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ITIIS UHAKLUFFEIUWN GUARDIAN

Ghosts That Appear At Christmas

Weird Figures Flit In The Glimpses Of The Moon

A SOCIAL DISASTER .

By » ‘.3.

MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

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3

By FRAVCIS MARCVWE

Packed with travellers from Lon- clon spcetiiilg to spend Ciirlstlnas with their kith and km, the north- bound train iras held up at a sta- tion just beyond York. A few miles ahead a heavily‘ loaded goods train switching to .1 siding, had been dc- r-lj 1i A tireakdtiwil gang was hard iii vlrk. hill, the U051. that could d tor was that lu about two e hours the line would again r in; triiilzu. The alternat- iw m a chccrless. lildeliiilte wait on the bleak. silow-cla/J country- sltl» was a bed at the ilenrest . and resumption oi the jour- b_\ ail early morning train. the Dll>>PllgPFS who made l.\il\‘l' illtll‘ elluu-e was Mr. Er- . ituaor partner of , .. llriukes. jevre1lers.who \v.¢.; c.iii_\li".g l lllm to Edin- btlrgii, in an oi y brown leath- er brief bag, a valuable assortment 0t’ jf'~\'(‘1lt‘l'\' from whit-ll one of his

. ust and nlost respect- ttt thorns “Z15 to select a Christ- irlas prcseilt for his wife.

"though naturally annoyed at the lillUlTilpllOll of his journey Brook- es. after a little thought, decided that. it woldd cause him no really otYlOiiS iiicoilienicilce to postpone tn.- rt-st of his Journey till an early nu» lug train. He could still reach l- tubing-ll fairly early oil Christ- ina Ew, and, when his customer lliil matte his selection of the jew- , would be able to return to l on ill time to spend Christmas uitli his lilillll)’. Responsibility for tllo twenty thousand pounds‘ worth cl‘ his ilrni's wares which he car- ried thd not weigh unduly on him; lie was accustomed to travelling uitll even greater valuables. anti llati no reason to anticipate trou- bio.

Very inviting. by contrast with the bare countryside, was the com- fortable hotel coffee-room. ‘The majority of the passengers who had not sleeping berths on the train had elected for hotel beds, and when Mr. Ernest Brookes entered the coffee-room he found its tables practically" all occupied by travel- lers. whose orders kept busy apair of sleepy looking waiters. Eventu- ally lie tiiseorered a vacant chair at a small table for two. and. having si-txiivd this. settled himself down, to ﬁlid that his yis-a-vis was avery uncommunicativc. self-en gr obs s e d man who had been his nearest neighbour ill the ﬁrst-class smok- ing carriage in which he had tra- wllecl to Yolk. He had set this man down us an uncouth. unsoc- iable individual, for the few re- marks he had addressed to him in the train had been replied to brus- qucly.

lie turned then to give his or- der to the waiter. and saw that a boy who had relieved him of his hat and coat was just stooping to pick his brown bag from where he had laid it beside his chair legs.

"Don't trouble about the bag," he said casually; “it will do very well ihtire."

As he spoke he noticed that on the right of him a shelf projected

' from the wail, and as this oﬂered

the advantage oi keeping it con- stanily ill sight, lle transferred the bag to it. At the moment he did so he chanced to glance at the man opposite and caught him lfiﬁkllli} with undisguised interest at tho brown bag. This unwelcome clsriollsity‘ aniloycti liim‘ slightly. In cad of speaking. howcven-thc sti tiger rose suddenly, pushed in an unmanneriy way past his chair and hurried from the room.

He returned in less than two nliiltit-es and. without filer-rafter bmraylxlg the faintest. interest in Bl-ooki-s or the brown bag, gave his entire attention to ﬁnishing his nicnl.

Intrigued somewhat by the man's rather peculiar behaviour. the jewcllcr, in the course of his stinpcr. took every opportunity of studying him. ‘in appearance he gave promise of being a. very awk- ward person no quarrel with. Tlvouth writ on for sixty. he Was evitlentiv still in the prime of his \'l"."l1". .'Y".I'_ judged by hi. massive pll-lle, oi‘ gri-r‘. physical strength. Cold, ferocious-looking china-blue eyes were overhung by great shaggy eyebrows. and though, despite his discourtcous manner there was a distinct air of breeding about him. his closc-croppeti bullet-shaped head and square ugly undcrjow‘ gave him very decidedly the appearance of a retired prize-ﬁght“ Whal-

ever he was. he was not a profes- siorlal thief. Brookes decided» and concluding his meal with one of his own choice cigars, allowed his interest m the yymn to grow cold. forgetting him completely before he sought his bedroom.

‘What. nice manners the p01!" little Thompson boy! 315"!’ t

"am. rim an alwfyl l!" i" just before autumnal.’

Flam the night porter Ernest Brookes lctlrned that his bedroom was No. 38. situated on the sec- ond-ﬁoor corridor. Ho turned to his left into the dim corridor, and was at once queerly conscious of the absolute stillness of his sur- i'0l'Y‘.fil'l‘!\'. The silence was so eonlplete .l< to give ninl a sensat. ion of uiicailniness: even lllS‘0Wl'l footfalls were deadened by the thick (ll".i_’_"-"(‘t that covered the ﬂoor of the gloomy corridor.

Impressed rather lilore than he would have cured to adinit.b_v the tomb-like gloom and quiet of the corridor, he was conscious ofadis. tinct sensation of relief when ht last he Fl‘li(‘ilt‘(l the door of Room 38. He gripped the door-handle and turned it. The door yielded sil- ently to his pressure. As it moved inward a sudden queer feeling ‘that someone was standing close behind him made him glance nervously over his shoulder. Simultaneously his body stiffened, his grip on the door-llaildle grew tense, and every nerve of him thrilled as though inlpremed _ by the inlmlnence of some strange encounter.

As though fascinated. he stared ﬁxedly at. the door of the room immediately opposite to him. Slow- ly, steadily, and witllout sound. this door WTIS opening.

Feeling queel-ly certain that something extraordinary was about to happen, Brcokes stood rigidly motionless, watching the moving door. Tile door opposite was still moving inward, and ilo sound or sign was there to tell that its op- ening was caused by human agen- cy. For [many seconds Ilrookes watt-lied the moving door. seeking a commonplace solution of its mystery. Periunctorily he noted that the room number was 45.

Brockes pulled himself together with an impatient shrug of his sllotilticrs. dctcrmincdly shaking off the eerie feeling which had held him so brcathlcssly watching such an ordinary occurrence as ii door swinging open. then he stepped into his roonl.

He fcle at the left of his doorway for the usual electric liglli: switch, and, ilot ﬁnding one, struck a match. when he had found the electric switch and snapped it down he remembered that he had for- gotten to leave instructions thathe should be called at eight o'clock. He had placed the brown bag on his dressing-table, but he picked it tipand carried it with iilmwhen he left the room intent on giving the necessary message to the night porter.

When he emerged into the cor- ridor he noted with woiltlcrillg clir- iosity thilt the door of Rooln 45 was shut, and stood for an instant to stare at it with a puzzled frown. But quickly he decided that it was too unimportant a matter to speculate further upon, and liurrir-tl downstairs on his quest of the night porter.

It was probably about ﬁvc min- utes later when ho l‘€.'l{)j)’38.i‘9d in the corridor, whose intense quiet had not been disturbed by sound or movcnirnt during his absence. Swiftlj; lie moved to his rotinl, and. had almost reached it Wlltll recol- lection came to him of the strange behavior of the door of Room 45. He glanced at it curiously before turning into his room. and to his absolute amazement. snw that it was again opening, slowly and sil- ciltly its before.

Now he did not waste n moment in speculation. He stepped at once into his room, switched of‘! the electric light, and took up a position where, himself unseen, he could watch the door rf Room 45.

Something extraordinarily queer was afoot, he felt certain. That the door of the room facing his should open quietly at hi." ﬁrst ap- proach and thcil as; llOl<0i0SSly close. to l'(‘()]ll'l'l stcilltllily when he again made his appcariiiit-f‘. brought it into raiuze as a SIUDRClOlIS cir- cumstance which might reasonably be supposed to be iii some waycon- corned with ‘the fact that there was about twenty thousniltl pounds worth of jewellery iii his brown bag. He ll(‘(‘l‘(‘(‘l from the dense blackness of his room across the

gloomy corridor, resolutely deter- mined that this time he would get to the bottom 0t the mystery of the mOlf-"g tioor.

Moments passed and nothing happened. Brooke's, cool and alert, reckoned that quite half a minute had elapsed since he had settled himself to watch. The door now hung again at rest, at practically the exact angle as ivhcil it had previously ceased to move. Brookes, suddenly impatient, was on the point of crossing the corridor bold- ly to seek an explanation when he was thrilled by the discovery that from the doorway of Room 45 a pair of eyes were glaring ﬁercely in his direction.

.In the shock of this discovery, he felt sure that the eyes were looking direct into his, and his immediate impulse was to step further back into his room, but in time tocheck a revealing movement he realised that lie was effectually shrouded by the gloom.

The gleaming eyes advanced out of the utter darkness of Room 46, and as they did so Brookes. Wit-h l» quiver of excitement, realised that the silent. mermclng watcher Ill the man with whom he had shared n table at. supper. d mun advance and take 60$ datum m lho acorn‘!

He new the burly figure (Imam aqheauwtilemaadvehlldob-

If there be one feature or the old-fashioned Christmas which re- mains ﬁxed, ﬁrm. permanent, and immovable, it is the Christmas ghost. One may try to believe, as M: SoIOOBQ did in regard to

thrust, and knew that the ﬁerce eyes were staring from under their shaggy brows lil an effort to pierce the interior darkness of Room 38. Then he saw the man. menace 1n his attitude. make a. sudden swift

* forward movement.

Brookes braced himself for an attack which he now regarded as inevitable, but, as abruptly as he had moved forward, the man halt- ed, stood indecisive for a brace of seconds and then swung about, stepped back into his room and silently closed the door.

The Jeweller allowed himself to breathe again, and the tension of his muscles relaxed. Hi4 immed- iate impulse at. this surprising truce was to "seize his brown bag, and hurry it downstairs for de- posit in the hotel safe. But recol- lection that no one more respon- sible than the nlght porter was now awake killed this purpose. He de- clded that the brown bag would be safer in his own keeping. ‘

For a brief space still he watched the door of Room 45, but it gave no further sign of movement. Completely on his guard now, he closed his door and again switched on the electric light. Then he made a careful examination of the lock of his door and found that it was strong mid in good order. He turn- ed the key. satisﬁed himself that the door was securely locked, and then began to undress. His ﬁnal action before getting into bed was to place the brown bag by his bed- side, within easy reach of his hand. In less than ten minutes he was asleep.

CHAPTER III.

Brookes awoke suddenly, con- scious of a veryvivid sensation that someone had either called him or touched him. As he raised him- self on one elbow, all his senses alert. a. draught of cold air blew straight across his face. Amazed at this, for he had no doubt that the window was shut when he went to sleep, he raised himself swiftly to a sitting posture, and as he did so a faint, almost imperceptible ﬂutter reached his ears-thesound of the window curtains moving gently. Clearly the wvindow was open.

The clock of s. neighbouring church chimed the hour of six. A stealthy movement in the room told him that he had some nearby enemy to deal with. He peered to- ivards where he fancied the move- mcnt was, but his eyes could not pierce the darkness which sur- rounded him.

A faint noise came out of the darkness. Fear gripped Brookes. He swung his arm quickly over tile side of the bed and felt for the browll bag. It was not. where he had placed it before he went to sleep. He gropccl for it frantically but without success.

All exclamation of intense alarm escaped from his lips. It was all clear to him now. The open win- dow-the missing bag — the whole thing meant robbery.

In desperate haste he sprang from the bed and dashed to the window to throw up the obscuring blind. Scarcely had he thrust his hand through the curtains when he heard a quick, furtive movement behind him. He stepped back from the window and swung swiftly round. but even as he moved the grating of the key in the lock of the door burst on his ears with an effect as startling at a thunder- clap. He leaped to the door, had almost reached it, when a brawny arm sllot at him through the darkness and a ﬁst crushed agon- isiilgly on his throat.

The violent impact of the blow was dlsnstroues to Brookes; he gasped horribly. countless lights ﬂashed before his eyes. he stag- gered helplessly and blindly for a moment and then crumpled to the floor. At the instant he felt the door of his room was swung open, a man passed out into the corri- dor and closed the door nolselessly.

It was only a matter of seconds before Brookes was again on his

feet. but when he ﬂung open his door and dashed in pursuit of the man who had just escaped he found the corridor deserted. and nowhere was there a sound to in- dicate the direction in which the man had ﬂed. Deeming it wiser to raise an alarm than to waste time in a. blind search. he rushed back and found the electric bell- push. His ﬁnger was still pressed on this when full recollection of the happenings of the previous night ﬂashed into his mind. He recalled vividly the mysterious movements of the door of Boom 45.

He was hammering frantically on the door of Room 45 when, less than a. minute later, the manager and two sleepy waiters, all half dressed, arrived on the wane.

"I've been mbbed, man. Twenty thousand pounds’ ‘worth of jewel- lery clean gone!" was his excited reply to the nunagel-‘a angry rem- onstrance at the disturbance hewu muting.

With otortlini luddmnela the door of Roma 4t opened and in its doorway otood its occupant, fully donned’.

"Wotdnelﬂls mun!" burlap- pd, ﬂaring as mum wiul fur-

a-‘aliﬂqfcnpiol

' for many generations

the ghost of Jacob Marley, that the mysterious apparition is noth- ing but an "undigested bit of beef. a blob of mustard, a. crumb '0! cheese, a fragment of an under- done potato”: one may dispel the gloom of the ancestral halt with all the billllanee of the electric light; one may attempt to exercise the spirit of the yvicked baron accord- ing to the latest accepted rites of psyclucal research-but the woi-kls in vain: Sir Marmaduke stillclanks along in the moonlight with his head under his arm; the shrieking skull still proclaims its warning to the midnight. air; and the phan- tom coach. drawn by its headless horses whirls down the avenue of the park as the bells of the church clock strikes the hour of twelve.

Cllﬁstmas is the true ghostly season, when many of these phan- toms choose to walk abroad. some- itmes after they have been absent from their accepted haunts. They are the new. ghosts on traditional lines. less than icn years ago a night watch- man at East Barnet. as modern a suburb as any part of 101111011 6M1 show, reported that just before Christmas he had seen the 8110* of Geoffrey dc Mandeville. ﬁrst Earl of Essex, one of the most tur- bulent of the Norman barons, who levied open war upon the K1118. and was itttalnted of treason. It is said that Geoffrey rell into Camlet Moavt, 9, mile away, and W88 QIOWD- ed-tllat was many iﬁmtﬁ-eds of years ago.

His ghost still walks, being all- parently disturbed by the fact that. in the deepest part of the old moat there is s. great chest of gold and gems, which no one can carry BWﬂY because it is bound to the bottom by iron chains.

A clanking apparition of a skel- eton in a. long military cloak was what our watchman was reported to have seen and s0 convinced was the local urban council of the real- ity of the apparition that they or- dered the surveyor to report if ex- tra wages should be paid to the watchman "for work 0f an excel)- tionally disagreeable character."

Not. far from the Lance-shire town of Colne stands Wyecoller Hall, now u, mass of ruins. but for- merly the seat of the Cunilffes of Billington. They fell on evil days, their ancestral lands were forfeited and ultimately they retired to Wyeoollor. where the last of the family died. In spite of their DOV- erty they did their best to maln- taln the old traditions of Christ- mas, and kept open house for twelve days at this season of the year, when the long table in the hall grcaned with frumentty, boiled and roast beef, fat geese. and plentyof good beer. .

Every year at Chrisimsatide spectre horseman visits Wyecoller Hall. He wears the costume of the early Stuart period, and the trap- pings of his horse are of an ugly. uncouth kind. N0 calm 1111M eve‘ ning is for him; he 01100585 a wild dark night when the moan is hid- den, and as the windhowls throuBh the branches of the leaﬂess trees he dashes up the load at full speed,

' crosses a narrow bridge and brings

hi; horse up with a sudden SlDp at the door of the hall. Then he dis- mnunts and makes his way "D m? broad oak staircase to one of the upper rooms, whence the dreadful screams and groans of a. Woman are heard. In a. few moments he is seen at the door again; 11¢ mounts his angry 11°59» "m" whose nostrils ﬂames of ﬂre ‘bur-MB out, and, casting one look behind, he gallcrps down the ‘road-

The tradition is that the woman whose screams are heard Pfediclfid

A Christmas Suggestion

Decorating a dininﬂ W919 1°‘ 5' children's party may be carried out quite sirnPly Mid drecl/lvely w create the prover ﬁimvsphew- There should be of course a cen- trepiece of holly, either real or ar- tiﬁcial. Little comic dolls made from gum-amps stuck together with toothpicks, dressed in PKWY» and with features painted on with melted chocolate. make cllfmln! favors and will also serve to hold place cards. The refreshments might consist of Graham cracker and peanut butter sandwiches, hot chocolate, ice cream and sugar

wafers.

forced once a. your, at Gimmes- itdminpayavtisittotftehonleof his unhappy victim.

l ‘ e indeed is redolent of ghosts. About half-way between Preston and Blackburn stands the old hull of Bamlesbury, a. place fa- mous in its day‘. asthat whereGi-ace Sowerbutts and other notorious witches abode. More famous per- haps is Dorothy Southwvrth. the dailghter of sir John touthwozth, who owned the Hall in the six- teenth century. and was noted for his strict. Almostfanatlcai adher- ence io the ancient faith. When Dorothy fell in love with the heir of a neighbouring knightly house.

_the ﬁrst. question the father naked

was: "What is his 121161011?" and, learning that the young lover was a. Protestant, he swore that the marriage should never take place. The lovers met in secret. and one dark evening at ollristzmasttlde. u they were plighting their vows afresh and p anniiig an elopement, Dorothy's brother rushed out of a. thicket and stabbed her lover to the heart. and two of his friends as well.

The unhappy victims were bur- ied in the precincts of the Hall. where their skeletons were fmindat a later date. Dorothy was sent abroad to a convent, did tl-lereher mind gave way. But on certain still, dark evenings, so legend av- ers, a lady in white can be seen passing along the corridors of the Hall and out. into the pounds. where she meets a knlghtiy youth who receives her on bended knee. They walk and talk together M‘ awhile; they utter soft despairing cries, and then, as the m ’_ ‘ hour strikes, they embrace each other and vanish into thin air.

One of the mostmysterlotis gnogs on record is that of the "Brown Lady.’ who haunts Rainham Hall. the seat of theMarqulsTowrishend. No one can account for her op- pearanoe; no one can identify hm‘ with any ancestor or even with l former servant. Yet there she is. and she is frequently seen 0n stairs called after hef. especially before any death in the family or in the house. om Chﬂltinl! the Townshends had n. in!!! M11? I9 the Hall, and among the guesti W"

' Colonel Lpftus, a brother of the

hostess. ‘They had heard oboutthe "brow-n lady" ﬂitting about. the house. and one 111th?» l! 00101191 Lnftus and his friend Mr. Hawkins were going late to bed. the lot-fer suddenly remarked, “loft/M. ‘W10 15 that standing at your sister's door? How strangely she is dressed." Col- onel minis looked. and as he 1w!- ed, me ﬁgure vanished. A second night she appeared. m the full light of the moon he was able to see the "brOWﬂ lady" only tm clearly. she was dressed in rich brown brocade, an ancient ooif was m; he;- heud; her features were clearly deﬁned, but Whefﬂ 1W1’ W" should have been were 1101411118 W‘ the dark hollows of a. skeleton’; head.

Brine iiTnc afterwards a lad!’ V15‘ itcd Rttinham Hall, savins dellzht- edly, "1 do hope I shall see the housekeeper," as the "brown ltd?’ was sometimes called. Two months Passed, and she wrote of her‘ “d15- gust" that the "housekeeper Md not, appeared‘, two weeks went by and she wrote "I have just seentho housekeeper." A little later-aim was dead.

Why Christmas Day Is On December 25

‘Christmas. which 5°91!“ m m" been ﬁrst officially instituted I church feast day by a dwm °l Pope Telcsphorus, between 142 A.D. and 154 A.D., was a movable feast. Indeed, it. was the most movabll! of all the Christian festivals. It was usually celebrated by the eas- tern branches of the Christian church in April or May, while in the western part of Europe. days in January or other months were ob- served as Christmas.

In AD. 337 St. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem. obtained from Pope Julius I authority to appoint a commission to determine, if pol- sible. the precise day of Christ‘: nativity. Iﬁ-om the chronological archives of the Roman censors, es- tablishlng the times of occurrence of certain events of the same per- lod of the Roman government of Palestine, the theologians of the eastern and western divisions of the Christian church agreed upon December 25 as the date of the blrthof Jesus, and thereupon this became the officially decreed and generally accepted Christmas day.

‘v

A CHRISTMAS

May love

WISH

and Peace and incl-s,

‘APP With dear old Christmas come- And brighten and protect and bless Each heart and hearth and h

' count.

.‘,r._r

T0 bqin with. James III a old. Also. he wls a mm. The ﬁrst tinned attribute mule him nt-

troctlve to poi-foam gig-Lg, though why they .. mi nonprol- him I do not pretend to under-

stand. I strppoao it had something tn do with the proverbial oontran mfndednecs 0f the weukiar DUI.

As to his being a mob, he bond his aoqmlntamaes with never aiding stories of who» 1pm Boandsohadnnldtobhnonmch and such an occasion, etc, etc. up was one of the people who was never happy unless they can claim a. nodding ocqmirvtance with any well known person mentioned in the ordinary course of conversat- ion. And after talking to him for halfmhou: you had the impres- sion that. he must have been" to school with the - ‘ volumeof Debi-own Peerage. .

Apart from than considerations, his good looks runlnded one too muchoftllegigolo. His tutu in clothes mu to the extreme, whilst his manner tended to be patronis- ingpnd a trlno uwguit,

But ‘little Merry Graham, aged eighteen, had found him irresist-

‘eleguncd’ had completely turned her ileaid. In the glaanorous warmth of the Cote D'- Azum she had danced with him under a. big yellow moon, and thought him the moot romantic person she had ever known. Fﬂattend by the undlsgulsed ad- miration she showed for him, he had taken a. superficial interest in her; but when an Italian March- ese had turned up at their hotel he

‘became rather lea; attentive. and

ﬁnally ignored her complete! .

It would have been all right if the affair had ended at. that. MM‘! would have soon realized that sleek good looks and perfect clothes no not ewential in a. mm. and June: would have been muted the exper- fence which so upset his aqua-nim- ity l. few weeks later.

Unfortunately. hi: conquest of Mary's nﬂections became a boast- ful “PM 0f conveﬁltlon with him. and meeting Dudley Pies one ev- eninglntiiwaluaoonchhom- noyed that young nun considerably by announcing with a calf-satisfied

"Extraordinary bow dimcult wo- men can be at times! 111st Gmhum girl hem on puma; me u» take

H‘ out. but u you know I'm nth. °P lﬂﬂnahagaitchese At the mo- ‘Mm- ll MUM her 0n yum-set: for o. bit, she's not a. bu! “m9 ‘h!!! t0 knock iii-mind with."

This pleasant conversation even- ‘Wﬂll! fetched the ears of Bill

‘Markham.

Bill was m unlabla giant, ma friends always insisted that IhOIBQ had trodden on his face at 50mg time or other, but he only smiled lazily when these asperslons were "89 it him. and when that smile Appeared, you liked Bulim-mediate- ly- Hi8 eves seemed to overflow with meninlent, and even his ears ﬂmeared to be enjoying themselves tremendously.

It was ineviiabb that he should fall in love with Mary. She was so small. so obviously unable to 100k after herself i and it was Bilfsojlief ambition to do all the looking af- ter that misht be required as m: an she was concerned. But Mary thought otherwise. Bile likﬂd Bill ermmously- Who could help lik- in; him? But that was as far as it Wwt- He was so untidy, his hair never seemed to be properly lmjsh- Od. and he had about as much idea. of dancing as an elephant.

Nevertheless, he con-tinned to worship her. and when she had zone to man les Pins he had bom- barded her with n steady stream‘ of letters. which, though somewhat ll- lﬁlrible, and curiously spelt. lacked nothing of the poetical, in so far as the sentiments they expressed.

Mary, thrilled and excited by the attentions of James Hilliard, the dir- ect antithesis of Bill, had written him tepid replies, and hm gqngr- ally worried his peace of mind l1! heir continual references to James, whom Bill knew to be a bounder.

These disagreeable thougihtsmel- lowed it is true, by the ambrosla! nectar dispensed at Patricio Fun’: cocktail part7. Itﬂl bothered him.

"Talking about asses,’ said Dud- kgPiuﬂlwuotJuanlesrinsa WNkISQu-ndlranfnwtlutul Hilliard. As usual he was sur- rounded by a bevy of broken heart- ed women awarding in his own n4:- Amo ,, ‘ the lamenting ones. and this should interest you. B111. was Mary Graham."

‘What's that?" mapped Bill.

‘Appuentlw’ wvm on Dudley, "M dwlimd her for some italic-n Mombasa."

‘The devil he did,’ muttered Bill.

‘it was some time before he re-

covered his good llurnmt, and ev-

entually he said good-by to Pat- ricia. delemllned in write to Mir! at once. pointing out what u. per- fect little idiot she had been. James Hilliard hoard, with an amused smile. of Bill's threats. Hi5 answer to the challenge was typ- lﬁl of the mun; he wrote tn Mary. who was back in town. and asked her to lunch with him at the Ber- keley. He was not sill-prised when one rang him uo Ind accepted. He had expected that she would.-.. women were like that. he had found. f-fe was also quite ptezscd that. he wli seeing her 5811.. He wanted to keep in with the Cru- hoins. The old man was becoming quite In important personage, and it would be foolish to allow them to drop him if it. could be avoided. f-le felt pretty sure of himself. When he met hoi- he would adopt a cult-rite air. and uk hea- to forgive hlfii: tlirrultdrllliunlta Mor- ottoil from afar mild. dovudmlr- sbly. Once the ice no broken ov-

,.,

.y’l'r'i'r‘!r'.'

.1 Q 11- t it 3 A Chrislmastide Adventure n. Enema sTANNann u» extinction of u». Ounlllfeflm- PRINCESS PAUL TRQUBETZKOY ti, a llY-which has come to ' ~ g1 WWW*W§¢WWQW . “She'd talk of ghosts and goblins in that the spectre nasal-inn is her ' ' CHAPTER 1r a very dreadful wuyP-Old Bong. husband, who mundmd her and is _ w

Brit-lain: would be in - He therefore strldllerril saal‘léi,lg' t kwnhis wmmtuleat ' ‘ °

ual conﬁdfit air. with his '5' Mary's “Lough” h oeived his letter ha: §§,,"'§0n§§j

' Whit llama. The rm that ale hJq

also wt Bill's letter b u,

post and had found it Si; Ilwillllillglli o anno

hid WBPMDN James loyijﬁiifg‘;

die would meet him for 1mm},

5° Marv round herself may“, 81mg Piccadilly one morning 1Q km her ﬂbpoinhment with James.

Meanwhile, BlLt was in a, frenna MN’? hid not answered his letter; and whenever lie rang he;- up she w“ out- He wum not understand ft at all. Bo, like many another W“!!! man who had felt hlrmelf “WW1 in lot/emu thoughts turn_ 0d to Patriclonfatricia had g

that-to ear and would bring much needed balm to his soul. she Jnight even be able to get hold u Mil-Ty and ﬁnd out wnatwas Wﬁng, Yes! Patricia. was the perm“ to g0 to with his troubles.

Roads of destiny! For it so llap- period that m, u», has m, Hp- Point-Inﬁll; to keep at the Berkeley mat moming—it was Patriciifsm. vourite meeting place; and he made his way thither witha. scowl on his face and a. heart that w“ L11 forlorn.

"B111," said Patricia, as they sat together in a taxi that was speed- ing away from the scene of their meeting, ‘if I‘ had not been there to stop you. you would now prob- ably be languishing in durance vile,‘ on n. charge of assault and bat- tery. As 1t is, apart from a feel- ing of bitter frustration you are still a. respectable member of soc- iety, without a dossier all to your-

self- in the police archives. You should be thankful!" "Tlmnkful." snared Bill, “With

that fellow going around with Mary and wry apparently enjoying it. Pahl"

"It is no good saying ‘Pair like that, you simply cannot. expect Mai-y to fall into your anus in tile middle of the Berkeley, just be- cause you wave your hands in the air and threaten to do violence to o man with whom she happens to ‘be hivlng lunch."

"But what am I to do, Patricia? Next thing she will be marrying the blichter!"

"Don't be an idiot. Bill, we'll make a. husband of you yet," said Patricia. "I have an idea that we gun 11x things in such a. way that your gay froth-aria will ﬁnd he has cooked his own

"Never mind. how, just now, run along to your club and play Skim" di- something: keep your mind 0i! Mary and mist to your Aunt Pat- rlcla."

The sun was slantlnit 111w i115 sitting room as James sat ﬁnishing hi; breakfast, and its cheery warmth was in accord with his moqr To begin with. he had cow out, rather well from what had promised to be a difllcult situation when that oat Hammond had turn- ed up and threatened to be un- p it. Mary had come to heel splendidly and had saved the day for him by telling Hammond ex- actly where he got off without; mixing her words. A funny km‘ you could twist her round .\'°'~1Y ﬁnger so easily if you went about ft. the richt way-

‘rhm there was this letter from a Lady Cordelia. Kn0x which Md arrived with his morning mailr

Wednesdai? . illiard.

Deni ﬁwnyou in the Berkeley

ydsterday and I do so waning

meet. you, The friend I was “.1118

ggve me your name. but l“ n

didn't know you. except as 2m?“

about wwn. he would“ V") ‘m,

inLroSuoe us. and besidei- (“l1

husband being terribly ledge-m

did not want m m“ ‘my cM-nll

of his knowlnz- So I looked .\ m

up in the telephone bwk *“‘\‘,,‘§r_

drWDiM you this line fr0mC~

ldges.

to a snub. bait I ‘umln-Iibflfg lonely wormn an . m > being frequently abroad onlbl-(jp ness. hope m” we shmPlciwe svmelhi"! "l ‘Ml’ “h” at... do not be offended at my “Tl "h, to you in this way. but you 100k“! so charm mzi l'mu. - pathetic can, I fell- I s m" know WW .- Will you nave tea "f" me tomorrow? Ask 1°‘ "

Cordelia Knox. smcuely youm Cordelia

Continued on will! 4 Yotm llsvnr

1 duo Your Christmas PWR-‘uﬂ’ ‘d m when your Christmas duly ls on

ON HIS WAY

Green-Going IWBY this Christ- mas? , wile-rm, but r new I" 5° gwqy ma: after cnriiuau. cum-mm we Wile-To mi as I bu! debt"-

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