A TIGHT CORNER

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16049, 6 February 1918, Page 8

A TIGHT CORNER

[COPYRIGHT.]

By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT,

Author of “By Bight of Sword,” ‘‘The Man Who Was Dead,” Etc.

CHAPTER XXIII,

MRS. GENDALL TO THE RESCUE.

Glad that h© had held to his resolve and yet hating it, and utterly miserable and dejected, Bob paused outside the door, hesitating to play the coward and leave Enid, half-hoping to hear her voice recalling him. “What's the good? It’s the only thing possible,” he muttered, and turned to look for his hat, ■ But at that moment there was a brisk knock at thd front door. He stood back as the servant came. It was —Mrs. Gendall; and as she entered Enid opened the drawing-room door and stood white and unsteady leaning against the frame. : • “Hullo, Bob; just arrived? My dear Enid, whatever’s the matter P” she broke off as she noticed the latter’s distress. _ “Don’t let him go, Aunt Alice, said Enid piteously., “Go? Of course not. Why, you two haven’t been silly enough to begin quarrelling already, surely? Think the years of opportunity you’ll have *, and she linked her arm in Bob s and took him back into the room. _ “He declares he’ll kill himself, said Enid in the same low, strained tone. “My dear child, that’s what they all say after the first quarrel; but thev never do it. A good thing if some of them did.” She spoke airily, but she was far too shrewd not to see that something was very much amiss. ‘T must say I’m surprised at you both. \ came round to see how you were getting on, Enid, and quite expected to find you a little the worse for wear. It couldn t be otherwise after such a gruelling as you vc had,” and she rattled along at top speed in this way to give them both time to pull themselves together. \ Bob was silent, but Enid tried to interrupt the flow of her chatter, although she might as well have attempted to quell the noises of a post office telephone. Mrs. Gendall possessed ample resources of small talk, and had no intention of being silenced until it pleased her. ... “And now, as I’ve only been talking nonsense, and know perfectly well without any of ymir signalling, Enid, that theje is much more the matter than 1 ve pretended, suppose you tell me what it all means.” Neither of them answered. “You may as well tell me at once, for I’m determined to know. And I think 1 have a right, considering what I’ve done for you botn, I went away leaving a serene sky and the slm just beginning to,shine for you both after that storm, and I come back to find one of you on the verge of a bad break-down because the other has been talking about suicide. Now, Boh, what is it? You went to sec that Blount; is it anything to do with him? Has he frightened yon so that you’re going to kill yourself in order to prevent his doing it? If I talk in this flippant way it’s your fault for not telling me. I’m quit© ready* to ho serious if there’s anv real cause for it.” s “There is, "Mrs. Gendall. Very grave cause indeed. He has recognise! mo as the man ho saw in. Paris —Jean Colonne.”

“Go on, for, of course, that isn’t all.” “There was a girl there at the same time. He has seen her in. London, rind she declares that I promised to marry her.”

“I don’t see the need for any tragedy tone in that. It’s more laughable than anything else. I suppose she has told him some cock-and-bull story of things you did at the time, and he wants to make the most of them. Let him./’ “Let Aunt Aline read this,” said Enid, holding up the paper she had written.

Mrs. Gendall took it, and having found her glasses read it through without offering any comment. “Anything more,” she asked when she had finished. “I went to the London office of a Paris paper and read the account of that affair at Cromont and found it all only too horribly true.” “So you made up your mind to kill yourself and then hunted to- tell Enid and 'frighten her out of her seven senses. Lob, yoii ought to bo ashamed of yourself!” She spoke as if really indignant, although perfectly aware of her abominable injustice. But the boy had to be. roused somehow.

It was Enid who protested, however, vehemently and Vigorously. ‘.‘How can you say such a thing, Aunt Aline?” sire cried, the fire in her eyes “If he didn’t, why did you try to alarm mo, then?” retorted Mrs. Gendall. “You’re as bad as he is. Why, you might be a couple of children copying their parents in a patience with either of you. Now, don't interrupt mo, Bob. 1 know quite as .well as you do what you want to say and how you’ve been frightening yourself. You’ve been calling yourself a murderer, and talking nonsense about having to get out of the world to escape disgrace mid all the rest of it, of course. . And' if you didn’t actually tell this poor child in so many words you acted so that she’d have been as blind as a one-day-old kitten not to sec it. Result, you’ve driven her nearly distracted.” . “But you don’t understand began Bob. “Indeed I do, far bettor than you do. I understand that you’.vo been a coward to yourself and a brute—a positive brute —to Enid.” “Aunt Aline ” . . “Don’t dare to take his part, child. I won’t have it. I said you were nearly as bad. I haven’t a shadow of doubt that you took it just as seriously as he did — probably tried to argue with him first — women always think they can reason a man out of a thing. As if that were ever possible! Then you tried pleading and'that sort of thing, which only made him'worse. It isn’t altogether, your fault. You’re hopelessly in love, with him, and naturajly thought he’d give in if you wont on enough. You’re too yoimc, but you’ll know better when you’re my age. What you should have done was to niake light of the whole thing—just laugh at it for the absurdity it really is. Oh, Bob! why didn’t you come first to me?” “I begged him to come to me when that woman left. To warn him. “There —what did I say? 1 hat one word is enough—‘Warn him ! at the tragic way you’ve described the cat’s rubbishy , talk I ’ I should like to have been hero to say a word or 0 to the baggage!” and she rustled her shoulders as if highly indignant with everyone concerned. After a moment she rose and wont to a glass. “You’ve made me talk .so much ,and rattled me so that I believe my hat’s-all on one side, and she affected to fiddle with it, taking out the pins and replacing them deliberately. “Is it straight now. Bob?” she asked, standing over him and staring down at i him as ho ,*at disconsolately with eyes

on the floor. “You might have the decency to look up and see." Ho raised his head and , was going to speak, when she shook her head. (Continued daily.)