LADY LIL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 186, 6 August 1913, Page 10

LADY LIL.

SENSATIONAL STORY OP A

SOCIETY BEAUTY.

A KOMAXCE OF LOVE AXD IHE

SALVATION AKMY.

(Ey ARTHUR APPLIX.)

tutJior of "The C)ior~u s Girl," "The Girl Who Saver Uis Honour," "The Stage

Door," etc. etc.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Lady Lil t oid Peter everything He •stoned in silence. And when sue had finished ho had nothing to say He just held her hands very ti»htiv. She knew what his silence "meant. He could not help her. K o one could help her. The lawyer had told her just the plain, unvarnished truth. She belonged to Mr K.ipert Roper. Xothing ho had done placed him within the grip of the English law. Nothing he had done gave her the right to leave him/

,' She had promised to obey him. and if She did not do =o the law would be on his side, would force her to live with him.

•There is aiwavs one nay out," she said. And she opened the drawer in per bureau and showed Allen the revol.V'er Iving there.

• "There is one other wav," Peter Whispered, after a long silence. "I know you won't misunderstand-me when 1 tell you what. 1 mean. I love you— that ncod make no difference! lam poor, hut you've shown mc that you're not afraid of poverty. Besides," one can live abroad &n five hundred a year — and we're neither of us afraid of work. If you will come with mc I'll take care of you always. I know you don't love mc. but you can come as my sistere. I would honour you always, and respect Tour wishes."

Tears filled Liis eye?. They had been Strangers to her for a long 'time. She felt almost grateful for them. She put her hands on Peter Allen's shoulders and she kissed him.

*"fiod bless you." she said. "I wish ■I did love you, Pete, for then I would tome with you. Jiht T don't. If I live, only the world, of, work. Iβ Jeft, and ihat ;» the best. Life consists of ■work. And so, I think, does love.' .

■ Allen bowed, and, turning his- back on her, moved towards the door. He could iioi, himself to look at her a-gain.

""There, is no one you love? I ask in ca.-.> I can help. If there were, I would ■bring him to you." She shook her head. Crossing to the Bmrenu she took out Annande Pilvestre's letter. ; ■•The man I might have loved,' , she eaid. in -a. far-away voice, as if speaking to herself, "'I have never seen, never shall seo. J suppose it sounds foolish; perhaps if;—perhaps it's just a creature in" my imagination which these letters •Jiave stirred to life. Letters from a ji:;in who lias seen mc passing in the street." • She laughed, and threw them back into ihi* drawer. They and the little revolver lay together. Love and death. Both strangers to her, yet both so close she liad only to stretch out her hand and Biukp her choice. ""There are many who love you,"' Peter .said...unsteadily. "Do you remember that fellow—Burt the 'Bully, they called him—'.vho saved you from the ■I>oe&«*4—~lW-the 'totl -I—kept your iiprrpt. 1 don't th'mk he knows who /you are. We called yon "Lady Lil,' but That meant nothing to him. It was just Lil Smith he saved." Siie nodded. "1 haven't forgotten; I'vp been like a dead woman for so long, hidden deep in a grave, as it ■\vpre—l would like to have done something for him. But after what Fve seen—everything's hopeless. Where is he?' , "He was arrested by the police just after that affa/r. quitaL another charge, of course, H'e"got~ : five"'maath3. 3. saw him wheiflie came out of prison, to put him straight. I'm afraid it's no good. Stokes, the Salvationist, is doing what he can. I'm afraid, as you say. it's hopeless. Yet he's a man, and he would give his life for you.' , 'Lady lil smiled. And her eyes ehone. "Tf I live I'll give my life to 3iim —and. his kind. If my husband keeps -his threat " She shrugged her shoulders. "Otherwise 1 shall leave 3iere as soon as possible. Everything -will be sold. I shall go back to the and work under Captain Stokes and tlie Salvation Army. [ know no ether medium, no other road that will "take mc into the heart of life, where I may meet people "who work and suffer and sin—the people who really matter." "And perhaps I shall meet you there one day in the future," Allen said, as jip closed the door. Lady Lil went back to the bureau, and ■KTOie a letter to Captain Horace Stokes, telling him that in a week or so she would be ready to take up her duties. Then she commenced to prepare for ■file final departure from her old home. !There were a. few personal things she ■would take with her; a few, just a very few, fainilv heirloom.? she wanted to store away, and which, in the event of her death, -would .pass to t hose who loved ier. ■Next day .-he again visited the family solicitor, and waited while he made a «iraft of her will. Nothing he could iay or do altpred her determination. A week passed. The of the house "in Bronnington Gardens, and the date of "the auction of the furniture, silver, and pictures, were announced. So far .Sir Rupert had not kept his •threat. Lady Li! was left in peace. Yet in her hearr. she felt ibis peace was ominous. ~>he was alone in the great li-ousc. save ior the housekeeper and her husband, and they lived in a suite of rooms in the basement. She kept the revolver in her purso-bag now, and carTied it about with her "wherever she went. At night she slipped it under her pillow.

.". One evening, the very day on which she had arrxuiged- the date she- would leave lironnington Gardens, the housekeeper brought her a card. Joe lavage 'liad rolled to ?ee her. -'. He was shown into the moming-rooni. Li! hold out her hand, but he did not ■take it. "I've "waited a long time for your' reining."' she. said. "I'd given you up.| Whßl have you come for?" ■ Savage was silent. She was conscious -of a change in she did not: quite know/what it was. He just look-! :ed different: -His rigiit arm was in a :slin; now-.- His- hair Avas closely cropped.! -Jlh eyes -looke£ "more human.:' The I had left his face. ' ,_ "'llnve. you come to complete your revenge?' , she asked. "'You have come too soon. My husband has not taken hie yetl" " .-' : .

Savage nodded. ''I came to warn you.: I also came to say good-bye. I'm going' away!" i

His face changed colour, and he hesitated a moment. Then ihc old harsh laugh escaped his lips, like the snarl of a dog. "I didn't mean to tell you that. Anyway, it doesn't count. I've seen your husbaud almost daily. Twice he has attempted my life. 1 don't think he'll kill mc. though—he can't. It was not intended that I should die. The best part of mc died long ago—out yonder in the green gloom."

Lil tried to speak. She stretched out her hiimU helplessly—almost as if imploring his pardon.

Perhaps Joe .Savage understood, but he made no sign.

"Your husband intends to take you. He can sue for the restitution of conjugal rights, but he won't bother to do that. He'll just come here, perba.p3 tonight, perhaps to-morrow. Wherever you go, he'll follow you. You belong to him. He means to take you. What will you do?"

Why do you ask?"

"Because " He faltered. "Won't you tell mc?" His voice was almost imploring.

'•] should kill myself. 1. Savage smiled. But there was noth ing ugly or brutal in his smile now.

"For five nights I've waited and watched outside this house, from sunset to sunrise. Not for your sake, of course" —there was a touch of bitterness in his voice then—"but if he took you' my revenge wonld not be complete. So I mean to prevent him. Until Igo away you will be safe. I shall be watching always —and watching his torture! For he ii tortured. He has only one idea in his brain, only one thought, only one desire in all the world. He would give up everything; in. the world for j-ou. Even his money which he once loved so dearly. He has-berome a man with one fixed idea —you, his wife! And so my revenge is almost complete. That's all I have to say. Good-bye."

He turned on his heel. Lil stopped him. She did not quite understand. "When will your revenge be complete?''

"When Sir Rupert knows he has 'failed | in his onp great idea. When lie comes here you—and I rise up out of the shadows and stop him. I don't think he'll survive that. The little thread dividing sanity and insanity will break ! then. He'll be put away 'during His Majesty'? pleasure.' A madman, condemned for ever to a madman's .prison." ■Lil hid her face in her hands. "I shall still be bis wife." "That is fate." Savage said. The door closed, and he had gone. Tears were falling down Lil's checks. She brushed them away angrily. And she wondered why she cried. CHAPTER XL. Everything was ready. Lil gave a sigh of relief as she walked down the uncarpeted stairs, pausing now and then to glance into the various rooms she passed. In three days' time the house would be filled with strangers, bidding I for the goods and chattels, fighting for. the things she had lived with and loved. Things which seemed as much part of her as the clothes she wore. Just for a moment, as she glanced into the morning-room, sharae stabbed her. The pictures, family portraits, even the furniture, looked at her reproachfully. Each thing was labelled and numbered. It seemed indecent. In twelve hours' ;ime strangers —and donbtless among them many acquaintances and former friends—would be overhauling all these things, examining them, appraising their value. And in three days tirey iro'ild one by one be knocked down to the highest bidder. She crept out of the house, and clieed the front-door noiselessly behind her. It was like leaving a house full of loved ones whom she had murdered. Yes. feeling had returned to Lady Lil. And perhaps because of what she had gone through, because of the dreadful weeks when nothing mattered, she felt all the more keenly now. She was intensely alive, full of nervous force and energy. She walked into Piccadilly. Ever and again she turned her head and glanced over her shoulder. She had got into the habit of doing thi?. It was due to the feeling that at any moment she might see her husband dogging her footsteps. As yet he had not kept his threat. She had been loft in peace. In twelve hours she was leaving Bronnington Gardens and going down to Nightingale Street to work with the Salvation Army under Captain Horace Stokes. She had told no one where she was going, nor when — not even Peter Allen. So to-morrow she , would be safe. Curiously enough, she began to look forward to the change; she almost felt ac if she were going back to meet old friends. There would be the big, honest captain himself, and Burt the Bully, and little 'Liza Jane. And it was quite likely- she would again make the acquaintance of the superior yonng man in Coen'3 pawnshop. And there was work to be done. She had only had two interviews with Captain Stokes. 'He had roused her enthusiasm, warmed her heart, given her courage, together with faith in human nature. But it WO3 faith in the underworld and love for the people of the underworld —the unwashed, the vicious, the foolish, the hungry. All tbose the first Ca-ptain of the first Salvation Army had lived and died for— Christ Himself! Bailing an -omnibus. Lil mounted the steps to the roof and was carried far into the City. No taxi-cabs now; every -penny had to be considered. She was going to live on less than thirty shillings a week—quite a. good income in the East-end. Petted, pampered,' pretty Lady Lil! She thought of the luxurious motorcar, of the smart little hack she had ridden in the Park, of the theatres and balls where she had wasted her time. But there were no regrets. There was only one thing which made her heart ache a little, only one thing she craved— and that wa? love. Fhe was young enough to desire it with all the warmth of her passionate being; not to be loved so much as to love—for that is the real glory of life, loving, giving, and creating —especially the glory o£ a woman. And it would never be hers.

; She got off the omnibus at Queen Victoria Street, and, after walking a few hundred yards, turned to the left, down one of the narrow streets entirely taken up. by banks and offices. She was carrying a large brown envelope in her hand. Presently she stopped and asked the way to the Bank of : Spain. i A man pointed it out to her. She mounted the steps, then hesitated. She , Jelt suddenly shy, for she was going ■ to accede to the request of her unI known- lover, of Armande Silvestre, who (had woven the threads of the first and j only-romance around her broken life. ■\ Something had impelled her to send j Mm the photograph he desired. The • J wonderful letters he had written fascin>|ated her. They conjured pictures of the j man, of his home in Spain, of the life Lhe led, before her eyes; -warm, rose-

colored, beautiful pictures. Those letters strangely enough, had given her dreams; they had helped to make life bearable just when she was most lonely and afraid of life.

With an effort ehe stepped forward and entered the bank. A uniformed porier inquired what she wanted, and she held out the letter.

I He directed her to one of the bureaux. She pushed the envelope under the grating towards the clerk.

"Will you see that Mr. Armande Silvestre gets this, please?"

She was anxious to hurry away, feeling the colour mount her cheeks. She was angry with herself for her weakness. The clerk's voice stopped her. She turned her head. He was beckoning to someone among the crowd of men who hurried to and fro.

"Mt. Silvestre. a packet for you. sir." Lady Lil looked. To her astonishment she saw Joe Savage limping towards the bureau. Automatically he took the packet in his left hand and pushed it hurriedly into his coat-pocket, and then, turning, he tame face to face with Lil.

The curious eyes closed; the scarred, snn-tauned face grew almost white. •'Thanks," he stammered over his shoulder to the clerk. "I will see that my master gets it." He hurried through the crowd out into the street, lady Lil followed him. As she reached the .pavement she touched his arm: —

"Are you Armande Silvestre'3 servant?" He did not look at her. "Yes! He walked away, she cloee by .his side. They reached Queen Victoria Street. LU saw her omnibus draw up at the corner. •'Mr. Savage—l'm leaving Bronnington Gardens to-morrow. 1 would like to— have a talk with you before Can you come 'back witb mc now?" "It is too late," be said. And be spoke so softly she could hardly hear his voice. "It is not too late." she Tephed. i>ne was trembling. '"Come back —I have a message for your master!" <He looked 'at her then. And in his eyes she saw the misty wonder and the terror of the great jungle. "I am Armande Silvestrc," he croaked. And he began to laugh. '•I know." she replied. And she held out her hand. "Won't you come, and hear my message?" Like a beaten dog, cowering at his master's feet, Savage followed her.

(To -tie continued datly.y