The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1913-01-03

safetyy
Quite naturally was led by this ex'
preston to inquire whether, per
chance, he mistrusted any of the many
persons who were employed in the
house and about the estate. But, some.
what to my surprise, he was almost
gravely offended by the mere sugses
ton. Nevertheless there were several
features OF the affair. chief of them
the manner In which the letters were
received. which caused me to dwell
with some mental persistence on this
as the most profitable ground for spec
ulation, And when at length, in the
mornings small hours, | returned TO
my home and to my bed, l carried the
thought with me.
The sowing Of this seed in the sub
conscious garden of my mind brought
forth fruit after Its kind. | Rwoke
with a perfectly clear understanding
OF how that which. the night before,
had seemed so impossible OF accom-
plishment was, perhaps, after all,
merely a harlequin trick. quite simple
when explained.
With the new day, too, and the
sunlight, and the CHEEKY brightness OF
my w rooms, there came a lifting of
that oppressive atmosphere of the Isl
teric which at Cameron's had set my
nerves out Of plumb and my reason
On the bias. Indeed | was fully con-
WINGED that we had been ~foollshly con.
structing an Alpine chain out of a mis-
cradle little row of mole hills, and !
determined to lose no time in bringing
Cameron. whom l now regarded as
most needlessly alarmed, to my own
wholesome way of thinking.
Directly after breakfast. therefore, !
set forth on foot for my neighbours,
choosing the shore road as the more
direct OF the two routes.
Personally, my taste in landscape is
for distant view in preference to near
at-hand foliage. My own house, which
Is fashioned In semblance OF a Pom
peiian villa, its cream-whlte walls
punctuated with shutters OF a some.
what vivid pea-green and crowned by
gently sloping roofs Of the same
bright color, ga2es out across STAN
ford Harbor and the blue waters OF
the Sound, to where on clear days the
pencilled outline OF Eaton's Neck
shows purple in the distance. There
are no towering, outrageous trees to
interrupt the outlook; only low, care
fully-trimmed shrubs, adorning a
series Of marble sculpture-dotted ter.
races, well below the line Of vision.
But the Cameron place, rejecting the
Townsbury penchant for arbortculture,
is quite the The prospect
from the windows and verandahs of
the fine old mansion Is all green vistas
and leafy perspectives, with only q
CLINT of sun-sparkied waves, chance
caught between gray boles or when
the wind spreads a momentary open.
ing in the foliage.
My way to Cameron's led through a
veritable forest of such luxuriant leaf
age that the path more than half the
time was in twilight, while to right
and left the shadows ~deepened into
dark in the cloistral recesses OF the
woodland heart. The silence was pro,
found. No voice Of bird nor scurrytng
foot of squirrel invaded the morning
hush Of those Famous depths. My own
footsteps on the soft turf returned NO
sound.
A half-mile or more | had walked in
this mute greenwood peace. when
sharp and clear there echoed through
the verdurous aisles the crack of a
rifle, and | came to a sudden, involun-
tary halt.
Then 1t occurred to me that 1t was the
third day Of the open season for rail
birds, and that 1t was the report Of a
shotgun | had heard, fired by some
sportsman, off on the shore, there. to
my right. And 80 / resumed my tramp,
with ears keen for a repetition. AL
most Immediately | a rewarded. and
then knew that 1t was no rail bird
gunner, for the shot was Enthusiastically
a rifle shot, and it was fired in the
of the wood, to the left of me
Three times more / heard it, in fair
ly rapid succession, and sounding al
ways from about the same direction.
cannot say that 1t gave me any un-
.easiness. but 1t perplexed me In a mild
way, %arousing a passing curiosity as
to its object. And then, | came out
upon the well-kept. gravelled drive
circles the close-cropped, vel.
vety Cameron lawn, and catching
sight OF Cameron himself. in riding
breecnes and puttees, romping with
one Of hts picturegquely graceful Rus
sian wolf-hounds, promptly forgot all
about II.
He came across the sward to meet
me, the great, gaunt white hound
pressing close TO his side, and
| saw that he, too, had ex-
perienced the inspiriting influence OF
he morning.
Il have found an answer" I cried,
while he was still fifty yards away.
POSSIBLY the answer"
He raised his brows in question, and
hound, with open Jaws, fondled his
wrist,
Il had a horseback ride before
breakfast" he told me. as he shook
NY hand Then | spent an hour at
kennels. We've a fine new brood
Of collie puppies. You must see theng'
Il want to-" | returned.
What do you say to tennis?" be
suggested, i~rrelevantiy. Just q set
It's a fine morning for tennis"
If o can lend me a pair Of shoes"
consented, glazing down at my boots.
"A dozen pairs" he smiled. Come
ip to my dressing room, Louis will fit
iou out"
I was scarcely prepared for this
In my friends mood, and far
bapuu ouar n He ,r,oe axsfInrtIv !