Adventure stories; Automobile travel -- Fiction; Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
"A nomadic young woman, I am told," shrugged the older man carelessly.
He stood watching the dusty trail of the nomad with narrowed, thoughtful
eyes, unaware that his companion's eyes had wandered somewhat expectantly
to the Westfall lake.
"Baron Tregar!" whispered Ann Sherrill in a remote corner of the veranda
to a girl she had brought up to the farm with her late the night before.
"Has a _real_ air of distinction, hasn't he, Susanne? And such deep,
dark, _compelling_ eyes. Rather Arabic, I think, but mother says Magyar.
Dick says he's immensely interested in the war possibilities of
aeroplanes and fearfully patriotic. Touring the States, I believe. Dad
picked him up in Washington. Philip's teaching him to fly. Philip was
up once before, you know, in the spring and Dad urged him to come up
again and bring the Baron along to learn aeroplaning. Philip _Poynter_,
of course, the Baron's secretary!" in scandalized italics. "Didn't you
know, _really_? . . . _The_ Philip Poynter. . . . And I say it's
absolutely _sinful_ for a man to be so good-looking as long as the
world's monogamous."
"Quarreled with his father or something, didn't he?" asked Susanne
vaguely.
"Quarreled!" exclaimed Ann righteously. "Well, I should say he did. My
dear, the young man's temper simply splintered into a million pieces and
he hasn't found them yet. Flatly refused to take a _cent_ of his
father's money because he'd discovered it was made dishonestly. _Think_
of it! And Dad says it's true. Old Poynter is a pirate, an
unscrupulous, money-mad, villainous old pirate and he did something or
other most unpleasant to Dad in Wall Street. And would you _believe_ it,
Susanne, Philip went fuming off huffily to some ridiculous little
mountain kingdom in Europe that he was awfully keen about--Houdania--and
rented himself out as a secretary to Baron Tregar. Just _imagine_! Dick
says he organized an aviation department there and won some kind of a
prize for an improved model and in the midst of it all, Susanne, Philip's
grandfather up and died, after quarreling for years and _years_ with the
whole family, and left Philip _all_ his money! _I_ think Philip's
quarrel with his father pleased him. But the very queerest part is that
Philip actually _likes_ to work and dabble in foreign politics and he
flatly refused to give up his job! Isn't it romantic? Philip was
_always_ keen for adventure. Dick says you never could put your finger
on a spot on the map and say comfortably, 'Philip Poynter's here!' for
most likely Philip Poynter was bolting furiously somewhere else!"
Unaware of Susanne's furtive interest in his career, Philip scanned the
calm, unruffled waters of the Westfall lake and sighing turned back to
his chief. There was a tempting drone of motors back among the hangars.
"We fly this morning?" he inquired smiling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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