SIGHT AGAINST MIGHT

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 102, 30 April 1913, Page 10

SIGHT AGAINST MIGHT

THE DRAMATIC LOVE STORY OV rp JOHN STRAND, M.P. •'! tr By PATH. —RENT, '" at Author of "The Vow," "Tiie Borne Secretary," "A TFt'fc hy Purchase," etc., etc. V CHAPTER XLIV. J< Sylvia Mason was thoroughly miserable, and the fact that Cranston had left London added to her wretchedness. The rooms in which she lived would -jj have been thoroughly comfortable to w anyone who bad nob been accustomed to j r all those luxuries which only a millionaire could command. Then, too, she x . really cored for her father, and was m bitterly ashamed of the part ho had f a played in ruining Strand. g ( The time passed with incredible slowness, for there was absolutely nothing m for her to do. She refused to meet her a < many acquaintances, for there wouid be tc awkward questions which she did not st carp to answer. Cranston met her the day before he pwont to Loamborough, and told her of his intention of staying with Strand. p "I admire you for it. But it doesn't fj look as if it will lead to a fortune. ** I thought you were going to make money," she said to him, when she had * heard the news. " The fortune must wait. I can't leave Strand until be has cleared himself. Remember what I owe to him." V " Aren't you tempted to go and make j, terms with dad, when you remember what he promised?" she asked, curiously. a He gave her a reproachful look, and s she laughed merrily. '■" I'm very giad you are not that sort * of person. Stick tn John Strand through thick and thin. We're both young, and * can wait for our happiness. But I am "t just a little bit miserable. You see. I've nothing to do. I wish that I could go * down to Loamborough. 1 did so -enjoy •the last election." *- "This will be a very different business. There is a touch om tragedy that won't leave room for enjoyment. Be- , sides, your -fathers name will continually crop up, and that wouldn't be pleasant for you." " I suppose tbey will say rather nasty c things about him. Well, he deserves it, and I am not at all sure that I sha'n't . come." she said, reflectively. j Cranston tried to persuade her of the I f foolishness of the idea, but she dis- '{ missed bis protests with a laugh. j "You may kiss mc," she wound up. hlusbingly. " And he did so. again ar#l again. £ Her breakfast was over and she was wondering what she should do when a ' servant announced that her father had called. 1 "So you haven't come to your senses?" he said, grimly, and gave a contemptuous glance round the room. " Are you as comfortable here as in . GrosVenor Square ? " " Comfort isn't everything," she answered, quietly. i erTvs"had enough of this foolishness. . I can't sleep at nights, an'd —Sylvia, you come back . Tm miserablevvithout you." The grii—less had left his manner, and she was touched by the sudden change. Just now he seemed a much older man than the father she loved. ™ Dad. take mc down to Loamborough." " What for ? " he answered, sharply. "To help Mr Strand. Everything depends upon this election, and if you , told them the truth, then " " They would howl mc out of the • place if they knew everything. I'm not asking for trouble. Strand is nothing to nic now that I know you don't want him. Why not be sensible, Sylvia ? You , tell mc you caTe for this young Cran- . ston. Well, he's prespntable enough, and I am prepared to make things easy : for him. Just send for him to come and ' see mc. We'll soon fix up the business part of it. You can be married, and we'll go to the States," %c wound up, appealingly. " Philip would not leave John Strand, and I shall never ask him to. But that's not all. I want back the dad that I loved and admired, and I can only get him back in one way." " What's that ?"" he asked, with a sinking at his heart. " You must play the man, dad. You've done a dirty action, and John Strand was your friend. You've sent him to the brink of ruin, and you must do all you can to save bim. You may not succeed, but if you try then I'll' come back to you." " You are asking impossibilities " he answered, angrily, but his brain was working rapidly, for he understood that Sylvia had delivered her ultimatum. After ail, her affection was the greatest thing in the world to him. Could he devise a means of doing what she wanted ? He might admit that he had plotted with Southwold, but the latter would immediately give him the lie! And Mason had no douht which of the two would he believed. Yet he might say that Strand was uo party to his schemes He might say that he had procured his signature by a trick, and make no mention of the part played by the Prime Minister. It would be very disagreeable to make such an avowal, and he would doubtless have to face a volume of abuse. But it would not be for the •first time, and Silas Mason was not thin skinned. Anyhow, it was not a matter that could be decided offhand, but required careful thought, and in the meantime he could not give Sylvia any idea of what he was thinking. " I'll leave you to come to your senses. I suppose you can do with some money?" he said, as he produced his cheque-book. " I won't have any from you." she answered, angrily, for she was bitterly disappointed by her failure. .-' "Very well; good-bye, my dear. You won't give mc a kiss ? " •- Father. 1 implore you to play the man. I do love you, and I'm so miser- •• Good-bye," he .said, curtly, and strode from the room. When he had gone Sylvia indulged in a good cry, but was cheered up by the arrival of a letter from Philip, who wrote in a cheerful strain. " Mr Strand is making steady progress, but of course hp has a tremendous opposition to overcome. T am so glad I staved with him, for 1 believe J am a help. He talks to mc with thp utmost ■frankness, and has allowed mc to see a little into his heart. I am grateful for his friendship, for JoA.Str.and is a man in a million. His couWge is stupendous and he is undismayed by difficulties ■which would overwhelm a man who has com? ot *, Brifc ' Ti!lht through. To-night SSS **Town Hall. We enaB ' *" 5 -d we arc not afraid.

" I wonder if you would mind going to sec Joyce Arnold ? She is very lonely, and a visit from you would do her good." There were a few simple words telling her of -his great love, and when Sylvia read them she pressed the letter to her lips. ] A few minutes later she set out for the Temple, for Philip's wish was law, I and Joyce came in. answer to her knock at the door. , - I'm just in the middle of packing up. I'm going down to Loamborough,'' Joyce said, exoitedly. - Alone ? " " No. Come into the sitting-room," Joyce answered, and led the way. Sylvia drew back instinctively when she saw Lady Cora and Sylvester. "They are taking mc to Loamborough. Mr Sylvester, won't you tell Miss Mason what you have told mc ? She is John's friend." But Sylvester was only regarding her as the daughter of Silas Mason, and so hesitated, for he believed that her i father and Soutbwold were working to- ! gefcher. " You can trust mc. Only think of mc as a friend of John Strand, and not as my father's daughter. I am engaged to be married to Mr Cranston," Sylvia said, quietly. " She is one of us," Joyce said, impulsively. " I am puzzled. I should have expected that you two would have been against Mr Strand. Won't you explain the puzzle ? " asked Sylvia. " We both believe that Mr Strand is a deeply-wronged man. and we're going to show our belief in him," Lady Cora *iaid. earnestly. " That will be a- sttrpriso to many people. But I thought you were going to be tbe other candidate ? " Sylvia said ■ to Sylvester. " This time I am- for Strand, and we're all going to help him," the latter answered, with a smile. " I wish I could come, too," she said, wistfuly. " We should be very glad to have you. You did effective work at the last election, as I knew to my cost." "I saw father this morning, and tried to persuade him to tell the truth." " If you could only do that!" Lady Cora cried, impetuously. *" He is very obstinate," Sylvia answered, with a sigh. " I wonder if it would do any good if I saw Mr Mason " " Sylvester answered, reflectively. " I'll take you to bim. At any -rate, it can do no harm. Shall we go at once ?" Sylvester glanced at his watch, and saw that he would have a couple of hours before it would be necessary for I them to catch the train which would take tbem to Loamborough in time for the meeting. "We will go. I will meet you and Mis 3 Arnold at the station," Sylvester said to Lady Cora. '■ Don't be surprised if I am also there," Sylvia broke in. She and Sylvester drove straight to Orosvenor Square, and ascertained that Mason was at home. The millionaire was perplexed when he heard the names of his visitors. "Sylvia with Sylvester! What doe 3 it mean ? " he asked himself, and went down to the drawing-room. To his surprise his daughter threw her arms round his neck and gave him • an affectionate kiss. • "We are.going to take you to borough," she announced, confidently. " T had thought of paying a visit to ' the works," he answered, quickly, but • his eyes were fixed on Sylvester, and he 1 was wondering why the latter had come. "Mr Sylvester and Lady Cora are ' going down to help Mr Strand, and I'm going with them," she went on, cheerfully. " So you believe in Strand ? " Mason 1 said, quickly, to Sylvester. "Absolutely. And you know him to 1 be an bones t man," the latter said, • sternly. ' Mason did not deny the statement. As a matter of fact, since leaving his 1 daughter he had been carefully thinking out his position, and it seemed to him • that the only way of bringing Sylvia ' home was by doing what she wished. If 1 his disclosure raised an uproar, it would 5 be a simple matter to leave England. i With the development that had taken i place it was hopeless, to think of forming the Trust, and that scheme would • have to be abandoned—at any rate for t a time. t " Would you mind leaving us for a t minute':" Sylvester asked of Sylvia, and she went at once. 1 '• I said that 1 believpd in Strand. I think he spoke the truth when he said c that he did not know the contents of 1 the documents he signed. Is that so '! " 0 '• It's quite true," Mason answered, 1 dryly. t '■ But I'm not quite sure of Southe wold's part in the drama." " You may take it from mc that there c were two v"llians, and he was the worst 3 of 'cm.'' ' " You being the other," Sylvester said, pointedly. '- '• I never really meant to hurt Strand. c On my aide it was a mere bluff. I made c the mistake of thinking that Strand was d -less of a man than he really is. When ' r my bluff fa*led I found that I'd overd reached myself. I found a cleverer man ° than myself in Soutbwold. Now you've y got the hang of the story. I was fight- ■■ ing .for what I thought to be my 13 daughter's happiness, while he was out "- for supreme power in Parliament. And ie Southold's got what he wanted. Any E " more questions . " I ie " I'm not so sure that Soutbwold has I le won. I'm sure he hasn't if you'll join 1 le with mc and take a hand." in "Tbat-'s what I've been thinking of - r doing, but I hadn't quite made up my c " mind. I can't quite understand why n_ you've interested yourself." (a '■' From a sense of justice. I always admired Strand. He's a white man, and s - incapable of a dirty action. He's been '' the victim of a diabolical plot, and now k- we've got to put him straight with the ie world. Arc you ready to help ?" 'y " Yes. But will they believe mc ? " " There's no necessity to mention m Southwold. You can say that you have been using Strand for your own pure poses. You can admit that he was dcr " ceived without bringing in the name of the Prime Minister." >d " You are trying to protect Southwold," Mason cried, dryly. In '" No. I'm trying to clear Strand. 10 There's no one who would believe that 10 Southwold would deliberately plot to ruin a man. Think it over, and you'll > see I'm right." ■s "I trust you, Mr Sylvester, and T'll ■d eonip down with you to Loamborough." a And Sylvester drew a quick breath of 't relief, for he felt that he had won the a battle. "" (To be continued daily.)