LOVE VENTURES IN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18496, 5 September 1923, Page 6

LOVE VENTURES IN.

' . BY.i. FLORENCE STACFOOLE, .. ' Author of Pamela's Pearla.The Kind's Diwnond," etc. '

(Copyright.)

' synopsis. . ... Philip Joseelm, a. student, from a Horticultural ' College, is employed as a, garden hand by Sir John Trevor. Ho finds difheulfy in rolling himself Sunder the overbearing: mariner of his master and the head "ardener, J&jmroe. Roue Bradell, the Jjirl at his hiqnblo lodging,.: is attracted by him and bccomeu jealous b(y.;ause she (links Philip, has falleon 'in lows ait. sight with Sir John's daughter, Miriam. Gerald Ormskirk, heir !to Sir John, is in love with Miriam, but this, is not reciprocated. Sir John 'appear# to be very much v- ' by a visit from a< man named Cromarton. CHAPTER IV.—('Continued.) Ormskirk saw neither tho shadows nor the sunshine. He stole a glance now and then at the face of tho ciri by-. his side. For a moment, ho felt tempted to try whether a sudden onslaught? might avail to capturo tho citadel of- bet! heart. For a moment be asked binwelf why shoidd not. his warmth melt the frost of her reserve, and break down the icy barrier? Before ho could answer the ouesCion the opportunity had flown. A sudden change passed over her face as he looked at — her dejected pallor gave place to a quick fliuli. She had evidently &e<jn something that aroused her from the apathy into which she had fallen. Ho followed her gazo and saw Sir John Trevor striding • over t'h© drive which skirted ' the lawn leading to tho avenue— and by his side walked a tall spare man. Their paco was rapid and they went forward without turning -to each other— evidently fiiev went in silence. •• Ho is going away 1" muttered Miriam under her breath. •• Is this the man—of whom you have been el line me?'' " Yes.—it is lie. Where are they

going';" " Your father is seeing him off the premises I should think," answered Major Ormskirk promptly. _ •' Dear Mriam. try to forget- this, Gerald said after'a long pause. ' "'How can I forget she said mournfully. , " You can't forge it easily, of course, - but you shoulfl not let it move void too much—that—" 'he touched her arm gently, " was done in a momenC of excite-ment--not. consciously." ■' Ho did not mean to hurt meoh, I am sure of thaibut why— ? ' "There are some things that it is better to pass over without questioning." Gerald said—and then silence fell between them. Tho moment to him was full of a curious mixture of anguish and happiness. To be so near the one ho loved best on earth, and' yet so far from a place in her heart, to have to stand outclassed from her affections was a desolating experience. Ho feared to take the plunge ho had thought of and try to carry £he citadel by "a sudden coup. What if it did but widen the chasm between them? It might even make it impassable. He could nor, at present anyway— €he widening of the chasm.' Poor Gerald! He was conscious too of the chasm of years that lay between them. He was thirty-eight—she was eighteen. Twentv years! . It was a life time!" bo thought with an inward groan, as ho stood in a j strained and miserable silence. He, . whom Rose Bradell had called "jolly • luclTy," whom sho had spoken _of as having everything ho wanted in the world '• - ' •At that moment ho felt, that the gap ' between them was too wide ever to be 1 bridged. If ho had been ten -years younger his courage would not havo > failed him. He would, then and fhere, have put his fato to tho touch — the - thought of those twenty years that .cfrctched, between them stole liisj.courage from him. ' . ' " I am to stay here till papa sends for . me." Miriam broke tho silence with the Words. Then she added a little fearfully," *' Do you think he can have gone .'far?" ' '

" I should think not further than the avenuo gate," Gerald said reassuringly. Immediately afterwards, however, the -idea occurred to him that it was not unlikely Sir John had gone to the station -to gee Ilia •unwelcome guest safely out : of the neighbourhood. • He did not mention the thought-. He sought," instead, for something to say - that would divert her mind from its brooding over the advent of this ill-omened : arranger. As he did- so the indignation ' that he felt at her father's treatment of '• her grew and flourished. Why should she. be treated as if she were a naughty • child and consigned to her room " until sent for?" . Just as he was asking .this question the topic for which he sought presented itself —though not in response to his seeking. - A little procession had come into view emerging from among the dark evergreens at tho further end of the lawna procession of gardeners carrying great traya of flower pots bearing flowers in bloom. Tho procession was. headed by Philip . Joscelyn. .He was evidently . come .' to . direct the bidding out of these summer plarfts and their arrangement as a wide ribbon border around tihe extensible' : lawn. ' .It was work that needed an artistic eye for the effective massing of colours, as well as executive skill in directing the men who were to do the work. Whether Munroe had put this task into tho hands of "tho lad frae Swanley," because he trusted that from his training Philip would be equal to it, or in secret ■ hope, that he wou'.d' " muck the job"and so; .disgrace himself, and in doing so demonstrate Sir John's incapacity for the . competent selection of garden "hands"— .is not a matter of much moment. If it was the latter the head gardener was > doomed to disappointment, for it was a piece of labour just after the young man s heart. _ It called forth the faculties in the exercise of which lie took a keen \ delight. It made him for the time being, perfectly happy. He had little idea that as he directed the men under him, - and from time to time put his able - hands to the work, he was being watched from one of fho great- windows overlooking the pleasure grounds, and still less did .he imagine that his ajmearanca at this special moment with his underlings and their , radiant burdens should be greeted with fervent gratitude by the man who a. little while before had caused his "brow to darken by alluding to him as a '! picturesque figure "Ah!" exclaimed Major Ormskirk appreciatively, "so this is what Munroe has found for him to do! You see Miriam Mrs. Mountford's Adonis has been put in command of the weaving of tho ribbon borders of the lawns! Much more congenial work , for him I should think than guiding a grass-cutter! By Jove, it calls tor a nice eye for colourl wonder .Munroo trusts; it to a now hand, be he never so capable. He is putting this' young man's powers for something higher than grass : cutting very quickly to the test Miriam raised her eyes and looked in the direction to which her cousin pointed. The flower trays were making gorgeous splashes of. colour on the gravel sweep and among them Philip's tall figure was moving alertly—the brown and blue of his costume toning well with the green of the surrounding verdure and the myriad tints of the glowing blossoms that, under his keen eye, were being dexterously sorted into contrasting groups and strips subtly shaded. " 'Pon my word the fellow looks different already !" cried the Major. "Eb has quite stiffened up ! Being put in command has a tonic effect— it always has on anyone with grit'in them.*' " I felt so sorry for —when he camo up to speak to papa in the shrubbery /, walk," Miriam said, "he followed — . after papa first spoke to him when vou were —ho followed to apologise for not knowing who papa was— he called mm his employer.* 99 > • J® ,he a ' Socialist, I wonder!" remarked Orir.skirk laughing, "he doesn't look the, character alwavs imagines that a ; socialist, rarely has his hair cut '/^« V "- 5 fallow doesn't But why were you sorrow for him?!!. . . f .

" Because papa spoke very sharply to himtoo sharply . I thoughtit seemed to distress him greatly—ho looked as if he had'got a blow—ono that ho Wouldn't return you know." "All!" said Ormskirk . comprehendingly, "it was as bad as that —was it?" He could readily imagine that Sir John's words to an offending dependent" might have the effect of rather : hard knocks. ...

" Yes,, papa hurt him deeply. I could see that," she said. "Ho made no answer, of course, hut- bowed and turned away—l don't like to think," Miriam went on,, after a pause," "that a- stranger should bo hurC in that way. It must bo sad to. be a stranger away from every . one belonging, to you—and to he hurt and have no one to feel sorry for you—no one to talk to about- it." "Ohhe will talk to the other men. There's a freemasonry among these fellowswhere masters are concerned! They can abuse their 'employers'—if he prefers to call them so— their heart's content. Though to be sure—" Ormskirk added, as lie studied the group of men at work among the flowers, "this young man somehow doesn't, look .as if lie had much in common with the rest of them— does lie?" "No," she acquiesced, "I don't think he does." "Suppose I have a talk with him— and by," suggested tho major, after a moment's consideration. "Shall I ? T could find out where he comes from, and so forth—he'll bo about in tho grounds and I can fall into chat with him." "Yes—that would bo kind of you. I am sure that would be a good thing to do," sho said, turning to him with a smile dawning in her eyes, "I am glad you thought of that." "So am I," he said. But he was glad chiefly because of tho smile in her glorious eyes which were now intoxicating him. The smile was extinguished the next moment. A sharp crunching of wheels on the gravel made them look out. It canto from a hired fly which .was approaching the Portico. In it Sir John was seated. "He must have gonn to the station!" exclaimed Miriam. Major Ormskirk's eyes fixed themselves on the face of the man who was now slowly descending from tho vehicle. The face wore a haggard, dusky look, such as Gerald had never seen on it before, "It musfc be something different, from what I imagined," ho thought, "something differentand worse." For a moment ho forgot oven tho girl at his side as he watched the baronet descending stiffly from the humble conveyance in which hp had returned from the task—as his kinsman well guessed— of seeing his unwelcomo visitor safely out of the neighbourhood. "He has had a shock of some kind," Gerald Ormskirk said to himself, "no doubt of that—a shock that has shaken him visibly." "Papa tooks ill —does ho not?" Miriam said tremulously. "What can have happened 1" - She turned to the door instinctively, meaning to hurry to him—but the remembrance of his mandate recurred to her. She stopped. "Will you go?" she said appealingly, "and ask if I may como to him." Although he fogerly welcomed any command from her, Ormskirk rather shrank from the execution of this one. Trevor was not the kind of man upon whom one cared to obtrude unbidden at a moment of perturbation such as this seemed to be. There was a mixture of ice and granite in the baronet's'nature which had always repelled the younger man. "Go, go," entreated the girl. "Go .and ask if he is ill." She raised her eyes. They wer© the colour of the cornflower in June—when its blue is deepest and clearest. The apoeal in them would have sent the man before her to face tho fire of a lyddite shell if she had required such a service of him. It drove him from tho room and into Sir John's presence— of what reception he might meet with. Miriam's father was in his study, and, as Gerald Ormskirk entered, was pouring out a. glass of brandy from a decanter which the retreating footman had evidently just placed on the writing table. Gerald's quick . eye detected a slight .tremor in the hand that held the decan—its lip clinked faintly against the edge of the glass. Trevor looked up hastily. "Ah J Geraldl was just going to send Stafford to ask you to come to mc. Are you busy ? Can you spare me a few minutes?" "Certainly, as many as you like." Gerald responded, relieved at not having to find an excuse for his entrance. Then, as the door closed on the servant, and Sir John set down his emptv glass on the tray, he added, "May I tell Miriam to , come down—she—er—" "No, no," interposed his cousin decisively, "it is about her that I want to speak to you—sit down." Ormskirk's heart began to throb uncomfortably This was a turning of the table* that he had not anticipated. What had Trevor to say about her? Tho recollection of the livid mark above her wrist made him set his teeth grimly as he took the chair to which her father pointed. The next instant lie was reddening angrily, for Sir John, leaning forward, said—without any preface or preparation — "You want to marry her—don't you, Gerald?" . j There was eagerness in the tone with which the question was askedthe eagerness of the bargain hunter—and it- filled Gerald _ Ormskirk with disgust—almost with dismay. His was a fastidious nature. A question such as this, put In so crude a manner. was utterly repugnant to him. The subject of marriage should not, he thought, be spoken of in this fashion, and the first mooting of it should not come from the man who would be his father-in-law. a? Something of what he felt was visible in his face, and Sir John drew back. A rebuff was a thing practically unknown to the master of Trevor Park. ~ To receive what was very like one from the heir presumptive to his title .was distinctly unpalatable. "I thought' you wort? in V_»ve with. Miriam he exclaimed, bluntly as before, but with an added note of interrogation in his tone. Ormskirk winced. Love! That, so sacred 'an emotion as passion tor Miriam should bo spoken j of in tho matter of fact manner in which a _ stock and share transaction might bo discussed caused him a thrill of indignation. ° For some seconds ho was silent. If Sir John had not been Miriam's father he would have walked out of the room. As it was he merely compressed his lips and looked at the carpet, whilst a deeper red mounted to his forehead. The laughed shortly. "I didn't think you were so shy a bird, | Gerald! You don't deny it, and of course , I've not been blind to the fact that you have lost your heart. Your face proves ( • that I'm right—eh?" Gerald's only reply was a- drawing to- | gether of his eyebrows. •'Now look here, Gerald," Sir John's voice sank to a confidential whisper. "I 1 want .you for my son-in-law—and—the sooner the better not propose to ' Miriam to-day?" 1 The eagerness in his voice was again That iT might be too dominant he recognised as he saw the other regard- , ing him not only with mute surprise—but ' also with an expression that seemed j strangely like suspicion. (To.be continued daily.)