Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-08-22
AND PEOPLE WENT OUT To
LUNCHEON

AANII.
AND PEOPLE WENT OUT To
LUNCHEON.
And now Ii was Luke de Mountford's
turn at last. A wave OF excitement
swept over the crowd, every neck was
Grained forward. every eye fixed on this
next witness. as he rose from his seat
aho win courteous words of apology
to those whom he disturbed in passing
made his way to the center table.
An absolute embodiment of modern
London society. Luke stood there.
facing the crowd, the coroner and Jury.
as he would have faced friends and
acquaintances in the grandstand at
Ascot or in the stalls of a West End
There are hundreds and thou
sands of young Englishmen who look
as Luke de Mountford looked
that morning; dress is almost a uni
FORM, IN cut, style, and degree of tone:
nalr and even features are essentially
typical. Luke de Mountford, we'll born.
behaved just as Elton and
oxford had taught him to behave, con-
ceallng every emotion, raising neither
voice nor gesture An Engl1shman OF
that type has alternately been dubbed
hvpocrltical. and Unconditional. He is
neither; he is only conventional. I.uke
himself. facing the most abnormal con-
d1tion OF life that could assail any maj
or ms class, was SO absolutely drilled
INTO TINS semblance of placidity that it
cost him no effort to restrain himself
n none to face the forest of
every side. And since there was no
effort, the outward calm appeared per-
1ectiy atura an actor who has PLAYED
one part two hundred times and more
does so night after night until the role
itself becomes reality. and he i'm ordi-
nary everyday life seems even to
llllSolY Str9nQo ond rnro%.
NOW Luke was given the Rihle IN
Mss and told to take the oath. From
Where he stood he could see Louisa and
a humble of faces turned toward him
IN u~ndisguised curiosity. Mocking ewes
and contemptuous eyes, eyes OF ;niiee
ference n horror, met his own as With
quick glance they swept right over
the crowd oNei
don't think he really saw anv ona
except Louisa; no living person existed
LOT MN at his moment except Louisa.
o.. aSpoc1l'lca OF Unconditional nature
take the trouble to probe. An that
tne crowd saw was a mar to all tntenfs
ana accused of a horrible n,,r-
ger. confronted at every turn with I'M
denlable proofs OF his guilt. and Vet
standing there just as If he were vii.
Messing the first act of some r.t NJ
dull play. o"e ia'her
Hypocrisy or effrontery were the two
alternatives which the idle and tha
curious weighed. whilst anticipating the
JOY OF seeing he mask torn from this
Woode image before them. ~
The coroner was asking the u.,t,o..
ms name. ana Luke de Mountford,s
voice was quite steady as he oaya ~
ply; : no gave re-
You Were" continued TIE coroner
haiu qulte recently and are again now
clyffe?." 'e Earl o1 Rad
IT was supposed at one time. "a.
pied Luke. that besides myself ,ha-s
was no other heir to my uncle,s ttt,aS
Deceased understand, arrived in
..Sa - ABOUT Six months ago."
He made claim to be the on,v .o,
Lord Radclyffe's brother?" y "
That Is So"
And to all appearances wa. .h,. ;.
gunstantiate this claim in the ives Of
Lord Radclyffe?" es Va
Apparently"
Sc much so that Lord RadcIv,e
immediately accorded him that position
IN his household which YOU had nraA
viously occupied"
Lord Radclyffe accorded to the do.
ceased the position which he thought
ntllng that he should
You know hat the servant IN 1.ora
Hadclyne's household have informed
the police that in OF MI,
fni!ip de Nountford's advent in the
mousse. you and your brother and sister
had to leave It r"
NY brother. sister and I now live at
said Luke evasively.
And the relations between yourself
the deceased have remained of q
very strained nature. I understand"
an indifferent nature" corrected
There was a pause. So far these
coroner and the witnessNhaS
seemed almost like two antagonists 90
Ing through the first passes of n d,el
with fotls. Steel had struck against
steel. curt answers had followed brief
questions. Now the combatants paused
fighting the preliminary skirmish for
MS life against odds that were bound
to overwhelm him in the end: the other
was Just q paid official. Indifferent to
the victim. interested only in the issue.
me man standing at the foot Of the
coroner had made up his mind that he
was the guilty party-a gentleman and
q cowardly assassin: he amused
himself during this brief pause with q
quick anlysis Of the high-bred, inn
passive face-Quite Saxon In charac.
ter AR and somewhat heavy Of lid
IN no way remarkable save for the
was neither Indifference nor hravado'
fear. remorse nor defiance
only q mask made Of wood. hidinr
every line Of the mouth. and not al
lowing even the eyes to show any signs
Of vitality.
Beyond that the whole appearance
was essentially English; the fair hair
neatly groomed. with Just q suspicion
OF curl here and there, ana = Rlint Of
gold In the high lights. the stiR neck
encased In its Immaculate collar. the
perfectly tailored clothes. the hands.
which lightly interlaced. hun1