The San Francisco call., 1903-09-06

had been spent on the carnival and no
opportunity Of annihile ting the roulette
winnings seemed to offer itself. His ex-
perience at Monte Carlo did not encour-
age him to try again. and Peggy's atu-
tude toward the place was distinctly an
tagonistic. The Riviera, presenting no
new opportunities for extravaganza, It be-
came necessary to seek other worlds.
II never before understood the real
meaning OF the phrase tight money,
thought Monty. Lord. II it would only
loosen bit and stay loosened." Some
thing must be done. he realized, to earn
his living. Perhaps the role Of the prince
ly proligate would be easier in Italy than
anywhere else. He studied the outlook
from every point of view, but there were
moments when 1t seemed hopeless. Bae-
deker was provokingly barren of sugges-
tions for extravaganza and Monty grew
impatient of the books small economies.
Noticing some chapters on the 1talan
lakes. in an inspired moment he remem-
bered that Pettingill had once lost his
heart to a villa on tho lake Of Como.
Instantly a new act OF the comedy pre-
sented itself to him He sought out Pet
tingill and demanded description Of his
castle In the air.
"Oh. it's a wonder" exclaimed tho
artist. and his eyes grew dreamy. IT
shines out at you with its white terraces
and turrets like those fascinating castles
that Maxfield Parrish draws for children.
1t Is fairyland. You expect to wake and
find 1t gone"
"Oh. drop that, Petty" said Brewster.
"or 1t will make you poetical. What
want to know is who owns It and is 1t
likely to be occupied at this season."
1T belongs to a certain MarQuise, who
Is widow with children. They say
she has a horror Of the place for some
reason and has never been near 1t. 1t Is
kept as though she were to turn up the
next day, but except for the servants 1t
Is always deserted"
Tho very thing" declared Brewster;
Petty, we'll have a house party"
You'd better not count on that, Monty.
A man I know ran across the place once
and tried for year to buy 1t. But the
lady has ideas of her own
well, If you wish to give him hint or
two about how to do things, watch me-
If you don't spend two weeks in your
dream castle, will cut the crowd and
sail for home" He secured the name OF
the owner, and found that Pettingill had
even q remote idea Of the address OF her
agent. Armed with these facts he set
out in search OF a courier, and through
Philippe he secured a Frenchman named
Bertier, VINO was guaranteed to be sur
prisingly ingenious in providing methods
of spending money To him Brewster
conhded his scheme, and Bertier realized
with rising enthusiasm that at last he
had secured client after his own heart
He was able to complete the address OF
the agent of the mysterious Marquise,
and an inquiry was Immediately tele-
graphed to him.
The agents reply would have been dis
couraging to any one but Brewster. 1t
stated that the owner had no intention
of leasing her forsaken castle for any
period whatever. The profligate learned
that a fair price for an estate of that
kind for a month was ten thousand
francs, and he wired an offer of five
times that sum for two weeks. The
agent replied that some delay would be
necessary while he communicated with
his principal. Delay was the one word
that Brewster did not understand, SO he
wired him an address in Genoa, and the
Filter was made ready for sea. Steam
had been kept up and her coal account
would compare favorably with that of an
ocean liner. Philippe was GREATNESS
with JOY when he was paid in advance
for another month at the hotel. on the
assumption that the party might be
moved to return at any moment. The
little town was gay at parting and Brew
ster and his guests were given royal
farewell,
At Genoa the mail had accumulated and
cusion of everything else. Brewster was
somewhat crestfallen to learn that the
lady Of the villa haughtily refused his
princely offer. He won the life-long de-
votion of his courier by promptly tncreaS-
ing 1t to one hundred thousand francs.
When this too met with rejection there
was a pause and a serious consultation
between the two.
"Bertier," exclaimed Brewster, Il must
have the thing now. What's to be done?
You've got to help me out"
But the Courier, prodigal as he was Of
gestures, had no words which seemed per-
tinent
There must be some way of getting at
this Marquise," Monty continued, reHec-
lively. What are her tastes? Do you
know anything about herr"
Suddenly the face of the courier grew
bright II have It," he said, and then he
faltered. "But the expense, monsieur-it
would be heavy"
Perhaps we can meet 1t, suggested
Monty, quietly. What's the idea!
1t was explained, with plenty OF action
to make it clear. The courier had heard
in Paris that madame la Marquise had a
passion for automobiles. But with her In
adequate fortune and the many demands
upon 1t 1t was a weakness not readily
gratifed The machine she had used dur
ing the winter was by no means up-to-
date. Possibly If monsieur-yet IL was TOO
much-no villa
But Brewsters decision was made
''Wire the fellow he said, that l will
add to my last offer a French machine OF
the latest model and the best make. Say,
too, that L would like immediate possess
sion.'
He secured 1t, and the crowd was trans
ferred at once to fairyland. There were
protests, of course, but these Brewster
had grown to expect, and he was learning
to carry things with a high hand. The
travellers had been preceded by Berter
and the greeting they received from the
steward of the estate and his innumer-
able assistants was very Italian and full
of color. A break in their monotony was
welcome.
The loveliness of the villa and its
grounds. which sloped down to the gentle
lake, silenced criticism. For time 1t was
supremely satisfying to do nothing. Pet
tingill wandered about as though he could
not believe it was real.s He was lost in a
kind of atmosphere of ecstacy. To the
others, who took 1t more calmly. it was
still sort of paradise. Those who were