The Law of the Land

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 8, 9 January 1908, Page 6

The Law of the Land

CHAPTER XXIX. i Of the four assembled Ralph was the only one not thoroughly conversant with the situation. That the cloud that so | nearly threatened to overwhelm him had ' been dispersed, so much he understood." That he had been the victim of Kate's scheming and the villainy of- Barca, as well as of Holt, he, in a measure, comprehended, but how Dick was to make all things clear he patently did not know. It was Kate who first spoke, and her words were an acknowledgment of the fact that Ralph accepted so gladly and yet failed to grasp in all its bearings. "\ ou are too clever for mc," the woman said, addressing Dick. "And our young friend Ralph is clever in a way, but it does not appeal to mc. Positively he does not understand." It was even as the woman said. Ralph stood there not even dimly comprehending the good news that Dick was telling him. There was something so subtle here as to baffle his dreamy nature. With renewed impatience, Dick bundled his friend out of the room. "1 don't want you here," he said bluntly. "You are in the way. And the lady who is waiting for you in the draw-ing-room is part of the problem. You must see her. Please go at once." Ralph crossed the hall to the drawingroom. Enid was still there, standing by the window in an undecided kind of way. She was wondering if her presence was needed any further. >Ske was rather hurt by the manner in which her brother had left her. It had been mean to hide behind that screen and listen: it was not the sort of thing that Enid was accustomed to. But she could see why Dick had hit upon that scheme. He was dealing with a woman utterly devoid of scruple, and it became necessary to meet her with her own weapons. The hot' blood faded from Enid's face; the shamed feeling cooled away. Somethinglike a wave of indignation swept over her. How utterly that woman had deceived her! How innocent and injured she had looked! When Enid came to think it over, she could not blame herself for taking the part of Kate Lingen against j Ralph. The beautiful adventuress had' acted superbly, she would have taken' anybody in. It was wonderful how j j naturally she had called the tears to her j ■ aid. And Enid had had every reason to regard Ralph as a selfish monster who had deliberately played with the hearts of two poor innocent girls! The flush of indignation deepened on Enid's face. She recalled now all the cruel things ! she had said to Ralph. And how well Ihe had borne them! He need not protest his honour now that Mr 3 Lingen had made so infamous a confession. And she had been shameless and utterly heartless into the bargain. She j had* allowed Dick to speak to her in a way that no good woman would permit. She had laughed in reply and admitted everything. She was even pleased at j I the way in which she had played with '■ the feelings of the listenei behhnl the '• screen; she said that she had cared nothing for Ralph, but merely regarded him as a tool to get money out, of. And she was not honest either; she had come within measureable distance of a prison. And there were other things that puzzled Enid. There had been allusions to crime, to some tragedy in which Ralph was mixed up. Enid's curiosity began to burn and flame. And behind it all was the one desire to see Ralph and let him know how sorry she was. She stood there hoping he might come to her. Perhaps he would come when once the house was clear of that dreadful woman. Then Enid turned to see Ralph by her side. She gave a little cry; her hands fluttered out to him. But Ralph did not move for the moment. He was surprised to see Enid there, only beginning to comprehend what Dick had meant. He stood there so long that Enid began to misunderstand his feelings. Her \ lips drooped, her eyes filled with tears. "I —I did not expect to find you here," Ralph stammered. "Dick told mc that a lad}' was oin the drawing-room waiting to —to —but I never expected a surprise like this. Of course, I had hoped before long to have an opportunity to right matters between us, and I was looking forward to the chance with mingled dread and joy. And surely, Enid, you would not have come here to-day unless you had prepared to regard mc " Something rose in Ralph's throat and choked further utterance. The exquisite pleasure of being in Enid's company again was almost too much for him. He felt all his manhood burning in his veins now, but at the same time he had over-rated his strength. He was still suffering from his troubles. Yet it was good to see Enid standing there with a flush upon her face and all the cold, proud scorn gone from her eyes. There was a tender little smile upon her lips, a sort of shrinking shyness that suited her well. She must have come with some good reason, with some idea of tying the silken threads up again and resuming the old happy relations. "You are looking dreadful," she murmured. "It seems almost impossible you could have changed like this in so short j a time. And as for myself " "I want to hear you talk about yourJ self," Ralph said. 'T want you to forget : : all about mc." You arc changed, too— : a change for the better. I am glad to see you standing there with something like a smile upon your face. It is a iign that perhaps in the course of time j —but maybe lam presuming. I cannot ! altogether forget the words you said | when we parted last. And at that time I did not think " "How .should you, Ralph? And you 1 are angry with mc. You do not like to say the words that are on the tip of your tongue. If you only knew " "Shall I ever know?" Ralph cried. "Shall I ever get to the bottom of the mystery? Enid, what did 3-ou come for? Did Dick tell you my secret?" "JDfck told mc nothing; Ssdeed, I have had no opportunity of speaking to him. He sent mc an urgent message asking mc to be here this afternoon. Then he made mc hide behind the screen there, like a character in a play. He made mc listen to a conversation between Mrs. Lingen and himself. Oh, Ralph, if you only knew how ashamed I am of myself, how miserable I feel because I preferred that woman's story to yours, why " Enid paused; she was afraid to trust her voice further. Ralph could see the pitiable quiver on her lips, could read the rJeading appeal in her blue eyes. " no need," "he said. * Ajpear-

[ALU RIGHTS RESERVED.]

By FRED. M. "WHITE

ances were against mc. Upon my word, when I saw Kate Lingen in this very room, with that piteous look on her face. I felt myself to be one of the basest of men. Anybody would have" believed her rather than mc. And there was no getting away from the fact that I to a certain extent deceived you. But I told you the truth, Enid, when I said that I had never loved anybody before. Kate Lingen was an episode; if you ever saw those letters you would say they smelt too much cf the egotist and the poet. Still, those letters existed, and I said nothing. If Mrs. Lingen would tell the truth " "My dear Ralph, she lias," Enid cried. " Dick dragged it out of her in my hearing just now. You are not listening to what I am saying. She was brutally frank, almost vulgarly so. She came here to rob you if she could; she had need of a large sum of money to keep herself out of gaol. She was pleased to find that she had deceived mc. It seemed almost impossible to believe that a woman could be so beautiful and yet so vile! Ralph, if you still have any of the old feeling left for mc " " Feeling left ? " Ralph said hoarsely. '"' As if my feelings could change. If you could forgive me——" " But, dearest, there is nothing to forgive. I was that woman's victim, as were you also. And now I can see with eyes clearer than they have ever been before. I asked too much of you; mv view of men had been too romantic. What did it matter about the past so long as you cared for mc now and for the future. Oh, Ralph! can't you see that 1 am trying to—to " Ralph saw at last. He came a step forward, and Enid fluttered into his arms. There was no need for words on either side when heart was speaking to heart and the mists were rolling away into the distance. For a long time they were content to stand there, Raiph wondering how it had all changed like this. The black night of his despair had vanished, the sun of happiness was shining as it had never shone before. " You will not think that I have been very foolish," Enid whispered at length. " You have not been foolish at all," Ralph said. "Itis my folly that calls for the greater punishment. When I asked you to marry mc, darling, I knew that you loved mc. And if 1 had told you everthing then I should have been forgiven. Oh, I know what you are going to say; you are going to remind mc of your silly remark about the family jealousy, as if that would make any difference! But I concealed part of the truth from you, and I have been punished for it. I had forgotten those letters for the moment. I had the promise of the one woman on earth for mc; I was the happiest man alive. Then late that night I Stephen Holt came to mc. He had been ! dining at your house; he was on his way to London. He came to ask mc to give ! you up; he said that you were the only one who could keep liim in the straight I path. He said that at one tims " ! "Yes, yes," Enid whispered. She hid her face on Ralph's breast for a moment. "It is true. I did fancy that perhaps he and I—but th.t was befoie 3 r ou came. Go on, Ralph." "Naturally I refused to hear him. He had discovered everything from the expression of your face when my name was mentioned at the dinner table. He wanted mc to give you up. And then he spoke of those accursed letters of mine to his sister. I gathered that he had stolen those letters; he swore that he would give them to you if I did not withdraw my suit, Enid. It seemed as if happiness was slipping away from my grasp. The man maddened mc. I was not responsible for my actions. I took a knife from the table and I killed him." "My dear Ralph! Stephen Holt is in your dining-room at the present moment." "Enid, to all moral purposes I was that man's murderer. He lay as dead at my feet. I raised no alarm; I went to bed and left him there. Nobody knew that he had entered the house, nobody knew that he had come to see mc. The .thing should pass as a mystery or an accident. I will not dwell on my feelings. But when next day came, Stephen Holt's body bad vanished, and with it all trace of the crime. At first I did not understand, but when later Barca explained what had taken place in a kind of parable, I saw clearly what was before mc. That man was going to blackmail mc for the' rest of my life. Enid, if you only knew the hell that has been raging in my mind for the last' two days! But it is impossible to describe it "I told Dick. I told him on the very day that Mrs. Lingen came down here. That was before Barca let mc know what had really happened. I had to tell somebody or I should have gone mad. It was all like an evil dream to mc, but from the very first Dick began to see his way to the solution of the mystery. He told mc that everything would come right, but I could not believe him. And yet he was correct in every word. Don't ask mc how the thing has been done, for I am as ignorant as you are. Dick shall explain after the people have gone. But I wanted to tell you the worst, Enid. And if, after 11:3' confession, you cannot see your way to go on with " Enid laid her fingers on Ralph's lips; then she rested her cheek against his. "I could not let you go," she whispered. "I love you, Ralph. And I know now that it would be all the same if you were the vilest man on earth. And now you know." (To be continued daily.)