THE WILL AND THE WAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14220, 17 November 1909, Page 10

THE WILL AND THE WAY.

. BY BERNARD CAPES, Author of " The Secret in the Hill." " A Bogue's Tragedy." "The Green Parrots," "A. Castle in Spain." "A Jay of Italy," "The .jf'■-': Lake of Wine," \ 'Etc., Etc. ■; >*. '

[COPYRIGHT.] '"

CHAPTER VI.

THE! RIVETING OF THE FETTERS. She was, standing .by a. window when Bedding entered, looking down upon Tot-hill-street and into Broad Sanctuary, where in dark drip and mist the Abbey loomed gigantic. There was a sympathy between 1: her mood and the weather; it seemed hopeless that the sun could ever shine again as of old. And, in a way, for her, it could ; not. U She • had j Buffered DUe of those shocks of world-disenchant-ment which-are periodic throughout life, told'-' which may be .compared to the

■racking and loosening in pupse of the shell which is to' release their butterfly spirits. •-'• Only sometimes %% "shock will home so great and so untimely as to ripple the Soul within; and Miss Vanborough, ..under the •• blow which had struck her, was .'feeling, for the moment half-stunned and spiritually dead. Miss Pringle was out, and;; save for the single maid, whose duty it was to attend to her and to the door, she was quite [done in the flat.» Queen Charlotte's Mansions—that skyward-lifting pile of dingy brick—is planned on an admirable system. It is a sort of co-operative club for the wealthy, where you take your suite of rooms, costily self-contained, and live as privately -as you wish without any of the responsibilities of housekeeping. There are two or three fine dining halls, served as in a club vrith a number of separate tables, and smoking and reading rooms on every floor. Housemaids, common'to several suites, come in when summoned, make, the beds, dust, put all straight, and retire. You can keep servants • of your'own,: •or t none, as you please. ;If you prefer '- to meal in your private rooms, waiters will serve you. It all costs money,; of course; but where that ;is no object, the manner of life is luxurious - and independent. Miss Vanborough, looking out of her N window, stood as remote;; t in ■ a delicate felted solitude, as if, she were buried in a lonely hermitage among woods/ > ,:.-.. ' ; l). She turned her head "'with a little shock at.d shiver •to the sound of the. opening door. Some instinct had told who it was before his name ~ was announced. The curve of her cheek, where the light rounded on it from the back, • looked like moonlight on stone. She did not speak a word..-'. "S'' ■'' ' r ," - '"'■■"'' '■• •' •He -came up to. her, humming a little air. gave her arm* a tiny familiar pat, and stood by her,; looking down into the dismal - abyss of evening. ; % \ ' "Suicidal, ■ isn't ■ it?" he .said. . '• ' " Yes," . 6he: answered.' . 'He laughed. - r ■*'*•»_ » * !■ "You've only to lift the sash, sit, and drop backwards. It's a sheer ■ —of a hundred feet, maybe. But that's heroics. The sun; will be out by and by." ■. ; " No, never," she said. - ' *< '-\~ He took' her arm, gentry, but with 60 persuasive a touch, that she was obliged to face him. ;' '~'"/. •■ , ■'»;_'' ~'''■"..' "If, yVm so despair," he said, "why not take the obvious "-way> back to happiness?- It's as plain as day." " She shivered,/ not answering; and he laughed again' ■ \ "Ah!" he said, "there are worse things than a guilty „ conscience,' aren't there? That hardens with custom; the other is a pain, for ever. I want you to give me some dinner, if you will." |"If you will, you mean." j . "My dear Miss Ruby, this is a marvellous change in you in a day." . I She wrenched her arm from his touch,

and pressed both hands to her temples. ," Change she said brokenly. "I am fifty years older—worn and wicked and uglv. .■; Oh, to-day. and , yesterday! ! ; You might have left me my delusions a little longer!—left me them altogether, for all the mofit their destruction can bring to yon." ' He was very much amused. " But I intend to turn their destruction to immense profit," he said.- "For what else do you suppose that I have delayed it these 'months, until the loss to you. through well-established possession, should appear ten times exaggerated? I would not even have spoken two days -ago when\l did unless that fellow had forced my > Wand." She* was staring at him breathlessly, as if she recognised for the first time some horrible spectres in his eyes. "Profit!" she whispered, "What profit?" .;;: X ■■ '. ■ v He touched her shoulder softly—ventured confidently to let his hand linger there a little. . \ . > " Just the price of my silence—and at my ownfiffure," he said. " You must act us I advise, and always without question." ■ .- / - .-' f " .. ►' She 6nrang back from him. "I not!" she cried. "You! Why you were my servant until two days ago!" ■ .

"I am your servant now," he said; "your confidential valet— ,repository *bf secrets which must; not 'be, revealed. If, you trust; me rib hairm shall come "to you. ' £f you betray I mewell, you know the alternative." v She 'was silent, miserably brooding ; awhile. V " V "Ho married her?" she asked suddenly. You are sure of? that! The boy—" . "The' boy," .., he '.' inteifupted her, "is legitimate. You may lot 'that rest. -It is not my way to accept statements for. facts. I made it my business long ago" to' verify these." •..-. • "And you will not let? me help him * not covertly, even?,'.'** ""v .- :■■/ ; " Not in; any way. I owe the father a grudge. Ho ; ; was an arrogant, insolent pappy, and he insulted hie; He had got to pay the reckoning at last— the second' generation.. Besides, to help now would be to open a loophole to further appeal*. We, should for ever have these two nosing about our a suspicion here and there. Better to nip that poebiJbflity iij the bud. ; You have don© well so fur—been my loyal adjutant. That man | called upon me today." ;. i She 'looked*, up quickly and said in a faint voice :"Ho did?" ,:;v.v ; ;:. v :'.., ■ y-'; [ '•" We had a scene," said Redding. t•" He is .an empty fool. I got rid of him, and I think for good and all. It's plain failing ' for this time," if you "wf 11 . only trust your pilot. The moral right,is yours—be convinced of '.that. \"ffi\' was ;the fatherthe father alone who counted; and he's gone beyond caring." , '* ■ Miss Pringie's ' entering "at this moment put an end _to their ■ further confidences. The lawyer treated ii her with a scant courtesy. . She ■ generally seryed him for a butt to hi* humour/ but on this evening his manner to her was marked by an over- . bearing rudeness which drice or twice was ■near, causing, a collapse. He appeared; intentionally to ' contrast the arrogance of "his attitude towards her with the sympathetic respect he showed for the mistress. There was no denying a certain fascination in him where he lent himself to exert it. He was a ready talker, arid had the gift of unobtrusive compliment which to women is a particular charm. He could appear to defer to opinions which he was really guiding and to sympathise instinctively with' feminine' difficulties which to most men are unexplainable. Once or twice the girl caught herself listening to him with an interest which first astonished and then discomfited .heMelf.: "Is this the man," she thought; " this tender understanding squire, , yrh<£.can, bold a* woman 'so relent- ; lessly under 1 his hand There was even danger in the, thought. , She was " still very young." ".' _ : ":<' : .■>■' ~"• - At dinner, in the luxurious gossiping saloon, he "' brought the conversation between them round to the subject of poverty its endless, heart-breaking penalties and humiliations. He , even harped . upon the theme with all the eloquence and graphic illustration of a psalmist. . " But you could sing its miseries in a j more convincing voice than I," he said, ! in a commiserating half-aside to the girl; I and he momentarily touched her hand. , Her face, which had brightened a little, shadowed to an old unforgettable memory. "I could not sing it,' she said. "It is no subject for 6ong. Tragedies should be written in blank verse, in blood." ; ''Oh, my dear!" said Miss Bringle, with a twitter. Not human blood." "Yes—human," said Redding; "and the censor be made to devour them. He's a cannibal, you know, Miss Pririgle." ; - . "I didn't know it, sir," said the companion nervously. He could not speajc to her without her feeling tearful. Mies Pringle rose hurriedly from her chair, and, leaving the '■ table, ; withdrew to her - own room, whence she did not reappear until the end of the evening. '' Mr. : '{ Redding drank a moderate halfbottle of port before rising, and even ; persuaded Miss VanborOugh to a glass. When they returned to the fiat her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed." = He took a chair near her. ~ . ', ' ;>; "She is disposed, of, I trust," said he. referring to the companion. " A weak impressionable fool, whom you will be wise to dismiss. That fellow may try to get hold 'i of her—-suborn her. - She is an encumbrance, best out of the way. Don't you think so?" '• ) " ' / .. * - She lowered her eyes away from him, answering ,as if to herself. ; -"'■■•■'' Best . yes, best—l suppose so—but how hard a conscience dies !'* . i

.'; " Mice Ruby," he «aid, in a low voice, "look atmme. ""*> .■■'

' She struggled with herself—and succumbed. - '- ■- ' '". •' "*• ■

"I know," she said, her eyes upon his face; " I shall have to ;do it. I wish you ;would have mercy, and kill me, and 'end everything." . " \---"'"'\ .";;><;, ..■■.'; ... "Everything, indeed," ;he answered softly, nothing abut his lips moving. '•Warmth, comfort, happy laughter, Borrow scarcely less, Jewels, exquisite clothes, the pride of place/ the endless rapture, of sensation—and only the ; dark wet grave for equivalent—void and obliteration. What folly, while we can "command joy, to be scrupulous of the; means. ; Nothing followsnot retribution, nor .reproach, nor accusation. . v The ; ascetic, the ' conscienceridden, who is offered and refuses life's wine, ,take* nothing but eternal abstinence for his pains. He will have no chance, when dead; to taste a bliss ; foregone for ever. - So much the poorer ? he—So much the duller. < Shall we be ?as irrational? These spells, of yours, ."' these delights of mine, to halt upon an empty sentiment! Always to hedge, you jbund from breath of poverty, Miss Ruby—my task, my dear task, and just 'a little kindnees my reward!" /'•':';■'-.' -. • ■:■-' ' ; ' She gave a quick, - sudden cry, and rose to her feet. :?: -:'-ri:..iA';'\ ' ' ■-■■■>• ;Tf .■ ■ ; :

,"I want," she began, and stopped. ! , ; ( "Yes," he said.softly, "you want , "I've lost my way," she whispered, like a frightened child, and went stumbling towards the door. « j ~ . ', , If was a -very pitiful cry, instinctive, emotional, and,» it • tickled pleasurably the man's thick ears. He was on the point of following to it, when the door opened, and -Mies Pringle, with- a look, appeared in s the opening.' She held out her*arms, and the girl toppled into them. The door shut, and they were gone. .'"<". .*„ , Redding clinched his fists and his,teeth in a short furious spasm. ■ :.'•:•..-.'. "A 'month's notice," , he . whispered " and she goes !",,'_ ■ , s. • '\ .' ■•■■:-y,. r To be continued dally).