TALES AND SKETCHES.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXIX, Issue 12187, 3 October 1903, Page 2 (Supplement)

TALES AND SKETCHES.

TTHE LADY IN THE BLUE DRESS.

?Bv O.'N. AND A. M. WILLIAMSON.) & Authors of " The Born, Stormers, etc.

[All Rights Rmbbvip.]

"'How London Wakes'; thats the title -F said Mamie *<> 'herseU, as she stepped from the door of her lodgings '-•■ in' a street near the Marble Arch. She could not remember that ever in her life had she been up and out so early. Bub -:then, it was her very first day in England; and she was so excited that she hodl 4iardly slept all night, in spite of being tired after the long, tedious journey she had made from Paris the day before. It was not yet six o'clock, and a P°"<»>man who passed, staring to see a .pretty, well-dressed girl out so early, was yawning ; but Mamie did not yawn. She wasvery happy and alert, thinking of the article which was to be her first jonrnahstic -attempt, for a New York paper. It was very nice of the editor to offer her the work, when she was coming abroad! for a rest (for Mamie was a very popular and --charming young actress, who had lately indulged .in fehe fashionable nervous prostra tiort), and she wanted to Show himthot sht could be as clever in journalism as she was considered on the stage. She had been asked to "dash off little sketches, when she felt like it, on out-of-the-way subjects; and since h»r adventurous spirit had urged her to this eariy expedition, she meant to utilise it for the paper. '"How London Wakes" struck her as being a taking title. She could see it in '■■■'' big headlines at the top of a column, and was pleased with the idea. She was pleased with the fun of the thing; pleased at having stolen off while her elderly aunt still slept; and pleased with her appearance, which, if not quite suited to the occasion, was .certainly charming. ' She had honoured London by putting on - a frock which not only had- a style of its own, but a history—such a fascinating, dark - ; ■- blue cloth, made as only French fingers could make it, which would have been an ideal travelling frook for a bride. When she was being extravagant at . Madame Bonvallot's (most exclusive of 'Parisian dressmakers), she had seen, a water-colour sketch of the gown, with, a completely desirable hat to match, lying on the table, and had instantly ordered them to be copied for herself. Madame had demurred; the costume had just been made for an important client; in fact, no less a personage than Mdlle Gerolstein, the confidential companion of Amalia, Queen of Rouvia; and she .might be annoyed were she to meet another lady dressed exactly like herself. But then, Mdlle Geroldstewi was not jroing to England'; - perhaps, after all, as Mdlle Gerolstein need never be troubled by knowing, there would be no objection, in this one instance, to copying the design. So Miss Mamie Collingwood had had the dress, to say nothing of the hat; and she *njoyed wearing it for the first time. She did not much care Where she walked in the grey dawn; and after she had) seen the Marble Arch darkly silhouetted against a ruddy sky, she chose the direction which looked most interesting. By and bye, she came to Oxford Circus, and turned down 1 Regent Street. She could see 'her own pretty figure reflected-r in one or two uncovered! windows of plate glass, and df thinking of Mdlle (whom Madame Bonvallot • had said that Mamie, oddly; enough, very strikingly resembled in style and colouring), she fell to reflecting on Queen Amalia, that . - beautiful, unhappy woman, doing her utmost to oppose the designs of her venal husband and his corrupt Minister, Orloff, supposed by many to be plotting with- Russia for the betrayal of Rouvia and its people. .Miss Collingwood was too much occupied, however, with 'her first sighffc of London, to let. her mind dwell on things so irrelevant as the Balkan States. Continuing down Waterloo Place, she strolled! ■ on to Charing Cross. Cabs were'rattling out of the/Station yard. It occurred to her. that the boat tram from Dover had! just arrived, and she entered the station to , amuse herself by looking at the people- / There was the usual crowd of sleepy pas- v sengers, most of them pressing round the barriers where the luggage was to be examined. Mainie Collingwood wondered what had brought them all to London, trying to guess if any of the men loitering near were detectives on the watch for criminals, when she was conscious that she herself was being closely observed by a tall, foreign-look-ing unan, with very dark eyes, a broad nose and thjck lips, which seemed to proclaim him a Slav. Like all pretty girls, Mamie Collingwood was accustomed to receiving ' the random admiration of the streets, nor did she object to one, or perhaps two respectful ; but she resented a stare. Turning on her heel to walk away, sh* found herself confronted by a man of a very different type, young, handsome, essentiallyEnglish. His bronzed face brightened as their eyes met, and the next moment he was standing before her, his hat in one hand, the other extended for greeting. Mamie was aware that with the particular class of cad that annoys ladies- when they are alone, it is a common device to pretend ah acquaintanceship when none exists. A glance at this young man,-however, convinced her that he was not of that class; indeed, there was something so attractive about him, and he was so clearly "good form," that for an instant Mamie felt a mischievous impulse to put her hand in his and

; claim him for a tfriend. Yet this would have been too unconventional even for an Americattvgirl. ' She suppressed a smile of good-

will, and surveyed the young anon with the cold eye of a stranger.

' " You are mistaken," she said ; " we have not met before." The young man instantly made room for her to pass, and a pang went through her when she saw {he sudden change that struck the greeting from his face and left instead a look of pained sur-

prise. "Oh dear!" she thought; " he's so good-looking' L What a pity I had to snub aim!" .It was now about seven o'clock, and it seemed like an anti-climax to go home conventionally to breakfast. She turned along the Strand, and attracted by a line of mar-ket-carts, drifted towards Covent Garden. " More good 'copy,'" she said to herself. Jp the famous market she made mental notes of everything, and came out with W armful of arum lilies. She began to feel rather

tired; as well as hungry, and as she reached Bow Street her pace slackened. Slje thought '-that she would like to drive home in one of those London cabs which her American friends had so often praised for their smartness and cheapness. She looked about wistfully, when suddenly the liveried driver of *a smart brougham which she had taken for a private carriage, inquiringly held up his whip. She would have preferred a han■om, but this was so delightful a conveyance that she thought herself lucky to secure it : What charming things London cabs wefe, to be sure! Bather different from those of Sew. York, or even of Paris t She nodded assent. The brougham drew up at the pavement.

With her amis full of lilies, she was finding a difficulty in opening the door, when a man moved politely forward, turned the handle, and politely stood aside for her to enter. During her recent month's stay in Paris Miss Collingwood had spoken nothing but French, and now, by force of habit, she ;tißc6nsciously addressed the driver in that tongue, bidding him .take her to Clifford Street, Marble Arch. Then, as she stepped into the vehicle, she turned with a. polite " merci" to the man who had opened the door. To her amazement and vexation she liw that this was the foreign-looking person an the fur-lined coat who had stared at her in Charing Cross station. Her irritation changed to anger when she found that he intended to follow her into the cab. He had already one foot on the step, when. Mamie seized the door to close it, at the tame time demanding in her angriest French: how he dared to so annoy a lady. The man. .instantly retired with an air of submission. And the vehicle drove away. A little excited by this encounter, Miss Collingwood leaned l>ack upon the springy leather cushions, hex mind divided between turpriae at the luxury of the vehicle and

anger at the audacity of the foeuwir. Suddenly it flashed into her head that she had addressed the driver in French, and that he, as well as the man in the fur-lined coat, had understood that language. Her heart gave a bound. Surely, she thought, there is something very strange about that! What if, by some mistake, she bad got into a private carriage belonging; to tlhe foreigner? But why did the driver ralise his whip to her if he were not plying for hire? At any rate, Mamie reflected, it is an adventure, and what a. splendid thing I can make of it for my New York. paper 1 , , , , Presently tihe carnage slackened speed, whisked round a corner, drove down a narrow road which opened into a .mews, and before Mamie could lower the window and call to the driver he had drawn up before a discreet-looking door. Hardly had the cab stopped when another vehicle came to a standstill behind ft; the door of the house; opened to Teveal a grave, clean-shaven man, with the air of a soldier in undress; and before- Mamie 'had time ttf demand an explanation, someone hurried before the servant to offer his assistance. A glance showed Miss Collingwoodi that it was again the persistant foreigner. • " Will Mademoiselle be pleased to enter l ho said, speaking in French; with ai curious accent. ■ ,: "No, sir, I will not enter," replied Mamie, indignantly, in English; " and B shall be obliged for an explanation of ail this mvstery." . , The smile of subservience died out of trie man's eves, which flashed a menace. Before Mainie could realise what was happening, the foreigner had seized bet- by one arm, and clapped a strong hand over her mouth. The man who had opened the door sprang forward, grasped her by the other arm and! w.aist, and she was hurried towards the house. / ■ - Mamie could not scream, but she did not mean to submit without a struggle to such indignity. She dropped her lilies, which fell in a fragrant heap on the ground, and desperately'fought for freedom. But she might as well have beaten her hand against a rock. She was dragged along, and was almost on the threshold, when, with a sudden, sharp cry of pain and rage, tfce man in the fur-lined coat released his h<fld. At the same instant, with all her force ,\Mamie dashed-'two little clenched fists fulTin the face of the kidnapper's assistant. Instinctively the fellow loosened his grasp witb> the impulse of self-defence, and the girl twisted herself free just in time to see,the handsome young man who had-bowed to her at the station plant a terrific lefthander full on the foreigner's jaw. The fellow staggered, reeled and stumbled against his companion, bearing him back so that both pitched through the open door of the house. n ~

" Quick! My cab! Trust me!" panted her rescuer in French, and in the fraction of a second she was being helped into a hansomi standing behind; the carriage in which she had arrived. A lash of the whip and the horse was whirling them out of the quiet mews into the open streets.

Breathless and astohished as she was, Mamie's first action, nevertheless, was to turn to the mirror in the cab, straighten her new Paris hat, and bring into their properplaces some rebellious curls which,had been loosened in the struggle. Then she turn-: ed to her companion ; but he was signalling) to the driver with his stick, and next moment the cab stopped at Hyde Park Comer. The young man jumped out, offering a hand to assist the 'girl. Silently she obeyed. The astonished cabman was paid and dismissed.

| "Let us walk into the Park," said her companion, eagerly, still speaking in French. "We can talk there in safety." Mamie Collingwood was now in a high state of excitement. It was clear that she was involved in some extraordinary mystery, and she remembered only the personal part of it now, not the chance for newspaper "copy." She determined to play her cards carefully with] the view of finding out as much as possible; and as she had been addressed in French, sha spoke in that language (of which she was a mistress), though she felt sure that her companion was an Englishman. " A thousand thanks," she said, " for rescuing me from those ruffians." The handsome young man looked at her. dubiously. "It was your wish?" he questioned.

"Undoubtedly! Do jjbu think I wanted to be kidnapped?" " I don't know what to think," he answered. " You went freely in his carriage, yet you drew back on the door-step! It looks like trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. But perhaps you will kindly explain!" Mamie Cbllingwood was thoroughly puzzled, yet'thoroughly happy. It was interesting (now that she was safe) to have an adventure; but doubly interesing with so delightful a person in the part of hero. She answered diplomatically, a smile robbing the words of their sting: " Are you sure that you have a right to ask me for explanations?" ■

"I think I have," he said, in a puzzled way; *' if not on my own authority, on that of others. You can understand how I feel to see you with the other side. I was afraid that there was something wrong the moment I saw that ugly Russian brute waiting at the station. Then your conduct ! You cut me dead; you wander away to a rendezvous with our enemy; you enter his carriage; you drive to the<back entrance of the embassy—to tIA door they always use when there is dirty work on hand; then at the last instant you draw back and resist. I appear to help you; you come willingly with me; yet you ask me if I have the right to an explanation I" "Is it possible you have followed me all the way from she station?" gasped Mamie. "What else did you'expect? Did you think that I was going to lose sight of you?" Mamie Cqllingwood was enjoying enormously this game of cross jraiposes, but now she wondered if it were fair to her rescuer to let it go any further. Evidently he mistook her for someone else, and it seemed mean to take advantage of him, perhaps to learn some secret which he would blame himself for imparting to a stranger. They were walking slowly along the broad pain which leads from Hyde Park Corner to the Marble Arch. It was not yet eight o'clock, and the Park was almost deserted. Mamie sat down on a seat, and motioned her companion to her side. He was certainly very handsome, and she was amused at the air of dignity which he assumed with her. She deter-" mined to give him a surprise, and fixing her charming eyes on his suspicious ones, she spoke in English for the first -time. "I think there's a misunderstanding," she said, wickedly. "Do please tell me who you are, and who you imagine me to be."

"By Jove!" exclaimed the young man, his face expressing frank consternation. He sprang to his feet, stood undecided, staring it the girl blankly, then sat down again. "Is it possible that there'is any mistake? I—you must know who I am, since you came to London to meet me! Yet I was told that you understood no English, and you speak it perfectly, though like an American!" He paused, embarrassed; then blurted out: "I am Lord Gordon Desmond, and you —surely you are Mdlle Gerolstein?"

"Mdlle Qerolstein! Certainly not! I am Miss Mamie Collingwood, of New York, and I almost think that I'm a journalist."

"Miss Collingwood—from New York!" he stammered. "Then how on- earth did you find out—? I see! You got wind of our secret! You have personated her to deceive us! You mean to write it all up in your miserable paper." He stopped, flushing ; for a mettlesome spark 'had lit in the girl's hazel eyes. "'I 'beg your pardon," he said quickly. " I said what I had no right to say. Forshre me! I know you'Te a lady ; and would take no unfair advantage of "

" Of the mistake," interrupted Mamie, appeased. " Certainly not. It shall be my secret, too. Though really, for your comfort, I assure you I know very little' of it. Nothing at all but my own part." He thanked her with hi* eyev t and pulling

a photograph from his pocket, looked from 1 "Extraordinary!" he murmured, haftto himself. "But the dress-1" he said! aloud. "May I ask how it comes thalt you ore wearing this dress—blue doth-, five gilt buttons slaritways down the (bodice, a, hat to match, with three dark blue, gold-spangled quills?" He repeated the.description like a lesson he had by heart. . In a few Words Momne rapidly explained the history of the costume. "I see!" he exclaimed. "I've never met Mdlle Gerolstein; I had' only this photoeraiphi to go by, and the description of tne dress she would wear. See—it is lake you, isn't k? Only not half so if you don't mind my saying so." Mamie blushed as she took the photograph, and had to admit that there was a strong resemblance to herself. • "By Jove, Miss Collingwood!" craedl Lord Gordon, impetuously, after he < had studied the girl's face a moment, Imi hanged if I won't tell .yon everything, and you may help me even yet—if you'll be so good! I know I can trust jou. Myi brother is the Duke of Dartmoor—a splendid fellow, for whom I'd cut off my handi if he needed it. Years ago, when he was a military attache, he fell in love, at her father's court in Germany, with the Princess Amelia, now Queen of Rouvia. Her family would not hear of the match, and 1 she was forced to marry Alexander of Rouvia. ; but my brother has never ceased to love her. You know how things are in that country. Her husband is a sot; his chief Minister a traitor; they are plotting to hand the country over to Russia.; Amalia heads the popular party which stands for the independence of the State. Mdlle Gerolstein is Amalia's confidante; we hope she is her friend also; but we have 'been warned that even she has been bought toy Russia, and is ready to betray her mistness. After what I saw just now at the station, lam prepared to believe it; for it is clear that that Russian came to meet her, andl quite expected that she would, go to Ohe Embassy with him. Well, my brother has long helped the Queen by acting aa her unofficial agent in London, and up to now Mdlle Gerolstein has been their go between.

"To-day she was to have coine to London to meet me, not my brother. He ds well known to the Russian spies; he dare not be seen with her for fear it shJould reach the jealous ears of the King that his wife is in communication with her former lover. Such a scoundrel is Alexander

that, if he got hold of that, he would! not hesitate to use it even against his own wife to discredit her with the people. Now do you see why I felt so angry when yon went off in the Russian agent's carriage; how astonished when, at the last moment, you appeared to change your mind', andl refused to enter the' Embassy?" " The Russian agent's carriage.!" exclaimed Mamie. "Why, I thought it was a public cab! I onlr came to London last night," she explained, in answer to Lord Gordon's look of surprise. -"I was just seeing life a little when I went into Charr ing Cross Station in this fatal dress." "jyfell, what's become of the real Mdlle Gerolstein—whether she came disguised, and so I missed her, or whether she didn't come at all—l don't know. It's a comfort that the Russians are as much off the scent as I am, any way. We intended to test her loyalty to-day im this manner: Some of Orloff's agents are in London, in touch with the Russian Embassy. We have been watching them for weeks. •We were going to send Mdlle Gerolstein to them (she pretending to be on their side, you understand) to try and get. from them a document, which we believe they have just received from the Russians—t paper proving conclusively that Orloff, aye, i a]nd the King himself, are in the pay of Russia. She was to offer them in return a letter from the Queen to my /brother, which they'd be very eager to get hold of. This ap-

pointment has been made by her, in arrangement with us, by telegram from Paris. Now, if Mdlle Gerolstein were true to the Queen, as we hoped, she wouldmost likely succeed in this mission ; if she were false we should discover that also by the way she behaved. Now the question is: Will you continue your role of Mdlle Gerolstein, and carry out the scheme we meant her to execute? I oaia't disguise that if you /do, you'll run a risk." " I'll help you in any way in my power!" cried Mamie, promptly,"' with sparkling eyes. " All my life I have admired *Queen Amalia—l" know some of her poetry by heart. I would do anything to help her, and upset that horrid Alexander." She did not add that the pleading brown eyes

of her companion had had their effect in making up her mind, and spurring her to undertake the adventure. If she was glad to help the woman, she was not reluctant to please the man. "That's splendid!" ejaculated Lord' Gordon. "Let us walk, and I'll tell yoiTthe whole plan on the way. There's not an instant to lose, for who knows when the real woman may turn up, and upset all our calculations?"

Poor Mamie had begun to feel terribly hungry, and thought that she would feel much braver if she could have some breakfast, but she kept her feelings to herself, and soon, listening eagerly to the instructions she was receiving, she forgot everything else in the excitement of the game she.had to play. Half an hour fater Miss Collingwood stepped out of a hansom cab at the garden gate of a quiet, semi-detached house near ■Regent's 'Park. With' a • quickening' breath she rang the bell and waited. A small trap in the door was drawn backhand a pair of black eyes set in a swarthy face, were scrutinising her suspiciously. " MdUe Qerolstein is expected!," she said haughtily, in French. "Admit me." The door was opened, and she crossed a small lawn by a gravel path and entered the house, the man who had admitted her first fastening the gate, then following to show her into a drawing-room Which faced the garden. Left alone, she sat listening to the beating of her heart, that hammered against her side; and it was only by a strong effort of the will that she steadied her nerves when she heard approaching steps in the passage. The door opened to admit two men; one of middle age, the other younger; both dark, keen of eye, and with hair longer than Englishmen affect. As they entered, they looked at her with a sharp scrutiny, and bowed, as the girl thought with a touch of irony in the salute. Then they stood silent and alert, waiting for her to speak. " You had a telegram to say that Mdlle Qerolstein would be with you," began Mamie in her best French, with all the coolness she could command. "Well, you see I have kept the appointment." The conspirators exchanged a quick glance. "We certainly did expect the latiy' you mention," said the elder man, coldly; "but not until to-aiorrow. We have this morning heard that she is detained unexpectedly in Paris." Both men were watching her narrowly. Mamie's heart thumped, but she made a haughty gesture to cover ier confusion. " Can you not understand," she said quickly, "that I am compelled to change my plans almost from moment to moment? I run a great risk in coming here at all; I am watched wheiever I go; even my correspondence, my telegrams, are liable to be tampered with. The telegram from Paris was a blind; you see lam here, and I have only a few minutes to stay. Now listen: There shall be no confidences whatever on my side unless I receive others from you. 1 have the letter you want"—the men's eyes lightened—"but not with me here. Surely you did not think I shouLd. have brought it, and so put myself in yUur power?" '

" Mdlle Gerolstein," said the elder man suavely, " deserves her reputation for cleverness ; but we should be glad to be- informed what proof of our confidence she demands." " A sight of the document you received yesterday from the Russian Embassy,"' said Miss Collingwood ; " the one you have in your breaist pocket," she added boldly, for she had noticed the elder man start and slightly raise his arm. The pair consulted in whispers. " As Mademoiselle is so well informed of lie movements of our friends," replied the first who had spoken, " there can be no harm in trusting her. But after we have shown the paper, what then?" " You shall both accompany <me. to my

hotel, where my documents aire," was the prompt reply. The elder man drew a paper from his pocket and silently handed it to the girl. _ Murmuring something about being short-sighted, she walked to the window and put up her veil as if to 'see better, and at the same time drew aside the curtain to admit more light. Both men watched her keenly, the younger hovering near, as if to guard the precious paper. It was a critical moment. Mamie tried to absorb the meaning of the document, which was written in Frencß, but her whirling brain refused to understand it. She prolonged the scrutiny as long as she dared. What was to happen. , now? Both'men had come very close to her. Already they were suspicious. The signal agreed upon with Lord Gordon was her appearance ait the window. The adjoining house hadoeen empty for some time, he had told her; and a few weeks ago he had hired it. As she drove up to one garden gate he and two men in his confidence had gone in at the other; that she had seen. He was to watch for her signal through a small aperture he had made in the wall between the two gardens, with a short ladder at hand. The next move was to surmount the wall, take by surprise the man guarding the gate', break into the house, come to her rescue and secure the paper. Now she had been at the window nearly five minutes, yet nothing had happened in the garden. " You have seen the paper, Mademoiselle; . we will now trouble you for it again,." said her host drily. At the same instant there came a cry from the garden. Quick as light the conspirators took alarm, and with a spring made a snajoh at the precious document. - There was just one way to save it, and if she took that way the question was whether she could afterwards save herself. But the girl's blood was up. Without a second's hesitation she dashed the little gloved fist thait grasped the paper through the window pane, which smashed with a loud jingle of breaking glass. After that, all was -confused. Mamie knew that someone leaped at her throat like a tiger, and she thought that s]te screamed before her breath was choked away. Then it seemed to her that she fell, on was flung to the floor, while the sound of rapid footsteps was in her ears. Doors slammed; a revolver shot rang out; at last all was still, and a strange peace fell upon her. It was as if she had waked" from a sleep, only " disturbed by troublesome visions, when she opened Ui find Lord Gordon's face bending anacpusly I above hers. ■■ ■*■■■ , " I think," she said, dreamuyy that i could have done it all better if I had had . my breakfast." With that it all came hack to her again. ' Thfene was a little trickle of red on the I young man's forehead, and she sat up, quite herself, to ask if he were hurt. i " Only frightened about you," he said. > " Everything else, thanks to your .pluck and i presence of mind, is all right?" : "You have the paper?" "Yes 4 you threw it out almost at my feet. We were late because someone had filled up the hole in the wall. So we > climbed over. There was a little tussle in , the garden; we got the best of it, and ; were in the house the moment after. One i' of the rascals fire*—the shot just grazed '■> my head—but we -have them bound 1 andl ; gagged, and my -men are ransacking the E house. I don't know what the police would i say, but luckily for us these fellows dare; t not complain to t'hem. As for you, you're • the bravest girl in the world, and I don t i know how to thank you." "You can do that by taking me 'to ■ breakfast," said Mamie, as he helped her Lord Gordon laughed out joyously as > their eyes met. " Will you breakfast with me anci,mv mother andl brother at P;ort- • man Square?" he asked. "He'll be on 1 tenter hooks to know what has happened l ." "Yes," said M*nie. " It's a little uncon- . veutional; but |this hasn't been a convenl tioaal morning."

There was an insurrection in Bolivia; )ut it was against the King amd Orioff, vhose treachery was made public. Russia laired not move openly in support of her creatures, and the King fled the country', has young son reigning in his place, with. the beautiful Queen as regent. That article of Mamie Oollingwood's on " How London Wakes" was never written. Indeed she did "not have time to be a journalist at all, she .'was so busy falling in love. Still, she always said' that it was either the dramatic or the journalistic'instinct which prompted 'her to accept Lord Gordon Desmond; for it would have been such a waste of dramatic possibilities not to annex the hero oi the most romantic adventure of /her life.

' At all events they were married, and the Duchess approved j and some day Mamie will be Duchess, for the Duke of Dartmoor has declared that he will never maray —the few who know of his hopeless love for the Queen of Bouvia can gue6s why. • The wedding present which—after her husband's gift—Lady Gordon Desmond valued' most was a portrait of Queen lAmalia, her lovely, sad face framed in brilliants, and the photograph inscribed!: "To my brave young American friend l , ia memory of services to me and 1 Rouvia."