The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-08
Che Schemes 81 gcIcneI GIay


marked peculiarities that, like the
model child, he never speaks till he's
spoken to-never begins an acquaint-
ance. He always waits till we make
the first advance; he doesn't go out
of his way to cheat us; he loiters about
till we ask him to do it"
Seymour" my brother-in-law re-
sponded, in a severe tone, there you
are, now, doing the very thing
warned you not to do! You're sue
cumbing to a preconception. Avoid
fixed probabilities. The probability is
this man is Colonel Clay. Strangers
are generally scarce at Seldom. If he
| isn't Colonel Clay, what's he here for,
I'd like to know? What money is
! there to be made here, in any other
way? I shall inquire about him.
We dropped in at the 'Cromarty
arms" and asked good Mrs. McLach-
Ian if she could tell US anything about
the gentlemanly stranger. Mrs. Nc
I4achlan replied that he was from Lon
don. she believed. a pleasant gentle
man enough; and he had his wife with
him.
"Ha! Young? Pretty?" Charles in
quired, with a speaking glance at me.
"Weel, Sir Charles, she'll no be ex-
actly what you'd be eating a bonny
lass" Mrs. McLachlan replied; but
she's a guild body for a that, an a
fine Draw woman"
Just what 1 should expect" Charles
murmured. He varies the program.
The fellow has tried White Heather
as the parsons wife, and as Madame
Picardet, and as squirting little Mrs.
Granton. and as Medhurst's accom-
plice; and now he has almost exhaust
ed the possibilities of a disguise for a
really young and pretty woman; so he's
playing her off at last as the ripSr
preduct-a handsome matron. Clever,
extremely clever; but-we begin to see
through him." And he chuckled to
himself quietly.
Next day. on the hillside, we came
upon our stranger again, occupied as
before in peeriEg into the rocks, and
sounding them with a hammer. Charles
nudged me and whispered, Il have it
this time. He's posing as q geologist"
l took a good look at the man. By
now, of course, We had some expert
ence of Colonel Clay in his various dis
guises; and I could observe that while
the nose, the hair and the beard were
varied. the eyes and the build remained
the same as ever.
He was a trihe stouter. OF course.
being got UP as a man of between 40
and so; and his forehead was lined in
q way which a less consummate artist
than Colonel Clay could easily nave
initiated. But I felt we had al least
some grounds for our identification: it
would not do to dismiss the suggestion
of ClayhOod at once as a fight of
fancy.
His wife was sitting near. upon a
bare boss of rock, reading a volume Of
poems. Capital variant, that, a vol
ume of poems Exactly suited the Sc
lected type of cultivated family
white Heather" and Mrs. Granton
never used to read poems. But that
was characteristic of all Colonel Clay's
representations, and Mrs. Clay, too
for / suppose I must call her so. They
were not mere outer disguisers; they
were finished pieces of dramatic study.
Those two people were an actor and
actress. as well as a pair of rogues;
and in both their roles they were sim
ply iLimitable.
AS a rule. Charles is by no means pO-
lite to casual trespassers on the Seldom
estate; they got shore shift and a
summary election. But on this occa-
sion he had a reason for being cour-
teOus, and he approached the lady with
a bow of recognition.
Lovely day" he said, isn't it? Such
belts on the sea, and the heather
Siil0ilS Sweet IOu are SNOpptilS dL iilt
inn, l fancy?"
Yes" the lady answered, looking up
at him with a charming smile. CT
know that smile" Charles whispered
to me. Il have succumbed to II too
often.') We're stopping at the inn,
and my husband is doing a little geolo-
gy on the hill here. 1 hope. Sir Charles
Vandrift won't come and catch us
He's so down upon trespassers. They
tell us at the inn he's a regular tar
tar"
C'Saucy mipx as ever" Charles muir
INJURED to me: she said it on pur-
pose.'O NO, my dear madam" he con-
tinued. aloud; you have been quite
misinfcrmed. l am Sir Charles Van
drift; and l am not a tartar. If your
husband is a man of science I respect
and admire him. 1t is geology that has
made me what 1 am today" And he
drew himself up proudly. I'VE owe to
it the present development of South
Africa mining"
The lady blushed as one seldom sees
a mature woman blush-but exactly as
l had seem Nine Picardet and White
Heather"
ION, I'm so sorry" she said, in a
confused way that recalled Mrs. Gran