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y gossip by pamela frjnkau i have never had an adventuri- in my life said rupert edgar i have only had adventures in other peo pled j iii audience round the table said rupert had made an epigram j well thank my profession per haps that what i say is true a gossip writer has no identity he hasnt the time his job is to turn a searchlight on the few for the amuse ment of the many i the lowest form of animal life- suggested the poet delroy rudely what is on the square inch of space you refer to as your mind hamish venne said rupert the hying peer why only let me tell you said rupert theres an interview with venne in my ra tomorrow two columns but venues never given an inter view in his life who got it i got it said rupert gloomily like this- you all know the reputation of the viscount venne you know that ho broke the cape record last mouth- that hes a crack pilot and nearly a millionaire goodlooking drives a racing car and skippers a yacht and darts about parliament in his spare time and you seem to know his publicitybug that even after tho record was broken he never lifted a longdistance telephone receiver to tell the world he did it on boxo and as a reinlt hes bettei news value than all your divorced diieh esses and domestic film stars anyway ive never run up against hamhli venne in any of the usual places and when i went down to tho trout hotel near windsor this weekend he was the last person i expected to find i t didnt find him to begin with 1 found his house i the trout stands on a villge green and the village stanils on its ilign ty i was there for oe night to walk and drink beer end forget i was a gossip writer but i saw a goodlooking elizabethan roof among i lome trees when 1 was coming back from the river on saturday and i asked the local doctor whose was the nice house tliats ashlar lord venues house of course he said i i didnt wait for more i just said is he there now and the doctor j sold yes he thought so i gulped my lunch and set out to see vvliat i could do 1 it was very hot i walked along the white road past the pond and turned up to the right under the trees i was feeling a little precarious by the time i got to the gate there wasnt a lodge just a pair of old gates and a curly drive through the ash trees i walked quite comfortably it didnt seem private at all when i came to a clearing and saw the low elizabethan farmhouse facing ine with grass lawn running up to j the foot of its walls and tangled rosebushes in the grass i felt rather beared as though id forgotten my errand while f was debating the next move uul exploring with my eyes the thick trees behind the houso ri fell in love so would yo have if you had seen the woman she came round the house and stopped when she saw me she looked guilty and very beautiful my tongue has caught poisonous catch phrases from my pen a willowy brunette with a vivacious mouth is hie kind of line from my stock-in- trade but you tan imagine some body dark and dignified yet moving casually with hair that waved off her forehead after the lovely man lier of kay francis thats the woman 1 fell in love with were you looking for somebody she asked her voice was abrupt and deep is this ahar i hedged all this is ashlar lord venues house yes she said and looked as though she were going to laugh she added and my house of course i knew that hamish venne was married and i felt chill ed about it she was waiting for me to say something i sail as a matter of fact im no earthly good at telling lies im n journalist what a very unsuitable profesj blon to have chosen in those circum stances she said solemnly not hughing until i did what i man is that ive como jjoro tc- try and gt an interview out of your husband and i know what hes lile about interviews it was only ten minutes ago that i heard he lived here so i havent thought of a disguise yet im not a reporter im a kossipwriter and this kind of job is rather beyond me how do you think i can get at him j she thought for so long over the ftnswer that i said desperately lie can write every word of it himself j t wont alter a comma im sure you wont but lord vcnno it up in london i dont quite jhimt when he will be back i could and otit for you rlets you i said not u all what do you want to tfnow jbout hloi everything not ouly about the flight just details you must realize the glamour of a man like your hus band he is baffling said lady venue she looked down and dug the toe of a very good buckikiti shoe into the lawn damaging both then she lift ed her head and shook back the ex- aspuug hair im afraid i cant answer for lord venne hut suppose you have a meal with me she said i could tell you thing wouldnt he be there i asked rudely i no not if you came tonight but oh dear i cant manage tonight she remembered im dining over at ascot and i have to go back to town tomorrow i id like to help you she was say ing more it seemed to herself than to me why not come to supper mr gossipwriter youre staying where i at the trout then it wont take you ten min- mute to walk up come up about eleventhirty i i forgot myself aud said but id love to i im so glad ill tell you details about lord venne she looked quite wicked at that moment well i walked back to the trout i couldnt quite make out her friendliness but the doctor on enlightened me his car caught me up on my way past the pond and he shouted hi i climhed in well where did you vanish to he asked 1 went to see lord venne and what did the flying peer say to you he wasnt there but i talked to his wife oh no you didnt said the red- faced doctor when i asked him what he meant he said so even gossipwriters dont know everything about this district its our best scandal the ladyyouve been talking to isnt married to venn shes a french acquaintance he quarrelled furiously with his wife and she left him went abroad i think but she hadnt any money and when she came back he let her hafe the other house what other house why the house you went to ashlar itself belongs tb hamish venne and his present lady the other house ashlar lodge hes per mitting his wife to use they never see each other the grounds go for miles meantime i think theres a divorce pending funny story isnt it dont you go and print it now i i know the laws of libel thanks i said when i got back to the trout i was foci enough to telephone ran dall my partner in crime at the office when i told him what had happen ed he was rather britk i couldnt exactly explain over the telephone and he thought i was seeing venne himself he had the idea that he ought to come down and do the job for me but id no intention of let- j ting him steal my thunder rather than shout the embarrassing story aloud for the local exchange to hear i agreed to catch the five oclock train to town and dine with him i i found him in his rooms in tennyn street and explained randall was envious ol the sup per date but a little doubtful that it would yield any printable sort of story about venue he said he had j known venues wife when she was at school and she had a sinful tem per and was expelled he thought it was charming of venne to let her live in ashlar lodge i was a fool not to have looked up the time table beforehand the last connection to my deserted vil lage left at ninethirty i had to wait for a 1025 to windsor i had to wait for sixtyfive minutes it i disembark ed at slough could get a car i rac ed out of paddlngton station i went out on the wrong side for a taxi the departure side there wasnt one in sight but parked against the pavement there was an immence blue and silver rollsroyce i stopped and looked and i nearly fell dead because leaning back in the drivers seat sound asleep was hamish venne at that minute i completely for got the significance of my supper date i was all gossipwriter i tapped on the window he woke up and looked at me blinking hullo he said what can i do for you i hadnt got an excusefor speak ing to him i said the first thing f could think of can you tell me if ive missed the aast connection to revelstone itevelstone my hometown said hamish venne and no more his head nodded on his chest then ho wiokc up again and smiled 1 shouldnt be at all surprised if you had he said because i have im on my way there now that recalled my engagement ho was going down to ashlar tonight perhaps unexpectedly perhaps ho had telephoned her and sho had fail ed to find mo at tho trout thoro was probably a message there tell ing me not to come at any rate welcome or not his presence would throw a coroneted spanner into my supper date he lapsed again into sleep i tapped tho window a second time hullo said hamish venne you there again sorry i said but could you possibly give me a lift to revclstonot revelstone he said a though he hadnt eard the name before certainly but youll bve to drive ill drive with pi asure i said i was looking at the petrolgauge and switching on tho eugiue hamish had moved drowsily from the drivers teat it was a super car i let one win dow down i didut want venue to sleep all the way to revelstone 1 had a lot of questions to ask him the air woke him again but he didut seem to remember much he lay in the comer seat and blinked at me who are you he asked tleepity my names edgar im delighted to meet you cooj lord what a horn certainly the klaxon shrieking be- hiud us would have startled some body less tired than he was 1 ac celerated the klaxon shrieked louder i turned out of bayswater koad into the park tho other car turned likewise it seemed to be chasing us 1 trod again on the accelerator that car was a dream to drive i say you can drive said tho flying peer we shall get to ash lar in about ten minutes come in and have a drink love to i replied as i had re plied to his french acquaintance in this car we might get there under the hour ckod car rolls isnt it thats right i said laughing 1 liked him ashlars my house he explain ed my wire will sive us cold beef and beer at least no she wont 1 forgot my wife had excel lent ideas about beef but he was cut short by the yell of that infernal klaxon i looked over my shoulder and saw the lights of the other car glancing after us i say said hamih venue wak ing from a further trance arent we being chased by something yes some feels trying to race us drunk i expect iaid the flying peer deplorable thing drink 1 should let him pass ill let him see if he can when we get to the great west i said the speedometer was past sixty the great west road opened in front of us and the klaxon scream ed reproachfully thats put him back six weeks said venne but that car wasnt giving up ro easily and the horn was an outrage i put out niy hand and signalled it to pass it snot by and pulled ii d with a screech if i hadnt skid ded round it there would have been an end of one rollsroyce one fly ing peer and one gossipwriter good god said venue sleepily bandits 1 turned the car towards the pave ment put on my brakes end got out two men were running up the road tovards me one shouted stop but i didnt wait for mose i jumped back id no idea what sort of racket was going on but i realized id too valuable a passenger to risk one man was up to the rolls as i started her he got his foot on the step i stuck an arm through the window and pushed his face he fell backwards the flying peer woke up again and said damned ini pertinence its worse than that i told him as i trod on everything it was all very sudden mur mured venne very uidden indeed woke me up now i could hear that klaxon again and for the life of me i couldnt imagine who or what was after lord venne the noise was ridiculous crooks wouldnt have risked it english yachting season opens h-iaawv- looking out through full sails from the deck of the schooner westward as she follows in the wake of the shamrock v and vcr- sheda as the schooners make their way to cowes for the first race of english yachting season i got every ounce out of that rolls and as we poured over staines bridge i begau to laugh at the business it was so utterly a journalists adven ture and it didnt look as though id get a story out of it unless we crash- oil for the noble lord was sleeping and whoever it was inining his eves to the tune of a klaxon i hard ly thought theyd chase him through asular gates he had taken it so calmly that i was regretfully oblig ed to guess that these were his din ner companions rather than the quoted prime minister yes l thought thats it theyre tight and theyre racing him but my opinion of the flying peer was a lit tle damaged more to when as we shot by the river he jsked bright ly did i invite you in for a drink you did i said and i think those friends of yours behind will expect one too friends i havent got any friends i was just wondering if wliethei how look here my names venne he said sounding more sober does that convey anything to you yes well my domestic life is a little complicated at the minute ive made rather a fool of myself as a matter of fact ever been married practically never well i was hut the lady of my house its all right i said i know the stfory ive met flier and i knew who you were as soon as i saw you thats wliy you recognized me did you but where did you meet jeanne and who now we were half a miln from revelstone i hadnt been listening for our pursuers i heard them then historic hostelsis where people arent crowded i c a little pamphlet issued by the do- jui vlq j el6 partmeut of the lute lor summarize in an interesting fifteen pages condj- r i n i i r joaephme hamhbton cana dian press writsr tj3 of colorful inns to the usual animation of ti high ways of france along wholl it is said tlons in the northwest territories canadas northern empire which group a vast area jt islands an i main- land beyond the provincal boiud- j cries notes tho cuawa journal iu this editorial tho three districts mackenzie rave l70oo00 a day is now adted the keowatin and franlin which la- exodus from cities to tle sea seiner make up the territories have two nlill it is expected will a a total area of 1303cs2 squaro miles own tui ar to the shores of the 1405 square miles of this ex- channel the atlantic and the jjediter- only ianse being water the total papu- lation is 9723 from which it follows camp in the coast ranean half a million children will vacation colonies on the that every resident has an expanse of some 135 square miles and if a man doent like his neighbors ho lhe old ilms which with their quaiul need rot travel very far before he is into the great open spaces there on the way what is so delightful as lie old inns which with tiieir quaiul bright signs tempt the wayfarer to tarry the most ancient of the inns which arc only one thousand whites in the territories and tho remainder are 1lay so distinctive a part in the le between indians sends of the great roads is at thczee i loir et cher it was built by the ro i mnhu iiitl if you have not forgotten divided fairly evenly and eskimos the pamphlet gives useful inform- i mans ation on climate and natural re your latin on the pavement in front sources at the end of last year of the massive stone walls you may it is stated mineral claims in good still read the imperial bill of fare with standing numbered 3799 of which prices affixed 2200 were staked at great bear later innkeepers are not above lake deposits of copper have been copying this practice from those ad- found in the dismal lakes-copper- mil able tourists and practical travel mine river district leadzinc near lers the romans to day whether great slave lake nickel at rankin along the lonely paths of the pyrenees inlet pitchblende and silver ore on the sunny roads of provencz or the the eastern shores of great bear boulevards of paris posted up outside lake there are indications also the door for the uncompromising gaze of gold coal cobalt manganse and of all and sundry is the menu of the other minerals while at norman there days fare with prices of each dish are oil wells and a small refinery has where the welcome adage vin com boon installed oris is lacking the unhappy revellei the airplane has permitted a de- knows that here he must pay extra foi gree of exploration in the territories impossible in the old days but trans portation is of course the great pro blem in exploitation of the natural riches now known to exist there tho absurd howl of the horu not fifty yards behind us look here lord venne i said youre awake now think who is heavens name can be chasing you chasing me here was the trout and the pond and the model village miitably sleeping under the moon nobody chases me said the fly ing peer i wish to heaven she would who never mind said tho amazing man but if you think those bandits are after me put it out of your head how should they know im here gosh theyre putting on a spurt they were their lights rushed up the lane behind us and unless they pulled out i saw i was going to sponsor a crash as i turned into ash lar gates i flung out my arm the gates were open the others were just behind us i pulled the wheel over and they must have grazed our back mudguard as we whirled into the drive the calmness of the flying peer infected me well probably the know your car i suggested it was then that i got my second surprise of the evening for the flying peer sat up with a jerk and said my car what the devil are you talking about this isnt my car we were within ten yards of the house i put on the brakes before i said whose is it then dont ask me said the flying peer i thought it was yours but you were sitting in it i stuttered i know i was aiming for the train theres a fast connection to revelstone you know and i felt so ill that when i found id missed it his wine the golden eagle in the heart of calvados six milei from deauville but six centuries in at mospliere witli its antique rnftcri j against the sunbaked stucco is the inn t of the golden eagle laigle d or i climbed into the nearest car and hors d oeuvre haricots verts green went to sleep peas potatoes roast veal cheese apple he got out rather unsteadily the tart tarte maison today s menu hanging under the ends with the en com aging vin compris onze francs door of the farm house opened be hind us and a voice called is that you mr gossipwriter i whos a gos ipwriter asked flying peer i nobody answered the question with the klaxon still giving tongue our pursuers cut up the drive and braked on the tail 0 the rolls got you you robbers shouted a triumphant voice all said the flying peer how p bruiiimel 1s30 j the whole including tip for 5c cents inside original prints from dicken remind the traveller thai he has found a favorite haunt of wayfarers from i england one oak bench worn smooth by four centuries of dinners lias cut deep in the brown wood the letters the owner has come very fortunate to fetch it he took a step forward and look- ing like a young girls dream of paradise stood in a martyred atti tude before his accusers my name is venne he said does that convoy anything to you it did i never heard an explana tion so quickly accepted i never heard a man say so many times that he was honored to meet the person j i who had stolen his car and come in for a drink pleaded the flying peer we ail four turned to the house i supposed hamish venne was still a little conused for as he approach ed the door where his lady appar- beau brunimel carved his name in the bench while supping here on his way to caen he who would pass the night at the sign of the golden eagle must go out through the great courtyard yard where coaches drew up in the old days climb the outside wooden stair case to the balcony above many travellers this year fewer in cars more on foot es pecially from london answers the jolly host sixteenth century the inn a favorite resort of artists english and french dates from 1520 it was in the icth century that the french first took to the roads whole sale and inns sprang up prolific as telephone at night by gluyas williams wium uim75 is roused from deep sleep 8v some thin rik6ims reflllzes wmlv its tri telephone trie to pull himself up cant make trie grade muffers lef if rik6 arlp flops back telephone 51ps rln6ln6 decides vvlth re lief if wa a wr0m wumber and drops off telephone immedlatelv rins5 aalm l0m and imsisfgnf telephone goes oh rjn6in6 puus covers up to keep sound oof telephone stops sudpenlv shu66les comforfablv under couers id resume sluhber copyright 1933 by the b 8yodi iiw gradlhulv comes wlde awake w0nderin vvvlo if was cailin mini 7-t-t- ently become a statue waited to good intentions along the patli of the meet him he stopped dead and prodigal shouted this isnt my house where at totes near dieppe the somewhat have you driven me austere front of the swan inn hotel i heard the deep abrupt voice of id cygne belies the comfortable in- the french acquaintance yes is hamish if you want it that extra- copper kettle left by napoleon after a eer ad- sojourn here still hangs before the broad fireplace established too in it terior which guy de maupassant made famous in boule de suit the huge for the first time in ordinary night the flying mitted possession this is my wife he said as though he couldnt believe it j he went towards her still sleep walking j i dont know what happened to the owners of the rolls they must j have been endowed with more tact than a mere gossipwriter they melted but i was so staggered and muddled that i could only gape as the flying peer said gently to my supperhostess will tho lady of ashlar iodge give me some cold beef the icth century it became known as a rendezvous of the kings cavaliers it was a favorite stopping place of messire castelmore known more com monly as dartagnaii on his secret and perilous errands across the chan nel even more brilliant it became under louis xv who designated it a hunting lodge for madame de pompadour in the great war it was for a time tho refuge of the king and queen of tho l belgians i dynasties pass but appointments and service are much the same as when then i realized what had happen- d mal0 suuacn aipari ed 1 had come to the wrong house i the in m0i cllcf cap still welcomes the guest and vaunts good fare and modest rate earlier lit the day as had brought lord venne to it now this was ashlar lodge and if i had caught the ninethirty i should have had supper lawfully and per there are inns famous tor the de parture of kings in exile at lo commanderie a few leagues from haps though i dont think so excit- kvrcux louls pij stopped in 1818 cdly with jeannei should say lady ilis precipitate flight from the re- venneinstead of having driven volution in the simple room with its somebody elses rolls thirtyfive miles to make a shadowy third over the beef they insisted that i stay ed rupert edgar stopped speaking at least said delroy i hopo you contrived a word alone with her after her estranged husband had de parted in the direction of le vral ashlar lo soothe the french acquaint ance if you read the interview in to morrows sunday scorpion said old rafters mellow in the autumn light tlio empress eugenie rested a few minutes in september 1s70 and bad a cup of coffee before the fire sho too was flying from republican paris others are known for their splendid entrances they are to be found along the route of ono hundred days known as the route napoleon it runs from cannes to grenoble on the way to paris at the inn of tho golden arm pauhorge flu bras dor at siscr- ton tho room where napoleon had his first sleep after his escape from elba rupert wearily you will learn aj good many interesting things youll ls much the same as it was in march learn about the cape flight firsthand i81 at grenoble the hotel des troln and youll learn the amusing incld- 1 dauphins still preserves some of tho nnt of how lord vejlne jjecamn a j ifin which the emneror carthief without reference to the aditresscd to the army house of commons burgundy you will observe also that lord ants ord and lady venne have left england by aoroplaneon what his lordship des cribes rather sentimentally as a sec ond honeymoon personally i dont believe in the french acquaintance im cerlain village gosup invented her yon know said rupert veno mously what gossip is there js about these anciypt iunsan inticiinablo aiinosplicre eviry man who has passed by in quest of adven ture fortune love or grln has in part ing left something of himself and hii dreams i j n i always suffer fmfrcring seems u be what i do best rlcht itirthol mess