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The Wingham Times, 1913-09-11, Page 7TPE 1P, IAM f The Siege of .the Seven Suitors By MEREDITH NICHOLSON Copyright. 1910, by Meredith Nlcholsoe ANINISIONSIMINS - "No," I replied, laughing a little at her manner, "not unless it was you tubo switched off the lights as I was • coming down from the fourth floor. I have been studying this chimney from tbe roo2. I know something of the :ways of electric switches, and they don't usually move of their own ac- cord.".I "Yourcoming to this house has been the greatest joy to me, Mr. Ames. 1 •should not have imagined in a chance look at you that you were psychical, atnd yet such is clearly the fact. I as- sure you that I have not touched any switch since I left my room. It was -unnecessary, as I found the lights on. And 1 acquit you of rapping, rapping at my chamber dour. It gives me the greatest satisfaction to assume that the house is haunted, and at any time .you find the ghost I beg that you will lose no time in presenting me." She wore a remarkable lavender -dressing gown and a nightcap such as I had never seen outside a museum. As she concluded her speech, spoken in that curious lilting tone which from the beginning had left me iu doubt as to the seriousness of all her statements, she rose and, still clasping her maga- zine, made me a courtesy and was soon mounting the stair. I heard her door close a minute later, .and then, feeling that I had earned the right to repose, I went to my room .and to bed. I slept late and on going down found ir the table set in the breakfast room. Miss Octavia entered briskly, her slight figure concealed by a prodigious ging. ham apron. "Good morrow, merry gentleman," .she began blithely. "The most delight- ful thing has happened. Without the •slightest warning, without the faintest intimation of their dissatisfaction, the house servants bare departed, with the single exception of my personal maid, who, being a Swede and therefore singu- larly devoid of emotion, was unshaken by the ghost rumors that have sent the .,• Test of my staff scampering over the bills." She lighted the coffee machine lamp In her most tranquil fashion and beg- ged me to be seated. "I have already breakfasted," she Continued, "and Cecilia is even now preparing you an omelet with her own tband. I beg to reassure you as my ;guest that the departure of the serv- nts causes me not the slightest an- oyance. Cecilia is an excellent cook. nd I myself shall not starve so long $ I have strength to crack an egg or lift a stove lid. And besides, I still re - 'Min my early trust in Providence. I o not doubt that before nightfall a ores of excellent servants will again pe on duty here. Very likely they are 'even now bound for this place, coming trona the wet coasts•of Ireland, from Xiverpool and from lonely villages in 'Scandinavia. I hope you will testify to the fact that I faced this day in the cheeriest and most hopeful spirit." "Not only shall I do so, Miss Hollis- ter," I replied, trying to catch her own note, "but it will throughout my life Viva me the greatest satisfaction to set !y -our cause aright. To that extent let me be Horatio to your Hamlet." "Thank you, milord," she returned, with the utmost gravity. "And may 1 say further that the incident gives the stamp of authenticity to my ghost? I was obliged to pay those people don- ble wages to lure them from the felici- ties of the city, and they must have been a good deal alarmed to have lent is* precipitately.. You must excuse lie now., as, it is necessary for me to do the • pa try cook's work this morring, that individual having Red with the re,t, and it being incumbent on me to main - 111111111111111111110111 An Operation For Appendicitis Was Ordered by Iliis Doctor, But CODnplete Cure Was Effected by Dr. Chase's Kidney -Liver Pills. Almost anyone who has suffered from appendioitis will as'ure you that this trouble developed only after months or years of derangements of the liver an,l bowels. Appendicitis can almost invariably be prevented, and very is eq:'ently cur- ed, by the use of Dr. Chase's Kidney- Ltver Pills. In the case decrii:ed En this letter the doctors Irtd ordered an operation, but a thorough 'cure Was brought about Ly this grist medicine. Mrs. J. A. Balhtntyre, Sturgeon Valls, turgeon Falls, Ont., writes: "My husband was treated for appendicitis, and the doc- tora ordered an operatic n. Tint lie would not consent to an o erati n o and l began the use of 1)r. Chase's Kitiney- LAvcr Pills. Since doing so he has had no need of an operation, or even of a doctor, as the trouble has com- pletely left him. I cannot find words t6 speak our gratitude for his cure." Dr. Chase's Kidney -Liver Pils, one pill a dose, 26 cents e'l ox, all deal- ers, or T;dmanson, Bates & Co., Ling* ted, Toronto. HEZEK AH want to est, some reliable ghost about the hereafter." With this she fled, and I beard the front door close smartly after her. An instant later Miss Octavla appeared and asked solicitously how I liked my omelet. "Tbe coachman has been telling me a capital ghost story. He believes them to be beneficent and declares that be will under no circumstances leave my employment" She sat down and folded her arms apon the table. For the first time I nelieved that she was serious. There - was, in fact, a troubled look on her sweet, whimsical face. It occurred to me that the loss of.ber servants was not really the slight matter she had previously made of it. "Mr. Ames, will you pardon me for asking you a question of tbe most in- timate character? It is only after much hesitation that 1 do so." I bowed encouragingly, my curiosity fully aroused. "You may ask me anything In the world, Miss Hollister." "Then 1 wish you would tell me whether -1 can't express the dislike I feel in doing this—but can you tell me whether you have seen in the bands of my niece Cecilia a small, a very small, silver backed notebook." "Yes; I have," I answered, greatly surprised. "And may I ask whether—and roan I must plead deep concern as au ex- cuse for making such an ingirSey— whether you by any chance saw 'her making any notation in that book?' • tain my fee simple in this property, I recalled the silver bound book per- ry make a dozen pies before high noon, fectly, but bad attached no importance dut first 1 must visit the stables i to it, but if Cecilia's fortunes were so where 1 believe the coachman still ( intimately related to it as Miss Hollis - lingers, having been prevented from ter's manner implied, 1 felt that I must joining the stampede of the house serv- be careful of my answer. 1 was trying 'ants by the painful twinges of gout." I to recall the precise moment at which With this she left me, and I began I had entered the library the preceding pecking at a grapefruit. It had been evening after Hume's departure, and in my mind as I dressed that morn- while I was intent upon this my silence leg to play truant and visit the city. must have been prolonged. I felt t 1'1 I' I1 It was almost imperative that I take obliged to make an answer of some . a look at my office, and I had resolved sort, and yet I did not relish the upon a plan which would, I believed, thought of conveying information that give me the key to the ghost mystery. might distress and embarrass a noble if Pepperton had built that house he girl like Cecilia Hollister. Something must know whether he had contrived in my face must have conveyed a hint any secret passages that would afford of this inner conflict to Miss Hollister, exists and entrances not apparent to for she rose suddenly, holding up her the eye. It would be an easy matter hand as though to silence me. She to run into the city, explain myself to seemed deeply moved and cried in agi- my assistant and get hold of Pepper- tation: ton. My mind was made up, and I had "Do not answer me! The question even consulted a time table and chosen was quite unfair—quite unfair—and yet one of the express trains. i assure y ou that at the moment I made the inquiry I felt justified." CHAPTER XIi. She retreated toward the door as 1 1 Play Truant. rose, and then, with her composure S I sat at the table absorbed !n fully restored, she courtesied grace - my plans for the day my fully. nerves received a sudden "Luncheon here will be a buffet af- shock.A Ishall be engaged with I had heard no one en- fair today, as ter, yet a voice at my shoulder mur- matters of pastry. I'm sure, however, mured casually: Haat thou seen ghosts? Hast thou at mid- night heard— I It was the voice of Hezekiah, I knew before I faced her. She wore a blue sailor waist, with a broad red ribbon tied under the collar, and a blue tam-o'-shanter capped her head. She bore a tray that contained my omelet, it plate of toast and other sundries incidental to a substantial breakfast, which she distributed deft- ly upon the table. "How did you get here?" I blurted, my nerves still out of control. "The kitchen door, sir. 1 had ridden into the garden, and, seeing Aunt Oc- I tavia heading for the stables and Ce- cilia at the kitchen window, I pedaled boldly in. Cecilia wanted to borrow my bicycle, and, being a good little sister, I gave it to her. She also said that you required food, so I told her to go and L would carry you your breakfast. I shall skip myself in a min- ute. You ,may draw your own coffee. Mind the machine. It tips if you are not careful." She went ta, the window and peered out toward the stables. "May I ask, daughter of kings, where your sister has gone so sud- denly?" "Certainly! She's off for town to these a cook and a few other people to run this hotel. I heard at the post - office that the whole camp bad desert- ed, eserted, so I ran over to see what was do- ing. And just for that I've got to walk home." "But your aunt said that Providence would take. care of the servant ques- tion. She expected a whole corps of Ideal servants to come straying in dur- ing the day." "Cecilia hasn't Aunt Octavia's confi- dence in Providence, so she's taking a shot at the employment agencies. She has left a note on tho kitchen table to inform Atint Octavio. that she had for- gotten an engagement with the dentist and has gone to catch the 10:18." "That, Hezekiah, is a lie. It isn't quite square to deceive your aunt that way," I remarked soberly. Hezekiah laughed. "You absurdity! Don't you know Aunt Octavla yet? She will be perfect- ly overjoyed when she comes back and finds that note from Cecilia. She likes disappearances, mysteries and all that kind of thing. But It is barely possi- ble that you will have to wash the dishes. I can't, you see, for I'm not supposed to come on the reservation at all -'-not until Cecilia bast found a hus- band. Isn't it perfectly delicious?" "Alt .of that, daughter of kings! I think that as soon as 1 can regain con- fidence in my own sanity I shall like it myself. But"—and I watched her narrowly' --"you see, Hezekiah, there is really a ghost, you know." Her divine laugh bubbled mellowly. She had walked guardedly to the win- dow and turned swiftly with a mockery of fear In her face. "Aunt Octavia approaches. and I must be off. But that ghost, Mr. Ohim- Aey atiau— vhen you find him please let ine know 'I'bmoire_ a lot b!_things i • "Can 1 give you a lift?" that you will find employment until dinner time, when my house will be fully in order again." I intended that this should be a busy day, so without making explanations I went to the stable, told the coach- man I wished to be driven to the sta- tion and was soots whizzing over the hills toward Katonah. I wondered how Wiggins and the oth- er gentlemen at the Prescott Arms were faring. My question was par- tially answered a second later as we passed the road that forked off to the inn. On a stone by the roadside sat Lord Arrowood, desolately guarding a kit bag and a suit case. Ho was dress- ed in a shabby Norfolk jacketand knickerbockers and sucked a pipe. I bade the driver pause and greeted the nobleman affably. "Can I give you a lift? You seem to be bound for the station, and I'm tak- ing a train myself." "No, thanks," be replied sharply. "They're a lot of bounders—bounders, I say!" "Ah! Of whom do you speak, Lord Arrowood?" I asked, glancing at my watch. "Those scoundrels at the inn; They have thrown me out—thrown me out— • me!" "Hard lines, for it tact, but If you are interested in trains"-- ,r t6 leave. the county!" he 1 Irefusey shouted. "If they think they're gol`ng to get rid of me they're mistaken. Bounders, I say, bounders!" He uttered this opprobrious term With great bitterness and crossed his 1 legs, as though to emphasize his per- manence Upon1ho bowlder. Patience ( I3ARNa==SAVi Readings Advertisements Will Help You Do Both By HOLLAND. I AT you save is more important than what you earn. Spend all that you get, and you will never have a surplus. Save even a little, and you are making head- way. There are various ways of saving. but one of the most effective is to spend your money wisely. You can do this by reading the advertise- ments in this paper closely and by taking advantage of the offers made. You can thus save without denying yourself what you need. Merchants regularly adver- tise everything that you eat, wear, need for the home or require . to your business. The advertisements tell you where you can buy cheaply and at the same time get goods of quality. PRACTICE '1'1:11E) ECONOMY—HUY ADVERTISED GOODS. Even if you do not want to buy, it pays to read the nd- vertisenteuts and keep post- ed, so you will know where to hitt' ,when the time comes. 11 !1, 1. 3 on a monument is riot more eternally pianted. Ile seemed in no mood for conversation, so I sped on, with no time to lose. I gained the step of the chair car at- tached to the 10:18 with some loss of dignity, the porter yanking me aboard under the conductor's scornful eye. The Katonah passengetls were still in the aisle, and as I surveyed them I saw Cecilia take a seat in the middle of the car. She was just unfolding a newspaper when I moved to a seat behind her and bade her good morning. The look she gave me in turning round had in it something of Hezeki- ah's quizzical humor. This interested me, because I had not previously seen any but the most superficial resem- blance between the sisters. Her cheeks were aglow from her sprint on the wheel. "We are both truants. You must have breakfasted in a hurry to have caught this train." "Not all. I enjoyed a brief conversa- tion with your sister, and after she had gone your aunt came back and lingered for a moment." "She told you, 1 suppose, that Provi- dence would look after the servant question. I'm going to assist Provi- dence a little." "You 'become the vicaress of Provi- dence? I admire your spirit." "It's mere self preservation. Aunt Octavia would 'have me chained to the kitchen if 1 didn't do something about it." She had permitted me to settle With the conductor, and. when 1 had com- pleted this transaction I found that she had drawn frdm her purse the little silver booklet about which Miss Octa- via had inquired so anxiously. She rais- ed her eyes with the faraway look in them. "Can you tell me bow to spell Ar- rowood—is it one or two w's?" "One I think the noble lord uses." She seemed to write the name, and I saw her counting on her fingers, touching, them lightly on the open page HAD A TERAIBL[ ATTACK Of DIARNEA, Became Very weals. Diarrlleea, especially if allowed to run any length of time, causes great weak- ness, and the only thing to do is to check it on its first appearance. You will find that a few doses of DR. FOWLER'S EX- TRACT Or. WILD STRAWBERRY will do this quickly and effectively. MRs. JACOB SMITH, Manor, Sask., writes:—"I am pleased to express my gratitude for your remedy. In my case, I had a terrible attack of diarrhoea. Just about every three minutes, I would have a passage, and it would keep this up for a week at a time, causing the passing of bloody water. I was so pained and weak, I could not do anything. 'Seing your iDR. Fowx.ga's EXTRACT c>s WILD STRAWBERRY recommended, I tried it and it thoroughly cured me. It is the only medicine for this complaint I will now have.'" "DR. FOwt.EER'S" has been on the mar- ket for over sixty-five years, and is, with- out a doubt, the best remedy known for the cure of Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Colic, Clamps, Pain in the Stomach, Cholera Morbus, Cholera Infantum, and all Bowel Complaints. When you ask for "Da. Fowl,ER's" see that you are not handed one of the many substitutes for this old reliable remedy. Get the yellow wrapper on which ap- pears tkc name of The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont. Price, 35 cents. of the book. Theu site dropped it into her purse, which she thrust hack carefully into her pocket. She sighed and was silent. , I gave her in detail the story of the ghost, and my recital seemed to amuse her greatly. "You thought it was Aupt Octavia . herself at first, then you thought I was the spook, and now you are not fully het •U::tcled that it is not my father. I will take you into my confidence this far- that 1 don't know how father got into lee house last night. He wrote a note asking me to meet him on the roof and bring the foils. That was not unlike him. as he is the dearest father in the world, and his whims are just as jolly in their way as Aunt Octavia's. 1 wits sure that Aunt Octavia bad re- tired for the night, so 1 changed my dress and carried the foils up through the trunk: room. I had hardly reached there before my father appeared. The whole situation—my being there and all that—has distressed father. "You think," she asked. "that those lights couldn't have winked out twice by themselves while you were on the stairway?" "I am positive of it. And somebody —a being of some sort—passed me on the stairway. It might imaginably have been you." "But i tell you positively it was not." "Then it might have been your father. A man who can eater a house at will might easily play any manner of other tricks. His disappearance after I had gone down into the house with him was just as mysterious as the ghost." "It was natural for father not to want you to know how he got in. The mo- tive for that would be the fact that he is not supposed to see me or commuui- .•ate with me in any way." "It must have occurred to you that there is one member of the Iloliister family we haven't mentioned iu this connection." "If you mean Ilezekiah"— "None other!" "If Ilezekiah or my father should be caught in the house while 1 ant there just now we should all pay dearly for it. Believe me, this is true. Some day you may know the whys and where- fores; at present no one may ltnow. But why should Ilezel:iah wish to prowl about there at night—to assume for a moment that she is doing it?" Her manner was wholly earnest. It was plain that she bad entered into some sort of compact with her aunt, and no doubt the arrangement was in the characteristic whimsical vein of which I had enjoyed personal experi- ence. ' I did not wish to press Cecilia for explanations she might not be free to make, but I ventured a suggestion or two. "Hezekiah may be entering the house and playing ghost for amusement, merely in a spirit of childish rebellion against the interdiction that forbids her the house. That is quite plausible, Hezekiah being the spirited young per- son we know her to be. And it may amuse her, too, to plug the chimneys at a time when her sister is enjoying the visits of suitors. Without. quite realizing that such was Ler animus, she may be the least—the very least bit jealous!" Cecilia flushed, and her eyes flashed indignantly. She bent toward me ea- gerly. "Please do not say such a thing! You must not even think it!" "She may bo a little forlorn, alone in your father's house over the bills at times wheu you are surrounded by ad- mirers, and it is my assumption frem what I have learned in one way and another of your flight abroad last sum- mer that some of these gentlemen now established. at the Prescott Arms are known to her." "Oh, all of them, certainly." "Aad Hartley Wiggius among the rest?" "That, Mr. Ames, is most unkind," she declared earnestly. "She has told ine that she was not In the least in- terested in Mr. Wiggins." "And she told the the same thing, but 1 do not feel sure of it But what it she is? You are not really interested in him yourself!" She did not vouchsafe any reply to my statement, but changed the subject abruptly. My description of the ghost bad taken considerable time, and we were now at the end of our journey. "I count on finishing my errand and taking the 2:07," she remarked. "That's a short time to allow your- self. I've heard that it's a dreary busi- ness chasing the employment agen- cies." "Not if you know where not to go. If you'll get me a machine of some sort I'll be off at once:" "I fear 1 shan't conclude my own business so soon, but if you will honor me at luncheon"— "Sorry, Mr. Ames, but it's out of the question. I hope to see you at dinner tonight. And please"— "Yes, Miss Hollister"— "Please remember that you are Aunt Octavia's guest and don't annoy her by failing to appear at dinner. You ;,.now you haven't fixed that chimney yet." Her smile left me well in the Stir. I p'ood staring after the very common - !Num cab as it roiled away with her, my mind whirling chaos of emotion. ';'rte crowd jostled me impatiently, for .Ither people, not breathing celestial ether from an hour of Cecilla ROMs - lees society, were bent upon the day'. oulness. CHAPTER XIII. "("+t At tits Asolando Again. ISET off at once for 1'epperton'el office, where I learned that th• o town. But i i architect was out ills chief clerk greeted me COU.N Children Cry FOR FLETCHER'S CASTORIA w IIIIIIIIIPIII IIIIIIIIMINIIIIIIIIIIT...gr,llllll1111111111nII1,11.. ( 9 09 Dos Inlnnn,nnm nIflet, :^Launi-1nl,m nr mai i .n '., II n nn o AVegetablePreparationforAs- silnilatingthaoodandRegula- Hug thp,,9 tnmarh5 andBowels of NIANTS>9.CIIILD`fi {• Proinotes'Digestion,Cheerful- 1 Bess andRest.Containsneither 9_p1utn,Morphine nor Ifu e.ral. I NOT N.ARC OTIC. Rraoe ofOfd-DrgliiDL2PJ7GGa11 )bmpk , Sea - Ale.fuu a + I?o taus Sdh - Aniae Ses t • IFape,mmt �,aonaQr,;fr. Km) Seed - C(lad6ad Shym' . 1fS+trryroon Flavor: Aperfect Remedy forConstipa- tion, Sour Stomach,Diarrhoea, Worms ,Convulsions ,Feverish - 'less andLOSS OF SLEEP. YeeSimile Signature of • NEW YORK. t`ti"rilt911.1- O 4 ' t I y S CiT?: 1 r.XAGT COPY OF WRAAPEH. CASTORIA For infants and Children. The find You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of In Use for Over Thirty Years THC OCNTAUN COMPANY. NSW YO,IK CASTORR x ;eett:ay. 1 told Lim frankly that I wanted to look at the plans of Hope - field Manor to enable tae to learn the exact lines of the chimneys. He con- fessed surprise that tbey were causing trouble and expressed regret that they were not in the .Alice. "Miss Ilollister sent for them this morning, and I have just given them to a young woman who bore a note from her." I was taken aback to find that she had anticipated me in my rush for the plans of the house. Clearly 1 was dealing with a womau who was not only immensely amusing, but exceed- ingly shrewd as well. Could it be pos- sible after all that she was herself playing ghost merely for her own en- tertalument? She was capable of it. But I had satisfied myself that she could not have performed the tricks of which i had been the victim the night previous unless she possessed some rare vanishing power like that of the East Indian mystics. "May 1 ask who came for the plans?" "I judged the young wotnan to be a maid, or perhaps she was Miss Hollis- ter's secretary." I had given little Beed during my, short stay at Hopefield Manor to'Miss IIollister's personal attendant. I had passed her in the halls once or twice, a young woman of twenty-five, I should say, fair haired and blue eyed. She might herself be the ghost now that I thought of it. But this seemed the most unlikely hypothesis possible. At my own office my assistant pounc- ed upon me wrathfully. He was half wild over the pressure of vexatious business and had just been engaging in a long distance conversation with a country gentleman at Lenox which had left him in bad temper. I was ex- plaining zplaining to him the seriousness of my, errands at Hopefield, rather uncon- vincingly, I fear, and the fact that I must return at once wheu the office boy entered my private room to say that three gentlemen wished to see me immediately. They bad submitted cards, but had refused to state the na- ture of their business. It was with a distinct sensation of surprise that I read the names respectively of Percival B. Shallenberger, Daniel P. Ormsby and John Stewart Dick. "Show the gentlemen in," I said promptly, greatly to the disgust of my assistant, who retired to deal with several clients whom I had passed in the reception room fiercely walking the floor. I had imagined all the suitors estab- lished at the Prescott Arms. As the three appeared clad in light automobil- ing coats I could not forbear a smile at their grim appearance. Shallen- berger, the novelist, and Ormsby, the knit goods manufacturer, were big men. Dick, the Nebraska philosopher, was much shorter, though of compact and sturdy build. They growled surlily in response to my greeting, and Orms- by closed the door behind them. DIck seemed to be the designated spokes- man, and he advanced to the desk be- hind which 1 sat with a stride and manner that advertised his belligerent frame of mind. "Mr. Ames," he began, "we have come here to speak for ourselves and certain other gentlemen who are stay- ing for a time at the Prescott Arms." "Gentlemen of the committee, wel- come to our office," I replied, greatly amused by his ferocity. My tone caused the others to draw in defensively behind him. a that "We want you to Understand your conduct in acc(>ti.tpnnying a lady that I shall not name to the city Is an act we cannot pass in silence. Your conduct in going to Hopefield Manor was in itself an affront to us, but your behavior tbis morning passes all bounds. :EVe hate come, lir, 'to de. "Do I correctly understand, sir, that you mean to insult us?" mind an explanation!" At a glance this was a situation I dare not take seriously. in "Mr. Hick and gentlemen -di the com- mittee, you are meddlesome personsl'! I said. "Meddlesome!" cried Dick heatedly, and leaning toward me across my desk. "Do I correctly understand, slr, that you mean to insult us?" "Nothing could be further from my purpose. But t cannot permit you to imagine that I'm going to allow you to beard me in my office and criticise my, conduct in regard to Miss Cecilia Hol- lister or anybody else. As a philoso- pher from the fertile corn lands of Ne- braska I salute you with admiration; as a critic of my ways and manners I show you the -door." LTO BE CONTINUED.] Going up in a balloon has this ad- vantage: it enables a man to rise above his troubles. If Your Back Hurts You YOUR KIDNEYS ARE RESPONSIBLE. MR. JOHN BRIGGS, Whitewood, Sask., writes:--" I am sending you this test- imonial out of pure gratitude, as I am not a believer in patent medicines, but I got so run down, that I became quite willing to give anything a trial. I paid a visit to our local druggist, and told him I was suffering intense agony with my back. Ile told me I had kidney trouble, and handed me a box of Doan's KmNiiir Plias, saying it was the best thing he could possibly give me. I tried these, and the effect was certainly marvelous. They are Worth $10 a box of anybody's money, and I would not be without a. box by ine. I certainly owe my present ,. condition to 0AN S KIDNEY P DOAN'S PIU S are 50 cents per box, or three boxes for X1.25, at all dealers, or mailed direct on receipt of price by The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto, Ont. When ordering direct frail us specify' UOAN'S.