Shuffled Cards.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XX, Issue 2432, 20 May 1893, Page 4

Shuffled Cards.

(Concluded.) PART lll.— The Shuffling of the Cards. It was within six weeks of the date at which Celia Radnor would cease to be under tutelage, and Robert Colebrooke would have togive an account of his stewardship, and place his niece's fortune at her own disposal. Nearly three years had elapsed since Paul Daventry had departed, unopposed, from the fine house in Lancaster Gate, and the things were apparently unchanged there. Ihe routine of luxurious, expensive life was going on as usual, and although there had been floating rumours, of late, that Colebrooke had been " heavily hit," and that certain revelations in a weekly journal, renowned for its merciless exposure of shady financial schemes, had damaged him severely appearances were so well kept up, that those rumours gained no credence, and had nearly died away. Marion knew no more of the true state of the case than she had previously known. The beauty, grace, and reputed fortune of Miss Radnor had not failed to attract suitors for her hand, and "of late the attentions of I One of those had been pressed upon her, not only by the gentleman himself, but also by her uncle in a manner which distressed her. c£ c Jsg n - Gustavus Rourke was a younger ftfnofaoimpe,sy)jiou 8 Irish peer, aqaaftef

& somewhat stormy youth he had adopted, under the auspices of Mr. Colebrooke, the profession of an "outside " stockbroker. He was flow a goodlooking man of a little over thirty, of the thin-haired, thin-lipped, cold-eyed type ; he looked like " blood," and he dressed well ; he had no principles whatfcver and only such scruples as were inspired by that sort of dread of getting into the :lutches of the law, which frequently avails ;o keep potential scoundrelism in checic. The Hon. Gustavus did what he called falling in love with Celia Radnor, and to the surprise of Marion, his pretentions were oacked by the approval and persuasion of Mr" Colebrooke. Then began a period of nisery for the girl and her friend. Celia lad been allowed to treat her previous juitors as she choSe, but her uncle sternly lemanded an account of her dealings with Rourke and ordered her to accept his proposal A decided refusal on Celja's part had produced a violent domestic storm, when suddenly a more serious matter demanded :he attention o( Mr. Colebrooke. A bolt was shot from the blue into the midst of the kingdom of Mammon. Without a word of warning, a great Minister of a great Empire resigned an office which carried supreme power and influence with it ; the nations trembled, for the issue was peace or war, and the unchaining of the passions of great people became imminent ; a tremendous financial panic set in, and by that day week a vast amount of rascality was "in one red ruin blent." Among its component parts was the business of Robert Colebrooke ; it bad been "going" for some time unsuspected and all the world was taken by surprise when It became know that it was actually gone. None but the losers by the fallen man cared it all about the catastrophe. The drawing room folk of the " birth-day" that year did their tea parade in other rooms, equally fine, and the great house in Lancaster Gate was promptly disposed of. A residence of humble dimensious in Bayswater received the fallen family, and they were forthwith ignored as a preliminary ;o being forgotten. It soon appeared that :he Hon Gustavus Rourke was also in low [ water, and Mat ion was at a loss to understand why Mr Colebrooke still persisted in pressing hi-; niece to accept this man, whose social position was now compromised, and whose family had turned against him at the first hint that he was " in with Colebrooke," md involved in the burst-up stockbroker's ruin Why should Mr. Colebrooke want to give his niece and her fortune to this man, who was under so heavy a cloud, and whom the girl hated. The sullen quarrel between Celia and her uncle broke out into open warfare a few days before Celia'?. birthday, when 3liS loid Mr" ColeSrooke that she would leave his house, immediately on the settlement of his gaurdian-ship account, if he renewed the subject of Mr. Rourke, ati then fled impetuously to Marion, to whom she . repeated that declaration. " I will leave some of my money with jrou," she went on, breathless with anger. ' You shall not be treated as you have been treated any longer; you shali be safe, in a ;mall way, whatever happens, and then I will take the rest and go to Paul. I don't ;are whether it is ' nice' or not. I know fon won't blame me; and "uncle John" will be glad to see me, Don't say no, aunt, for I am determined to do this, and I shall :ell my uncle so on my birthday. I shall find some respectable person to go out to Victoria with me, you will be better alone .han with me, as things are going, and Paul md I will come home before long." Marion tried to turn the girl from the wild project, but her efforts were only halfhearted, for she was restrained by a fear, i suspicion, to which she hardly dared to isten. She looked forward with dread to Delia's birthday, which was to have been :elebrated with great display in the fine louse, on which Marion had turned her jack with entire indifference; for she felt nstinctively that Mr. Colebrooke's guardanship accounts, and the secret of Rourke's ntimacy with him, were connected together iomehow. She had not, however, to wait so long for the resolution of her doubts. The birthday was yet more than a week off,' •vhen Marion was startled by an exclamaion, uttered by Mr. Colebrooke from behind ais newspaper. 11 Ferris Town, Victoria !" he cried. "la aot Ferris Town the name of your brother's district?" "It is the name of my broiher's statiODi" said Marion quietly. Mr. Colebrooke handed her the paper. " There," said he. " Your brother is the mckiest man in the colony to-day, and will probably be one of the wealthiest. Look here." , " The news occupied only a few lines. " Uncle John" had discovered by pure accident a mine oi opals on his land, and a casual tourist-expert on a visit to him at the time, pronounced the gems to be of the finest, indeed of an unequalled quality. "This will make Paul'j=— fert > jrje, 4v "was Marion's first thpnghl.""That night her husbSnS "told Her the truth. The whole of the money he held in trust for his orphan niece was gone. " I speculated with it, trying to save myself," he said. "You mean that you embezzled it." was the cold com.nent. " What is this to me ? vVny do you tell me, of all people, of you* disgrace?" " Can't you see ? Don't you understand. Rourke knows this, and he will expose me unless I can make Celia marry him. The scoundrel is in love with the girl, and will stop at nothing." " Does he know whether he loves or hates her most !" He glanced at her with rage, also with fear. i " Another bargain," she continued slowly, ■ " but hardly so good as the bargain you ' made with me. You are to force Celia to marry him, and he is to hold his tongue about your embezzlement of her /10.000. What a pity you have told me ; for although you may count on Celia's silence, I don't see what price you are in position to offer me for mine. There is no dying man, no despairing woman, no destitute child in your hand of cards. I hold all the trumps this time, Mr. Colebrooke. .If you threaten, as you have again done recently, to make my son acquainted with his father's sin, I shall unhesitatingly proclaim yours. And you may abandon your hope of escaping your honourable associate's blackmailing, by the sacrifice of your niece. If she could be forced to do your will, I should prevent her.", " You ! You ! you, what do you mean ?" " I mean that Celia is my son's promised wife, and that you shall not cheat' Paul out of the happiness of his life. You see, I play my trumps. I know why you have told me ;he truth ; it is because my brother is going :o be a rich man — indeed he is a rich man low, although you know nothing about him —and you mean to make me apply to him or money. He would give it now as freely as le would have given it, if you would have aken his all, as my ransom from worse than jlavery. But I will not ask him for money or you. Paul is safe, and his father is safe rom you, and what do you suppose I care ?" She had read him aright. He raved and -tormed, he cursed and confessed, he reviled and implored, he grovelled, he even wept- It .was so little he asked, but if Mr. Ferris could be induced to come to his aid, did opportunity open to him now, and if he could oqly tak6 up, with Rourke, he need fear nothing from the fellow, and would uave a good chance ot completely recouping, himself. She had stood like a statue, listening to him, but her face was immovable, and sha did not interrupt him by word or gestura. Suddenly, he tried a new tone. " Look here, Marion," he said. " Yon cannot be quite careless of yourself. You liked a good house and a good table, fine clothes and fine friends as well as any other woman likes them, for all your grand airs. I suppose my precious niece will defy me and marry your son ; well I Qan't help that ; I'm not a fool, I know when I'm beaten ; let her go, but you'll find it pretty dull here, when you're alone with me, and I have got this new grudge against you. There won't be a day of your life that you shall not repent what you are doing now ; but if you'll only be reasonable and get your brother to give me a lift, I swear you shall have your own way in everything, and I will keep as clear of you as you like. I quite believe your brother will do anything you ask him, ask him to help me now, and I'll hold to my share of the bargain. There, I'll leave you now, and you can tell me your decision when you've considered well what you are about. I'm off to Brighton with Rourke about some hil.inow_» _ ,

An hour after he had leftjthe house, Marion borrowed some money from Celia and went out. She travelled by underground railway to the Eastern Telegraph Office, and from thence she despatched a long message to her Mother, regardless of cost. On her return he gave Celia no explanation, but remained all the evening absorbed in thought. Late on Monday a Colonial telegram was delivered to Marion, and she immediately summoned Celia to her room, where the two held a long consultation. For all this swagger there was a hang-dog look about Robert Colebrooke when he met Marion and Celia at dinner on the Monday His wife's countenance was inscrutable, and his niece held her peace rigidiy during dinner, and left the room immediately afterwards, with an anxious glance at Marion. Colebrooke then took the initiative : " I presume all this means that you have come to a decision ?" he said. " Let me have it, without any play-acting, if you please." He lay back in his chair, and stuck his thumbs into the armholes of his waistcoat, but the assumption of his Lancaster Gate manner was not successful. " I have come to a decision. On Friday last I telegraphed to my brother ; to-day I have his answer." He sat bolt upright and stared at her. 11 Once more, Mr. Colebrooke, I find myself bargained with you — for the very last time. My brother consents to help you, on my terms. If you reject those he will hold no farther communication with you." With a muttered oath he bade her state the terms. " His London correspondents are instructed by telegraph, to honour my draft for Of that sum I propose to' reserve for my own purposes, and, provided you do not interfere with my actions, to payjover to you For £4,000, you will give the customary legal acknowledgment to a lawyer, whom my brother has also instructed to act for him. £1.000 you will receive from me, at the appointed time, in discharge of my beloved and lost hus- j band's debt to you, for which you have held me in pledge all these years. With the redemption I resume the gage." He gazed at her speechlessly. She paused, but he merely made a movement with his hand, and she continued ; " I have now to tell you what is the appointed time. You shall receive the sums I have mentioned, exchanging for them tha document to be drawn u£> by my brother's lawyer, on board the steamship Orient — bound for Melbourne, with Celia and myselJ for passengers — or this day week. Thost are the terms of my bargain, Ivlr. Colebrooke ;itis to take, or to leave. My life's game has been a losing one for many a year ; but kindly Fortune has shuffled the cards." In Victorian business circles John Ferris and his nephew are quoted with great respect as types of the wealth and enterprise of the great Australian colony ; while in social circles the Ferris household, consisting ol " uncle John" and Marion, and the Daventry household, consisting of Paul, Celia, and their three children, and regarded as models of domestic happiness. Marion is known as Mrs. Daventry. Uncle John's money really did set Mr. Colebrooke and the Hon. Gustavus Rourke on their slockbroking legs again, and the confederates are flourishing. Mr. Colebrooke has once more a fine house, "in the comparative obscurity of Eaton Square," and he gives big parties, of a somewhat "mixed complexion." It is not very clear about Mrs. Colebrooke; some say there never. *"as a Mrs. Colebrooke, others insist that ttle/*9. e /*9 was, that they had seen and dimly remembw: her ; but — there was a story — she drank, or went mad, or " something." It is of no consequence, for the Hon. Mrs. Rourke " receives" for the grass widower, and does it very well, considering that her, school of manners was her shopkeeper papa's back parlour. As, however, the Hon. Mrs. Rourke is very rich the noble kinsfolk of the Hon. Gustavus has made it up with him, get " straight tips" from him gratis, and are quite civil to his wife, of whom the worst they permit themselves to say is : " sjie is so— ah— so original, don't you know r