Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-09-14
CHAPTER XXI.
II ONTY'S situation was desper-
V ate. Only little more than
$1,000 had been spent on the

/
! Of annihilatng the roulette winnings
seemed to offer itself. Ills experience
, at Monte Carlo did not encoura &c him
to try again. and Peggy's attitude to-
ward the place was distinctly antago.
! nistic. 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. il il would only
loosen bit and stay looscned." Some.
thing must be done. he realized. to earn
his living. Perhaps the role Of the
princely prohigate would be easier in
Italy than anywhere else. lie studied
the outlook from every point of view,
but there were moments when II seem
cd hopeless Baedcker was provoking
~ barren of suggestions for extrava-
gance. and Monty grew impatient of the
books small economies. Noticing some
chapters on the Italian lakes. in an in
Spred moment he remembered that
Pettingill had once lost his heart to a
villa on the lake of Como. Instantly n
new act of the comedy presented itself
10 him. He sought on. Pettingill and
demanded description of his castle in
the air.
"Oh. it's wonder" exclaimed the
artist. And his eyes grew dreamy. 1T
shines out ut you with It's white ter
races and turrets like those fascinat-
Ing castles that MaXiield Parrish draws
for children. 1t is fairylnnd. You ex-
pect to wake and find it gone"
"Oh. drop that, Petty" said Brew
eter ''or it will make you poetica l.
, What | want TO know is who owns it
and is it likely to be occupied at this
season."
1T belongs to a certain marquse,
who is a widow with no children They
say she has horror Of the place for
some reason and has never been near
1t. 1t is kept rs though she were to
turn up the next day, but except for
the servants 1t is always deserted"
The very thing" declared Brewster.
Petty, we'll have house party"
You'd better not count on that. Mon
~. A man | know ran across the
place once and tried for year to buy
II. But the lady has ideas of her own"
"Wel!. if you wish to give him hint
or two about how to do things. watch
me. II 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 Pcttingll had even n
remote idea of the address of her agent.
Armed with these facts, he set out in
search Of a courier. and through Phi
uppe he secured Frenchman named
Bertier, who was guaranteed TO be sur
prisinglv ingenious in providing meth
DDS Of spending money. To him Brew
ster confded his scheme. and Berter
realized with rising enthusiasm that at
last be had secured client after his
own heart. He was able to complete
the address of the agent Of the mys-
FERROUS marquise. and an inquiry was
Immediately telegrarhed to him.
The agents reply woulG have been
d!scouraRing to an one but Brewster
1t stated that the owner had no inten
ton 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 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
bis principal. Delay was the one word
that Brewster did not understand. so
be 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 nm 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-
uent. The little town was gay at part
Ing, and Brewster and his guests were
given a royal farewell.
Al Genoa the mail had accumulated
and held the attention Of the yacht
10 the exclusion of everything else.
Brewster was somewhat crestfallen TO
learn that the lady Of the villa haugllti-
~ refused his princcly offer He won
the lifelong devotion. Of his courier by
promptly increasing 1t to 10000
francs. When this. too. met with re-
lection there was a pause as we'll as
, serious consultation between the
Two.
"Berticr." exclaimed Brewster, II
must have the thing now. What's to
se done? You've got to help me out"
But the courier, prodigal as he was
II gestures, had no words which SEEM
vi pertinent
There must be some way of getting
It this marquise," Monty continued re-
lectively. What are her tastes2 DO
Sou know anything about herr"
Suddenly the face of the courier
grew bright. II have It," he said, and
hen he faltered. But the expense,
0ons.eur-it would be heavy"
perhaps we can meet IT," suggested
Monty quietly. whats the iaaa?"
1t was explained. with plenty OF ac-
Non to make 1t clear. The courier had
Aeard in Florence that madame la
parquise had a passion for automo-
biles. But with her inadequate for
Mne and tho many demands upon it
i was a weakness not readily graft
led. The machiDc she had used dur
ing the winter was by no means up to
late. Possibly Il monsieur Yet it
MAS too much. No villa