Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1919 — GREEN FANCY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GREEN FANCY

By GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON

Xatkar *F •'GRAUSTARK." HOLLOW OF HER HANft"*TW PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK.-ITC.

r—' xl - DUL M«U«u»dC Im. SYNOPSIS. • « CHAPTER I—Thoma* K. , waalthy New Yorker, on a walking trip through Naw England to caught in a •torn, mile* from hia destination. At a croearoade point he meet* a girl In the aaune plight While they dlacurn the situation an automobile, sent to meet the Sri. arrives and Barnes to given a lift to Hart's tavern, while the girl to taken on to her destination which she tells Barnes to a place called Green Fancy. CHAPTER IT—At the tavern Barnes fells in with a stranded troupe of_‘T>arnstorming" actors, headed by Lyndon Rushcroft, and becomes Interested in them. CHAPTER Hl—As the storm grows, Barnes finds himself worrying over the safety of the girl, traveling over the mountain roads at what he considers dangerous speed. He luarns tnat Green Fancy to something of a house of mystery. Two mounted men leave the tavwn tn a manner which arouse* Barnes ourt•alty. CHAPTER IV—He meets “Mtos Thackeray,” leading lady of the stranded theatrical troupe, who is acting as chamtrermaid. That night he to aroused by the bringing of a dying man to the tavern, one of the two who had ridden away a short time before. They tell of finding the dead body of the other man. Both had been shot CHAPTER V—The wounded man, registered at the tavern as Andrew Paul, dies, and Barnes is Informed he must not leave until after the Inquest O’Dowd and De Beto, guests at Green Fancy, visit the tavern, apparently much mystified over the affair. CHAPTER Vl—Barnes advances Rushcroft money sufficient to release the company from its embarrassing position, thereby becoming its official backer. He visits Green Fancy, and in the grounds meets his acquaintance of the night before, finding her a girl of surprising beauty. CHAPTER Vll—She seems not to be ifieairous of recognising him, and turns away. ‘O'Dowd appears and In apparently friendly fashion escorts Barnes (who feels be to unwelcome) from the grounds. CHAPTER Vlll—Miss Thackeray warns Barnes that a man stopping at the tavern, ostensibly a book agent, had searched his baggage in hto absence. O’Dowd comes to the-tavern and with Barnes and others goes over the scene of the previous night's shooting. Barnes to Invited to dinner at Green Fancy. CHAPTEH IX—His acquaintance of the ■torm is Introduced as Miss Cameron. The makeup of the house party, particularly a man Introduced to him as Loeb,” and the number of menservanto about the place, somewhat astonishes Barnes. CHAPTER X—Miss Cameron inform* him she to a prisoner In the house, appealing to him for aid and binding him to secrecy. In conversation with the chauffeur who drives him back to the tavern, Barnes becomes convinced there to a conspiracy of moment Matching at Green Fancy. CHAPTER Xl—At breakfast the supposed book agent Introduces himself as Bprouse, a government secret agent. Bprouse tells Barnes he to there to watch the party at Green Fancy, describing them as refugees from a country overrun by the Germans. He asserts that Miss Cameron” 1s a relative of the former ruler of the devastated country and that she or "Loeb” have with them the crown Jewels, .of enormous value, which Sprouse would recover. CHAPTER Xll—Baunoa agrees to accompany Sprouse on a nocturnal visit to Green Fancy, Sprouse with the object of securing the Jewels, and Barnes with the hope of rescuing ''Miss Cameron.

He had written: “I am outside with a trusted friend, ready to do your bidding. Two of the guards are safely bound and out of the way. Now is our chance. We will never have another. If you are prepared to come with me now write me a word or two and drop It to the ground. I will pass up a rope to you and you may lower anything you wish to carry awfcy with you. But be exceedingly careful. Take time. Don’t hurry a single one of your movements.” He signed It with a large “B.” It seemed an hour before their eyes distinguished the shadowy head above. As a matter of fact.but a few minutes had passed. During the wait Sprouse had noiselessly removed his coat, a proceeding that puzzled Barnes. Something light fell to the ground. It was Sprouse who stooped and searched for It In the grass. When he resumed an upright posture he put his lips close to Barnes’ ear and whispered: “I will put my coat over your head. Here Is a little electric torch. Don’t flash it until I am sure the coat Is arranged so that you can do so without a gleam of light getting out from under.” He pressed the torch and a bit of closely folded paper in the other's hand and carefully draped the coat over his head.

Barnes read: "Thank God! I wa* afraid you would wait until tomorrow night Then It would have been too late. X must get away tonight but I cannot leave—l dare not leave without something that la concealed in another part of the house. I do not know how to secure It My door la locked from the outside. What am I to do? 'I would rather die than to go away without it” Hastily he wrote: “If you do not come at once, we will force our way into the house and fight It out with them all. My friend 1* coming up ths vines. Let him enter the window. Tell him where to go and he will do the rest. He 1« a miracle man. Nothing to Impossible to him. If he does not return in ten minutes, I shall follow.” There was no response to thia. The head reappeared In the window, but no word came down. Sprouse whispered: “I am going up. Stay here. If you hear a commotion In the house, run for It Don’t wait for me. I’ll probably be done for.” •Til do just as I please about running,” said Barnes, and there was a deep thrill In his whisper. “Good luck. God help you if they catch you.” ”Not even he could help me then. Good-by. Til do what I can to Induce her to drop out of the window If anything goes wrong with me downstairs.” A moment later he was silently scaling the wall of the house, feeling his way carefully, testing every precarious foothold, dragging himself painfully upwards by means of the most uncanny, anlmal-llke strength and stealth. Barnes could not recall drawing a single breath from the Instant the man left his side until the faintly luminous square above his bead was obliterated by the black of his body as It wriggled over the ledge. We will follow Sprouse. When he crawled through the window and stood erect inside the room, he found himself confronted by a tall, shadowy figure, standing half-way between him and the door. He advanced a step or two and uttered a soft hiss of warning. "Not a sound,” he whispered, drawing still nearer. “I have come four

thousand miles to help you, countess. This is not the time or place to explain. We haven’t a moment to waste. I need only say that I have been sent from Paris by persons you know to aid you In delivering the crown jewels Into the custody of your country’s minister In Paris. We must act swiftly. Tell me where they are. I will get them.” “Who are you?” she whispered tensely. “My name Is Theodore Sprouse. I have been loaned to your embassy by my own government. I beg of you do not ask questions now. Tell me where the prince sleeps, how I njay get to his room—” “You know that he Is the prince?” “And that you are his cousin.” She was silent for a moment. “Not only Is It Impossible for you to enter his room but It Is equally Impossible for you to get out of this one except by the way you entered. If I thought there was the slightest chance for you to » “Let me be the judge of that, countess. Where is his room?” “The last to the right as you leave this door—at the extreme end of the corridor. Across the hall from his room you will see an open door. A man sits In there all night long, keeping watch. You could not approach Prince Ugo’s door without being seen by that watcher. "You said in your note to Barnes that the —er—something was in Curtis* study.” “The prince sleeps in Mr. Curtis’ room. The Study adjoins It, and can only be entered from the bedroom. There Is no other door. What are you doing?” "I am going to take a peep over the transom, first of all. If the coast is clear, I shall take a little stroll down the hall. Do not be alarmed. I Will come back —with the things we both want. Pardon me.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes. She watched him as If fascinated while he opened the bosom of his soft shirt and stuffed the wet shoes inside. - 7 Then he said: “You are not dressed for flight. May I suggest that while I am outside you slip on a dark skirt and coat? You cannot go far in that

dressing gown. It would be in shreds before you had gone a hundred feet through th* brush. If Ido not return to this room Inside of fifteen minutes, or if you hear sounds of a struggle, crawl through th* window and go down th* vines. Barne* will look out for you.” • “You must not fall, Theodore Sprouse," she whispered. "I must regain the jewels and the stat* papers. I cannot go without—” “I shall do my beat,” he said simply. Sllefitly he drew a chair to the door, mounted it and, drawing himself up by his hands, poked his head through the open transom. An Instant later be was on the floor again. She heard him Inserting a key In the lock. Almost before she could realize that it had actually happened, the door opened slowly, cautiously, and his thin wiry figure slid through what seemed to her no more than a crack. As softly the door was closed. For a long time she stood, dazed and unbelieving, In the center of the room, staring at the door. She held her breath, listening for the shout that was so sure to come—and the shot, perhaps! A prayer formed on her lips and went voicelessly up to God. Suddenly she roused herself from the stupefaction that held her. With feverish haste she snatched up garments from the chair-on which she had carefully placed them In anticipation of the emergency that now presented Itself. A blouse (which she neglected to button), a short skirt of some dark material, a jacket, and a pair of stout walking shoes (which she failed to lace), completed the swift transformation. As she glided to the window, she jammed the pins into a small black hat of felt Then she peered over the ledge. She started back, stifling a cry with her hand. A man’s head had almost come In contact with her own as she leaned out. A man’s hand reached over and grasped the Inner ledge of the casement and then a- man’s face was dimly revealed to her startled gaze. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

“Not a Sound,” He Whispered.