White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1936-05-07
CHAPTER xlI-continued


~
A letter from the Count of Yor-
ick afforded us infinite pleasure and
deserves to be set out in full:
Dear Helena:
hope you are very we'll. I am
not at Yorick because I was bitten
by a mad dog and good Summary
tone brought me straight here. l
would like to thank him for that.
He saved my life, you know. Fancy
mad dog worrying me. I think I
must just have gone out-for a walk
or something and then it just leeped
upon me and worried me and
knew no moar. And this is the only
one place that 1 could have been
saved from going mad. It makes you
get hot all over. BY the way, I'm off
liquor. Alcohol, I mean. They make
me heeling drinks here with virtue
in them and I fairly lapp them up.
And the wounds heeling like a lit
tie child. They say liquors very
dangerous for hiderofobea. I nearly
died you know. All the vile the
good sammarrytones were taking
me to the monastery, it was touch
and go moar than once. The madness
was in my vanes. 1t makes you go
hot. But I'm all right now. They
say I can get up for a little vile on
Sunday and look at the hours.
shall like that. I see the vanity of
life now all right There is good
monk here called Father Bernard.
OF course, they are all good, but
he is the best. He says all is van
nifty and that the pumps Of the world
are void. You know there's lot in
that. Well, must end now. But
thought you might wunder where
was. What escape! Fancy mad
dog like that ranging about soaking
whom he might devower. tell you,
I hadn't a chance. He just leeped
upon me, nashing their fangs. can
see it now.
Your loving brother,
VALENTINE.
P. S.
What about flaming? I rather
hope he's gone. If not, perhaps you
could fire him out. He swore Spen-
Ger was your evil genie, but
thought Spencer had good eye.
Sour grapes, I guess. suppose you
knew what you were doing.
The reformation this letter fore
Swallowed was more than we could
believe, but I am bound to record
that it was fairly fulfilled. The
shock or the fear of death, or, per-
haps, his curious communion with
that honest and kindly fellowship
of simple souls wrought in the
count an astonishing change of
heart. The weeds that had choked
his qualities withered and died, and
though / was most apprehensive Of
our relation, "a hours acquaint-
ance had made us the best of
friends.
His postscript brings me to Pha-
raoh.
Of that unconscionable scoundrel
I have but little to say. That the
man was most swift and daring I
cannot deny, but I think that his
deadly reputation was to him the
highwayman's mare. Carefully fed
and cherished, it was this that
carried him into and out of en-
gagements without scratch: but
when at last he was standing upon
his own feet, even / was able to
show that, if his eye was quicker,
at least his spine was as brittle as
that Of another man. For all that,
he was bold and efficient-and
something more. Ill served, logged
by misfortune, he nevertheless con-
trived almost to wiring a victory out
of defeat. So far as I know, he
only made one mistake-and that
was to kill young Florin ; so far as
know, he had but one slice of luck
and that was, on binding Helena,
to find that she had in her hand her
master key.
The portrait my cousin had paint
ed will always rank for me as one
of the greatest triumphs a painter
ever achieved. This is not because