Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1913-03-27

young woman should call upon her at
the same hour. but l must say that the
gravity of the suitors and the entire
sobriety Of Cecilia did not affect me
humorously. nor did l feel at all out of
place in this strange company. l found
myself agreeably 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 tod
me with an engaging frankness of his
meeting with the HOLSTERS in France
and of his 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 a leave OF
absence, and this accounted for his
freedom to press his suit at Hope
field Manor at this season. He wars a
big fellow. with clean cut features.
and bore himself with a manly deter
mination that I found attractive.
He alone. I may say, Of the nine
men who had thus appeared in Miss
Octavia's library met me in a cordial
spirit. Even Virgins seemed not
wholly pleased to find me there again,
though he had asked me to remain.
The amer of the others expressed
disdain, suspicion or fierce hostility.
When the last nan rose from the
davenport Miss Octavia called me to
her side. She seemed contrite at hav-
ing neglected mt 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
group listened to an anecdOtal eX-
change between Professor Hume and
Henderson, the Virginia planter. My
opinion of Cecilia HOLSTER as a girl
of high spirit. able to carry off any sit
uation no matter how difficult, rose to
new attitudes as l watched her. II
this strange wooing was not to her lik-
ing she certainly made the best Of it.
She capped Henderson's best story
with a better n in negro dialect. and
no professional entertainer could have
improved upon her recital. AS she fin.
ished we all joined in the general
laugh, Lord Arrowood's guffaw boom
ing out a trife boisterously, when Miss
Octavia quietly rOse and excused her.
self. About five minutes later, when the
company had plunged into another Sc
ries Of anecdotes, I suddenly became
conscious that the fireplace. near which
1 sat, had all at once begun to act
strangely. Much in the name of its
performance the previous night, it alb
ruptly gasped and choked, the smoke
ballooned in a great swirl and then
poured out into the room.
After my examination of the f1ues in
the morning l had dismissed them
from my mind, and this extraordinary
behavior of the library fireplace as
founded me. 1t is not in reason that
a perfectly normal fireplace, built in
the most approved fashion and with
chimneys that rise into as clear an
ether as October can bestow could act
sc m%onstrously without the interven-
ton of some malign agency. We had
discussed all the possibilities the pre-
vious night. and 1 vas not anxious to
hear further lay opinions. The chin
ney's conduct was annoying, the more
so that to my professional sense it
was inexplicable.
Lord Arrowood had retreated dis
creetly toward the door, and the others
had risen and stood close behind Ce-
ella, whose gaze was bent rather &C
cusingly upon me.
A dark thought had crossed my mind.
AS our eyes met l felt that she had
read my suspicious and did not wholly
reject them. Henderson vas ~valiantly
poking the logs. while one of two of
the other men gave him the benefit of
drawing room. but no one was there.
1 went back to the billiard room, but
saw nothing Of Miss Octavia. Cecilia
had rung for the footman, and l passed
him in, the hall on his way to answer
her summons. l stopped him with AL
inquiry on my lips, but 1 could not ask
the question. Even in my perplexity
is to the cause of the chimney's re.
markable performances I did not sc
far forget myself as to communicate
my suspicion to Il servant.
Nothing. Thomas" / said, and the
man passed on.
1t was possible, of course, that Miss
Octavia knew more than she cared tc
tell about the erratic ways of the Ii
brary chimney, or she might indeed be
the Of it's vagaries. Sufficient
time had elapsed after retirement from
the library to allow her to gain the
roof and clap a stopper on the chin
ney pot. This did not, however, ac
count for the fact that on the previous
evening she had been present in the
library when the same chimney haC
manifested a similar sulkinesS. l was
still bordering these things when
heard loud laughter from the library
and on returning found the logs agar
blazing in the fireplace. from which the
smoke rose demurely in the fue.
This fireplace is like a geyser, Mr.
Ames," said Cecilia. land spurts smoke
at regular intervals. AS I remember