A SHADOWED LOVE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13006, 25 October 1905, Page 2 (Supplement)

A SHADOWED LOVE.

PUBLISHED BT SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

By ]?RED M. WHITE. 'Author of "Ti Slave of Silence," " Lady Bountiful," "The Weight of The Crown," " Craven Fortune," " The Corner House." etc., etc.

[COPYRIGHT.] CHAPTER XLVlH.—(Continued.) , Spencer found breath to ask where they Were going. Gay laughed. "We are going back to London,' he said. "For the presei'it I have neither a local habitation nor a name. I am Mr. Nemo, and there are people literally thirsting for my blood. It sounds » little like a boy's penny novelette, but I know how horribly true it is. Under ordinary circumstances I should have left London by this time, but not now till I*have seen this through. My dear brother. I crave your hospitality for a day or two."

" It--it is quite impossible," Spencer stammered. , " Not a bit of it. You have palatial quarters in Cambria Square, and I shall be safe there. They will never think of looking for mo so near yourself. Kant will make me comfortable." "Kant has gone for a few days' holiday." "Well, that makes no difference. We shall be quite comfortable there. What! you grudge a few days' shelter and food to your one and only brother? Come along." The savage pleasantry f of the words did not disguise the threat underlying them. With a weary Jiigh Spencer turned and followed. Across the park they went and out by . the lodge crates without a word. It had been years since they were together before ; perhaps they were thinking of the time when they had been friends and comrades, planning many a day's mischief, and dreaming nothing of the dark days to come. In the station they stood back from the feeble flare of the oil lamps, for neither desired to be recognised. As the train came in three other passengers appeared. As they apparently had nothing to conceal they stood where the lights fell upon them.

■■ " The dark young man accompanied by Von Wrangel and Horace Venner," (ray muttered. "The first two very grim, with a fighting look in their eyes, and Venner looking the caged criminal in a manner that would make his fortune on the stage. Did you ever see a more perfect picture of a man in custody?". "They must not see us," Spencer said, anxiously. \ ' ■ Bat Von Wraingel and his comioh were too intent upon the business in hand to care about anybody else. As-soon as the train entered the "station Venner was bundled into a third-cla.'ss carriage, and the watchers followed in a few coaches lower down. At Victoria a four-wheeled cab was called. In the pr*ss of passengers Gay got near enough to hear the address.

•'. "They're going to Lincoln's Inn," he confided to Spenctr. "Depend upon it that old fox Martlet,t is at the bottom of the business. I think we'd better have a cab, too. London streets after dark are dangerous to my health at present. Come along." It was late when Cambria Square was reached and the servants had retired. ; Gay looked about him curiously as if the place was familiar to him. There was a queer, hart' smile on his face as he turned from one object of art to another. *'Yon have done the thing very well," he said. You are as artistic as the amateur who blacked him self all over to play Othello. So you have got about you all the lares and "penates that; belonged to me in the days of my meteoric prosperity? That was a happpy thought." . < - There was bitter satire in hie speech, an undercurrent of savageness that caused Spencer to wriggle and twist on his chair. He looked unspeakably small and humble now, and not in the least like a master of fortunes. He had no reply; there was nothing to i be ; said, only to endure the silence.•

||?"How long," he said at- length, "how long—" "Am I going to stay? With your fine hospitable instincts that must be an /exceedingly painful question to ask; but, of course, it was dictated by a desire for my welfare. To bis perfectly candid I - don't know how long I shall stay. I shall be here till after that operation has been ■ successfully performed. After that I should dearly like to be present when you and Mary meet. But even so model a specimen of humanity as myself cannot have all the pleasure, so T shall forego; that one with Christian resignation." .' Stephen Gay lolled back in his chair, laughing.silently. The abject misery of his brothers face aroused him. If the man had ever had a heart; it had been cankered away long ago. He iiat laugliing there with his checks shaking and the tears in his eyes. Where is your boasted hospitality?" he cried. ''I have not the least desire to eat your salt, not being partial to that class of , diet; but I confess to a certain curiosity <m the subject of your whisky and cigars. A delicate hint like that, my dear Paul— Spencer placed cigars and spirit stand on the table. He made no effort to control himself; his misery had got him down and was sitting on him. He had found an old man of the sea, and he- wondered 'how long the incubus would be on his shoulders. Gay ■eemed to divine his thoughts, for he laughed once more in that unpleasant, silent manner. " You had better ask Von Wrangel," he said. "I stay here till that is well over. And if you try and play me false I'll kill you. ' To thirJk that a man who keeps whisky and cigars like this should be at heart so great «i villain!"

CHAPTER XLIX. ' TH E FIRST BLOW. Gay was mailing himself quite at homeThere was no trouble about the servants. They had merely been informed that their master's, brother bad arrived unexpectedly, and there was an end to it. As to the secret of the household,, Kant was the only, one ■ of the domestics who knew anything, and the striking resemblance between Gay and f? ' 1 his unhappy host was too apparent to cause : - speculation. , ' ' . 17There was .no trouble about wardrobe, seeing that the brothers were bo alike in •y~'v figure as well as face. As Stephen appeared ' when he came down to breakfast- the following morning he might have been fresh ■ from the hands of a Bond-street tailor. His grey lounge suit fitted him to perfection, . his linen was glossy and immaculate, he >'• approved of his host's razor. . "Wonderful what a difference clothes r make," he said. "I feel an air of respectability that has not l>een set on me for years. I feel '.like a country magistrate. No coffee, thanks. A little brandy and Bod a-water. You look shocked. But then £p~~. you are a man of domestic virtues." Spenoer moved in his chair uneasily. ; ( "What do you propose to do with yourself?" he asked. ' *'Je suis, je reste. For the present, C' r ' nothing. lam safe here, which is more than I can isav of the outer air, and so long ; as I have plenty to read and smoke lam quite content. For the next four-and-twenty bourn I can suffer you out of my sight; after i.hat I shall have to consider my position. .If the counting-house requires atten- • r . ■ tion, don't, let me stand in the way." i Here was a respite at any rate, It might i' even.be possible to go as far as Stanmere \ and see Mary. But that would be better - done in the evening when the family were at dinner. In the first place it would be necessary to find Martlett and gather whether he knew anything of the mysterious events of the previous evening in which Yenner had played so strange a part. There might be' just -i possibility of getting rid of that rascal altogether. Spencer's breath came a little faster as he dwelt upon the desirable circumstance. If only it might be! '

§fe At any rate, it looked as if Vernier was |$P safe for the present.' He had evidently been, more or less.in custody the previous eveng|! ing with captors who had no idea of losing • i him. :In a frame of comparative curiosity IpllvSpencer went to Lincoln's Inn, but he was feflj-iff. destined to hear nothing there beyond the fact that Mr. Martlett had gone to Paris. iplftt'fA' little disappointed. Spencer went ba,ck to Cambria Square. He must know a little IMiimOre of what bad -taken place at Stanmere Vjlast night. / A telegram to Dick Stevenson would bring that about. Then Spencer went back home and waited. , f^- r |:• Dick' came later in the afternoon. A heavy luncheon with more wine than vas ■■■ good for most ceoule had left Gay cross and

inclined to be quarrelsome. Finally he had fallen asleep on the sofa in the morningroom, where he looked like staying. What a handsome face it was still, Spencer thought, despite the marks of dissipation and hard living. Dick's bright, cheerful features were not without their effect on Spencer. Dick had a. good deal to say, but he was a little guarded in his manner. He had not forgotten his last interview with his employer, and the recollection of it still rankled. •" Where is Von Wrangel?" Spencer asked "I haven't the remotest idea,_ sir," Dick replied. " All sorts of mysterious things seem to be continually happening at Stanmore, till one is almost bewildered. It is more than strange that wherever Mary goes these mysteries follow And she is so gentle and patient, the last one in I lie world to be associated with violence. But there it is." . " But what has that ,to do with Von Wrangel!" '• I don't know, sir. Von Wrangel went away last night hurriedly with Tom Seymour— is engaged to my sister—and some fellow they picked up out of the conservatory. They were very mysterious, and 1 could get nothing out of them." Mr. Spencer crossed one foot over the other, and looked out of the window. He did not like meeting Dick's direct gaze at that, moment.

j "Lain seriously annoyed with Von Wrangel," lie said. "Of the sincerity of his motives there can be no question. But an operation like that should never have been attempted without my sanction." ' "I don't agree with you at all, sir," Dick said, boldly. "You surely must remember—"

"I have the best of reasons for what I said, my dear Dick, if you only knew how I am situated. But; we need not go into that again. Tell me what happened." Dick explained. The operation was to be repeated again in a day or two, perhaps tomorrow. it all depended whether the new instrument would be in time or not. Spencer listened in a kind of benign satisfaction. He, would be able to see Mary now and place his views before her. But there must be no delay, seeing that the operation bad, after all, been partially successful, and delay might be dangerous. And Mary was keeping to her bed; she desired to be more or less alone. It was a bit of a venture, but so long as the shadow of Venner was lifted, the path of adventure would be comparatively smooth. Besides, Spencer had Stanmere by heart. He would steal down there about nine, so that he would be back at the office after ten, and nobody be any the wiser. "I daresay you will learn everything in time," he said, benignly. "M'y dear Dick, I aim afraid that I hare placed myself* in a bad light before you. lam like a criminal who has had a heap of circumstantial evidence piled up against him. Then conies a. prick of common sense and the whole case goes to the winds. If that operation is postponed it will not be dangerous—" "It will be in 'embryo, Von Wrangel says," Dick replied. . . ' "Ah!" There, was no keeping the relief out of the speaker's voice. "In that case you need not be in any hurry. Dick, do you want to go?" "I fancy. I hare told you everything, sir," Dick said, coldly. " As you will," Spencer replied. . He felt very mean and small just for the moment. "I shall require you this evening at the office just before ten." Dick bowed himself out, glad to get away. His heart was hot against his employer, and Spencer was seated with his head buried in his hands. He sat there until the shadows began to fall; a servant came in to lay the cloth for dinner. , In the morning-room Stephen was stirring uneasily on the couch. He opened his eyes, red and bloodshot s and laughed. " Where have you been?" he cried. "You dog," if you betray me I'll kill you." His muddled senses had not come back to him yet. With a sudden passion Spencer stooped and shook him violently by the shoulders.

"Take care," he said, hoarsely "take care. But we need not brawl in the presence of the servants. Go to your room and cool that hot head of yours. Dinner is nearly ready," < Gay lurched away. -The dinner bell rang, but he did not appear. Spencer found him across his bed with a glass smelling of brandy by his side. He eyed the huddled body with infinite contempt. - "To think what a pair of happy, purehearted bojs we used to be," he muttered. " And he has come to this, and I go about in fear of my life. Well, he shall lie there ; he probably will lie there like that till morning. So much the better for me. I shall be able to go to Stanmere and back this evening, and nobody the wiser." Spencer dined frugally, saying that his brother had gone to bed in consequence of a bad headache, and that he must not be disturbed. Then he threw a light dust coatover his grey morning dress, which he had not troubled to change, and drove to Victoria.

Fortune favoured liiiti. There was a train now and one back at 'three minutes to ten, which would give him. the best part of an hour at Stanmere. He was on the road now with a sense of security upon him that he had not felt for years. He no longer looked for enemies behind every bush or saw the threatening danger in every shadow. "A little time longer and it will all be over," he told himself. " There will be no more' skulking along like a thief in the night. Was anybody ever situated like this before! Once let me get Yenner out of the way and His spirits rose at the thought. The lights of Stanmere were b%fore him now. As be crept along the ten-ace he could see that it was the dinner hour. The windows of the library were open and Spencer stepped in. The hall was clear too, so that he could make his way up the stairs. He knew perfectly well which room Mary was in. He could enter and say all he had to say and go. Really, the thing wait most absurdly easy after all. Mary was— He paused. Mary stood there in the corridor. She seemed to fall; she clapped her hands to her eyes and called out. It appeared as if she really could see. There war a rustling from the ball as Spencer sprang down the stairs and into the black throat of the night again by the way that he had come. . . He stood there panting, sick and dizzy for the moment. "It is to be," he gasped. " I can't fight against a fate like mine."

The presses were gathering up steam in the Record office, the chief of the great paper sat quite quietly in his office as if he tad come down like any other respectable citizen straight after his dinner.' There were no trams of a recent adventure about him He was giving Dick some directions i* his most clear and lucid manner. " I fancy that is all," lie said. "Well, what is it, Mr. Fisher The editor came in with some copy in his hand. He looked annoyed and angry with somebody. " The most, astounding thing," he said. "Really, sir, you will have to get rid of Irvine. I am afraid he has been drinking again. He has just come in with a report that, you — sir, have been nearly done to death in your own bedroom in Cambria Square. When I u>ld hini you were hero he said that he had see* the "body, that the police were already on the track of the would-be assassin." "And it's the truth," a protesting voice in the doorway said. "If Mr. Spenoer is here—oh, heavens, I'm mad. I'll never touch a drop of anything again. And yet I could swear—"

The reporter paused, and his own white face was reflected by the deadly pallor of Spencer's features. The latter turned to Dick helplessly. Dear lad," he whispered. " Try and think for me. It's one of my mental attacks. My mind has quite gone for a moment." (To be continued on Saturday next.)

Lightning can .only lie photographed .at night. It is also impossible to use any cap or shutter for this work, inasmuch ua the eyes do not observe a flash of lightui/ig till at least a tenth of a second after it has passed. _ So that, having focussed your camera' beforehand, draw the shutter and hold the camera in the direction you think the flash will take; and you mu3t trust to the courtesy of the lightning to be there to time.—rJ. Leadbeater, 111 the London Magazine. The .fact that a girl is heralded throughout America as a beauty does not imply that she has more than an average amount of good looks.--Corresponded of the News Letter. San Francisco.