THE DEAD MAN'S HAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 288, 5 December 1910, Page 10

THE DEAD MAN'S HAND.

BY RITA RICHMOND.

Author of "Handsome Ned's Daughter."-Which is Heiress?" "Knight or Knave," "The Honour of the Desboroughs," etc.

grew red, and a foolish expression stole into it. ' ■'I—l—why. \-es! I fancied I had—er —accepted the" position of guard-ran to Miss MacDoiiiild," he stammered confusedly, and then his eyes dropped to tire photograph which he. still held in his hand. Truly. -Pir Ivan knew what lie had been italking about when, in writing to , DrysdaTe. and Maepherson', he had said: J "If,, it. 1 happen 'that my nephey' should feel the responsibility •which I seek to lay upon him irksome, let hiim see the ■ photograph of my dear little Ma-isle, I which 1 now forward to you. I think '.that, after seeing it lie will not be disi inclined to assume tho posihion I speak of." Shrewd Sir Ivan! he knew well j what he was about. "Since that is so," said Mr. Drysdale, with admiral self-control, preventing the 'twinkle becoming an irrepressible' smile, '"we can now discuss what it behoves you as guardian ti> Miss Mac-Donald first to do." ( "I start for London as soon as possible" to look for Miss Mac Donald," said Ronald, promptly and firmly. Both the lawyers looked at him surprisedly over their glasses. "But Castle Dhuart—you have duties there," they protested. "My first duty is to my ward," said Bon-aid, looking back at them straig-htly. "Castle Dhuart is getting on without mc at present; it can do so for a little longer." ;, "Tjken you rea-lly intend " "To search London, with tlfe assistance of the police if necessary, and to -find my ward, Miss Mac Donald," replied Ronald, in a calm, matter-of-fact tone. CHAPTER VII. MAISIE'S ROMANCE DISPELLED. .. "Miss Harcourt has gone to Boulogne?" stammered MaJsie, with pale lips, after that dismayed pause. "When?—is she long gone?" . "Come into the sfttin' room and I'll tell you all about it, M-iss," said the ■landlady, shuttling the door and leading the way to Miss Harcourt's rooms. With a dazed, desolate feeling, Maisie followed her into a"shabby little parlour. There, was no fixe, in the grate; when the Woman lit the. gas the room was revealed poor' nnd plain. Mais-re got a shock-. Was this where Sybil lived her life? How could -she erist in such a hole? Her mind shuddered away from contemplation of the question. The woman followed Maisie's glance round the room. "It's a cosy little parlour, Miss,"- siie said with a futint pride. "Miss Har-court has lived here for six years, and has always ben pleased with I her lodgings.' When she goes a-way for a time she always keeps them on; 'but sit down, Miss, you do look poorly." i - "I have had -a long journey," said Maisie, 'bakiing the chair pushed forward by .the womun.t . "You do look tired, Miss," said the little woman, compassionately. "And about Miss Harcourt, it's such a pity. This is 'ow it was, Miss, though, y6u see. Miss Ha-rcourt was ordered off at a minit'fl notice, so to speak, by the paper she works for. She lias to get some 'copy' ass he calls it on the spot, and that spot was Boulogne, Miss. She came in here one day about a fortnight gone, in a tearing hurry, and says to mc, 'Mrs. Wingate,' says she—Maisie started and opened her eyes. Was this untidy little woman actually Sybil's landlady?—'get all my collars and handkerchiefs together ready for to-morrow. I'm off to Boolong.' Then she packs up toer things in her bag, and hoff she goes next day , When she'll be back, I can't say." It was with difficulty Maisie choked back an hysterical sob. All at once she felt limp. To find the props she had leaned upon withdrawn, to find herself, instead of in the company of a cheerful, encouraging friend, alone in London, without a person to whom she felt she could apply. After her long, weary journey, too, and with very little to eat all day, for she had been too anxious, too excited, to eat—this cheek, this blow, came upon her. almost terrifying. "Did she speak of having received a letter from—from Scotland, by chance?" I she asked, choking back the sob that rose in her throat with difficulty. "A letter came for her after she left, Miss, and I sent it after her, as I had orders to do." Sybil's silence was explained, but j 1 Maisie heard the words with a sinking • heart. "Oh! I \vish I had known!" broke [ from her lips, almost despairingly. Would I i she, perhaps, never have run away at all I had she known that Sybil Harcourt was I not here to receive her with open arms, ' and all the assistance of her bright and | clever brain ? | "It do seem a pity," said Mrs. Wingate, j compassionately. "Were you —were you ! expecting to stay in London for some I time. Miss, might I ask " "Yes but —but I« had intended to stay with Miss Harcourt for a little. T—l am a great friend of hers—a school friend— I and 1 had hoped " I Suddenly her voice broke, she was so : tired, so disappointed, and the outlook seemed so terrifying without Sybil, that her courage seemed to crumble away into nothing. "Dear! dear! don't you be put about so, Miss!" said the kindly landlady. "If you meant to stay with her, why, there's no reason why you shouldn't put up here j just the same. I wouldn't dare let her '. rooni; but since you're a friend, and since j it's too late for a young lady such as you 'to go hunting for lodgings elsewhere, you're welcome to stay th<> night in her rooms. Sin- pays for them anyway, empty or full; so. just you make yourself comfortable here. Miss, and I'll get you a fire on, and a cup of tea in a twinkling." The suggestion came with a sudden rei lief to Maisie. To rest here, where Sybil had been, was at least better than to go . elsewhere. Lifting her tired eyes to Mrs. Wingate's face, which already, in spite !of the smudges adorning it, began to seem to the forlorn girl the face of a friend, Maisie said gratefully, "Oh, if I might stay—l do not know where else to go to»night—-and if you will give mc Miss Harcourt's address 1 will write to her and let her know I am here." "Right you are, Miss," said the little woman cheerfully; "and now, if you'll just step into that little room there —rit's Miss Harcourt's bedroom—you can get off your hat and veil;-and get' the dust washed off while I?m getting you your tea." '.'•■ "Then sh,C, Rustled' away, and Maisie,. following ''tter directions, went iirto_the" littie bedroom beyond the sitting-room. As she bathed her face she found herself bathing away some tears of weakness and loneliness as well as the. dust of her travel; but the slight;wash refreshed her; even the weight of her hat lifted from her brows relieved her -weariness,- and her brain grew a little • less dazed: By and bye, when she had frad some tea, she would be able to think better of what she must do first. _(.To be continued daily.)

CHAPTER VI. Tnn face in Tin: photogiupii. "Mi-* Mnt-Donaid lias run away from homo!" echoed both Ronald and Mr MacI'liirs'm again, after an astounded silence. "V-cs," replied Dry-dale briefly, stooping to pick up the telegram, which, under the shock oi its contents, he had dropped to the floor. "Run away; left; disappeared, either late last night or, early, this morning—letter with details to follow;" j he udded in a stupißed-manner. .. -'.'5"What can have happened?'''."What conld be the reason of her taking such I a step?" exclaimed Ronald, looking from j one to the other in amazement. Was i there something being hidden from him? iV hy should the girl disappear just on his I return to Scotland to claim his inherit- j ance? Was she a half-wilted young woman, or a very headstrong one, in the > habit of playing such tricks'as this often? i Such a ward would be a nice handful fo,r her guardian to look after. "Jt is inconceivable," said Mr Drysdale. "Had she no objections to this—this arrangement of Sir Ivan's?" said Ronald ogam, watching the lawyer's face keenly as he asked the question. "None that we know of," replied both Drysdale and MacPherson promptly, and with such evident sincerity that Ronald's doubts fled. '.'That there must be something at the bottom of it is certain," said the young man after a pause, "and 1 shall make it my binunen as quickly as possible to discover what ,t is. We must at oncer set *Q jvork to find Miss MacDonalcV of course, he added coolly, as though the task were an easy one - - fromfv < ' i H 110 , t 11 st " ir !l ste P «" hear from Castle Dhuart; we must know the steamer she left Loch Goilside by- the tram she took " ." J ' -The speaker stopped short, struck by a strange expression which had suddenly flashed over Ronalds face. - echoed, slowly, looking from one to tne I other of the faces regarding him ' "The —train Look here!" he suddenly broke oil. -." 'tan you describe Miss Mac Donald - can you tell mc what her height is- what is the colour of her hair; what her.-eyes are like?" , ■■■ Jr^ ""Certainly," replied Mr. MacPherson promptly, though with rather an astonished air. "She is—she is, not very tall,; neither is she very small; her hair is very fair; her eyes '■ But here the old lawyer came to a full stop—he was rather past that time of life when men examine young ladies - eyes very carefully. "WTita should you say the colour of Miss Maisie's eyes" was?""he asked of his partner. Drysdale smiled grimly, and shook. his head, "The question is one I might have answered had I been your age," he said. ■ looking at Ronald. "As it is!—however. .' I may tell you, Sir Ivan sent us a photograph of Miss Mac Donald upon her last birthday for the purpose of showing to you with the hope that it might so favourably impress you that yxiii would not make objections to the position of guardian to Miss Mac Donald. As for her character, he depended upon us for giving you a favourable impression. As he spoke he was walking towards a,-de.sk, opening a drawer, and lifting out g':rr<*thir.g. This something he handed to Ronald. It was a cabinet photograph. Ronald took it, glanced at it eagerly for but an instant, then an amazed exclamation leapt from his lips. The photo almost slipped from lus fingers. "It's the very girl!" he said quickly,, astoundedly, looking from the photograph to the faces of the lawyers. "The very girl!" He looked eagerly, curiously, again at the ' photograph ; it was a coloured one, reproducing daintily tints of check and lip, the yellow sheen of the hair, the dre,p, dark blue of the eyes. The portrait of as charming a girl as a young man could desire to look upon, and Ronald had seen the original, and it was in no way inferior to the copy. He remembered with extraordinary distinctness the way those dark, thick lashed eyes had looked into his only that | morning; he remembered so clearly the way those curving pink lips had parted, the top lip spring up with the curl of a rose leaf and revealing the small, nutlike teeth as she smiled her thanks to him. Oh, yes! this young lady was not' ejisily forgotten, and to think that this —this girl was his ward! This was the [ gfrl ne was to forbid this and that to; to l whoso marriage he was to give bis con-1 sent/or his refusal! He did not see him- j Belf at all in the position, and to think | that..this was the very girl he had actu- | ally assisted to run away this morning! j Why had he no intuition—why had he j not known to catch hold of her and ' march her off with himself, to act his part of guardian at one? ? An irrepressible smile broke on the young man's lips at the thought, and somehow, just in this one momentary glance at Maisie | Mac Donald's photograph all idea of re- | pudiating the responsibilities of Sir Ivan's • injunction fell away from Ronald. Sir Ivan had counted cunningly on the impression Miss Mac Donald's photograph would make —he had not counted in vain. .. "What do you mean by the very girl?" demanded the two old lawyers quickly, eyeing Ronald with astonishment. "I mean," he replied, lifting his eyes j from the photograph again, '' that I met j Miss- Maisie Mac Donald on her runaway . journey this very morning, that I spoke, j with her. and that had I only known who she was I might have prevented this unfortunate occurrence."; Drysdale and MacPherson gasped. ••You—you actually met Miss MacDonald on her way from her home?". "I met her at St. Enoch Station. We. were' both at the ticket office together, | and I "id notice that young lady, who was taking her ticket, seemed a good . deal flustered—so much so that she walked off from the ticket office leaving her purse behind her. I ran after her with it." "What a — an—extraordinary coincidence'" exclaimed the other two men in a breath. "You actually spoke with her, and you believed she was on her way to London?" "I do- London is where we must seek her " He had an eager look upon him «, 8 though he would start then and there £o search London through. "Stop a bit!" said Mr. Drysdale, taking off his glasses and polishing thorn wfth a thoughtful air. "You intend, then, to accept the guardianship of.'Miss Mac Donald t" , Ronald started. Strangely enough,'he had forgotten his doubts as. to his capabilities "for the post; he had forgotten his fears of womankiud. He had forgotten, moreover, that there had been' a question of his refusing to undertake the charge this charming young woman. As he looked back at the old lawyer, in whose keen old eyes there had suddenly dawned tho shadow of a twinkie, Ronald's 'bronzed, good-looking face