Novel.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 407, 25 February 1904, Page 2

Novel.

CHiPI T f S XV.- (Ctentiiiucd.) Is a fi w mil rifea mort fhe iruu wculd bfeose, acd t3ss Kit 1 , sis bundle, weqH have again escaped her. Asd vhat did a. s k aow abcsl sua P W-, it *ad she to til Itfeftii -; -v<sh'ese'n;BP That tab dj»- - t ■ Peris; tfcat waaetti P*t i Mil gttit a witdsi te?' se L-r> lon tio, hj ; . • beside*,, who eeuid tell tbat Ma jaunty wcnld end ib.-it>? Ic \;-o feajfcrctor cold en*" i&va r:-c back ia tuna to have foifu ---fed fciui, or"i.—. lbe later; thought whisk, u"„co*ie.vv.<:s of irs owntxUtsnee, h-c frc-iajitd the el th* be -, tha shawl, and tie few pounds of rt.ii j ni.-i.trs' inker spis-ng into iii e, cevci r,--d «ud e ftttued, pieactfl itcr.f as a pcsaibility, and «e----maiceJ aa a a intention. S«if tlj Muriel threaded net way along tits platform, i»ass*.-d her a art, and entered the ticket '< fficsj. Taere was no time to less; ia two minutes more the train . would BtJit; already ths passengers had' all taken their seats. 'Third class, eingie, to Paris,' she pasted. 'Ho third by ihis train—if .the one that's just ataniai? ia the oae you want' •Ho thirdF Oh, eecond then, and quickly, please. I'm late. How much ia itr The pries meant the greater part of the money in her pur;e. Sae pat it- down . hurriedly. The change; yes, Ehe must wait for the change; efae could not afford to lose it. Then out on to the platform again, 'Aunt Annie, gire me the sbswl. Qaick. I'm goin? by this I r«n, and there's barely a minute' * Muriel! You must be is ad. Come back I Listen, Ms lei! Whe.l d.ea this nvaqf* . Toe girl haf-turned. 'I can's tell ;ou now. There'* no time, Paris. I must go. I'll write—telegraph. Toil the inspeetrr I't9 gone, and that he a to come.' Mrs. Ellison &t c d epeecblees with dismay antf astoniebnu a:, powerleee to prevent or interfere with this roddes actios OB tie p&rt of her niece,- *nd Muriel, breathless with excitement and anxiety, ' tcie away towards the trainAlready the ace is or the carriage were ahnt, the guard's whistle was a* his lips. Was she too Jste ? Oh, for 026 quarter oi * a nusuts more! 'Sc* r-i ciiei,* she ciied 'iny where, Oh. do open ihe doot V Hew it bapptneo the did r.tt know. It seem d to ise; iL&c that train BS3 already movisg.tkat iLt-iv was aochan.a icr her, tear, no ccs h?r r no door jieid to fetr ta-jite; t e tue'desiy iLere was at opscsfSCj iu tLe wailc£ taetraitj she was pushed, pailcd, iajrud come Low into a carriage; nd warjEatdy in :ae fenus, &.rd m viz?, out '-•! %'■ e ftfita b. in. s first, bos a E«eo£d-cla?a eospsrtaient; a&dofp ale :■■ hix, he? z.ls e<>cr>an!i3. wsatbomso :v. the t-»tvl trareihsg «.ip with t-a f»«i cuziy hair, CHAPTKB XVi—TEfi il:.:«" THE FAtE CULLY b £ i_j stan >■*•■• •>• •"-—•:< *ot»ae? Eiiop' E«*>**i -.-:::: «. •••; • ?id,'*a tao taei. WfeS ;:- :.-;;-;• ri ;. ; _ _ fco&dta whien -■ 1 ,ti":d r ; Ic j^ tbin-V V.- ~. •..- .. :M; ;_- ,_ t , td> iOC at*- .. "at:; l.tr i.-»*.? fi 5; _;.r .:.. pot*ri?«ts Y-. Mei. ' -s:.; a ■;- « : - <-."•-£. ! " . . - ».' :s •-•■• !* ."• t«.u •: - ; -. • '■-■:. ■ '■ ._i i. ; tie ~.-r Si> I' • ~■ 1- . .. fi r , js rj ;. i? «*•-; Wr tr:WW.:K . ~. .- -.3 whict &rt<d - •' . ; E-j 1 .. J :.• - g ' ■:' t\ :..,„..'•-;.:.. ... tj, fer «i '* •" ■ ; ai-Ji ?-, r. -.. fj » - •"r ths.tr ! R » t'c.s L..., KvrJfcO, WS.-- : " k VVft t> ,' • y ' . -i-; ;".:-. - *-r to Jo. And c thsfe&ss* But < tie owias-t k: . tss -, t„:; h'u ■-■■■ sais 1 kta . , i:. ~.. ].- ; ...- .; i:c: ; *ta **;'-• i' iff ti r.t- fcjfeCcie fcireeltto buie f.wiu. piesaais anu :,.« - fr-t eicp to?r-;tj setsss'.ag i-e- «-.a, t .iUii, tuv» proceeded to jut id • u.f.i/jir «sdtoij . rr'ipi-i her v«£j fex.e itlt b<s it iiie bad bot:« r ;iitcrn tcp ecsi ic Ihj hbttkd &ttr»»j • izlo the ca:iis.g: aid whoa &&e h&d-fut cidtr inif htf au rt, and rectniL-r.. I thattiza thacktft-t Lt her v. il preTentcU hex- liv.e trcm bciag cleauy Ltri, comagr kus meaEure oi 6ilf-co)6fideEcertiun i e w d to Ltr, and she felt better *ble to go t:>rotih with what was before her. *afademcißeUs «« nearly Hte/ Eaid hex c:mpai.ioD. with a foreign accent, and Ma.i.l seked herself in btwiidermcEt if this were indeed tro man ehe snppcted him to be. Bat bistye?— jee, his ejee were tie ease, L<. Id, eeacchiag and keen, and her doubts toon faded again. He was »hs enemj tlio foi>gl.r with, but elereier, moie fiiffiuuifc to conquer, eren, than ebe bad tiwact But the must answer Lis question, for the ejes she dreaded vece upon her, &&d seemed to compel a reply. * Yes,' she Hammered. • I—l nearly—l ' thought I shculd hare missed the train.' 'Mademoiselle would hare been left behind if I had sot come to the rescue, I think,' eaid her companion with a amile. * It was jou, then r

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL AFRANGEjBENT [;

IN THE NIGHT,

Hecrv Dunn

CCPYEIGFT,

1 1 fcso£ taa liberty fr pull, while the porter he did pasii.' ' Bnc it'd tbje wrong ca; riage,' Mmi< i ta:d. • I—l'm second/ •There wis no poiu? erongh io >(jsu tfcs do'><", p.r-d B0 _« <p e -, m fi... :.-;d big sentence hy a &h-<-; „>. the 1 iou'dcre. * M«demcijelle wi 1 2o' r . oj uncomfortable, I iopi ?' *Ho, o&ly—* wo>:der;d wry jcu elioald. 3l«u fenciilly like a c»U;*gti to themsalvas,' Tba nun hslf-bowed. 'I nevai cai bear to see a wom»n in ha BRid, with what appeared to hf canine eimplictcy. There was an aic v.asy gal1/ntry about fcim, a u bia mini e* which implied a deferenca her sex, wbich Muriel felt, though sta I hardiy kava defiled it, and sppeal*d to her in soifca o! her antagoniem. 'lwa3 right,* ehe thought, «in what I told Mr Willow. He is a man that some woman be very fond of. Then the thought o? what ehe believed him to have dene, of his cruelty, hia callousness, hiß cowardice, came baok. upon her, and she shuddered involuntarily. •Mademoiselle would like to see a papar ?' asked the man. ' See, I have one, two, three: •St James's.' • Westminster,' * Echo.' 'No, oh, no, thank you,* Muriel exclaimed, with an emphasis which made her companion look at her curiously, •Mademoiselle does not read in the train, perhaps ?» He bowed and taking up his newspapers, withdrew to tie further end of the compartment. 'Sjill further accounts of the jewel robbery,' he announced presently. "The poiice do make arrests, but they always lot ttem go again because they find no trace of the plunder. Curiouß how the thieree do dispose of jewels so that no trae* ia found I Not so P* He turned to Muriel suddenly aa he ended. 'Tss,' Bhe agreed, Eeeingthatananswer wa3 expected of her, and saying the first thlug that came into her mind. ' I Buppose they sell them,' •Perhaps. Bat how? The police search a!l the receivers, all the known places End the dcobtful, all the pawnshops; and cb-y find—nothing It is clever; of the thief, I mean, or of the" person who charges hinicelf to dispese of the thi6f'3 plunder. Do yo& not thin"* eo ?' •Yes/ tiid Moriel 'yes, v^iy.' 'Maditnoitem is tired, pariapp,' said tea man, apparently nctijing her a 1;trt.cted irir, ' and doss sot cue to convent £.ay zacre V an to r<:ad.' jjg borii'd himieifin bi3 papers and did oot ep'fV B3 j-a; and umcc w\s no found but the rushing of the train, asi hj; iltuisl'a ei.rq iii Q beating of huz cva frightened, paioitaiisg heart S : i6 leftaed bick arttt clc siiv ejt.;; ekftiteiaenS snxi&ty mada hicep taw far iiwa>|*fca: fcas t«ti<«ic\ iiit>ncnl &ii 3 bodily, -i i->- lasr two days was beginning to assert itaaif, ■ ana it reaik'- to ait quite still acd let the tiftd iidd drop, ft.i-i sb« *h-ak bsiier #ipj. iha cater world E'>u k off 9,Eiafd against taa s,d?cffcine3» ti--pt over i>t;r, misgUd, bo ; -5 ":sin.-J

vit:iicc::.o f.,iiit p*n:aase. Wr,iC ii. : " ii3u aeieii: oa;e , . , wzio. . . . With nn.rSoci ,- .3 i•? eye;; ■?;s-ct wouhj tall ;•• r j>3rb%ij?. Her otffiyae'oa cbabgtd lis real: he *•>- ->r.r;y epp ?a io L%r .<-ow. fhoojrlj ehs "■!":•. :-ira him a;r, . 3 jj, s p's-;at—-=s fctivy f.yeu .. : :- b;: hi ar 3; ?> '-v '.Lei.'j ?=-t ;o- a sseind; \t\*z -Bui s-.-3Cc5-.sao h,.j :. nt«act£, gai f*■• c. t£i..M.-s *?f-a<i 02 »s-s,r, sad Maria! iC<: ?••/£s■;£,s tfi a;I bar tears *: d ii-.-o. .5 he ) d wg,; t;, etcaiga 10 tp-t-jk rjuii.--; cic 3 •_•; rir c.y C5m j '<-.<,k i-j :ia«i?j ba;s r cwjj s » k~-7; E'a* winced t> Flesp tu, th« w«jat on c-iitag :n •rr to Rwak:; &sd bv i» bj ths «r«id bfccaais rial t-> «-.r oaea more, aad frha ryntmbcred wotre she »a» aivi «■;-;?;„ i=Ar,p c r.;d. Sic- v/U3 on h*r whj t;> P*r>r, m pa-ea':C of thj as-is wheso guiit Bbe s uib:. to prove; sbp was in the vorj carxiftge Bita aim; as dwftoi.3?, ba: tha si.u fciie OiijcUie&; SCtb 1L .V«S 413 WHO WAS 110 V ■ Sue looted up and started. W43 elio reailj awaka afeer all, or was &ho dceiastiil ? Tue maa who etood over her tf»3 avi the maa who had palled her iato theowrigge, w ;o had va«kd to hor, who haa o:c-a af-ii.- her belora sha had fAlien Tnis una'e dark; he ha.d ao vfh-jter,, bat woie a small pointed beard ; uad ua epeke withoafc asv foreign asceat 'Eicoa-m,.' h?eaia, «bn: we arejnsfc f.*. wcvrr Pie-, aad I took the liberty of wanrgjcn' Muriel at firet could only atare at him. ' I—3oa. eae stammered at laat; « whea I neat to sleep you—and where iB the other man ?' 'The other man? Oh, I B ee,' said the stianger. 'Yea, of couree it muat aeem odd to you. I got in at Dover Town and another maa got out} we nearly collided at the door.

Muriel half-rose from her seat. 'Oh,' she cried, 'do you mean that he's not going on P' . -*SF■;»;■■■ «Evidently not j going to stay the night at Dover, I suppose, flat wby—did you know him P' * •' - For&n instant Muriel hesitated. She was on the point of confiding in this new opmpanioa, of blurting oat'Jifer stew and her suspicions, of asking hilhelp and hiß advice, when her eyes fell upon the rack opposite, and a vague uaeasinesa came over her, an uneasiness which prompted caution: and all' that she said was j • No, it's only that he has left his bundle of wraps behind him/ .'..? The stranger made a: quick little movement ', then he glanced at the raok. 'Did that belong to him ?' 'Yea.' • I*ll give it to the guard,' said the man, and be reached up and took possession of the bundle. «People are curiously careless sometimes. Here we are. >Cah Ido anything for you V r •*" ~ •Oh no, thank you.- I oan manage quite well,' Muriel said.

Sae got out cf the train and mingled with the stream of passengers, wondering and hesitating. Should she go back o Dover Town and try to trace the man with the fair hair ? Or should she go to the guard and try to induce him to give up to her, or to open at any rate, the buEdle which the man had left behind him P It was use'esß to go oa to Pans without either the man or his parcel; ard yet—--. It .was extraordinary that he should ha 73 forgotten anything bo obviously important. Perhapa he would come back yet;.perhaps he had not intended to stay behind, Had raecely got out for a minuie to call a porter, to send a weeaage; ttiaib w6ro many possible rsneor.sj and the train might have gone on looser than she expected. She woaii go oe down to fcba boat she decided, m<\ =ea it became, i? he passed her and wsnt on beard—for it was impossible that he cou'o h£76 already arrived. Slio sieved on with the crofrd, but wh6n ens ekse to the boat, she diew a little apart, and inotead o£ going oa board, stood aade and watched tiso psopUi as tbey ero-nCid&ad hustled pass. Presently the man wao had wascd her from he? sleep went, .oy, and Muriel uttered an exclamation; for in hio hnnd was the mysterious bundle fie had not given it to the guard tben. Could it bo fcaafc he was an accomplice ? He certainly had no nghttoheepit. How glad sho was ibat she r.aa i-ps b*r own counsel, .bad noli beUayed her purpose or her suspicions! A tell began to ring. Was the boat going P What 8?>ou";d she do P ' Going by this boat, Miss ?' said a voice cear *er -B&tter bo quick. She's just off. And almost before she knew h«r own infection, Muriel had crossed the gangway and found herself on board. It was the best tok-g perhaps, after all, she reflected, when the bo*t was under weigh and Hesitation no longar possible, for the man would be aimo3fc suea to follow the package, or, in any c*se, if she could discover cue destination and contents of thu' OBe.it would give her some clue to the movemsntE and designs of tee other. And then, in another minute, Bhe was very glad that she had couw, for a voice -was talking not far-away from her, and it <*aa a voice th*fc sha knew, lull, rich and penetratmg. In the train, in her confused, hait-wakiag state, she had not noticed or recognised it ; now, free from the foreign accent which during the first part of the journey hud acted as a disguise, she remembeied it well; the voice she ha* heard in the 'Batskeller' at Piorzheitn and on the doorstep of Mr. Bonnie's shop. It wus all raise then, the tale which the seeming stranger had told her. Ha had simply altered his appearance while she slept, ana had waked' her just in time to enable hor to support him in his deception it she shoula ever be called upon to say what had bocome of the man who had BtarteU with her from LoHdon. Sae ought iie?er to hive gone to sleep; she ought to have been more careful, more thoroughly on the watch. But she had been so curiously, eo unconquerably Bleepy. A dimeoßpicion crept over her as she recalled tbe taint smell that wa3 associated with the feeling of drowsiness, and remembered the fleeting vision or the man sitting nearly opposite which had met her eyeßiu her last effort after 'wakefulness. It was ccloroforai, perhaps, which had helped her So rest so undisturbedly • na/, it surely, was, for she remembered nm when it was that she h*d smelt the 1 same breath before : wnen -loni Annie had met with an accident many years ago, and the doctor had given her chloroform fe-fore bettiag the broken limb. Aad sow she began to thins c £ other things— that nobodj Lad ask&d to look at her ticket, and that she had no trouble as the result o* travelling firac instead*of second class. The ticket collector muu have come while she was uaccuecious, her companion must have shown hoc tickei. She remsaibesed she ha-i struck it, with the uppei part visible, in the litcie breast-pocket of her jacket, lie had no doubt represented £tr m belonging to him; but for the tat, wuac reason he had given for the fast ol fcer travelling by a slaes othee than air ticket warr&ated, £ae coula tied no (-XPi&ustiqs,

Ste £iva-. iiivsi fcceoiid dhss, eo.v, a;; ai*v iais, aad is w&~ bett&r an—better that tin eaoala nos.eoau ageia usuei- tae aotzeaoKths m&n uioie :bi.a w-.s nectsj earJ \ lic s " !e present, iheieiore. sise j tj-ta do net-blag oio£'-.' Sae was tcee to [ tbkt, and reet began to teem impaeativo $ j asd c-.i, sa&«aag ker v,«y to tut second j dikis taiooa, eh:? found aa empty epace en J ope 02 tea coaches, 4ad s wrappiiag hm j Bfeawi .souther, w&ssoca iaas&aadaaa I and ~-.'::aiae bleep (lobe continued)

I lies lAm tfaid I always over-eatim-le ; iur a>"i!iti*?t : * , « •-: W*!, ;.ev;r mi*i:ij youc fiends ] f:\-V-I a? ' ,u./n-, BiiaMr | 'I .-:<u. Kor.« broke that hideous j Alis Birk&w*y gave m« tor a wedj uig present,' said .J--na!e. Ui. 3 ;.sy Passenger ()n an cceaa steamship) . 'Djoan t tbe vessel tip frightiaihP' UgDified Steward: 'The wesse!, ams, jo trying to eet a good bexample to the j pisseagera.' i Toe o&er day a careless mason dropped | a cries icom the s.coad stoiey or a buildi»g on wbicii ha wad at xork. Lyania*ova* the wall asd locking down, he saw 5 Jtepautaoie oiiiz.-n with his hat jammed over his eyes. Tha maaon, in tones of apptefaeasion, asked: •D d the brick hit any one down there p The citizea, with difficulty extricating himself from the extinguisher inro aitich hu hat h.id been transformed, replied, with considerable warmtii: • Yes, sir, it did ; ifc hit me.' : llaat's right/ exclaimed tha maeon, in toce; of undisguised sdaiiratioa. - Noble man! I would rather have wasted a tfcousaud bricks than have you tell me a lie about it.* Bess: ' George complains that you dian't speak to him—didn't eves recog&iza him the day after he was introduced.' Tiss: 'Wnat nonsense! Of course I recogniz3d him- Thafs why I didn't speak to him.'