: : ;.
X
f V A' N
CHAPTER IV.
. I Fall Into a Brier Patoh.
Bn AD .been sitting on a stone wall
watching the .shadows lengthen.
I rose now and followed the wall
toward a highway along which
wagons and an occasional motorcar
bid passed during my roverie. The
sloping pasture was rough and fre
quently sent me along at a trot The
wall that marked the boundary at the
roadside was hidden by a tanglo ot
raspberry bushes, and my foot, turn
ing on a stone concealed in the wild
grasses, I fell clumsily and rolled a
dozen yards Into a tangle of the berry
bushes. As I picked myBelf up I heard
voices in the road, but should have
thought nothing of it had I not seen
through a brenk in the vines and al
most within reach of my hand Cecilia
Ilolllster talking earnestly to some one
not yet disclosed. She was hatless,
but had flung a golf cape over her
shoulders. The scarlet lining of the
hood turned up about her neck made
an effective setting for her noble head.
"Oh, I can't tell you! I can't help
yont I mustn't even appear to give
yon any advantage. I weut into It
.with my eyes open, and I'm in honor
bound not to tell you anything. You
have said nothlug nothing, remember
that There is absolutely nothing be
tween us."
"But I must say everything. I re
fuse to be blinded by these absurd re
strictions, whatever they aro. It's not
fair. It's Inviting me into a game
Where the curds are not all on the ta
ble. I've come to make an end of it!"
My hands had suffered by contact
with the briars, and I had been minis
tering to thera with my handkerchief,
but I fell back upon the slope in my
astonishment at this colloquy. Cecilia
Hollister I had seen plainly enough,
luuuuu lnu iii.uis unuK ii'iu in'i'ii in
ward me, but anywhere on enrth 1
6hou!d have known Wiggins' voice. I
protest that it Is not my way to be
come an eavesdropper voluutarily. but
to disclose myself now was Impossible.
If It had not been Wigglus-but Wig
gins would never have understood or
forgiven, nor could I have explained
plausibly to Cecilia Ilolllster that I
had not followed her from the house
te spy upon her. 1 should havo made
the noise of nn invading army if I had
attempted to effect an exit by creeping
out through the windrow of crisp
leaves la which I lay, and to turn back
and ascend the slope the way I had
come would have been to advertise my
presence to the figures in the road.
"You must go pleasel"
There seemed nothing for me but to
Veep still and hope that this discus
Ion between Cecilia Ilolllster and
Hartley Wiggins would not be contin
ued within earshot To my relief they
moved a trifle farther on, but I still
heard their voices.
"I cannot listen to you. Now that
I'm committed 1 cannot honorably
countenauco you at all, and I can ex
plain nothing. I came here to meet
you only to tell you this. lou must go
-please! And do not attompt to see
mo in tlits way again,"
The Siege
of the
Seven Suitors
By
MEREDITH NICHOLSON
Copyrltbt, 1910. by Meredith Nlcholioo
I was grateful" that Wiggins' voice
Bank so low In his reply that I did not
hear It but I knew that he was plead
ing hard. Then a motor flashed by,
and when the whir of Its passing bad
ceased the voices were Inaudible. But
a moment Inter I beard a light, quick
Btep beyond tho wall, and Cecilia pass
ed hurriedly, her face turned toward
the house. The cape was drawn tight
ly about her shoulders, and she walk
ed with her bead bowed.
X breathed a sigh of relief, and when
I felt safe from detection, climbed tho
glope.
Tausing on the crest to survey the
landscape, I saw a man, wearing a der
by hat nod a light topcoat, leaning
against a fence that Inclosed a pasture
As I glanced In his direction be moved
away hastily toward the road below.
The feeling of being watched Is not
agreeable, and 1 could not account for
blm. As he passed out of sight still
another man appeared, emerging from
a Btrlp of woodland farther on. Even
through the evening haze 1 should have
said that he was a gentleman. The
two men apparently boro no relutlon to
each other, though they were walking
in the same direction, bound, I Judged,
for the highway below. I had an un
comfortable feeling that they had both
been observing me, though for what
purpose I could not imagine. Then
once more, just as 1 was about to en
ter the Italian garden from a fallow
field that hung slightly above It, a
third man appeared as mysteriously
as though he had sprung from the
ground, and ran at a sharp dog trot
along the fence, headed, like the oth
ers, for tho road. In the third instance
the stranger undoubtedly took pains to
hide his face, but he, too, was well
dressed and wore a topcoat and a fe
dora hat of current style.
I did not know why these gentlemen
wero ranging tho neighborhood or what
object they had in view, but their sev
eral appearances had interested me,
and I went ou into tho house well sat
lsfiod that events of un unusual char
ncter were likely to mark my visit to
the home of Miss Octavin Ilolllster.
Cecilia sat reading alone when 1 en
tered the library shortly before the din
ner hour. She put down her book ami
we fell into fitful talk.
"I took a walk after tea. I always
fool that sunset are best seen from
the fields. You can't quite do tliem
Justice from windows," she began. .
She seemed preoccupied. Wiggins
was In her recollection of the glowing
landscape I was confident of this, und
poor Wiggins was even now wander
ing these hills, no doubt, brooding upon
his troubles under clear October stnrs.
Dinner was announced the moment
Miss Ilolllster entered, and I walked
out between them. Miss Octavla Ilol
llster was n surprising person, but in
nothing was she so delightfully way
wird as In the gowns she wore. My
lguoranco of such matters Is Immeas
urable, but I fancy that she designed
her own raiment and had her Ideas
were thereupon corrled out by a tailor
of skill. At the Asolando, and when we
had met at ten In her own house, she
had worn the severest of tailored
gowns, with short skirt and a cout
Into whose pockets sho was fond of
thrusting her hands. Tonight the ma
terial wus lavender silk trimmed In
white, but the skirt had not lengthened,
and over u white silk waist sho wore
a kind of cutaway cut that matched
the skirt. An nlgret In her lovely
white hair contributed a piquant nojte
to tho whole impression. As we pass
ed down tho hall she talked with great
animation of Tho Hague tribunal, just
then holding a prominent place in the
newspapers for some reason that has
escaped me.
"The whole thing Is absurd, perfect
ly absurd. I know of nothing , that
would contribute moro to human enjoy
ment than a real war between Ger
many and England. The Hague Idea
is pure sentlmentalism If sentimental
Ism can ever be said to be pure. I will
go further and say that 1 consider It
positively Immoral."
She had ordered dinner in the gun
room, but 1 thought this merely a turn
of her humor, and I was taken aback
when Bhe led the way into a low, heavi
ly raftered room, where electric sconces
of an odd type were thrust at Irregular
Intervals along the walls, which were
otherwise bung with arms of many
sorts in orderly combinations. They
were not tho litter of antique shops, 1
saw In a hasty glance, but rifles aud
guns of the latest patterns, and besldo
the sideboard stood a gun rack and a
cabinet which I assumed contained still
other and perhnps deadlier weapons.
But for the presence of Miss Cecilia,
who was essentially typical of our
twentieth century American woman, 1
think I might readily havo yielded to
the Illusion that I was the guest of
some eccentric chatelaine who had In
vited me to dine with her In a tuistiou
of her fortress lefore ordering me to
some chamber of horrors for execu
tion. No reference was made to the char
cter of the room. I felt. In fact, that
Cecilia rather pleaded with her eyes
that 1 should make no reference to it.
And Miss Hollister remarked quite
.'asually as though in commeut upon
niy thoughts:
Consistency has burled Its thou-
lands and habit its tens of thousands.
We should live, Mr. Ames, for the
;hnnges aud chances of this troubled
life. Between an opera box and a
villa nt Newport many of my best
friends have perished."
Then with startling abruptness she
put down her fork and, bending her
wonderfully direct gaze upon me, ask
ed a question that caused me to stran
gle on a bit of asparagus.
"I Imagine, Mr. Ames, that you ure
it member of some of the better clubs
In town. If by any chance you belong
to the Hare and Tortoise the name of
which has always pleased me do you
by any chance happen to enjoy tho ac-
qualntauce of Hartley Wiggins?"
Cecilia lifted her head. I saw that
she bad been as startled as I. It
crossed my mind that a denial of any
acquaintance with Wiggins might best
serve him In the circumstances. But
I am not, 1 hope, without a sense of
shame, and I responded promptly:
"Yes, 1 know him well We are old
friends. I "always see a good deal'of
blm during the winter. His summers
ire spent usually on his ranch In the
pest. We dined together two days
igo at the Hare and Tortoise, just be
fore he left for the west"
"You wll! pardon me If I say that it
is wholly to his credit that he has for
iwora the professions ar.d Identified
himself with the honorable calling of
tho husbandman."
"We met Mr. Wiggins white travel
ing abroad last summer," Interposed
Cecilia, meeting my eyes quite frankly.
"Met him! Did you say met him,
Cecilia? On the contrary, we found
him waiting for us at the dock the
morning we sailed," corroded Miss
Ilolllster, "and we never lost him a
day In three months of rapid travel.
I had never met him before, but I can
not deny that be made himself exceed
ingly agreeable. If, as I suspected, he
had deliberately planned to travel on
the same steamer with my two uieces,
1 have only praise for his conduct,
for in these days, Mr. Ames, It warms
my heart to find young men showing
something of the old chlvalrlc ardor In
their affairs of the heart."
"I'm sure Mr. Wiggins made himself
very agreeable." remarked Cecilia col
orlessly. "For myself," retorted Miss Hollis
ter, "I should speak even more strong
ly. He repeatedly served us with tact
and delicacy. I had formed so high
an opinion of Mr. Wiggins that I learn
ed with sincerest regret that his an
cestors were Tories and took no part
lu tho struggle for American independ
ence. There are times when 1 serious
ly question the wisdom of the colonists
In breaking with the mother country,
but certainly no man of character In
that day could have hesitated as to his
proper course."
Then, as though by intention. Miss
Hollister dropped upon the smooth cur
rent of our talk a sentenc e that drove
the color from Cecilia's face.
"Hezekiuii and Mr. Wiggins were t In
best of friends," wan Miss llollistor's
remark.
Cecilia's eyes were on her plate, but
her aunt went on In her blithest fash
ion: "You may not know that Ilezeklah Is
another niece, Cecilia's sister. She
was named, at my suggestion, for my
father, there being no son In the fam
ily, aud I trust that so unusual a name
In a young girl does not strike you ns
Indefensible."
"On tho contrary, It seems to me
wholly refreshing and delightful. As
I recall the Sunday school of my youth,
Ilezeklah was a monarch of great au
thority, whose animosity toward Sen
nacherib was Justified in the fullest
degree. The very name bristles with
spears and is musical with tho trum
pets of Israel. Nothing would make
me happier than to meet the young
lady who bears this illustrious name."
"As to the your knowledgeof pnclent
history, Mr. Ames," began Miss nol
lister as she helped herself to the
cheese sweets, I noted, were not in
cluded in the very amplo meal I had
enjoyed "it is clear that you were
well taught in your youth. I am not
surprised, however, for I should have
expected nothing less of a son of the
late General Ames of Hartford. As to
meeting my niece Hezeklah, I fear that
that Is at present impossible. While
Cecilia remains with me .Hezeklah's
duty Is to her father, and I must say
in all kindness that Hezeklah's ways,
like those of Provldenco and the cus
tom house, are beyond my feeble un
derstanding. . In a word, Mr. Ames,
Ilezeklah is different"
"Ilezeklah," added Cecilia, with
feeling, "Is a dear."
'Tlease don't bring sentlmentalism
to the table!" cried Miss Hollister.
"Mr. Wiggins once Informed me In a
moment of forgetfulness It was at
Foutalnebleau, 1 remember, when
nezeklah persisted In reminding a one
armed French colonel who was hang
ing about that we named cities In
America for Bismarck it was there at
the Inn that Mr. Wiggins confided to
me his belief that Ilezeklah bears a
strong resemblanco to the common or
domestic peach. As a single peach at
that place was charged in the bill at
10 francs, tho remark was ill timed, to
say the least. But Mr. Wiggins was
so contrite when I rebuked him that I
allowed him to pay for our luncheon
no small matter, Indeed, for Heze
klah's. appetite Is nothing If not ro-
bust."
Miss Hollister gave so many turns to
the conversation that I could roach no
conclusion ns to her feeling toward
Wiggins or Ilezeklah Ilolllster, and. as
for Cecilia. 1 was unable to determine
whether she was a prisoner at Ilope
fleld Manor or the willing and devoted
companion of her aunt.
In this bewildered state of mind,
while we lingered over our coffee, the
servant appeared with a card for each
of the ladies. I saw Cecilia start ns
Bhe rend the name.
"Mr. Wiggins! How retrkable that
he, should have appeared ju.it ns we
wero speaking of him!" said Miss Ilol
llster. "Be sure the gentleman is com
fortable in the library. James. We
lliall bo In nt once. Mr. Ames, you
will, of course, be delighted to meet
your friend here, and you will asiist us
in dispensing our meager hospitality.'"
To He Continued.)
THE LATEST BEST SELLER.
B
AFFLIKG. absorbing, astounding-,
Inspiring,"
"DellolouBly plquunt," "original."
"grand,
"Humor unflagging." "invention untir
ing." "With Dickena and Thackeray fitted to
stand;"
"Breathless," "exciting," "sensational."
"ripping,"
"Highly dramatic," "a mssterplece."
"great."
"Folgnant," "authentic," "convincing and
gripping" "
So ths reviews and advertisements state.
"Masterful." "marvelous," "massive,"
"amusing-,"
"Witty and wise," "averjr promts ful
tills." "DarJllng." "dumtoundlng." "daring and
dazing."
"Packed full of action," "abounding In
thrills,"
"Charmingly whimsical." "striking,"
"compelling."
"Technic enormous," "It marks an ad
vance," "All other writers of fiction excelling,"
"Wealth of IJoas," "a brilliant ro
mance." Thus the reviewers in rapturous chorus;
Thus the book booster composing his
brnys.
Ripped nre whole pages from Rogot'a
Thesaurus,
Tiled upon Ossa a Potion of praise.
Greatest ot novels, beyond contradiction.
Here Is a triumph that none mny deny
This is t he ultimate whl.sper In (let Ion,
Surely you'll read It. No'.' Neither
shall 1.
Minneapolis Journal.
The Unexpected Happened.
Ilrs. Mulligatawny ueedod a rhunge
of air. The doctor was emphatic ot
this point Her husband, however, be
ing unable to go with her, she went
aloue, retiring ns usual to her favorite
holiday haunt.
On the morning tifter her arrival she
suddenly discovered that she had come
away without her watch. Thinking,
therefore, that sho must have dropped
It on the thick carpet of the dlulng
room, she forthwith wired to the maid
nt limne:'
Let me know if you find anything on
carpet in dlidnK room.
Ill due course kIiu received letter In
reply :
Dcur Muihim I wns to let you know it
1 fiitniil miylliins on tho clInlnK room car
pet. This la w -hut I found this inornliiK
three chumpiiKiio cork?, eighteen cIkut
etuis, (lo i Ik'hcIIo ends, tliirty-six but nt
mntihcs ami
Hut Mrs Mulligatawny did not read
further. And when her husband re
tun!"'! h"!e from the cilice that even
ing lie found his faithful spouse await
ing him Answers
t
,,,,, .. ,. , , , , , ...
HTTT l T T" I H i V i n rT V I TT
Human Nature.
.j. When a man does somethitiK
he should not have done and
J. Isn't nfrnid of his wife he doesn't
Y think much of her. - Cleveland
X Plain Dealer.
W-HIH-W-HH-I-l-MM-H-H--W
Time For Drastio Measures.
All old woman wns waiting nervous
ly for n train on tho Knty. Wo will
call It No. 2. The agent camo out and
chalked tip. "No. 2 U twenty minute
late."
Tho old woman sniffed.
Presently he returned and chalked
up, "No. 2 Is forty minutes late."
Tho old woman groaned.
But wheu ho reappeared and wrote,
"No. 2 U sixty minutes late," she could
stand It no longer.
"For the laud's sake," shu said, "will
somebody plense tako that piece of
chalk away from that man or we nev
er will get nway from this place?"
Baltimore News.
Scanty.
First Critic How wero the chorus
costumes?
Second Ctltlc-Oh, nothing to speak
of! ChTcago News.
There nre a few boxes of sta
tionery on our bnrgciin counter.
You will have to hurry if you want
some while tho prico is so low.
IT ft
4
KING GEORGE HAD
STIRRING REIGN
From Masthead to Throne When
Only Eighteen.
NEW RULER IS POPULAR.
Constantino, After Being Forced to
Leave Athena In 1909 by Military
League, Returned and Led Army te
Victory In Lait Balkan War Would
Be Hellenic Emperor.
Solonlkl. King Georgo of Greece,
who was assassinated here by a degen
erate named Scbinas, wns literally tak
en from the masthead of o Danish
cruiser and elevated to the proud posi
tion of king of tliu Hellenes.
That was la 1803. Tho years that
followed wero crowded with more of
Incident aud adventure than fall to the
lot of most modern tuonarchs.
George's family name is Elolstoln
Glucksburg. He was the second ion
of Prince Christian of Behleswig-Hol-ateln-Sonderburg-Glucksburg,
who aft
erward became king of Denmark.
The young prince was named Christian
William Ferdinand Adolphus George
and as such entered the naval service
of Denmark, He bad made two cruises
and was about to start on a third when
a revolution broke out lu Greece.
Within three days King Otto of
Greece, a pavarlau, had lost the throne
he had occupied for thirty years.' It be
came necessary for the European pow
ers to And a substitute.
It looked as if tho throne might go
begging when tho powers offered It to
Prince William, still a boy In his teens,
of whoso existence, perhnps, not one
In a thousand of his future subjects
wns aware.
It was necessary for tho Greek na
tlonul assembly to go through the for-
r. W.M; ,
CON STAN TINE, TUB NKW KINO OF ORKEC'E.
inalily of electing t lie nominee of tho
powers. This was done nt Athens on
March 18. 1 Still.
The early years of the reign of this
alien monarch were peaceful. In 1807
he ma ri led Olgn Constant Inown, eldest
daughter of tho Grand Duko Constan-
, tine, brother of Czar Alexander of Uus-
ia, thereby strengthening the position
of Greece and enhancing lils own popu
larity. Quarrels of political factions und of
ficial corruption soon involved tho na
tion lu (lllllcultlfs, for which the king
! wns held responsible. War with Tur
key wit clamored for In 1870 nnd
again ten years later, and It was only
the firm tit tit tide of tho king and the
backing of the towers which prevent
ed Greece rushing Into a conflict for
which she was not prepared.
When war finally canto in 1S07 It
was demonstrated that the king . had
acted wisely. The conflict soon ended
in disaster to tho Grecian arms, and
Turkish reprisals would havo been
heavy had not the powers enforced
terms of peaco that favored tho van
quished rather than tho victors.
Bofore tho war King Georgo had
! been perhaps the most hated man In
! Greece. An attempt had been made
to assassinate him while bo was driv
ing with his daughter.
The successes of the present war had
restored tho popularity of tho king
and all his family. He and tho crown
prince had brought tho Greek army to
a state of great efficiency. Tho cap
turo of Jonlna with its gurrison of
32,000 men was the climax of a bril
liant campaign.
Tho king left seven children, five
sons and two daughters. Tboy are
Cons tan tine, Duke of Sparta, who now
lucceeds to tho throne; Alexandra,
who was married to Grand Duke Paul
Alexandrorltch of Russia; George,
Nicholas, Marie, Andrew nnd Christo
pher. Constantino, the new king, was born
in Athens nnd received his early edu
cation from foreign tutors, who taught
him to spenk German, English, Latin,
French and Danish. At the ago of
eighteen he wns graduated from tho
military academy, with the rank of
sublieutenant In tho army.
Until the wnr with Turkey in 1807
ho bad had little military experience
aside from participating in the annual
military maneuvers of the German
army, hut ho rvn considered a thought-
iibo' :
1 rv, -v f Ml
Lv '-;Kv':'v v' -.s ! ,' ' .'v
itil. cautious iender and enjoyed fie1
Implicit confidence of his troops.
When the crown uliu. l;i IWM saw
his country drifting into war with
Turkey he warned the war department
at Athens that the army was utterly
unprepared for a campaign. The ln
fautry was armed with condemned
French titles, which had cost $1 each;
the cartridges were tlfteen years old,
there was no cavalry, the artillery was
obsolete and its otllcers few. and there
had been iusuillcient drill. Neverthe
less the country decided upon war.
l"he result was disastrous a humiliat
ing defeat for Greece. Immediately
the popular tide turned against Its rul
ers, whom it denounced as foreigners
who could have little In common with
tho Greeks. The king and queen were
hooted lu the streets, and tho odlcera
turned their backs upon the crown
prince.
A similar spirit was roused against
tho royal house wheu lu 1009 King
Georgo tried to oppose the popular
clamor for tho annexation of Crete,
knowing that Turkey was eagerly
awaiting such nn excuso to bring a sec
ond crashing defeat upon Greecet This
time the clamor almost became a re
volt, and the king was obliged to yield
to the demand of the Military league,
both for the reorganization of the army
and for the dismissal of the crown
prince as generalissimo and of hie
brothers from active commands In the
army and navy.
The crown prince left Atheus. Rut
two weeks after he had Issued orders
for the removal of his belonging! from
Athens to St. Petersburg, where he
was to accept a command In the army
of the csar, the tide turned again, and
he was notified by his father to come
back. Three months later Constan
tino returned to Greece on the Invita
tion of the national assembly and the
municipality of Athens, where be was
received with great acclaim.
Ho was restored to his former digni
ties, and after buvlug undergone a
severe trial was raised to the com
maud of tho army, with added pres
tige and influence. At the outbreak of
the present war in tho Balkans he led
the advancing Greek forces and cap
tured the city of Solonlkl from the
Turks. With a forco of 10,000 Greoks
ho caused 25,000 Turks to lay down
their arms. Ills popularity from that
time has been tremendous throughout
Greece
It Is said that Constantino alms to re
store the former grandeur of the an
cient Hellenic empire and that he Is a
believer in tho old national prophecy,
that under tho reign of a Constantino
and a Sophia tho eastern empire shall
be called into life again and the cross
restored on St. Sophia In place of the
crescent
The crown prince's wife Is Princess
Sophia, a ulster of the German em
peror. Their mnrrlago on Oct. 27, 18S9,
was a most pcctacular event and was
attended by tho kaiser and members
of tho royal families of every court in
Europe. Soon afterward Princess So-,
phln renounced her Lutheran religion
and took that of her husband, thereby
deeply offending her brother, tho Qer
man emperor.
Prince Constantino, like his father
and his brother, Prince George, Is of
herculean stature, moro than sis feet
toll and magnificently proportioned,
lie has threo children, Alexander,
Georgo and Helen.
IN PRISON 41 YEARS;
TO START NEW LIFE
Abe Buzzard, Outlaw-Evangelist,
Free at Sixty-one.
Philadelphia. Korty ono of ills sixty,
ono years havlug been spent behind
prison bars, Abo Buzzard, the notorious
outlaw-evangelist, has been released
from tho I.astern penitentiary.
Speaking of his Jekyll nnd Hyde ca
reer. Buzzard says:
"The world owed tno a good living,
and I collected the debt the best that I
knew how. I was not used right the
first time I was arrested, and had I not
been blamed for crimes I never com
mitted I would never have resorted to
tho life that I have led.
"1 urn converted now nnd realize that
It does not pay to think that you are
going to get away with the kind of
stuff that I used to pull. I'm going to
shake the dust of Pennsylvania from
my feet nnd go to the Pacific const.
I've learned to bo a cobbler, and I'm
going into tho shoe business where no
one will know me nnd where I will
have a chance to start llfo over again."
Buzzard began stealing nt the age of
fifteen, when he and threo brothers or
ganized a gang to raid farms In the
Welch mountains. When twenty he
began serving n ten year term In Lan
caster county. He broke out of Jail and
was recaptured several months later.
After serving several other sentences
bo was released from Cherry ,nill la
1001. Then it was be professed reform
ation and began preaching. He did bis
evangelistic work during the day and
stole poultry ut night. In the courso of
few months bo stole 1,800 chickens
and 7,500 turkeys from tho farmers in
and about Rending and Lancaster.
Close Season For Frogs.
Madison. Wis. A plan to forbid the
entlng of frogs in Wisconsin for ten
years, to prevent their being killed or
captured, has been Introduced by As
semblyman Newton 'Spoor of Groen
Luko county, who says that last year's
plague of mosquitoes In Wisconsin is
largely due to the manner In which
the frogs huvo lieen killed off.