Her Day of Adversity

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2339, 8 January 1926, Page 10

Her Day of Adversity

By MRS. HATRICK MacGILL

"If thou faint In the day of adversity thy strength is small."—Proverbs

CHAPTER Will, (continued.) MILITANT HOSTILITY. Love teaches cunning, even to In. nocence ana the term could hardly bo applied to he woman or thirty-one who had entered herself as a rival of Carol, who was not unite twenty. The passion which Nadia, Halkin miscalled love taught her cruelty as well as cunning. She knew where to direct her darts so that their sting would yield the maximum of pain to her rival.

"Oh, I xdon't know that you need worry so greatly, Mrs. Stone. True, prison is m»t an experience that one would choose, but a man ‘who has been through the horrors of war would, laugh at a couple of months’ imprisonment. And a crime committed for a woman out of mistaken chivalry is rather charmingly romantic; certainly it is not a ground for social disgrace." “No;” murmured Carol faintly.

“In fact I am giving a dinner.party in his honour when he comes out, to help him to forget. When once he is married ”

Carol started, the tell-tale blood running once again to her white little face.

"But David la not engaged to bo married. Wiry, he —he ” Carol’s words eamo out in little panting gasps. What was Miss Halkin saying? David loved her —Carol for his sake she had sacrificed the gretest of all Life's gifts next to love —her freedom. There was some mistake of course. The over.excited girl became suddenly conscious of a sick headache, but she forced herself to concentrate on what her cool, dark, beautifully-dressed hostess was saying. “Why exactly should not - Davit? Murray contemplate marriage. Mrs. Stone? He is a free man, and I/assure you that he is a great favourite in a 'circle which includes a good many eligible girls." She enjoyed the mental writhings which were portrayed on the mobile young face as clearly as if Carol had givn voice. "■Of course he must have many women friends, a man like _ that, young, handsome and well-tb-do," Carol told herself, striving tto smoothe the panils or miserable jealousy which she could not help feeling.

“So I should not worry overmuch, my dear. Any kind of worry must be bad for you just now." Having undone most, If not ail, o i the good that Arthur Wrangel had accombplished, Nadia Hal Kin touched Carol's check with her lips ,and 'left her in a. state bordering on the hysterical. When Lottie came back triumphantly with the vase for the lilies, she gave vent to her opinion of Nadia Halkin in language as forcible as it was unbecoming to her temporarily adopted profession. “Gawd! I’d like to print the ten commandments on her ugly mug!” Lottie clawed an imaginary face with both extended hands. “Down Bermondsey, where the people ain’t got pennies to rub against each other, they wouldn’t think of cornin’ in an’ upsetting a pore, sick girl like you in such a disgraceful way. Blow ’er lilies. In a fury Lottie took the delieicLC, inoj.cnsivo llowers and pitched Ihem into the fire. “A few violets bought off a basket in the street 'ud be as much as one of them women could run to, but golly they’d mean friendship when they gave ’em to you. They wouldn't bring you lilies costing Gawd knows what and upse.t yer at the same time. What did she say to yer, ducky? Come on and tell Lottie all about it,” and the rough red hands smoothed Carol’s hair in a most unprofessional, but decidedly healing manner so that presently Carol was able to toll her what had happened. “The blasted old cat ought ter ’avo her neck wrung off of ’er! An’ I’d like to ’ave the doing of it!” was Lottie’s reception of Carol’s news. “Don’t you take no notice of ’er. Tou just get well and wait till ’o comes out and then we’ll see,” soothed and comforted Lottie. Later on in the afternoon, when they were having tea. Carol’s amateur nurse made a suggestion. “What about draftin’ ’im a little cheerio letter, just to cheer ’im up like,” she said brightly, and some of the trouble seemed to litt from Carol’s face.

“I think I will, Lottie. Could you run and ask Miss Halkin for particulars of him—his number, the ad. dress of the prison, and for any rormalitioM that might have to be observed?” said Carol, when writing ..launiais were spread out In front or her.

Nadia’s face darkened when Lottie delivered the message, but she wrote down the particulars that Carol wanted, and even, ton minutes later, offered to post the letter for her as she was goingr out.

But Lottie chimed in a trifle too eagerly. “That’s all right Mias, thank you. I'm going out for my two hours in a few minutes .and I’ll take it to the post.” Nadia Halkin inclined her head without troubling to reply, but for the next half.hour, hatted and be furred, she watched at the window for Lottie’s shabbily dressed figure to leave the house.

At length she clanged the side door after her, and set off down the road, and Nadia followed her until she was weary of walking. Lottie passed dozens of letter-boxes on her way, but she seemed to have forgot-

ten the letter which was sticking out of her coat poexet. At -ast, she turned into a Tube station and booked a ticket for Hendon. Nadia had often heard Lottie express her admiration for the pretty little north.wesi suburb, and it was a frequent thing for .her to travel there by Tube ami walk in the park which was just outside the station.

It was annoying to have to follow the girl such a distance, but It would be still more annoying if David Murray ever received the —doubtless — long and sentimental letter which Carol was bound to have written.

Lottie strolled along the semicountry road which led to the park, sniffing the fresh air with every appearance of enjoyment, and it was the sight of a quaint ‘little letter.box llxed to a tree- -the kind offen seen in country places—that served to reremind Lottie of the letter.

Taking it from her pocket she slipped It into the box, and continued her stroll, and Nadia, watching until she was out of sight, breathed a sigh of thankfulness for the lonely situation of the letter-box, for not a soul could to be seen anywhere along the road after Lottie had disappeared. Fate, which invariably favours evil, doers up to a certain point, was cer tainly kind to Nadia Halkin’s mean plan to prevent aCrol’s letter from reaching its proper destination. Taking a small bottle from her coat pocket, she swiftly emptied the contents into the} little box, and then with fast .beating heart in case anybody- should appear from one of the houses, she struck a match, shielded it for a second with her cupped hand, and dropped it amongst the now pet-rol-soaked letters. There was a dull, faint, cracling sound as the letters caught, Are, and within five seconds flames were belching from the mouth of the box.

But nobody saw: Indeed, it was not discovered until three hours later, when the collecting postman came to do his duty.

Then, the following morning, there appeared a notice in every news, paper, but as Carol was by that time too ill to think of newspapers, and Lottie was too busy ever to bother about them, neither knew of the fate of the all-important letter.

CHAPTER XIX. Rogue's Stratagem. It took Carol nearl ya week to re gain the ground lost by the ill-timed visit of Nadia Hnlkin. It was at night, when she had no longer the stimulation of Lottie’s presence .that thoughts of David over, whelmed her. There was no doubt the passionate sincerity of her love, and it was perhaps natural that ,in proportion to that love, Carol was Jealous of the very evident warmth of the friendship between David and her hostess.

Elated at the ease at which she had prevented Carol’s letter from falling Into the proper hands, gratified that the paragraph in the press relating to the fired letter-box had escaped the household’s observation, Nadia felt that the time had arrived for the next move.

Her visits to Carol’s bedroom grew more frequent and though Lottie had neither love nor trust in the charming visitor, still there was nothing that even her shrewd eye could discern, and she could hardly suggest to the sister of the man who owned the house that as her visits invariably de. pressed Carol it would be better if they were a little less frequent. It was not because Nadia did not do her best to amuse the sick girl that Carol was invariably heavy-eyed and listless and lacking in all appetite foi the rest of the day following a visit

At Nadia’s suggestion they played draughts, dominoes and later on a game of Nadia' own invention which was based on the wel-known "Conse quences.” Privately Carol thought it a rathei tiresome game but as it had been in vented for her special benefit shcould scarcely be churlish enough to indicate her true feelings. To some of *the questions written on a separate sheet of blank note, paper Carol wrote ‘Yes” as required and to others "No" according to wha; she herself felt.

Sho signed herself “Carol Stone" at at the foot of each sheet of paper this also being: in accordance with Nadia’s instructions, although it sent a little shudder of disgust down Carol’s spine to see her new legal surname coupled with the one which her mother’s voice had uttered at the baptismal font. It was a great relief that Madia did not suggest another game that afternoon. and sertainly .when she gathered the used paprs and said nonchalantly, “I’ll take them down with me my dear. They make the room un. tidy if they are left about, and the carfed pieces fly all over the place if they are burned." “Thank you very much,” murmured Carol, feeling furious with herself that she could not be more grateful to this gracious, smiling woman who seemed to take so much trouble on her behalf.

Two bright patches of colour, due to suppressed excitement burned In Nadia’s cheeks as she went quickly to her own room, and, addressing an envelope to David Murray in an extremely illiterate hand, so that he would imagine that I.ottio had been entrusted with the task, sho enclosed the sheet of pape* - on which Carol had written the single word “No’ signed with her newly acquired name When David Murray was called Into the Governor’s Office to receive his Jotter his heart gave a wild lean. »-aA

in his excitement seemed to miss a beat.

* The writing was not Nadia’s, and, an she had intended, he immediately imagined that the envelope with the writing sloping all ways had been addressed by Lottie. Ho toyed with the letter for a few moments before opening It, permit, ting himself the luxury of a daydream; there is plenty of time for day-dreaming In an English prison. He pictured Carol, a little pale I perhaps, but delinitely lovely, sitting up in bed reading his letter, her eyes growing big and shiny like those of a child, and then clouding with tears 1 when she recollected Jacob Stone. Somehow, since, the verdict had robbed him of all hope for the future, David had been able to think of the moneylender a little less harshly. It was, of course, absolute nonsense to say that a single blow, or even a succession of blows, combined with the worries of Carol’s disappearance, had been sufficient to bring about such fin awful result.

It was most probably, a simple case of Nature revenging herself for a long, and continual violation of her laws.

But surely, now, he would release Carol and not hold her to a meaningless ceremony, which was all that bound her to him? If not, he and she would go abroad, and But beyond that David did not dare 10 think. He tore open the envelope and spread the single sheet of creamlaid notepaper on his knee, with a feeling of cstaay thrilling every nerve Then as his brain grasped the purport of the single word It seemed as if a grey drizzle descended on the sunshine of his spirit, transmuting its gold into the heaviest lead, rendering connected thought an impossibility in the chaotic whirl of. emotion that succeeded the reading of Carol’s brief message. Hour after hour that night David Muray stared into the darkness, striving to soothe his wounded Jdvo with the cold salve of logic. After all, perhaps it was too much io as,, of any girl to live- with a man—even a lover who would hail with joy the' opoprtunity of marriage when it came—and have to fly the red flag of defiance in the face of, the world and tlu.- rules which govern the conduct of all who would keep within ihe social pale. , It was always so much harder on a woman than a man. and—David forced himself to carry his argument,n defence of Carol to its ultimate issue —if there were children ,as thelaw now stood in regard to the defenceless little creatures, they carried the stigma of their parent’s unlawful, love throughout their lives. All these thoughts chased each other through David’s mind until he grew weary and brain refused to operate further. But at the bottom, his heart decried what his reason approved He had believed that Carol’s love, like his, was fin enough to surmount all obstacles, especially under such cidcumstances as those which prevented- their marriage. And, day by day, Carol watched eagerly for another letter, although ihe did not. allow herself to hope 100, rreatly, for she knew that the number of a prisoner's letters was re--tricted.

It was only when Nadia came in with an'air of conscious triumph and old her that a letter from David had rirved by that morning’s post that he felt a sharp stab of jealous anger She wanted David; to the utter-

.ost corner of her essentially honest ittlc heart she had to admit to her;elf that he constituted her whole .appiness in life. “David’s going straight to South Africa when he comes out; he has isked me to see about booking his assage,” remarked Nadia, trying to ound casual, but not succeeding. It was quite true that David had asked Nadia Halkin to do him the favour of booking two passages to Natal, one for himself and one for Stringer, whom he intended to take with him. This was in respect to her dea to be allowed to serve him in ome way—any way. If she had not seen so insistent, David would have isked his lawyer to book the passages, ir'him. Nadia wrote to a cousin In Natal o warn her of an approaching visif, nd proceeded to book three passages n the liner. “But David won't go without com'.g to say good-bye to me,” said arol. when her brain had grasped iip fact that he was really leaving, ondon at the earliest possible moment. j “I am afraid that the boat train! saves just two hours after he comes ut at nine o’clock in the morning . nd that only gives him about twenty .inutes to spare/’ said Nadia slowiy. i “What day does he come out?” sked Carol in a queer, choked voice,hat did not seem to belong to herelf. Nadia Halkin named a day a week n advance of the time that David nticipated his release, explaining hat he had earned the seven day’s | ■mission of his sentence for good conduct. Privately she resolved that >y some means or other Carol should ! lot be in the house when David Mur ay really left the prison. To this nd she began throwing out hints which were unmistakable, both to Carol and Arthur Wrangel ,and of the two they hurt the former the more. To bo Continued.