THE MAN FROM THE WEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19620, 26 April 1927, Page 22

THE MAN FROM THE WEST.

BY EFFIE ADELAIDE ROWLANDS.

SYNOPSIS. On the eve of her weddiiiif Cathie en Lerrington disappears leaving a note for her mother, to whom she explained that she 'finds it impossible to marry ths man her father has chosen for her, as ahs love 3 her old playmate, Ted. Mrs. Lerraigton, torn with anxiety and grief, becomes ill. and this is found to be the excuse of postponing the marriage. CHAPTER ll.—(Continued). "Cathleen's a fine girl,*' Dr. Ganton said, "and she does lova her mother. But it was asking a little too much of cnyone." "Ah, yes, you're right! that it was, sir." said old Nannie. "'I know these children. I brought them up, every one of them, Maud and Cathleen, and the boy that died, and little Patsy. I know them through and through, and I feared from the very start it was going to bo too much for Cathleen." "But this young man, what of .liim.? Did he fall in love with Cathleen V "If you ask me," the old woman replied "I don't believe the master got him hypnotised! I don't know if he was in love: maybe he is, though he only saw Cathleen once or twice, and Ixn thinking she put the fear of the Lord into him! Never did I see a man so uncouth, so awkward a»d so utterly out ; of place as this young fellow was every j time he come here. He may have money , to bum, that's what I'm told he has, doctor, but he don't know how to use his hands, or how to speak, or how to sit'. , He's a raw, uneducated creature only fit to ride a horse and sling a rope, which is what I'm told was what he was before he came into all this fortune, and drifted into Mr. Lerrington's hands." "And how did he come to do that? queried the doctor. "Why, I can't rightly tell you, sir, not off-hand. It had something to do with old times when the master was out West himself in the days before he came across my mistress." i "Well, now, what about this young man?" queried Dr. Ganton as he but- j toned up his coat and picked up his gloves. ! "Who is going to tell him about this j postponement of marriage? Wno s going j to break the truth to him?" I The old' woman looked at him, and her face contracted. i "Why, I don't know. Truth to tell, I haven't give him a thought. All I've thought about was her. my poor dear, lying so ill, arid of what was m front of her with the master when he knows about. Cathleen." "Well, he's got to be told," the doctor said gravely. I don't know much about him; he may be uncouth, untaught, rough and all the rest of it; still, he'll probably have a bit of pride of his own, and it's not a pleasant situation for any man. Well"—the doctor shrugged his shoulders—"it's a bad business, and I'm very, very sorry for all of you." ""You'll see Miss Maud—l mean Lady Chevnston —Won't you. sir, as you go down? She and Sir Henry just arrived •when you come. She'll go on fine, will Miss Maud! I wish to goodness she hadn't to be here at all to-dav." _ "Well, one thing I insist on," said Dr. Ganton promptly, "not a creature is to go into your mistress' room eixcept, yourself, unless it's Patsy. Above all, Mr. Lerrington isn't to approach her. If he does, I won't answer for the consequences." He gave the old nurse a nod and went down the stairs only to be caught hold of by Maud and her husband, to whom he repeated the same strong injunctions he had just given to the old nurse. Patsy crept up the stairs to find Nannie and to know what the doctor thought of her mother. And then she put the same question that the doctor had put. "Some one must tell Mr. Collingford, Nannie. It will be dreadful for him! What shall we do 1 Perhaps we had better wake father; he'll be the proper one to go." "Father!" said Nannie, and she could not keep the scorn out of her voice. "Well, first of all it will take him all of an hour to wake up, and then . . . he'd make a fine mess of things! He'll be in such a nage when he realises what your sister has done, that I'm wondering just how we are going to dea,l with him. What about asking Sir Henry to go ?" "Oh, that wouldn't do at all." Patricia answered promptly. "Even if Henry would go, you know how stiff he is and how full of himself. I think Maud had better write a lettei-. We had better Send it bv a cab. Or you, Nannie ? Would you go?" The old woman shook her head. "No, dearie. I'm no use. Besides I sm going to stand guard by your mother. Dr. Ganton finds her in a very prostrate condition: he's anxiobs about her heart; and if she's to go through any scenes with your father, well then, my dear, I won't answer for wb«t may happen." "Perhaps Cathleen has written to Mr. Collingford?" was Patricia's suggestion. "She ought to have done this but— —" the girl paused and then asked: "What are you going to do about her and the servants, Nannie ?" "Leave that to me. my dear," said Nannie promptly. " I'll manage it so that I get Cathleen out of this house without anv of them seeing her," * Patricia gave a deep sigh. She looked Very tired and pale, but very pretty. She was more in a sense like her mother, but there-was more strength about Patsy, and physically she was a very fine healthy girl: one who stood at the head of most athletic things at her school. She had come away in the middle of the term to help her mother, and to attend her sister as chief bridesmaid. "•I'll tell you what, Nannie," the girl Said suddenly. " Perhaps Iris mav know ftomething ? Perhaps Cathleen might have sent a letter when she was with Iris last night? Shall I ring her up?" " No," said Nannie, after thinking and pondering the matter. " I beiieve we shall have to play the same game with Mr. Collingford as we are doing with others: we must let him know that your mother has been taken terribly ill and tin's lias biade a change of plan necessary. I suppose that'll bring him on the scene, though I do hope he won't come, for I don't particularly want him here." " I thought I should have met him before now," said Patricia. "Of course, I quite imagined that he would be here yesterday and that there would have been some sort of a party last night. You know, Nannie, I felt something was wrong when I saw Cathleen last night. She looked so wretched and so ill. And then mother looked so worried and so ill too. I can't make out why Cathleen promised to marry this young man if she didn't intend to go through with it!" " Well, you know something of what your father is, my dear," Hannah Smithsou answered tersely. " But you haven't come up against him very directly as yet. He looks upon you as a child, one that is of no particular importance just yet a while. If you had gone through what Cathleen had gone through, perhaps you too would have looked ill and unhappy. All tho same," the nurse added quickly, " we've got to let this young fellow know there's going to be no marriage to-day ?" "Where does he live?" queried Patricia. When she got the address, she said, "Look here, Nannie! I'll go! I think one of us ought to go and I'm rather afraid from what little that Maud and Henry have been saying downstairs that they despise this young man: they think him quite horrid. Well, it seems to me he's going to be hurt badly enough by Cathleen running away so hurriedly and if you don't think we ought to rouse father?" " I certainly do not think we ought to rouse your father." said Nannie very definitely. "Let Inm sleep! Lei, him sleep as long as he likes: time enough o deal with him w4ien we can't put it Then she looked at. Patto him? Well, may be dou't t 'TT° 1 a bßcl P lan - arif l vet I * Pa JL. * * « he might get into ke murhi oven lose

(COPYRIGHT.)

Patricia laughed at this. " Oh, Nannie!"- she said. " I'm not afraid! Upon my wbrd I feel rather curious about this, young man. If he is such s.n extraordinary brute, how on earth did he ever coma into our home ? Why should it have been supposed that he and Cathleen could be married ? I don't understand." The old nurse drew the girl to her and kissed her and fondled her. " No, darling, you don't understand. And a good thing too. But I am by no means sure I ought to let you g°-" The old nurse was indeed worried. "There's no possibility of asking your mother," she said after a'little pause, " and yet—" she broke oft again. " Perhaps you'd best go, Patsy, but don't say a word of this to Maud' or to her husband. Just slip into your clothes. Have you had anything to eat, my dear?" The girl shook her head. " No. I've had a cup of tea, but I don't want anything to eat. lam so upset . . . I "feel . . . Oh! I don't know how I feel, Nannie. But I'm ready to do anything, anything that will keep more trouble away from mummy." Then Patsy put her amis about the old woman. " What should we do if we hadn't got you, Nannie?" The nurse kissed the girl tenderly. " Don't be asking me conundrums, child. Just realise I'm here and I'm going to stand by your mother, come what may." CHAPTER 111. When Patricia had put on her outdoor things, she went slowly down tli'e stairs, and the parlourmaid gave her the information that Sir Henry and Lady Clieynston had gone back to their own house for breakfast. She also gave Patricia a little note; it hadl been scribbled in great haste by her sister. " I really think we are better out of this for the moment. Patsy," Lady Cheynston had written. " Dr. Ganton is going to look after mother, and Nannie will take care of the rest of the house. I understand that you have practically countermanded everything, and though of course we can't send telegrams to everybody, Henry and I will go through the list of all those who are sure to be at the CBremony and we will get into touch with them. Fortunately the wedding was not to be until 2.30, so that we have the whole of the morning in front oi: us. I don't know who is going to approach Mr. Collingford, but I strongly advise you to put this "in father's hands. He is responsible for the whole of this unfortunate affair! King me up if you have need of me, and please let me know how mother is? lam frightfully sorry for you, my dear. I think Cathleen has behaved abominably, because", after all, she need not have promised to marry this man! And to rush away at the last minute in this dreadful manner is altogether too shocking." A feeling of intense relief passed through Patricia as she folded up her sister's letter and put it into her bag. She could quite understand how all this unexpected confusion and trouble would annoy Ladv Chevnston. Since her marriage Maud had "drifted very much away from her home circle. She was at least four or five years older than Patricia, and there had'never been any great bond of affection between them. It was different where Cathleen was concerned. Patsy had adored her second sister. Cathleen had been in the habit of running down to the school and spending half-days with Patricia. She was. in school parlance, " a sport ;" she played a very fine game of tennis and was also excellent as a golfer. Then she had been so'pretty, so elegant. Whenever she had appeared at the school, there had always been a rush to see Patricia's sister. And Patsy remembered now how freely Cathleen had talked about young Trelbv and how keenly she had been interested in his career. He had, of course, been in the army and had done his bit in the war, but then he had had the chance of being taken into a big commercial firm in the city, and the last time tlint Cathleen and Patricia had met, her sister had told Patsy that his firm was sending Ted abroad; that he was to have a very food salary and it would lead to promotion and other satisfactory things in the future. And this was the post to which Ted was travelling and to which Cathleen was going with him. As far as she knew tlie two young people were already whirling away from London and from all the discomfort, and the trouble, and the bitterness, and the bothers which prevailed in Cathleen's home. With the servants Patsy played a part as well as she possibly could. She made no mention of her sister, but she spoke all the time of her mother and of her great anxiety concerning her mother. And it struck her in a vague sort of way that there was a feeling running through the household that suggested there was no very great astonishment prevailing at the sudden breakdown of all the wedding arrangements. In fact the parlourmaid who let Patricia out of the house said to the girl as she was .going to the taxi that had been called: " Well, miss, I'm thinking that when Miss Cathleen and Mr. Collingford do get married, it will be far better if they do it without much fuss." And when Patricia asked the maid why she said this, the young woman shrugged her shoulders and said: " Well, you've not seen Mr. Collingford yet, have you, miss? You'll understand better when you've met him. We none of us, you know, miss, could make out what Miss Cathleen saw in him, except, of course, that he's got more money than he knows what to do with!" Patricia looked at the maid, and then she said quietly: " Has he? Well, do you know Brooks, he seems to me to be a very poor man! Ho does not appear to have a single friend. I'm just going to him now," the girl added, " because I think it is only right and proper that some nne should tell him about mother's illness." She gave the address of the hotel where young Collingford was staying to the driver. It was only then about half-past eight. The streets were fairly empty. The early omnibuses were, it is true, rolling to the city with their full complement of passengers; all workers. And there were streams of people going in and out. of the tube stations, but for the rest, only a few of the shops were taking down their shutters. London was only just waking up. The man who was to have married Cathleen Lerrington was staying in one of tin} most fashionable of the hotels in the West End. And all the way driving from her ' home to this hotel, Patricia was saying to herself she hoped she would have sufficient courage to face this young man [So utterly queer apparently; so different from all other young men) and to carry through her self-elected errand satisfactorily. She shivered more than once, though she was warmly clad, and now and then a little mist would come before her eyes as she remembered her mother's anguished face,, and also remembered those broken-hearted words which Cathleen had written. Once too, when she remembered what her mother had said—that too big ,i burden had been put on Cathleen's shoulders and she had been asked to carry through too great a sacrifice, Patricia winced as though she had been struck a blow. What kind of young man was this for whom Cathleen (if her letter was anything to go by) had conceived the greatest possible dislike, if not contempt? (To be continued daily.)