LITERATURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7708, 10 January 1905, Page 4

LITERATURE.

• • 9 the man with the threadless BUTTON, (Continued.) He pretends he does not understand me." she said bitterly. " And - ' all tbe time it is only li who uuder- £ - gland Win ! He is -a g»ea.t heart), Mr - RUlett=sbe never would say my watnw right. " It is a great responsi- ' ' fcility to be oven a friend of such a Se" man. It is his despairing humour, his depression, bis keen disappointment with life, that makes me trou--1 ble for him. My Wlicf is that he has I i . read so much pessimistic philosophy, so many novels that deal with the gloomiest and most unhealthy sub- 1 jocts, that lie has got into a very ! morbid state of mind. I Chink he . ought not to bo left alone for any length of time. I had a presentiment that i| we left him alone to-day he .would take his own lift) and therelore I persuaded Bolonel Westrop to ask him to be one of our party." " Miss Brandt, you amaze me ! " I cried, though I saw that this ijelief , on -her part made somie things plain that had seemed very strange to me. " I think you are quite mistaken about Mr Lefroy's temperament. I should say that he is the last man in the world to commit suicide." " Indeed it is you who are mistaken," said the girl, dropping: a tear aa she spoke. " Who should know him bettor than I ? It is my conviction that we were just in time to prevent a terrilAe catastrophe just now." '•'.Really, I am convinced you are mistaken I Lefroy on the point of killing himself ! Nonsense ! " V- lit is easy to say •' Nonsense !.' you not hear the click of a revolver when we came upon him ? " . " Well, now that you speak of it, I do fancy I heard something, a slight click, fyit !' Go to Mm now, Mr Quillett,"— in her excitement she forgot to pronounce my name wrongly—"Go to him at once, and ask him for. his revetver, and y.ou will do m© a very great kindness ! Oh, how great. He will probably deny that he has t''"' if you search him you will llnd It. I am certain of it. Find it, Mi take it away from him, and I }-n for ever srateful to you ! " "SBut Miss Brandt, willing as I ?? serve you, and more) willing to Save the life of an unhappy fellow creature, I fail to see how I am So search him. He would never permit it. Why should he? It wouid be so gross an impertinence on mv part m! Not when his life is «t stake ! What do the conventional rules of . I th ? worM matter in a case like this ? Besides, you can easily compd him to allow you-to search him. " He will allow you to search him rather than be accused of carrying arms within these walls. You will take the hateful thing from him and Ja>ep it safely till we get to the hotel, then we will consult as to what i best to do. But see—we are get- / ting near the fCdto, and I am trembSang lest he should destroy himself at the next fort we visit. , y Take that revolver from him, _. . and oh ! I shall be eternally cvateful to you ! - It was more from a desire to set Afiss Brandt's mind ab rest, -and to please her—and I may say that when Mi& Brandt looked ait? one as she looked at me when &he said these ■words, if was very difficult not to do her bidding—that I walked off to Lefroy and boldly chained him with having a revolver in His possession, adding that it was a very serious matter to go armed where we were, and that he mus(t surrender the wea- " pon. •" A revolver ! I have nothing of tho sort ! " he said, in a whisper. What can you mean ? " I could detect a note of anxiety in his voice. But I oco 1 it is that woman, that Miss Brandt, who has put you up to tttp., Upon my honour, you can 4- assure her that she is entirely mistaken." " Bult I heand the click of a ro.volver when I came up to you a little while agt.'i ... ; r - . ' - You "are. mistaken. Jt ■ was the died of my penknife. I had just cut tlw end off a cigar, when I remembered that of course I could not smoko hero." And in proof of what > to® said he showed me the truncated cigar* | Somehow the explanation did not seem Quito satisfactory ; and I was still trying to find words in which to convey _ Miss Brandt's preposterr' ou9 request, when we arrived at the outer gate of tho fort. _Mr Lefroy then remembered that ho nad some letters to write that must go by that night's mail, and he left " 3 * < r could see) to Miss v fjrandt s annoyance, and returned to 3. the hotel.: Lefroy's letters must have occupied him some time, as he did not appear at the table d'hote. AS I was in my Wmom -before turning *n, a low knock sounded at the door of my room, and almost before -a come in ! " had been uttered. Sued *" Wa3 SOfUy and <l uick 'y opMr Lefroy entered, and the door jvas quickly dosed again.. ..V,, 1 sa y ' Qu'Uett,"- said my visitor, iWrthout any apology for his intru- ' yo" that you were leaving for Fans to-morrow, morn- ?, me 4,10 cou rse of the Hay,- I said. favour l ? £° U d ° ® favour—a great " That depends 'J 11 is ? « is tho simplMt thing in the woiild. I have a to a friendof mme. (is too valuable to be "trusted to the book post. But he must have it atl onca.; _''"l intended, as you know, to go to ? 8 to-morrow, awl I have Just received a telegram to tell me *nat X must set out for Petersburg instead. "It is a nuisance, but the businesß is pressing, and thero is nolhinrr Jos tb but to go. My frfend will be greatly disappointed it he does not eet the book, and it w-ill be no trouble to you. See, it is quite a ■nail valume •it will slip foto the • pocket of your ulster quite easily." •- He held it up as he spoke—a Wcelooking volume, gilt-edged, with gilt lettering on the foaclc, and secured by an indiarubber band. My ulsfer "2* ; y ® ver a chair near him. Ha picked it up, and made a motion though he wouhl slip the book into one of the side pockets, askine permission at the same time with a _ 1 nodded, ana In a moment the J»ok haxt disiappearea Into the pocket, and Lefroy was thanking me -warmly f or what seemed to me a jtrimsg service. I was tardly listening to him, for lam ashamed to say that during .tho whole afternoon I was haunted by the problem of the Threadless Button, I was wondering whether I ™fiW> now take the liberty of asking my new acquaintance to explain . .7. 1 happy to bo able to Oblige you." said I; J- am i jf you rotura, pardon my asking which may seem—which J 9 ralslcr an impertinent ? stammered, conscious of tbo of .what I was about to XTo be continued.)'