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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1923-07-20, Page 7if- ' .atS ea, BEAT -d1 BEST Solicitors, Controy: saeea and Notaries Public, Etc Nike in the Edge Buildley, opposite t :Emil/Aterr -GAM tROUDFOOT, KILLORAN AND HOLMES Sarriate rs, Solicitors Notaries Pub- & oto. Money to rend. In Seaforth 11� Ifon4T4yy of each week. ,Omce•in $#dd.-Block. W. Proudfoot, ».C., J. =ono, B. E. Holmes. o+a - VETERINARY B. HARBURN, V. a Honor -graduate of Ontario Veterin- ary College, and honorary member of as Medical Association of the Ontario gatazinary College, Treats diseases of itdomesticanimals by the most mod- Caprinmpley, _Dy. 0 e o po te ;pieta Main Street. Seaforth. Ell onsets left at the hotel will re- ady* prompt attention. Night calls asosii'ed'at the oMce JOHN GRIEVE, V. S. Honor graduate of Ontario Veterin- ss�rl College. All diseases of domestics treated. Calle promptly at- tended to and charges moderate. Vet- berbtary Dentistry a specialty. Office :fad residence on Goderich street, one yeast of Dr. Scott's office, Sea - MEDICAL DR. G. W. DUFFIN Hensel!, Ontario. Office over Joynt's Block; phone 114; Office at Walker House, Bruce - field on Tuesday and Friday; hours 2 to 6 p.m.; phone No. 31-142. Grad- uate of the Faculty of Medicine, Western University, London- Mem- ber of the College of Physicians and surgeons of Ontario. Post -Graduate member of Resident Staffs of Receiv- ing end Grace Hospitals, Detroit, for 18 months. Post -Graduate member of Resident Staff in Midwifery at Herman Kiefer Hospital, Detroit, for three months. DR. A. NEWTON-BRADY Bayfield. Graduate Dublin University, Ire- land. Late Extern Assistant Master Rotunda Hospital for Women and Children, Dublin. Office at residence lately occupied by Mrs. Parsons. Hours, 9 to 10 a.m., 6 to 7 p.m. Sundays, 1 to 2 p.m. 2868-28 • DR- J. W. PECK Graduate of Faculty of Medicine McGill University, Montreal; lumber ed College of Physicians and Surgeons ss Ontario; Licentiate of Medical Conn- ell of Canada; Post -Graduate Member of Resident Medical staff of General Hospital, Montreal, 1914-15. Office, 2 doore'east of Post Office. 'Phone 56. Hensall, Ontario. DR. F. J. BURROWS Office and residence, Goderick street east of the Methodist church, Seaford" Phone 48, Coroner for the County of Huron. DR. C. MACKAY C. Mackay honor graduate of Trin- ity University, and gold medallist of Trinity Medical College; member of the College of Physicians and Sur- geons of Ontario. - DR. H. HUGH ROSS Graduate of University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, member of Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario; pass graduate courses is Chicago CIinical School of Chicago; Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, London, Ragland; University Hospital, Lon- don, England. Office—Back of Do- minion Bank, Seaforth. Phone No. 6, Night calla answered from residence, Victoria street, Seaforth. AUCTIONEERS THOMAS BROWN Licensed auctioneer for tke counties of Huron and Perth. Correspondence arrangements for sale dates can be made by calling up phone 97, Seatertk ex Tile Expositor Office. Charges mod- erate and satisfaction guaranteed. Honor Graduate Carey Jones' Na- tional School of Auetioneering, Chi- cago. Special course taken in Pare Bred Live Stock, Real Estate, Mer- chandise and Farm Sales. Rates in keeping with prevailing market. Sat- isfaction assured. Write or wire, Oscar Klopp, Zurich, Ont. Phone 1S-93. 2898-52 R. T. LUKER Licensed auctioneer for the County of Huron, Sales attended to Vali parts of the county. Seven yeah' em patience in Manitoba and Saakatek..' wan. Terme reasonable, - Pion No. 173 r 11, Exeter. Centralia P. O.. R. IR. No, 1. Orders left at The Muton Expositor Office, Seafortle, promptly "Wee were g Of fir Ptesa/ Paid -I. " •Iiroko heart. ie ew oohed hn'ard at poor t , . 411Pimiara flddleeticks" said• m'rbeside 11gqehde - BIn#hhi s de'eron the long Vain. I promptly made room for tty B111Y. "We ought to telt John just a little about him,' said Elsie defensively. "It is due him Billy." "But, don't tell him the fellow's hearts is broken. That's rot." "It isn't rot," said fits wife. Would not your heart be broken?" He 'crossed his legs comfortably. , "Wouldn't it?" repeated Betty Billy. Not if it wereas porous as his. You can't break a sponge, my dear." "What happened to it?" I inquired mildly interested. "Women,! said -Billy impressively. "Then It's easily patched," said L like." urea "Like I c You don't understand, John," said Elsie gravely. "Ile was married to a beautiful—" Now, Elsie, you're telling," eau tioned Betty Billy. "Well," said Elsie doggedly, "I'm determined to tell this much; his name isn't Pless, his wife got a di- vorce from him, and now she has taken their child and run If with it and they can't find—what's the mat- ter?" My eyes were almost popping from my head. Isis he a count?" I cried, so loudly that they said "sh!" and shot apprehensive glances ,toward the pseudo Mr. Pless. "Goodness!" said Elsie in alarm. "Don't shout, John." Billy Smith regarded me specula- tively. "1 daresay Mr. Smart has read all about the affair in the news.- papers. ews;papers. They've had nothing else lately. I won't say he is a count, and I won't say he isn't. We're bound by a deep, dark; sinister oath, sealed with blood." "I haven't seen anything about it in the papers," said I trying to re- cover my self-possession which had sustained a most tremendous shock. "Thank heaven!" cried Elsie de- voutly. - "0o you mean to say you won't tell me his name?" 1 demanded. Elsie eyed me suspiciously. "Why did you ask if he is a count?" "I have a vague recollection of hearing some one speak of a count having trouble with his young Amer; - can wife, divorce, or something of the sort. A very prominent New York girl, if I'm not mistaken. All very hazy, however. What is his name?" "John," said Mrs. Hazzard firmly, "you must not ask us to tell you. Won't you please understand?" "The poor fellow is almost distract- ed. Really, Mr, Smart, we planned this little visit here simply in order to—to take him out of himself •for a while. It has been such a tragedy for him. He worshipped the child." It was Mrs. Billy who spoke. "And the mother made way with him?" I quelled, resorting to a sud- denly acquired cunning. "It is a girl," said Elsie in a loud whisper. .'The loveliest girl, The mother appeared in Vienna about three weeks ago or a month ago— whiff! Off goes the child. Abduct- ed—kidnapped! And the court had granted him the custody of the child. That's what makes -it so terrible, If she is caught anywhere in Europe— well, I don't know what may happen to her. It is just' such silly acts as this that make American girls the laughing stocks of the whole world. I give you my word I am almost ashamed to have people point me out and say: "There goes an American. Pooh!" By this time I had myself pretty well in hand. "I daresay the mother loved the child, which ought to condone one among her multitude of sins. I take it, of course, that she was entirely to blame for everything that happen- ed." They at once proceeded to tzar the poor little mother to shreds, delicate- ly and with finesse, to be sure, but none the less completely. No doubt they meant to be charitable. "This is what a silly American no- body gets for trying to be somebody over here just because her father has a trunkful of millions," said Elsie, concluding a rather peevish estimate of the conjugal effrontery laid at the door of Mr. Pless's late wife. ."Or just because one of these spendthrift foreigners has .a title for sale," said Billy. Smith sarcastically. "He was deeply in love with her when they were married," said his wife. "I don't believe it was his fault that they didn't, get along well together." - The truth of the matter is," said Elsie with finality, "she couldn't live up to her estate. She was a drag, .a stone about his neck. It was like putting one's waitress at the head of the table and expecting her to make good as a hostess." "What was her social standing in New York?" I enquired. "Oh, good' enough," said Betty Billy. "She was in -the smartest set, if tharis it recommendation." - ' "Then you admit both of you, that the beet of our American girls fall short of being all that is required over here. In other words, they can't gufls s �aptlle tp- thtl1urope� Mall of 4* oil, , they both e d in }t "t7thist'a Wal it sounds to tae." ' 614l6itif r`�hfii 'tegontlint; I bvy- pose we ar •al tt hard-dn'the pbalr thing'. Shot Was -very, qo ng, "What, you 'mean to spy; theft, is ar dug' 'by maxi dist, a11e wasn't good anougln-d Du s by the ive(l •Ipn. . Wee a ba'd' feederg -worth reltdhtg If EIe,ia, had been hude kicked heir fhlr` lf9•s hate,i a H ng: up by'd. had written.' - e. it. as tlsu al, lta'ale u ;r' biting, ba adfi4 little tin tub ate he lied *, y t r rt t • WM !Mese- ands ins coterie." •all me nd Imate,a' ':*Ilio not; just precisely that," ad- 1t' intuit haand IMO a biid'Shed,'thereby euppl.far alai•got and my . contention. is that, she should have lived"ui) to the bargain.0 '}Wasn't he paid' in fell?" I asked, with a slight sneer. • "What do you mean?" "Didn't he get his money?" "I em Sure 1 don't see what ,-honey bas to do with the case," said Elsie, with dignity. "Mr. Pleas is a poor man I've heard. There could not have been very much of a marriage settlement. "A mere• million to start with," re- marked Billy Smith ironically. "It's alt gone, my dear Elsie, and I gather that father-in-law locked the trunk you speak of and hid the key. You don't know women as' well as I do, Mr. Smart. Both of these - charming. ladies professed to adore Mr. Pless's wife up to the time the trial for di- vorce came up. Now they've got their hammers and hat -pins out for her and—" That isn't true, Billy Smith," cried Elsie in a fierce whisper. "We stood by her until she disobeyed the man- date—or whatever you call it—of 'the court. She did steal the child, and you can't deny it" "Poor little kiddie," said he, and from his tone I gathered that all was not rosy in the life of the infant in this game of battledore and shuttle- cock. To my disgust, the three of them refused to enlighten me further as to the. history, identity or character of either Mr. or Mrs,. Pless, but of course I knew that I was entertain- ing under my roof, by the most ex- traordinary coincidence, the Count and Countess of Something -or -other, who were at war, and the child they were fighting for with motives of an entirely opposite nature. Right or wrong, my sympathies were with the refugee in the lonely east wing. I was all the more de- termined now to shield her as far as it lay in my power to do so, and to defend her if the worst were to hap- pen. Mr. Pless tossed his cigarette over the railing and sauntered over to join us. --.41 suppose you've been discussing the view," he said as he came up. There was a mean smile on his—yes, it was a rather handsome face—and the two ladies started guiltily. The attack on his part was particularly direct when one stops to consider that there wasn't any view to be had from where we were sitting, unless one could call al three -decked plasterer's scaffolding "a view. "We've been discussing the recent improvements about the castle, Mr. Pless," said I with so much directness that I felt Mrs. Billy Smith's arm stiffen and suspected a general ten- sion of nerves from head to foot. "You couldn't spoil the place, Mr. Smart," said he, with a - careless glance about him. "Don't ruirr the ruins," added Billy Smith, of the diplomatic corps. "What time do we dine?" asked Mr. Pless, with a suppressed yawn. "At eight," said Elsie promptly. We were in the habit of dining at seven -thirty, but I was growing ac- customed to the over-riding process, so allowed my dinner hour to be changed without a word. "I think Pll take a nap," said he. With a languid smile and a little flaunt of his han as if dismissing us, he moved ]angui off, but stopped after a few steps t ay to me: "We will explore the cast to -morrow, Mr. Smart, if it's just the same to you." He spoke with a very slight accent and in a peculiarly attractive man- ner. There was charm to the man, I was bound to admit. "I know Schloss Rothoefen very well. It is an old stamping ground of mine." . "Indeed," said I, affecting surprise. "I spent a very joyous season here not so many years ago. Hobendahl is a bosom friend." When he was quite out of hearing Billy Smith leaned over and said to me: "He spent his honeymoon hero, old man. It was the girl's idea to bring him here to.assuage.the present with memories of the past. Quite a This New Discovery! Beautifies your hair Removes dandruff Stops falling hair Grows Hair ask fo 7 Sutherland Sisters' COMPLETE TREATM ENT FeltilizerGlower--Shampoo All 3 in one package $1.00 FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE to keel) Mt their appesrnn,e, SEVEN SE H- 11RLAND SISTERS' COLORATORS wW transform their hair to any ,hada desired. A simple home treatment Harmless, meet. Pensive, durable. Ask to see mrd showing eight different shade.. E, UMBACH, Druggist, Seaforth, hearene, Oirll I illean th t hew*' abai tate COMM" >� thwrhtht m'tale re. �r . Mali I should ` • 44)..'^" at -gat , the take '3t ,confound,,. besutiiityy I tiro ansa •tbo news. •the'ttltlledi s 3fad6ma is not afraid. Ilan she riot thatlucre sure- ae everybody him . with the chance to'tri esy'thet he'd be banged ifhe- heard of any one -1-of them. 1- Khalil lways -console myselfl with the joyful ought ths: _ couldn't' remember biti nfernal name and would now make it a point neve to do so. Mr. Pleas ops a ea a lest _Witt e and the Baro yopenlysmade dove Betty Billy. Bing al sort of non- committal b ch for •I n e e ?'ragdmyaelf will: the two abbndonc4',buabanda and we had quite `a reeklees time of it talking with uninterrupted devilish- ness about the growth of American dentistry in Europeaweapitals, . the way one 'has his nails' manicured in Germany, the upset pride of hot -house strawberries, the relative merit of French and English.,H(tlla, the con- tinued progress- of $he'-weathee and sundry other topics • of similar pi- quancy. Elale+invited all of us to s" welsh rarebit party she was giving at eleven -thirty, and then they got to work at the bridge .table poor George Hazzard cutting i>t occasionally. This left Billy Sniith and me free to make up a somewhat somnolent two -some. I was eager to stea away to the east wing with the limes, but how to dispose of Billy withopt appearing rude was more than I could work but. It' was absolutely necessary for the Countess to know that her ex-husband was in the castle. I would have to manage in some way to see her before the evening was over. The least care- lessness, the smallest Blip might prove the undoing of both of as. I woudered how she would take the dismal news. Would she become hy- sterical and go all to pieces? Would the prospect of a week pf propinquity be too much for her, even though thick walls intervened to put them into separate worlds? Or, worst of all, would she reveal an uncomfort- able spirit of bravado, rashly casting discretion to the winds in order to show him that she was not the timid, beaten coward he might suspect her of being? She had once said to me that she loathed a coward. 1 have always wondered how it felt td be in a "pretty kettle of fish," or a "pickle," or any of the synonymous predicaments. Now I knew. Nothing could have been more ?synchronous than the plural howdy -do that con- fronted me. My nervousness must have been outrageously pronounced. Pacing the floor, looking at one's watch, sighing profoundly, putting one's hands in the pockets and taking them out again almost immediately, letting questions go by unanswered, and all such, are actions or conditions that usually pro- duce the impression that one is ner- vous. A- discerning observer seldom fails to note the symptoms. Ms'. Smith said to me at nine -six- teen (I know it was exactly nine. sixteen to the second l with polite conviction in his smile: "You seem to have something on your mind, old chap." • Now no one but s true diplomat recognizes the psychplogical moment fm calling an almost total stranger "old chap." "I have, old fellow." said I, im- mensely relieved by his perspicuity. "I ought to get off five or six very important letters to—" He interrupted me p with a genial wave of his hand. "Run along and get 'em off," he said. "Don't mind me. I'll look over the magazines." Ten minutes later I was sneaking up the interminable stairways in the sepulchral east wing, lighting and relighting a tallow candle with grim patience -at every other landing and luridly berating the drafts that swept the passages. Mr. Poopendyke stood guard below at the padlocked doors, holding the keys. He was' to await my signs: to reopen them, but he was not to release me under any circum - seance if snoopers were abroad. the geo44Beeire,streleor to ,what -yon Call it -to shoulder -all the worry, no? She is aot'alar$i. She reads to aieur'e *teat book in bed, smoke the cig- arette, and she say what the divil do She Bare." otgoatto "Non, haul I, Helene Marie Louise t Antoinette, say it for Madame. par- t don. mt'sieurt It is I who am wick - , Very stiffly and ceremoniously I ad- vised cannon for the next twelve hours, atfd saying good night to Helene Marie Louise Antoinette. in an unintentionally complimentary ' whisper, took myself off down the stairs, pursued by an equally subdued sou soar which made me feel like a soft -stepping Lotbario. Now it may occur to you that any self-respecting gentleman in posses- sion of a castle and a grain of com- mon sense would have set about to find out the true names of the guests beneath his roof. The task would have been a simple one, there is no doubt of that. A peremptory con ,-nand with a rigid alternative would have brought out the truth in a jiffy. But it so happens that 1 rather en- joyed the mystery. The situation was unique, the comedy most exhil- arating. Of course, there was a tragic side to the . whole matter, but now that I was in for it, why min- imise the novelty by adopting arbi- tary measures? Three minutes of stern conversation with 'Elsie Haz- zard would enlighten me on all the essential points; perhaps half an hour would bring Poopendyke to terms; a half a day might be required in the Brow beating of the frail Countess. With the Sehmicks, there was no hope. But:why not. allow myself the plea- sure of enjoying the romantic feast that had been set before me by the gods of chance? Chance ordered the tangle; let chance unravel it. Some- what gleefully I decided that it would be good fun to keep myself in the dark as long as possible! "Mr. Poopendyke," said r, after that nervous factotum had let me in- to my side of the castle with gratify- ing stealthiness, "you will oblige me by not mentioning that fair lady's name in any presence." "You did not stay very long, sir," said he in a sad whisper, and for the life of me I couldn't determine what construction to put upon the singu- larly unresponsive remark. When I reached the room where my guests were assembled, I found Mr. Pless and the Baron Umovitch en- gaged in an acrimonious dispute over a question of bridge etiquette. The former had resented a sharp criticism coming from the latter, and they were waging a verbal battle in what I took to be five or six different tongues. one of which appeared to bear the slightest relationship to the English language. Suddenly Mr. Plass threw his cards down and left the table, without a word of apology to the two ladies, who looked more hurt than appalled. He said he was going to bed, but I noticed that he took himself off in the direction of the moonlit loggia. 'We were still discussing his defec- tion in subdued tones—with the ex- ception of the irate baron—when he re-entered the room. The expression on his face was mocking, even ac- cusing. Directing his words to mo, he uttered a lazy indictment. "Are there real spirits in your castle, Mr. Smart, or have you flesh and blood mediums here who roam about in white nightdresses to study the moods of the moon from the diz- ziest ramparts?" I started. What indiscretion had the Countess been up to? "I don't quite understand you, Mr. Pless," I said, with a politely blank stare. Confound his insolence! He wink- ed at me! My secretary was vastly disturbed by the news I imparted. He was so startled that he forgot to tell me That he wouldn't spend another night on a pile of rugs with Britton as a bed- fellow, an omission which gave Brit- ton the opportunity to anticipate him by almost giving notice that very night. (The upshot of it was the hasty acquisition of two brand new iron beds the next day, and the Tco- toration of peace in my domestic realm.) Somewhat timorously I knocked at. the Countess's door. 1 realized that it was a most unseenly hour for call- ing' on a young, beautiful and unpro- tected lady, but the exigencies of the moment lent mortal support to my invasion. After waiting five minutes and then knocking again so loudly 'that the sound reverberated through the empty hails with a sickening clatter, I heard seine one fumbling with the bolts. The door opened an inch or. two. The Countess's French maid peered out at me. "Tell your mistress that I must see her at once." "Madame is not at home, m'sienr," sant the young woman. "Not at home?" I grasped. "Where is she?" "Madame has gone to bed." "Oh," I said, blinking. "Then she is at home. Present my compliments and ask her to get up. Something very exasperating has hap—" CHAPTER VIII I Resort to Diplomacy "My dear Countess," said I, the next morning, "while I am willing to admit that all you say is true, there still remains the unhappy fact that you were very near to upsetting everything last night. Mr. Pless saw you quite plainly. The moon was very full, you'll remember. Fortu- nately he was too far away from your window to recognize you. Think how easy it might—" "But I've told you twice that I held my hand over Pinko's nose and he just couldn't bark, Mr. Smart. You are really most unreasonable about it. The dog had to have a breath of fresh air." "Why not send him up to the top of the tower and let him run around on the—" "Oh, there's no use talking about it any longer," she said wearily. "It is all over and no real harm was done. I am awfully sorry if they made it uncomfortable for you. It is just like him to suggest something—well, scan- dalous. And the reatf Of t30IM are draodful teaaes9, eap cia)1y '1 •.z -Smith. They love anything siil�gue.1 Hut you, haven`t told seta What xtuay ors. ,said that kept you awoke•ail, t" "Nouaenae! My digocty was worth be ('Britton Mud figs a "It Was not moat tltay.gaid.toa enough Countess, but .what theY,lef unsaid. , " think it over, •Ct T sha'n't tell yin' what they said:', 1anatdy ..:. "I think I can make a pretty good .nd now tellfigne .: s -r a Pie "Well, you needn't!" L cried, heftily ap t' to.be Altllappy- but too late. She would out With it. a '-eanoua note in They accuse you of being, a sad,anxiety or cagornees, a sad dog, a foxy bachelor, and a devitelit:'whieh... Xis any.raeei of a fellow. They all profess to be eelf:inwarrdiy resenting;`,, very much shocked, but they assureIthe.sneeang,I[pngtrplagp,,,a you that it's all right, --not; to 'Medi Covered that be was nee:11 ; them. They don't thank yon had it There WAS a queer sinking; s. in you, and they're glad to see you *the region of my boort behaving like a scamp, Oh, I know chill. Could it be pose theta!" Bet no! It was pre As a matter of fact, she was'prctty "He appears to some near to being right. "A11 the more tltueQntul and preoccnpi reason for you to be cautious and et the moon and bites' — o circumspect, !