Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-07-04
The British INVADER.

BY HOWARD ELoiN

with my resignation. and the whole af-
fair is dead except that a detective Is
secretly chasing the ~swindler."
AS / was about to ask a question Lord
Colewyn entered the dining room. and
at the sight of him l laughed A mo-
ment later l began to be surprised thai
he should have appealed to me in thai
way. He was a big. blond Englishman.
naturally rather good loOking-indeed,
he might be called handsome. But he
was the absolute ideal of self compla-
cency. In costume, carriage, express
sion, everything to the detail.
he was entirely beyond criticism as the
u pfesentative-ef- OF character.
The picture of self satisfaction was so
perfect that ii even transcribed nature,
and my laugh was a tribute such as l
might have given to u comedian who
had appeared upon the stage in a make
up that surpassed all possible anticipa-
lion.
The noble lord at breakfast was UGH
A study that l forgot the trifling matter
of $1,000 which my friend had men,
toned and thought only of h re-
ilnement of manner which enabled
Cclewyn to preserve a languid indiffer-
nee while slowing away a meal that
would have filled az alligator. His
valet lninistered 70 ms wants with well
trained Difference and the walters with
100 sc "AtAA " a
his magnificent appetite.
Tom and l spent the forenoon lazily.
lunched at his fathers house and about
. O'Clock rode all across the city and a
little way beyond its verge to the Bran
don place. Description had not pre-
pared me for the beauty of this estate
nor for the remarkable effect of old
world cNclusiveness which it produced.
The great house upon the crest OF the
vast green wave of lawn dominated the
scene and the windows stared haughti-
ly ut the public highway which pre-
sun,ed to pass within a thousand yards
Of 1T. Gigantic clms flung down broad
masses OF shadow upon the green, and
ii is painful to speak Of the number
OF the vulgar who were enjoying these
refugees from the burning heat of the
day. The corninon people are always
most dis,ressingly plobean when ac-
co'nIanisd by thei: children, and
judged that these could not have left
any at home.
Upon Il veranda at the rear of the
house we found Mrs. Brandon and her
daughter drinking tea with a select few
cull"a from Stanchiield's society. Mrs.
Brandon was n of those annoying
women who make up for a full face
vicw With no thought of any other.
tance n in just the right light she
was a fair u creature of less than
thirty summers. Seen in profile. she
was a mask. In figure she was lean
n eager as a greyhound. and the
rlncidity of dcmeanor which she af-
fected was as easily detached from her
real nature by an observing eye as
was the film of rouge from her face.
Her daughter was an amazingly pref
ty girl. healthy II natural. but OBJ
viously too young for her years. A
glance at her convinced me that she
had NOT ~ 4 N~l - -
mothers behest or because Of any
sinful craving for a title, but merely
because he had the good fortune to
be idealiZed in her childish imagina-
ton. l would have given $1,000. con-
sidering 1t an excellent literary invest
ment, to u an accurate knowledge of
what Lord COlewyn seemed to be when
viewed in the enchanted mists Of this
schoolgirls dreams. At 20 or a little la
ter she would he IS sensible as most
young women. and then she would see
him at the very best as a hollow and
conceited donkey: at the worst. as a
selfish and mercenary cad. The thought
made me lools at Mrs. Brandon in
wrath. She happened to be standing
so that Il strong light poured over her
shoulder, and l saw the rouge upon
her cheek as IL 1t had been a great
smear of blood.
AT this the appearance of
Lord Colewyn's carriage reduced Tom
and myself to a state Of invisibility:
indeed. the miracle went so far that
our feet made no audible sound upon
the floor of the veranda as we hur-
riedly left that place.
In a grove beyond the house we found
Mr.. Brandon. a picturesque figure, tall and
active. He was clad in a rough gray suit,
and an old straw hat was tilted back upon
his head. revealing his wavy white hair,
abundant as in youth. His face was
smooth and ruddy. and the hand he ave
me was steady and strong. He was clear
ly a cultivated man, and thnrs was some.
thing in his manner which suggested the
splendid democracy Of a eoilege-as It used
20 be. before 1t was the teshiol to r1dA To