The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1904-07-29
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Sir Jasper's Adventure.

Sir Jasper'S AdVenture'
Sir Jasper Peters was the fortunate
son of a man who had made a large
fortune in trade, and who had then
devoted himself to one of the great po-
litical parties with so much logged
ness that he had been rewarded by a
baronetcy without ever having had to
expose the defects Of his early educa-
tion by making long speech in the
House.
Whatever his party did was right;
that was his motto, and he had lived
up to it with sublime simplicity
which had brought its inevitable re-
ward.
The consequence was that his only
son was able to give up any active
share in the business, and to play at
being a country gentleman of patri-
archal descent, while his wife could
assume the airs of Lady Bountiful
on the one hand, and outshine all the
great ladies of the neighborhood by
her diamonds, on the other.
Peter court, the country seat of the
distinguished pair, was, Of course, en-
old place where many generations of
ancestors-of somebody else-had lived
their little day.
1t was large, rambling, two, ,stored
ed building. dating from some far
away period, and altered in the cas-
tellated style in the early years OF
Victoria's reign.
Beautifully situated in the southern
part of the county of Dorsetshire, it
was little too far away from London
to be quite to the taste of Lady Pc
ters, who was ambitious of playing a
great part in society, and who would
often run up to town for a few days
at time, while her husband was en-
joying his digni fed seclusion within
the well-wooded grounds and park OF
Peterscourt.
1t was on one of these occasions,
when the baronet was sitting in soil
tary state in his great library after
dinner, his little electric lamp on the
table behind him, and pile of litera-
ture suitable to country gentleman
by his side, that he was disturbed in
his leisurely persual of his paper by
the sound of a footstep on the gravel
outside.
He had scarcely raised his head
when, to his surprise and alarm, a
man, in the unmistakable dress of u
convict. painting, breathless, with
starting eyes and hanging jaw, leaped
upon the window ledge from outside
and then fell, exhausted, upon the car
pet.
"By Jove!' cried Sir Jasper, as he
sprang up and made for the bell.
But the man was too quick for
him.
Painting still, indeed, but recovering g
himself sufficiently to stagger 10 his
feet and across the floor, the unwel-
come visitor threw himself upon the
terror struck baronet, and STOPPING at
the same moment for the poker, which
he was near enough to reach, he growl.
ed out between his set teeth a threat
to edo for that unhappy gentleman
if he 50 much as uttered call for
help.
Sir Jasper gurgled out a promise
to refrain which he did not meant to
keep, and the man thereupon let him
down again into the armchair from
which he had arisen, and suddenly al
tered his threatening tone for one OF
ahject entreaty.
"Look ere, gov'nor,' said he, in a
thick, hoarse whisper, mcistening bis
mouth as he spoke, still standing near
and holding the poker in his hand, but
no longer menacing his unwilling host
81 don't want for to do yer no arm.
I'm not so bad as what you'd think
for to look at the dress I've got on.
| "You're c-c-convict!" stammer.