RAINBOW GOLD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21295, 23 September 1932, Page 16

RAINBOW GOLD

I' CHAPTER IV.—(Continued) " Ib's lovely,'' Eve said, lingering a I specimen. "lb fascinates one, somehow." S'* I had a bracelet made out of a few bits,'* Dan went on, shyly opening a blue 8 velvet case. "It is nothing much of course; but a bib unusual." B. Evo took tho bracelet; and, girl-like clasped it on her wrist. IThe jeweller had wrought cunningly, turning his unusual material artistically ■ to the best account. J The silence which ensued made her R aware of the difficult situation which her n impulsive and natural act had creabed. ■ She knew as well as if Dan had said so, 8 thab he was burning to offer her this curious and valuable souvenir. If he did Iso, how could she refuse, in such a manner as nob to hurb his feelings ? I But Dan was eibher too modest or too shrewd to commit tho blunder. Her appreI hension was relieved when he held out 5 his hand for the bracelet, as she undid 9 the clasp. " I just had it mado on general principles," he said, with an engaging grin. " Some day, perhaps, I may meet somebody who'd like to wear it." " It is certainly nob a g;fb to be bestowed lighbly," Eve said, gravely. " It jusb struck me, as I undid tho clasp, that it mighb easily havo stood for tho lives of two men." Dan snapped the case,, and locked his* breasures up in his dispatch case. " I'd better be off, I reckon," he remarked. I" How are you spending this evening ? " Eve asked. " Mr. Medlicotfc said you had I no friends in London." " J thought I'd mooch around town a I bit," Dan said, his tone bebraying his lack of inberesb in the prospect. I " Because one of tho other girls here j is going to the theatre with me," Eve I said. "We know a little foreign place I' Where wo dine cheaply; and then wo queue up for the pit." " We like a man along with us, providing he understands that ib is a Dutch treat. Business girls like paying for their own fun. you know." " It would be great," Dan said warmly. " If your friend does nob mind me tagging along. The pib is my placo in the theatre, when I cannot get into the gallery." " Then thab's settled," Evo said cheerfully. " We leave here ab half-past five sharp." " I'll bo waiting," Dan promised. "But listen, Miss Gilchrist. The man who finds a goldmine has the right to bring along a box of chocolates, surely ?" ' " There are no Dutch laws about chocolates," Eve admitted. " And I see you know all aboub theatre parties, Mr. Prescott." Once more she saw Dan's face cloud over. He was reminded that his knowledge of the importance of chocolates had been acquired very recently, and in a way of which he was now painfully ashamed. " So long for the present," he said, and strode away. He found the neai'est cable office, and, sent urgent messages to Wetherby, and Slade. His languago was very insistent, and he demanded that Wetherby should put through a telephone call to Medlicott's office at noon on the following day. The insistence of his message relieved his feelings somewhat. The telephone call meant that Wetherby would be talking to him after midnight, by Australian time. Then he boarded a west-bound bus and rode as far as tho Marble Arch, turning over in his mind the exact position of Miss Gladys Clements. The girl certainly had a claim to consider herself betrothed, but to whom ? To Wetherby, on the evidence of the letters that that Lothario must 'have written. But Dan experienced a sinking feeling when he realised that it was Dan Prescott who had slipped the engagement ring on her finger, and who had permitted himself to be exhibited to her friends as a prospective husband. " Cripes!" he murmured. " She's either engaged to two men, or to neither of them. Bub Webherby started it, and he's got to see ib through to the finish." Dan found the sort of sweet shop he wanted in Oxford Street, and with the help of a sympathetic sales girl, contrived to be fairly lavish without presenting the appearance of ostentation. Next door was a flower shop, and a big bowl of Panna violets caught Dan's roving eye. He felt very satisfied with himself, as he paid for two big sweet-smelling bunches. " I wish you were twins, Mr. Prescott," said Frankie Carruthers, sniffing appreciatively at the flowors, when Dan shyly offered them. " And your taste in chocs, shows that somo girl must have trained you properly. A man has to bo properly bullied out of buying expensive boxes, with nothing in them but a few stale sweets." Frankie's young-feller-irte-led manner put Dan as his ease. The little Italian restaurant, with its strango dishes and polyglot patrons, was a complete novelty to Dan. « Tho girls both found his unaffected enjoyment of tho modest meal a substantial part of the entertainment. Ho proved an admirable listener, both at the dinner tablo and at bho play which followed. And after tho play ho accepted dismissal liko a lamb, saying good-night as they entered the taxi which they shared to tbeir homes. " I think I'll get me another dog, Eve." Frankie said, apropos of nothing at all. " I miss Pompous since ho was killed by that car. There's a lot in owning a dog when you come down in tho morning. You start tho day by meeting a pair of oyos that tell you how wonderful you are. Pomp used to make mo fcol tho most wonderful thing created." " I'd liko a dog," Eve agreed. " But my landlady will not havo one in the house." " I wasn't thinking of a dog for you, but for me," Frankie retorted. " You are never likely to need a dog as I do" " But why not ?" Evo asked, lifting her eyebrows. Frankie was about to say something about a man, whoso eyes had been fixed | on Eva with just the worshipping look that ono sees in the eyes of a nice dog. But she put a check on her sharp tongue, ' remembering that many a budding romance had been ruined by ill-timed jesting. " You've never owned a dog, have yon?" she replied. "You don't cxperi- j ence the need of indiscriminating adora- ( tion as I do. In the end, I expect, you'll , content yourself with a mere husband." ' Suppose you were to slop talking • nonsense ?" Evo suggosted. ] A flush of colour in her cheeks told i Frankie that the shot had gone home. i " Let's talk about Dan Prescott," Frankie suggested. " The social contacts i people have their knivos into hiin, and I presently they'll begin to twist them s around. You and 1, Evo darling, had i better start scouting for our nice boy friend." " What can they havo against him ?" t Eve asked. I " You are an awfully dumb woman c sometimes," Frankie complained. " Don't t you see the chief's idea ? Dan Prescott \ ib to provide hiß own contacts. He's a

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fey E, C. BULEY t Author of "Sea Urchin," "Calcutta Luck," etc.

A THRILLING STORY OF ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE

moro convincing than the whole lob of tlieni; even the woman with the double- | barrelled name. And that hits social contacts in its tenderest spot." " Where's that " Eve asked. s " The breeches pocket," Frankie said . bluntly. <" So they have settled it that ' Dan is a spoof and a bluffer. And I call it darned disloyal." ) "Do you mean that Mr. Prescott is to be used for . selling, shares in this mine, after risking his lite to discover it ?" Eve i asked. ' " What else? And tho fatj commissions don't come tho way of those smooth share pushers. It's a great idea of the chief's. Dan's got a manner that will wrench " cheques from the flint-hearted." " He's a very genuino, sincere man," Eve said. ' " He makes all the motions," Frankie 3 agreed. " But don't forget he's selling a 1 goldmine for a quarter of a million, Eve. . The last simple child of nature who did that came to a bad end—for the purchasers." > "How was that?" Eve asked. "He gob his claws on the cash, and vanished into the great opep spaces, where men are men, Frankie explained. ' "He left tho mine as a souvenier ? but the one thing that couldn't bo found in ib was . gold." " Are you trying to say "... Eve began, angrily; but Frankie stopped her with an uplifted hand. " I am meaning to say that our conduct in this matter will be dictated by our heads, and not our hearts," she replied. "Make sure that he has gob a real gold 1 mine before you fall in love with l)an Prescott." " I get out here," Eve replied, rapping on the cab window. " You can bo outrageous, Frankie, when you let yourself go-" Before noon on the following day Dan was hanging about Medlicott's office, waiting for tno phono call to come through from Sydney. The connection was made punctually to time; but the voice which Dan heard was not thab of Welherby, but of Slade. " I wanb to speak to [Wetherby," Dan insisted. " Send him to tho 'phone, will you?" He's still celebrating his honeymoon," Slade replied. " All I know is that he is somewhere in New Zealand. What seems to be tho matter with you, Prescott ? I had your cables, but I cannot make much sense out of them." Dan explained his troubles; and the chuckles emitted by Slade during the narration did little to soothe his anger. " Wetherby put a trick like that over on you, did he?" Slade said, "and you made him a rich man! Well, it's a raw deal, Prescott; and I,m ready to do anything you ask." " Then send this girl a message in Wetherby's name," Dan suggested. " Write a long explanation, that will show her that the man who asked ber to marry him is still in Australia. Sign it Wetherby and make him stand for it. Will you do that ?" " I'll do the best I can," Slade agreed " You'll want to know just what I've sent, I expect; so I'll duplicate the cable to vou. And Prescott ..." "Well?" " Before you do anything about it, see Medlicott's solicitor. Medhcotb will give you a line to him; a man named Cairns. You needn't tell Medlicott your troubles; but Cairns will handle this in the right way. It sounds to me as if heavy damages would have to be met by somebody." " By Wetherby," Dan said savagely. " Find the dog, Slade. Send a radio message to New Zealand." " That's an idea," SJade agreed. " What's happened at the mine ? " Dan demanded. " If I hadn't been pushed off from Australia at a day's notice I could have looked after things there." " There's nothing happening," Slade confessed. " Do you realise that anybody can drop down there with a plane and snoop away with a lot of gold ? ' Dan asked. 'Wetherby ought to be on the job there. Look here, send two or three good men, in charge of somebody you can trust. Get them there at once. Set them boring for water. It. has got to be done." " That's going to cost money," Slade objected. " You do what I say," Dan called in tones of command. " Yon and Wetherby are lying down on a job just because I've had to come away. Get some action, will you—and at once." He slammed down the receiver and turned to find Medlicott regarding him with twinkling eyes. "Good man, Prescott," he said. "That's the way to handle Slade, though I don't know how you sensed it. He has to be kicked into doing what he knows ought tc be done." " Wetherby's worse," Dap snorted. " Will you give me a line of introduction to your solicitor, Mr. Medlicott? Cairns, did not Slade say ? " " Certainly, he's a useful chap. What's Wetherby been doing ? Lying down on you ? " " He's been lying," Dan agreed grimly. " Lying up and down." Medlicott asked no further question, but used the telephone and made an appointment for Dan with Mr. Cairns. The solicitor listened to Dan's story with a gravely sympathetic air, which was very reassuring. Any amusement he may have felt was cleverly repressed. " Well, Mr. Prescott," he said, " your partner has certainly landed you in an awkward predicament. I take it you wish to free yourself entirely from this entanglement ? " " That's the one thing I want most," Dan agreed. "Ib will be better, then, that you should not see the lady again," Cairns suggested. " When tho cable arrives, let mo see what has been done from Australia. After that I can interview Miss Clements. I think I shall take the line that you acted as a proxy for Mr. Wetherby, who is still held by his promise to marry tho lady,, both by his own letters and by tho act oi' his proxy, yourself." " But he's married already," Dan objected. » " If the other side are not informed of that fact," Cairns explained, " ib will not be consistent with my duty to yourself to inform them. After all, the lady has promised to marry Mr. Wotherby, and he has promised to marry tho lady. That is tho main, point." "Which lets mo out? " Dan asked. " Thab is my view," replied tho man of law. (To bo continue*! daily)