Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1919 — GREEN FANCY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GREEN FANCY

By GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON

* "GRAUSTARK." THE HOLLOW OF HER HAND,—THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK,** ETC.

C~n ii#ii Irtr n M ~~ j| r —y Im SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER I—Thoma* X. wealthy New Yorker, on a walking trip through New England, la caught to * ■torm miles from his destination. At * crossroads point he meets a girl In the ■ame plight While they discuss the situation an automobile, sent to meet the girl, arrives and Barnes Is given a lift to Hart’s tavern, while the girl Is tak«“ on to her destination, which she tells Barnes is a place called Green Fancy. CHAPTER IT—At the tavern Barnes falls In with a stranded troupe of •’barnstorming” 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 danKrous speed. He learns that Green may Is something of a house of mystery. Two mounted men leave the tavern in a manner which arouses Barnes* curiosity. CHAPTER IV—He meets "Mlbs Thackeray,” leading lady of the stranded theatrical troupe, who is acting as chambermaid. That night he is 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 Boto, guests at Green Fancy, visit the tavern, apparently much mystified over the affair. CHAPTER Vl—Barnes advances Rushcroft money sufficient to release the comfiany from Its embarrassing position, hereby 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 Oeairous of recognizing him, and turns away. *O’Dowd appears and In apparently friendly fashion escorts Barnes (who feels he Is 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 his absence. O’Dowd comes to the tavern and with Barnes and others goes over the scene of the previous night’s shooting. Barnes is Invited to dinner at Green Fancy. CHAPTEK IX—His acquaintance of the storm Is introduced as Miss Cameron. The makeup of the house party, particularly a man introduced to him as Loeb," and the number of menservants about the place, somewhat astonishes Barnes. CHAPTER X— Miss Cameron informs him she is a prisoner in the house, appealing to him for aid and binding him tc> secrecy In conversation with the chauffeur who drives him back to■ the tavern, Barnes becomes convinced there Is a conspiracy of moment Hatching at Green Fancy. / CHAPTER Xl—At breakfast the supKsed book agent Introduces himself as rouse, a government secret agent. Bprouse tells Barnes he Is there *o watch the party at Green Fancy, describing them as refugees from a country overrun by the Germana He -asserts that Miss Cameron" Is a relative of the former ruler of thadevastated country and that she or "Loeb” have with them the crown jewels of enormous value, which Sprouse would recover. CHAPTER Xll—Barnes 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. CHAPTER Xlll—They enter the grounds tn safety! Sprouse overcoming two men evidently on guard. Reaching the house, Barnes sends up, by means of a fishing rod carried by Sprouse, a note to "Miss Cameron," informing her of their Intention to enter the house. She tries to dissuade them, but Sprouse climbs to her room and goes through It on a quest for the crown jewels ana state papers..

"You poor girl! Hang it all, perhaps you are right and not L Sit still and I will reconnoiter a bit If I can find a place where we can hide among these rocks, we’ll stay here till the sky begins to lighten. Sit —•” “NoI I shall not let you leave me for a second. Where you go, I go.’ She struggled to her feet, suppressing a groan, and thrust a determined arm through his. “That’s worth remembering, said he, and whether it was a muscular necessity or an emotional exaction that caused his arm to tighten on hers, none save he would ever know. After a few minutes prowling among the rocks they came to the face of what subsequently proved to be a sheer wall of stone. He flashed the light, and, with an exclamation, started back. Not six feet ahead of them the earth seemed to end; a yawning black gulf lay beyond. Apparently they were bn the very edge of a cliff. “Good Lord, that was a close call,” he gasped. He explained In a few words and then, commanding her to stand perfectly still, dropped to the ground and carefully felt his way forward. Again he flashed the light. In an Instant he understood. They were on the brink of a shallow quarry. Lying there, he made swift calculations. The quarry, no longer of use to the builder, was reasonably sure to be abandoned. In all probability some sort of a stone-cutter’s shed would be found nearby. It would provide shelter from the fine rain that was falling and from the chill night air. He remembered that O’Dowd, in discussing the erection of Green Fancy the night before, had said that the stone came from a pit two miles away, where a fine quality of granite had been found. Two miles, according to Barnes’ quick calculations, would bring the pit close to the northern boundary of the Curtis property and almost directly on a line with the point where he and Sprouse entered the meadow at the beginning of their advance upon Green Fancy. That being the case, they were now quite close to the stake and rider fence separating the Curtis land from that

of the farmer on the north. "Good,” he said, more to himself than to her. ’ “I begin to see light Are you afraid to remain here while I go down there for a look around? I aha’nt be gone more than a coppie of minutes.** "The way I feel at present,** she Id, jerkily, “I shall never, never from this Instant till the hour In which I die, let go of your coat-tails, Mr. Barnes.” Suiting the action to the word, her fingers resolutely fastened, not upon the tall of his coat but upon his sturdy arm. “I wouldn’t stay here alone for anything in the world.** “Heaven bless you,” he exclaimed, suddenly exalted. “And, since you put It that I shall always contrive to be within arm’s length.” And sO, together, they ventured along the edge of the pit until they reached the wagon road at the bottom. As he had expected, there was a ramshackle shed hard by. It was not much of a place, but It was deserted and a safe shelter for the moment. A workman’s bench lay on Its side In the middle of the earthen floor. He righted It and drew it over to the boarding. . . . She laid her head against his shoulder and sighed deeply. . . . He kept his eyes glued on the door and listened for the first ominous sound outside. A long time afterward she stirred. “Are you cold? You are wet —” "It was the excitement, the nervousness, Mr. Barnes,” she said, drawing slightly away from him. “Isn’t It nearly daybreak?” He looked at his watch. “Three o’clock,” he said. There ensued another period of silence. She remained slightly aloof. “You’d better lean against me,” he said at last. “I am softer than the beastly boards, you know, and quite as harmless.”

“Thank you,” she said, and promptly settled herself against his shoulder. “It is better,” she sighed. “Would you mind telling me something about yourself, Miss Cameron? I should like to know whether I am to address you as princess, duchess, or—just plain Miss.” ® "I am mOre accustomed to plain Miss, Mr. Barnes, than to either of the titles you would give me.” “Don’t you feel that I am deserving of a little enlightenment?” he asked. "I am working literally as well as figuratively in the dark. Who are you? Why were you a prisoner at Green Fancy? Where and what Is your native land?” “Mr. Barnes, I cannot answer any one of your questions without jeopardizing a cause that Is dearer to me than anything else In all the world. I am sorry. I pray God a day may soon come when I can reveal everything to you—and to the world. I am of a stricken country; lam trying to serve the unhappy house that has ryled It for centuries and Is now In the direst peril. The man you know as Loeb is a prince of that house. I may say this to you, and It will serve to explain my position at Green Fancy: he Is not the prince I was led to believe awaited me there. He Is the cousin of the man I expected to meet, and he Is the enemy of the branch of the house that I would serve. Do not ask me to say more.” “Your sympathies are with the entente allies, the prince’s are opposed? Is that part of Sprouse’s story true?” “Yes.” “And O’Dowd?”

“O’Dowd is anti-English, Mr. Barnes, if that conveys anything to you. He is not pro-German.” “Wasn’t it pretty risky for you to carry the crown jewels around in a traveling bag, Miss Cameron?” “I suppose so. It turned out, however, that it was the safest, surest way. I had them in my possession tot three days before coming to Green Fancy. No one suspected. I was to deliver them to one Of their rightful owners, Mr. Barnes —a loyal prince of the blood.” “But why here?” he insisted. “He was to take them into Canada, and thence, in good time, to the palace of his ancestors."

“I am to understand, then, that not only you but the confnflttee you speak of, fell into a carefully prepared trap. The treachery, therefore, hrtd its inception in the loyal nest You were betrayed by a friend.” “I am sure of it,” she said bitterly. ‘Tf this man Sprouse does not succeed in restoring the —oh, I believe 1 shall kill myself, Mr. Barnes.” The wail of anguish in her voice went straight to his heart. “He has succeeded,xfake my word for it. They will be in your hands before many hours have passed.” “Is he to come to the Tavern with them? Or am I to meet him—” “Good Lord 1” he gulped. Here was a contingency he had not considered. Where and when would Sprouse appear with his booty? “I—l fancy we’ll find him waiting for us at the Tavern.” “But had you no understanding?” “Er— tentatively.” The perspiration started on his brow. He was thinking of something else: his amazing stupidity in not foreseeing the very situation that now presented itself. Why had he neglected to settle upon a meeting place with Sprouse in the event that circumstances forced them to part company in flight? Fearing that she would pursue the subject, he made haste to branch off onto another line. “What is the real object of the conspiracy up there, Miss Cameron?” “You must bear with me a little longer, Mr. Barnes,” she said, appealingly. “I eannot say anything now.” “You said that tomorrow night would be too late. What did you mean by that?” ‘ .

She waited a few seconds and then removed her head from his shoulder. “He heard the sharp intake of her breath and felt the convulsive movement of the arm that rested against his. The* was no mistaking her sudden agitation. “I will tell you,” she said, and he was surprised by the harshness that came into her voice. "Tomorrow morning was the time set for my marriage to that wretch up there. I could have avoided It only by destroying myself. If you had come tomorrow night Instead of tonight you would have found me dead, that Is aIL Now you understand.” “Good God 1 You —were to be forced into a marriage with —why, It Is the most damnable —” “O’Dowd —God bless him! —was my only champion. He knew my father. He—” “Listen!" he hissed, starting to his feet. “Don’t move!” came from the darkness outside. “I have me gun leveled. I heard me name taken in vain.

Thanks for the blessing. I was wondering whether you would say something pleasant about me—and, thank the good Lord, I was patient. But I'd advise you both to sit still just the same.” A chuckle rounded out the gentle admonition of the invisible Irishman. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

“Don’t Move!” Came From the Darkness Outside.