The Falls City tribune., 1906-12-28
CHAPTER |.


Ii all depends upon the manner OF
your entrance to the Castle of Adven-
ture. One does not have 70 scale its
beetling parapets or assault its scarps
and frowning bastons: neither is one
obliged to force with clamor and blar-
ing trumpets and gittering gorgets
the drawbridge and portcullis. Rather
the pathway lies through one of those
many little doors, obscure, yet easily
accessible, latchless and boltless, to
which the average person gives no
particular attention, and yet which in
yariably lead 10 the very heart of this
Castle Delectablc. The whimsical
chatelaine of this enchanted keep is
shy goddess. Circumspection has no
part in her affairs, nor caution, nor
practically; nor does her eye linger
upon the dullard and the blunderer.
Imagination solves the secret riddle,
and wit is the guide that leads the
seeker through the winding, bewilder-
ing labyrinths
And there is something in being
idle, too,
If | had not gone idly into Mou-
Quin's cellar for dinner that night, L,
should have missed the most engaging
adventure that ever fell to my lot. 1t
is second nature for me to be guided
by impulse rather than by reason;
reason is always so square-toed and
impulse is always so alluring. You
will find that nearly all the great
captains were and are creatures of
impulse; nothing brilliant is ever
achieved by calculation. All this is
not to say that l am a great captain
il is offered only to inform YOU that
! am often impulsive.
A Times, four days old and if 1
hadn't fallen upon ii to pass the
twenty-odd minutes between my order
and the service of it, l shouldn't have
made the acquaintance of the police
in that pretty little suburb over in
New Jersey; nor should | have met
the enchanting Blue Domino; nor.
would fate have written Kismet. The
claivoyant never has any fun in this
cycle; he has no surprises.
had been away from New York
for several weeks and had returned
only that afternoon. Thus. the spirit
of unrest acquired by travel was still
upon me. 1t was nearly holiday week,
and those congenal friends | might
have called upon, to while away the
evening, were either busily occupied
with shopping or were out of town;
and ! determined not to go to the club
and be bored by some Indifferent bill
lard player ! would dine quietly,
listen to some light music. and then
go to the thearer. | was searching
the theatrical amusements, when the
society colrmn indifferentiy attacked
my eye. | do not know why it is, but
] have a wholesome contempt for the
so,called society columns of the daily
newspaper in New York. Mayhap, it
is because | do not belong
l read this paragraph with shrug
and that one with a smirk. | was in
no manner surprised at the announce
ment that Miss High-Culture was go
ing to wed the Duke Of ImpCcune;
had always been certain this girl
would do some such fool thing. That
Mrs. Hyphcn-Bonds was giving fare
well dinner at the Waldorf, prior to
her departure to Europe, interested
my curiosity not in the least degree.
1t would be all the same to me if she
never came back. None of the wishy-
washy tittle-tattle interested me, in
fact. There was only one little six
line paragraph that really caught me.
On Friday night (that is to say, the
night of my adventures in Blankshire) I,
the Hunt Club was to give a charity
masquerade dance. This grasped my
adventurous spirit by the throat and
refused to let go.
The atmosphere surrounding the
paragraph was spirituous with en-
chantment. There was genuine
novelty about this dance. Two packs
of playing cards had been sent out as
tickets; one pack to the ladies and
one 10 the gentlemen, Charming idea,
wasn't it? These cards were to be
shown at the door, together with ten
dollars, but were to be retained by
the recipients till two o'clock (supper
time), at which moment everybody
was to unmask and take his partner,
who held the corresponding card, in to
supper Its newness strongly appealed
to me. found myself reading the
paragraph over and over.
BY JOve, what an inspiration!
/ knew the Blankshire Hunt Club,
with it's colonial architecture, its great
ball room, it's quaint fireplaces, its
stables and sheds, and the fame of its
chef. 1t was one of those great coun-
try clubs that keep open house the
year round. 1t stood back from the
sea about four miles and was within
five miles of the village. There was
a fine course inland, a cross-country
going of not less than twenty miles,
shooting-boX, and excellent golf
links. In the winter it was cozy; in
the summer it was ideal.
I was intimately acquainted with the
clubs NJ. f. H., Teddy Hamilton. We