The Paignton Honour

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1937, Page 11

The Paignton Honour

By ALICE and CLAUDE ASKEW.

Authors of "Hie Shulamite," "Testimony," etc.)

Cliaptcr Thirteen Continued. The party had elected to stay at certain xr.ountaineering centres, and an arrangement had been conxe to that Basil and Gregory Venner. who had planned out a vvalking tour axnong the Alps. should meet the Paigntons at Leuk. a.queer little place among the mountains of Wallis, which had been fixed for the meeting, as Owen Mortimer, too, was bound for that part of the world, having accepted an invitation to stay for a week or so ! with a botanist friend of his own .who had taken a chalet among the woods, ciose to a little village called Albinen, situated at no great distance from Leuk. The weather was most propitous, the tour a success in every way. September was nearing Its end when Leuk was | reached on the return journey from Zermatt at which . place ■ Bruce had distlnguished himself by ascending several difficult peaks,. He had been anxious to to effect the conquest of the Matterhorn, but Doreen had set her face against the proposal— indeed she had sternly -forbidden it. Bruce had done quite enough already, and she was not going to have him rlsking his life in any silch foolhardy feat. "Why can't you be coxitent," she pleaded "with the Mer de Glace and nice little expeditions like that, when I can be with you? I'xn sure the scramble ciown those awful rocks at thg Mauvais Pas was quite enought mountaineering for anybody. I know I nearly lost my head, and should liave pitched down if you hadn't held me so tightly. I enjoyed it all the same," she added reflectively. Naturally Bruce laughed at her: "Every Tom, Dick and Harry who visits Switzerland and finds his way to Gnamonix makes the descent of the Mauvais Pas. Of coui'se climbing has a special charm when has a youg lady to look after; but .still, it is possible to be Ambitlous " "I don't see that you should want anything more than to look after me," Doreen responded to these protests on the part of Bruce; so he was constrained to reply that that was quite job enough for any man, and to abandon all thought of the Matterhorn. The young lovers had been wonderfully happy together that summer. \ Of course the arrival at Leuk was being keenly loolced forwai'd to by Marian. Was she not to meet Basil there —Basil, whorn she had not seen for many weeks? They had kept up an animated con-espondence during their respective journeyings, and Basil had had plenty of good news to report, news that mainly concerned his last picture in the Salon which had created nearly as much stir in Paris as the one which had been exhibited in the Bond Street Gallery. The Paris picture had been sold, and for a surn that altogether exceeded Basil's wildest hopes. 1 The walking tour as a walking tour had not been a remarkable success, howaver. Gregory Venner had not proved himself capable of tramping the lbng distances that Basil would have liked. Still, that by itself was not sufficient to spoil their pleasure, and on the whole the two young men had enjoyed themselves very well. They put in an appearance at the Leuk hotel late in .the afternoon of the day following that upon which the Paignton party had arrived. Owen Mortimer was there, too; he had been at Albinen for the last -Week, and he was returning to Engiand in four day's tirne, summoned back by important business. The meeting took place in the garden of the hotel, wonderfully situated on a slope of the hill, with an extended view over all the towering peake wltlx which Leukt is siirrounded. After greetir.gs* and plenty of warm haxid-shakiiig the wholo party sat dowii to discuss their mutual adVentures and to projcct cxploving parties for the next few days. Basil and Gregory had 'arrivecl . by way of tlie Gemmi Pas, liaving walkcd the whole distance from Thun, Basil looked in tho best of health and spirits, but Gregory appeared faggcd and tlred; the walk had been quite the longest he had as yet undertaken. "And how did you like the Gemmi?" a&ked Mariatx, who was of course sitting next to Basil. "They say it's so precipitous, but that the views are simply lovoly." . . '' "Precipitous!" laughed Bruce, to whom tbe Gemmi represented a climb of . no importanco, at all. "Why, you can cross it on a mule, and the path is quite wide aii the way." "I can't say that I liked it," put in Gregory, whose cheeks were a little pale and who looked anytliing but comfortable In his somi-clerical attire, with his dusty brtots and his creased collar and lie. "But then," he went on, "1 was never good at looking down from a hieght. I get. giddy. And there was a sheer precipice on one. side of us for the best part of the

way. I wouldn't have looked down it for wox-Ids." "You should get over that sort of thing," commented Mortimer staring rather superciliously at the young curate. "Take a course of the famous Leuk Ladders— to go up and down them several times would soon cure you of giddiness. there are ten of them lixed against the surface of the cliff between Leuk and Albinen." "Oh, Mr. Mortimer," ci-xed Doreen, 1've seen them. They look perfectly awful. You don't mean to say that you've come that way?". "Why of course," he laughed. "I'm biessed with a pretty clear head. My dear young lady, the children of the village run up and down those ladders and think nothing whatever of it." Bruce, too, ti-eated the ladders with supercilious scorn, He had already made the ascent— upon the very day of their arrival at Leuk. "Another thing,'' x-esumed Mortimer still criticising the unfortunate cux-ate, "if 1 were you I wouldn't take long walks in that get-up. It isn't exactly suited to the Alps. Now Mr. Heath's all right, and that knickerboker suit of Scotch homespun is just the right thing. 1 like the Tyro! hat, too." It. was Mortimer's way to make personal remarks such as these, and no one was likely to take offence at them. Nevertheless, though they had seen very little of each other, were indeed, hardly in the position of nodding acquaintances, Easil had a quee- feeling, a feeling which amoimted to a certainty, that Owen Mortimer disliked him. He had read it in the man's eyes on the few occasions when they had met, and more especially when they had met in the presence of Marian Paignton. Late that evening of tlie table d'hote dinner which the whole party had partaken of together, and. when Basil and Marian found an oppor trinity tb wander out from the hotel to a secluded spot in tlie garden, Basil could not refrain from refex-ring to the matter. "I hardly know any thing of .'that man Mortimer, Marian," he said, "except that your father has business dealings with him. But I'm quite sure he doesn't like n:e, and the way he glared when I asked you to come out into the garden just now was quite conspicuous, He looked as if he simply loathed the sight of me. Do you tltink— can it be possible, darling that he cares for you and is jealous," "Oh, no," retui-ned Marian, with soxne vehemence. Thexx she paused, and a flush suffused her cheeks. "I never lliought of the possibility of such. a thing, Basil; such an idea never entered into my head. He's always been very nice to me, but— oh, I'm sure it can't be as you think." "I don't know," said the man reflectively "But I'm certain of one thing— he hates me." Chapter Fourteen. A STORM IN THE MOUNTAINS. Dick Gaisford ha ti an overwhelming dcsire to scale those ten ladders that lay between Leuk and Albinexi. But it had been considered by his elders uxiwisc that he should attempt to perform the- feat; He had protested against this restraint, but without avpil. ! "You must all. look upon me as a regular duffer," he grumbled to Marian and Amy. "I could do the thing as easy as easy. And how's h man ever going to leai-n to climb mountains as Bruce does, if he isn't allowed to begin with the simple things." Dick had a great admii-ation for Bruce who was fond of thb boy and used to take him for climbs, climbs that were really fax- more difficult than the coveted one of the Leuk Ladders. They had . set. off together on such an expedition the ' day bcfore that upon which Owen Mortimer was to leave for Engiand. When Owen arrived at tlie Leuk Hotel, thercfore, to bid his friends good-bye, he found only Lord Paignton, Marian, and Amy, for Doreen had been tempted to aceompany Bruce and Dick, while Basil and Gregory were also out on their own account, and as for Lady Thorndale, shu had been induced to indulge in one of tlie hot baths which are the speciality of Leuk. ■'1 tried one myself tlie other day," said Lord Paignton, chuckling and rubhis liands together in ihe manner that was peculiar to him. "It was x*eally quite delightful. Such a convivial lot of people, all up lo their necks in water and quite at home. I soon got tired of it myself, but folk stay in the baths for h-nxrs together, and it's too comic for words to see . a whole crowd of heads bdbbing up and dbWn in the big bath, and little tables floating about with light refreshments on them, arid games, chess and draughts, and all tixat sort of thing. , (To be continued.) y