Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-01-31

hN kAStSbSo LAAat & oSlh1 bhN dGlat Z
until the following day. What he
wanted, and he put it bluntly, was a
friend at court, and as | had seeming.
~ satisfied him of my entire good faith
Ind of my devotion to his interests he
begged that prolong my stay in Miss
HOLSTERS house. giving as my excuse
the condition of the chimneys of Hope
field Manor. He brushed aside my
plea of other engagements and appeal
ed to our old friendship. He was TAX
Ing his troubles hard. and l felt that
he really needed ounsel and support
In the involved state of his affairs. 1
did not see how my continued pres
ence under Miss HOLSTERS roof could
materially assist him, and the thought
of remaining there when there was no
work to be done was r%epugnant to my
sense of professional honor. but he was
30 persistent that I finally yielded.
While we ate luncheon sought by
every means to divert his thoughts to
other channels. After we were seated
In the dining room four other men fol-
lowed, exercising considerable car In
placing themselves as far from q an
other as possible. A few moments Int
er a motor hummed into the driveway,
and we heard its owner ordering his
chauffeur TO return to town and hold
himself subject to telephone cali. This
latest arrival appeared shortly In the
dining room and. surveying the rest Of
US with a ~disdainful air, sought a Ia
bic In the remotest corner of the room.
Others appeared, until eight In all had
entered. The presence of these men at
this hour. their air OF aioefness and
the care they exercised in tsoiatng
themselves interested me-. They APP
peared to be gentlemen. They were,
indeed. suggestive Of the nmpler met
gopolitan world. and n Of them was
Enthusiastically a foreigner.
While Virgins appeared to Ignore
them, / was conscious that he reviewed
the successive arrivals with every
manifestation OF contempt. One Of
these glum gentlemen seemed familiar.
I could not at once recall him. but
something In his manner teased my
mel DRY for a moment before | placed
tim. Then it dawned upon me that
he was the third man ! had met In
the field ~cyerhanging the garden after
my eavesdropping experience the day
before. thought it as well, however,
not to mention this fact. or TO speak OF
the man l had seen SC grimly posted In
the midst of the cornfeid. | was an
observer. a hooker n at Hopefeld, and
my immediate business was the col
lecting of information.
\ "Wili you kindly tell me, Wiggy, who
these strange gentlemen are and just
what has brought them here at this
hobr?"
II know them-they are guests OF the
Inn. Most of them were more or less
companions in our procession across
Europe last snmmer The II in the
tan suit Is Henderson-you must have
heard of him. The short dark chap Of
atrabilious countenance Is John Stew
art Dick. who pretends to be a philoso'
per. AS for the others
He dismissed them with q jerk of the
head. My wits struggled with his ex-
plantation. 1t is my Wish to reduce in
formation to plain terms.
Are these gentlemen. then, your r.
walls for the hand OF Miss Cecilia Hol-
lister? II SO. they are a solemn band
of s~uitorS, | must confess
"You have hit 1t, Ames. They are
suitoTs, assembled from all parts OF the
world"
Mice looking fellows, except the
chap With the monocle, who has Just
ordered rather more liquor than Il gen
tleman should at this hour"
THAT is Lord Arrowood. | have
feared at times that Miss Octavia IA
yored him"
Possibly. but not likely. But how
long Is this thing going to last! Ii
you fellows are going TO hang on here
until Miss Cecilia HOLSTER has chosen
one of you for her husband / Il
der for your nerves. | imagine that
aay one Of these gentlemen is likely to
begin shooting across his plate at any
minute. Such a situation would be-
come intolerable very quickly If were
La the game and forced to lodge here"
a hope" replied Virgins with heat,
"that you don't imagine these fellows
can crowd me out. I've paid for a
months lodging in advance. and If you
will stand by me I'm going to win"
Spoken like a man. my dear Wig
gins, You may count on me to the
sweet or bitter end. even If | pull down
all the superb chimneys with which
Peppertou adorned that house up yon-
der"
He silently clasped my hand a lit
tie later l telephoned from the inn 10
my Office explaining my absence and
%instructing my assistant TO visit sew
eral pressing clients. and | Instructed
the valet at the Hare and Tortoise TO
send me a weeks supply OF linen and
an odd suit or two
AT about 3 O'Clock ! left Virgins ID
first rate spirits and set out on my re-
turn to Hopefieid Manor.
made a wrong turn on leaving the
Prescott Arms. and | came out pres
emily near Katonah village. | got my
bearings of a shopkeeper ana started
again for Hopefieid Manor. bu' the
midafterpoon was warm. and the nils
we're stetn. and Us Miss HOLSTERS 10