Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-19


friend at court. and as l had seeming
ly satisfied him. of my entire good faith
and of my devotion to his interests he
begged that l 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 bis troubles hard. and felt that
he really needed counsel and support
In the involved state of his affairs
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 repugnant to my
sense OF professional honor. but he was
80 persistent that finally yielded.
While we ate luncheon l 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 care In
placing themselves as far from one an
other as possible. few moments lat
ef motor hummed into the driveway.
and we heard its owner ordering his
| chauffeur to return to town and hold
himself subject to telephone call. This
latest arrival appeared shortly in the
dining room and. surveying the rest of
US with 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 aloofness and
| the care they exercised in isolating
themselves interested me. They ap-
! peared to be gentlemen. They were,
indeed. suggestive of the ampler met
ropolitan world. and one of them was
Enthusiastically a foreigner.
While Virgins appeared to ignore
them, l was conscious that he reviewed
the successive arrivals with every
manifestation OF contempt. One of
these glum gentlemen seemed familiar.
| could not at once recall him. but
something in his manner leased my
memory for a moment before l placed
him. Then it dawned upon me that
he was the third man I had met in
the field overhanging 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 had seen so grimly posted in
the midst of the cornfield. ! was an
, observer. Il locker on, at Hopefeld, and
my immediate business was the COL
iecting of information.
will you kindly tell me. Wiggy. who
cfr
what has brought them here at this
hour?"
Il know them-they are guests Of the
inn. Most of them We're more or less
companions in our procession across
Europe last summer. The one 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 philoso-
per. As for the others
He dismissed them with 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 ri
walls for the hand of Miss Cecilia HOI-
lister? If so. they are solemn bard
of suitOrs. must confess"
You have hit it, AmeS. They are
suitOrs. assembled from all parts of the
world"
Nice looking fellows. except the
chap with the monocle. who has just
ordered rather more liquor than a gen
tleman should at this hour
That III Lord Arrowood. have
feared at times that Miss Octavia ia
vored him"
Possibly. but not likely. But how
long is this thing going to last? If
You fellows are going to hang on here
until Miss Cecilia Hollister has chosen
one of you for her husband | shud
der for your nerves. imagine that
any one of these gentlemen is likely Ia
begin shooting across his plate at any
minute. Such a situation would be
come intolerable very quickly If were
in the game and forced to lodge here"
II 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
win stand by me I'm going to win
cpOhtH INT AHdn, " IL
gins. You may count ON me to the
sweet or bitter end. even If pull down
all the superb chimneys with which
Pepperton adorned that house up yon
= der
: He silently clasped my hand. A lit
: tie later | telephoned from the inn Il
my Office explaining my absence and
instructing my assistant to visit sew
eral pressing clients. and | instructed
the valet at the Hare and Tortoise tc
send me a weeks supply of linen and
an odd suit or two.
At about 3 o'clock left Virgins in
first rate spirits and set out on my re
turn to Hopefield Manor.
/ made q wrong turn on leaving the
Prescott Arms. and l came out pres
emily near Katonah village. | got my
bearings Of a shopkeeper and started
again for Hopefield Manor. but th'
midafternoon was warm. and the hills
were steep. and as Miss HOLSTERS nd
mirable cob showed signs of WEAKNESS
drove into a fence corner and loosen
ed the mares check. On a sunny slop'
several hundred yards above the high
= way lay an orchard. advertised to thu