The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-08-21

WIFI uAUucG uuy 0SINV yOu'
II am going far, I know. Mr.. Ames,
but I beg that you will not be In haste
to leave my aunt's house. She must
have been strongly prejudiced in your
! favor or she would not have asked
you here on so short acquaintance. I
am confident that she has no thought
of your leaving. She expressed her
great liking for you at luncheon, and
I am sure that she will see to It that
you do not lack for entertainment. l
assume that you must have gathered
from what Mr.. Virgins told you Of my
acquaintance with him the peculiar
plight In which l am placed
bowed. If she CROPPED in the dark
and needed my help in finding the
light, I was not the man to desert her.
had dropped my plumb line into too
many dark chimneys not to feel the
fascination Of mystery. As I express
ed again my entire willingness to abide
at Hope6eld Manor as long as she
wished, the footman announced Mr..
Hartley Virgins.
We had hardly exchanged greetings
before another man was announced,
and then another. I should. say that II
was at intervals Of about three min.
utes that the sedate servant appeared
in the curtained doorway and announc.
ed q caller until nine had been admit
ted. My spirits scared high as the gen
tlemen from the Prescott Arms ap-
peared one after the other. The ear
lier arrivals rose to greet the later
ones, and as they were all in evening
clothes I experienced, as when I had
seen the same gentlemen in their after
noon raiment crossing the stile, sense
Of something fantastic and eerie in
them. In the interest Of brevity and
to avoid confusion, l tabulate them
here with a notation as to their resi-
dence and occupation. taking such delR
from the notebook In which, at subse-
Quent-dates. set down the >facts
which are the basis Of this chronicle.
Hartley Virgins, lawyer and farm
n, Hare and Tortoise club, New York.
Linnaeus B. Henderson. planter, Roa-
noke. Va.
Cecil Hugh, Lord Arrowood, no &C.
cupation. Arrowood, Hants, England.
Daniel P. Ormsby, manufacturer Of
knit goods, Utica, N. Y.
8. Forrest Hume, lecturer on Scan
dinavian literature. Occidental univer-
sity, Long Trail, Okla.
John Stewart Dick. pragmatist. Oma.
Ia, Neb.
Pendennis j. Arbuthnot banker and
horseman, Lexington, KY.
Percival B. Shallenberger, novelist
and small fruits. Sycamore, Ind.
George w. Gorse, capitalist, Red
lands, Cal.
We rose and stood in our several
places when moment later Miss Oc-
tavia entered. She greeted the suitors
graciously and then in her most charm
Ing manner called one after the other
to sit beside her on a long daveDDnrf
the time apportioned being weighed
with nicely, so that none might feel
himself sighted or preferred. These
interviews consumed more than halt
an hour, and the movement thus Occa'
stoned gave considerable animation to
the scene.
1t may seem ridiculous that nine
gentlemen thus paying court to q
young woman should call upon her at
the same hour. but must say that the
gravity Of the suitors and the entire
| sobriety Of Cecilia did not affect me
humorously, nor did feel ut all out OF
place in this strange company. ! found
myself agrceably engaged for several
| minutes In discussing Ibsen with the
Oklahoma professor, who proved to be
a delightful fellow. His experience OF
life was apparently wide, and he told
me with an engaging frankness Of bis
meeting with the HOLSTERS in France
and of bis pursuit Of them over many
weary miles the previous summer. AS
no one had elected his courses IN the
university at the beginning of the fall
term, he had been granted leave OF
absence, and this accounted for bis
freedom to press his suit at Hope
field Manor at this season. He was q
big fellow, with clean cut features
and bore himself with a manly deter
mination that found attractive.
He alone, may say, OF the nine
men who had thus appeared IN MISS
Octavia's library met me in cordla
spirit. Even Virgins seemed no'
! wholly pleased to find me there again
though he had asked me to remain
The manner Of the others expressed
disdain, suspicion or fierce hostility
When the last man rose from the
davenport Miss Octavia called me to
her side. She seemed contrite at haV'
ing neglected me during the day, but
assured me that later she hoped to
place an entire day at my disposal. AS
we talked the nine suitors sat In a
semicircle about Cecilia, while the