
+require that amount to square everything and release your personal
+effects?"
+
+"It would release the whole blooming production," put in Mr.
+Dillingford, with unction. "Including my dress suit and a top hat, to
+say nothing of a change of linen and--"
+
+"Two wood exteriors and a parlor set, make-up boxes, wardrobe trunks,
+a slide trombone and--" mused Mr. Bacon, and would have gone on but
+for Barnes' interruption.
+
+He was covertly watching Miss Thackeray's half-averted face as he
+ventured upon the proposition he had decided to put before them. She
+was staring out of the window, and there was a strained, almost
+harassed expression about the corners of her mouth. The glimpse he had
+of her dark eyes revealed something sullen, rebellious in them. She
+had taken no part in the conversation for some time.
+
+"I am prepared and willing to advance this amount, Mr. Rushcroft, and
+to take your personal note as security."
+
+Rushcroft leaned back in his chair and stuck his thumbs in the arm
+holes of his vest. He displayed no undue elation. Instead he affected
+profound calculation. His daughter shot a swift, searching look at the
+would-be Samaritan. There was a heightened colour in her cheeks.
+
+"Ahem," said Rushcroft, squinting at the ceiling beams.
+
+"Moreover, I shall be happy to increase the amount of the loan
+sufficiently to cover your return at once to New York, if you so
+desire,--by train." Barnes smiled as he added the last two words.
+
+"Extremely kind of you, my dear Barnes," said the actor, running his
+fingers through his hair. "Your faith in me is most gratifying. I--I
+really don't know what to say to you, sir."
+
+"Of course, Mr. Barnes, you ought to know that you may be a long time
+in getting your money back," said his daughter levelly. "We are poor
+pay."
+
+"My dear child," began Mr. Rushcroft, amazed.
+
+"I shall permit your father himself to specify the number of months or
+years to be written in the body of the note," said Barnes.
+
+"And if he never pays, what then?" said she.
+
+"I shall not trouble him with demands for the money," said Barnes.
+
+"May I inquire just how you expect to profit by this transaction, Mr.
+Barnes?" she asked steadily.
+
+He started, suddenly catching her meaning.
+
+"My dear Miss Thackeray," he exclaimed, "this transaction is solely
+between your father and me. I shall have no other claim to press."
+
+"I wish I could believe that," she said.
+
+"You may believe it," he assured her.
+
+"It isn't the usual course," she said quietly, and her face
+brightened. "You are not like most men, Mr. Barnes."
+
+"My dear child," said Rushcroft, "you must leave this matter to our
+friend and me. I fancy I know an honest man when I see him. My dear
+fellow, fortune is but temporarily frowning upon me. In a few weeks I
+shall be on my feet again, zipping along on the crest of the wave. I
+dare say I can return the money to you in a month or six weeks. If--"
+
+"Oh, father!" cried Miss Thackeray.
+
+"We'll make it six months, and I'll pay any rate of interest you
+desire. Six per cent, eight per cent, ten per--"
+
+"Six per cent, sir, and we will make it a year from date."
+
+"Agreed. And now, Miss Tilly, will you ask the barmaid,--who happens
+to be masculine,--to step in here and take the orders? We would drink
+to Dame Fortune, who has a smile that defies all forms of adversity.
+Out of the clouds falls a slice of silver lining. It alights in my
+trembling palm. I--I--Damme, sir, you are a nobleman! In behalf of my
+daughter, my company and the--Heaven forfend! I was about to add the
+accursed management!--I thank you. Get up and dance for us, Dilly! We
+shall be in New York to-morrow!"
+
+"You forget the dictatorial sheriff, Mr. Rushcroft," said Barnes.
+
+"The varlet!" barked Mr. Rushcroft.
+
+It was arranged that Dillingford and Bacon were to go to Hornville in
+a hired motor that afternoon, secure the judgment, pay the costs, and
+attend to the removal of the personal belongings of the stranded
+quartette from the hotel to Hart's Tavern. The younger actors stoutly
+refused to accept Barnes' offer to pay their board while at the
+Tavern. That, they declared, would be charity, and they preferred his
+friendship and his respect to anything of that sort. Miss Thackeray,
+however, was to be immediately relieved of her position as
+chambermaid. She was to become a paying guest.
+
+"I'll be glad to have my street togs, such as they are," said she,
+rosily. "I dare say you are sick of seeing me in this rig, Mr. Barnes.
+That's probably why you opened your heart and purse."
+
+"Not at all," said he gaily. "As I presume I shall have to remain here
+for some time, I deem it my right to improve the service as much as
+possible. You are a very incompetent chambermaid, Miss Thackeray."
+
+Rushcroft took the whole affair with the most noteworthy complacency.
+He seemed to regard it as his due, or more properly speaking as if he
+were doing Barnes a great favour in allowing him to lend money to a
+person of his importance.
+
+"A thought has just come to me, my dear fellow," he remarked, as they
+arose from table. "With the proper kind of backing I could put over
+one of the most stupendous things the theatre has known in fifty
+years. I don't mind saying to you,--although it's rather sub rosa--
+that I have written a play. A four act drama that will pack the
+biggest house on Broadway to the roof for as many months as we'd care
+to stay. Perhaps you will allow me to talk it over with you a little
+later on. You will be interested, I'm sure. I actually shudder
+sometimes when I think of the filthy greenbacks I'll have to carry
+around on my person if the piece ever gets into New York. Yes, yes,
+I'll be glad to talk it over with you. Egad, sir, I'll read the play
+to you. I'll--What ho, landlord! When my luggage arrives this evening
+will you be good enough to have it placed in the room just vacated by
+the late Mr. Roon? My daughter will have the room adjoining, sir. By
+the way, will you have your best automobile sent around to the door as
+quickly as possible? A couple of my men are going to Hornville--damned
+spot!--to fetch hither my--"
+
+"Just a minute," interrupted Putnam Jones, wholly unimpressed. "A man
+just called you up on the 'phone, Mr. Barnes. I told him you was
+entertaining royalty at lunch and couldn't be disturbed. So he asked
+me to have you call him up as soon as you revived. His words, not
+mine. Call up Mr. O'Dowd at Green Fancy. Here's the number."
+
+The mellow voice of the Irishman soon responded.
+
+"I called you up to relieve your mind regarding the young woman who
+came last night," he said. "You observe that I say 'came.' She's quite
+all right, safe and sound, and no cause for uneasiness. I thought you
+meant that she was coming here as a guest, and so I made the very
+natural mistake of saying she hadn't come at all, at all. The young
+woman in question is Mrs. Van Dyke's maid. But bless me soul, how was
+I to know she was even in existence, much less expected by train or
+motor or Shanks' mare? Well, she's here, so there's the end of our
+mystery. We sha'n't have to follow your gay plan of searching the
+wilderness for beauty in distress. Our romance is spoiled, and I am
+sorry to say it to you. You were so full of it this morning that you
+had me all stirred up meself."
+
+Barnes was slow in replying. He was doubting his own ears. It was not
+conceivable that an ordinary--or even an extraordinary--lady's maid
+could have possessed the exquisite voice and manner of his chance
+acquaintance of the day before, or the temerity to order that sour-
+faced chauffeur about as if--The chauffeur!
+
+"But I thought you said that Mr. Curtis's chauffeur was moon-faced
+and--"
+
+"He is, bedad," broke in Mr. O'Dowd, chuckling. "That's what deceived
+me entirely, and no wonder. It wasn't Peter at all, but the
+rapscallion washer who went after her. He was instructed to tell Peter
+to meet the four o'clock train, and the blockhead forgot to give the
+order. Bedad, what does he do but sneak out after her himself, scared
+out of his boots for fear of what he was to get from Peter. I had the
+whole story from Mrs. Van Dyke."
+
+"Well, I'm tremendously relieved," said Barnes slowly.
+
+"And so am I," said O'Dowd, with conviction. "I have seen the heroine
+of our busted romance. She's a good-looking girl. I'm not surprised
+that she kept her veil down. If you were to leave it to me, though,
+I'd say that it's a sin to carry discretion so far as all that. I
+thought I'd take the liberty of calling you up as soon as I had the
+facts, so that you wouldn't go forth in knightly ardour--You see what
+I mean, don't you?" His rich laugh came over the wire.
+
+"Perfectly. Thank you for letting me know. My mind is at rest."
+
+"Will you be staying on for some days at the Tavern?"
+
+"I think so."
+
+"Well, I shall give myself the pleasure of running over to see you in
+a day or so."
+
+"Do," said Barnes. "Good by." As he hung up the receiver he said to
+himself, "You are a most affable, convincing chap, Mr. O'Dowd, but I
+don't believe a word you say. That woman is no lady's maid, and you've
+known all the time that she was there."
+
+At four o'clock he set out alone for a tramp up the mountain road in
+which the two men had been shot down. A number of men under the
+direction of the sheriff were scouring the lofty timberland for the
+deadly marksmen. He knew it would turn out to be as futile as the
+proverbial effort to find the needle in the haystack.
+
+His mind was quite clear on the subject. Roon and Paul were not
+ordinary robbers. They were, no doubt, honest men. He would have said
+that they were thieves bent on burglarising Green Fancy were it not
+for the disclosures of Miss Thackeray and the very convincing proof
+that they were not shot by the same man. Detected on the grounds about
+Green Fancy by a watchman, they would have had an encounter with him
+there and then. Moreover, they would have taken an active part in the
+play of firearms. Desperadoes would not have succumbed so tamely.
+
+It was not beyond reason,--indeed, it was quite probable,--that they
+were trying to cross the border; in that event, their real operations
+would be confined to the Canadian side of the line. They were
+unmistakably foreigners. That fact, in itself, went far toward
+establishing in his mind the conviction that they were not attempting
+to intercept any one coming from the other side. Equally as strong was
+the belief that the Canadian authorities would not have entered upon
+United States territory for the purpose of apprehending these
+suspects, no matter how thoroughly the movements and motives of the
+two men might have been known to them.
+
+He could not free himself of the suspicion that Green Fancy possessed
+the key to the situation. Roon and his companion could not have had
+the slightest interest in his movements up to the instant he
+encountered the young woman at the cross-roads. It was ridiculous to
+even consider himself an object of concern to these men who had been
+haunting the border for days prior to his appearance on the scene.
+They were interested only in the advent of the woman, and as her
+destination confessedly was Green Fancy, what could be more natural
+than the conclusion that their plans, evil or otherwise, depended
+entirely upon her arrival at the strange house on the mountainside?
+They had been awaiting her appearance for days. The instant it became
+known to them that she was installed at Green Fancy, their plans went
+forward with a swiftness that bespoke complete understanding.
+
+His busy brain suddenly suffered the shock of a distinct conclusion.
+So startling was the thought that he stopped abruptly in his walk and
+uttered an exclamation of dismay. Was she a fellow-conspirator? Was
+she the inside worker at Green Fancy in a well-laid plan to rifle the
+place? She too was unmistakably a foreigner.
+
+Could it be possible that she was the confederate of these painstaking
+agents who lurked with sinister patience outside the very gates of the
+place called Green Fancy?
+
+In support of this theory was the supposition that O'Dowd may have
+been perfectly sincere in his declarations over the telephone. Opposed
+to it, however, was the absolute certainty that Roon and Paul were
+waylaid and killed at widely separated points, and not while actively
+employed in raiding the house. That was the rock over which all of his
+theories stumbled.
+
+His ramble carried him far beyond the spot where Roon's body was found
+and where young Conley had come upon the tethered horses. His eager,
+curious gaze swept the forest to the left of the road in search of
+Green Fancy. Overcome by a rash, daring impulse, he climbed over the
+stake and rider fence and sauntered among the big trees which so far
+had obscured the house from view. He had looked in vain for the lane
+or avenue leading from the road up to Mr. Curtis's house. He could not
+have passed it in his stroll, of that he was sure, and yet he
+remembered distinctly seeing O'Dowd and De Soto turn their horses into
+the forest at a point far back of the place where he now entered the
+grounds.
+
+The trees grew very thickly on the slope, and they were unusually
+large. Virgin timber, he decided, on which the woodman's axe had made
+no inroads. The foliage was dense. Tree tops seemed to intermingle in
+one vast canopy through which the sun but rarely penetrated. The
+bright green of the grass, the sponginess of the soil, the presence of
+great stretches of ferns and beds of moss told of almost perpetual
+moisture. Strangely enough there was no suggestion of dankness in
+these shadowy glades, rich with the fulness of early Spring.
+
+He progressed deeper into the wood. At the end of what must have been
+a mile, he halted. There was no sign of habitation, no indication that
+man had ever penetrated so far into the forest. As he was on the point
+of retracing his steps toward the road, his gaze fell upon a huge
+moss-covered rock less than a hundred yards away. He stared, and
+gradually it began to take on angles and planes and recesses of the
+most astounding symmetry. Under his widening gaze it was transformed
+into a substantial object of cubes and gables and--yes, windows.
+
+He was looking upon the strange home of the even stranger Mr. Curtis:
+Green Fancy.
+
+Now he understood why it was called Green Fancy. Its surroundings were
+no greener than itself; it seemed to melt into the foliage, to become
+a part of the natural landscape. For a long time he stood stock-still,
+studying the curious structure. Mountain ivy literally enveloped it.
+Exposed sections of the house were painted green,--a mottled green
+that seemed to indicate flickering sunbeams against an emerald wall.
+The doors were green; the leafy porches and their columns, the chimney
+pots, the window hangings,--all were the colour of the unchanging
+forest. And it was a place of huge dimensions, low and long and
+rambling. It seemed to have been forcibly jammed into the steep slope
+that shot high above its chimneys; the mountain hung over its vine
+clad roof, an ominous threat of oblivion.
+
+There was no lawn, no indication of landscape gardening, and yet
+Barnes was singularly impressed by the arrangement of the shrubbery
+that surrounded the place. There was no visible approach to the house
+through the thick, unbroken sea of green; everywhere was dense
+underbrush, standing higher than the head of the tallest of men,--
+clean, bright bushes, revealing the most astonishing uniformity in
+size and character.
+
+"'Gad," he said to himself, "what manner of crank is he who would bury
+himself like this? Of all the crazy ideas I ever--"
+
+His reflections ended there. A woman crossed his vision; a woman
+strolling slowly toward him through the intricate avenues of the
+wildwood.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+SPUN-GOLD HAIR, BLUE EYES, AND VARIOUS ENCOUNTERS
+
+
+She was quite unaware of his presence, and yet he was directly in her
+path, though some distance away. Her head was bent; her mien was
+thoughtful, her stride slow and aimless.
+
+The azure blue of the sweater she wore presented an inharmonious note
+on the field of velvety green;--it was strangely out of place, he
+thought,--almost an offence to the eye. He was conscious of an instant
+protest against this profanation.
+
+She was slender, graceful and evidently quite tall, although she
+seemed a pigmy among the towering giants that attended her stroll. Her
+hands were thrust deep into the pockets of a white duck skirt. A
+glance revealed white shoes and trim ankles in blue. She wore no hat.
+Her hair was like spun gold, thick, wavy and shimmering in the subdued
+light.
+
+Suddenly she stopped, and looked up. He had a full view of her face as
+she gazed about as if startled by some unexpected, even alarming,
+sound. For a second or two he held his breath, stunned by the amazing
+loveliness that was revealed to him. Then she discovered him standing
+there.
+
+He was never to forget the expression that came into her eyes; nor had
+he ever seen eyes so blue. Alarm gave way to bewilderment as she
+stared at the motionless intruder not thirty feet away. Then, to his
+utter astonishment, her lips parted and a faint, wondering smile came
+into her eyes. His heart leaped. She recognised him!
+
+In a flash he realised that he was face to face with the stranger of
+the day before,--she of the veil, the alluring voice, the unfaltering
+spirits, and the weighty handbag!
+
+He took two or three impulsive steps forward, his hand going to his
+hat,--and then halted. Evidently his senses had deceived him. There
+was no smile in her eyes,--and yet he could have sworn that it was
+there an instant before. Instead, there was a level stare.
+
+"I am sorry if I startled--" he began.
+
+The figure of a man appeared, as if discharged bodily from some magic
+tree-trunk, and stood directly in his path: A tall, rugged man in
+overalls was he, who held a spade in his hand and eyed him inimically.
+Without another glance in his direction, the first and more pleasing
+vision turned on her heel and continued her stroll, sauntering off to
+the right, her fair head once more bent in study, her back eloquently
+indifferent to the gaze that followed her.
+
+"Who do you want to see?" inquired the man with the spade.
+
+Before Barnes could reply, a hearty voice accosted him from behind. He
+whirled and saw O'Dowd approaching, not twenty yards away. The
+Irishman's face was aglow with pleasure.
+
+"I knew I couldn't be mistaken in the shape of you," he cried,
+advancing with outstretched hand. "You've got the breadth of a dock-
+hand in your shoulders, and the trimness of a prize-fighter in your
+waist."
+
+They shook hands. "I fear I am trespassing," said Barnes. His glance
+went over his shoulder as he spoke. The man with the spade had been
+swallowed up by the earth! He could not have vanished more quickly in
+any other way. Off among the trees there were intermittent flashes of
+blue and white.
+
+"I am quite sure you are," said O'Dowd promptly, but without a trace
+of unfriendliness in his manner. "Bedad, loving him as I do, I can't
+help saying that Curtis is a bally old crank. Mind ye, I'd say it to
+his face,--I often do, for the matter of that. Of course," he went on
+seriously, "he is a sick man, poor devil. I have the unholy courage to
+call him a chronic crank every once in awhile, and the best thing I
+can say for his health is that he grins when I say it to him. You see,
+I've known him for a dozen years and more, and he likes me, though God
+knows why, unless it may be that I once did his son a good turn in
+London."
+
+"Sufficient excuse for reparation, I should say," smiled Barnes.
+
+"I introduced the lad to me only sister," said O'Dowd, "and she kept
+him happy for the next ten years. No doubt, I also provided Mr. Curtis
+with three grandchildren he might never have had but for my
+graciousness. As for that, I let meself in for three of the most
+prodigious nephews a man ever had, God bless them. I'll show you a
+photograph of them if ye'd care to look." He opened the back of his
+watch and held it out to Barnes. "Nine, seven and five, and all of
+them as bright as Gladstone."
+
+"They must be stunning," said Barnes warmly.
+
+"They'll make a beggar of me, if I live long enough," groaned O'Dowd.
+"It beats the deuce how childer as young as they are can have
+discovered what a doddering fool their uncle is. Bedad, the smallest
+of them knows it. The very instant I pretend to be a sensible,
+provident, middle-aged gentleman he shows me up most shamelessly.
+'Twas only a couple of months ago that his confounded blandishments
+wiggled a sixty-five dollar fire engine out of me. He squirted water
+all over the drawing-room furniture, and I haven't been allowed to put
+foot into the house since. My own darlin' sister refused to look at me
+for a week, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she changed me
+namesake's title to something less enfuriating than William." A look
+of distress came into his merry eyes. "By Jove, I'd like nothing
+better than to ask you in to have a dish of tea,--it's tea-time, I'm
+sure,--but I'd no more think of doing it than I'd consider cutting off
+me head. He doesn't like strangers. He--"
+
+"My dear fellow, don't distress yourself," cried Barnes heartily.
+"There isn't the least reason in the world why--"
+
+"You see, the poor old chap asks us up here once or twice a year,--
+that is to say, De Soto and me,--to keep his sister from filling the
+house up with men he can't endure. So long as we occupy the only
+available rooms, he argues, she can't stuff them full of
+objectionables. Twice a year she comes for a month, in the late fall
+and early spring. He's very fond of her, and she stands by him like a
+major."
+
+"Why does he continue to live in this out-of-the-world spot, Mr.
+O'Dowd? He is an old man, I take it, and ill."
+
+"You wouldn't be wondering if you knew the man," said O'Dowd. "He is a
+scholar, a dreamer, a sufferer. He doesn't believe in doctors. He says
+they're all rascals. They'd keep him alive just for the sake of what
+they could get out of him. So he's up here to die in peace, when his
+time comes, and he hopes it will come soon. He doesn't want it
+prolonged by a grasping, greedy doctor man. It's his kidneys, you
+know. He's not a very old man at that. Not more than sixty-five."
+
+"He certainly has a fanciful streak in him, building a place like
+that," said Barnes, looking not at the house but into the thicket
+above. There was no sign of the blue and white and the spun gold that
+still defied exclusion from his mind's eye. He had not recovered from
+the thrall into which the vision of loveliness plunged him. He was
+still a trifle dazed and distraught.
+
+"Right you are," agreed O'Dowd; "the queerest streak in the world.
+It's his notion of simplicity. I wish you could see the inside of the
+place. You'd wonder to what exalted heights his ideas of magnificence
+would carry him if he calls this simplicity. He loves it all, he dotes
+on it. It's the only joy he knows, this bewildering creation of his.
+For nearly three years he has not been more than a stone's throw from
+the walls of that house. I doubt if he's been as far as the spot where
+we're standing now."
+
+"Green Fancy. Is that the name he gave the place or does it spring
+from--"
+
+"'Twas christened by me own sister, Mr. Barnes, the first time she was
+here, two years ago. I'll walk with you to the fence beyond if you've
+no objections," said O'Dowd, genially, and linked his arm through that
+of Barnes.
+
+The latter was at once subtly aware of the fact that he was being
+deliberately conducted from the grounds. Moreover, he was now
+convinced that O'Dowd had been close upon his heels from the instant
+he entered them. There was something uncanny in the feeling that
+possessed him. Such espionage as this signified something deep and
+imperative in the presence not only of O'Dowd but the Jack-in-the-box
+gardener a few minutes earlier. He had the grim suspicion that he
+would later on encounter the spectacled De Soto.
+
+His mind was still full of the lovely stranger about whom O'Dowd had
+so manifestly lied over the telephone.
+
+"I must ask you to apologise to the young lady on whom I blundered a
+few moments ago, Mr. O'Dowd. She must have been startled. Pray convey
+to her my solicitude and excuses."
+
+"Consider it done, my dear sir," said the Irishman. "Our most charming
+and seductive guest," he went on. "Bedad, of the two of you, I'll
+stake me head you were startled the most. Coming suddenly upon such
+rare loveliness is almost equivalent to being struck by a bolt of
+lightning. It did something like that to me when I saw her for the
+first time a couple of weeks ago. I didn't get over it for the better
+part of a day,--I can't say that I really got over it at all. More
+than one painter of portraits has said that she is the most beautiful
+woman in the world. I don't take much stock in portrait painters, but
+I'm always fair to the lords of creation when their opinions coincide
+with mine. Mayhap you have heard of her. She is Miss Cameron of New
+Orleans, a friend of Mrs. Van Dyke. We have quite an enchanting house-
+party, Mr. Barnes, if you consider no more than the feminine side of
+it. Unfortunate creatures! To be saddled with such ungainly lummixes
+as De Soto and me! By the way, have you heard when the coroner is to
+hold his inquests?"
+
+"Nothing definite. He may wait a week," said Barnes.
+
+"I suppose you'll stick around until it's all over," ventured O'Dowd.
+Barnes thought he detected a slight harshness in his voice.
+
+"I have quite made up my mind to stay until the mystery is entirely
+cleared up," he said. "The case is so interesting that I don't want to
+miss a shred of it."
+
+"I don't blame ye," said O'Dowd heartily. "I'd like nothing better
+meself than to mix up in it, but, Lord love ye, if I turned detective
+I'd also be turned out of the spare bed-room beyond, and sped on me
+way with curses. Well, here we are. The next time you plan to pay us a
+visit, telephone in advance. I may be able to persuade my host that
+you're a decent, law-abiding, educated gentleman, and he'll consent to
+receive you at Green Fancy. Good day to ye," and he shook hands with
+the departing trespasser.
+
+A quarter of a mile below the spot where he parted from O'Dowd, Barnes
+caught a glimpse of De Soto sauntering among the trees. He smiled to
+himself. It was just what he had expected.
+
+"Takin' a walk?" was the landlord's greeting as he mounted the tavern
+steps at dusk. Putnam Jones's gaunt figure had been discernible for
+some time, standing motionless at the top of the steps.
+
+"Going over the ground of last night's affair," responded Barnes,
+pausing. "Any word from the sheriff and his party?"
+
+"Nope. The blamed fools are still up there turnin' over all the loose
+stones they c'n find," said Jones sarcastically. "Did you get a
+glimpse of Green Fancy?"
+
+Barnes nodded. "I strolled a little distance into the woods," he said
+briefly.
+
+"I wouldn't do it again," said Jones. "Strangers ain't welcome. I
+might have told you as much if I'd thought you were going up that way.
+Mr. Curtis notified me a long while ago to warn my guests not to set
+foot on his grounds, under penalty of the law."
+
+"Well, I escaped without injury," laughed Barnes. "No one took a shot
+at me."
+
+As he entered the door he was acutely aware of an intense stare
+levelled at him from behind by the landlord of Hart's Tavern. Half way
+up the stairway he stopped short, and with difficulty repressed the
+exclamation that rose to his lips.
+
+He had recalled a significant incident of the night before. Almost
+immediately after the departure of Roon and Paul from the Tavern,
+Putnam Jones had made his way to the telephone behind the desk, and
+had called for a number in a loud, brisk voice, but the subsequent
+conversation was carried on in subdued tones, attended by haste and
+occasional furtive glances in the direction of the tap-room.
+
+Upon reaching his room, Barnes permitted the suppressed emotion to
+escape his lips in the shape of a soft whistle, which if it could have
+been translated into words would have said: "By Gad, why haven't I
+thought of it before? He sent out the warning that Roon and Paul were
+on the way! And I'd like to bet my last dollar that some one at Green
+Fancy had the other end of the wire."
+
+Mr. Rushcroft stalked majestically into his room while he was shaving,
+without taking the trouble to knock at the door, and in his most
+impressive manner announced that if there was another hostelry within
+reasonable distance he would move himself, his luggage and his entire
+company out of Putnam Jones's incomprehensible house.
+
+"Why, sir," he declared, "the man is not only a knave but a fool. He
+flatly declines the prodigious offer I have made for the corner rooms
+at the end of the corridor. In fact, he refuses to transfer my
+daughter and me from our present quarters into what might be called
+the royal suite if one were disposed to be facetious. The confounded
+blockhead insists on seeing the colour of my money in advance." He sat
+down on the edge of the bed, dejectedly. "My daughter, perversity
+personified, takes the extraordinary stand that the wretch is right.
+She agrees with him. She has even gone so far as to say, to my face,
+that beggars cannot be choosers, although I must give her credit for
+not using the expression in the scoundrel's presence. 'Pon my soul,
+Barnes, I have never been so sorely tried in all my life. Emma,--I
+should say, Mercedes,--denounces me to my face. She says I am a
+wastrel, a profligate,--(there I have her, however, for she failed to
+consult the dictionary before applying the word to me),--an ingrate,
+and a lot of other things I fail to recall in my dismay. She contends
+that I have no right to do what I please with my own money. Indeed,
+she goes so far as to say that I haven't any money at all. I have
+tried to explain to her the very simple principles upon which all
+financial transactions are based, but she remains as obtuse as
+Cleopatra's Needle. Her ignorance would be pitiful if she wasn't so
+damned obstinate about it. And to cap the climax, she had the
+insolence to ask me to show her a dollar in real money. By gad, sir,
+she's as unreasonable as Putnam Jones himself."
+
+Barnes gallantly came to the daughter's defense. He was more than
+pleased by the father's revelations. They proved her to be possessed
+of fine feelings and a genuine sense of appreciation.
+
+"As a matter of fact, Mr. Rushcroft, I think she is quite right," he
+said flatly. "It isn't a bad idea to practice economy."
+
+"My dear sir," said Rushcroft peevishly, "where would I be now in my
+profession if I had practiced economy at the expense of progress?"
+
+"I don't know," confessed Barnes, much too promptly.
+
+"I can tell you, sir. I would be nowhere at all. I would not be the
+possessor of a name that is known from one end of this land to the
+other, a name that guarantees to the public the most elaborate
+productions known to--"
+
+"Pardon me," interrupted the other; "it doesn't get you anywhere with
+Putnam Jones, and that is the issue at present. The government puts
+the portrait of George Washington on one of its greenbacks but his
+face and name wouldn't be worth the tenth of a penny if the United
+States went bankrupt. As it is, however, if you were to go downstairs
+and proffer one of those bills to Putnam Jones he would make his most
+elaborate bow and put you into the best room in the house. George
+Washington has backing that even Mr. Jones cannot despise. So, you
+see, your daughter is right. Your name and face is yet to be stamped
+on a government bank note, Mr. Rushcroft, and until that time comes
+you are no better off than I or any of the rest of the unfortunates
+who, being still alive, have to eat for a living."
+
+"You speak in parables," said Mr. Rushcroft, arising. "Am I to assume
+that you wish to withdraw your offer to lend me--"
+
+"Not at all," said Barnes. "My desire to stake you to the comforts and
+dignity your station deserves remains unchanged. If you will bear with
+me until I have finished shaving I will go with you to Mr. Jones and
+show him the colour of your money."
+
+Mr. Rushcroft grinned shamelessly. "My daughter was right when she
+said another thing to me," he observed, sitting down once more.
+
+"She appears to be more or less infallible."
+
+"A woman in a million," said the star. "She said that I wouldn't make
+a hit with you if I attempted to put on too much side. I perceive that
+she was right,--as usual."
+
+"Absolutely," said Barnes, with decision.
+
+"So I'll cut it out," remarked Rushcroft quaintly. "I will be
+everlastingly grateful to you, Mr. Barnes, if you'll fix things up
+with Jones. God knows when or whether I can ever reimburse you, but as
+I am not really a dead-beat the time will certainly come when I may
+begin paying in installments. Do we understand each other?"
+
+"We do," said Barnes, and started downstairs with him.
+
+Half an hour later Barnes succeeded in striking a bargain with Putnam
+Jones. He got the two rooms at the end of the hall at half price,
+insisting that it was customary for every hotel to give actors a
+substantial reduction in rates.
+
+"You shall be treasurer and business-manager in my reorganized
+company," said Rushcroft. "With your acumen and my eccentricity united
+in a common cause we will stagger the universe."
+
+Despite his rehabilitation as a gentleman of means and independence,
+Mr. Rushcroft could not forego the pleasure of staggering a small
+section of the world that very night. He was giving Hamlet's address
+to the players in the tap-room when Barnes came downstairs at nine
+o'clock. Bacon and Dillingford having returned earlier in the evening
+with the trunks, bags and other portable chattels of the defunct
+"troupe," Mr. Rushcroft was performing in a sadly wrinkled Norfolk
+suit of grey which Dillingford was under solemn injunction to press
+before breakfast the next morning.
+
+"I know I don't have to do it," said the star, catching the surprised
+look in Barnes's eye and pausing to explain, sotto voce, "but I hadn't
+the heart to refuse. They're eating it up, my dear fellow. Up to this
+instant they've been sitting with their mouths wide open while I
+hurled it, word after word, into their very vitals. "Whereupon he
+resumed the sonorous monologue, glowering balefully upon his
+transfixed hearers.
+
+Barnes, leaning against the door-jamb, listened with an amused smile
+on his lips. His gaze swept the rapt faces of the dozen or more
+customers seated at the tables, and he found himself wondering if one
+of these men was the father of the little girl whose mother had
+described Hart's Tavern as a "shindy." Was it only yesterday that he
+had spoken with the barefoot child? An age seemed to have passed since
+that brief encounter.
+
+Rushcroft ended Hamlet's speech in fine style, and almost instantly a
+mild voice from the crowd asked if he knew "Casey at the Bat." Not in
+the least distressed by this woeful commentary, Mr. Rushcroft
+cheerfully, obligingly tackled the tragic fizzle of the immortal
+Casey.
+
+A small, dark man who sat alone at a table in the corner, caught
+Barnes's eye and smiled almost mournfully. He was undoubtedly a
+stranger; his action was meant to convey to Barnes the information
+that he too was from a distant and sophisticated community, and that a
+bond of sympathy existed between them.
+
+Putnam Jones spoke suddenly at Barnes's shoulder. He started
+involuntarily. The man was beginning to get on his nerves. He seemed
+to be dogging his footsteps with ceaseless persistency.
+
+"That feller over there in the corner," said Jones, softly, "is a
+book-agent from your town. He sold me a set of Dickens when he was
+here last time, about six weeks ago. A year's subscription to two
+magazines throwed in. By gosh, these book-agents are slick ones. I
+didn't want that set of Dickens any more'n I wanted a last year's
+bird's nest. The thing I'm afraid of is that he'll talk me into taking
+a set of Scott before he moves on. He's got me sweatin' already."
+
+"He's a shrewd looking chap," commented Barnes.
+
+"Says he won't be satisfied till he's made this section of the country
+the most cultured, refined spot in the United States," said Jones
+dolefully. "He brags about how much he did toward makin' Boston the
+literary centre of the United States, him and his father before him.
+Together, he says, they actually elevated Boston from the bottomless
+pit of ignorance and----Excuse me. There goes the telephone. Maybe
+it's news from the sheriff."
+
+With the spasmodic tinkling of the telephone bell, the book-agent
+arose and made his way to the little office. As he passed Barnes, he
+winked broadly, and said, out of the corner of his mouth:
+
+"He'd make DeWolf Hopper look sick, wouldn't he?"
+
+Barnes glanced over his shoulder a moment later and saw the book-agent
+studying the register. The poise of his sleek head, however, suggested
+a listening attitude. Putnam Jones, not four feet away, was speaking
+into the telephone receiver. As the receiver was restored to its hook,
+Barnes turned again. Jones and the book-agent were examining the
+register, their heads almost meeting from opposite sides of the desk.
+
+The latter straightened up, stretched his arms, yawned, and announced
+in a loud tone that he guessed he'd step out and get a bit of fresh
+air before turning in.
+
+"Any news?" inquired Barnes, approaching the desk after the door had
+closed behind the book-agent.
+
+"It wasn't the sheriff," replied Jones shortly, and immediately
+resumed his interrupted discourse on books, book-agents and the
+reclamation of Boston. Ten minutes elapsed before the landlord's
+garrulity was checked by the sound of an automobile coming to a stop
+in front of the house. Barnes turned expectantly toward the door.
+Almost immediately the car started up again, with a loud shifting of
+gears, and a moment later the door opened to admit, not a fresh
+arrival, but the little book-agent.
+
+"Party trying to make Hornville to-night," he announced casually.
+"Well, good night. See you in the morning."
+
+Barnes was not in a position to doubt the fellow's word, for the car
+unmistakably had gone on toward Hornville. He waited a few minutes
+after the man disappeared up the narrow stairway, and then proceeded
+to test his powers of divination. He was as sure as he could be sure
+of anything that had not actually come to pass, that in a short time
+the automobile would again pass the tavern but this time from the
+direction of Hornville.
+
+Lighting a cigarette, he strolled outside. He had barely time to take
+a position at the darkened end of the porch before the sounds of an
+approaching machine came to his ears. A second or two later the lights
+swung around the bend in the road a quarter of a mile above Hart's
+Tavern, and down came the car at a high rate of speed. It dashed past
+the tavern with a great roar and rattle and shot off into the darkness
+beyond. As it rushed through the dim circle of light in front of the
+tavern, Barnes succeeded in obtaining a brief but convincing view of
+the car. That glance was enough, however. He would have been willing
+to go before a jury and swear that it was the same car that had
+deposited him at Hart's Tavern the day before.
+
+Having guessed correctly in the one instance, he allowed himself
+another and even bolder guess: the little book-agent had either
+received a message from or delivered one to the occupant or driver of
+the car from Green Fancy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A NOTE, SOME FANCIES, AND AN EXPEDITION IN QUEST OF FACTS
+
+
+Dillingford gave him a lighted candle at the desk and he started
+upstairs, his mind full of the events and conjectures of the day.
+Uppermost in his thoughts was the dazzling vision of the afternoon,
+and the fleeting smile that had come to him through the leafy
+interstices. As he entered the room, his eyes fell upon a white
+envelope at his feet. It had been slipped under the door since he left
+the room an hour before.
+
+Terse reminder from the prudent Mr. Jones! His bill for the day! He
+picked it up, glanced at the inscription, and at once altered his
+opinion. His full name was there in the handwriting of a woman. For a
+moment he was puzzled; then he thought of Miss Thackeray. A note of
+thanks, no doubt, unpleasantly fulsome! Vaguely annoyed, he ripped
+open the envelope and read:
+
+"In case I do not have the opportunity to speak with you to-night,
+this is to let you know that the little man who says he is a book-
+agent was in your room for three-quarters of an hour while you were
+away this afternoon. You'd better see if anything is missing.
+                                    M.T."
+
+He read the note again, and then held it over the candle flame.
+Surprise and a temporary indignation gave way before the thrill of
+exultation as the blazing paper fell upon the hearth.
+
+"'Gad, it grows more and more interesting," he mused, and chuckled
+aloud. "They're not losing a minute's time in finding out all they can
+about me, that's certain. Thanks, my dear Miss Thackeray. You are
+undoubtedly deceived but I am not. This chap may be a detective but he
+isn't looking for evidence to connect me with last night's murders.
+Not a bit of it. He is trying to find out whether I ought to be shot
+the next time I go snooping around Green Fancy. I'd give a good deal
+to know what he put into the report he sent off a little while ago.
+And I'd give a good deal more to know just where Mr. Jones stands in
+this business. Selling sets of Dickens, eh? Book-agent by day, secret
+agent by night,--'gad, he may even be a road-agent!"
+
+He made a hasty but careful examination of his effects. There was not
+the slightest evidence that his pack had been opened or even
+disturbed. Naturally he travelled without surplus impedimenta; he
+carried the lightest outfit possible. There were a few papers
+containing notes and memoranda; a small camera and films; a blank book
+to which he transferred his daily experiences, observations and
+impressions; a small medicine case; tobacco and cigarettes; a flask of
+brandy; copies of Galworthy's "Man of Property" and Hutchinson's
+"Happy Warrior"; wearing apparel, and a revolver. His purse and
+private papers rarely were off his person. If the little book-agent
+spent three-quarters of an hour in the room he managed most
+effectually to cover up all traces of his visit.
+
+Barnes did not go to sleep until long after midnight. He now regarded
+himself as definitely committed to a combination of sinister and
+piquant enterprises, not the least of which was the determination to
+find out all there was to know about the mysterious young woman at
+Green Fancy.
+
+His operations along any line of endeavour were bound to be difficult,
+perhaps hazardous. Every movement that he made would be observed and
+reported; his every step followed. He could hope to disarm suspicion
+only by moving with the utmost boldness and unconcern. Success rested
+in his ability to convince O'Dowd, Jones and the rest of them that
+they had nothing to fear from his innocuous wanderings.
+
+His interest in the sensational affair that had disturbed his first
+night's rest at Hart's Tavern must remain paramount. His theories,
+deductions and suggestions as to the designs and identity of Roon and
+Paul; the stated results of personal and no doubt ludicrous
+experiments; sly and confidential jabs at the incompetent
+investigators, uttered behind the hand to Putnam Jones and, if
+possible, to the book-agent;--a quixotic philanthropy in connection
+with the fortunes of Rushcroft and his players; all these would have
+to be put forward in the scheme to dispel suspicion at Green Fancy.
+
+It did not occur to him that he ought to be furthering the ends of
+justice by disclosing to the authorities his secret opinion of Putman
+Jones, the strange behaviour of Roon as observed by Miss Thackeray,
+and his own adventure with the lady of the cross-roads. The chance
+that Jones, subjected to third degree pressure, might break down and
+reveal all that he knew was not even considered.
+
+Back of all his motives was the spur of Romance: his real interest was
+centred in the lovely lady of Green Fancy.
+
+He was confident that O'Dowd's system of espionage would quickly
+absolve him of all interest in or connection with the plans of Albert
+Roon; it remained therefore for him to convince the Irishman that he
+had no notions or vagaries inimical to the well-being of Green Fancy
+or its occupants. With that result achieved, he need have no fear of
+meeting the fate that had befallen Roon and his lieutenant; nothing
+worse could happen than an arrest and fine for trespass.
+
+The next day he, with other lodgers in the Tavern, was put through an
+examination by police and county officials from Saint Elizabeth, and
+notified that, while he was not under suspicion or surveillance, it
+would be necessary for him to remain in the "bailiwick" until
+detectives, already on the way, were satisfied that he possessed no
+knowledge that would be useful to them in clearing up what had now
+assumed the dignity of a "national problem."
+
+O'Dowd rode down from Green Fancy and created quite a sensation among
+the officials by announcing that Mr. Curtis desired them to feel that
+they had a perfect right to extend their search for clues to all parts
+of his estate, and that he was deeply interested in the outcome of
+their investigations.
+
+"The devils may have laid their ambush on his property," said O'Dowd,
+"and they may have made their escape into the hills back of his place
+without running the risk of tackling the highways. Nothing, Mr. Curtis
+says, should stand in the way of justice. While he knows that you have
+a legal right to enter his grounds, and even his house, in the pursuit
+of duty, he urges me to make it clear to you gentlemen, that you are
+welcome to come without even so much as a demand upon him. If I may be
+so bold as to offer my services, you may count on me to act as guide
+at any time you may elect. I know the lay of the land pretty well, and
+what I don't know the gardeners and other men up there do. You are to
+call upon all of us if necessary. Mr. Curtis, as you know, is an
+invalid. May I suggest, therefore, that you conduct your examination
+of the grounds near his home with as little commotion as possible?
+Incidentally, I may inform you, but one person at Green Fancy heard
+the shots. That person was Mr. Curtis himself. He rang for his
+attendant and instructed him to send some one out to find out what it
+was all about. The chauffeur went down to Conley's, as you know. If
+you consider it absolutely necessary to question Mr. Curtis as to the
+time the shots were fired, he will receive you; but I think you may
+properly establish that fact by young Conley without submitting a sick
+man to the excitement and distress of a--"
+
+The sheriff hastily broke in with the assurance that it was not at all
+necessary to disturb Mr. Curtis. It wasn't to be thought of for a
+moment. He would, however, like to "run over the ground a bit" that
+very afternoon, if it was agreeable to Mr. O'Dowd.
+
+It being quite agreeable, the genial Irishman proposed that his
+friend, Mr. Barnes,--(here he bestowed an almost imperceptible wink
+upon the New Yorker),--should join the party. He could vouch for the
+intelligence and discretion of the gentleman.
+
+Barnes, concealing his surprise, expressed himself as happy to be of
+any service. He glanced at Putnam Jones as he made the statement. It
+was at once borne in upon him that the landlord's attitude toward him
+had undergone a marked change in the last few minutes. The furtive,
+distrustful look was missing from his eyes and in its place was a
+friendly, approving twinkle.
+
+O'Dowd stayed to dinner. (Dinner was served in the middle of the day
+at Hart's Tavern.) He made a great impression upon Lyndon Rushcroft,
+who, with his daughter, joined the two men. Indeed, the palavering
+Irishman extended himself in the effort to make himself agreeable. He
+was vastly interested in the stage, he declared. As a matter of fact,
+he had been told a thousand times that he ought to go on the stage. He
+had decided talent....
+
+"If you change your mind," said Mr. Rushcroft, "and conclude to try a
+whirl at it, just let me know. I can find a place for you in my
+company at any time. If there isn't a vacancy, we can always write in
+an Irish comedy part."
+
+"But I never wanted to be a comedian," said O'Dowd. "I've always
+wanted to play the young hero,--the fellow who gets the girl, you
+know." He bestowed a gallant smile upon Miss Thackeray.
+
+"You may take my word for it, sir," said Mr. Rushcroft with feeling,
+"heroism, and nothing less, is necessary to the man who has to play
+opposite most of the harridans you, in your ignorance, speak of as
+girls." And he launched forth upon a round of soul-trying experiences
+with "leading-ladies."
+
+The little book-agent came in while they were at table. He sat down in
+a corner of the dining-room and busied himself with his subscription
+lists while waiting for the meal to be served. He was still poring
+over them, frowning intently, when Barnes and the others left the
+room.
+
+Barnes walked out beside Miss Thackeray.
+
+"The tailor-made gown is an improvement," he said to her.
+
+"Does that mean that I look more like a good chambermaid than I did
+before?"
+
+"If you would consider it a compliment, yes," he replied, smiling. He
+was thinking that she was a very pretty girl, after all.
+
+"The frock usually makes the woman," she said slowly, "but not always
+the lady."
+
+He thought of that remark more than once during the course of an
+afternoon spent in the woods about Green Fancy.
+
+O'Dowd virtually commanded the expedition. It was he who thought of
+everything. First of all, he led the party to the corner of the estate
+nearest the point where Paul was shot from his horse. Sitting in his
+own saddle, he called the attention of the other riders to what
+appeared to be a most significant fact in connection with the killing
+of this man.
+
+"From what I hear, the man Paul was shot through the lungs, directly
+from in front. The bullet went straight through his body. He was
+riding very rapidly down this road. When he came to a point not far
+above cross-roads, he was fired upon. It is safe to assume that he was
+looking intently ahead, trying to make out the crossing. He was not
+shot from the side of the road, gentlemen, but from the middle of it.
+The bullet came from a point almost directly in front of him, and not
+from Mr. Curtis's property here to the left, or Mr. Conley's on the
+right. Understand, this is my whimsey only. I may be entirely wrong.
+My idea is that the man who shot him waited here at the cross-roads to
+head off either or both of them in case they were not winged by men
+stationed farther up. Of course, that must be quite obvious to all of
+you. My friend De Soto is inclined to the belief that they were trying
+to get across the border. I don't believe so. If that were the case,
+why did they dismount above Conley's house, hitch their horses to the
+fence, and set forth on foot? I am convinced in my own mind that they
+came here to meet some one to whom they were to deliver a verbal
+report of vital importance,--some one from across the border in
+Canada. This message was delivered. So far as Roon and Paul were
+concerned their usefulness was ended. They had done all that was
+required of them. The cause they served was better off with them dead
+than alive. Without the slightest compunction, without the least
+regard for faithful service, they were set upon and slain by their
+supposed friends. Now, you may laugh at my fancy if you like, but you
+must remember that frightful things are happening in these days. The
+killing of these men adds but a drop to the ocean of blood that is
+being shed. Roon and Paul, suddenly confronted by treachery, fled for
+their lives. The trap had been set with care, however; they rushed
+into it."
+
+"I am inclined to your hypothesis, O'Dowd," said Barnes. "It seems
+sound and reasonable. The extraordinary precautions taken by Roon and
+Paul to prevent identification, dead or alive, supports your whimsey,
+as you call it. The thing that puzzles me, however, is the singular
+failure of the two men to defend themselves. They were armed, yet
+neither fired a shot. You would think that when they found themselves
+in a tight place, such as you suggest, their first impulse would be to
+shoot."
+
+"Well," mused O'Dowd, squinting his eyes in thought, "there's
+something in that. It doesn't seem reasonable that they'd run like
+whiteheads with guns in--By Jove, here's a new thought!" His eyes
+glistened with boyish elation. "They had delivered their message,--
+we'll assume that much, of course,--and were walking back to their
+horses when they were ordered to halt by some one hidden in the brush
+at the roadside. You can't very well succeed in hitting a man if you
+can't see him at all, so they made a dash for it instead of wasting
+time in shooting at the air. What's more, they may have anticipated
+the very thing that happened: they were prepared for treachery. Their
+only chance lay in getting safely into their saddles. Oh, I am a good
+romancer! I should be writing dime novels instead of living the
+respectable life I do. Conley heard them running for their lives.
+Assassins had been stationed along the road to head them off, however.
+The man who had his place near the horses, got Roon. The chances are
+that Paul did not accompany Roon to the meeting place up the road. He
+remained near the horses. That's how he managed to get away so
+quickly. It remained for the man at the cross-roads to settle with
+him. But, we're wasting time with all this twaddle of mine. Let us be
+moving. There is one point on which we must all agree. The deadliest
+marksmen in the world fired those shots. No bungling on that score,
+bedad."
+
+In course of time, the party, traversing the ground contiguous to the
+public road, came within sight of the green dwelling among the trees.
+Barnes's interest revived. He had, from the outset, appreciated the
+futility of the search for clues in the territory they had covered.
+The searchers were incapable of conducting a scientific examination.
+It was work for the most skilful, the most practised, the most
+untiring of tracers. His second view of the house increased his wonder
+and admiration. If O'Dowd had not actually located it among the trees
+for him, he would have been at a loss to discover it, although it was
+immediately in front of him and in direct line of vision.
+
+"Astonishing, isn't it?" said the Irishman, as they stood side by
+side, peering ahead.
+
+"Marvellous is the better word," said Barnes.
+
+"The fairies might have built it," said the other, with something like
+awe in his voice. He shook his head solemnly.
+
+"One could almost fancy that a fairy queen dwelt there, surrounded by
+Peter Pans and Aladdins," mused Barnes.
+
+"Instead of an ogre attended by owls and nightbirds and the devil
+knows what,--for I don't."
+
+Barnes looked at him in amazement, struck by the curious note in his
+voice.
+
+"If you were a small boy in knickers, O'Dowd, I should say that you
+were mortally afraid of the place."
+
+"If I were a small boy," said O'Dowd, "I'd be scairt entirely out of
+me knickers. I'd keep me boots on, mind ye, so that I could run the
+better. It's me Irish imagination that does the trick. You never saw
+an Irishman in your life that wasn't conscious of the 'little people'
+that inhabit the places that are always dark and green."
+
+De Soto was seen approaching through the green sea, his head appearing
+and disappearing intermittently in the billows formed by the
+undulating underbrush. He shook hands with Barnes a moment later.
+
+"I'm glad you had the sense to bring Mr. Barnes with you, O'Dowd,"
+said he. "You didn't mention him when you telephoned that you were
+personally conducting a sight-seeing party. I tried to catch you
+afterwards on the telephone, but you had left the tavern. Mrs. Collier
+wanted me to ask you to capture Mr. Barnes for dinner to-night."
+
+"Mrs. Collier is the sister of Mr. Curtis," explained O'Dowd. Then he
+turned upon De Soto incredulously. "For the love of Pat," he cried
+"what's come over them? When I made so bold as to suggest last night
+that you were a chap worth cultivating, Barnes,--and that you wouldn't
+be long in the neighbourhood,--But, to save your feelings I'll not
+repeat what they said, the two of them. What changed them over, De
+Soto?"
+
+"A chance remark of Miss Cameron's at lunch to-day. She wondered if
+Barnes could be the chap who wrote the articles about Peru and the
+Incas, or something of the sort, and that set them to looking up the
+back numbers of the geographic magazine in Mr. Curtis's library. Not
+only did they find the articles but they found your picture. I had no
+difficulty in deciding that you were one and the same. The atmosphere
+cleared in a jiffy. It became even clearer when it was discovered that
+you have had a few ancestors and are received in good society--both
+here and abroad, as the late Frederic Townsend Martin would have said.
+I hereby officially present the result of subsequent deliberation. Mr.
+Barnes is invited to dine with us to-night."
+
+Barnes's heart was still pounding rapidly as he made the rueful
+admission that he "didn't have a thing to wear." He couldn't think of
+accepting the gracious invitation--
+
+"Don't you think the clothes you have on your back will last through
+the evening?" inquired O'Dowd quaintly.
+
+"But look at them!" cried Barnes. "I've tramped in 'em for two weeks
+and--"
+
+"All the more reason why you should be thankful they're good and
+stout," said O'Dowd.
+
+"We live rather simply up here, Mr. Barnes," said De Soto. "There
+isn't a dinner jacket or a spike tail coat on the place. It's strictly
+against the law up here to have such things about one's person. Come
+as you are, sir. I assure you I speak the truth when I say we don't
+dress for dinner."
+
+"Bedad," said O'Dowd enthusiastically, "if it will make ye feel any
+more comfortable I'll put on the corduroy outfit I go trout fishing
+in, bespattered and patched as it is. And De Soto will appear in the
+white duck trousers and blazer he tries to play tennis in,--though,
+God bless him, poor wretch, he hates to put them on after all he's
+heard said about his game."
+
+"If they'll take me as I am," began Barnes, doubtfully.
+
+"I say," called out O'Dowd to the sheriff, who was gazing longingly at
+the horses tethered at the bottom of the slope; "would ye mind leading
+Mr. Barnes's nag back to the Tavern? He is stopping to dinner. And,
+while I think of it, are you satisfied, Mr. Sheriff, with the day's
+work? If not, you will be welcome again at any time, if ye'll only
+telephone a half minute in advance." To Barnes he said: "We'll send
+you down in the automobile to-night, provided it has survived the day.
+We're expecting the poor thing to die in its tracks at almost any
+instant."
+
+Ten minutes later Barnes passed through the portals of Green Fancy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE FIRST WAYFARER, THE SECOND WAYFARER, AND THE SPIRIT OF CHIVALRY
+ASCENDANT
+
+
+The wide green door, set far back in a recess not unlike a kiosk, was
+opened by a man-servant who might easily have been mistaken for a
+waiter from Delmonico's or Sherry's. He did not have the air or aplomb
+of a butler, nor the smartness of a footman. On the contrary, he was a
+thick-set, rather scrubby sort of person with all the symptoms of cafe
+servitude about him, including the never-failing doubt as to
+nationality. He might have been a Greek, a Pole, an Italian or a Turk.
+
+"Say to Mrs. Collier, Nicholas, that Mr. Barnes is here for dinner,"
+said De Soto. "I will make the cocktails this evening."
+
+Much to Barnes's surprise,--and disappointment,--the interior of the
+house failed to sustain the bewildering effect produced by the
+exterior. The entrance hall and the living-room into which he was
+conducted by the two men were singularly like others that he had seen.
+The latter, for example, was of ordinary dimensions, furnished with a
+thought for comfort rather than elegance or even good taste. The rugs
+were thick and in tone held almost exclusively to Turkish reds; the
+couches and chairs were low and deep and comfortable, as if intended
+for men only, and they were covered with rich, gay materials; the
+hangings at the windows were of deep blue and gold; the walls an
+unobtrusive cream colour, almost literally thatched with etchings.
+
+Barnes, somewhat of a connoisseur, was not slow to recognise the value
+and extreme rarity of the prints. Rembrandt, Whistler, Hayden,
+Merryon, Cameron, Muirhead Bone and Zorn were represented by their
+most notable creations; two startling subjects by Brangwyn hung alone
+in one corner of the room, isolated, it would seem, out of
+consideration for the gleaming, jewel-like surfaces of other and
+smaller treasures. There were at least a dozen Zorns, as many
+Whistlers and Camerons.
+
+O'Dowd, observing the glance of appreciation that Barnes sent about
+the room, said: "All of thim are in the very rarest state. He has one
+of the finest collections in America. Ye'll want your boots cleaned
+and polished, and your face needs scrubbing, if ye don't mind my
+saying so," he went on, critically surveying the visitor's person.
+"Come up to my room and make yourself tidy. My own man will dust you
+off and furbish you up in no time at all."
+
+They passed into another room at the left and approached a wide
+stairway, the lower step of which was flush with the baseboard on the
+wall. Not so much as an inch of the stairway protruded into the room,
+and yet Barnes, whose artistic sense should have been offended, was
+curiously pleased with the arrangement and effect. He made a mental
+note of this deliberate violation of the holy rules of construction,
+and decided that one day he would try it out for himself.
+
+The room itself was obviously a continuation of the larger one beyond,
+a sort of annex, as it were. The same scheme in decoration and
+furnishings was observed, except here the walls were adorned with
+small paintings in oil, heavily framed. Hanging in the panel at the
+right of the stairway was an exquisite little Corot, silvery and
+feathery even in the dim light of early dusk. On the opposite side was
+a brilliant little Cazin.
+
+The stairs were thickly carpeted. At the top, his guide turned to the
+left and led the way down a long corridor. They passed at least four
+doors before O'Dowd stopped and threw open the fifth on that side of
+the hall. There were still two more doors beyond.
+
+"Suggests a hotel, doesn't it?" said the Irishman, standing aside for
+Barnes to enter. "All of the sleeping apartments are on this floor,
+and the baths, and boudoirs, and what-not. The garret is above, and
+that's where we deposit our family skeletons, intern our grievances,
+store our stock of spitefulness, and hide all the little devils that
+must come sneaking up from the city with us whether we will or no.
+Nothing but good-humour, contentment, happiness and mirth are
+permitted to occupy this floor and the one below. I might also add
+beauty, for you can't conceive any of the others without it, me
+friend. God knows I couldn't be good-natured for a minute if I wasn't
+encouraged by beauty appreciative, and as for being contented, happy
+or mirthful,--bedad, words fail me! Dabson," he said, addressing the
+man who had quietly entered the room through the door behind them, "do
+Mr. Barnes, will ye, and fetch me from Mr. De Soto's room when you've
+finished. I leave you to Dabson's tender mercies. The saints preserve
+us! Look at the man's boots! Dabson, get out your brush and dauber
+first of all. He's been floundering in a bog."
+
+The jovial Irishman retired, leaving Barnes to be "done" by the
+silent, swift-moving valet. Dabson was young and vigorous and
+exceedingly well-trained. He made short work of "doing" the visitor;
+barely fifteen minutes elapsed before O'Dowd's return.
+
+Presently they went downstairs together. Lamps had been lighted, many
+of them, throughout the house. A warm, pleasing glow filled the rooms,
+softening,--one might even say tempering,--the insistent reds in the
+rugs, which now seemed to reflect rather than to project their hues; a
+fire crackled in the cavernous fireplace at the end of the living-
+room, and grouped about its cheerful, grateful blaze were the ladies
+of Green Fancy.
+
+Barnes was aware of a quickening of his pulses as he advanced with
+O'Dowd. De Soto was there ahead of them, posed ungracefully in front
+of the fire, his feet widespread, his hands in his pockets. Another
+man, sallow-faced and tall, with a tired looking blond moustache and
+sleepy eyes, was managing, with amazing skill, the retention of a
+cigarette which seemed to be constantly in peril of detaching itself
+from his parted though inactive lips.
+
+SHE was there, standing slightly aloof from the others, but evidently
+amused by the tale with which De Soto was regaling them. She was
+smiling; Barnes saw the sapphire lights sparkling in her eyes, and
+experienced a sensation that was woefully akin to confusion.
+
+He had the feeling that he would be absolutely speechless when
+presented to her; in the full, luminous glow of those lovely eyes he
+would lose consciousness, momentarily, no doubt, but long enough to
+give her,--and all the rest of them,--no end of a fright.
+
+But nothing of the kind happened. Everything went off quite naturally.
+He favoured Miss Cameron with an uncommonly self-possessed smile as
+she gave her hand to him, and she, in turn, responded with one faintly
+suggestive of tolerance, although it certainly would have been
+recorded by a less sensitive person than Barnes as "ripping."
+
+In reply to his perfunctory "delighted, I'm sure, etc.," she said,
+quite clearly: "Oh, now I remember. I was sure I had seen you before,
+Mr. Barnes. You are the magic gentleman who sprung like a mushroom out
+of the earth yesterday afternoon."
+
+"And frightened you," he said; "whereupon you vanished like the
+mushroom that is gobbled up by the predatory glutton."
+
+He had thrilled at the sound of her voice. It was the low, deliberate
+voice of the woman of the crossroads, and, as before, he caught the
+almost imperceptible accent. The red gleam from the blazing logs fell
+upon her shining hair; it glistened like gold. She wore a simple
+evening gown of white, softened over the shoulders and neck with a
+fall of rare vallenciennes lace. There was no jewelry,--not even a
+ring on her slender, tapering fingers. Oddly enough, now that he stood
+beside her, she was not so tall as he had believed her to be the day
+before. The crown of her silken head came but little above his
+shoulder. As she had appeared to him among the trees he would have
+sworn that she was but little below his own height, which was a
+liberal six feet. He recalled a flash of wonder on that occasion; she
+had seemed so much taller than the woman at the cross-roads that he
+was almost convinced that she could not, after all, be the same
+person. Now she was back to the height that he remembered, and he
+marvelled once more.
+
+Mrs. Collier, the hostess, was an elderly, heavy-featured woman,
+decidedly over-dressed. Barnes knew her kind. One encounters her
+everywhere: the otherwise intelligent woman who has no sense about her
+clothes. Mrs. Van Dyke, her daughter, was a woman of thirty, tall,
+dark and handsome in a bold, dashing sort of way. She too was rather
+resplendent in a black jet gown, and she was liberally bestrewn with
+jewels. Much to Barnes's surprise, she possessed a soft, gentle
+speaking-voice and a quiet, musical laugh instead of the boisterous
+tones and cackle that he always associated with her type. The
+lackadaisical gentleman with the moustache turned out to be her
+husband.
+
+"My brother is unable to be with us to-night, Mr. Barnes," explained
+Mrs. Collier. "Mr. O'Dowd may have told you that he is an invalid.
+Quite rarely is he well enough to leave his room. He has been feeling
+much better of late, but now his nerves are all torn to pieces by this
+shooting affair. The mere knowledge that our grounds were being
+inspected to-day by the authorities upset him terribly. He has begged
+me to present his apologies and regrets to you. Another time, perhaps,
+you will give him the pleasure he is missing to-night. He wanted so
+much to talk with you about the quaint places you have described so
+charmingly in your articles. They must be wonderfully appealing. One
+cannot read your descriptions without really envying the people who
+live in those enchanted--"
+
+"Ahem!" coughed O'Dowd, who actually had read the articles and could
+see nothing alluring in a prospect that contemplated barren, snow-
+swept wildernesses in the Andes. "The only advantage I can see in
+living up there," he said, with a sly wink at Barnes, "is that one has
+all the privileges of death without being put to the expense of
+burial."
+
+"How very extraordinary, Mr. O'Dowd," said Mrs. Collier, lifting her
+lorgnon.
+
+"Mrs. Collier has been reading my paper on the chateau country in
+France," said Barnes mendaciously. (It had not yet been published, but
+what of that?)
+
+"Perfectly delightful," said Mrs. Collier, and at once changed the
+subject.
+
+De Soto's cocktails came in. Miss Cameron did not take one. O'Dowd
+proposed a toast.
+
+"To the rascals who went gunning for the other rascals. But for them
+we should be short at least one member of this agreeable company."
+
+It was rather startling. Barnes's glass stopped half-way to his lips.
+An instant later he drained it. He accepted the toast as a compliment
+from the whilom Irishman, and not as a tribute to the prowess of those
+mysterious marksmen.
+
+"Rather grewsome, O'Dowd," drawled Van Dyke, "but offset by the
+foresightedness of the maker of this cocktail. Uncommonly good one, De
+Soto."
+
+The table in the spacious dining-room was one of those long, narrow
+Italian boards, unmistakably antique and equally rare. Sixteen or
+eighteen people could have been seated without crowding, and when the
+seven took their places wide intervals separated them. No effort had
+been made by the hostess to bring her guests close together, as might
+have been done by using one end or the centre of the table. Except for
+scattered doylies, the smooth, nut-brown top was bare of cloth; there
+was a glorious patina to this huge old board, with tiny cracks running
+like veins across its surface.
+
+Decorations were scant. A half dozen big candlesticks, ecclesiastical
+in character, were placed at proper intervals, and at each end of the
+table there was a shallow, alabaster dish containing pansies. The
+serving plates were of silver. Especially beautiful were the long-
+stemmed water goblets and the graceful champagne glasses. They were
+blue and white and of a design and quality no longer obtainable except
+at great cost. The aesthetic Barnes was not slow to appreciate the
+rarity of the glassware and the chaste beauty of the serving plates.
+
+The man Nicholas was evidently the butler, despite his Seventh Avenue
+manner. He was assisted in serving by two stalwart and amazingly
+clumsy footmen, of similar ilk and nationality. On seeing these
+additional men-servants, Barnes began figuratively to count on his
+fingers the retainers he had so far encountered on the place. Already
+he has seen six, all of them powerful, rugged fellows. It struck him.
+as extraordinary, and in a way significant, that there should be so
+many men at Green Fancy.
+
+Somewhere back in his mind was the impression that O'Dowd had spoken
+of Pierre the cook, a private secretary and male attendant who looked
+after Mr. Curtis. Then there was Peter, the regular chauffeur, whom he
+had not seen, and doubtless there were able-bodied woodchoppers and
+foresters besides. Not forgetting the little book-agent! It suddenly
+occurred to him that he was surrounded by a company of the most
+formidable character: no less than twenty men would be a reasonable
+guess if he were to include O'Dowd, De Soto and Van Dyke.
+
+Much to his disappointment, he was not placed near Miss Cameron at
+table. Indeed, she was seated as far away from him as possible. He sat
+at Mrs. Collier's right. On his left was Mrs. Van Dyke, with Miss
+Cameron at the foot of the table flanked by O'Dowd and De Soto. Van
+Dyke had nearly the whole of the opposite side of the table to
+himself. There was, to be sure, a place set between him and De Soto,
+for symmetry's sake, Barnes concluded. In this he was mistaken; they
+had barely seated themselves when Mrs. Collier remarked:
+
+"Mr. Curtis's secretary usually joins us here for coffee. He has his
+dinner with my brother and then, poor man, comes in for a brief period
+of relaxation. When my brother is in one of his bad spells poor Mr.
+Loeb doesn't have much time to himself. It seems to me that my brother
+is at his best when his health is at its worst. You may be interested
+to know, Mr. Barnes, that he is writing a history of the Five
+Nations."
+
+"Indians, you know," explained Van Dyke.
+
+"A history of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas and Senecas,
+and their 'Long House' should be of great value, Mrs. Collier," said
+Barnes, a trifle didactically. "When does he expect to have it
+completed?"
+
+"'Gad, you know a little of everything, don't you?" said Van Dyke,
+sitting up a little straighter in his chair and eyeing Barnes fishily.
+("Awfully smart chap," he afterwards confided to O'Dowd.) "If he lives
+long enough, he'll finish it in 1999," he added, lifting his voice
+above Mrs. Collier's passive reply out of which Barnes gathered the
+words "couple" and "years."
+
+It is not necessary to dilate upon the excellence of the dinner, to
+repeat the dialogue, or to comment on the service, other than to say,
+for the sake of record, that the first WAS excellent; the second
+sprightly, and the third atrocious.
+
+Loeb, the private secretary, came in for coffee. He was a tall, spare
+man of thirty, pallidly handsome, with dark, studious eyes and
+features of an unmistakably Hebraic cast, as his name might have
+foretold. His teeth were marvellously white, and his slow smile
+attractive. When he spoke, which was seldom unless a remark was
+directed specifically to him, his voice was singularly deep and
+resonant. More than once during the hour that Loeb spent with them
+Barnes formed and dismissed a stubborn, ever-recurring opinion that
+the man was not a Jew. Certainly he was not an American Jew. His
+voice, his manner of speech, his every action stamped him as one born
+and bred in a land far removed from Broadway and its counterparts. If
+a Jew, he was of the East as it is measured from Rome: the Jew of the
+carnal Orient.
+
+And as the evening wore on, there came to Barnes the singular fancy
+that this man was the master and not the servant of the house! He
+could not put the ridiculous idea out of his mind.
+
+He was to depart at ten. The hour drew near and he had had no
+opportunity for detached conversation with Miss Cameron. He had
+listened to her bright retorts to O'Dowd's sallies, and marvelled at
+the ease and composure with which she met the witty Irishman on even
+terms. Her voice, always low and distinct, was never without the
+suggestion of good-natured raillery; he was enchanted by the faint,
+delicious chuckle that rode in every sentence she uttered during these
+sprightly tilts.
+
+When the conversation turned to serious topics, her voice steadied
+perceptibly, the blue in her eyes took on a deeper and darker hue, the
+half-satirical smile vanished from her adorable lips, and she spoke
+with the gravity of a profound thinker. Barnes watched her,
+fascinated, bereft of the power to concentrate his thoughts on
+anything else. He hung on her every movement, hoping and longing for
+the impersonal glance or remark with which she occasionally favoured
+him.
+
+Not until the very close of the evening, and when he had resigned
+himself to hopelessness, did the opportunity come for him to speak
+with her alone. She caught his eye, and, to his amazement, made a
+slight movement of her head, unobserved by the others but curiously
+imperative to him. There was no mistaking the meaning of the direct,
+intense look that she gave him.
+
+She was appealing to him as a friend,--as one on whom she could
+depend!
+
+The spirit of chivalry took possession of him. His blood leaped to the
+call. She needed him and he would not fail her. And it was with
+difficulty that he contrived to hide the exaltation that might have
+ruined everything!
+
+Loeb had returned to his labours in Mr. Curtis's study, after bidding
+Barnes a courteous good-night. It seemed to the latter that with the
+secretary's departure an indefinable restraint fell away from the
+small company.
+
+While he was trying to invent a pretext for drawing her apart from the
+others, she calmly ordered Van Dyke to relinquish his place on the
+couch beside her to Barnes.
+
+"Come and sit beside me, Mr. Barnes," she called out, gaily. "I will
+not bite you, or scratch you, or harm you in any way. Ask Mr. O'Dowd
+and he will tell you that I am quite docile. What is there about me,
+sir, that causes you to think that I am dangerous? You have barely
+spoken a word to me, and you've been disagreeably nice to Mrs. Collier
+and Mrs. Van Dyke. I don't bite, do I, Mr. O'Dowd?"
+
+"You do," said O'Dowd promptly. "You do more than that. You devour.
+Bedad, I have to look in a mirror to convince meself that you haven't
+swallowed me whole. That's another way of telling you, Barnes, that
+she'll absorb you entirely."
+
+It was a long, deep and comfortable couch of the davenport class, and
+she sat in the middle of it instead of at the end, a circumstance that
+he was soon to regard as premeditated. She had planned to bring him to
+this place beside her and had cunningly prepared against the
+possibility that he might put the full length of the couch between
+them if she settled herself in a corner. As it was, their elbows
+almost touched as he sat down beside her.
+
+For a few minutes she chided him for his unseemly aversion. He was
+beginning to think that he had been mistaken in her motive, and that
+after all she was merely satisfying her vanity. Suddenly, and as she
+smiled into his eyes, she said, lowering her voice slightly:
+
+"Do not appear surprised at anything I may say to you. Smile as if we
+were uttering the silliest nonsense. So much depends upon it, Mr.
+Barnes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE PRISONER OF GEEEN FANCY, AND THE LAMENT OF PETER THE CHAUFFEUR
+
+
+He envied Mr. Rushcroft. The barn-stormer would have risen to the
+occasion without so much as the blinking of an eye. He would have been
+able to smile and gesticulate in a manner that would have deceived the
+most acute observer, while he--ah, he was almost certain to flounder
+and make a mess of the situation. He did his best, however, and,
+despite his eagerness, managed to come off fairly well. Any one out of
+ear-shot would have thought that he was uttering some trifling inanity
+instead of these words:
+
+"You may trust me. I have suspected that something was wrong here."
+
+"It is impossible to explain now," she said. "These people are not my
+friends. I have no one to turn to in my predicament."
+
+"Yes, you have," he broke in, and laughed rather boisterously for him.
+He felt that they were being watched in turn by every person in the
+room.
+
+"To-night,--not an hour ago,--I began to feel that I could call upon
+you for help. I began to relax. Something whispered to me that I was
+no longer utterly alone. Oh, you will never know what it is to have
+your heart lighten as mine--But I must control myself. We are not to
+waste words."
+
+"You have only to command me, Miss Cameron. No more than a dozen words
+are necessary."
+
+"I knew it,--I felt it," she cried eagerly. "Nothing can be done to-
+night. The slightest untoward action on your part would send you
+after--the other two. There is one man here who, I think, will stand
+between me and actual peril. Mr. O'Dowd. He is--"
+
+"He is the liveliest liar I've ever known," broke in Barnes quickly.
+"Don't trust him."
+
+"But he is also an Irishman," she said, as if that fact overcame all
+other shortcomings. "I like him; he must be an honest man, for he has
+already lied nobly in MY behalf." She smiled as she uttered this
+quaint anomaly.
+
+"Tell me how I can be of service to you," said he, disposing of O'Dowd
+with a shrug.
+
+"I shall try to communicate with you in some way--to-morrow. I beg of
+you, I implore you, do not desert me. If I can only be sure that you
+will--"
+
+"You may depend on me, no matter what happens," said he, and, looking
+into her eyes was bound forever.
+
+"I have been thinking," she said. "Yesterday I made the discovery that
+I--that I am actually a prisoner here, Mr. Barnes. I--Smile! Say
+something silly!"
+
+Together they laughed over the meaningless remark he made in response
+to her command.
+
+"I am constantly watched. If I venture outside the house, I am almost
+immediately joined by one of these men. You saw what happened
+yesterday. I am distracted. I do not know how to arrange a meeting so
+that I may explain my unhappy position to you."
+
+"I will ask the authorities to step in and--"
+
+"No! You are to do nothing of the kind. The authorities would never
+find me if they came here to search." (It was hard for him to smile at
+that!) "It must be some other way. If I could steal out of the house,
+--but that is impossible," she broke off with a catch in her voice.
+
+"Suppose that I were to steal INTO the house," he said, a reckless
+light in his eyes.
+
+"Oh, you could never succeed!"
+
+"Well, I could try, couldn't I?" There was nothing funny in the remark
+but they both leaned back and laughed heartily. "Leave it to me. I
+once got into and out of a Morrocan harem,--but that story may wait.
+Tell me, where--"
+
+"The place is guarded day and night. The stealthiest burglar in the
+world could not come within a stone's throw of the house."
+
+"By Jove! Those two men night before last were trying to--" He said no
+more, but turned his head so that the others could not see the hard
+look that settled in his eyes. "If it's as bad as all that, we cannot
+afford to make any slips. You think you are in no immediate peril?"
+
+"I am in no peril at all unless I bring it upon myself," she said,
+significantly.
+
+"Then a delay of a day or so will not matter," he said, frowning.
+"Leave it to me. I will find a way."
+
+"Be careful!" De Soto came lounging up behind them. She went on
+speaking, changing the subject so abruptly and so adroitly that for a
+moment Barnes was at a loss. "But if she could obtain all those
+luxuries without using a penny of his money, what right had he to
+object? Surely a wife may do as she pleases with her own money."
+
+"He was trying to break her of selfishness," said Barnes, suddenly
+inspired. "The difference between men and women in the matter of
+luxuries lies in the fact that one is selfish and the other is not. A
+man slaves all the year round to provide luxuries for his wife. The
+wife comes into a nice little fortune of her own, and what does she
+proceed to do with it? Squander it on her husband? Not much! She sets
+out immediately to prove to the world that he is a miser, a skinflint
+who never gave her more than the bare necessities of life. The chap I
+was speaking of--I beg pardon, Mr. De Soto."
+
+"Forgive me for interrupting, but I am under command from royal
+headquarters. Peter, the king of chauffeurs, sends in word that the
+car is in an amiable mood and champing to be off. So seldom is it in a
+good-humour that he--"
+
+"I'll be off at once," exclaimed Barnes, arising.
+
+"By Jove, it is half-past ten. I had no idea--Good night, Miss
+Cameron. Sorry my time is up. I am sure I could have made you hate
+your own sex in another half hour."
+
+She held out her hand. "One of our virtues is that we never pretend to
+be in love with our own sex, Mr. Barnes. That, at least, is a luxury
+reserved solely for your sex."
+
+He bowed low over her hand. "A necessity, if I may be pardoned for
+correcting you." He pressed her hand re-assuringly and left her.
+
+She had arisen and was standing, straight and slim by the corner of
+the fireplace, a confident smile on her lips.
+
+"If you are to be long in the neighbourhood, Mr. Barnes," said his
+hostess, "you must let us have you again."
+
+"My stay is short, I fear. You have only to reveal the faintest sign
+that I may come, however, and I'll hop into my seven league boots
+before you can utter Jack Robinson's Christian name. Good night, Mrs.
+Van Dyke. I have you all to thank for a most delightful evening. May I
+expect to see you down our way, Mr. Van Dyke? We have food for man and
+beast at all times and in all forms."
+
+"I've tackled your liquids," said Van Dyke. "You are likely to see me
+'most any day. I'm always rattling 'round somewhere, don't you know."
+(He said "rettling," by the way.) The car was waiting at the back of
+the house. O'Dowd walked out with Barnes, their arms linked,--as on a
+former occasion, Barnes recalled.
+
+"I'll ride out to the gate with you," said the Irishman. "It's a
+winding, devious route the road takes through the trees. As the crow
+flies it's no more than five hundred yards, but this way it can't be
+less than a mile and a half. Eh, Peter?"
+
+Peter opined that it was at least a mile and a quarter. He was a
+Yankee, as O'Dowd had said, and he was not extravagant in estimates.
+
+The passengers sat in the rear seat. Two small lamps served to light
+the way through the Stygian labyrinth of trees and rocks. O'Dowd had
+an electric pocket torch with which to pick his way back to Green
+Fancy.
+
+"I can't, for the life of me, see why he doesn't put in a driveway
+straight to the road beyond, instead of roaming all over creation as
+we have to do," said O'Dowd.
+
+"We foller the bed of the crick that used to run through here 'fore it
+was dammed a little ways up to make the ice-pond 'tween here an'
+Spanish Falls," supplied Peter. "Makes a durned good road, 'cept when
+there's a freshet. It would cost a hull lot o' money to build a road
+as good as this-un."
+
+"I was only thinking 'twould save a mile and more," said O'Dowd.
+
+"What's the use o' him savin' a mile, er ten miles, fer that matter,
+when he never puts foot out'n the house?" said Peter, the logician.
+
+"Well, then," persisted O'Dowd testily, "he ought to consider the
+saving in gasolene."
+
+Peter's reply was a grunt.
+
+They came in time, after many "hair-pins" and right angles, to the
+gate opening upon the highway. Peter got down from the seat to release
+the pad-locked chain and throw open the gate.
+
+O'Dowd leaned closer to Barnes and lowered his voice.
+
+"See here, Barnes, I'm no fool, and for that reason I've got sense
+enough to know that you're not either. I don't know what's in your
+mind, nor what you're trying to get into it if it isn't already there.
+But I'll say this to you, man to man: don't let your imagination get
+the better of your common-sense. That's all. Take the tip from me."
+
+"I am not imagining anything, O'Dowd," said Barnes quietly. "What do
+you mean?"
+
+"I mean just what I say. I'm giving you the tip for selfish reasons.
+If you make a bally fool of yourself, I'll have to see you through the
+worst of it,--and it's a job I don't relish. Ponder that, will ye, on
+the way home?"
+
+Barnes did ponder it on the way home. There was but one construction
+to put upon the remark: it was O'Dowd's way of letting him know that
+he could be depended upon for support if the worst came to pass.
+
+His heart warmed to the lively Irishman. He jumped to the conclusion
+that O'Dowd, while aligned with the others in the flesh, was not with
+them in spirit. His blithe heart was a gallant one as well. The lovely
+prisoner at Green Fancy had a chivalrous defender among the
+conspirators, and that fact, suddenly revealed to the harassed Barnes,
+sent a thrill of exultation through his veins.
+
+He realised that he could not expect O'Dowd to be of any assistance in
+preparing the way for her liberation. Indeed, the Irishman probably
+would oppose him out of loyalty to the cause he espoused. His hand
+would be against him until the end; then it would strike for him and
+the girl who was in jeopardy.
+
+O'Dowd evidently had not been deceived by the acting that masked the
+conversation on the couch. He knew that Miss Cameron had appealed to
+Barnes, and that the latter had promised to do everything in his power
+to help her.
+
+Suspecting that this was the situation, and doubtless sacrificing his
+own private interests, he had uttered the vague but timely warning to
+Barnes. The significance of this warning grew under reflection. The
+mere fact that he could bring himself to the point of speaking to
+Barnes as he did, established beyond all question that his position
+was not inimical. He was, to a certain extent, delivering himself into
+the hands of one who, in his rashness, might not hesitate to cast him
+to the lions: the beasts in this instance being his own companions.
+
+Barnes was not slow to appreciate the position in which O'Dowd
+voluntarily placed himself. A word or a sign from him would be
+sufficient to bring disaster upon the Irishman who had risked his own
+safety in a few irretrievable words. The more he thought of it, the
+more fully convinced was he that there was nothing to fear from
+O'Dowd. The cause for apprehension in that direction was wiped out by
+a simple process of reasoning: O'Dowd would have delivered his warning
+elsewhere if he intended evil. While it was impossible to decide how
+far O'Dowd's friendly interest would carry him, Barnes was still
+content to believe that he would withhold his suspicions, for the
+present at least, from the others at Green Fancy.
+
+He was at a loss to account for his invitation to Green Fancy under
+the circumstances. The confident attitude of those responsible for
+Miss Cameron's detention evidently was based upon conditions which
+rendered their position tenable. Their disregard for the consequences
+that might reasonably be expected to result from this visit was
+puzzling in the extreme. He could arrive at no other conclusion than
+that their hospitality was inspired by a desire to disarm him of
+suspicion. An open welcome to the house, while a bold piece of
+strategy, was far better than an effort to cloak the place in mystery.
+
+As he left the place behind him, he found himself saying that he had
+received his first and last invitation to visit Green Fancy.
+
+Peter drove slowly, carefully over the road down the mountain, in
+direct contrast to the heedless rush of the belated "washer."
+
+Responding to a sudden impulse, Barnes lowered one of the side-seats
+in the tonneau and moved closer to the driver. By leaning forward he
+was in a position to speak through the window at Peter's back.
+
+"Pretty bad going, isn't it?" he ventured.
+
+"Bad enough in the daytime," said Peter, without taking his eyes from
+the road, "but something fierce at night."
+
+"I suppose you've been over it so often, however, that you know every
+crook and turn."
+
+"I know 'em well enough not to get gay with 'em," said Peter.
+
+"How long have you been driving for Mr. Curtis?"
+
+"Ever since he come up here, more'n two years ago. I used to drive the
+station bus fer the hotel down below Spanish Falls. He stayed there
+while he was buildin'. Guess I'm going to get the G. B. 'fore long,
+though."
+
+His listener started. "You don't say so! Cutting down expenses?"
+
+"Not so's you could notice it," growled Peter. "Seems that he's
+gettin' a new car an' wants an expert machinist to take hold of it
+from the start. I was good enough to fiddle around with this second-
+hand pile o' junk an' the Buick he had last year, but I ain't
+qualified to handle this here twin-six Packard he's expectin', so he
+says. I guess they's been some influence used against me, if the truth
+was known. This new sec'etary he's got cain't stummick me."
+
+"Why don't you see Mr. Curtis and demand--" "SEE him?" snorted Peter.
+"Might as well try to see Napoleon Bonyparte. Didn't you know he was a
+sick man?"
+
+"Certainly. But he isn't so ill that he can't attend to business, is
+he?"
+
+"He sure is. Parylised, they say. He's a mighty fine man. It's awful
+to think of him bein' so helpless he cain't ever git out'n his cheer
+ag'in. Course, if he was hisself he wouldn't think o' lettin' me out.
+But bein' sick-like, he jest don't give a durn about anything. So
+that's how this new sec'etary gets in his fine work on me."
+
+"What has Mr. Loeb against you, if I may ask?"
+
+"Well, it's like this. I ain't in the habit o' bein' ordered aroun' as
+if I was jest nobody at all, so when he starts in to cuss me about
+somethin' a week or so ago, I ups and tells him I'll smash his head if
+he don't take it back. He takes it back all right, but the first thing
+I know I get a call-down from Mrs. Collier. She's Mr. Curtis's sister,
+you know. Course I couldn't tell her what I told the sheeny, seein' as
+she's a female, so I took it like a lamb. Then they gits a feller up
+here to wash the car. My gosh, mister, the durned ole rattle-trap
+ain't wuth a bucket o' water all told. You could wash from now till
+next Christmas an' she wouldn't look any cleaner'n she does right now.
+So I sends word in to Mr. Curtis that if she has to be washed, I'll
+wash her. I don't want no dago splashin' water all over the barn floor
+an' drawin' pay fer doin' it. Then's when I hears about the new car.
+Mr. Loeb comes out an' asts me if I ever drove a Packard twin-six. I
+says no I ain't, an' he says it's too bad. He asts the dago if he's
+ever drove one and the dago lies like thunder. He says he's handled
+every kind of a Packard known to science, er somethin' like that. I
+cain't understand half the durn fool says. Next day Mrs. Collier sends
+fer me an' I go in. She says she guesses she'll try the new washer on
+the Packard when it comes, an' if I keer to stay on as washer in his
+place she'll be glad to have me. I says I'd like to have a word with
+Mr. Curtis, if she don't mind, an' she says Mr. Curtis ain't able to
+see no one. So I guess I'm goin' to be let out. Not as I keer very
+much, 'cept I hate to leave Mr. Curtis in the lurch. He was mighty
+good to me up to the time he got bed-ridden."
+
+"I dare say you will have no difficulty in finding another place,"
+said Barnes, feeling his way.
+
+"'Tain't easy to git a job up here. I guess I'll have to try New York
+er some of the big cities," said Peter, confidently.
+
+An idea was taking root in Barnes's brain, but it was too soon to
+consider it fixed.
+
+"You say Mr. Loeb is new at his job?"
+
+"Well, he's new up here. Mr. Curtis was down to New York all last
+winter bein' treated, you see. He didn't come up here till about five
+weeks ago. Loeb was workin' fer him most of the winter, gittin' up a
+book er somethin', I hear. Mr. Curtis's mind is all right, I guess,
+even if his body ain't. Always was a great feller fer books an'
+writin' 'fore he got so sick."
+
+"I see. Mr. Loeb came up with him from New York."
+
+"Kerect. Him and Mr. O'Dowd and Mr. De Soto brought him up 'bout the
+last o' March."
+
+"I understand that they are old friends."
+
+"They was up here visitin' last spring an' the fall before. Mr. Curtis
+is very fond of both of 'em."
+
+"It seems to me that I have heard that his son married O'Dowd's
+sister."
+
+"That's right. She's a widder now. Her husband was killed in the war
+between Turkey an' them other countries four er five years ago."
+
+"Really?"
+
+"Yep. Him and Mr. O'Dowd--his own brother-in-law, y' know--was
+fightin' on the side of the Boolgarians and young Ashley Curtis was
+killed. Mr. O'Dowd's always fightin' whenever they's a war goin' on
+anywheres. I cain't understand why he ain't over in Europe now helpin'
+out one side or t'other."
+
+"Was this son Mr. Curtis's only child?"
+
+"So fer as I know. He left three little kids. They was all here with
+their mother jest after the house was finished. Finest children I
+ever--"
+
+"They will probably come into this property when Mr. Curtis dies,"
+said Barnes, keeping the excitement out of his voice.
+
+"More'n likely."
+
+"Was he very feeble when you saw him last?"
+
+"I ain't seen him in more'n six months. He was failin' then. That's
+why he went to the city."
+
+"Oh, I see. You did not see him when he arrived the last of March?"
+
+"I was visitin' my sister up in Hornville when he come back
+unexpected-like. This ijiot Loeb says he wrote me to meet 'em at
+Spanish Falls but I never got the letter. Like as not the durn fool
+got the address wrong. I didn't know Mr. Curtis was home till I come
+back from my sister's three days later. The wust of it was that I had
+tooken the automobile with me,--to have a little work done on her,
+mind ye,--an' so they had to hire a Ford to bring him up from the
+Falls. I wouldn't 'a' had it happen fer fifty dollars." Peter's tone
+was convincingly doleful.
+
+"And he has been confined to his room ever since? Poor old fellow!
+It's hard, isn't it?"
+
+"It sure is. Seems like he'll never be able to walk ag'in. I was
+talkin' to his nurse only the other day. He says it's a hopeless
+case."
+
+"Fortunately his sister can be here with him."
+
+"By gosh, she ain't nothin' like him," confided Peter. "She's all fuss
+an' feathers an' he is jest as simple as you er me. Nothin' fluffy
+about him, I c'n tell ye. Course, he must 'a' had a screw loose
+some'eres when he made sich a botch of that house up there, but it's
+his'n an' there ain't no law ag'in a man doin' what he pleases with
+his own property." He sighed deeply. "I'm jest as well pleased to go
+as not," he went on. "Mrs. Collier's got a lot o' money of her own,
+an' she's got highfalutin' New York ideas that don't seem to jibe with
+mine. Used to be a time when everything was nice an' peaceful up here,
+with Sally Perkins doin' the cookin' and her daughter waitin' table,
+but 'tain't that way no more. Got to have a man cook an' men
+waitresses, an' a butteler. An' it goes ag'in the grain to set down to
+a meal with them hayseeds from Italy. You never saw sich table
+manners."
+
+He rambled on for some minutes, expanding under the soulful influence
+of his own woes and the pleasure of having a visible auditor instead
+of the make-believe ones he conjured out of the air at times when
+privacy afforded him the opportunity to lament aloud.
+
+At any other time Barnes would have been bored by such confidences as
+these. Now he was eagerly drinking in every word that Peter uttered.
+His lively brain was putting the whole situation into a nutshell.
+Assuming that Peter was not the most guileful person on earth, it was
+quite obvious that he not only was in ignorance of the true state of
+affairs at Green Fancy but that he was to be banished from the place
+while still in that condition.
+
+Long before they came to the turnpike, Barnes had reduced his hundred
+and one suppositions to the following concrete conclusion: Green Fancy
+was no longer in the hands of its original owner for the good and
+sufficient reason that Mr. Curtis was dead. The real master of the
+house was the man known as Loeb. Through O'Dowd he had leased the
+property from the widowed daughter-in-law, and had established himself
+there, surrounded by trustworthy henchmen, for the purpose of carrying
+out some dark and sinister project.
+
+Putting two and two together, it was easy to determine how and when
+O'Dowd decided to cast his fortunes with those of the leader in this
+mysterious enterprise. Their intimacy undoubtedly grew out of
+association at the time of the Balkan Wars. O'Dowd was a soldier of
+fortune. He saw vast opportunities in the scheme proposed by Loeb, and
+fell in with it, whether through a mistaken idea as to its real
+character or an active desire to profit nefariously time only would
+tell. Green Fancy afforded an excellent base for operations. O'Dowd
+induced his sister to lease the property to Loeb,--or he may even have
+taken it himself. He had visited Mr. Curtis on at least two occasions.
+He knew the place and its advantages. The woman known as Mrs. Collier
+was not the sister of Curtis. She--but here Barnes put a check upon
+his speculations. He appealed to Peter once more.
+
+"I suppose Mrs. Collier has spent a great deal of time up here with
+her brother."
+
+"First time she was ever here, so far as I know," said Peter, and
+Barnes promptly took up his weaving once more.
+
+With one exception, he decided, the entire company at Green Fancy was
+involved in the conspiracy. The exception was Miss Cameron. It was
+quite clear to him that she had been misled or betrayed into her
+present position; that a trap had been set for her and she had walked
+into it blindly, trustingly. This would seem to establish, beyond
+question, that her capture and detention was vital to the interests of
+the plotters; otherwise she would not have been lured to Green Fancy
+under the impression that she was to find herself among friends and
+supporters. Supporters! That word started a new train of thought. He
+could hardly wait for the story that was to fall from her lips.
+
+Peter swerved into the main-road. "Guess I c'n hit her up a little
+now," he said.
+
+"Take it slowly, if you please," said Barnes. "I've had one experience
+in this car, going a mile a minute, and I didn't enjoy it."
+
+"You never been in this car before," corrected Peter.
+
+"Is it news to you? Day before yesterday I was picked up at this very
+corner and taken to Hart's Tavern in this car. The day Miss Cameron
+arrived and the car failed to meet her at Spanish Falls."
+
+"You must be dreamin'," said Peter slowly.
+
+"If you should have the opportunity, Peter, just ask Miss Cameron,"
+said the other. "She will tell you that I'm right."
+
+"Is she the strange young lady that come a day er so ago?"
+
+"The extremely pretty one," explained Barnes.
+
+Peter lapsed into silence. It was evident that he considered it
+impossible to continue the discussion without offending his passenger.
+
+"By the way, Peter, it has just occurred to me that I may be able to
+give you a job in case you are let out by Mr. Curtis. I can't say
+definitely until I have communicated with my sister, who has a summer
+home in the Berkshires. Don't mention it to Mr. Curtis. I wouldn't,
+for anything in the world, have him think that I was trying to take
+you away from him. That is regarded as one of the lowest tricks a man
+can be guilty of."
+
+"We call it ornery up here," said Peter. "I'll be much obliged, sir.
+Course I won't say a word. Will I find you at the Tavern if I get my
+walkin' papers soon?"
+
+"Yes. Stop in to see me to-morrow if you happen to be passing."
+
+There was additional food for reflection in the fact that Peter was
+allowed to conduct him to the Tavern alone. It was evident that not
+only was the garrulous native ignorant of the real conditions at Green
+Fancy, but that the opportunity was deliberately afforded him to
+proclaim his private grievances to the world. After all, mused Barnes,
+it wasn't a bad bit of diplomacy at that!
+
+Barnes said good night to the man and entered the Tavern a few minutes
+later. Putnam Jones was behind the desk and facing him was the little
+book-agent.
+
+"Hello, stranger," greeted the landlord. "Been sashaying in society,
+hey? Meet my friend Mr. Sprouse, Mr. Barnes. Sic-em, Sprouse! Give him
+the Dickens!" Mr. Jones laughed loudly at his own jest.
+
+Sprouse shook hands with his victim.
+
+"I was just saying to our friend Jones here, Mr. Barnes, that you look
+like a more than ordinarily intelligent man and that if I had a chance
+to buzz with you for a quarter of an hour I could present a
+proposition---"
+
+"Sorry, Mr. Sprouse, but it is half-past eleven o'clock, and I am dog-
+tired. You will have to excuse me."
+
+"To-morrow morning will suit me," said Sprouse cheerfully, "if it
+suits you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+MR. SPROUSE ABANDONS LITERATURE AT AN EARLY HOUR IN THE MORNING
+
+
+After thrashing about in his bed for seven sleepless hours, Barnes
+arose and gloomily breakfasted alone. He was not discouraged over his
+failure to arrive at anything tangible in the shape of a plan of
+action. It was inconceivable that he should not be able in very short
+order to bring about the release of the fair guest of Green Fancy. He
+realised that the conspiracy in which she appeared to be a vital link
+was far-reaching and undoubtedly pernicious in character. There was
+not the slightest doubt in his mind that international affairs of
+considerable importance were involved and that the agents operating at
+Green Fancy were under definite orders.
+
+Mr. Sprouse came into the dining-room as he was taking his last
+swallow of coffee.
+
+"Ah, good morning," was the bland little man's greeting. "Up with the
+lark, I see. It is almost a nocturnal habit with me. I get up so early
+that you might say it's a nightly proceeding. I'm surprised to see you
+circulating at seven o'clock, however. Mind if I sit down here and
+have my eggs?" He pulled out a chair opposite Barnes and coolly sat
+down at the table.
+
+"You can't sell me a set of Dickens at this hour of the day," said
+Barnes sourly. "Besides, I've finished my breakfast. Keep your seat."
+He started to rise.
+
+"Sit down," said Sprouse quietly. Something in the man's voice and
+manner struck Barnes as oddly compelling. He hesitated a second and
+then resumed his seat. "I've been investigating you, Mr. Barnes," said
+the little man, unsmilingly. "Don't get sore. It may gratify you to
+know that I am satisfied you are all right."
+
+"What do you mean, Mr.--Mr.--?" began Barnes, angrily.
+
+"Sprouse. There are a lot of things that you don't know, and one of
+them is that I don't sell books for a living. It's something of a side
+line with me." He leaned forward. "I shall be quite frank with you,
+sir. I am a secret service man. Yesterday I went through your effects
+upstairs, and last night I took the liberty of spying upon you, so to
+speak, while you were a guest at Green Fancy."
+
+"The deuce you say!" cried Barnes, staring.
+
+"We will get right down to tacks," said Sprouse. "My government,--
+which isn't yours, by the way,--sent me up here five weeks ago on a
+certain undertaking. I am supposed to find out what is hatching up at
+Green Fancy. Having satisfied myself that you are not connected with
+the gang up there, I cheerfully place myself in your hands, Mr.
+Barnes. Just a moment, please. Bring me my usual breakfast, Miss
+Tilly." The waitress having vanished in the direction of the kitchen,
+he resumed. "You were at Green Fancy last night. So was I. You had an
+advantage over me, however, for you were on the inside and I was not."
+
+"Confound your impudence! I--"
+
+"One of my purposes in revealing myself to you, Mr. Barnes, is to warn
+you to steer clear of that crowd. You may find yourself in exceedingly
+hot water later on if you don't. Another purpose, and the real one, is
+to secure, if possible, your co-operation in beating the game up
+there. You can help me, and in helping me you may be instrumental in
+righting one of the gravest wrongs the world has ever known. Of
+course, I am advising you in one breath to avoid the crowd up there
+and in the next I ask you to do nothing of the kind. If you can get
+into the good graces of--But there is no use counting on that. They
+are too clever. There is too much at stake. You might go there for
+weeks and--"
+
+"See here, Mr. Sprouse or whatever your name is, what do you take me
+for?" demanded Barnes, assuming an injured air. "You have the most
+monumental nerve in--"
+
+"Save your breath, Mr. Barnes. We may just as well get together on
+this thing first as last. I've told you what I am,--and almost who,--
+and I know who and what you are. You don't suppose for an instant that
+I, with a record for having made fewer blunders than any man in the
+service, could afford to take a chance with you unless I was
+absolutely sure of my ground, do you? You ask me what I take you for.
+Well, I take you for a meddler who, if given a free rein, may upset
+the whole pot of beans and work an irreparable injury to an honest
+cause."
+
+"A meddler, am I? Good morning, Mr. Sprouts. I fancy--"
+
+"Sprouse. But the name doesn't matter. Keep your seat. You may learn
+something that will be of untold value to you. I used the word meddler
+in a professional sense. You are inexperienced. You would behave like
+a bull in a china shop. I've been working for nearly six months on a
+job that you think you can clear up in a couple of days. Fools walk in
+where angels fear to tread. You--"
+
+"Will you be good enough, Mr. Sprouse, to tell me just what you are
+trying to get at? Come to the point. I know nothing whatever against
+Mr. Curtis and his friends. You assume a great deal--"
+
+"Excuse me, Mr. Barnes. I'll admit that you don't know anything
+against them, but you suspect a whole lot. To begin with, you suspect
+that two men were shot to death because they were in wrong with some
+one at Green Fancy. Now, I could tell you who those two men really
+were and why they were shot. But I sha'n't do anything of the sort,--
+at least not at present. I--"
+
+"You may have to tell all this to the State if I choose to go to the
+authorities with the statement you have just made."
+
+"I expect, at the proper time, to tell it all to the State. Are you
+willing to listen to what I have to say, or are you going to stay on
+your high-horse and tell me to go to the devil? You interest yourself
+in this affair for the sake of a little pleasurable excitement. I am
+in it, not for fun, but because I am employed by a great Power to risk
+my life whenever it is necessary. This happens to be one of the times
+when it is vitally necessary. This is not child's play or school-boy
+romance with me. It is business."
+
+Barnes was impressed. "Perhaps you will condescend to tell me who you
+are, Mr. Sprouse. I am very much in the dark."
+
+"I am a special agent,--but not a spy, sir,--of a government that is
+friendly to yours. I am known in Washington. My credentials are not to
+be questioned. At present it would be unwise for me to reveal the name
+of my government. I dare say if I can afford to trust you, Mr. Barnes,
+you can afford to trust me. There is too much at stake for me to take
+the slightest chance with any man. I am ready to chance you, sir, if
+you will do the same by me."
+
+"Well," began Barnes deliberately, "I guess you will have to take a
+chance with me, Mr. Sprouse, for I refuse to commit myself until I
+know exactly what you are up to."
+
+Sprouse had a pleasant word or two for Miss Tilly as she placed the
+bacon and eggs before him and poured his coffee.
+
+"Skip along now, Miss Tilly," he said. "I'm going to sell Mr. Barnes a
+whole library if I can keep him awake long enough."
+
+"I can heartily recommend the Dickens and Scott--" began Miss Tilly,
+but Sprouse waved her away.
+
+"In the first place, Mr. Barnes," said he, salting his eggs, "you have
+been thinking that I was sent down from Green Fancy to spy on you.
+Isn't that so?"
+
+"I am answering no questions, Mr. Sprouse."
+
+"You were wrong," said Sprouse, as if Barnes had answered in the
+affirmative. "I am working on my own. You may have observed that I did
+not accompany the sheriff's posse to-day. I was up in Hornville
+getting the final word from New York that you were on the level. You
+have a document from the police, I hear, but I hadn't seen it. Time is
+precious. I telephoned to New York. Eleven dollars and sixty cents.
+You were under suspicion until I hung up the receiver, I may say."
+
+"Jones has been talking to you," said Barnes. "But you said a moment
+ago that you were up at Green Fancy last night. Not by invitation, I
+take it."
+
+"I invited myself," said Sprouse succinctly. "Are you inclined to
+favour my proposition?"
+
+"You haven't made one."
+
+"By suggestion, Mr. Barnes. It is quite impossible for me to get
+inside that house. You appear to have the entree. You are working in
+the dark, guessing at everything. I am guessing at nothing. By
+combining forces we should bring this thing to a head, and--"
+
+"Just a moment. You expect me to abuse the hospitality of--"
+
+"I shall have to speak plainly, I see." He leaned forward, fixing
+Barnes with a pair of steady, earnest eyes. "Six months ago a certain
+royal house in Europe was despoiled of its jewels, its privy seal, its
+most precious state documents and its charter. They have been traced
+to the United States. I am here to recover them. That is the
+foundation of my story, Mr. Barnes. Shall I go on?"
+
+"Can you not start at the beginning, Mr. Sprouse? What was it that led
+up to this amazing theft?"
+
+"Without divulging the name of the house, I will say that its
+sympathies have been from the outset friendly to the Entente Allies,--
+especially with France. There are two branches of the ruling family,
+one in power, the other practically in exile. The state is a small
+one, but its integrity is of the highest. Its sons and daughters have
+married into the royal families of nearly all of the great nations of
+the continent. The present--or I should say--the late ruler, for he
+died on a field of battle not many months ago, had no direct heir. He
+was young and unmarried. I am not permitted to state with what army he
+was fighting, nor on which front he was killed. It is only necessary
+to say that his little state was gobbled up by the Teutonic Allies.
+The branch of the family mentioned as being in exile lent its support
+to the cause of Germany, not for moral reasons but in the hope and
+with the understanding, I am to believe, that the crown-lands would be
+the reward. The direct heir to the crown is a cousin of the late
+prince. He is now a prisoner of war in Austria. Other members of the
+family are held by the Bulgarians as prisoners of war. It is not
+stretching the imagination very far to picture them as already dead
+and out of the way. At the close of the war, if Germany is victorious,
+the crown will be placed upon the head of the pretender branch. Are
+you following me?"
+
+"Yes," said Barnes, his nerves tingling. He was beginning to see a
+great light.
+
+"Almost under the noses of the forces left by the Teutonic Allies to
+hold the invaded territory, the crown-jewels, charter and so forth,
+heretofore mentioned as they say in legal parlance, were
+surreptitiously removed from the palace and spirited away by persons
+loyal to the ruling branch of the family. As I have stated, I am
+engaged in the effort to recover them."
+
+"It requires but little intelligence on my part to reach the
+conclusion that you are employed by either the German or Austrian
+government, Mr. Sprouse. You are working in the interests of the
+usurping branch of the family."
+
+"Wrong again, Mr. Barnes,--but naturally. I am in the service of a
+country violently opposed to the German cause. My country's interest
+in the case is--well, you might say benevolent. The missing property
+belongs to the State from which it was taken. It represents a great
+deal in the shape of treasure, to say nothing of its importance along
+other lines. To restore the legitimate branch of the family to power
+after the war, the Entente Allies must be in possession of the papers
+and crown-rights that these misguided enthusiasts made away with. Of
+course, it would be possible to do it without considering the demands
+of the opposing claimants, arbitrarily kicking them out, but that
+isn't the way my government does business. The persons who removed
+this treasure from the state vaults believed that they were acting for
+the best interests of their superiors. In a sense, they were. The only
+fault we have to find with them is that they failed to do the sensible
+thing by delivering their booty into the hands of one of the
+governments friendly to their cause. Instead of doing so, they
+succeeded in crossing the ocean, conscientiously believing that
+America was the safest place to keep the treasure pending developments
+on the other side.
+
+"Now we come to the present situation. Some months ago a member of the
+aforesaid royal house arrived in this country by way of Japan. He is a
+distant cousin of the crown and, in a way, remotely looked upon as the
+heir-apparent. Later on he sequestered himself in Canada. Our agents
+in Europe learned but recently that while he pretends to be loyal to
+the ruling house, he is actually scheming against it. I have been
+ordered to run him to earth, for there is every reason to believe that
+the men who secured the treasure have been duped into regarding him as
+an avowed champion of the crown. We believe that if we find this man
+we will, sooner or later, be able to put our hands on the missing
+treasure. I have never seen the man, nor a portrait of him. A fairly
+adequate description has been sent to me, however. Now, Mr. Barnes,
+without telling you how I have arrived at the conclusion, I am
+prepared to state that I believe this man to be at Green Fancy, and
+that in time the loot,--to use a harsh word,--will be delivered to him
+there. I am here to get it, one way or another, when that comes to
+pass."
+
+Barnes had not taken his eyes from the face of the little man during
+this recital. He was rapidly changing his opinion of Sprouse. There
+was sincerity in the voice and eyes of the secret agent.
+
+"What led you to suspect that he is at Green Fancy, Mr. Sprouse?"
+
+"History. It is known that this Mr. Curtis has spent a great deal of
+time in the country alluded to. As a matter of fact, his son, who
+lived in London, had rather extensive business interests there. This
+son was killed in the Balkan War several years ago. It is said that
+the man I am looking for was a friend of young Curtis, who married a
+Miss O'Dowd in London,--the Honourable Miss O'Dowd, daughter of an
+Irish peer, and sister of the chap you have met at Green Fancy. The
+elder Curtis was a close and intimate friend of more than one member
+of the royal family. Indeed, he is known to have been a welcome
+visitor in the home of a prominent nobleman, once high in the counsels
+of State. This man O'Dowd is also a friend of the man I am looking
+for. He went through the Balkan War with him. After that war, O'Dowd
+drifted to China, hoping no doubt to take a hand in the revolution. He
+is that sort. Some months ago he came to the United States. I forgot
+to mention that he has long considered this country his home, although
+born in Ireland. About six weeks ago a former equerry in the royal
+household arrived in New York. Through him I learned that the daughter
+of the gentleman in whose house the senior Mr. Curtis was a frequent
+guest had been in the United States since some time prior to the
+beginning of the war. She was visiting friends in the States and has
+been unable to return to her own land, for reasons that must be
+obvious. I may as well confess that her father was, by marriage, an
+uncle of the late ruler.
+
+"Since the invasion and overthrow of her country by the Teutonic
+Allies, she has been endeavouring to raise money here for the purpose
+of equipping and supporting the remnants of the small army that fought
+so valiantly in defence of the crown. These men, a few thousand only,
+are at present interned in a neutral country. I leave you to guess
+what will happen if she succeeds in supplying them with arms and
+ammunition. Her work is being carried on with the greatest secrecy.
+Word of it came to the ears of her country's minister in Paris,
+however, and he at once jumped to a quick but very natural conclusion.
+She has been looked upon in court circles as the prospective bride of
+the adventurous cousin I am hunting for. The embassy has conceived the
+notion that she may know a great deal about the present whereabouts of
+the missing treasure. No one accuses her of duplicity, however. On the
+other hand, the man in the case is known to have pro-German
+sympathies. She may be loyal to the crown, but there is a decided
+doubt as to his loyalty. Of course, we have no means of knowing to
+what extent she has confided her plans to him. We do not even know
+that she is aware of his presence in this country. To bring the story
+to a close, I was instructed to keep close watch on the man O'Dowd.
+The ex-attache of the court to whom I referred a moment ago set out to
+find the young lady in question. I traced O'Dowd to this place. I was
+on the point of reporting to my superiors that he was in no way
+associated with the much-sought-after crown-cousin, and that Green
+Fancy was as free from taint as the village chapel, when out of a
+clear sky and almost under my very nose two men were mysteriously done
+away with at the very gates of the place. In fact, so positive was I
+that O'Dowd was all right, that I had started for Washington to send
+my report back home and wait for instructions. The killing of those
+two men changed the aspect completely. You will certainly agree with
+me after I have explained to you that the one known as Andrew Roon was
+no other than the equerry who had undertaken to find the--young
+woman."
+
+"By Jove!" exclaimed Barnes.
+
+"He came up here because he had reason to believe that the--er--girl
+was either at Green Fancy or was headed this way. I was back here in
+thirty-six hours, selling Dickens. I saw the bodies of the two men at
+the county-seat, and recognised both of them, despite the fact that
+they had cut off their beards. Now, they could not have been
+recognised, Mr. Barnes, except by some one who had known them all his
+life. And that is why I am positive that the man I am looking for is
+up at Green Fancy."
+
+Barnes drew a long breath. His mind was made up. He had decided to
+pool issues with the secret agent, but not until he was convinced that
+the result of their co-operation would in no way inflict a hardship
+upon the young woman who had appealed to him for help. He was certain
+that she was the fair propagandist described by Sprouse.
+
+"Is it your intention to lodge him in jail if you succeed in capturing
+your man, Mr. Sprouse, and to apply for extradition papers?" he asked.
+
+"I can't land him in jail unless I can prove that he has the stolen
+goods, can I?"
+
+"You could implicate him in the general conspiracy."
+
+"That is for others to say, sir. I am only instructed to recover the
+treasure."
+
+"And the young woman, what of her? She would, in any case, be held for
+examination and--"
+
+"My dear sir, I may as well tell you now that she is a loyal subject
+and, far from being in bad grace at court, is an object of extreme
+solicitude to the ambassador. Up to two months ago she was in touch
+with him. From what I can gather, she has disappeared completely. Roon
+was sent over here for the sole purpose of finding her and inducing
+her to return with him to Paris."
+
+"And to take the treasure with her, I suppose," said Barnes drily.
+
+"Naturally."
+
+"Well," began Barnes, introducing a harsh note into his voice, "I
+should say that if she is guilty of receiving this stolen property she
+ought to be punished. Jail is the place for her, Mr. Sprouse."
+
+Sprouse put down his coffee cup rather suddenly. A queer pallor came
+into his face. His voice was low and a trifle husky when he made
+reply.
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say that, sir."
+
+"Why, may I ask?"
+
+"Because it puts an obstacle in the way of our working together in
+this matter."
+
+"You mean that my attitude toward her is--er--not in keeping with your
+ideas?"
+
+"You do not understand the situation. Haven't I made it plain to you
+that she is innocent of any intent to do wrong?"
+
+"You have said so, Mr. Sprouse, but your idea of wrong and mine may
+not jibe."
+
+"There cannot be two ways of looking at it, sir," said Sprouse, after
+a moment. "She could do no wrong."
+
+Whereupon Barnes reached his hand across the table and laid it on
+Sprouse's. His eyes were dancing.
+
+"That's just what I want to be sure about," he said. "It was my way of
+finding out your intentions concerning her."
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded Sprouse, staring.
+
+"Come with me to my room," said Barnes, suppressing his excitement. "I
+think I can tell you where she is,--and a great deal more that you
+ought to know."
+
+In the little room upstairs, he told the whole story to Sprouse. The
+little man listened without so much as a single word of interruption
+or interrogation. His sharp eyes began to glisten as the story
+progressed, but in no other way did he reveal the slightest sign of
+emotion. Somewhat breathlessly Barnes came to the end.
+
+"And now, Mr. Sprouse, what do you make of it all?" he inquired.
+
+Sprouse leaned back in his chair, suddenly relaxing. "I am completely
+at sea," he said, and Barnes looked at him in surprise.
+
+"By Jove, I thought it would all be as clear as day to you. Here is
+your man and also your woman, and the travelling bag full of--"
+
+"Right you are," interrupted Sprouse. "That is all simple enough. But,
+my dear Barnes, can you tell me what Mr. Secretary Loeb's real game
+is? Why has he established himself so close to the Canadian line, and
+why the mobilisation? I refer to his army of huskies."
+
+"Heirs-apparent usually have some sort of a bodyguard, don't they?"
+
+Sprouse was staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. He either did not
+hear the remark or considered it unworthy of notice. When he finally
+lowered his eyes, it was to favour Barnes with a deep, inscrutable
+smile.
+
+"I dare say the first thing for me to do is to advise the Canadian
+authorities to keep a sharp lookout along the border."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE FIRST WAYFARER ACCEPTS AN INVITATION, AND MR. DILLINGFORD
+BELABOURS A PROXY
+
+
+Barnes insisted that the first thing to be considered was the release
+of Miss Cameron. He held forth at some length on the urgency of
+immediate action.
+
+"If we can't think of any other way to get her out of this devilish
+predicament, Sprouse, I shall apply to Washington for help."
+
+"And be laughed at, my friend," said the secret agent. "In the first
+place, you couldn't give a substantial reason for government
+investigation; in the second place the government wouldn't act until
+it had looked very thoroughly into the case; in the third place, it
+would be too late by the time the government felt satisfied to act,
+and in the fourth place, it is not a matter for the government to
+meddle in at all."
+
+"Well, something has to be done at once," said Barnes doggedly. "I
+gave her my promise. She is depending on me. If you could have seen
+the light that leaped into her glorious eyes when I--"
+
+"Yes, I know. I've heard she is quite a pretty girl. You needn't--"
+
+"Quite a pretty girl!" exclaimed Barnes. "Why, she is the loveliest
+thing that God ever created. She has the face of--"
+
+"I am beginning to understand O'Dowd's interest in her, Mr. Barnes.
+Your enthusiasm conveys a great deal to me. Apparently you are not
+alone in your ecstasies."
+
+"You mean that he is--er--What the dickens do you mean?"
+
+"He has probably fallen in love with her with as little difficulty as
+you have experienced, Mr. Barnes, and almost as expeditiously. He has
+seen a little more of her than you, but--"
+
+"Don't talk nonsense. I'm not in love with her."
+
+"Can you speak with equal authority for Mr. O'Dowd? He is a very
+susceptible Irishman, I am told. Sweethearts in a great many ports,--
+and still going strong, as we say of the illustrious Johnny Walker.
+From all that I have heard of her amazing beauty, I can't blame him
+for losing his heart to her. I only hope he loses his head as well."
+
+"I don't believe he will get much encouragement from her, Mr.
+Sprouse," said Barnes stiffly.
+
+"If she is as clever as I think she is, she will encourage him
+tremendously. I would if I were in her place."
+
+"Umph!" was Barnes's only retort to that.
+
+"Is it possible that you have never had the pleasure of being
+transformed into a perfect ass by the magic of a perfect woman, Mr.
+Barnes? You've missed a great deal. It happened to me once, and came
+near to upsetting the destinies of two great nations. Mr. O'Dowd is
+only human. He isn't immune."
+
+"I catch the point, Mr. Sprouse," said Barnes, rather gloomily. He did
+not like to think of the methods that might have to be employed in the
+subjugation of Mr. O'Dowd. "There is a rather important question I'd
+like to ask. Is she even remotely eligible to her country's throne?"
+
+"Remotely, yes," said Sprouse without hesitation.
+
+Barnes waited, but nothing further was volunteered.
+
+"So remotely that she could marry a chap like O'Dowd without giving
+much thought to future complications?" he ventured.
+
+"She'd be just as safe in marrying O'Dowd as she would be in marrying
+you," was Sprouse's unsatisfactory response. The man's brow was
+wrinkled in thought. "See here, Mr. Barnes, I am planning a visit to
+Green Fancy to-night. How would you like to accompany me?"
+
+"I'd like nothing better," said Barnes, with enthusiasm.
+
+"Ever been shot at?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Well, you are likely to experience the novelty if you go with me.
+Better think it over."
+
+"Don't worry about me. I'll go."
+
+"Will you agree to obey instructions? I can't have you muddling things
+up, you know."
+
+Barnes thought for a moment. "Of course, if the opportunity offers for
+me to communicate with Miss Cameron, I don't see how I--"
+
+Sprouse cut him off sharply. He made it quite plain to the would-be
+cavalier that it was not a sentimental enterprise they were to
+undertake, and that he would have to govern himself accordingly.
+
+"The grounds are carefully guarded," said Barnes, after they had
+discussed the project for some time. "Miss Cameron is constantly under
+the watchful eye of one or more of the crowd."
+
+"I know. I passed a couple of them last night," said Sprouse calmly.
+"By the way, don't you think it would be very polite of you to invite
+the Green Fancy party over here to have an old-fashioned country
+dinner with you to-night?"
+
+"Good Lord! What are you talking about? They wouldn't dream of
+accepting. Besides, I thought you wanted me to go with you."
+
+"You could offer them diversion in the shape of a theatrical
+entertainment. Your friends, the Thespians, would be only too happy to
+disport themselves in return for all your--"
+
+"It would be useless, Mr. Sprouse. They will not come."
+
+"I am perfectly aware of that, but it won't do any harm to ask them,
+will it?"
+
+Barnes chuckled. "I see. Establishing myself as an innocent bystander,
+eh?"
+
+"Get O'Dowd on the telephone and ask him if they can come," said
+Sprouse. "Incidentally, you might test his love for Miss Cameron while
+you are about it."
+
+"How?" demanded Barnes.
+
+"By asking him to call her to the telephone. Would you be sure to
+recognise her voice?"
+
+"I'd know it in Babel," said the other with some fervour.
+
+"Well, if she comes to the 'phone and speaks to you without restraint,
+we may be reasonably certain of two things: that O'Dowd is friendly
+and that he is able to fix it so that she can talk to you without
+being overheard or suspected by the others. It's worth trying, in any
+event."
+
+"But there is Jones to consider. The telephone is in his office. What
+will he think--"
+
+"Jones is all right," said Sprouse briefly. "Come along. You can call
+up from my room." He grinned slyly. "Such a thing as tapping the wire,
+you know."
+
+Sprouse had installed a telephone in his room, carrying a wire
+upstairs from an attachment made in the cellar of the Tavern. He
+closed the door to his little room on the top floor.
+
+"With the landlord's approval," he explained, pointing to the
+instrument, "but unknown to the telephone company, you may be sure.
+Call him up about half-past ten. O'Dowd may be up at this unholy hour,
+but not she. Now, I must be off to discuss literature with Mrs. Jim
+Conley. I've been working on her for two weeks. The hardest part of my
+job is to keep her from subscribing for a set of Dickens. She has been
+on the point of signing the contract at least a half dozen times, and
+I've been fearfully hard put to head her off. Conley's house is not
+far from Green Fancy. Savvy?"
+
+Barnes, left to his own devices, wandered from tap-room to porch, from
+porch to forge, from forge to tap-room, his brain far more active than
+his legs, his heart as heavy as lead and as light as air by turns.
+More than once he felt like resorting to a well-known expedient to
+determine whether he was awake or dreaming. Could all this be real?
+
+The sky was overcast. A cold, damp wind blew out of the north. There
+was a feel of rain in the air, an ugly greyness in the road that
+stretched its sharply defined course through the green fields that
+stole timorously up to the barren forest and stopped short, as if
+afraid to venture farther.
+
+The ring of the hammer on the anvil lent cheer to the otherwise harsh
+and unlovely mood that had fallen upon Nature over night. It sang a
+song of defiance that even the mournful chant of sheep on the distant
+slopes failed to subdue. The crowing of a belated and no doubt
+mortified rooster, the barking of faraway dogs, the sighing of
+journeying winds, the lugubrious whistle of Mr. Clarence Dillingford,
+--all of these added something to the dreariness of the morning.
+
+Mr. Dillingford was engaged in lustily beating a rug suspended on a
+clothes line in the area back of the stables. His tune was punctuated
+by stifled lapses followed almost immediately by dull, flat whacks
+upon the carpet. From the end of the porch he was visible to the
+abstracted Barnes.
+
+"Hi!" he shouted, brandishing his flail at the New Yorker. "Want a
+job?"
+
+Barnes looked at his watch. He still had an hour and a half to wait
+before he could call up O'Dowd. He strolled across the lot and joined
+the perspiring comedian.
+
+"You seem to have a personal grudge against that carpet," he said,
+moving back a few yards as Dillingford laid on so manfully that the
+dust arose in clouds.
+
+"Every time I land I say: 'Take that, darn you!' And it pleases me to
+imagine that with every crack Mr. Putnam Jones lets out a mighty
+'Ouch!' Now listen! Didn't that sound a little like an ouch?" Mr.
+Dillingford rubbed a spot clean on the handle of the flail and pressed
+his lips to it. "Good dog!" he murmured tenderly. "Bite him! (Whack!)
+Now, bite him again! (Whack!) Once more! (Whack!) Good dog! Now, go
+lie down awhile and rest." He tossed the flail to the ground and,
+mopping his brow, turned to Barnes. "If you want a real treat, go into
+the cellar and take a look at Bacon. He is churning for butter. Got a
+gingham apron on and thinks he's disguised. He can't cuss because old
+Miss Tilly is reading the first act of a play she wrote for Julia
+Marlowe seven or eight years ago. Oh, it's a great life!"
+
+Barnes sat down on the edge of a watering-trough and began filling his
+pipe.
+
+"You are not obliged to do this sort of work, Dillingford," he said.
+"It would give me pleasure to stake--"
+
+"Nix," said Mr. Dillingford cheerily. "Some other time I may need help
+more than I do now. I'm getting three square meals and plenty of fresh
+air to sleep in at present, and work doesn't hurt me physically. It
+DOES hurt my pride, but that's soon mended. Have you seen the old man
+this morning?"
+
+"Rushcroft? No."
+
+"Well, we're to be on our way next week, completely reorganised,
+rejuvenated and resplendent. Fixed it all up last night. Tommy Gray
+was down here with two weeks' salary as chauffeur and a little extra
+he picked up playing poker in the garage with the rubes. Thirty-seven
+dollars in real money. He has decided to buy a quarter interest in the
+company and act as manager. Everything looks rosy. You are to have a
+half interest and the old man the remaining quarter. He telegraphed
+last night for four top-notch people to join us at Crowndale on
+Tuesday the twenty-third. We open that night in 'The Duke's Revenge,'
+our best piece. It's the only play we've got that provides me with a
+part in which I have a chance to show what I can really do. As soon as
+I get through spanking this carpet I'll run upstairs and get a lot of
+clippings to show you how big a hit I've made in the part. In one town
+I got better notices than the star himself, and seldom did I--"
+
+"Where is Crowndale?" interrupted Barnes, a slight frown appearing on
+his brow. He had a distinct feeling that there was handwriting on the
+wall and that it was put there purposely for him to read.
+
+"About five hours' walk from Hornville," said Dillingford, grinning.
+"Twenty-five cents by train. We merely resume a tour interrupted by
+the serious illness of Mr. Rushcroft. Rather than impose upon our
+audiences by inflicting them with an understudy, the popular star
+temporarily abandons his tour. We ought to sell out in Crowndale, top
+to bottom."
+
+The amazing optimism of Mr. Dillingford had its effect on Barnes.
+Somehow the day grew brighter, the skies less drear, a subtle warmth
+crept into the air.
+
+"You may count on me, Dillingford, to put up my half interest in the
+show. I will have a fling at it a couple of weeks anyhow. If it
+doesn't pan out in that time,--well, we can always close, can't we?"
+
+"We certainly can," said the other, with conviction. "It wouldn't
+surprise me in the least, however, to see you clean up a very tidy bit
+of money, Mr. Barnes. Our season ordinarily closes toward the end of
+June, but the chances are we'll stay out all summer if things go
+right. Congratulations! Glad to see you in the profession." He shook
+hands with the new partner. "Keep your seat! Don't move. I'll shift a
+little so's the wind won't blow the dust in your eyes." He obligingly
+did so and fell upon the carpet with renewed vigour.
+
+Barnes was restless. He chatted with the rug-beater for a few minutes
+and then sauntered away. Miss Thackeray was starting off for a walk as
+he came around to the front of the Tavern. She wore a rather shabby
+tailor-suit of blue serge, several seasons out of fashion, and a black
+sailor hat. Her smile was bright and friendly as she turned in
+response to his call. As he drew near he discovered that her lips were
+a vivid, startling red, her eyes elaborately made up, and her cheeks
+the colour of bismuth. She was returning to form, thought he, in some
+dismay.
+
+"Where away?" he inquired.
+
+"Seeking solitude," she replied. "I've got to learn a new part in an
+old play." She flourished the script airily. "I have just accepted an
+engagement as leading lady."
+
+"Splendid! I am delighted. With John Drew, I hope."
+
+"Nothing like that," she said loftily. Then her wide mouth spread into
+a good-natured grin, revealing the even rows of teeth that were her
+particular charm. "I am going out with the great Lyndon Rushcroft."
+
+"Good! As one of the proprietors, I am glad to see you on our--er--
+programme, Miss Thackeray."
+
+"Programme is good," she mused. "I've been on a whole lot of
+programmes during my brief career. What I want to get on some time, if
+possible, is a pay-roll. Wait! Don't say it! I was only trying to be
+funny; I didn't know how it would sound or I wouldn't have said
+anything so stupid. You've done more than enough for us, Mr. Barnes.
+Don't let yourself in for anything more. This thing will turn out like
+all the rest of our efforts. We'll collapse again with a loud report,
+but we're used to it and you're not."
+
+"But I'm only letting myself in for a couple of hundred," he
+protested. "I can stand that much of a loss without squirming."
+
+"You know your own business," she said shortly, almost ungraciously.
+"I'm only giving you a little advice."
+
+"Advice is something I always ignore," he said, smiling. "Experience
+is my teacher."
+
+"Advice is cheaper than experience, and a whole lot easier to forget,"
+she said. "My grandfather advised my father to stay in the hardware
+business out in Indiana. That was thirty years ago. And here we are
+to-day," she concluded, with a wide sweep of her hand that took in the
+forlorn landscape. She said more in that expressive gesture than the
+most accomplished orator could have put into words in a week.
+
+"But there is always a to-morrow, you know."
+
+"There may be a to-morrow for me, but there are nothing but yesterdays
+left for dad. All of his to-morrows will be just like his yesterdays.
+They will be just as empty of success, just as full of failure.
+There's no use mincing matters. We never have had a chance to go broke
+for the simple reason that we've never been anything else. He has been
+starring for fifteen years, hitting the tanks from one end of the
+country to the other. And for just that length of time he has been
+mooning. There's a lot of difference between starring and mooning."
+
+"He may go down somewhat regularly, Miss Thackeray, but he always
+comes up again. That's what I admire in him. He will not stay down."
+
+Her eyes brightened. "He is rather a brick, isn't he?"
+
+"Rather! And so are you, if I may say so. You have stuck to him
+through all--"
+
+"Nothing bricky about me," she scoffed. "I am doing it because I
+can't, for the life of me, get rid of the notion that I can act. God
+knows I can't, and so does father, and the critics, and every one in
+the profession, but I think I can,--so what does it all amount to?
+Now, that will be enough about me. As for you, Mr. Barnes, if you have
+made up your mind to be foolish, far be it from me to head you off.
+You will drop considerably more than a couple of hundred, let me tell
+you, and--but, as I said before, that is your business. I must be off
+now. It's a long part and I'm slow study. So long,--and thanks!"
+
+He sat down on the Tavern steps and watched her as she swung off down
+the road. To his utter amazement, when she reached a point several
+hundred yards below the Tavern, she left the highway and, gathering up
+her skirts, climbed over the fence into the narrow meadow-land that
+formed a frontage at the bottom of the Curtis estate. A few minutes
+later she disappeared among the trees at the base of the mountain,
+going in the direction of Green Fancy. He had followed her with his
+gaze all the way across that narrow strip of pasture. When she came to
+the edge of the forest, she stopped and looked back at the Tavern.
+Seeing him still on the steps, she waved her hand at him. Then she was
+gone.
+
+"Where ignorance is bliss," he muttered to himself, and then looked at
+his watch. Ten minutes later he was in Sprouse's room, calling for
+Green Fancy over an extension wire that had cost the company nothing
+and yielded nothing in return. After some delay, O'Dowd's mellow voice
+sang out:
+
+"Hello! How are you this morning?"
+
+"Grievously lonesome," replied Barnes, and wound up a doleful account
+of himself by imploring O'Dowd to save his life by bringing the entire
+Green Fancy party over to dinner that night.
+
+O'Dowd was heart-broken. Personally he would go to any extreme to save
+so valuable a life, but as for the rest of the party, they begged him
+to say they were sorry to hear of the expected death of so promising a
+chap and that, while they couldn't come to his party, they would be
+delighted to come to his funeral. In short, it would be impossible for
+them to accept his kind invitation. The Irishman was so gay and good-
+humoured that Barnes took hope.
+
+"By the way, O'Dowd, I'd like to speak with Miss Cameron if she can
+come to the telephone."
+
+There was a moment of silence. Then: "Call up at twelve o'clock and
+ask for me. Good-bye."
+
+Promptly on the stroke of twelve Barnes took down the receiver and
+called for Green Fancy. O'Dowd answered almost immediately.
+
+"I warned you last night, Barnes," he said without preamble. "I told
+you to keep out of this. You may not understand the situation and I
+cannot enlighten you, but I will say this much: no harm can come to
+her while I'm here and alive."
+
+"Can't she come to the telephone?"
+
+"Won't ye take my word for it? I swear by all that's holy that she'll
+be safe while I've--"
+
+Barnes was cautious. This might be the clever O'Dowd's way of trapping
+him into serious admissions.
+
+"I don't know what the deuce you are talking about, O'Dowd," he
+interrupted.
+
+"You lie, Barnes," said the other promptly. "Miss Cameron is here at
+my elbow. Will you have her tell you that you lie?"
+
+"Let her say anything she likes," said Barnes quickly.
+
+"Don't be surprised if you are cut off suddenly. The coast is clear
+for the moment, but--Here, Miss Cameron. Careful, now."
+
+Her voice, soft and clear and trembling with eagerness caressed
+Barnes's eager ear.
+
+"Mr. O'Dowd will see that no evil befalls me here, but he refuses to
+help me to get away. I quite understand and appreciate his position. I
+cannot ask him to go so far as that. Help will have to come from the
+outside. It will be dangerous--terribly dangerous, I fear. I have no
+right to ask you to take the risk--"
+
+"Wait! Is O'Dowd there?"
+
+"He has left the room. He does not want to hear what I say to you.
+Don't you understand?"
+
+"Keeping his conscience clear, bless his soul," said Barnes. "It is
+safe for you to speak freely?"
+
+"I think so. O'Dowd suspected us last night. He came to me this
+morning and spoke very frankly about it. I feel quite safe with him.
+You see, I've known him for a long, long time. He did not know that I
+was to be led into a trap like this. It was not until I had been here
+for several hours that he realised the true state of affairs. I cannot
+tell you any more at present, Mr. Barnes. So great are the other
+issues at stake that my own misfortunes are as nothing."
+
+"You say O'Dowd will not assist you to escape?"
+
+"He urges me to stay here and take my chances. He believes that
+everything will turn out well for me in the end, but I am frightened.
+I must get away from this place."
+
+"I'll manage it, never fear. Keep a stiff upper lip."
+
+"Wha--keep a what?"
+
+He laughed. "I forgot that you don't understand our language, Miss
+Cameron. Have courage, is what I should have said. Are you prepared to
+fly at a moment's notice?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then, keep your eyes and ears open for the next night or two. Can you
+tell me where your room is located?"
+
+"It is one flight up; the first of the two windows in my room is the
+third to the right of the entrance. I am confident that some one is
+stationed below my windows all night long."
+
+"Are you alone in that room?"
+
+"Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke occupy the rooms on my left, Mr. De Soto
+is on my right."
+
+"Where does Loeb sleep?"
+
+"I do not know." He detected a new note in her voice, and at once put
+it down to fear.
+
+"You still insist that I am not to call on the authorities for help?"
+
+"Yes, yes! That must not even be considered. I have not only myself to
+consider, Mr. Barnes. I am a very small atom in--"
+
+"All right! We'll get along without them," he said cheerily.
+"Afterwards we will discuss the importance of atoms."
+
+"And your reward as well, Mr. Barnes," she said. Her voice trailed off
+into an indistinct murmur. He heard the receiver click on the hook,
+and, after calling "hello" twice, hung up his own with a sigh.
+Evidently O'Dowd had warned her of the approach of a less considerate
+person than himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE SECOND WAYFARER RECEIVES TWO VISITORS AT MIDNIGHT
+
+
+The hour for the midday dinner approached and there was no sign of
+Miss Thackeray's return from the woods. Barnes sat for two
+exasperating hours on the porch and listened to the confident,
+flamboyant oratory of Mr. Lyndon Rushcroft. His gaze constantly swept
+the line of trees, and there were times when he failed to hear a word
+in whole sentences that rolled from the lips of the actor. He was
+beginning to feel acutely uneasy, when suddenly her figure issued from
+the woods at a point just above the Tavern. Instead of striking out at
+once across the meadow, she stopped and for as long as three or four
+minutes appeared to be carrying on a conversation with some invisible
+person among the trees she had just left behind. Then she waved her
+hand and turned her steps homeward. A bent old man came out of the
+woods and stood watching her progress across the open stretch. She had
+less than two hundred yards to traverse between the woods and the
+fence opposite the Tavern. The old man remained where he was until she
+reached the fence and prepared to mount it. Then, as Barnes ran down
+from the porch and across the road to assist her over the fence, he
+whirled about and disappeared.
+
+"Aha," said Barnes chidingly: "politely escorted from the grounds, I
+see. If you had asked me I could have told you that trespassers are
+not welcome."
+
+"He is a nice old man. I chatted with him for nearly an hour. His
+business is to shoo gipsy moths away from the trees, or something like
+that, and not to shoo nice, tender young ladies off the place."
+
+"Does he speak English?"
+
+"Not a word. He speaks nothing but the most awful American I've ever
+heard. He has lived up there on the mountain for sixty-nine years, and
+he has eleven grown children, nineteen grandchildren and one wife. I'm
+hungry."
+
+The coroner's inquest over the bodies of Roon and Paul was held that
+afternoon at St. Elizabeth. Witnesses from Hart's Tavern were among
+those to testify. The verdict was "Murder at the hands of parties
+unknown."
+
+Sprouse did not appear at the Tavern until long after nightfall. His
+protracted absence was the source of grave uneasiness to Barnes, who,
+having been summoned to St. Elizabeth, returned at six o'clock primed
+and eager for the night's adventure.
+
+The secret agent listened somewhat indifferently to the latter's
+account of his telephonic experiences. At nine o'clock he yawned
+prodigiously and announced that he was going to bed, much to the
+disgust of Mr. Rushcroft and greatly to the surprise of Mr. Barnes,
+who followed him from the tap-room and demanded an explanation.
+
+"People usually go to bed at night, don't they?" said Sprouse
+patiently. "It is expected, I believe."
+
+"But, my dear man, we are to undertake--"
+
+"There is no reason why we shouldn't go to bed like sensible beings,
+Mr. Barnes, and get up again when we feel like it, is there? I have
+some cause for believing that one of those chaps in there is from
+Green Fancy. Go to bed at ten o'clock, my friend, and put out your
+light. I don't insist on your taking off your clothes, however. I will
+rap on your door at eleven o'clock. By the way, don't forget to stick
+your revolver in your pocket."
+
+A few minutes before eleven there came a gentle tapping on Barnes's
+door. He sprang to his feet and opened it, presenting himself before
+Sprouse fully dressed and, as the secret agent said later on, "fit to
+kill."
+
+They went quietly down a back stairway and let themselves out into the
+stable-yard. A light, cold drizzle greeted them as they left the lee
+of the building.
+
+"A fine night for treason, stratagems and spoils," said Sprouse,
+speaking barely above a whisper. "Follow me and don't ask questions.
+You will have to talk if you do, and talking is barred for the
+present."
+
+He stopped at the corner of the inn and listened for a moment. Then he
+darted across the road and turned to the left in the ditch that
+bordered it. The night was as black as pitch. Barnes, trusting to the
+little man's eyes, and hanging close upon his coat-tails, followed
+blindly but gallantly in the tracks of the leader. It seemed to him
+that they stumbled along parallel to the road for miles before Sprouse
+came to a halt.
+
+"Climb over the fence here, and stick close to me. Are you getting
+your cats'-eyes?"
+
+"Yes, I can see pretty well now. But, great scot, why should we walk
+half way to the North Pole, Sprouse, before--"
+
+"We haven't come more than half a mile. The Curtis land ends here. We
+stay close to this fence till we reach the woods. I was in here to-day
+taking observations."
+
+"You were?"
+
+"Yes. Didn't that actress friend of yours mention meeting me?"
+
+"No."
+
+"I told her distinctly that I had eleven children, nineteen--"
+
+"By Jove, was that you?" gasped Barnes, falling in beside him.
+
+"If it were light enough you could see a sign on my back which says in
+large type, 'Silence,'" said the other, and after that not a word
+passed between them for half an hour or more. Then it was Sprouse who
+spoke. "This is the short cut to Green Fancy," he whispered, laying
+his hand on Barnes's arm. "We save four or five miles, coming this
+way. Do you know where we are?"
+
+"I haven't the remotest idea."
+
+"About a quarter of a mile below Curtis's house. Are you all right?"
+
+"Fine as a fiddle, except for a barked knee, a skinned elbow, a couple
+of more or less busted ribs, something on my cheek that runs hot,--
+yes, I'm all right."
+
+"Pretty tough going," said Sprouse, sympathetically.
+
+"I've banged into more trees than--"
+
+"Sh!" After a moment of silence, intensified by the mournful squawk of
+night-birds and the chorus of katydids, Sprouse whispered: "Did you
+hear that?"
+
+Barnes thrilled. This was real melodrama. "Hear what?" he whispered
+shrilly.
+
+"Listen!" After a second or two: "There!"
+
+"It's a woodpecker hammering on the limb of a--"
+
+"Woodpeckers don't hammer at midnight, my lad. Don't stir! Keep your
+ears open."
+
+"You bet they're open all right," whispered Barnes, his nerves
+aquiver.
+
+Suddenly the sharp tattoo sounded so close to the spot where they were
+standing that Barnes caught his breath and with difficulty suppressed
+an exclamation. It was like the irregular rattle of sticks on the rim
+of a snare-drum. The tapping ceased and a moment later a similar
+sound, barely audible, came out of the distance.
+
+Sprouse clutched his companion's arm and, dropping to his knees in the
+thick underbrush, pulled the other down after him.
+
+Presently heavy footsteps approached. An unseen pedestrian passed
+within ten yards of them. They scarcely breathed until the sounds
+passed entirely out of hearing. Sprouse put his lips close to Barnes's
+ear.
+
+"Telegraph," he whispered. "It's a system they have of reporting to
+each other. There are two men patrolling the grounds near the house.
+You see what we're up against, Barnes. Do you still want to go on with
+it? If you are going to funk it, say so, and I'll go alone."
+
+"I'll stay by you," replied Barnes sturdily.
+
+"In about ten minutes that fellow will come back this way. He follows
+the little path that winds down--but never mind. Stay where you are,
+and don't make a sound, no matter what happens. Understand? No matter
+what happens!" He arose and swiftly, noiselessly, stole away from his
+companion's side. Barnes, his eyes accustomed to the night, either saw
+or imagined that he saw, the shadowy hulk press forward for a dozen
+paces and then apparently dissolve in black air.
+
+Several minutes went by. There was not a sound save the restless
+patter of rain in the tree tops. At last the faraway thud of footsteps
+came to the ears of the tense listener. They drew nearer, louder, and
+once more seemed to be approaching the very spot where he crouched. He
+had the uncanny feeling that in a moment or two more the foot of the
+sentinel would come in contact with his rigid body, and that he would
+not have the power to suppress the yell of dismay that--
+
+Then came the sound of a dull, heavy blow, a hoarse gasp, a momentary
+commotion in the shrubbery, and--again silence. Barnes's blood ran
+cold. He waited for the next footfall of the passing man. It never
+came.
+
+A sharp whisper reached his ears. "Come here--quick!"
+
+He floundered through the brush and almost fell prostrate over the
+kneeling figure of a man.
+
+"Take care! Lend a hand," whispered Sprouse.
+
+Dropping to his knees, Barnes felt for and touched wet, coarse
+garments, and gasped:
+
+"My God! Have you--killed him?"
+
+"Temporarily," said Sprouse, between his teeth. "Here, unwind the rope
+I've got around my waist. Take the end--here. Got a knife? Cut off a
+section about three feet long. I'll get the gag in his mouth while
+you're doing it. Hangmen always carry their own ropes," he concluded,
+with grewsome humour. "Got it cut? Well, cut two more sections, same
+length."
+
+With incredible swiftness the two of them bound the feet, knees and
+arms of the inert victim.
+
+"I came prepared," said Sprouse, so calmly that Barnes marvelled at
+the iron nerve of the man.
+
+"Thirty feet of hemp clothes-line for a belt, properly prepared gags,
+--and a sound silencer."
+
+"By heaven, Sprouse, I--I believe he's dead," groaned Barnes. "We--we
+haven't any right to kill a--"
+
+"He'll be as much alive but not as lively as a cricket in ten
+minutes," said the other. "Grab his heels. We'll chuck him over into
+the bushes where he'll be out of harm's way. We may have to run like
+hell down this path, partner, and I'd--I'd hate to step on his face."
+
+"'Gad, you're a cold-blooded--"
+
+"Don't be finicky," snapped Sprouse. "It wasn't much of a crack, and
+it was necessary. There! You're safe for the time being," he grunted
+as they laid the limp body down in the brush at the side of the narrow
+trail. Straightening up, with a sigh of satisfaction, he laid his hand
+on Barnes's shoulder. "We've just got to go through with it now,
+Barnes. We'll never get another chance. Putting that fellow out of
+business queers us forever afterward." He dropped to his knees and
+began searching over the ground with his hands. "Here it is. You can't
+see it, of course, so I'll tell you what it is. A nice little block of
+sandal-wood. I've already got his nice little hammer, so we'll see
+what we can raise in the way of wireless chit-chat."
+
+Without the slightest hesitation, he struck a succession of quick,
+confident blows upon the block of wood.
+
+"He always signals at this spot going out and again coming in," he
+said softly.
+
+"How the deuce did you find out--"
+
+"There! Hear that? He says, 'All's well,'--same as I said, or
+something equivalent to it. I've been up here quite a bit, Barnes,
+making a study of night-hawks, their habits and their language."
+
+"By gad, you are a wonder!"
+
+"Wait till to-morrow before you say that," replied Sprouse,
+sententiously. "Come along now. Stick to the trail. We've got to land
+the other one." For five or six minutes they moved forward. Barnes,
+following instructions, trod heavily and without any attempt at
+caution. His companion, on the other hand, moved with incredible
+stealthiness. A listener would have said that but one man walked on
+that lonely trail.
+
+Turning sharply to the right, Sprouse guided his companion through the
+brush for some distance, and once more came to a halt. Again he stole
+on ahead, and, as before, the slow, confident, even careless progress
+of a man ceased as abruptly as that of the comrade who lay helpless in
+the thicket below.
+
+"There are others, no doubt, but they patrol the outposts, so to
+speak," panted Sprouse as they bound and trussed the second victim.
+"We haven't much to fear from them. Come on. We are within a hundred
+feet of the house. Softly now, or--"
+
+Barnes laid a firm, detaining hand on the man's shoulder.
+
+"See here, Sprouse," he whispered, "it's all very well for you,
+knocking men over like this, but just what is your object? What does
+all this lead up to? We can't go on forever slugging and binding these
+fellows. There is a house full of them up there. What do we gain by
+putting a few men out of business?"
+
+Sprouse broke in, and there was not the slightest trace of emotion in
+his whisper.
+
+"Quite right. You ought to know. I suppose you thought I was bringing
+you up here for a Romeo and Juliet tete-a-tete with the beautiful Miss
+Cameron,--and for nothing else. Well, in a way, you are right. But,
+first of all, my business is to recover the crown jewels and
+parchments. I am going into that house and take them away from the man
+you know as Loeb,--if he has them. If he hasn't them, my work here is
+a failure."
+
+"Going into the house?" gasped Barnes. "Why, my God, man, that is
+impossible. You cannot get into the house, and if you did, you'd never
+come out alive. You would be shot down as an ordinary burglar and--the
+law would justify them for killing you. I must insist--"
+
+"I am not asking you to go into the house, my friend. I shall go
+alone," said Sprouse coolly.
+
+"On the other hand, I came up here to rescue a helpless,--"
+
+"Oh, we will attend to that also," said Sprouse. "The treasure comes
+first, however. Has it not occurred to you that she will refuse to be
+rescued unless the jewels can be brought away with her? She would die
+before she would leave them behind. No, Barnes, I must get the booty
+first, then the beauty."
+
+"But you can do nothing without her advice and assistance," protested
+Barnes.
+
+"That is just why I brought you along with me. She does not know me.
+She would not trust me. You are to introduce me."
+
+"Well, by gad, you've got a nerve!"
+
+"Keep cool! It's the only way. Now, listen. She has designated her
+room and the windows that are hers. She is lying awake up there now,
+take it from me, hoping that you will come to-night. Do you
+understand? If not to-night, to-morrow night. I shall lead you
+directly to her window. And then comes the only chance we take,--the
+only instance where we gamble. There will not be a light in her
+window, but that won't make any difference. This nobby cane I'm
+carrying is in reality a collapsible fishing-rod. Bought it to-day in
+anticipation of some good fishing. First, we use it to tap gently on
+her window ledge, or shade, or whatever we find. Then, you pass up a
+little note to her. Here is paper and pencil. Say that you are below
+her window and--all ready to take her away. Say that the guards have
+been disposed of, and that the coast is clear. Tell her to lower her
+valuables, some clothes, et cetera, from the window by means of the
+rope we'll pass up on the pole. There is a remote possibility that she
+may have the jewels in her room. For certain reasons they may have
+permitted her to retain them. If such is the case, our work is easy.
+If they have taken them away from her, she'll say so, some way or
+another,--and she will not leave! Now, I've had a good look at the
+front of that house. It is covered with a lattice work and huge vines.
+I can shin up like a squirrel and go through her room to the--"
+
+"Are you crazy, Sprouse?"
+
+"I am the sanest person you've ever met, Mr. Barnes. The chance we
+take is that she may not be alone in the room. But, nothing risked,
+nothing gained."
+
+"You take your life in your hands and--"
+
+"Don't worry about that, my lad."
+
+"--and you also place Miss Cameron in even graver peril than--"
+
+"See here," said Sprouse shortly, "I am not risking my life for the
+fun of the thing. I am risking it for her, bear that in mind,--for her
+and her people. And if I am killed, they won't even say 'Well-done,
+good and faithful servant.' So, let's not argue the point. Are you
+going to stand by me or--back out?"
+
+Barnes was shamed. "I'll stand by you," he said, and they stole
+forward.
+
+The utmost caution was observed in the approach to the house through
+the thin, winding paths that Barnes remembered from an earlier visit.
+They crept on all fours over the last fifty feet that intervened, and
+each held a revolver in readiness for a surprise attack.
+
+There were no lights visible. The house was even darker than the night
+itself; it was vaguely outlined by a deeper shade of black. The ground
+being wet, the carpet of dead leaves gave out no rustling sound as the
+two men crept nearer and nearer to the top-heavy shadow that seemed
+ready to lurch forward and swallow them whole.
+
+At last they were within a few yards of the entrance and at the edge
+of a small space that had been cleared of shrubbery. Here Sprouse
+stopped and began to adjust the sections of his fishing-rod.
+
+"Write," he whispered. "There is a faint glow of light up there to the
+right. The third window, did you say? Well, that's about where I
+should locate it. She has opened the window shutters. The light comes
+into the room through the transom over the door, I would say. There is
+probably a light in the hall outside."
+
+A few minutes later, they crept across the open space and huddled
+against the vine-covered facade of Green Fancy. Barnes was singularly
+composed and free from nervousness, despite the fact that his whole
+being tingled with excitement. What was to transpire within the next
+few minutes? What was to be the end of this daring exploit? Was he to
+see her, to touch her hand, to carry her off into that dungeon-like
+forest,--and what was this new, exquisite thrill that ran through his
+veins?
+
+The tiny, metallic tip of the rod, held in the upstretched hand of
+Barnes, much the taller of the two men, barely reached the window
+ledge. He tapped gently, persistently on the hard surface. Obeying the
+hand-pressure of his companion he desisted at intervals, resuming the
+operation after a moment of waiting. Just as they were beginning to
+think that she was asleep and that their efforts were in vain, their
+straining eyes made out a shadowy object projecting slightly beyond
+the sill. Barnes felt Sprouse's grip on his shoulder tighten, and the
+quick intake of his breath was evidence of the little secret agent's
+relief.
+
+After a moment or two of suspense, Barnes experienced a peculiar,
+almost electric shock. Some one had seized the tip of the rod; it
+stiffened suddenly, the vibrations due to its flexibility ceasing. He
+felt a gentle tugging and wrenching; down the slender rod ran a
+delicate shiver that seemed almost magnetic as it was communicated to
+his hand. He knew what was happening. Some one was untying the bit of
+paper he had fastened to the rod, and with fingers that shook and were
+clumsy with eagerness.
+
+The tension relaxed a moment later; the rod was free, and the shadowy
+object was gone from the window above. She had withdrawn to the far
+side of the room for the purpose of reading the message so
+marvellously delivered out of the night. He fancied her mounting a
+chair so that she could read by the dim light from the transom.
+
+He had written: "I am outside with a trusted friend, ready to do your
+bidding. Two of the guards are safely bound and out of the way. Now is
+our chance. We will never have another. If you are prepared to come
+with me now, write me a word or two and drop it to the ground. I will
+pass up a rope to you and you may lower anything you wish to carry
+away with you. But be exceedingly careful. Take time. Don't hurry a
+single one of your movements." He signed it with a large B.
+
+It seemed an hour before their eyes distinguished the shadowy head
+above. As a matter of fact, but a few minutes had passed. During the
+wait, Sprouse had noiselessly removed his coat, a proceeding that
+puzzled Barnes. Something light fell to the ground. It was Sprouse who
+stooped and searched for it in the grass. When he resumed an upright
+posture, he put his lips close to Barnes's ear and whispered:
+
+"I will put my coat over your head. Here is a little electric torch.
+Don't flash it until I am sure the coat is arranged so that you can do
+so without a gleam of light getting out from under." He pressed the
+torch and a bit of closely folded paper in the other's hand, and
+carefully draped the coat over his head. Barnes was once more filled
+with admiration for the little man's amazing resourcefulness.
+
+He read: "Thank God! I was afraid you would wait until to-morrow
+night. Then it would have been too late. I must get away to-night but
+I cannot leave--I dare not leave without something that is concealed
+in another part of the house. I do not know how to secure it. My door
+is locked from the outside. What am I to do? I would rather die than
+to go away without it."
+
+Barnes whispered in Sprouse's ear. The latter replied at once: "Write
+her that I will climb up to her window, and, with God's help and her
+directions, manage to find the thing she wants."
+
+Barnes wrote as directed and passed the missive aloft. In a little
+while a reply came down. Resorting to the previous expedient, he read:
+
+"It is impossible. The study is under bolt and key and no one can
+enter. I do not know what I am to do. I dare not stay here and I dare
+not go. Leave me to my fate. Do not run any further risk. I cannot
+allow you to endanger your life for me. I shall never forget you, and
+I shall always be grateful. You are a noble gentleman and I a foolish,
+stupid--oh, such a stupid!--girl."
+
+That was enough for Barnes. It needed but that discouraging cry to
+rouse his fighting spirit to a pitch that bordered on recklessness.
+His courage took fire, and blazed up in one mighty flame. Nothing,--
+nothing could stop him now.
+
+Hastily he wrote: "If you do not come at once, we will force our way
+into the house and fight it out with them all. My friend is coming up
+the vines. Let him enter the window. Tell him where to go and he will
+do the rest. He is a miracle man. Nothing is impossible to him. If he
+does not return in ten minutes, I shall follow."
+
+There was no response to this. The head reappeared in the window, but
+no word came down.
+
+Sprouse whispered: "I am going up. She will not commit you to
+anything. We have to take the matter into our own hands. Stay here. If
+you hear a commotion in the house, run for it. Don't wait for me. I'll
+probably be done for."
+
+"I'll do just as I damn please about running," said Barnes, and there
+was a deep thrill in his whisper. "Good luck. God help you if they
+catch you."
+
+"Not even He could help me then. Good-bye. I'll do what I can to
+induce her to drop out of the window if anything goes wrong with me
+down stairs."
+
+He searched among the leaves and found the thick vine. A moment later
+he was silently scaling the wall of the house, feeling his way
+carefully, testing every precarious foothold, dragging himself
+painfully upwards by means of the most uncanny, animal-like strength
+and stealth.
+
+Barnes could not recall drawing a single breath from the instant the
+man left his side until the faintly luminous square above his head was
+obliterated by the black of his body as it wriggled over the ledge.
+
+He was never to forget the almost interminable age that he spent,
+flattened against the vines, waiting for a signal from aloft. He
+recalled, with dire uneasiness, Miss Cameron's statement that a guard
+was stationed beneath her window throughout the night. Evidently she
+was mistaken. Sprouse would not have overlooked a peril like that, and
+yet as he crouched there, scarcely breathing, he wondered how long it
+would be before the missing guard returned to his post and he would be
+compelled to fight for his life. The fine, cold rain fell gently about
+him; moist tendrils and leaves caressed his face; owls hooted with
+ghastly vehemence, as if determined to awaken all the sleepers for
+miles around; and frogs chattered loudly in gleeful anticipation of
+the frenzied dash he would have to make through the black maze.
+
+We will follow Sprouse. When he crawled through the window and stood
+erect inside the room, he found himself confronted by a tall, shadowy
+figure, standing half way between him and the door.
+
+He advanced a step or two and uttered a soft hiss of warning.
+
+"Not a sound," he whispered, drawing still nearer. "I have come four
+thousand miles to help you, Countess. This is not the time or place to
+explain. We haven't a moment to waste. I need only say that I have
+been sent from Paris by persons you know to aid you in delivering the
+crown jewels into the custody of your country's minister in Paris.
+Nothing more need be said now. We must act swiftly. Tell me where they
+are. I will get them."
+
+"Who are you?" she whispered tensely.
+
+"My name is Theodore Sprouse. I have been loaned to your embassy by my
+own government."
+
+"How did you learn that I was here?"
+
+"I beg of you do not ask questions now. Tell me where the Prince
+sleeps, how I may get to his room--"
+
+"You know that he is the Prince?"
+
+"For a certainty. And that you are his cousin."
+
+She laid her hand upon his arm. "And you know that he plans evil to--
+to his people? That he is in sympathy with the--with the country that
+has despoiled us?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+She was silent for a moment. "Not only is it impossible for you to
+enter his room but it is equally impossible for you to get out of this
+one except by the way you entered. If I thought there was the
+slightest chance for you to--"
+
+"Let me be the judge of that, Countess. Where is his room?"
+
+"The last to the right as you leave this door,--at the extreme end of
+the corridor. There are four doors between mine and his. Across the
+hall from his room you will see an open door. A man sits in there all
+night long, keeping watch. You could not approach Prince Ugo's door
+without being seen by that watcher."
+
+"You said in your note to Barnes that the--er--something was in
+Curtis's study."
+
+"The Prince sleeps in Mr. Curtis's room. The study adjoins it, and can
+only be entered from the bed-room. There is no other door. What are
+you doing?"
+
+"I am going to take a peep over the transom, first of all. If the
+coast is clear, I shall take a little stroll down the hall. Do not be
+alarmed. I will come back,--with the things we both want. Pardon me."
+He sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes. She watched
+him as if fascinated while he opened the bosom of his soft shirt and
+stuffed the wet shoes inside.
+
+"How did you dispose of the man who watches below my window?" she
+inquired, drawing near. "He has been there for the past three nights.
+I missed him to-night."
+
+"Wasn't he there earlier in the evening?" demanded Sprouse quickly.
+
+"I have been in my room since eleven. He seldom comes on duty before
+that hour."
+
+"I had it figured out that he was one of the men we got down in the
+woods. If I have miscalculated--well, poor Barnes may be in for a bad
+time. We are quite safe up here for the time being. The fellow will
+assume that Barnes is alone and that he comes to pay his respects to
+you in a rather romantic manner."
+
+"You must warn Mr. Barnes. He--"
+
+"May I not leave that to you, Countess? I shall be very busy for the
+next few minutes, and if you will--Be careful! A slip now would be
+fatal. Don't be hasty." His whispering was sharp and imperative. It
+was a command that he uttered, and she shrank back in surprise.
+
+"Pray do not presume to address me in--"
+
+"I crave your pardon, my lady," he murmured abjectly. "You are not
+dressed for flight. May I suggest that while I am outside you slip on
+a dark skirt and coat? You cannot go far in that dressing-gown. It
+would be in shreds before you had gone a hundred feet through the
+brush. If I do not return to this room inside of fifteen minutes, or
+if you hear sounds of a struggle, crawl through the window and go down
+the vines. Barnes will look out for you."
+
+"You must not fail, Theodore Sprouse," she whispered. "I must regain
+the jewels and the state papers. I cannot go without--"
+
+"I shall do my best," he said simply. Silently he drew a chair to the
+door, mounted it and, drawing himself up by his hands, poked his head
+through the open transom. An instant later he was on the floor again.
+She heard him inserting a key in the lock. Almost before she could
+realise that it had actually happened, the door opened slowly,
+cautiously, and his thin wiry figure slid through what seemed to her
+no more than a crack. As softly the door was closed.
+
+For a long time she stood, dazed and unbelieving, in the centre of the
+room, staring at the door. She held her breath, listening for the
+shout that was so sure to come--and the shot, perhaps! A prayer formed
+on her lips and went voicelessly up to God.
+
+Suddenly she roused herself from the stupefaction that held her, and
+threw off the slinky peignoir. With feverish haste she snatched up
+garments from the chair on which she had carefully placed them in
+anticipation of the emergency that now presented itself. A blouse
+(which she neglected to button), a short skirt of some dark material,
+a jacket, and a pair of stout walking shoes (which she failed to
+lace), completed the swift transformation. She felt the pockets of
+skirt and jacket, assuring herself that her purse and her own personal
+jewelry were where she had forehandedly placed them. As she glided to
+the window, she jammed the pins into a small black hat of felt. Then
+she peered over the ledge. She started back, stifling a cry with her
+hand. A man's head had almost come in contact with her own as she
+leaned out. A man's hand reached over and grasped the inner ledge of
+the casement, and then a man's face was dimly revealed to her startled
+gaze.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A FLIGHT, A STONE-CUTTER'S SHED, AND A VOICE OUTSIDE
+
+
+He saw her standing in the middle of the room, her clenched hands
+pressed to her lips. At the angle from which he peered into the room,
+her head was in line with the lighted transom.
+
+His grip on the ledge was firm but his foothold on the lattice
+precarious. He felt himself slipping. Exerting all of his strength he
+drew himself upward, free of the vines that had begun to yield to his
+weight.
+
+An almost inaudible "Whew!" escaped his lips as he straddled the sill.
+An instant later he was in the room.
+
+"Why have you come up here?" She came swiftly to his side.
+
+"Thank the Lord, I made it," he whispered, breathlessly. "I came up
+because there was nowhere else to go. I thought I heard voices--a man
+and a woman speaking. They seemed to be quite close to me. Don't be
+alarmed, Miss Cameron. I am confident that I can--"
+
+"And now that you are here, trapped as I am, what do you purpose to
+do? You cannot escape. Go back before it is too late. Go--"
+
+"Is Sprouse--where is he?"
+
+"He is somewhere in the house. I have heard no sound. I was to wait
+until he--Oh, Mr. Barnes, I--I am terrified. You will never know the--"
+
+"Trust him," he said. "He is a marvel. We'll be safely out of here in
+a little while, and then it will all look simple to you. You are ready
+to go? Good! We will wait a few minutes and if he doesn't show up
+we'll--Why, you are trembling like a leaf! Sit down, do! If he doesn't
+return in a minute or two, I'll take a look about the house myself. I
+don't intend to desert him. I know this floor pretty well, and the
+lower one. The stairs are--"
+
+"But the stairway is closed at the bottom by a solid steel curtain. It
+is made to look like a panel in the wall. Mr. Curtis had it put in to
+protect himself from burglars. You are not to venture outside this
+room, Mr. Barnes. I forbid it. You--"
+
+"How did Sprouse get out? You said your door was locked."
+
+He sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. She was still trembling
+violently. He took her hand in his and held it tightly.
+
+"He had a key. I do not know where he obtained--"
+
+"Skeleton key, such as burglars use. By Jove, what a wonderful burglar
+he would make! Courage, Miss Cameron! He will be here soon. Then comes
+the real adventure,--my part of it. I didn't come here to-night to get
+any flashy old crown jewels. I came to take you out of--"
+
+"You--you know about the crown jewels?" she murmured. Her body seemed
+to stiffen.
+
+"Very little. They are nothing to me."
+
+"Then you know who I am?"
+
+"No. You will tell me to-morrow."
+
+"Yes, yes,--to-morrow," she whispered, and fell to shivering again.
+
+For some time there was silence. Both were listening intently for
+sounds in the hall; both were watching the door with unblinking eyes.
+She leaned closer to whisper in his ear. Their shoulders touched. He
+wondered if she experienced the same delightful thrill that ran
+through his body. She told him of the man who watched across the hall
+from the room supposed to be occupied by Loeb the secretary, and of
+Sprouse's incomprehensible daring.
+
+"Where is Mr. Curtis?" he asked.
+
+Her breath fanned his cheek, her lips were close to his ear. "There is
+no Mr. Curtis here. He died four months ago in Florida."
+
+"I suspected as much." He did not press her for further revelations.
+"Sprouse should be here by this time. It isn't likely that he has met
+with a mishap. You would have heard the commotion. I must go out there
+and see if he requires any--"
+
+She clutched his arm frantically. "You shall do nothing of the kind.
+You shall not--"
+
+"Sh! What do you take me for, Miss Cameron? He may be sorely in need
+of help. Do you think that I would leave him to God knows what sort of
+fate? Not much! We undertook this job together and--"
+
+"But he said positively that I was to go in case he did not return in
+--in fifteen minutes," she begged. "He may have been cut off and was
+compelled to escape from another--"
+
+"Just the same, I've got to see what has become of--"
+
+"No! No!" She arose with him, dragging at his arm. "Do not be
+foolhardy. You are not skilled at--"
+
+"There is only one way to stop me, Miss Cameron. If you will come with
+me now--"
+
+"But I must know whether he secured the--"
+
+"Then let me go. I will find out whether he has succeeded. Stand over
+there by the window, ready to go if I have to make a run for it."
+
+He was rougher than he realised in wrenching his arm free. She uttered
+a low moan and covered her face with her hands. Undeterred, he crossed
+to the door. His hand was on the knob when a door slammed violently
+somewhere in a distant part of the house.
+
+A hoarse shout of alarm rang out, and then the rush of heavy feet over
+thickly carpeted floors.
+
+Barnes acted with lightning swiftness. He sprang to the open window,
+half-carrying, half-dragging the girl with him.
+
+"Now for it!" he whispered. "Not a second to lose. Climb upon my back,
+quick, and hang on for dear life." He had scrambled through the window
+and was lying flat across the sill. "Hurry! Don't be afraid. I am
+strong enough to carry you if the vines do their part."
+
+With surprising alacrity and sureness she crawled out beside him and
+then over upon his broad back, clasping her arms around his neck.
+Holding to the ledge with one hand he felt for and clutched the thick
+vine with the other. Slowly he slid his body off of the sill and swung
+free by one arm. An instant later he found the lattice with the other
+hand and the hurried descent began. His only fear was that the vine
+would not hold. If it broke loose they would drop fifteen feet or more
+to the ground. A broken leg, an arm, or even worse,--But her hair was
+brushing his ear and neck, her arms were about him, her heart beat
+against his straining back, and--Why be a pessimist?
+
+His feet touched the ground. In the twinkling of an eye he picked her
+up in his arms and bolted across the little grass plot into the
+shrubbery. She did not utter a sound. Her arms tightened, and now her
+cheek was against his.
+
+Presently he set her down. His breath was gone, his strength
+exhausted.
+
+"Can you--manage to--walk a little way?" he gasped. "Give me your
+hand, and follow as close to my heels as you can. Better that I should
+bump into things than you."
+
+Shouts were now heard, and shrill blasts on a police whistle split the
+air.
+
+Her breathing was like sobs,--short and choking,--but he knew she was
+not crying. Apprehension, alarm, excitement,--anything but hysteria.
+The fortitude of generations was hers; a hundred forebears had passed
+courage down to her.
+
+On they stumbled, blindly, recklessly. He spared her many an injury by
+taking it himself. More than once she murmured sympathy when he
+crashed into a tree or floundered over a log. The soft, long-drawn "o-
+ohs!" that came to his ears were full of a music that made him
+impervious to pain. They had the effect of martial music on him, as
+the drum and fife exalts the faltering soldier in his march to death.
+
+Utterly at sea, he was now guessing at the course they were taking.
+Whether their frantic dash was leading them toward the Tavern, or
+whether they were circling back to Green Fancy, he knew not. Panting,
+he forged onward, his ears alert not only for the sound of pursuit but
+for the shot that would end the career of the spectacular Sprouse.
+
+At last she cried out, quaveringly:
+
+"Oh, I--I can go no farther! Can't we--is it not safe to stop for a
+moment? My breath is--"
+
+"God bless you, yes," he exclaimed, and came to an abrupt stop. She
+leaned heavily against him, gasping for breath. "I haven't the
+faintest idea where we are, but we must be some distance from the
+house. We will rest a few minutes and then take it easier, more
+cautiously. I am sorry, but it was the only thing to do, rough as it
+was."
+
+"I know, I understand. I am not complaining, Mr. Barnes. You will find
+me ready and strong and--"
+
+"Let me think. I must try to get my bearings. Good Lord, I wish
+Sprouse were here. He has eyes like a cat. He can see in the dark. We
+are off the path, that's sure."
+
+"I hope he is safe. Do you think he escaped?"
+
+"I am sure of it. Those whistles were sounding the alarm. There would
+have been no object in blowing them unless he had succeeded in getting
+out of the house. He may come this way. The chances are that your
+flight has not been discovered. They are too busy with him to think of
+you,--at least for the time being. Do you feel like going on? We must
+beat them to the Tavern. They--"
+
+"I am all right now," she said, and they were off again. Barnes now
+picked his way carefully and with the greatest caution. If at times he
+was urged to increased speed through comparatively open spaces it was
+because he realised the peril that lay at the very end of their
+journey: the likelihood of being cut off by the pursuers before he
+could lodge her safely inside of the walls. He could only pray that he
+was going in the right direction.
+
+An hour,--but what seemed thrice as long,--passed and they had not
+come to the edge of the forest. Her feet were beginning to drag; he
+could tell that by the effort she made to keep up with him. From time
+to time he paused to allow her to rest. Always she leaned heavily
+against him, seldom speaking; when she did it was to assure him that
+she would be all right in a moment or two. There was no sentimental
+motive behind his action when he finally found it necessary to support
+her with an encircling arm, nor was she loath to accept this tribute
+of strength.
+
+"You are plucky," he once said to her.
+
+"I am afraid I could not be so plucky if you were not so strong," she
+sighed, and he loved the tired, whimsical little twist she put into
+her reply. It revived the delightful memory of another day.
+
+To his dismay they came abruptly upon a region abounding in huge
+rocks. This was new territory to him. His heart sank.
+
+"By Jove, I--I believe we are farther away from the road than when we
+started. We must have been going up the slope instead of down."
+
+"In any case, Mr. Barnes," she murmured, "we have found something to
+sit down upon."
+
+He chuckled. "If you can be as cheerful as all that, we sha'n't miss
+the cushions," he said, and, for the first time, risked a flash of the
+electric torch. The survey was brief. He led her forward a few paces
+to a flat boulder, and there they seated themselves.
+
+"I wonder where we are," she said.
+
+"I give it up," he replied dismally. "There isn't much sense in
+wandering over the whole confounded mountain, Miss Cameron, and not
+getting anywhere. I am inclined to suspect that we are above Green
+Fancy, but a long way off to the right of it. My bump of direction
+tells me that we have been going to the right all of the time.
+Admitting that to be the case, I am afraid to retrace our steps. The
+Lord only knows what we might blunder into."
+
+"I think the only sensible thing to do, Mr. Barnes, is to make
+ourselves as snug and comfortable as we can and wait for the first
+signs of daybreak."
+
+He scowled,--and was glad that it was too dark for her to see his
+face. He wondered if she fully appreciated what would happen to him if
+the pursuers came upon him in this forbidding spot. He could almost
+picture his own body lying there among the rocks and rotting, while
+she--well, she would merely go back to Green Fancy.
+
+"I fear you do not realise the extreme gravity of the situation."
+
+"I do, but I also realise the folly of thrashing about in this brush
+without in the least knowing where our steps are leading us. Besides,
+I am so exhausted that I must be a burden to you. You cannot go on
+supporting me--"
+
+"We must get out of these woods," he broke in doggedly, "if I have to
+carry you in my arms."
+
+"I shall try to keep going," she said quickly. "Forgive me if I seemed
+to falter a little. I--I--am ready to go on when you say the word."
+
+"You poor girl! Hang it all, perhaps you are right and not I. Sit
+still and I will reconnoitre a bit. If I can find a place where we can
+hide among these rocks, we'll stay here till the sky begins to
+lighten. Sit--"
+
+"No! I shall not let you leave me for a second. Where you go, I go."
+She struggled to her feet, suppressing a groan, and thrust a
+determined arm through his.
+
+"That's worth remembering," said he, and whether it was a muscular
+necessity or an emotional exaction that caused his arm to tighten on
+hers, none save he would ever know.
+
+After a few minutes prowling among the rocks they came to the face of
+what subsequently proved to be a sheer wall of stone. He flashed the
+light, and, with an exclamation, started back. Not six feet ahead of
+them the earth seemed to end; a yawning black gulf lay beyond.
+Apparently they were on the very edge of a cliff.
+
+"Good Lord, that was a close call," he gasped. He explained in a few
+words and then, commanding her to stand perfectly still, dropped to
+the ground and carefully felt his way forward. Again he flashed the
+light. In an instant he understood. They were on the brink of a
+shallow quarry, from which, no doubt, the stone used in building the
+foundations at Green Fancy had been taken.
+
+Lying there, he made swift calculations. There would be a road leading
+from this pit up to the house itself. The quarry, no longer of use to
+the builder, was reasonably sure to be abandoned. In all probability
+some sort of a stone-cutter's shed would be found nearby. It would
+provide shelter from the fine rain that was falling and from the chill
+night air. He remembered that O'Dowd, in discussing the erection of
+Green Fancy the night before, had said that the stone came from a pit
+two miles away, where a fine quality of granite had been found. The
+quarry belonged to Mr. Curtis, who had refused to consider any offer
+from would-be purchasers. Two miles, according to Barnes's quick
+calculations, would bring the pit close to the northern boundary of
+the Curtis property and almost directly on a line with the point where
+he and Sprouse entered the meadow at the beginning of their advance
+upon Green Fancy. That being the case, they were now quite close to
+the stake and rider fence separating the Curtis land from that of the
+farmer on the north. Sprouse and Barnes had hugged this fence during
+their progress across the meadow.
+
+"Good," he said, more to himself than to her. "I begin to see light."
+
+"Oh, dear! Is there some one down in that hole, Mr.--"
+
+"Are you afraid to remain here while I go down there for a look
+around? I sha'n't be gone more than a couple of minutes."
+
+"The way I feel at present," she said, jerkily, "I shall never, never
+from this instant till the hour in which I die, let go of your coat-
+tails, Mr. Barnes." Suiting the action to the word, her fingers
+resolutely fastened, not upon the tail of his coat but upon his sturdy
+arm. "I wouldn't stay here alone for anything in the world."
+
+"Heaven bless you," he exclaimed, suddenly exalted. "And, since you
+put it that way, I shall always contrive to be within arm's length."
+
+And so, together, they ventured along the edge of the pit until they
+reached the wagon road at the bottom. As he had expected, there was a
+ramshackle shed hard by. It was not much of a place, but it was
+deserted and a safe shelter for the moment.
+
+A workman's bench lay on its side in the middle of the earthen floor.
+He righted it and drew it over to the boarding.... She laid her head
+against his shoulder and sighed deeply.... He kept his eyes glued on
+the door and listened for the first ominous sound outside. A long time
+afterward she stirred.
+
+"Don't move," he said softly. "Go to sleep again if you can. I will--"
+
+"Sleep? I haven't been asleep. I've been thinking all the time, Mr.
+Barnes. I've been wondering how I can ever repay you for all the pain,
+and trouble, and--"
+
+"I am paid in full up to date," he said. "I take my pay as I go and am
+satisfied." He did not give her time to puzzle it out, but went on
+hurriedly: "You were so still I thought you were asleep."
+
+"As if I could go to sleep with so many things to keep me awake!" She
+shivered.
+
+"Are you cold? You are wet--"
+
+"It was the excitement, the nervousness, Mr. Barnes," she said,
+drawing slightly away from him. He reconsidered the disposition of his
+arm. "Isn't it nearly daybreak?"
+
+He looked at his watch. "Three o'clock," he said, and turned the light
+upon her face. "God, you are--" He checked the riotous words that were
+driven to his lips by the glimpse of her lovely face. "I-I beg your
+pardon!"
+
+"For what?" she asked, after a moment.
+
+"For--for blinding you with the light," he floundered.
+
+"Oh, I can forgive you for that," she said composedly.
+
+There ensued another period of silence. She remained slightly aloof.
+
+"You'd better lean against me," he said at last. "I am softer than the
+beastly boards, you know, and quite as harmless."
+
+"Thank you," she said, and promptly settled herself against his
+shoulder. "It IS better," she sighed.
+
+"Would you mind telling me something about yourself, Miss Cameron?
+What is the true story of the crown jewels?"
+
+She did not reply at once. When she spoke it was to ask a question of
+him.
+
+"Do you know who he really is,--I mean the man known to you as Mr.
+Loeb?"
+
+"Not positively. I am led to believe that he is indirectly in line to
+succeed to the throne of your country."
+
+"Tell me something about Sprouse. How did you meet him and what
+induced him to take you into his confidence? It is not the usual way
+with government agents."
+
+He told her the story of his encounter and connection with the secret
+agent, and part but not all of the man's revelations concerning
+herself and the crown jewels.
+
+"I knew that you were not a native American," he said. "I arrived at
+that conclusion after our meeting at the cross-roads. When O'Dowd said
+you were from New Orleans, I decided that you belonged to one of the
+French or Spanish families there. Either that or you were a fairy
+princess such as one reads about in books."
+
+"And you now believe that I am a royal--or at the very worst--a noble
+lady with designs on the crown?" There was a faint ripple in her low
+voice.
+
+"I should like to know whether I am to address you as Princess,
+Duchess, or--just plain Miss."
+
+"I am more accustomed to plain Miss, Mr. Barnes, than to either of the
+titles you would give me."
+
+"Don't you feel that I am deserving of a little enlightenment?" he
+asked. "I am working literally as well as figuratively in the dark.
+Who are you? Why were you a prisoner at Green Fancy? Where and what is
+your native land?"
+
+"Sprouse did not tell you any of these things?"
+
+"No. I think he was in some doubt himself. I don't blame him for
+holding back until he was certain."
+
+"Mr. Barnes, I cannot answer any one of your questions without
+jeopardising a cause that is dearer to me than anything else in all
+the world. I am sorry. I pray God a day may soon come when I can
+reveal everything to you--and to the world. I am of a stricken
+country; I am trying to serve the unhappy house that has ruled it for
+centuries and is now in the direst peril. The man you know as Loeb is
+a prince of that house. I may say this to you, and it will serve to
+explain my position at Green Fancy: he is not the Prince I was led to
+believe awaited me there. He is the cousin of the man I expected to
+meet, and he is the enemy of the branch of the house that I would
+serve. Do not ask me to say more. Trust me as I am trusting you,--as
+Sprouse trusted you."
+
+"May I ask the cause of O'Dowd's apparent defection?"
+
+"He is not in sympathy with all of the plans advanced by his leader,"
+she said, after a moment's reflection.
+
+"Your sympathies are with the Entente Allies, the prince's are
+opposed? Is that part of Sprouse's story true?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And O'Dowd?"
+
+"O'Dowd is anti-English, Mr. Barnes, if that conveys anything to you.
+He is not pro-German. Perhaps you will understand."
+
+"Wasn't it pretty risky for you to carry the crown jewels around in a
+travelling bag, Miss Cameron?"
+
+"I suppose so. It turned out, however, that it was the safest, surest
+way. I had them in my possession for three days before coming to Green
+Fancy. No one suspected. They were given into my custody by the
+committee to whom they were delivered in New York by the men who
+brought them to this country."
+
+"And why did you bring them to Green Fancy?"
+
+"I was to deliver them to one of their rightful owners, Mr. Barnes,--a
+loyal prince of the blood."
+
+"But why HERE?" he insisted.
+
+"He was to take them into Canada, and thence, in good time, to the
+palace of his ancestors."
+
+"I am to understand, then, that not only you but the committee you
+speak of, fell into a carefully prepared trap."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You did not know the man who picked you up in the automobile, Miss
+Cameron. Why did you take the chance with--"
+
+"He gave the password, or whatever you may call it, and it could have
+been known only to persons devoted to our--our cause."
+
+"I see. The treachery, therefore, had its inception in the loyal nest.
+You were betrayed by a friend."
+
+"I am sure of it," she said bitterly. "If this man Sprouse does not
+succeed in restoring the--oh, I believe I shall kill myself, Mr.
+Barnes."
+
+The wail of anguish in her voice went straight to his heart.
+
+"He has succeeded, take my word for it. They will be in your hands
+before many hours have passed."
+
+"Is he to come to the Tavern with them? Or am I to meet him--"
+
+"Good Lord!" he gulped. Here was a contingency he had not considered.
+Where and when would Sprouse appear with his booty? "I--I fancy we'll
+find him waiting for us at the Tavern."
+
+"But had you no understanding?"
+
+"Er--tentatively." The perspiration started on his brow.
+
+"They will guard the Tavern so closely that we will never be able to
+get away from the place," she said, and he detected a querulous note
+in her voice.
+
+"Now don't you worry about that," he said stoutly.
+
+"I love the comforting way you have of saying things," she murmured,
+and he felt her body relax.
+
+For reasons best known to himself, he failed to respond to this
+interesting confession. He was thinking of something else: his amazing
+stupidity in not foreseeing the very situation that now presented
+itself. Why had he neglected to settle upon a meeting place with
+Sprouse in the event that circumstances forced them to part company in
+flight? Fearing that she would pursue the subject, he made haste to
+branch off onto another line.
+
+"What is the real object of the conspiracy up there, Miss Cameron?"
+
+"You must bear with me a little longer, Mr. Barnes," she said,
+appealingly. "I cannot say anything now. I am in a very perplexing
+position. You see, I am not quite sure that I am right in my
+conclusions, and it would be dreadful if I were to make a mistake."
+
+"If they are up to any game that may work harm to the Allies, they
+must not be allowed to go on with it," he said sternly. "Don't wait
+too long before exposing them, Miss Cameron."
+
+"I--I cannot speak now," she said, painfully.
+
+"You said that to-morrow night would be too late. What did you mean by
+that?"
+
+"Do you insist on pinning me down to--"
+
+"No. You may tell me to mind my own business, if you like."
+
+"That is not a nice way to put it, Mr. Barnes. I could never say such
+a thing to you."
+
+He was silent. She waited a few seconds and then removed her head from
+his shoulder. He heard the sharp intake of her breath and felt the
+convulsive movement of the arm that rested against his. There was no
+mistaking her sudden agitation.
+
+"I will tell you," she said, and he was surprised by the harshness
+that came into her voice. "To-morrow morning was the time set for my
+marriage to that wretch up there. I could have avoided it only by
+destroying myself. If you had come to-morrow night instead of to-night
+you would have found me dead, that is all. Now you understand."
+
+"Good God! You--you were to be forced into a marriage with--why, it is
+the most damnable--"
+
+"O'Dowd,--God bless him!--was my only champion. He knew my father. He--"
+
+"Listen!" he hissed, starting to his feet.
+
+"Don't move!" came from the darkness outside. "I have me gun leveled.
+I heard me name taken in vain. Thanks for the blessing. I was
+wondering whether you would say something pleasant about me,--and,
+thank the good Lord, I was patient. But I'd advise you both to sit
+still, just the same."
+
+A chuckle rounded out the gentle admonition of the invisible Irishman.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+LARGE BODIES MOVE SLOWLY,--BUT MR. SPROUSE WAS SMALLER THAN THE
+AVERAGE
+
+
+There was not a sound for many seconds. The trapped couple in the
+stone-cutter's shed scarcely breathed. She was the first to speak.
+
+"I am ready to return with you, Mr. O'Dowd," she said, distinctly.
+"There must be no struggle, no blood-shed. Anything but that."
+
+She felt Barnes's body stiffen and caught the muttered execration that
+fell from his lips.
+
+O'Dowd spoke out of the darkness: "You forget that I have your own
+word for it that ye'll be a dead woman before the day is over.
+Wouldn't it be better for me to begin shooting at once and spare your
+soul the everlasting torture that would begin immediately after your
+self-produced decease?"
+
+A little cry of relief greeted this quaint sally. "You have my word
+that I will return with you quietly if--"
+
+"Thunderation!" exclaimed Barnes wrathfully. "What do you think I am?
+A worm that--"
+
+"Easy, easy, me dear man," cautioned O'Dowd. "Keep your seat. Don't be
+deceived by my infernal Irish humour. It is my way to be always
+polite, agreeable and--prompt. I'll shoot in a second if ye move one
+step outside that cabin."
+
+"O'Dowd, you haven't the heart to drag her back to that beast of a--"
+
+"Hold hard! We'll come to the point without further palavering. Where
+are ye dragging her yourself, ye rascal?"
+
+"To a place where she will be safe from insult, injury, degradation--"
+
+"Well, I have no fault to find with ye for that," said O'Dowd. "Bedad,
+I didn't believe you had the nerve to tackle the job. To be honest
+with you, I hadn't the remotest idea who the divvil you were, either
+of you, until I heard your voices. You may be interested to know that
+up to the moment I left the house your absence had not been noticed,
+my dear Miss Cameron. And as for you, my dear Barnes, your visit is
+not even suspected. By this time, of course, the list of the missing
+at Green Fancy is headed by an honourable and imperishable name,--
+which isn't Cameron,--and there is an increased wailing and gnashing
+of teeth. How the divvil did ye do it, Barnes?"
+
+"Are you disposed to be friendly, O'Dowd?" demanded Barnes. "If you
+are not, we may just as well fight it out now as later on. I do not
+mean to submit without a--"
+
+"You are not to fight!" she cried in great agitation. "What are you
+doing? Put it away! Don't shoot!"
+
+"Is it a gun he is pulling" inquired O'Dowd calmly. "And what the
+deuce are you going to aim at, me hearty?"
+
+"It may sound cowardly to you, O'Dowd, but I have an advantage over
+you in the presence of Miss Cameron. You don't dare shoot into this
+shed. You--"
+
+"Lord love ye, Barnes, haven't you my word that I will not shoot
+unless ye try to come out? And I know you wouldn't use her for a
+shield. Besides, I have a bull's-eye lantern with me. From the
+luxurious seat behind this rock I could spot ye in a second. Confound
+you, man, you ought to thank me for being so considerate as not to
+flash it on you before. I ask ye now, isn't that proof that I'm a
+gentleman and not a bounder? Having said as much, I now propose
+arbitration. What have ye to offer in the shape of concessions?"
+
+"I don't know what you mean."
+
+"I'll be explicit. Would you mind handing over that tin box in
+exchange for my polite thanks and a courteous good-by to both of ye?"
+
+"Tin box?" cried Barnes.
+
+"We have no box of any description, Mr. O'Dowd," cried she,
+triumphantly. "Thank heaven, he got safely away!"
+
+"Do you mean to tell me you came away without the--your belongings,
+Miss Cameron?" exclaimed O'Dowd.
+
+"They are not with me," she replied. Her grasp on Barnes's arm
+tightened. "Oh, isn't it splendid? They did not catch him. He--"
+
+"Catch him? Catch who?" cried O'Dowd.
+
+"Ah, that is for you to find out, my dear O'Dowd," said Barnes,
+assuming a satisfaction he did not feel.
+
+"Well, I'll be--jiggered," came in low, puzzled tones from the rocks
+outside. "Did you have a--a confederate, Barnes? Didn't you do the
+whole job yourself?"
+
+"I did my part of the job, as you call it, O'Dowd, and nothing more."
+
+"Will you both swear on your sacred honour that ye haven't the jewels
+in your possession?"
+
+"Unhesitatingly," said Barnes.
+
+"I swear, Mr. O'Dowd."
+
+"Then," said he, "I have no time to waste here. I am looking for a tin
+box. I beg your pardon for disturbing you."
+
+"Oh, Mr. O'Dowd, I shall never forget all that you have--"
+
+"Whist, now! There is one thing I must insist on your forgetting
+completely: all that has happened in the last five minutes. I shall
+put no obstacles in your way. You may go with my blessings. The only
+favour I ask in return is that you never mention having seen me to-
+night."
+
+"We can do that with a perfectly clear conscience," said Barnes. "You
+are absolutely invisible."
+
+"What I am doing now, Mr. Barnes," said O'Dowd seriously, "would be my
+death sentence if it ever became known."
+
+"It shall never be known through me, O'Dowd. I'd like to shake your
+hand, old man."
+
+"God bless you, Mr. O'Dowd," said the girl in a low, small voice,
+singularly suggestive of tears. "Some day I may be in a position to--"
+
+"Don't say it! You'll spoil everything if you let me think you are in
+my debt. Bedad, don't be so sure I sha'n't see you again, and soon.
+You are not out of the woods yet."
+
+"Tell me how to find Hart's Tavern, old man. I'll--"
+
+"No, I'm dashed if I do. I leave you to your own devices. You ought to
+be grateful to me for not stopping you entirely, without asking me to
+give you a helping hand. Good-bye, and God bless you. I'm praying that
+ye get away safely, Miss Cameron. So long, Barnes. If you were a crow
+and wanted to roost on that big tree in front of Hart's Tavern, I dare
+say you'd take the shortest way there by flying as straight as a
+bullet from the mouth of this pit, following your extremely good-
+looking nose."
+
+They heard him rattle off among the loose stones and into the brush. A
+long time afterward, when the sounds had ceased, Barnes said, from the
+bottom of a full heart:
+
+"I shall always feel something warm stirring within me when I think of
+that man."
+
+"He is a gallant gentleman," said she simply.
+
+They did not wait for the break of day. Taking O'Dowd's hint, Barnes
+directed his steps straight out from the mouth of the quarry and
+pressed confidently onward. Their progress was swifter than before and
+less cautious. The thought had come to him that the men from Green
+Fancy would rush to the outer edges of the Curtis land and seek to
+intercept, rather than to overtake, the fugitive. In answer to a
+question she informed him that there were no fewer than twenty-five
+men on the place, all of them shrewd, resolute and formidable.
+
+"The women, who are they, and what part do they play in this
+enterprise?" he inquired, during a short pause for rest.
+
+"Mrs. Collier is the widow of a spy executed in France at the
+beginning of the war. She is an American and was married to a--to a
+foreigner. The Van Dykes are very rich Americans,--at least she has a
+great deal of money. Her husband was in the diplomatic service some
+years ago but was dismissed. There was a huge gambling scandal and he
+was involved. His wife is determined to force her way into court
+circles in Europe. She has money, she is clever and unprincipled, and
+--I am convinced that she is paying in advance for future favours and
+position at a certain court. She--"
+
+"In other words, she is financing the game up at Green Fancy."
+
+"I suppose so. She has millions, I am told. Mr. De Soto is a Spaniard,
+born and reared in England. All of them are known in my country."
+
+"I can't understand a decent chap like O'Dowd being mixed up in a
+rotten--"
+
+"Ah, but you do not understand. He is a soldier of fortune, an
+adventurer. His heart is better than his reputation. It is the love of
+intrigue, the joy of turmoil that commands him. He has been mixed up,
+as you say, in any number of secret enterprises, both good and bad.
+His sister's children are the owners of Green Fancy. I know her well.
+It was through Mr. O'Dowd that I came to Green Fancy. Too late he
+realised that it was a mistake. He was deceived. He has known me for
+years and he would not have exposed me to----But come! As he has said,
+we are not yet out of the woods."
+
+"I cannot, for the life of me, see why they took chances on inviting
+me to the house, Miss Cameron. They must have known that--"
+
+"It was a desperate chance but it was carefully considered, you may be
+sure. They are clever, all of them. They were afraid of you. It was
+necessary to deal openly, boldly, with you if your suspicions were to
+be removed."
+
+"But they must have known that you would appeal to me."
+
+She was silent for a moment, and when she spoke it was with great
+intensity. "Mr. Barnes, I had your life in my hands all the time you
+were at Green Fancy. It was I who took the desperate chance. I shudder
+now when I think of what might have happened. Before you were asked to
+the house, I was coolly informed that you would not leave it alive if
+I so much as breathed a word to you concerning my unhappy plight. The
+first word of an appeal to you would have been the signal for--for
+your death. That is what they held over me. They made it very clear to
+me that nothing was to be gained by an appeal to you. You would die,
+and I would be no better off than before. It was I who took the
+chance. When I spoke to you on the couch that night, I--oh, don't you
+see? Don't you see that I wantonly, cruelly, selfishly risked YOUR
+life,--not my own,--when I--"
+
+"There, there, now!" he cried, consolingly, as she put her hands to
+her face and gave way to sobs. "Don't let THAT worry you. I am here
+and alive, and so are you, and--for Heaven's sake don't do that! I--I
+simply go all to pieces when I hear a woman crying. I--"
+
+"Forgive me," she murmured. "I didn't mean to be so silly."
+
+"It helps, to cry sometimes," he said lamely.
+
+The first faint signs of day were struggling out of the night when
+they stole across the road above Hart's Tavern and made their way
+through the stable-yard to the rear of the house. His one thought was
+to get her safely inside the Tavern. There he could defy the legions
+of Green Fancy, and from there he could notify her real friends,
+deliver her into their keeping,--and then regret the loss of her!
+
+The door was locked. He delivered a series of resounding kicks upon
+its stout face. Revolver in hand, he faced about and waited for the
+assault of the men who, he was sure, would come plunging around the
+corner of the building in response to the racket. He was confident
+that the approach to the Tavern was watched by desperate men from
+Green Fancy, and that an encounter with them was inevitable. But there
+was no attack. Save for his repeated pounding on the door, there was
+no sign of life about the place.
+
+At last there were sounds from within. A key grated in the lock and a
+bolt was shot. The door flew open. Mr. Clarence Dillingford appeared
+in the opening, partially dressed, his hair sadly tumbled, his eyes
+blinking in the light of the lantern he held aloft.
+
+"Well, what the--" Then his gaze alighted on the lady. "My God," he
+gulped, and instantly put all of his body except the head and one arm
+behind the door.
+
+Barnes crowded past him with his faltering charge, and slammed the
+door. Moreover, he quickly shot the bolt.
+
+"For the love of--" began the embarrassed Dillingford. "What the dev--
+I say, can't you see that I'm not dressed? What the--"
+
+"Give me that lantern," said Barnes, and snatched the article out of
+the unresisting hand. "Show me the way to Miss Thackeray's room,
+Dillingford. No time for explanations. This lady is a friend of mine."
+
+"Well, for the love of--"
+
+"I will take you to Miss Thackeray's room," said Barnes, leading her
+swiftly through the narrow passage. "She will make you comfortable for
+the--that is until I am able to secure a room for you. Come on,
+Dillingford."
+
+"My God, Barnes, have you been in an automobile smash-up? You--"
+
+"Don't wake the house! Where is her room?"
+
+"You know just as well as I do. All right,--all right! Don't bite me!
+I'm coming."
+
+Miss Thackeray was awake. She had heard the pounding. Through the
+closed door she asked what on earth was the matter.
+
+"I have a friend here,--a lady. Will you dress as quickly as possible
+and take her in with you for a little while?" He spoke as softly as
+possible.
+
+There was no immediate response from the inside. Then Miss Thackeray
+observed, quite coldly: "I think I'd like to hear the lady's voice, if
+you don't mind. I recognise yours perfectly, Mr. Barnes, but I am not
+in the habit of opening my--"
+
+"Mr. Barnes speaks the truth," said Miss Cameron. "But pray do not
+disturb--"
+
+"I guess I don't need to dress," said Miss Thackeray, and opened her
+door. "Come in, please. I don't know who you are or what you've been
+up to, but there are times when women ought to stand together. And
+what's more, I sha'n't ask any questions."
+
+She closed the door behind the unexpected guest, and Barnes gave a
+great sigh of relief.
+
+"Say, Mr. Barnes," said Miss Thackeray, several hours later, coming
+upon him in the hall; "I guess I'll have to ask you to explain a
+little. She's a nice, pretty girl, and all that, but she won't open
+her lips about anything. She says you will do the talking. I'm a good
+sport, you know, and not especially finicky, but I'd like to--"
+
+"How is she? Is she resting? Does she seem--"
+
+"Well, she's stretched out in my bed, with my best nightie on, and she
+seems to be doing as well as could be expected," said Miss Thackeray
+dryly.
+
+"Has she had coffee and--"
+
+"I am going after it now. It seems that she is in the habit of having
+it in bed. I wish I had her imagination. It would be great to imagine
+that all you have to do is to say 'I think I'll have coffee and rolls
+and one egg' sent up, and then go on believing your wish would come
+true. Still, I don't mind. She seems so nice and pathetic, and in
+trouble, and I--"
+
+"Thank you, Miss Thackeray. If you will see that she has her coffee,
+I'll--I'll wait for you here in the hall and try to explain. I can't
+tell you everything at present,--not without her consent,--but what I
+do tell will be sufficient to make you think you are listening to a
+chapter out of a dime novel."
+
+He had already taken Putnam Jones into his confidence. He saw no other
+way out of the new and somewhat extraordinary situation.
+
+His uneasiness increased to consternation when he discovered that
+Sprouse had not yet put in an appearance. What had become of the man?
+He could not help feeling, however, that somehow the little agent
+would suddenly pop out of the chimney in his room, or sneak in through
+a crack under the door,--and laugh at his fears.
+
+His lovely companion, falling asleep, blocked all hope of a council of
+war, so to speak. Miss Thackeray refused to allow her to be disturbed.
+She listened with sparkling eyes to Barnes's curtailed account of the
+exploit of the night before. He failed to mention Mr. Sprouse. It was
+not an oversight.
+
+"Sort of white slavery game, eh?" she said, with bated breath. "Good
+gracious, Mr. Barnes, if this story ever gets into the newspapers
+you'll be the grandest little hero in--"
+
+"But it must never get into the newspapers," he cried.
+
+"It ought to," she proclaimed stoutly. "When a gang of white slavers
+kidnap a girl like that and--"
+
+"I'm not saying it was that," he protested, uncomfortably.
+
+"Well, I guess I'll talk to her about that part of the story," said
+Miss Thackeray sagely. "And as you say, mum's the word. We don't want
+them to get onto the fact that she's here. That's the idea, isn't it?"
+
+"Absolutely."
+
+"Then," she said, wrinkling her brow, "I wouldn't repeat this story to
+Mr. Lyndon Rushcroft, father of yours truly. He would blab it all over
+the county. The greatest press stuff in the world. Listen to it:
+'Lyndon Rushcroft, the celebrated actor, takes part in the rescue of a
+beautiful heiress who falls into the hands of So and So, the king of
+kidnappers.' That's only a starter. So we'd better let him think she
+just happened in. You fix it with old Jones, and I'll see that Dilly
+keeps his mouth shut. I fear I shall have to tell Mr. Bacon." She
+blushed. "I have always sworn I'd never marry any one in the
+profession, but--Mr. Bacon is not like other actors, Mr. Barnes. You
+will say so yourself when you know him better. He is more like a--a--
+well, you might say a poet. His soul is--but, you'll think I'm nutty
+if I go on about him. As soon as she awakes, I'll take her up to the
+room you've engaged for her, and I'll lend her some of my duds, bless
+her heart. What an escape she's had! Oh, my God!"
+
+She uttered the exclamation in a voice so full of horror that Barnes
+was startled.
+
+"What is it, Miss Thack--"
+
+"Why, they might have nabbed me yesterday when I was up there in the
+woods! And I don't know what kind of heroism goes with a poetic
+nature. I'm afraid Mr. Bacon--"
+
+He laughed. "I am sure he would have acted like a man."
+
+"If you were to ask father, he'd say that Mr. Bacon can't act like a
+man to save his soul. He says he acts like a fence-post."
+
+Shortly before the noon hour, Peter Ames halted the old automobile
+from Green Fancy in front of the Tavern and out stepped O'Dowd,
+followed by no less a personage than the pseudo Mr. Loeb. There were a
+number of travelling bags in the tonneau of the car.
+
+Catching sight of Barnes, the Irishman shouted a genial greeting.
+
+"The top of the morning to ye. You remember Mr. Loeb, don't you? Mr.
+Curtis's secretary."
+
+He shook hands with Barnes. Loeb bowed stiffly and did not extend his
+hand.
+
+"Mr. Loeb is leaving us for a few days on business. Will you be moving
+on yourself soon, Mr. Barnes?"
+
+"I shall hang around here a few days longer," said Barnes,
+considerably puzzled but equal to the occasion. "Still interested in
+our murder mystery, you know."
+
+"Any new developments?"
+
+"Not to my knowledge." He ventured a crafty "feeler." "I hear,
+however, that the state authorities have asked assistance of the
+secret service people in Washington. That would seem to indicate that
+there is more behind the affair than--"
+
+"Have I not maintained from the first, Mr. O'Dowd, that it is a case
+for the government to handle?" interrupted Loeb. He spoke rapidly and
+with unmistakable nervousness. Barnes remarked the extraordinary
+pallor in the man's face and the shifty, uneasy look in his dark eyes.
+"It has been my contention, Mr. Barnes, that those men were trying to
+carry out their part of a plan to inflict--"
+
+"Lord love ye, Loeb, you are not alone in that theory," broke in
+O'Dowd hastily. "I think we're all agreed on that. Good morning, Mr.
+Boneface," he called out to Putnam Jones who approached at that
+juncture. "We are sadly in want of gasoline."
+
+Peter had backed the car up to the gasoline hydrant at the corner of
+the building and was waiting for some one to replenish his tank.
+Barnes caught the queer, perplexed look that the Irishman shot at him
+out of the corner of his eye.
+
+"Perhaps you'd better see that the scoundrels don't give us short
+measure, Mr. Loeb," said O'Dowd. Loeb hesitated for a second, and
+then, evidently in obedience to a command from the speaker's eye,
+moved off to where Peter was opening the intake. Jones followed,
+bawling to some one in the stable-yard.
+
+O'Dowd lowered his voice. "Bedad, your friend made a smart job of it
+last night. He opened the tank back of the house and let every damn'
+bit of our gas run out. Is she safe inside?"
+
+"Yes, thanks to you, old man. You didn't catch him?"
+
+"Not even a whiff of him," said the other lugubriously. "The devil's
+to pay. In the name of God, how many were in your gang last night?"
+
+"That is for Mr. Loeb to find out," said Barnes shrewdly.
+
+"Barnes, I let you off last night, and I let her off as well. In
+return, I ask you to hold your tongue until the man down there gets a
+fair start. "O'Dowd was serious, even imploring.
+
+"What would she say to that, O'Dowd? I have to consider her interests,
+you know."
+
+"She'd give him a chance for his white alley, I'm sure, in spite of
+the way he treated her. There is a great deal at stake, Barnes. A
+day's start and--"
+
+"Are you in danger too, O'Dowd?"
+
+"To be sure,--but I love it. I can always squirm out of tight places.
+You see, I am putting myself in your hands, old man."
+
+"I would not deliberately put you in jeopardy, O'Dowd."
+
+"See here, I am going back to that house up yonder. There is still
+work for me there. What I'm after now is to get him on the train at
+Hornville. I'll be here again at four o'clock, on me word of honour.
+Trust me, Barnes. When I explain to her, she'll agree that I'm doing
+the right thing. Bedad, the whole bally game is busted. Another week
+and we'd have--but, there ye are! It's all up in the air, thanks to
+you and your will-o'-the-wisp rascals. You played the deuce with
+everything."
+
+"Do you mean to say that you are coming back here to run the risk of
+being--"
+
+"We've had word that the government has men on the way. They'll be
+here to-night or to-morrow, working in cahoots with the fellows across
+the border. Why, damn it all, Barnes, don't you know who it was that
+engineered that whole business last night?" He blurted it out angrily,
+casting off all reserve.
+
+Barnes smiled. "I do. He is a secret agent from the embassy--"
+
+"Secret granny!" almost shouted O'Dowd. "He is the slickest, cleverest
+crook that ever drew the breath of life. And he's got away with the
+jewels, for which you can whistle in vain, I'm thinking."
+
+"For Heaven's sake, O'Dowd--" began Barnes, his blood like ice in his
+veins.
+
+"But don't take my word for it. Ask her,--upstairs there, God bless
+her!--ask her if she knows Chester Naismith. She'll tell ye, my bucko.
+He's been standing guard outside her window for the past three nights.
+He's--"
+
+"Now, I know you are mistaken," cried Barnes, a wave of relief surging
+over him. "He has been in this Tavern every night--"
+
+"Sure he has. But he never was here after eleven o'clock, was he?
+Answer me, did ye ever see him here after eleven in the evening? You
+did not,--not until last night, anyhow. In the struggle he had with
+Nicholas last night his whiskers came off and he was recognised.
+That's why poor old Nicholas is lying dead up there at the house now,
+--and will have a decent burial unbeknownst to anybody but his
+friends."
+
+"Whiskers? Dead?" jerked from Barnes's lips.
+
+"Didn't you know he had false ones on?"
+
+"He did not have them on when he left me," declared Barnes. "Good God,
+O'Dowd, you can't mean that he--he killed--"
+
+"He stuck a knife in his neck. The poor devil died while I was out
+skirmishing, but not before he whispered in the chief's ear the name
+of the man who did for him. The dirty snake! And the chief trusted him
+as no crook ever was trusted before. He knew him for what he was, but
+he thought he was loyal. And this is what he gets in return for saving
+the dog's life in Buda Pesth three years ago. In the name of God,
+Barnes, how did you happen to fall in with the villain?"
+
+Barnes passed his hand over his brow, dazed beyond the power of
+speech. His gaze rested on Putnam Jones. Suddenly something seemed to
+have struck him between the eyes. He almost staggered under the
+imaginary impact. Jones! Was Jones a party to this--He started
+forward, an oath on his lips, prepared to leap upon the man and
+throttle the truth out of him. As abruptly he checked himself. The
+cunning that inspired the actions of every one of these people had
+communicated itself to him. A false move now would ruin everything.
+Putnam Jones would have to be handled with gloves, and gently at that.
+
+"He--he represented himself as a book-agent," he mumbled, striving to
+collect himself. "Jones knew him. Said he had been around here for
+weeks. I--I--
+
+"That's the man," said O'Dowd, scowling. "He trotted all over the
+county, selling books. For the love of it, do ye think? Not much. He
+had other fish to fry, you may be sure. I talked with him the night
+you dined at Green Fancy. He beat you to the Tavern, I dare say. It
+was his second night on guard below the--below her window. He told me
+how he shinned up and down one of these porch posts, so as not to let
+old Jones get onto the fact he was out of his room. He had old Jones
+fooled as badly--What are you glaring at HIM for? I was about to say
+he had old Jones as badly fooled as you--or worse, damn him. Barnes,
+if we ever lay hands on that friend of yours,--well, he won't have to
+fry in hell. He'll be burnt alive. Thank God, my mind's at rest on one
+score. SHE didn't skip out with him. They all think she did. Not one
+of them suspects that she came away with you. There is plenty of
+evidence that she let him in through her window--"
+
+"All ready, O'Dowd," called Loeb. "Come along, please."
+
+"Coming," said the Irishman. To Barnes: "Don't blame yourself, old
+man. You are not the only one who has been hoodwinked. He fooled men a
+long shot keener than you are, so--All right! Coming. See you later,
+Barnes. So long!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE FIRST WAYFARER VISITS A SHRINE, CONFESSES, AND TAKES AN OATH
+
+
+How was he to find the courage to impart the appalling news to her? He
+was now convinced beyond all doubt that the so-called Sprouse had made
+off with the priceless treasure and that only a miracle could bring
+about its recovery. O'Dowd's estimate of the man's cleverness was
+amply supported by what Barnes knew of him. He knew him to be the
+personification of craftiness, and of daring. It was not surprising
+that he had been tricked by this devil's own genius. He recalled his
+admiration, his wonder over the man's artfulness; he groaned as he
+thought of the pride he had felt in being accorded the privilege of
+helping him!
+
+Sitting glumly in a corner of the tap-room, watching but not listening
+to the spouting Mr. Rushcroft, (who was regaling the cellarer and two
+vastly impressed countrymen with the story of his appearance before
+Queen Victoria and the Royal Family), Barnes went over the events of
+the past twenty-four hours, deriving from his reflections a few fairly
+reasonable deductions as to his place in the plans of the dauntless
+Mr. Sprouse.
+
+In the first place, Sprouse, being aware of his somewhat ardent
+interest in the fair captive, took a long and desperate chance on his
+susceptibility. With incomprehensible boldness he decided to make an
+accomplice of the eager and unsuspecting knight-errant! His cunningly
+devised tale,--in which there was more than a little of the truth,--
+served to excite the interest and ultimately to win the co-operation
+of the New Yorker. His object in enlisting this support was now
+perfectly clear to the victim of his duplicity. Barnes had admitted
+that he was bound by a promise to aid the prisoner in an effort to
+escape from the house; even a slow-witted person would have reached
+the conclusion that a partial understanding at least existed between
+captive and champion. Sprouse staked everything on that conviction.
+Through Barnes he counted on effecting an entrance to the almost
+hermetically sealed house.
+
+Evidently the simplest, and perhaps the only, means of gaining
+admission was through the very window he was supposed to guard. Once
+inside her room, with the aid and connivance of one in whom the
+occupant placed the utmost confidence, he would be in a position to
+employ his marvellous talents in accomplishing his own peculiar ends.
+
+Barnes recalled all of the elaborate details preliminary to the actual
+performance of that amazing feat, and realised to what extent he had
+been shaped into a tool to be used by the master craftsman. He saw
+through the whole Machiavellian scheme, and he was now morally certain
+that Sprouse would have sacrificed him without the slightest
+hesitation.
+
+In the event that anything went wrong with their enterprise, the man
+would have shot him dead and earned the gratitude and commendation of
+his associates! There would be no one to question him, no one to say
+that he had failed in the duty set upon him by the master of the
+house. He would have been glorified and not crucified by his friends.
+
+Up to the point when he actually passed through the window Sprouse
+could have justified himself by shooting the would-be rescuer. Up to
+that point, Barnes was of inestimable value to him; after that,--well,
+he had proved that he was capable of taking care of himself.
+
+Mr. Dillingford came and pronounced sentence. He informed the rueful
+thinker that the young lady wanted to see him at once in Miss
+Thackeray's room.
+
+With a heavy heart he mounted the stairs. At the top he paused to
+deliberate. Would it not be better to keep her in ignorance? What was
+to be gained by revealing to her the--But Miss Thackeray was luring
+him on to destruction. She stood outside the door and beckoned. That
+in itself was ominous. Why should she wriggle a forefinger at him
+instead of calling out in her usual free-and-easy manner? There was
+foreboding--
+
+"Is Mr. Barnes coming?" His heart bounded perceptibly at the sound of
+that soft, eager voice from the interior of the room.
+
+"By fits and starts," said Miss Thackeray critically. "Yes, he has
+started again."
+
+She closed the door from the outside, and Barnes was alone with the
+cousin of kings and queens and princes.
+
+"I feared you had deserted me," she said, holding out her hand to him
+as he strode across the room. S he did not rise from the chair in
+which she was seated by the window. The lower wings of the old-
+fashioned shutters were closed except for a narrow strip; light
+streamed down upon her wavy golden hair from the upper half of the
+casement. She was attired in a gorgeously flowered dressing-gown; he
+had seen it once before, draping the matutinal figure of Miss
+Thackeray as she glided through the hall with a breakfast tray which
+Miss Tilly had flatly refused to carry to her room: being no servant,
+she declared with heat.
+
+"I saw no occasion to disturb your rest," he mumbled. "Nothing--
+nothing new has turned up."
+
+"I have been peeping," she said, looking at him searchingly. A little
+line of anxiety lay between her eyes. "Where is Mr. Loeb going, Mr.
+Barnes?"
+
+He noted the omission of Mr. O'Dowd. "To Hornville, I believe. They
+stopped for gasoline."
+
+"Is he running away?" was her disconcerting question.
+
+"O'Dowd says he is to be gone for a few days on business," he
+equivocated.
+
+"He will not return," she said quietly. "He is a coward at heart. Oh,
+I know him well," she went on, scorn in her voice.
+
+"Was I wrong in not trying to stop him?" he asked.
+
+She pondered this for a moment. "No," she said, but he caught the
+dubious note in her voice. "It is just as well, perhaps, that he
+should disappear. Nothing is to be gained now by his seizure. Next
+week, yes; but to-day, no. His flight to-day spares--but we are more
+interested in the man Sprouse. Has he returned?"
+
+"No, Miss Cameron," said he ruefully. And then, without a single
+reservation, he laid bare the story of Sprouse's defection. When he
+inquired if she had heard of the man known as Chester Naismith, she
+confirmed his worst fears by describing him as the guard who watched
+beneath her window. He was known to her as a thief of international
+fame. The light died out of her lovely eyes as the truth dawned upon
+her; her lips trembled, her shoulders drooped.
+
+"What a fool I've been," she mourned. "What a fool I was to accept the
+responsibility of--"
+
+"Don't blame yourself," he implored. "Blame me. I am the fool, the
+stupidest fool that ever lived. He played with me as if I were the
+simplest child."
+
+"Ah, my friend, why do you say that? Played with you? He has tricked
+some of the shrewdest men in the world. There are no simple children
+at Green Fancy. They are men with the brains of foxes and the hearts
+of wolves. To deceive you was child's play. You are an honest man. It
+is always the honest man who is the victim; he is never the culprit.
+If honest men were as smart as the corrupt ones, Mr. Barnes, there
+would be no such thing as crime. If the honest man kept one hand on
+his purse and the other on his revolver, he would be more than a match
+for the thief. You were no match for Chester Naismith. Do not look so
+glum. The shrewdest police officers in Europe have never been able to
+cope with him. Why should you despair?"
+
+He sprang to his feet. "By gad, he hasn't got away with it yet," he
+grated. "He is only one man against a million. I will set every cog in
+the entire police and detective machinery of the United States going.
+He cannot escape. They will run him to earth before--"
+
+"Mr. Barnes, I have no words to express my gratitude to you for all
+that you have done and all that you still would do," she interrupted.
+"I may prove it to you, however, by advising you to abandon all
+efforts to help me from now on. You did all that you set out to do,
+and I must ask no more of you. You risked your life to save a woman
+who, for all you know, may be deceiving you with--"
+
+"I have not lost all of my senses, Miss Cameron," he said bluntly.
+"The few that I retain make me your slave. I shall abandon neither you
+nor the effort to recover what my stupidity has cost you. I will run
+this scoundrel down if I have to devote the remainder of my life to
+the task."
+
+She sighed. "Alas, I fear that I shall have to tell you a little more
+about this wonderful man you know as Sprouse. Six months ago the
+friends and supporters of the legitimate successor to my country's
+throne, consummated a plan whereby the crown jewels and certain
+documents of state were surreptitiously removed from the palace
+vaults. The act, though meant to be a loyal and worthy one, was
+nevertheless nullified by the most stupendous folly. Instead of
+depositing the treasure in Paris, it was sent to this country in
+charge of a group of men whose fealty could not be questioned. I am
+not at liberty to tell you how this treasure was brought into the
+United States without detection by the Customs authorities. Suffice it
+to say, it was delivered safely to a committee of my countrymen in New
+York. There are two contenders for the throne in my land. One is a
+prisoner in Austria, the other is at liberty somewhere in--in the
+world. The Teutonic Allies are now in possession of my country. It has
+been ravished and despoiled."
+
+"So far Sprouse's story jibes," said he, as she paused.
+
+"My countrymen conceived the notion that Germany would one day conquer
+France and over-run England. It was this notion that urged them to put
+the treasure beyond all possible chance of its being seized by the
+conquerors and turned over to the usurping prince who would be placed
+on our throne.
+
+"As for my part in this unhappy project, it is quite simple. I was not
+the only one to be deceived by plotters who far outstripped the
+original conspirators in cleverness and guile. The man you know as
+Loeb is in reality my cousin. I have known him all my life. He is the
+youngest brother of the pretender to the throne, and a cousin of the
+prince who is held prisoner by the Austrians. This prince has a
+brother also, and it was to him that I was supposed to deliver the
+jewels. He came to Canada a month ago, sent by the embassy in Paris. I
+travelled from New York, but not alone as you may suspect. I was
+carefully protected from the time I left my hotel there until--well,
+until I arrived in Boston.
+
+"While there I received a secret message from friends in Canada
+directing me to go to Spanish Falls, where I would be met and
+conducted to Green Fancy by Prince Sebastian himself. I was on my way
+to Halifax when this message changed my plans. Moreover, the reason
+given for this change was an excellent one. It had been discovered
+that the two men who acted secretly as my escort were traitors. They
+were to lead me into a trap prepared at Portland, where I was to be
+robbed and detained long enough for the wretches to make off in safety
+with their booty. I need not describe my feelings. I obeyed the
+directions and stole away at night, eluding my protectors, and came by
+devious ways to the place mentioned in the message.
+
+"As you may have guessed by this time, the whole thing was a carefully
+planned ruse. The company at Green Fancy,--you may some day know why
+they were there,--learned through the man Naismith that the treasure
+had been entrusted to me for delivery to Prince Sebastian and his
+friends in Halifax. Let me interrupt myself to explain why the Prince
+did not come to New York in person, instead of arranging to have the
+jewels taken to him at Halifax. He is an officer of high rank in the
+army. His trip across the ocean was known to the German secret
+service. The instant he landed on American soil, a demand would have
+been made by the German Embassy for his detention here for the
+duration of the war.
+
+"I was informed in the message that Prince Sebastian would take me to
+the place called Green Fancy, which was near the Canadian border. A
+safe escort would be provided for us, and we would be on British soil
+within a few hours after our meeting. It is only necessary to add that
+when I arrived at Green Fancy I met Prince Ugo,--and understood! I had
+carefully covered my tracks after leaving Boston. My real friends
+were, and still are, completely in the dark as to my movements, so
+skilfully was the trick managed. I shall ask you directly, Mr. Barnes,
+to wire my friends in New York and in Halifax, acquainting them with
+my present whereabouts and safety. Now, that we know the jewels have
+been stolen again, that message need not be delayed.
+
+"And now for Chester Naismith. It was he who, acting for the misguided
+loyalists and recommended by certain young aristocrats who by virtue
+of their own dissipations had come to know him as a man of infinite
+resourcefulness and daring, planned and carried out the pillaging of
+the palace vaults. Almost under the noses of the foreign guards he
+succeeded in obtaining the jewels. No doubt he could have made off
+with them at that time, but he shrewdly preferred to have them brought
+to America by some one else. It would have been impossible for him to
+dispose of them in Europe. The United States was the only place in the
+world where he could have sold them. You see how cunning he is?
+
+"This much I know: he came to New York with the men who carried the
+jewels. He tried to rob them in New York but failed. Then he
+disappeared. So carefully guarded were the jewels that he knew there
+was no chance of securing them without assistance. For nearly six
+months they remained in a safety vault on Fifth Avenue. Evidently he
+gave up hope and, falling in with Prince Ugo, joined his party. I do
+not know this to be the case, but I am now convinced that he learned
+of the plan to send the jewels to Halifax. It was he, I am sure, who
+conveyed this news to Prince Ugo, who at once invented the scheme to
+divert me to this place.
+
+"And now comes the remarkable part of the story. When I arrived at
+Spanish Falls, there was no one to meet me. The agent, seeing me on
+the platform and evidently at a loss which way to turn, accosted me.
+He offered to secure a conveyance for me, and was very considerate,
+but I decided to call up Green Fancy on the telephone. I wanted to be
+sure that there was no trick. To my surprise, O'Dowd came to the
+telephone. I was greatly relieved when I actually heard his voice. I
+have known him for years, and the belief that he had at last allied
+himself with Prince Sebastian,--after being on the opposite side, you
+see,--was cause for rejoicing.
+
+"He was amazed. It seems that I was not expected until the next
+afternoon. The car was out on an errand to some little village in the
+mountains, he said, but he would telephone at once to see if it could
+be located. Afterwards it turned out that the message announcing my
+arrival a day ahead of the time agreed upon was never delivered."
+
+"Sprouse's fine work, I suppose," put in Barnes.
+
+"I haven't the remotest doubt. Nor do I doubt that he intended to
+waylay me at some point along the road. O'Dowd failed to catch the car
+at the village and was on the point of starting off on horseback to
+meet me, when it returned. He sent it ahead and followed on horseback.
+You know how I was picked up at the cross-roads. It is all so like one
+of those picture puzzles. By putting the meaningless pieces together
+one obtains a complete design. The last piece to go into this puzzle
+is the mishap that befell Naismith on that very afternoon. He was no
+doubt thwarted in his design to waylay me on the road from Spanish
+Falls by a singular occurrence in this tavern. He was attacked in his
+room here shortly after the noon hour, overpowered, bound and gagged
+by two men. They carried him to another room, where he remained until
+late in the night when he managed to extricate himself. I have reason
+to believe that this part of his story is true. He knew the men. They
+were thieves as clever and as merciless as himself. They too were
+watching for me. I may say to you now, Mr. Barnes, that he has never
+posed as an honest man among his associates at Green Fancy. He glories
+in his fame as a thief, but until now no one would have questioned his
+loyalty to his friends. I do not know how these men learned of my
+intention to come to Green Fancy. They--"
+
+"They came to this tavern four or five days in advance of your arrival
+at Green Fancy," he interrupted.
+
+"Are you sure?" she asked in surprise.
+
+"Absolutely."
+
+"In that case, they could not have known," she said, deeply perplexed.
+
+"Sprouse told me that they were secret service men from abroad and
+that he was working with them. Putnam Jones, I am sure, believes that
+they were detectives. He also believes the same to be true of Sprouse.
+My theory is this, and I think it is justified by events. The men were
+really secret agents, sent here to watch the movements of the gang up
+there. They came upon Sprouse and recognised him. On the day mentioned
+they overpowered him and forced him to reveal certain facts connected
+with affairs at Green Fancy. Possibly he led them to believe that you
+were one of the conspirators. They waited for your arrival and then
+risked the hazardous trip to Green Fancy. They were discovered and
+shot."
+
+She could hardly wait for him to finish. "I believe you are right,"
+she cried. "A little while before the shooting occurred, the house was
+roused by a telephone call. I was in my room, but not asleep. I had
+just realised my own dreadful predicament. There was a great commotion
+downstairs, and I distinctly heard some one say, in my own language,
+that they were not to get away alive. It must have been Naismith who
+telephoned. One of the men, I have been told, was killed not far from
+our gates. He was shot, I am sure, by the man called Nicholas, noted
+as one of the most marvellous marksmen in our little army. The other
+was accounted for by Naismith himself, who had managed to reach the
+cross-roads in time to head him off. Naismith openly boasted of the
+feat. The greatest consternation prevailed at Green Fancy because the
+men succeeded in reaching the highway before they were shot. Prince
+Ugo was distracted. He said that the attention of the public would be
+directed to Green Fancy and curious investigators were certain to
+interfere with the great project he was carrying on."
+
+"I believe we have accounted for Mr. Sprouse, and I am no longer
+interested in the unravelling of the mystery surrounding the deaths of
+Roon and Paul," said he. "There is nothing to keep me here any longer,
+Miss Cameron. I suggest that you allow me to escort you at once to
+your friends, wherever they--"
+
+She was opposed to this plan. While there was still a chance that
+Sprouse might be apprehended in the neighbourhood, or the possibility
+of his being caught by the relentless pursuers, she declined to leave.
+
+"Then, I shall also stay," said he promptly, and was repaid by the
+tremulous smile she gave him. His heart was beating like mad, and he
+knew, in that instant, just what had happened to him. He was
+helplessly in love with this beautiful cousin of kings and queens. And
+when he thought of kings and queens he realised that beyond all
+question his love was hopeless.
+
+"You are very good to me," she said softly.
+
+He got up suddenly and walked away. After a moment, in which he
+regained control of himself, he returned to her side.
+
+"What effect will Mr. Loeb's flight have on the scheme up there, Miss
+Cameron?" he inquired, quite steadily.
+
+"They will scatter to the four winds, those people," she said. "He
+would not have fled unless disaster was staring him in the face.
+Something has transpired to defeat his ugly plan. They will all run to
+cover like so many rats."
+
+"The government of the United States is a good rat-catcher," he said.
+
+"The United States would do well to keep the rats out, Mr. Barnes,
+instead of allowing them to come here and thrive and multiply and gnaw
+into its very vitals."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE SECOND WAYFARER IS TRANSFORMED, AND MARRIAGE IS FLOUTED
+
+
+Mr. Rushcroft sent for Barnes at three o'clock. "Come to my room as
+soon as possible," was the message delivered by Mr. Bacon. Barnes was
+taking a nap. More than that, he was pleasantly dreaming when the
+pounding fell upon his door. Awakened suddenly from this elysian dream
+he leaped from his bed and rushed to the door, his heart in his mouth.
+Something sinister was back of this imperative summons! She was in
+fresh peril. The gang from Green Fancy had descended upon the Tavern
+in force and--
+
+"Sorry to disturb you," said Mr. Bacon, as the door flew open, "but he
+says it's important. He says--"
+
+"I wish you would tell him to go to the devil," said Barnes
+wrathfully.
+
+"Superfluous, I assure you, sir. He says that everything and everybody
+is going to the devil, so--"
+
+"If he wants to see me why doesn't he come to my room? Why should I go
+to his?"
+
+"Lord bless you, don't you know that it's one of the prerogatives of a
+star to insist on people coming to him instead of the other way about?
+What's the use of being a star if you can't--"
+
+"Tell him I will come when I get good and ready."
+
+"Quite so," said Mr. Bacon absently. He did not retire, but stood in
+the door, evidently weighing something that was on his mind and
+considering the best means of relieving himself of the mental burden.
+"Ahem!" he coughed. "Miss Thackeray advises me that you have expressed
+a generous interest in our personal"--(He stepped inside the room and
+closed the door)--"er--in our private future, so to speak, and I take
+this opportunity to thank you, Mr. Barnes. If it isn't asking too much
+of you, I'd like you to say a word or two in my behalf to the old man.
+You might tell him that you believe I have a splendid future before
+me,--and you wouldn't be lying, let me assure you,--and that there is
+no doubt in your mind that a Broadway engagement is quite imminent. A
+word from you to one of the Broadway managers, by the way, would--"
+
+"You want me to intercede for you in the matter of two engagements
+instead of one, is that it?"
+
+"I am already engaged to Miss Thackeray,--in a way. The better way to
+put it would be for you to intercede in the matter of one marriage and
+one engagement. I think he would understand the situation much better
+if you put it in that way."
+
+"Have you spoken to Mr. Rushcroft about it?"
+
+"Only in a roundabout way. I told him I'd beat his head off if he ever
+spoke to Miss Thackeray again as he did last night."
+
+"Well, that's a fair sort of start," said Barnes, who was brushing his
+hair. "What did he say to that?"
+
+"I don't know. I had to close the door rather hastily. If he said
+anything at all it was after the chair hit the door. Ahem! That was
+last night. He is as nice as pie this afternoon, so I have an idea
+that he busted the chair and doesn't want old Jones to find out about
+it."
+
+"I will say a good word for you," said Barnes, grinning.
+
+He found Mr. Rushcroft in a greatly perturbed state of mind.
+
+"I've had telegrams from the three people I mentioned to you, Barnes,
+and the damned ingrates refuse to join us unless they get their
+railroad fares to Crowndale. Moreover, they had the insolence to send
+the telegrams collect. The more you do for the confounded bums, the
+more they ask. I once had a leading woman who--"
+
+Barnes was in no humour to listen to the long-winded reminiscences of
+the "star," so he cut him short at once. He ascertained that the
+"ingrates" were in New York, on their "uppers," and that they could
+not accomplish the trip to Crowndale unless railroad tickets were
+provided. The difficulty was bridged in short order by telegrams
+requesting the distant players to apply the next day at his office in
+New York where tickets to Crowndale would be given them. He
+telegraphed his office to buy the tickets and hold them for Miss
+Milkens, Mr. Hatcher and Mr. Fling.
+
+"That completes one of the finest companies, Mr. Barnes, that ever
+took the road," said Mr. Rushcroft warmly, forgetting his animosity.
+"You will never be associated with a more evenly balanced company of
+players, sir. I congratulate you upon your wonderful good fortune in
+having such a cast for 'The Duke's Revenge.' If you can maintain a
+similar standard of excellence in all of your future productions, you
+will go down in history as the most astute theatrical manager of the
+day."
+
+Barnes winced, but was game. "When do you start rehearsals,
+Rushcroft?"
+
+"It is my plan to go to Crowndale to-morrow or the next day, where I
+shall meet my company. Rehearsals will undoubtedly start at once. That
+would give us--let me see--Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday--four
+days. We open on Tuesday night. Oh, by the way, I have engaged a young
+woman of most unusual talent to take the minor part of Hortense. You
+may have noticed her in the dining-room. Miss Rosamond--er--where did
+I put that card?--ah, yes, Miss Floribel Blivens. The poor idiot
+insists on Blivens, desiring to perpetuate the family monicker. I have
+gotten rid of her spectacles, however, and the name that the
+prehistoric Blivenses gave her at the christening."
+
+"You--you don't mean Miss Tilly?"
+
+"I do. She is to give notice to Jones to-day. There are more ways than
+one of getting even with a scurvy caitiff. In this case, I take old
+Jones's best waitress away from him, and, praise God, he'll never find
+another that will stick to him for eighteen years as she has done."
+
+O'Dowd returned late in the afternoon. He was in a hurry to get back
+to Green Fancy; there was no mistaking his uneasiness. He drew Barnes
+aside.
+
+"For the love of Heaven, Barnes, get her away from here as soon as
+possible, and do it as secretly as you can," he said. "I may as well
+tell you that she is in more danger from the government secret service
+than from any one up yonder. Understand, I'm not pleading guilty to
+anything, but I shall be far, far away from here meself before another
+sunrise. That ought to mean something to you."
+
+"But she has done no wrong. She has not laid herself liable to--"
+
+"That isn't the point. She has been up there with us, and you don't
+want to put her in the position of having to answer a lot of nasty
+questions they'll be after asking her if they get their hands on her.
+She might be weeks or months clearing herself, innocent though she be.
+Mind you, she is as square as anything; she is in no way mixed up with
+our affairs up there. But I'm giving you the tip. Sneak her out as
+soon as you can, and don't leave any trail."
+
+"She may prefer to face the music, O'Dowd. If I know her at all, she
+will refuse to run away."
+
+"Then ye'll have to kidnap her," said the Irishman earnestly. "There
+will be men swarming here from both sides of the border by to-morrow
+night or next day. I've had direct information. The matter is in the
+hands of the people at Washington and they are in communication with
+Ottawa this afternoon. Never mind how I found it out. It's the gospel
+truth, and--it's going to be bad for all of us if we're here when they
+come."
+
+"Who is she, O'Dowd? Man to man, tell me the truth. I want to know
+just where I stand."
+
+O'Dowd hesitated, looked around the tap-room, and then leaned across
+the table.
+
+"She is the daughter of Andreas Mara-Dafanda, former minister of war
+in the cabinet of Prince Bolaroz the Sixth. Her mother was first
+cousin to the Prince. Both father and mother are dead. And for that
+matter, so is Bolaroz the Sixth. He was killed early in this war. His
+brother, a prisoner in Austria, as you may already know, is the next
+in line for the throne,--if the poor devil lives to get it back from
+the Huns. Miss Cameron is in reality the Countess Therese Mara-
+Dafanda--familiarly and lovingly known in her own land as the Countess
+Ted. She was visiting in this country when the war broke out. If it is
+of any use to you, I'll add that she would be rich if Aladdin could
+only come to life and restore the splendours of the demolished castle,
+refill the chests of gold that have been emptied by the conquerors,
+and restock the farms that have been pillaged and devastated. In the
+absence of Aladdin, however, she is almost as poor as the ancient
+church-mouse. But she has a fortune of her own. Two of the most
+glorious rubies in the world represent her lips; her eyes are
+sapphires that put to shame the rocks of all the Sultans; when she
+smiles, you may look upon pearls that would make the Queen of Sheba's
+trinkets look like chinaware; her skin is of the rarest and richest
+velvet; her hair is all silk and a yard wide; and, best of all, she
+has a heart of pure gold. So there you are, me man. Half the royal
+progeny of Europe have been suitors for her hand, and the other half
+would be if they didn't happen to be of the same sex."
+
+"Is she likely to--er--marry any one of them, O'Dowd?"
+
+"Do you mean, is she betrothed to one of the royal nuts? If I were her
+worst enemy I couldn't wish her anything as bad as that. The world is
+full of regular men,--like meself, for example,--and 'twould be a pity
+to see her wasted upon anything so cheap as a king."
+
+"Then, she isn't?"
+
+"Isn't what?"
+
+"Betrothed."
+
+"Oh!" He squinted his eyes drolly. "Bedad, if she is, she's kept it a
+secret from me. Have you aspirations, me friend?"
+
+"Certainly not," said Barnes sharply. "By the way, you have mentioned
+Prince Bolaroz the Sixth, but you haven't given a name to the country
+he ruled."
+
+O'Dowd stared. "The Saints preserve us! Is the man a numbskull? Are
+you saying that you don't know who and what--My God, such ignorance
+bewilders me!"
+
+"Painful as it may be to you, O'Dowd, I don't seem able to place
+Bolaroz in his proper realm."
+
+"Whist, then!" He put his hand to his mouth and whispered a name.
+
+An incredulous expression came into Barnes's eyes. "Are you jesting
+with me, O'Dowd?"
+
+"I am not."
+
+"But I thought it was nothing more than a make-believe, imaginary
+land, cooked up by some hair-brained novelist for the purpose of--"
+
+"Well, ye know better now," said O'Dowd crisply. "Good-bye. I must be
+on my way. Deliver my best wishes to her, Barnes, and say that if she
+ever needs a friend Billy O'Dowd is the boy to respond to any call she
+sends out. God willing, I may see her again some day,--and I'll say
+the same to you, old man." He arose and held out his hand. "I'm
+trusting to you to get her away from these parts before the rat-
+catchers come. Don't let 'em bother her. Good-bye and good luck
+forever."
+
+"You are a brick, O'Dowd. I want to see you again. You will always
+find me--"
+
+"Thanks. Don't issue any rash invitations. I might take you up." He
+strode to the door, followed by Barnes.
+
+"Is there anything to be feared from this Prince Ugo or the crowd up
+there?"
+
+"There would be if they knew where they could lay their hands on her
+inside of the next ten hours. She could a tale unfold, and they
+wouldn't like that. Keep her under cover here till--well, till THAT
+danger is past and then keep her out of the danger that is to come."
+
+Barnes started upstairs as soon as O'Dowd was off, urged by an
+eagerness that put wings on his feet and a thrill of excitement in his
+blood. Half way up he stopped short. A new condition confronted him.
+What was the proper way to approach a person of royal blood? Certainly
+it wasn't right to go galumping upstairs and bang on her door, and
+saunter in as if she were just like any one else. He would have to
+think.
+
+When he resumed his upward progress it was with a chastened and
+deferential mien. Pausing at her door, he was at once aware of voices
+inside the room. He stood there for some time before he realised that
+Miss Thackeray was repeating, with theatric fervour, though haltingly,
+as much of her "part" as she could remember, evidently to the
+satisfaction of the cousin of princes, for there were frequent
+interruptions which had all the symptoms of applause.
+
+He rapped on the door, but so timorously that nothing came of it. His
+second effort was productive. He heard Miss Thackeray say "good
+gracious," and, after a moment, Miss Cameron's subdued: "What is it?"
+
+"May I come in?" he inquired, rather ashamed of his vigour. "It's only
+Barnes."
+
+"Come in," was her lively response. "It was awfully good of you, Miss
+Thackeray, to let me hear your lines. I think you will be a great
+success in the part."
+
+"Thanks," said Miss Thackeray drily. "I'll come in again and let you
+hear me in the third act." She went out, mumbling her lines as she
+passed Barnes without seeing him.
+
+"Forgive me for not arising, Mr. Barnes," said Royalty, a wry little
+smile on her lips. "I fear I twisted it more severely than I thought
+at first. It is really quite painful."
+
+"Your ankle?" he cried in surprise. "When and how did it happen? I'm
+sorry, awfully sorry."
+
+"It happened last night, just as we were crossing the ditch in front--
+"
+
+"Last night? Why didn't you tell me? Don't you know that it's wrong to
+walk with a sprained ankle? Don't--"
+
+"Don't be angry with me," she pleaded. "You could not have done
+anything."
+
+"Couldn't I, though? I certainly could have carried you the rest of
+the way,--and upstairs." He was conscious of a strange exasperation.
+He felt as though he had been deliberately cheated out of something.
+
+"You poor man! I am quite heavy."
+
+"Pooh! A hundred and twenty-five at the outside. Do you think I'm a
+weakling?"
+
+"Please, please!" she cried. "You look so--so furious. I know you are
+very, very strong,--but so am I. Why should I expect you to carry me
+all that distance when--"
+
+"But, good Lord," he blurted out, "I would have loved to do it. I
+can't imagine anything more--I--I--" He broke off in confusion.
+
+She smiled divinely. "Alas, it is too late now. But--" she went on
+gaily, "you may yet have the pleasure of carrying me downstairs, Mr.
+Barnes. Will that appease your wrath?"
+
+He flushed. "I'm sorry I--"
+
+"See," she said, "it is nicely bandaged,--and if you could see through
+the bandages you would find it dreadfully swollen. That nice Miss
+Thackeray doctored me. What a quaint person she is."
+
+His brow clouded once more. "I hope you will feel able to leave this
+place to-morrow, Countess. We must get away almost immediately."
+
+"Ah, you have been listening to O'Dowd, I see."
+
+"Yes. He tells me it will be dangerous to--"
+
+"I was thinking of something else that he must have told you. You
+forgot to address me as Miss Cameron."
+
+"I might have gone even farther and called you the Countess Ted," he
+said.
+
+She sighed. "It was rather nice being Miss Cameron to you, Mr. Barnes.
+You will not let it make any difference, will you? I mean to say, you
+will be just the same as if I were still Miss Cameron and not--some
+one else?"
+
+"I will be just the same," he said, leaning a little closer. "I am not
+so easily frightened as all that, you know."
+
+She looked into his eyes for a moment, and then turned her own swiftly
+away. Entranced, he watched the delicate colour steal into her cheek.
+
+"You are just like other women," he said thickly, "and I am like other
+men. We can't help being what we are, Countess. Flesh and blood
+mortals, that's all. If a cat may look at a king, why may not I look
+at a countess?"
+
+She met his gaze, but not steadily. Her deep blue eyes were filled
+with a vague wonder; she seemed to be searching for something in his
+to explain the sudden embarrassment that had come over her.
+
+"Ah, I do not understand you American men," she murmured, shaking her
+head. "A king would have found as much pleasure in looking at Miss
+Cameron as at a countess. Why shouldn't YOU?" A radiant smile lighted
+her face. "The king would not think of reproving the cat. I see no
+reason why you should not look at a poor little countess with
+impunity."
+
+"Do you think it would be possible for you to understand me any better
+as Miss Cameron?" he asked bluntly.
+
+"I think perhaps it would," she said, the smile fading.
+
+"Then, I shall continue to look upon you as Miss Cameron, Countess. It
+will make it easier for both of us."
+
+"Yes," she said, a little sadly, "I am sure Miss Cameron would not be
+half so dense as the Countess. She would understand perfectly. She has
+grown to be a very discerning person, Mr. Barnes, notwithstanding her
+extreme youth. Miss Cameron is only four days old, you see."
+
+He bowed very low and said: "My proudest boast is that I have known
+her since the day she was born. If I had the tongue and the courage of
+O'Dowd I might add a great deal to that statement."
+
+"A great deal that you would not say to a countess?" she asked,
+playing with fire.
+
+"A great deal that a child four days old could hardly be expected to
+grasp, Miss Cameron," he replied, pointedly. "Having lived to a great
+age myself, and acquired wisdom, I appreciate the futility of uttering
+profound truths to an infant in arms."
+
+She beamed. "O'Dowd could not have done any better than that," she
+cried. Then quickly, even nervously, as he was about to speak again:
+"Now, tell me all that Mr. O'Dowd had to say."
+
+He seated himself and repeated the Irishman's warning. Her eyes
+clouded as he went on; utter dejection came into them.
+
+"He is right. It would be difficult for me to clear myself. My own
+people would be against me. No one would believe that I did not
+deliberately make off with the jewels. They would say that I--oh, it
+is too dreadful!"
+
+"Don't worry about that," he exclaimed. "You have me to testify that--"
+
+"How little you know of intrigue," she cried. "They would laugh at you
+and say that you were merely another fool who had lost his head over a
+woman. They would say that I duped you--"
+
+"No!" he cried vehemently. "Your people know better than you think.
+You are disheartened, discouraged. Things will look brighter to-
+morrow. Good heavens, think how much worse it might have been. That--
+that infernal brute was going to force you into a vile, unholy
+marriage. He--By the way," he broke off abruptly, "I have been
+thinking a lot about what you told me. He couldn't have married you
+without your consent. Such a marriage would never hold in a court of--
+"
+
+"You are wrong," she said quietly. "He could have married me without
+my consent, and it would have held,--not in one of your law courts, I
+dare say, but in the court to which he and I belong by laws that were
+made centuries before America was discovered. A prince of the royal
+house may wed whom and when he chooses, provided he does not look too
+far beneath his station. He may not wed a commoner. The state would
+not recognise such a union. My consent was not necessary."
+
+"But you are in my country now, not in yours," he argued. "Our laws
+would have protected you."
+
+"You do not understand. Marriages such as he contemplated are made
+every year in Europe. Do you suppose that the royal marriages you read
+about in the newspapers are made with the consent of the poor little
+princes and princesses? Your laws are one thing, Mr. Barnes; our
+courts are another. Need I be more explicit?"
+
+"I think I understand," he said slowly. "Poor wretches!"
+
+"Prince Ugo is of royal blood. I am not too far beneath him. In my
+country his word is the law. The marriage that was to have been
+celebrated to-day at Green Fancy would have bound me to him forever.
+It would have been recognised in my country as legal. I have not the
+right of appeal. I would not even be permitted to question his right
+to make me his wife against my will. He is a prince. His will is law."
+
+"Isn't love allowed to enter into a--"
+
+"Love?" she scorned. "What has love to do with it? There isn't a queen
+in all the world who loves--or loved, I would better say,--the man she
+married. Some of them may have grown afterwards to love their kings,
+because all kings are not alike. You may be quite sure, however, that
+the wives of kings and princes did not marry their ideals; they did
+not marry the men they loved. So, you see, it wouldn't have mattered
+in the least to Prince Ugo whether I loved him or hated him. It was
+all the same to him. It was enough that he loved me and wanted me. And
+besides, laying sentiment aside, it wouldn't have been a bad stroke of
+business on his part. He has a fair chance to sit on the throne of our
+country. By placing me beside him on the throne he would be taking a
+long step toward uniting the factions that are now bitterly opposing
+each other. I am able to discuss all this very calmly with you now,
+Mr. Barnes, for the nightmare is ended. I am here with you, alive and
+well. If you had not come for me last night, I would now be sleeping
+the long sleep at Green Fancy."
+
+"You--you would have taken your own life?" he said, in a shocked
+voice.
+
+"I would have spared myself the horror of letting him destroy it in a
+slower, more painful fashion," she said, compressing her lips.
+
+He did not speak at once. Looking into her troubled eyes, he said,
+after a soulful moment: "I am glad that I came in time. You were made
+to love and be loved. The man you love,--if there ever be one so
+fortunate,--will be my debtor to the end of his days. I glorify myself
+for having been instrumental in saving you for him."
+
+"If there ever be one so fortunate," she mused. Suddenly her mood
+changed. A new kind of despair came into her lovely eyes, a plaintive
+note into her voice. (I may be pardoned for declaring that she became,
+in the twinkling of an eye, a real flesh and blood woman.) "I don't
+know what I shall do unless I can get something to wear, Mr. Barnes. I
+haven't a thing, you see. This suit is--well, you can see what it is.
+I--"
+
+"I've never seen a more attractive suit," he pronounced. "I said as
+much to myself the first time I saw it, the other evening at the
+cross-roads. It fits--"
+
+"But I cannot LIVE in it, you know. My boxes are up at Green Fancy,--
+two small ones for steamer use. Everything I have in the world is in
+them. Pray do not look so forlorn. You really couldn't have carried
+them, Mr. Barnes, and I shudder when I think of what would have
+happened to you if I had tumbled them out of the window upon your
+head. You would have been squashed, and it isn't unlikely that you
+would have aroused every one in the house with your groans and
+curses."
+
+"I dropped a trunk on my toes one time," he said, grinning with a
+delight that had nothing to do with the reminiscence. She was quaintly
+humorous once more, and he was happy. "I think one swears more
+prodigiously when a trunk falls on his toes than he does when it drops
+on his head. There is something wonderfully quieting and soothing
+about a trunk lighting on one's head from a great height. Don't worry
+about your boxes. I have a feeling it will be perfectly safe to call
+for them with a wagon to-morrow."
+
+"I don't know what I should do without you," she said.
+
+That evening at supper, Barnes and Mr. Rushcroft, to say nothing of
+three or four "transients," had great cause for complaint about the
+service. Miss Tilly was wholly pre-occupied. She was memorising her
+"part." Instead of asking Mr. Rushcroft whether he would have bean
+soup or noodles, she wanted to know whether she should speak the line
+this way or that. She had a faraway, strained look in her eyes, and
+she mumbled so incessantly that one of the guests got up and went out
+to see Mr. Jones about it. Being assured that she was just a plain
+damn' fool and not crazy, he returned and said a great many unpleasant
+things in the presence of Miss Tilly, who fortunately did not hear
+them.
+
+"You've spoiled a very good waitress, Rushcroft," said Barnes.
+
+"And a very good appetite as well," growled the Star.
+
+Late in the night, Barnes, sitting at his window dreaming dreams, saw
+two big touring cars whiz past the tavern. The next morning Peter
+Ames, the chauffeur, called him up on the telephone to inquire whether
+he had heard anything more about the job on his sister's place. He was
+anxious to know, he said, because everybody had cleared out of Green
+Fancy during the night and he had received instructions to lock up the
+house and look for another situation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MR. SPROUSE CONTINUES TO BE PERPLEXING, BUT PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE
+GROUND
+
+
+The morning air was soft with the first real touch of spring. A quiet
+haze lay over the valley; the lofty hills were enjoying a peaceful
+smoke, and the sky was as blue as the turquoise. Birds shrilled a
+fresh, gay carol; the song of the anvil had a new thrill of joy in
+every inspiring note; the cawing of crows travelled melodiously across
+the fields, roosters split their throats in vociferous acclaim to the
+distant sun, and hens clucked a complacent chorus. The rattle of
+kitchen pans was melody to the ear instead of torture; the squeaking
+of pigs in the sty beyond the stable yard took on the dignity of
+music; and the blue smoke that rose from chimneys near and far went
+dancing up to wed the smiling sky.
+
+Barnes was abroad early. Very greatly to his annoyance, he had slept
+long and soundly throughout the night. He was annoyed because he had
+made up his mind that as her protector he would be most negligent if
+he went to sleep at all, with all those frightened varlets hovering
+around ready to go to any extreme in order to save their skins.
+
+Indeed, he left his door slightly ajar and laid his revolver on a
+chair beside the bed, in which, with the aid of a lantern, he promised
+himself to keep the vigil, stretched out in his daytime garb, prepared
+for instant action, the while he enriched his mind by reading "The Man
+of Property." But he fell to dreaming with his eyes wide open, and few
+were the pages he turned.
+
+Suddenly it was broad daylight and the wick in the lantern smelled
+horribly. He popped from the bed, rubbed his eyes, and then dashed out
+in the hall, expecting to come upon sanguinary evidence of a raid
+during the night. To his amazement, there were no visible signs of an
+attack upon the house. It seemed incredible that his defection had not
+been attended by results too horrible to contemplate. By all the laws
+of fate, she should now be either dead or at the very least,
+frightfully mutilated. Something like that invariably happens when a
+sentinel sleeps at his post, or an engineer drowses in his cab. But
+nothing of the sort had happened.
+
+Mr. Bacon, sweeping the front stairs, assured him between yawns that
+he hadn't heard a sound in the Tavern after half-past ten,--at which
+hour he went to bed and to sleep.
+
+Barnes was at breakfast when Peter Ames called up. An inspiration
+seized him when the chauffeur mentioned the wholesale exodus: he hired
+Peter forthwith and ordered him to report immediately,--with the car.
+He was going up to Green Fancy for Miss Cameron's "boxes."
+
+Whether it was the fresh, sweet smell of the earth that caused him to
+saunter forth from the Tavern, and to adventure across the road to the
+foot of the great old oak, or the ripening of spring in his blood, is
+of no immediate consequence here. He had no reason for going over
+there to lean against the tree and light his after-breakfast pipe,--
+unless, of course, it be argued that the position afforded a fair and
+excellent view of the window in Miss Cameron's room. The shutters were
+open and the low sash was raised.
+
+Presently she appeared at the window, and smiled down upon him. The
+spell was at its height; the charm that had clothed the morning with
+enchantment was now complete.
+
+He waved his hand. "The top o' the morning," he cried.
+
+"I detect coffee," she returned, "and, oh, how good it smells. Have
+you had yours?"
+
+"Ages ago," he replied, ecstatically.
+
+She placed her elbows on the sill and her chin in the palms of her
+hands. The loose sleeves of Miss Thackeray's bizarre dressing gown
+fell away, revealing two round, smooth, white arms. The sun shot its
+mellow light into the ripples of her tousled hair, and it shone like
+burnished gold. Her white teeth gleamed against the red of her smiling
+lips. He was fascinated.
+
+The automobile driven by Peter Ames too soon came roaring and rattling
+up the pike. She withdrew her head, after twice being warned by Barnes
+not to reveal herself to the view of skulkers who might infest the
+wood beyond,--and each time his reward was a delightfully stubborn
+shake of the head and the ruthless assertion that on such a heavenly
+morning as this she didn't mind in the least if all the spies in the
+world were gazing at her.
+
+Two minutes after Peter drove up to the Tavern he was on the way back
+to Green Fancy again, and seated beside him was Thomas Kingsbury
+Barnes, his new master.
+
+"Needn't be afraid of trespassin'," said Peter when Barnes advised him
+to go slow as they turned off the road into the forest. "Nobody's
+going to object. You c'n yell, and shoot, and raise all the thunder
+you want, an' there won't be nobody runnin' out to tell you to shut
+up. Might as well try to disturb a graveyard."
+
+There was not a sign of human life about the place. Peter, without
+compunction, admitted his employer through the back door of the house,
+and accompanied him upstairs to the room recently occupied by Miss
+Cameron.
+
+"Course," he said, but not uneasily, "I'm not supposed to let anybody
+remove anything from the house as long as I'm employed as caretaker."
+
+"But you are no longer employed as caretaker. You were discharged and
+you are now working for me, Peter."
+
+"That's so," said Peter, scratching his head. "Makes all the
+difference in the world. I never thought of that. Come to think of it,
+I guess Miss Cameron needs clothes as much as anybody. The rest of 'em
+took all their duds away with 'em, you c'n bet. Would you know Miss
+Cameron's clothes if you was to see 'em?"
+
+"Perfectly," said Barnes.
+
+"That's good," said Peter, relieved. "Clothes seem to look purty much
+alike to me, specially women's."
+
+They found the two small leather trunks, thickly belabelled, in the
+room upstairs. Both were locked.
+
+"I don't see how you're going to identify 'em without seein' 'em,"
+said Peter dubiously.
+
+Barnes looked at him sternly. "Peter, be good enough to remember that
+you are working for a man of the most highly developed powers of
+divination. Do you get that?"
+
+"No, sir," said Peter honestly; "I don't."
+
+"Well, if I were to say to you that I possess the singular ability to
+see a thing without actually seeing it, what would you say?"
+
+"I wouldn't say anything, because I don't think it helps a man any to
+call his boss a liar."
+
+"You take this one," said Barnes, without further parley, "and I will
+manage the other." He was in a hurry to get away from the house. There
+was no telling when the government agents would descend upon the
+place. He was at a loss to understand O'Dowd's failure to remove the
+trunks which would so surely draw the attention of the authorities to
+the girl he seemed so eager to shield. "And, by the way," he added, as
+they descended the stairs with the trunks on their backs, "you may as
+well get your own things together, Peter. We start on a long motor
+trip to-night. I am afraid we shall have to steal the automobile, if
+you don't mind."
+
+"It belongs to me, sir," said Peter. "Mr. O'Dowd gave it to me
+yesterday, with his compliments. It seems that he had word from his
+sister to reward me for long and faithful service. Special cablegram
+from London or England, I forget which."
+
+"Did Mr. Curtis leave with the others last night?" inquired Barnes,
+setting the trunk down on the brick pavement outside the door.
+
+"'Pears that he left a couple of days ago," said Peter, vastly
+perplexed. "By gosh, I don't see how he done it, 'thout me knowin'
+anything about it. Derned queer, that's all I got to say, man as sick
+as he is."
+
+Barnes did not enlighten him. He helped Peter to lift the trunks into
+the car and then ordered him to start at once for Hart's Tavern.
+
+"You can return later on for your things," he said.
+
+"I got 'em tied up in a bundle in the garage, Mr. Burns," he said.
+"Won't take a second to get 'em out." He hurried around the corner of
+the house, leaving Barnes alone with the car.
+
+A dry, quiet chuckle fell upon Barnes's ears. He glanced about in
+surprise and alarm. No one was in sight.
+
+"Look up, young man," and the startled young man obeyed. His gaze
+halted at a window on the second story, almost directly over his head.
+
+Mr. Sprouse was looking down upon him, his sharp features fixed in a
+sardonic grin.
+
+"Well, I'll be damned!" burst from Barnes's lips. He could not believe
+his eyes.
+
+"Surprised to see me, eh? If you're not in a hurry, I'd certainly
+appreciate a lift as far as the Tavern, old man. I'll be down in a
+jiffy."
+
+"Hold on! What the deuce does all this mean? How do you happen to be
+here, and where are the--"
+
+"Sh! Not so loud! Don't get excited. I dare say you know all there is
+to know about me by this time, so we needn't waste time over trifles.
+Stand aside! I'm going to drop." A moment later he swung over the
+sill, and dropped lightly to the ground eight feet below. Dusting his
+hands, he advanced and extended one of them to the bewildered Barnes.
+"Oh, you won't shake, eh? Well, it doesn't matter. I don't blame you."
+
+"See here, Sprouse or whatever your name is,--"
+
+"Cool off! I'll explain in ten words. I didn't get the stuff. I came
+back this morning to have a quiet, undisturbed look around. My only
+reason for revealing myself to you now, Barnes, is to ask your
+assistance in--"
+
+"Ask my assistance, you infernal rogue!" roared Barnes. "Why, I'll--
+I'll--"
+
+"Better hear me out," broke in Sprouse calmly.
+
+"I could drill a hole through you so quickly you'd never know what did
+it," he went on. His hand was in his coat pocket, and a quick glance
+revealed to Barnes a singularly impressive angle in the cloth, the
+point of which seemed to be directed squarely at his chest. "But I'm
+not going to do it. I just want to set myself straight with you. In a
+word, I never got anywhere near the room in which the jewels were
+hidden. This is God's truth, Barnes. I didn't stick a knife into that
+poor devil up there the other night. Here's what actually happened. I--"
+
+"Wait a moment. You intended to steal the jewels, didn't you? You were
+not playing fair with me then, so why should I put any faith in you
+now?"
+
+"Honest confession is good for the soul," said Sprouse easily. "I
+wasn't the only one who was trying to get the baubles, my friend. It
+was a game in which only the best man could win."
+
+"I know the truth now about Roon and Paul," said Barnes significantly.
+
+"You do?" sneered Sprouse. "I'll bet you a thousand to one you do not.
+If the girl told you what she believes to be true, she didn't have it
+straight at all. She was led to believe that they were a couple of
+crooks and that they fixed me in that Tavern down there. Isn't that
+what she told you? Well, that story was cooked up for her special
+benefit. I don't mind telling you the truth about them, and you can
+tell it to her. Roon was the Baron Hedlund--But all this can wait.
+Now--"
+
+"Did you shoot either of those men?"
+
+"I did not. Baron Hedlund was shot, I firmly believe, by Prince Ugo. I
+might as well go on with the story now and have it over with. Tell
+that chauffeur to take a little stroll. He doesn't have to hear the
+story, you know. Hedlund came up here a week or so ago to keep a look-
+out for his wife. The Baroness is supposed to be deeply enamoured of
+Prince Ugo. He found letters which seemed to indicate that she was
+planning to join the Prince up here. In any event, he came to watch.
+Well, she didn't come. She had been headed off, but he didn't know
+that. When he heard of the arrival of a lady at Green Fancy the other
+afternoon, he got busy. He went right up there with blood in his eye.
+I admit that I am the gentleman who telephoned the warning up to the
+Prince. They tried to head the Baron and his man off at the cross-
+roads, but he beat them to it. If there was to be a fight, they didn't
+want it to happen anywhere near the house. Part of them, led by Ugo
+himself, took a short cut up through the woods and met the two men in
+the road.
+
+"There is only one man in the world to-day who is a better shot at
+night than Prince Ugo, and modesty keeps me from mentioning his
+illustrious name. That's why I believe Ugo is the one who got the
+Baron,--or Roon, as you know him. The other fellow was halted at the
+cross-roads when he made a run for it. A couple of men had been sent
+there for just such an emergency. Hedlund was a curiously chivalrous
+chap. He went to extreme measures to protect his wife's good name by
+wiping out all means of identification. His wife's good name! It is to
+laugh! Now, that is the true story of the little affair, and if you
+are as much of a gentleman as I take you to be, Barnes, you will
+respect Hedlund's desire to shield the woman he loved, and let him lie
+up yonder in an unmarked grave. That is what he figured on, you know,
+in case things went against him, and I'll stake my head that if you
+put it up to the Countess Therese, she will feel as I do about it. She
+will beg you to keep the secret. Hedlund was a lifelong friend of her
+family. He was beloved by all of them. He married an actress in Vienna
+three or four years ago. On second thoughts, if I were you I'd spare
+the Countess. I'd let her go on thinking that the story she has heard
+is true,--at least for the time being. She's a nice girl and there's
+no sense in giving her any unnecessary pain. But that's up to you. You
+can do as you please about it.
+
+"Now to go back to my own troubles. When I got out into the hall night
+before last, after leaving her room, I heard voices whispering in
+Prince Ugo's room. Naturally I thought that some one had lamped us on
+the outside, and that I was likely to be in a devil of a mess if I
+wasn't careful. The last place for me to go was back into her room.
+They would cut me off from the outside. So I beat it up the stairway
+into the attic. Nothing happened, so I sneaked down to have a peep
+around. The door to Ugo's room was open, but there was no light on the
+inside. He came to the door and looked up and down the hall. Then some
+one else came out and started to sneak away. I leave you to guess the
+sex.
+
+"Nicholas butted in at this unfortunate juncture. He made the mistake
+of his life. I could see him as plain as day, standing in the hall
+grinning like an ape. Ugo jumped back into his room. In less than a
+second he was out again. He landed squarely on Nicholas's back as the
+fellow turned to escape. I saw the steel flash. Poor old Nick went
+down in a heap, letting out a horrible yell. Ugo dragged him into the
+room and dashed back into his own. A moment later he came out again,
+yelling for help. I heard him shouting that the house had been
+robbed,--and in two seconds there was an uproar all over the place. I
+thought I was done for. But he had them all rushing downstairs,
+yelling that the thief had gone that way. There was only one thing
+left for me to do and that was to get out on the roof if possible, and
+wait for things to quiet down. I got out through a trap door and
+stayed there for an hour or so. They were beating the forest for the
+thief, and I give you my word, believe it or not, I actually sent up a
+prayer, Barnes, that you had got off safely with the girl. I prayed
+harder than I ever dreamed a man could pray.
+
+"Well, to shorten the story, I finally took a chance and slid down to
+the eaves where I managed to find the limb of a tree big enough to
+support me,--just as if the Lord had ordered it put there for my
+special benefit. I was soon on the ground, and that meant safety for
+me. I had heard Ugo tell the others that Nicholas said the man who
+stabbed him was yours truly. Can you beat it? And then every mother's
+son of them declared it was a feat that no one else in the world could
+have pulled off but me, and as I was nowhere to be found, it was only
+natural that all of them should believe the lie that Ugo told.
+
+"And now comes the maddening part of the whole business. He said that
+the crown jewels were gone! I heard him telling how he was awakened
+out of a sound sleep by a man with a gun, who forced him to open the
+safe and hand over the treasure. Then he said he was put to sleep
+again by a crack over the head with a slung-shot. He was only
+partially stunned,--Lord, what a liar!--and came to in time to hear
+the struggle across the hall. The thief was running downstairs when he
+staggered to the door. It seems that the door at the bottom of the
+steps had not been closed that night.
+
+"Now, my dear Mr. Barnes, when I asked you to lend your assistance
+awhile ago, it was only to have you tell me when it was that Mr. Loeb
+left this place, which way he went, and who accompanied him. If we are
+to find the crown jewels, my friend, we will first have to find Prince
+Ugo. He has them."
+
+Barnes had not taken his eyes from the face of this amazing rascal
+during the whole of the recital. He had been deceived in him before;
+he was determined not to be fooled again.
+
+"I don't believe a word of this yarn," he said flatly. "You have the
+jewels and--"
+
+"Don't be an ass," snapped Sprouse. "If I had them do you suppose I'd
+be fiddling around here to-day? Not much. I saw the gang making their
+getaway last night, and I saw Peter depart this morning. I concluded
+to have a look about the place. Hope springs eternal, you know. There
+was a bare possibility that he might have forgotten them!" He scowled
+as he grinned, and never had Barnes looked upon a countenance so evil.
+
+"Why should I tell YOU anything about Prince Ugo? It would only be
+helping you to carry out the game--"
+
+"Look here, Mr. Barnes, I'm not going to double-cross you again.
+That's all over. I want to get that scurvy dog who knifed poor old
+Nick. Nick was a decent, square man. He wasn't a crook. He was a
+patriot, if such a thing exists in this world to-day. If you can give
+me a lead, I'll try to run Prince Ugo down. And if I do, we'll get the
+jewels."
+
+"We? You amuse me, Sprouse."
+
+"Well, I can't do any more than give my promise, my solemn oath, or
+something like that. I can't give a bond, you know. I swear to you
+that if I lay hands on that stuff, I will deliver it to you. Might
+just as well trust me as Ugo. You won't get them from him, that's
+sure; and you may get them from me."
+
+"Is it revenge you're after?"
+
+"My God," almost shouted Sprouse in his exasperation, "didn't he give
+me a black eye among my friends up here? Didn't he put me in wrong
+with all of them? Do you think I'm going to stand for that? Think I'm
+going to let him get away with it? You don't know me, my friend. I've
+got a reputation at stake. No one has ever double-crossed me and got
+away with it. I want to prove to the world that I didn't take those
+jewels. I--"
+
+"Just what do you mean by 'the world,' Sprouse?"
+
+"My world," he replied succinctly. "I'm not a piker, you know," he
+went on, cocking one eye in a somewhat supercilious manner. "The
+stakes are always high in my game. I don't play for pennies."
+
+"Get in the car," said Barnes suddenly. He had decided to take a
+chance with the resourceful, indefatigable rascal. There was nothing
+to be lost by setting him on the track of Prince Ugo, who, if the
+man's story was true, had betrayed his best friends. There was
+something convincing about Sprouse's version of the affair at Green
+Fancy. He called out to Peter.
+
+"I suppose you know that the whole game is up, Naismith," he said,
+lowering his voice. Peter was wrathfully cranking the car. "The
+government is going to take a hand in this business up here."
+
+"If you mean that as a hint to me, it's unnecessary. I'll be on my way
+inside of an hour. This is no place for me. And that Tavern is no
+place for--er--for her, Barnes. Just mention that you saw me and that
+I'm going after Mr. Loeb. If I get the stuff, I'll do the square thing
+by her. Not for sentimental reasons, bless you, but just because I
+like to do things that make people wonder what the hell I'll do next.
+Tell her the whole story if you feel like it, but if I were you I'd
+wait till she is safe among her friends, where she won't be nervous.
+Hit it up a bit, Peter, old boy. I'm in a hurry."
+
+Peter eyed him in an unfriendly manner. "Where did you come from, Mr.
+Perkins? Mighty queer you--"
+
+Sprouse spoke softly out of the corner of his mouth. "Nice old New
+England name, isn't it, Barnes?" To Peter: "It's a long story. I'll
+write it to you. Speed up."
+
+Barnes told all that he knew of Prince Ugo's flight. Sprouse looked
+thoughtful for a long time.
+
+"So O'Dowd knows that I really was after the swag, eh? He believes I
+got it?"
+
+"I suppose so."
+
+"The only one who thinks I'm absolutely innocent is Ugo, of course,--
+and Mrs. Van Dyke. That's good." Sprouse smacked his lips. "Just send
+me on to Hornville in the car, and don't give me another thought till
+you hear from me. I've got a pretty fair idea where I can find Mr.
+Loeb. It will take a little time,--a couple of days, perhaps,--but
+sooner or later he'll turn up in close proximity to the beautiful
+baroness."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+A TRIP BY NIGHT, A SUPPER, AND A LATE ARRIVAL
+
+
+Shortly after sundown that evening, the Rushcroft Company evacuated
+Hart's Tavern. They were delayed by the irritating and, to Mr.
+Rushcroft, unpardonable behaviour of two officious gentlemen, lately
+arrived, who insisted politely but firmly on prying into the past,
+present and future history of the several members of the organisation,
+including the new "backer" or "angel," as one of the operatives slyly
+observed to the other on beholding Miss Thackeray.
+
+Barnes easily established his own identity and position, and was not
+long in convincing the investigators that his connection with the
+stranded company was of a purely philanthropic nature,--yes, even
+platonic, he asseverated with some heat when the question was put to
+him.
+
+They examined him closely concerning his solitary visit to Green
+Fancy, and he described to the best of his ability all but one of the
+inmates. He neglected to mention Miss Cameron. Realising that he would
+be storing up trouble for himself if he failed to mention his trip to
+the house that morning,--they were sure to hear of it in time,--he set
+his mind to the task of constructing a satisfactory explanation. He
+concluded to sacrifice Peter Ames, temporarily at least. Taking Peter
+aside, he explained the situation to him, impressing upon him the
+importance of leaving Miss Cameron and her luggage out of the
+interview, and to say nothing about the return of "Mr. Perkins."
+
+Fortified by Barnes's promise to protect him if he followed these
+instructions, Peter consented to tell all that he knew about the
+people at Green Fancy. Whereupon his new employer informed the secret
+service men that he had gone up to Green Fancy that morning in
+response to an appeal from Peter Ames, who had applied to him for a
+position a day or two before. On his arrival there he confirmed the
+bewildered chauffeur's story that the whole crowd had stolen away
+during the night. He guaranteed to produce Peter at any time he was
+needed, and was perfectly willing to discommode himself to the extent
+of leaving the man behind if they insisted on holding him.
+
+The officers, after putting him through a rather rigid examination,
+held private consultation over Peter. To Barnes's surprise and
+subsequent dismay, they announced that there was nothing to be gained
+by holding the man; he was at liberty to depart with his employer,
+provided he would report when necessary.
+
+Barnes was some time in fathoming the motive behind this seeming
+indifference on the part of the secret service men. It came to him
+like a flash, and its significance stunned him. They had decided that
+there was more to be gained by letting Peter Ames think he was above
+suspicion than by keeping him on the anxious seat. Peter unrestrained
+was of more value to them than Peter in durance vile. And from that
+moment forward there would not be an hour of the day or night when he
+was far ahead of the shadower who followed his trail. There would be a
+sly, invisible pursuer at his heels, and an eye ever ready to detect
+the first false move that he made. They were counting on Peter to lead
+them, in his own good time, to the haunts of his comrades. He could
+not escape. And he could make the fatal mistake of considering them a
+pack of fools!
+
+Barnes, perceiving all this, was in a state of perturbation. He had
+devised a very clever plan for getting Miss Cameron away from the
+Tavern without attracting undue attention. She was to leave in one of
+the automobiles that he had engaged to convey the players to
+Crowndale. It should go without saying that she was to travel with him
+in Peter's ramshackle car. In case of detention or inquiry, she was to
+pose as a stage-struck young woman who had obtained a place with the
+company at the last moment through his influence.
+
+Mr. Rushcroft was not in the secret. Barnes merely announced that he
+wanted to give a charming young friend of the family a chance to see
+what she could do on the stage, and that he had taken the liberty of
+sending for her. The star was magnanimous. He slapped Barnes on the
+back and declared that nothing could give him greater joy than to
+transform any friend of his into an actress, and he didn't give a hang
+whether she had talent or not.
+
+"We'll write in a part for her to-night," he said, "and we'll make it
+a small one at first, so that she won't have any difficulty in
+learning it. From night to night we'll build it up, Barnes, so that by
+the end of our first month your protegee practically will be a co-star
+with me. There's nothing mean about me, old chap. Any friend of yours
+can have--"
+
+Barnes made haste to explain that he did not want any one to know that
+this friend of the family was going on the stage, and that he would be
+greatly indebted to Rushcroft if he would keep "mum" about it for the
+time being.
+
+"Certainly. Not a word. I understand," said Mr. Rushcroft amiably.
+"I've had it happen before," he went on, a perfectly meaningless
+remark that brought a flush to Barnes's cheek.
+
+It had been Barnes's intention to spirit his charge away from Hart's
+Tavern under cover of darkness, in company with his other
+"responsibilities," but the fresh turn of affairs now presented
+difficulties that were likely to upset his hastily conceived strategy.
+He had but one purpose in view, and that was to spare her an
+unpleasant encounter with the government officials,--an encounter that
+conceivably might result in very distressing complications. He had
+revealed his plan to her and she apparently was very much taken with
+it,--indeed, she was quite enthusiastic over the prospect of being
+whisked unceremoniously to Crowndale, and thence to the home of his
+sister in New York City, where she could at once put herself in
+communication with friends and supporters.
+
+He was looking forward with dubious hopes to a possible extension of
+his guardianship, involving a voyage across the Atlantic and the
+triumphant delivery of the Countess, so to speak, into the eager arms
+of her country's ambassador at Paris. He was now in a state of mind
+that inspired him with the belief that it would be a joy to die for
+her. If he died for her, she would always remember him as a brave,
+devoted champion; she would exalt him; in her tender, grateful heart
+there would always be a corner for him, even to the end of her days,--
+even to the end of her days on the throne of her country's ruler. Far
+better that he should die for her,--and have it all over with,--than
+that he should live to see her the wife of--But invariably he ceased
+dreaming at this point and admitted that it would be infinitely more
+satisfying to live. It was his matter-of-fact contention that while
+there is life there is hope.
+
+When the hour came for the departure from Hart's Tavern he
+deliberately engaged the two secret service men in conversation in the
+tap-room. Miss Cameron left the house by the rear door and was safely
+ensconced in Peter's automobile long before he shook hands with the
+"rat-catchers" and dashed out to join her. Tommy Gray's car, occupied
+by the four players, was moving away from the door as he sprang in
+beside her and slammed the door. The interior of the car was as black
+as pitch.
+
+"Are you there?" he whispered.
+
+"Yes. Isn't it jolly, running away like this? It must be wonderfully
+exciting to be a criminal, always dodging and--"
+
+"Sh! Even a limousine may have ears!"
+
+But if the limousine had possessed a thousand ears they would have
+been rendered useless in the stormy racket made by Peter's muffler and
+the thunderous roar of the exhaust as the car got under way.
+
+Sixty miles lay between them and Crowndale. Tommy Gray guaranteed that
+the distance could be covered in three hours, even over the vile
+mountain roads. Ten o'clock would find them at the Grand Palace Hotel,
+none the worse for wear, provided (he always put it parenthetically)
+they lived to tell the tale! The luggage had gone on ahead of them
+earlier in the day.
+
+Peter's efforts to stay behind Tommy's venerable but surprisingly
+energetic Buick were the cause of many a gasp and shudder from the
+couple who sat behind him in the bounding car. He had orders to keep
+back of Tommy but never to lose sight of his tail light.
+
+Peter was like the celebrated Tam O' Shanter. He was pursued by
+spectres. The instant that he discovered that he was lagging a trifle,
+he shot the car up to top speed, with the result that he had to jam on
+the brakes violently in order to avoid crashing into Tommy's tail
+light, and at such times Miss Cameron and Barnes sustained unpleasant
+jars. Something seemed to be telling Peter that the law was stretching
+out its cruel hand to clutch him from behind; he was determined to
+keep out of its reach.
+
+There was small opportunity for conversation. The trip was not at all
+as Barnes had imagined it would be. After the car had raced through
+Hornville he decided that it was not necessary to keep Tommy's tail
+light in view, and so directed Peter. After that conversation was
+possible, but the gain was counterbalanced by a distinct sense of
+loss. She relinquished her rather frenzied grasp upon his arm, and
+sank back into the corner of the seat.
+
+"Oh, dear, what a relief!" she gasped.
+
+"What arrant stupidity," he growled, and she never knew that the
+remark bore no relation whatsoever to Peter.
+
+He confessed his fears to her, and was immeasurably consoled by her
+enthusiastic scorn for the consequences of his mistake.
+
+"Let them follow poor old Peter," she said. "We will outwit them,
+never fear. If necessary, Mr. Barnes, we can travel with the company
+for days and days. I think I should rather enjoy it. If you can manage
+to get word to my friends in New York, to relieve their anxiety, I
+shall be more than grateful. I am sure they will decide that you are
+acting for the best in every particular. It would grieve them,--yes,
+it would distress them greatly,--if I were to be subjected to an
+inquiry at the hands of the authorities. The notoriety would be--
+harrowing, to say the least. Moreover, the disclosures would certainly
+bring disaster upon those who are working so loyally to right a grave
+wrong. They will understand, and they will thank you not only for all
+that you have done for me but for the cause I support."
+
+"The first time I ever saw you, I said to myself that you were a
+brave, indomitable little soldier," he said warmly. "I am more than
+ever convinced of it now."
+
+"The men of my family have been soldiers for ten generations," she
+said simply, as if that covered everything. "They haven't all been
+heroes but none of them has been a coward."
+
+"I can believe that," he said. "Blood will tell."
+
+"If God gives back my country to my people, Mr. Barnes," she said,
+after a long silence, "will you not one day make your way out there to
+us, so that we may present some fitting expression of the gratitude--"
+
+"Don't speak of gratitude," he exclaimed. "I don't want to be thanked.
+Good Lord, do you suppose I--"
+
+"There, there! Don't be angry," she cried. "But you must come to my
+country. You must see it. You will love it."
+
+"But suppose that God does not see fit to restore it to you. Suppose
+that he leaves it in the hands of the vandals. What then? Will you go
+back to--that?"
+
+She was still for a long time. "I shall not return to my country until
+it is free again, Mr. Barnes," she said, and there was a break in her
+voice.
+
+"You--you will remain in MY country?" he asked, leaning closer to her
+ear.
+
+"The world is large," she replied. "I shall have to live somewhere. It
+may be here, it may be France, or England or Switzerland."
+
+"Why not here? You could go far and do worse."
+
+"Beggars may not be choosers. The homeless cannot be very particular,
+you know. If the Germans remain in my country, I shall be without a
+home."
+
+His voice was tense and vibrant when he spoke again, after a moment's
+reflection. "I know what O'Dowd would say if he were in my place."
+
+"O'Dowd has known me a great many years," she said. "When you have
+known me as many months as he has years, you will thank your lucky
+star that you do not possess the affability that the gods have
+bestowed upon O'Dowd."
+
+"Don't be too sure of that," he said, and heard the little catch in
+her breath. He found her hand and clasped it firmly. His lips were
+close to her ear. "I have known you long enough to--"
+
+"Don't!" she cried out sharply. "Don't say it now,--please. I could
+listen to O'Dowd, but--but you are different. He would forget by to-
+morrow, and I would forget even sooner than he. But it would not be so
+easy to forget if you were to say it,--it would not be easy for either
+of us."
+
+"You are not offended?" he whispered hoarsely.
+
+"Why should I be offended? Are you not my protector?"
+
+The subtle implication in those words brought him to his senses. Was
+he not her protector? And was he not abusing the confidence she placed
+in him?
+
+"I shall try to remember that,--always," he said abjectly.
+
+"Some day I shall tell you why I am glad you did not say it to me to-
+night," she said, a trifle unsteadily. She squeezed his hand. "You are
+very good to me. I shall not forget that either."
+
+And she meant that some day she would confess to him that she was so
+tired, and lonely, and disconsolate on this journey to Crowndale, and
+so in need of the strength he could give, that she would have
+surrendered herself gladly to the comfort of his arms, to the passion
+that his touch aroused in her quickening blood!
+
+Soon after ten o'clock they entered the town of Crowndale and drew up
+before the unattractive portals of the Grand Palace Hotel. An arc lamp
+swinging above the entrance shed a pitiless light upon the dreary,
+God-forsaken hostelry with the ironic name.
+
+Mr. Rushcroft was already at the desk, complaining bitterly of
+everything seen and unseen. As a matter of habit he was roaring about
+his room and, while he hadn't put so much as his nose inside of it, he
+insisted on knowing what they meant by giving it to him. Mr. Bacon and
+Mr. Dillingford were growling because there was no elevator to hoist
+them two flights up, and Miss Thackeray was wanting to know WHY she
+couldn't have a bit of supper served in her room.
+
+"They're all alike," announced Mr. Rushcroft despairingly, addressing
+the rafters. He meant hotels in general.
+
+"They're all alike," vouchsafed the clerk in an aside to the "drummer"
+who leaned against the counter, meaning stage-folk in general.
+
+"You're both right," said the travelling salesman, who knew.
+
+"Is there a cafe in the neighbourhood?" inquired Barnes, with
+authority.
+
+"There's a rest'rant in the next block," replied the clerk, instantly
+impressed. Here was one who obviously was not "alike." "A two-minutes'
+walk, Mr.--" (looking at the register)--"Mr. Barnes."
+
+"That's good. We will have supper in Miss Thackeray's room. Let me
+have your pencil, please. Send over and have them fill this order
+inside of twenty minutes." He handed what he had written to the
+blinking clerk. "For eight persons. Tell 'em to hurry it along."
+
+"Maybe they're closed for the night," said the clerk. "And besides--"
+
+"My God! He even hesitates to get food for us when--" began Mr.
+Rushcroft.
+
+"Besides there's only one waiter on at night and he couldn't get off,
+I guess. And besides it's against the rules of this house to serve
+drinks in a lady's--"
+
+"You tell that waiter to close up when he comes over here with what
+I've ordered, and tell him that I will pay double for everything, and
+to-morrow morning you can tell the proprietor of this house that we
+broke the rules to-night."
+
+For the first time in her life Miss Tilly sat down to a meal served by
+a member of her late profession. She sat on the edge of Miss
+Thackeray's bed and held a chicken sandwich in one hand and a full
+glass of beer in the other. Be it said to the credit of her forebears,
+she did not take even so much as a sip from the glass, but seven
+sandwiches, two slices of cold ham, half a box of sardines, a plate of
+potato salad, a saucer of Boston baked beans, two hardboiled eggs, a
+piece of apple pie and two cups of coffee passed her freshly carmined
+lips. She was in her seventh heaven. She was no longer dreaming of
+fame: it was a gay reality. Emulating the example of Miss Thackeray,
+she addressed Mr. Dillingford as "dear," and came near to being the
+cause of his death by strangulation.
+
+Miss Cameron submitted to the contagion. She had had no such dreams as
+Miss Tilly's, but she was quite as thrilled by the novelty of her
+surroundings, the informality of the feast, and the sprightliness of
+these undaunted spirits. She sat on Miss Thackeray's trunk, her back
+against the wall, her bandaged foot resting on a decrepit suit-case.
+Her eyes were sparkling, her lips ever ready to part in the joy of
+laughter, the colour leaping into her cheeks in response to the
+amazing quips of these unconventional vagabonds.
+
+She too was hungry. Food had never tasted so good to her. From time to
+time her soft, smiling eyes sought Barnes with a look of mingled
+wonder and confusion. She always laughed when she caught the
+expression of concern in his eyes, and once she slyly winked at him.
+He was entranced.
+
+He crossed over and sat beside her. "They are a perfectly
+irresponsible lot," he said in a low voice. "I hope you don't mind
+their--er--levity."
+
+"I love it," she whispered. "They are an inspiration. One would think
+that they had never known such a thing as trouble. I am taking
+lessons, Mr. Barnes."
+
+She was still warmly conscious of the thrill that had come into her
+blood when he carried her up the stairs in his powerful arms,
+disdaining the offer of assistance from the suddenly infatuated Tommy
+Gray.
+
+"Rehearsal at eleven sharp," announced Mr. Rushcroft, arising from the
+window-sill on which he was seated. "Letter perfect, every one of you.
+No guessing. By the way, Miss--er--'pon my soul, I don't believe I got
+your name?"
+
+"Jones," said the new member, shamelessly.
+
+"Ah," said he, smiling broadly, "a word oft spoken in jest--ahem!--how
+does it go? No matter. You know what I mean. I have not had time to
+write in the part for you, Miss Jones, but I shall do so the first
+thing in the morning. Now that I see how difficult it is for you to
+get around, I have hit upon a wonderful idea. I shall make it a
+sitting part. You won't have to do anything with your legs at all.
+Most beginners declare that they don't know what to do with their
+hands, but I maintain that they know less about what to do with their
+legs. Fortunately you are incapacitated--"
+
+"Perhaps it would be just as well to excuse Miss Jones from rehearsal
+in the morning," broke in Barnes hastily. "She is hardly fit to--"
+
+"Just as you say, old chap. Doesn't matter in the least. Good night,
+everybody. Sleep tight."
+
+"I sha'n't sleep a wink," said Miss Tilly.
+
+"Homesick already?" demanded Mr. Bacon, fixing her with a pitying
+stare.
+
+"Worrying over my part," she explained.
+
+"Haven't you committed it yet? Say it now. 'It is half past seven, my
+lord.' All you have to do is to remember that it comes in the second
+act and not in the first or third."
+
+"Good night," said Miss Cameron, giving her hand to Barnes at the
+door. She was leaning on Miss Thackeray's arm. He never was to forget
+the deep, searching look she sent into his eyes. She seemed to be
+asking a thousand questions.
+
+He went down to the dingy lobby. A single, half-hearted electric bulb
+shed its feeble light on the desk, in front of which stood a man
+registering under the sleepy eye of the night clerk.
+
+After the late arrival had started upstairs in the wake of the clerk,
+Barnes stepped up to inspect the book. The midnight express from the
+north did not stop at Crowndale, he had learned upon inquiry, and it
+was the only train touching the town between nightfall and dawn.
+
+The register bore the name of Thomas Moore, Hornville. There was not
+the slightest doubt in Barnes's mind that this was the man who had
+been detailed to shadow the luckless Peter. Only an imperative demand
+by government authorities could have brought about the stopping of the
+express at Hornville and later on at Crowndale.
+
+Barnes smiled grimly. "I've just thought of a way to fool you, my
+friend," he said to himself, and was turning away when a familiar
+voice assailed him.
+
+Whirling, he looked into the face of a man who stood almost at his
+elbow,--the sharp, impassive face of Mr. Sprouse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE FIRST WAYFARER HAS ONE TREASURE THRUST UPON HIM--AND FORTHWITH
+CLAIMS ANOTHER
+
+
+That fellow is a rat-catcher," said Sprouse. "What are you doing
+here?" demanded Barnes, staring. He seized the man's arm and inquired
+eagerly: "Have you got the jewels?"
+
+"No; but I will have them before morning," replied Sprouse coolly. He
+shot a furtive glance around the deserted lobby. "Better not act as
+though you knew me. That bull is no fool. He doesn't know me, but by
+this time he knows who you are."
+
+"He is trailing Peter Ames."
+
+"Ship Peter to-morrow," advised Sprouse promptly.
+
+"I had already thought of doing so," said Barnes, surprised by the
+uncanny promptness of the man in hitting upon the strategy he had
+worked out for himself after many harassing hours. "He goes to my
+sister's place to-morrow morning."
+
+"Send him by train. He will be easier to follow. There is a train
+leaving for the south at 9:15."
+
+"You were saying that before morning you would--"
+
+"Be careful! Don't whisper. People don't whisper to utter strangers.
+Step over here by the front door. Would you be surprised if I were to
+tell you that his royal nibs is hiding in this town? Well, he
+certainly is. He bought a railway ticket for Albany at Hornville the
+day he beat it, but he got off at the second station,--which happens
+to be this one."
+
+"How can you be sure of all this?"
+
+"Simple as falling off a log," said Sprouse, squinting over his
+shoulder. "The Baroness Hedlund has been here for a week or ten days.
+The Baron wasn't so far wrong in his suspicions, you see. He lost
+track of her, that's all. I happened to overhear a conversation at
+Hart's Tavern between him and his secretary. I have a way of hearing
+things I'm not supposed to hear, you know. By a curious coincidence I
+happened to be taking the air late one night just outside his window
+at the Tavern,--on the roof of the porch, to be accurate. I told Ugo
+what I'd heard and he nearly broke his neck trying to head her off.
+O'Dowd and De Soto rushed over to Hornville and telegraphed for her to
+leave the train at the first convenient place and return to New York.
+She was on her way up here, you see. She got off at Crowndale and
+everybody supposed that she had taken the next train home. But she
+didn't do anything of the kind. She is a silly, obstinate fool and
+she's crazy about Ugo,--and jealous as fury. She hated to think of him
+being up here with other women. A day or so later she sent him a
+letter. No one saw that letter but Ugo, and--your humble servant.
+
+"I happened to be the one to go to Spanish Falls for the mail that
+day. The postmark excited my curiosity. If I told you what I did to
+that letter before delivering it to Mr. Loeb, you could send me to a
+federal prison. But that's how I came to know that she had decided to
+wait in Crowndale until he sent word that the coast was clear. She
+went to the big sanatorium outside the town and has been there ever
+since, incognito, taking a cure for something or other. She goes by
+the name of Mrs. Hasselwein. I popped down here this afternoon and
+found out that she is still at the sanatorium but expects to leave
+early to-morrow morning. Her trunks are over at the station now, to be
+expressed to Buffalo. I made another trip out there this evening and
+waited. About eight o'clock Mr. Hasselwein strolled up. He sat on the
+verandah with her for half an hour or so and then left. I followed
+him. He went to one of the little cottages that belong to the
+sanatorium. I couldn't get close enough to hear what they said, but I
+believe he expects to take her away in an automobile early in the
+morning. It is a seventy mile ride from here to the junction where
+they catch the train for the west. I'm going up now to make a call on
+Mr. Hasselwein. Would you like to join me?"
+
+Barnes eyed him narrowly. "There is only one reason why I feel that I
+ought to accompany you," he said. "If you have it in your mind to kill
+him, I certainly shall do everything in my power to prevent--"
+
+"Possess your soul in peace. I'm not going to do anything foolish.
+Time enough left for that sort of thing. I will get him some day, but
+not now. By the way, what is the number of your room?"
+
+"Twenty-two,--on the next floor."
+
+"Good. Go upstairs now and I'll join you in about ten minutes. I will
+tap three times on your door."
+
+"Why should you come to my room, Sprouse? We can say all that is to be
+said--"
+
+"If you will look on the register you will discover that Mr. J. H.
+Prosser registered here about half an hour ago. He is in room 30. He
+left a call for five o'clock. Well, Prosser is another name for Ugo."
+
+"Here in this hotel? In room 30?" cried Barnes, incredulously.
+
+"Sure as you're alive. Left the cottage an hour ago. Came in a jitney
+or I could have got to him on the way over."
+
+Barnes, regardless of consequences, dashed over to inspect the
+register. Sprouse followed leisurely, shooting anxious glances up the
+stairs at the end of the lobby.
+
+"See!" cried Barnes, excitedly, putting his finger on the name "Miss
+Jones." "She's in room 32,--next to his. By gad, Sprouse, do you
+suppose he knows that she is here? Would the dog undertake anything--"
+
+"You may be sure he doesn't know she's here, or you either, for that
+matter. The country's full of Joneses and Barneses. Go on upstairs.
+Leave everything to me."
+
+He strolled away as the clerk came shuffling down the steps. As Barnes
+mounted them, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Sprouse take up a
+suitcase near the door and return to the desk, evidently for the
+purpose of engaging a room for the night.
+
+Before going to his room, he strode lightly down the hall in the
+direction of room 30. There was no light in the transom. Stepping
+close to the door, he listened intently for sounds from within. He
+started back almost instantly. The occupant was snoring with extreme
+heartiness.
+
+A glance revealed a light in the transom of room 32. As he looked,
+however, it disappeared. Abashed, he turned and went swiftly away. She
+was going to bed. He felt like a snooping, despicable "peeping Tom"
+caught in the act.
+
+He had been in his room for twenty minutes before he heard the tapping
+on his door. He opened it and Sprouse slid into the room. The instant
+the door closed behind him, he threw open his coat and coolly produced
+a long, shallow metal box, such as one finds in safety vaults.
+
+"With my compliments," he said drily, thrusting the box into Barnes's
+hands. "You'd better have the Countess check them up and see if
+they're all there. I am not well enough acquainted with the collection
+to be positive."
+
+Barnes was speechless. He could only stare, open-mouthed, at this
+amazing man.
+
+"Grip 'em tight," went on Sprouse, grinning. "I may relieve you of
+them if you get too careless. My advice to you is to hide them and
+keep your lips closed--"
+
+"My God, Sprouse, have you been in that man's room since I saw you
+down--"
+
+"I forgot to say that no questions were to be asked," broke in the
+other.
+
+"But I insist upon having everything cleared up. Here am I with a box
+of jewels stolen from a lodger's room, God knows how, and in danger of
+being slapped into jail if they catch me with the--"
+
+"All you have to do is to keep quiet and look innocent. Stay out of
+the hall to-night. Don't go near the door of No. 30. Act like a man
+with brains. I said I would square myself with you and with him, too.
+Well, I've done both. Maybe you think it is easy to give up this
+stuff. There is a half million dollars' worth of nice little things in
+that box, small as it is. I went to a lot of trouble to get 'em, and
+all I'll receive for my pains is a thank you from Mr. Thomas K.
+Barnes, New York."
+
+"I cannot begin to thank you enough," said Barnes. "See here, you must
+allow me to reward you in some way commensurate with your--"
+
+"Cut that out," said Sprouse darkly. "I'm not so damned virtuous that
+I have to be rewarded. I like the game. It's the breath of life to
+me."
+
+"The time will surely come when I can do you a good turn, Sprouse, and
+you will not find me reluctant," said Barnes, lamely. He was
+completely at a loss in the presence of the master-crook. He felt very
+small, and stupid, and inadequate,--as one always feels when
+confronted by genius. Moreover, he was utterly stupefied.
+
+"That's different. If I ever need a friendly hand I'll call on you.
+It's only fair that I should give you a tip, Barnes, just to put you
+on your guard. I've lived up to my word in this business, and I've
+done all that I said I would. From now on, I'm a free agent. I want to
+advise you to put that stuff in a safe place. I'll give you two days'
+start. After that, if I can get 'em away from you, or whoever may have
+them, I'm going to do it. They will be fair plunder from then on.
+Notwithstanding the fact that I put them in your hands to-night,--and
+so wash my own of them temporarily,--I haven't a single scruple about
+relieving you of them on some later occasion. I may have to crack you
+over the head to do it,--so a word to the wise ought to be sufficient.
+If you don't guard them pretty closely, my friend, you will regain
+consciousness some day and find you haven't got them any longer. Good
+night--and good-bye for the present. Stick close to your room till
+morning and--then beat it with her for New York. I give you two days'
+start, remember."
+
+He switched off the light suddenly. Barnes gasped and prepared to
+defend himself. Sprouse chuckled.
+
+"Don't be nervous. I'm merely getting ready to leave you with your
+ill-gotten gains. It isn't wise, you see, to peep out of a door with a
+light in the room behind you. Keep cool. I sha'n't be more than a
+minute."
+
+There was no sound for many seconds, save the deep breathing of the
+two men. Then, with infinite caution, Sprouse turned the knob and
+opened the door a half inch or so. He left the room so abruptly that
+Barnes never quite got over the weird impression that he squeezed
+through that slender crack, and pulled it after him!
+
+Many minutes passed before he turned on the light. The key of the box
+was tied to the wire grip. With trembling fingers he inserted it in
+the lock and opened the lid.... "A half-million dollars' worth of nice
+little things," Sprouse had said!
+
+He did not close his eyes that night. Daybreak found him lying in bed,
+with the box under his pillow, a pistol at hand, and his eyes wide-
+open. He was in a graver quandary than ever. Now that he had the
+treasure in his possession, what was he to do with it? He did not dare
+to leave it in the room, nor was it advisable to carry it about with
+him. The discovery of the burglary in room 30 would result in a search
+of the house, from top to bottom.
+
+Cold perspiration started out on his brow. The situation was far from
+being the happy one that he had anticipated.
+
+He solved the breakfast problem by calling downstairs for a waiter and
+ordering coffee and rolls and eggs sent up to his room. Singularly
+enough the waiter solved the other and more disturbing problem for
+him.
+
+"SOME robbery last night," said that worthy, as he re-appeared with
+the tray. Barnes was thankful that the waiter was not looking at him
+when he hurled the bomb, figuratively speaking. He had a moment's time
+to recover.
+
+"What robbery?" he enquired, feigning indifference.
+
+"Feller up in one of the cottages at the sanatorium. All beat up,
+something fierce they say."
+
+"Up in--Where?" almost shouted Barnes, starting up.
+
+The man explained where the cottages were situated, Barnes listening
+as one completely bereft of intelligence.
+
+"Seems he was to leave by auto early this mornin', and they didn't
+know anything was wrong till Joe Keep--he's driving a Fierce-Arrow
+that Mr. Norton has for rent--till Joe'd been settin' out in front for
+nearly half an hour. The man's wife was waitin' fer him up at the main
+buildin' and she got so tired waitin' that she sent one of the clerks
+down to see what was keeping her husband. Well, sir, him and Joe
+couldn't wake the feller, so they climb in an open winder, an' by
+gosh, Joe says it was terrible. The feller was layin' on the bed, feet
+an' hands tied and gagged, and blood from head to foot. He was
+inconscious, Joe says, an'--my God, how his wife took on! Joe says he
+couldn't stand it, so he snook out, shakin' like a leaf. He says she's
+a pippin, too. Never seen a purtier--"
+
+"Is--is the man dead?" cried Barnes, aghast. He felt that his face was
+as white as chalk.
+
+"Nope! Seems like it's nothing serious: just beat up, that's all.
+Terrible cuts on his head and--"
+
+"What is his name?" demanded Barnes.
+
+"Something like Hackensack."
+
+"Have they caught the thief?"
+
+"I should say not. The police never ketch anything but drunks in this
+burg, and they wouldn't ketch them if they could keep from stumblin'."
+
+"What time did all this happen?" Barnes was having great difficulty in
+keeping his coffee from splashing over.
+
+"Doc Smith figgers it was long about midnight, judgin' by the way the
+blood co'gulated."
+
+"Did they get away with much?"
+
+"Haven't heard. Joe says the stove pipe in the feller's room was
+knocked down and they's soot all over everything. Looks like they must
+have been a struggle. Seems as though the burglar,--must ha' been
+more'n one of 'em, I say,--wasn't satisfied with cracking him over the
+head. He stuck the point of a knife or something into him,--just a
+little way, Joe says--in more'n a dozen places. What say?"
+
+"I--I didn't say anything."
+
+"I thought you did. Well, if I hear anything more I'll let you know."
+
+"Anything for a little excitement," said Barnes casually.
+
+He listened at the door until he heard the waiter clattering down the
+stairway, and then went swiftly down the hall to No. 30. Mr. Prosser
+was sleeping just as soundly and as resoundingly as at midnight!
+
+"By gad!" he muttered, half aloud. Everything was as clear as day to
+him now. Bolting into his own room, he closed the door and stood
+stock-still for many minutes, trying to picture the scene in the
+cottage.
+
+No stretch of the imagination was required to establish the facts.
+Sprouse had come to him during the night with Prince Ugo's blood on
+the hands that bore the treasure. He had surprised and overpowered the
+pseudo Mr. Hasselwein, and had actually tortured him into revealing
+the hiding place of the jewels. The significance of the scattered
+stove pipe was not lost on Barnes; it had not been knocked down in a
+struggle between the two men. Prince Ugo was not, and never had been,
+in a position to defend himself against his wily assailant. Barnes's
+blood ran cold as he went over in his mind the pitiless method
+employed by Sprouse in subduing his royal victim. And the coolness,
+the unspeakable bravado of the man in coming direct to him with the
+booty! His amazingly clever subterfuge in allowing Barnes to think
+that room No. 30 was the scene of his operations, thereby forcing him
+to remain inactive through fear of consequences to himself and the
+Countess if he undertook to investigate!
+
+He found a letter in his box when he went downstairs, after stuffing
+the tin box deep into his pack,--a risky thing to do he realised, but
+no longer perilous in the light of developments. It was no longer
+probable that his effects would be subjected to inspection by the
+police. He walked over to a window to read the letter. Before he slit
+the envelope he knew that Sprouse was the writer. The message was
+brief.
+
+"After due consideration, I feel that it would be a mistake for you to
+abandon your present duties at this time. It might be misunderstood.
+Stick to the company until something better turns up. With this
+thought in view I withdraw the two days' limit mentioned recently to
+you, and extend the time to one week. Yours very truly, J. H. Wilson."
+
+"Gad, the fellow thinks of everything," said Barnes to himself. "He is
+positively uncanny."
+
+He read between the lines, and saw there a distinct warning. It had
+not occurred to him that his plan to leave for New York that day with
+Miss Cameron might be attended by disastrous results.
+
+On reflection, he found the prospect far from disagreeable. A week or
+so with the Rushcroft company was rather attractive under the
+circumstances. The idea appealed to him.
+
+But the jewels? What of them? He could not go gallivanting about the
+country with a half million dollars' worth of precious stones in his
+possession. A king's ransom strapped on his back! He would not be able
+to sleep a wink. Indeed, he could see himself wasting away to a mere
+shadow through worry and dread. Precious stones? They would develop
+into millstones, he thought, with an inward groan.
+
+He questioned the advisability of informing Miss Cameron that the
+crown jewels were in his possession. Her anxiety would be far greater
+than his own. There was nothing to be gained by telling her in any
+case; so he decided to bear the burden alone.
+
+The play was not to open in Crowndale until Tuesday night, three full
+days off. He revelled in the thought of sitting "out front" in the
+empty little theatre, watching the rehearsals. At such times he was
+confident that his thoughts would not be solely of the jewels. He
+would at least have surcease during these periods of forgetfulness.
+
+He spent the early part of the forenoon in wandering nervously about
+the hotel,--upstairs and down. The jewels were locked in his pack
+upstairs. He went up to his room half a dozen times and almost
+instantly walked down again, after satisfying himself that the pack
+had not been rifled.
+
+Exasperation filled his soul. Ten o'clock came and still no sign of
+the lazy actors. Rehearsal at eleven, and not one of them out of bed.
+
+Peter came to the hotel soon after ten. He had forgotten Peter and his
+decision to send him down to the Berkshires that day, and was sharply
+reminded of the necessity for doing so by the appearance of the man
+who had registered just before midnight. This individual strolled
+casually into the lobby a few seconds behind Peter.
+
+He acted at once and with decision. The stranger took a seat in the
+window not far away. Barnes, in a brisk and business-like tone,
+informed Peter that he was to leave on the one o'clock train for the
+south, and to go direct to his sister's place near Stockbridge. He was
+to leave the automobile in Crowndale for the present.
+
+"Here is the money for your railroad fare," he announced in
+conclusion. "I have telegraphed Mrs. Courtney's man that you will
+arrive this evening. He will start you in on your duties to-morrow. I
+understand they are short-handed on the place. And now let me impress
+upon you, Peter, the importance of holding yourself ready to report
+when needed. You know what I mean. Remember, I have guaranteed that
+you will appear."
+
+The stranger drank in every word that passed between the two men. When
+the one o'clock train pulled out of Crowndale, it carried Peter Ames
+in one of the forward coaches, and a late guest of the Grand Palace
+Hotel in the next car behind. Barnes took the time to assure himself
+of these facts, and smiled faintly as he drove away from the railway
+station after the departure of the train. Miss Cameron, her veil
+lowered, sat beside him in the "hack."
+
+For the next three days and nights rehearsals were in full swing, with
+scarcely a moment's let-up. The Rushcroft company was increased by the
+arrival of three new members and several pieces of baggage. The dingy
+barn of a theatre was the scene of ceaseless industry, both peaceful
+and otherwise. The actors quarrelled and fumed and all but fought over
+their grievances. Only the presence of the "backer" and the extremely
+pretty and cultured "friend of the family" in "front" prevented
+sanguinary encounters among the male contenders for the centre of the
+stage. The usually placid Mr. Dillingford was transformed into a
+snarling beast every time one of his "lines" was cut out by the
+relentless Rushcroft, and there were times when Mr. Bacon loudly
+accused his fiancee of "crabbing" his part. Everybody called everybody
+else a "hog," and God was asked a hundred times a day to bear witness
+to as many atrocities.
+
+Each day the bewildered, distressed young woman who sat with Barnes in
+the dim "parquet," whispered in his ear:
+
+"Can they ever be friendly again?"
+
+And every night at supper she rejoiced to find them all on the best of
+terms, calling each other "dearie," and "old chap," and "honey," and
+declaring that no such company had ever been gotten together in the
+history of the stage! Such words as "slob," "fat-head," "boob" or "you
+poor nut" never found their way outside the sacred precincts of the
+theatre.
+
+Mr. Rushcroft magnanimously offered to coach "Miss Jones" in the part
+he was going to write in for her just as soon as he could get around
+to it.
+
+"No use writing a part for her, Mr. Barnes, until I get through
+beating the parts we already have into the heads of these poor fools
+up here. I've got trouble enough on my hands."
+
+And so the time crept by, up to the night of the performance. Miss
+Cameron remained in ignorance of the close proximity of the jewels,
+and the police of Crowndale remained in even denser ignorance as to
+the whereabouts of the man who robbed Mr. Hasselwein of all his spare
+cash and an excellent gold watch.
+
+Hasselwein's story was brief but dramatic. He was recovering rapidly
+from his experience and the local newspaper, on Tuesday, announced
+that he would be strong enough to accompany his wife when she left the
+"city" toward the end of the week. (Considerable space was employed by
+the reporter in "writing up" the wonderful devotion of Mrs.
+Hasselwein, who, despite the fact that she was quite an invalid,
+conducted herself with rare fortitude, seldom leaving her husband's
+room in the hospital.)
+
+According to the injured man, his assailant was a huge, powerful
+individual, wearing a mask and armed to the teeth. He came in through
+an open window and attacked him while he was asleep in bed.
+Notwithstanding the stunning blow he received while prostrate, Mr.
+Hasselwein struggled to his feet and engaged the miscreant--(while the
+word was used at least twenty times in the newspaper account, I
+promise to use it but once)--in a desperate conflict. Loss of blood
+weakened him and he soon fell exhausted upon the bed. To make the
+story even shorter than Prince Ugo made it, not a word was said about
+the jewels, and that, after all, is the only feature of the case in
+which we are interested.
+
+Barnes smiled grimly over Ugo's failure to mention the jewels, and the
+misleading description of the thief. He was thankful, however, and
+relieved to learn that the one man who might recognise Miss Cameron
+was not likely to leave the hospital short of a week's time.
+
+No time was lost by the Countess in getting word to her compatriots in
+New York. Barnes posted a dozen letters for her; each contained the
+tidings of her safety and the assurance that she would soon follow in
+person.
+
+Those three days and nights were full of joy and enchantment for
+Barnes. True, he did not sleep very well,--indeed, scarcely at all,--
+but it certainly was not a hardship to lie awake and think of her
+throughout the whole of each blessed night. He recalled and secretly
+dilated upon every sign of decreasing reserve on her part. He shamed
+himself more than once for deploring the fact that her ankle was
+mending with uncommon rapidity, and that in a few days she would be
+quite able to walk without support. And he actually debased himself by
+wishing that the Rushcroft company might find it imperative to go on
+rehearsing for weeks in that dim, enchanted temple.
+
+It was not a "barn of a place" to him. It was paradise. He sat for
+hours in one of the most uncomfortable seats he had ever known,
+devouring with hungry eyes the shadowy, interested face so close to
+his own,--and never tired.
+
+And then came a time at last when conversation became difficult
+between them; when there were long silences fraught with sweet peril,
+exceeding shyness, and a singular form of deafness that defied even
+the roars of the players and yet permitted them to hear, with amazing
+clearness, the faintest of heart-beats.
+
+On the afternoon of the dress rehearsal, he led her, after an hour of
+almost insupportable repression, to the rear of the auditorium, in the
+region made gloomy by the shelving gallery overhead. Dropping into the
+seat beside her, he blurted out, almost in anguish:
+
+"I can't stand it any longer. I cannot be near you without--why, I--I
+--well, it is more than I can struggle against, that's all. You've
+either got to send me away altogether or--or--let me love you without
+restraint. I tell you, I can't go on as I am now. I must speak, I must
+tell you all that has been in my heart for days. I love you--I love
+you! You know I love you, don't you? You know I worship you. Don't be
+frightened. I just had to tell you to-day. I could not have held it
+back another hour. I should have gone mad if I had tried to keep it up
+any longer." He waited breathlessly for her to speak. She sat silent
+and rigid, looking straight before her. "Is it hopeless?" he went on
+at last, huskily. "Must I ask your forgiveness for my presumption and
+--and go away from you?"
+
+She turned to him and laid her hand upon his arm.
+
+"Am I not like other women? Have you forgotten that you once said that
+I was not different? Why should I forgive you for loving me? Doesn't
+every woman want to be loved? No, no, my friend! Wait! A moment ago I
+was so weak and trembly that I thought I--Oh, I was afraid for myself.
+Now I am quite calm and sensible. See how well I have myself in hand?
+I do not tremble, I am strong. We may now discuss ourselves calmly,
+sensibly. A moment ago--Ah, then it was different! I was being drawn
+into--Oh! What are you doing?"
+
+"I too am strong," he whispered. "I am sure of my ground now, and I am
+not afraid."
+
+He had clasped the hand that rested on his sleeve and, as he pressed
+it to his heart, his other arm stole over her shoulders and drew her
+close to his triumphant body. For an instant she resisted, and then
+relaxed into complete submission. Her head sank upon his shoulder.
+
+"Oh!" she sighed, and there was wonder, joy--even perplexity, in the
+tremulous sign of capitulation. "Oh," came softly from her parted lips
+again at the end of the first long, passionate kiss.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE END IN SIGHT
+
+
+Barnes, soaring beyond all previous heights of exaltation, ranged
+dizzily between "front" and "back" at the Grand Opera House that
+evening. He was supposed to remain "out front" until the curtain went
+up on the second act. But the presence of the Countess in Miss
+Thackeray's barren, sordid little dressing-room rendered it
+exceedingly difficult for him to remain in any fixed spot for more
+than five minutes at a stretch. He was in the "wings" with her,
+whispering in her delighted ear; in the dressing-room, listening to
+her soft words of encouragement to the excited leading-lady; on the
+narrow stairs leading up to the stage, assisting her to mount them,--
+and not in the least minding the narrowness; out in front for a jiffy,
+and then back again; and all the time he was dreading the moment when
+he would awake and find it all a dream.
+
+There was an annoying fly in the ointment, however. Her languorous
+surrender to love, her physical confession of defeat at the hands of
+that inexorable power, her sweet submission to the conquering arms of
+the besieger, left nothing to be desired; and yet there was something
+that stood between him and utter happiness: her resolute refusal to
+bind herself to any promise for the future.
+
+"I love you," she had said simply. "I want more than anything else in
+all the world to be your wife. But I cannot promise now. I must have
+time to think, time to--"
+
+"Why should you require more time than I?" he persisted. "Have we not
+shown that there is nothing left for either of us but to make the
+other happy? What is time to us? Why make wanton waste of it?"
+
+"I know that I cannot find happiness except with you," she replied.
+"No matter what happens to me, I shall always love you, I shall never
+forget the joy of THIS. But--" She shook her head sadly.
+
+"Would you go back to your people and marry--" he swallowed hard and
+went on--"marry some one you could never love, not even respect, with
+the memory of--"
+
+"Stop! I shall never marry a man I do not love. Oh, please be patient,
+be good to me. Give me a little time. Can you not see that you are
+asking me to alter destiny, to upset the teachings and traditions of
+ages, and all in one little minute of weakness?"
+
+"We cannot alter destiny," he said stubbornly. "We may upset
+tradition, but what does that amount to? We have but one life to live.
+I think our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren will be quite as
+well pleased with their ancestors as their royal contemporaries will
+be with theirs a hundred years from now."
+
+"I cannot promise now," she said gently, and kissed him.
+
+The first performance of "The Duke's Revenge" was incredibly bad. The
+little that Barnes saw of it, filled him with dismay. Never had he
+witnessed anything so hopeless as the play, unless it was the actors
+themselves. But more incredible than anything else in connection with
+the performance was the very palpable enjoyment of the audience. He
+could hardly believe his ears. The ranting, the shouting, the howling
+of the actors sent shivers to the innermost recesses of his being.
+Then suddenly he remembered that he was in the heart of the "barn-
+stormer's" domain. The audience revelled in "The Duke's Revenge"
+because they had never seen anything better!
+
+Between the second and third acts Tommy Gray rushed back with the box-
+office statement. The gross was $359. The instant that fact became
+known to Mr. Rushcroft he informed Barnes that they had a "knockout,"
+a gold mine, and that never in all his career had he known a season to
+start off so auspiciously as this one.
+
+"It's good for forty weeks solid," he exclaimed. Both Barnes and the
+wide-eyed Countess became infused with the spirit of jubilation that
+filled the souls of these time-worn, hand-to-mouth stragglers. They
+rejoiced with them in their sudden elevation to happiness, and
+overlooked the vain-glorious claims of each individual in the matter
+of personal achievement. Even the bewildered Tilly bleated out her
+little cry for distinction.
+
+"Did you hear them laugh at the way I got off my speech?" she cried
+excitedly.
+
+"I certainly did," said Mr. Bacon amiably. "By gad, I laughed at it
+myself."
+
+"Parquet $217.50, dress circle $105, gallery $36.50," announced Tommy
+Gray, as he donned his wig and false beard for the third act. "Sixty-
+forty gives us $215.40 on the night. Thank God, we won't have to worry
+about the sheriff this week."
+
+In Miss Thackeray's dressing-room that level-headed young woman broke
+down and wept like a child.
+
+"Oh, Lord," she stuttered, "is it possible that we're going to stay
+above water at last? I thought we had gone down for the last time, and
+here we are bobbing up again as full of ginger as if we'd never hit
+the bottom."
+
+The Countess kissed her and told her that she was the rarest girl she
+had ever known, the pluckiest and the best.
+
+"If I had your good looks, Miss Cameron," said Mercedes, "added to my
+natural ability, I'd make Julia Marlowe look like an old-fashioned
+one-ring circus. Send Mr. Bacon to me, Mr. Barnes. I want to
+congratulate him."
+
+"He gave a fine performance," said Barnes promptly.
+
+"I don't want to congratulate him on his acting," said she, smiling
+through her tears. "He's going to be married to-morrow. And I am going
+to have Miss Cameron for my bridesmaid," she added, throwing an arm
+about the astonished Countess. "Mr. Bacon will want Dilly for his best
+man, but he ought to think more of the general effect than that. Dilly
+only comes to his shoulder." She measured the stalwart figure of
+Thomas Barnes with an appraising eye. "What do you say, Mr. Barnes?"
+
+"I'll do it with the greatest pleasure," he declared.
+
+The next afternoon in the town of Bittler the Countess Mara-Dafanda,
+daughter of royalty, and Thomas Kingsbury Barnes "stood up" with the
+happy couple during a lull in the hastily called rehearsal on the
+stage of Fisher's Imperial Theatre, and Lyndon Rushcroft gave the
+bride away. There was $107 in the house that night, but no one was
+down-hearted.
+
+"You could do worse, dear heart, than to marry one of us care-free
+Americans," whispered Barnes to the girl who clung to his arm so
+tightly as they entered the wings in the wake of the bride and groom.
+
+And she said something in reply that brought a flush of mortification
+to his cheek.
+
+"Oh, it would be wonderful to marry a man who will never have to go to
+war. A brave man who will not have to be a soldier."
+
+The unintentional reflection on the fighting integrity of his country
+struck a raw spot in Barnes's pride. He knew what all Europe was
+saying about the pussy-willow attitude of the United States, and he
+squirmed inwardly despite the tribute she tendered him as an
+individual. He was not a "peace at any price" citizen.
+
+He gave the wedding breakfast at one o'clock that night.
+
+Three days later he and "Miss Jones" said farewell to the strollers
+and boarded a day train for New York City. They left the company in a
+condition of prosperity. The show was averaging two hundred dollars
+nightly, and Mr. Rushcroft was already booking return engagements for
+the early fall. He was looking forward to a tour of Europe at the
+close of the war.
+
+"My boy," he said to Barnes on the platform of the railway station, "I
+trust you will forgive me for not finding a place in our remarkably
+well-balanced cast for your friend. I have been thinking a great deal
+about her in the past few days, and it has occurred to me that she
+might find it greatly to her advantage to accept a brief New York
+engagement before tackling the real proposition. It won't take her
+long to find out whether she really likes it, and whether she thinks
+it worth while to go on with it. Let me give you one bit of advice, my
+dear Miss Jones. This is very important. The name of Jones will not
+get you anywhere. It is a nice old family, fireside name, but it lacks
+romance. Chuck it. Start your new life with another name, my dear. God
+bless you! Good luck and--good-bye till we meet on the Rialto."
+
+"I wonder how he could possibly have known," she mused aloud, the pink
+still in her cheeks as the train pulled out.
+
+"You darling," cried Barnes, "he doesn't know. But taking it by and
+large, it was excellent advice. The brief New York engagement meets
+with my approval, and so does the change of name. I am in a position
+to supply you with both."
+
+"Do you regard Barnes as an especially attractive name?" she inquired,
+dimpling.
+
+"It has the virtue of beginning with B, entitling it to a place well
+toward the top of alphabetical lists. A very handy name for
+patronesses at charity bazaars, and so forth. People never look below
+B unless to make sure that their own names haven't been omitted. You
+ought to take that into consideration. If you can't be an A, take the
+next best thing offered. Be a B."
+
+"You almost persuade me," she smiled.
+
+His sister met them at the Grand Central Terminal.
+
+"It's now a quarter to five," said Barnes, after the greeting and
+presentation. "Drop me at the Fifth Avenue Bank, Edith. I want to
+leave something in my safety box downstairs. Sha'n't be more than five
+minutes."
+
+He got down from the automobile at 44th Street and shot across the
+sidewalk into the bank, casting quick, apprehensive glances through
+the five o'clock crowd on the avenue as he sprinted. In his hand he
+lugged the heavy, weatherbeaten pack. His sister and the Countess
+stared after him in amazement.
+
+Presently he emerged from the bank, still carrying the bag. He was
+beaming. A certain worried, haggard expression had vanished from his
+face and for the first time in eight hours he treated his travelling
+wardrobe with scorn and indifference. He tossed it carelessly into the
+seat beside the chauffeur, and, springing nimbly into the car, sank
+back with a prodigious sigh of relief.
+
+"Thank God, they're off my mind at last," he cried. "That is the first
+good, long breath I've had in a week. No, not now. It's a long story
+and I can't tell it in Fifth Avenue. It would be extremely annoying to
+have both of you die of heart failure with all these people looking
+on."
+
+He felt her hand on his arm, and knew that she was looking at him with
+wide, incredulous eyes, but he faced straight ahead. After a moment or
+two, she snuggled back in the seat and cried out tremulously:
+
+"Oh, how wonderful--how wonderful!"
+
+Mrs. Courtney, in utter ignorance, inquired politely:
+
+"Isn't it? Have you never been in New York before, Miss Cameron?
+Strangers always find it quite wonderful at the--"
+
+"How are all the kiddies, Edith, and old Bill?" broke in her brother
+hastily.
+
+He was terribly afraid that the girl beside him was preparing to shed
+tears of joy and relief. He could feel her searching in her jacket
+pocket for a handkerchief.
+
+Mrs. Courtney was not only curious but apprehensive. She hadn't the
+faintest idea who Miss Cameron was, nor where her brother had picked
+her up. But she saw at a glance that she was lovely, and her soul was
+filled with strange misgivings. She was like all sisters who have pet
+bachelor brothers. She hoped that poor Tom hadn't gone and made a fool
+of himself. The few minutes' conversation she had had with the
+stranger only served to increase her alarm. Miss Cameron's voice and
+smile--and her eyes!--were positively alluring.
+
+She had had a night letter from Tom that morning in which he said that
+he was bringing a young lady friend down from the north,--and would
+she meet them at the station and put her up for a couple of days? That
+was all she knew of the dazzling stranger up to the moment she saw
+her. Immediately after that, she knew, by intuition, a great deal more
+about her than Tom could have told in volumes of correspondence. She
+knew, also, that Tom was lost forever!
+
+"Now, tell me," said the Countess, the instant they entered the
+Courtney apartment. She gripped both of his arms with her firm little
+hands, and looked straight into his eyes, eagerly, hopefully. She had
+forgotten Mrs. Courtney's presence, she had not taken the time to
+remove her hat or jacket.
+
+"Let's all sit down," said he. "My knees are unaccountably weak. Come
+along, Ede. Listen to the romance of my life."
+
+And when the story was finished, the Countess took his hand in hers
+and held it to her cool cheek. The tears were still drowning her eyes.
+
+"Oh, you poor dear! Was that why you grew so haggard, and pale, and
+hollow-eyed?"
+
+"Partly," said he, with great significance.
+
+"And you had them in your pack all the time? You--!"
+
+"I had Sprouse's most solemn word not to touch them for a week. He is
+the only man I feared. He is the only one who could have--"
+
+"May I use your telephone, Mrs. Courtney?" cried she, suddenly. She
+sprang to her feet, quivering with excitement. "Pray forgive me for
+being so ill-mannered, but I--I must call up one or two people at
+once. They are my friends. I have written them, but--but I know they
+are waiting to see me in the flesh or to hear my voice. You will
+understand, I am sure."
+
+Barnes was pacing the floor nervously when his sister returned after
+conducting her new guest to the room prepared for her. The Countess
+was at the telephone before the door closed behind her hostess.
+
+"I wish you had been a little more explicit in your telegram, Tom,"
+she said peevishly. "If I had known who she is I wouldn't have put her
+in that room. Now, I shall have to move Aunt Kate back into it to-
+morrow, and give Miss Cameron the big one at the end of the hall."
+Which goes to prove that Tom's sister was a bit of a snob in her way.
+"Stop walking like that, and come here." She faced him accusingly.
+"Have you told me ALL there is to tell, sir?"
+
+"Can't you see for yourself, Ede, that I'm in love with her?
+Desperately, horribly, madly in love with her. Don't giggle like that!
+I couldn't have told you while she was present, could I?"
+
+"That isn't what I want to know. Is she in love with YOU? That's what
+I'm after."
+
+"Yes," said he, but frowned anxiously.
+
+"She is perfectly adorable," said she, and was at once aware of a
+guilty, nagging impression that she would not have said it to him half
+an hour earlier for anything in the world.
+
+The Countess was strangely white and subdued when she rejoined them
+later on. She had removed her hat. The other woman saw nothing but the
+wealth of sun-kissed hair that rippled. Barnes went forward to meet
+her, filled with a sudden apprehension.
+
+"What is it? You are pale and--what have you heard?"
+
+She stopped and looked searchingly into his eyes. A warm flush rose to
+her cheeks; her own eyes grew soft and tender and wistful.
+
+"They all believe that the war will last two or three years longer,"
+she said huskily. "I cannot go back to my own country till it is all
+over. They implore me to remain here with them until--until my
+fortunes are mended." She turned to Mrs. Courtney and went on without
+the slightest trace of indecision or embarrassment in her manner. "You
+see, Mrs. Courtney, I am very, very poor. They have taken everything.
+I--I fear I shall have to accept the kind, the generous proffer of a--"
+her voice shook slightly--"of a home with my friends until the Huns
+are driven out."
+
+Barnes's silence was more eloquent than words. Her eyes fell. Mrs.
+Courtney's words of sympathy passed unheard; her bitter excoriation of
+the Teutons and Turks was but dimly registered on the inattentive mind
+of the victim of their ruthless greed; not until she expressed the
+hope that Miss Cameron would condescend to accept the hospitality of
+her home until plans for the future were definitely fixed was there a
+sign that the object of her concern had given a thought to what she
+was saying.
+
+"You are so very kind," stammered the Countess. "But I cannot think of
+imposing upon--"
+
+"Leave it to me, Ede," said Barnes gently, and, laying his hand upon
+his sister's arm, he led her from the room. Then he came swiftly back
+to the outstretched arms of the exile.
+
+"A very brief New York engagement," he whispered in her ear, he knew
+not how long afterward. Her head was pressed against his shoulder, her
+eyes were closed, her lips parted in the ecstasy of passion.
+
+"Yes," she breathed, so faintly that he barely heard the strongest
+word ever put into the language of man.
+
+Half-an-hour later he was speeding down the avenue in a taxi. His
+blood was singing, his heart was bursting with joy,--his head was
+light, for the feel of her was still in his arms, the voice of her in
+his enraptured ears.
+
+He was hurrying homeward to the "diggings" he was soon to desert
+forever. Poor, wretched, little old "diggings"! As he passed the
+Plaza, the St. Regis and the Gotham, he favoured the great hostelries
+with contemplative, calculating eyes; he even looked with speculative
+envy upon the mansions of the Astors, the Vanderbilts and the
+Huntingtons. She was born and reared in a house of vast dimensions.
+Even the Vanderbilt places were puny in comparison. His reflections
+carried him back to the Plaza. There, at least, was something
+comparable in size. At any rate, it would do until he could look
+around for something larger! He laughed at his conceit,--and pinched
+himself again.
+
+He was to spend the night at his sister's apartment. When he issued
+forth from his "diggings" at half-past seven, he was attired in
+evening clothes, and there was not a woman in all New York, young or
+old, who would have denied him a second glance.
+
+Later on in the evening three of the Countess's friends arrived at the
+Courtney home to pay their respects to their fair compatriot, and to
+discuss the crown jewels. They came and brought with them the
+consoling information that arrangements were practically completed for
+the delivery of the jewels into the custody of the French Embassy at
+Washington, through whose intervention they were to be allowed to
+leave the United States without the formalities usually observed in
+cases of suspected smuggling. Upon the arrival in America of trusted
+messengers from Paris, headed by no less a personage than the
+ambassador himself, the imperial treasure was to pass into hands that
+would carry it safely to France. Prince Sebastian, still in Halifax,
+had been apprised by telegraph of the recovery of the jewels, and was
+expected to sail for England by the earliest steamer.
+
+And while the visitors at the Courtney house were lifting their
+glasses to toast the prince they loved, and, in turn, the beautiful
+cousin who had braved so much and fared so luckily, and the tall
+wayfarer who had come into her life, a small man was stooping over a
+rifled knapsack in a room far down-town, glumly regarding the result
+of an unusually hazardous undertaking, even for one who could perform,
+such miracles as he. Scratching his chin, he grinned,--for he was the
+kind who bears disappointment with a grin,--and sat himself down at
+the big library table in the centre of the room. Carefully selecting a
+pen-point, he wrote:
+
+"It will be quite obvious to you that I called unexpectedly to-night.
+The week was up, you see. I take the liberty of leaving under the
+paperweight at my elbow a two dollar bill. It ought to be ample
+payment for the damage done to your faithful traveling companion. Have
+the necessary stitches taken in the gash, and you will find the kit as
+good as new. I was more or less certain not to find what I was after,
+but as I have done no irreparable injury, I am sure you will forgive
+my love of adventure and excitement. It was really quite difficult to
+get from the fire escape to your window, but it was a delightful
+experience. Try crawling along that ten inch ledge yourself some day,
+and see if it isn't productive of a pleasant thrill. I shall not
+forget your promise to return good for evil some day. God knows I hope
+I may never be in a position to test your sincerity. We may meet
+again, and I hope under agreeable circumstances. Kindly pay my deepest
+respects to the Countess Ted, and believe me to be, "Yours VERY
+respectfully,
+
+"Sprouse.
+
+"P.S.--I saw O'Dowd to-day. He left a message for you and the
+Countess. Tell them, said he, that I ask God's blessing for them
+forever. He is off to-morrow for Brazil. He was very much relieved
+when he heard that I did not get the jewels the first time I went
+after them, and immensely entertained by my jolly description of how I
+went after them the second. By the way, you will be interested to
+learn that he has cut loose from the crowd he was trailing with.
+Mostly nuts, he says. Dynamiting munition plants in Canada was a grand
+project, says he, and it would have come to something if the damned
+women had only left the damned men alone. The expletives are
+O'Dowd's."
+
+Ten hours before Barnes found this illuminating message on his library
+table, he stood at the window of a lofty Park Avenue apartment
+building, his arm about the slender, yielding figure of the only other
+occupant of the room. Pointing out over the black house-tops, he
+directed her attention to the myriad lights in the upper floors of a
+great hostelry to the south and west, and said,
+
+"THAT is where you are going to live, darling."
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Green Fancy, by George Barr McCutcheon
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