Belt Valley times., 1924-03-20

/ cdSiuhdiiy occupy, Sir Timothy re
piled, "and there are always thirty ol
forty servants and attendants Of DIFF
ferent sorts who have their quarter:
there. suppose that my daughter
and | would be there at the present
moment but for the fact that we own
this cottage. Both she and /, for resi-
dental purposes. prefer the atmos
phere there"
Il scarcely wonder at It," Francis
agreed.
/ They were surrounded now by varl-
GUS quadrupeds. AS well as the horses,
half dozen Of which were standing
patiently by Sir Timothy's side. sew
eral dogs had made their appearance
and after little preliminary enthu.
slasm had settled down at his feet. He
leaned over and whispered something
in the ear OF the mare who had come
first. She trotted on, and the others
followed suit In a curious little pro-
cession. Sir Timothy watched them,
Keeping hts head turned away from
Francis.
"You recognize the mare the third
from the end2" he pointed out. 'That
Is the animal bought in Coyent Gar
den. You see how she has filled outT"
'iI -siIouid never nave recognized
her" the ether confessed.
'Even Nero had his weakness" Sir
Timothy remarked, waving the dogs
away. MY animals quarters are well
worth a visit, II you have time. There
is small hospital, too, which Is quite
up to date"
"Do any Of the horses work at allf"
Francis asked.
Sir Timothy smiled.
Il will tell you a yer0 human thing
about my favorItes," he said. "In the
gardens on the other side Of the house
we have very extensive lawns. and
my head groom thought he would
make use of one of my horses which
had recovered 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 stampeding, prac-
tically every one Of those horses
comes cantering up with the true. vol
unteering spirit The one which he
selects. arches his neck and goes on
TO work with a Whole string of the
others following. Dodsley-that Is nay
groOm's name-tclls me that he does
a great deal more moving now than
he need. simply because they worry
him for work. Gratitude, you see, Mr..
Ledsam, sheer gratitude. If you were
to provide a dozen almshouses for
your poor dependents. wonder how
many OF them would be anxious TO
NOW your lawn. Come. let me
show you your room now"
They passed back through the post
into the gardens OF the Sane
tuary. Sir Timothy led the way to-
ward the house.
Il am glad that you decided to
spend the night, Mr.. Ledsam." he said.
~The river sounds terribly hackneyed
place to the Londoner. but Il has
beauties which only those who live
with it can discover. Mind your head.
My ceilings are low"
Francis followed hts host along
many passages, up and down stairs,
until he reached a little suite OF rooms
1t the extreme end OF the building.
The man-servant who had unpacked
IFS bag stood waiting. Sir Timothy
glanced around critically.
"SmalI but compact" he remarked.
There Is a little sitting room down
nat stair, and a bathroom beyond. If
he flowers annoy you. throw them out
II the window. And II you prefer to
,athe in the river tomorrow morning
Brooks here will show you the diving
,ooI. am wearing a short coat my
elf tonight, but do as you please. We
line az half-past eight"
Sir Timothy disappeared with a
ourteous little inclination Of the head.
dismissed the man-servant at
nee as being out OF keeping with his
ualnt and fascinating surroundings.
he tiny room with its flowers, its per-
ume Of lavender. its oId-fashloned I
hintzes, and It's fragrant linen, might
tilI have been a room In a cottage.
he sitting room, with its veranda
,oklng down upon the river. was pro-
lded with cigars, whisky and soda
nd cigarettes; bookcase, with a
are copy of flabeIais, an original
urtees. a LARGE paper Decameron.
nd a few other classics. Down an
ther couple OF steps was perfectly !.
hite bathroom. with shower and .
Iunge. Francis wandered from room
room, and finally threw himself into
chair on the veranda 10 smoke q II
garetfe From the river below him F.
lme now and then the sound Of Z
ices Through the trees on his right ?
: could catch glimpse here aHd =
ere, OF the strange pillars and green .
,med roof Of the Borghese villa. q
81