CHAPTER III.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 110, 11 July 1885, Page 5

CHAPTER 111.

If Mr Renshaw indulged in any further curiosity regarding the interior of the Pontiac, be did not make his active researches manifest to Rosey. Nor, in spite of her father's invitation, did he again approach the galley—a fact which gave her her first vague impression in his favour. He seemed also to avoid the various advances which Mr Nott appeared impelled to make whenever they met in the passage, but did so without seemingly avoiding her, and marked his half contemptuous indifference to the older ft ott by an increase of respect to* the young firl. She would have liked to have asked im something about ships, and was sure his conversation would have been more interesting than that of old Captain Bower, to whose cabin he had succeeded, who had once told her a ship was the "devil's hen coop. " She would have liked also to explain to him that she was not in the habit of wearing a purple bonnet. But her thoughts were presently engrossed by an experience which interrupted the even tenor of her young life. She had been, as she afterwards remembered, impressed with a nervous restlessness one afternoon, which made it impossible for her to perform her ordinary ' household duties, or to even indulge her i favourite recreation of reading or castle ' building, She wandered over the ship, and, impelled by the same vague feeling of unrest, descended to the lower deck and the forward bulkhead where she had discovered the open hatch. It had not been again disturbed, nor was there any trace of further exploration. A little ashamed, she knew not why, of revisiting the scene of Mr Renehaw's researches, she was turning back, when she noticed that the door which communicated withDe Ferrieres'sloft was partly open. The circumstance was so unusual ' that she stopped before it in surprise. ' There was no sound from within ; it was ' the hour when its queer occupant was 1 always absent ; he must have forgotten to 1 lock the door, or it had been unfastened by J other hands. After a moment of 1 hesitation she pushed it further open and ] stepped into the room. j By the dim light of two portholes she j could see that the floor was strewn and i piled with the contents of a broken bale of £ curled horsehair, of which a few untouched 1 bales still remained against the wall. A i heap of morocco skins, some already cut in £ the form of chair cushion covers, and a few j cushions unfinished and unstuffed, lay in c the light of the ports, and gave the apart- t ment the appearance of a cheap workshop, t A rude instrument for combing the horse- t hair, awls, buttons, and thread, heaped on s a small bench.showed that active work had ] been but recently interrupted. A cheap I earthenware ewer and basin on the floor, t and a pallet made of an open bale of horse- t hair, on which a ragged quilt and blanket i were flung, indicated that the solitary c worker dwelt and slept beside his work. £ The truth flashed upon the young girl's t active brain, quickened by seclusion and s fed by solitary books. She read with keen s eyes the miserable secret of her father's li strange guest in the poverty-stricken walls, in the mute evidences of menial handicraft i< performed in loneliness and privation, in ti this piteous adaptation of an accident to £ save the conscious shame of premeditated t< toil. She knew now why he had stammer- Y ingly refused to receive her father's offer to n buy back the goods he had given him ; she knew now how hardly gained was the p pittance that paid his rent and supported ti his childish vanity and grotesque pride, n From a peg in the corner hung the familiar c masquerade that hid his poverty — the pearl- b grey trousers, the black frock coat, the tall a shining hat—in hideous contrast to the c penury of his surroundings. But if they a were here, where was he, and in what new fc disguise had he escaped from his poverty 1 v A vague uneasiness caused her to hesitate c and return to the open door. She had t nearly reached it when her eyes fell on the j pallet which it partly illuminated. A s singular resemblance in the ragged heap j, made her draw closer. The faded quilt was t a dressing gown, and clutching its folds lay j, a white wasted hand. a The emigrant childhood of Rose Nott had s been mere than once shadowed by scalping f knives, and she was acquainted with death. c She went fearlessly to the couch, and found that the dressing gown was only an en- x wrapping of the emaciated and lifeless body j of De Ferrieres. She did not retreat or ] call for help, but examined him closely. ( He was unconscious, but not pulseless ; he \ had evidently been strong enough to open j the door for air or succour, but had after- ( ward fallen in a fit on the couch. She flew ] to her father's locker and the galley fire, ( returned, shut the door behind her, ] and by the skilful use of hot water and j whisky, soon had the satisfaction of seeing < a faint colour take the place of the faded f rouge in the ghastly cheeks. She was ( still chafing his hands when he slowly } opened his eyes. With a start, he made a quick attempt to push aside her hands and - rise. But she gently restrained him. "Eh— what?" he stammered, throwing , his face back from hers with an effort, and } trying to turn it to the wall. " You have been ill," she said quietly . "Drink this." ; With his face still turned away he lifted the cup to his chattering teeth. When he had drained it he threw a trembling glance around the room and at the door. " There's no one been here but myself," she said quickly. " I happened to see the door open as I passed. I didn't think it worth while to call anyone." The searching look he gave her turned into an expression of relief, which to her infinite uneasiness again feebly lightened into one of antiquated gallantry. He drew the dreaßing-gown around him with an air. " Ah ! it is a goddess, mademoiselle, that has deigned to enter the cell where— where I_ amuse myself. It is droll— is it not? I came here to make— what you call— the experiment of your father's fabric. I make myself — ha !ha !— like a workman. Ah, bah ! the heat, the darkness, the plebeian motion make my head to go round. I stagger, I faint, I cry out, I fall. But what of that? The great God hears my cry and sends me an angel. Voila /" He attempted an easy gesture of gallantry, but overbalanced himself and fell sideways on the pallet with a gasp. Yet there was bo much genuine feeling mixed with his grotesque affectation, so much piteous consciousness of the ineffectiveness of his falsehood, that the young girl, who had turned away, camo back and laid her hand upon his arm. " You must lie still and try to sleep," she said gently. "I will return again. Perhaps," she added, " there is some one I can send for ?" He shook his head violently. Then in his old manner: "After mademoiselle— no one." *• I mean " she hesitated j " have you no friends ?" "Friends, ah! without doubt." He ihrugged his shoulders. "But mademoiwill comprehend——"

" You are better now," said Rosey quickly, " and no one need know anything it you don't wish it. Try to sleep. You need not lock the door when I go j I will see that no one comes in." He flushed faintly and averted his eyes. " It is too droll, mademoiselle, is it not?" "Of course it is," said Rosey, glancing round the miserable room. " And mademoiselle is an angel." He carried her hand to his lips humbly— his first purely unaffected act. She slipped through the door and softly closed it behind her. I Reaching the upper deck, she was relieved to find her father had not returned, and her absence had been unnoticed. For she had I resolved to keep Be Ferrieres's secret to I herself from the moment that she had! unwittingly discovered it ; and to do this I and still be able to watch over him without I her father's knowledge required some I caution. She was conscious of his strange I aversion to the unfortunate man, without I understanding the reason, but as she was in the habit of entertaining his caprices! more from affectionate tolerance of his I weakness than reverence of his judgment, I ' she saw no disloyalty to him in withholding ' a confidence that might be disloyal to I 1I 1 another. "It won't do father any good to ! know it," she said to herself, "and if he 111 1 iid it oughn't to," she added with I' triumphant feminine logic. But the iin- ( pression made upon her by the spectacle I ( jho had just witnessed was stronger "than I € my other consideration. The revelation of I * De Ferrieres's secret poverty seemed aI * shapter from a romance of her own weav- e ng ; for a moment it lifted the miserable s lero out of the depths of his folly and " telfishness. She forgot the weakness of the s nan in the strength of his dramatic sur- I soundings It partly satisfied a craving c jhe had felt ; it was not exactly the story, jf the ship as she had dreamed it, but it A ivas an episode in her experience of it that £ Droke its monotony. That phe should learn, A perhaps from De Ferrieros's own lips, the * ;rue reason of his strange seclusion, and ;hat it involved more than appeared to her low, she never for a moment doubted. c At the end of an hour she again knocked r oftfy at tho door, carrying some light louriahment she had prepared for him. He c pas asleep, but she was astounded to find t hat in the interval he had managed to dress t limself completely in his antiquated finery. \ t was a momentary shock to the illusion she \ lad been fostering, but she forgot it in the 8 litiable contrast between his haggard face s ,nd his pomatumed bair and beard, the auntiness of his attire, and the collapse of his a Qvalid figure. When she had satisfied her- v elf that his sleep was natural, she busied t ierself softly in arranging the miserable a partment. With a few feminine touches t he removed the slovenliness of misery and y ilacedthe loose material and ostentatious i vidences of his work on one-side. Finding s hat he still slept, and knowing the impor- A aneeof this natural medication, sheplaced s he refreshment she had brought by his side t nd noiselessly quitted the apartment, ii Eurrying through the gathering darkness b etween decks, she once or twice thought H tiat she had heard footsteps, and paused, tl ut encountering no one, attributed the b npression to her over-conciousness. Yet p be thought it prudent to go to the galley rst, where she lingered a few moments t! efore returning to the cabin. On entering " ie was a little startled at observing a figure T sated at her father's desk, but was re- b eyed at finding it was Mr Renshaw. U He rose snd put aside the book he had ti lly picked up. "I am afraid lam an in- p tntional intruder this time, Miss Nott. ut I found no one hrre, and I was tempted ffi > look into this shipshape little snuggery. 1 ou see the temptation got the better of fa c." ai His voice and smile were so frank and tl leasant, so free from his previous res- tl aint, yet still respectful, so youthful, yet A lanly, that Rosey was affected by them w /en in her preoccupation. Her eyes tl Tightened, and then dropped before his h imiring glance. Had she known that the w xcitement of the last few hours had brought h wonderful charm into her pretty face, d ad aroused the slumbering life of her half tl akened beauty, she would have been more u jnfused. As it was, she was only glad that h le young man should turn out to be "nice." p erhaps he might tell her something about y lipa j perhaps if she had only known him V tnger she might, with De Ferrieres's per- tl lission, have shared her confidence with d im, and enlisted his sympathy and V Bsistance. She contented herself with q tiowing this anticipatory gratitude in her p ice as she begged him, -with the timidity r I f a maiden hostess, to resume liis seat. t But Mr Renshaw seemed to talk only to o lake her talk, and I am forced to admit li hat Rosey found this almost as pleasant, b t was not long before he was in possession s f her simple history from the day of her c »aby emigration to California to the trans- h er of her childish life to the old ship, and t yen of much of the romantic fancies she c lad woven into her existance there. What- i ver ulterior purpose he had in view, he c istened as attentively as if her artless chron- i cle was filled with practical infoimation. 8 )nce, when she had paused for breath, he i aid gravely, " I must ask you to show me iver this wonderful ship some day, that I t nay see it with your eyes." t " I think you know it already better than '. do," said Rosey, with a smile. f Mr Renshaw's brow clouded slightly. 1 Ah," he said, with a touch of his former t estraint ; " and why ?" " Well," said Rosey, timidly, "I thought i rou went round and touched things in a { amiliar way, as if you had handled them i jefore." The young man raised his eyes to Rosey's i md kept them there long enough to bring ' aack his gentler expression. " Then, because I found you trying on a very queer : Donnet the first day I saw you," he said, mischievously, " I ought to believe you : were in the habit of wearing one." ' In the first flush of mutual admiration , young people are apt to find a laugh quite as significant as a sigh for an expression of sympathetic communion, and this master atroke of wit convulsed them both. In the midst of it Mr Nott entered the cabin. But the complacency with which he viewed the evident perfect understanding of the pair was destined to suffer some abatement. Rosey, suddenly conscious that she was in some way participating in ridicule of her father through his unhappy gift, became embarrassed. Mr Renshaw's restraint returned with the presence of the old man. In vain, at first, Abner Nott strove with profound levity to indicate his comprehension of the situation, and in vain, later, be. coming alarmed, he endeavoured, with cheerful gravity, to indicate hia^ obliviousneis of any but a business significance in their tdte-a-t6te. " I oughtn't to hey intruded, Rosey," he said, " when you and the gentleman were talkin'of contracts, mebbee ; but don't mind me. I'm on the fly, anyhow, Rosey dear, hevin' to see a man round the corner." „,.,•, But even the attitude of withdrawing did not prevent the exit of Renshaw to his apartment, and of Rosey to the galley. Left alone in the cabin, Abner Knott felt in the knots and tangles of his beard for a reason. Glancing down at his prodigious boots, which, covered with mud and gravel, strongly emphasised his agricultural origin, and gave him a general appearance of

standing on his own broad acres, he was Btruok with an idea. "It's them boots," he whispered to himself softly, " they somehow don't seem 'xaotly to trump or follow suit in this yer cabin ; they don't hitch into anythin', but jist slosh round loose, and, co ! to speak, play it alone. And them young oritters nat'rally feels it, and gets out o* the way." Acting upon this instinct with his usual precipitate caution, he at once proceeded to the nearest second-hand shop, and, purchasing a pair of enormous carpet slippers, originally the property of a gouty sea captain, reappeared with a strong eugfestion of newly upholstering the cabin, he improvement, nowever was fraught with a portentous ciroumstance. Mr Nbtt's ( footsteps, which usually announced his] approach all over the ship, became stealthy I md inaudible. I Meantime Miss Rosey had taken ad van- 1 sage of the absenco of her father to visit her I jatienfc. To avoid attracting attention she I lid not take a light, but groped her way to I he lower deck and rapped softly at the door. I t was instantly opened by De Ferrieres. I Ie had apparently appreciated the few I hanges she had already made in the room, I nd had himself cleared away the pallet I rom which he had risen to make two low I eats against the *vall. Two bits of candle I •laced on the floor illuminated the beams I bo^e, the dressing gown was artistically I raped over the solitary chair, and a pile of I.I '. ushions formed another seat. With i taborate courtesy he handed Mies Rosey to I ie chair. He looked pale and weak, I < lough the gravity cf tho attack had I yidently passed. Yet he persisted in I * :anding. "If I sit," he explained < 'ith a gesture, I shall again disgrace nay- 1 1 jlf by sleeping in mademoiselle's 111 1 resence. Yes ! I Bhall sleep — I shall ] ream —and wake to find her gone !" ] Moro embarrassed by his recovery than j rhen he was lying helplessly before her, he said hesitatingly that she was glad ho i r as better, and that she hoped he liked the ] roth I "It was mannafrom heaven, mademoiselle, i cc, I have taken it all — every precious rop. What else could I have done for 1 ladenioisello's kindness ?" < tie showed her the empty bowl. A swift ] Dnviction came upon her that the man had ' een suffering from want ©f food. The i nought restored her self-possession ovon ( 'hile it brought the tears to her eyes. "I J ish you would let me speak to father —to * )me one," she said impulsively, and topped. * A quick and half insane gleam of terror £ nd suspicion lit up his deep eyes. " For * hat, mademoiselle ! For an acciient— 1 iat is nothing— absolutely nothing, for I <■ og strong and well now -see I" he said, * •embling. "Or for a whim —for a folly t pu may say, that they will misunderstand. f o, mademoiselle is good, is wise. She will ly to herself, " I understand, mj friend 1 [onsieur de Ferriere3 for the moment has a 1 jcret. He would seem poor, he would take 1 ie role of artisan, he would shut himself up i i these walls ~ porhaps I may guess why, £ ut it is his secret. I think of it no more ' 1 c caught her hand in his with a gesture mt he would have made one of gallantry, 1 at that in its tremulous intensity became a 1 iteous supplication. * "I have said nothing, and will say no- < ling, if you wish it," said Rosey, hastily; but others may find out how you live here, f his is not fit work for you. You seem to £ 3 a— a gentleman. You ought to be a i -wyer, or a doctor, or in a bank," she con- 1 nued, timidly, vaguely enumerating the 5 revailing degrees of local gentility. c He dropped her hand. "Ah! does not } adeinoiselle comprehend that it is beat me t am a gentleman that there is nothing be- * VQQn it and this ? Look !" he continued, t most fiercely. " What if I told you it is s ie lawyer, it is the doctor, it is the banker, i lat brings me, a gentleman, to this, eh ? j h, bah ! What do I say ? This is honest, i hat Ido ! But the lawyer, the banker, a te doctor, what are they?" He shrugged s is shoulders, and pacing the apartment } ith a furtive glance at the half anxious, k alf frightened girl, suddenly stopped, a ragged a small portmanteau from behind c ie heap of bales and opened it. "Look, c lademoiselle," he said, tremulously lifting a t andful of worn and soiled letters and 1: svpers. "Look— these are the tools of i 3ur bankei', your lawyer, your doctor, ftth this the banker will make you poor, I ie lawyer will prove you a thief, the c octor will swear yon aro crazy, eh? * Hiat shall you call the work of a t entleman — this — " he dragged the ile of cushions forward — "or this ?" t 'o the young girl's observant eyes some of i ac papers appeared to be of a legal or j fficial character, and others like bills of 1 iding, with which Bhe was familiar. Their < alf-theatrical exhibition reminded her of sine play she had seen ; they might be the ' lue to some story, or the mere worthless < oardings of a diseased fancy. Whatever 1 hey were, De Ferrieres did not apparently i are to explain further ; indeed, the next '. aoment his manner changed to his old ' extravagance. "But this is stupid for oademoiselle to hear. What shall we ; peak of? Ah! what should we speak of n mademoiselle'B presence ?" "But are not these papers valuable?" isked Rosey, partly to draw her host's .noughts back to their former channel " Perhaps. " He paused and regarded her ixedly. " Does mademoiselle think so ?" " I don't know," said Rosey. " How ihould I ?" "Ah! if mademoiselle thought so — if nademoiselle would deign — " He stopped igain and placed his hand upon his :orehead. "It might be so !" he muttered. " I must go now," said Rosey hurriedly, rising with an awkward sense of constraint 15 Father will wonder where lam." " I shall explain. I will accompany you, mademoiselle." " No, no," said Rosey quickly, " he must not know I have been here !" She stopped. The honest blush flew to her cheek, and then returned again because she had blushed. De Ferrieres gazed at her with an exalted look. Then drawing himself to his full height, he said, with an exaggerated and indescribable gesture, " Go, my child, go. Tell your father that you have been alono and unprotected in the abode of poverty and suffering, but— that it was in the presence of Armand de Ferrieres." He threw the open the door with a bow that nearly swept the ground, but did not again offer to take her hand. At once impressed and embarrassed at this crowning incongruity, her pretty lip trembled between a smile and a cry as she said " Good night," and slipped away into the darkness. Erect and grotesque De Ferrieres retained the same attitude until the sound of her footsteps was lost, when he slowly began to close the door. But a strong arm arrested it from without, and a large carpeted foot appeared at the bottom of the narrowing opening. The door yielded, and Mr Nott entered the room