NIGHT WINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15663, 17 July 1914, Page 3

NIGHT WINGS.

BY MORICE GERARD. Author of " The Red Farm," " Love in tV.« Purple," "The Pursuer," " Tho Heart of r Hero," " The Unspoken Word," etc. COPYRIGHT. CHAPTER VIIICaptain Gren*ka» and Charters walked with the ladies back to Shale Castle after tho lunch at the club-house; they went by a route which was out of tho question for wheeled vehicles, crossing first of all tho sand-dunes, which ran for two miles or more along the ridge overlooking tho sea; then they turned into a narrow lano overhung by arching trees, whose branches almost interlaced from opposite sides of tho way, while tho hedges were some seven or eight feet high on either hand. At first, while crossing tho dimes, they had all walked together, but in tho lane this was impossible. Grennan was in. attendance on his fiancee and her mother, while Charteris paired off with Sylvia van Annan. When they leached the narrowest and darkest part of tho path Sylvia mado an involuntary movement, as of physical distaste.

"I should not like this lane at night or in the winter," she said. " I should bo afraid." She turned to her companion. "You cannot believe what a coward I am."

His lecollection of the investigation after breakfast of the marks indicating the presence of strangers in the park during tho night had been banished into a corner of his memory; now it came out, perhaps suggested by the word night. Ho remembered the print of that little shoe, and involuntarily glanced at the well-shod feet just in front of him, as Sylvia picked the cleaner parts of tho road to walk upon. There beforo him, in the soft earth of tho lane, which still tore tho impress of recent wet weather, was the freshly-made tread. An uncomfortable feeling cairio over him as the cvidenco of rosemblanco was brought to his eyes. He felt convinced that if he knelt down and took the impress it would coincide with the one he had in his pocket. Ho was silent, and Sylvia turned again to him, wondering. " You do not believe it," she said. "No woman owns to cowardice nowa« days, lam told; but then I am not 'in ' the movement,' and am afraid I never shall be. 1 own to many different kinds of fear, as perhaps you have found out already, Mr. Charteris? " She was thinking of her emotion at tho sight of tho aeroplane. "Found out!" These words separated themselves from the rest of her sentence; they fitted so uncomfortably with the hateful suspicion ho had in his mind. Feeling it necessary to say something, he responded : " I think really we all have certain things from which we shrink, and if we shrink much it amounts to fear. I don't think .anyone can throw stones at other people." He was thinking how great would be his own distress if it were proved to him that this girl who had attracted him so strangely, whom he admired so much from every point of view, should prove to be a double-sided character— guest in the house of friends, in a larger sense a guest of England, and at the same time with some sinister aims, which demanded stealthy uses of the night. They came to a place where a tiny brook crossed the path. Stepping-stones were provided near to the hedge, but Sylvia disdained them, liking a little run and jumping across. She Landed on soft, moist earth, leaving an even clearer imprint than she had done before. It was a girlish exploit which at any other time would have merely amused Charteris; as it was ho followed her with grave face, taking the same leap, but allowing a. larger margin, so that he landed high and dry on the shelving turf. When they reached the castle Mrs. Howard-Vance invited Grennan and Char-, toris to come in. Grennan accepted, but Charteris asked leave to be excused. He wanted to be alono with his own thoughts. " What have you done to your cavalier, Sylvia?" Rose inquired. "I have never, seen him look so glum and put out." " Nothing, I assure you. I noticed it, too; especially during the last few minutes. Perhaps he was not feeling well." Captain Grennan. who was listening to this interchange, shook his head, "That solution will not do," ho said. "Frank is hard as nails;, never knew him ail. He has a good deal on his mind just now pas we all have.in the services—only he is of an imaginative temperament." "There are all sorts of rumours in the neighbourhood," Rose remarked, "about the object he is constructing. I understand it is the first dirigible balloon of its kind built in England; but it might bo an infernal machine, if one judged only by the way it is kept from the knowledge of the public,, I say the more secret a thing is the greater the curiosity. Do a thing before tho world, and no one takes any heed; try and- hide something, and we ail want, to peep to find out what it — especially women, I suppose you would eay, Mark?" "I should not dare to say anything of the sort; you know that quite well. But with reference to your central proposition, I am afraid it would hardly pay to let the whole world know exactly what wo were doing— naval matters, for instance. As it is, both Charteris and' I know perfectly well that if it were possible to 'wreck his new invention, not a few people would risk a great deal to accomplish it." "If you think that, of course he is right to guard it to the utmost of his power." " I not only think, but I know it." As ho spoke Grennan looked towards tho sea, which was plainly visible from the high ground on which the castle was built. Across his lino of vision steamed war vessels, led by tho Centurion, to which ho had paid a visit only half an hour or bo earlier. Like dread sentinels of tho ocean, they passed in single file s,t distances carefully calculated from each other.

Tlio 6,ime thought was in all their minds. A few days, a few hours, possibly, those ships might be in action, with what dread results who could estimate?

Sylvia, van Annan turned away and left them, entering the castle by herself, looking white and tired, as if the sunshine had gone out of her life, Mrs. Ho wardhad gone before this conversation had started. Captain Grennan and his fiancee paced up and down the broad .terrace, with its floor of fine white sand, for an hour. Long before the expiration of that period even the smudge of smoke from the funnels of the warships had disappeared from the blue dome of the sky. Only commercial and pleasure vessels remained on tho surface of the steamers going northwards and southwards, fishing boats and pleasure yachts tacking in the light breeze. It was hard to believo on that perfect afternoon that there was another and ominous side to the picture. One evidence, and one evidence only, remained, and that consisted of the Swift, which, although once more at her moorings in the inner harbour, indicated readiness bv the smoke which rose in a blue column from one of her funnels. She was like- a hound in leash, ready to bo slipped at a moment's notice, a greyhound of tho ocean, built for speed more than strength, yet capable of dealing many a deadly blow -when the pinch came. Pacing tho terrace was the man who controlled that most modern of nautical weapons—quiet, self-contained, strong, capable. Rose Howard-Vance, as she looked from the ship to its captain, felt not a little pride, not a little new-born satisfaction in the relationship, the chain of which was forged only yesterday between herself and him.

I Meantime, Charteris was walking slowly j home, his hands behind his back, in deep I meditation. It was true his face bore unI mistakable signs of disturbance, but Iho ! secret of the disquiet was unknown to anyI one but himself; it centred in ft small ' footprint, which he could see plainly with ; his mind's eyes every step he took. ! After leaving the castle grounds, he proi cceded almost unintentionally by the route ; ho had traversed before, with Sylvia by ' his side, only now in the opposite direci tion.

j Entering the narrow lane, ho came, after , some ten minutes' walking, to tie brook-

side, over which she had leaped. Beneath Ins gaze was the evidence she had left behind, evidence which ho hated to Bee, vet which held him by a strange fascination ; the- whole- imprint of the little foot on which the weight of her body had rested when fiho landed on the shelving slope from her jump was clearly visible, not merely the heel, but the instep and toes as well, and the clinging mud had constituted itself a plastic model. Almost against his will, ho took out the pattern he had already cut from the previous footprint made by the lady who had visited his estate surreptitiously in the night, departing, almost certainly arriving, in a motor-car. Ho could not disguise from himself that in almost every respect the two impression were extraordinarily similar, they were not identical, but they suggested to" his mind the same foot shod by a different choc. The footprint ho was now examining was slightly longer than the one ho had investigated before. This might be accounted for. as he well knew, by a. difference of shoe. There- was another thing which struck him, and was emphasised by his recollection, the evidence suggested a make which few English women wero likely to wear. He had seen the liko many times abroad, when the Parisian shoe was worn at foreign spas or in Paris itself. It was in accordance with the observation he had made, almost without knowing ho had made it, while they were on the goit course; Sylvia had worn a short frock, and ho had noted tho perfection of her tiny feet in their Morocco covering, fitting like a glove. The evidence startic-d him; yet ho fought against it with all tho strength of his instinct warring against his judgment. He could not believe Miss van Annan capable of playing such a double part, that she should leave Shale Castle in the dead of night, unknown to her friend, to make an expedition which would be suspicious at any time, and more, than suspicious now, when the strain in tho political atmosphere of Europe was at its highest point of tension.

When Sylvia van Annan had been talking to him she seemed absolutely English, speaking with tho purest accept, emphasising rather than otherwise her admiration for the land she was visiting. Yet it remained true, that she was English only on her mother's side; some old saying about the father dominating the nature of tho girls, as tho mother did that of the boys, thrust itself forward from a hidden corner of his memory.

I A few hours later bo entered the fine J ballroom, which had been built as on an- ' nexe to the Corford Hotel. The worry of doubt was still upon him, and had been with him while be gave certain instructions to Sergeant Dobell, and subsequently ; i while ho dressed. . j A moment dispelled them, or, rather, [ drovo them perforce from his mind. His i : eyes rested upon Sylvia van Annan. In i an exquisite frock of silk, just tinted with J rose, so as not to bo wholly white, she i struck him with a new sense, not merely i: of her beauty, but of .her purity—a purity j. of spirit as well as the body; a beautiful I life enclosed in a lovely casket. _ \

CHAPTER IX. The ballroom, built as an annexe to the Corford Hotel, was a spacious apartment, roofed in glass nearly the wholo length. At the end nearer the hotel the floor was raised some ten or twelve inches. On one side at this end were tho dressing-rooms for the ladies; loungechairs and settees were ranged along the sides of tho walls, and a rich Eastern carpet was laid over tho whole dais. The polished floor on the lower level was set. apart for dancing, except at the sides, where there were alcoves and sitting-out nooks and corners. When tho annexe was not required for the purpose for which it was built it could bo utilised as an additional lounge for the guests at the hotel—an accommodation of great service in tho summer, when visitors wero numerous. It was sometimes called tho Palm Court because of the staple and permanent decoration. Besides handsome palms, largo ferns in pots helpe'd to make the alcoves move secluded, while to-night, being the first ball of the season, trailing greenery, smilax, and small variegated ivy was tastefully draped round tho pillars which supported a gallery, tho centre of which was occupied by the musicians, tho sides being open to visitors at the hotel, who came in to see the dancing without taking part in it. ■ . , When Charteris entered by a side .door admitting to the dancing floor, the raised end was to his left. He turned and looked in that direction. A stately palm close to the door hid him to a great extent from general observation, while he had every opportunity of noting tho room and its occupants. About twenty people were gathered on the dais. It did not require much imagination to understand what was going on. Captain Grennan and Rose HowardVance . wero receiving congratulations from their friends; the announcement that the engagement, long looked for, was a fait accompli, had spread, mis was the first opportunity accorded to the many friends of both parties to express their pleasure. Charteris smiled; ho knew his friend so well, he had no difficulty in interpreting his feelings. The captain of tho Swift, like all intrepid warriors, was of a retiring, modest description, disliking all fuss and publicity. He was trying now to appear gratified, and only succeeded in looking horribly uncomfortable, which a forced smile accentuated instead of concealed. For the moment' the humour of tho situation demanded Charteris's attention, Miss Howard-Vanco had withdrawn her left glove, at the behest of a few intimate friends, to show tho handsome ring which marked the event. She was perfectly content and happy: congratulations did not disturb her in the least; on the contrary, they brought a sparkle to her eyes, a flush of animation and pleasure to her; cheeks. Charteris soon exhausted all that this pair had to impart. At that moment another figure, to him much more interesting, somewhat diffidently entered by a, door leading from ono of the dressingrooms. It was Sylvia van Annan, conscious for the moment that she was coming into view of a number of people, most of them unknown, the rest only acquaintances of yesterday. Her fine eyes surveyed ibo assemblage with an expression which struck Charteris as suggestive of ,i startled fawn in his park; she seemed to be looking into that crowd of strangers for someone whom she regarded as a friend. It was not Rose, for her cyo travelled over the two centr.l figures without betraying that her quest was satisfied. Did the vanity of tho onlooker under the shadow of the" palm suggest an answer to satisfy that inquiring glance! As Sylvia passed, practically unnoticed, to tho front of tho dais, below her were two steps leading to the ' dancing-room. She stood quite still, dangling her gloves, her profile turned towards Charteris. Ho noted the beauty of her contour, her small ears, accentuated by car-rings, a littlo gold circlet with a tiny diamond in tho centre; Her hair was almost unadorned, except for a diamond pin which shono among tho golden lustre. Her low drew indicated the perfection of hcvr neck and shoulders. Charteris had thought her beautiful before, but it struck him afresh now as sho stood there, unconscious of his gaze, in her rose-tinted robe. Waa she unconscious? While her body remained still, her hoad turned, until at last her eyes rested on tho palm, on tho figure beneath it. Then Charteris knew her quest was satisfied, that sho had been looking for him, for tho glance in her eyes, the enhanced colour in her cheeks, betrayed it. They were acquaintances for forty-eight hours; but an hour, under certain circumstances, may bo a month, a year. Frank Charteris knew sho had taken a bold upon his being, a possession of his heart, in such a fashion he had never dreamt of before. (To bo continued daily.)