TOSY; OR, LOVE CONQUERS ALL.

Bush Advocate, Volume I, Issue 74, 25 October 1888, Page 4

TOSY; OR, LOVE CONQUERS ALL.

. } OH&BpFER >T. (Continued.) [ o llYjOifcniustwait; my.boy/ until it is , conoliidSd. . Leave ?the affair in my hands, vj love my little daughter, and do not wish to see her unhappy. But y«u must first be free, Roland, anW then task me the same question^ ' '■ ■-" ■■•-■•-■•' •■■--. ! - '".■•, , ««iY<Mt are* right, Colonel Harvey.?' refflfedßoiand. "I know your true wdßii, and 'l ajftreciatfe your motive. \Vhat excuse can I make for my Gulden 'departure to Tosy? Of coUr^'fc'annot stay here/now. 1 ' "'""l'am^glad to hear yoa speak life^tfi^ Roland. You are 5 a .brave WnourSwS fellow. Ido hot, however, see any. occasion fpf you to .j Me^TOght. 1 What we are to; l sSH^Wc'auseof'y6ur tfepartjire is %rfSzz\% B'toer ' I^annbtij; think. "Unless-!- I**1 ** - i■■ 'i ' i H i WtSII 1 mbm^<Rotet ! ap^aVed ; '■3|lKffißVi» wme;from;oh4lip^ as wlnts" tp f sjee..you. , Jt? is come from the post-office with an import-' ant letter.''^ „.>„„,. -, \,.{ :f - ; - "JLei ;hint bring it here," said the colonel. ;,..., , . • . .In^ew moments: a man»presented, iiimseiCnolciing in his hand the impo/tantidocument.,; , ; i • • . ; , fct&Jito' you' Sir^Roland Dormer, sirf ■:• -\ ' •.■'•,..:,• ; \.% di Wdh sir/ i . have , come from: Charlton ; ppstroffice. The..postmaster received j-his sodn after ithe post-bag had gone this morning, ; and seeing it , was ' a Government Fetter, and marked V Important;' he tasked me. to bring it I couldn't lfove my work before dusk, Here it is, sir. I came as quick as I. , could.^ ; - * f^,Thankyou, my, friend," said Roland, thinking it was some niefe - business communication. •■ J iHe took the' letter from the man's hand, ; aM replaced ; it by half-a- --; i crown, whilst Rbberfcled him off to •kitchen;; for refreshments before coniiinen'cihg his' six miles tramp back to Charljtbn. . Roland was i%bout l! to, thrust the ie;tt|r'parelelsly.' iti Ms pocket, when ne f noticed the "Indian pbstjmark, and the , words ' 'Immediate and important" s ./ , Excusing himself to. Celonel Hkryey, lie tore opeii, the envelope, arid saw a second letter enclosed in a "airfcy-idokin"^' coyer, the ; adiiress written in a dull, watery, reel ink. This short s pp.te, accompanied the dißrep^taWeJdpking epistle. : f TKe Camp Sefragange, N. W. $eptember Ist,. 18— . '.. it To Colonel Sir Roland Dormer, t y" United Service' Club. •'Dear: Sir .Ronald,— The curi-pus-lpokirig epistle I enclose, came here for you, two or three days ago. nave not before had an, opportunity of writing' tio you, or I should .have , sent it { at, once. It , has ; b§en ' iftxlf* sometime''^ 4he date on the post-mark. Thinking it may be of importance, and contain some news of your brother, as it bears the New; Zealand ■ mark, I have enclosed it in^ Government envelope to insure its prompt and safe delivery.— With best wishes for yo,p f welfare, ,bel|eve;. me Sir. Roland) Vour£ye,r£ faithfully, J. Annour,.Col.— th B.I." Roland rapidly tore open the enclosure, and quickly mastered the contents. , "AY last ! at last !" I shall find him. Colonel JJaryey looked at the young man with a puzzled look on his face. ,...-. ? - What could it mean ? Had his troubles, and .trials turned Sir Roland's brain 1 1f not, what could be the cause of this excitement 1 "Read that, Colopel Harvey," exclaimed Roland, handing him a piece of paper with printing on one side, but writing on the other. At iirst the colonel did nob know if it wa,sjntendedfpr writing or not. It ■was written in a pale red colour, and the letters wero so badly and clumsily formed that he had considerable difficulty in reading it at first. The strange letter ran as follows [!—■ , "Chatutu's Campi Red Horse Biver, tuear Wellington, September 18 — . "My Dear Brother,— lf this ever reaches you try and come to my assistance at once. lam a close prisoner, but my life is safe. Do not . communicate with the Government. If you do, they will have so many pourparlers and preliminaries that the Maories will be ; alert before they do anything. In that case they would either murder me or carry me into the bush, where I should never besfound. How I long for liberty and to see my Helen once , again. I write this with a stick, and I have obtained, the ink by pricking my finger, so you mnst please excuse the writing. ;!I;airi going to fasten it up in an old.enyeJppe turned inside out, and shall then wrap it up in some bark «ti44oat .it down the river, with the request that the finder will post it. ; VJGrOOdrbye, my dear Rolahd. Be very careful if you come to my assistance, as the Maories are dangerous fellows. ' ...'.., " This place is about two miles higher up than the third rapids of river.— Your lovinp brother, Charlie." ." W^s there ever anything more \ astonishing?" gasped the colonel. 11 Of course you will lose no time,

"Not, a moment," answered the other, forgetting his^own .troubles in the excitement which the letter caused. * " You must go. up, to } $he ladies, Roland, explain it ' to them. But be very careful how. you. bjeak. the newffto' poor Helen 1 .- She will be delighted, poor girl." "May I bid farewell to-^to— to losy, as her— her betrothed ?" asked, Roland, in a quivering < voice. " Well, you know, Tosy is not to know .anything j?f f . jbhe other affair, so I suppose you must. ' As the colonel said this he give a little chuckle, and again glanced at Charlie's strange letter. : Sir Roland lost no time in acquainting |jhe sisters with his glad tidings, and in spite of their entreaties backed up by their father's he^ started at once, and would not remain until the morning. .The next- morning saw, him at Dover, whence he crossed to Calais and from there took, train to Brindisi. He deemed to require, no rest but dashed on and on in his pursuit He tooka steamer at' BrjffdM for Alexandria, and then again the train tp.J3ue&; Here; ;he. wa§ formate enough to catch, one of the* Australian nsaUiSte^mersi alidad quickly on board and on his way to the of the captive in the far-off land. I£he still lived 1 How ; many times did that thought pass through the miod of the brother as he paced the deck of the floating palace. It was more than a year since Charlie had written his note, and perhaps he was now ? no more. • <v lf he still lives I will rescue him," said Roland to himself ; and if he is dead I will avenge him." . CHAPTER VII. The days that Roland passed on the Australian steamer appeared weeks to his overwrought mind. Although every comfort was provided for the passengers, the gallant soldier felt utterly miserable. Night after night he paced up and down the . deck buried in deepest thought. He was an enigma to his fellow-passengers. All sorts of surmises were freely indulged in. The ladies averred he was a victim of an unreturned passion, but the sterner sex took a more prosiac view and concluded that it was disappointed ambition which|gave the fine, stately soldier that grave careworn expression. The longest voyage has an ending and at last the passengers and crew of the good ship Maulmein were rejoiced by the sight of the white houses of Wellington. Impatiently Dormer rushed' along the gangway, and then for the first time began to realise the difficulties of his search. -.■" Here he was in a new country without a friend to direct him — a stranger in a strange land, " How shall I commence the search T, he cried, "I know nothing of the country, nor dare I confide in a stranger, I can only rely on that great Guide who never fails render succour to the friendless." , (To be Continued.)