ThE Woman on the Derelict...

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 35, 10 February 1904, Page 3 (Supplement)

ThE Woman on the Derelict...

rilY BOOTHBY (Author of "Dr. Nikola," "My Indian Queen" B9 W Etc, Etc.J.

BEING THE STRANGE LOVE STORY OF JOHN BRAMWELL.

" [Au. Rights Reserved.]

CHAPTER IX. I ..aMt>« Armitage "good-bye" at the j bl Ki-hotcl%nd having thank- ; »'f aeain for the generous offer of ,J S, if returned to my own ca ra van-. tl:ft Vlin I Ihere. I went j i?r3 ''t Mo mv room and locked myself < npS? on the table the packet '" f Lit with mc I™' ll ' hr * hl P< T ■ TJ °p ened il - The , fU ! P ,I wrapped up in several pieces k! " -nnane, which 1 sealed and wrota « ,,ro ; n e P lV. After which 1 wrapped . and took hot), downstairs . "?!'*p The packet containing the , ' :,b /took to tbe manager's ofhee , Kthi request that he he would p ace "*Ki Then taking up lhe other, | i:l ° VpH into the Strand, hailed a cab, X c to a shop 1 had seen that » 5,1 .° on the windows of which it. was ( a .lark room was provided * 'Item's on payment oi a moderate. ( '" r"aid tbe amount in question, and ducted to the room Then with , T,TeUn»s you may imagine I broke;. t- turned the key. which had . '* '•„ Le'ried to the handle, and opened , ;:e ",j". With the utmost care I com- . ' : '\ .d my grizzly task, doing one plate , falfand witching th- gradual de- t with anxious ?>?>■ *« ™V 1 torror the first was a complete failure, i 1„ m v nervousness 1 must have under a rno-'ed it- The second was somewhat 1 tetter but by no means as good as 1 1 ,„uld wish. The next was an improve- l Bent, and to my joy the remaining three I , r .r. all that I could desire. Not heing _ ,He, of course, to leave them io dry cpon the premises. 1 was compelled to I rH irt to artificial means, which neeessi- * Uted a long wait in that stuffy hoie which was but little bigger than a cup- < loard. At last, however, after an im- 1 prisonment that had lasted upwards of ■ tiro hours, being satisfied that they were ] j; a condition to be taken away. I placed them in the box I had bought in the inopfor that purpose, closed the camera, . md released myself from what had been ] in every sense of the word a durance vile. On my way through the shop I purchased tie requisites for toning and printing, which I ordered to be sent to my hotel • without fail that afternoon. The camiti I took with mc to my room, but . the plates, which were carefully wrapped ' up, sealed, and plainly marked with my lame, went into the safe with the knives. ' This done I determined to try and forfft the matter until the morrow. 1 had s.d enough of it for one day. . Next morning proved to be fine, and immediately after breakfast I once more bothered the patient clerk to open the m'e, and, having obtained both packets, hade up my mind to retire to my room • and to satisfy myself as to the result ci my labours. The first three negatives • 1 had utterly destroyed by washing the film off the glass. Of each of the others ' i printed a dozen copies. The toninsj and washing I postponed until I should retire to rest that night. ' On descending "to the ball I found a letter addressed to mc. in the .mall, tremulous writing of fhe old st'aool. As I had not. an- , other female correspondent in Eng- ' land I gathered that it was from _\lrs '. Jackson, and this proved to be the case. : Sin v.r»te to thank mc for the money I ad ant her, and to inform mc that: • ax -barge seemed to have quite settled down. Much to the old lady's delight fiie seemed to have taken a fancy to herRlf and her daughter and to derive pleafare from their society. "I am endeavouring 'to persuade her " « wnt on, "to employ her time with Rework, hoping that this may disj J* her thoughts, but I regret to say ™j° ,ar J have been unsuccessful. It «ld seem as if she is incapable of any *ined effort, though her bodily ™»th seems all that could be desired. *aas spoken of you on several occa|!*hy name, which induces mc to bethat her memory is capable of-re-impressions of recent date, but of S C ° nne , Cted With tlle tVagedy J* so nearly cost her her life. PerL n'J. !°!! ld be thapkful fol ' this." * id lady concluded by saving that *;S l°° n t 0 see lvt '- All things , ld ™d, he report was as satisfae- * >le n d , c expected in so s ,*', pleasure I derived from : MtatJl "j She had remembered my * »d had spoken of mc was exqui- ... f suppose that men will do such *»hen they are in love, but J know read that portion of the letter « t LT agai "- Bef °« j ]»>t it /Male a mental resolution that I ilT Udejllontlie following 4™° 'There was nothing to pre°»il P ? ke , dm} ' SeliM Mm back, l«wsen' hatl a treat, |i lid S0 . ltled t0 take onfl - I * mJS_ ° ! and that wys i ,iaL>e i |MeSb eS T\ nd „ tlle balan^c of lllcl 9 l: i,, had taken in a P •I'Wo r etl,ey CoU ldremaii for '' *4 in I P °* lblllt y that the hotel 1 *t?iS° g ° Ut a P» ck might Cd ft a " d gh " e mhle ' L de - I ""ethpm , c tllem t0 n 'v bank and I bi Ye T, P laced security there. The %eS '"' mc us ' 'o % !. 6m more c) °selv. IWS bank ' whi,h was in 1 for T ' "° ve to Arrai tage'.s l tte .ieture, T*i anxiol,s to show him 1•• Prio t d have a talk with I m T i„ ' g ° Ulg down tl> Hampton 1»d vr a _ "? m ' ed for him in the ' ,i!:i »"-™nn, f med that h " i! 1 ilis n ' the I,a " i >o, ' lei ' i«aa r;ifheS r e! he Grand * tai — : |h_li alUman show you up. sir," IC hi '" that he need not ISw thi, c ? ldfind m -" v »y t" 1«« r"°the 1 iff me ' 1 awordingly got ■1 floor A 3 "" W3S calTied ll l J to the 1 Hi s w' Armita Se's. 'J , ' lt fc-s°r?, and sitti "g-room were It 31 over Z v con ' ido1 '' «nd looked 1S pile Zt , mbankm tnt. On the 1, rjr ' an d,-e a rin knock ed upon the • lr Uitaw +TV n p some ejaculation from iS'iS k , I .V in," sol - JOU curS i I , dso - llleavd himsav, ° 01 ' befol ' c you've | It Was p mn cv erythin<r." 'S"gS to , See that lle was in a I VJ4 % hanf 3bout something. His Kit* faCG Wils l,l «° k w ith K Sw «eS n can dart sparks lw gamiy doing so at that mobefore him was as § I Jew as ever disgraced c ' ac was metaphorically

washing his hands and staring up at his tall companion, as if he expected every ( moment to receive a blow. Never have 1 witnessed anything more despicable. "My dear fellow, I did not know you were, engaged,'' I began. "I'll come back . in a quarter of an hour. I am sorry I interrupted you." ( "No, no, don't go," he said heartily, his whole manner changing, as if by magic. "1 have finished my business, , and was only administering what schoolboys call 'a jolly good wigging.'" Then j turning to the dew he said angrily, but , by no means so fiercely as he had pre- j viously spoken. "Be off about your , business, and don't you ever try to I play any tricks like that with mc again, or you will find that it will be the worse , for you." j The miserable little wretch slunk out ( of the room like a whipped cur, leaving , Armitage and I alone together. He held ( out his hand to mc. j 'T am awfully sorry that you should ] have seen mc in such a rage," he began. , "Peat that man would exasperate a , saint. 1 put him on to buy some things , lo be sent out to one of my stations, ] and now L- find that he has not only ( been swindling mc, but also swindling the man from whom he was to purchase f them. 1 happened to hear of it in a f roundabout way. and I don't think he ( ..ill forget in a hurry the talking to he ] has earned for himself by bis dupbeity. ] But don't let us talk about that. Tell ; tne about yourself. You have made no ( progress. 1 suppose, since I left you . yesterday?" j ' I have developed the negatives, and f I suppose that may be counted as some t sort of progress. It was a tiring work, t hit! the result is eminently .atisfac- s lory." I took one of the copies from my N pocket-book and handed it to him. He j studied it carefully for upwards of a , minute. , "Well," lie said al last, '1 can only t say that it is about the nastiest picture 1 ever saw in my life. But I am afraid t it is not £°m£ to afford any sort of clue. P With such an expression of agony upon ,f the face the likeness will most certainly % be unro»fignisable. What do you think x yourself." f 'T am not quite so sure of it myself," c I answered. "I think I can form, nay- ] ing seen the man, and having his por- \ trait to refresh my memory, a very \ good idea of what the fellow was like." f "That's fortunate." Armitage eontin- < tied. "If only we could get hold of some ] clue as to the identity of the vessel; . but you say that every trace had been , removed?" ( "Every one- 7 ' I replied. "Jackson, the 7 chief mate, and I. spent a large part of i our time searching her, but could find , nothing." "Which only confirms my theory that it was not a case of mutiny. \f ever . you do find him you will discover that I air right." i "I have told you repeatedly." I said, almost angrily, "that I have made up my mind to bring the villains to justice, if it is possible for a human being to do it." "1 admire your determination." he answered, "and, as I have already saidon my side, I will render you any assist- , anee in my power. It will be hard if . between us we cannot hit upon some < plan of running the dogs to earth. ; Where is the vessel now?" "At Plymouth, I suppof» : " was my reply. "But 1 will find out this afternoon." He lit a cigarette, and then asked mc how 1 proposed to find out, seeing that I did not know her name, and I had quarrelled with the Hullket Firm. I then told him of my intended visit to Hampton Court that afternoon. It was almost certain that Mrs. Jackson would have heard from her son, who would tell her of his movements. ".And you will see the charming young lady, wliose rescuer you were." he said, looking at mc out of half-closed eyes, and blowing a cloud of smoke, through his nose. "That is one of my reasons for going," I remarked. "I am anxious to see what this little rest has done for her." "I hope at some future time you will permit mc the honour of making her acquaintance." "Doubtless you will see. her before very long. 1 have several things to do. and I want to catch the half-past two train down." I did catch the train, and an hour later was standing before the lire in the pretty little drawing-room of Acacia Villa, I awaiting the coming of my hostess. Presently site entered the room, leaning upon her stick. J>he greeted mc warmly, and begged mc to draw a chair up to the tire, as the afternoon was cold. "Alexandra will be here in a few moments." she said. "Short though the time has been. 1 think you will sec a little change in her." She had hardly said this before the door opened, and the girl herself entered the room. I could scarcely suppress an exclamation of surprise as 1 looked at her. You must remember that, so far, I had not seen her well-dressed. Now, she was attired in a costume of some dark grey material, which showed off her shapely figure to perfection. Nothing could have suited her better. She knew mc at once, and gave mc her little hand with charming grace. Though she j was still far from being herself, it seemed to mc that there really was an improvement. There was still the melancholy absorbed look in her eye 1 ?, but it was not so marked as it had been when Aye left the ship. She became more animated when 1 inquired how she liked Hampton Court. She had seen all there was to be seen, and declared that she would never fire of vifdting the Palace. 1 told her that I must get her ! to show mc over it, whereupon kindly ! Mrs. Jackson suggested that we should ' go that afternoon. "You will have plenty of time to walk through the galleries before it grows dark. Bun away and put on your I things, mv dear." ; | She did'as she was bid. and in about ' j five minutes returned dressed for walk;- --; ing. While she had been absent I had ' learned from Mrs Jackson that ber son • ' was still in charge of the ship at Ply- ; j mouth, and that he did not know when : he should be able to leave her. "Now be off with you," she said, \ I "and don't let mc see either of you un--5 j til half-past four, when we will take •! tea -" ' j You may guess for yourself how much ; j I enjoyed the walk and the stroll ! j through those quaint old rooms. I ' was surprised to find how much my ' companion knew about the pictures. We

were passing through one of the stately rooms which overlooks the gardens and the Long Water, when she led mc to one of the pictures and stood gazing at it as if she could not take her eyes off if. Personally, not being a connoisseur of such matters. I could not see much in it, but it seemed to exercise a strange fascination over her"Oh, what could Canti say, could he see it?" I heard her murmur. Scarcely thinking what I was saying, and speaking in a casual tone, I inquired who Canti might be. "He was my master in Florence, Bartholomeo Canti." She spoke without looking round, and then resumed her contemplation of the picture. Then the magnitude of the discovery I had made burst in upon mc, and I felt as if I could have shouted for joy. Quite by chance I had stumbled on one little clue. If Canti were in the land of the living I would find him out, and see what he could tell mc about her. T tried to question her further about him. but her memory had gone again, and my efforts were of no avail. Having exhausted the. galleries, inspected the courtyard, and strolled through the Gardens, w-c found it was time to return to Acacia Villa. We were passing through the Fountain Courtyard, which was now almost dark in the Cloisters, when a curious thing happened. Standing in one of the doorways was a man, and I was prepared to swear that he. was no other than the miserable little individual whom I had heard Armitage rating so thoroughly that morning-

The glimpse I caught of him -was uch a momentary one that T had passd tbe door before I properly realised he fact. Then 1 stepped back, and >oked in. There was n.o one there, o-wever. T took the liberty of stepping isirle and looking abo.it mc. but all I ould see was an old chest, and some ncient stairs, which turned abruptly o the right after a few steps. The oor was of stone, and the stairs were nearpeted: one would therefore have bought that it would have been imposible for the fellow to have got away ithout making a noise, particularly as had not walked more than a yard. I ejoined my companion, feeling more lystified than I can say. T was as eer.in that T had seen him as T could ell be of anything, yet the facts of ie case seemed to be against mc. I in afraid our conversation flagged on ie homeward journey. My companion as uot talkative at the best, of times, I bile T bad enough on my mind to af_rd mc food for reflection. Was it nly chance that had brought the fel>w down to Hampton Court, had be usiness with the residents of that porion of the palace. or lastly, was be allowing mc? The last though* rather isquieted mc. For fhe time being, owever, T dismissed it from my mind nd devoted myself to the task of musing the ladies. As before, T was asily persuaded to remain to dinner. Vhen Mrs Jackson and T we. i alone ogether I inquired whether she had lade any progress in inducing Miss Alexandra to take up some hobby. '•If you mean by that needlework. I m sorry to say I have not," was her eply. "But she has a bobby in which he is singularly proficient. Really, Mr Jramweil, she paints most beautifully. am sure she would make a name for icrself in the world of Art.'' ..«, '•Has she ever told you where "she tudied?" E asked. "Xo. she always declares that she eanlot remember. But T have an idea it nusf have been abroad. She is now enaged copying a picture in the Palace iallery. and you must make her show t to you."' "I will certainly ask ber lo do so," I ejoined, and when she came downstairs made my request to her. Obedient as usual, she left the room. 0 return in a few moments with a •anvas in her band. Though the picture vas in a quite unfinished state. 1 re•ognised it as a copy of that before vhich she had stood so long that afternoon. Little though I know of such .hings, I could tell that her talent was .f no mean order. I handed it ba*k, md thanked her for showing it to mc. Dili' dinner that evening was a more .heerful one than on the previous occasion. Miss Janet was in excellent spirits, ivhile I did my best to second her efforts. Now and again tbe old lady told mecdotes of her youth; Miss Alexandra, however, though she appeared to be listening, scarcely uttered a word, save when spoken to. When we returned 1o the drawing-room _Miss Janet played and sang to us and at half-past nine I rose to say "good-night." "I hope we shall see you again very soon," said my hostess. "You know that you will always be welcome." "f am afraid not for a week or two," 1 answered, and then added, watching Miss Alexandra's face as I spoke, "I a.m thinking- of leaving to-morrow for Florence." My remark seemed to have no effect upon her. Her expression was as impassive as if she had never heard the name. '•Surely this is rather a sudden resolution, is it not, Mr BramweH?" asked Mrs Jackson. "I am rather prone to act on impulse," I remarked. "Florence is a city I have always longed to visit, and as I have some rather important_busines., to transact there, and may have a lot to do later on, I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity and go now." They wished mc a pleasant journey and, having promised to let them know my address when I reached my destination. I bade them "good-night" and made my way into the hall. Miss Janet followed mc, and while I was putting on my great coat opened the door for mc. As I was about to pass out she took an envelope from her pocket and held it out to mc. "This is a little present for you, Mr Bramwell," she said. "I hope you will like it, but don't look at it until you get into the train." I thanked her and promised lhat I would not. It was a wild, wet night, and for this reason, 1 lost no time in reaching the railway station. Having selected a smoking carriage I lit a cigar, and then taking the envelope from my pocket opened it with some curiosity. It was a photograph of Miss AJexandra —and an excellent likeness. She could not have given mc anything that 1 could value more. Wondering whether I could obtain a paper, I leant out of the window in search of a newsboy. At the same moment a man. who from his appearance should have been soaked to the skin, passed the carriage. He looked up and saw mc, gave a start of astonishment, and passed quickly on to a compartment further up the train. I had not been mistaken after all. It was the man I had seen in Armitage's room that morning! I (To be continued on Saturday next),