SHE FELL IN LOVE

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 300, 17 December 1894, Page 3

SHE FELL IN LOVE

WITH HER HUSBAND.,

BY E. WERNER,

Author' Of ' His Word of Honour, 1 •The Master of Ettersberg,' ani •The Alpine Fay.'

CHAPTER XXV.—(Continued)

The officials hushed their noisy debatings as Berkow and bis wife entered, and the impression produced on all hands by their appearance was due to something more than mere respect for the master. His face which she had eeen but a few seconds before heavily clouded over by care, bore, now that it bad, to meeb all those anxious, inquiring looks, no other expression than that of a calm gravity, and there was an assurance in bis bearing which would have instilled confidence into the faint6Bb heart.

'Well, gentlemen, thing 3 look rather hostile and threatening outeide. We must hold ourselves prepared for a sorb of siege, perhaps even for an attack ; does it not appear so to you V 'They want to have the prisoners seb free,'said the director, with a glance at

Schaffer, inviting hiß support. • Yes,' said the latter, coming forward, 1 and I fear we will not be able to hold our own against all this uproar. The arrest of the three miners is their sole motive or

pretext at present; if that were taken irom them ' 'They would find another,' interrupted Arthur, ' and the weakness we should have betrayed would remove from them the last restraint. We must show neither hesita-

tion nor fear now, or we shall lose the game at the last momenb. I foresaw what would happen when I had those mischievous fellows arrested, but in the face of such a

criminal attempt as thab there was no choice but,to proceed with the utmost severity, The prisoners will remain in custody until the troops arrive.' The director beat a retreat, and Schaffer shrugged his shoulders. They had learned to know thab this bone of his would brook

no contradiction. .. t ■ •I do nob see Hartmann in the crowd,' continued Arthur, turning to the chief er.gineer ; ' he is generally first wherever thena are noise and tumult. To-day he soems

only to have urged the others on, and then to have left them. He 13 nowhere visible.'

' I have missed him for the lastquai-ter of an hour,' answered the other, gravely. ' I hope he is not up to fresh mischief elsewhere. You ordered back the men posted about the engine-houses, H.err. Berkow ?' ' Cerbainly. The few men we can dispose of are even more necessary here in the house, and, since the descent has been eflecbed, the shafts and engines must be perfectly safe. They could not meddle with them without endangering their comrades

down below.' 1 With such a leader, they may even be meaning thab, 1 said the official, reflec-

tively. Arthur's brow grew dark. , •Nonsense! Hartmann isan unruly fellow, a furious madman even, when he is irritated, but be is nob a scoundrel, and thab would be a scoundrelly acb. The engines are secured to us by the facb of the men beiug below. Nob a hand will be raised to injure them while the manager and the rest are in the mine, and so the storm is now turned against the house. I shall go oub and make an attempt to Calm them.' . ; During the laeb few weeks the officials had been accuEbomed bo see their leader acb on similar occasions with resolute boldness and wibhoub regard to his own personal safety, but this time entreaties and remonstrances resounded on all sides; even the chief engineer joined in to dissuade him, and Schaffer, knowing from whafc quarter opposition would alone avail, turned bo Eugenic, stilt standing at her husband's side.

■' Do nob allow-it. your ladyship. Nofc boday, ib is much more dangerous to-day than ib has ever been before. The men are horribly excited, and Hartmann iB staking his asb throw. Keep Herr Berkow back.' Ab this warning, which did bub confirm her own fears, she grew deadly pale, bub she retained her composure: something of Arthur's calm seemed to have been communicated to her, • My%husband has told me he must make the attempt,' she answered, steadily, 'he shall *ob say thab I kopb him back with tears and lamentations from wbab he holds to be his duty. Let him go.' Arthur held her hand clasped in his. He only thanked her by a look. 'Now, gentlemen, bake example by my wife's courage. She has moßt cause to tremble. I repeat ib, the attempt musb be made. Let the hall-door be opened.'

1 We will all go with you,' 9aid the chief engineer. ' Fear not, my lady. I wiil nob stir from his side.'

Arthur put him aside quietly but firmly 41 thank you, bufc you must remain here with the other gentlemen. In such a case one man alone is generally safe against a crowd. If you were all to Appear, they might take it for a challenge. Hold yourselves in readinees to cover my retreat into tbo house, if it comes to the worst. Farewell, Eugenic.' Arthur went, accompanied aa far as the stairs by the chief engineer and several of the officials. No one attempted to stay him now. Eugenic rushed to one of the windows. She did not notice how all present wero anxiously pressing round the others, did not hear the remarks exchanged in an undertone by the director and Schaffer, who wero standing close behind; she only aaw that wild, rebellious crowd, that sea of heads so densely packed together, surging round the house, only heard thoße fierce cries, demanding the surrender of the prisoners. To this.crowd her husband was about to expose himself ulone ; in the very next instant his life might be menaced by it. The iron gates of the park, more elegant than strong, had already yielded to the batters ; they lay broken to pieces on the ground, the beautiful, carefully • kept garden, trodden under foot by hundreds, were nothing now but a desolate chaos of earth, remnants of flowers and plants, and trampled-down bushes. ' Airaady the foremost men among the rebels had all but reached the terrace, and bo were drawing very near the house itself ; 1 already here and there clenched fiet/S could be seen, armed with stones ready to hurl them at the windows. Suddenly there came a deep, breathless silence. The uproar ceased abruptly,,as though by an order from on high ; the agitated groups paused in their reetlesg movement, the great masses fell back, as if they had all- at once encountered an obstacle, and all eyes, all faces, were turned in one direction. The hall door had been opened, and the young master stepped out on to the terrace. . The lull lasted a few seconds, then the momentary surprise gave place to a fresh and more terrible outburst of fury which no longer lacked an aim. Those tierce yells, those faces distorted by passion, those threatening upraised- arms, were all directed against one man ; but that man was their master, the proprietor of the works, and that which the father, with all his industrial genius, his" tenacity of purpose, and arbitrary will, had failed to acquire during twenty years and more, the son had won for himself in a few weeks: the authority of his own personal influence ;., it worked oven now, when all the customary reatiaiata o£ order-were loosed."

He leb the storm take ita course. With ■ his Blight) figure well erect, bia Bteady eye* fixed on bhe multitude before him, every individual of which was superior to himself in strength, he stood facing them alone and unarmed, with no protection save thate which his authority gave him, waiting, as though the breakers of revolution, beating idly against him, must spend themselves ia vain. And they spent themselves. The general clamour gradually subsided into distinct and separate cries, then into a Bullea murmur. At last even this was hushed, and Berkow's voice was raised, unintelligible ab first through the movement Borging round him, interrupted often by the tumult, which at intervals would break out afresh, bhen Bink powerless again, until finally it> died oub altogether. Then the master* voice waa heard, loud, clear, and distinct), reaching the ears even of thoße who wer? i farthest from him.

* Thank God 1' muttered Schaffer, passing his handkerchief across his brow, 'he has got them in hand now; they may be restive and struggle, bub they will obey. Bee, my lady, how they are quieting down, bow they recoil before him. They are actually retreating from the terrace, and letting the stoaesdrop from bUeir bands. If Providanca will only keep Rarbmann out of the way, the danger is over.' He little knew with what intensity Eugenic re-echoed bhe wish in. her owe mind. Up to this time ehe had Bought in vain for that one dreaded figure; bo long as it waß nob risible her. courage did nob fail her, so long she believed Arthur might! yeb be safe ; but now security and hope were over. Whether bhe sudden lull in the uproar ha had busied himself to raise had summoned the missing maa to the spot, or wiiether a suspicion of what was taking place diew him thither at thab critical moment, Ulric Hartmann, risen, a3 it were, from the ground, appeared suddenly at the park entrance behind them. One look ! sufficed to show him how matters stood.

To he Continued.)