The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1914-04-16

cabinet containing collection Oh
small worries and faience
He went thoughtfully back to the
great hall, where sat the big chest on
which lay the volume of Lucille" He
pushed down the antique wrought
iron hasp and threw up the lid 1t
was filed to the brim with textures:
heavy portieres of rose-damask, table
covers of faded soft-toned tapestry,
window-hangings of dull green-all
with tobacco-leaves laid between the
folds and sifted thickly over with the
sparkling white powder At the bot
tom, rolled in tarry-smelling paper, he
found a half-dozen thin. Persian pray
er-rugs.
"Phew!" he whistled. 81 certainly
ought to be grateful to that law firm
that inspected the place. Think OF
the things lying here all these years!
And that powder everywhere! It's
done the work, too, for there's not q
sign of moth. II I'm not careful, I'll
stumble over the family plate-it
seems to be about the only thing want
ing"
He thought a moment, then went
quickly into the library and began to
ransack the trunk. At length he found
small box containing keepsakes OF
various kinds He poured the medley
on to the table-an uncut moonstone.
an amethyst-topped pencil that one or
his tutors had given him as boy, a
timnr'C To- otd WhQ t-nnf
Among them was a mans seal-ring
with a crest cut in a comedian. He
looked at it closely. 1t was the same
device.
The ring had been his fathers.
Just when or how it had come into
his possession he could never remem-
Der. 1t had lain among these keep
sakes so many years that he had al
most forgotten its existence. He had
never worn a ring, but now, as he
went back to the hall, he slipped it
on his finger. The motto below the
crest was worn away, but 1t showed
clear in the marble of the hall-mantle:
! clinge.
His eyes turned from the carven
words and strayed to the pleasant sun
ny foliage outside. An.arrogant boast,
perhaps, yet in the event well justi-
fed Valiants had held that selfsame
slope when the encircling forests had
rung with .war-whoop and blazed with
torture-fire. They had held on through
Revolution and Civil war Good and
bad, abiding and lawless, every gener-
alton had cleaved stubbornly to its
acres. ! clinge. His father had chung
through absence that seemed to have
been almost exile, and now he, the last
Valiant. has come to make good the
boast.
His gaze wavered The tail Of his
eye had caught through the window a
squirt of something dashing and vivid,
that graZed the corner of far-off
field. He craned his neck, but it had
passed the line of his vision. The
next moment, however, there came
trailing on the satiny stiffness the
high-keyed ululation Of a horn, and an
instant later a long-drawn hallo-o-o!
mixed with a pattering chorus OF
yelps.
He went close, and leaning from the
sill, shaded his eyes with his hand.
The noise swelled and rounded in vol
ume; it was nearing rapidly. AS he
looked the hunt dashed into full view
between the tree-boles-a galloping
melee of khaki and scarlet, swarming
across the fresh green of a wheat
field, behind spotted swirl of hounds.
"Confound it," said John Valiant
belligerently; they're on my land!''
They were near enough now for him
to hear the voices Of the men, calling
encouragement to the dogs, and to see
the white ribbons of foam across the
TANKS of the laboring horses. One
scarlet-coated feminine rider, detached
from the bunch, had spurred in adj
vance and was leading by clean hun
dred yards, bareheaded, her hat fallen
back to the limit of its ribbon knotted
under her chin, and her waving hair
cleaning like furnished gold.
How she rides!" muttered the soil
tary watcher. "Cross-saddle, of course
the sensible little SPORT She'll
never in the world do that wall!-Yes,
by George!" John Valiant's admira-
ton turned to delight why" he
said. 'it's the Lady-of-the-Roses!"
He put his hands on the sill and
vaulted to the porch.