HOUSE OF ILL-LUCK.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10459, 19 May 1910, Page 6

HOUSE OF ILL-LUCK.

I By Blanche Eardley, j Author of "Held by Hate," "A Bid ; for a Bride,'' "A Soul in Society," Etc. CHAPTER. VII. THE SECRET OF THE TOWER.

The days at Luck House passed very j quietly lor Ro.-emary—so quietly that j the girl began to feel that she had ! never" had any previous existence. She ! saw ""Lady .Mallaby a little more frei quently than at " iin-.i. there i were days v."hen the mistress of Luck i Mouse seemed to disappear into a vaultj like silence, broken at night by those ! strange cries tiiat had first sent the I girl's blood to her brain with horror. ' .She had a.iked Keziah about them, only j to be told with curt white lips that ; she must have been dreaming, and that 1 no one cUe ever complained of hearing i The only ray of light that penetrated j the gloom thai hung over Luck House | \v:s the presence oi Sir Douglas, and, thoudi Rosemary saw very littie of him. it made her glad to hear him whistling ! i ) his fox terrier, "Chips," or to hear hi-; arm crisp step beneath the windows | oi Ladv's Mallaby's boudoir, where she j would sit and read to the old lady. • One day, however, she was going down stairs to perform her usual task, when she was met bv Keziah. who told her that Lady Mallaby would not require her that day as she was staying in bed. | Knowing that the old servant objected | to being questioned, Rosemary did not detain her: but when Keziah had disappeared downstairs she determined to seek out Lady Mallaby and ask to be allowed to nurse her, as she had had some little experience when nursing her father in his last illness. Suddenly she remembered that she had never been to Ladv Mallaby's bedroom, and had no idea" in what part of the house rt j was, though it must be in one part of the front rooms. But the rooms on the first floor were empty, and, after a fruitless search in others, Rosemary gave it up, as she was afraid to ring the bell for Keziah. As she went upstairs to put on her hat and coat to go out for. a walk, she came face to face with a girl of about fifteen, who was busily engaged washing the staircase down, for Luck House boasted no carpets on the third floor stairs.. --.r,,, n "Are you a new housemaid? Kosemarv said smilingly. "No, Miss; I'm staying 'ere with -\unt Keziah" the girl murmured, blushing with the effort of speaking to a ''real lady." "Then vou know Luck House very well?" Rosemary said; "I wonder can vou tell me in which part of the house.. Lady Mallaby's bedroom is? I cant Gnd" it anywhere!" "Her leddyship's bedroom!" The "irl's eves expanded with an expression of terror. "No, Miss—leastways I—l don't know!" she stammered, growing crimson with confusion. "I see," Rosemary said with a smile, i and, as she passed on to her room, she 1 wondered what it was that had made [ the girl so frightened to speak. > "I am certain she did .know. she • murmured; "but if Keziah has forbidden her to sneak to anyone it is not fair to the girl 10 get her into trouble. But I should dearly love to find someone to talk to!" she went on. "I don t feel as though I were a companion to Lady Mallaby. But this life is .better than walking about London looking for work, or perhaps meeting that awful - man who made me go through that s dreadful mockery of a marriage! As the thought passed through her mind she shivered. It was quite a long . time since she had let the memory ot that hideous ceremony disturb her; but, 1 somehow, to-day, she was keenly conscious of a renewal of the first horror that had gripped her. She shook it off impatiently. 'On, I must go out for a walk, I am growing nervous and stupid; 1 have nothing to do with Rosemary Fenehester; my name is Rosemary Ffrench.'' A few minutes later she was strolling about the grounds of Luck House, findin"- herself in queer out-of-the-way paths that reminded her of the maze at Hampton Court. Presently she came to a little gate, almost hidden beneath the ivy and creeper that hung down on either side of the weatherbeaten post that supported it. Rose-n-.arv glanced curiously at it for a moment. °aud was abuit to turn back when'she caught sight of a padlock that had evideuilv not been fastened, for itgaped wide, "and the little gate swung loosely on its hinges. "There must be something very precious hidden in this part cf the grounds for a lock to be on n;e gate," she murmured. "If I venture a little further I may find myseL in an enchanteu castle." l Shefpushed open the gate, ana was soon inside gazing about, with eager interest. At first she saw nothing but a big kind of box hedge o:i either side of her, the only sign that there had been someone before her that day being the footprints of a boot which _ she judged from the size, to be a man's. Presently she uttered an exclamation of surprise. A sudden turning in the even winding-path had brought her almost up to a quaint-looking tower that must have been used years ago as a watch-tower, but which now looked liks some buried ivy-ciad monster of architecture. "How delightfully quaint," she murmured. "It's Lke a fairy palace. i. wonder who uses it, for tnere is a tiny wreath of smoke coming out of thechimney above the trees." Suddenly she heard the sharp bark of a dog, and recognised it as that of Chips! She colored hotly at the idea that she would soon come face to face with S:r Douglas, who perhaps would ie.;;nt her having intruded upon his sanctum. j Hot with confusion, she darted be- ! lihid a thick clump of undergrowth, and •v;:i:ed with beating heart for the sound -:i the footsteps she knew by instinct, i-roni her hiding-place she could see without being seen, and presently she, eaueht sight of Sir Douglas' tall figure o.;n;.g towards the Tower, his face anxious. He stocd for a moment outside, then gave a low peculiar whistle, and, to her surprise, Rosemary saw a door open in tho Tower and a man beckon to him. "As soon as the door closes I shall fun as quickly as I can," she- murmured. "I hope Chips will goin too. lie is sure to barK if he sees me." As she gazed through tho braucr.es with anxious eye;, she gave a sadden start of amazement and fear, for there broke out suddenly upon tho stillness the strange cry that had tv-.ict disturbed her at night in Luck House. There was no mistaking the sound. It ' was a peculiarly low moaning one, ! sharn and shrill" towards the finish, as ' though tho peivHi, whether human or j beast, were someone, trying to get away ! from some restraint. As she listened to it Rosemary felt her nerves, tingling I with suppressed excitement. \Viio, or what, was it that disturbed the gloom of Luck House with suck awful cries? As she listened to the repetition of the cry Rosemary covered iicr ears with :: r hands. Y-.'hilc it continued she ' •. :i:ld not, dared not, come out of her Suddenly the door cf the Tower opened, aiid Sir Douglas stood for a moment on the steps. His face was pale, and though it was a raw, cold d; y, Rosemary saw him wipo his brow as though it were damp. He stood there for some moments, and to the v. niching, sympathetic eyes of the secret- witness "it seemed that lie was fighting a .silent battle with some invisible foe that threatened to crush him. .\: tcr awhile he went in and closed the door, and as the cry had dwindled down u> a low. intermittent moan, Rosemary :ook her conrago in both hands, and, apping from .her hiding-place, she 'lurried quickly away, afraid lest she '"ould betray her presence in the forhiddeu premises. To her consterna- c ion. however, when sho reached the liitio gate, she found that Sir Douglas had locked it, and unless she could e cape some other way she would bo • -reeri to stay there till Sir Douglas • ame to release her. Desperation gave . f courage, however, and as she had i learnt \o climb over fences in her school days, sho had very little difficulty i ::: getting over the gate, but as she j *■.■:■-. p.ating her foot down on the other ; . ;<!e '-'hr- slipped, and fell heavily to j ;!;•■ ground, twisting her foot beneath ' r. :•. ' in spite of the- pain, however, she , . . :::'ged to .get up and limp back to . .'• • hoo.s '. " ' I

•'lt serves me right," .she murmiir-,-I. •'! have had :< lesson for going

■■vlieiv I ha. I no business to: but oh! !io-.v i wish I. dared ask someone about the Tower, and what the mystery is they guard so carefully."

A sound at the door made her turn sharply. Keziali was standing in the door-wav with a letter in her liand. "A boy" left this for you, miss," she said abruptly. Rosemarv took the letter wondennglv. She. had no idea who could write to her, since she had no friends, but she saw that the envelope was addressed to ' : Miss Ffrcnch, Luck House." . "What kind of boy left it, Keziali.-'-slio said slowly. "A village lad; an' nice and saucy : o was, too!" "Kesiidi replied. <; Said 'e 'ad instructions to put it into your own '"aiids. I 'ad a good mind to box 'is ears —the little wretch." Rosemary opened the letter, and drew out a sheet of paper. She was curious and puzzled to know who m that little Cornish village coidd possiblv send her a note. The contents were brief and still more obscure: Please meet me this evening outside the walls of the rosary of Luck : House: any time between nine and ten will suit, onlv be there without fail. " S.F.

"Who could S'.F. be?" she wondered; "and why such an ambiguous message?" Since she had been at Luck House she had spoken to no one, and had been into the village but rarely. She glanced up to find that Kcziah was "studying her face with frankly inquisitive eyes. She colored a little, and slipped the note into her pocket. ~ „ , -i "By the way, Keziah," she said quietly, "I didn't know you had a.niece staying here. She seems a bright girl.'' Keziah's face changed from a healthy red to a sickly pallor. "Where did you see 'er?" she snapped. "Did she stay gossipin' to you?" , "No,'' .Rosemary replied. 'I asked her where Ladv Mallaby's bedroom was, and she could not tell me. Wherp is it. Keziah ? I want to go and see her. I understand nursing, and could be useful," ' . '.'■.. The pallor on Keziah's face intensified, and she darted a frightened, . venomous glance into Ilosemary's face. "There's no need for you to go 'ferreting' about after 'er ladyship," she, said sharply. "She won't allow strangers to go near 'er when she s ill, and it's more than my place is worth to let you go to 'er." Then she went on hurriedly, "Your frocks all over mud; wherever 'ave you been, Rosemary smiled. "I'm afraid I have been trespassing, Keziah. ■ I went into that private part of the grounds bv tho- Tower, and- " She paused abruptly. Keziah was staring at her with wide eyes of horror. "Tho Tower!" she gasped, "loud no business there, miss. If Sir Douglas knew." Then, afraid lest she had said too much, she went on more quietly—"Sir Douglas keeps a very valuable collection of animals there. They are dangerous, and no one is allowed to enter that part of the grounds. If Sir Douglas or 'er ladyship knew, they'd bo very angry." "I've no intention of going tnere_any more," Rosemary said; "but I am glad I know what Sir Douglas keeps there: it explains those awful cries I heard, and I suppose ho must have had one of tho animals id the house, Keziah, for it was the same noise 1 heard. Sir Douglas has keepers, I suppose?" Tho woman flashed a strange glance at her. "Ay," she muttered, "there's keepers enough." "That explains it then," Rosemary exclaimed quickly. "I could not understand, when I went intoFramptbn a few days ago to order some hooks, why two girls should stare when I gave my address as 'Miss Fi'rench, Luck House.' They said that I must be a new 'keeper,' and blamed Sir Douglas for having let me come to the house. Why/'iveziah," she-broko off suddenly, "whatever is the matter!" For Keziah Lad given a curious little moaning cry, and then making a hurried excuse, she left the room, biting her ! ips and muttering beneath hw breath.

CHAPTER VIII. THE .LEGEND OF LUCK HOUSE. That evening Rosemary dined downstairs with Sir Douglas. He had sent up a message to ask her if she would do so, and," delighted at the idea of having someone to t":k to over her meal,~she had gladly, and had put on a simple l little white gown with i iiiiics of lace folding round her slim girli:.-]i ne:.k, and falling over her delicate wrists. As she entered the big, gloomy room, lit only by candles in 'oid-fasiiioncd .silver candlesticks, the eyes of tile man who went forward to greet her lit up with an appreciation of Iter beauty and youth.

"How do you do. Miss Ffrench!" he said. "It's awfully kind of you to take pity on my loneliness and dine with me."

iloscmary blushed. If he only knew that she had seen him earlier that day. "I am afraid you have a horribly dull lime here, Miss Ffrench. I wish I could do something to make things more cheerful, but I ain practically powerless—you see my mother's health is so uncertain it is out of the question to have friends here. But I hope you won't leave us," he smiled. Rosemary laughed. "I am far too comfortable to do that, Sir Douglas," she answered. "I quite understand about . Lady Mallaby's health, and though I am rather lonely sometimes 1! soon lose myself in a book or a walk, in which 'Cliitis' joins me sometimes." His eyes brightened. "I'm glad of that. Please go wherever you like — at least so far as the interesting portions of the house are concerned. I'm afraid the others are very tame."

"I understand," y Rosemary said quietly. She heard in his voice the same warning as to venturing near Lady Mallaby's apartments.

"If you would care for a girl friend to join you for a couple of weeks," he went on,-"you may invite any one you like. After the next fortnight I am afraid the quiet- of Luck House may be disturbed."

"Disturbed!" Rosemary said wonderingly. "les. This morning I heard from a distant cousin that he would be motoring with a party of friends in Cornwall, and'would ask me to put him up. I'm afraid I can't refuse," he added, "though I'm not looking forward to it."

"Will Lady Mallaby be well enough to entertain?" she asked anxiously. He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. But I hope you will take her place, Miss Ffrench, as there will be a lady in the motor party, I believe. They won't be here more than a day, and there are family reasons that make it impossible for- me to refuse my hospitality." She looked at him with sympathetic eyes. How white he looked, and how worried. She wished she could do something to help him. As her eyes lingered on him, she noticed that his left hand was in a glove, and she went pale with the thought it conjured up. "Is your hand very painful?" she said. "I suppose one of the animals bit it —surely you ought to see a doctor." e,

A.s he listened to her soft, sympathetic voice his face expressed firstly astonishment and fear; and secondly, perplexity and wonder. "Animals!" he replied.. Rosemary nodded. "Yes, the animals Kcziah told me you kept in the—the Tower."

For a moment he did not reply, and Rosemary was afraid he was angry with her. But when he spoke she thought his voice very gentle and kind.

"I don't think the bite is dangerous, thank you, Miss Ffrenclr; anyway I can doctor myself." •" Then he went on quickly, "Have you any friends who could come and stay with you?" Rosemary shook her head. "No, I am quite alone in the world. I was educated abroad and know no one in England." "Poor little girl," he said softly. "You arc so young to be friendless. I hope you will let me be a, friend." "Thank you, Sir Douglas," she murmured shvlv.

When Sir Douglas had closed the dining-room door upon her. the smile faded from his face and he sighed. "How sweet she is, and how I wish to heaven I had the right to ask her to marry me. Rose, —the name suits her

—a sweet, blush 'rosebud, with her ;"!•'i'iils still unfolded, fragrant and love--I''."' Ho bit the end off a cigar and lit it. "If she had come to us earlier, [ :in'iiht have obeyed I?alph Savage's condition, and not only have won a ?< mine, but a lovely wife as well." The sound of music made him leave his cigar and drew him to the drawingroom, where ho found Rosemary sitting at the grand piano playing a

dreamy waltz. As he entered the room she stopped and rose from the stool. •"Please go on," he said N quickly; "it is such ages since there was any music heard in Luck House." Rosemary hesitated. She longed to stay and play to him, and yet she had just remembered that the mysterious appointment with the unknown S. F. was ncarlv due, for the long hand of the little "watch on her wrist was already twenty minutes past nine. Should she keep it and leave Sir Douglas alone, or should she ignore what might probably be only the impertinence of a stranger? It took a second to decide in favor of Sir Douglas, and she turned to him with a smile.

"You have won the battle in my mind," she said, seating herself again. He watched her white fingers as they swept the keys. "Was it a very" dimcult once?" he queried. She shook her head. "No; but I ought really to be somewhere else." He gave her a surprised glance. "Somewhere else? .Why it is too late to be anywhere, and you are 'off duty' now, and your time is your own;..unless you. are writing a book and feel inspired."Rosemary laughed. "I am afraid I am not clever," she said, and then she played in silence for "some, time, conscious that she was being. watched by the grave blue eyes of her host, and once or twice the color swept her face as her eyes met his;. '. : Wheivslie had been playing for some time she stopped, and Sir Douglas offered to show her the picture gallery. ! "We are rather proud of our gallery," he. said with a sigh, '-'but seldom go into it; it recalls memories of what Luck House once was." :'-.- The gallery was cold, and Rosemary shivered in her thin dress.

"You. are cold," he said quickly. "Let me go and bring you a wrap."--Before she could object, he had left her, and she strolled up the gallery, looking at the pictures on the walls that the dim light made almost ghostly iii appearance. Suddenly she uttered.a cry of surprise. On one side of the wall was the life-size picture of a young mail-in the uniform of a naval'lieutenant of the time of Elizabeth, and he was the image of the man in the miniature she had picked up in that awful house on the night of the mysterious wedding. The more she gazed the more '■she-knew that it was.the same man—only how could she have come across the life-size painting, of the picture in the miniature at _ Luck House ? How long she stood gazing at it she could not tell, but Sir Douglas' voice brought her back to earth..

"Here is a shawl of my mother's. I think it will keep you warm," he said, and as he wrapped it round her shoulders their hands met for. an instant, and Rosemary felt a sudden shyness mailing her tongue-tied. " "Thank you," she said in a low voice; then added hurriedly, "Who is this man in naval uniform, Sir Douglas?"

"An ancestor who did big things in the Armada," he replied. "Handsome, ■wasn't he?" Rosemary nodded. "Yes; you are very like," she said naively. "Have you many paintings' of him.?''' "Yes," he replied, "several; but the most iirecious has been lest or stolen." "How do you mean'?" Rosemary said

quickly. "It was a miniature, painted, by a big man iii his day, and I am afraid it's most precious qualities, in recent years', have lain in the back of the case." "How could that be?" Rosemary

asked wonderingly." Sir Douglas smiled bitterly. "At the the back of the miniature was a tiny spring 4hat, I believe, opened, and contained a hollow cavity that secreted a plan of the grounds where it was supposed tho buried treasure of Luck House was hidden. From time to time there have been attempts to find this mythical treasure"-—he smiled —"but up to now they have all failed, and I don't think it will ever be done now, as there is no money tp spend on it." Rosemary's heart "bounded with excitement as she listened to him. It had been her first impulse to tell him that she had the miniature of his aneester, only that she remembered in time that an explanation would have

to follow as the reason of her possession of it, and she dared not let him knowwhere she had found- it. Perhaps later on she might be able to return it in a way that would never betray her as its last owner." "How was it stolen?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "A couple of years ago my mother went away for a"brief holiday. According to Jason, a man called one day, saying he had received instructions from my mother to come down to Luck House and clean the pictures and miniatures, and he must have' taken that particular one for its setting of diamonds." "And you never discovered the thief?" Rosemary said.

"No; and never will, I expect. He can't sell it though, because it is too well known to be disposed of," he answered.

"But," Rosemary persisted, "could you not trace the treasure in the grounds without the aid of the chart in the miniature?" He smiled. . "I am afraid there is very little prospect of that ever being discovered now, in spite of the legend that has been handed down as a family fetish!"

: "What is that?" she asked. "Please tell rce, Sir Douglas. I am so interested!"

. "I. can't quite remember it," he answered with a laugh; "but it goes something like this:

"When Mallaby shall ride away And leave his luck to bitter foe, The secret place will ne'er betray Mallaby's Luck of long ago. : But if he stay and hold his own, - In face of hardship and of hate, Then love of maid shall make atone And put his Luck forever straight,

When lie had finished there was a pause, and neither spoke for a moment. Then Rosemary said softly: ■_ ■ ."I think it-'sounds-quite exciting, Sir Douglas, and oh, I do hope your 'luck' / will- be put straight soon!" she added quickly. .■-■'■' ■-• " ["Only one thing can do that, according to the legend," he answered; "and so far the 'love of maid' has not come to nie."

< Rosemary raised her eyes to his, and, perhaps; there was "a sudden telepathic niessage between them—a- current of sympathy that' electrifies the blood and sets the pulses throbbing like engines, for Sir Douglas took a quick step towards her. "

'"Rose," he began, then stopped. The door had' opened, and old Jason., the butler, :stood on -the threshold, his fdee white and'-frightened. - ;"Sir Douglas," he panted, "come at once; the' Tower is empty!" ■ : - ;: (To. be Continued).