The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1908-03-04

SEVEN
THE days Of the house party Al

fresh relay or guests was 10
\ replace them on Monday, and
90 they were making the most of the
waning week on lawn and marsh, in
covert and blind, or motoring madly
over the state or riding in parties to
Vermillion Light. Tennis and lawn
bowls came into fashion. Even water
polo and squash alternated on days too
raw for more rugged sport.
And during all these days Beverly
Plank appeared with unfagging per
sistence and assiduity, until his ia
miliar. big. round head and patient,
delft blue. Dutch eyes became mat
ter Of course at Shotover, indoors and
out.
The accomplished establishment of
Beverly Plank was probably due as
much to his own obstinate and good
tempered persistence as to Mrs. Morti-
mer. He was a Harvard graduate
there are all kinds of them-enormous-
ly wealthy. and, though he had no par
ticular personal tastes to crafty, he
was willing and able to crafty the
tastes of others. He did whatever
anybody else did and did 1t well
enough to be amusing, and as lack Of
intellectual development never barred
anybody from any section Of the fash
ionable world it seemed fair to infer
TO sooner or later.
Meanwhile Mrs Mortimer led him
about with the confidence that was
her perquisite, and the chances were
that in due time he would have house
parties of his own at Black Fells-nOt
the kind be had wisely denied himself
the pleasure of giving, with such
neighbors as the Ferralls to observe,
but the sort he desired. However,
there were many things to be accom-
plished for him and by him before he
could expect to use his great yacht
and his estates and his shooting boxes
and the vast granite mansion recently
completed and facing Central park
just north of the new palaces built on
the edges of the outer desert where
Fifth avenue fringes the hundreds.
Meanwhile he had become in a meas
ure domesticated at Shotover, and
Shotover people gradually came to
ride. drive and motor over the Fells.
which was a good beginning, though
not necessarily promise for anything
definite i'm the future.
Mortimer. riding a huge chestnut
he could still wedge himself into Il
A., saddle-had now made 1t regular
practice to affect the jocular early
bird squire and drag Plank out of bed
Plank's acquaintance among people
who knew Mortimer being limited, he
had no means of determining the lat
ters social value except through hear
say and a toadying newspaper or two.
Therefore he was not yet aware Of
Mortimer's perennial need Of money.
and when Mortimer laughingly allud-
ed to his poverty Plank accepted the
proposition i'm a purely cOmparati
sense and laughed too, his thrifty
Dutch soul untroubled by misglvings.
Meanwhile Mortimer had come.
among other things. on information;
how much. and precisely Of what ma
ture, he was almost too much ashamed
TO admit definitely. even to himself
There was much about Plank that
was unaffected. genuine. even simple,
In one sense. He cared for people for
their own salles. and only stubborn ad-
herence TO a logged ambition had en-
abled him to dispense with the society
Of many people he might easily have
cultivated and likel-people nearer his
own sort, and that. perhaps. was the
reason he so readily liked Mortimer.
whose coarse fiber soon wore through
the polish when rubbed against by
closer. tiaer fiber. And Plank liked
him aside from gratitude. and they got
on famously on the basis Of such mu-
tual recognition. Then. one day. very
suddenly. Mortimer stumbled on some,
thing valuabe-a thread. mere clew.
% astonishing that for an instant 1t alb
soutely upset all his unadmltted the.
cries and calculations.
1t was nOthing-a vague word or two
"a forced laugh-and the scared ST
lence Of this man Plank, who had blum
dered on the verge of a confidence to
49,