, 1912-12-12

imagine shed he such a silly fool as to
stand In the road and walt for us. lf
she heard MS she'd hide among the
trees"
'But she's had an hours start of us"
-Where ees she coming tor" asked
the count, with an anxious glance up
ward, Just In time to catch a skirmish
ing raindrop with his eye.
That's just It. We don't know
said the duke.
'But | must Hnd her!" cried Lord
Cecil. Think of that poor girl alone
In this terrible place. storm coming up
and all hat. Hi. P%eneloper' he shout
ed in his most vociferous treble. The
shrieking wind replied Then the three
of them shouted her name. Cad. she
may be lost or dead or Come on, Bar
minister. We must scour the whole
demmed valley"
"He's like a wildcat tonight" said
the duke in an aside to the little
Frenchman. referring to his lordship
"Demme. I'd rather not cross him.
You seem to forget that his sister Is
out In all this fury"
uloh Dich' out . w hot tot6Vt
would give half my life to hold her In
my arms thees eenstan'"
"Dem you. sir, I'd give her the other
half II you dared try such a thing We
didn't fetch you along to hold her
You've got to hold the horses. that's
all"
"Diable! How dare you to speak to-
"What are you two rowing aboutf'
demanded his lordship. Come along!
We're losing time"
Away they swept, Penelope's two ad-
mirers %wrathfully barking at one an
other about satisfaction at some future
hour.
The storm burst upon them In all Its
fury-the maddest, widest storm they
had known In all their lives. Terri
fed, half drowned. blown almost from
the saddles. the trio finally found
shelter in the lee of a shelving cliff
Just OF the road. While they stood
there shivering. clutching the bits OF
their well nigh frantic horses the
glimmer of lights came down to them
from windows farther up the steep
There was no mistaking the three up.
right oblongs of light. They were tall
windows In a house. the occupants OF
which doubtless had been aroused at
this unearthly hour by the flerceness
of the storm.
by Jove," lamented the duke. water
running down his neck in foods,
what a luxury a home Is. be 1t ever
20 humble. on a night like this"
mon Dieu. mon Dieu." groaned the
count. "how comfortab' zey look! And
here7 Eli bieu! Out fait trembler la
terrell | am seeckI l die!"
Penelope Is out In all this" moaned
his lordsnip
woman to find a place where h can't
ruin her hat. My word for II, Cecil.
sne's a saTe roosu say. Oy
Jove! The duke was staring more
intently than ever at the windows far
above. II have It! Isn't 1t rather odd
that a house should be lighted so bril-
liantly at this hour Of nightY"
"Demmed servants forgot to put out
the lamps" groaned Bazelhurst with
Out Interest
Nonsense. l tell you what-some
one has reused the house and asked
shelter from the storm Now. who
could that be but PenelopeT"
"By Jove. you're a ripping clever
ass. after all. Barminster-a regular
Sherlock Holmes That's Just It.
She's up there where the windows
are. Come on ,t's easy sailing
now" cried his lordship. but the duke
restrained him.
Don't rush OF like a fool. Whose
house Ii itf"
How the devil do l known This Is
Shaw's land. and he hasn't been espe-
cially cordial about
Aha! See what | mean? shaw's
n to be sure. Well, hang your
stupidity, don't you know we're look
Ing at Shaw's house this very Instant
lie lives there aud she's arrived. dem
1t all She's up there with him dry
clothes, hot drinks and all that and
we're out here catching pneumonia
Fine, isn't it?'
Cad! You're right. She's with that
COMPOUNDED villain My God. what's
to become of herr' groaned Lord cecil
sitting down suddenly inc covering
his face with his hands.
w" must rescue hcri" shouted the
dnke Brace up. Cecil! Don't be q
baby. Well storm the place"
Not In els rainr' cried the count
You stay in the shade and hold the
horses. that's what you do" said the
duke s%cornfully.
After many minutes there came a
break In the violence of the storm and