A DAUGHTER OF MIDIAN.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9951, 27 December 1900, Page 6

A DAUGHTER OF MIDIAN.

CHAPTER XXIII.

It was not the run he had made to catch the moving train that made John Blackwood's heart beat fast when he flung himself down on the seat of the carriage he had succeeded in boarding. He had made, not in so many words, but in effect, a declaration of love to his beautiful client, aud she had not tepelled him. \

The truth was that he had fallen in love with her from the time when he took his seat in the railway carriage in which she travelled from England, when he had interfered to protect her against the impertinence of a " smart " vulgarian. Hβ had had no hope of seeing her^ again, and it was with a feeling almost of bewilderment that he recognised her when she spoke to him in Glasgow. His delight when he found that he might be of service to her, and would naturally be brought into a relation of more or lees intimacy with her, may be imagined. And now that he had had the pleasure of a second and a longer meeting with her, he could no longer resist the temptation of telling her of the devotion that burned in his heart.

I The young lawyer was not by any means a wealthy man, but he was well connected, and fairly well off, and it did not occur to him that there was any dis- ; crepancy between him and Sybil. Young i Scotchmen are not accustomed to expect a dowry with their brides,and Blackwood had full confidence in his ability to keep the pot boiling independently of his small private fortune. It waa late when Blackwood reached Glasgow, and his first care was to go to a restaurant and order supper. The restaurant he selected was fitted up with boxes, resembling private rooms without doors, open to the inspection of those who might be passing from one of these apartments to another, but quite secluded so far as conversation went. Blackwood was sitting in one of these boxes, waiting for his meal to be brought to him, when a man somewhat older than himself walked along the corridor wuh rather unsteady gait, and finally came to an anchor opposite the doorway ot the box in which he was., sitting. ' 'Pon my life ! Our old friend Blackbird !' cried the stranger, in a rather thick voice. The young lawyer smiled at hearing the nickname which had not greeted his ears eince his schooldays ; and although Bertie Simpson was not the kind of man he cared to bs intimate with, he felt that for old acquaintance , sake he could not do less than hold out his hand and ask him to join him at supper. ' Thanks, aw'fly, old man, but I've just been dining. So hard- to get a Juhnny to speak to in this strait-laced village. All the follows have gone home to tea, like good go-to-meeting young men. In town, now, we never think of dining till half-past seven or eight, and then look in at the Empire or the Gaiety, and spend a jolly evening. Here, in the provinces ' • Have you been down long ?' interrupted Blackwood, who did not care to hear the customs of his native city scorned by one of her renegade sons. ' Only ran down two nights ago. I say. let's drink to old times. Let's have some champagne. , ' Thank you all the same, but a glass of beer with my dinner or supper is good enough tor me.' ' Stuff an , nonsense. Who would drink beer when he can get champagne ? Champagne's the tipple for a gentleman, I tell ye. Waiter, bring a magnum of the best brand of champagne you've got.'

Blackwood was annoyed, for he did not wish to drink with the fellow. He saw that Simpson had had enough to drink already. But when the wine was brought it wmild have seemed downright churlish to refuse to take a share in it. So Mr Simpsom, his foolish face looking even more vacuous than usual, and his hat perched very much on the back ot his head, sat opposite the young lawyer, leaning his arms on the table and caressing every now and then the big bottle of champagne that stood »t his elbow.

' Still grinding away at the law ?' enquired Simpson, when they had gravely drunk to each other's health.

'Still grinding away,' said Blackwood, cheerfully. ' I've set up for myself now.'

' Awful grind it mu-t be !' said the man of fashion, sympathetically. ' For myself, I never cared very much for office work. I find that lookin' in now and then at a broker'a and takin' a squint at a tape is about as much of it as I can stand,'

' You have made your pile, then ?' asked Blackwood, with a greater show of interest than he had yet shown. Bertie Simpson had not by any means been considered a clever boy at school, and Blackwpod waa inclined to put him down as a Brainless young braggart; but he was beginning to think that he must be more clever than people had supposed, or he would not have made enough already to enable him to live in idleness. In answer to Blackwood's question Simpson gave »n elaborate wink. ' I'm sure I beg your pardon,' said Blackwood, hastily, and flushing a little. When you spoke as if you had given up business I naturally supposed that you had made your pile. But I assure you I had no wish '

Simpson burst into a rear of laughter. 'My dear fellow, I'm not offended. I only meant to insinuate thu my pile is more or less a matter of private interst '

' Hxactly so. And lam very sorry—' 'No more apologies, my dear f'lah, I beg of you,' said Mr Simpson in hia very grandest manner. 'In fact, lam rather proud of the level-headed ness I showed on one occasion, which has enabled me ever since to live the life of a gentleman. You know I have always maintained that in the world of finance chances happen to a man that he would not get elsewhere.'

' Yes. I remember you looked down upon law as being too slow.' 'I did. Aiad so it is. You don't have the chances you have iv the financial world, though 1 admit there are pickings to be had sometimes. Shall I tell you how I managed to snare the oof-bird ?' Blackwood saw that the champagne waß having it.s effect, and he hesitated about accepting the confidences of a man in that condition.

'Thanks, old man,' he said drily, 'but I'm afraid your experiences , would not be of much use to me.'

• Dare say not. Such chaDces don't grow on every bush. But it's the being able to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes ; that's the thing, my boy. 5 Blackwood saw that the fellow was simply dying to expatiate on his own cleverness, so he curtly told him to «fire • It was not long after I went up to town ' began Mr Simpson, ' that I was j connected wilh the floating of one of our largest mining companies. You'll excuse j my mentioning names, won tyou ? \V*4I, this mine was not one of those nuseiabie wildcat things that are floated by th« dozen, but a genuine first-class article, 'which has been paying haud-om« dividends for a ears. 1 wSs. iv a holieitor s office .then, and the prospectus was put

before us—that is to say, my principals —in the way of business. - The vendors of the mine were willing to take the Greater part of the payment in shares, ut they needed some capital, for they hadn't a penny between them, so far as I could make out, and of course they needed capital to work the mine. And one of them, I remember, wanted ready money. The other preferred shares, because he bad faith in the mine. And he was right.

' Well, after a bit the company was floated, and before long there were rumors flying about that there was something fishy about it. .

'But I thought you said it was a good, honest mine/ interrupted Blaokwood. ' The mine was right enough, you Juggins,' retorted Mr Simpson, •It was the title of the vendors that was said to be a trifle queer., I pufc one or two questions to one of the vendors—l think 1 mentioned there were two —and he looked so scared> that I felc convinced j that there was something seriously wrong. So I went to the expense of en- | gaging a man out iv Australia to make inquiries lor me on the spot—on behalf of persons interested of course. And what do you think was the result ? I found that the men who had sold this mine—worth nearly a million of money, mark you — had no more right to it than you or I have at this moment.' ' Good Heavens,' exclaimed Blackwood.' " Mr Simpson, greatly pleased with the effect he had produced, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms,, enjoying the look of undisguised astonishment on his friends face. ' They were a> pair of downy ones, I can tell you'saidMr Simpson, unfolding his arms, ana resting; them on the table in his former attitude. ' But I thought mining titles had to be registered in the colony,' observed Blaokwood. ' So they have, and so far as the title was tt copy of the register oat there it was all right. But the flaw went deeper than that. The vendors wete nofc the original discoverers of the mine. The mau who discovered it had registered his claim in proper form, aud shortly afterward the two men I have been speaking of —the vendors to the company —registered the assignment of his claim in their favor.' ' Aud some people doubted the validity ot the assignment ?' ' Well, very few folks knew even as much as I have been telling you now. '1 here were vague rumors that all was not square ; and at one time these rumors made the shares jump up and down to any extent ;-eo most people believed that they had been put about for that very purpose —see ? ' ' I see. But what was wrong with the assignment ?' ' Only this—that it was actually dated the day after the death of the man who granted it !' ' That may have been a mistake—a mere clerical error.' ' 1 thought that might be so. But the matter seemed worth looking into. And in the first place I ascertained beyond a doubt that while the assignment was Hated May 18th, Grant had been killed on the 17th of May.' Blaokwood had been prepared for hearing that the assignment was a forgery, and in a vague way he had thought that it must be the Lone Gully mine that Simpson was talking about. But he was not prepared for the mention of the name of Grant. The word struck him like a blow. It scarcely needed the phrase "had been killed "which Simpson had used to tell him he had been speaking of Sybil's father. For a moment he felt half-bewildered, but quickly recovering himself he said — ' They must have been impudent scoundrels ! What made them so careless, do you suppose?' < ' I'm not so sure that it was carelessness. Perhaps they had knowledge of something that made it impossible that a genuine assignment could have been executed earlier—for example, if the vendor had been trying to sell the mine elsewhere, and they thought the false date necessary. But that's all guesswork on my part. Either through accident or by design the false date was there in black and white.'

' And what did you do next ?' asked Blackwood.

1 Now, what do you think I did do ?' demanded Mr Simpson, setting his head askew, and leering at the lawyer in an insinuating way. ' What would you have done, Old Blackbird?' 'I'd have warned my principals—or perhaps laid the matter before the Director of Prosecutions, or whatever they call him.' ' And got the sack for your pains, and serve you right,' exclaimed Simpson contemptuously. ' Not me. Not much. No. I set myself to discover some real, genuine, undoubted specimens of the handwriting of this man Grant — there now, the name is out, and I didn't intend to let it slip,' cried the ingenuous youth; '.But 1 know I'm safe with you, old man. You're not the one to give away an old pal. Where was I ? Oh, yes—l got some letters of his, after a lot of trouble and writing backwards and forwards, getting them identified by affidavit, and all the rest of it, At last it was done. And it was as plain as the nose on your face from a comparison of the handwriting that ihe assignment was a rank, palpable forgeiy. A forgery that coulun't 'have deceived a child, if it had been anyone's interest to raise the question wheiher the assignment on which the whole thing rested was genuine or not ?' ' What did you do then ?' 'What did I do? I waited till the thing was in full swing, and money was coming in freely. Then I bought a share or iwo, so as to give me a loeu* s-andi, do you see ?—and then went and interviewed the chairman—the venc'or — the forger I have no doubt.' ' 1 didn't beat about the bush, I can tell you. I simply said, ' Look here, my fine fellow, you have been and put your loot in it. I have you on least. And now you may take your choice between paying me one thousand pounds per annum, in equal quarteily payments, or stand your trial at the Old Bailey on a cisarge of forgery, iraud, and conspiracy.' ' ' And how did he take it ?' ' Oh, at first he mounted the high horse—would give me in charge for atten pting to obtain money, et cetera, et cetera.' ' Yes, I am attempting to obtain money,' says I, ' and don't you forget it. Ai d what's more, I rather think I shall ot tain it. What do you think, my good sir?' My word, you should have seen his f;-.ce when he tumbled to it thut I was in earnest, and wasn't to be frightened off ! Be was mad, I can tell you. But in the long run he knuckled under—he had to —and he pays me the one thousand per annum as regular as clockwork. And j now I'd like to bite my fingers off that I didn't make it two thousand while I j was about it.' ' You might make it two thousand even now,' said the lawyer, sarcastically, ' What do you take me for V demanded Mr fcimpson, assuming the attitude of an aggrieved and combative man. •It seems to mv that you want to make me out a regular blackmailer ! 5

Black w<oil neatly burst ii.lo m laugh at th« nisei's transparent self-deception; but he teetrahied himself, for he refleoied ilia Mr Simpson might have it in his

power to be a valuable friend or a dangerous enamy. Finding that it was Mr Simpson's intention to return to London on the following day, he took the precaution of obtaining from him his town address, and shortly afterwards persuaded the young man, who had taken about as much wine as he could carry, to go to his hotel. Then John Blackwood went home, and lay awake, notwithstanding his fatigue, for the greater part of the night, thinking. And somehow his thoughts came back to the same point—' Suppose that I follow up this and find that it is noc only correct but demonstrably correct;. suppose that I succeed in recovering the greater part of this valuable property for Sybil. She will be a very wealthy woman—a great heiress, in fact. Is it likely that, living in luxury, and with crowds of admirers at her feet,, she will care to remember the obscure Glasgow lawyer who served her ? It is not likely.. It would not be fair to expect that she should look an me a second time —not inthat way. Friendly and grateful, and all that, she would be, I am sure. But the sober fact is that if she recovers the mine, which Mitchell has apparently stolen from her father, she will be 88 much above me as a princess is above a baker's boy.' And with this unpleasant conviction haunting his mind he lay and tossed from side to side till the winter dawn crept through the smoke curtain to tell him that a new day hadbeen born. [to be continued.]