The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-11-13
CHAPTER IV.-lcontlnued.l


Some light steps, a rustic, and he
wheeled in time to see a woman open
ia door, stand for a minute in the full
light. and disappear. 1t was she.
George opened the door Of his own
room, threw the rug inside, and tip
toed along the corridor, stopping for
the briefest time to ascertain the
number of that room. He felt vastly
more guilty in performing this harm
less act than, In s%mothering his men
tor.
There was no one in the head-por-
ter's bureau; thus, unobserved and un-
embarrassed, he was free to inspect
the guest-llst. Fortune Chedsoye. He
had never seer a name quite like that.
It's q%uaintness did not suggest to him,
as 1t had done to Ryanne, the pas
toral, the bucolic. Rather it remind.
ed him Of the old French courts, of
rapiers and buckles, of powdered wigs
and furbelows, masks, astrologers,
love-intrigues, Of all those colorful,
mutable scenes so charmingly de-
scribed by the genial narrator Of the
exploits of D'Artagnan. And abruptly
out of this age of Lebrun, Vatican
Moliere, reached an ice-cold hand. If
that elderly codger wasn't her father,
who was he and what?
The Major--for George had looked
him up also-was in excellent trim for
his age, something Of a military dandy
besides; but as the husband of so
young and exquisite a creature! Out
upon the thought! He might be her
guardian, or, at most, her uncle, but
v her husband. Yet 60 poisonous
doubt!), at the table she had ignored
the Major, both his jests and his at
tentions. He had seen many wives,
joyfully from a safe distance, act to-
ward their husbands in this fashion.
Oh, rot! If his name was Callahan
and hers Chedsoye, they could not
possibly be tied in any legal bonds. He
dismissed the ice-cold hand and turned
again to the comforting warmth Of his
ardor.
He had never spoken to young wom-
en- without presentation, and on these
rare occasions he had preached the
weather, suggested the possibilities Of
the weather, and concluded with an
a%postrophe on the weather at large. It
was usually a valedictory. For he was
always positive that he had acted like
a fool, and was afraid to speak to the
girl again. Never it failed ten minutes
after the girl was out of sight, the
brightest and cleverest things crowd
ed upon his tongue, to be but wasted
on the desert air. He vas not particu-
larly afraid of women older than
himself, more's the pity. And yet, had
he been as shy toward them as toward
the girls, there would have been no
stolen Yhiordes, no sad-eyed maiden,
no such thing as The United Romance
and Adventure Company, Ltd; and he
would have stepped the even tenor OF
his way, unknown Of grand passions.
swift adventure. life.
George was determined to meet For
tune C~hedsoye, and this determination,
the first of it's kind to take definite
form in his mind, gave him a nov
sensation. He would find some way,
and he vowed to best his old enemy,
d%ifidence, if it was the last fight he
ever put up. He would to
get in the way of the Major. He never
found much trouble in talking to men.
Once he exchanged a word or two
with the uncle or guardian, he would
make it a point to renew the acquaint'
ance when he saw the two together
II appeared to him as a bright idea,
and he was rather proud Of it. Even
now he was conscious Of %clenching his