THE MONEY STONES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18707, 13 May 1924, Page 5

THE MONEY STONES

. - if BY JACK McLAREN. ~ ' ' - Author of "My Odyssey," "Fwraloa's Dm#!* 1 ' tor," "Whit® Witch." Savagery of fe >, i ■Margsret'CeNiwtor.'Sr^^Faatoe^^.w^j^l^i 1 ; Hwi , ®n,'v''BW^erof : the Bonrine ir 'V--' I , ' '.' Most." "Red Mountain.' "The ■i : Oil Seekers," etc., etc. I (Copyright) CHAPTER XXXVII. • * • .. Peter stared at them in astonishment,,. - . "Bui; yesterday you said yon would jjpt • work here," he said. "You were tbo ■ } afraid of Iko. : What has happened ?-" Is - Iko dead ?' ! ho asked, a thought coming; W to him that made him look keenly at Kua. Had Bua killed the sorcerer at last! "V ; The surprise in the native's face deep- : ened. ' , > • : '■'You speak strangely master Very strangely. We have come because Iko has taken off . the spell he put upon us, and , there is now nothing to be feared.' "Taken'it off!" Peter repeated. Bua. nodded. "Last night he cams to „ the village and told us that we could come back and work if we wished. He would : ' ! not send the death he had promised, he I said. Already one man / was 'dead, and [that was enough. He spake that way;-' Master." - Rua laughed contemptuously, and added:— "He did not say that it was you who j had made him take'back his threat. Ho i was too cunning for that. But wo knew ! that your power had triumphed over him i at last, •_ 1 " "Truly, master,".he finished, "you are 1 greater than he!" And the others applauded the statement with vigorous noddings of their heads and grants of affir- ■ mation. : V : A.J : j It was on Peter's lips to tell them that j he had had no hand in the matter; then | he saw the unwisdom of such a course. It was decidedly to his advantage to allow. j them to imagine that he was really responsible for Iko's apparently extraordinary action. That they had come back — to work was a. great thinga tremendous thingand- if they believed him to have the power 'they said he had, well, so much the better. . * v , • "All right, Rua," he said, making his tone as much matter-of-fact as possible,"we will start now." . . . ■■■. -... , The labourers put away their , bamboo pipes and woven bags in the place where they had * been accustomed to putting them; and a few minutes later the hammers and drills were at work on the rock- : face of the tunnel's end, and the bano*# were wheeling out previously dislodged stone, and all the old activity of the mine \ V; was renewed. 'v . J Peter was exultant. His despondency had . left as though by magic. All yesterday, last night, indeed until half-an-hour 'ago, the outlook had been black as could be. But now he had every chance of getting through to the reef . and' establish-.." ing his title to the fortune that lay there awaiting 1 , him. r The real' reason of Iko taking back-;liis • threat puzzled him not a little} but in the : \ giving ; of his attention to supervising the v labourers, he gt last put the matter from : him for-the time being. He would! go into the « question later. V . . ; "The great : thing is that they're back }**. he said ; inwardly. 'The underlying tea--son !of their return :is a. secondary • mat- • v ' ter." His exultation 'at this new.-and ~.r unexpected turn of affairs was so great > that het forgot all at bout his trouble with. . Ruth, though• once or twice the . thought !J : came -to ,him ; that sha would be pleased," Ho ' even "'forgot that he had; not eaten '.i lhat dayf ahd-'ohly -remembered when the i: usual breakfast hour was some time past. ' But as he cams out of. the : tunnel, inV tending 'to go ■ to the house, •' h«> found >- " / A.mona, with a : basket' and a can of tea* ; awaiting him. , , ". ;■ ' "Your breakfast, : master," • she ; said. > . > v"Oh !" exclaimed Peter. "I was jtsii - about to go up for it." V: < " VV . "My mistress sent me here with it; ,&i usual," . said . the girl. , * •, ; " Peter looked at her' in' surprise. "Then she knew I had'set;, to work J that the—labourers had returned?"' "Yes, master," .Aroona answered calmly* ; y I 'She knew,!" - " - • r : Then ; she put u down the things and : ; - went -away.- s * Motionlessly, he 'watched her vanish up; the path. 'Then mechanically he- took ' the things from the; basket, and, sitting: : down -on a log, began the , meaL -r--. "She r' knew he repeated. > 1 'She knew 1" ' -j /■' Then, like a flash, the knowledge • came to ' him that |it was ; Birth who was : re--5 sponsible for the return, of: the > labourers I ; a- It was for > the ' purpose of ■ inducing f iko M ■ to' take i back his threat • that she .' had' ; ; visited Norton's camp 1 . " -He saw that clearly, though now she , had : accomplished the v thing he ;, had ; tot S the faintest idea. She had been, •.'iirg;.. ix to the claim' to tell him of what she nad i done- when he » met. her in . tho junglo ' ■) and accused • hot .of being ia = cave . woman!: : ' ' "She went ithere on my behalf^^yolun-f. r tarily, - taking a tremendous risk—r—" , ,'i| -He saw, her standing inhere in the'jun- - •v i gle, pale and trembling,,as .;he had hurled 7 ;- _ £ his cruel , accusations at her. The sungi ing words he had used' ckme back to him, ' stabbing him, piercing -him, like knives. • He remembered the - cold'' indignation ;of - f her words as she left him, the'last; words - <■' I he had heard speak, as he had 4 not; seen §§|g ' her since. • He thought of the . sobbing he 3 had heard coming, from the room 'a^var^w|?|| fit ious 1 : time during ?thel^ight. : ?c^:^r.;'-^ IS"My God !" Mi groaned, so audibly that' one of:tha labourers emptying a bar- "' row'near. by. looked at him in concern. , "She .went there on my 'behalf—in, my . • interests—and I thought— I thought—-— * V f Leaving,.the rest of the meal untouched, || ® he rose and went up to the house. [ L CHAPTEB XXXVHL B >K| Going quietly .: up the '.steps, and along l ; ' f the; verandah, he found j -her * m v ' the « dm- „ ing room—sitting "with her face buried m-■ 'n 3 her arms, which : were folded on;the table. ■ "Buth he called Boitly; - !' She lifted her head quickly, and he B*'.saw that her face was drawn and pale. > | "Yea J" .fche said not be- • | fore she had made obvious effort at controlling * herself., |IS p -i 1.. _. I si" g "I've been.a fool, Ruth!" said Peter ilearnestly. : "I was mad! come to apologise , and ask forgiveness- - . , ' ; "Indeed I" There was absolute lack of Warmth in .her - torn; .It was as though • .She we?e,:not-, in . the » least interested in, anything he had to say. ' ~ < *>xr n „ SI ? was a fool!" Pater Repeated. ' You - % did a tremenaous thing for c me." Tor ; ® took a big risk. My dear. tJidnfc -1' ' } t' know what I was saying. 1 ™ corned about the claim' and the death of tha « ssaiM sefcjne-sfiam® 1 1 , th his - . woman-hater talk and suspicions. j He came into, the room and stood close to -her. She did not move. .. „ f , - "Dear, tell me you # forgive me, he pleaded. "I feel • terrible • about it all. f; Ever since, I realised the real Teuton your visit' .to Norton 8 camp Ive teen cursing myself for being a most tremend; ous ass. I ; should have known better— v > "There is no need to go into the matter any father," said Buth with great evennC"l inow I hurt you!" ' The words • rusMKi him. "I hurt you , . as it is-possible to hurt any woman,. I don't know how I could, have done ... I don't!iT was a brute, an ill tempered - beast- To hurt you, my Ruth, who are dearisr to me than life itself—it seems incredible!" . , ~ . th 0 ft|^"l«^ not your presence required at tho ; mine?" • Ruth : put in, Without, the least - : , s I| relaxation of manner or tone. "The rniho 'can wait' Everything can wait! Say you forgive in* dear. ( '"'Give me a smile, he pleaded. One of the smiles #> I know so well. .'iXtjvh S® ' lie stooped and made to put his i arm about her. . . But she rose - and,' pushing . back her -} ! : chair, moved away from him. I "I i have to thank you for aU you have#l?^ ' done for me," sho said steadily, and to wish you all- success—- —„ T "It was nothing!" he cried eagerly. | X^^|ss wouJd do # it all agftin } cheernulyv willthere wae any other p-lace jit which . I could stay, I would not trespass on your v., hospitality any longer," she continued. • "And now I think this conversation l lasted w quite long enough," she added ,;J 1 ' ''°And -shs turned t and . went"^^^ I And that sha turned and went