The Lamar register., 1907-01-30
CHAPTER I
Xxx

your entrance to the Castle of Adven-
ture. One does not have to scale Its
beetling parapets or assault its scarps
and frowning bastions: neither Is one
Obliged to force with clamor and blair
Ing trumpets and glittering 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 sperson gives no
particular attention. and yet which in
variably lead to the very heart of this
Castle Delectable. 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 linser
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-
GUMS 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 l am a great captain:
1t is offered only to inform you that
l am often impulsive.
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.
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 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 theater. l was searching
the theatrical amusements, when the
society column indifferently attacked
my eye | do not know why 1t is, but
[ have wholesome contempt for the
so.called society columnc OF the daily
newspaper in New York. Mayhap, 1t
is because / do not belong.
| 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 60
ing to wed the Duke of Impecune;
had always been certain this girl
would do some such fool thing. That
Mrs. Hyphen- Bonds was giving fare
we'll 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 uttle-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),
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 to the gentlemen. Charming idea.
wasn't IL? 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 tsupper
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 love. what an inspiration!
knew the Blankshire Hunt Club,
with its colonial architecture, It's great
hall room. its quaint fireplaces, its
stabfes and Sheds and the fame OF It's
chef. It was one of those great coun-
try clubs that keep open house the
wear round. 1t stood back from the
about 1OuT InlieS ahu was
five miles of the village. There was
fine course inland. crosscountry
going of not less than twenty miles.
a shooting box, and excellent go.t
links. In the winter it was coy; IN
the summer it was ideal.
] was intimately acquainted with tne
clubs M. F. H.. Teddy Hamilton. we
had done the Paris-Berlin run in my
racing car the summer before. II
hadn't known him SO well, ! Nigh.
still nave been in durance vile. mex.
door to jail. or securely inside. l nad
frequently dined with him at the cur
during the summer, and he had onered
to put me up; but as l knew no on7
intimately but himself, explained tr''
futility of such action. Besides my
horse wasn't a hunter; and l was rio
ing him less and less. 1t is no pleas
IRE to go parking" along the pride