Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1919 — GREEN FANCY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GREEN FANCY

By GEORGB BARR McCUTCHEON

XatW of "CRAUSTARK.** *THE HOLLOW OF HER HAND,** "THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK." ETC,

D«H. MaUMdCMpasy. he.

SYNOPSIS* CHAPTER I—Thomas it wealthy New Yorker, on a walking trip through New England 1» caught to a etonn miles from his destination. At a crossroads point he meets a girl in the Sms plight While they discuss the situation an automobile, to meet the ■npy arrives and Barnes la Hart’s tavern, while the girl *f token on to her destination, which tella Wamee is a place calleA Green Fancy. CHAPTER IT—At the tavern Barnes falls in with a stranded troupe of barnstorming" actors, headed by Dyndon RuShcroft, and becomes Interested In them. CHAPTER TV—He meets •'Mtsa 'Hiackeray," leading lady of the stranded theatrical troupe, who is acting M maid. That night he is aroused by the bringing of a dying man to the tavern, one of the two who had r'dden 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 la informed he must not leave until after the inquest. O Dowd and De goto, guests at Green Fancy, visit the tavern, apparently much mystified over the affair. CHAPTER VH—She seems not to be desirous 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 Dowa 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. CHAPTER 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 tqp 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 to secrecy. In conversation with tne chauffeur who drives him back to the tavern, Barnes becomes convinced there is a conspiracy of moment Hatching at Green Fancy. * CHAPTER XT—At breakfast the supposed book agent introduces himself as Bprouse, a government secret agent. Sprouse tells Barnes he is there to watch tne party at Green Fancy, describing them as refugees from a country overrun by the Germans. He -asserts that Miss Cameron” is 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—Barnes agrees to accompany Sprouse on a nocturnal visit to Green Fancy, Sprouse with the object of securing the jewels, and Barnes with the nope 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. CHAPTER XlV—Barnes becomes uneasy at Sprouse’s long absence and follows him, climbing by means of the ivy attached to the wall. While talking to "Miss Cameron” a commotion in the house warns them that Sprouse has been detected. Barnes; with “Miss Cameron’’ clinging to him, makes his escape to the ground. He loses his sense of location and they become lost, finally taking refuge in a small shed. “Miss Cameron explains how she was decoyed to the house, and was to be married against her will to the man “Loeb,” whom she reveals as a prince of the house to which she belongs. They are surprised in the darkness by O'Dowd. CHAPTER XV—O’Dowd demands the jewels, which he thinks the fugitives have In their possession, not knowing of Bprouse's enterprise. Convinced neither “Miss Cameron” nor Barnes have them, O’Dowd puts them on the right road to the tavern, where Barnes gives his companion into the care of Miss Thackeray. Next day O’Dowd tells Barnes Sprouse, whom he describes as an expert burglar, got away with the treasure, after killing a guard in the house. O’Dowd and “Loeb" leave Green Fancy. CHAPTER XVl—Barnes tells "Miss Cameron” of Sprouse’s treachery, and ' she tells him the whole story of Green Fancy. The man known as Loeb is her cousin, and he inveigled her to the house with the object of possessing himself of the jewels, which were in i.er custoay.

CHAPTER XV! I. The Second Wayfarer k Transformed. O’Dowd returned late in the afternoon. He was in a hurry to get back to Green Fancy; there was no mistaking his uneasiness. “For the loye of heaven, Barnes, get her away from here as soon ns possible, and do it as secretly as you ■can,” he said. “I may as well tell you that she is in more danger from the government secret service than from anyone up yonder.” “She may prefer to face the mpsic, ■O’Dowd. If I know her at all, she will refuse to run away.” “Then ye’ll have to kidnap her,” said the Irishman earnestly. “There will be men swarming here from both aides of the border by tomorrow night ■or next day. It’s the gospel truth, and —it’s going to be bad for all of us If we’re here when they come.” “Who Is she, O’Dowd? Man to man, ■tell me the truth. I want to know just ■where I stand.” O’Dowd hesitated, looked around the taproom, and then leaned across the table. < “Miss Cameron Is in reality the Countess Therese Mara-Dafanda—fa-miliarly and lovingly known in her ■own land as the Gountess Ted. She

was vlsltlpg in this country when the war broke out If it is of any use to you, m add that she would be rich if Aladdin could only come to life and restore the splendors of the demolished castle, refill the chests of gold that have been emptied by the conquerors, and restock the farms that have been pillaged and devastated. In the absence of Aladdin, however, she is almost as poor as the ancient church mouse. So there you are, m 4 man. Half the royal progeny of Europe have been suitors for her hand, and the other half would be if they didn't happen to be of the same sex. Good-by. I must be on my way." He arose and held out his hand. "Good-by and good luck forever." “You are a brick, O’Dowd. I want to see you again. You will always find me—” • “Thanks. Don’t Issue any rash invitations. I might take you up." Barnes started upstairs as soon as

O’Dowd was off, urged by an eagerness that put wings on his feet and a thrill of excitement In his blood. Halfway up he stopped short. A new condition confronted him. What was the proper way to approach a person of royal blood? He would have to think. Pausing at her door, he was at once aware of voices Inside the room. . He rapped on the door, but so timorously that nothing came of It His second effort was productive. He heard Miss Thackeray say “good gracious,” and, after a moment Miss Cameron’s subdued: “What is It?” “May I come In?” he Inquired, rather ashamed of his vigor. “It’s only, Barnes.” “Come In,” was her lively response. “It was awfully good of you, Miss Thackeray, to let me hear your lines. I think you will be a great success In the part.” * “Thanks,” said Miss Thackeray dryly. ' “I’ll come In again and let you hear me In the third act” She went out, mumbling her lines as she passed Barnes without seeing him. “I hope you will feel able to leave this place 'tomorrow, countess. We must get away almost Immediately." “Ah, you have been listening to O’Dowd, I see.” “Yes. He tells me It will be dangerous to—” “He is right. It would be difficult for me to clear myself. No one would believe that I did not. deliberately make off with the Jewels. They would say that I—oh, it Is too dreadfull” “Don’t worry about that,” he exclaimed. “You have me to testify, that —” “How little you know bf Intrigue, she cried. “They would laugh at yod and say that you were merely another fool who had lost his head over a woman. They would say that I duped you—” “No!” he cried vehemently. Your people know better than you think. You are disheartened, discouraged. Things will look brighter tomorrow." “I don’t know what I should do without you,” she said.

CHAPTER XVIII. Mr. Sprouse Continues to Be Perplexing, but Puts His Nose to the Ground. Barnes was abroad early. He was at breakfast when Peter Ames called up. An inspiration seized him when the chauffeur mentioned the wholesale exodus: he hired Peter forthwith and ordered him to report immediately—with the car. He was going up to Green Fancy for Miss Cameron’s wardrobe. Two minutes after Peter drove up to the Tavern he was on the way back to Green Fancy again, and seated beside him was Thomas Kingsbury, Barnes, his new master. There was not a sign of human life •about the place. Peter accompanied him upstairs to the room recently occupied by Miss Cameron. They found two small leather trunks, thickly belabeled, in the room, upstairs. Both were locked. , “You take this one," said Barnes, “and I will manage the other.” He was in a hurry to get away from the house. There was no telling when the government agents would descend upon the place. Barnes helped Peter to lift the trunks into the car and then ordered

him to start at once for Hart’s Tavern. “You can return later on for your things,” he said. “I got ’em tied up in a bundle in the garage, Mr. Burns,” he said. “Won’t take a second to get ’em out." He hurried around the corner of the house, A dry, quiet chuckle fell upon! Barnes’ ears. He glanced about in surprise and alarm. No one was in sight. “Look up, young,man," and the startled young man obeyed. His gaze halted at a window on the second story, almost directly over his head. Mr. Sprouse was looking down upon him, his sharp features fixed In a sardonic grin. “Well, Hl be d—l" burst from Barnes’ lips. “Surprised to see me, eh? If you re not In a hurry, I’d certainly appreciate a lift as far as the Tavern, old man. I’ll be down in a jiffy. Stand aside! Tm going to drop." A moment later he swung over the sill, and dropped lightly to the ground eight feet below. “See, here, Sprouse or whatever your name Is—” “Better hear me out," broke In Sprouse calmly. “I could drill a hole through you so quickly you’d never know what did it,” he went on. His hand was in his coat pocket, and a quick glance revealed to Barnes a singularly Impressive angle In the cloth, the point of which seemed to be directed squarely at his chest. “But I’m not going to do it. I just want to set myself straight with you. In a word, I never got anywhere near the room in which the jewels were hidden. This is God’s truth, Barnes. I wasn’t the only one who was trying to get the baubles, my friend. It was a game In which only the best man could win.” “I know the truth now about Roon and Paul,” said Barnes significantly. “You do?” sneered Sprouse. ‘Til bet you a thousand to one you do not The girl was led to believe that they were a couple of crooks and that they fixed me in that tavern down there. Isn’t that what she told you? Well, that story was cooked up for her special benefit. Roon was the Baron Hedlund. Hedlund came up here a week or so ago to keep a lookout for his wife. The baroness is supposed to be deeply enamored of Prince Ugo. He found letters which seemed to Indicate that she was planning to join the prince up here. When he heard of the arrival of a lady at Green Fancy the other afternoon, he got busy. I admit that I am the gentleman who telephoned the warning up to the prince. They tried to head the baron and his man off at the cross-roads, but he

beat them to it If there was to be a fight they didn’t want it to happen anywhere near the house. I believe Ugo is the one who got the baron —or Roon, as you know him. Now, that is the true story of the little affair. “To go back to my own troubles. When I got out into the hall night before last after leaving her room, I heard voices whispering in Prince Ugo’s room. I beat it up the stairway into the attic. Nothing happened, so I sneaked down to have a peep around. The door to Ugo’s room was open, but there was no light on the inside. He came to the door and looked up and down the hall. Then some one else came out and started to sneak away. I leave you to guess the sex. "Nicholas butted In at this unfortunate juncture. He made the mistake of his life. Ugo jumped back Into his room. In less than a second be was out again. He landed squarely on Nicholas’ back as the fellow turned to escape. I saw the steel flash. Poor old Nick went down in a heap, letting out a horrible yell. Ugo dragged him into the room and dashed back Into his own. A moment later he came out again, yelling for help. There was only one thing left for me to do and that was to get out on the roof If possible, and wait for things to quiet down. I got out through a trap door and stayed there for an hour or so. "Well, to shorten the story, I finally took a chance and slid down to the eaves where I managed to find the limb of a tree big enough to support me _just as if the Lord had ordered it put there for my special benefit I was soon on the ground, and that meant safety for me. I had heard Ugo tell the others that Nicholas said the

man who stabbed him was yours truly. Can you beat it? ► “And now comes the maddening part bf the whole business. He said that the crown jewels were gone! The thief was running downstairs when he staggered to the door. If we are to find the crown jewels, my friend, we will first hare to find Prince Ufo. He has them.* *1 don’t believe a word of thia yarn," said Barnes flatly. "You hare the jewels and —” “Look here, Mr. Barnes, Pm not going te double-cross you again. That’s all over. I want to get that scurvy dog who knifed poor old Nick. If you can give me a lead. Hl try to run Prince Ugo down. And If I do, we’ll get the jewels.” “We? Ton amuse me, Sprouse. "Well, I can’t do any more than give my promise, my solemn oath, or something like that. I can’t give a bond, you know. I swear to you that If I lay hands on that stuff, I will deliver It to you. Might just as well trust me as Ugo.” “Get In the car," said Barnes suddenly. He had decided to take a chance with the resourceful, indefatigable rascal. There was something convincing about Sprouse’s version of the affair at Green Fancy. Barnes told him that he knew of Prince Ugo’s fight Sprouse looked thoughtful for a long time. “So O’Dowd knows tflht I really was after the swag, eh? He believes I got itr “I suppose so.” “The only one who thinks Pm absolutely Innocent Is Ugo, of course —and Mrs. Van Dyke. That’s good.” Sprouse smacked his lips. “I’ve got a pretty fair Idea where I can find Mr. Loeb. It will take a little time—a couple of days, perhaps—but sooner -or later he’ll turn up In close proximity to the beautiful baroness.” (TO BB CONTINUED.)

“Miss Cameron Is Lovingly Known In Her Own Land as the Countess Ted."

“See Here, Sprouse, or Whatever Your Name Is—"