BRAVE HEARTS AND TRUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11366, 8 May 1900, Page 3

BRAVE HEARTS AND TRUE.

,■ CHAPTER I. ' ' ' \«A at the door, which' opened from • •• SB! ,- n t eal den straight into the large living *' TfXcottage, ' and he leaned ' over the °° m L ting until sb.o should toll him to . «**' . 'Ho could see the flickering fire °°r.!3'in the mahogany chest of drawers, ■*■ the boUsbade over the artificial fruit. • * nd • . the room behind her was a dark Others, t her protty figure He took ' ; of all her charms; hair, ?""la £s % as ** w gto and f B i d T panes, in every ono of winch il th So was mirrored; eyes large, the , fSf and pure, like violets touched : <dew;sto and complexion for which v: ' ** f the ereat ladies whom Sir Peter Lely - - < : "V-f A inifld have bartered a king ransom, n D the skin of a peach that soft in the sun; limbs straight, and - has ripened 1 " an embodiment of beautiful ; ; - free, » nd , B "?" h s Her cotton frock was fresh "fflcate « the wistaria over the porch; -. £ Sonnet she was idly swinging was •'-; th ?, „nd clean as the big magnolia blos- . •« Ma £'T e Sow. He saw it all, and 601 D: Jif all br heart. She was the one I ] ? m in his very practical life, tMs little $**m evenyeVold daughter of MargpG&S "*• lauldressdown to '■"'■' going by the omnibus, to-morrow, "her sorrowfully. ::•■',:»Ah!" was all his answer. -.■■:, '.'..Yes and we get to Lunnon at six and /■■vf'ftinV m going to aunts at Walhllm : : -''Ah!" said Jem, again ' ij' i -And we'm going to bide there till father '' hJght the furniture up along. Dr. Hunt s ■":-• '- ■ S « pav for the removing of it. ; '•Ah! said Jem; "be'ee sorry you.m flfSle looked surprised : • "Nopurely. Ibe main glad. ' Jem's love found voire '" ' ' "May I come in, Nance? I want to—' " Nance hesitated, primly. '' Mother's -up town, she said, and 1 m "'"'■■ minding house. What do '.e wan* to do?" ;; : ':■■ Ho wanted to kiss- her, and nearly said :'•■ jo, but forebore. ■"I want to say ( good-byo to ee. May .: ." T come in, Nance?" ' Silence -gave consent, and ho opened tho gate and joined her sitting on the rough Lch in the porch, while Nance sat opposite him her sunburnt hands crossed demurely • upon her lap. , T „ T ™ I've summat to give ce, Nance, Jem ''- : „aid, after » long pause; " summat to remember me by." '-'"'-' He took-a cardboard box out of his trousers '"' v nocket and handed it to her awkwardly. ' Nance opened it eagerly and gave a cry of pleasure as she saw a silver cross reposing - - on pink cotton wool. - -".Wherever did ee get it, Jem( ■:-i "I bought it of Mr. Fenny, tho joweller to ■Aiminster, Last time Dr. Hunt went to ' Yeovil town I drove over in the putt to meet him at the station, and I bought it for 'ee {hen. 'Tis for 'co to remember me by. ■ " 'Tis beautiful, surely," Nance said, with '•■'■ delight. "I'll keep it for ever and ever." '".ffull 'ee. then?" said Jem. with a sigh ■' 'of'relief. "Nance, give us a kiss." '■■"■■■'■■■ Ijlanco acquiesced unhesitatingly, and Jem ' Borlase gave her the first kiss ho had ever bestowed from pure love on any member of • {he sex upon which he, boy-like, looked with • a vague scorn, as being only "females." ' •■•': And then, half shamefacedly, he said good-bye, and ran away " up town."

; jgj " CHAPTER 11. -The alarm rang, and instantly everything ; was ready. The harness dropped upon tho waiting horses, the doors wero thrown open, the men sprang into their places, and with a hoarse shout of warning tho engine left the firs station and sped down the Fulham • Fulham ha?' been conquered by the invading army of builders of flats, and everybody bows', the great block of artisan dwellings pretentiously styled Castelnnu mansions. It was in this block, densely populated by the class whose economy in gas is only exceded by their recklessness with oil, that the firo broke out. Even the latest developments of scientific building, tesselated > concrete floors, stone staircases, and iron girders, aro no proof against panic, and in the very initant following the first alarm chaos reigned in Castelnau mansions. Where tho fire originated matters little. Up tho lift shaft it shot, and in what seemed ono moment tho flits on the two top floors were well alight, and the courtyard below was a seething mass of terrified human being's; The flames spread downwards, and.by the time the first fire engine got to work the third floor also was involved,'and volumes of smoke rolling up the staircase cut off the escape of the people still above. Two firo escapes provided means 'of'rescue for quite a number of people, but .suddenly' a woman's scream drew attention to the fifth floor.. To run tho escape beneath the window was only a moment's task, but the ladders were much too short, and the fi-3men, in spite of their most determined efforts, could not make their way up tho staircase, already cracking dangerously. • Just at this moment the great clock tower over the main staircase fell in with a crash, and the flood of flaming sparks suddenly released shed a brilliant light upon the surrounding scene. Then a vast shout went up as two firemen were seen crawling along the coping that ran all round tho roof. From their gesticulations the crowd understood that they knew of the woman's peril, and wero anxious to ascertain when they were directly above the window at which sho still stood screaming for help. Guided by the stentorian shouts of the officer in command, they stopped above the flat, and then one man, fastening a linejnund his body, was slowly lowered by his mate over tho parapet. When his hands touched the window-sill he pulled himself into the room, scarcely hearing the roar of cheers from below, scarcely noticing the awful heat, as, after all these years, he recognised tho face before him. "Jem! Jem Borlase! Thank God you've come!"

"NanceJ—are you the last?" ■ The words seemed to recall her wits already wandering. "No," she said, "I have the two children. I would not throw them down until I knew there was no other way. Save them first, Jem, Oh,' Jem— Jem, be quick!" . Quickly as brave, experienced hands could do it, the'children, one after the other, were made fast, and pulled up to the less perilous resting-place on the roof; but seconds were vital now, and when for the third time Jem succeeded in grasping tho swinging ropo (.'.itside the window, the flames were roaring on them,'' scorching their skin, and making the man see red. "•; He slipped bis foot into the loop, and holding on to the rope with one hand, was slowly hauled up, grasping tightly in his left arm the now unconscious woman, seeing, rather than feeling, that her clothing was on fire. 'When that dread ascent, occupying in all but a few seconds, was over, Jem sank uncmfcious on tie roof, leaving it to his mate to tear off Nance's burning gown and beat out tho flames as best he could. And so that one man had *o do the rest of Jem's work »8 well as his own, and get the four helpless human beings into safety; and ho did it, as, thank Clod, our English firemen always do, with level-headed coolness and unfailing Pluck. And when the official stop was circulated, there were no lives to be reported lost, and only .one woman injured. ' ' CHAPTER 111. Nance had left the hospital, and with Jem Borlase was sitting on one of the seats in Bishop's Park, idly watching the river, dreamily enjoying convalescence, ■'y. So. when his wife died there was no one 'eft to mind the children but me, and I Went to live with them, and, bless their hearts! fdo believe they're almost as fond of their auntie as ever they was of their mother."

| . /Those had been her last words, and in the J B "ence that followed Jem felt his one doubt removed.

\,,.„i l 'n't you ever want to Ret married your- ;..,-•". »«? "he asked. .".:,:,.- ■ x don't know that I over thought about '' - " v fry much," Nance answered. "No; I V t*»t think I wanted to." .. Nance was no coquette, and did not try ',;, M: hide from herself that she knew what ',;';," ™ coming. S ''"•( "\u J e >" '' em said, reverting somehow .: ■• L h0 °] d dialect, as people will when they pr I'Sii ' " '° CP remember when you was m hh "Ule • maid to Combe, and I was a girt 11 •_, yiering bwoy, I give 'ea summat to remom§§l ''Sua 8 by? An<l y° n BiV me a kiss, and '■'■';■ •■•■■■ ev», ?! you would keep it for ever and -... -..j, V<P '.O remember that?" •'■ ■ rent; ? Kpt il for 20 years already," Nanco ~.; , bed. i She slipped her hand inside her • • Inn? ? nt I ? l,llcd 0, » the silver cross. Jem : ;»' jjKfeJ Mit curiously. - 1 ' :] -'now' T* m a wonderful foolish gewgaw :i";,5 " d! " b,,t ' tod I how pleased ':■■:■■ •■'■ .„,, l? at you was pleased with it— years flNanco, l lovc(1 ' ce than when I w«« «««« J? U T W J!S 8 . ,,ch a l )rc «y l'»le maid of . jj. out I didn't daro to jell *ee. Nance, 27 i"! 1 "° * w '™ a man of 34, and lam ■ . . ■*M not pretty any longer." WJI! C 8 ~ Uered' and she put up her by thh her lctt eheek - wh <™ the scars left "R,ll C 3 were fltiU ml ttnd fierce, ■':■[ iniinmi'., es '.- >' ou ' soul! " said Jem, "»S y ', earm that she was going to cry; 1 '._ *«*> to fret about them? I look upon ! - i r -. L

em as good-conduct stripes earned by sticking to your post. Nice sort of woman I should take 'eo to b'e if you threw over a man to whom you was plighted bocause he came home from active service with a mark on his face IS Yea; indeed!; and— contrariwise." i - v.*•..';',. ~•••..■

He ended up abruptly, being much moro moved than ho cared to show, but when ho began to speak again Nance's hand wag in his.

"Bravo heart and true!" he said; "that's what yours is, and if ever I forget it for a moment—and men are apt to forgot their wives good qualities sometimes-them marks will remind mo of it. Never mind the scars .\anco. They're summat to be proud of And on this side"— drew her closer and kissed her smooth right cheek-" on this side you m 20 years prettier than you was when I kissed you last." Nance laughed through her tears. il Dear Jem, I like to think you mean it all. But you 11 be writing poetry to mo soon. '

Not I, said Jem, stoutly. " Give me the cross, Nance, and let mo give you a wedding ring instead." "Oh, don't ask for the cross, Jem," Nance said; 20 years I have worn it in memory Of you. Lot mo keep it still." m M ,&!!*> all right," said Jem, obedien iy. ■~ 111 gIVO ' ec tho wedding ring as well. But, Nance, it must bo soon. What a lot of time we've wasted already!" Nance looked at tho cross affectionately. ''Tis the only trinket I havo ever had, and twas given mo by the only man I've ever loved. Yes, I must keep it still. Men aren't often so true to women as you are, Jem."

And 'tis the woman's fault if so be they're not," said Jem. " Good women makes good men. Brave heart and true, Nance; that what yours is. And now, thank God, 'tis mine."