The state herald., 1914-05-08

1
miliar dashing. slanting handwriting.
his own name. The envelope con.
tanned a creased yellow parchment.
from between whose folds there
clumped and fiuttered down upon the
floor long fattish object wrapped
in a paper. q newspaper clipping and
a letter.
Puzzled he unfolded the cracking
thing in his hands. Why" he said
half aloud. '.it's-it's a deed made over
to me-" He overran 1t swiftly. Part
OF an old Colony grant a
plantation In Virginia. twelve hun.
dred odd acres. given under the hand
Of a vice.regal governor in the six
teenth century. l had no idea titles
in the United States went back 30 far
as that!" His eye fed to the cad.
1T was my fathers! What could he
have wanted Of an estate In Virginia? :?
1t must have come into his hands in
the course OF business"
He picked up the newspaper clip
ping. 1t was worn and broken in the
folds as II It had been carried for
months In pocketbook.
1T will interest readers OF this sec
tion OF Virginia (the paragraph be-
gam to learn. from a recent transfer
received for record at the County
Clerks office. that Damory Court has
passed to Mr.. John Valiant, minor"
He turned the paper over and found
date; 1t had been printed in the year
of the transfer to himself, when he
was six years old-the year his father
had died.
John Valiant. minor. the son OF
the former owner.
There are few indeed who do not
recall the tragedy with which in the
public mind the estate is connected
The fact, moreover. that this old home
stead has been left In its present state
tfor. as is well known, the house has
remained with all its contents and fur
nishings untouched) to rest during 30
long term of years unoccupied. could
not. OF course. fail to be commented
Oh. and this circumstance alone has
perhaps tended to keep alive melan.
choly story which may well be for
gotten"
He read the elaborate. rather stilted
phraseology In the twenty.year-old pa
per with a wondering interest. An
old house." he mused. with a bad
name. Probably he couldn't sell II,
and maybe nobody would ever live In
II. That would explain why It re-
mained 30 long unoccupied-whyt there
are no records OF rentals. Probably
the land was starved and run down.
It's an Offset to the hall.bedroom
idea. at any rate he said to himself
humorously. 1T holds out an escape
from the noble army OF rent.payers.
When my twenty.eight hundred is
gone. ! could live down there n landed
proprietor. and by the same mark an
honorary colonel. and raise the cab
bages was talking about-eh. Chum?
while you stalk rabbits. How does
that strike your"
He laughed whimsically. He. John
Valiant. OF New York, first.nighter at
Its theaters. hail.fellow.well.met in It's
club corridors and welcome diner at
any one OF hundred brilliant glass.
MISUNDERSTANDING supper tables. en-.
tombed on the wreck OF Virginia
plantation. a would-be country gentle
man, on In automobile and next to
nothing year.
He bethought himself OF tho fallen
letter and possessed himself CT II
quickly II lay with the superscrip-
tion side down. On II was written, in
the same hand which had addressed
the other envelope:
For my son, John Valiant.
When no reaches the age Of twenty.
five.
That, then. had been written by his
faiher-nnd he had died nearly twenty
years ago. He broke the seal with a
strange feeling as II. walking In some
familiar ihoroughfaro. ho had stun.
bled ON n liohoned anf sunken tomb
stone.
When you read this, my son, you
VIII have com. TO man estate. Il Ia
curious TO think that this black. black
INK may be faded to gray and this
white. white paper ycllowed. just from
lylng waiting so long, But strangost
OF all Ia TO think that you yourself
whose brown head hardly tops this
dcsk. viii bc M tall Il hope M n
How ] wonder what you will look like
,henl And shall i--thc real, real 1, 1
mean-bo peering over your strong
broad shoulder aH you read7 Who
knows7 wisc men have dreamed such
thing possiblc--and | am not bit
wise.
John. you viii no, have forgotten
that you arc Valiant. But you ar.
also a VirEinlan, WIN you have dis.
covered this for youruclff Her, 1. tn.
deed to tho land where l aud my
father. and his father. and many. many
more valianta before thom wcro born,
Sometime. perhaps. you will know why
you arc John Valiant OF Now York In.
stead OF John Valiant OF Damory
Court ] can not tell you myself. bo.
HuuFa II ia loo tt4t. . .sa..