Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1924-03-13

Here are fifty pounds" he said
THE mare is mine"
He called over his footman and al
rected him to unharness the auina
and take It to his private stable, Ii
; town.
The man touched his hat ant
hastened to commence his task. ST,
Timothy turned to Francis aWe
might walk the last few yards, Mr.,
Ledsam," he said.
The latter acquIesced at once. and
In moment or two they were In the
opera house.
Margaret Hilditch, her chair pushed
back into the recesses OF the box.
scarcely turned her head at her Ia
TIERS entrance.
Il have brought an acquaintance Of
yours, Margaret" the latter an
nounced, as he hung up his hat. "You
remember Mr.. LedsamY'
Francis drew a little breath of re-
lief as he bowed over her hand. For
the second time her. inordinate COM
posure had been assalled. She WINS her
usual calm and Indifferent self almost
Immediately, but the CLEAN Of sur
prise, and he fancied not unpleasant
surprise, had been unmistakabie.
Are you devotee, Mr.. Ledsam7"
she asked.
Il am fond Of music" Francis an
sxered.@ "especially this opera"
She m0tioned to the chair in the
front Of the box. facing the stage.
You must sit there" she insisted.
Il prefer always to remain here, and
my father always likes to face the |
audience. really believe" she went
on, that he likes to catch the eye of |
the journalist who writes little gossIpy
items, and to see his name In print"
But you yourself7" Francis venz
tured.
Il fancy that my reasons for pre-
ferrIng seclusion should be obvious
enough" she replied. little bitterly.
"Afy daughter is inclined, fear, to
be little morbid Sir Timothy said,
settling down In his place.
Francis made no reply. A triangu-
lar conversation Of this sort was al
most impossible. The members of the
were already climbing up to
their places, In preparation for the
overture to the last act. Sir Timothy {
rose to his feet
"You will excuse me for a moment" :
he begged. II see a lady to whom /
must pay-nly respects"
Francis drew sigh OF relief at his =
departure. He turned at once to his y
I
did you mind my comlng2" he t
lsked 4
Mind itT she repeated. with al
most fnsolent nonchalance. "Why {
hould 1t affect me in any wayl My 0
ather's friends come and go. / have
10 interest In any Of them.n
"But," he protested, II want you to =
e interested In me-" p
She moved little uneaslIy In her
lace. Her tone, nevertheless. re- y
ialned Icy. a
Could you possibly manage to avoid :,
ersonalltles in your conversation, Mr.. .
edsamT" she begged. Il have tried
READY to tell you how feel about Y
lch things. u
She was certainly difficult. Francis :,
eallzed that with a little sigh. =,
Were you surprised to see me with
our father7" he asked. little In =,
nelly. :.
Il cannot conceive what you two
ave found in common" she admitted. !.
Perhaps our interest In you," he -
piled. "By-the-bye, have just seen !,
I'm perform a qulxotlc but a very fine "a,
,tion." Francis said. HE stopped a
lrter from thrashlng his horse, -
rocked him down. bought the horse =
ON him and sent 1t homen ~
She was mildly interested.
can amiable side Of my fathers In
'aracter which no one would sus- de
ct" she remarked. 'The entire III
lrk OF his country house at Hatton til
nd Is given over to broken-down ami to
ais" CHI
II am one Of those,r he confessed.
rho find this trait amazing" ey
''Knd I am another, she remarked VIC
Otgs Al tAf ohC cttttcu uOWu Sert- taN
sly to try and understand my father, sp'
would need the spectacles Of De thu
iincey, the outlook OF a voltaire.
ID the callousness Of Borgla You pei
e. he doesn't lend himself to any OF Pr
e recognized standards"
Neither do you. he said boldly. lig
She looked away from him across rel
e house. to where Sir Timothy was
king to man and woman In one Of tn
e ground-fioor boxes. Francis recog- IT.
sed them with some surprise-an grs
ricultural duke and his daughter hal
dy Cynthia Milton. one of the most sor
autlful and famous young women In ne'
ndon. Das
Your father goes far afeld for his as
ends" Francis .emarked. ste
MY father has no friends" she re- son
ed sHe has many acquaintance. dof
nbt whether he has a single CON ian