ANDROMEDA: A TALE OF THE GREAT RIVER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2398, 15 February 1900, Page 53

ANDROMEDA : A TALE OF THE GREAT RIVER.

By ROBERT BUCHANAN, Author of "God and the Man," "The Shadow of the Sword," " Stormy Waters," "The Wedding King,' "leather Anthony," ''Lady Kilpatrick," etc., etc. COPYRIGHT. CHAPTER XVI.— HIGH TIDE.

HE course of true love, or of selfish love, for Iliac matter, never did run smooth. For a brief period after that blissful interview with her Prince Charming, Annie was in a high state of ecstacy ; she felt, her lover's kisses still upon her lips, the- mu&ic oi his voice was still ringing in her ejrs as pleasantly as the chime of wedding bells. As the hours "w ore on, however, a reaction came, and she felt far less happy. Naturally sympathetic and superstitious, she could not avoid thinking oi that other girl to whom Somerset hed first given his love, nor could she help feeling that the nature which hrd changed once so rapidly might, be likely to change again. She realised, moreover, that the young man's friends and relations might regard very unfavourably his love affair with one who was practically nameless, and far beneath him in social position. The morning after their meeting she rose late, after an almost sleepless night, and her beautiful face looked worn and troubled as she joined Be^-s Lawrence in their private room at Tentei den's. She had ordered their breakfast to be sent up&tairs, but she could eat nothing, and sat dejectedly sipping her cup oi tea. Bess watched her anxiously, not daring to say a word. The change surprised her little friend, for when they had parted on the previous night Annie had appeared the very picture of delight. At last Annie rose and began walking nervously up and down the room. '" What's the matter? " Bess cried at last. "Are you not "well, Annie?" " I don't know,'' was the reply. " I feel creepy ; just as if someone was walking over my grave ! '" " And yet last night you seemed &o happj r , dear." " I'm happy still," said Annie. " All I hoped and prayed for has come to pass ! And yet for all that it seems as if it couldn't last, as if something was going to happen ! '' She paused at the window, gazing out into the dark street, and then said over her shoulder : "I'd a horrible dream, Bess, when I dropped to sleep in the grey of the morning ! " " Oh, dreams don't matter," returned Bess. "At any rate they go by contraries." But Annie went on without heeding her, still fixing her eyes on the street. " I thought I was all alone in a boat at sea, and it was lovely golden weather, and the water was as calm as glass ; and 1 was rowing myself along and singing, when another boat came dancing over the smooth waves, and he was seated in it and singing, too ; and we rowed along together, laughing and smiling at one another, and sometimes reaching over and joining hand*. Then, Bess, he leant over and kissed me ; and just as our lips met I saw something rising out of the water like a seal or a big black dog. Well, it came closer and closer, and clung on the &tern of my boat, and when I looked at it I saw that it was Matt Watson, all wet and dripping, with long hair like seaweed and a great beard all over foam ; and he looked at me and rolled his black eyes at me aiul ground his teeth

in rage, while lie tried to climb into the boat ! Then ail at once the waves grew ' t white and the wind shrieked, ! there was a Hash of lightning from the j sky, and he wa.-i ciecping nearer oncl nearer, [ groaning and dripping, and reaching ora ! his hands to sei/.e hold of me, when 1 i screamed and woke ! " Ah she spoke in a low voice, ohao&t in a i whisper, she trcmbiad with dread, but the , dark line me I over her eyes m au vii o ry ii'own. " You mu&n't think about it," f-aid Bess soothingly. "As I said, Annie, dream', no by contraries; and if the dre<im me ins anything, it only nienne, perhaps, that ] you're going to be married again ! " I "Do you think that, Be&s? "' cned Annie. turning eagerly. "Of course I do,'' answered the girl. ; '' You fee, dour, you were thinking abouu ; Mr Somerset, and jowv mind went bark naturally to- the man who wedded you when you were a child." " I shouldn't wonder," said Annie thoughtfully. " Yes, you're right. I've oiten had bsd dreams like that, and they meant no ham." Sha crossed the room and dropped inco a chair by the. fire. Presently she said : i "He wished me to go round and see him at tiivi place where he paints. Suppose we £0?"' • " To-day, do you mean? " "To-day or to-morrow, or some day soon. It's close by, he told me." "If I were you, Annie, I shouldn't run after him," said Bess, primly. " The best way to keep a lover is to make him run after you." i Annie laughed, and her face brightened. 1 " Oh, you needn't be afraid," she cried, '' he's far too fond of me to be frightened ' away so easily. Beside?, I want to see his friend, Mr Bufton, who came with him to Canvey." The dny passed away, and there was no sign of Somerset. Annie felt a little disappointed, for she had rather expected him to call. In the evening she dined at the general table, and seemed as bright and merry as anyone there. v» hen she kissed Bess and wished her good-night, she looked nidiant — the cloud of the morning had altogether passed away. " We'll go round to-morrow."' she whispered. "I'm longing to see Mr Bufton." Early on the afternoon of the following day, the tAvo girls went out together. The snow had melted, and the weather was quite I fine and clear : so they walked through ' Bloomsbury, and soon discovered the region in which the studio was situated. Bess was pimply dressed in v dark stuff gown, a plainly cut cloth Jacket, and a rather Purii tanical bonnet. As for Annie, she wore black silk, of which she was very fond, a jacket of sealskin, then -very«fashiunable, •' and a stylish hat with a feather ; some- ' thing in her attire or manner suggested the country girl. So pretty did she look, and so bright and graceful was her carriage, ! that more than one person turned to look after her as she passed. Thanks to her early training in the open air, she walked with the strength and ease of a young athlete, and even the crinoline which she wore, following the detestable fashion of those days could not altogether conceal the grace and symmetry of her perfect form. • In the course of time they found them--selves standing nervously at the door marked " Studio."' They had been directed to it by a horsey-looking person connected with the mews, who grinned at them face- ! tiously when Annie asked for Mr Somer-

After a moment's hesitation, Annie rang the bell. It was answered almost immediately by a mild-featured, bald-headed gentleman in his shirt sleeves, whom Annie did not know, but who was no other than George Constable Leroy. " Does Mr Somerset live here?" a?ked Annie, smiling. Leroy gazed in admiring wonder at the radiant apparition, and answering her &mile he replied : ! "He doesn't exactly live here, hut he has a share of the studio. He hasn't been here this morning, but I'm expecting him every moment." "And Mr Bufton?" as-Iced Annie, hesitating what to do. "Oh, Bufton is inside. Would you like to sec him? If so, will you step in?" Annie nodded and tripped into the studio, followed by her companion. The room was in its usual untidy condition, with canvases, paint pots. book?, and odds and ends scattered everywhere in confusion. The picture on Somerset's ea?el was still covered with cloth ; it had not been touched, indeed, since the visit of Mrs Somerset and her niece. "If you'll sit down," said the dramatist, pointing to a couple of rickety chairs, " I'll tell Bufton you are here. What name shall I say if " Never mind the name," replied Annie. " You may say it's a friend from the country." Leroy disappeared into one of the bedrooms, where Bufton was at that moment making his toilette, preparatory to going out, and as the girls waited they heard the following conversation. " Some one to see you, Billy." "To see me? Who the deuce is it?"' " Friends from the country. Two ladies.'' " The devil ! But I haven't any friends in the country." " One of them is a iovely girl, Billy !" " Rubbish !" "Upon my word she is simply charming. And she looks a swell. She may have come after one of your pictures." " All right," growled the voice of Bufton. "I'll»be there, directly.*' Annie, immensely amused, could scarcely refrain from bursting into a peal of merry laughter, while Bess, who was more retiring, smiled timidly. Presently. Leroy reemerged, having put on a shabby velvet jacket ; and a moment afterwards Buitqn followed, dressed for the street, and looking, in his long walking cloak and wideawake hat, like an amiable brigand. He still wore the black patch over his eye, and it did not improve his appearance. The moment his eyes fell on Annie, who rose smiling to greet him, he uttered an exclamation. "By Jovej if it isn't Andromeda!"

Annie, much as slvi disliked tjie appellation, laughed merrily^ "Didn't you know I was in London, Ml Bufton V she asked, as they shook hands. " Yes. the young 'un told me something about it," he replied grimly, inspecting her critically with his Cyclopean eye. " But let me look at you. You're the same, not tiie same. Fancy the Maid of Canvey in a crinoline !"' '' This is my friend. Miss Lawrence," f-aid Annie, introducing Bess. "How d'ye do, mis^.?'' returned Bufton, with an alrublo noel, then, turning again to Annie, ' riov, 's the ole 1 pirare of the Lobster Smack? And Mother Endell, and everybody? All right, I hope! Leroy, this is the original ot the youngster's chromolithograph."' Leioy smiled and bowed, blinking blandly through his spectacles. " Now I remember,"' lie observed. " I saw you, 1 think, at the theatre the other night. I hope you liked the play? I — in fact, I wrote it." Of course, Annie had liked it very much, and she honesty suid so. Bess al&o stammered her admiration, gpzing in simple wordor on the first live author to whom she" had ever been introduced. " Somerset isn't a.£ home," observed Buf- ' ton, presently. " You see he doesn't live here, but turns up now and then with the milk. Not every day, though, foi he's a lazy beggar." " But I came to see you, ' said Annie, laughing. "" I thought I'd like to tell you that I was living in London." "I knew it," he answered, "for I, too, saw you at the play, though I couldn't believe it was the same. lon were such a .swell, you see. Excuse me for saying so, but I liked you better in your country togs. Nature never meant you for a fine lady, my dear ; if she had, she wouldn't have given, you such a figure !" The ice thus broken they chatted together in familial fashion, and even Bess began to feel quite at home with the two Bohemians. Button's manner, though rough and not very polite, was always so full of real re&pect for womanhood that women of all degrees were invariably at ease in his company ; and as for Leroy, he was J;he gentlest, kindest, and most pure-minded of men, in whom all honest natures felt immediate confidence. They were chatting quite merrily together when the dour opened and Somerset entered. He wore a light-coloured overcoat, of the kind fashionable in those days, and irhat was then known as a "top hat.'' We mention these insignificant details to explain certain allusions in the subsequent dialogue. "So you have corns?" he cried gaily, glancing nevertheless with some uneasiness at Bufton. " I hardly expected you so soon," he added, as they shook hands. '• Bess and 1 were passing," returned Annie, " and we thought we'd accept youi invitation." '"Well, I hope these fellows have been entertaining you properly." " Oh, yes," cried the girls in one breath. " We've been telling her," said Bufton, '"what a swell you are, and how good it is of you to condescend to chum with pool • devils like us, who haven't a top hat between us. We haven't shown her the chromo-lithograph. We've left that for you. " Sgmerset coloured up and glanced at the essel. "Is it a picture of yours?" asked Annie. "You will show it to us, won't you?" "Not yet," he stammered; "it's not finished. Perhaps it Avill never be!"' Ho took a rapid turn across the studio, 'adjusted the cloth more closely over the canvas, and then returning, held out both hands and took those of Annie. " I want these friends of mine to underslaud one thing," he eried — "that you've piomised to be my wife!" ! " But I haven't promised," Annie said, blushing and turning aAvay her face. [ " Well, then, you shall promise now. You've dropped into the lion's den, you i see, and I'm not going to let you escape without that condition. Billy here has been chaffing me about you evei since we met at the theatre, and I want him to distinctly understand that it's no chaffing matter." He threw his arm round her waist; and presented her to his comrades with a mock bow, " Gentlemen, per- ' mit me to introduce to you my fiancee, Mrs Charles Somerset that is to be!" Ab&urcl as the situation was, Annie did | not seem displeased ; she was fai too nn- | sophisticated, indeed, to be conscious of any ! " betise "in such au introduction. Bufton,- | however, looked serious, and Leroy, who j knew vaguely of the other engagement, seemed rather uncomfortable. "So you've settled it that way, have you?' Bufton remarked, dryly. "Then it's too late, I suppose, to offer you any gcod advice?" " Much too late," responded Somerset, laughing. "Isn't it, Annie?" Annie smiled. She was far too happy to contradict him. They chatted together foi a little longer, and ther Somerset volunteered to see the ladies home. They went off in high spirits, even Bess being quite gay pnd delighted. Left alone together, Bufton and Leroj looked at each other. "Well, what do you think?" demanded the cynic. " I think," said Leroy, " that the young lady "' " She isn't a young lady," growled the other. " She's o young savage. She was snatched from the sea by a common sailo£ whom she afterwards married, and she has lived oil her life among seaweeds and saby water." " Wherever she has lived," said Leroy, mildly, "I'm sure she lias a beautiful nature ! Surely you don't despise her because, as you suggest, she is of lowly birth." Bufton smiled sardonically. "Did you notice her face?" he asked. "I did indeed; and I don't remember ever having seen a face more lovely." " It's the face of a woman who will stand no nonsense, my friend ! Quiet enough now, with the sunshine on it, but with the devil's own tempests waiting Delow. It would need ? strong mau iv

master that, girl's spirit, if ever the storm rcse and the wind began to blow !" ."I trust that the sunshine will continue," fcaid Leroy. " She deserves to be happy *-she seems so timti'ul and affectionate. '* "And "what about him?" demanded Bufton. " The young snob has maiugcd to VnaW one woman miserable, and lie's quite capable of playing the. same trick on another. He ought to have married his cousin. She'd taken his measure, and had no insane notions about his character. This 'girl thinks him an angel in a top hat ; and if she ever di&ccvers what he really is, look )out for thunder !" |" Meantime Annie, leaning on her lover's firm, Avith Bess walking meekly by her side, was proceeding leisurely towaids her abode in Bioomsbury. Her face was radiant, her eyes full of youthiful happiness. London was fairyfland at last, for her- Prince Chaiming had claimed her, and all the world was 'enchanted. The dismal streets weie lull tef sweet music, the sky above seemed all brightness. She seemed to be lif ced up over all the troubles of life, and lo be walking air ! i So absorbed was she in looking at her (companion and in listening to his tender jwords, that she did not notice the figaro of k man, which emerged from a side-street, started on seeing her face, and then stood 'looking after her. The man was dressed like a seaman, in a suit of rough serge, and 'his whole appearance was strange and foreign. Ho" was short but powerfully /built, with broad shoulders and n.u-row tips; his jez-black hair and beard were sprinkled "with grey, and his wild weather■fceaten features were worn and haggard as jf from recent illness There were "cattoo'marks on his large muscular hands ar.d heavy ear-rings in his ears. He stood gazing after her quietly for some moments; then he followed her Slowly at a distance, with a curioxis smile upon his face.

(To be continued.)