Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-25
CHAPTER vi.
Hester of the Scarlet Cloak.

hester OF the scarlet CLOAK.
Great was the rejoicing in the home
of the field mouse on the return Of the
| prodigal. Merle. happy in the success of
his mission, watched the little fellow
scamper off among the barley stalks and
made no attempt to follow his course OF
intrude upon the Welcoming festivities.
His errand of mercy accomplished, the
ctrate's path of duty now led directly
back to Ipping House, back to the prison
police platoon of beetle-colored books and
funereal inkstand and tine penhOlder of
evi-tasting wood grimly awaited him. A
straight and narrow path between the
high hedge and cOrnfields, over the mea-
dow. across the old stone bridge, down
the lane to the park gate on the Ipping-
ford road-all to be drearily retraced. In
the opposite direction lay a new and UNI
trod path, Il woodland way that whis-
pered invitingly with mysterious dark
nesses and possibilities Of adventure.
The process of reasoning by which the
Rev. HoratiO Merle convinced himself
that woodland path, starting in exactly
the opposite direction. was short cut to
lpping House was anything but satisfac-
tory when he afterward attempted to re-
veal it to Mrs. Merle. Indeed. but for
the ready tact of Martin Luther on this
tirely without an audience. as. in the
middle of his explanation. the door was
slammed Indignantly by the departing
Harriet.
I'm any case he told himself. as he
turned his back upon the cOrntield, Il
can think about progressive mothers just
as we'll in this wood L can shut up in
my study
Strange to relate, that was the last
thought on the subject Of progressive
vic tod TO m a
hours. 1t was as if the spirit of the
wood had overheard his rash boast and
summoned all its forces to teach Horatio
lesson. Never was there such a con-
spiracy. With one accord birds. trees,
flowers, butterflies and all the creeping
things of the wood united to compass the
downfall of the Rev. Merle His surs
render was complete, and from the mo-
ment of his entrance into the wood the
all-impOrtant matter of the address pass
ed completely from the clergyman S
mind The Bishop Of Bunchester was
right when he said that Merle was born
naturalist.
At the end of two hours Horatio sat
down to rest on the bank of rocky
brook. tired and happy, without the least
idea Where he was. His hat was gone.
his feet We're wet through. owing to the
treachery of a mOss-covered stone. and
his coat was torn and smeared with leaf
mold. Earlier in his wanderings the joy
full curate had fallen into a deep sawpit
concealed by tall bracken, and he bore
upon his person the marks of his strug-
giles to eXtricate himself.
Merle looked at his watch. The hands
pointed to quarter-past /. indicating to
HoratiO that it was exactly five minutes
to >. The original walk from Ipping
House to the cornfield had taken him
fifteen minutes, and this was the short
cut home.
What would Harriet think? The thought
of what Harriet would think brought
Harriets husband to his feet and APP
proXimately to his senses. The first ra-
tiOnaI idea since his unhappy inspiration
of the short cut now came to him. He
would follow the brook. "A brook can't
go round in a circle. so it must lead
somewhere he reasoned, land anywhere
is better than nowhere"
Comforted by this logic, Horatio fol-
lowed the course of the brook. If it did
not go in a circle, there were times when
Merle was not sure whether it was the
same brook or another one going in the
opposite direction.
1T must go somewhere he repeated.
firmly. when, for the second time, he
passed the chimney of a ruined paper
mill he had left behind several minutes
before. And, sure enough, another turn
of the brook brought him to the edge of
the wood. Here the brook surpassed all
its previous feats of contortiOn and dou-
bled back, growing and grumblng. as If
to say it had come miles out of its way
and missed an appointment with most
important river. all on account of an abb
sent-minded curate.
Emerging from the wood and descend
ing a steep bank Merle found himself in
narrow lane which he recognized as a
tributary of the 1ppingford road. On the
other side of the lane at the top of the
bank was a thick hedge. which formed
one of the boundaries of the Millbrook
golf course. Here the wanderer had a
choice of two ways. The lane, though a
trifie the longer was easier walking than
the golf course On the other hand, it
was the more frequented, the golf course
at this season being often quite deserted.
Which was an important consideration in
Horatio's hatless and eafth-stained con-
dition.
The sound of distant auto horn de-
cided the wavering curate, and he scram-
bled up the bank. trusting to luck to find
an opening i'm the hedge. The only open
ing provided by the playful goblin who
was conducting Merle's fortunes was
scarcely more than thinness, but Ho-
ratio plunged into it, appalled, by the
thought that Harriet might be in the ap-
preaching vehicle. She sometimes went
for ride with the Wrinkles in their big
car. and if Harriet should see him now:
if any one should see him now.
AS the automobile shot past. Merle
crouched motionless. safely obliterated
by the hedge. whose color scheme match
ed his own. Then, as he tried to push on
through the branches, ne was suddenly
restrained, not by ordinary thOrns, but
by the uncompromising pull of rope of
barbed wire that formed an extra bar
rier along the top of the hedge and that
now had hooked itself firmly into Ho-
ratios coat. Squirm and struggle as he
would. the agitated naturalist could not
free himself. and. to make matters worse.
as he reached his left leg forward and
tried to brace himself for d better pull by
digging his boot into the turf Of the golf
course. he felt his toe violently caught
in fierce grip and so powerfully held
that he was now literally anchored in the
middle of the hedge, unable to move a
single inch forward by reason Of the
cruel barbed wire. a single inch back
ward on account of whatever savage
creature had seized his extended tOe-a
most painful and embarrassing position
for this kindly Christian gentleman,
Horatio's first effort was to get rid of
the animal that was holding his left foot.
1t must he a dog, he reasoned, yet 1t
was strange that he heard no growl.
| What else but dog could II be? He
peered through the branches. but could