The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-07-17
GREEN FANCY
CHAPTER x.
By George Barr McCutcheon

CHAPTER 8.
The Prisoner Of Green Fancy, and the
Lament Of Peter the Chauffeur.
He envied MI. Rushcroft. The barn
stdrmer would have risen to the occa-
sion without SO much as the blinking
Of an eye. He did his best, however,
and. despite his eagerness, managed
to come of fairly well. Anyone out Of
earshot would have thought that he
was uttering some trifing inanity in
stead of these words:
"You may trust me. I have suspect
ed that something was wrong here"
1T is impossible to explain now"
she said. These people are not my
friends. I have no one to turn to in
my predicament."
Eyes, you have" he broke in, and
laughed rather boisterously for him.
He felt that they were being watched
In turn by every person in the room.
'Tonight-not an hour ago-I began
to feel that ! could call upon you for
help. l began to relax. Something
whispered to me that I was no longer
utterly alone. Oh, you will never
know what it is to have your heart
tighten as mine-but I must control
myself. We are not to waste words"
"You have only to command me,
Miss Cameron. No more than a dozen
words are necessary. Tell me how I
can be Of service to you"
Il shall try to communicate with
you in some way-tomorrow. beg
of you, I implore you, do not desert
me. If I can only be sure that you
will"
'You may depend on me, no matter
what happens. said he, and, looking
into her eyes. was bound forever.
Il have been thinking" she said.
Yesterday I made the discovery that
THAT I am actually a prisoner here,
MI. Barnes, smile! Say. something
silly r.
Together they laughed over the
meaningless remark he made In re-
Spouse to her command.
II Am constantly watched. II I
venture outside the house I am almost
Immediately Joined by one of these
men. You say what happened yes
terday. I am distracted"
II will ask the authorities to step
IN and"
"No! You are to do nothing Of the
kind. The authorities would never
find me If they came here to search"
ut was hard for him to smile at that!)
1T must be some other way. If I
could steal out of the house-but that
Is impossible" she broke off with a
catch in her voice. r.
Suppose that I were to steal into
the house," he said, a reckless light
in his eyes.
"Oh, you could never succeed"
"Well, I could try, couldn't II"
There was nothing funny in the re-
mark, but they both leaned back and
laughed heartily. Leave it to me
Tell me where" :
"The place is guarded day and night.
The stealthiest burglar in the world
could not come within a stones throw
Of the house,"
IF it's as. bad as all that, we cannot
afford to make' any slips. You think
you are in no immediate peril?"
II am in no peril at all unless l
bring it upon myself" she said signifi-
cantly.
EEI - III aMAae-E E-#- - ~
'aThen a delay of a day or so will
not matter" he said, frowning.
'Leave it to me. I will find a way"
BE careful" De Soto came loung-
ing up behind them.
"Forgive me for lnterrupting, but I
Inn under command from royal head
quarters. Peter, the king Of chauf-
feurs, sends in word that the car is in
an amiable mood and champing to be
Of. So seldom Is It in good humor
that he"
It'll be of at once" exclaimed
Barnes, arising. by Jove, it is half
past ten. I had no idea-good night,
Miss Cameron"
He pressed her hand reassuringly
and left her.
She had arisen and was standing,
straight and slim by the corner Of the
fireplace, q confident smile on her lips.
IL you are to be- long In the neigh
b0rh0od, MI. Barnes" said his hostess.
'syou must let us have you again."
my stay Ii short, / fear. You have
only to reveal the fafntest sign that I
may come. however. and I'll hop into
my seven-league boots before you can
utter Jack Robinson's Christian name.
Good night, Mrs. Van Dyke. / have
you all to thank for q MOST delightful
evening"
The car was waiting at the back Of
the house.. O'Dowd walked out with
barnes, their arms linked-as on q tor
mer occasion, Barnes recalled.
It'll ride out to the gate with you"
said the Irishman. TITS q winding,
devious route the road takes through
the trees"
They came In time, after many chair
pins" and right angles, to the gate
opening upon the highway. Peter got
NA& EAM IN HIAGE "a 60 AAAN n = az