Evening star., 1912-11-03
CHAPTER XIII.
First Aid to the Injured.

thing Of the ghostly Ladye Ysobel Ip-
pynge (she was believed to have been
poisoned by her husband, Sir Gy'es Ip-
pynge. knight and first earl Of 1ppng-
ford. in the early part Of the twelfth
century. will find true account of her
pious life and tragic death in a vo.ume
entitled, .Kronicon Uxorium." in the
Bodleian library of Oxford. written by
the monk Abel of Ipswich and printed in
London in 1929
The pious LADY Ysobel would have
been sore distressed had she known what
a fearful pother her counterfeit present
ment Thy Hester Storm would one day
cause. What had really happened was
perfectly simple, although the conse-
Quences were complicated and far-reacn-
ing. When Hester came to the bo.ton
of the stairs she had turned out or her
way in the darkness and passed c.ose 10
a pedestal supporting suit OF armor
that kept impressive guard there In the
ancestral hall. So close had she passed
that the cord of her electric lamp hal
caught on one of the links in the coat OF
mail, whereupon, In her plunge away
from this ghostly restraint she had top,
pied over the grim warrior, pedestal ana
all, with a crash and rattle OF his various
resounding parts that had alarmed the
entire estab ishment And this uproar
had terrified Mrs. Baxter all the more
because she was already quivering Wth
superstitious dread after reading tnat
creepy tale Of Bulwer Lytton's, "A Strange
Story; in fact it was to seek relleI
from this obsession that the aGi -ated lady
had gone downstairs for some suipronei
sleeping tablets that she had left IN the
conservatory. And the silent, silver
draped apparition, looming suddenly IN
the shadows, had done the rest
For tho Storm girl III lncreOlDly
narrow escape. A mere matter OF sec
onds decided her fate. Ii young Baxter
had carried candle she would have been
caught. If Mrs. Baxter's candle had not
been extinguished by that lady's fa'l She
would also have been caught AS II was
Hester had time to flee across the dark
conservatory and out into the park (by
the unlocked door before Bob, blunder-
ing and stumbling through the hall ana
library had reached his fainting mother.
1t may be added that Hester's quick
impersonation of the gray lady was not
entirely inspirational She had heard oid
Mrs. Pott!e refer to the specter tnat
haunted Ipping House that very evening
While she watched at the lodge for the
Baxter automobile, her thoughts had
turned to the shivery legend when she
heard An Petronia. with motherIy ten-
derness, putting to bed the four Pottles
(who seemed wakefuD. and assuring them
that 1.-The dray lady would tum ana Oct
them,' if they didn't go to sleep.
1t must not be supposed. however, that
either the gray lady or her understudy,
Hester Storm, was responsible Tor the
series of happenings at lpping House that
ended in converting that comfortably ap-
pointed English home into as uncom-
promising a wilderness. as far as the
relatives were concerned, as the most re-
sourceful Swiss Family Robinson" could
hope to he wrecked upon. There was an
other agency at work: to wit, Parker.
Parker, at this particular time. was the
only indoors man at Ipping House, his
rank being that of butter, footman and
valet combined. For sympathetic and
polite reasons. Parker had given notice
on the very same day that Mrs. Edge
had received her congo from Mr.. Baxter.
In appearance Parker was Of the can
Gle-complexioned, Observation-Disclosures
type that nature seems to have distrib-
pantries of Great Britain. Parker's S
greatest personal asset was asubtle fluid
ity Of temperament, which caused Wis
itors at house where he had been en-.
gagged only the week before to believe
that he was an old family retainer. 1t
was to this priceless gift that Parker
owed his success in New York, where he
had spent ten profitable years and adorn-
ed many expensive houses, seldom stay
ing long in any one place. as new ac-
cessories TO social elegance ou.piu eacn. ,,
other for his services. 1t was in New
York that Parker's face took on its ex-
preston of impeccable superiority, the
envy of more than one bishop. an eX.
preston acquired through his practice OF
combining with his office of butler for
an extra charge. Of course) that of pri-
vate tutor Of social usages to his en-
ployers.
In the eyes of Mrs. Edge. and to quote
her own words, Parker was the cream
the cream of gentlemen" there was an
understanding. When the Baxters re-
turned to New York in the autumn and
the house would be closed for the win
ter small but desirable hotel at In
wich (the next village beyond MilibrookD
would be reopened under the manage
ment Of Mr.. and Mrs. Parker.
Hiram Baxter in spite of his homely
American speech. which grated painfully
on the buffers fine cockney ear. some
cream Of gentlemen who felt that
there was good material in him. He
would like to have taken Baxter in hand
He longed to tell him that detacha Bile
cuffs and collars were not permissible;
that a black bow tie, IL one must wear
such a thing in the daytime. should not
have it's ends tucked under the flaps of
the collar Twice Parker had deliber-
ately hidden the silver clasps with whi0h
Hiram suspended his serViette to the
lapels of his coat
Its fortunate they don't have no Eng
lish visitors. leastways, none that mat
ters," had been Parher's reflection Had
II been otherwise. his sense Of fastidious
shame would have compelled him to give
notice Not even that '66 brandy, upon
the question Of whose merits Parker and
Anton were in such perfect accord, could
have induced him to stay.
And now he was turning his back on
these LIQUID joys and two months WAGES
into the bargain. To be separated from
Mrs. Edge was out Of the question. She
was his fiancee. a SO the lease of the
Golden Horseshoe was in her name. The
willy Parker. however. saw in the ghost
incident a way of visiting his resentment
on the Baxter household and he set about
1t at once.
At the time Of the night alarm Parker
had been the first to reach the hall from
the servants wing. and striking a match
had discovered the figure in armor lying
on it's face. With an instructive alacrity.
born Of former XII dly and remunerative
ministrations to elderly gentlemen y no
had .dined.'' Parker lifted the hel less
dummy to it's feet and replaced the he.-
met. which had rolled some distance along
the oak floor.
moment later. when Bob appeared
supporting his mother to the stairs. the
hysterical triumph: There, you can see
it's standing up-it never fell down at
all"
Bob raised his candle to inspect the
warrior did you pick up the armor.
Parker?'
NO, Mr. Robert, it was standing up
just like 1t is now. sir"
.sYnu ran hack n he'd Parker I'll