Hers To Command

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 262, 5 November 1931, Page 22

Hers To Command

By REGINALD TEMPLE, jg ~"WHAT H/WGREAVES KNEW,"EE

(CHAPTER Vlll.—Continued.) Meanwhile Monica leant close to Lady Rose. "Rose,' don't let's quarrel," she said pleadingly. "I like you so much, and you are about the only friend I've got over here. So do let,'s be friends. I know I make you curious, but it's impossible to tell you everything of my life. Let us leave it at this, that I've had a lot of unhappiness which I wish, to forget. Because, in a way, that's the whole truth of it."

Monica's words were so sincere that Rose forgot her grievance.

"Very well, Monica, dear," she said. "I'll try not to think any more about you being a mystery. And if father sees that report, I'll make him see that it was not your fault."

She was interrupted at that moment by a voice which said: "Excuse me, ladies, but I heard you, a few minutes ago, discussing a place called Moggimolo."

The man, who presently gave his name as Marley, had not resumed his reading after all. He had been thinking of where he had seen Monica before. Then, having decided that it was at Moggimolo, he had approached them and asked to join their conversation.

He did not wait for any warm invitation, but just wheezed into a wicker chair, with an assumption of friendliness which both girls strongly resented.

'"Yes," he said, "I couldn't help being interested at the mention of Moggimolo. Funny place, Moggimolo. Funny as its name. That's how your conversation reached me. Didn't hear what you were talking about, but just caught that funny name."

As he spoke he looked fixedly at Monica, who was nervously handling a cigarette. She knew quite well what was coming, and she was wondering how best to parry his question.

"If I'm not mistaken," he said inevitably, "you have been to Moggimolo, Miss?"

"I've been to many places," said Monica freezingly, "but I don't' think I've been to many places where men break their way into a private conversation between two ladies. Not in the rude way in which you have done it', anyhow."

"Come, come, come," exclaimed Mr. Marley, giving his broad shoulders a series of jerks, each of which brought a sympathetic creak the cane chair. "Come, come. I only just crossed over to speak to you about Moggimolo. I'm a trader, you know. Familiar with all that bit of country. But, as I was saying, Miss, I think you've been to Moggimolo." Monica thought she had better admit at least that much, lest Rose should be suspicious. v "Of course I've been to Moggimolo," she replied. "That -was what we were talking about when you came over to us. I don't quite see how. it concerns you, though." "Can't say that I do," said Mr. Marley, the trader, "except that I'm trying to think how and when I met you there." "Perhaps you didn't," said Monica.. "Sure thing I did," came the reply, "and are you quite sure you never met me?" "Never in my life," said Monica. "I'm sure I should remember if I had. And now, perhaps, if your curiosity is satisfied, you will kindly allow us to continue our conversation." Whilst these exchanges were taking place, Lady Rose was sitting back in her chair, her resentment rapidly changing, to amusement. She knew quite well how Monica could handle a situation of this kind. How strange, she reflected, that this queerly-named place, of wMch she had never heard before, should so suddenly take such an important part in conversations. She began to tMnk that everyone she knew must have been to Moggimolo and said nothing about it. But Mr. Marley, the trader, had succeeded in life through his ability 'to stand rebuffs. Consequently he was not so easily shaken off as Monica would have liked.

"Most sure you can continue your conversation," he said. "But you can forgive an old trader being curious about somebody he's met on the outposts of the Empire, or somebody else's empire. Say, now, isn't your name Miss Westmacott, Miss Ruby Westmacott?" "I'm sure it isn't," said Monica. "I wouldn't mind being called Miss Westmacott, but I would object to 'Ruby.' It's a name that always makes me feel ill. Poppy is another. Are you sure that Miss Weetmacott's middle name wasn't Poppy?"

"Not so far as I know," said Mr. Marley, the trader. "Though it might have been. Lots of people could find even more objectionable names for her. Say, I'm very, very glad your name isn't Miss Westmacott." "Why?" The query came like a pistol shot from Lady Rose. She had glanced at Monica and had seen that she was losing her colour and that her hand- holding the cigarette was trembling more than ever. "Why 2" echoed Mr. Marley. "Why, because she was what they call a bit of no good. Course, I shouldn't have said this if your friend had said she was Miss Westmacott. I may be a bit rou° r h, but I know better than that. Still, I'm glad she s not that young person. At the same time, it must be a bit troublesome having a double in a young person like Miss Westmacott."

This from Lady Rose again. "Well," replied Mi*. Marley, "she hardly shone in Moggimolo, did she?" How can I tell?" asked Rose, looking to Monica as though expecting an explanation from her. Monica, however, was sitting in silence, gazing at Mr. Marley as though he were a serpent. It was Mr. Marley himself who brought her. out of her trance.

"Do you happen to remember her, Miss ?" 'he asked.

"Never heard of her," said Monica with a little catch of her breath. "Why was she a 'bit of no good,' as you said a few minutes ago?" "Well, there was the affair of the Van Drein diamond. Everybody said it was Miss Ruby Westmacott who had it."

"And.l suppose everybody was right?" Monica looked inquiringly at him.°. . "Seemed to be," said' Mr. Marley. "Anyhow she's not been seen there again, nor anywhere else, so far as I know."

At this point Monica idly picked up an illustrated weekly which was lying on an adjacent chair and began to read it. Lady Rose, too, felt that Mr. Marley

was not very pleasant company. Further, she wanted to be alone so that she could think over what she had heard.

Mr.. Marley saw that the time had come for him to retreat, though not without adding:—

"I'm staying at this hotel permanently, so that if either of you ladies want another chat about Moggimolo, I'm your man." When he had gone. Rose turned to Monica.

"What a strange man," she said, "and how very funny that he should have been to Moggimolo."

Monica took a deep sigh,

"Damn Moggimolo," she said, "Let's talk about it another day. That, man's got on my nerves." "Very well, my dear," seid Lady Rose.' It's all that quarrelling of ours that's worn you out. It has made me feel the same. I think you'd, like to go to bed now, wouldn't you?"

» A* little later Lady Rose took her departure and Monica went to bed. But it was a long time before she was able to sleep. The presence of Mr. Marley seemed to haunt her, for Mr. Marley had been quite right in what had obviously been his shrouded accusations. Monica had been known in Moggimolo as Miss Westmacott.

Eventually she fell asleep thinking of Lindon, and deciding that she must see him first thing on the following day.

It would need all his knighthood tc get her out of her troubles, r Meanwhile Lindon was enjoying a peaceful cigar under the tender ministrations of Perkins. He found it good to see Perkins again. Lindon was not pleased with women at the moment, and he deliberately brought up the subject of the Band of Hope superintendent, so that Perkins could express a few of his views on women. To Piers this represented his idea of having things done for one. *

"I haven't inquired after your friend the Band of Hope superintendent lately," Piers said. "Do you ever hear how he's going on?" . , ■ "I'm afraid I'm not given to inquiring about him either, sir," said Perkins somewhat coldly. "And he's not exactly a friend of mine, either."

"I'm sorry, Perkins," replied Piers with a smile. "I ought to have known better than to refer to him in that way. I was merely a little curious." "That's quite all right, sir," said Perkins, arranging a picture which was not hanging straight on the wall. "Not that I bear him any ill-will. I suppose he'd got as go>,J a right to Maggie as I bad, though I didn't like the way he used to take her to a cafe and buy her ginger beer -where he knew she could see me coming out of my own little house of call. I think he used to wait till he'd seen me go in; then he'd go and bring Maggie to the ginger-beer establishment and of course I daren't come out."

"Which would come pretty hard on a man like yourself," said Piers slyly. "Not' a bit hard, sir," said Perkins with a smile, "but it generally happened when there was nobody in the Royal Oak worth talking to." "Wasn't there a back way out 1"

■ "There 'was, but I'd have had to »sk the landlord to let me out. And a nice fool I'd. have looked having to go out the back way in case my girl saw me. No, sir, I just stayed in and wondered how they, could go on drinking gingerbeer for so long." . "Some people are very good at it," put in Piers, who always relished these little intimate talks with Ma man Perkins. ' „

"Yes, but not so good as that, sir," replied Perkins. "No, sir, it. was just, a game of theirs, and I've never forgotten her for that. But you know there's, no telling what women will do. There she was, supposed to be fond of me apd yet doing a thing like that. I think she'd have seen me burned on the gibbets if ,it had made her laugh." —" . "But the Band of Hope gentleman didn't make her laugh, did he? Theyare not famous as humorists." ' "No, but he'd got more money than I'd got. That's women all over again. As ' soon as she found he'd got two shillings to my eighteen-pence, sue didn't mind how she treated me. Anyhow, she's got no children, and I know she wanted some. So it isn't all it might be, even when you marry a Band of Hope superintendent." Lindon laughed. "Now you're getting cruel, he said. "Not the slightest," said Perkins. "I only made the observation. Anyhow, I'm getting over it nowadays. It's a great tonic to you to have a dislike for women. Surprising what a lot of time you have to think about other things. There used to be a time when I did nothing but think about Maggie, almost. But it's different when you've finished with 'em. It's like a gentleman travelling seventy or eighty miles a day each way to his office. It seems all right while he's doing it; but, once he stops, then he wonders how he could ever have stuck it. That, sir, is how Perkins thinks of women." . t "There seems to be something in what you say," agreed Piers in order to induce Perkins to continue his monologue. But Perkins had seen a chance which he could not find it in his heart to miss. "For instance, sir," he said, "if I had kept on with Maggie I shouldn't have been here talking to you at this time of night. I like,to be able to serve you sir, at all hours of the day or night. F'rinstance, the other night when you came home at sunrise. It didn't make no odds tome." Here Perkins lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "And if I may be so bold, sir, I'd like to have a word with you about that night." •

"Well, pour me out another whisky and soda first," said Piers, "and then you can have as many words as you like."

"Thank you, sir," he said. "Then I should like to know if it was quite right of that young lady that night to say . I was telling her lies over the telephone. And she told me the same again the next day when you'd gone to France. She wouldn't believe you were out." "Well, of course she wouldn't, after the previous night when she had heard my voice immediately after you had lold her I was out."

"I agree, sir," said Perkins. "We shall have to work things a bit better than that. It's what they called bad staff work in the army. We'll have to have a better system of signs, or there'll be some woman getting hold of you, sir."

Lindon reflected rather grimly on how Monica actually had got hold of him.

"Yes, we'll have to be more careful," he agreed seriously.

At nine-thirty next morning, before Lindon was out of his bath, the telephone bell rang impishly. "There we blooniin'-well are again," said Perkins as he went to answer it; (To be continued daily.)