THE Spell of the Serpent

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 181, 30 July 1912, Page 10

THE Spell of the Serpent

(By E. _r7E_-I_E_T-G-_EEN.) CHAPTER X. THE PLOT FOILED. Flip f-femed to road the hostility in bis ryes, as slip had not read the yearning lave of :i few minutes before. She heard l iip .hill in his voice. It weighed Iky down with the sense of physical depression and vroc. She fought for her self-mastery, but nil the lighted room -ocmed to be swimming before her eyes. "1 —1 ramp to speak to you. Lilian said you were going away. Are you goinjr— to-morrow?'' "Perhaps. T am not cure. I never make pl.ins beforehand. I shall go when it suit-, mc." "Ah, but do go! Go to-morrow. Pray. pray, go to-morrow. And do not go out again to-night. 1 be.seech you not; I have a reason. Ah. if you are going, promise mc one thingdo not go out again tonight: and to-morrow go, go away altogether. Indeed, indeed, it will be best so. You will not be sorry. Please grant mc this one thing- Once we were friends—'' Her voice broke upon the words, and site bnri«d h<_- face in her hands. Tony's heart-Rfcrings vibrated, and again came the swift impulse 'to catch her in his arms, to prcsn kisses oil -hose sweet eyes and quivering lips, and ask her what was troubling her so greatly. But the horrid suspicion -whuch had come upon -him with a bound held hint mute. Did the girl know what she was saying or doinix? <>r was she dominated by some foolish delusion bora of seeroit in_l_lge-X''e? A victim, perhaps, tout oven so it-he whole thing repelled him horribly. And to come here to him in this strange and sudden and secret jashjoit What was ber purpose.? What did she -____!? .And this strange and urgent request-! It sounded like madness —sheer madness. "Of course we were friends, we are __i___t_." spoke Tony, -not imgerttly, but. <wth a touch of masculine impar_»r->e. in his manner. "But that is no reason for coming bursting in like this on a chilly anlfcumii evening with such a queer request. What on earth does it matter "when I leave home? And why should I not go out to-night, or any other night?" "The poachers." faltered -Angela; "there is danger." Tony suddenly broke into a roar or __a_ght_r: -but he felt relief. "So yon have been hearing some cock-__-_-bull story about -the deadly peril of poachers'. That all? Never you :-rouble your head _ho_x. that-. T-unk Fm not able to take care of my precious *__cr— Pooh, li title girl! I've been in much tighter places before than I -hall ever be in my own woods. So go home and make your mind quite easy." j "Bat you don't know, you don't know. ; It's worse -hail you thin He broke into a laugh and flippantly quoted a couple- of doggerel lines culled from a comi<: paper: "It's worse than Mar. or than Be_forn Bax, I think It's worse than the Income Tax." i "Oh. don't laugh or make a joke of it." j pleaded Angel-.; "'out do promise mc this one -thing. . Don't go out any more again j to-night. Indeed, indeed. 1 mean it." | "1 see that 7011 do; but I'm going all | the same. I'm going to see you safo borne for one thing firat. After that— | we'll see." lie would not let her go with out tea and something to eat. His mind was swayed between an immense delight "bo have her near him, to minister to her, and by a hateful doubt and fear as to whether or no: site was the. betrothed of Jtayne. and the willing dupe and slave of Lilian's hateful vice. On*> moment he j would have staked his existence, on her I innocence, on her love for himself: the ' next—with a woman eou.d you ever tell? They were full of wiles. Out into the misty moonlight theystepped at length. What bliss to both to be together, though 'the anguish of porting lay upon the spirits of both. In the distance, as they approached the. pl_-j__<_Jo_-, they beard the sound of shots, and of very __s!_a_-t cries. Tony ground his teeth, and laughed a short, sharp laugh. "At it early to-night! Well, my men are on the alert. Yes, my beaut---, we shall be ready for you." Suddenly lie. stopped short. Angela tfttered a strange, agonised cry, and Shrug herself upon him, bearing' bin- down. -He had almost to bend double to keep her from me.»__ring her length along the ■ground, and just above them came scattering shot from a gun at close range, that .peppered the stem of a great beech tree, some of it ricoche-bing dangerous- i iy- 1 "Catch him—catch him quick!'' gasped j Stngela; "it's Mr. Rayme.!" Like an arrow from a bow Tony was after the flying figure. His view halloo and the report of -the gun brought up a couple of young keepers. Seeing Rayne, the agent, ;they would have lot him pass ; but Tony sang out to them to catch him, and"he blazed wildly at them as he sought to double and escape. Tony was on him with a bound. The man had lost hi- caution and self-control i five minutes earlier, seeing Tony such a cleaT shot, and not observing in the \ flickering shadows the cloaked figure beside him. It would have all been ended in a moment. Later, when the body was found in the woods, all the world would have said "poachers." There -would have been hue and cry; but the last person snspected would be the agent, who stood to sain nothing and perhaps to lose his ■berth. .'"V';S|3^ Hut Angela's quick eyes had seen the gleaming barrel. TT n r jarred nerves, all strung to the finest point of tension, had been "aware of some inimical presence close at hand. Her action, her words had saved Tony. And now the criminal, caught red-handed in the act. was standin? sullen-faced. coweTing and desperate before his stern faced master. Others had heard the shots, for they were not far from the house. Men from stables nnd gardens came rushing to the spot. "Take h'nn along to the house. Shut Mm np safe till 1 come and deal with him. Don't let him escape you. I will see Miss Vale home, and then I will come ] and investigate ma! ters." I None of the house servants loved | Ravne. whose tyrannical wars and the | airs _•• gave himself of mastership when- ! ever Tony was absent had made of him I a well-hated man. Rut it was not of him I that Tony was thinking as he swung; I along towards the cottage. His strong' arm was about the slcndesr trembling I frame of the girl whose prompitrado and \ courage had saved his life. When they stood at length in. tha shelter of the hall, soft lights about them, and the shelter of walls and roofs encompassing them, he drew her gently into an empty room, put her into a choir, threw tack "cloak and hood, and possessed himself of two small soft hands which flutter«d in (his clasp.

I "Angela, my little angel-love! Can yon I 1 forgive mc? I Tears rushed to "her eyes, her head dropped forward. It rested upon bis shoulder as she- .breathed her 'whispered question: "What have I±o forgive. Tony?" •' "My doubts of you. I thought yon— i lovedanother." I "Never, never, never! Oh. Tony, I have j loved only you!" 1 "I know- it now feel it. But " ! "I know. You saw— awful man. j He had never touched mc .before. I had I not even thought of such a thing. I could -have killed him. Tony, I will not spare*him now. He tried to till you." "So it seems. But why on earth did he do it? Angel, do you know?" She shivered and hid her face. He held her very close. "I know. Tony. I heard. I came to warn you : but—but—l cannot tell you. I do not know .how." At that moment from som—where upon the upper floor a wild scream came pealing. Tony sprang to his feet, and -both lip and the Trembling Angela darted up ■the stairs. "My lady, my lady!"' it was the maid who was screaming, and at the sight of Tony clutched him by the arm. "Get the doctor—send for someone. Oh, she is dead—she is gone. I am sure of it. She is coldbut cold as marble!" They rushed into the boudoir where Lady C'-arruthen was wont to take her ease, when Angela and Tony had .both of them -held recent interviews with her. She was lying stretched upon the divan amongst her pile of cushions. She looked beautiful, after a ravaged -fashion, and about her was that strange solemnity j and immobility which means but one thing. "She has taken an overdose." sobbed the affrighted maid. "She was very bad with one of her ori3es of the nerves. She came up to mc, and 1 rubbed her temples and gave her the drops. She was all •unhinged. She said she had been -upset. I know not how. Generally she was very calm." She was calm enough now. To her wrist there hung the little jewelled boy she almost always wore there; but it was empty. The doctor came, made examination, shook his head. '"It so often -happens in -these cases. It ought not to -be. so easy to get these things. But Lady Oarruthen had some preparation of 'her own—lite her poor husband before her. Very sad, very sad." And the verdict was acc-den-tal "death, due to overdose of some sedative taken by -She patient during a crisis of eaflTer ; ng. Mrs. MaLtravers came instantly on receipt of the news. She was invaluable at such a crisis, and vastly interested in the whole affair. Ang__a was glad to have her, though her uncanny, witch-like eyes filled her with a certain apprehension. Angela kept her room till after the inquest and funeral; but she was picking up fast. And though she had not asked to see Tony, she heard his voice in tho house each day. Each morning there came to her a beautiful bunch of violets. fragrant and ddiciotit; and site remembered how Tony had once said: "They remind mc of you," when she had stooped to gather some in his garden, and I had told him they were her favourite ' flowers. I Mrs. -laltravers brought iher the flowj ers -each day, and delivered them with a i peck-like loss. Often she scanned the | lovely face with her bead-like eyes, rej marking between her little snorts: | "Pretty creat-ire, pretty creature! Well, well, men like 'em fresh and sweet, I suppose. For my part, I prefer mora worldly wisdom. But men: like to ihir_k they mould their —poor dupes! Mostly they ore run into the mould themselves, and harden there." When _he house was opened again, when wintter sunshine shone in through the windows, and the place was brash ! and sweet as it had never been in poor Lilian days, Angela sat in a great chair beside an orie! window. Tony came striding up the garden path, entered by a side door, and 'took her into his arms, almost lifting her up in the process before he dropped her back again, and himself at her feet, "My little brave love'" he said. "Why brave. Tony?" "Do you think I do not know that you were ready to die for mc? You tried to get that shot, and you might so well 'have succeeded." "1 tried to pull you down out of range, Tony; you aire so -very big. Tony. dear, nobody has spoken a word to mc about—that night. What happened? Where is— man ?" "On his way to Argentina. He made a clean breast of everything to mc, and I packed him off there. I didrft want a scandalwith Lilian's name dragged in. You can understand that. We hashed up a lame sort of story about his mis-taking mc for a poacher. All my chaps know that there was something else afoot; but they are good fellows, and will keep .their tongues 'between their ■teeth. "He's gone. Lilian, is dead. What lis the good of raking things up? I 1 suppose he could have been had up for an attempt to injureor 1011. But as he did neither, and there were poachers about—iwell, better let sleeping dogs Ii!" "I am glad, Tony. lam glad!" The ['radiant eyes were wet w_th tears; she I had nothing but kindly thoughts now for the woman who was gone. After all, did she not in some measure owe this immense and wonderful happiness -o her? "I thought you would feel the same, little love. Angela, when a man is aa happy as I am, he can't have much of a 'down' upon anyone. Darling, when am I to have my reward—for nothing? When will my little -bird come to its nest?" She clasped her hands round his neck, and gazed into his brilliant, triumphant eyes. "Whenever you wish, —my king." "Good; then let us find old Mother M__±ravers, and tell her to put it through as fast as she can. I'll have the banns put up on Sunday." With a happy little laugh she -nestled in his arms. ''Oh, Tony, it is so good to be hwed. It is so good to feel so safe." He knew what she meant. He pressed kisses upon her eyes, her hair. Both ] knew how nearly the wiles of a woman had separated them. But the wiles were a thing of the post— happiness I loomed before them like some vista of ! unim-ngined glory. I "Always safe with mc, my dearest; I always safe with mc." j THE END.