GOLDEN FLOWER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19405, 13 August 1926, Page 16

GOLDEN FLOWER.

(A NEW ZEALAND ROMANCE,) (COPTIUGHT).

BY DULC.E CARMAN (Mrs; D, Drummond).

; • CHAPTER X.—(Continued). Jim started up on his elbow, but a sudden fierce stab of pain in his injured foot made him lie down again. "You!" he echoed, in blankest amazement, "Why! It could never be." "Oh! I only mean day-work. I would sleep at auntie's, of course. But I have fallen in love with New Zealand, and I do not want to have to go home to England again, and you can understand that I could not possibly stay on at auntie's indefinitely doing nothing. Flower would approve, I am sure." "But you don't need to work for your living!" Jim said breathlessly. "But I want to very much!" was the girl's gentle answer, "Don't you see that I have been wasting all my life up till now ? And I could make the children so happy, I know. They are both fond of me!" "They adore you!" "Then, have you any right to refuse? They have had so little love —so very little of a woman's care in their lives so far. They will be spoilt if they go on so forever. It has worried auntie and Chrysanthe." "It worries me, too, terribly.^' "I could give them so much that they have missed!" the girl pleaded, "And I am sure that I should adore housekeeping. Shirley and I could teach each other, and Flower could put us right if we got in a muddle. She could tell you that I am a most promising pupil. Of course if it is just that you would not like it yourself—" 011, clever Ailsa, "you really need hardly see me at all, you know." "See you!" there was a look of intense strain in the grey eyes, but Jim's voice was as steady as ever, "That is just the trouble, dear. I should want to see you all the time. It cannot possibly be, because I am not in a position to marry, and you could only tako a place in my household as my wife." "On! I wasn't ' proposing to you!" There was a slight hysterical catch in Ailsa's voice. "As if I would. But I can see such a lot of advantages for everybody if , my plan was carried out—and no reason at all why it shouldn't be." "There is one very big reason against!" Jim said decidedlv, "My love for you." "I don't call that a reason against!" objected Ailsa mutinously, "I tnink it just goes to prove what a good idea it would bo. I don't think you have any right to spoil the lives of four people just because you are poor at this minute. You are only a boy yet. You may be a millionaire some day." Jim gave a slight, twisted smile. "I don't think so. But I hope to be considerably better off sometime than I am at present. The future will not be a very rosy one if I am not.!' " And there is absolutely no reason why people shouldn't love mo if they want to, 'you know!" the girl went on shyly. "Heavens! Ailsa—do you know what you are hinting at?" "Hinting ? I think you Have made me behave disgracefully. But I was not going to let. you spoil, everything for always, just for a silly notion that doesn't matter a single scrap. You heard Brian say that Maurice find I were never suited to one another, Jim. He was quite right—-and we were only boy'and girl, and we neither of us knew what real love was like. Brian was right. I want the laughing, sunshiny kind of love, and only you can give it to me. Why! I am longing to come and keep house for your three dear ones, and try to ■ make your lives as happy as even the j children's mother could have done." "You are a darling!" Jim said impulsively, "But, what about your people, dear girl ?" "Oh," with sublime confidence, "I have only to send a cable to say that we aire j-' getting married, and that will be all right. They will come by the next boat to see as do it. They have faith in my judgment." "I would love to kiss you!" Jim said suddenly, "But—as you see—l cannot riiove." "But I can!" the girl answered promptly, and kneeling down beside him, she pressed her fresh, cool lips to his somewhat fevered ones in a long kiss. "Now!" she said, "How was that for a first attempt ?" "Very good, indeed, I should say," replied an interested voice behind her, "How about continuing the practice ? I can assure you we don't mind!" The girl sprang to her feet quickly, and faced round to see the Hawk standing there with an amused smile on his face, and Sunshine with wide brown eyes of utter unbelief. "Won't you do it again?" the man said teasingly, "Really Ailsa, it was a most attractive little scene." "Oh, Brian! How thankful I am to see you. Jim has met with a dreadful accident." "Yes! 1 This little girl told me he had hurt himself—at least she said her brother had. I providentially chanced to be riding along the road just as she ran down to it. And now, old man, let's just see what damage has been done." He stooped and made a hurried examination, then turned away without speaking, and hunted round until he found a crow-bar lying among the heap of posts. Armed with this, and a long piece of wood, he returned to where the injured man was lying. "Have 'you any water, Ailsa ?" he asked. "No! And only a very little cold tea left. Why?" "Well—it is bound to hurt him a good deal when the posts are moved and the blood can -get back to the foot, and I thought he might go off. A little water would be handy to have by us." "It is too deep in the gorge to get at •—and bad water at that!' Jim said, "There isn't any other in this paddock either. I don't think I shall make ah ass of myself again, though. I don't think any bones are broken." "I don't either. I don't even think there is any serious crushing, so far as I can see. But you have had a tight squeeze, and it will hurt a good deal when the blood flows back. The most serious damage has been done with the axe, I should say, to judge by the look of the ground. I suppose you don't reall? know what happened?" "Candidly, I don't. The earthquake started the posts rolling, and the posts struck the axe, and it turned in toward my foot, and cut through my boot. That is about all I remember until my sister and Miss Hilton arrived on the scene, and dosed me with cold tea." "It is very luckv they did come !" Brian said gravely, "You have lost a lot of blood; It is fortunate that the wound closed itself. Now, Ailsa, I want you to help me. I will lift this post with the crowbar, and I want you to slip this block of wood underneath it, to keep it it off the ground. Then we can see how best to draw him away from beneath it, and just what needs to be done." "It is marvellous how strong you men are!" Ailsa said, a little ruefully, slipping the lump of wood in under the post as directed, "Here von come along and lift the post quite easily, but I am sure that Sunshine and ! would never have been able to move it." • . "No! I don't suppose you would. You ! would not know-how "to apply your: strength. There is a lot in knack, you : know. How do you 'feel, old chap?" for as the pressure of the post lessened, j Jim whitened and winced with pain. "'Fairly well. It's rather rotten for the first few minutes, but I don't think I shall be such an ass as to keel over again. Don't you think it would be as well to leave the foot to dress until there aie things at haml to do it properly with?" "Oh, I'm not going to touch it. As you say, we've nothing at- hand to do it with, and the bleeding has stopped. I should only start it off again. I think if „ono the girls—the little girl knows the

■country best, I suppose—were to go to the nearest telephone,: and ring tip lor the doctor, I will take you home in the meantime." "Why man—it is just over a mile. I don't think I could walk so far." "I'm very sure you couldn't, but we will be as quick as we can." "But if I can't walk it, how in the world do you propose to shift me?" Jim asked curiously. " I have my horse on the road. There is a gate that I can bring him in by. I think I can manage to get you on to his back, and he .will go along quite quietly so long as I am walking beside." ; " Judging from what we saw of him the other day," Jim grinned, " he couldn't be really quiet anywhere." " Oh, yes! He can if he is really wanted to. A email—very small child had often ridden him, and he has been like a lamb with her,' so long as I walked beside. Now, jjirlie—l wouldn't 'waste any time. Shall we go down to the road together? That foot ought to be attended to at the earliest possible moment." To Ailsa, the «vents that followed always seemed, upon looking back at them, to be mixed in an inextricable confusion. She could never recall clearly just in,what sequence they followed each other until at last Jim was lying on the *old sofa in the small hot kitchen of his home, where the fallen bricks and mortar lay scattered about everywhere.' The doctor had been and gone, and the injured foot had been dressed and bandaged. It was a severe cut, but not a dangerous one. No bones had been broken, no arteries severed, only one tendon snapped, necessitating a wearisome confinement to the sofa certainly, but not of any danger whatever. The Hawk had gone over to Gerard's to tell Chrysanthe what had kept her cousin so long, and when at last Ailsa felt free to turn her steps in that direction also, she was met by Sunshine and Denis, their eyes full of curiosity. " Sunshine said she saw you kissing Jim!" the small boy announced, • standing with his sturdy legs planted wide apart, and his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his brief knickers, '' I said you didn't." He eyed the girl's face anxiously as he spoke. "But I'm afraid I did! " confessed Ailsa, with a charming blush. Denis looked both disgusted and disappointed. " I didn't think you were like that! " ho said, with supreme scorn," we liked i you just as much as we do Flower, but she wouldn't go and do a thing like that. Men hate girls rushing at them and kissing them. Didn't you know that ? " "I thought they • rather liked it!" Ailsa owned, dimpling, " Jim didn't seem to mind at all." " He wouldn't let you see he minded! " Denis explained kindly, " no matter how he hated it, he wouldn't let you see. But you have , gone and spoiled it all." " How" queried the girl curiously. " Well, you see—" Sunshine broke in, ber little thin face v alight with eagerness, "It is like this, Ailsa dear. The girls in the township told us that prob'bly Miss Donnell would marry Jim some day and be our sister, and that would be dreadful. I don't think we could beai it, do you Donis ? " "Wouldn't try!" said the youth briefly, "I'd be a brigand sooner, and live in the bush ■ all the time." " We wanted someone nicer than she is to live with us all our lives, 'cause she is, not really half so nice as Jim thinks she is." • " I'm quite sure she isn't ! " said Ailsa, a little viciously. "So you see—" concluded Sunshine, triumphantly. " That is just where you come in, Ailsa dear." "I am afraid I don't quite see, girlie mine." " We would have liked Jim to marrj Flower best of all, because we love her so, but she didn't seem to want to, and h< didn't seem to either—l, don't think hei mother would have been able to spare her to come here and live with us, and she would have'to if she married Jim, you see, and so—we thought of you." " But you went and spoiled it all!" said Denis vigorously, "Just when he seemed to be getting to like you, you go and hang round his neck, and kiss him. You couldn't expect him to go on thinking anything of' you after that. So—you see what you've missed. "It wasn't sporting either, 'cause Sunshine said he was jammed between two posts, and couldn't get away from you.'' "He couldn't! " owned Ailsa, " But he didn't try. See, children—l will tell you both a big secret. I want you to bp. very nice to Miss Donnell, and put up with her and help her all you can while Jim. is ill,' because she isn't going to be with you very much longer. Don't, for goodness' sakej tell her so or she will leave you now, just when you need her most." | "Is Jim getting another housekeeper ! then? " asked Denis, interestedly. "Oh! ; I do hope he will get a decent one this ! time." I But Sunshine pressed close up to the English girl, and there was a sweet flush of excitement on her little thin face, and a very tender look in her brown; eyes. "Oh, Ailsa!" she said in a whisper, "Do you mean—it couldn't be that you are- going to marry Jim after all ? " . Ailsa put her arm round the slight figure, and drew the child lovingly close to her. "Yes, I am," she asserted gaily, "as soon as ever we can get word to my mother and father so that they can come out and see the wedding. How , will you like to have me living here with you all. Sunshine, I don't know very rnuch about housekeeping, yet. You will have to teach me all that you have learnt." " Oh! We know a lot," declared* Sunshine, with swift reassurance in her tone, " You will be s'prised when you see what a lot we know, Ailsa. And, of course, Jim won't want you to work hard, 'cause you've never had to do any. We will be able to do most of the -work for you—Denis and me, 'cause we're quite used to it. What a good think that she made ua learn such a lot of things." "Welt, we won't talk about it any more juijt now, dears. And don't forget not to say anything to Miss Donnell. Just remember, every time she is nasty to you, that better days are coming very soon." " Will you let us have meat and gravy and things to eat when you marry,' Jim ?" queried Denis, anxiously. " Not only just when Jim is -home on Sundays? Though he isn't always home, even then." " Eveiy day, dear!", promised Ailsa recklessly. "' Meat and gravy and sausages, atd lots of fruit, and cream and butter and eggs. Everything that is good for building up strong, healthy boys and girlii." " Why—it will be just like Heaven!" said De:iis in an awed ,tone. " I say, wouldn't mother be pleased if she knew ?" "Perhaps God will tell her," Ailsa said, very low." "I must run home now, dear chickies. You will soon see me again, and don't forget that better days ans coming before long." She waved her hand to them gaily as she ran down the path, and clicked the little road-gate fast shut behind her. The two children stood and watched her with shining eyes. Then Sunshine turned to her brother with an unusual request "Pinch my arm, Denis, will you? Pinch it hard. Because I know I am asleep and dreaming all this time. Things never happen to us like that would be. If I have got to wake up, I'd like to do it right row, before I get used to the idea, of having Ailsa over here for always." Denis complied cheerfully, and with such a reserve of nervous strength in his sinewy young fingers, that Sunshine gave a little .squeal of pain, and rubbed her smarting- arm all the time as she went indoors to settle herself beside her elder brother's; couch and be ready to wait his slightest wish. (To -be continued-daily.)