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The Siege of The Seven Suitors MEREDITH NICHOLSON 4 |g|A aiMftJlth ML4AUAM IrN^ mj IMNHI IliMSVS (Continned from Last Iaaue.) CHAPTER VIII. Nino Silk Hate Cr«M a Stile. S O thla was the child whose devo tion had rendered Wiggins so miserable and the sister of whom Cecilia HolUster and her aunt had spoken so strangely. I had not suspected It She was as unlike Cecilia as possible, and the difference lay in her Independent spirit and bub bling humor. She Jumped down from the wall, shook three apples from a tree and sustained them in the air with the deftness and certainty of practiced Jugglery. Her absorption was complete, and when •he wearied of this sport she flung the tppif away, one after the other, with a boy's free swing of the arm. Her cick would have delighted in her. Dob son would have spun her bright hair into a rondeau, but only Atdrieh, with a twinkle in his eye, could have brought her up to date In a dozen chiming coup lets. ghe bad gone on up to the crest of the orchard and stood clearly limned against the sky. her hands thrust into the pockets of her sweater. She ap peared to be Intent upon something that lay beyond and half turned her bead and summoned me by whistling. 1 liked tills better than the quotation method of address. It was a clear, shrill pipe, that whistle, and she em-, pbaslzed it further by a peremptory wave of ber arm. When I stood beside ber 1 was surprised to find that the site commanded a wide area, including the unmistakable roofs and chimneys of Bopefleld Manor, half a mile distant. "You will see something funny down there in a minute. They are out of sight now, but there's a stile, the kind with steps, just beyond those trees. It's in a path that leads from the Prescott Arms to Aunt Octavia's. Look!" My eyes discovered the stile. It was set in a wall that was. she told me, the boundary dividing Hopefleld Manor from another estate nearer our posi tion. Suddenly a silk bat bobbed in the path beyond the stile. It rose as its •wner mounted the steps, it paused an instant when tbe top of tbe stile waa reached, then quickly descended abfl came toward us, a black blot above a black coat. 1 was about to ask her the meaning of this apparition when a second silk hat bobbed in the path and then rose like its predecessor, descend ing and keeping on its way until hid den from our sight by shrubbery. A third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth followed. Nine gen tlemen in silk hats crossing a stile in a lonely pasture between woodlands ao much was plain to the eye from our vantage ground. But 1 groped blindly for an explanation of this spectacle. The bobbing bats and dark coats sug gested wanderers from some dark Plu tonian cave, bent upon mischief to the upper world. Their step was Jaunty— they moved as though drilled to the aame cadence. We waited a moment, expecting that another figure might join the strange procession, but nine was the correct count I looked down to find Heze kiah checking them off on the fingers of her slim brown hand. "Has there been a funeral, and are they the returning pall bearers?" 1 in quired. "Not yet" she replied. Her face fUiowed amusement The twitching of her lips encouraged hope that another of those delightful laughs ,was imminent. She said: it "Those are Cecilia's suitors. They have beeu to Aunt Octavia's to tea. They're staying at the Prescott Arms probably." "They're terribly formal. I can't get rid of the impression of somberness created by those fellows. You'd hard ly expect them to tramp cross country in those duds. Such grandeur should go on wheels." "Oh. they are afraid of Annt Octa via. She won't allow a motor on her grounds, and 1 suppose they're afraid they might break some other rule if they went on any .kind of wheels. She's" rattler exacSngT yo"Q know, ». Aunt Octavia." "I was at the Prescott for luncheon today, and I must have, seen these gentlemen there." "Oh, you were at the Prescott?" Almost for the first time her manner betrayed surprise, but mischief danced in tbe brown eyes. With Wiggins' confession as to the havoc he had played with Hezeklah's confiding heart fresh In my memory. I felt a delicacy about telling her that it was to see Wiggins that I bad visited the inn. But to my surprise she introduced the subject of Wiggins immediately and with laughter struggling for one of those fountain-like splashes that were •o beguiling. "Ob, Wlggy is staying there! Do you know Wlggy?" "Know Wlggy, Hezekiah? I know no man better." "Wlggy is no end of fan. Isn't he? I've .beard him speak of yog. Jnui his frienu I as tbe last muu over the st.lle. Dkl you notice that he lingered a tunmeut long er at the top than the others? Prom his being t^e ninth man I Imagine tbat be was the last to leave the house, ami he probably felt that this set him uflarf from the others. Wlggy Is nothing if not sb.v and retiring." A heartbroken, lovelorn girl did not speak here She whlntled softly to 2T Nine Gentlemen In Silk Hats Crossing a Stile. herself as we descended. 9 The air was cooling rapidly, and tbe west was hung In scarlet and purple and gold. The horse neighed In tbe road below, and I knew that 1 must be on my way to the manor. "Heseklab," I said when I bad drawn her bicycle from its hiding place, "you'd better leave your wheel here and let me drive you home. It's late, and there's frost In the air. I im agine it's some distance to your house." "Thank you, Mr. Chimney Man: It Is much farther to Aunt Octavia's. But tell me this: What do you think of Wiggy's #ances?" "Of winning your sister? I should say from my knowledge of Wiggins that he is a man much given to stay ing In a game once tbe cards are shuf fled." "Then you think be knows the game?" There seemed to be something be neath the surface meaning of her words, but 1 answered: "Wiggy's affairs have been few. and, while he may not know the game In all Its intricacies, he bas a shrewd If rather slow mind, and, besides, he has asked my help in the matter." "One of these speak-for-yourself Jobn situations, then? Well, 1 should say, Mr. Chimney Man, 1 should say"— She made ready for flight looking ahead to be sure of a clear thorough fare. "I should say," she concluded, set tling ber skirts, "that that indicates considerable intelligence on Wiggy's part" Tbe tires rolled smoothly away, the gravel crunching, tbe pebbles popping. The white sweater clasped a straight back snugly then suddenly, lis the wheels gained momentum, she bent low for a spurt, and ber rapidly reced ing figure became a gray blur in tbe purple dusk. Miss Octavia was in the gayest spir its at dinner that night, and struck afield at once with one of ber amusing dicta. "Human beings," she Said, "may be divided into two groupfe—Interesting and uninteresting, but idiots abound in both classes." Cecilia and I discussed this with more or less gravity, until we had ex hausted tbe possibilities. Miss Octavia following with apparent interest and setting us off at a new tangent when our enthusiasm lagged. She referred In no way whatever to her chimneys, nor did she ask me how I had spent the day. 1 felt the pleading of Cecilia's eyea that I should accept the situation as it stood, aud having already agreed to Wiggins* suggestion tbat 1 abide la Miss Holllster's house ns a spy—for this was tbe Ignoble fact—I felt the threads of conspiracy binding me fast So far as my hostess waa concerned, I was now less a guest than a member of the household. The variety of subjects that Miss Octavia suggested was amazing. From aeronautics to the negro question, from polar exploration to the political conditions in Bulgaria, she passed with the Jmmtlest insouciance and, apparent ly1 Consiugrabie "TUfltlDf infor mation to support her positions. She knew many people in all walks of life. As we rose from the table Miss Oc tavia declared that she must show me the pie pantry. I was now so accus tomed to her ways that I should not have been In the least surprised If she had proposed opening a steel vault filled with a mummified Egyptian dy nasty. "The gentleman who built this house," she explained, "had already grown rich in the manufacture of the famous ribless umbrella before he ac quired a second fortune from a nos trum warranted to cure dyspepsia. He was inordinately fond of pies, and In order that this form of pastry might never be absent from his home, be had a special pantry built to which be might adjourn at bis pleasure without any fear of finding tbe cupboard ban." She led the way through the butler's oantrr and Into a small cunboarded THE WEEKLY TIMES-RECORD, THURSDAY. AUGUST 21. 1313. room afljoinfiig tEe table llneu" cloSet At her command the butler threw open the doors and disclosed lines of shelves so arranged as to accommodate in the most compact and orderly form Imag inable several dozens of pies. These pastries, in the pans as they had come from the oven, peeped out Invitingly. Miss Octavia explained their presence In ber usual impressive manner. "It was one of tbe conditions of the sale of thla bouse to me by tbe origi nal owner's executors that the pie vault should be kept filled at all times, whether I am In residence here or not He felt greatly Indebted to pie for the success of the dyspepsia cure. It had widened and steadily increaaed tbe market for the cure, and pie was to him a consecrated and sacred food. It was his habit to eat a pie every night before retiring, and on the nightmares thus inspired he had planned the strat egy of all his campaigns against dys pepsia. The man bad elements of greatness, and these shelves are a monument to bis genius. In order to keep perfect my title to this property it is necessary for me to maintain a pastry cook, and as I do not myself care greatly for pie the total output is distributed among tbe people of tbe neighborhood every second dajr. Th« station agent at Bedford is1 a heavy consumer, and a retired physician at Mount Klsco has a standing order for a dosen a week. My niece Hezeldah, of whom you have heard me speak, is partial to a particular type of pie, and one only. It is the gooseberry that de lights Hesekiab's palate, and under O in file 3, in the corner behind you, there is even now a gooseberry pie tbat I sball send to Hezekiah. who. for reasons I need not explain, does not now visit here." "But the dyspepsia man—you speak of him as though he were dead." "Your assumption Is correct, Mr. imam The builder of Hopefleld died only a few weeks after be had estab lished himself In this house. Having entered upon the enjoyment of his well earned leisure and made it utt: necessary tbat he should ever go pie less to bed. he gave himself up for a fortnight to a mad indulgence In mo rlngues and died after great suffering, steadllv refusing, b^a 9wn medicine to CKe end." We still lingered in the pie crypt after this diverting recital, while Miss Octavia entertained me with ber views on pies. "The soul color of pies varies great ly, Mr. Ames. It has always seemed to me tbat apple pie stands for tbe homelier virtues of our civilization. It is substantial, nutritious and filling. The custard and lemon varieties are feminine and do not. perhaps for that reason, appeal to me. Cherry pie at its best is the last and final expression of the pie genus, and where cooks have been careful in-eliminating tbe seeds and tbe juice hasn't made sod den dough of the crust a cherry pie meets tbe soul's highest demands. In the gooseberry 1 find a certain raci ness or. If 1 may use tbe expression, sip, that is highly stimulating. Bot'b qualities you will observe in Hezekiah if you come to know ber well." "I have already formed a high opin ion of Miss Hezekiah. and 1 should deal harshly with any one who ven tured to criticise ber in any particu lar," I replied. "Will you kindly inform me just when you made the acquaintance of my younger niece? I should greatly dislike to .believe you guilty of dis simulation, but when Hezekiah was mentioned in the gun room last night your silence led me to assume that she was wholly unknown to, you." "She was. I assure you, at the din ner hour last night. But 1 met ber quite by chance this afternoon In an orchard at uo great distance from this house." STiBi Cnfiifvla paused In the ball and bent her bead in thought for a mo ment. "May I inquire whether she referred in any way to Mr. Wiggins in this in terview?" "She did. Miss Holllster." I replied. And I could not help smiling as I re- IS The soul color of pies varies greatly, Mr. Ames." membered Hezeklah's laughter at tbe mentlob of my friend. My smile did not escape Miss Octavia. "Just how, may I ask, did she refer to Mr. Wiggins?" "As though she thought him the fun niest of human beings. She laughed delldously at the bare mention of hla name." fit jrtiL_not your impression, .then. thai'shS* Tu3 uSepIJ" SSaiffoietT ox" ETui' that she wasi eating ber heart out for him?" "Decidedly not Miss Holllster. She gave me quite a different ldea "You relieve me-greatly. Mr. Wig gins' sense of humor Is tbe'slightest, and I should not in the least fancy him for Hezekiah. And besides. I am not yet,ready to arrange a marriage for her." She laid the slightest stress on the final pronoun. It was a fair inference, then, that Miss Cecilia's affairs were being "arranged:" when they bad been determined a husband would be font for Hezekiah. I did not doubt tb Miss Holllster's intentions toward be nieces were the friendliest, no matter what strange devices she might employ to bend those young women to her pur poses. CHAPTER IX. Cecilia's Silver Notebook. ISS HOLLISTER disappeared in the hall without excuse, and I entered tbe library to find Cecilia sitting alone by the fire. She put aside a book she bad been reading and. seeing that her aunt had not followed me. asked at once as to my visit-to theinn. "I conveyed your --message 1 an swered, "but you have seen Mr. Wig gins since, unless I am greatly mis taken." "Yes he called this afternoon. We bad several callers at tbe tea hour. 1 had rather expected you back.'' "The fact Is," I replied, "tbat after I had taken luncheon at the Prescott Arms I got lost among the hills, and while in tbe act of robbing an apple orchard I came most unexpectedly upon your sister." "Hezekiah!" "The same. And. oddly enough, I bad met ber before, though I didn't realize It was abe until the meeting in the orchard. It waa in the Asolando that i&sr J—r .sh£. s^s at tte cash ier's wicket the' afternoon I met'your aunt there." "You have given me Information, Mr. Ames. I did not know tbat Heze kiah had ever been cornected with the Asolando." "Oh, It was only tbat one, historic day. She says the place was unbear able. She jarred the holiest chords'of tbe divine lyre by harsh comments on the pre-Raphaellte profile. One of tbe devotees was so shocked that she drop ped a plate or something and, to put it coarsely. Hezekiah got tbe bounce." My description of Hezeklah's brief tenure of office at tbe Asolando seem ed to amuse Cecilia greatly. "There la no one like my sister," she said. "There never was and there never will be any one half so charm ing. Hezekiah is an original, who breaks all tbe rules and yet always sends the ball over tbe net. And it Is because she is so Inexpressibly dear and precious tbat I am anxious thst nothing sball ever hurt her—nothing mar tbe sweet, beautiful cblld spirit in ber/' It was my turn to laugh now. Ce dilla's manifestation of maternal solici tude for Hezekiah seemed'absurd, for Hezekiah in her way was older. Heze kiah had raced with Diana and pluck ed arrows from ber girdle—she had beard Homer at the roadside singing ef Achilles' shield. "Hezekiah Is reasonably safe, I should say, because she Is so amazing ly swift of foot and eye and so nimble of speech. She is not to be caught In a net or tripped with a word." "I suppose that is so," remarked Ce cilia soberly. "You thought her happy when you met her today? She did not strike you as being a girl with a wound In her heart? She wasn't particularly sad?" "Not more so than sunlight on rip pled water or the song of the lark as cending.'' "Of course you made no reference to Mr. Wiggins? If I had Imagined you would meet her I should have"— She ended with an embarrassment that I now understood, and I broke in cheerfully. "We did mention him. She asked me if I had seen him, and it was the thought of him that evoked her mer riest laughter." She shook her head and sighed, then her manner changed abruptly. "You delivered my message to Mr. Wiggins?" "I did. He is badly out of sorts and sees nothing clearly. He is very bitter toward your aunt. He thinks she has treated him outrageously." "Aunt Octavia has done nothing of the kind," she replied with spirit. "Mr. Wiggins has no right to speak of Aunt Octavia save in terms of kindness. If her wits are sharper than his, it is not her fault, that I can see. But there are matters here that I do not understand, Mr. Ames. I trust you, as my aunt evidently does, or I should not be talk ing to you as I am, and I am moved to ask a favor of you, a favor of consid erable weight, in view of the fact that you are a professional man, with, doubtless, many pressing calls upon your time." I bowed humbly before this compli ment. My time had been lightly ap praised by Miss Octavia and again by Wiggins. A long telegram from my assistant that reached me while I dress ed for dinner bad urged my immediate attendance upon my office. Some of my best clients, now reopening their bouses for tbe winter, were In desper ate straits. But Octavia Hollisters do not occur in the life of every young man, and both Cecilia and Hezekiah had taken strong hold upon my imagi nation. Wiggins' place among the dra matis personae would in itself have compelled my sympathetic attention, and the nine silk hats that I had seen bobbing over the stile still danced be fore my eyes. fP"T-* "Mi "Tnv t!mi yours to command. My office is' well organized, and 1 am sure that my as sistant Is equal to any demands tbat may be made upon him. Pray state in what manner I may serve you." "I am going far, I know, Mr. Ames, but I beg that you will not be In haste to leave my aunt's bouse. She must have been strongly prejudiced in your favor or she would not have asked you here on so short acquaintance. I am confident that she has no thought of your leaving. She expressed her great liking for you at luncheon, and I am sure tbat she will see to it that you do not lack for entertainment. 1 assume that you must have gathered from what Mr. Wiggins told you of my acquaintance with bim the peculiar plight In which I am placed." I bowed. If she groped in tbe dark and needed my help In finding the light, I was not tbe man to desert her. I had dropped my plumb line into too many dark chimneys not to feel tbe fascination of mystery. As I express ed again my entire willingness to abide at Hopefleld Manor as long as she wished, the footman announced Mr. Hartley Wiggins. We had hardly exchanged greetings before another man was announced, an& then another. I .should* say that it was at intervals of about three min utes that the sedate servant appeared In the curtained doorway and announc ed a caller until nine had been admit ted. My spirits soared high as the gen tlemen from the Prescott Arms ap peared one after the other. Tbe ear lier arrivals rose to greet the later ones, and as they were all In evening clothes I experienced, as when I had •een the same gentlemen In their after noon raiment crossing the stile, a sense of something fantastic and eerie In them. In tbe Interest of brevity and to avoid confusion, I tabulate them here with a notation as to their resi dence and occupation, taking such data from the notebook In which, at subse qnmt dltM. o* jao which are the basis of 'this chronicle. Hartley Wiggins, lawyer and farm we. Hare and Tortoise club, New York. Linnaeus B. Henderson, planter, Roa noke, Va. Cecil Hugh, Lord Arrowood, no oc cupation, Arrowood, Hants, England. Daniel P. Ormsby, manufacturer of knit goods, Utica, N. Y. S. Forrest Hume, lecturer on Scan dinavian literature. Occidental univer sity, Long Trail, Okla. John Stewart Dick, pragmatlst Oma ha, Neb. Pendennis J. Arbuthnot banker and horseman, Lexington, Ky. Percival B. Shallenberger, novelist and small fruits, Sycamore, Ind. George W. Gorse, capitalist, Red lands, Cal. We rose and stood in our several places when a moment later Miss Oc tavia entered. She greeted tbe suitors graciously and then in her most charm ing manner called one after the other to sit beside ber on a lone davennoi* the time apportioned being weighed with nicety, so that none might feel himself slighted or preferred. These interviews Consumed more than half an hour, and the movement thus occa sioned gave considerable animation to the scene. It may seem ridiculous that nine gentlemen thus paying court to a young woman should call upon her at the same hour, but I must say that the gravity of the suitors and the entire sobriety of Cecilia did not affect me humorously, nor did I feel at all out of place in this strange company. I found myself agreeably engaged for several minutes in discussing Ibsen with the Oklahoma professor, who proved to be a delightful fellow. His experience of life was apparently wide, and he told me with an engaging frankness of his meeting with the Hollisters in France and of his pursuit of them over many weary miles the previous summer. As no one had elected his courses in the university at the beginning of the fall term, he had been granted a leave of absence, and this accounted for his freedom to press his suit at Hope field Manor at this season. He was a big fellow, with clean cut features, and bore himself with a manly deter mination that I found attractive. He alone, I may say, of the nine men who had thus appeared in Miss Octavia's library met me in a cordial spirit. Even Wiggins seemed not wholly pleased to find me there again, though he had asked me to remain. The manner of the others expressed disdain, suspicion or fierce hostility. When the last man rose from the davenport Miss Octavia called me to her side. She seemed contrite at hav ing neglected me during the day, but assured me that later she hoped to place an entire day at my disposal. As we talked the nine suitors sat in a semicircle about Cecilia, while the group listened to an anecdotal ex change between Professor Hume and Henderson, tbe Virginia planter. My opinion of Cecilia Hollister as a girl of high spirit, able to carry off any slt uatlon no matter how difficult, rose to new altitudes as I watched her. If this strange wooing was not to her lik ing she certainly made the best of it. SGe capped 'Henderson's Best' story with a better one in negro dialect and no professional entertainer 'could have Improved upon her recital. As she fin ished we all joined in the general laugh, Lord Arrowood's guffaw boom ing out a trifle boisterously, when Miss Octavia quietly rose and excused her selT i^CurSv^"afliliit5sisi5r,WSeaTBe company had plunged Into another se ries of anecdotes, I suddenly became conscious that tbe fireplace, near which I sat, bad all at once begun to act strangely. Much In the manner of Its performance the previous night, It ab ruptly gasped and choked, the smoke ballooned In a great swirl and then poured out Into the room. JfJftW my examinsiloiLof Jhe Aom in (Continued on Page 12.) PAGE ELEVEN. Claim Tammany Ageil Duped Mrs. Snlzer CONSPIRACY IN HOME OF GOVER NOR ALLEGED. GOVERNOR'S FRIEND CONFIDENT CASE WILL NEVER GO TO COURT. Albany, N. Y., Aug. 16.—That Mrs. Sulzer purchased stocks in Wall street on the tip of a Tammany agent who, under direct orders from Tammany wormed his way into the confidence of the Sulzer household, it was declared, here today, will be brought out in th» statement of Governor Sulzer before the court of impeachment, providing the case goes to trial. It was said that Sulzer's lawyers, having fortified the governor's case by unearthing this alleged conspiracy, plotted by Tammany and Wall street feel confident that the case will never go to trial. The story of this scheme to plac* Sulzer at the complete mercy of Tank many is that a Tammany's agent, tafe en into the Sulzer household last fall while Sulzer was away campaigning, "tipped off" to Mrs. Sulzer that "Big Four was due for a sensational rise." The Sulzer finances at that time were low. Sulzer owed approximately $48,000. Mrs. Sulzer was urged to use campaign contributions to make this Big Four stock and pay it back after the stock soared, so the story goes. All this time, so the defense will at tempt to show, thei "tipster," a Tam many agent, in constant touch with, that organization, knew there was no possibility of such a sensationalise In Big Four. An attempt will be made to show that this Tammany agent tried to get Mrs. Sulzer to pay the Big: Four stock on a margin, but that she refused, saying if she bought the stock outright she could use it to reimburse the campaign fund. The defense will attempt to prove that this alleged con spiracy was conceived and worked out for the sole purpose of having a club to wield about the then congressman's head, in the event of his election and. if he showed signs of "bucking tbe tiger." Mrs. Sulzer was in a very serious condition last night and today, but tonight she is reported as very much, improved. Her one desire is to hare her husband at her bedside. The fact that it has been necessary that he be at the executive chamber during the day has troubled her greatly. But from the moment that he returns to the great brick pile on Eagle street until she falls into a fitful sleep, the gover nor remains at her bedside. By order of the doctor there is no discussion of the impeachment proceedings. Occa sionally, when she tried to talk to him, the governor gently reassured her and. told her that everything is sure to come out all right. Dr. Robert Abraham, the Sulzer fam ily physician, was forced to return to New York today and she remained un der the care of a local physician. It was stated tonight that her condition, while serious, was not dangerous. With rest, quiet and complete care, it was said she would probably recover, but that progress, because of the nature of the calamity, must of necessity be slow. It has been suggested that she be taken to the mountains, but inasmuch as that would mean separation from her husband, she positively refused to go. So she will be given the best of care at the executive mansion and everyone interested was hoping to night that she would soon be recuper ating. "I am the governor of the state of New York. My commission came from the people. I am re sponsible to them. And I will con tinue to act as chief executive re gardless of tbe aspirations or am* bitions of anyone else- Thi3 is final."—William Sulzer. "The law is plain. It makes the lieutenant governor governor of the state pending the great court of impeachment. I will act accordingly."—Martin M. Giynn. Two I. W. W. Men Get One Year Each John Phillips and Frank Besinger pleaded guilty in district court yester day afternoon and were sentenced to one year each in the state peniten tiary. Vero Washington, charged with the illegal sale of liquor, entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to six months in the penitentiary. Phillips and Besinger, each of whom carried I. W. W. cards, robbed a man early last week near the J. I. Case building They entered a plea of not guilty in the lower court but later changed their minds A verdict of "accidental death" was returned by the coroner's Jury called to investigate the case of the unknown man killed by the Oriental Limited at Larimore Thursday night.