The Wooing of Cora;

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 176, 26 July 1911, Page 11

The Wooing of Cora;

jgß COHVICT BBOTKEB.

By WILFRED NOEE

CHAPTER XL ;, '•* "IHE ISOX BAR." ifter his broad frame had disappeared, remained where she was, peer£!J throngh the tiny opening of the vL What was he doing roaming at °ai through the house? she wondered. SL rooms did he enter when the Tjalect! Would he stay away a ]W time, or would he return almost immediately? ' she .would wait a little wnile and see. J~t w passed, and only deepair retdned. Every day came a fresh sign : his secret double life! : It W»3 Eot long before she heard him ; and she waited for him to " , hy door with every nerve strained ; £j ft. utmost. If only she had some die to his wanderings. To a certain extent fine had, for he -nied a bottle of vrhisky under his rL "and she wondered where he had Kit Wd Mrs. Turner keep a store LMm somewhere? But when she razht sight of the other object he carJyf the whisky seemed a thing of small moment, for he held an iron bar in his -vi, and she fancied she saw a mnrLons light of satisfaction in his eyes, •jt had been left on the previous day !,• tie men who were altering a part o'i the how. Basil must have seen it jj Us ■ stealthy wanderings round the pjden and determined to get hold of ft»t the first opportunity, and had lost no time in visiting the disordered library for that purpose as soon as the iouse'vrss quiet. ~ , . , , She had sprung into her t>ed and fanm tie clothes over her head almost lefure the iron door clicked and the non3t«r was shut safely behind it. and Jar there shuddering in the darkness. TVlat did he want with that murder- . oos-looking weapon? The word "muricf seemed to shriek at her from every teatenins corner, and her face <rrew fonp. Bat whose life -was in dansrerT Arthur's? Her own? No, no, a thonHiid times no! He meant no harm of Sit sort; it was perhaps less a weapon than as a tool he coveted it. If sic encouraged such ideas, she would go mad: she was getting morbid and : lipterical. = And so she resolutely strove to turn ler thoughts to other matters, but was j Mt very successful. •Arthur exclaimed at her appearance rien ehe came down to breakfast: ;: "What on earth is the matter?" I Hβ was looking remarkably well i limself, his eyes and colour clear; he I lad been most temperate for some days, i spending ■ his time out of door 3in iealthy pursuits and walking with ißaafl Wylde, whose influence over him was stronger than eva. ,?I did , not sleep very well," she said ertlv.

-"Oil,' yon lovers!" said the lad, helping iimself generously to fish; "you «m »ii,tJ>B same. There's Wylde lookand all the rest oi it; can't Jje iippv apart, I suppose, and that Birfc of thing, aud make martyrs of voursdves *liin the remedy is so "Simple, •fin ready.to. act a brother's part any day, aad give you away with my blessing and legal permission. What on eartl are yoii hanging back for? I never sit a clearer case, 'both as far gone as possible, and cut out for each other! By Jove! a masterful chap like Wylde fa just the sort of husband for you; you'll lie as happy as princes together, «nd lie wont take the poker to you viatevej , comes or goes —maddening as joa are, ma, 'belle eoeur!" A vision of the iron bar came to the gH, turning her suddenly sick. Why wrald ..Arthur sa-y such things, everlutrngly rah salt in the wounds?

',®)ff-geTe.a little gasp acd pushed her Aiit-Wk from the table, feeling as vf in icould stifle. , ■ArtJinr looked at her with anxious "tj«, thoroughly concerned. "Cora, old girl, what is it?" he asked, ifecfionately laying his arm across her lW3er; "you've not been the same ferson since yon came here, and are growing pale and thin, and I don't like fiuse great black marks under your eyes. Aren't you well? Shall I send fcrDr. Wells from town to see you?" "So, no; I am quite well," she said Bisers&rr. are not happy." he said, ?™Uy, "and I want you to be happy, i 40 really, Cora; I tell you I can't ™nd this sort of thing. You are my O3W, aH I love in the world, and I'd W anything for you, I would really, «M you might tell mc what it is. Is it ttW?" His face darkened for a mo?eif "Hang it all, if any chap's makIM my little sister unhappy he's got to •ettle with mc. Hasn't he'come to the Pont! Is it pride? I know he's head ever e*rs in love wfth you." /It's because I can't" trust him!" she WJ4 with a sob, clinging to Arthur, Mitreaking down utterly, "he says W rares, but half the time he's a brute , . m * •- - and he's deceiving mc; 'jag, and he lives behind the iron door m comes out at night, I've seen him He promised mc the key! he use.s £toself regularly, but he pretends it's £« and can't be found, and says he is soing to have another made in "a week, :*54-.- . "

.look here," said the lad soothingly, j»t; believing a word of his sister's fear, TMjs is all rot, you're run down and worjW® and you dream all this rubbish/ you must change your room and We into the West wing close to mc, WmyouTl see how silly you've been." —Wan awful fascination kept the girl »>iier room; often she would have given *otHs to change it, and yet when it to the point she remained where Things looked different in day"aO, no, I like tae room, I could not •** anywhere else " , ™t you don't seem to sleep there," . 'Ifore than I should anywhere else," ?f c exclaimed feverishly. " - 'oh. Arthur, * J>»y sound foolish, and I cannot exj"™. but that iron door is like a magnet I must be near it: if I were n E"K away I should still be imagining j■• • perhaps worse . . . but where ■J5 * ca o see, can know . . ." K > yes," agreed Arthur, now thor?°?Hy frightened at his sister's almost condition. "I quite under¥t**r"'-. She was run down mentally and had nightmares, and fancied *" dinner of absurd things, he must ™"»w.her and send for the doctor; ; PWlsps it would be better for her to to.tbwn and stay with Lady Gati a while, since Lady Gatling re- : "fflttly refused to set foot in Wylde"2*" Ball Anl y OU yfift j e j. mc a ] OTle f' -went ::*Cera, her eyes unnaturally bright, feverish.

'"Of course, you shall have everything your own way."

"And you'll stay and take mc driving and walking instead of going with Mr. WyMe?" "Yes," said the lad reluctantly. "Oh, Arthur, do you really think he lives there t" "At the shooting-box? Oh, yes, and he's always' busy: you see he's acting agent for the estate, and is hard put to it sometimes to get things done; in fact, he's often up working at accounts and business papers till three in the morning." '"'But he's here, behind the iron door," she whispered, "how- can he be in two places at once? Do you think he does wicked things there?" Arthur laughed. "MuTders, or make false coin ?" he giggled thoroughly amused at the idea, then his face sobered again, for Cora was looking at hj™ with a real agony on her face. "No, if he does come," he said soothingly, "he just shuts himself up there to work in peace and quiet." "Then you believe lie is there at night?" she cried sharply. "Of course, oh, of course!" "Oh, Arthur, you don't, you are only saying that to please mc! You think it's all fancy, that I am ill." "'Well, well explore for ourselves," he said cheerfully, ''and find out the truth of tae matter. T'U ask him " She clung to his arm in terror; "Oh, no, promise you will say nothing; he always denies it! 1 have asked him, said things, and he lies md lies and lies!" "Well, I'll not mention the subject to him then, dear, but as soon as he gives you the key—and if he has promised it, he will give it you —we'll explore every nook and cranny, even the well and dungeons, and see for ourselves." "Only we never will get the key," she said hopelessly. A knock came at the door, and the butler appeared, a note on the salver; "for you, ma'am," he said, bringing it to Cora. "Wylde's writing!" exclaimed Arthur alert. "Xow, read your love letter, npver mind mc, and look your own bright self again." Cora"s face went crimson, her fingers shook as she opened the note, h->r heart beat thickly, then her face fell at the few cuTt lines it contained, and she passed it in silence to Arthur. "Strangely enough, it's about the key," she said, her voice very flat. "And not a love letter?" he asked, picking it up, "Oh, you silly girl, you've j been quarrelling. 'Dear Miss Gordon, , " he read, 'I took the liberty yesterday of J speaking to one of your workmen, asking I him to obtain for mc a wax impression; of the iron door key-hole; this he did, a ; key is novr being made, and promised for the end of the week, when 1 shall have much pleasure in forwarding same for the use of yourself and your brother. With kind regards, yours sincerely. Basil Wylde. , " '■'Pon my "word, it's formal enough," said Arthur frowning; "his back must have been put up pretty badly. I say, what wae it all about?" "He is no lover of mine," said the girl fiercely, "I have told him he is nothing, ■never, never shall be anything to mc, but | he was furious about Grainger." I "Who is Grainger?" demanded Arthur,' mystified. . I "The detective I sent for from Scotland Yard," she replied defiantly; "I simply couldn't bear it any longer, I had to be certain whether he was Basil or Felix, and Grainger knew them 'both well, he said he was. Basil, .but Mr. Wylde found out at once and was very angry " I "You did that! You acted the spy! Tried to trip him!" exclaimed Arthur, his face growing pale, "then I don't wonder he was angry! He had every right to be! If I were him I should never speak to you again! Cora, how could you! So now I've got to the real meaning of everything at last. No wonder you are upset! Aren't you heartily ashamed of yourself? Don't you feel an utter fool? Why did you not speak to i mc, I should at least have prevented this crowning idiocy, and you could have held up your head. . Good heavens, you must have been mad. And now I suppose you still believe he is Felix,'and that he does dark deeds behind the iron door?" "I don't know .-what to believe," she i hurst out passionately; "sometimes I believe lie is Felix and a devil, sometimes that he ie Basil, and good and noble in spite of all! But I know he goes behind the iron door, I have seen him coming i and going " I "In your dreams, but after this spy 'business I don't care what you believe, I am thoroughly ashamed of you, and if you are miserable you deserve to foe! 3 suppose he would not accept your apology, and quite right too." "I did not apologise," said Cora sullenly. Arthur only stared as if he thought ' her mad. "And I've no intention of doing anything of the sort," she went on obstinately. "He knows I distrust him, I wish ' him to know it. It is true he made love to mc, swept mc off my feet for a moment, but it shall never happen again There are times when the very thoujrhf of him turns mc sick with fear and loathine, and I Tvill fight with my silly infatuation and strangle it!" "Oh ~ . . ! Then you no longer deny you are in love with him?" "Love! No, nothing -vrorth that name, madness, temporary folly!" she cried. (Continued , flally.)