VICTOR MOREDANT; OR,

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 14, 8 October 1874, Page 3

VIC TOR MORED ANT; OR,

T HE , Ii O S 3?.r . a &t£ S» /■ A TALE OF FIFTY YEARS l ] 'tAGO »' ; .'

CH AITTEft V.-~ Go*ti# tifeb.' Meapwjbile -J&b: ;had got Olivp seated close to' tnie 'fire, to which aha . oent . ljer little shjverino; tVamb ? and Borek^] her benumbed hands 'forward to'tne heat. .. ;, ".Oh, what a dreadfully cold country this 'is," she said^ wita a shudder.i "I rdon't think I shall.'be a^le ; tp liyein iti 5 ' " Lor* bless you,' Miss Olive,- it , aint, alius as cold _ as this," replied flack,; in a cheeryjtbrieV :", In summer it's spmejtiin.es nearlyas hdt as in India ari<jl it's;a{pity yoji hadn't bomb tb itin. 'spnng, for then? ye'd have had all tbe'.aumnier to get used to it. More nor that, you wouldn't have come in the "'Cynthia and ' , got wrecked." " Ahi but in that [ case I shouldn't \ have met in with ybu, Jack," returned j . Oliver TegarpHhghioa Very affectionately., | " And, now," sne%ddedV with a ! while a bad. look crime upen. her fair^ young; face, *'hbre we are almost, at the ,end of durjourheyj and we are to. i part. Oh, ' Jack ,: dear Jack, lam so sorry, to , lose you; ihy best' and- truest frient). " Won't ypu coma and, stay" with jne .at Beech wobd-^-wbuld you, dear, . , efbod Jack?*" . '•Bless yer kind, heart, Miss .Olive, how could Ido that ? I'm fit , for noth-; . ing but the sea, and couldn't live many, weeks off the salt water. Not as ; . I shouldn't like to see you now and then ; . and mayhap, if you don't object, I'll take . a cruise to Beechwood when I come home from a voyage, just . to see how happy yoii are in your new home." " If I don't object," cried Olive, with a pained expression of countenance. 4$ Oh, Jack, how can you say that? There's no one in the whole world that. I shall be so glad to -see as yoni. And after all that you have dona ltfr; me too. Didn't you save my life that dreadful night when the Cynthia was $urned '( and haven't you tended me like 4 father ever since f And don't you love me, dear Jack, as fondly as 1 love you ?" Saying which, the beauteous girl, with a burst of emotion, flung herself on Jack's broad, honest bosom and buijgt into tears. ' ' * The faithful fellow hung over her with a curious aspect of tenderness an^. respect. Amid 'all their ad veutures, ana despite the closeness of their intercourse, he had never forgot the difference, between them in rank and station—that she was a rich, high-born lady, while ,he was but a common sailor; attd though; Olive, in the fulness of her gratitude and in view of his sterling -character and disposition, ignored all tftat, and treated him with that unreserve#:freedora which her guileless nature" and. pure heart dictated, his modesty and humility, kept him from presuming, on anything he had done. She had indeed," twined herself round his heart to an extent 'which made parting from her diificult,|and;his emotion was such as nearly to Tunnian him as now. she lay upon his hreast^and wept at the prospect of it. His .impulse was to fold his strong arms rouri<l bet, and imprint a father's or a brother V.kiss upon her beautiful lips-— an act w ( hjcu Olive would not have resisted ; but ''his strong innate sense of propriety restrained him, and he contented himself with patting with gentle touch her nestling head, and-tiniidly stroking Her silken golden hair, which s he thought it almost a sacrilege to touch with "his , rough tarry fingers. ' •'Cheer up, Miss Olive," he soqthr inj^ly returned in answer to hermotirn r ful words ; " wherever we are we shan't forget each other; and never so long as my voyage of life lasts will I be anything but grateful for the good: words: von spoke in the boat, and,! all the beautiful things you have, taught me since. I think you have made mci a better man, MissOliye, and I hope as; how I'H keep worthy of some ot the' kindness you have shown nic" ; •' Oh, Jack, what has my kindness been to yours?' burst out Olive, impulsively.' " You saved my lite at the peril of your own— *you have attended imdprotectedmethroughallthejouraeyj and even now it is to serve me that you have, stayed here to-night instead of going on to Glasgow to give gladness and joy to your sorrowing wife, who believes ybu to have perished in the 'Cynthia. I grudge thib last more than I can tell ycdj Jack ; and all the way. from Edinburgh as I sat inside the coach I reproached myself for asking you to. delay on the rOad even for. a day. : it was So selfish of me thus to prolong .your wife's grief, and more than once I was on the point: of desiring you to go on ana leave me to alight here; ' ]otit oh. Jack, my courage failed when I thought of proceeding to Beechwood alone. No doubt my cousin Julia has .reached it Jong ere ithis, but my uncle; /and my cousin Victor think me dead, and my arrival will ; be such a surprise , to them. Then, Jack,iyou know* how disagreably I am situated with regard ; ,to cousin Walter, L-t-^Oh, Xfelt I could not go alone." " And there wasn't a bit o* need yon should, Miss Olive, #0 long as I was at hand to go with you. AH the difference is that I ehali reach Glasgow to-mori-ow; instead of to-night, and insteadof Sf ary — bles*|ieiheartr-r-being made glad tonight, ;>Bh%|won't be till to-mbrrowj which won^db 'her- much harm, - poor soul, seeing^ how she doesn't ei^>ect .me. S<* I h^|e by Yhat time to see you ;.. P%. •' - . "'■ (

I safe and, happy with^-youir friends; at Beechwo'bd j and J'd advise you, Miss "Olive,, not to.; wjorry yourself at the thought pf -meaning your cousin; even ; thoughfitis expected you and he are to ! be.inarriexL'f *-■"■•■ " Oh, Jack, itis dreadful." " Not- a- bit on it, miss j least ways if this Mr. Victor is a nice, gobd-Uobkirig, brave-headrt^^un^^ntlenian, as your father tola^oulie is? ■ ' "My father's anxiety to realise his darling project would besure to invest my cousin -with' qualities which he does I not possess," returned. Olive, with deep I despondency of look and tone. ; 'fjPYaps not, Miss Olfve, praps not,", ;said Jack, whose desireMt was to encourage her and give her a more hopeful jview of the circumstances in which she ;was, placed; though .privately he did •think it an exceedingly disagreeable thing: for Olive to. hayb her hand disposed of to a youngi iiian whom; she had never seen, and he rfully sympathised with the feeling of distress she experienced at the thought of meeting cousin. He felt it to be a position in- which' no inodesft, pure-minded; girl should be placed. But, seeibg that Olive was placed jn it, and had no means of escape Jromdt, he saw that^the best way was t to present the subject in a bright light. : Sohe went on to conjure up all manner of grand and attractive possibilities regarding her. cbusin, s ;' I've a notion, Miss Olive," he added, "that Mr. Victor, is just as good and handsome as your father said, 'and you'll 'find him a;young gentleman quite to your mind; and as, of course, he can't ihelp admiring ybu whenever, he sees you, you'll fall in love with each other at once, and he the happiest husband and wife in all Scotland." * " The .most thing in the •v^prld, Jack}" responded Olive, shaking her head With grave incredulity. Had we even a pamral '-affinity to each other — -.which s ■nnght in ordinary ci'rcum.starices bave drawn us to each 'Other and created an affection between vs — the very /footing on which we meet will operate to prevent fo. At the same time, Jack, I have an intense anxiety to learn something of my cousin ; and this is why I'Vesolved'to stay at this inn all night instead of proceeding to Beechwood at on-?e, as we might easily have done, for the guard of the coach told me it is little more than two miles from this village." . " The helmsman gave me the same reckoning," 'said Jack. -Then seeing that';his nautical phrase was rather bewildering to his listener, he hastened to translate ft into a land term — " I mean the driver o' that there craft they cull a coach," lie explained. ' '"'."Ah, heSdsb told you Beechwood is but two mllgs' from Denburn ?" ,'' "Yes,' Miss Olive, he Idid ; and as $iat ain't two knots by sea measurement, I thought as how you would have made all sail, instead of bearing up and heaving to here for the night." " This was my reason for it, Jack, I want' to get some information about the inmates of Beechwood; and I wish you to call the landlord into the room after tea, and ask him questions about it and about'my cousin, You understand'?' 1 ' ■"-" v V In course I does, Miss Olive," cried Jack, who was now' enlightened on a point which till that foment; had puzzled him. The idea would nfcyer have occured to himself, but now that it was presented he admiringly approved of it. *' Then you'll manage to gain information from the landlord V u ;Oh, yes, Mfcs Olive, I'll pump him pf every drop o' Beechwood water that's in his hold " il Oh, that's a dear, good Jack," cried. Ol^ve, eagerly. " Only do it cunningly ; dori't let him suppose we have a purpose in i% or he may nbibe communicative." " fear. Miss Olive — never fear. I'll' get alongside and board him as quietly as a harbour rat gets into an outward-bound Indiaman ; and then ybtt'H see how— ' ■" " Hus^ !" said Olive, as at this junc* ture the ploise reached them from the passage of servant bringing in the meal that had been ordered, and when tiie door opened Jack was vigorously poking up the fire, as if that operation was' engaging his most serious thoughts. jThe keen, sharp air on the top of the coaqh ' had made Jack exceedingly huhgry, and he did ample justice to the substantial provisions with which the Denburn Arms supported its credit on the occasion. ' Qlive's nervous anxiety was 1 a great hinderance to her appetite, and; it' the truth must be told, she managed to swallpw but a very little of the solids, though'she drank a considerable quantity of tea, which some rich cream had made very palatable. Watching with'silent impatience the performance of her companion, she no sooner saw Jack show signs of being satisfied than she rung th« hell fot the removal of the : dishes ; ; .and by th(B.servant who took them away . a fwessage 1 was sent to the landlord requiting the pleasure of his company in the parlour. As this was an invita- ; tion to which the latter was well accustomed, and as he liked nothing better thaai to gossip with his guests, he repaired at once to the apartment named, and was soon affably seated between i Jack and Olive at the parlour fire, which was now burning 1 brightly and sending a comfortable glow through all the room, much to the comfort' of the latter, whom the climate of India had rendered very ; unfiti to bear the rigours of a Scottish ; winter^, • With a tact fully as great as that of

; whrch he had boasted, Jack skilfully and unsuspiciously drew the f landl»n-3 on to the desired subject of conversation. The .questions., he asked were wide enough of the mark at first, and vague and general in the extreme, as if prompted solely . by the 1 fact that he was in the Den burn Arm's, and was glad of any kind of conversation to while away the long- evening*. : At last; "to. Olive's intense satisfaction, the name of Beechwood was mentioned, and thejandlord's; flow of talk at once streamed'into the desired channel. . ** Ay, a fine place ; a grand place is Beechwood," he went on. " It belonged tae theCranstons • but Sir Norman, the last that had it, went a' tae the bad-fox-huntin', and gamblin' in Lurinori arid Germany ; and sac twa year syhe Beechwood had tae be sold! A gemjeman frae -India boucht it,, c\% Moredant — a very rich man, I believe^ and a queer, Jang-heidit chield he seems tae hae beenl He had nae son tae hei? the place— jtist ac dochter; but his brither had stson, and the plan the nabob had was for the twa cousins tae be married, and sac the Moredants would become a" great coonty family. Was that no a denty scheme, miss ?" " M — it was a very singular one," faltered, Olive, to whom the question wasraddressed. " How did it succeed, may I ask ?" : * Oh, it's owre sune tae tell that yet, but it looks braw and promisin' at present. The lassie — Miss Olive, they ca' her — had been born and broucht up in InHia, and the young- lad — Victor, her cousin — was reared in , Glasgow ; but the nabob, after buying* the place, put his brither in tae manage it, and went off tae india, meanin' tae come back in a .fear or twa,- bring his ■ douchter wi' him, and get the marriage celebrated without farther dela}'. ' But,' as Rabbie Burns says, ' the best laid schemes o' micb and men gang aft aglee.' He hadna been lang back tafe India when he took ill and died, sac he'll never see the upshot o' his plan, it's tae gang, on, though-, for a' that. He had a will made out, settin' it a' doon and directin' ihat his douchter -Miss Olive should come tae Scotland' and live wi' her uncle and -cousin at Beechwood for a year, and at the end o' that time her arid Maister Victor tae be married. Sac she spiled in the Cynthia, the ship that was burned on the passage. • Maybe ye hae heard tell o' thit, as ye are a sailor ?" r '••Well — yes, I did bear as how the. Cynthia was wrecked," replied Jack, quite gravely ; " and— l suppose you mean to say the young lady perished ?" " Na, she didna." ■ "Eh !— what ?" cried Jack, with an astonished stare, while Olive started in violent alarm, concluding that the landlord had guessed who she was. " Miss Olive didna perish," went on the narrator, iar too deep in his subject to notice the peculiar demeanour of either. " Her and a wheen mair o' th« passengers, wi' some o' the crew, escaped •in the boats. There was another young leddy — a cousin o' Miss Olive's — wha was comin' wi' her ; but-, puir thing, she was drooned. Miss OH ye hersel', though, reached England a' safe, and cam' tae Beechwood mair nor a month syne." '*"" ' Jack and Olive sat listening in petrifaction — unable to speak, unable -to move — able only to gaze at each "other in mystification and bewiltlerment.- --| " That whs lucky, wasn't it," added the landlord. " Since it was the wull o' Providence thftt ane o' the lassies should | perish, hoo muckle better that it sud be | the ane that was portionless and dependant, and no the rich ane that had sic a bricht future aforft her." " And — aud — Olive Moredant had reached Beechwood," ssid Olive, in a stony kind of voice — Jack being too .bewildered as yet .to be able to speak. " She did that. " She lost a' her lug- ' gage, but fortunately saved some o' her jewels and money ; no her fortune, ye keVs. for that had been sent r,o a bank in LurinouV.fout the pickle siller she had broucht for travellin' expenses. w hen she got tae Lnnnon she sent a letter tae her uncle doon here tae come /for her, which he did, ahd'she has been at Beechwood ever since " Had the case not been so serious it would have been an amusing study to watch the coiinrenance'bf Jack Blossom as he sat staring open-eyed at the landlord, who, all unconscious of tbe effect his words were producing, was contemplating the red bars of the grate. Olive had by this time obtained a glimpse of the shocking truth ; but Jack was as yet altogether at sea — , nay, not at sea,< for to be at sea was for Jack to be at' 1 home and wide awake. He was in a;' state of helpless if not alarmed perplexity, and evidently had a notion that the innkeeper was a lunatic. " And — how did Olive and Victor — I mean, how do they feel towards each other if!' faltered ' Olive. "Are they" likely to be— wedded ?" The extraordinary "question brought Jack's starting eve-balls round to the face of Olive, as. if^t^ appeared • to him that she was going mad too. But Olive was too intently waiting for the coming •answer to notice or heed him; 1 ' • " There's, nae dobt o' that," was the reply that came. •" It's owx*e advantageous an arrangement for baith parties no tae be eagerly embraced." As for Miss Olive, she seems as fond and prood b her sweetheart as if she kenned him a' heydays, and\Mr. Victor seems just as pleased. .- They are hardly ever sepalrate, and there's a talk o' the marriage comin' off sune on a grand scale." ! ' ' This astounding statement, delivered

so gravely and:- with au air of perfect ; truthfulness, addedsfill further to Jack's unbounded mystifications : His head buzzed and began to turn round, until he thought he was growing" mad too. "They — profess to love each other, then ?"■ said Olive, as thought .after [ thought rushed through her brain with the rapidity of lightning. - " I dinna ken what they profess, mem ; : but, love or no love, they are sure tae ; be married, and that sune." "But it ain't Miss Olive you are talking about," at length gasped Jack, making a strenuous effort. "It Can't ,be her, you know, for -" " Yes, yes, Miss Olive Moredant, that was saved with the rest in the boats," hastily interrupted Olive, at the skme time giving Jack a warning glance, which had the effect of '■''•striking $im dumb, though he had nof.the most-rem-ote understanding of its meaning. " Preceesly so," rejoined^ the landlord. " I hae a copy o' the * Times ' newspaper wi' a history o' the wreck in it, if ye care to read it ." " Ah, yes, yes, if you please to Jet me see it,"'cried Olive eagerly. The landlord rose and began to rummage among some papers on a shelf, and while he was doing so the door was hastily opened, and a voice exclaimed — " Maister, ' maister, ye are w anted immediately." " Comin', Grizzy lass, comin'," replied the innkeeper, who had got the paper he sought, and,^ handing it to Olive, quitted the parlour. The moment the door closed Olive and Jack turned and gazed on each other with intense excitement. " Lor' sake, Miss Olive, what does it all mean ?" asked, Jack in helpless bewilderment. " It means that my cousin, Julia Hardinage, is giving herself out to be me— Olive Moredant — and is playing my part in all its boa rin gist," said Olive. " Good Lord," ejaculated Jack, dropping into the chair from which he had risen — thrown on his beam .ends, as he would. have termed it,' by the horrible enormity of such anunimaginable fraud. " You don't mean to say as how she is sailing under false colours ?" he gasped. " There is no room for doubt about it," replied Olive, who was glancing iier eye hurriedly over the report of the wreck of the Cynthia, till she came to the part wihich described the perishing of Julia Hardinage,_ and the escape of her cousin,' Olive Moredant; and this she read out, though in a suppressed tone. . . Just as she had done so, and ere either had time to make farther comment, the parlour door again opened, and the landlord re-appeared. '■• " Here's a funny thing," he/hurriedly whispered, "The very folk we were speaking about are at the door in a carriage. They canna gang an inch farer on the road hame tae Beechwood till the horses' "feet are sharped, and they are gaunna- wait here till the smith dis the job.". " Here !— -in this room !*' cried Olive, in violent consternation. "Hoot aye; but ye neednamind. They juist want a heat at the fire, and there's room -for ye a' j or, if ye dinna like to be sae' near great folk, juist draw owre intae that corner, where -ye'll hardly be seen." - t ''" Jack, Jack," said Olive, breathlessly, aS she flew to her wrappings and enveloped herself in them. Jack comprehended that she- meant him to do the same, and scarcely were they muffled from head to. foot and had withdrawn into the corner which the landlord indicated, when footsteps , were heard in the passage, and there entered Julia Hardinage leaning on the arm of •aa elderly gentleman, who, from his resemblance to her father, Olive had no difficulty in recognising as her uncle. ''■ (To he. cnntinvpd P i in ii—— a — i — i —