SHORT STORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14929, 29 February 1912, Page 4

SHORT STORY.

GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN.

(Copyright.)

BT TABA. Few men had a better opportunity of making lifo a success than Fred Ashton. He had ability, health, moans, and good family connections; but ho lacked one factor—he was not steady. As a boy at school he never could be depended upon. He was a brilliant scholar, yet he never topped his class list; he was the best runner tho school had produced fc- years, but his erratic manner of training lost him tho school cup. The same trait marked his university career. Ho scraped through his B.A. degree with a bare pass when he should have taken a double first, and then next year he astonished his friends by securing his LL.D. with highest honoursFred adopted law .as a profession, and steadied down to work. Ho was noted for , th 3 attention he bestowed upon tho smallest i details. No case, however intricate, apj peared to bafflo him, and Mr. Ashton was j spoken of as a coming man. About this time he met Hilda Conway, I and, when their engagement was announced, ! tho general opinion was that Fred had chosen well, for Miss Conway possessed that I force of character so necessary to balance I a weak nature like Fred's. Folks said she I would raise him to the judge's bench. j Fred Ashton was not, vain, but ho was | easily led, being of that free and easy disi position which adapts itself to present com--1 pany. Ho was naturally sociable, and, when ! friends, who no doubt meant well, invited i him to midnight suppers, ho let his inclina- ' tions have full piny. Those suppers were ! followed by pick-me-ups and tonics next I morning, and ere long a change was ap- • parent in the young barrister —his clients j often found him absent from his chambers, j his work showed that negligence iso fatal to a lawyer, and it was plain that Mr. Ash- [ ton was not doing himself justice. j His devotion to Miss Conway remained I unchanged, but she saw how matters were tending, and kindly but firmly told hi? lover he was acting the part of a fool. He advanced company as an excuse, and promised not to transgress again. "You know, Hilda, dear," ho pleaded,, " if we were married you would provido me with the ballast to keep mo steady. Don't you think we had better settle down at once? There is nothing to prevent it. Come, now, say yes, my darling." ••rred," answered tho girl, "I love you dearly; but I'll never bo your wife until you prove yourself a man. You must not depend on a girl for ballast, as you call it. Do you think, my dear boy, I'd liko to hear people say that my husband relied on mo for strength? No, Fred, a woman wants to lean on her busband, not support .him." " Don't bo too hard on me, Hilda." "I do not wish to bo hard, Fred, but a real friend should speak the truth- You know I am speaking for your good, and telling you what I consider is for tho best." Hilda's speech liad a wonderful effect on Fred. He refused all invitations, picked up the threads of his business, and devoted himself to his Work. One of Mr. Ashton's richest clients had entrusted him with a very important case, and Fred , fairly surpassed himself by tho brilliant manner in which he conducted it. He won the case, was congratulated by the judge, and rewarded by his client, with a handsome fee. Miss Conway was in court, and the look of approval in her grey eyes was a sweeter reward to the successful counsel titan «bo eulogies of the judge or the guineas of his client. Fred promised to spend the evening with her; but, alas, j his legal friends proposed a little refreshment. He could not resist, and when ho j should have "been enjoying his after-dinner cigar he was in tied, helplessly drunk. Next day he was thoroughly ashamed of j himself, and was not at-home to callers. j Mr. Conway, who really liked Fred, but pitied his weakness, made it his business to interview the young man shortly after and administer somo fatherly ad rice, at the j same time letting him know that Hilda was bitterly disappointed. John Vernon, a wealthy young squatter from Australia, was staying for a holiday at the Conways. He and Miss Conway had been friends since and naturally tho girl was pleased to see him. Jack Vernon loved the girl, but seeing how matters stood ho acted the. gentleman, and was willing to be Fred Ashton's friend. Poor Fred thought Hilda preferred Vernon, and absented himself from the house, seeking consolation in the wine cup. When Miss Conway remonstrated he went to further excess, accused her of being fickle, and in a month all was over between them. Fred Ashton was a doomed man. Hilda Conway was genuinely sorry for Fred, but her pride would not allow her feelings to betray her. In two years she was mistress of Caroona, where her husband surrounded her with every comfort. Jack Vernon may not have had the lovable qualities of Fred Ashton, but he possessed that strength of character which appeals to a woman. Little Jack Vernon was tho idol of his parents and general pet of the station. By the time he was six years of age he was in. accomplished horseman, and nearly always accompanied his father in rides round the" station, while the happiness of both was complete when Mrs. v crnon could be persuaded to join the party. One evening they were riding homo, when the boy called his father's attention to a man lying asleep near the woolshed. Mr. Vernon aroused him, and asked what ho wanted. " Work, sir," said tho waif. "Well, what can you do?" " I'll try to do what I am told, sir." '* Come along to tho men's quarters, my man. I think a bath, a change of clothes, and ft good meal will do you no harm," "Thank you, sir," said tho wanderer. For some time he was too weak to do any real work, and was employed in odd jobs about tho place. Ho was noted for his aciturnity, for ho never spoke unless first iddressed, and even then confined his speech ,o monosyllables. The other hands con:ludcd ho was "a bit gone," and took no totice of him as ho sat and smoked in lilence. Ho was quiet and respectful and ,vas looked on as harmlessYoung Jack Vernon found something ittractivo in the rouseabout, and would pond hours in his company. The child fi.l nearly all tho talking, for the silent one I rarely responded to the boyish prattle, except in the curtost of sentences. Still he watched for the little chap's coming every day and appeared uneasy until his little ■ mats was with him. The strangely-assorted pair seemed to derive mutual pleasure, and no one interfered. Mustering time came at Caroona, and every day found Mr. Vernon and his son at | tho stockyard. Young Jack was usually I perched on the top rail, out. of any apparent danger, and from this vantage-ground he would watch the proceedings with the keenest interest. He sat there one afternoon as a wildlooking, dangerous mob was yarded for the branding irons, and in high glee watched the beasts, a,« with bloodshot eyes and quivering nostrils they circled round and i round the enclosure. They were, maddened | with fright. Woo bo to him who came within their reach. I Suddenlv Jack lost his balance and fell in their midst. A cry of horror burst from j every lip: ail stood paralysed with fear; j tV; boy was lost. | But no. In a flush the poor outcast leaped into the yard, caught up tho child, and j passed him out to ready hands now spurred ■ to action. I The boy was saved, but it was life for life. The infuriated beasts rushed at the I man, and tossed and trampled him about ! th? stockyard. When finally he was dragged i outside ho was mangled almost beyond recognition. Jack Vernon, with "bursting heart and with tears streaming down his cheeks, knelt boI side the gasping figure. " May God bless you. my poor chap. How can I ever—" but he could not finishThe quivering lips moved feebly as he gasped: ''Hildafor your—sake—my love." "Fred! Fred Ashton!" faltered the squatter. Mrs. Vernon had just arrived on the scene, and caught her husband's words. As j she looked at tho dying man his eyes met | hers. ! In an instant she was on the- ground besido him, and had taken his head in her lap. Heedless of all present, she pressed h-->r lips to his, while her hot tears bathed his face. " Oh, Fred, dear, dear Fred, sneak to mo once more." "Your boy--Hilda— and he died with the namo ho loved on his lins; a smile the first' for many years—wreathing his pallid face. At Caroona there stands a marble stone markinur a lonely grave that is tended by loving hands. " Sacred to the memory of Fred Ashton, who gave his life for our child. He was no man's enemy save his own. ' Greater love bath no man than this, that he lay down his lifo for his friend.' " i