Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-06

tcF%5SSi bank OF rugged clouds, flooding with
txssksy light the dusty trees and dropping
plants. The faint shadows under the
house became suddenly intensified to an almost
impenetrable backness and the air, which had
been insuferably close all day, grew chill and
penetrating.
Carlton had been sitting motonless in the
angle of the veranda, staring with preoccupied
eyes across the wide sweep of turf The spen.
did building behind him and the far.stretching.
old-fashioned gardens beyond were his--a con.
crete epitome of recent good fortune. Before
many days they would be noisy with servants
and guests, and there would be less privacy than
in the London hotel he had just Quilted. The
clatter and lights of the city had wearied him,
and he had escaped both for the solitude of his
new home-empty save for the old housekeeper
and the gardener at the lodge.
From somewhere in the distance came the
shrek of passing train. 1t pierced the TRANQUIL
silence, and abruptly ended his reverie. He
stretched himself and stepped out into the moon
light 1t gave to his fine, clear-cut features an
almost marbe-like hardness of outline, accentuat-
ing the steadfastness and strength of the mouth
and the melancholy of the dark eyes,
For moment Carlton stood regarding his
possessions, and then passed into the dining room
wnere the moonlight gave ghostly vitality to the
trophies ranged on the walls He glanced ab
sently at the array of weapons and curios over
the fireplace and at the big chest which had
accompanied him that day from town. in which
the most valuable portion of his collection was
stored. The light penetrated in patches as far as
the hall, and Carlton paused, before closing the
door behind him, to admire the fantastic effect.
On every nde were evidences of his new wealth
The thick Oriental rugs, the heavy oak seats
any one OF them would have kept him for
month IN the old days. The clock that licked
monotonously In the corner represented more than
he could have scraped together in a wear. II was
all his, and the knowledge came near to oppressinp
him. pp- >Ns'-e
de closed his eyes. Before him rose the wide
plains and undulating hillocks of the veldt tbe
great silences and spaces of Africa, the sun and
the dust, and the clear, soul-lifting air Only the
ticking of the clock married the illusion that and
new grating sound, faint yet persistent
He opened them again, and the preoccunation
faded from his face. There was dull clink. as
OF small piece of metal falling on stone, and
then the sound was resumed. 1t came from the
direction of the door facing him.
carton could nc move for a moment Then
he stepped noiselessly across to where an old
army revolver hung upon the wall. From
drawer IN the hall stand he extracted three or
four cartridges, slipping them into the chambers
with deft fingers. His movements had the swift
ness and decision of a man accustomed to think
and act IN emergencies The Carlton of Hurlinq-
ham, of Clubland and now of West Hall, Surrey,
had not ftaced the Carlton of the Soudan, of the
Cape, a the African hinterland
With the revolver held in an easy grip. he
waited, knowing that the door had not vet been
fastened. that the latch was faulty and that the
time of his probation was therefore not likely to
be long. That he practically alone in the
house with every prospect of dealing singlehand-
ed with one or more burglars, gave him no uneasi-
ness-rather a slight exhlaration of shirt nleas.
antly reminiscent of bygone days Realizing that
the moonlight rendered him almost exposed he
slipped to within a couple of feet of the door,
dropped into convenient seat behind it. and
waited philosophically.
The situation was interesting but drauchty and
Tor that reason he would have preferred the COM
fort OF his own room. The clinking and fdret.
ing at the lock continued, and his CURIOSITY be-
came tinged with contempt for the inexperience
of the operator