Hammond Times, Volume 1, Number 278, Hammond, Lake County, 13 May 1907 — Page 3

Monday, May 13, 1907.

THE LAKE CUUOTY TIMES PAGE THRKB

A lock In the Baltic

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By ROBERT BARR, Tu TrknnpKs of Eugene Valmont." Tekla," "In the Midst of Alia." "SpecuUtion cf John Steele." "The Victor." Etc

Copyrljht. 10O3, by Robert Brr. By Arrangement with The Authors nd Newspapers Association of New York.

SYNOPSIS. Chapter 1. Dorothy Amhurst. a beautiful young woman, goes to the kf.n in Bar Harbor, presents a check, whlcn the cashier pays, and then walks out. leaving the money on the counter, bne is overtaken bv Lieutenant Alan Drummond or the British warship Consternation, who hands her the money, iif explains to Dorothy that he 13 in rather bad repute with the admiralty becauao of the fact that some lmeJc fore he had, In order to test a new gun, fired at a lonely rock In the liaitlc. which immediately returned the fire, making an "affaire" with R'fsia Drummond expresses his ntentlo"1n going to KusHia personally to exp13-'1! that the episode was not the result of design. Dorothy attempts to dissuade him II Dorothy, who is of excellent family, has bt-en reduced In means so that she is obliged to become a sewing woman in the family of Captain Kempt. U. S. N.. retired. The family consists of Captain and Mrs. Kempt and their daughters, Sabina and Katherlne. Katherlne is exceedingly kind to Dorothy, while Sabina is Just the reverse, it develops that Dorothy has Just Inherited a fortune of $15,000,000. Ill At the reception on board the Consternation Alan introduces to Dorothy and Katherlne his intimate friend. Prince Ivan Lermontoff, who Is aboard the vessel as Jack Lamont, The latter asks Katherlne for a dance. IV Alan Is ordered home by the admiralty. He assumes that it is the aftermath of the "Hock In the Baltic" affair. V Jack Lamont, the prince, visits Katherlne at her home. (Continued from yesterday.) Ob, you wish to use your lately "acquired scientific knowledge in order to pass the examinations. But, you see, I have had no tutor to school me in the mysteries of lime burning and the mixing of cement. Now, you have scorned my side of the river, and I have objected to your side of the river. That la the bad beginning which, let us hope, makes the good ending. Who Is to arbitrate in our dispute?" "Why, we'll split the difference, of course." "How can we do that? Live In a houseboat on the river like Frank Stockton's 'Rudder Grange?' " "No; settle in the city of New York, which is practically an island in the Hudson." "Would you like to live in New York?" "Wouldn't I! Imagine any one having the chance living anywhere else!" "Iu a hotel, I suppose the Ilalldorf for choice.". "Yes; we could live in a hotel until we found the Ideal tint, high up in a nice apartment house, with a view like that from the top of Mount Washington or from the top of the Washington monument." "But you forget I made one proviso in the beginning, and that is that I am going to build a church, and the church is to bo situated not in the city of New York, but In the village of Haverstock." "New York is just the place from which to construct such an edifice. Haverstock will be somewhere near the West Shore railway. Very well. We can take a trip up there once a week or oftener, if you like, and see how the work is progressing. Then the people of Haverstock will respect us. As we drive from the station they'll say: " 'There's the two young ladles from New York who are building the church.' "But If wo settle down among them they'll think we're only ordinary villagers instead of the distinguished persons we are. Or, while our flat is being made ready we could live at one of the big hotels in the Catskills and come down as often as we like on the inclined railway. Indeed, until the weather gets colder the Catskills Is the place. "And, lo, the Catskills print the distant sky. And o'er their airy tops the faint clouds driven. So softly blending that the cheated eye Forgets or which Is earth or which Is heaven." "That ought to carry the day for the Catskills, Kate. What sort of habitation shall we choose, a big hotel or a select private boardiug house?' "Oh, a big hotel, of course the biggest there is, whatever its name may be one of those whose rates are so high that the proprietor daren't advertise them, but says iu hla announcement, 'For terms apply to the manager. It must have ample grounds, support an excellent band and advertise a renowned cuisine. Your room at least should have a private balcony, on which you can place a telescope and watch the building of your church down below. I, being a humble person in a subordinate position, should have a balcony also to make up for those deficiencies." "Very well, Kate; that's settled. But, although two lone women may set up housekeeping in a New York flat, they cannot very well go alone to a fashionable hotel." "Oh, yes, we can. Best of references given and required." "I was going to suggest," pursued Dorothy, not noticing the interruption, "that we invite your father and mother to accompany us. They might enjoy a change from sea air to mountain air." Katherlne frowned a little and demurred. "Are you going to be fearfully conventional, Dorothy?" "We must pay some attention to the conventions, don't you think?" "I had hoped not. I yearn to be a bachelor irl and own a latchkey."

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"We shall each possess a latchkey when we settle down in New York. Our flat will be our castle, and, although our latchkey will let us in, our Yale lock will keep other people out. A noted summer resort calls for different treatment, because there we lead a seniipublic life. Besides, I am selfish enough to wish my coming out to be under the auspices of so well known a man as Captain Kempt." "All right; I'll see what they say about It. You don't want Sabina, I take It." "Yes, if she will consent to come." "I doubt if she will, but I'll see. Besides, now that I come to think about it, It's only fair I should allow my doting parents to know that I am about to desert them." With that Katherlne quitted the room and went down the stairs hippety-hop. Dorothy drew the letter from it3 place of concealment and read it for the third time, although one not interested might have termed It a most commonplace document. It began, "Dear Miss Amhurst," and ended, "Yours most sincerely, Alan Drummond." It gave some account of hl3 doings since he bade goodby to her. A sailor, he informed her, needs little time for packing his belongings, and on the occasion in question the prince had been of great assistance. They set out together for the early morning train and said "au revolr" at the station. Drummond had intended to sail from New York, but a friendly person whom he met on the train Informed him that the Liverpool liner Enthusiana set out from Boston next day, so he had abandoned the New York Idea and had taken passage on the liner named, on whose note paper he wrote the letter, which epistle was once more concealed as Dorothy heard Katherine's light step on the stair. That Impulsive young woman burst Into the sewing room. "We're all going," she cried "father, mother and Sabina. It seems father has had an excellent offer to let the house furnished till the end of September, and he says that as he likes high life he will put in the time on the top of the Catskills. He abandons me and says that if he can borrow a shilling he Is going to cut me off with It in his will, ne regrets the departure of the British fleet, because he thinks ho might have, been able to raise a real English shilling aboard. Dad only insists on one condition namely, that he is to pay for himself, mother and Sabina, so he does not want a room with a balcony. I said that in spite of his disinheritance I'd help the family out of my salary, and so he is going to reconsider the changing of his will." "We will settle the conditions when we reach the Catskills," said Dorothy, smiling. CHAPTER VII. APTAIN and Mrs. Kempt, with Sabina, had resided a week in the Matterhorn hotel before the two girls arrived there. They had gone direct to New York, and it required the seven days to find a flat that suited them, of which they were to take possession on the 1st of October. Then there were the lawyers to see, a great many business details to settle and an architect to consult. After leaving New York the girls spent a day at Haverstock, where Dorothy Amhurst bought a piece of land as shrewdly as if she had been in the real estate business all her life. After this transaction the girls drove to the station on the line connecting with the inclined railway and so, as Katherlne remarked, were "wafted to the skies on flowery beds of ease," which she explained to her shocked companion was all right because it was a quotation from a hymn. When at last they reached their hotel, Katherine was In ecstasies. "Isn't this heavenly?" she cried. "And, indeed, it ought to be, for I understand we are 3,000 feet higher than we were la New York, and even the skyscrapers can't compete with such an altitude." The broad valley of the Hudson lay spread beneath them, stretching as far as the eye could see, shimmerinc in the thin, bluish veil of a summer evening, and miles away the river itself could be traced like a silver ribbon. The gallant captain, who had been energetically browbeaten by his younger daughter and threatened with divers pains and penalties should he fail to pay attention and take hetnl to instructions, had acquitted himself with eclat in the selection of rooms for Dorothy and his daughter. The suit was situated in one corner of the huge caravansary, a large parlor occupying the angle, with windows on one side looking into the forest and on the other giving an extended view across the valley. The front room adjoining the parlor was to be Dorothy's very own, and the end room belonged to Katherine, he said, as long as she behaved herself. If Dorothy ever wished to evict her strenuous neighbor, all she had to do was to call upon the captain, and he would lend his aid, at which proffer of assistance Katherlne tossed her head and said she would try the room for a week and if she didn't like it 9Ut Dorohy would ha xe to go,

There rollowed days and nights of revelry hops, concerts, entertainments of all sorts, with a more pretentious ball on Saturday night, when the week-tired man from New York arrived In the afternoon to find temperature 20 degrees lower and the altitude very much higher than was the case in his busy office in the city. Katherine reveled in this round of excitement, and, Indeed, so, in a milder way, did Dorothy. After the functions were over the girls enjoyed a comforting chat with one another In their drawing room, all windows open, and the moon a-shlning down over the luminous valley, which It seemed to fill with mother of pearl dust Young J. K. Henderson of New York, having danced repeatedly with Katherlne on Saturday night, unex

pectedly tamed up for the hop on the following Wednesday, when he again danced repeatedly with the same joy ous girl. It being somewhat unusual lor a keen business man to take a four hours' journey during an afternoon In the middle of the week and as a consequence arrive late at his office next morning, Dorothy began to wonder If a concrete formation, associated with the name of Prince Ivan Lermon toff of Kussia, was strong enough to stand an energetic assault of this na ture, supposing it were to be constant ly repeated. It was after midnight on Wednesday when the two reached the corner parlor. Dorothy sat In a cane armchair, while Katherine threw herYoung J. K. Henderson danced repeatedly with Katherine. self Into a rocking chair, laced her fingers behind her head and gazed through the open window at the misty Infinity beyond. "Well," sighed Katherlne, "this has been the most enjoyable evening I ever spent." "Are you quite sure?" inquired her friend. "Certainly. Shouldn't I know?' "He dances well, then?" "Exquisitely." "Better than Jack. Lamont?" "Well, now you mention him, I must confess Jack danced very creditably." "I didn't know but you might have forgotten the prince." "No, I haven't exactly forgotten him, but I do think he might have written to me." "Oh, that's it, is it? Did he ask your permission to write?" "Good gracious, no! We never talked of writing. Old red sandstone, rather, was our topic of conversation. Still he might have acknowledged, receipt of the book." "But the book was given to him In return for the one he presented to you." "Yes, I suppose it was. I hadn't thought of that." "Then again, Kate, Russian notions regarding writing to young ladles may differ from ours, or he may have fallen overboard or touched a live wire." "Yes, there are many possibilities,' murmured Katherine dreamily. "It seems rather strange that Mr. Henderson should have time to com up here in the middle of the week." "Why is it strange?" asked Kath erine. "Mr. Henderson is not a clerk bound down to office hours. He's an official high up in one of the big insurance companies and gets a simply tremendous salary." "Really? Does he talk as well as Jack Lamont did?" "He talks less like the Troy Technical institute and more like the Home Journal than poor Prince Jack did, and, then, he has a much greater sense of humor. When I told hin that the oath of an insurance man should be 'bet your life! he laughed. Now, Jack would never have seen the point of that Anyhow, the hour is too late and I am too sleepy to worry about young men or Jokes either. Good night!" Next morning's mail brought DoroJhy a bulky letter decorated with Eng lish stamps. She locked the door, tore open the envelope and found many Bheets of thin paper bearing the head ing of the Bluewater club. Pall Mall. "I am reminded of an old adage,' 6he read, "to the effect that one should never cross a bridge before arriving at it Since I bade goodby to you up to this very evening I have been plodding over a bridge that didn't exist, much to my own discomfort. You were with me when I received the message ordering me home to England, and I don't know whether or not I succeeded In suppressing all signs of my own perturbation, but we have in the navy now a man who does not hesitate to overturn a court martial, and so I feared a reopening of the Rock in the Baltic question, which might have meant the wrecking of my career. I had quite made up my mind, if the worst came to the worst to go out west and become a cowboy, but a passenger with whom I became acquaint ed on the Enthusiana informed me, to my regret that the cowboy is largely ft J&eicS . of. tfeeEittotajnjt , .with

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only in the writings of Stewart Edward White, Owen WIster and several

other famous men whom he named. So you see I went across the ocean tolerably depressed, finding my pres;nt occupation threatened and my future uncertain. "When I arrived In London, I took a room at this club, of which I have been a member for some years, and reported immediately at the admiralty. But there, in spite of all diligence on my part, I was quite unable to learn what was wanted of me. Of course I could have gone to my uncle, who is in the government, and perhaps he might have enlightened me, although he has nothing to do with the navy, but I rather like to avoid Uncle Metgurne. He brought me up since I was a small boy and seems unnecessarily ashamed of the result. It Is his son who is the attache iu St. Petersburg that I spoke to you about" Dorothy ceased reading for a moment "Metgurne, Metgurne," she said to herself. "Surely I know that name." She laid down the letter, pressed the electric button and unlocked the door. When the servant came, she said: "Will you ask at the office if they have any biographical book of reference relating to Great Britain and, If so, please bring it to me?" The servant appeared shortly after with a red book which proved to be an English "Who's Who" dated two years back. Turning the pages, she came to Metgurne. "Metgurne, twelfth Duke of, created 1631, Herbert George Alan." Here followed a number of other titles, the information that the son and heir was Marquis of Thaxted and belonged to the diplomatic service; that Lord Metgurne was II. M. secretary of state for royal dependencies; finally a list of residences and clubs. She put down the book and resumed the letter. "I think I ought to have told you that when I reach St. Petersburg I shall be as anxious to avoid my cousin Thaxted as I am to steer clear of his father in London. So I sat in my club and read the papers. Dear me, this is evidently going to be a very long letter. I hope you won't mind. I think perhaps you may be interested in learning how they do things over here. "After two or three days of anxious waiting there came a crushing communication from the admiralty which confirmed my worst fears and set me at crossing the bridge again. I was ordered to report next morning at 11 at committee room 5 in the admiralty and bring with me full particulars pertaining to the firing of gun number so-and-so of the Consternation's equipment on such a date. I wonder since that I did not take to drink. We have every facility for that sort of thing in this club. However, at 11 next day I present ed myself at the committee room and found in session the grimmest looking five men I have ever yet been called upon to face. Collectively they were about ten times worse in appearance than the courtmartial I had previously encountered. Four of the men I did not know, but the fifth I recognized at once, having often seen his portrait. He is Admiral Sir John Pendergest, popularly known in the service as 'Old Grouch,' a blue terror who knows absolutely nothing of mercy. The lads In the service say he looks so disagree able because he is sorry he was not born a hanging judge. Picture a face as cleanly cut as that of some severe old Roman senator, a face as hard as marble, quite as cold and nearly as white, rescued from the appearance of a death mask by a pair of piercing eyes that glitter like steel. When look ing at him It is quite impossible to believe that such a personage has ever been a boy who played pranks on his masters. Indeed, Admiral Sir John Pendergest seems to have sprung, fully uniformed and forbidding, from the earth, like those soldiers of mythology I was so taken aback at confronting such a man that I never noticed my old friend, Billy Richardson, seated at the table as one of the minor officials of the committee. Billy tells me looked rather white about the lips when I realized what was ahead of me, and I dare say he was right. My consolation is that I didn't get red, as is my disconcerting habit I was ac commodated with a chair, and then a ferrety faced little man began asking me questions, consulting every now and then a foolscap sheet of paper which was before him. Others were ready to note down the answers. hen aia you ore the new gun from the Consternation In the Baltic? "Dear Miss Amhurst, I have confess ed to you that I am not brilliant, and. Indeed, such confession was quite un necessary, for you must speedily have recognized the fact but here let me boast for a line or two of my one ac complishment which is mathematica accuracy. When I make experiments I don't note the result by rule of thumb. My answer to the ferret faced man was prompt and complete. At twenty-three minutes, seven teen seconds past 10 a. m., on May the 3d of this year,' was my reply. "The five high officials remained per fectly impassive, but the two stenographers seemed somewhat taken by surprise, and one of them whispered, Did you say fifteen seconds, sir? ' " 'He said seventeen, growled Sir John Pendergest in a voice that seemed to come out of a sepulcher. "Who sighted "the gun? " 'I did, sir. " 'Why did not the regular gunner do that? " 'He did, sir, but I also took observations and raised the muzzle .000327 of an inch.' " 'Was your gunner inaccurate, then, to that extent ? " 'No, sir; but I had weighed the ammunition and found It short by two ounces and thirty -seven grains. "I must. not bore you with all the

questions and answers. I merely give these as samples. They questioned me about the recoil, the action of the gun, the state of this, that and the other after firing, and luckily I was able to answer to a . dot every query put to me. At the finish one of the judges asked me to give in my own words my opinion of the gun. Admiral Sir John glared at him as he put this question, for of course to any expert the answers I had furnished, all taken together, gave an accurate verdict on the gun, assuming my statements to have been correct, which I maintained they were. However, as Sir John made no verbal comment I offered my opinion as tersely as I could. " 'Thank you. Lieutenant Drummond,' rumbled Sir John in his deep voice, as if he were pronouncing sentence, and, my testimony completed, the committee rose. ; "I was out in the street before Billy Richardson overtook me, and then he called himself to my attention by a resounding slap on the shoulder. " 'Alan, my boy,' he cried, "you have

done yourself proud. Your fortune's made.' "As how?' I asked, shaking him by the hand. " 'Why, we've been for weeks holding an Inquiry on this blessed gun, and the question Is whether or not a lot moro of them are to be made. You know what an opinionated beast Old Grouch is. Well, my boy, you have corroborated his opinion of the gun in every detail. He is such a brow beating, tyrannical brute that the rest of the committee would rather like to go against him If they dared, but you have put a spoke in their wheel. Why, Sir John never said "thank you" to a hu man being since he was born until twenty-seven minutes and fifteen seconds after 11 this morning, as you would put It,' and at the time of wrltng this letter this surmise of Billy's appears to be justified, for the tape In the club Just now announced that the committee has unanimously decided In favor of the gun, and adds that this is regarded as a triumph for the chairman, Admiral Sir John Pendergest, with various letters after his name. "Dear Miss Amhurst, this letter, as I feared, has turned out Intolerably long, and, like our first conversation, it is all about myself. But then, you see, you are the only one on the other side of the water to whom I have confided my selfish worries, and I believe you to be ! so kind hearted that I am sure you will not censure me for this once exceeding the limits of friendly correspondence. Having been deeply depressed during all the previous long days, the sudden reaction urges me to go out into Tall Mall, fling my cap in the air and whoop, which action is quite evidently a remnant of my for mer cowboy aspirations. Truth to tell. the Russian business seems already forgotten except by my stout old captain on the Consternation or my uncle. The strenuous Sir John has had me haled across the ocean merely to give testimony, lasting about thirtyfive minutes, when, with a little pa tience, he might have waited till the Consternation herself arrived or else have cabled for us to try the gun at Bar Harbor. I suppose, however, that after my unfortunate contretemps with Russia our government was afraid I'd chip a corner off the United States and that they'd have to pay for it. So perhaps, after all, it was greater economy to bring me across on the liner Enthusiana. "By the way, I learned yesterday that the Consternation has been or dered home, and so I expect to see Jack Lamont before many days are past The ship will be paid off at Portsmouth, and then I suppose he and I will have our freedom for six months. I am rather looking forward to Jack's cooking me some weird but tasteful Russian dishes when we reach his blacksmith's shop in St Petersburg. If I get on In Russia, as I hope and expect, I shall spend the rest of my leave over in the States. I saw very little Indeed of that great country and am extremely anxious to see more. When one Is on duty aboard ship one can only take very short excursions ashore. I should like to visit Niagara. It seems ridiculous that one should have been all along the American coast from Canada to New York and never have got far enough inland to view the great falls. "Russia Is rather dilatory In her methods, but I surely should know within two or three weeks whether I am going to succeed or not. If not then there is no use in waiting there. I shall try to persuade the prince to ac company me to America. During the weeks I am waiting In St. Petersburg I shall continually impress upon him the utter futility of a life which has not investigated the great electrical power plant at Niagara Falls. And then he is interested in the educational system of the United States. While we were going to the station early that morning he told me that the United States educational system must be tho most wonderful In the world, because he found that your friend. Miss Kath erine Kempt, knew more about elec tricity, metallurgy, natural philosophy and a great number of other things he is interested in than all the ladies he has met In Europe put together. He thinks that's the right sort of education for girls, and all this rather astonisnea me, oecause, aunougn your friend was most charming, she said nothing during my very short acquaintance with her to lead me to suspect that she had received a scientific training. "Dear Miss Amhurst I am looking every day for a letter from you, but none has yet been received by the admiralty, who when they get one will forward it to whatever part of the world I happen to be in.' (To Be Continued) It It la to be had, a want ad. In the lake County Times Trill get IU

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