FICKLE JACK; OR,

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 17 June 1887, Page 33

FICKLE JACK; OR,

FROM WEAKNESS TO STRENGTH. By Alice. Author of "The Grandmother's Story," "Mothe and Daughter," " Chalk," &n. Chapter XV. Good-bye. The town clocks were striking the midnight hour, and Bret still walked alone in the garden. The grass and shrubs were wet \yith the heavy autumn dews ; one by one the lights had appeared and disappeared in the hotel windows as the inmates retired to rest ; a faint murmuring rushing sound came from the waters of the Avon, on the opposite side of the way, where the little waterfall' by the mill ' bridge boils and seethes, and the waters rush headlong under the mill wheel, and then with many a little eddy finally grow oalm again and 'flow upon their way. The old mill wheel that year after year has gone round and round, while men's hopes have gone up and down, while children have ceased to stand and gaze in wonder, and men ' have toiled and suffered and died. A late pedestrian passing by now sang a verse of a sweet old song, but without a hearfc-ache in its tone ; Oh heart for what art sighing P Whene'er I hear that mill i I would that I lay dying. For tb.en,thou would'st be itill. Bret lifted a stern white face in the moonlight, and once again leaning his back against tjhe tree where two hours ago he leaned, his heart beating tumultuously with a new world opening out to his glad gaze. Two hours agoi! , He had suffered much since then.: Jack's confession had, strange as it might seem, taken him entirely by surprise. The possibility of Jack entertaining anything but a cousinly regard for Laura had, never once dawned upon his mind. In the first hour of the knowledge the temptation had been strong upon him to seek to win the love Jack openly confessed he had as yet no power to win. Then he heard Laura pleading with him as she pleaded at Akaroa to be indeed Jack's friend once again; he heard the gentle earnest tones of her voice saying Vlf I were a man like you and had a friend like Jack, a trusting, thoughtless, goodnatured boy, I would not . leave him to arrive scratched and bruised., where every true-hearted man must come'at last, to his best self." Then Jack's assurance haunted him,' that without Laura life would be aimless. Then he thought of Laura's trust in himself, her belief in heroes, her timidly expressed idea of one when he was laughing at ; her, on Christmas Day, at Sumner. He saW'her once again pointing to the huge wave leaping above the rock and to the weak wavelet sobbing on the shore, and asking him which he would rather be, " A difficult feat," he had answered her when she said a hero was a man who walked above, himself, and.. difficult, indeed he , found it now. He had laughed when she attributed to him any

strength or' nobility, and had warned heir' against raising him on a , pedestal' and Warning him for one day tumbling off ]' but she &j#,dorie so, and ' could :he endure to be in the dust beneath the gaze of her sKdeyes ? What would she" jfchink of his friendship for Jack^-what would, hes think of it himself—i f he'proved traitor to the boy?' as he 'called him. in his" heart.'/ Bret had ' faced 'death before the cannon's mouth and winced not ; he had, braved .danger' a hundred "times on' land and sea. One a^ful night, came' back to him when" alone on'araft'he lay'dying' of , thirst,' and the noiseof "the .waters seemed to .himtd'be the voices of his bpyhobd's home, , and he remembered- in a vague way'jhow he' had ' 1 then ' that there had , Wen ' one noble' act' that' he could call to! mind, where self ' had been' forgotten,' and' his brother's cause his own. The opportunity had come now andcould he : — : ? 1 Hevbowed his f head upon his folded arms, and stood so 'for a moment"; then,' with his old impatient movement of the hand, he strode into , the house, and went ' straight upstairs, entering not his' own' ' but Jack's room. , ,„,,.' '. ' . ! Jack, with his customary disregard to'consequences, had omitted to put out his light. ' Bjret ,'stepped' softly to, the. bedside and looked down upon his friend. ' He was fast asleep, his broad chest heaving at intervals with his regular breathing; "one 'arm was ,thro\yn above his head, the other' strong "shapely hfemd lay outside the coverlid. The full red lips were slightly parted,' and a 'flush of health overspread bia cheek. It was a fair picture of manly strength and beauty ; and Erfet, with tightly folded arms, stood looking down upon it with a face so weary and wan that, had Jack opened his 'eyes, he would have been . startled ; but. Jack slept oh — unconscious of ' the battle^ that his friend was fighiing for his sake/ unconscious of the saorifice'that he was offering on the altar of friendship. 1 ' For a whole hour Bret never moved, while Jack slept peacefully on. | " Jty Jonathan 1 " had , come from ' Bret's pkle' lips ' once ; and a second time, with tender face and voice, " My Jonathan ! " A broken happy laugh from 'sleeping Jack, and Bret stepped hastily forward and shook him roughly by the shoulder, exclaiming pettishly: ' , " How you' sleep j » " ' " Eh— what say 1 " ejaculated the startled Jack, sitting suddenly bolt upright. " Fire !" " How you sleep!" repeated Bret. ' " How I sleep !" grumbled Jack, glancing at his watch. "I'd like to know what the deuce a fellow could be expected' to do better at half -past one in the morning. " Think I'm an' owl ? " added he, 'drowsily settling himself' down 'again among the pillows. ' " Wake up 1 " said Bret, giving him a second shake. ," Don't 'shake the life out of a fellow, Bret. What's the damage ? " " ' "I've got something I want to say to you." "Won't it keep?" . ;" It won't ! " thundered Bret. ' " But, if it's too much exertion to keep' .awake five minutes,' then, Hang it 1 in'an, sleep !" Thoroughly awake^now,' Jack opened 'his eyeß- to their fullest "extent and sat up. Spmething in Bret's face roused his alarm— not for himself, but on his friend's score. "Anything wrong, old man?" he', asked anxiously. , ' "Plenty, I've bad news. I must leave for Melbourne by the steamer to-morrdw morning." "No I " roared Jack incredulously, and with a, startled face. "Yes. When ' needs must, the devil drives.'" " But what has gone wrong ? Can I assist you in any way ? Anything that I can do " "Thanks, Nothing.' It is a matter that concerns others besides myself, and' is on that account imperative, Before Igo I should like to say a few words on the- matter you spoke of last night." ' " Laura ? " Bret nodded. Jack leaned back upon the pillows, and folded his arms behind his head, looking expectantly at Bret, who began, to walk slowly backward and forward. , "We will assume/ said Bret, ," that, in the first place, this is not a mistaken impulse, but the honest love of your heart." „ ] Jack was about to interrupt, but Bret silenced him with a gesture. "By the bestowal of your affections you evince considerable taste, your cousin being as high-minded and as noble a snuled girl as a man would meet in, a lifetime. , She is tender, and oorapassionate ; her whole, being glows with benignity and merciful, sympathy. There is a power and passion in her nature you, were right. when you said, you had never touched. , She feels a tender, kindly interest in you, but no more, unless I am deceived. You demand, as someone has said somewhere, with,. the reckless dash of a boy, what others have died to win ;,and, I tell ,yon, lad, a love like she- can bestow is worth earning. One day jn , earnest and the . qext day in fun will never do it, Jack., Keep your manliness ,to the front, so that she may learn to rely upon you. I wish you success, my boy, and remember that the greatest triumph is not so much in winning love as in keeping it. Good-night." "Good-night; and thanks, Bret. I shall see you in. the'morning, or rather I should say later on in the morning.',' " Hold on a bit,"add^d he, jumping out of bed and reaching a flask. « " You look pale ; have a nip," and he poured out some .brandy for himself and Bret. " For auld lang syne ! " said Bret. . j ■■' , They touched glasses and clasped 1 hands, then drank, and Jack tumbled into bed, blew out the light, and went to sleep again, while Bret, in his own apartment, packed. his portmanteau, ,: . , '. , , In the oold grey dawn; Bret came back again, and, bending, over - the still sleeping' Jack, said : . ' " Good-bye, Jonathan, good-bye I " Chapter XVI. Parting Words. Jack was still sleeping,, and" the 'dew still lay heavily upon the grass and, shrubs when Bret left the hotel, and crossing &q mill

bridge turned his steps : in : tne Qllrectipn of Howard's residence. Except that he'was paler than ' usual, his ' faoe J little trace of the conflict of last night. If anyone had been near who cared enough for Kirn to note slight changes, in him, they might, have remarked that the clear blue, eyes had lost somewhat of their quizzical expression,' and wore instead a 'clouded troubled 100k 1 : for the rest he held his head erect likeaman who knows that the errand on whichf he is bent is one of honest purpose.' .To^e-'man who had so long 1 bent everything to^his will, it was a new ■ experience' to'behd^with'his own hand that will to circumstances. >He had doubted man's ability to rise -above his circumstances, and here was'Jie^to-day— well, he struck with his old impatient'movement at a thistle in his path, and ; opening Mr Howard's > gate entered the garden. Knowing Laura's habits, he had calculated upon finding her gathering bouquets to adorn the rooms for, the day, and" there she' was, with her basket and, scissors, and her. face as bright as the flowers in her basket; and there, too, was Mb Viney, with', the huge shears clipping away most vigorously, with her head well protected from, the 'morning dew. Kaising his hat, Bret apologised for his untimely call, offering, as excuse, the fact of his intended departure— necessitated, he explained, by the receipt of bad, news. t "0, ar am sorry I" exclaimed Mrs Viney, dropping her shears in dismay, *'ar am sorry, you don't know- — ■ — " ' •• ■ > >•' "Don't talk so much, Mrs-Viney!" interrupted Laura, wi,th a .sudden display of childish petulance seen in her at times. ' " I am so sorry, Mr Huntley," she added, turning to Bret ; "we shall miss you so very much. Why, nothing will seem complete without you. It is so -sudden, too ; it comes too much like a shock, to be able to say anything but the most hackneyed regrets. I hate saying good-bye," she continued; in the most unsophisticated manner, "we have been such friends. Oh, I shall miss you so much — so much I " It was almost too much.for Bret to see the genuine tears in the eyes of the girl he loved, and not take her in his arms and kiss them away,' and in spite of all consequences ask her to bid him stay to win her for his own. Six months ago' he would have done so) but not now. They had left Mrs Viney's'fend.pf ' the garden, and were walking' up and down between two laurel hedges. Laura' still ' carried her basket of flowers, and firet', I taking it from her, carried it instead, 1 at the , same time drawing her hand through ' his ' arm. "Before I go, Miss Laura," said, Bret . presently, in quiet, firm tones, " I hav.e'mucb/ ' to thank you for— first' of all,"' he added, l smiling, " for admitting me into the circle of ' your friends ; and, secondly, for not' sum- ! marily ejecting me when you found me such ' an unpromising "specimen* of humanity. " Little girl, I thank you. I .thank, you,",, he -i continued, in unmistakable earnestness of tone, "for the truth and candour you have ever manifested. When I came -to job' ii 1 , was in the character of a time-worn,'hardenecl man of the world, who, from ' the .accursed falsehoods practised upon him in his youth, " had learned but $o sneer and deride at the very, mention of sincerity and truth. You' ' have restored my old boyhood's 1 belief in good, true women j you have driven away ' many shadows from my mind, given me new thoughts, new, aims, and', transplanted me into another and brighter sphere. Yon .said not long, since few hearts were so corrupt J but a little speck of' beauty remained, and 'bid xne sowmy.seed in that spot of green soil. It- sterns to be your gracious ahd sympathetic mission to seek for' such work, to dive down beneath the depths of sin" and folly and bring up what pearls are lying at the bottom and show them to the astonished gaae of the possessors ; for with an innate, . untaught wisdom you seem to know there is no incentive to noble effort greater, than " attributing to a man the power to make that effort. You said that no mortal can pas's thrqugh a human heart without leaving their trace behind. I am going away this morning, perhaps never to return, and I owe it to you to, tell you that your marks upon my grateful heart are of a pure, true woman's feet." ',' ' ' ' ' And this was the goal Sister Mary had bid ' them aim for. Her very words ! Overcome with conflicting emotions— gladness among the rest — Laura burst into a passion of '. tears,, They had reached the summer-house, and Bret led her to a seat, waiting with' averted face and folded arms till she grew; ' calm. ' ' J i ' ' " Don't- unman me, , Laura," bei said afc' .length,, taking her hand. .' ." My. tf»e is vp — good-bye, or I shall miss my. train." ' ' { She wiped .her eyes, and looked up. ' . "If I sink back, again into. my oioi life of ease and listlessness," be ; added* retaining her hand, " you will hear of me no more ; if. not, some time I will send you wwcL When ! you say your prayers," he continued, with a touch of his old smile, " sometimes put in a - word for me. Now give me a word to carry away with me and think of when: l turn coward." ; A moment Laura paused ; then, lifting her eyes to his, said softly : Not enjoyment and not sorrow Is our destined end and way, '• '• But to live that each to-morrow , Find us further than to-day... ' " Thank you, Laura," he said, taking both her hands. "May I kiss you?" " You may." ■ ' He put his arm rounc her and pressed his lips to hers ; then, hastily releasing her, was gone. A moment more and the gate clicked * after him; and Laura heard his fast retreating footsteps in the street.

i — Lady Sebright has, says Court and>" Society, been addressing mission meetings lately at Eastbourne. She was such a charming amateur actress that there is no -reason she should not make an excellent professional I Evangelist. How delightful her Lady Gay. ' Spanker used to be. t • • Truth aot> Sobekwess.— What is the best family medicine in the world to regulate the bowels, purify * the blood, remove eostiveneas and, biliousness, afd . digestion, and stimulate the whole system T Truth and soberness compel us to answer, American Co.V