THE BETTER TEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20721, 14 November 1930, Page 18

THE BETTER TEST.

By JESSE TEMPLETON. Author of "Bet-ween the THes." "Dead or Alive." "The Eternal Conflict." etc., etc, /

A SERIAL OF EXCITING THRILLS. LOVE AND ADVENTURE.

(Coprnionr.j

CHAPTER Vl (Continued.) Her face went palp. She sank her head fcnd tried to escape from him " And you came hero that night and [lied ,to me. You took advantage of an |nld friendship to cover your childish folly. JEvrr since you have treated me as you Snight a, rag doll. You have had no Jmerry on me. Despite my poverty you fcav«j e-pent, th® little T had on unnecessary things, not,.because you wanted them fcut in order to force the climax. Well. j7ou have forced it. I'm finished with all this." Ho tlung h>>r hands atvn v and she rubbed her wrists, with her eyes blazing. " Yes, we are finished." she replied. 1* As soon as you sail for Africa. I shall 'jponsider myself free.'' "Africa! I'm not going to Africa. |4U that was a. ruse on the part of jour Idevoted friend to get me out of. his way. He wanted to have a clear field, so he laid a bait for me, and but for an accident I should have swallowed it." New she understood the situation, and if.be tearing up of the document. ' You —you don't think I was a. party 'to that?'"' she asked with trembling bands. "No. You were merely the ill-treated ttnfc, the long-suffering damsel waiting *or her knight. Well. it's all oyer now. JVe are going out to find work." "We!" " You and I " "Talk sense." she pleaded. "You flre getting quite hysterical." " On the contrary, I am more in warmest than I have ever been in my life. [We shall have about three hundred ■pounds in the world, after we have sold the bungalow and paid off the mortgage. If we stay here it will foou disappear, ffhe alternative is to go further afield." " I don't know what you mean." " It's finite simple. I intend to take you to Canada at the earliest possible jnoment." " Canada ! Do you imagine I am going to leave my friends and relatives and go jivith you to any place you care to select ?" "That is exactly what you are going ■jto do." " I will go back to my father." " If you do I "hall come and fetch jpju. This lr. our funeral—yours and amne. We entered into a kind of contract —-for better or worse, for richer or poorer. [Well, v. r e are going to carry out all tie clauses of that contract " " I won't come —I tell you I won't. (You know that I don't lovo von—have never loved you —" " Jim not asking you to love rue, and in return I'll undertake not to force my attentions upon you. But I'm gomfc to gtick to the other part to the last letter. iYon're my wife, and I'm going to leep you!" She shuddered at the tense look on bis face. She had never believed he could be this kind of man. She had imagined #he could twist him round her fingersbad even boasted of it. " You think you can coerce me by ifcbreats—we shall see," she almost wailed. "We shall see, and very soon." " Oh, you—you brute!" Dabbing her eyes, she went out and left, him alone. He laughed softly as he •felt his old manhood coming back. Having arrived at his new resolution he felt happier than he had felt for weeks. A new country, new chances—what mote could a, healthy man want? As for Olga- he loped she would at least take a sensible view of the situation. If love was out of Tthe question, surely there could be friendship between t hem. But on one point he •was adamant, she should go with him if lie had to drag her by the hair of her head, i Crane's dirty plot had brought Jim to that! CHAPTER VII. ' FOKCE. During the next few days Bob was "busy getting ready for departure. By hustling the agents he managed to dispose of the bungalow and with the money received paid off what was owing to the bank. As he had estimated, the balance in hand was in the region of three hundred pounds. It was impossible to get second-class berths for some time, so he dropped the list remnant of his pride and booked irteerage. Since his talk with Olga she had said nothing to him. Each clay she maintained a stubborn silence and pretended to fak6 not the slightest interest in his/ preparations. At first she imagined that he would not follow up his threat, and that when the time came they would part—for ever. But one «vening hj" came bark from London and .broached the subject. " We are sailing on the 10th, Olga." " You-may be." "Listen. I've been thinking things «ver. I sincerely believe this is going to be a, great chance for us. I am young and healthy. I've done most things in the army and am ready to turn my hand to any honest work. Canada is a country where they want young and willing men. I shall try to get a job in mv own profession, but if that fails I am ready to <Jo anything or go anywhere. I want Jou to come with me because—" He hesitated, and she waited calmly *or him to continue. At least she tried to be calm, but, it was not entirely successful. "Because what?" she asked coldly. " Because, although you may not bpHieve rnc. I love you. Oh, wait—wait. If luck had not served me ?o badly, I would have spoken to you some tune ago, but I wanted to be able to offer you the things you had been used to." f panted—/' What is the use of all this?" she interrupted bitterly. "In one breath you tell me you—you love me, and in the next you threaten to use force to take Sne to a place 1 already hat'-. No man .who loved his wife would act, as vou are .tac'ing." *■' T wonder." h* mused. " The other night I was on thu verge of throwing •things, over. Then certain things were made'clear <0 me and I saw that to let you go would be—hell. Besides—But what is the use of trying to explain how ! feel ?I want, to ask you to come with :ne— of/your own free will Will you?" It was the last chance—the one fleeting opportunity which, taken, might have saved a lot of tears and suffering. But, iher pride was deep and she took this a:« ia sign of weakness ori his part. Flushed with this small and apparent victory, she ■wanted even more. She wanted to humble him ano bring him to his knees 'Then, and then, would she relent littlfy X», I will not come," she iaid emphatically Foolis/hly she waited for the entire and Bnconditional surrender, but she underrated her husband. His whole frame stiffened and the appealing look vanished ,The brief armistice was over. . "Very well," he said. "That is my pa;t word [ have -booked two berths ready on the 10th." He walked from the room and left her Srembling with anger and apprehension. That he meant what he said was obvious, fcut she did not mean to give him a chance to put his plan into practice. Early the next morning she stole away find wpnt to her father. Bob came down to find her gone. He tad breaklast and spent the morning completing his packing. Late in the" afternoon he was surprised by a visit from Churchill. The old man looked extremely lerious as he took the teat which Bob bffered. Rob,, you know that 0123 has come pack ?" ' "I guessed it." oes mean? This is a. pmblft blow to me. I quit# imagined Sna happily mamed/i

j " T m sorry you have been disil lusioned. Has slio told you everything ?' " She has told ine that she ran live with you no longer—that you have noi treated her veil, and that you had ever contemplated taking her to Canada." " I have done more than that," gruntec Rob. " I have actually made all the ar rangementr. And she is coming." The old man puffed out. his cheeks. As Rob's old major he had the foolish idee that- he still was able to issue commands "Nov, sir, let us talk s°nse!" " I have been talking sense for th< past. week. tell you That lam gotnj to Canada and my vife. is coming v.itt me.'' "Tush! She refuses lo go, and that i: the end of it." Rob's eyes blared. " There ar» things you don't know Major, and things you arc not. going tr know. But on this point you <\ari res! assured—she is coming with me." " You infernal—!" 'lho Major choker down his wrath. " Rob, Ive always looked upon you as a gentleman. AYha l you threaten to do—apart from the fad "that, it is not practicable—is not the act of a gentleman." "We will leave the gentleman part out of it. Tn Olga's opinion 1 ceased to be that Jong ago. For me there are twe alternatives—the first of which is to take her as I propose doing, and the other tc leave her behind and loso her as sun as T stand here." " But you'll lose her if you take her. You can't treat a high-spirited girl as i! she wero an Indian squaw. She'll get to hate you. Think what you are doing." "I've thought that out a hundred times, and always the answer is the same. It may be illegal to use force, but if it. i? necessary I'll do it. If you have any influence with her advise her to come back here and thus save a lot of trouble." " Ton my word, you talk like a brigand! Do you threaten to abduct my own daughter under my very nose?" " I threaten to taken my wife where I want her." The Major tat moving his body from side to side, amazed at this exhibition of stubborness. Annoyed as he was, hi? eyes twinkled from time to time. Old war-dog as he was ho had a, sneaking regard for a man who was not afraic to do what he evidently believed was the right thing. Had it been another man's daughter involved, he would have backed Rob to tho last word—but his ovr daughter! It made a difference. But—but is there any real reasor why either of you should emigrate ?" he asked. "The best reason in the world. I arr down and out—broke. I mean to make good yonder, and if there is one chance in a million I'll win Olga's love yet, Sometimes I think that suffering is necessary. In France what wonderful friend ships were horn out of mutual suffering! A tinker war, as good a3 a, noblemar in the trenches, and things that rould never have taken place in this cut-throat | world took place there. If Olga auc I are up against it for a. period, she may I come to see that I am not the brute she believe? me tr« be. If she. still believes that at. the end of a year I will send her back to you—l promise." It gave the old man furiously to think. He had always liked Rob, and he knew that he had spoiled his one and only daughter. But the thought, of her going away, unhappy, was a painful one. " I like your fighting spirit, Rob," he said. " But it is you I am thinking of, too. A beautiful woman that one loves can be a. merciless adversary. But I confess I am bewildered. Why did she marry you if, as you seem to hint, rhe has never loved you " She has not told you, then ?" *' Told mew hat ?" " Oh, nothing—nothing It doesn'l matter now. The past will not. stand reviving. One must live for the future. This out-of-work business has nearly broken me. It made me feel like a cut in the gutter. Somehow I feel that Canada will offer me something. If ] tread on your toes. Major, I shall b« sorry, but I want Olga, and f mean tc have her. There is no need ior you tc worry. If I did not. love her so insanely I should not. be playing for this thousand to one chance. I am pretty desperate." "What do you want me to do?" " Advise her to come back here at once." The Major tugged at his moustache. Knowing his daughter, he foresaw grave difficulties. "Suppose she refuses?" " I shall come and fetch her." " You will ?" •' I will!" "By gad, you've got a cheek! But I tell you, Rob, if you can handle Olga, you are the only person in the world that has ever done so." He departed soon after, obviously perturbed. On the following day Rob got a telegram. It informed him that Olga had left London and gone to stay with her Aunt Agatha at Chester. Rob crushed the buff piece of paper in his hand. So she was defiant to the last! He consulted a map and decided that as Chester was very close to Liverpool he would pick her up en route. Allowing himself a few hours margin, he took train for Chester, and looking up a directory, found Agatha. Churchill's address. Both Olga and her aunt were out., so he filled up the time by compelling the astonished servant, to put Olga's luggage on the waiting taxi. An hour later Olga- came back alone She had seen the taxi, but was quite ignorant of the fact that a visitor was waiting for her. When she entered the hall the bisr figure 'if Rob confronted tier. " You I '' she gasped " You didn't expect me ?" " What do you want ?" " You. We've no time to waste. The ship sails this evening. '* "The ship. Haven't I told you " " All argument is a waste of breath. Ire got your things on the taxi. If there is anything I have overlooked, you had better get it now." " Ycu must be mad to think-—" " And you must be a, little mad to think ihat I am going to retreat now. Come, doesn't the adventure appeal to your imagination ? Who can say what awaits us? I'm giving you what the Americana call a square deal. I'll share with you, losses or winnings, food and sympathy " I want nothing from you," she cried passionately. " What is more, I dare >ou to lay hands on me. T may be your, wife, but the law protects wives as well ns other women." " I can do all the protecting you re. quire." he replied. " Oct your eoat on " " No!" " Permit me. then." He seized a thick coat that, was hanging close by and held it up for her. She resisted and prayed silentlv that her aunt would return. Some of her fortitude was evaporating. Tears of rage swam to her eyes, but both tears and resistance were unavailing. The coat was on and her arm was linked in his. To render further resistance impossible, the maid appeared. " Will you tell Miss Churchill that 'Mrs. Sutherland was called away suddenly' She will write and explain," said Rob. " T—T "commenred Olea, and then rlosed her lins The presence of the "naid sealed her fate. Her pride was »reat. Before could quite realise it. she vas inside the taxi and Rob was shooing to the driver to hurry up. Pha urned her tear-marked fare to him. " You'll live to regret- this." " We shall see." 'To be continued dailr )