Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-09-10


Her father, she knew, had been in
( Colonel divers regiment, and had left
her to his care.
/ OF her mother the colonel rarely If
! ever spoke, and all that Joan knew
about her was that she had died in
giving birth to Joan, her first child.
/ 1t was doubtful whether the colonel
! himself knew anything of her mother,
/ for Captain Ormsby had kept his mar
riage a secret, and had only confided
to Colonel Oliver, on his death-bed, the
/ fact that a motheTless child belonged
/ to the dying man.
The Elms stood well up on the hill,
within sight of several others of the
new houses.
| Descending the road and turning
abruptly to the left, Joan was making
her way through the rows of cottages
which formed the village; but, sud
denly recollecting that by this time the
simple folk were all asleep, and that
she should set the dogs barking and
rouse the village, she struck off into a
! lane to the right, and following it for
minute or two, lest sight of the sea.
A lodge and pair of massive iron
gates stood before her, and through
the gates broad carriage drive, shin
| ing yellowly in the moonlight. 1t
was the road leading to the Void. AS
! if she were familiar with it, Joan
abstractcdly pushed the gate open and
wo,hed on through the avenue. Sud
denly the avenue ceased, and at sharp
angle a magnificent view broke like a
vision on her sight.
II was the old house, white-almost
slivery white, or like Parian marble
/ in the moonlight, and the sea with the
cliffs in the background
Every window, every tracery, almost
every ivy leaf on the old building
seemed to stand out as if carved, and
at the back glttered and shimmered
the now placid sea.
Joan stood still for a moment en-
raptured, her color coming and going,
and her lips apart. She knew the view
well, but she doubted if she had ever
seen 1t to greater advantage than to-
night.
The house was unoccupied, the win
dows dark and black. Joan know
something of its history, and as she
sauntered along pondered over it in
her dreamy, absent fashion.
Mounting the steps Of the terrace
she sat herself in a NOOK formed by
one of the lions that stood rampant
at the head of the steps, and looked
up at the house and at the sea be
yond
The Void had been since the four
teenth century the home of the vii
liars, until it had passed by side line
to the earl of Arrowhead, a Villiars by
family though an Arrowhead by title
OF this Earl Deercombe knew little
Following the example set him by his
grandfathers, on the Villiars side
the earl Of Arrowhead had led a life
which it would be gross flattery to call
anything but right down bad and
vicious; then he had married sud,
denly, and his visits to the Void
which had been infreQuent, ceased al
together.
Dsercombe heard that his wife was
dead and that she had lett daughter
and later on came the tidings that the
} daughter was dead also.
Still the old earl did not trouble the
J Void, excepting for a couple of days
n few months before his death.
He had no son, and the heir to the
immense wealth of the Arrowfields
was cousin-Stuart, Lord Villiars.
OF him, also, Deercombe knew little
He had come down once to see the
earl OF Arrowhead, and the two men
the old and the young one-had
Quarreled on the first evening, and
parted with the mutual agreement to
avoid one another's society for the
future.
On condition that the young earl
should not trouble him, The old earl
made HIM an allowance, and promised
to leave him the Arrowhead money
the title, of course, would come tc
Stuart Villiars whether the earl liked
ii or not.
SNANNA Niio NiNll vi ANp uNl = OilN u
the Void, the earl of Arrowhead be,
took himself to his favorite health re
sort in the Pyrenees, and considerable
ly died there.
The lawyer sent word TO Stuart
Nilliars, Earl Villiars. that the Weld
and the Arrowhead money were rcW
his.
OF Stuart Villiars, though Deer
combe knew nothing. he had heard
much, indeed. and little or nothing tc
'convince people that the hereditary
vein OF daredevil recklessness had
worked out In the Villiars line.
He held commission in a crack
regiment. whose fame for extrav
agauce and Ornamental" vices he hat
contributed to maintain. people spoke
Of him with bated breath. as one who
recognized no laws save those of his
ovn fn0mcntaTy whims and easily
pHaFiea desires
hs vas. 81 the world said. a gam
sesf sNs y f0ue. dangerous man
81 &os3g sense Of the word: and II wa:
~ ID EsfaSe Mko know him Intimately