HELEN OF THE MOOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14930, 1 March 1912, Page 4

HELEN OF THE MOOR.

' , . > PUBLISHED BT SPECIAL ABBASGEMENT.

' 'BY ALICE AND CLAUDE ASKEW, Authors of " The Palsnton Honotir." : " The 1 Shulaiultts" Love, the Jester, ■ Etc., Etc. - r "

-! - . •• • COPYRIGHT. ' ; ; y ; . : . / . . V CHAPTER IX. • "• - Philip was very silent as tho > little party • returned iilowly to . tho inn. Thero was V"! nothing more to bo done upon tho scene 'of tho tragedy) and so after Lordßaynour /jT-had held a brief discussion with the head * of the police force, and with. tho chief : warders from Prince town, they had returned, leaving a group >f curious and deeply-interested villagers standing on tho border of this marsh, gazing fixedly in the direction of tha spot wliero the supposed ■ convict had disappeared. The supposed convict! Of all tho crowd that had collected— folk, - warders, and police—Philip alone knew that by somo extraordinary and inexplicable means Tarrant, the escaped prisoner, had eluded pursuit; : that another, and this a woman, had perished in his stead. The knowledge of tho truth weighed heavily upon the young man, sick as he already was as a conseqnonce of the ghastly sight of which he had been witness. Ho walked, his eyes cast down, and more than onco ho stumbled upon tho loose stones that sprinkled the moor, and onco he wonld have fallen had it not been for the quick support of Harry's hand. . Tho latter sympathised with his friend, and ascribed his nervousness to emotion following the sight of the convict's terrible death. Besides, was not Tarrant a friend of , Philip's father, and had not Philip himself warmly espoused tho cause of the fugitive? .

.■ - So Harry, too, was silent, adjusting ..;( his pace to Lord Raynour's slower steps, 7 for the latter, though he held himself ,'. erect, leant heavily upon his stick. ;0( Stealing ui occasional ; glance at him, 1 .'Harry wondered at tho calmness of the •', man. The attack made; upon him had ; I been very sudden and terrifying; he had had a narrow 'escape- of his life, and^had ij, not been for Philip's timely assistance things might ( have gone badly with him. ;; Yet he had displayed no emotion at all, nor did he seem .to bear the smallest rei sentment for the unexpected onslaught, " an ( onslaught which had met with such quick retribution. V ; \.('; V' 1 ■■<'■(■ .•''■. ,: --\'*'. "Poor fellow, poor fellow,'* : ; Lord Haynour had muttered, when ' all was 7 s over. ; Harry; had ' wondered if ho was 'v" speaking to himself, or if his words were intended for their ears. "Ho must have been half mud with privation and hunger, , ho did not know what 'he was .; about, otherwise he would have remembere' . that I have never been anything; but; .. J •friend to him." "So this is the end?" Harry broke the silence as they neared the road, leaving the stony track across the moor be- , hind ' them. ■ "Perhaps you were right, , Lord Raynour, when you said that a speedy death was the best thing -that could happen to this unhappy man. For a return to prison would have been >•' awful for him, since ho' would, of course,

have received a prolonged sentence. And he was an old man, on© who has already endured and suffered enough. Yes, death was best, and I think that even you, Phil, will-recognise this." , Harry, ' with a sympathetic gesture, rested his hand upon his friend's arm as,he spoke, but Philip only nodded his head in res- :.; ponse; he was, afraid of speaking lest he might betray himself. Yes. it was best, far best," replied Raynour. '"I know what the life is, for I have not lived on 1 Dartmoor all these years without seeing something of the inner working of a convict prison. v.-God knows," ho added, "that I desire no .; man's death-—people have always said that I am too tender-hearted-—but in -the present case a speedy, death\ was better , far ~ than life. But, strange, is it not," • hb went on reflectively, . " that this man, (whom we have some reason to believe less guilty than he was supposed to be, should die thus miserably; while the other, whom our young friend here"— indicated Philip (with a wave of his hand believes to be the real offender,should be flaunting it, in London society^leered and respected, a man whom success has crowned?" Harry glanced up quickly, for it had seemed to him that there J was a note of irony in the tone. But there was no sneer upon Lord Raynour's lips; ' bis features were (placid, "calm, and sympathetic as usual. : , : '■"■• ' "By ; jove, sir, you take it ; calmly,'' . cried Harry. "One : would have thought that the - man' had a deadly hatred for ('you." ?-_(;:■ ':,'•:'";■'■ J ~; .(■;((('>:'"■'■'■(>■.(■. ■:■.''"'.■'■■':■:■ : : Lord Raynour smiled. ' "'Of course Tarrant was .beside himself," he said, ;" quite mad , for the moment. I bear him no grudge ; for" that. ■ My ; only; feeling is one »:■ of ;.. gratitude for Arkwright's ' quick eyes and strong arras.*' I think you saved my life, Philip"—lie addressed the young man for ', the ;; first ; time by .'•: his Christian name—"and you won't find me ungrateful. I - said that we J were '} going ; to be i friends, but I 'did 'not expect there; would be so speedy a;cementing of, the bond." ,■ j / ' Philip "f muttered: something in 'reply, ; though > he t hardly '[ knew,: r what \ he said.' j He;wasi" : - glad" to have done Lord Raynour so .; signal a service, hat, at the moment, his '~ mind was ■; too full*'■ of other thoughts to realise the full weight, of Mm act. He had but .intervened, as any. ether man would have done,'' and it was simply chance that had decreed that' he should Have" been standing'nearest to Lord Rayhour'.('at ? the moment of the attack, He did not feel by any means' a hero, nor did he think that he had earned "any great measure of gratitude; indeed, he rather fancied ; that ; the tragedy had > been precipitated by him, and he felt himself in a measure responsible for, it. .(( , " There's only one thing," i said Harry, ■ after a short j pause, and ; not; without a sympathetic.'-;', : shudder..'': ; ; ■," It's v a -; terrible death to die, sinking down into the mud and ooze, disappearing -as ; we saw (this ■wretched man * disappear. Of '.■ course, he wag shot, and was .-; probably killed -;atl once, but iwe don't know, and shall never know. '( It's an awful thing if. he was not shot dead," ■(' : '(;;.'.((.'(((/ / ';;. (/'"':■'.■.(■ ':(',•;...' ; r . "I think I can relieve your mind upon (that*' point," ( was (the reply. ■; "Didn't you •; see how he threw up his arms as - he lost his foothold and • pliuiged down into the bog? The only thing that puzzles me (is'that he should have known that there is any sort of path acrosss Torrcn Mre," Very few know that it exists; and fewer still, even of the country folk, could trace it; out. But then, of course, we must not forget that Tarrant spent many, years of his life at Wendlesham, that, he is a native of Dartmoor, and so has been familiar with ; these things since he was a boy. ; He has met his death very close to his own home." •■. T ,■" LS? >°dy ever be recovered?" T^TOPhil Ip,who1p,who i put the question, now tar-Si J? rst Tr - in ?-° W« P«rt.in the congelation, , His ups qui ver ed and his voice was sunk almost to a .whisper. For how would it be if at some later date, f the ; Mire,-gave up its, prey, (and it became known to the world that not? the ffi from justice ,but-a poor, mad woman hid been swallowed up in .its depths'' > Lord Raynour shook his head.' "No " he returnd.-(» ; body of Tarrant will .never •b»- unearthed. His death and Us .burial, ; have been simultaneous. Tom£ ,Mire » is greedy, and never gives uJtS prey. There have been other cases-*? * .!,:v-He:;, continued, = speaking ;; slowly and pkcidly citing instances of victimT claimed by the hog He spoke, too, of moorland ponies f engulfed and told ; how heTinS had lost a valuable dog, a dog that henar- ( ticularly prized. whicfi had fono do^Yn : v - .Oughy^soeak,

to disclose the truth of what < Tie _ alone was aware 1 , or should he maintain silence, remembering all that was at stake for Spencer Tarrant? In which direction did his duty lie? A/ -V' ! : ■■■■■■^y'^'■,■■ '■'.':'■ .- The position was -•clear enough. For ! some reason; at present absolutely inexplicable, Wild Barbara had donned the convict's dress and drawn upon herself the bullet that was destined for him. To the world at large, to everyone but to him, Philip, it would appear that the fugitive had met with stern justice, that refusing to yield himself, ho had been shot according to the dictates of tho law of the land; the hue and cry after him would cease, and his very name would be forgotten. The body lost in Ton-en Miro was consigned to oblivion. ; ■ . v The man himself, therefore, if he knew all this, was safe. His object had been accomplished, and he had succeeded by an extraordinary intervention of fate in elud- » ing his pursuers. Ho had nothing to do but to leavo tho moor and make good his escape from the country. He had, no doubt, other -clothes to wear, or could easily obtain them. There was nothing to brand him a convictho could pass unsuspected among his fellow-men. Tarrant tho gaol-bird' was dead, and them would be none to look upon Tarrant the freo man with suspicion. So much Philip had quickly realised, then, as a natural consequence, the question had presented itself to his honest brain, tho question that was torturing him now— was he to do? His - duty to the .State, to his country and King knew well enough what that was. He should have gone at once to the police and explained the mistake; even now, since ho was in the company of a magistrate, he should disclose all that cbanco had revealed to him. But on tho other hand his sympathies were so utterly in favour of the fugitive. Had he not, only a little while back, expressed a desire—a desire that came from the bottom of his heart that the fugitive might escape? Lord llaynour himself, Philip remembered, had reciprocated, though in guarded terms, the •wish. Besides-, Tarrant had suffered heavily, more heavily by far than was his due, for his past offence; he had been a scapegoat-, bearing the of others upon his shoulders. For twenty long years he had endured imprisonment and all the degradations of convict lifehe, a man of refinement, a kindly, good-hearted -gentleman, as Philip's father had often declared him to be. Was not this a case for humanity rather than the law? Should not tho unhappy man be given a chance.' Should Wild Barbara have died in vain? To all of which question Philip's conscience answered in favour of Spencer Tarrant. Yet the young man felt himself faced by a problem so difficult that his own revolted before it. Ho was longing for an opportunity to take his friend into his confidence. Harry was a man of the world, of experience; let Harry judge of the right thing to do, and Philip would abide by his decision. Sturdy giant as he was, Philip lacked confidence in himself, and was ready to turn now, as he had turned before, "to his stronger-willed friend for advice and assistance. Yet he told himself that he knew • what Harry would say; that his friend would uphold him in Ids desire to give the hunted man a chance. And eo, indeed, it proved. They reached the inn, and Lord Raynour invited the two young men into the little parlour to rest, and partake of some refreshment before retiring for the night. Here he left them alone for a few minutes, wishing to remove his heavy boots, boots which he explained were galling to his injured foot. The hour was late ; but it seemed to Philip; as if the routine of life had been overthrown that day. ; It was during the ; few moments of Lord Ravnour's absence that Philip told Ids secret, tolci it with flushed face and with a peculiar catch in his voice. Harry listened with astonishment. " Are yon certain. of :his, Phil?" he asked; ''dead certain?" ' "

" I am absolutely positive," was the excited , reply. (, There isn't' the smallest doubt about it. ' I tell you I saw her face, Harry, just as clearly as I see yours now. . I had a good lock at her on the moor ' this f afternoon; you , remember that she kept turning when she thought we were likely to take false steps. And I was walking first a good part of the time. Her face, once seen,, could -'not'- easily be forgotten. The straggling hair on the: brows, the prominent cheekbones over which the skin: was so tightly drawn, skin tanned an extraordinary and unnatural colour. - And then those great, hollow eyesoh. yes', 'there was no mistake. Wild Barbara had dressed herself up in the convict dress with the deliberate intention of drawing off tho pursuers from the man they were hunting down. I can't guess why she ■ did* but she did, and she has lost her life in consequence." : "I see." ; Harry, drew his pipe from his pocket arid with'steady fingers began to fill it. " It" is altogether an extraordinary *aing. ; But the'main result of it appears to biJ; that your father's friend has escaped. He applied a match to his pipe, standing with his back, to the fire, evidently deep in thought. ■'■ "><■" What are wo going" to do, Harry asked Philip eagerly. But now that he had spoken it was as though a weight had been taken off his mind. "I want you to advise me. v I'm a duffer not to, have more self-reliance; but it's just my nature. All the way, up from the moor I've been torturing mvself with the doubt as to what I ought to (do: Once or twice I nearly blurted" out ■ the truth, because, Raynour seemed friendly to Tarrant, and I thought he might be the best to decide.". ,: , (:.(;'; Harry took f two or threo pulls at his pipe and blew a small, cloud of smoke from his lips before he answered. I wouldn't I say a. word to Raynour ii' you want TarI rant to get away," he said at lash. "Tho ' man may be kind-hearted and all that sort iof thing. I've no doubt he is; but at the same time he's a magistrate, and has his duty to consider." , ; . , "Then you don't advise me to speaknot to anyone?" . •" ("Why should you? . If it had been some murderer or burglar, (, a fellow who itknown as a menace -to society, who had escaped, 1 then, of course, one would help the police for \ all one was worth. But it's a different matter with, Tarrant and so, Phil, I'm in favour .of \ giving him every chance. -He's ' not out of the wood yet, but 'I ; ; hope ho soon, will be. That's my verdict;" Phil, ; and I hope it's what you want." ' • • * 4"It; is," ; cried the,other. enthusiastically. ( " We won't say a' word of what we know, Harry.,' not to. Lord Raynour or to anyone else. % And some day I hope we may meet Spencer Tarrant , himself, and that the whole mystery may be cleared up. But I knew you'd agree with me, and I■■ think/ every other right-minded man would say/the same." _ . (;(; ■ He. smote Harry a friendly blow with his large fist upon the shoulder, his lips parting in a smile for the first time that evening. He was sorry for the unhappy woman who had met so terrible a fate, but he rejoiced to think that Spencer Tarrant had succeeded in eluding his pursuers. . "I'm jolly glad that it's turned out like this," he muttered under his breath. As he ? spoke Lord Raynour, beslippered and a fresh cigar between his lips, entered the room. '; ■■•■ . , j

(To be continued daily.)