THE NOVELIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1711, 6 September 1884, Page 24

THE NOVELIST.

BY "SAGITTA,"

_—• A STORY OF LAKE WAKATIPU. Written for the. Oiqgo Witness,

Author of "The Fato of a Pionoor," &<:.

Chapter VI. QM. BELFAST soon found Lizzy'b assurance that sho likod him "a great deal" wss but a poor equivalent for the ardent , aud consuming lo\"3 ho had ho J long entertained for her. «It is true that in the. first pangs which her refusal caused^ him ifc soothed his vanity to think and know that he, an uneducated bullock-driver, found some little share of affection in the heart of the girl he loved so weli, and who, he told himself, stood so far above him in education aud accomplishments. But whon it dawned upon him that she would soon be the wife of another, and lost to him for ever, he burned with rage and mortification at the bare thought. In vain Tom tried to console himself with the reflection that thero were plenty of girls far better-looking and far more " stylish" than Lizzy who were not only waiting for him to propose, but who were trying all they knew to spin their nets around him in order to effect his capture ; yot he considered it nothing less than profanation to think of thorn with tlio same feelings and admiration as he loved to think of his idolised Lizzy. None of them made his heart beat as she did ; none of them filled him with such pleasant^ and good thoughts and aspirations as did Lizzy, and he felt that sho alono could make him happy. In his grief and sorrow he would often give way to bitter thoughts, wishing that Mr Disbet would nevor return, and although this would no doubt pain Lizzy, she would get over ifc in time, and he would be a Rood husband to her, which in his opinion Mr Disbet nover could bs. His poor weak, mother bad long noticed that there was something wrong with her darling boy ; so one evening, when ha sat opposite her silently brooding, she said r " What is the matter with you, Tom ? You are always so silent, and look so downcast, that I've been thinking there must be something on your mind. Tell me, Tommy, what is it ? Two heads, you know, are better than one.." " Heads have nothing to do with it, mother ; it's heart 3 that are wrong." " I've thought so all along- in fact, I knew it ; but it's bettor you should tell m 9 all about it." •' Well, I believe ifc is, mother,* and it' 3 soon enough told, too. I have boon and asked Lizzy Tregenning to marry ire, and she told me that she was waiting for Mr Disbct io ask her, but that sho would always like me as her brother." " Well, Tom, Miss Tregeuning is certainly a very good and sensible gjrl, and it would be unfair for mej to whom Bhe has been as kind as if sho were my crwn kith and kin, to quarrel with her for refusing you. But you may bo sure, Tjnn, that Miss Trogenning "knows what she i 3 about, and it'a no use to worry yourself or her any more than you can help. I have .seen long ago that you had fixed your affections upon her, and have often thought to speak to you about it, but for some reason or another I never did." " Do you know what I've been thinking of, mother ? " " Well, what is ifc, Tommy ?" *' I have thought the best thing would ba to give notice as soon as Mr Disbet comes back. I have savod up a little money, and my four horses are in t-plendid condition aud will fetch a good price, aud w.e can go back to Victoria." This had long been poor old Mrs Belfast's secret wish, but sjhe saw the passion for Miss Tregenning grow upoii her son, and she therefore did not like to suggest any severance from her to him ; so sho said : " It will bo very hard on you, Tom, to go away from hore, but I believe it will be the l>est for you in the end." After a lengthy pause Tom said : " There's another thing, mother, that's bothered me a groat doal. You know the lord that's staying at Mrs! Troganninfi's has lo3t some papers, which I'm quite sure are in the lako, and you know, too, that he has offered a reward of £1000 for them ; and the samo night that Lizzy gavo me the sack b.B told mo ho would give me £2000 " " Don't think of it, Tom — it may be the death of you !"" " That wouldn't matter a bit just now, if it wasn't for you. It's only the other night that j I told Lizzy I would try and get at the papers if she would marry mo, and now I'ift ready to do the samo thing because she wouldn't - only that I'm much readier to do it now, if it weren't for* you. Man is a queer animal, mother." • " Yes, that is true ; but you know circumstances alter Gases." " I fancy tho whole world is altered since I got the sack from Lizzy." " Well, Tom, I wish X could do or say something that would do you good, but I can't, for Miss Tregenning ie certainly the only girl | know I would like for a daughter-in-law, and I'm quite as much hurt as you are by her refusal to marry you. It's no use fretting ; but don'fc you think of those papers and cho reward, Tom." The fact is Tom had divided his thoughts between Lizzy and the reward. Since she had refused him he had b9en constantly practising diving in the lake. He had managed to reach a depth of thirty feet, but this was only half the distance he had to accomplish. He tried tho grappling irons kept on the station, which were provided with all kinds of contrivances. His trials with this machine only resulted in shifting about the case containing the papers on the rough stony bottom of the lake, endangering tho safety of the documents, which if thoy should come out of the caso might bo carried away by undercurrents and irretrievably lost. Fearful of buch a calamity taking plnce he desisted from dragging, and resorted again to diving, but foucd it extremely difficult to reach a greater depth than thitl.y f<:ct. Hitherto he had only relied npon his unaided prowess, and he- plainly saw that beforo ho coulJ succeed* he must procure some ouloido assistance. _ Along_ with this difficulty there arose also the consideration that hia success would only bi^ a means of brinKing about Lizzy's mamago with Mr Disbat. Sho had told Tom that Mr Disbet had not yet asked her to marry him, and ho jumped to the conclusion that this might only be owing to his inability to provide a home for Lizzy, and he rightly judged that Mr Disbet was too proud to take Mrs Tresreuning's property into account iv the affair.

But with a fortune of £(535,000 the difficulty would be easily overcome. What was he to do? Several days had now elapsed since hia last conversation with Lizzy, and he had not seen her during that time. What then was his surprise when, on the fourth evening on coming home from a ramble, he found Lizzy" at his hut. No ; she had not come on purpose to see Mrs Belfast, though a basketful of nice things stood on the table ; sho came to see her big brother, she told Tom, and to deliver a message 'to him from Lord Stamborough, who wiahod to see him. " It's about them unfortunate papers, I'm sure," cried Mrs Belfast. " Tom ! Tom ! take cave what you do ! " She added, with much misgiving : " Kemembbr tho undercurrents of tho lake, which washed away Frank Diver, and ho was a good swimmer, and think of the ice-cold water." •At the sight of Lizzy a great lump seemed to risa in Tom's throat, aud it took him < some time before he could Hufficiently calm himsolf to speak. At last he said : " It's very kind of you, Miss Tregenninq, to come yourself, when you might have seat your message by anyone else." Lizzy looked at him with reproachful eyes, in which an unconcealed aft'odtion for Tom mingled with roal pain. " It's the first time in your life you called me by that name, Tom. Why-' — " But she had no opportunity for finishing her I sentence, ai? Tom broke in with ill-concealed passion : " By-and-bye I may have to call you by a moro unpleasant one —to me at least ; but I hope before that time comes -me and mother will be far away." " What do you mean, Tom ? " asked Lizzy. " Tom has beon thinking of going back to Victoria, Miss Tregennjng," interposed Mrs Belfast. Lizzy paled a little at these words, but collecting herself- immediately, cast down her eyes, and said : " I hope j'ou won't go so soon." " Tom will give notice notice as soon aa Mr Disbet comes 'back from Lake Alabaster," said Mrs Belfast. Tom, who had got himself ready to_ appear before his lordship, signified Mr roadinass to make a start, for it was evident that Lizzy waß waiting to return in Tom's company. Tom, however, would much rather have gone alone. He had no inclination to converse with Lizzy, and he felt strangely out of place in her company. He ktiew he loved her dearly, but the gulf between them, in which his dearest hopes had bsen lost, still existed, and he was loth to widen it, and of. qourso Lizzy felt some diffi- ■ denco iv breaking tho silence. 1 Thus it happened that neither spoke a word until nearly half the distance of their road had been traversed, when Lizzy said : "Why don't you speak, Tom? I always liked your conversation ; you usod to say what you felt and meant." " It isn't fair of you, L ; zzy, to Hatter me now. 1 know I'm no cpmpany for you ; I haven't read no books and no papers, and I know nothing to talk about, and no one knows that better than you." Lizzy, intent upon interesting Tom, replied : ; " What people read in books and papers is I only dead matter, with which their braina get j stutfed like a goose or tuikey v/ith seasoning,' and can at most only give a flavour to their discourse ; but what makes a conversation intei'6Sti»g is, whon the parties engaged in it feel friendly towards each other, is that thoy should Kay what ia uppermost in their minds, and say it without reserve, and you have always done that. All who know you agree in speaking of you that ' Tom is a good honest fellow ; you can always depend that' what he saya ho means.' " " I suppose, then, that you speak to make me b9lieve that you feol frieudly towards mo?" asked Tom. " You are cruel, Tom !" replied Lizzy. " I would never have dreamt of reproaching you with unfrinndlinesa towards me. I never felt anything else but friendliness towards ..you, and you know it well." Thus Lizzy succe3dod in keeping up a conversation in which her companion became thoroughly interested till they roached Mrs Tregenning's house, where Tom was shown at once into Lord Stamborough's room. His lordship had heard that Tom had been practising at diving in the lake, and he could not altogether conceal from tbo inmatos of the house his anxiety about tho lost papers. When Toih was seated Lord Stamborough said to h:m ; " I loam that you havo made some remarkable attempts al diving lately, and, from what 1 have heard from yourself, I pt-oaume that these efforts are made in connection with the recovory of my lost case. Now I would like you to inform me how you know it is in the lake ? " Tom reddened. He dared not tell the truth, and he hated to tell a lif j — ycb he answered with a,u adroitness that completely threw Lord Stamborough oft' his gua^d : • " Well, I- suppose if anybody had found it he would have returned it, for you said yourself tho papers it contains can be of no use to anybody except, yourself and another party." This answer baftjed Lord Stamborough, who after a little mental deliberation addressed Tom in such a mild loners to completely take him by surprise : " Of course you can read and write?" " 1 can road," replied Tom, " but I'm no great hand at writing." " What I mean is : Can you read manuscript—that is to say, handwriting?" " 1 can read my owa hciudwril.ing," said Tom, " but I am no good at reading most other people's." Here Lord Sfcamborough showed Tom some legal documents, and asked him to read them. Amongst them be artfully placed oue -which waa in the same handwriting as that of the will enclosed in tho lost case. Tora recognised the handwriting at once,. but did not Detray by even the slightest gesture or sign that ho had ever seen it before ; and when he looked up and said that he could not read any of these documents, he mcl Lord Slamborough's stern i glance resting upon him with tbe keenest scrutiny, " Very well," said Lord Stamborougjh, "you appear to be an honest follow, and I do not mind telling you that the lost papers are essential to the purpoao of my journey to New Zealand ; and although in a hasty moment the other day I offered you a rewaid of £2000, I will not draw back from my word. If the papers are really in the lako the writing will soon become oblitciated, and it will nob bo long before the papers themselves aro utterly destroyed. It is therefore necessary that the case be recovered as soon as po&siblo, for although it is made and guaranteed waterproof, it cannot be expected to keop out tho moisture for any groat lengLh of timo. If you return the case to mo I will givo you tho" reward mentioned, and my patrouago will bo extended to you in any way it can be of servico to you." Although Tom felt that the intorviow was at an end ho hositated to leave, considering' the advisability of mentioning that the case in its descent might possibly have got broken,

I and that the worst fears entertained by Lord Stamborough as to the safety of the papers were already realised. But he retired without saying anything on the subject, firmly resolved to make a further attempt at recovering the case, Tom knew full well the dangers he proposed to face. Many fatal accidents had occurred to divers and bathers, and it was a, well-known fact that tho lake never gave up its dead. He had been an eye-witness to several of these accidents, and it had always been a wonder to him how the silent water closed above its victims, literally swallowing them up. It was also well known that far more water fell into the lake than was paid out by it at its only outlet, the Kawarau River, at the Frankton Falls ; and it was therefore concluded that there were subterranean passages in the solid rock through which the bodies that thus mysteriously diaappearod were carried, as if by a veritable Styx, to Hades. Tom knew that the lake was a rocky basin 1700 feet in depth— that it was not formed merely by a morrain blocking up a mountain valley — and he was ttware, trom personal experience, of the icy chill of its waters. He was fully impressed with the perilous natitre of the task ho had undertaken. When Tom retired for tho night he thought of a plan by which he hoped to be enabled to descend to. whero the case was lying, He had heard from professional divers that to keep at a distance of GO feet below water it required a weight double that of tho weight of tho body, and that the greatest practicablo depth that could be attained was 120 feet — the pressure of the water at this depth being fo great that only tho strongest and most robust men could bear it and move in it. The plan he decided upon was as follows : —He would fasten crossways two long and heavy crowbars of steel, which were kept on the station. These ho would sink close to the case, fastening the rope to the bow of the boat so as to tighten it perfectly. ' Then he intended to obtain a number of flat stones, large enough to cover the angles of the crossad bars, and to lower them by lines which passed in loops round the rope that connected the bars with tho boat. When in this manner the crossed bars had been sufficiently weighted, ho would make the descent and bring up the case. Tom's Bparo time on the following day was devoted to carrying out this project. Circumstances favoured him, for shearing and mustering being over, there was no one about the station to interfere with him, and when Mr Disbet went on his trip of exploration he had placed Tom in charge of the deserted sheds. Thus he succeeded, without any interference or observation, in completing all preliminaries before night set in. • l The next morning, as soon as tho sun had fully risen, Tom was to make the momentous dive. He awoke after a refreshing sleep, and tho near pi'O3pect of becoming a comparatively rich man, and of having ib in his power to provide a home for his mother, spurred, him on to the immediate exocution of what he considered the easiest part of the scheme. •He was in the habit of taking a bath in the lake every morning all the year round, and the thought of the dive therefore did not cause Torn to experience any disagreeable hydrophobic feeling. He went down to tho beach lightly plad, but with a. plentiful supply of towels and wavm clothing, and quickly pulled out to where an improvised buoy marked the position of his bars. To tighten the rope and divest himself of his clothes was the work of a few moments, and thßn ho was ready for the crowning stroke of his exploit. Breathing' after the peculiar manner of professional divers, by which they fill their lungs with air to the greatest possible extent, ho jumped off the gunwale or the boat, in true diver's style, head foremost into the cold depths of tho lake. Down he went, and with- unerring accuracy he reached the rope, when unaided he could descend no deeper. In sailor i'aßhion he pulled himself down hand over hand, but he soon found that it required the exercise of more strength than it did to ascend a rope suspended in the air. He progreased favourably until within oight or ten I feet of the bottom of the lake, and the case almost within his reach, when he lost his bold, and rose as if filliped to the surface of tho lake with overwhelming force. Nothing daunted, though feeling considerably chilled, he at once made a second attempt, and this time with botter success. Almost superhuman were his effoits to reach the bottom of the lake, and ha managed to secure the case, but as in, his triumph he turned to ascend something slipped out of it, which he rightly surmised to be the portrait. He was, however, already faint from want of breath and the exertion he had gono through, and could not stop to look for it, There v/as no alternative but to rise, however reluctant he was to do so. Arrived at the surface, Tom felt- exhausted and faint: Tho last dive had occupied nearly three minutes, and' he thought of postponing tho recovory of the portrait till the following morning, when the chance of being watched and discovered in the act of bringing up the portrait from a part- of the lake whero }t was impossible for it to have been lost presented itself to his mind. Suddenly he felt something rising in his throat, which he soon found to be blood of which his abused lungs tried to. free themselves. However, there was no time to lose, for a chill began to creep over him, and without further hesitation hemade the third dive. Chance seemed to favour him, for as he descended l>a saw the portrait lying upou the topmost of tho stones which lie haa lowered to keep tho crossbars in position. It required tbe last remaining dregn of his strength to accomplish his object, but ho managed to clutch tho portrait and rise with it securely in his grasp. When ha gained the surfaco of the water his breathing caused him acute pains in tho chest, and a teGling of general woa&uess and exhaustion made it extremely difficult for him -to climb into the boat. This at last accomplished, ho had scarcely strength enough loft to dry and dress, himself ; and although tho sun was shining bright and warm, he felt tho faintnass grow upon him every moment. How he managed to pull ashore, ' fasten the boat, and reach his lnjt, ho hardly kn.ew. Poor Mrs Belfast, who was engaged prepare ing the tbreakfast, was as much surprised at seeing her son enter the hut, when she supposod him to bo still in bed, as she was shooked by his ghastly appearance. Ho was as pale as death, tho olive complexion of his skin deepening tho horror of his look ; all colour had forsaken his lips, and his eyes were bloodshot. Mrs Belfast had to cling to tho tablo for support before Tom led her to a seat. " Oh, it's nothing, nuitnor. I've been and fished up Lord Stan..borouj;h'K case, and 1 will get the leward. A Btnall part of tho money will put me straight again, and thero'll be onough left for a comfortable home for you and me. It'd nothing, mother : I only fed " Ho could not finish hia i-ontonce. Hot blood wolled up in hia throat again, at the sight ol which his mother fainted. The exaction of speaking was ioo much foe him, and although ho felt reliovod, the loss of bloodwncreased his weakness and his pallor. Luckily one of the neighbouring miners/ on hra road to CJueonstown, dropped in to see if Mrs Belfast had any orders to send in or any

f commission he could execute — a common practice amongst miners and settlers living in isolated places. Tom, who Was busy removing the stains of blood from his clothes and the floor, asked his visitor to request Lord Stambbrough, who was staying at Mrs Tregenning's, to come at once to the hut, and also asked him to call upon the doctor at Queenstown, directing him to come immediately, as his mother and himself were very ill. Mrs Belfast was just recovering from her attack of faintness when Lizzy entered the hut. At the sight of Tom she could not repress a shriek) and he for a moment could say nothing to reassure her. At last he said, with a smile of gratitude upon his pale faco : " I|m ill, Lizzy. If you will see to' mother I'll go and lie down." Scarcely had he done so when Lord Stamborough arrived, and be.ing" shown into Tom's room, the latter handed nim the battered case without making any observation. Lord Stamborough was visibly annoyed at finding the case, broken, and asked a number of" questions, to which Tom faintly replied :• " If I speak much I shall bleed to. death." The appearance of Tom was enough to convince anyone that ha spoke the truth, but on the haughty and cold-hearted Lord btamborough the appeal had no effect. " flow did the case become battered and broken the way it is ? " he asked imperiously. " Can't fcell— found it so," answered Tom. " The papers must be allowed to set before they can be removed from the case, and if I find everything correct I shall be as gobd as my word so far as the reward" is concerned ; but you will have to give me full satisfaction on every point connected with the recovery of the case." Tom made an attempt to nod, when more blood began to flow from his mouth, upon which Lord Stamborough withdrew with' Ulconcealed disgust. When Tom's messenger arrived at Mrs Tregenning's farm, and narrated what he had seen at Tom's hut, he was at once supplied with the swiftest liorse in the Btablo, and admonished to ride for his life in order to secure the doctor before he would laave Queenstown. This prompt action had the deßired effect, and at the end of two hours the medical mau put in an appearance. Mrs Belfast, whom he addressed first, pointed out her son's room to him, being too weak and agitated to speak. When the doctor had examined .his patient he looked very grave, anil selecting several medicines which ho had brought with him he prepared and administered a draught,, the effect of which upon Tom he appeared to be anxiously awaiting. It wa3, of course, well known throughout the district that Lord Stamboiough had lost a case containing valuable papers, and that a large reward had been offered for its recovery, and it was equally well known that Tom was practising diving in order to fish it up from tho' bottom of the lake —in fact, beta were mado as to his success or failure. The doctor, being aware of all this,' surmised* rightly on sotting out that", Tom's prostration was due to diving, and he bad consequently provided himself with remediea to Bhiu his case. The nature of Mrs Belfast's illness was apparant to tho doctor. As the draught administered did not have, the desired effect, and tho. period when it ' ought to have operated had expired, the doctor proceeded to mix a second potation, carefully tasting every component part, and when Tom had taken it he left him to attend to Mrs Belfast, to whom he dispensed some strengthening remedies, which considerably revived her. It was, however, different with Tom, tor the second draught had no more effect than the first. For the sake of Mrs Belfast the doctor refrained from making any remarks, but he dispensed some more medicine/for Tom, to be given at stated intervals,. He ordered that' he should be kept carefully quiet, that everything which might bring on coughing must be carefully guarded against, and that the patient was to be fed entirely on liquids, such as beeftea and port wine, all kinds of dry.food being strictly proscribed. Upon the slightest sign of delirium appearing the doctor was to be nofeU fled at once, and with these admonitions he prepared to loave. Lizzy followed him outside the hut, and anxiously inquired of the doctor as to Tom's real condition. In answer to her questions he replied : " Tom is past the aid of skill and medioine, but he has a splendid constitution, which may sustain life until his injured lungs heal ana resame their fuuetions, and the loss of blood is restored ,by moans of strengthening food. If delirium does not set in there is evory hope, but should that show itself,, and .not Buccumb to the proper remedies,. he cannot possibly. last twenty four hours." The doctor had hardly been gone an hou,r when Tom began to wander in his mind, and a messenger was at once despatched for him..

Chapier VII. , ' Lord Sfcamborough had carefully; evaporated the water- from the papers contained in the case before removing tb,em, and when nearly dry he opened them and spread them out. To, his intense satisfaction they were almost per feet. In some places the writing « as' a little, obliterated, but all the essential parts of the will, such as the signatures to it, weve not in the least affected by thair long submersion. He sat down in long contemplation of thg papers before him, and sanlf into a deeg reverie, his thoughts finding words ;n some* thjog like the following soliloquy : "If J^olfcs and Jim do "their work — and Ifc should be dsne and finished to-day at the latest —all this property, more than a million in ,worth, will be mine, and 1 shall be secured in my position as Lord Stamborough. Is it not an auspicious augury that just this day theß# papers should b,e found and delivered up to «ie ? Born the seoond aon of a noble family,' fortune — ay, Stamborough, fortune ! — no base deceit and murder — placed yon at the head of a noble family,- And yet many desperate attempts like mine have failed, and. hurled the sohemer down to the lowest depths of irredeemable perdition. Good fortune at least prevented such a calamity from overtaking me, The goodness of life' may be the' test of its worth, but "success is the measure of its value. As men fail in a good cause, so others suopeed in one which is the very reverse. And' thus are failure and success the poles of human actions, round which 'rdvolves man, with bis motives and aspirations, in orbits less or more crooked and occentric. Frigid zones they possibly arc both, but only one of them is hopelessly so. Who who has the opportunity to choose would heaifcake between them ? The head of an honoured family ; the possessor of the soil of my ancestors ; a member of the most illustrious and most august aristocracy upon earth"; the influence of wealth and position -at my command ; — who dares call ma c villain? 1 "" Saying this in half muttered tones, ho had picked up the onamelled portrait, which, with its painted surface turned down, was lying amongst the papers. The movement had been a totally unconscious one on his part, and unconsciously he glanced at it. As his eyes met those of the portrait he began to shake violently, and paled to a deftth-Hko hue.

Hissing more like a viper than in tones of human speech, he said : " Away ! away I thou horrid spectre of a long-forgotten past ! Why do you turn your cold and painted eyes upon mine? You never loved me; why do you persecute me with that searching look j Demand not of me your husband or your child —your son. Great hoavena !" he ejaculated, as he clasped his hands, lotting the portrait fall upon the floor ; " your son, who perhaps even now lies bleeding from the murderer a knife in the horrid solitudes of these mountains— - He could not finish the sentence, but sank back into hia chair in a fainting fit. Lizzw Who had been relieved by her mother from a tendmj upon Tom, had been knocking repeatedly at tho door of the room in which Lord Stamborough had just fainted. Reviving no answer she entered m order to tidy it, as was her wont. She fancied that Lord^Stamborough was afdeep, aa was often the case, he being still weak from the accident. She went about her work noiselessly, and when turning to leaveagain.she saw what to her seemed to be a nugget of gold lying on the floor.^ CunOBitv made her stoop to pick it up, and. on turniS ovor she could scarcely repress a cry of surfrise when she found it was the portrait of a beautiful lady, with her eyes nvettod upon hera. Oh: thoße eyes I She had seen them srmawhere— nay, they were familiar to her; SdffS* cou?d tio/tell where she had seen them. The look, and almost the whole face, appeared to her like those of an old friend, and yec in vain she tried to connect either with any of her acquaintances. . After a long- look at^the portrait, during which the lovely face bad faxed itself indelibly upDn her mind, sho placed it again in the exact position where she had found it, and noiselessly ; 6lt was not until some time after that Lord Stamborough recovered from his swoon. When ho had Bomewhat collected himself he hastily proceeded to fold up the papers and put them into a bureau, into which he also rather flung than placed the portrait, aaif it were red-hot coal burning his fingers. He carefully locked the bureau, and attached the key to hia watchguard, a proceeding beset with come difficulty, as he stilltrembled violently.. What was it, he asked himself, that made him lift up and look at the pminouß portrait. Mechanically, without hia will or thought, hia hand waa guided to it. Purposely he had placed it with its pictured side turned down, to avoid those piercing eyes, which with their painted look had unmanned him. Him ! than whomnone-not even' his sovereign upon her throne -was more independent ot the laws ot man and his opinion, or w'io stood higher above suspicion. Who could accuse him o any foul play 1 And yet he trembled, trembled at tho recollection of the past aud— its dead. . But now he had' prided himßelf upon the success of his villainy, and laughed to scorn the Nemesiß of. fate, when by a glance at the connterfeit representation of a woman he was hurled from his fancied security far above tho suspicion of hi B fellow-meri. Whose doing was it? Hifl own will and wish h^d been to avoid looking at it. And yet those fatal eyes had turned upon him. Who?-what did *t?-he asked, and shook like a storm- assailed reod, not daring to make answer to his own ques10 He, a highly educated, man, of superior mental powers, who was' deeply learned in metaphysics and other occult sciences, who had studied the mind and motives of man and bis responsibilities, and ,who had but a few months ago laid tho flattering unction to his boul that succeßd elevates oven the villain above suspicion ;. stood now like a quackish fool ' abashed before— what ? a something he dared not think. And was that the result of hia phUosophy? Could his mind really not free itself from those unseen fetters which only chafed tho conscience in unguarded moments ? How was it they were worn unfelt during the intervals, and weighed down the mind with their crushing weight at the faintest chitfk of the chain, when his utmost endeavours were to let these "bloody fetters rust in the deadening ashes of forgetfulness ? No superstitious sophistries came to his aid, at which he might grasp, as drowning men ' do at straws. But a few moments ago he raterpretated the recovery "of the will as a lucky omen, and allowed it to buoy up hia spirits in a high tide of success ; now had followed the low ebb of despair leaving him a stranded wreok, without hope, without light, without comfort, without relief. He felt he dared not follow these arguments, he would have to tear himself' from them by force, or they would drive him mad. He took hiß gun, telling Lizzy not to keep luncheon waiting for him, aa he was going for a lengthy ramble. < . . Lizzy noticed the change in Lord Stam- ' borough; The hard look.-co seldom there lately, had settled in his oyes. She almost recoiled from their glance, and the old aversion she conceived towards him when she first met that glance, and, which, since her mother's return, Bad gradually given place to more kindly feelings, came qver her again. Hia walk, as he went down the garden towards the lake, waa 'anything but like -his stately soldierly march ; he actually tottered, and weakness expressed itself in all his movements. Lord Stamb'orough still was, or rather pretended to be, an invalid, and succeeded in enlisting the sympathy of Mrs Tregenning and her daughter by occasional but circumstantial complaints. Mra Tregenning, in spite of this, was rather pleased than otherwise with his prolonged stay. Although Bhe waa considerably younger than he both Knew intimately many families, which on his part pleased Lord Stamborough very much, and when he discovered that Mrs Tregenning came from an old Cornish family be changed much from his previous reserved and exclusive conduct to both mother and daughter. Both began to really enjoy his company, and having of late years' led an idle life, and not being above gossip, he had acquired a large fund of jprivate familiar histories, which concerned their mutual friends, and which he understood to relate in the way peculiarly attractiveto the female heart, and thus hemanaged to. win MrsTregenning's friendship completely, and. made considerable strides in the favour of her daughter. It muat not be supposed that Lizzy was not vain enough to feel anything else but flattered at Lord Stamborough'a proposal, and it did not escape her that her mother had not been in any way enthusiastic when she told her that she had refused ' him. Since he had flung off his reserve and treated his hosts aa his equals Lizzy had changed her opinion of Lord Stamborough considerably, whilo that feeling of her own- unfitness to shine in a higher sphere than that in which she was born had' worn off to a great extent*. Thiß change did not remain unnoticed by Lord Stamborough, and he assiduously worked to turn it to his own account. Although he treated Lizzy with the utmost civility, except when he now and then showed his chagrin at having been refused, ho was far from having given up. his project of making her his wife. The knowledge that she was descended, even if by the mother's side only, from an ancient family, confirmed him in the advisability of pursuing his object. His affection for Lizzy was a true and pure

one. There wan not> at the age of nearly fifty, romance enough left in him to lovo woman for anything else but her worth. As his cold and calculating spirit had plated his heart with an armour strong enough to make- it proof against mere appearance in nis young days, it was not likely that after his experience a change should come over him in his maturo age. It is true he had loved a beautiful face— madly loved it —but then that idbl combined boauty with unquestionable worth, and ho told himself rightly that her beauty added only a dash of passion to his affection for hor, and that, in hiH oyes, it was not her chief attraction. And Lizzy was her compeer in everything but the features of the face. Only once bad he loved as ho did Lizzy. Luncheon time had arrived, and with it Mrs Tregenning bad returned from Tom's hut, to do the honours of the table. She had retained the servant engaged to assist Lizzy during her journey and stay-in Dunedin, and had also taken in another help, so that sho and Lizzy might devote all' their time to thoir aoblo guest. She waß rather disappointed when sho found that Lord Stamborough had gone for a ramble, which might laßt till the dinner hour ; but there -was no help for it. During luncheon Mrs TregenniDg gave Lizzy a full account of Tom's condition. He was still delirious-; tho doctor had left, but would return in the evening, and if no improvement sot in before night the rising Bun would find him a corpse. . This news affected Lizzy deeply. She hastily finished lunch and wont down to Tom's hut to keep poor Mrs Belfast company and console her, as she said. Arrived at the hut she addressed a few word& of comfort to the old lady, and went into Tom's room to assure herself of his real state by actual inspection. Tom was wandering ; he was a boy again, and rambled on the shore of the lake, looking for a cosy place in which to tell fairy fetories. " Here, Lizzy, here's the place to tell stories in. I'll fetch you to it. There— l thought so; you wouldn't let mo carry you over, and now you'vo got w et feet !" he said in. tonoß of the deepest regret. Lizzy remembered the incident ; vividly every particular rose before her memory. It was in the days of their first acquaintance, when Bh6 used to tell Tom fairy tales of enslavod princesses and enchanted castles,, until his boy- soul glowed with imaginary deeds of daring and of bravery. And now, grown into a strong and powerful man, he lay weaker than a child, with his mind awry, like a tangled skein of eilk ; and she, tho puny girl, his Bup port and protector. • Tom did not spsak a great deal, though ho* spoko frequently ; and about three o'clock in tho afternoon he fell into a calm and tranquil sleep. How different were his ravings from those of Lord Stamborough ! Tom spoke of tho pleasant days of his childhood -— the brightest in his life. Lord Stamborough spoke of rapine and of murder, and dwelt upon the night side of his existence. Tom's talk was the babble of an innocent child, his lordship'a the horrid ravings of a libertine and miscreant. .Lizzy could. not refrain from drawing a comparison very damaging to his lordship. Having made Tom as comfortable as she could and darkened the room, she went to tell Mra Belfast of the change, and the hope it foreboded. Tho poor old lady had not been made acquainted with the real danger of Tom's condition, and she therefore only dimly understood Lizzy's rapture at ihe change. Nevertheless she offered up an inward prayer and thanksgiving for the patient a-nd the improvement, in which Lizzy mentally joined. At •last breaking the silence, Mru Belfast, con- | trary to the common custom of invalids, instead of speaking only of her own troubles, •thinking more of those about hor than of herself, said : "Is not to-day or to-morrow. the day for Kobertßon, the mailman, to come over from the West Coast with the mails ?" " Yes, Mrs Belfast," replied Lizzy, "and I expect a latter or at least a verbal message from Mr Disbet. The mailman always calls at our place, and I shall try to make it a point to Bee. him myself." After a little pause she asked, in order to divert the conversation from Mr Disbet and herself, "Do you think that Tom still intends to give notice of leave a3 soon as Mr Disbet returns ?" " I think he will," said Mrs Belfast, "and I believe that a change of air will do him good after he getß over his present illnoes. I fancy the doctor said that his lungs are affected, and the Victorian climate is grand for the lungs." Lizzy had nothing to advance against this argument, so she said : " I am sure I shall mioa you both very much. I have have always thought of Tom as if he were a brother and learnt to regard his mother as in part my own." • •" Yes, MiBB Tregenning, you have always been very very kind to us, -.and so was Mrs Tregenning, and we can never be thankful enough to you for all that you have done for us," replied Mrs Belfast. " The little services that we have done for you have been pleasures to us, and they have been amply repaid by your company. You have ever been cheerful and agreeable in spite of your sufferings, and that iB something to admire and to learn from." ." Oh, talk of learning 1" ejaculated Mrs Belfast ; "I am certain that my boy is indebted to you for nearly all the good that is in him, and he ia really very good, Miss Tregenning. When he was a .child, and before we' came ncre — you remember. I came here as housekeeper for Mr and Mrß St Montmorency, those grand people, the first owners of this Btation — he was a wayward and self-willed boy, and uch a passion as I never seen in a child. I could never control him, and his father having died when Tom was only two years old, he never had any proper bringing up. But no Sooner had he known you for a few months than he wasn't the same boy. I had always the greatest trouble to teach him his lessons; and he would do anything to get away from them ; but when the change came over him he came with his books to me, and learnt more in one year than he had done all the time before. And Tom is not a dull boy, Miss Tregenning; if. he makes up his mind to learn anything he oan do it as well as moßt people. Then the St Montmorencys got broke, no matter how ; I could see the end coming— grand airs and grand atyles don't do in the Colonies, Mias Tregenning. And then I got the rheumatics, and then the asthma on top of it, and Tom, who had grown up tall and Btrong, though he was only thirteen.years old, had to go to work, for the little money I had saved up was nearly all spent in medicines, without doing me much good. I had mado up my mind to tell you all this before we loft, and you know the reat." " I have bean deeply interested in all you have told me, Mrs Belfast," said Lizzy, with downcast eyes, "and it explains much that has been dark to me. But here comes tho doctor," she added, opening the door for the doctor, whom Bho had noticed passing/ tho window. Sho received him on the throsbold with the welcome news that Tom had fallen asleep. "Actually asleep?" repeated the doctor. "Well, I had not expected to receive such good news as that, although I had every faith

in the recuperative powers of his constitution." Saying which ho went to Tom's room, accompanied by Lizzy, who led in Mrs Balfast. None were more surprised than Lizzy at Tom's a-ppearance. Only a short time ago she had left him, a living corpse, with distorted featurea and horrid bloodshot eyes, from which all expression had departed, and now he lay a sleeping Endymioh, breathing regularly and healthfully, his features composed peacefully, and the deadly pallor doparted. "Ho requires nothing but a littlo nursing and good nourishment." Baid the doctor, " and in a few days he will be as well and strong as ever. But," he added, "it will be as well to waken him about seven or eight o'clock, and have ready some strong beef tea and port wine mixed, and give him as much as he likes. It will also bo necessary that somebody sit up . with him and give him the same kind of nourishment whenever he wakens during the night, which I think will not be often." When they had again gone into the kitchen of the hut, which also served aB sitting-room and parlour, she said : " Mrs Bolfaßt tells me, doctor, that Tom and herself had been thinking of returning to Victoria, and she is of the opinion that it will do Tom much good after he rocovera sufficiently to undertake the journey." ' •" Oh, what nonsense !" said the gruff but kind-hearted doctor. " There is no better climate in the world than that of our Wakatipu district. Wo have no poisoned dust in our air ; our summers are devoid of oppressive heat ;' evory night, even in Bummer, the temperature lowers so that all may enjoy a comfortable and refreshing sleep, which is worth more than a bright nky ; the winters if frosty are dry, and if our climate is somewhat changeable its very changes tend to invigorate the system and make it proof against p?.tty attacks of indisposition. A change to Dunedin or Oamaru may possibly be recommended for you, Mra Belfast, for trie winter months, as you have been now in the district for a long time without a change. A sea voyage in your weak state would do you more harm than good, and aa for Tom, a constitution like his would defy almost any climate." Mrs Belfast was* somewhat mortified at thia advice, although she knew that it was honest. However, she reconciled herself to it, and it pleased her in so far that it recommended a change. She knew hor son too wbll to expect him to remain on the station and become a ! witness to Mr Disbet securing to tho happiness he had vainly flatterod himself was in store for him. What she had dreaded was a change without some pretence, which would set people's tongues talking about those dearest to her — her son, and Miss and Mrs Tregenning. . • Aa the doctor waß preparing . to leave Lizzy said to him : " I believe, doctor, that Lord Stamborough haß had aome kind of a relapse today. Porhaps the excitement consequent upon the recovery of. the papera may account for it. For this morning when I went into his. room to tidy up I found him fast asleep or in a stupor over the half-dry papers, and when afterwards he wont out for a ramble he seemod to walk only with difficulty. Perhaps you would not mind calling at our place, and, if you have the time to apare, stay for dinner. And please tell mother," she added, "that I Bhall bo home directly I get the beef-tea ready, which Mrs Belfast can give to Tom if he should waken before the appointed time." The doctor's face had assumed a very serious look during Lizzy's recital, and ho had shaken hie head and "humphed" more than once in an ominous and mysterioua manner at hor description of Lord Stamborough's case. He promised, however, to do as Lizzy had Buggested, and left. It was not long before Lizzy bad prepared the beef-tea, and put everything ready for Mrs Belfast, including her supper, when, putting on her hat and shawl, she told her that she would be back directly after she had had her dinner, and sit up with Tom. Mrs Belfast would at first not hear of it, but Lizzy insisted, saying : *" If you only knew how selfish I am in this you would not think that I am sacrificing myself. Lord Stamborough lent mo one of his new novels, and I have iust become interested in it, and whether I come down here or not I should not aleop much in auy case. J'll bring the book with me, and it will help to keep me awake. Besides which, when Lord Stamborough looks in that particular mood he diathis morning he is not pleatant company, and I would prefer to be somewhere else than with him." Arriving at home nhe had barely time to prepare for dinner, yet she looked remarkably well. The favourable change in Tom's condition, her brisk walk, the fresh air of early evening, all contributed to imbue her pleasant face with a charm, and made it more than usually attractive. Lord Stamborough had only partially recovered, yet Lizzy's presence and appearance, combined with her vivacity, bad a visible effect upon him. He talked freely, though evidently under some restraint, and Lizzy had several times detected the doctor looking at him, when unobserved by him, with a searching stern look, expressing great distrust and compassion. This rather startled Lizzy, and when, after dinner, an opportunity offered, ahe asked his opinion of his lordships health. . ■ " His mind is more diseased than hia body," he told her gravely. Although Lord Stamborough made every effort to dissuade Lizzy from her determination to sit up with Tom, it waa in vain. She hastened back as. soon as possible, and when she got to the hut sho found that Tom had wakened, taken his nourishment, and gone to sleep again.. After chatting for a while with Mrs Belfaat, the old lady getting drowsy from the unusual strain the events of the day had had upon her nerves, went to bed, and Lizzy was left alone. Having looked after Tom to see that everything waa right, she sat down by the kitchen tire, leaving tho door of Tomß room open. She took up her book and tried to read, but to no purpose. Tom's diving exploit, his sudden illness, the equally sudden change for the bettor, Lord Stamborough'a strange attack, tho doctor's mysteriouß opinion and his searching look, her own adventure with the portrait that morning, all mixed up toge- ' thor made her head reel. All the incidents of that eventful day passed before hor like a dream, in an indistinct and heterogeneous jumble, through which the eyes of the portrait pierced with a distinctness that bewildered her. Presently they would disappear, other incidents would take thoir place, then in the far diatance they would peer through, dimly at first, but grow more and more distinct as they came nearer and nearer, looking at her as if challenging recognition. Suddenly she almost shouted : "Oh, how could 1 have been so stupid? Those eyos '.—they aro Bill Disbet's." Startled at the sound of her own voice, she recovered from the trance-like state of her reverie, and, recollecting where she was, first went to Tom's room to see if her ohout had awakened him. No, he waß soundly asleep. Then, she went and listened at Mrs Belfast's door, and she also heard her breathing calmly and regularly, '

1 She sat down again, saying to herself, in a low whisper : "Yes, they are Bill Disbet'*; and the portrait is that of Bill's mother beyond a doubt ; and Lord Statnborou'rh — ia he his father?" She folt some hesitation in answering this question. The resemblance between them was so extraordinary as to suggest an answer in the affirmative, and hadLordStamborough not said that Mr Disbet had "some olaims upon him?" Yet ho had also' told her that he had never seen Mr Disbst. Then, again, ho admitted that he had made the journey to New Zealand" on his account. Next she thought of. Bill's reticence to speak about his family ; and so she went over all she had heard and observed, and at last came to the conclusion that Bill Disbet was the illegitimate Bon of Lord Stamborougb, and the portrait eho had seen was that of hia injured mother. Driven by the qualms of conscience, Lord Stamborough had come to IJew Zealand to make reparation to his offspring for the wrongs he had done to him and to his mother ; and the worthy doctor had read him aright, confirming what she looked upon as incontrovertible evidence. (To be continued. J