The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1916-04-05
CHAPTER VI.
The Prince and MIR. Blithers.


"a Blithers accepted Maud's defcc
~ ton as final disposition of tlI,
cause he had set his heart upon
is very much mistaken in his man.
1t was a nuisance getting rid of it
that was all, and he wanted it to b,
completely out Of sight when he re
turned from Red Roof. If a vcstige o.
the ruins remained some would heal
from him. That was understood. Ans
when Maud came home on the ST..
she would not find him asleep, not by
long shot.
Half way to Red Roof he espied 9
man walking briskly along the road
ahead of him. To be perfectly accu-
rate, he was walking in the middle of
the road, and his back was toward
the swift moving, almost noiseless
Packard.
"Blow the horn for the dam fool"
said Mr.. Blithers to the chauffeur. A
moment later the pedestrian leaped
nimbly aside and the car shot past,
the dying vail of the siren dwindling
"Look where you're going!" shouted
Mr.. Blithers from the tonneau, as if
the walker had come near to run
ming him down instead of the other
way around. "WhOa! Stop 'er, Jack
SOM" he called to the driver. He had
recognized the pedestrian.
The car came to a stop with grind
ing brakes, and at the same time the
pedestrian halted a hundred yards
away.
"Back up" commanded Mr.. Blith-
ers in some haste, for the prince
seemed to be on the point of desert
ing the highway for the wood that
lined it. "Morning, prince!" he
shouted, waving his hat vigorously.
"Want lift?"
"No, I'll walk If you don't mind.
Out for a bit of exercise. you know.
Thank you just the same"
"Where are you bound for?" asked
Mr.. Blithers.
81 don't know. ramble where my
fancy leads me-"
al guess I'll get out and stroll along
with you. God knows / need more ex-
ercise than l get. Is it agreeable?"
He was on the ground by this time.
Without waiting for an answer, he
directed Jackson to run on to Red
Roof and wait for him.
81 shall be charmed" said Robin,
twinkle in the tail of his eye. "An
eight or ten mile jaunt will do you
world Of good. I'm sure. Shall we ex-
plore this little road up the mountain
and then drop down to Red Roof? l
don't believe it can be more than five
or six miles"
capital" said Mr.. Blithers with
enthusiasm. He happened to know
that it was "short cut" to Red Roof
and less than a mile as the crow flies.
True, there was something of an
ascent ahead of them, but there was
also a corresponding descent at the
other end. Besides. he was confident
he could keep up with the long leg
ged yOungster by the paradoxical
process Of holding back. The prince,
having suggested the route, couldn't
very well be arbitrary in traversing
1t. Mr.. Blithers regarded the sugges-
ton as an invitation.
They struck off into the narrow
woodland road, not precisely side by
side, but somewhat after the fashion
Of a horseback rider and his groom,
or. more strictly speaking, as
knight and his yassal. Robin started
off so briskly that Mr.. Blithers fell
behind few PAGES and had TO exert
himself considerably to keep from los
ing more ground as they took the
first steep rise. The road was full of
ruts and cross ruts and Uttered with
powders that had ambled down the
side in the spring moving.
To save his life, Mr.. Blithers couldn't
keep TO straight course. lie went
from rut to rut and from rock TO rock
with the fidelity Of a magnetiZed
atom, seldom putting his foot where
he meant TO put il and never by any
chance achieving a steady stride. lie
would take one long, purposeful step
and then couple Of short "feelers,"
very much as man
Lramps over a newly plowed field.
At the top Of the rise Robin consid-
erately slackened his pace, and the
chubby gentleman drew alongside
out of breath. but as cheer
ful as n cricket.
Going too fast for you, Mr.. Blith-
ers?" inquired Robin.
Not at ALL" said Mr.. Blithers. by
he way, prince" he went on, cunning
y selling the young mans arm and
hereby putting a check on his speed
or the time being at least, II want to
explain my daughters unfortunate alb
'ence last night. You must have
bought 1t very strange. Naturally II
vas unavoidable. The poor girl is