Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-21
FIRST INSTALLMENT.

shine. Along High street the
L only signs of life visible were
cat stropping its backbone
against the Jubilee Watering Trough,
some flies doing deep-breathing ex-
ercises on the hot windowsills, and a
little group of serious thinkers who.
propped up against the wall of the
esta blishment to open. At no time
is there ever much doing in Ridges
main ttroughfare, but the hour at
which a stranger entering 1t, is least
likely to suffer the illusion that he
has strayed into Broadway, Piccadilly,
or the Rue de Rivoli is at 2 O'Clock on
a warm afternoon in July.
Ridge -the-Vale is in that pleasant
section of rural England where the
gray stone of Worcestershire gives place
to INCONSISTENCIES old red brick. Quiet,
in fact. almost unconscious. 1t nestles
beside the tiny river Shrine and lets
the world 60 by, soI1nolently content
with it's Norman church, its IL public
houses. its pop.-to quote the Auto
mobile Guide-of 3.54l. and its only
effort in the direction of modern prog
ress the emporium of Charles Bywater,
chemist
Charles Bywater Is live wire. He
takes no afternoon sietsta, but works
while others sleep Rudge is inclined
after luncheon, to go into the back
room, put a handkerchief over its face
and take things easy for a bit. But
not Charles ywater. At the moment
at which It's story begins he was all
hustle and activity, and had just fin-
ished selling to Col Meredith Wyvern
bottle of Brophy's Paramount Elixir
(said to be good for gnat bites).
Having concluded his purchase, Col
Wyvern would have preferred to leave,
but Mr.. Bywater was q man who liked
to sweeten trade with pleasant con-
versation. Moreover, this was the first
time the colonel had been inside his
shop since that sensational affair up at
the Hall two weeks ago, and Charles
Bywater, who held the unoff1cial posi-.
ton of chief gossip-monger to the vii
liage, was aching to get to the bottom OF
that.
With the bare outline Of the story
he was, of course, familiar. Rudge
Hall, seat Of the Carmody family, con-
tanned In its fine old park number of
trees planted somewhere about the
reign OF Queen Elizabeth. This meant
that every now and then one of them
would be found to have become a
wobbly menace, so that experts had to
be sent for to reduce It with dynamite
to q harmless stump. Well two weeks
Halls Elizabethan oaks and as near
as a TOUGHER Rudge learned, had blown
UP Col Wyvern and Mr. Carmody with
It. The two friends had come walking
by Just as the expert set fire to the
train and had had a very narrow
escap
Thus far the story was common prop
erty in the village, and had been dis
cussed nightly in the IL taprooms
~ 10 pt%
water could not help feeling that there
was more In it than this. He decided
to give his customer the opportunity
Of confiding in him.
WARM day, colonel" he observed.
EUR" grunted Col Wyvern.
Glass going up, I see.'
"Ur."
May be in for spell of fine weather
at last"
"Ur."
Glad to see you looking so we'll.
colonel, after your little accident" said
Chas. Bywater, coming out into the
open.
Il had been Col. Wyverns intention,
for he was a man of testy habit, to
inquire of Mr.. Bywater why he couldn't
wrap a bottle of Brophy's Elixir in
brown paper and put bit of string
round It without taking the whole
words, he abandoned this project.
Turning a bright mauYe and allowing
his luxuriant eyebrows to meet across
the top of his nose, he subjected the
other 20 a fearful glare.
Little accident?" he said. Little
accidert?"
Il was abiding"
Little ACCIDENT"
81 merely"
IF by little accident" said Col
Wyvern. in thick. throaty voice, you
mean my miraculous escape from
death when that fat thug up at the
Hall did his very best to murder me,
I should be obliged If you would choose
your expressions more carefully. Little
accident"
Few things are more painful than
the realization that an estrangement
has occurred betwee1 two old friends
who for years have Shared each others
Joys and sorroWs and hold the same
views on religion, politics, cigars, vine
and the decadence Of the younger
generation Mr. ByWater's reaction, on
hearing Col. Wyvern describe Mr.. Lester
Carrody, Of Rudge Hall, until two
short weeks ago his closest crony, as
fat thug, should have been one of sober
sadness. Such, however, was not the
case. Rather was he filled with ar
unholy exultation. All along he hao
maintained that there was more in thai
Hall business than had become officially
known, and he stood there with his
ears Tapping, waiting for details.
These followed in great profusion
Mr.. Bywater. as he drank them an
began to realize that his companion hsc
certain grounds for feeling little an
moved. For when, as Col. Wyvern very
-sans!bly argued. you have besn a man