Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1911-06-14

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question gave me the opening, and
| forgot myself"
Il assure you was thoroughly
shocked. Miss Farrell"
VIII you tell me something?"
IF I can"
About the man who wouldn't &C
knowledge knowing you? You remem-
Der saying three people had been mis-
taken about your identity this after
noon"
mo. only one-the babu. You're
not mistaken"
Il knew you must be David Amber
the moment I heard you speaking
Urdu"
And the man at the station wasn't
mistaken-unless l am. He knew me
perfectly, I believe, but for reasons
Of his own refused to recognize me-
Yes"
HE was an English servant named
Doggott, who is-or once was-a valet
in the service of an old friend. a
man named Rutton"
She repeated the name: "Rutton?
1t seems to me I've heard of him"
You have?"
Il don't remember" she confessed,
knitting her level brows. THE name
has a familiar ring, somehow. But
about the valet?"
We'll, | was very intimate with his
employer for a long time. though we
haven't met for several years. Rut-
ton was a strange creature, a man of
extraordinary genius, who lived a
friendless. solitary life-at least, so
far as l knew; l once lived with him
in little place he had in Paris for
three months and in all that time he
never received a letter or a caller. He
was reticent about himself, and
never asked any questions, of course,
but in spite of the fact that he spoke
English like an Englishman and was a
public school man, apparently, / al
ways believed he had a strain Of Hun-
garian blood in him-or else Italian
or Spanish. know that sounds pref
ty broad, but he was enignlatic-a rid
die l never managed to make much
Of. Aside from that he was wonder
full: a linguist, speaking a dozen
European languages and more east
ern tongues and dialects, l believe,
than any other living man. We met
by accident in Berlin and we're drawn
together by our common interest IN
crientalism. Later, hearing was in
Paris, he hunted me up and insisted
that 1 stay with him there while fln-
ishing my big book-the one whose
title you know. His assistance to
me then was invaluable. After that
] lost track of him"
And the valet?" ~
"Oh. I'd forgotten Doggott. He was
a cockney, as silent and self-contained
as Rutton. To get back to
Nokomis: / met Doggott at the sta
ton, called him by name, and he re-
fused to admit knowing me-said l
must have mistaken him for his twin
brother. could tell by his eyes that
he lied, and it made me wonder. It's
quite impossible that Rutton should
be IN this neck of the woods; he was
a man who preferred to live hermit
in centers of civilization. Gu
rious!"
81 don't wonder you think so. Per-
haps the man had been up to some
mischief But" said the girl
with a note of regret, we're almost
homew
They had come to the seward
verge Of the woodland, where the
trees and scrub rose like wild hedge
row on one side of broad, we'll
metalled highway.
To the right, on the other side Of
the road, rustic fence enclosed the
trim. well-groomed plantations Of
Tanglewood Lodge; through the dead
limbs a window of the house winkeo
in the sunset glow like an eye OF gar
net. And as the two appeared a man
came running up the road, shouting
That's Quaint" cried Amber; and
sent a long cry of greeting toward
him.
Watt" said the girl impulsiyely,
keep our secret" she begged, her eyes
dancing-"just for the fun of it,"
Our secret"
About the babu and the Token it's
bit of mystery and romance to me-
and we don't often find that in OR
lives, do we? Let us keep it personal
for while-between ourselves; and
you will promise to let me know Il
anything unusual ever comes of IL,
after I've gone. We can say that I
was riding carelessly, which is quite
true, and that the horse SHE'D and
threw me, which again Is true; but
the rest for ourselves only. o..
Please. What do you say?"
He was infected by her spirit of ir-
responsible mischief why, yes
I say yes" he replied; and then, more
gravely: q think it'll be very pleas
ant TO share a secret with you, Miss
Farrell 1 shan't say a word to any
one, until have to-"
AS events turned he had no need
to mention the incident until the
morning Of the seventh day following
the girls departure. In the interim
nothing happened and he was able to
enjoy some excellent shooting with
Quain, his thoughts undisturbed by
any further appearance Of the babu.
II