Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1916-07-20
EIGHTH EPISODE
The Stroke of Twelve.


Enoch Golden had never been know
as a half-hearted fighter He was. II
fact, of that pertinacious breed who
fight best when half defeated. Ant
as he grew into fuller realization OF
the virulence Of Jules Legar's hatred
for him and his house, he proceeded tc
take more effective steps to protect
himself
One of his precautions was to place
an armed guard about the home which
had been repeatedly and audaciously
invaded by Legar and his agents.
But the mere posting of a couple
of paid sentinels about his doors did
not mark the limit of his activities.
He strove for still more substantial
protection by installing in one of the
upper rooms of his house a huge bur-
glar-proof vault Of chromium steel
The installation of SO ponderous
vault, however, involved much mate
rial strengthening of a structure not
primarily designed for the support of
seven-ton safes, and for days q small
body of expert workmen had been busy
putting in pillars and Orders and
disgusting these ponderous supports
under veneer of mahogany ceiling
beams and oriental teakwood columns.
In the ornamentation of the latter, in
fact. the owner of the house found
valued assistant in Count Luigi Da
Espares who, with his finished taste
and his knowledge of the fine arts. adj
vanced many suggestions for beautffy-
Ing what might otherwise have been
an ungainly and cumbersome innova-
ton.
1t was Margery Golden, even more
than her father, to whom Da Espares.
In these small efforts, looked for graft |
trde, And the more Margery Golden /
saw OF that gallant young antiquarian
the more mysteriously impressed she
became
David Marley, who was not alto
gether ignorant Of this new turn In
the tide of events, found little to add
to his happiness in this evergrowing
intimacy between Margery and her
guest For Manley, by this time, did
more than merely distrust Da Es-
pares, he hated him.
These vague misgivings of Man,
ley's extended even to the costume
dinner-dance which this esthetic for
eigner undertook to engineer for Mar. !
gerys amusement. And in talking
over his plans with Golden himself, '
as the latter was making ready for
one OF his hurried trips to Washing. I
ton, the young nobleman even ven '
tured the hope that this fete might 1
be made the occasion of an even more e
suspicious announcement.
But the morose-eyed old millionaire e
1fd not quite follow the others line a
of thought So Da Espares was driven p
10 the expedient of openly yet cour- Il
Leously requesting the privilege of
pressing his suit for the hand OF this u
ARREST daughter of America. o
What d'you mean by that?- de- Il
handed the astounded fnancier. Are p
you trying to tell me that you want to A
marry my daughter?- L
That is the honor of which | have 81
lreamed,' was Da Espares' quietly In
oned reply. d.
Well, the point is, has my Margery til
'een dreaming along the same liner"
That cannot venture to say" re- OF
lied that unctuously gallant sutton. OF
Well, in America that's about the W
rst thing that counts, And l guess Al
ved better call OF this courtxhip talk vi
ntil we find out how the gfrl feels
bout it!s til
The disappointed, but not disheart- tn
ned, count, accordingly, proceeded Of
uietly yet earnestly to sound Margery
iolden herself as to her feelings IN &C
ne matter But here, too, he was gu
net with reply which, II graciously 70
vorded. was at least noncommittal to
But you at least know that l wish wi
bring you happiness, that l was in
our friend In tke past, that always dc
the future want to be your cl'
riendls so
But when friendship remains lie.
,asked, + remains harder to under he
Then the mask may be withdrawn. LIE
nd Withdrawn sooner than you ex. I'M
ect ce
lust what does that mean % asked
g clear-eyed girl. studying h.1 face ev