The Crittenden press., 1920-04-16
CHAPTER II.
The Amazing Widow.

As soon MS Torrcnce left returned
10 the garage feeling that with Mrs.
Bashford on American soil my use of
the residence cvcs ns lonflng'plnce
was unhcComlng. Mrs Bnshford was
not only In America. hut with n motor
at her command she might reach
Barton at any hour Ind the vlgor'
Gus, dominating woman who had cap
tured my uncle Bash. buried him In
a far country. and then effected hop,
skip. and jump from Bangkok IN
Seattle. was likely TO be n prodlgal
spender OF gasoline. Her propensity
for travelling encouraged the hope
that she would quickly weary of Barton
and pine for lands where the elephant
and jlnrIckisha flourish.
had brought with me the manu-
script OF Senrles' play, and | fell upon
II irrlinbly and began reading the first
net. The dialogue moved brlskly, and
| read on NJ though cnfoldcd In the
mir Of \ crisp spring morning. My
crouch over the upsetting OF my plans
yielded under the spell OF his humor.
Lady Lnrkspur" was the name
assumed 10y the daughter Of rccluse
naturalist IN the valley Of Virginia.
She had known no life but that 'of
the open country where she ran Wild
all summer. aiding her father In col
iectlng plants aud butterflies. He
Ind educated the girl In such n man
ner that only the cheer and Joy OF
life were known to her. Hating man
kind. he had encouraged her In ma
ure. worship. She knew M literature
except the classics; all history, even
the history of the storicd valley In
which she lived, was sealed book
ia her
The GIRLS curiosity Is reused by the
sudden appearance of strangers from
thc unknown world beyond. whom
she mystifcs 10y her quaint old'world-
,shncss. Senres had taken an old
theme and given n novel twist To II.
The solution of the mystery OF the
fathers exile and mn amusing COM
plicatlon of lovers afforded n suS'
penslve Interest well sustained To the
end. In the last act the girl appears
nj n ball at.n country house In Sophs'
,Icntcd raImcnt. and the story ends In
the key Of mirth In which II began.
II was delightful blending aud
modcrnlzatlon of Diana, Atalnntn,
Cinderella. and Rosalnl; hut even In
the typewrittcn page II was nmnZ'
lnrly alive and well calculated To
evoke tears Lnd laughter. That II
MAY 20 enthrnling should be buried
In n safcty.vault was not to he
thought Of, mud snt down and wrote
Searles long letter demanding thn'
he nj once forget the lost star for
,hom he had written the plccc, sug'
rrstlng the names Of several we'll
known actresses | thought worth con
sldcrlng for the difficult leading role.
Not satisfied with this, telcphoned
N telegram to the agent nj Barton
for transmission to Scnrlcs nj the Ohlu
address he had given me,
The next day passed without Incl
dent. and On the second, hearing
nothing from Terrence, hcrnn Ia
Doubt Mrs. BpShfor,rs proximity
ON the third, stIll hearing nothing,
hnrkencd To nm invitation from friends
n New London and drove In the
runnbou, for dinner II was midnight
when | got back. and when ! reached
the gates several men dashed out OF
the lodge and halted me.
"Shcs come. sir" announced
Antoine, emerging from the darkness
and speaking under stress of deer
emotion; madame the widow hn'
arrived. sir"
"Why not Cleopatra or the Queci
OF Shchnf" I exclaimed testify Il
cover my annoyance that my nun, hnt
effected her descent In my absence
swell, she was expected; the house 1
hers; what do you want me to do nbou
~. I ended with affected jocularl,y
ave received her the tes, we could
but II sas most unfortunate. your no
being mere, sir"
rs that your Idea. Antoine. or d