THE ADVENTURES OF ALICIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12929, 27 July 1905, Page 3

THE ADVENTURES OF ALICIA.

ffUXLISHBD BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.]

BY KATHARINE TYNAN,

Author of "A Bed, Red Rose," "The Dear Irish Girl," "That Sweet Enemy," "The Handsome Brandons," "A Daughter of the Fields,'' Etc., Etc. CHAPTER XXIY.-(Continued). Alicia crept into the spinney with the cloak wrapped about her, and lay facedownward in the grass. The thorns tore and pricked her; her face and hands were stung by the nettles; she was conscious of no pain. She wriggled herself as far away from the path as possible. There was a little pond in the spinney walled about with grey stone in a maimer to suggest that the spinney had once been a garden. It was reported to be the haunt of snakes. Alicia herself had seen a dark thing like whipcord drag itself across the spinney path one day and afterwards avoided the place. harmless creatures like the, snakes had no terror for her. She crept nearer to the pond's edge. Rather than fall into Mrs. Bleazby's hands she would drown in the pond. She lay very still. She heard, her ears sharpened by terror, even through those tumultuous pulses, footsteps come along the path. She heard Bleazby ;urse as ho stumbled in the undergrowth and the woman mock at him. "She's not here, d— it,", said Bleazby, and a stick with which he felt about the ground almost touched her cheek. She went near to dying then; but the man moved further off. " She's escaped us," he said. " The main thing is we've got the swag, and so we'd 'better be getting out of the way." It was broad daylight before Alicia dared to sit up in the spinney and look about her.' A little later, as Mrs. Brown was lighting her fire, Alicia stumbled over the threshold. She was still holding the spinel ruby and Carew's letter in her stiff fingers. Her teeth chattered! so that she was barely able to tell them what had happened. • Mrs. Brown put her to bed in her own cottage, and sent Brown, for the police and the doctor. Being a sound, healthy girl Alicia did not have an illness, but even when she was up and about again her nerves were still in a bad way. Madame had come 'back and embraced Alicia, covering her with praises and kisses—and kissing was not at all in her undemonstrative way.

The Bleazbys had cleared the cottage of all the silver 'it possessed and; a good many trinkets of madame's,' had got clean away too. The pony from the inn had been found standing outside the stable door when the sleepy ostler got up in the morning. Evidently he had been driven hard before being turned adrift to find his way home.

Madame was not greatly concerned. So the spinel ruby which was to belong to Nicky's wife was safe, they might take the spoons* and forks. People congratulated them on. their escape from a. pair of, villains like the Bleazbys, evidently professional thieves and murder-

"Pouf!" said) madame. "I slept with my revolver at my hand, and Bleazby knew it. I sleep with oneeye open like the fox. There wouldl have been no attempt while! stayed. lam only grieved that Alicia, the poor little one, should have suffered. What a lionheart to go down there to look after my ruby and guard it with her life! All, splendid!"

But even with .madanie's presence, even with a new, much-augmented staff, Alicia was terrified! at the cottage. As she went up and down the stairs she was scared of her own shadow. Even the joy of anticipating Carew's return hardly availed to help her. She started if she was spoken to. At a sudden sound she went white and red. She was afraid' of the night, the gentle night which she had always loved. She lay awake till daybreak with, a quaking heart./ She got up unrefreshed.- Her appetite failed; her brilliant colour deserted her.

Madame, who adored) beauty in others and delighted in adoring it, was greatly distressed about Alicia: At last she took her to a nerve specialist-. : " She is as frightened as a hare at this moment'," he said, looking at her dilated eyes. "She wants a complete change. It has been a terrible experience for her, madame. Even nerves of iron might break down under such an experience." Madame talked of Scotland, of a foreign spa, of a sea-voyage. But Alicia shook her head. ■-. .

"I should like to go home, madame," she said. "I think it would be the only place in- the world where I should not be frightened."

"And .you will never return," said madame, sorrowfully. "Helas! I shall never find another Alicia. But all the time I have known that I could' not keep you."

" I have been so frightened lately of the twilights and the nights," said Alicia., " Their' shadow has been over the mornings even.' At home I shall not be frightened. I Shall come in at dusk and see my father sitting by the fire and reading a hook and smoking 'his -pipe. It will take him nearly the winter to read those last two books you sent him-, Lord Roberts' ' Forty-one Years in India,' and Sir William Butler's ' Life of Sir George Colley.'" Madame' had been loading the MacNamara. family with gifts. " And Aunt Sibbie will be sewing; and Molly making fishing-flies. She is so clever at making flies. And. the little ones will be sitting on the floor with their books and toys. Aunt Sibbie never would have a nursery. I shall miss Denis and Dan; but Brady will be coming in and out, seeing to the fire and occasionally standing to have a hit of father's book read to him. ' And the dogs will be in all the best chairs, and no one will have the heart to turn them out. Oh, no, indeed, I sha'n't have nerves at Mount MacNamara." "Then you shall go at once, ungrateful child. And' as soon as you get over there you will find a little house for me. I have put the cottage on the agents' books. There is no hunting like the Irish, I am told. And after all, Alicia, we will hunt together."

CHAPTER XXV. IN THE SLANEY WOODS. Alicia was at home; and Molly had discovered the ideal hunting residence for Madame de Wurazoff, a whitewashed, green-shuttered cottage, with disproportionately fine stabling attached to it at the head of a glen. . Madame had taken possession, and expressed herself as delighted with Molly's choice of a residence. To be sure, there was a steep mountain climb to it; but once one was there there was an enchanting view down the glen to the golden plain below and the silver sea beyond it; and the distance from Mount MacNamara was nothing to a great walker like madame, one, moreover, who possessed so many horses and vehicles, best of all a new motorcar which was a magnificent lull-climber. There was an incessant going to and fro between Mount MacNamara and madame's hunting-box. Madame and Colonel MacNamara hit it off amazingly well, having each the soldier's temperament; and madame's Nicky throve as he had never thriven before in the soft, strong air of mountain and sea.," "I am really obliged to the "Bleazbys," madame said, " for bringing this about; and I 'don't grudge them my spoons and forks. If one could only be sure they weren't planning fresh crimes in whatever part of the world they have escaped to one wouldn't really be sorry for their immunity." Amid the old happy associations Alicb threw off very quickly the effecte of the shock to her nerves and bloomed fairer than ever, like a mountain rose, said madame, in whose mountain garden roses bloomed all through the winter. , Madame had taken enthusiastically to Molly, who was a paler, younger, slighter replica of Alicia as to looks. Molly had piled her hair of fine, pale silk on top of her small head now. She was growing sedate, charming, although the imp of mischief yet lurked in her eye. "If I cannot have Alicia I will have Molly," said madame; "and when I lose Molly I shall have Eily." Eily was the next girl in age to Molly, with Denis and Dan intervening. But Molly protested that she would love to see the world with madame, and should not soon grow tired. She was not at all likely to find sentiment more alluring than the free life of a- citizen of .tne

world. Still, Molly's lovers pined in vain ; still their protestations only awakened Molly's fine smile, except in the case of young Dampier, who looked as though consumption might one day claim him as a victim. To him Molly's manner was full of a gentleness which only made the young fellow more in love than ever. Harvey Knox confided to madanie, who loved him for his fine seat in the saddle and his pluck and general manliness, that Molly had destroyed him so entirely that he thought of throwing himself away on a girl .who thought more about him, and then maybe Molly would be sorry.

" She won't be sorry, my friend," madame said hard-heartedly. :• " Her heart is still untouched. And if I were you I should certainly throw myself away." '

That winter rained happy things for Ali- , cia. Miss Luttrell bad written to her ask- ' rag her to return; and finding that that was out of the question had yielded to Alicia's i entreaties to come on a long visit to Mount ; MacNamara,' where she and Aunt Sibbie \ struck up a friendship on the spot, and she : accepted all the wild Irish ways with an ; ease which amazed Alicia. There were only a few words spoken between them about Colonel Thornton. There was a tragedy about the manner of his death of which neither spoke—the news of it had come to Alicia by way of Mrs. Venables. But he had lived long enough to show finer qualities than Alicia would have ; believed him to possess, if it was indeed abnegation and heroic self-sacrifice which made him strip himself bare in Miss Lutfcrell's eyes of the qualities she imputed to him, and not rather a certain cynical honesty. " I knew the worst and the best of him at the last," she said to Alicia, "and I .shall never forget his face when I told him that his confession had made me the gladder that at the last he was in my hands. The way he looked at me then,made up to me for the things he had told me. I believe he was far more worth loving than he himself thought." .'"'-".'" " I believe he was," Alicia answered thoughtfully; and that was the last word. , "Do you know, Alicia," Molly asked, one day, "that Lord Slaneymore has come home? I was talking to Mrs. McNally in the village this afternoon, and he passed us by riding, and she told me who he was. He was dressed in grey, and he had a rose in his coat. He had half a dozen dogs at his horse's heels." ' "Indeed! What did he look like?" "Oh, not a monster, at all. Not particularly good-looking, but just an ordinary young man. But, of course, his heart must be pretty black inside those well-made clothes of his. I was sorry afterwards I didn't stop him and ask him if he authorised his man to lay all those traps." "Why didn't you?" ' " Oh, it would only have made him- mad. To be sure he authorised it. It wouldn't be done without his authority.-"3 '■ "The English are much fonder of animals than we are," said Alicia. "I don't believe he knows anything about it." " I think I'd be rather disappointed if he didn't," said Molly. I've hated him for so long. Denis and Dan and I used to invent the most awful tortures for, him boiling oil was nothing to it. I never told you before, Alicia,-that I met him one day years ago. It was his only visit here till this one. I was about thirteen, and was wearing tliat old green dress—you remember it. There were yards of it trailing after me, and my hair stuck out through a hole in my hat. I had left my shoes at Mary McGeoghegaii'y and was walking barefoot. He stared -at me; well he might! I hated his top hat and little short jacket and turndown collar. I didn't think any real boy could have worn such things.".; . "Irish prejudice," said Alicia, laughing. "I was nearly as bad about the top hats and frock coats of English, life*till I got used,to them'. By the way, Molly, you've given up long ago all those pranks about the traps?" She looked at Molly doubtfully. • Would you say they ought to be broken?" asked Molly. "They certainly ought; but I shouldn't like your doing it." " If they ought to be broken someoae has to do it. I've cost the Slaneymore estate a good bit in traps. Henderson knows I do it, ; I believe, and has vowed vengeance, on me. ; But that.. is ■■ only bluster. -He wouldn't dare be even rude to me." 4 - ,'■/: She lifted. her head like a young-queen,; and' her eyes for a moment had lightnings in them. " He's a brute," said Alicia uneasily. " I wish you wouldn't go into the Slaney woods, Molly. I'm sure when young Lord Slaneymore knows lie will dismiss this mam/ Henderson and stop all the cruelty." "He will raise his salary more likely. The woo<ts are full of game. All the poaching is stopped; the people are afraid of the traps. Do you know I believe Henderson has laid them for me? I've come /upon things that were never meant for a dog or a catmantraps. He doesn't know; that I've eyes to see them however carefully he covers them up." ./ "Oh, Molly, what monstrous Avickedness!; What would happen- if they did catch you?" "They might possibly break my ankle, but they won't catch me. lam only sorry for the things they will catch." , "Let us write to Lord Slaneymore and ask him if he approves." "It won't do any good."' "It will do good. I am sure he knows nothing." ".yery well, then, write if you want to. But I tell you you will be disappointed." " You are very unreasonable, Molly. We really know nothing at all about the young man." " ' ' " Except that, he wore a top hat, and an "suit, and stared at me for an Irish ragamuffin. ' I acknowledge that it's not overwhelming evidence," said Molly, grimly just. "Will you promise me not to go' near the woods till, we've had his answer?" "When I do, go I'll find half a dozen maimed and dying things in the traps." " Give me a' day or two days. lam certain he Knows nothing about it." At last Molly gave her promise most unwillingly; but it? was not very long before she broke it, although to break a promise was abhorrent in Molly's eyes. She was skirting the Sk-ney woods a few hours later, looking with lingering eyes, it must be confessed, at the walls which she scaled as lightly and easily now that she wore long frocks as ever she had done in her hoyden days. Suddenly there was a' shout from the woods. Molly paused to listen. There was a second shout. There Was a hoarseness about it which suggested that the shouts had been going on for some time; also there was a sound of suffering, of rage, in the voice. "ffm," said Molly. "Henderson has caught someone, if "he hasn't caught me. There, goes my promise to Alicia," (To be concluded to-morrow.) /'