TRISTRAM OF BLENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4407, 13 July 1901, Page 3 (Supplement)

TRISTRAM OF BLENT.

AN EPiSODE IN Till: STORY ON AN ancient huusl. (By Anthony Hope.) [ALL RlNliri HKSE-'.VKD) (Coy-right, 1001, m tho U.S.A. by Anf.juy Hope.) CHAPTER XAll.—(Continued.) “Yes, vcs,” lif! said, qtic st ionin;;ly. “Madame’Zubriska, -Mr Disney." “(Jh, yes.” .11 .is voice sounded a little disappointed. "1 met you at ——” “At I,nrl.y Evenswood’s, .Mr Disney. Taking courage, she added, “1 sent what you warded.” "What I wanted?” ‘•Yes. Wtmt you wanted mo to write about—about the Tristrams.” “Yos.” Tlio voice sounded now as if bo had placed her. Ho .smiled a little. “1 remember it all now. I read it the other morning;.” He nodded at her, as if that finished tho matter. But Mina din not move. T'm busy just now,’ bo added, “but—well, how’s your side of t o affair going on, Madame Zabnskn? I’ve hoard nothing from my cousin about that." “It’s just wonderful to see you like this,” tho Imp blurted out. That amused him. She saw the twinkle in his eye. “Never mind me. Tell me about the Tristram cousins.” “Oh, you are thinking of it, then? “I never tell what I’m thinking about. That’s the c -nly reason people think me clever. The cousins?” “Oh, that’s all dreadful. At least I believe they arc—they would be—-in love; but—but—Mr Tristram’s 'so difficult, so obstinate, so proud. I don’t suppose you understand — ■‘ You’re the second person who’s told me I can’t understand in the last half hour.” tie was smiling now, as h e coupled Mina with the handsome recalcitrant colleague in his protest. “I’m not sure of it.” “And she’s been silly, and he s been horrid, and just now—well, it’s all as bad as can bo. Air Disney.” “Is it? You must get it better than that, you know, before I can do anything. Good-night.” “Oh, stop! Do stop! Do say what you mean!” “I shan’t dp anything of the kind. You may tell Lady Evenswood what I’ve said and she’ll tell you what I mean.” “Ob, but, please—” “If you stop any longer I shall send you to the Tower. Tell Lady Evenswood and Southend. If I didn’t do my business better than you do yours—” He shrugged his shoulders with a good-na-tured rudeness. “Good-night,” no said again, and this time Mina dared not stop him. Twenty yards further on ho halted onc 0 more of his own accord and fell into thought. Mina watched him til! he moved on again, slowly making his way across tho Mall and towards St. James’s street. A great thing had happened to her. She felt that. And she had nows, too. that she was to tell to Southend and Lady Evenswood. There was considerable unsettlemont in tho Imp’s mind that" night. The next day found her at Lady Evdnswootl’s. The old lady and Southend (who had been summoned on Mina’s command—certainly Alina was getting no in the world) understood perfectly. They nodded wise heads. “I was always inclined to think that Robert would take that view.” “Ho fears that the Bearsdalo case won’t carry him all the way. Depend upon it, that’s what he feels.” “Well, there was doubt there, you see.” , . Mina was rather tired of the doubt in the Bearsdalo case. It was always cropping up and being mentioned as though it were something exceedingly meritorious.

“And in poor Addie’s case of course there—well, there wasn’t,” proceeded Ladv Evenswood with a sigh. “So Robert feels that it might be thought

“The people with consciences would be at him, I suppose,” said Southend, scornfully. “But if the marriage came off ” “Oh, I see!'’ cried the Imp. “Then iie would feel abel to act. It would look merely like putting things back as they were, you see, Mina.” “Do you think ihe means the viscountv P 1 ’ asked Southend. “It would be so much more convenient. And they could have had an earldom once before if they’d liked.” “Oh, twice," corrected Southend confidently. “I know it’s said, hut I don’t believe it. You mean in 1816?” “Yes. Everybody knows that they could have had ifc from Mr Pitt.” “Well, George, I don’t believe about 1816. At least my father heard Lord Liverpool say- ” “Oh. dear me!” murmured the Imp. This historical inquiry was neither comprehensible nor interesting. But they discussed it eagerly for some minutes before agreeing that, wherever the truth lay, a viscounty could not be considered out of the way for the Tristrams—legitimate and proper Tristrams, be it understood. ‘‘And that’s where the match would be of decisive value,” Lady Evenswood concluded. “Disney said as much evidently. So you understood, Madame Zabriska?” “I suppose, so. I’ve told you what he said.” ‘Ho could take Blentmouth, you know. It’s all very simple.” “Well, I’m not sure that our friend Ivor isn’t keeping that for himself,” smiled Southend. “Oh, he can bo Lord Bricks and Putty,” she suggested, laughing. But there seemed in her words a deplorable hint of scorn for that process by which the vitality (not to say the solvency) of the British aristocracy is notoriously maintained. “Blentmouth would do very well for Harry Tristram.” “Well, then, what’s to,bo done?” asked Southend. “We must give him a hint, George.” “Havo wo enough to go upon P” Suppose Disney turned round and-; ” “Robert won’t do that. Besides, we needn’t pledge anything. We can just put the case.” She smiled thoughtfully. “I’m still not quite sure how Mr Tristram will take it, you know.” “How he’ll take it? He’ll jump at it, of course.” “Xhe girl or the title, George ?” “Well, both, together. Won’t he, Madame Zabriska?” Mina, thought great things of the girl, and oven greater, if vaguer, of the title. 'T should just think_ so,” she replied complacently. There 'was a limit to th o perversity even d the Tristrams. “Wo musu’t put it too baldly,” observed Southend, dangling his eye-glass. “Oh, he’ll think more of the thing itself than* of how we put it,” Lady Evenswood declared. Prom her knowledge of Harry, the Imp was exactly of that opinion. But Southend was for diplomacy: indeed, what pleasure is there in manoeuvring schemes if they are not to be conducted with delicacy?’ A policy that can be defined on a postage stamp has no attraction for ingenious minds, although it

is usually the most effective with a nation. Harry Tristram returned from Blinkhampton in a state of iutellccutal satisfaction marred by a s e *>so of emotional emptiness. He had been very active, very energetic, very successful. H# had new and cogent evidence of his power, not merely to start but to go ahead on his own account. This was tho good side. But he discovered and tried to rebuke in himself a feeling that h a had so far wasted the time m that h ( . had seen nobody and nothing beautiful. Mon of affairs had n P concern with a feeling like that. Would Ivor have it, or would Mr Disney? Surely not! It would bo a positive inconvenience to them, or at best a worthless asset. Ho traced it hack to Blent, to that influence which ho had almost brought himself to call malign because it .seemed in some subtle way cnervatirvg, a thing that sought to clog his steps and hung about those tect which bad need to be so alert and nimble. Yet tho old life at Blent would not have served by itself now. Wns ho to turn out so exacting that he must hay c both lives before he, or what was in him, could cry “Content?” A man will sometimes be alarmed when ho rea* liscs what ho wants —a woman often. (To be continued on Tuesday A