The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1913-02-27
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HORACE
HAZELTINE
Tho Vanlshinn PortrsIt.
CHAPTER /.

Evelyn GruysOn. meeting ne on the
old Boston Post Road. between Green
wich and stamford gave me mes
sage from her uncle That ia the
logical beginning OF this story, though
TO make everything quite clear from
the start It may be better TO bark
back few months, to the day on
which Evelyn Grayson and first met
Then, as now, We were each driving
our own car she. q great sixty horse
power machine. all glistoniug pale vel
Tow, and l. compact siNCylinder
racer, Of dull dusty gray. But we were
not on any such broad. rOOmy thor.
uughiarc as the Boston Post Road On
the contrary We were shOrl-cutting
through a narrow. rough lane, beset
by stone walls and interrupted at in
teNals by a series Of sharp and
trcachcrous angles
know shall never forget the mo-
mcutary impression | received Out
Of the golden sunlight. It seemed to
nc. there had emerged suddenly a
lablcau Of Queen Titania on n topaz
throne-thc fairest Queen Tltana i'm.
agitation ever conjured- and l. in my
mad. painting speed was about to
crash into the Rauzy fabric Of that
dream creation and rend f. with
brutal, torturnG ourush Of relentless.
hard driven nickel steel take no
credit TO myself for what ! did. Vol.
ton was absent. My hands acted on
m impulse above ard beyond all tardy
mental guidance. For Just flashing
instant the gray nose OF my car rose
before me, as in strenuous assault It
mounted half way TO the coping Of
the roadside wall | felt my seat dart
away from beneath me, was conscious
of my body In swift, unsupported
aerial flight ana thcn-but It IL idle
TO attempt to set down tho conglom.
crate sensations Of that small fraction
OF q second. When | regaincd con.
seriousness. Queen Tltania was kneel-
ms ~ the dust Of the lane beside me
IA very distressed and anxious Queen
Titania, with wide. startled eyes. and
quivcringIy sympathetic lips-and
about us were n half dozen or more
OF the yicinal country folk.
between that meeting in midway
and this meeting on the old boston
Post Road IN mid September, there
had been others, OF course: for Queen
Fitania, whose everyday name. as |
have said was Evelyn Grnyson, was
che niece and ward OF my nearest
nclghbor, Mr. Robert Cameron. a gen.
ilcmau recently come to reside on
what for century and more had been
known as the old Townsbury Estate,
extending Tor quit" mile along the
Connecticut shore Of Long Island
Sound in the ncighhorhood Of Green.
SiCh
The intervening four months had
witnessed the gradual growth of as
near an approach to intimacy between
Cameron and myself as was possible
considering the manner Of man that
Cameron was. BY which statement |
mean TO imply naught to my neigh
boris discredit, He was in all respects
tuututIO1
md culture. widely Travelled. OF exalt.
I'd idouls and noble principles to which
he gave rigid adherence. Butt was
about to qualify this by describing
him as reserved and taCiturn. | fear.
though, TO give n wrong impression
He was scarcely that There were
moments, however, when he WAS unre.
sponsve. and he was never demcustra.
live. He had more poise than any
man ! know. He allowed you TO sec
just so much OF him, and no more, At
times he was almost stubbornly retI.
cent And yet, in spite Of these DUAL.
tiles, which appeared to be cultivated
rather than Inherent, he gave repeated
evidence OF n nature at once so sim.
pie and kindly and sympathetic as TO
command both confidence and afrec.
ton.
To the progress Of my intimacy
with Evelyn there had been no such
tcnperamental impeachment. She was
fcarlessly outspokcn. with frankness
bern OF unspoilcd innocence; barely
six weeks having elapsed between her
graduation from the tiny French con.
vent of Sainte Barbe near Paris and
our perilous encounter In that con.
tracted. treacherous, yet blessed little
Connecticut lane. And she possessed,
moreover. a multiplicity OF addition
al charms. both Of person and dlspo-
sition-charms too numerous indeed
10 enumerate, and far too sacred to
discuss. From which II may rightly
be inferred that we understood each
other Evelyn and !. and that we were
already considerably beyond the state
or condition Of mere formal acquaint-
anccshlp.
II was no Queen Titania who now
came gliding TO a stand beside me on
the broad. level, well-oiled highway.
under a double row of arching elms. II
was no gossamer fairy. but Hebe, the
Goddess of Youth. with creamy skin
and red lips and a lifting melody OF
voice:
what no. Sir Philip! We are we'll
met"
And then she told me that her Uncle
Robert had telephoned for me, leav-
ing a message with my man. bidding
a., 20 ,1n,a ~ bir,, NJ t,,v al tfiact iay.,,ra