ROGER TREWINION

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12868, 17 May 1905, Page 2 (Supplement)

ROGER TREWINION

I.Y JOSEPH nOCKIXC. |1 ; Author ..f " The Coming of the Kin*." " All .Men Are Liar?." "The Story 'if *0 ■ > Andrew Fait i.e. " etc., etc. CHAI'I'KR ■•■- 'Continued.') '* Wits ': How?" |; . "1 couldn't rightly make out. but I heerd y Master Wilfred /ay thai lied kill yet- weth ; lies own 'and rather than you -bud ever 'aye 1,,-.-. Then 1 Vetd Jake Blackburn ax what !' Ve'd got to tin wi" that, ami your brother 'told 'iin ilia; el Miss Ruth didn't mm* down from 'ei 'jgh '•--. ihrre'd be some work for ;'.-." 'mi to do." "Von don't mean to say that Wilfred ■n.iuld u«c this villain to kill ISuth''" ■• I don't sac nothin'. snr. but I knaw Alaas-tcr Wilfred wtir awful mad. and wur t.llii,' .lake that, of '< .• dedn' do as he was told ln'd put a 'amrmiiii's rope round es niiddifk. I 'eetd tin zay. too, that lie wud tell Vr you was dead, and that it writ ei plan- to" .ive him. and it she wndden—well. and then thev va- whisperin' one to anether." "And are you sure they were going theic':' j-;.,: '"As sine as 1 ear be, stir. 1 'ctT\\ era y.av they'd git to Mottbn Hall by ten lock, ' "And now it's after two. Why did yon not tell me before':'" ? "I've bin three tunes tins morniu'. sur. ■- but- they zaid they wudiien wake 'ee. 1 told 'ee as soon as ever 1 cud." ! I could not believe in what P.ill had said. ii was too terrible, but I hurried madly Lack to the house, he keeping by my side, j "Do yon ally think he is capable of such ) * i'lin,'.,- you hinted at, Bill?.'' I said. j " fin sine 'ee's capable of doin' any dfvi- | ii-ii thine, said Dill; "beside, y'vt bin ilrinkin' 'aid lately." The thought was ghastly in the extreme. ; " and yet as I remembered the loo!: on his! J face the night before, when he said he would ever seek to curse my life. I felt the truth of j Hill's words. He bad tried to murder mein order t<- retain wealth, would he not niur- t | der her rather than see,her make me bap- f '?.■ }iy? Tin ii the thought came tv —was ■; ibis ,i part of the curse"' For the past j : eleven years I had never known real happi- j ; ness. Before 1 had raised the cup to my ;. lips it had been dashed out of my kauri. '■ £ .' ."Whs it to V now as ii had. ever been? For I g: ' ,a moment 1 believed that a dark force at- | ? tended me. and that 1 could not rid myself! ;;- ; <»; the evil to which I had been bom. Then j .: .1 thought of old Deborah Tongue's words. , "You 'ant curse waun that do love every g, body, and whose heart es full ov love." ;'r i This comforted me: not that I believed par- &",'• ticularly' in anything she might- say, but f because it seemed to contain the principles ;; <>i truth. . f. Anyhow, if such were the ease. 1 would I 3-esist my fate, I would struggle to the end. j [; -.- and God would help me. - 1 rushed io trie stables, where two c>r j ilirce men lolled around. V "Are the horses all in the stables?""! \ 9--k<d. "No. sur. there be two gone." *' •Qood ones?" I "The Lot we've got, sit. Brown Molly I ■■': es u thorn breed, sur. and will run tilt she ;.. do drop: and Prince is nearly so good." f- " Have- you a good horse now':" J- " Therea Bes<. She's a bra mare, jist '- broke in. sur." "Saddle her .o ..nee fur me. and—stop! I ?'c ; Do yon know who has the other two horses?" j p "Xo. Mir: but Master Wilfred do often! ;>• - take bosses without we kn&win' 'bout, it." ; ,::; "Just ><>. Ibiug Be.ss to the hall door! ]l ' inmicdiately.*' « .',.,,: I • 1 rushed into the house, where 1 found ; | " my mothers I told he- all Bill had re- , "' lated to me. As I did so [ saw her face! \ v r*' i K, ' e to the very lips. , "Oh. li.-ei': Oh. Boger!" she eiied, I --; * S:,v g. him." | >'-,■'■: "''s"> you think Bill's surmise correct?" i 5: : "Oh. Wilfred. Wilfred, you" will kill me ;.' yet," she murmured. "Bide fast, Roger. £\ ' ride for your lite. 'Don't wail a moment if j'-; voir' would save her. and save him!" Th«! horse w...i brought up to the door J ti. at that moment, a powerful black mare, ?? well-fed and exercised. w'i / I kissed my mother and prepared to t;o, ;;. but she held my arm for a moment. ft' "Be careful and watchful." she said*. *'-; "he's very cunning: but. oh., my God. >. save him irom this:" ?~ . I jumped into the saddled and in another ■!■; minute wasiidiug with a -beating heart j;.- towards Morton Hall. " , J :: . ' .•' i HAPTEItXXXI. ' 10 TBE RKSCTI Vi «' " : .-.: ■. Ami therefore, since T cannot tjr u lover ;-; To eiilertuin thi-se fair, well-spoken day--. ; 1 am determined to prove a villain J- And hate the i.IJe pleasures of tlie?e (lavs. j v , -v." t'lots have I laid, inductions dangerous i\ >• By drunken prophecies, libels, dreams, To set my brother Clarence ami the Kin;; " In deadly hate the one-a?ainn,the other; i:} And if Kin? Edward be as true and Inst f. . As I am, subtle, iilse. ami treat-heron?. . This clay should Clarence be closely mewed "P. About a prophecy, which say? that I' ' ' Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be. ' 2>ivf. thoughts, down to my soul!- Here i"'. -, ' Clarence come-. ?; „ -" Richard III.." Act 1.. Scene 1...'. i-"'.' For the first mile I rode almost without tvr'/ Leading the direction I was taking, or thSik- ,/ ing of what was the best way to proceed. ', .. My mind was 100 full of terror. Per- -'.: baps even then Wilfred with his • devilish cunning was weaving a net from 'which :s'\ ; my darling could not escape. -Aided, by the ■;i,.' villain with whom he had been so friendly, jfejj-v be might destroy my happiness- for ever. And so, unthinkingly, I allowed '.lit- mare Ky, ■- to carry me whither she would/ 'It did '<£fi aiot matter, however. By a Strang* instinct, § " which lam sure some animals rxjrg*<Jßs, she "4? : iseemed to divine the road I wan-.eci to go, :-, ;. and plunged forward joyfully, j,■ ,5T' I was no light, weight to cu'rry". \lt is '02 true that the past year's sorrow .bad worn roe very much, so that there w,us but little nesh on my great, gaunt florae; 'but I l-"r still weighed nine score pounds, and thus would tire any horse that bad to cany rue « u long distance. J could not /nave ridden a more noble animal, however.', ■ I think she V united all the qualities of strength and sj«?ed, V; jind tore, along the road as though she felt l--\ my weight no more than ii I.had been a A feather. It was but little I had done in ;*, ' riding dining the .eleven years I had been '•£'/■ away, but I found I baG not let jay old .s,kill, and noon I was able to bring Black Jiess into entire subjection, and settled down into-a good swinging trot. I longed to gallop the, gallant, animal all the. way, so anxious 1 to reach Morton Hall; but .1 knew t'jat she could not hold out at Kirch a speed, so I patted her neck and gave her a fey,- kind, caressing words, stt which .-lie whinnied a little and tossed hot' head proudly- as if to tell me she was (prepared to go ah fast as 1 liked. Tbtrt"-five mil—'. It was a long.stretch of land, and difficult to cover quickly, In most places; it was very hilly, which would often check our speed. 1 calculated, bowever, to get t/j Morton village in four hours, Jt was just/ about two o'clock when we ;;. started: by six we should be there if lung was amiss. It was in the month of Octobf-r, so that the day would be nearly • gone ere 'I should .see the old village church, which vi year before had been the scene of * wonderful event. At'.oi riding an hour I was able to think ;•' mot • dearly, and to form some idea as to the s.eps J ".should take. I remembered that 1 '.iHtl a cunning, unscrupulous man to deal; v.ii.i, com who. in his disappointment and j lousy, would Mop at nothing. There Wo-e but little data "ii which I could build ■ fiy theories, or form my plans. The first • piestimi that appealed to me was. what was .' ; V.'ili'ii'd likt-lv to do? Who steps would % ihe take? / / Front ivhai Dill Tu-iatgtw had told me ■'";• ' / 1 gathered that be was going to toll her %J that 1 \v..s dead, ami again press upon her " t his suit, and then if she would not listen to him —well, 1 knew not what. > But 1. was sure be would not dare to V . harm her in her own home, where she would ; ? h- surrounded by so many servants and '*.' friends-. No, he would Peek to lure her ■_. away alone— where I could not guess; but ;. . knowing Wilfred as f did. I felt- sure'that f u - this would be ids plan. The execution of this plan would, however, be delayed till ■V. dark, so my hope, lay in arriving before sunset; ■ Let no tints ihiuJ;, then, that I was ridiug on a scheme of vengeance! on the contrary, ,' . .-mv intention was to save. J hoped to shvo Wilfred'from 1 commit ting a dark deed, I ... • .

[longed to save Ruth from becoming a villain's prey. 1' had no desire to hurt either Wilfred or his accomplice. • No pood could conic of that. To meet evil villi evil is useless for any good purpose. At length my heart began to ben loudly, for I knew .'I was Hearing Morton Hall, I passed by the farm whore a year before a buxom maiden bad given me some new milk, and when 1 bad ridden a little farther I saw .i great clump of trees which 1 knew surrounded Morton Church. It was veil that the journey was nearly over, for Black Bess was covered with foam, and by her spreading nostrils and hard breathing I knew she. Mould bo clad to Jest.

Knowing nothing of Wilfred's schemes. I had no definite plans made ; but I had been revolving a- dozen in my mind, and determined, if necessary, not to hesitate to take bold action.

Just, before coming to the village I decided that it would not be wise to go to the inn. My brother would very likely -table los horse there, and for aught 1 knew might have watchers on every hand. Where should 1 go. then, so as not to be noticed'.' When last there. I discovered that there was no need for me to go into the village in > idee to reach Ruth's house. Perhaps ir would bo belter to ride there direct, and make the necessary inquiries. Perhaps— Cod knows how 1 hoped it—die Mas still in the bouse, Wilfred not having been able to concoct a plan sufficiently plausible to get her away alone. If so. I should meet her, and be able to warn and protect- her. This 1 would do, then, but J dated not go dusty, dishevelled, travel-stained as 1 was. 50 1 got off my horse and washed myself in a- streamlet that trickled beside the road. Then I picked up a wisp of straw and nibbed dojjn the mare, It was but little I could do for her, but T wiped the foam from her, and made her look less conspicuous than she had been before. This doue. I mounted again and rode direct to the hall. How my heart thumped a* J neared the stately old mansion, and how 1 hoped and prayed that 1 might lie successful iu my mission ! I thought not of myself now. My one. thought was r'o save Biuh. and to' save Wilfred. Daylight had begun to fade as I rode up to the hall door. A stable, boy had seen ami followed me. Without a moment's hesitation I Hung myself from the faithful creature who had borne me so gallantly over those long weary miles. "Take this mare, rub her down well, feed her, well, and wrap lifer up warmly.' And. stay—don't give her too much water." Tie looked at me in astonishment, then a look of recognition came into his face. Kvidently life had seen me before, for he '.Tinned and touched his rap as he said: "I'll zee to Yr proper, ztir." I would have followed him and made sine that he did as f commanded: for. ought up among horses a.-, 1 had been. 1 had learnt to care for them, and to see them properly provider! for. but now. oilier matters were more pressing. So I threw him a crown piece, and hurried to the door. Again the bell clanged through the old hall, again 1 stood with beating beau waiting for th? answer, for now ['Vac! Hearing the great crisis of my life—at least, it .seemed so to me I hen. The old servant I had seen a year before met me and despite the dim light" recognised roe in a second— 1 thought. "Mr. Trewiiiiotu sir," he said", nuicklv, " walk in." Again I entered the house mi \ with a fast beating heart. "Is your mistress at hone':'' I .-aid. hastily. . fie looked up at m . ar.xiouslv. I thought ".Yes. sir." lie replied. die is at home;, that is. sir. she is- not at bom..- now, but we expect hei home every minute." " lias she been far away':" " Xo. sir: oh. no. she's onlv gone to the village.' v • ' " - • "'Do you kltow by';" "Why. sir!" he' said, looking at me .'Uangoly. "She's not gone into the village exactly, but to a cottage just outside. ion see. sir, she's mighty good to the poor. and slit; do visit 'em and carry things to 'em'.*' ' "" "Do you know-1 lie one she'- gone to visit now?" "Oh. yes, sir. She's ,j bedridden old woman. Mi'su'tos has both to see her many a time./'* . " Did she iu ; L or ride?" . '•Walked, siif you see. she couldn't ride to Mrs. Jiray'.i. tier cottage in among the fields, end there's no carriage road." ~ ■' She is not gone alone':" . "A'o/sir." said the" man. evidently wondering more hud more,._ at my questions: "one of the servants "went "with her to carry the basket." " nave there been an* callers here to. dvr?'" _. - "XV. sit: no , one lias been but Mrs, Brsy's little maid. win. came to say that her grandmother was worse.'' 'Ah! You are sure it was Mrs. Bray's granddaughter! yon know the maid':" "Know her, -sir.' Of course, know'd her ever since she was a b.tbv ; voir don't think that—'!■' "How long ago did this girl come':" 'About, two hour;, sir." 'And how long since your mistress left?" "Directly after the girl." » "And the servant who is gone with iter is trust worthv?' 1

"Oh, yes, sir: why. sir. you don't" '' Where is this old woman's hc.use? Tell me quickly." • He told me the direction, and assured me thai by going across the park I could reach it in less than ten minutes.

"I'll go and meet her." I said, as calmly as I-could, "but if she arrive- before I dci, say nothing oi my being here. 1 shall not be much later than she. But point out the road by which she will tome."'

He did so, and then wanted to send aservant with me; but of this I would not hear. I wanted no prying, gossiping servants to be around. The truth was I feared Wilfred had .succeeded in sending Mis. Bray'.; granddaughter on a false errand, or else had watched her and found out hers. At- any rate, I felt sure that he would be cognisant of the child's visit, and would Use it- us a means to carry out his designs. I hurried across the park like a deer when the bounds are behind it. cleared the fence that lay at its utmost extremity, and struck into a footpath that led to the cottage. The way was very lonely. A few straggling houses formed the village and the. cottage was some distance from them. Two weak, defenceless women could easily be met and overpowered, and without anyone being the wiser".' Wilfred was not -likely to attempt to carry out his designs in daylight, so if the summons., to Mrs. Bray's bedside were genuine, the chances were.Drat Ruth would be allowed to '.pay the visit' first. Perhaps she might be there even now, and if I went a little faster 1 might) be in time to Fee her before she left the collage. Filled with this thought- I rushed rapidly on to the little thatched bouse, and knocked oi ihe door A little girl came, with a tallow candle in her hand. > " Does: Mrs. Bray live here?" I said, riantingly. *"i.ss. sur, she do," replied the child. " !-• she alone?" " I-- sur," wonderingly. "Was anyone been to -,-,- her this niternoon?" " Iss. snr. Miss Murten tv bin." "Miss Morion." I said, with a. glad feel- ; ing at heart. How long'has she been gone':" " N'oi nioie'n bout vive or ten minutes, sur."' "Has she gone down tin: lane?'' I said, pointing to the one 1 took to be that of which the old servant a! the hall had told mc. ,' " Iss. sin," said she. timidly. Without another word 1 rushed down iho narrow lano which led to a distant bum, thru coming to a stile I jumped over it into a, field. Daylight was now quite gone, and 1 knew that 'l must be careful. True, 1 did not know that Wilfred and Blackburn had come to the village at* all, but 1 111114 be ready for any emergency. J could dimly see the footpath by the hedgerow, so I ran noiselessly along it, until I reached the end of the field, iheu I stood upon the stile and listened. All was silent as death. "Surely," I said, "my fear- aro in vain. ; Ruth has gone quietly "back to her borne. ! If I am quick I .shall overtake her." | (To bo continued on Saturday next).

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