RIGHT AGAINST MIGHT

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 90, 16 April 1913, Page 10

RIGHT AGAINST MIGHT

:Lo"v_;-;,-_-Jp__Y 6_? lv """.'"": Jo___l_.ST-_A__T), MP.

•'^-.1?°!.-°?' ' <371 « Vote,". "37__ Home Secre-*"!-_?'JJV c hy etc. -...-•':.:. CHAPTER X__S. , - V : •tM>'c_'-__usioi- :s]ibw_i..;!byf.'C.ra-i- - Mai-pused; '3__C_p.ii _i; '.sus-pi-io_iSj.;bufc'' i Syh_a- quickly succeeded in banishing; .them. ; ' :: ''-;/'.'.'.' '-I .hkve'told Mr. Cranston ihxt ; you ar .?_?4_'.ays better ;-titan your wprdj and :^ e 3f9W a happy itenninatidn .to his Romance.' -I-have advised ihim -to speak iioeMr- : Stra__d_at once." • ~- : - ' -} -_• ; Strand asked meto say thait.hc wo_M.-e___e.--t6 see: you- assoon' as 7 he. could' get Taway from -lie' House,". Cranston said,. and now,'Jie succeeded in quite naturally. V, Only ilia eyes'showed his excitement, ;_md Ms '/'brain, was'in.a -whirl, trying to 'grasp the meaning of his talk with •Sylvia, It seemed incredible that she had been deliberately encouraging him, arid yet her manner was liable to it-hat construction.'.'..' ..',-., ... , - "If Strand as coming here I needn't trouble you with, these papers.;: ..But you .might _c_':him and tell him';that I parucnjtarly jwant __tim to call." _j£ggj 'Twill go' to'the'House at ance;**',(_ran*\_ston answered, and hastened awayjjnot 'daring to give another look m-ati-he loved. ."!.""". Outside, he hailed a taxi-cab, and all ' , the way Ate was struggling to reduce the chaos 01 his mind. • "I believe she cares for mc," he cried, triumphantly, at last. '■'■ B._- found -and - gave-• him ________ s message." . .'■-"'There is-no thing-to keep mc in the -lotilje. .Suppose wego and dine _" John fe'aidssnd Cranston wondered at the nausriiffi animation of his manner. ... T-Sy drove to the Temple, and after -hey|j|iad changed their clothes John ran and it was nearly half an hour __ l>efoi» -lie came back' again, bringing * with him. .;spinston looked at them, and there wa_' ; _io..need' for words to convey to him t_tel : nfew_Tv- .'.- has .promis-d to be my announced. ; Cranston, congratulated them heartily, _ut sgjU.' ; '. the- time, he „w&s trying to the—to. him—astounding fact that.j||pi_i& did not 'love Sylvia v .•;,'." I ijlfppe you will he very happy,", he __id,i|rpth such vehemence that Joyce ""-•"• .to herself, for she -understood. '"'-VPj-ne is to know of our engageBMnt|es_cent yourself and Mr. Cobden," remarked. '.' ; Tfien Miss Arnold must not wear "ittat'.nng in public," Cranston answered. ';-They'dined at the Carlton, and every now-and then Philip'would look curiStrand, marvelling at the change .effected in the last few hours, for hci was light-hearted and seemed years younger. 'When their cigars were lighted-he decided to broach to Strand .the,subject that was so near his heart, and in a way he was glad of Joyce's presence. .:_.'•- Mr.".Mason has offered to take mc up, if you can . dispense with my SW -_-- , We_st* v '-S- i "Siinou_iced. \ Joiliu looked across at him and did not speak. .It was 'Joyce who broke the silence.- .- ■-■"'■- ---' -'•.''.''- "l am so glad," she said, impulsively. " I told Mr. -Mason that I should not think of accepting -his offer unless you could dispense with mc without inconveniencing yourself." ; - s " Did Sylvia suggest to her father £s___-_ie should make this offer ?" asked Joyce." -." " ""** ■'""' "•'Yes," Philip answered, and hi 3 face was flushed. Strand had heen binder the impression that Cranston cared for Joyce, hut now ■ he .began to understand.-- -— »"•" "-"■'•'• - •'•' You haven't spoken to Jier V Joyce asked. _'I believ.e.she?knows.. Mr..Strand, < I told her;;ajl; that-you did" idr _i_." I told her what an awful mess I'd made of my life, and she was very kind/ „--" We've-been'-playing .a-game of cross- -» .. .A__S_ps- I imagined that you were in _ old > JcSto-Mad, gaily. . 7<™ ~ Te *- for "- : "«_Sn& rejoined. .; ... ....... . .tu.sotF 0 - r 1 <!;J'"„ J * 37C8 broke - in "- » ._.... - M ive is bund." . -»_____ L ,ci.t x _ . _•--■- ---'. ..a-_h i-y ou * w -° nave got your happiiS, e ' l ;ai(.;i^-^" ,, p__i_ip'Broke off with' ;;; "i; __ "-What 'chance have •-'/. _ ennilcss and— — " ■- ■ ' -' '~- 0 * m °ney will make no differ- '"' '3-L.n-p'_^-^" a " J° nn broke in, witii de- • ' . '°__lt' " es^es . y° u niust accept ' _; v- j, ..'offer, and money will soon come 1 "{ -.vf 1 ■■ 'it. You are hoth young, and ■ -■-.'-''xne'enc-i _ _ •_..,''"*"' ; +_• " «™ to wait^*>';«."" -~, ?.^ c ': /j.e meantiine'l must-look on and '""S. na ?\ther inch ':fr-rang.___u win her," ' aa :™':ti&, with-a «igHr• .-'.:.:' I «»Sit? dinne. _ was p.ver John asked ' "As? 11 *o take Joyce back to the ____x__xnd he himself went on to , ; -.'.,:' I understand-you want to-take my aT.-:ty,".. he said to liaison at the outset.■„;'.. ........._' . i "Tes—if you can spaTe him. It's a -rhim of Sylvia's, 1 and I-like the hoy. . ftV-tat do you-ihirik of. _iin ?' .?. '<- .'- ■•' He's' got ".brains, .'.arid-is j-bsdiuteiy - trustworthy.".'"' '.'.".--.'j.-,'.'.~".'.'.' ._'.'.' ■ we-1 ' consider it settled if you' aTe willing to ■ spare him." :.'■'■ "1 should-i't _hi___ of etanding in his ■«v-_y. You -waiit to see mc about the Bill? I must .confess, that I haven't ibeea able to give-the time io it P should Shave liked. Sometimes I think I ought ito 'give up-your; work, for Fm hardly doing it justice,.. But "you -mil remember I warned yea ;tl__t my -poEtical work must always come first."'; '■'I'm quite satisfied," Mason an_rwered, dryly. "You -needn't --.rorry uritil I hegin to grumble! - Yori "li-ight run. your eye through these' papera." " ', Be passed over a'p3e of;doannenta, Strand made a wry face "at ishe ejo-jV of -them, for he was longing to s4 to Joyce. f'r-n _: I *?if D j. I go -hrough thero. all-?'' *' I ;» __p\ 33 no i_sad. They only require j__r' d-.* 3 *'- 17 ™ I * rß already signed i them." ' » John gl_SP c ='l ot first paper and Chen aff____k'' l i 3 eiga-tturc _e__a±h that o. "-.lasori. did' not trouble about ■the rest,-__n3y belie.-jug that they were 'of a similarly formal nature, proceeded to sign them 'all. ' f This is going to be a hig thing," he ___n._rl._d, when he had firushed. * r Tt's than you Masoti a siri.<twcred, .wiHi a »r_S.le. ,'.. .* 4 "1 ~ho_-3 prefer to have aothin" to ft do with the paasing of She Bill. en d I __nr_l Tr_d&rst-_nd i-ie Teason." \* T Quito. ; lint I don't -need your assistBnc- until after tlie 3_i__ _c passed. Then i J% *-_«_•-_ .be a good deal of ncgotiation'to . be dona. Wfcen .hat -aim I ____ ;

As ihe spoke Mason rang the bell, and when his secretary arrived he gave him ' instructions, .to witness, the signatures which.had been attached to the-docu-ments. .."You acknowledge your signature?" he remarked to John. "And it doesn't •-hatter if Thomson wasn't present when you signed them." ;'" Quite so," John replied, and the secretary proceeded to fill in the attestation clauses. A ..When-that was .done; Mason took -the - documents a_td placed theiri in the safe. ■ j .." If there: is nothing -more E.will Pget" I oh," John said at last. '-•"You can go," Mason remarked to the secretary, and then added to Joiin: "Sit down for a bit. You won't do any more work to-night, and I want n, chat." I . " Very well," Strand answered, wit_i a.sigh. .'" Have you thought any more of what we talked about the other day?" Mason asked, with assumed ca-reiessness. . "'We have discussed so many things." '"But only one that I really care ahout—and you know what that is. Are you still as deteri___cd not to get married?" • John flushed and hesitated to answer, but only for a moment. "No—my ideas have altered somewhat." "I'm uncommonly glad to hear it. You haven't said anything to Sylvia?" Mason asked, quickly. John was tempted to give an exasive answer as the easiest way out of a difficulty, hut he thrust the temptation aside. jj " I'm not going to misunderstand you, Mr. Mason. I believe you're on the wrong track. Your daughter cares for mc just as much as I caTe for her. We _tre excellent friends, but as to being lovers —well, she'd laugh at jne if I were to ask her to marry mc." " You will allow mc to be the 'best judge of that. But if that's yo.ur opinion, there will be no danger in asking her. -"Put it to the test." ~" I can't," John answered, with decision. Although Mason- believed that he had obtained-a hold over "Strand, he had no desire to -do anything that might injure him. And so he had determined •to make a Hast effort at obtaining his purpose by .persuasion. He knew that if Sylvia: discovered the means that he had in contemplation she would be very indignant, and he had no wish to quarrel with her, but he was convinced that she was passionately in love with Strand,and it seemed to him -hat it was his duty tb do everything that lay in his power to gratify her love. Pressure could riot be applied without leaving behind a feeling of bitterness which, he was most anxious to avoid. And when he spoke .there was an unusual note of appeal in -his voice. .'."I haven't .behaved so badly to you, Strand. You know what my girl 5s to mc. Her happiness is my one aim in life, and you can give her- happiness. You may imagine that you don't love her now, -but when you are married you won't he: able to help loving her. Let mc hringher to you." "I am very sorry, hut at,is useless," John answered, with a sigh; for he\.was moved by Mason's pleading.- ---" Think again. This decision may mean a lot to you," Mason said, warningly. .' "'You.;_nake mc feel a brute. It is impossible, Mr. Mason. You are •humiliating your daughter. She would be furious if she knew." . -- ; I " I know that. But she's a woman, and can't fight for herself," Mason answered, and he made no further attempt to detain Strand.,; ■ ... —-." V.- ■'• Alone, he opened tHe safe, and took out the papers—carefully reading them through. "Yes, I've got him, but I don't like it," he muttered. He knew that if John .had looked through the documents they would never: have' heen signed by him. And now Strand liad made himself a prime mover in a great scheme to form a Steel Trust—a trust that would put hundreds of thousands into the pockets of its promoters, while the working men who ■were employed by it would not only not benefit,"hut would eventually lose something of what they had had. . With great skill Mason had succeeded in liid-\ ing from "John the evil features 'of'the scheme; even the Prime Minister had no idea of the ultimate.end at which he was aiming; for it-was his intention to pursue the method -with which he had been so successful in the United States, and he had not any doubt that he would succeed. . , , The Bill for the amalgamation of the companies, in itself, was harmless, as it was merely a small factor in his scheme. ' The.' fact that Strand was interested iri it would not in itself prejudice him •in the eyes of the public. But coupled with the documents which Mason held a totally different complexion would be given to the affair. It would appeaT that Strand was a prime mover and a partner in Mason's design, and if that fact beca-B_"-_nown a great uproar would arise. John Strand, who prided himself on _he. purity of his imotives, would be shown up as a financier of the most nnj scrupulous type, and- it w*uld be believed that he had been.-. using his I political power for the "filling of his own i pockets. There would be no doubt that j such an exposure would mean his ruin, and deep in his heart Mason was reluctant to pursue so drastic a course. But he was a fanatic where his daughter was concerned. His methods in New York had never been byer-scrupulous, __k_ the finer -points;--of his nature had heen blunted. • " Sylvia wants John -Strand, and she shall havo him," he told himself, doggedly. He went to her room, to find that she ; had not gone to bed, and by the dim light he thought that he cpuld see ; traces of t_a_s on her face. "You look tired," he Temarked. '•'I am," she answered, laconically. "Strand has -just gone. He didn't seem very bright. You haven't seen , much of him lately." ". " I'll ask him to dinner at once— • Joyce, too, and perhaps Mr. Cranston." "I rather like that boy. I'll get him , away from Strand at once". ! " Won't Mr. Strand'nvrnd?" ' r "He says he doesn't"'wish to-stand in the boy's way. What have you been crying about ? " " I don't know what yon mean." "You can't bluff mc, Sylvia." "Good-night, dad," she answered, and hastened away. As Mr- Mason -watched her go he became all the more determined to bring i Strand to heel.'(To be continued daily.)