The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-11-06
CHAPTER XIII.
(Contlnuad.l

tall plate mirror set over q marble
topped console at either side. In one
corner stood a grand plano OF Circas
sian walnut with keys OF tinted moth
er-of-pearl and slender music-racI
inlaid with morning-glories In the
same material. From the center Of
the ceiling. above an oval table. de
pended a great chandelier hung with
glass prtsms. He drew his hand
-kerchief across the table; beneath
the disnguring dust 1t showed high
~ polished surface inlaid with diner
ent colored woods. In an intricate
Italian-like landscape. The legs Of
the consoles were bowed, delicately
carved. and OF goldleaf. The chairs
and sofas were covered with dusty
slip-covers of muslin. He lifted one
Of these. The furnished gold furni
ture was Louis XIV, the upholstery OF
yellow brocade with pattern OF pink
roses. Two Japanese hawthorn vases
sat on teak-wood stands and corner
held a glass cabinet containing col
lection of small worries and faience.
His appreciative eye kindled. What
a ROOM" he muttered. "Not jar
Grove and Christopher piano. I'll
get plenty of music out OF that. You
don't see such chandeliers outside oil
palaces any more except In the old
French chateaus. 1t holds a hundred
candles X II holds one never knew
before all there was in that phrase
the candle-lit ffties.' can mag.
inc what II looked like, with the men
In white stocks and lowered waist
coats and the women In their crino-
lines and red-heeled slippers. bowling
to the minuet under that candle-light'
I'll bet the girls bred In this neigh
borhood won't take much 10 the tur-
key-trot and the bunny-hug.'
He went thoughtfully back to the
great hall where sat the big chest on
which lay the volume OF Lucille. He
pushed down the antique wrought
iron hasp and threw up the lip. II
was filled to the brim with textures
heavy portieres OF rose-damask, table
covers OF faded soft-toned tapestry
window-hangings OF dull green-all
with tobacco leaves laid between the
folds and sifted thickly over with the
sparkling white powder. At the bot
tom. rolled in tarry-smelling paper, he
found a half-dozen thin. Persian pray.
errugs.
"Phew!" he whistled. Il certainly
ought to be grateful to that law Arm
that inspected the place Think OF
the things lying here all these years,
And that powder everywhere It's
done the work. too, for there's not
sign OF moth. II I'm not careful.
I'll stumble over the family plate-it
seems to be about the only thing want
ing"
The mantelpiece. beneath the
shrouded elk's head, was OF gray mar
BILE In which crest was deeply cary
ed. He went close and examined II.
"A sable greyhound. rampant, on a
field argent" he said. That's my
own crest, suppose" There touch
ed him again the same Gerry sensation
OF acquaintance that had possessed
him with his frst sight OF the house
front. Somehow it's familiar" he
muttered: where have | seen II be-
fcre?"
He thought moment. then went
quickly into the library and began TO
ransaCk the trunk. At length he
found a small box containing keep
sakes OF various kinds. He poured
the medley on to the table--an uncut
moonstone, an amethyst-topped pencil
that one OF his tutors had given him as
q boy, tigers claw, compass and
what-not. Among them was a mans
sealring with a crest cut In corne-
liam. He looked at 1t closely. II was
the same device.
The ring had been his fathers. Just
when or how II had come into his
ross ession he could never remember.
IL had lain among these keepsakes so
many years that he had almost forgot
ten its existence. He had never worn
n ring, but now. as he went back to
the hall, he slipped II on his finger.
The motto below the crest was worn
away, but II showed clear In the mar
bic of the hal-mantel: clinge.
His eyes turned from the carven
words and strayed to the pleasant
sunny foliage outside. An arrogant
boast perhaps, yet in the event well
justified. valiants had held that self
same slope when the encircling forests
had rung with war-whoop and blazed
with torture-fire. They had held on
through Revolution and Civil Var.
Good and bad, abiding and lawless,
every generation had cleaved stub.
bornly to it's acres. | clinge. His
father had chung through absence that
seemed to have been almost exile, and
now he, the last Valiant, was come
to make good the boast.
His gaze wavered. The tall OF his
eve had caught through the window
squirt of something dashing and
vivid. that grazed the corner OF far
off field. He craned his neck, but IT
had passed the line Of his vision The
next moment, however, there came
trailing on the satiny stiffness the
high-keyed ululation Of horn and an
instant later a longdrawn hallo-o-o'
MIXED with pattering chorus OF
yelps.
He went close. and leaning from the
sill, shaded his eyes with his hand.
The noise swelled and rounded In vol
ume; II was nearing rapidly. AS he
looked. the hunt dashed into full view
between the tree-boles--a galloping
melee of khaki and scarlet, swarming
across the fresh green Of a wheat field,
behind a spotted swirl OF hounds. II
mounted rise. dipped momentarily
into a gully and then. In a narrow
sweeping curve. came pounding an up
the long slope, directly toward the
house.
"Confound it," said John Valiant
belligerently; they're on my land."
They were near enough now for him
to hear the voices Of the men, call.
ing encouragement to the dogs, and
10 see the white ribbons OF foam