Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-03-06
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ILLUSTRATED 81 LAUREN STOUT

beside the leader, his astonished eyes
sweeping the house-front. with its
open blinds, the wisp of smoke curling
from the kitchen chimney. He said
something to her, and she nodded.
The younger man, meanwhile, had
flung himself from his horse, a Wild
eyed roam, and with his arm thrust
through its bride, strobe forward
among the welter of hounds, where
they scurried at fault, hither and
thither, yelping and eager.
What rotten luck!" he exclaimed.
Gone to ground after twelve miles!
After him, Tawny! You mongrels!
Do you imagine he's up a tree? After
him, Bulger! Bring him here!"
He glanced up, and for the first time
saw the figure in tweeds looking on.
Valiant was attracted by his face, its
dash and generosity everything its in
herent profiigacy and weakness. Dark
as the girl was light, his features had
the same delicate chiseling, the in
breeding, nobility and indulgence of
generations. He stared a moment,
and the somewhat supercilious look
travelled over the gazer, from dusty
boots to waving brown hair.
"Oh!" he said. His view slowly
took In the evidences of occupation.
THE house is open, / see. Going to
get it fit for occupancy, l presume?"
Eyes"
The other turned. well, Judge
Chalmers, what do you think of that?
The unexpected has happened at last"
He looked at the porch. who's to
occupy it?"
1.-THE owner"
Wonders will never cease!" said
the young man easily, struggling.
We'll, our quarry is here somewhere.
From the way the dogs act l should
say he's bolted into the house. With
your permission I'll take one of them
in and see." He stopped and snapped
a leash on a dog-collar.
I'm really very sorry" said Valiant,
"but I'm living in it at present."
The edge of a smile lifted the care
fully trained mustache over the
others white teeth. 1t had the per-
fectly courteous air of saying, "Of
course, if you say SO. But"
Valiant turned, with a gesture that
included all. IF you care to dismount
and rest" he said, II shall be honored,
though I'm afraid l can't offer you
such hospitality as / should WISH"
The judge raised his broad soft hat.
THANK you, sir" he said, with a soft
accent that delightfully."- disdained the
letter "r." But we mustn't intrude
any further. AS you know, of course,
the place has been uninhabited for
any number of years, and we had no
idea it was to acquire a tenant. You
will overlook our riding through, 1
hope. I'm afraid the neighborhood
has got used to considering this a sort
of no-man's land. It's a pleasure to
know that the Court is to be re-
claimed, sir. Come along, Chilly" he
added. Our fox has a burrow under
the house, l reckon-hang the cunning
little DEVIL"
He waved his hat at the porch and
turned his horse down the path, side
by side with the golden chestnut.
After them trooped the others, horses
walking YEARLY, riders talking in low
voices, the girls turning often to send
swift bird-like chances behind them
to where the straight masculine figure
still stood with the yellow sunshine on
his face. They did not leap the wall
this time, but filed d%ecorously through
the swinging gate to the Red Road.
Then, as they passed from view be-
hind the hedges, John Valiant heard
the younger voices break out together
like the sound of a bomb thrown into
a p~oultry-yard.
john Valiant stood watching till the
last rider was out of sight. There
was a warm flush of color in his face.
At length he turned with a ghost
of a sigh, opened the hall door wide
and stalking a hundred yards away,
sat down on the shady grass and be-
gan to whistle, with his eyes on the
door.
Presently he was rewarded. On a
sudden, around the edge of the sill
peered a sharp, suspicious little muz-
zIe. Then, like a fash of tawny light.
the fox broke sanctuary and shot for
the thicket.
: . .
The brown ivied house in the vii
lage was big and square and faced the
sleepy street. A onestoried wing con-
tanned a small door with a doctors
brass plate on the clapboarding be-
side it. Doctor Southan was one of
Mrs. Merryweather Mason's paying
guests-for she would have deemed
the word boarder a gratuitous insult,
no less to them than to her. Another
was the major, who for a decade had
occupied the big old-fashioned cor
ner-room on the second floor, COM
panioned by a monstrous gray cat and
waited on by an ancient negro named
Jereboam, who had been a slave OF