Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-12-02
u ATLANTIS
a. OF
VIRGdiNLA

ed lane met the Red Road. On its one
side was a covered pasture and be-
yond this an orchard, bounded by tall
hedge of close-clipped box which
separated it from broad yard where
the gray-weathered roof Of Rosewood
showed above group Of tulip and
catalpa trees. Viewed nearer, the low
stone house, with it's huge overhang-
ing caves, would have looked like a
small boy with his fathers hat on
but for the trellises Of climbing roses
that covered two sides and overflow
ed here and there on long arbors,
flecking the dull brown stone with a
glorious crimson, like a warriors
blood. On the sunny steps lop-eared
hound puppy was playing with a
notified cat.
The front door was open, showing a
hall where stood grandfather's CLOCK
and a spindlelegged table holding a
bowl Of potpourri The timepiece had
landed from a sailing vessel at James
town wharf with the household goods
of that English Garland who had adopt
ed the old Middle Plantation when
Dunmore was royal governor under
George III. Framed portraits and en-
cravings lent tints Of furnished silver,
old-rose and sunset-golds - colors
time toned and reminiscent, carrying
a charming sense of peaceful content,
of gentleness and long tradition. The
dark polished stairway had at it's turn
a square dormer-window which looked
out upon one of the hose-arbors.
Down this stair, somewhat later that
afternoon came Shirley cambridge,
booted and spurred, the rebellious
whorls Of her russell hair now as
closely filleted as a Greek boys, IN a
short divided skirt Of yew-green and
a cool white blouse and swinging by
its ribbon a green hat whose rolling
brim was caught up at one side by a
crisp blue-back hawks feather. She
stopped to peer out Of the dormer-
window to where, under the latticed
weave of bloom, beside round iron
table holding hoop of embroidery
and a book or two, lady sat reading.
The lady's hair was silver, but not
with age 1t had been so for many
years, refuted by the transparent skin
and color as soft as the cheek OF an
apricot. 1t was solely in her dark
eyes, deep and strangely luminous,
that one might see lurking the somber
spirit of passion and Of pain. But they
we're eager and brilliant withal, CIV
ing the lie to the cane whose crook one
pale delicate hand held with clasp
that somehow conveyed sense of ex-
asperate if semihumorous rebellion.
She wore nuns gray; soft old lace was
at her wrists and throat, and she was
knitting a scarlet silk stocking
She looked up at Shirley's voice,
and smiled brightly. "Off for your
ride, DEAR"
Eyes. I'm going with the Chalmers.
"Oh, of course, Betty Page is visit
ing them, isn't she?"
Shirley nodded. "She came yester-
day. I'll have to hurry, for | saw
them from my window turning into
the Red Road" She waved her hand
and ran lightly down the stair and
across the lawn to the orchard.
She pulled a green apple from
bough that hung over a stone wall and
with this in her hand she came close
to the pasture fence and whistled a
peculiar call. 1t was nswered by a
low whinny and soft thud Of hoofs,
and a golden-chestnut hunter thrust
a long nose over the bars, flaring face
lined nostrils to the touch of her
hand. She laid her cheek against the
white thoroughbred forehead and held
the apple to the larger reaching lip,
with several teasing withdrawings be-
fore she gave it to It's juicy crunching.
mo, Selim," she said as the wide
nostrils snuffled over her shoulder, the
ne
her neck "No more-and no sugar to-
day either. Sugar has gone up two
cents pound"
She let down the top bar Of the
fence and vaulting over, ran to
stable and presently emerging with a
saddle on her arm, whistled the horse
to her and saddled him. Then open
ing the gate, she mounted and can
tered down the lane to meet the on
coming riders--a kindly-faced. middle
aged man, a younger one with dark
features and coal-black hair, and two
girls.
Chisholm Lush spurred In advance
and lifted his hat. 81 held up the
Judge. Shirley" he said, land made
him bring me along. He tells me
IneTe d IOX-IlullL oll toiAoi INV, hio'
/ Gomez"
"Pshaw. Chilly said the Judge.
81 don't believe you ever got up at five
O'Clock in your born days. You've
learned bad habits abroad"
you'll see," he answered. eft my
man Friday doesn't rout me out to-
morrow, I'll be up for murder"
They rode an hour, along stretches
of sunny highways or on shaded bridle-
paths where the horses hoofs fell
muffled in brown pine-needles and
dropping branches f1icked their faces.
Then, by murky way gouged with
brush gullies, across shelving fields
and "turn-rows' in a long detour
around Powhattan mountain, rough
spur in the shape of an Indians head
that wedged itself forbiddingly be-
tween the fields of sprlnging corn and
tobacco. They approached the Red
Road again by a crazy bridge whose
adze-hewn flooring was held in place
by wild grape-vines and weighted
down. against cloudburst and freshet
by heavy boulders till it dipped it's
middle like an overloaded blackboard
in the yellow waters Of the sluggish
stream beneath. On the farther side