The Washington times., 1911-03-19
CHAPTER II.

~ > Daniel Haigh 1t may be said
that training and family ira
dition had fashioned him for
| an excellent civil engineer; in
Clination had turned him into an in
| different painter: fate had made him an
unsuccessful idler. Fate, in his case,
had taken the form of an exceedingly
| well-to-dO and ill-tcmpered uncle, who.
while cordially despising Haigh, had
yet so neglected an important duty
| that, when apoplexy carried him off, he
died intestate. Daniel, as the nearest Of
! kin, became his sole heir; nor unwill-
| ingly, although the money was of slight
moment to him. The memory of past
! insults and nagging abuse caused him
i to take sort of grim pleasure in mis-
! handling the estate of his deceased rela-
| tive, whom he would joyously conceive
| as writhing in his grave at each fresh
| extravaganza Of his spendthrift nephew.
He lived casually, ruled by the die
| tates OF a jaded fancy; now in his studio
in town, where he dabbled IN oils and
| conceived great subjects which he never
executed, now he travelled; or, when
wea.y Of the Improbable sameness OF
his wOrld-as ne not infreQuendy was
he would retire 20 his farm in Fairfield
county, there TO dream and Ncgetate
until unrest drove him forth once more.
He had thought that a summer in the
! city would tend 10 distract his thoughts;
but he found that II held no attraction
for him. Those among his aCquaint-
ances for whom he cared were out of
town; the theaters were stupid, he had
no mind for work-the reek OF oil and
: rurpenttne unnerved him with mem
Ory. If he loafed. Her eyes forever
haunted him, staring out from his por
trait of Her in the corner of the studio
following him about with the light
that he had triCked himself into believ-
| ing he saw in their dear depths. An
other would have wrecked the canvas,
or turned its painted surface TO the
wall; Haigh kept II, a monument to
buried hopes and vanished happiness, as
well as a tribute to his ability: for the
had given TO II the best that was In him.
Even Curtice, to whom he had taken
more than A liking, failed him. Once,
. indeed, returning from a lonely meal,
Hatgh had found Jimmys card in his
Hletter box; but as that gentleman had
Daniel could not hunt him up. Yet so
engrosSed was he with vain repinine
ii took a fat fortnight for him to dis
cover that he was yawning. But when
he did so, he abruptly packed off to the
hills of Fairfield.
He arrived at the end of a simmering
day. Stepping from the train at the
suburban station, he found his auto
mobile-an electric runabout which he
took an ingenious pleasure in calling
his 'go-Cart' t'-waiting for him in the
crush of vehicles at the platforms edge.
He climbed aboard listlessly: but the
touch Of the levers, the thrill OF the
carriage as a thing alive, the rush of
the countryside, reused him to interest
The women of the fashionable summer
resort in crisp, dainty, fluffy gowns,
briskly handling the reins as they drove
their men-folk home from the days
work in the city, awoke flutter in his
breast which he found not unpleasant
Above all, the perfect beauty of a
glimpse of the Sound. which he caught
sea breeze, brought from him A tribute
10 the soundness of the world at its
great old heart.
This is doing me good" he re-
flected. II believe I did well to come
He let out another notch of speed,
and the machine leaped forward over the
the sandy road. So Speeding, he came to
the top of a little hill: here the roads
forked. To the right he must go to gain
his home. but to the left lay a long
tempting. He hesitated, then turned to
his chauffeur.
Tell you what you do" said he: you
get out here and cut across the fields.
Tell Mrs. Mitchell that I'll be home to
dinner in about an hour I want to
lock around a bit"
The man touched his cap and silently
slipped Off. Haigh turned the machine,
and with half a laugh descended into
the Valley Of Solitude. This was his
own christening? to the neighborhood it
was but the Valley Road. For miles it
wound through rich farm lands. by the
side Of a little stream. without a home
stead to mar it's rural beauty. with one
exception. This single dwelling was
Brookside. a sinister pile in the midst
of wide, unkempt grounds. the whole
surrounded by high spiked wall Long
uninhabited. IL dominated the entire
valley with its quiet desolation, which,
To the taste of Mr.. Daniel Haigh, lent
it an added charm. Some miles-from
the railroad station, keeping the couu-
try folk at a distance by its own broad
acres of untitled fields. il was lfStle
known, and more rarely visited by the
summer population of the village. An
air of mystery was heavy about it;