The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-10-13

vi unlllllllatlnS the roulette winnings
seemed to offer itself. His experience
at Monte Carlo did not encourage him
to try again, and Peggy's attitude to.
ward the place was distinctly antago-
nistic. The Riviera presenting no new
opportunities for extravaganza, 1t be-
came necessary to seek other worlds.
Il never before understood the real
meaning Of the phrase tight money, f"
thought Monty. Lord, if it would only
loosen bit and stay looscnedw Some.
thlnS must be done, he realized, to earn
his living. Perhaps the role of the
princely proiiigate would be easier In
Italy than anywhere else He studied
the outlook from every point of view.
but there were moments when it seem.
ed hopeless. Baedeker was provoking.
ly barren Of suggestions for extraya.
gance. and Monty grew impatient of the
Dook small economies. Noticing some
chapters on the Italian lakes, in an in
| spired moment he remembered that
iettlngill had once lost his heart to q
| villa on the lake Of Como. Instantly a
new act of the comedy presented itself
to him. He sought out Pettingill and
demanded description of his castle in
| the air.
| "Oh, it's WONDER" exclaimed the
| artist. And his eyes grew dreamy. "It
shlnes out at you with it's white ter
races and turrets like those fnscinnt.
| ing castles that MaXfield Parrish draws
| 1or children. 1t is fairyland. You OK.
pect to wake and find it gone" %
"Oh, drop that, Petty" said Brew.
| ster, cor it will make YOU poeticoI
What I want to know is who owns it
| and is it likely to be occupied at This
Season?"
1T belongs to certain marUuise,
who is a widow with no children. They
say she has horror of the place for
some reason and has never been near
IL. 1t Is Kept as though she were to
turn UP the next day, but except for
the servants it is always deserted"
The very thing" declared Brewster.
Petty, We'll have a house party"
You'd better not count Oh that, Mon.
ty. a man I know ran across the
place once and tried for year to buy
it. But the lady has IDEAS Of her own.",
well, If You wish to give him a hint
Oh two about how to do things, watchl
me. If you don't spend two weeks In,
ifd san for home" ,'--- :
He secured the name of the owner
and found that Pettingill had even a
remote idea of the address of her agent.
Armed with these facts, he set out in
search Of courier, and through Phi
lippe he secured Frenchman named
Bertier, who was guaranteed to be sur
prisingly ingenious in providing meth
ods of spending money. To him Brew
stcr confided 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 mya-
terlous marquise. and an inquiry was
Immediately telegraphed to him.
The agents reply would have been
discouraging to any one but Brewster
1t stated that the owner had no inten-
ton Of leasing her forsaken castle for
any period whatever. The profigate
learned that fair price for an estate
Of that kind for month was 10000
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
breathless 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 mo-
ment. The little town was gay at part
ing, and Brewster and his guests were
| given royal farewell.
At Genoa the mail had accumulated
and held the attention of the yacht
to the exclusion of everything else.
Brewster was somewhat crestfallen to
learn that the lady Of the villa haughtl-
ly refused his princely offer. He won
the lifelong devotion Of his courier by
| promptly increasing 1t to 100000
| francs. When this, too, met with re-
| lection there was pause as well as
serious consultation between the
| two.
"Bertier," exclaimed Brewster, II
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 seem
| ed pertinent
I There must be some way of getting
at this marqulse," Monty continued re-
flectively. 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 It," suggested
Monty quietly. whats the idea?"
1t was explained, with plenty of &C.