Stella; A TALE OF TWO HEMISPHERES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1342, 18 August 1877, Page 20

Stella; A TALE OF TWO HEMISPHERES.

By Fabian Bell.

(Written for the Otago Witness.)

Pabt 11.

Chapter XVII. — The Heathen Chinee.

As the digger .held the two horses, wondering at the delay of his gueata, a low cry of pain pierced the noon-day stillness, and Walter Alleyne appeared, who made him a sign to secure the animals and come to him at once. , •<

Tom obeyed, and heard from the lips of the surgeon a story, which greatly astonished him — a story, of tragic interest connecting the dead man in his hut with the fair woman who had so./unex-' pectedly appeared on the scene, to nurse 1 and soothe his dying hours. - Walter told the heads of the story as concisely and quickly as possible ; Long Tom listened attentively, and without spoken comment, yet when he hoard of the hiding-place in the wall, . the Yankee uttered a low .whistle of astonishment..

However often it may recur, it is always a cause of new surprise to us to find, that, we have only touched the surface of the* lives of those with whom we have been living on terms of close intimacy; that underneath the well-known . exterior lie pits and chasms utterly unsuspected by vs — gears of old unhealed wounds,. secret sins, haunting terrors — . fears, . . hopes, aspirations, in which we have no share.; and all so far removed from our preconceived impressions, that the , real man thus revealed is indeed a stranger, utterly different from the person we had supposed him to be and to have been. And we ask ourselves, Can this be my friend, my brother, or my son 1 as the case may be. The nearest, the dearest, the closest in blood and friendship, are thus in the deepest sense " strangers yet ;" and .' /; Not even, the ten derest heart, and next oar own, Knows half the reasons why we smile and sigh., i

The Yankee listened, waiting for that part of the story which should concern himself, and discover the motive which had induced Walter io relate it to, him.When he heard that, the bottle containing the important paper had been. lost,. .then: he understood why the tale had been told;:

" Gone, is . it 9" he echoed, . and stood for a moment lost in thought ; then, slap* ping his leg, he cried with sudden energy, \ "Ah I I have it now. That tarnation: ole 'coon of a yaller skin, that ♦ heathen Chinee,' is at the bottom of thin. He must have heard .what George said ; or, more like, watched Mrs Leydon herself;: and thought to make a grand haul. And, now. I think of it, I ain't' had a sight of the ole cuss, this morning ; and that alone is suspicious. He's up to some, rascality ; but I'll unairth him pretty smart;- and make him shin up: his, ill-gotten 'gainst Tell her" — jerking his thumb backwards towards Stella's figure, dimly .seen in the dark hut —^tell her not. to be downhearted, but to keep her pecker up. We'll soon put this straight." . .

The Yankee strode off to the rear of the hut, and a dozen long- steps brought him to the Chinaman's tent— a structure so Bmall that it was matter for surprise that the Mongolian contrived to shelter his whole person within it, instead of leaving his head or his feet, or both extremities, protruding on either side. Tom lifted the dirty flap, and looked in.

The Celestial, apparently asleep, lay curled up like a dog ; his head resting on & small tea-chest, round which one arm was tightly clasped. . >< , . . .The Yankee touched him with his foot, as he would have roused a sleeping cur. * <

" Git out of that, you ole skunk," he said, "and don't try to play .'possum with me. You're no more asleep than I am."

The Chinaman moved, and pretended to awake, rubbing his eyes and muttering' some inarticulate excuses. •,- • r -„. '■ Tom's patience — of which, it: must be confessed that he possessed no very .large supply — was now exhausted. > He seized -the man by the collar, and half-lifted, lialf-dragged him from his - lair. The wretched creature did not attempt .to. resist, but tightening bis.hold on the box,', suffered his captor to shake him as a big dog shakes a rat ; and, when it was over, essayed to creep back into his den. But this did not suit the Yankee's notions. . • i

." Hark yon, Johnny,": he cried, " you won't pull wool over my eyes ; I'm! too old a stager for that. You darned ole cuss, I've euchred you ; no knuckle under, and look pleasant. Disgorge your illgotten plunder, or " The pause was significant, and needed no expletives to strike terror into the craven heart of the Chinaman, who, with vehement gesticulations, denied any knowledge of the Yankee's meaning, and when plainly accused of the theft, loudly declared his innocence ; but the Yankee was too wise to believe him.

"Hand me over that box," he said, suddenly; " and let me see what you have got in it."

"Tea, tea — muchy tea — good tea," cried the other, interposing his own body as a shield between the cariosity of • the digger and the object that he held tighter than ever, now that there seemed danger of losing it. .' • ,/ , Then Tom expressed his determination to examine the box, enforcing his words •with a few round oaths more strong than elegant ; and then paused, in utter confusion, when he saw that Walter had followed him, and that Stella was standing by his side. • ' •The lady was still pale, bat had re•covered some degree of outward serenity;

for Walter had told her that the digger was confident in his ability to recover her ' lost treasure. Now, as she saw the miserable, cringing Chinaman in the grasp of the athletic American, whose sinewy arms lifted him from the ground without any apparent effort, and seemed capable of crushing out his life as one crashes a nut, she earnestly entreated the digger "not to hurt the poor man." •' ' - j "He is so weak, and you are so strong," she added, with that perfection of unconScious art which we' Call tact. ' "Hurt him!" echoed Tom, with much scorn, yet propitiated by the compliment to his prowess, and insensibly relaxing his grasp — "You can't hurt him; he's like an eel, he's got no bones." Then, addressing the quaking, specimen of humanity, 'he continued, "Now, you jailer thief, do you mean 1 to give me that box, or do you not ? I reckon you had best do it." . : The small cunning eyes looked furtively ' round, -seeking an avenue for escape j but found 'none.

Another shake 'from Tom hurried the decision ;and again protesting that there was nothing in the box but tea, the Celestial removed the cover, and' stood by stolid as ever. I 'At first sight, it appeared as if he had, only spoken the truth — the chest was half full of tea. - For a moment the Yankee ' was baffled ; then his quick eye caught the leer of satisfied greed with which the ■ suspected man wa3 about to replace the lid. f "Stop a bit!" cried Tom, and whipping, op his shirt-sleeve, he thrust his arm, elbow deep, into the fragrant mass. ! With something between a whine and a yell, 1 the Ghinaman tried to throw himself over the box. Tom caught him, and held him back with his left hand, while he continued th 9 search with his right. All at 'once he drew back, and tossed something towards Mrs Leydon. ; "Js *that yours ?" he said. I Walter caught it, and gave it to her. i 'A small,' tight roll of note-paper, tied, sealed, and directed to "Mrs Stella Leyi Stella seized it with a cry of delight, and thrust it into the bosom of her habit. Many ill* should befall : it in the future, ahe herself the danger. ! The Celestial witnessed this appropriation- J of 'his* spoil-^-which -he doubtless imagined id-be 1 si roll of crisp bank notes -*-with whines and cries, and violent proi|eßi*tioha of innocence.' '- He had not- 1 stolen the packet ; #? was his; had always been* his, the dead man hadgiveh it to him. Then he' 'filtered his tone ;'said he had' never' seen it before, and did not knojv y hat wicked person had hidden 1 it in his <jea-clie^t. :i It was vain'to try and'Todse ;nia moral sense, or to give him a lecture o|ri theCsips of stealing and lying; so Tom, • with"* parting shake and a kick — which StelWdidnbt see — left th£ Chinaman to, digest at his leisure the practical lesson iheui "honesty is the best "policy." ■ ' ' ■ Walter-lifted -Stella on- to her horse ; j but-sne^did not lpave'the gully until she I had shakek hands with Long 'Tom, and made hjtn. promise to ; g6 over to'Waimara dnd improve "their ■'acquaintance. The digger I ''accepted Tier" invitation with an embarrassed pleasure, which eat not ungracefully upon him, and the two friends rode, off, I."••!1 -."••- ! At' their first halting- place, Walter asked Stejla when she Intended to examine thfe rollj which had been so strangely given, 'lost, I . and. recovered.

' "IlhaVe-been thinking, 'thinking for hours, and yet cannot decide," answered Stella.' ■" Sometimes I think I should like to keep it, and give it to my husband yntouched'; sometimes- I "think that I ought to read it at once—^th'at it may give me aome important information, perhaps even, r some l clue to his ' present hidingplace: 1 : What is youradvice V- > "I. 'think .you ought to read " it," answered Walter. . . " lt r is " addressed to yourself was doubtless written in the nope that it would fall into your' hands. What.iwo'.uld have become of it, had you not gone to Graveyard Gully, { \t would be a mere waste of time to surmise. Probably it would have remained in the wall,' and quietly rotted to pieces. * - However that may" be, 'we went, and you have the paper'.'" ''lts contents, and the 'motives with which it was written, cannot be ascertained until you have r^ad it; I think, therefore, that it is clearly your <Juty to make yourself mistress of every Wbrd'; butjat the same time,- I am of opinion' 1 that you alone should read it, and Should not show -it to any other person without mature deliberation; If you like to read- it- how, while we are resting, I will climb yonder hill ; I think 1 saw a r,are fern, as we rode past, and I should like'to secure a specimen." ■ '" D6 u hot go. You must read it too."

"No," answered Walter, firmly. " I will not consent to that. If you think it nejcessary to tell me any particulars afterwards, you can, of course, do so ; but I shall expect to hear nothing, and shall not feel hurt if you withhold your confidence." So saying he turned resolutely away, and began to ascend the hill. His back was towards her, so that he could not read the emotions that chased each other over her speaking face ; so he wandered to and fro, never passing out of her sight, ever within reach 'of her slightesti'call. ;" '\ ' ' For. a |ew seconds Stella sat motionless, in^e, ghade thrown by a huge boulder. The.<jksp black shadow sqemed to encompass, hep, . and .'set her apart from the bright glare of tne brown-grey .hills, on which the. sun beat with pitiless fervour. She 'the 1 roll from her bosom, -with trembling fingers untied the string, "and

broke the seal. Then the" sheets of paper, written in a small, clear, clerkly manner, fell apart and curled — each one a separate atom on her lap. Spots of white in the black shadow. She took them up, and straightened them between 1 her hands, bending them back, and smoothing out the creases, dallying with the task which at once attracted and repelled her — longing, arid yet' afraid of the' mystery which would soon be a mystery no longer. Then she summoned up all her courage, and seeing that the sheets were numbered, Bhe took them tip in' order, and began to read. As she read, the westering sun threw the shadow of the great. rock' more, and more towards' the east, until at last his dazzling rays fell full upon the written page, and then upon the bowed head of' the reader, who was' 'so absorbed irk her task that she neither heard, ncr saw, nor felt, aught that went on around her. (To be continued. ),