Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1919-06-12


gestive OF tolerance. although II Ger.
taIaly would have been recorded by
less sensitive person than Barnes az
ripping"
In reply 10 his perfunctory delight.
ed, I'm sure. etc." she said qnIte clear.
by: "Oh. now remember. I was sure
( had seen you before. MFR. Barnes
You are the magic gentleman who
sprang like a mushroom out OF the
earth early yesterday afternoon"
"And frightened you" he said |;
'whereupon you vanished Ike the
mushroom that is gobbIed up by the
predatory glutton."
He had thrilled at the sound of her
voice. IL was the low. deliberate voice
OF the woman Of the crossroads. and
as before, he caught the almost i'm
perceptible accent. The red CLEAN
from the blazing logs fell upon her
shining hair; IL glistened like gold
She wore n simple evening gown Of
white, sOftened over the shoulders and
neck with a fall of rare valencIennes
lace. There was no jewelry-nOt even
a ring on her slender. tapering fingers
Mrs. Collier. the hostess, was an el
derry, manufactured woman, decId
eddy overdressed. Mrs. Van Dyke
her daughter. was a woman of thirty
tall. dark and handsome I'm bold
dashing sort OF way. The lackadaisI
cal gentleman with the mustache
turned out to be her husband.
MY brother is unable to be with
Us tonight, Mr.. Barnes" explained
Mrs. Collier. "Mr. O'Dowd may have
told You that he is an invalid. Quite
rarely Is he well enough to leave his
room. He has begged me to present
his apologies ana regrets TO you. An.
other time, perhaps. you win give him
tire pleasure he In missing tonight"
De SOtO's cocktails came In. Miss
Cameron did not take one. ODowd
proposed a toast.
ITO the rascals who went cunning
for the other rascals. But for them
we should be short at least one men,
Der Of this agreeable company"
II was rather startling. Barnes
glass stopped half way to his lips. An
instant later he drained 1t. He ac-
,epted the toast as a compliment from
The whilom Irishman, and not as q
tribute to the prOwess of those mys-
FERROUS marksmen.
The table in the spacious dining
loom was one Of those long, narrow
italian boards, Enthusiastically antique
and equally rare. Sixteen or eighteen
people could have been seated with,
out crowding, and when the seven took
heir places wide intervals separated
them. No effort had been made by the
hostess to bring her guests close to-
yether, as might have been done by
using one end or the center Of the
table. The serving plates were of sill
ger. Especially beautiful were the
'Ong-stemmed water gOblets and the
graceful champagne glasses. They
were blue and white and Of a design
and quality no longer obtainable ex-
sept at great cost. The esthetic
Barnes was not slow TO appreciate the
:arity OF the glassware and the chaste
beauty Of the serving plates.
The man Nicholas was evidently the
1utler. despite his Seventh avenue
manner. He was assisted In serving
~ two stalwart and amazingly clumsy
!OOtmen. of similar ilk and nationality.
On seeing these additional men serv-
ants Barnes began figurntIveIy to
count on his fingers the retainers he
lad so far encountered on the place.
Already he had seen six. all of them
rugged fellows. II struck
lim as extraordinary, and In a way
significant that there should be SO
many men at Green Fancy.
Much to his disappointment he was
lot placed near Miss Cameron Mt
able. Indeed she was seated as far
lway from him as possible. There was
place set between him and De Soto,
'or symmeti s sake, Barnes con.
cluded. In this he was mistakenl
hey had barely seated themselves
when Mrs. Collier remarked:
mfr. Curtis secretary usually Joins
IS here for coffee. He has his dinner
With my brother, and then, poor man,
zones In for a brief period of relaxa,
ion. When my brother Is In one of
Ills bad spells poor Mr.. Loeb doesn't
lave much time to himself"
Loeb. the private secretary, came In
or coffee. He was a tall. spare. man
II thirty. pallidly handsome, with
lark. studiOus eyes and features OF an
Hebraic cast, as his
lame might have foretold. His teeth
we're marvelously white and his slow
mile attractive. More than once dun,
ng the hour that Loeb spent with
hem Barnes formed and dismissed d
ever-recurring opinion that
he man was not Jew. Certainly be
Vas~not an American Jew. His voice
lis manner OF speech, his every action
tamped him as one born and bred 70
land far from Broadway and its
II n Jew he was OF the
asst as 1t Is measured from Rome
he Jew of the carnal Orient.
ana as the evening wore on there
anne to Barnes the singular fancy
hat this man was the master and NOT
he servant of the housed He could
70: put the ridiculous idea out of his
mind.
He was to depart Mt ten. The hour
rev near and he had had no opportu.
Iity for detached conversation with
Hiss Cameron. He had listened to her
right retorts Ia O'Dowd's saIlIes. and
larveled Mt the ease and composure
With which she met the witty Irish.
nan on even terms
NOT until the very close OF the eve.
ing, and when he had resigned him.
elf to hopelessness. did the opportu.
lity come for him to speak with her
lone. She caught his eye. and. TO his
made a slight movement
I her head. unohserved by the others
ut curiousiy imperative to him. There
vas no installing the meaning of the
irect. intense look that she gave him
She was appealing to him as a
riend-as one on whom she could de-