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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1913-09-25, Page 7i P E 1NGT]AM 1111,114', i' I"I 1+; t 1 , 7 The Siege �- of the Seven Suitors By MEREDITH NICHOLSON Copyright, 1910. by Meredith Nicholson CHAPTER XV. I Discover Two Ghosts. ghost I believed to be still in the upper halls of the house, and uow that I was in a posi- tion to watch the ladder by -which he had entered I felt confident that I bud cut off his retreat. I was .surveying the cellar when I heard faint sounds in a new direction. 'Far away under the house and remote from the .secret steps some one was moving to- ward use, turd rapidly too! The ghost Abet I believed to have disappeared. into the fourth floor hall must then have changed the line of his retreat aha desceuded.by one of the regular stairways. I blew out my candle and stood with my back to the wall of the long corri- •dor on which opened the various store- ' rooms, the beatiug plant, laundry and other accessories of the modern house. My ghost was coining In haste—a ,baste that dict not harmonize with the •stately tread of the spooks of popular .superstition. A slower pace and I • should doubtless have tied before him, but quick, light steps echoed in the dark corridor, and I gathered courage from the thought that ghosts create -echoes no wore than they cast shad- . ows. As the steps drew nearer I prepared myself to spring upou him. I must un- -consciously have taken a step, for he ,paused suddenly, stood still for a mo- • net , then turned and scampered back .the way ire had come. After hint 1 -went ti fast fs 1 could run. The et, •• tient ialved corridor was four or five feet wile, • ml 1 plunged through the %dark tit niv hest speed At the end 01 :the Corridor I me= pretty certain of to% quarry. and 1 made rend3 to grapple "with him. Then as i plunge,( into the •wall my hands touched a tntut's face ;and for a moment (Intetced the collar • of his coat Ile had been waiting for tme to strike the wall, and as he slip - •.ped, out of my grasp he ran back to- war*the coal cellar, 1 had struck the wall With a force that knocked the 'wind out of me, but I got myself to- : gether with the loss of only an instant •.and renewed pursuit. I had no fear ' but that if he attempted to reach the -.open by means of the coal hale I should -catch him on the ladder, and I sprinted for all I was worth to make sure of My fleeting grasp of the man's col - .lar and the agility with which he had slipped from me, clasp had settled the ghost question, and L had now resoly- •ed the intruder into a common thief. As I reached the old stairway he •wag mounting it two steps at a time, as I judged from the sound. I had hoped to catch and dispose of him without alarming the house, but it seemed inevitable now that the chase would end in suet: fashion as to arouse the company assembled in the library. I heard him stumble and fall head- long at the door above. Then he shot oft into the still darkened hall, and when I had gained the top I lost track of him for a moment. I, paused and was about to strike a match when he resumed his flight, and I was forced VI grapple with the fact that some one else was pursuing him. I held my„ match unstruck upon this net' dib; closure and stepped back within the concealed doors and waited. Tip and, down the hall two persons were rune mini',and when they reached the ends of the corridor I heard hands touch the wall and the sound of dodging, and then almost instantly the'ttvo`riitt ners flashed by. me again. The hall_ Twice Proven Cure for Nerves itrlble, Hysterical, Sleepless, Dr. Chase's Nerve Food Restores Health. There Is a message in this letter Ler tliousande of women who are suffer- ing from broken -clown nervous sys- tents. Sleepless nights, much irrita- bility over little things, spells of diz- ziness and nervous sick headaches ere among the symptoms, You may not realize the nature of your ailment until nervous prostration Comes upon you. But, in whatever stage you find yourself, Dr. Chase's Nerve Food is ready to help you. s. W. J. May, 88 Annette street, 1b m to, writes: "Some years ago I muttered from nervous trouble, and took Dr. Chase's (Nerve Food, which completely cured me. About slit months ago I received a shock which . again shattered my nervous system to • such an extent that I wale Irritable and hysterical, and could not sleep nights. I began to use the Nerve ' •l!'ood again and was not disappointed. xtnprovement was apparent from the 41 'st box, and now I am entirely well." Dr. Chade'e Nerve rood, 50 Ceuta 4 looX, 6 for 32,60, all dealers. . 11111111111110111 13:EZEKZAH was so dark that I air' nothing, hut as the rhnl,ers po-t.',etl the door t felt the rush or air c11ns,0d Int their Ilit;ht. Three ur tour times this 111111 hap- pened. and then, still without having wade 0 light, I thrust out wy foot at the next return of the unseen run- ners. Some nue tripped and fell head- long, and I promptly flung myself upou him. My prisoner's resistanee engaged my best attention 0 • taunt, but when I had sat upon his legs and got hold of bis struggling hands some one stole softly by me. My prisoner, too, beard and was attentive. Not only did I ex perience the same sensation as on the previous night of a passing near by, but I was conscious of the same faint perfume, as of a flower scent' half caught In a garden at night, that had added to my mystification before. Then without the slightest warning the lights flashed on and a door closed somewhere, but it was not the hidden one leading down Into the remnant of the old house, for my prisoner's head and she tlders lay across its threshold. "Bounders, I say. Boundersf" he gasped. He sighed deeply, bringing my dazed wits back to him, and 1 found myself gazing into the blinking eyes of Lord Arrowood, "Bounders, I say. Bounders!" he gasped. "In the circumstances, Lord Arra wood, I should not call names, Will you tell me what you mean by running through this house in this fashion? Stand up and give an account of your- self." I helped him to his feet and bent over the stair rail leading down to the third floor. Evidently our strange transactions beneath and above had not disturbed the assembled suitors and their hostess, but in common de• cency Lord Arrowood must be dis- posed of promptly. There was no doubt about that "I was ai ass to try it" muttered his lordship, 'pulling his tie into shape. "And now I want to get out. I want to go away from here." He was tugging at the belt of his Norfolk coat, and something between it and his waistcoat evidently gave him concerti. Our conversation was carried on in half whispers. He was so crest- fallen that if it hadn't been for the neeetasity of Maintaining silence I should have laughed outright. "Oitt with it, my lord. What have yoti Stuck in your coat?" "They're bdunders, all the rest Of 'eta," he asserted doggedly, "but I he. Neve you to be a gentleman." "1 thank you, Lord Arrowood, for this (nark of confidence. Open your coat'! 1 declare that even if you hay* lifted a bit of the Hollister plate I will let you go," • ltelnetantlY, shamefacedly and still breathing hard from hie late exertions, Lord Arrorrooti of Arrowood, sante, England, obeyed me: There were fire buttons to the close fitting Jacket, and the loohening of every succeeding one seemed to give him pain. Then, with his head slightly lifted as though in Alatlsin et 1w, be held out for my oh- geftltiOn. �A lilt. ill th' pan in which it had been talked. TIM 'top crust 'was browned to a nicety. Its edges were crimped neatly, and, 1n spite of the fact that 1 had so lately dlued sumptuously at Miss iiollister's hospitable board, at sight of this alluring pastry 1 experi- enced the sharp twinges of aroused ap- petite. "Now you have it, and I Lope you are satisfied," said Lord Arrowood. "Kindly allow me to retire by the way I came." "First," I replied, sobered by the gravity of his manner, "it would inter- est me as a student of character to knew just what species of pie lured you to this burglarious deed." "1 have reason to think," he answer- ed, with tears in his eyes, "that it is a gooseberry. 1 was hungry, if you must know the truth, and, having sampled the old lady's pies this morning, with nothing to eat since, I saw the coal bole open and ladder beneath, and the rest of it was easy. If you and the other chap hadn't chased me all over the estate I'd been off with my pie and and no harts done. The old lady's insane, you know, and has no =tuner of use for pies. The house is haunted in the bargain. When you had about wiuded me down in the cel- lar and cut me off from the ladder and chased me up here the ghost took a hand, and if you badu't tripped me and sat on me the spirits would certainly have nailed me. 0 Lord, what a night!" I "You are sure you speak the truth when you say that the coal hole was open and that you found the ladder there when you came?" "No manner of doubt of it. As I have already said, I believe you to be a gentleman, and between gentlemen certain confidences may pass that 'wouldn't be possible between a gentle- man and those cattle down there." He jerked his bead scornfully to in- dicate the suitors below. I bowed with such dignity as is pos- sible when addressing a nobleman whom you have just caught in the act of lifting a gooseberry pie from a lady's pantry—a pie which you hold perforce in your hands. "The fact is that I was without the price of food, and, to repeat, I was beastly hungry." "Poverty and hunger, my lord, are pardonable sins, but gooseberry pas- tries are sacred to Hezekiah. My im- pressions of Hezekiah are the pleas- antest, and I cannot allow you to in- tervene between her and the pie I hold In my hands. If you will accompany me below I will undertake to gain ac- cess to the pie vault, return this pie to its proper place and hand you at the foot of the ladder an apple pie in place.of it. I dare say it never will be missed, but from what I know of Hezekiah any trifling with her appe- tite would be a crime indictable at common law." His lordship seemed reassured, and we were about to descend by the con- cealed stair when he arrested me. "Mr. Ames, you are a gentleman and possess a generous heart. We under- stand each other perfectly, and as I have every reason to believe that my suit is hopeless I ask the loan of 55 until I can confer with my friend, the )3ritish consul' at New York. I shall sail at once for England." He stepped down before me into the dark stairway, and I closed the door after me and followed him. I found my way to the pie pantry without dif- ficulty, returned the gooseberry pie to its proper shelf, chose an apple pie and gave it, with a five dollar note, to Lord Arrowood. At the bottom of the ladder he press- ed my hand feelingly and expressed his gratitude in terms that would have touched a harder heart than mine. Then, having closed the coal bole and hidden the ladder under a pile of wood, I resumed my pursuit of the ghost I lighted my way with a candle through the lost chambers of the old house, up the hidden stairway and out into the fourth 'floor ball again. The old stair, I found on closer observation, reached only from the second to the fourth floor, and below this had been pieced with lumber carefully preserved from the earlier house. There was nothing so strange, after all, about the hidden stairway, though I was con- vinced that this bad been no idea of Pepperton's, but that he had merely obeyed the orders of his eccentric cli- ent, the umbrella and dyspepsia cure millionaire. I had no sooner let myself through the secret door into the upper hall than I was aware of a disturbance in the library below. I beard exclamations from the men, and as I ran down to- ward the third floor Miss Octavia's voice rose above the tumult. "We must have patience, gentlemen. Chimneys are subject to moods just like human beings, and we are fortu- nate In having in the bouse a gentle- man who is an expert in such matters." "If you wait for that man to mend your chimney you will wait until doomsday." So spake John Stewart Diek, taking bis vengeance of me with my client and hostess. I might have forgiven him, but I could not forgive Hartley Wiggins. "He doesn't know any more about chimneys"than the man in the moon," my old friend was saying between coughs. And then quite unmistakably I smelt smoke, and bending farther over the rail and peering down the stair well I saw smoke pouring froth the 'library' into the hill. It seemed to be In greater volume tonight than at pre.' vious manifestations. A gray blue cloud was filling the lower hall and rising toward me. I ran quickly to the third floor, to the chamber whole bra place was served by the library ebhfl. hey. The lights in the third floor hall winked out as I opened the door. 1 heard a step behind me somewhere, hal. did. lad trouble. -about . this. .'Tile POCKETBOOK INSURANCE IS CIII3AP By HOLLAND. YOII can insure your pock- etbook by reading the advertisements in this paper. The manufacturers of the most reliable goods and the merchants who sell them are telling you what is best, what Is cheapest, what is most de- sirable and where it can bo bought. They know what they are talking about, and they would not talk in such an expensive manner unless they knew their words would bear in- spection. They want to save money for you because by so doing they make a perma- nent customer of you. It takes little time and lit- tle trouble to -read the adver- tisements and few occupa- tions will pay better. The returns are immediate and the profits are in cash. 11" Von W. NT THE BEST vnr' WANT THE (1)01)4 'f1I.1'l' Atte A1)Vl' I1111E1), switch inside the untised goes; thaw- ber responded readily to my touch, and on kneeling by the hearth I found it cold as I had expected. There was ab- solutely no way of choking the library flue at this point, for, as I bad estab- lished earlier, all the fireplaces in this chimney had their independent flues. The hall outside was still dark, and I did not try the switch. The pursuit was better carried on in darkness, and 1 had by this time become accustomed to rapid locomotion through unlighted passages. I leaned over the stair well and heard exclamations of surprise at the sudden cessation of the smoke, which had evidently abated as abrupt- ly as it bad begun. The windows and doors had been opened and the com- pany had returned to the library. "Quite extraordinary—really quite remarkable!" they were saying below. I heard Cecilia's light laughter as the odd ways of the chimney were dis- cussed. And as I stood thus peering down and listening the Swedish maid's blond head appeared below me, bend- ing over the well rail on the second floor. She, too, was taking note of affairs in the library, and as I watch- ed her she lifted her head and her eyes met mine. Then while we still stared at each other the second floor lights went out with familiar abrupt- ness, and as I craned my neck to peer into the blackness above me 1 expe- rienced once more that ghostly pass- ing as of some light, unearthly thing across my face. I reached for it wild- ly with my bands, but it seemed to be caught away from me, and then as I fought the air madly it brushed my cheek again. I have no words to de- scribe the strange effect of that touch. I felt my scalp creep and cold chills ran down my spine. It seemingly came from above, and it was not like a hand, unless a hand of wonderful lightness. Certainly no human arm could reach down the stair well to where I stood. I waited for its recurrence a mo- ment. but. it came no more . Then on iIARRHOA, DYSENTERY, SUMMED COMPLAINT AND ALL BOWEL TROUBLES ARE CURABLE BY THE USE OF Dr. Fowler's Extract of Wild Strawberry. MR. War. R. GREEN, St. John, N.B., writes;—"As I have had the pleasure of testing DR. FOWLER'S EXTRACT OP WILD STRAWBERRY, I might say it is the only remedy I would recommend. Last summer, I had a very severe attack of Diarrhoea and Vomiting. My doctor treated me without result, and friends advised me to try the above remedy. After a few doses I was completely cured, and ever since I have never been with- out it in the house. 7 have used it with the children, and find the same result. I have recommended it to several of my friends who also join with me in saying that DR. FOWL1ER'S EXTRACT OP WILD STRAWBERRY is the greatest remedy on eatth for all summer complaints." "DR. Pommes" has been on the mar- ket for over tis years, and so popular has it become that many dealers try to sub. stitute other and cheaper preparations. Be sure midget what you ask for. Price: 35 tents. Manufactured only by The T. Mil- burn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont. n ,witij('it prompting I atolti sea illy to the fourth floor, lighted my candle and gazed about. 1 thought it well to let the ek,etr•ic light alone, for my ghost lead once too often plunged me into, darkness at critical moments, and a candle fn my hands was not subject to his trickery. The hall was perfectly quiet. The door lending down the hidden stair :vas invisible, and I had not yet learn- ed law it might be opened from the hall, though I;assford Iiollister bad undoubtedly left the house by this 1 I Beheld Hezekiahl means after my interview wirli him on the roof. And reminded of the roof, 1 opened the trunk room door and peer- ed in. The candle light slowly crept into its dark corners, and, looking up, 1 marked the presence of the trap door secure in the opening. As I stood on the threshold of the trunk piled room, my hand on the knob and the caudle thrust wen before me, I beard a slight furtive movement to my left and behind the door. 1 listened to the murmur of talk below for a moment, then cautiously advanced my candle farther into the room. I took one step and then cautiously another until the whole of the trunk room was well within range of my vision. And there, seated on a prodigious trunlc frescoed with labels of a dozen foreign inns, I beheld Hezekiahl CHAPTER XVI. Lady's Slipper. S I recall it she was very much at her ease. She sat on one foot t andh f e other e beat the trunk lightly. She was bare- headed, and the candle light was mak- ing acquaintance with the gold in her hair. She wore her white sweater, as on that day in the orchard, and with much gravity, as our eyes met, she thrust a band into its pocket and drew nut a cracker. 1 was not half so sur- prised at finding her there as 1 was at her manner now that she was caught She seemed neither distressed. aston- ished nor afraid. "Well, Miss He'rekiah," 1 said, "1 half suspected you all along." "Wise chimney man! Tou were a little slow about it though." "I was indeed. You gave me a run for my money." She finished her cracker at the third bite, slapped her hands together to free them of possible erumbs and was about to speak when she jumped light- ly from the trunk, bent her head to- ward the deer, and then stepped back again and faced me imperturbably. "And now that you've found me, Mr. Chimney Man, the joke's on you after all." She laid her hand on the door and swung it nearly shut. 1 had beard what she had heard. Miss Octavia was coming upstairs. She had exchanged a few words with the Swedish maid on the second door landing, and Heze- kiah's quick ear had heard her. But Hezekiah's equanimity was disconcert- ing. Even with ber aunt close at hand sbe showed not the slightest alarm. She resumed her seat on the trunk, and ber heel thumped it tranquilly. "The joke's on you, Mr. Chimney Man, because now that you've caught me playing tricks you've got to get me out of trouble." "What if I don't?" "Oh, nothing," she answered indif- ferently, looking me squarely in the eye. "But your aunt would make no end of a row, and you would cause your sister to lose out with Miss Octavia. As I understand it, you're pledged to keep off the reservation. It was part of the family agreement" "Mr. Ames, if you aro ghost hunting in this part of the house"— It was Miss Octavia's voice. She was seeking Inc and would no doubt tind me. The sequestration of Heze- kiah became now an Urgent and deli• tate matter. "You caught me," said Hezekiah calmly, "and now you've got to get me out, and I wish you good luck, and, besides, I lost one of my shoes some-" where, and you've got to find that." In proof of ber statement she sub- mitted a shoeless, brown stockinged foot for my observation. "Tbe one I lost was like this," and llexekialy throat forth a neat tag( Children Cry FOR FLETCHER'S CASTORIA 9,9 4 ,A%elg efablePreparationforAs- silnilating theToodandIiegula- ting theStomaelis andBowets of jN t' • PromotesDigestion,Chcerful- nessand Rest.Contains neither Oplulm,Morphine nor moral. NOT I'dA7ltC OTIC. T+1 -ale o/O&ZIJAMIVEGPlTX liunpVrt Seed - Alx.Bennee Ro idle Jar - Amre Seed • Jf•,ennint !h C '; ateaI0 Tfrrm.fred - P/a fried ,fugue . Ificnyrow. nor= t • effect Remedy forConstipa- ti,nt, Sour Stomach,Diarrhoea, •ms,Convulsions,Feverish- n s andL©ss OF SLEEP. rac Simile Signature of % GZelri1/ NEW YORE -C. EXACT COPY CIF WBAPPEA. STOr r: IA For Infants and Children. The Rind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of 1 In Ose dor Over Thirty Years IA THE CENTAUR COMPANY, N -.W YORK CITY, Wee pump rather the wut•se for weal "1 was on the second tiuor a bit ago," she began. "and lust my slipper." "in what wiscbief,:pray?" "Mr. Awes," called Miss Oetavia, her voice close at hand. "1 wanted to see something in Ce - cilia's room, so I opened her dour and walked In—that's all," Hezekiah re- plied. "Wicked Ilezekiah! Cowing into the house is bad enough in all the circum- stances. Entering your sister's room is a grievous sin." "lf, Mr. Awes, you are still seeking an explanation or that chimney's be - ha vier"— It was Miss Oetavia, now just out- side the (lour. "Don't leave t trunk,ez I' v that A e kiab 1 whispered. "I'll du the best 1 can." Miss Octavia met we smilingly as 1 raced her in the hall She bad switch- ed on the iii hts. and toy candle burn- ed yellowiy in the white electric glow. Miss Octavia held something iu her hand. It required no second glance to tell me that she had found Hezekiah's slipper. "Mr. Ames," she began. "as you have absented yourself from the library all evening 1 assume that yon have been busy studying my chimneys and seek- ing for the ghost of that British sol- dier who was so wantonly slain upon the site of this house." "I am glad to say that not only 19 your surmise correct, Miss Hollister, but that I have made great progress in both directions." "Do yon mean to say that you have really found traces of the ghost?" "Not only that, Miss Hollister, but I have met the ghost face to face—even more. I bave bad speech with him:" Her face brightened. her eyes flash. ed. It was plain that she was fm• mensely pleased. "And sire you able to say from your encounter, that he is in fact a British subject. uneasily hmnrting tbis houso in America long after the Declaration of independence and Washington's farewell address bave pissed into lit. erature?" "You have never spoken a truer word, Miss Hollister; but, by means which I am not at liberty to disclose, 1 have persuaded him not to visit this (louse again.,, "Then," said Miss Hollister. "1 can- not do less thnu express my gratitude, though 1 regret that you did not tirsi allow me to meet him. Still, 1 dare say that we" shall tind his bones bur- led somewhere beneath my founds' tions. Please assure me that such is your expectntion." "Tomorrow, Miss Hollister, I shall take pleasure in showing yon certain hidden chambers in this house which 1 venture to say will afford you great pleasure. I have tonight discovered a link between the mansion as you know it and an earlier house whose timbers may indeed hide the bones of that British soldier." "And as for the chimney?" "And as for the chimney, I give yoo my word as a professional man that it will never annoy you again, and 1 therefore beg that you dismiss the sub- ject from your mind." I saw that she was about to recur to the shoe she held in her hand and at Which she glanced frequently with a quisaical expression. This, clearly, was an issue that must be met prompt- ly, and I knew of no better way than by lying. Hezekiah herself had plain• ly stated on the morning of that long, eventful day, When she Walked intc the breakfast room in her aunt's ab - settee and explained Cecilia's trip to town, that It was perfectly fair to dis- sttnuiafe in making explanations to Miss Hollister—that, to tact, !,11ss Oc' teria enjoyed nothing better than the injection of fiction into the affairs of the matter of fact day. Here, then, was my opportunity. "Miss Hollister," I began boldly, "the slipper you hold in your hand belongs to me. and if you have no immediate use for it I beg that you allow me to relieve you of it." "It is yours, Mr. Ames?" A lifting of the brows. a widening of the eyes, denoted Miss Octavia's po- lite surprise. "Beyond any question it is my prop- erty," I asserted. "Your words interest me greatly, Mr. Antes. As you Icuow, the grim bard life of the twentieth century palls upon me, and I ata deeply interested in ev- etything that pertains to adventure and romance. Tell hie more, if you are free to du so, of this slipper which L now return to you." I received I3ezekiah's worn little• pump into my hands as though it were an object of high consecration. "As 1 ani nothing if not frank, Miss Hollister. 1 will confess to you that this shoe came into my possession in a very curious way. One day last spring I was in Boston, having been called there on professional business. In the evening I left my hotel for a walk, crossed the eommou, tool( a turn through the public garden, where many devoted lovers adorned the benches. and then strolled aimlessly along Beacon street. "I was passing a house which 1 have not since been able to identify exact- ly, though I have several times revis- ited Boston in the hope of doing so, when suddenly and without any warn- ing whatever this slipper dropped at my feet. All the houses in the neigh- borhood seemed deserted, with win- dows and doors tightly boarded, and my 'closest scrutiny failed to discover any opening from which that slipper might have been flung. The region is so decorous and acts of violence are foreign to its dignity and repose that 1 could scarce believe that I held that bit of tan leather in my hand. Nor did its unaccountable precipita- tion into the street seem the act of a Housemaid, nor could I believe that a: nursery governess had thus sought di- ver:sion from the roof above. I hesi- tated fur a moment. not knowing how to meet this emergency. Then 1 bold- ly attacked the bell of the house from which I believed the slipper to have proceeded. I rang until a eellceman, LTO BE CONTINUED.] FOUR BOXES OF DOAN'S KIDNEY PILLS PUT HER 014 HER FEET. MRS. ED. BOYER, Nokomis, .S, ask., writes:—"I had 'beer( troubled with weak back and kidneys, I had terrible dizzy headaches, and could not sleep at night. In this I way suffered for ten years, until I read about DOAN'S KIDNIiY Pn.t,s. I purchased two boxes, and as they helped me, I sent for two more, and they put me on my feet, and I have been able to work ever since." For Backache, Lame Back, Weak Back, or any other Kidney Trouble, there is no remedy to equal DOAN'S Mousy. PII,I,s. They have been on the market for 20 years and therefore must be a staple artiele. Pries 50 cents per box, 3 boxes for $1,25. May be obtained at all dealers or mailed direct on receipt of price by The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto,, Ont. When ordeting direct specify "Donee*