The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1937-03-12

ing attention. Here was his oppor-
tunity to make a suggestion. This
was the golden moment to present,
as his own, the plan which Cecily
had devised. Mr.. Vaughn was in
receptive mood. He had only to
go about it tactfully. He let the
moment pass into eternity.
"No," he said, and then, realiz-
ing that his reply was little curt,
Nothing" he added, Except that
he writes very bad poetry. Do we
turn here, sir? Is the place on the
Cherry Hollow road?"
Mr.. Vaughn dismissed his fami-
ly and turned to the business at
hand.
"This side of Cherry Hollow" he
said. "Not far from here mile
or so. It's property we've had
to take over, a riding academy.
Well sell it at public auction, I
suppose, if anybody's fool enough
to make bid. Another white ele-
phant."
The abandoned riding academy
appeared to be white elephant OF
the most hopeless variety. The
place, formerly farm, was over
grown with weeds and brambles
and blackberry bushes.
pretty bad, isn't it?" Vaughn
said to Jim as they walked through
the dim stable festooned with cob
webs and Uttered with mouldy odds
and ends of harness and rope and
n4oth-eaten blankets and corn-cobs
and fodder.
"The land should be worth some
thing" Jim said.
"Real estate doesn't bring any,
thing in the present market" Mr..
Vaughn replied. "No, we'll take a
licking on this"
They came out into sunlight.
Jim's eyes moved over the weed
grown oval in the meadow, the sag
ging rail jumps, the house budding
forlornly under the low branched
trees.
"Was it ever a paying PROPOSE
tion?" he asked.
eyes," Mr.. Vaughn replied.
"Four or five years ago it was tre-
mendously successful"
81 should think it might have
been," Jim said musingly. "The To-
cation is excellent. It's only mile
from the Green Acres club and
within a short distance of four
towns, to say nothing of the country
places around. What happened?"
"The place changed hands. The
last fellow who ran it hadn't much
initiative. I suppose it requires a
certain amount of personality to
make a success of a riding acade-
my. It's like an inn or a road
house. You have to cater to peo-
pies whims and crochets. The la
dies especially must be pleased.
Now, you" Mr.. Vaughn looked at
Jim speculatively. "You have some
of the qualifications. Do you think
you could take over this place and
make it go?"
Jim's heart leapt. He steadied it
with a prompt application of COM
nonsense. Mr.. Vaughn wasn't in
earnest. He was merely talking.
We Iico IlO ChPCl1CiiSC1 liz AS-
piled as casually as he could.
"You know something about
horses" Mr.. Vaughn persisted, de-
Tending his former statement.
"Oh, something"
Mr.. Vaughn's eyes twinkled.
Macpherson told me you
brought Lady through an attack
of the collie the other night"
''It wasn't bad. She was in fair
shape when the vet arrived. know
few simple remedies. There were
horses on my uncle's place"
"Where was that?"
"Whitehall-out beyond Chestnut
hill"
"The King placer" Mr.. Vaughn
asked quickly.
eyes, sir. 1 lived with my uncle.
My parents died when I was
child"
MACPHERSON came from the
King place"
eyes, sir" Jim smiled.
$50 that's the connection.
"Hmm!" Mr.. Vaughn looked
thoughtful. "What college?"
"Princeton-'29. I'm one of the
lost generation"
Mr.. Vaughn made no reply. He
stood, for a time, on the steps of
the house looking over the prop
erty with a infinitely appraising
scrutiny. Presently he walked to
the car.
"All right" he said. Lets CO."
The short drive back to Meadow
brook" was accomplished in an al
most unbroken silence. Once Mr..
Vaughn reused from his absorption
to ask, "Know anything about fox
hunting?" and, some time later, he
said in an distracted voice, as
though he was thinking aloud,
"Horse sense and personality.
That's the combination"
Jim would not let himself believe
that Mr.. Vaughn was considering
the proposition he had mentioned so
casually. But he thought of it dur
-