THE SECRET OF THE CLIFFE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXVI, Issue 8023, 16 January 1895, Page 1

THE SECRET OF THE CLIFFE.

CHAPTER XIII. ,: :(Gonthmed)

*It*B all true,' he ; said, when he had rested ; and refreshed himself a little;' Reuben belongs to us sure; enongh.V. :; 'You found the church then ?'\ I ■« Yes,and saw the parson as married them; he kne\y:her well, and a said her v?as#good lass a was 'sure arid ididc't decoiye Luke.. Her'd a worked inHis house' along time; A was very kind and gentle with me arid answered all thei questions I asked him. Her. had told hjin, all her trouble, and: a' said Luke, was an honourable fellow to go away arid, keep away;it was all y could lad.' \'v ; •And..the;other man,' asked Betsy,. ; " ; :' ! '' .■.;' r ' : '"' He's in Plymouth yet, a drunken, idle,bad man, most of his time in jail they' say ; I heard a lot about him, but he's nought to us, its only little Reuben, I must go to the squire tordorrowandhave it out about the

Neville Treherne bad ken out all d»y,#nd had. only just finished his di'ffneTwbeffhei was told that Aaron Pongelly wanted to speak to him. • "■'"'lslit' 'anything particular?" lie aikeduoiiherservant', looking up from his-easy-cliaiivby theside of his wife's fsofai'.'--. f ".:' ,'. - : ''

.She.was "lazy," Nathalie said, " and didn't feel like doing anything after a good dinner.'' / < ."~AUs,'it had dawned on Neville's niind now, that Nathalie's" laziness," was'-not! quite under her own control, and that u : good dinners ■'with her, was, growing to be '■. --"a farce of the wildest,,descripti6n. He was shutting . his eyes to her growing pallor and weakness with his might, as we are-apt to :do, ! when a subject fraught withpairi' is'force;d upon vis, and strode to think that his wife's health would' como back with the change he meant to give ber in the spring.:.'-' ..The'man who had announced Aaron, said that he.thought the business was important, he seemed:• troubled.he said, and looked i;: 'Send-himi up then," Neville said. . "Zara down and..'bring Aaron here,". /"V ; '-..'• : \ : • The child rose : up from her low stool by her .mother's side, a bright. little Vision in a crimson velvet dress, with lace.at the neck and sleeves, and ran off tofetchtbe fisherman who was her.great-friend and* ally. She soon returned pulling him afterher, Aaron feeling much more at home with the soft little hand : clasping his big finger than.if the footman had ushered him up with proper state and ceremony. •He had his clean blue " frock",on and was ft 'ftesbycleanly looking man : at all times., .. "Sit' down, Aaron," Neville. Treherne Said kindly, when be.had made bis.topw. - "I was. too comfortable to come out to you, and Mrs Treherne' is always glad to see you." " That I am," said Nathalie from her sofa, her voice sound : ngominously weakan'd hollow iu Aaron's ears. "I hope nothing is; wrong at home. Is Betsy well, and little Reuben ?" Efljtsy's wellj : 'nia'am, thank you," Aaroulanswered,;ivpiirsely.: "Fret- ( course--itjii|sv nat'ral; her I ; donltseeth to-gofc -qvffjt' -yet. The liOle lad's we11,.t00,; Siid it's : about -, ' : r :

Ho stopped,' with- a bi-cak in his voice, nnd'a glance at little Zava, who Lad established herself close at his side.. - •«Zara,dear, go to Alice for a little

while," Nathalie said. " You shall : . como and say good-night-to/Ak&n b'or foro he goes." : - - f? The child obeyed, though "somewhat reluctantly—and when sbexwas gone Aaron said, simply: s "Thank you, ma'aml was fearful the little maid might understand something of what I have to say, and it's not a stoiy for young ears,", ''I hope nothing has 'happened, Aaron?" , ~ . "No noth'ng fresh, ma'am;j its an old story—but I never knew it till now.' Eouben is my Luke's sop, Mrs ; Treherne—our own grandson!". .. - He Wurfcod out his news in shear inability to frame any words to tell it in, and wiped his face afterwards^as if ho had gone though a terrible ordeal. ;; i j,:

cieai. ■ --j l,'.;|.w 'And you,have only just found it out ?' asked Neville, in surprise.;' ; ;..■• i 'Only three days ago, 4ir:/' ; I shouldn't have kept it from you, all these years if I'd a known.' 7W: • ' Tarn sure yon wouldn't,' said Natlialie, warmly. ' Toll us all about •it A'iron. Did poor Luke tell you himself?' 'No, ma'am, lint, he left some papers; I've brought bhem with me, ■ if so be that, the squire'd be good enough to look at tliem; and I've a been up along to Plymouth, to find out. what I could ; and it's all /true, and —' s Aaron bi-nko down, 'arid bid the x "girlp with rough, and then drew his * sleovo hiisl ily across his eyes. : ' The trouble's new to us,' he said, in explanation ;' it will come uppermost, fry what wo can.'' . ■ r- : 'Of .course it. will,' said Mrs.' Trehornc, gently,' what trouble does not ? Lot, mo soc the papers, Aaron, aud take your time in telling your story. This is an idle evening with me, and I can well spare it to you.' Tims encouraged, .Aaron told his * story a phiip, straightforward statement, df Inch, linked together by coincidences he himself could supply, so that those -.\as hardly the shadow ofadoulil lliiii the buy Ron hen was the child ,oF his son and the unfortunate Grace Pa tor The connecting link was the great likeness of the little foundling to Luke, and the fact that the locket tied round the bady's neck had been one of the 'presents given by Luke to the woman he had loved so dearly. ' I don't think there's any doubt about it, 'Neville Treherne said, wlen he had heard all;' the child belongs to you, I think; of are not bound to admit the relationship if you don't wish to.' 'But we do, sir,' Aaron said; 'that's not if. I shouldn't'like to put talk into the mouths of all the folk now, if I could help it.' '

' There's no need; your secret, if you wish it kept, is safe with us; as you say, there's no occasion to put gossip into people's mouths, they rake up .-'plenty fo talk about. You needn't have told me if you did not wish.' :•• ~" ' 'I could not keep it from you, sir,' said Aaron, in amazement;' haven't you been hqmig the boy all these years—paying, for him, and he bo- ■ longing to us, as had no call to take money for him, when there's a? many wanted it more. Maybe I don't say just what I mean, squire, 'he added, abruptly ;'but we felt, Betsy and me, , as though we'd been cheating you all / this time,'; ": \' : l.': > He rose to go in his > sturdy independence, andstood there a moment with his woollen cajp between his hands, "the very ideal of ':a fearless, honest man. ' * : ' Don't be in a hurry, Aaron,' Mr. ' Treherne said; with a smile. 'Let us understand each other in this matter. When I told you that | would take" the future of that poor baby into my own hands,'l made a promise that I intended to last, and .took steps, to make sure that it should do so; in case of anything happening to me, I set asido a sum of money for the education and maintenance of Reuben Grace, as a memento of my little girl's christening; I do not see that his beiiig your sou's child need alter that , arrangement.'; .'..-■,'. ' But wehave enoughjMr.Treherne, thafcis ' • 'That is, that Betsy and you have enough to keep yourself, and thatyou are still able to work I admire your independence, but the boy's education will cost more than you can spare, and I have set my heart upon putting him well out in the world. Let. us keep poor Luke's secret, and go on as we have begun.' Aaron could only stammer out that he was very thankful, very grateful, as, indeed, he was for his means were exactly, what Mr. Treherne had represented them—enough to keep Betsy and himself from coming' upon the parish, but no mo-e. ••/.-■ "But his name, sir?'he said, he Jiad some vague idea that being Luke's boy he ought, to bear Luke's name. "Lethisnameremain as'itis,"was the squire's reply. "Poor little fellow he has no legal right-to any, and the church has given that one. Let him be Reuben Grace still; when he is old enough he can be told what is . necessary. Shake hands on it, Aaron, and let it be a bargain." Their hands met in a cordial clasp, for Neville Treherne thoroughly respected the sturdy old fisherman, and then the squire went to fetch little Zara. -;:- " She will be in sad trouble if she does not see you again," he said, and wlien he was gone Nathalie held out Iter hand to him also. " Let ms shake hands on it, Aaron," she said, and let little Reuben be a jrjemeoto of me, too, I hoped to see

him grow up to be a man, but that is not to be*

v-iAaron; stammered out something Übout hoping she would be better soon) but a big lump rose in his throat ajttd he could hardly speak. ■£^YeB," : I shall be better," she said, •° but not in this world. I know it— my husband knows it too, though he tries hard nt to believe it. Will youtakea message to Gurtha Trent former" : ./ /

iy or anywhere, ma'am." ; ; | her that I shall never get up the hill to her cottage again, but I should like to see her again I want her to exorcise that spirit of hate if I can/ I want her to promise not to pursue my innocent child with the malice she has shown to her father. Do you think she will come ?" : she isn't the devil in female shape she will," said Aaron warmly. "I beg you pardon, ma'am, for saying such a thing, but it's only being posoessed with an evil spirit that could make anyone act as she does. I'll bring her, if anyone can." Little Zara ran in to wish Aaron good-night, and put uo her rosy mouth for him to kiss, and demanded to be told instantly when he would take her out in his boat, and unconsciously diverted their melancholy thoughts. But Nathalie broke down when they were both gone and wept bitterly, and Neville Treherne.knew now that it was useless to keep-up the fiction of ignorance any longer; his cherished wife was slipping from his embrace, and ere long be would have nothing loft to him but his child, and the memory of her mother. [■'■'■ (Tohcontinued fo-monom.)