A DESPERATE VENTURE.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3030, 24 January 1899, Page 6

A DESPERATE VENTURE.

The BOirimer Bttnßbine. . flooded hill and vale, touching with i ite glory . tba figures, pf a girl and a niaa Btaiading beneatht'he fljjfeading bbugts-bf old; hawthorn in a Ptirby-; Bhire meadbw; 0 fee was a fair^haired yoapS feljtow, witfr " sailtfr " -written on every inch of hia iwell-kJiit f orm. She, fresh and' Sweet, nineteen; that very morning, and as Bad.arid down-hearted ias it is possible : for hdpef ul; nineteen , to be.;; -..j .. .,-;■ •;:'/;'■'-. y. ~ '■■■ I f ■■■■■:- " Never fear, Cissy. If you keep true to ; me, it ia bound to come right In the end; and you will kee^irn? i ?" .; ; "...-.,. '*.. : ■ „ , "Plivej you know I will." ..■,..-...,.., He stooped and Wssed. the earnest eyes raised to hiß. "It iifbard to leave you be . hind, Cissy, to r— -*' '"' "It is far harder fcolet you go," Bhe broke in, vehemently. "To look for letters that seem: as if they : would never come; to lie awake at night listening to the howling of the wind, and wondering whether you are safe, or if — — " She stopped, -.shuddering.. v I'atience, darling; soon I shall be earning enough to- keep U8 tioth.. Surely then Dame Fortune will .smile on us a reward for this. weary time of waiting." ' ' * Twelve !' ' she ekclai mcd, starting from hiß encircling arm aB the strokes of the village dock came, borne on ■■- the Boft breeze, across the meadows. " And 1 must meet the others at the cave by half T past.'** " It must b» good-bye, then, Cißsy. I shall have baiely time to catch my train; only— l could not leave while you had a moment to spare, One long paßsionate kiss and he was gone. She watched him run across the meadow, vault the slile into the lane beyond; then the Bound of wheels told her that her lover— Clive Efcscot— had passed for the time from her life, gone to join his ship, while Bhe— Cicely Dirosdale — must wait at ( home and nurse her widowed mother, who had been Btricken down by paralysis Borne ye^rs back. A cold, stern woman, her great"«iso was for Cicely to many Oswald Berenger, & man who, rumour Hinted, had nothing beyond his wealth to recommend him. Madly in love with the girl, ho was determined to win her, though for two years his wooing had been in v<un. Cicely waß perverse enough to prefer young Escct, and though Mrs. Dimsdale commanded, threatened, cajoled, Oswald Berenger was refused again and again. He was a violent-tempered man, spoilt by society, unused to opposition, utterly unscrupulous. The girl's steady resistance angered him beyond bounds. " She shall yield,'" he had muttered when, five days before, he had once more left her presence with a courteous but decided refusal of his euit ringing in his ears. " Her mother declares that it is only Escot, a fellow with nothiDg but his mate's pay to bless himself with, that stantlß between us. But win her 1 will, cost what it may. Since everything else tails, 1 must frighten her into marrying me." Some relations of Mrs. Dimsdale's were Btaying at Buxton, between which place and Castleton the Dimsdales lived. Cicoly was frequently invited to join their excursions to various places around, and Oswald Boon contrived to bo included in the party. When one day an expedition to the .Peak Cavern was planned, he had begged to be allowed to bring Mark Railton, a young friend who hatf eoino to spend a week with him, and was anxious to see as much as possible iv the short lime. Cicely lived within walking distaijce of the cavern, so had arranged to meet her friends, who were to drive over from Buxton and wait for her at the entrance. Rousing herself from the gad train of thoughts into which she had fallen after Clive had left her, she crossed the intervening meadows, and began slowly to climb the steep path that Jed to hor destination. She never tired of gazing at the scene that lay before her, but to-day it looked more beautiful than she had seen it yet, the sunlight bringing out in strong relief the delicate tracery of tuftsd ferns that fringed the mouth of the cavern, rising in sombre grandeur above the spot where she stood. The liver, which flowed from the cave beyond, swollen by recent heavy rains, was leaping like a mad thine from rock to rock, frothing, foaming, sparkliDg in. the sunlight as it took its headlong course down the steop incline. Cissy wondered, in a vague, (lull way, whether her cousins would be t.ervous when they heard it thundering along beside them in the gloom. She herself had been there so often that the weird, uncanny place was quite familiar to her; but for strangers it was a different matter, and the waters she knew, frum the look of the river dashing down beside her, would have risen unusually high within the cave. She was just wishing it were possible to escape the expedition, so little inclined did she feel to join in the fun and laughter which her good-natured, pleasure-loving cousins always kept up, when the whole party came in sight, led by her uncle and a lanky, sandy haired young fellow, who Bhe guessed must bo Mr. Railton. Oswald Berenger brought up the rear. " It's worth a second visit, sir, ain't it ?" the guide oajd, addressing the last named gentleman, " though it isn't often folks lake the trouble to come here two days running." Oswald looked annoyed, but turned off the surprised exclamations of the others by a laughing explanation of wishing to write a graphic account of the wonderful cave for a local paper in which he was interested, and the strange weirdness of the place as they penetrated further and further into its depths soon drove the incident from their minds. No one had noticed the significant look that had passed between Mark Railton and his friend when yesterday's visit was mentioned, nor heeded the contemptuous " There's nothing to fear if yon don't turn coward and fail me," hurriedly whispered by the elder man as the two lingered for an instant behind the rest of the party. To Cissy's annoyance, Oswald kept persistently by her side. " I really do not ueed any help," she 6aid at length, wheo, as they were returning, he grasped her hand to pilot ber over the loose blocks of stone, slippery with the spray that dashed up from ihe river foaming on each side of the narrow causeway of rock along which they were picking their way. " Did you not n-jtice bow well I managed going ?" At that moment young ICailton stumbled, complained of having strained his ankle, and asked them to wait a moment while he bound a handkerchief round it. It seemed to Cissy to be a lengthy operation, and she glanced uneasily at the fast preceding lights of those in front. " We must call to the guide to stop,'" she exclaimed. '* It is not safe to go over this dangerous bit by the light of our three candles only. One false step, and " A strong arm grasped her round the waist, a thick scarf was lied tightly over her head, aud to her horror she felt herself dragged to the edge of the black seething waters. " Promise you will be my wife, or I swear I will push you over," hissed Berenger 'b ' voice in her ear. " You arc completely in ' my power. Railton is in my pay, and won't stir a finger to save you. Yield, l tell you.or by I'll kill you." She struggled frantically ia his iron grip; call Bhe could not, half suffocated as she was by the thick covering. She felt her feet on

thfj I>rinkj fdt.taim forcing her over the edge, wkile Ins liandd gradually relaxed their hold, and he tore away,; the clinging fingers that grasped dab coat. A little further, still a little further; the water was up to her knees now; the serge Bfcirt ahc wore, heavy with the "wet; 1 was dragging her slowly but Burely down, though with one hand Blie Btill cliing to -Berenger'a arm. -Yet, even with death bo near, she never faltered, never thought of yielding to the tierce command to show by touching his lips with her hand that »he. would be his wife. Better death, than., that 1. Thoughts of her mother, of Olive, crowded, to her brain, and with her lover 'b image came" fresh Btrength, and a fierce longing for life— life for his sake. As she made another desperate effort to raise herself, young llailton exclaimed: " Hold hard, Berenger, you'll kill the girl. I'm a pretty bad lot,but I can't stand by and see a woman half murdered before my eyes. Here, catch my arm, MissDimsdale," and in spite of Berenger'B threats Cissy felt herself dragged up to the narrow path. Gasping, panting, she tore the covering from her head. Her own candle had been extinguished in the straggle, but by the dim light of the others she caught Bight of the faces of the t wo men ; one white with fear, the other distorted with baffled fury^ r " Curse you, ttailton, you meddlesome fool, ? ' Berenjrer cried. " Another minute and Bhe mußt— —" I But to Cissy'B intense relief, Bhe heard the guide shouting her name, and saw lights gleaming- in the distance. " Yes, there has been an accident," she Baid, as the man came hurrying up. " I —slipped, and but for that gentleman," pointing to Mark Kailton, " should have been drowned, 1 am sure." .Not for worlds would Bho have anyone know the true state of the case. The tacts might reach Olive's ears, and be would be for throwing up everything and hastening back to protect her. Instinctively she felt that Oswald's persecution would from hencef ort h be at an end. " You, Miss, as knows every inch of the Peak as Ido mj self , to slip over! It fair beats me," the guide said, as he helped the trembling girl to where the rest of the party was assembled. " 1 never thought of warning you to step carefully, seeing the times you've be&h here." Oswald Ilerenger received a hasty summons to town that evening — so he told the DioiHdaJes. He never crossed their' path again. (The End.)