The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-05-01

1t was OF such serious ma
\ ture as to cause him to dress hurried
ly and leave without waiting for his
breakfast. though Mrs. Renwyck fol
| lowed him TO the front veranda. beg
| gng him to wait for cup Of coffee.
"No: haven't time." he snapped as
he climbed into the waiting trap. go
along, Walters. Whoa! Wait a min
tie. BY George" he exclaimed, with
rown of annoyance. II forgot about
those jewelsw He fumbled in his
| pocketbook, produced n memorandum
and handed it to his wife.
| Julia" he said hurriedly, this is
the combination of the safe. Telephone
| to Michael, will you. and ask him to
| come over before he leaves for town?
| Get him to unlock the safe and bring
the diamonds with him to my Office.
! I'll put them in the safety deposit
vault. There-haven't time to explain
any more. My train is due in three
minutes. Goodby. Now, Walters. let
| Molly have her head"
| In a moment the trap had whirled
through the open gates, and Mrs. Rem
wyck, marveling at what could take
her lord away so suddenly. turned and
went into the house, where she ODE
diently telephoned her husbands mes
sage to her brother Michael.
| Breakfast was late that morning. as
two at least of the inmates of the
house showed unmistakable signs Of
loss Of sleep.
"How lovelyv' exclaimed Miss Har-
riet as she glanced through delicately
| tinted note, then turned to Richard.
"Such dear friend Of mine is coming
out this morning to stay over Sunday.
I know you will be charmed to meet
| her."
| Delighted, I'm sure" drawled Rich
] ard indolently.
"Who is it. Harriet?" Mrs. Renwyck
asked.
"Nellie Sempton."
Richards Incidence departed in
stantly. The name recalled several
things.
"Er-beg pardon" he questioned, "is
the lady rather tall and blond-ah-
| twenty-five or thereabout with a rip
ping figure"
"Why, yes!" cried Imogene delight
edly. do you know herT'
| "Well, no, not exactly" returned the
| smiling Texan. "She has-er-been
| pointed out to me-" He screwed in
his monocle and picked up a letter
from Lord Croylands mail which lay
| beside his plate. TIN awfully sorry
that l shan't be here when Miss Semp-
ton arrives, but find 1 shall have to
| go to New York this morning. Too
! bad, really"
"But you haven't even read your
| letters yet" chirruped Miss Imogene.
"Can you tell from the outside that
| it's some horrid businessW
| Richard nodded sadly and tapped
| formidable official envelope.
"Too true" he murmured. "It's
business and, as you aptly express 1t,
horrid.'
In one sense the Texan spoke the
| plain, unvarnished truth, for business
| of an unpleasant character called him
| in several directions. He had entire
| ly forgotten until the mention of Miss
| Symptoms name recalled it to him
| that he had smashed automobile on
his hands, not to mention a prospec-
| tive lawsuit from justly irate farm
| er. Then, too, it would be most awk-
ward to have the charming Miss Semp-
| ton extend her hand and say. with a
| most engaging smile: Glow do you
| do, Mr.. Peter Wilson? l knew you
were not chauffeur. How many 9th
err names do you happen to possess"
| Yes, "horrid business" called him away
| from Irvington at once and babe fair
to keep him away until Miss Sempton
| departed.
"Woolsey and l." he muttered to his
inward, disguised self, must seek Sc
clusion in some faroff. happier Cline"
Breakfast was scarcely over when
Mr. Corrigan was announced. He en-
tered with a CHEEKY good morning to
every one, then went with Mrs. Rem
wyck to the library. Miss Schermerly
strove with all her crafty wiles to
lure Lord Croyland away for a morn
ing walk and a chat on the superior
advantages of being a nobleman, but
the nobleman in question met guile
with guile and pleaded an excuse of
having to catch the next train. He
said he would walk to the station,
especially rs on foot he might dodge
Miss Sempton if she happened to come
earlier than expected, and started
across the lawn.
On the lawn he fingered in the hope
of seeing Miss Harriet once more, for
he did not wish to leave Irvington
without confessing his deception and
declaring himself her humble worship
er from the Lone Star State. He had
almost given up hope when he spied
her coming from the house toward
him. She, too, had been lodging diff
cuties in the path of a meeting with
him alone. And now as she tripped
across the grass he saw in her eyes a
light, on her cheeks color which
caused his heart to bound, while the
warm blood tingled through his veins.
Lord Croyland." she said. before
you go | want to thank you for what
you did for lmogene and me last
night. 1t was splendid of you to take
fbo l,Ior onIv