The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1897-03-20

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The old man would have thrown himself out
Of the window.
deputy or 10 deputy, yell no win
Until this house forby the askin' or a
weel-drawn search-warrant" there
was the sound of an opening door
elsie, BARN, fess me the auld rife"
The paving Of the horses at the gate
filled the silence until the door closed
and Duncan spoke again: Moo, then,
ye limmers, gle We bath fair warnin.'
I'm on my ain door-stane, an yen show
yerwarrantor come on at yer ain peril"
Thorndyke peered between the Stats
of the closed shutters, and saw the two
men fall back a few steps to hold a
council of war. While they were talk
ing, another horseman came in sight at
the top of the hill, and moment later
Protheroe rode up to the gate and dis
mounted. He nodded to the intruders
as he passed them. and Thorndyke was
surprised to see them hurry to their
horses and ride away toward ALA
coochec. The hasty retreat was ex-
planned when Protheroe came up the
walk.
Good evening, Mr.. Duncan. Are you
out cunning for our friends?"
INA, ma, them" said Duncan, in tones
of expostulation; 'ye'd no be eempli-
catin' auld Jamie Duncan for resistin'
the officers O. the law, would we, Rob-
bieY"
what officers? Those fellows?
They're no more officers than you are.
What were they trying to do?"
Duncan took the engineer into the
house, and his reply was lost to the lis
teners in the room above. Thorpdyke
turned to the old mountaineer. you
see, now, Mr.. Kilgrow, what these men
win do. Your safety lies in keeping
out of their reach. Come with me and
I'll let you out the back way"
When Kilgrow had gone, Thorndyke
went down to the sitting-room, but
neither there, nor afterwards at supper,
did Duncan or Protheroe refer to the
unwelcome visitors; and Thorndyke
knew that the wary Scot had succeeded
in satisfying Protheroe's curiosity
without duplicating Kilgrow.
The young engineer brought letters
for Philip, one of which was reserved to
he read in the privacy of the attic bed
room. 1t was from Helen, and Philips
conscience bit him when he tore it open.
Then he smiled at his misgivings as he
read through the closely-written pages.
1.-THE Mortons were here to dinner last
night" she wrote, land they wanted to
know all about you; where you were and
what you were doing. You know best how
little we could tell them, but they thought
1t odd that you should prefer the wilds of
Alabama in summer to Lenox or Newport.
They have taken a cottage Just below US
for the season, and Derrick Morton has
brought his yacht around from Mount
Desert-I won't say Bar Harbor. That Is
gossip of the time and place, and could
fill pages with 1t, but suppose you care for
none of these things now. And really I
don't know just what you do care for; you
seem farther away in Alabama than you
would If you were in Europe; but fancy
that is because we are so utterly unfamiliar
with your present surroundings.
One thing | must tell you, however A
few of us here-Derrick Morton, the Van
Ruyter girls, Arthur HaXtell and his
brother Tom, Dorothy and John Berkeley,
and one more-have undertaken to redeem
the frivolities of our corner of Newport by
forming a reading circle We read none
but new authors, and then we pick them TO
pieces with a refinement of criticism that
would humble the most conceited beginner
If he could only hear us. think it's pity
that some of them can't; don't you?
wish you could be here to help us. believe
you would make distressingly acute in
quisitor, and the fact that you once tried
your hand at authorship would lend pc
culiar zest to your censure, if it be (. ne THAI
the best critics are the unsuccessful
writer's. Apropos, what ever became of
your muchrejected manuscript? l should
like to submit II as the effort of one Of the
submerged.
II suppose you have no present thought
of coming back to civilization. From what
you say in your letters l infer that you are
enjoying yourself, after some primitive
fashion, and, better than all else. that your
health is improving. Because can believe
the latter, / can continue to spare you
while the need exists; and since the separa-
ton has to be, It is better that We should
bear 1t contentedly. / should be sorry to
have the good effect OF Dr. Perevin's pre-
scription marred by any repining Of mine
and so long as you feel that the out-of-door
life is helping you, / hope you will not let
any strained sense of your duty to your
mother or to me make you abridge 1t. We
shall get along famously without our preux
chevalier. and you are not to suppose that
we are obliged to go about uncared for be
cause you happen to be buried in the forests
of Alabama.
Write often, II you feel like it, but don't
let It become a bore. There is nothing more
dreadful than having to write to some one
when you want to do something else. At
fectionately, as always, HELEN.
"P. 81 have been invited to join party
on Derrick Mortons yacht and If you don't
hear from me again for two or three weeks
you'll know / have accepted and that posi-
offices are not to he had for the asking"
Philip put the letter down with
smile that was more than half sheer