Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-04-27
\ LORD
4 HOMELAND
XIV.

y Hill Farm from the theater at
Bonnerstown for the very
good reason that Miss Moon,
having found one for Mr.. P. Gordon,
opened, read and out of sheer spite de-
stroyed it, with its several Enclosures.
The envelope was addressed in Bill
Vikings inappropriately beautiful
handwriting, and there was a short
note from him saying that he had
great pleasure in 1nclosing two letters
just arrived from England; also that
he sent his "undying love to Lille de
Isle"
One Of the English letters blazed to
the actress dazzled eyes with a gilded
I.oronet and began: my Own Darling
Vai-How can you v e forgive me for
not answering your poor, dear cable
gram? But of course I thought it was
from that horrible wretch Foxham. 1t
seems now he sold your ticket for the
Baltic and sailed for Australia. All
sorts Of reports came in about him d.
rectly after you must have sailed, and
I learn 10Y that eve before you left
James Marlborough suspected him be-
cause Of some forged check he'd heard
of-I'm really too confused and upset
to remember how or when or what.
But in any case it was most remiss of
James not to have instantly warned
you against the man. even on the
slightest suspicion"
This was only the beginning Of the
%coroneted letter. which had no para
graphs and very few Fluctuations.
Jealous still. Miss Moon was relieved
to see that the signature was Your
Adoring Mother" but she was at a
loss to understand illusions to Ouch
esses and other persons Of title. In
deed. it would have appeared to her
like a property" letter to be read on
the stage by an aristocratic hero of
melodrama had it no been for the post
Office order for $500. which it contain
ed. This she threw into the fire that
Gordon might not benefit by it.
The other letter inclosed had no cor
onet and was signed "Your affection.
ate cousin, Betty" At the end was a
postscript in a different hand, which
seemed somehow to suit the rather
dashing signature-"Jim."
This second letter was even more
difficult than the first for an uninitiat.
ed person to understand, and it irri.
tated Miss Moon to a high pitch of
nervousness.
1T was partly a joke and partly ear.
nest, but it had a good motive" wrote
Betty. 81 guessed the morning your
really very conceited letter about the
New York introductions came that jim
had something quaint up his sleeve
to spring upon you when you'd arrived
in America, but l didn't know what
TO tell the truth, Val, l was even more
Disguised than Jim by your cool way
Of assuming that you had only to show
yourself to pick and choose among all
the incest as well as richest girls.
should have loved to box your ears
land l said, of ourse we won't give
him any letters. and I'll tell him JUS
what we think Of him; then maybe
he won't co. But Jim said: Yes. we
will give him the letters. and he shall
go. We may find another way Of
teaching him a lesson, a way that will
do him good if he's worth being done
good to-
"That was all, and as Jim didn't re
fer to the subject again after we post
ed the letters of Introduction the con
versation slipped my mind. 1 didn'
think any more about it until weirt
things began to be copied into Londo1
papers from New York ones and you
mother wired Jim to ask what, If any
thing, could be done to punish Fox
ham. You see, she thought you were
on the Baltic.
Jim soothed all her worries, so Vol
needn't be anxious about her, as O.
course you would if you thought she't
been alarmed. When l saw para
graphs in the papers 1 talked to Jim
and it was only then that he told m,
what he'd done, how it was all hi
fault really, and he was very sorry
because everything had turned out {
lot worse for you than he'd eve,
dreamed Of wanting it to be. Fat,
took a hand in the game and played i
for all it was WORTH Jim said.
1T seems that Foxham, your man
asked Jim to cash a check signed b,
you one night not long ago. Don't 70,
remember when he and 1 were at Bat
tlemead and you came down for Sat
day to Monday? Jim suspected some
thing wrong, but wouldn't speak t.
you till he'd made sure, because tina
wouldn't have been fair, and Foxhan
was such an invaluable valet. A few
days later, when Jim was making In
quiries about the man, he found GU
that the horrid creature had actual,
tmpersonated you at two or three no
tells and run up bills in your name. l
was the very evening before your let
ter about America came that Jim go
the first part Of this information, ant
day by day more kept coming in up t,
the time when we heard Foxham hat
given you notice. All along Jim wa
thinking out the idea Of that lesson 70