THE OUTCAST OF THE FAMILY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9832, 29 May 1895, Page 3

THE OUTCAST OF THE FAMILY.

! BY CHARLES GARVIOE, Author of" In Cupid's Chains," " Once in a Life," , *' Better Than Life," " She Trusted Him," etc., etc. CHAPTER X.—{Continued.) Stannard paused a moment, bub Heriob Fayne did nob move or utter a word; he was motionless and silent, his dark eyes fixed on the sauve, bland face. "The heir bo the money which he is free to leave to whomsoever he will. He made it plain also thatahem —he desires to recognise me as heir-presumptive bo—er— the estates and——title. You will agree with me, Heriob, thab his offer was extremely, shall I say, flattering?" "I do. Ib is the first time'l have ever heard my father, was guilty of flattery; he must be in his dotage." Stannard Marshbank smiled; bub the smile was a little less sauve and rather ugly. But he came to goad his man into rebellion and defiance, and he smoothed the smile into shape. "On the contrary, the earl is in possession of all his faculties and in the best of health. Now, my dear Heriob, you will, I fear, suspect thab I, to put it vulgarly, jumped at his offer." "'Jump' is the word," said Heriob, curtly. " Ah, you wrong me, indeed you do!" said the sauve voice, with a touch of unselfish pathos in it. "Oh, do I?" " Yes. Heriob, we have never been greab friends." " Never since I thrashed you, when we were boys, for beating a lame dog," pub in Heriob. "Bub," continued Stannard Marshbank, ignoring the reference, " I think you might do me common justice." ' "If I did, I should condemn you to be hanged," Heriot muttered. " I will not deny thab the offer was a tempting one. lam an ambitious man— " Cut all that," broke in Heriot. "My father has offered to make you his heir, to acknowledge you as the next in succession, and you have accepted. What the devil have you come here for ?" No," said Stannard Marshbank, "I have declinod. That is, I have declined until I had seen you and made one effort t may be the lasb efforb—to reclaim you, Heriot."

Heriobsab up and regarded him with a grim countenance. " To—reclaim me, I think you said ? Go on !"

Stannard Marshbank sighed, "My dear Horiot, I know tho thoughts that are passing through your mind." " Do you ?" "I know that you have always misjudged me." "Havel?"

" And that you think mo capable —" " Any meanness under the sun. I do. Go on."

" Bub you wrong me. I have come this morning, at some inconvenience, to implore you to—to consent to your father's,conditions—to leave this life of dissipation and return to Averleigh. You cannot but understand how keen a stain and disgrace your conduct has cast upon the old name— tho name that has always been held by honourable men."

Heriot Fayne's face hardened. " Reach mo that cigar-case, will you?" he said.

Stannard Marskbank handed ib to him.

"And tho matches; thanks. Go on. You were saying that I am a disgrace' and a shame."

" Yes, my dear Heriot. I have determined to speak plainly for your own food. Mark that—for your own good, lost men would have accepted your father's offer and taken the positior »-bho honoured position—which it included. But, my dear Heriot, I have a conscience

" Oh, you have, have you i" —" And I cannot avail myself of this proposition until I have trade an effort to reclaim the prodigal into whoso place I am invited to step. I beg you will nob think of me—"

"I have not thought of you since I last saw you ; make your mind easy." "I havo my place in tho world. I am —or —happy and contented in my work. I will yield all the temporal advantages which this offer contains, and be amply rewarded if you will bub cast off this dreadful life, if you will turn you back upon the career upon which you have embarked. Let me bo empowered, my dear Heriofc, to go to your father and tell him that you will leave London and your vicious companions, and settle down to the quiet and virtuous life of an English gentleman ; in short, lob me bub announce the return of the prodigal son, repentant and ashamed—" " What will you havo to drink?" interposed Heriot, cooly enough, though there was an ominous glitter in tho dark eyes. " You talk well; no wonder that you shine in the House. What is it to be, whisky and soda, sherry, champagne" "I never drink excepting at meal time," said Stannard Marshbank with sad gravity. " You will, I am sure, my dear Heriot, appreciate tho difficulty, tho delicacy of the situation. Here am I, the next in succession unless you marry; and here are you—" " Sick of your cant 1" broke in the sternly contemptuous voice. "Go back to my father who sent you, and toll him that he may make any hypocrite he likes tho heir to his money ; that thesamehypocrite—if he be you—can regard himself as heir to the titleand estates. I shall never marry. Go back and tell him thab; and tell him thab I would rather bo the man I am, what I am— disgrace and a shame, the outcast of the family—than such a—such a slimy snake as the man he has chosen !"

He reached for the bell rope as he finished, and rang it furiously, and the discreet Stubblos appeared. "Show binsgentleman out,"said Heriot Fayne. " My dear Heriofc," murmured Stannard Marshbank, more in sorrow than in anger, " consider ! I come with tho olive branch."

Heriot Fayne sat up and yawned. "Is my bath roady ?" ho asked of Stubbles, as if no third person were present. " Right; then I'll got up." With a sigh and a shake of the head, but a gleam of satisfaction, Stannard Marshbank moved to the door.

"You make mo very sad, Heriob," ho said, " very sad. Good-bye !"

CHAPTER XL Sfcannard Marshbank left his cousin, the outcast, with a smile of malignant satisfaction and a heart of hato. Horiot Fayne's insolence of manner and speech, his open contempt and scorn, cub Mr. Marshbank like so many lashes of a whip, a knout. His back wa3 blushing, so to speak, bub he still smiled, for lie had effected his purpose. He had goaded the heir into rebellion and defiance, and now he, Stannard, could go down to Averleigh and play his parb with a free hand, and pose as the noble, unselfish gentleman, as a contrasb to the lowminded profligate into whose place he was going to step. He wont and sat on his committee, and while Heriot was acting as referee at the boxing-match—listened to the witnesses and counsel, and asked questions. »'.>;■■••. Ho spoke in the House thub night—spoke better than ever ho had done before, and the nexb day started for Averleigh. As the train approached the rich lands belonging to the estate, ho looked out? with a gleam in his light eyes —a gleam of cupidity. lb would all bo his somo day, if —if Horiob Fayne did nob marry and begeb a son—all his ! Bub there was something more he wanted, and he leaned back and closed his eyes, and thought of Eva Winsdale. She was bo be his wife. He had resolved that it should be so the first night he had seen her. Bub how was he to obtain her? Mosb men would have seen only one way, that of winning her heart, bub this was nob Stannard Marshbank's way. Thab was loaving too much to chance. When he wanted a thing, he was nob ashamed to set a snare for it, to trap ib, to weave a neb round ib. What snare could he set for this beautiful, sweeb English girl whose pure mind looked oub ab him through the clear windows of her innocent eyes Ib is said thab the devil is always ready to befriend his slaves, that he is a good master for a time—and renders service for service, and though he did nob guess ib, the snare was ready to Stannard Marshbank's i hand. ...*.■> _

The Averleigh carriage was watting for him, and a couple of footmen stood on the platform to receive him and take charge of his luggage. '* Servants are quick at discovering the way the wind is blowing, and somehow or other they had • discovered that Mr. Marshbank was someone of importance ab Averleigh. So they touched their hats with a marked respect, and ushered him to the carriage as if he were almost of as much consequence as their master, the old lord, himself.

Stannard lingered a moment to tip the guard and porter, and say an affable word respecting the weather to the obsequious station-master, who could scarcely keep his hab on his head, and then was driven So the Court.

The earl and Lady Janet awaited him in the library, and he entered with an air of sad gravity, which told his story without words. The earl shut his lips tightly, Lady Janeb sighed and hung her head. She had hoped againsb hope, had even thought that this exemplary young man mighb have succeeded so well in his unselfish mission as to bring Heriob down wibh him. The tears gathered in her eyes. " You have had a pleasant journey, I trust," said the earl, with the courtesy which did not fail him even ab such a moment as this. "Ib is very good of you to come. You have seen—my son ?" Stannard Marshbank inclined his head solemnly, regretfully. 'fifes, sir, I have seen Heriob," he replied, "and—and I am sorry to say that I have no good news." The earl's lips grew tighter, thinner, and he waved hi 3 white hand as a signal for Stannard to continue.

"I saw Horiot, and—and did my best to place the matter before him. I spoke plainly, perhaps too plainly. I fear I gave him offence. Bub one musb do one's duty, sir, and I felt it my duty to make an effort to restore him to the—the place which you have offered me. I could nob have accepted it without doing so." The earl inclined his head.

" And—had he—" ho said, but his voice died away. Stannard Marshbank shook his head.

" Almost refused to listen to me," he said, in a low voice. " I found him in bed it was in the afternoon"

Lady Janeb sighed, and her hands clasped each other.

" I fear he was nob in the best mood to receive my visit, and it was with great impatience that) he brought himself to listen to me, even for the few minutes which I spent with him. He— It pains me, sir, to have to tell the result of my mission. I would not repeat his words, they would only grieve and anger you. In effect, he declines to leave London and the life he is leading, and is deaf to all remonstrances and exhortations, though, Heaven knows, I spared neither, and tried my best to prove to him that forgiveness and a loving welcome awaited him at your and Lady Janet's hands." The earl raised his white head. " Thank you," he said, in a low voice, " that is sufficient. The mission was one of your own seeking. I had no faith in it. He refuses to— return and load the clean and virtuous life of an English gentleman. Good ! May I aak if the scruples which stood in the way of your acceptation of the proposal 1 made you are now removed ?" Srannard Marehbank looked straight before him with well-simulated reluctance and hesitation on his face.

" I have followed the dictates of my conscience, sir," he said. " I still wish that Heriot had listened to reason, and suffered mo to restore him to his proper place, bub— I am in your hands, sir." " Good !" said the earl. He rang a small boll on the table, and a footman entered. " Send a groom to Mr. Eastlake"—he was the lawyer in the neighbouring town — " and ask him if he will be good enough to come here to-morrow. He may choose his own hour ; I shall be at home." Lady Janet rose and lofb the room with tears running down her face, and Stannard Marshbank, as he opened the door for her, murmured sadly: "lam so sorry, so sorry; bub what can I do [To be continued on Saturday next.]