The Elbert County tribune., 1908-08-27
CHAPTER |.


never quite knew how 1t was that
l took Vincent with me, except that we
both needed holiday ut the same
time and the same kind of holiday ap-
pealed to us both. vincent's whole
name and title is Lord Wilfred Vim
cent for he is the younger son of the
old duke of Totten. Men of his own
age call him Freddy" but 1 call him
Vincent or Wilfred. becausc | con-
slider curtailed appellations undignified.
Vincent is an artist-that Is. he calls
himself one: his friends call him "a
dabbler In art" He doesn't really go
In for 1t seriously. you know. but he
did little sketches of cows and that
sort of thing rather well. l fancy. So
we agreed that our aim was to find
little old village, far away from
London. and get rooms in some old
farmhouse. My idea was that Vincent
would go out and paint the cows while
would lie in the hammock and the
old lady would bring me buttermilk.
Wilfred had an idea that he, too,
would like to spend a good bit of his
time In hammock but with this DIFF
ference, that the old lady's beautiful
daughter was to bring him lemonade.
But I pointed out to him that the
chief reason that ! was running away
from town was to get rid of the
debutantes. and therefore he'd have to
leave the fair ones out of our air castle.
Our plan was just to bask in Nature,
and we had six weeks to bask in. The
foreign office doesn't seem to require
much of Wilfred's time and he doesn't
do anything else except "dabble." OF
course, being younger son, he hasn't
a shilling of his own, but the old duke
makes him comfortable allowance.
because he dotes on Wilfred as much
n he detests his eldest son, Edmund.
tho heir to the dukedom. So. when
Vincent complained of feeling "all run
down" 1t was easy for him to get six
weeks off, although, as I tell him. he
has been getting six weeks off" ever
since he left Oxford. two years ago.
He isn't "a yet.
Nevertheless, Vincent is one of the
best little chaps In the world. don't
mean that he is understood, for he
stands six feet two In his stockings;
but is SO good natured SO jolly and
amiable and straight-well-jus natur.
ally NICE don't you know-that every
body is "just crazy about him." as the
American girl met last summer used
to say, and all the men, young and old
alike. have gotten to calling him "lit-
tie Vincent" or Freddy" from his
Eton days, Just by way of endearment
or course, I'm much older than Vim
cent-to be more exact, there's mat
ter of ~ or 10 years between us-but
I must say can't help being drawn
to him. I've known him ever since he
was born, and then, you see. we're
both Oxford men, belong to the same
clubs. and, of course, Terhune is as
old name as Vincent, even If 1t hasn't
any handle to 1t, and. II l do say It.,
there's never dinner given in Lon
don town that Archibald Terhune is
not invited. But, somehow. in this. my
tenth season, became utterly weary
Of the limelight, the dinners, the balls,
the matchmaking mammas (for am
an "eligible bachelorD, and, most of
all. the debutantes, with their edu-
Gated smiles and cultivated stares.
felt that I must flee from London to
escape, and thus, as Vincent is al
ways ready for holiday. we found
ourselves one fine day well started on
our jurney. We had taken the noon
train for Kingsbridge. and changing
there were to go on to Cuppstone
which an artist friend of vincent's had
recommended to us as just the place
We. were looking for.
Jolly lark this" said Vincent, after
we. had been some time on our way;
''only hope Cuppstone and Damers
farm will be what we want. Graham
cracked it up to the skies"
That's the trouble" i complained;
when a things talked up too much
It's sure to disappoint one"
wait till you see 1t, old pessimist!"
said Vincent, with cheerful grin.
Its got cows which provide butter
milk and art, and I've got some lem
ons in my grip for the lemonade. The
only thing that troubles me is the
1andlady's beautiful daughter. I'm
afraid she'll be minus quantity"
Then he put his feet across on my
side OF the carriage and lit a nasty.
smelly, old pipe. That's the worst
of Vincent; he's 80 young he doesn't
think how thing like that may get
on ones nerves. But wouldn't hurt
his feelings for anything, and so had
70 let him smoke.
About three o'clock in the after
noon. when we had left the comfort
able carriages OF the main line for
the ramshackle ones Of the branch