, 1924-04-02

''hS' 'ce''y
II have a suite there which l &C.
casionally occupy" Sir Timothy re-
piled, land there are always thirty or
forty servants and attendants Of diff
ferent sOrts who have their quarters
there. l suppose that my daughter
and / would be there at the present
moment but for the fact that we own
this cottage. Both she and l, for resi-
dental purposes. prefer the atmos
phere there"
II scarcely wonder at It," Francis
agreed.
They were surrounded now by vari-
Gus quadrupeds. AS well as the horses,
half n dozen of which were standing
patiently by Sir Timothy's side, sew
eral dogs had made their appearance
and after a little preliminary enthu-
siasm had settled down at his feet. He
leaned v and whispered something
in the a of the mare who had come
first. She trotted Off. and the others
followed suit in a curious little pro-
cession. Sir Timothy watched them.
keeping his head turned away from
Francis.
You recognize the mare the third
from the endY" he pointed out. THAT
is the animal l bought in Covent Gar
den. You see how she has filed out?''
Il should never have recognized
her." the other confessed.
Even Nero had his weakness Sir
Timothy remarked, waving the dogs
away. my animals quarters are well
worth n visit, II you have time. There
is a small hospital, too, which Is quite
up to date"
do any Of the horses work at alp
Francis asked.
Sir Timothy smiled.
II will tell you a verX human thing
about my favorites." he said. I'm the
gardens on the other side OF the house
we have very extensive lawns, and
my head groom thought he would
make use Of mt of my horses which
had cover from a serious accident
and was really quite a strong beast. for
one of the machines. He found the
Idea quite a success. and now he no
sooner appears In the park with a hal
ter than, instead of stampedlng. prac-
tically every n of those horses
%cantering up with the true vol
unteering spirit. The one which he
selects, arches his neck and goes off
to work with a whole string of the
others following. Dodsley-that Is my
groom's name-tclls me that he does
a great deal nor moving now than
he need. simply because they worry
him for work. Gratitude, you see. Mr..
Ledsam. sheer gratitude. II you were
to provide a dozen almshouses for
your poor dependents. I wonder how
many of them would be anxious to
NOW your lawn. . . . Come, let me
show you yoar room now"
They passed back through the post
ern-gate Into the gardens OF the Sane
tuary. Sir Timothy led the way to-
ward the house.
II am glad that you decided to
spend the night, Mr.. Ledsam." he said.
"The river sounds a terribly h~ackneyed
place to the Londoner, but 1t has
beauties which only those who live
with 1t can discover. Mind your head.
My ceilings are low"
Francis followed his host along
many passages, up and down stairs.
until he reached n little suite Of rooms
mt the extreme end OF the building.
The man-servnnt who had u%npncked
his bag stood waiting. Sir Timothy
glanced around critically.
"Small but compact" he remarked
There Is u little sitting room down
that stair, and n bathroom beyond. II
the flowers annoy you. throw them out
OF the window. And II you prefer to
battle In the river tomorrow morning.
Brooks here will show you the diving
pool. | am wearing n short coat my.
self tonight. but do MS you please. We
dine at half-past eight"
Sir Timothy disappeared with a
little inclination OF the head.
Francis dismissed the man. servant at
once MS being out of keeping with his
quaint and fascinating surroundings.
The tiny room with Its flowers. Its per
fume OF lavender. Its old.fashIoned
chintzes. and Its fragrant linen. might
still have been n room In n cottage.
The sitting room. with It's vernnda
looking down upon the river, was pro-
vided with cigars. whisky and soda
and cigarettes; n bookcase. with n
rare copy OF Rabelais, nm origlnnl
Surtees. n large paper Decnmeron,
and n few other classics. Down an.
other couple OF steps was n perfectly
white bathroom. with shower and
plunge. Francis wandered from room
TO room. and finally threw himself into
n chair on the veranda TO smoke u
cigarette. From the river below him
came now and then the sound OF
voices. Through the trees on his right
he could catch a glimpse. here and
there. OF The strange pillars and green.
domed roof OF the Borghese villa.
CHAPTER xI