THE Bad Lord Lockington

King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1174, 15 February 1919, Page 2

THE Bad Lord Lockington

BT FLORENCE WARDEN, Author of " The House on the Marsh," &c

(all rights reserved)

CHAPTER XTL-iContinued.)

Edna looked tip. "It's a book I got from the library. Lord Lockington sent word that I might take books to read."

Lady Lockington looked puzzled and curious. "And how did you know where to get those yellowbacks! They used to be locked up in a cupboard." "Yes, but the key was there." "It's a great privilege to be allowed to take books from the library at all. He used to say he would only allow one man to go into the gallery that is in it."

"And who was that?" asked Edna, quickly. "Oh, a distant cousin of his who will take the title when he dies." Such a look of vivid interest bad now appeared in Edna's face that Lady Lockington looked at her more keenly than ever. "Have you seen anybody in there?" she asked, quickly. "N—no," answered Edna truthfully as to the letter, although she knew that it was not truthful in spirit. Lady Lockington was not satisfied. "It's quite absurd of yon to try and deceive me," she said sharply, at last, "into thinking that you've met nobody and spoken to nobody since you've been here. I must tell you plainly that I know better. Without wishing to play the spy, I take sufficient interest in my husband's household lo see that everything goes on smoothly while I'm away, and I've learnt several things about you, Miss Bellamy. Don't look so frightened; I've heard nothing greatly tt your disparagement, but 1 know that you have not been quite frank as regards your meetings with people here outside the household."

Edna replied steadily: "It doesn't seem to be of much use to deny the truth of what you say. And it's not of much consequence, as I sec it will soon be impossible for me to stay here. But, useful or useless, 1 can only go on saying the truth, and that is that I have never met anyone outside the house since I've been here except the vicar and his family, and .hat the only person I've spoken to outside the house was a man who must have been a labourer whom I called to one evening when I had seen a man lying face downwards on the grass, and whom I believed to be dead."

Lady Lockington looked interested. '' Tell me all about it.'' she said.

Edna gave the full description of her adventure, which seemed to puzzle Lady Lockington as much as it had puzzled herself. When it was ended Lady Lockington reverted to the incident which had roused her curiosity before:

"I think, although yon haven't confessed it, that you met sotneouc in the library?" she asked point-blank, with startling suddenness, after a short silence. Edna was confused and alarmed. She believed that the person with whom she had conversed in the library was Lord Lockington himself, and, believing that, she felt that there was something like treason to him in confessing to the conversation he had had with her; not that there was the least harm in the talk itself, but because she thought he wished to have it believed that he held no communication with anyone except his medical man and, less directly, with the butler and housekeeper, who both maintained that, while they heard his Lordship's voice when he gave his orders, they never were suffered to sec his face. For a few minutes the silence lasted, Edna uncertain what she would reply. Then, deciding that the truth was the only thing she could tell, she said:

"I have sren no one there. But it is true that I did hear someone speaking to me, telling me where to find the yellow-back novels." Lady Lockington stared at her intently. "Would you swear that?" she asked, in a low voice. Not unnaturally, Edna was far too much alarmed to swear to that or anything else suggested to her with so much brusqueness. She hesitated, and stepped backwards as Lady Lockington approached her. This action brought her close to the curtains of one of the windows, and she uttered a low cry as she felt the curtains blowing out upon her as she had known them to do once before. She remembered her former fancy »h»t there was someone near listcnm? to her. and in a state of gro»t alarm b-twrm her fear of offending Lady Lockington if she should answer evasively, and of being overheard by Lord Lockington if she answered truthfully, she gave up the attempt to reconcile the two difficulties, and, watehiug her opportunity, ran

i past Lady Lockington like the j wind, and went out of the room and upstairs. • CHAPTUE XVIL Edna locked herself in her bedroom and threw herself down before the fire with her head in the low armchair beside it and burst into tears. The mystery about the Hall had been sufficiently eerie and depressing when she first came, after the alarming hints of Sir George Wyngall and his wife and the startling suddenness with which she had been called upon to show off her accomplishments. But that and the subsequent events, strange as they had appeared to her to be at the time, were as nothing to the puzzling circumstances which surrounded her now. Why should it matter to Lady Lockington whether Lord Lockington did or did not utter a few words to the girl whom he employed as musician? Why did she seem to attach so much importance to the fact? And why, oh why, did both she and the dressmaker persist in believing that she had made friends outside the household ? Surely both of them could have found out easily enough by inquiries in the household the truth of her statement that she had only been outside the park walls on one occasion! And what harm would there have been in the circumstances if she had been outside them ? The girl was weary of all the exciting mystery which seemed to envelop the place like a shroud; she began to long to be back in the suburban residence of her aunt, with its soothing lack of anything romantic or "interesting." And she resolved upon seizing the first opportunity of putting an end to the state of worry and anxiety in which she was now living, by telling Mrs. Holland that she would like to go away at Christmas.

Whether she would be able to live at the Hall till then she felt very uncertain. If Lady Lockington were to stay there she was sure she could not. It would be impossible to put up patiently with her constant rudeness. Whatever Lady Lockington's reasons might be for the dislike she had evidently taken to the young musician, Edna felt that it was sincere and hearty, and that it would be useless to attempt to modify it. -She was surprised to find how sorry she felt at the idea of leaving the Hall, and how much regret of a sentimental kind she experienced at the thought of losing her mysterious unseen frieud. Was it Lord Lockington? Once more doubts about this had arisen in her mind, as a consequence of Lady Lockington's belief that Edna had made the acquaintance of people outside the house. But how, in that case, had the mysterious stranger got in? And how was it that he had managed to obtain the Viscount's keys, and that he knew where the books in the library were kept? Considering all she had heard of the isolation in which Lord Lockington lived, it seemed impossible that it should be anyon« but he Avhom she had seen dimly and heard so well.

On the following morning Edna took care not to come downstairs at all until she was sent for by Lord Lockington. Then, when Revesby came to conduct her to the eld wing, she flitted through the house nervously, looking from left to right with the fear of meeting Lady Lockington, and finding herself exposed to more sneers. But the journey was without adventure, and, although Edna hoped that she would at last have the satisfaction of hearing her employer's voice addressing her on the subject of Lady Lockington's arrival, she was again disappointed. She played and sang, as usual; Revesby came for her at the appointed time, and she withdrew without one word or one sign that anything unusual had happened in the establishment. Edna failed to obtain an interview with the housekeeper that morning until it was nearly luncheon time, when she met her in the corridor, and hurriedly told her that she wanted to go away as soon as they would let her, and also that she did not want to have to go down and have luncheon with Lady Lockington. Mrs. Holland, however, would listen to neither of her protests.

"It's of no use your saying you want to go away yet," she said, with decision. "You have given pleasure to Lord Lockington, and you will have to stay on now until "he is ready for you to leave. And it would do you a great deal of harm to go away now. People would think it odd, and would ask why you had left so quickly. And what would they say if they heard it was because when Lady Lockintrton turned tip you wouldn't stay?" Without being very worldlywise, Edna could see for herself that there was something in this presentment of the case, and she looked much distressed. Mrs. Holland went on:

"As for luncheon, of course you

must <.:> as Lady Lockington chooses. She said you would lunch with her, and so you will have to. Her Ladyship hates being alone of all things." "I thought she always brought a lot of friends with her," said Edna, tremulously. "Yes, but this time she came down in such a hurry that she had to conic by herself. Sir Richard Salcsbury is coming to-day, though, and two ladies. "When they're here perhaps you'll be let off."

And the housekeeper, who was kept fully employed when Lady Lockington was in the house, bustled away on her household affairs. *

Very reluctantly Edna made her way downstairs when the luncheon bell rang; but she found, after all, that her ordeal was over. For in the first place, the expected guests had arrived in the shape of two ladies of the same type as Lady Lockington herself, but neither so handsome nor so much made up, and a youngish man, fair and silly-looking, whom they all called Dicky, and whom she discovered to be Sir Richard Salesbury. Luncheon was a very merry, or, r rather, very talkative function, at which "Dicky" seemed to play fool for everybody else's amusement. He said little to Edna, but he looked atdicr a great deal, and when she was summoned that afternoon, by a message from Lord Lockington, to play the organ in the hall, and sat down, nervous and trembling, to begin her task, she soon heard footsteps behind her, and when she paused after finishing one piece, heard a voice which she recognised as that of "Dicky," saying softly: '' Bravo! Very nice indeed!'' She turned in alarm, and saw Sir Richard Salesbury sitting on a seat which he had drawn up near her, smoking a cigarette. "Mayn't I stay and listen to you? And do you mind my cigarette? I'm so awfully fond of music, Miss Bellamy." He knew her name, apparently, though he had not been introduced to her. Edna glanced up at the gallery in alarm, and saw that the blind was down. She hoped that her unwelcome visitor would be discreet in his utterances, though, to judge by what she had heard at luncheon, it seemed unlikely. "Oh, I'm afraid T have no music that you'd care about," she said, anxiously. "No. I don't mind smoking at all. But " Instinctively she had glanced towards the gallery. But Sir Richard paid no heed. "Oh, but you can't tell wtiat music I like. My taste is catholic, I assure you. Hymns, jigs, opera musical comedy, oratorio, comic songs—l like 'em all. Only, of course, I won't stay if you would rather not."

Edna would very much rather not, but did not like to say so. "You see," he went on, as she hunted for another music-book, "it's awfully dull here in the afternoon. There's no man about for me to talk to, and the old ladies always have to take a rest in the afternoon, so that they can be as fresh as paint can make 'em at night." Jttdna felt herself freeze with horror. The old ladies! And Lady Lockington perhaps within hearing! And Lord Lockington almost certainly listening from the gallery! She felt that a little more of this would destroy her, and she plunged into the "War March of the Priests" to drown his indiscretions.

But she had to submit to hear more of the same sort of thing before her ordeal was over and Revesby came with the order for her release. And then, as she had expected and feared, Lady Lockington's maid came to ask her to step upstairs and see her Ladyship in her boudoir. Edna drew a long breath. Of course, she was going to get her dismissal; and though she could have protested that she was in Lord Lockington's employ, and would take her dismissal from him only, Edna resolved not to trouble about that, but to he meek and submissive. With a fast-beating heart she entered the boudoir where Lady Lockington was stretched on a sofa, and to her immense surprise she was greeted not only with courtesy, but with positive affection. Smiling mest sweetly, Lady Lockington held out her hand and said: "Come here, child; I want to have a talk with you." (To be Continued.).--" """

FOB, YOUNG FOLKS. THE SWALLOW'S HOME. The teacher in natural history had received more or less satisfactory repies to her questions, and finally she asTced: "What little boy can tell me where the home of the swallow is ?" Long: silence, then a hand raised. "Well, Bobbie, where is it?" "The home of the swallow," declared Bobbie, seriously, "is in the stummick." A LITTLE PUZZLE. Twice eight are ten of us, Ten of us are three of us, And nine of us but four; Six of us are three of us, And five of us but four. Answer: The number of letters spelling- each word. Thus, eight contains five letters; twice five are ten. There are three letters in ten, four in nine, three in six, and four letter® in Ave. THE WORLD'S GREETINGS. "How do you do?" —that's English. "How do you carry yourself?"— that's French. "How do you stand?"—that's Italian. "How do you find yourself?"—that's. German. "How do you fare?"'—that's Dutch. "How can you?"—that's Swedish. -"How do you perspire?"—that's Egyptian. "How is your stomach?"' —that's Thinese. "How do you have yourself?"—that's Polish. "How do you live on ?" —that's Russian. "May thy shadow never be less!"—> that's Persian. These greetings are all differ«*t, but they mean about the same thin*. A CARD BLOWING TRICK. At first thought nothing would seem simpler than blowing a card off the top of a pipe, if the card is laid horizontally on bowl and the blower blows through the stem. But if you try it you will be amazed to find that no matter how hard you blow vou cannot dislodge the card. In order to make the experiment satisfactorily, a pin should be put through the card into the bowl of the pipe so that it cannot slide off sideways. Under these conditions the card cannot be blown from the pipe except occasionally by a very sudden puff. This uncanny fact depends upon some of the peculiar principles ci aerodynamics. One would feel certain that, when he blows, the card would By immediately into the air. It will be noticed, though, that the column of air which ascends is only as large as the bowl of the pipe, while :he surface of the card which is expected to be lifted is many times greater. As soon as the card rises a little, the downward pressure holds it to such an extent that the air flows :>ut sidewise in every direction along Its surface. When it gets to the edge of the card, it draws some of the air from the upper side along with it. This causes a current of air from above to descend upon the card and hold it down. THE GROWTH OF A FROG. The birth and growth of a frog ar« very interesting. The eggs (or spawn) are laid in the water. At first they are very small; but they swell rapidly, and are formed into masses so large that they often choke up the ditch in which they are laid. Before long they are hatched; and out of each egg issues an odd-looking little creature called a tadpole. This word is only a contraction of "tailed-poll," a name given because the animal seems as if it were nothing but a head or "poll" with a flat tail attached to it. At each side of the head may be seen some little pink tufts. These are the gills, which are made almost exactly like those of fishes, the chief difference being that they project freely into the water, while those of the fish are protected by covers. They are voracious little beings, feeding equally on animal or vegetable substances. The first change which will strike the eye is that as the body increases in size the gills diminish, and the careful observer will notice that the tadpole begins to come to the surface at intervals, and to take little gulps of air. If a tadpole in this state be dissected, it will be seen to possess a tiny pair of lungs within the body. Just in proportion as the lungs increase in size the gills diminish. Next there will be seen a pair of little projections exactly at the junction of the body with the tail. These rapidly increase in size, and soon are developed into legs. Just as the gills diminish in proportion to the increase of the lungs, so does the tail diminish as the legs increase. Presently two more projections appear in front of the body, and are developed into the forelegs of the future frog. And so the growth proceeds, the legs gradually gaining strength, the body increasing in size, the tail decreasing in proportion, until at last there is the complete frog, having only a short, blunt spike as the remnant of the once long, flat, and flexible tail.