The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1914-05-15
cHApTER ".
Captive or Runaway.

Captive or Runaway.
At the age Of twenty-six Donald Abb
bOtt had become prosperous and dis
tinguished painter In water colors.
His work was Individual, and at the
same time it was delicate and charm
Ing. One saw his Italian landscapes
rs through flmy gauze; the almond
blossoms of Sicily, the rose-laden walls
Of Florence, the vineyards Of Chianti,
the poppy-glowing Campagna out Of
Rome. His Italian lakes had brought
him fame. He knew very little OF the
grind and hunger that attended the
careers Of his whilom associates. His
father had left him some valuable pat
entS wash-tubs. carpet-cleaners and
other labor-saving devices-and the
royalties from these were quite suf-
6cient to keep him pleasantly housed.
His earnings (not inconsiderable,
for tourists found much to admire In
both the pictures and the artist he
spent in gratifying his mild extrava-
gances. So there were no lines in his
handsome, boyish, beardless face; and
his eyes we're unusually clear and
happy. Perhaps once or twice, since
bis majority, he had returned to Amer
lea to prove that he was not an ex-
patriate, though certainly he was one,
the only tie existing between him and
his native land being the bankers who
regularly honored his drafts. And who
shall condemn him for preferring Italy
TO the desolate center OF New York
state. where good servants and good
weather are as rare - are fawless
emeralds?
Half after three, on Wednesday aft
srnoon, Abbott stared moodily at the
weather-tarnished group by Dalou in
the Luxembourg gardens the Tri-
umph of Silenus. His gaze was de-
ceptive, for the rollicking old bibulous
vcoundrel had not stirred his critical
sense nor impressed the delicate Aims
Of thought. He was looking through
the bronze, into the far-away things.
He had arrived early that morning, all
the way from Como, TO find thunder
bolt driven in at his feet Across his
knees fluttered an open newspaper,
the Paris edition of the New York
Herald. ALI that kept it from blowing
away was the tense If spraying I'm.
gers of his right hand; his left hung
imply at his side.
It was not possible. Such things did
not happen these unromantic days to
musical celebrities. She had written
that Nv Nnndav uank% ehe ,x,..,,lN -. :
In La Boheme and ON Wednesday
Faust. She had since vanished, van.
lshed as completely as though she had
taken wings and flown away. It was
unreal. She had left the apartment
In the Avenue de Wagram on Satur.
day afternoon, and nothing had been
seen or heard Of her since. At the
last moment they had had to find a
substitute for her part In the Puccini
opera The maid testified that her
mistress had gone on an errand OF
mercy. She had not mentioned where
but she had said that she would return
in time to dress for dinner, which
proved conclusively that something
out OF the ordinary had befallen her.
The automobile that had carried her
away had not been her own, and the
chauffeur was unknown. None Of the
directors at the opera had been mott
fed of any change In the SINCERE
plans. She had disappeared, and they
were deeply concerned. Singers were
generally erratic. full of sudden indis
positions, unaccountable whims; bul
the Signorina da Toscana was one II
. thousand. She never broke an en-
gagement. II she was Ill she said &c
at once; she never left them In doubt
until the last moment Indecision wal
not one of her characteristics. She
was as reliable as the sun. II the di
rectcrs did not hear definitely from
her by noon today, they would have t.
md another Marguerite.
The police began to move, and they
stirred up some curious bits Of infor
nation. A man had tried to bride the
singers chauffeur, while she was sing
ing at the Austrian ambassadors. The
chauffeur. was able to describe the
stranger with some accuracy. Their
came the bewildering episode In the
apartment; the pistol-shot, the fiighl
Of the man, the astonished concierge
to whom the beautiful American would
offer no explanations. The man (whc
tailed with the description given b.