OUR STORIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIII, Issue 14353, 19 November 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR STORIES.

" HUN A G1L110Y." k ROMANCE OF THE ISLES. „ B y James Graham. AuOior of the "Malinaison Rose," etc (All Rights Reserved.) SYNOPSIS OF OPENING CHAPTERS.

Chapters I and 11. The story opens ill the Isle of Ailasay, one of the Western isles of Scotland, and the first chapter describes the funeral of lan Maclaine of Ailasay, the head of the clan and former owner of the whole of the island. Financial misfortune has oome upon the Maclaine family, and a successful Glasgow merchant named Gilroy has secured possession of the major portion of the island and the late ciief has died heavily in his debt. Gilroy is exceedingly unpopular with the islanders, as well as with, the Maclaine family, owing to the fact that lie has given the crofters notice to leave their holdings in order that these may be converted into a deer forest. Gilroy's eon, Duncan, turns up unexpectedly at the dead chief's funeral, and an ajigry scene results. After the funeral Mre Maclaine informs hor three Bona of their financial position, tells them that their lather's death has been accelerated by the receipt of a letter sent by the local lawyer in respect of Gilroy's claims for money owing and interest, and they each swear on their father's dirk to do everything in their power to regain the heritage of their forefathers. CHARTER 111. AN UNFORTUNATE LAWYER.

Slowly "The Gael" ploughed its way through the heavy sens of the Sound of Mull towards Oban, past Salen and t-'ruignure, 011 the Island of Mull, and p»st Lochaline and Ardbornish, on the mainland, until, under the comparative thelter of Kerrera, she entered the bay und was soon safely roped to the pier. Oban, the Queen of the Western Highlands, which liad for two months been, thj home of holiday-makers and sightseer;:, was now dreary and deserted looking. The long terrace of hotels and J< oging-houses, so recently thronged to overflowing, now bore a look of desolation, most of them unfrequented except by some belated commercial traveller, for Oban is essentially a town of seasons. To see it during the Western Games, when the bay is filled with yiuhta, from the white-winged "onerater" to the palatial steam yacht, with its white funnels and rows of small-boats in davits, when the shore is thronged with gaily dressed women und killed men, and when all is gaiety ami carnival, and then soe it again, on tliia late October day, lying; mournfully its semi-circle of grey iulis, their summits wrapped in rniat, and ivith the bay, cold and sullen-looking, in front, without a speck upon its waters, except the shades, darker here in the trough of the billows, lighter there on tlie t-rost, one would scarcely imagine it the same town.

I'lie three young Mac-laines of Ailasay walked smartly down the wooden gangway from the steamer to the wellbuilt pier, then, turning to their left, proceeded along the front of the town facing the bay. Ronald wore his kilt, but the other two were clad in Norfolk' jackets and knickerbockers. All three wore huge Highlands cloaks of rough Harris tweed, which added to their very considerable dimensions, and made them look a. trio of veritable giants as they strode along with shoulders squared and hea<]s thrown back.

Presently they turned into the office of Macdonald and Cameron, solicitors. 1 hey were shown into Mr Macdonald's room, and that worthy greeted them effusively. They were surprised to find lion ever, another occupant of the room, no less a person than Mr Gilroy of 'Ailasaybeg Castle, a man under the nuddle height, who made up in breadth what he lacked in length, with an irongrey head of hair, and a moustache and closely-trimmed beard of the same colour. A good, strong, honest face, hardened perhaps with his batte with the world before he reached his present affluent position, but still with a look or integrity and purpose in it which eould not but commend it. His most objectionable attribute was a pompousness of manner and an irritating way ox narrating his magisterial triumphs and lils Town Council work. Of his business triumphs he never snoke be ing too shrewd a man for that .except perhap3 to tell you that at the age of eight he earned two shillings a week ■'.working fourteen hour 3 a day in the mills which now belonged to him. In of 1113 pompousnesa he had a eye and a generous heart, which pontrolled, however, by an indomitable will, undying perserveranoe to attain anything on which he had set is mind, and an absolute confickinc© in the correctness of his own views in everything. He had risen to his feet us the young men came in, and they sll stood looking at Mr Macdonald inquiringly.

"I thought it better that Mr Gilroy should be present," said that worthy. 'Allow me to introduce you." 1 he three young men bowed in uni-' •on, and the other gentleman also bowed after hastily withdrawing his hand, which he had mechanioally put forward; and noticing that none of the three made any similar movement. "I scarcely think that Mr Gilroy. requires'to be present at the discussion of my late father's affairs," said Ron-ft-d, "and I don't think you had auv right- whatever, Mr Macdonald, to ask his presence without at all events oon•uitmg us.

" o] t l L^ ,Taa ax;tin e for the best, as I thought,' reared the i;uvy cr apologetically, "and for that matter Mr Oilroy has everything to do with your fathere unfortunate affairs. Ho holds ww bonds over Adiway." ios; and caused tny father's rit a •ad death," aajd Konaid, who acted as •potasmau for the three. "That letter vine* you sent cm Mr G J toy's ixiatruokilled my father, lie waa found unt'onswotM oa the chiiir witb it in hja Ofcod."

Uiut said iVIr Giirov. in tricltiUw 6Lll'yiiWi, "

OU, imiixly u, business reminder that soma uiUmmi overdue m tlie usual course, simply to keep matters sweet, as «e always endeavour to do bewcen our clients," said tho lawyer in h.s iiujvcst manner.

Have you got the letter with you:"" said Mr Gilroy, ignoring the" lawyer and addressing himself to Itonald. Ihe latter produced the letter, and handed i> toMr Gilroy, who read it tin ough the blood coming to his cheeks as he did so. As he finished he folded 't up and retimed it to Ronald, and lien turning to the lawyer he demtfhded angrily,

"Who instructed you to send such a letter as that, indeed to write at all P" How dare you? Yo„ will find vour . is thoroughly out out to follow siv instructions, not to ontiei'nate tliem. We ve had enough of your kind trying k> make trouble."

"My dear sic, m.y dejtr jsir'' said tie liwiw. aoothlftidy.

"I'm not your dear sir, and don't address me as such," said Gilroy, his anger increasing jis he looked at the unabashed figure of Macdonald sauvely washing his hands in imaginary soap. "I <1 id not instruct that letter, Mr Maclaine; but seeing I am here it might be as well to see how matters stand between myself and your late father's trustees."

"I do not know whether my father left trustees or not; X have not seen his will," said Ronald looking inquiringly at Macdonald."

"h, yes, here is his will; shall I read "On yes, hero ia his will; shall I read "No, no,'* replied Ron«Jd, "ivho are ihe trustees?"

"Yourself, Mr Allan here, and myself, said Macdonald. We are all here and perhaps Air lan nat being a trustee and perhaps Mr lan not being a trustee No, he will wait," said Ronald, peremptorily. "He is as much entitled as the rest of us to know how matters stand. C'an you let us see how things stand with Mr Gilroy ? We may as well see when we are here."

"Oh, yes," said tho lawyer. "I have had a statement made up." Ihis was produced, and a melancholy Etudy it was for the young men. Their lather had borrowed again and again, and tho interest had been allowed to ran into arrears, so that besides tho large original bonds there was a heavv accumulation of debt. It was obvious 2? . ° Ailasay rents would be in sufficient to pay the interest which would now be payable. It was a dread--5° , doubfc if A'W "-ere sold +£« ?1, ix ? a EOt>cl reversion, but the thought of parting with their anwstra, home they would not entertain. Somethmg would require to be done; terriblp a L,T significance of these felt ATT, e r S,^-r JUStbB E Eg m ™£>g to bo felt, W hen Mr Gilroy made the unfortunate remark—

"If you should decide to disnose of m be prepilred ™*e a substantial offer—yes, almost a fancv riTTf \he a Is& U9 ° f Mquirin S *> e the best thing to do," "wTL'tJL'X: ™""" t i.J, J ' e , tJlr€e Machines stood facing te r 1 I ?? nient . a "S er blaring from voirW r t?' f r a sudden - Ronald, voicing the feelings of all three, burst

T . n y 2 u want the whole island: and i fntV,^ aVO and bofool ed my poor father, and this is the result. You and your jackal here have, done this; and not content with plundering him when a'ibrwUM' } ' OUrS J m,St U€eds make urn.ivl at his very funeral." lou speak very strongly, youn°man, stronger than we have been ac° customed to; but it is unpleasant to see a fine heritage slip away, and I | father 8 J H U '+> aS t-0 P' und ering your SSS 3 PUre n °™e, as any lawyer or accountant who looks into ■ the matter will tell you, and as to SS jt t - your f father 's funeral, I ' myself, as I had end then w; , a treated very « r pic with lm P° ss ibility of getting peo. ?ht } opposing views to Wk at burgh to-nicht. We ij-edjkbfl loZl- a \ EdblhUr . Sh of itvyerl o look after our interests *ir communicate with y OU " y lawyer- ™ne«ssary,» said the look at him ' SG ® ln £ t ' ,a t gentleman pSTaC "" mmm your father! estate '" lnT «H»iy of ir™?» looked mher^noljnl!?! o1 '? 514 '?' 1 Eona 'd prompll; bM A 11,,, are a majority i«ri I seoaL,™?. toAra""# f"» i„,,v„|n.,. , 'r r is-" -» gentlemen, as 7 ° U " S W « 1 *£'<&*£* P^f 1 the from me W lawyer. ' sna PPed the pra'y?" re!>l:ed the other, -How expensed f 4O account of twfnty-five years 1 "!!"! the ™uld be bothered goi^^^T and ga^mt 5 ' £oked 9 *»<* ™ tbe'Xle lonXhar^ w'aTt" tuf account of the indebtednes-s to » fact tSV™ 1 ' re 2ardse6s of the WSS'^I' 3 name's not John Macdonald ' * And they will not b(J added or n.v "f™ 3 Gilrov," Ukl the other. The statement will bo made £P by a Glasgow lawyer from .pv books, and you will also hand tV's tfSfTn r yBF T y P3perS ° n Prodnctio.t Of my mandate. He will fnrtl,™pay your professional account for vour buVl'f 3 i-T 1 6ame Ilas bee n tilxpd by the auditor of the Court of Session Mn » yOU EOOd mornin °' . M '"-

In rain that gentleman apologised, argued, beseeched, almost went down mi his knees. Mr. Gilroy was unmoved, and after resuming his overcoat, pulling on his gloves, and adjusting a huge silk muffler round his neck, ho walked out of the office without anotlmr word.

"When tile young Machines reached the station they noticed Mr. Gilroy on the lilatlorm. Presently the train came .in, and Tan and Allan secured their corners. Shortly before tho train started .Ronald left tliem to fetch some papers from the bookstall, and when passing the carriage in which Mr. Gilroy was seated that gentleman hailed him. 'Hullo, Mr. Maclaine; you're not travelling, ore you ?" ; my brothers arc?."

A\ hero are they f A\ e might travel together; we'll be companv for each other."

"Thoy are travelling third, and besides I think tbev would rather travel alone to-day," said Ronald. "Oh. I'd travel third too; I'm a great deal more used to it than first; hut perhaps they would rather be alone."

"Yes; I think so, sir," said Ronald, and as moving away when the elder man said, "Come, let us be friends; we are neighbours. Don't let us guarrel," at the same time holding nut.

his hand. Somehow there was something in the frank honesty of the action that appealed to Ronald, and he took the other's hand and moved away without remark.

The fates seemed' to- be fighting against his hating this man as he ought. Yes, ho knew he ought.

CHAPTER IV. MAKING ARRANGEMENTS. T.he investigations of the Edinburgh firm of writers employed by. the Muclaiues of Ailasay showed that ihoir father, with an easy, happy-go-lucky carelessness, had allowed matters to go from bad to worse, dimly conscious that a day of reckoning was sure_ to come, but perfectly contented if it wore put oil for tlio time being. The Glasgow agents of .Sir Gilroy, act.ng, as he repeatedly declared, on tlie emphatic instructions of his employer, volunteered many concessions, which the Edinburgh lawyer could not accept. Thn Maclaines of Ailasay desirad_no favours and would accept none; they simply wanted their rights—no more.. The upshot of tho matter was that all the psat due interest and tihe money borrowed, with the exception of tin; original bond, was paid off with money obtained under a substantial policy of assurance on the late chief's life, which had only been taken-out a few years before, on the suggestion of Mr Gilroy, when making additionl advances. The balance was raised by borrowing from the trust fund to which lan was entitled on coming of age. In addition, the Edinburgh lawyer succeeded in getting the rate of interest on the original bond considerably reduced, by inducing an insurance company to tako it up. Air. Gilroy, indeed, voluntarily oll'ored to reduce the rate of interest on the original bond, after the surplus indebtedness had been discharged, but in spite of tins t'.ie bond was transferred to the insurance company on the express wi&h'of Mrs. Maclaine, who siill harboured tho nicsfc intense hatred for her neighbours, tha Gilrcys of Ailasaybeg. Even when it was explained to her that the change would cost a considerable sum of money in legal fees, she insisted, and paid tho expenses out. of her own very slender seimrafc© income.

liv" the will ci the dead chief, everything waa leiu to iiis widow m iife-rcut, and Llie estate aitor her deaih passed, of course, to Konald, any other pi'uporty being leit equally among Jus uhree soils. Konald would thcreioie inherit the properly, burdened lieaviiy as his lather nad left it. 13ut H was something that the old home had not to pass from them, and the 3laclame family breathed a sigh of relief. Soon life at Ailasay, which, had received a rough shaka by the death of the late chief, shaped once more to the accustoms rut. Allan Maclajie,, working hard at the bar c had one or two chances gives him by friends, and did t well with tfrem that ha seemed in the way to get on. Lan, at school, wrote home enthusiastically of the doings of the football tea is, of which ho was captain, and his teachers were proud of him as a diligent student. Konald divided his time between military duty at Fort-William and Ailasay House, and contrived to spend a great deal of his time with his widowed mother.

If Ronald, and, indeed, the whole Maclaine family, were intensely popular with the crofters and fishermen, both of the Island of Ailasay and on the mainland opposite, the same could not be said of the Gilroys of Ailasay | )eg Castle. The determination of Mr. Gilroy to throw the crofts at Crnthiemore and Crntliiebeg, a!oiii>; with a large tract of common grazing attached to each, into h's deer forest had raised a perfect tempest of anger and defiance throughout the island.

Crathiemoro and Crathiebeg hud been crofting settlements from time immemorial, and the crofts had come .down divided and subdivided from father to son, from son to grandson. The crofters felt that they iiad acquired an hereditary right to the land, burdened only with t>;e payment of the small historic crofting rents. Even these they had not been pressed for under the late proprietor, the chief of Ailasay. Better still, when forced to sell the property, he stipulated that the arrears of rent, amounting to a considerable accumulated sum, should not pass to the purchaser, and the crofters were told that, though they must pay rent to the new laird, their arrears to the old one were wiped out. Although the crofters had never bothered about the arrears, considering t.hem dead and gone, this intimation was hailed with rejoicing, and the chief of Ailasay became more popular than ever, while the new laird became correspondingly unpopular. It would bo untrue to say that the. new landlord was not a just, and even generous man. His newness was .his worst fault. Thus lie remitted two whole ye'ars' rents when there were two bad seasons in succession, and sent cargo after cargo of potatoes for the relief of the destitute. To the late chief's credit be it sa.id, he nc-ver lest an opportunity of inipre-ishig upon tiie islanders the generosity and goodness of the owner of Ailasay bog Castle. But it was all in vain : t,l:e islanders disliked asd distrusted the new comer. Even the magnificent castle which 3lr Gilroy had built for himself on Alasaybeg Bay, looking away across the Atlantic, was an offence. It was necessary in such a palatial establishment to l;eep up an immense staff of servants, and though Mr Gilroy endeavoured to draw these from among his tenants, uhe attempt was a failure. Those who engaged were too jiroud or too incompetent to serve, and those who could have been competent would not engage. So'it came about that all the. Ailasay'oeg servants were strangers brought to the island, and between" them ami the islandei'3 a permanent felidVexistcd. This was the condition of things when iNir. Gilroy, after eon-f-<lcrable deliberation, iinallv decided to do away with the crofting settlements, and throw the ground which would ba vacated into his deer forest; and notices were accordingly served on the crofters that their tenure would cease on the following Whitsunday term, the 15th of jHay.:

Kvoji after the notices were served, very little pressure of the proper kind would have dissuaded Mr lailroy from the course lie had mapped out. lint instead of approaching him personally in a conciliatory manner, as was suggested by the late Chief of Ailasay when they asked for his advice, they held meetings, at which the most extravagant threats were made, and, most fatal move of all, they sent an anonymous threatening letter to the subject of the'.r wrath. Nothing could Jinve been suggested more certain to stiffen the back of the hard-licadetl, iron-willed merchant than this. "I will do what I like with lity own, in spite of all the threatening letters in the world," he had said to his factor when that worthy man pointed out the feeling of resentment and determination to resist which the threatened crofters had shown. , "I am afraid there will he trouble, s"r," remarked the factor, "but I hope matters will have quieted down before you come in July." ( - "I and my family will take up our residence this year in the beginning of April. T have no desire to avoid responsibility for, and the full consequences of, my actions," replied the other. £To he Continued.l