CRAVEN FORTUNE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12712, 15 November 1904, Page 3

CRAVEN FORTUNE.

■-..■", ' ■' ■" , ■■ , r .. • BY P. IL "WHITE. ;. '..-■■.- -'-■_. ■ _..' ;■■_ . .r- '■DUr.Ai'

-*-*■' :' ' '. : •;:-.'■■:: .-...- j [POTLISnro :, By- .rsWWAL; i|ffiANGEMESfT.J, I

Author of ," Netta." " The Crimson Blind, " The Cardinal Moth." " Blackmail," ' -«» ■ >"." Kobe of Lucifer." etc.. etc. ".' . _— i . •"- /;-- COFSBIGttT. ' ' .' , t ' ■ sxkopsis 03? rnEYiotrs CHA3?i®fiß; V Chapter I.— dinner party at the hou«s ol Stephen ■Morrison, • the millionaire, > is i Wit* 6 "? bridge ] in tin library. 1 ?iWtt«d : **!*£*> doctor. ' meets UU : sweetheart, Freda Everton, com-, panion •• to •:• Morrison's , daughters, < Grace . »w_*»y; : Miss -; Grace, *&<> is Jealous, interrupts i the ww™. : tete-a-tete. Against v Freda's % wishes, : WUiriQ »"• 1 lows himself * to ' be drawn 1: into % tho :, KO» b L «,.!►■ thai bridge r tables. Handicapped with, a ,bad partner, Wilfrid ' is, foolish,;enough■', to play for m «a stakfis. ■■ ■ "Chapter ll—He leaves : the stable, the POferby £200, which;. he loses to ) Bent'ey, ■ Morrison s -non friend. Bayfield J confesses i to' Freda in ?&*■* ™°* :servatory later /■.-that :.he/. Is \prwstioally.S e '^K-•[ ' He has promised ' to > lend Ms, friend, - ; Frank Saxby, ; the money iwhloh-:wasi needed to save Waiaixom ■ professional: rain;'- and ! now he . is ;■ powerless *» °° f so* Freda oinases her lover , by assuring athat iihe will get the money, and: vanishes. . OnAPTßß^nir—Freda returns ■:-»;,: Jo** 11 * - mlnlatura medallion, whioh? she ■ wishes him'» sell. : He Ms? grateful for .her' self-sacrifice, bat* refuses to accept it. At this Juncture Wilfrid la ■ called tor by the card-players. -After inducing Freda' to step . into the garden lie strolls Into the library. Coming baok to tho-oowmtor? they are aiatres»ea to find that the brooch 1* missing. -, Chapter IV.—A little later a : stranger arrives, a muffled figure oil a- man In a cloak. His M" "l causes '■ M: Morrison . very great ■: uneasiness. : .He is " visibly perturbed. Then, . aftef.'adi«mlsstegs his guests, he requests Dr. ; Bayfield 'i to J professionally ' examine him, s after :-■ which ■ he ; accompanies._t|e. young '■• doctor towards -. Middlesworth. > Before Jn«y leave the grounds ; Wilfrid? meets I Freda, ;wbp;T»a*V him to procure admittance to the now closea and darkened house. ; •■'■ " CHAPTER V. ■•■;■'. \ It. was ail exceedingly critical moment, but Wilfrid did not loss his head.. He saw quite clearly the absolute necessity of', get* ting Stephen"? Morrison out of the way." ) It was no time either; to ask how this surprising meeting had come about. Nor (lid it occur to Wilfrid to doubt Freda's movements. Perhaps soma great catastrophe had happened. . , "Wherever have you been to at this time ■ of night?" Wilfrid demanded. "I thought that you were- safe in bed long ago. My dearest girl, are you mad?" ; , \ ■ „ : ' "Then it; . 19 'i : with ■ anxiety,: and fright, Freda whispered. ' "Wilfrid, I have bean into Middles worth. I had to go; for many reasons it was sheer necessity. I felt quite sure that those men would go on playing till nearly daylight. Hut Mr." Morrison is calling again.*'' ' ■' "Confound it, Bayfield," the- raucous voice said. " Why the deuce don't you come along?" ■ . • '-:■: - '■•. , '■■> ' . Wilfrid cried out that he was coming at once. 'He had dropped something n by l the way.' and he was very anxious to find it. At the present moment there was paly, one thing to do, and that was to get rid' of Morrison at once. Freda, whispered a few burried Words to this, effect in her lover's ear. Would not- Wilfrid go and get rid of the man? He could easily find "«a excuse to get back, and thou ha would have to ao something desperate so far as Freda mis concerned. "* ' <• Wilfrid: acknowledged that a? he clicked his teeth resolutely together. As he slipped from the shelter of the belt of Riirubs he saw the impatient figure of Morrison ' before him, 'lit Was necessary to lie < now, and to lie boldly. Wilfrid's manner •''-;' quite matter-of-ittA as he came up with tiie fussy, impatient millionaire. , " If you are in a hurry 1 must ask you to go alone," he said. "In drawing my match, ; ke: from my pocket I pulled out » paper 'with mmc most important notes upon it. They arc on very flimsy pap^ t i and Jhey come from a great doctor in llt>rHa. They axe vital to til© treatment of. a patient of mine, and they must be, found. . ; It yoa' trill help me to look for them—" . . .- -:■•'-. Bui Morrison declined curtly.' s He M 4 plenty of worry of his own, without troubling -"about' 'other : :people, be; eaid : almostbrutally, m ' ha strod-s away.: ,■,■ Wilfrid was welcome to . stay. /■Shelve and search. all ..night if he liked. An Morrison's • sturdy %era vanished into . the .darkness Wilfrid.drew a sigh of! relief. ! ''"At: tho - same . time . he felt heartily ashamed of himself. .'He. reflected - how easily and glibly ho had lied, he who al-, ' ways prided liimseff on being the soul 'of honour. ■'"'' ' j Freda's face lighted a little as her lover > returned alone. Had Wilfrid been a little j less perplexed and harassed he would have ; ■ seen that Freda was suffering from " some-1 thing more than anxiety. Her face was set | and white; there was a rooted horror in I : her. even. ' „ ; " Wave, yon really got rid of Mr. Mom-:| son?" she asked, anxiously. \ "He has gone to Middlesworth without i me," Wilfrid explained. "I am quite sure that he has no idea ox the reason why I j stayed behind. My lie was complete in every detail." I " Oh, vea, I know it. must be horrible,'' Freda said. " I know how you hate prevarication, oven though it is for my sake. But it'was for you that I— ■ • ' ' . 'I , "That yen fid this imprudent thin?, j Freda, it was very foolish of you; I ought i to be angry; indeed, I should be very J angry if 1 had any right that way. But, after my own stupendous'folly'it would be j arrogance on my part to scold you I" j "Don't!" Freda said, unsteadily, The j tears were on her pale cheeks now. " li, was ! for your sake that I did as,l have don.?. j solely to save! your name I'.undertook this j rash enterprise. It seemed to me that those | men would stay until daylight. I have j known them gamble more than once until the servants come down in the morning. I I did not wont to say anything to you— only ] wanted to be able to tell, yon to-morrow that j your promise to Frank Saxby would be fulfilled. Won't you believe, that it was for your sake, '-Wilfrid?" ; The stern look died out of Wilfrid's- face. It was very ■ hard . to resist the : pleading : tones and the wistful look on the beautiful face of the speaker. "How did you r imagine that you were going to do it?" Wilfrid asked. "I had rather-not tell, you, Wilfrid. When we discovered the mysterious loss of that jewel I was almost beside; myself with horror and grief. - A new idea { possessed; me —how wild i*; was I did not realise until this moment. It has practically failed. Oh, Wilfrid, no girl in the world is prepared to go further for her lover than I am for you!" ■ • -'Wilfrid's resentment collapsed'-altogether; He felt heartily ashamed of himself.- It was his own headstrong folly and want of moral j courage that had brought all this about, | and here he was blaming the girl who was taking such risks to preserve his • reputation. : ] He stooped and kissed the f trembang lips ; passionately. He" was contrite enough new. "Forgive me, darling!" 'he' whispered, i " My jealousy for your good name—but ■ we ] cannot stop here like this all night. • At any hazard,^ :, I must find some Way to get into J the house, and in such a way.. that nobody ! will know that you have been absent.", i Wilfrid spoke with;the air of a man who i has quite made up ' his mind. what he is ; going to M. He had put his hand to the j plough now without the slightest intention i of taking it back again. The situation was desperate—so desperate that there was al- ; most an element of farce in it. Freda was j out there, and between her and safety there I was no more than' the thickness of;a; wooden I door. Once that door was passed the whole thing would he saved. If burglary were, necessary burglarv it would be. "You j had better sit here under the old cedar tree,' Wilfrid said. "Fortunately it i is a warm night, and if the worst comes to the worst you can stay here until: the I servants come down in the morning, and j j then- pretend that you have 4 been for ani ] early walk. Lucky, , too, that you have ft j i plain black dress on. But I'll see what I j j can do. dearest." ' .' - : ! Freda waited there with a beating heart whilst Wilfrid explored the bouse. It was a long process, and one that called for caution, but it was done at length. So far as Wilfrid oould see, there was no chance of getting- inio the -house by means of the upper windows, as the house had »o creepers over it, and a ladder could be found nowhere. "Carefully locked, of course!" Wilfrid said, briefly. "The gardener would not go out of his way to: provide ladders for intending burglars. ; Doors fast and all/the windows shuttered.. There is a light still 1 hi the mornincroom. Morrison forgot to put it out, evidently. As far as I «an see, I J , shall have to get in by means of the conI iservgtory." " , y"C J £*t: j;; 1 :,,; ~i': :?:&': '^^^i^r^i^iS^^-^^^t^^i^^^Ai

»"~ iWiiiijiiiiih mil., -^— , imi ii ii.., ; .- ',' M -■■..-... . The glass doors leading to the-garden J were locked. The glass was beaded in small panes in imitation of church stained-glass windows. : It;, seemed ■■, fa Wilfrid , that, he might remove cm of die panes close to the lock and get in that wot. ';■-■':■■" The process was a tedious one, but it Was [ accomplished at, length with ii.*.- aid of a pocket knife. The ' loading was pressed back gently, and . a piece of glass some four' inches. square extracted, •so that Wilfrid oonld thrust his haad inside and turn the key. To replace the glass and squeeze the [ beading back was no trouble at all. It would not do to l«aTd'any traces of the. burglary behind. Wilfrid was in the conservatory now," and his mind grew easier. He "strolled back to the spot where Freda was seated, ; and silently beckoned bar to follow him. The girl gave a gasp of relief as the : warmth and heat of the place, struck her. ..She i was * not ■ actually in the .: house yet, but 'she was very near it, and-her. natural' courage began to rise again. ' .;".-.■,.'. ■■ "I am going to try the far fastening now," Wilfrid' whispered. ; If I can man- " age that the thing,is done. All you have! to do after , that is to let me outs and lock : the doors behind me and go to bed. I'll .find ■- some way of - seeing ■ you 'in - the : morn-. -: ing." ' '.;, Freda pressed; her lover'n arm gratefully.It seemed to her that the.thing was done. But the second catch gave a. great deal of trouble.. It was an iron one, and the; ; thickness of the knife prevented 'it - going ; between the sashes as freely as it should have done. There was nothing for it but to break the window so far as Wilfrid oould see.. . "I'm -going to adopt a;desperate remedy," he muttered. "Is there a carpet on the other side of the window?" V/V Freda thought for a -moment, and then 'decided that the vestibule beyond was carpeted. Wilfrid smiled as he heard. He wanted to break the £:.--* so- that 'the- fragments would fall inside. . Afterwards the damage would be sure to be asscribed to a careless servant, particularly if the far door of the conservatory was subsequently found to be locked. , In that ease there would be no - suspicion of at- ■; tempted robbery. Wilfrid explained his plan rapidly to Freda. "It is a risk," she said, " but L don't see any other. way of doing it. Mind you don't cut yourself." ...;.:; Pi Wilfrid had taken every precaution against that. He wrapped his handkerchief tightly round Mis fist, and then gave a smart blow on the top left-hand corner of the lower sheet of glass. There was a dull sound followed by the slight tinkle of dropping glass, and behold a hole large enough for a hand to be inserted and pull back-the catch. - - "That's a good thing done," Wilfrid said under his "breath. "All I have to do is to - place my hand inside like this, and ■when the door is open get you— Hide behind that oleander, quick." The last few words came in a, quick, startled whisper, for the scene had suddenly changed. In the vestibule beyond'»'• light suddenly flashed cut. and somebody touched the electric switch. A passionate execration rose to Wilfrid's lips. It seemed a*, if somebody in : the house was on the alert, and that he was going to have trouble for his pai::is. "At any rate, li« was'going to save Freda, who was tugging at his coat. Ke would see that she escaped from the penalties of her indiscretion if he stood in a most compromising position ' himself. ''-He would stay there and fight the thing to the sad. 1 ,'' ' "Hide where I told you," he commanded, 1 "Never,mind line. I shall had some way out, I am going to be invited into the house ito explain myself, and that will be your opportunity. Even if the worst j comes to the worst I shall only be given | into custody as a would-be burglar." k''Freda, would have hesitated but for the pleading tone of Wilfrid's voice. Another light hashed out, and she crouched behind the thick shade of the oleai\der As the second light flared up and Wilfrid stood ■prepared for-any evil that knight happen [he saw a figure advancing towards the l conservatory.' All his fears . gave ; way j to intense * surprise as he saw that the 'figure- was' none other'than that of the I Httl© fllosltcd and hatted he:had swl-; [«)Jtlß'Vtetn fcbe;'hoi;iae ! 'to' : - ! see v W^visMn.,^' I lour. Or eo ago. '.Hie figure, oame along l*bur«"y,' m ■'■ Mi. ' comcious •of exactly \ what j If bed happened. Wi'frid could not see the whole of his face, but the ■ mouth, ' wbcb was small, was grim and yet smiling. /"So you , had to coma back .for some- | thing, Or. Bayfield," the' stranger ' said, •j "Yon would havo been ' saved all this' : trouble had you only tapped on the mom- ! ing-room . window. Had not you better | come this way and tell me ■what you require before Morrison returns? You fancy j that Morrison is not coming back to-night, \ ! but as ft matter of fact he will be home j I within the how. Can I help you?" j i • ,s'Yes, Wilfrid 'add with sudden reso- j Itttion. "In the first place, you can tell i me whether I have made a neat job Or ' not in replacing that pane of beaded glass that I had to ' remove. If an will-com© this way it is just possible that the means ■ of. escape—" , ' • : ''The little man followed eagerly. l As w j passed Wilfrid this latter made • a sign \ with.his-'band. -'Ah quick and noiseless as a cr.t Freda flitted away into the vestibule, kissing her hand to Wilfrid as she went. Her over' were .set and her face was pale: ; : then she vanished like a dream. , I ."Excellent for an amateur," the little nan croaked. • ''Quite excellent. There is a white glove on the floor by this rustic vat. Is it. yours? ■ No! then'-it''belongs' to a lady. It is a lons glove of the most expensive kind and supplied by Paquim If I were \-ou,, Dr. Bayfield, I should put that glove in my pocket. Unless I am I greatly mistaken it will bo useful later on in' explaining the mysterv of a certain loss which has been puzzling you all; the evening." (To be continued dallyj " DURING HIS MAJESTY'S k PLEASUKE," • . A bright! and interesting story, by a popular authoress, will appear in our columns on Saturday, November 19. ■: '