The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1909-07-09

\ uD0u this weird OF Ms Own urau , e-N--
which now rose towering 10 confront
MIN menacing him with the armed
,oInr Of the same shield behind which
be himself had so long found shelter
the law.
Tha closing Of the courts enforced
armed truces along certain lines OF
Plank's battle front. the Adjournment
n the legislature emptied Albany.
Once il was rumored that Plank had
PASSED an entire morning with the
governor of the greatest state In the
i Union and that the conference was 10
be repeated. swarm OF newspaper
men settled about the governors sum
mer cottage at Saratoga, but they
learned nothing, nor could they md
a trace of Plank's tracks In the uOu-
len trails of the great spa.
Besides, the racing had begun. Les
nond Burbank. Sneed and others OF
the gilded guild had opened new ciuo-
houses. There was plenty OF copy TOT
newspaper men without the daily spec
Native paragraph devoted to the DO
nRs of Beverly Plank. Some scandal
4
too-but newspapers never tonch that'
And after all il was nobody's affair
that Leroy Mortimer drove large
yellow and black touring car, ne"
model all over Saratoga county. FER
hans the similarity Of machines gave
rise to the rumor of Plank's presence
nerhaps not. because the car was OFTEN
driven by a tall, slender girl with dark
ayes and hair, and nobody ever sa"
that sort of pretty woman In Plank 8
,ar or saw Leroy Mortimer for many
aays without a companion OF that spe-
sies.
Norttmer's health was excellent.
The races had not proved remunera-
i've. however. and his new motor car
was horribly expensive. So was Ly-
ha. And he began to he SERIOUSLY
AFRAID that by the end or August ne
would be obliged to apply to Quarter
once more for some slight temporary
j token Of that gentleman's good VIII.
He told Lydia this, and she seemed TO
agree with him. This pleased MIN.
she had not pleased him very mucn
recently. For one thing she was be-
coming too friendly with some OF his
friends, Desmond in particular.
Plank, 1t was known, had opened MS
Kreat house at Black Fells. His serv-
ants, gamekeepers, were there, MS
stables, kennels, greenhouses, model
stock farm-all had been put in I'M
maculate condition pending the advent
of the master. But Plank had not
appeared. His new seagoing steam
yacht Siwanoa still lay in the East riV-
r, and at rare intervals a significant
thinner of bunting disclosed the own
FRS presence aboard for an hour or
Two.
| The Ferralls were at ShotoVer with
their first installment of guests. Syl-
via was there, Quarter expected, be-
cause Kemp Ferrall's break with him
was not ID social one, and Grace's real
affection for Sylvia blinded neither
her nor her husband to the material
and social Importance of the intimacy.
Hward was not invited. Neither had
an invitation to him been even dis
eussed in view of what Grace was
aware of AID what everybody knew
concerning the implacable relations ex-
listing between him personally and
Howard Quarter
Bridge. yachting and motoring were
the August sports. The shooting set
had not yet arrived, of course-in fact,
there was still another relay expected
before the season opened and brought
the shooting coterie for the first two
weeks. But Sylvia was expected to
last through and hold over with BRIEF
lnterlude for a weeks end at Lenox.
30 was Quarter. and Grace. always
animated by a lively but harmless
malice, hoped to heaven that Plank
might arrive before Quarter left.
"Oh, to see them together in small
ROOM" she sighed ecstatically In Syl'
Was ear I'D certainly poke them up
If they only turned around sulkily in
the corners of the cage and evinced a
desire to lie down"
What a mischief maker you are!
said Sylvia listlessly.
1leIe Ill IuSI, A1IIC W AASSA
est her that summer at Shotover
House. Her interest, too, in people
had seemingly been extinguished.
Once or twice she did inquire as to
Marions whereabouts and learned that
Miss Page was fishing in Minnesota
somewhere, but would return to Shot
over when the shooting opened Some
body, Captain Voucher perhaps, men
toned to somebody in her hearing that
Siward was still In New York.
The hot month dragged on. Quar-
rier came. Agatha Caithness arrived a
few days later-scheme of the Fer
rails involving Alderdene-but the 81
wanoa did not come, and Plank re
NAMED inv isible. Leila Mortimer ar
rived from Swans Harbor toward the
middle of the month, offering no i'll
formation as to the whereabouts Of
what Major Belwether delicately des-
ignated as her Legitimate" But ev-
erybody knew he was at last to be
crossed off and struck clean out, and