Chapter 111.

Otago Witness, Issue 1602, 5 August 1882, Page 26

Chapter 111.

At the Falls. A tiresome, disappointing day. Kate's exuberant spirits jar on pensive Jane's nerves. ' Bar Tom ' is as unsociable as a bear. He drives, and smokes as persistently as if the fate of nations hung upon the amount of tobacco he consumed. They put up at a hotel, three milej from tho Falls. Ere they had finished lunch one of those sudden storms peculiar to Victoria arose, and continued until it was too late to begin so long a walk. Uncle Ambrose did not mind it ; he was absorbed in the business that had brought him to the Falls. Jane, with an open book in her hands, answers her friend petulantly in monosyllables, furtively watching ' Bar Tom ' as he paces the verandah, still smoking. Kate takes refuge at tho piano. After a couple of hours thus spent, she closed the instrument -,\ ith a bang, exclaiming : ' What has becomo of that child ? She's as restless as a hen on a hot griddle. I hope she hasn't strayed into the bu&h. Lina ! Lina ! '

No, she has not wandered into the bush ; she is in the garden, sobbing fit to break her heart. ' Bar Tom ' is beside her, a puzzled look on his handsome face, endeavouring to extract from the child, a story that she volun«

teered, but has became too excited to tell connectedly. 'Be quiet, like a good girl, and listen. Tall me if I have understood you aright,' he is saying. ' You say a stranger accosted you coming from school, and asked you to write a letter for her, which yoii did. .You could not spell the name, and having heard her say that the party written to was frequently called " Bar Tom," you addressed it so. Well, from a conversation you heard between those two girls, you discover that the letter was for me, and that it was destroyed unopened. Further, that you went in search of this woman the next evening, and her landlady told you the baby was ill through the night, and that she had sent them away, probably to the Hospital. Is that all you know ? ' ' Yes, yes— that's all. I went to the Hospital, and they wouldn't let me in ; and if that dear little baby dies, I suppose it 'ill be my fault for not sending the letter right.' And Lina's sobs broke out afresh.

' Lina ! Lina ! ' sounded over the garden. ' Hush ! ' he said, ' Kate is looking for you. Dry your eyes, and say nothing about it. I'll find that baby and its mother before I sleep to-night, and you shall come to see it often ; I'll ask your mother if you may. You are a good brave little girl to tell me.'

4 Bar Tom ' lost no time in making a start homeward. He was even more silent than in , the morning, for he was eager to see his wife, whose presence in Melbourne he was unaware of until then. He had married the pretty waitress, Maggie Harford, who, despite her ignorance, knew enough of the world's ways to deplore an estrangement between her husband and his wealthy relatives. He knew that , until Miss Bamford (who by the way was not at all smitten with him) had made a selection from her numerous train of admirers, that his uncle would not give up his pet project of seeing them united. He was a hot-headed young man, and Maggie had some difficulty in persuading him to keep their marriage secret. A companion of hers had married the master of a coasting vessel, and generally accompanied her husband on board. She was in their confidence, and quite coincided with Maggie's view of the situation. After some months it became known that the Bamfords were projecting a trip to Europe. When they were gone Tom might divulge his secret. In the meantime Maggie, on whose now delicate health the concealment was having a bad effect, would accompany her friends in the May Queen, bound for Auckland, first calling at Sydney. In Sydney A i aggie's baby was born. She was seized with an invincible desire to see it in its papa's arms, and refused to go any further with her friends. Those first babies— what paragons they are, to be sure ! She returned to Melbourne, and we are aware of the means she adopted to communicate with her husband. She took lodgings in a very humble place, as paying her passage back had been an unforeseen drain on her purse. Her landlady viewed her suspiciously, concluding that she was 'no better than she ought to be,' or she would have gone straight to her husband instead of writing to him. The baby had been ill through the night, and its cries had broken the landlady's rest. This formed sufficient excuse to get rid of her, and Maggie took it to the Hospital. She felt deeply annoyed as the days passed and her husband did not come. She felt sure that her whilom landlady had not told him where she had gone to. When baby was well enough to take out, she would again waylay that kind little girl, and call her services into requisition. But 'Bar Tom' did not wait' for another epistle to find her out. Uncle Ambrose stormed furiously when he was informed of the state of affairs. He vowed he would marry, just for spite, found an orphanage, endow an asylum— rather than let his un grateful relatives profit by his wealth. But the old man's rage was too violent to be lasting. * Bar Tom ' was ever his favourite, and Maggie's gentle ways quite won him. Lina and the baby became great friends, and she was completely cured of boasting. Not so Uncle Ambrose of his match-making propensity. His last effort in that line was on Kate's behalf; but — The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft ageeshe thwarted him by eloping with 'Baker Tom,' and so heartfelt was Miss Hay ward's sympathy with the old gentleman that his own escape from the matrimonial noose was miraculous.