Strathmore

“ It was, in fact, the upper part of Strathmore, enclosed between the Grampians to the north and the southern Campsie Fells or Lennox Hills, which, curving to the west beyond Stirling, continue the line of the Ochils and the Sidlaws. ”

“ My mother spoke of some mystery in his past life; and there is a look of settled gloom in his face that nothing seems able to remove. Lord Ernest Strathmore, too—he must come to complicate matters. She is the most glorious creature the sun shines on; and if I don't ask her to be my wife, she will be my Lady Strathmore before the moon wanes!"
CHAPTER XII. MISS HUNSDEN SAYS "NO." Sir Everard found his mother primed and loaded ”

“ Nothing is more extraordinary than the history of her eldest brother’s widow, Mary-Eleanor Bowes, 9th Countess of Strathmore, who, in her second marriage with Mr. Stoney, underwent sufferings which have scarcely ever been surpassed, and whose marvellous escapes and adventures are still the subject of a hundred story-books. ”

“ All his operations are very fully described in his ‘Book of Record.’ His grandfather had been created Earl of Kinghorne in 1606, with strict limitation to his heirs male. On 30 May 1672 the third earl obtained a new charter enabling him to nominate a successor in default of male issue. On 1 July 1677 he procured another charter ordaining that his heirs and successors in all time coming should be designated Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Viscounts Lyon, Barons Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw, and Strathdichtie, and this is the full style of his descendant, the present Earl of Strathmore. ”

“ The air was invigorating, and Maurice began to feel its exhilaration. He walked more briskly, holding his head more erect, even forgetting to be irritated by the swish of his cassock about his legs. Without consciously determining whither he would go, he followed the streets toward the house of Mr. Strathmore, in that strange yet not uncommon state of mind in which a man knows fully what he is doing, yet assures himself that he has no purpose. When at last he found himself ringing the bell, Wynne carried his private histrionics so far that he told himself that he was surprised to be there. ”

“ At this point in my life my parents changed their place of abode; the only regret I felt aside from my breaking up of a general friendship, was the fact that I was called upon to leave my sweetheart.
“David Strathmore was all to me that any young man can be to a girl who is in love. He had lived in the little village where I was born and raised for twelve years, during which time we had been school-mates, play-fellows, steadfast, youthful friends, and with the true congeniality of our young natures we became lovers early in life. ”

“ LYON, PATRICK, first Earl of Strathmore and third Earl of Kinghorne (1642–1695) , was the only son of John, second earl of Kinghorne, by his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Maule, only daughter of Patrick, first earl of Panmure. He was born on 29 May 1642, and succeeded to the title of Earl of Kinghorne on the death of his father on 12 May 1646. The estate was seriously involved through the expenditure of the late earl when engaged with the covenanters under Montrose, and by his rash loans to defaulting friends. A fine of 1,000l. was imposed upon the estate by Cromwell's Act of Grace in 1654. ”

“ I thank him for his officiousness!"
"You are unjust to Father Frontford. I have made his wish seem offensive by the way I have put it, I suppose. At any rate, he is simply seeking the good of the church."
"And to have himself made bishop."
"He would vote to-morrow for any man that he thought would do better than he can do. He would support Mr. Strathmore himself if he believed it well for the church. I do not find myself in sympathy with everything that he does, but I know him, and of one thing I am sure: he would be burned alive in slow fires to advance the good of the church." ”

“ To aid the corrupt, the evil, the hardened without any attempt to draw them into the fold and without any pledge that they will be influenced, is simply to aid the avowed enemies of religion and to strengthen their hands against righteousness."
The air of the room was becoming electric. Philip could see the exchange of glances all around him, some of surprise, some of consternation, some—or he was deceived—of triumph and scornful satisfaction. He fancied that he saw Mr. Thurston shoot toward Mr. Strathmore a flash of gratification, but the face of the latter remained unmoved and inscrutable. ”

“ What Aunt Lucy can see in Mr. Crabtree is more than any of us can understand."
"He must have hypnotized her," observed, Dick. "It's a shame! I wish old Crabtree was in Jericho!"
"So do all of us!" laughed Grace, and then Sam took her off for a quiet chat, while Tom, monopolized Nellie.
"Those Rover boys think a great deal of the Lanings and Stanhopes," observed Larry to Fred. "Well, it's all right—they are awfully nice girls, every one of 'em!"
CHAPTER XXIII BALLOTING FOR A SECOND LIEUTENANT "Back to Putnam Hall at last! How home-like the place looks!" ”

“ Mumps led the way down the rocky steps and Josiah Crabtree followed, moving slowly that he might not fall. Creeping to the edge of the cliff, the Rover boys saw the pair reach the Falcon and go on board.
"Now what is in the wind?" said Dick, as soon as the pair were out of hearing.
"That's a conundrum," replied Tom. "I'll wager one thing though—old
Crabtree is up to no good."
"I believe you are right. I wish we could hear the rest of what is going on."
"Can't we get close to the yacht?" suggested Sam. "See, the sky is clouding over. I don't believe they will see us going down the stairs." ”

“ He led the way back to the gully and pointed to a pot of tar and a brush which rested by it.
"It is tar!" cried Crabtree.
"Exactly."
"And you are—ahem—going to give him a coat of that?"
"Yes. Doesn't he deserve it?"
"To be sure he does. I will assist you," answered the former teacher readily, with a malicious gleam in his fishy eyes. "I wish you had all three boys here, to tar them with the same brush."
"One at a time, Crabtree. We'll fix the others some time later." ”

“ Then came a shout in Jack’s voice.
“They have been discovered!” cried Andy, and leaped from the carryall, followed by George Strong and Peleg Snuggers.
“Look out, or they may shoot you!” said the general-utility man, taking good care to keep well to the rear.
Another shout, this time from Pepper, rang out, and then those who had just come up saw two men rush through the forest in the direction of the lake.
“There they go!” cried George Strong. “Stop, Paul! Stop, Bart!” he added.
“Let us alone!” said Callax. “Let us alone!” ”

“ Stanhope. If you need a friend, I'll stand by you—and so will Sam."
"Where is Dick? You boys are always together."
"I don't know where he is at present. We were carried off by the
Baxters, who are not far off."
"The Baxters! Oh, I am afraid of those people—more afraid than I ever was of Mr. Crabtree."
"They are certainly more daring, but no worse morally than Crabtree." Tom ran his hand through his curly hair in perplexity. "Who is aboard of this boat?" ”

“ If a person is going to do wrong he must take the consequences. Mr. Baxter might today be a fairly well-to-do mine owner of the West and Dan might be a leading cadet here. But instead they both threw themselves away—and now they must take what comes."
"My father used to say it took all kind of people to make a world," went on Larry. "But I reckon we could do without the Baxter and the Buddy Girk kind."
"And the Josiah Crabtree kind," added Sam. "Don't forget that miserable sneak."
"Perhaps Crabtree has reformed, like Mumps."
"It wasn't in him to reform, Larry," came from Tom. ”

“ The four boys continued to row on, and in about a quarter of an hour came within plain view of the shore, at a point some distance beyond Clearwater Hall and the town.
"Oh, look! Something is the matter down by the lumber yards," remarked Alice, presently. "See the men running!" She pointed, and those in both rowboats looked in that direction.
"I don't see anything wrong," said Ruth.
"I do!" cried May, and gave a little shriek. "Look! look! A whole lot of lumber is drifting this way!"
"Some—thing—broken—lose," gasped Jack. "Maybe—a—lumber—raft." ”

“ As he crept closer Joe could hear his sister begging piteously of the Indian to let her go back to Mrs. Parsons.
“Please, please, let me go back!” cried Harmony. “Oh, have you no heart?”
“White maiden be quiet,” growled Long Knife. “Can talk much after she is in Long Knife’s wigwam.”
“I do not want to go to your wigwam,” moaned the girl. “I want to go back to the lady I was with.”
“Bah! the old Quaker woman does not count,” was Long Knife’s comment. “She is not as good as the squaw that shall take care of the white maiden.” ”

“ Stanhope a bogus letter, or telegram, signing dad’s name.”
“Say, Dick, you’re a regular sleuth!” cried Fred. “I guess you’ve got it straight.”
The boys entered the house, and there told their uncle and aunt of what had been found. Randolph Rover looked at the stone with interest.
“It is a curious one,” he said slowly. “I do not imagine there are many like it. If this Sobber had one, then this is probably his.”
“You didn’t see any strangers around the farm, did you?” asked Sam.
“None that I noticed. Of course plenty of folks have passed up and down the main road, and the back road, too.” ”

“ Letters from home are always welcome, and doubly so when one has been out of reach of the mail for a long time. As Professor Strong held up nearly a dozen written communications, the lads fairly pounced upon them, and for the time being the newspapers were forgotten.
“Here’s one for Mark and two for Frank,” cried Darry. “Where is mine?”
“Here you are,” said Frank, holding out three. “And here is one for you, Jake.”
“And here’s another for Jake,” added Sam. “And two for myself.”
“No, boys, these two are my own!” laughed Professor Strong, holding them back. ”

“ The valley at our feet, the limits of which I have attempted to mark off, is Strathearn—a right noble expanse of fertile soil, richly wooded, abundantly watered, dotted over with villages and guardian Parish Churches, like that of Muthill; bright with Castles that have left their names in history, and with mansion-houses of hardly less fame, that gleam from among their ancestral trees—a Strath that may be fitly characterised as the Scottish Esdraelon, in which many things have happened, and many men have been well worthy of being held in remembrance. ”

“ Whom do you assert stole the Widow Canby's money?"
"A tramp."
"Humph! A likely story."
"It's true. His name was John Stumpy."
"John Stumpy!"
As Mr. Aaron Woodwind uttered the name, all the color forsook his face.
"Yes, sir. And he claimed to know you," I went on, my curiosity amused over the merchant's show of feeling.
"It's a falsehood! I never heard of such a man," cried Mr. Woodward, but his face belied his words.
"Well, what is your charge against Strong?" asked Judge Penfold, impatiently, probably tired of being so utterly ignored in the discussion. ”

“ He hates her and he wants to separate her from you."
At the mention of Josiah Crabtree's name a curious shiver passed over Mrs. Stanhope. "We—we'll not talk about Mr. Crabtree," she faltered. "But, oh, I must have my Dora back!" And then she came near to fainting again.
"I would like to go over to the Stanhope cottage and investigate," said Dick, after the lady had been placed in Mrs. Green's care. "To my mind it won't do to lose time, either."
"You can go, Richard," answered Captain Putnam. "But be careful and keep out of trouble."
"Can I take Tom and Sam with me?" ”

“ The rising is so widespread that it would be foolhardy to remain here. We might—"
The youth broke off short and ran toward the doorway. But White Buffalo was ahead of him. Both had heard the approach of a horse. It was Joseph Morris returning, and he was alone.
"Thank heaven you are safe!" ejaculated the pioneer, as he leaped to the ground and came into the cabin. "I was afraid you might all be murdered. So Dave is here. Where is Henry?"
"Gone," answered Dave. "You saw nothing of him, or of Mrs. Risley or her husband?"
"I did not. But I saw Indians—hundreds of them. ”

“ I—I went downstairs to—er—to put away a book for another cadet and I saw Pepper Ditmore sneak into Room Eight. I watched him, and he threw a string with the teeth on 'em up over the chandelier. I thought they might be yours, so I came here to find out."
"Did you get the—er—the teeth?"
"Oh, no, sir. They are too high up. You'll have to get a ladder to get them down."
"The rascal!" howled Josiah Crabtree. "Oh, wait till I get my hands on him! But I must get the teeth first." He thought for a moment. "Fenwick, find Snuggers and send him to me at once." ”

“ Is he—he——"
"There he is, over by the rocks. No, he isn't dead, but I think he's pretty bad. He got an arrow right in the breast."
Father and son hurried to the spot, to find Joseph Morris stretched out on a blanket and surrounded by all of his family, including Henry, who during the advance of the rangers had fought as bravely as anyone. The arrow had been extracted and Mrs. Morris was using her utmost skill in binding up the wound.
"What do you think, James?" she wailed. "Will he live?"
"While there is life let us hope, Lucy," answered the brother-in-law, tenderly. "Is he unconscious?" ”