The Jasper news., 1907-01-24
cHAPTER I

ture. One does not have TO scale It's
beetling parapets or assault Its scarps
and frowning Dastions; neither is one
obliged to force with clamor and blar-
ing trumpets and glittering gorgets
the drawbridSe 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.
variably lead to the very heart Of this
Castle Detachable. The whimsical
chatelaine Of this enchanted keep Ia
a 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. n
And there is something in being
Idle, too!
If l had not gone Idly into Mou-
quin's cellar for dinner that night,
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 am great. captain;
1t is offered only to inform you that
] am often impulsive.
A Times. four days old: and II ]
+ hadn't fallen upon 1t to pass the
-twenty-odd minutes between my order
and the service of 1t, 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
clairvoyant never has any fun in this
cycle; he has no surprises.
i 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 congenial friends / might
have called upon, to while away the
evening. were either busily occupied
with shopping or were out OF town;
and I determined not to go to the club
and be bored by some Indifferent bill
Hard player. would dine quietly,
listen to some light music, and then
go to the theater. l was searching
the theatrical amusements, when the
society column indifferently attacked
my eye. do not know why 1t is, but
l have a wholesome contempt for the
so-ealled society columns of the daily
newspaper in New York. Mayhap. it
is because do not belong.
! read this paragraph with a shrug.
and that one with a smirk. was In
no manner surprised at the announce
ment that Miss agriculture was 60
ing to wed the Duke of Impecune; /
had always been certain this girl
would do some such fool thing. That
Mrs. Hyphen-B 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 wish..,-
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 Blankshirel,
the Hunt Club was to give charity
masquerade dance This grasped my
adventurous spirit by the throat and
refused to let go.
The atmosphere surrounding the
: paragraph was spirltuous with en-
chantment. There was a genuine
novelty about this dance. Two packs
OF playing cards had been sent out as.
tickets; one pack to the ladies and
one to 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
rime), 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- j found myself reading the
paragraph over and over.
BY love. what an inspirationt
knew the Blankshire Hunt Club,
with its colonial architecture, its great
ball room, It's quaint fireplaces. its
etables and sheds, and the fame Of its.
chef. It WAS one Of those great coun-
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