Putnam patriot., 1910-05-20

] have never seen how thls paragon Of yours caa desi with rivai"
 e0b. competitor ia business.' laughed fhe countess. ''l shouldn't expect him te be generous in bust neaa.s
 eIn tbe instance ! bad in mind." snarely continued Sir HewIngtoa. twiriing his glasses slowly. he vas not dealing with business competitor ! l believe 1 said rival"
 You don't mean a--a"--
 "Exactly. 4 mau who stood in his way ia what I presume Mir. DeviBe chooses 10 regard as an affair of tbe heart7
 Why why. don't understand. dad dy! What nIaH can you possibly meanf'
 Now. uow. my dear! There you go. wanting 10 be i5ld things which you probably could not understand and Hhieh"--
 But cau. do Teli ne At once Was It Nicholas WaiiowayYs
 Ar Hesingfon waved bls glasses most impatieuiiy
 
 conception that Nicholas aud Mr. be vine should bo rivals n leYe,. No gniie 3 different person And what does Mir Deeiue d. when he meets bIm and learns lis ideHtityf seizes him fafclblY. ttrags him Into the near esi building and locks hlm up without law or license
 Father. can't believe such story Where did you hear sdeh n preposter ous taleT'
 sFrom Mir DeTine hlmseIfs
 But howl Where did all this oe curT'
 "Only this afternoon
 Since he WAS here7 But you hnve not been away. Then~then it WIS here on our grounds. Do you mean To say that Mir Deyine has some one locked up in one Of our buiidlngsT'
 Mir Iewington could only take ref suge behind his dignity.
 That is quite sufficient. my dear We will not discuss Mir. Devine and his peculiar doings any further. If you please. The subject is one upon which l do not care 10 dwell just now. must 10 To my desk Good night"
 IL Is hardly fair though. to specu- late as te the innermost thoughts of thc Countess Necchi at that trying moment We know that she was rath- CT nice young woman. very good to look at and more or less entertaining as n companion, Suppose she did mar TOW her eyelds and bite to riper redness her gracefully curved under lip We may even admit that ste crushed the meshes Of fhe silver girdle untll there were red marks on her white palm. She was no pailId com. pendulum of All ihe feminine virtues She was young person If high splr its and ready passions And she could not wholly forget those stories about Ia iielle Savolc and ttc dinner to chorus gifis Throwing a lace affair over her head and shoulders. she slip. ped quietly ent through the big en trance hall To the wide vernnda and down one of the paths leading toward the sound. II was after x o'clock and quite dark as the old moon was now rising late. but she knew exactly where she was going.
 She saw something which made her lean forward and strain her eyes wit. intent interest From one of the smallest buildings. low stone strue ture. which she judged must be the icehouse. issued a ehecrs beam ot light. Some one was standing In the half opened doorway. Only for an in stant did thls spectacle remain visible Then the door was shut with Il bang. and ihe yellow ray disappeared. moment later the countess thought she could distinguish man making his way across the lawn toward the servants wing of the house.
 Now. all this seemed very singular 10 the countess Necchl So, keeping the figure of the man in sight. she he gan to walk parallel with him in order to see where he Mas geiag. Mheh She saw he was maklns directly fee the side deo. of the south wing she grasp cd her skirts firmly aud started te run. and ste overlook him
 ~ hy. 1imniinS ls II you -
 Obviously it Was. on one hand he balanced Il tray. m tue other he ear ried formidable looking oiah,
 eIsor', miss. what start you gave mel said he
 Did IT I'm sure | didn't Intend te frighten you. Timmsns. But saw l seu coming. and there was sotaethins | wanted to ask you What is Il you have there. Timminsl eWhy. miss. I've been a-giNtn the puppies thesr supper "yes. know Rut l thought you asually carried their food in pali l What have they had topighty Aud l before Timaias could protest she had i afte,i the linen cover which had been | thrown over the tray. variety ef i dishes stood revealed
 sNhy. Ttmmlns. surely the coach 1 puppies do not eat French chopsF 1 aa was ready witted. was rimmins
 aIor', no. miss. not as seneral l thiux. Rus this Is special eceasion. you know. very particular oecasicn, miss.
 .lnSiesas And what very particular special occasion might this ee te call for Frearh chorsf' 1 why. aoa1 you remember-f four months ago ionlghts Course it's hlt l of fooasshnsss. but Mrs Iimmins would have il that way. Puppies as nlrthdays.' says she. just the same =
 Hut puppies dee't eat baked retas toes. even on birthday anniversaries. do they. Timnalnsf"