"STAR" TALES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10537, 12 August 1912, Page 4

"STAR" TALES.

&2N£ftftL MALLOCK'S SHADOW.

(By W. B. MAXWELL.) Author of "The Guarded Fin me,' " The Ragged Messenger, etc.

[Aix Rights Reserved.] OHAPTE XI. The New Year was nearly a fortnight old-and .till no letter from MeW, Blackray. .General Mallocks restlessness was painful to see,lllo days seemed to bo passed in watching for the po 3 tman. When between four end five of an afternoon the postman had come and gone for the second time,, tfc, day was over for General Mallock— I Nothing now but waiting to seo what ( to-morrow would bring. •'. Kathleen advised him to telegraph 'to the publishers asking why they had not written, but he declined to do this. "No that would be beneath my dignity. I won't let .them know how ' aroatly tllfev have upset me—at any J»te, not yet. I'll give tliem a few jaoro days." _ . , Ono afternoon Dr Bryant, secretly fcummoued by Kathleen, came to pay New Year compliments, and he at ono© noticed the increased irritability of . General Mallock. Indeed, the signs ot nervous disturbance were distressingly obvious to an expert observer—something very far from right here, something that should be checked prompt-. ly. He was passing through the hall when Bryant arrived. "What's that, O'Kelly? Who's tliereP Is it the post? Oh, Bryant, bow are youP Look here; you can tell jne. >The afternoon mail is always late , .that's the cause? They make excuses that I don't believe. Are you , / tad others suffering in the same way, or is it only my house that's neglectfid?" ' ! , " Oh, I don't think -" i General Mallock did not wait for an gnswer. He went on, with strong irritation: "It's most annoying—dreadfully annoying—when you're expecting important letters from London.' 1 i -. " Sir, it's not nearly four yet/' said '. " O'Kelly. "Oh, is that eo?" And General Mallock looked at his watch. "Good! But, Bryant, you must excuse me v I ■ ;i can't stop here; my boy wants me out there, at the range—l must go to Geof- , ' frey now. I'll see you later —in ten minutes." O'Kelly, taking Dr Bryant's hat and coat, explained that he and Mr Geof,i frey had constructed a moving, target, "in order to divert the General." "It's a pretty little toy," said ~. "O'Kelly. ,e A mounted warrior that 6wishes acrost on strings. Have a look "" ■ at it, sir when ye're going out." And ho added confidentially: "The Gene- '•.'* ral's very down, sir." i- "Yes, he seems rather out of sorts. .' " Clane out of 'em, sir. Step this £„ ; way, sir. The young ladies ar e in the $ ' morning-room." Mit-e Mallock was glad to see her > ' friend and adviser; and she rapidly told him all that there was to tell of .. her father's health.. Fatigue in London, a chill, and anxiety concerning his book. >.,", ' "Oh, that's what he is worrying ,; ". about " Dr Bryant seemed relieved ' '' by/ learning that there was a perhaps \ not' unnatural reason for\ the worried '•' aspect and the querulous voice. "And, ': Miss Mallock; tell me this. Does he , ' -. count as much as ever on the result !■> that the book is to achieve?" .-- "Oh, yes, of course he does—more -<''/ than ever." " And when is the book to appear?" -.' Dr Bryant asked the question thoughtfully and gravely., .• - ' "Almost at once. That is, we hope ■o. We are waiting for definite news — ' ; i and it is the delay that is so trying to ' father." ; "Yes, I see." # - The conversation, waa interrupted by the arrival of an unexpected visitor. ""Quite a stranger, ain't I?" saio i Lord Keighley, • shaking hands with 1, ' Kathleen and nodding to her sister. ""Miss Mollie, your humble servant." U -.'"You know Dr Bryant," saidKath- ' leen. K ,- "Oh, yes. How d'ye do?"—and he ,-■' > nodded carelessly to the-doctpr, and ,; *poke with unconscious pomposity. " I ?,. consider myself under an obligation to ;'■ Br Bryant for his skill, and, ah!— / clevernoss. . .1 say, may I ask for somethingP" W, '« Oh, I'm sure,?'.said .MolHe. "we '\ ,_ couldn't refuse you anything. What do \fi, '. 'you desire?" JV " A cup of tea. Or is it too early?" {*? ■' i "'lt's never too early for tea," said ;' Kathleen. 'v'' • "I have had no lunch," said Lord ;**, Keiehley, jn a tone of self-pity. ',' ,"~Poor man! Then you shan't be :.„■ kept waiting for your tea." :'. > ' Lord Keighley was not ■at .his best ;*/■.-this afternoon. • He wore the game- ;, keeper costume, with thebrown gaiters '> ,'and thickrsoled boots; and he looked -* heavy even lumpish. His pleasant >* friendliness of manner had somehow ■.; deteriorated into offhand abruptness; ■■,;' .when he smiled or laughed his face too ij„. • rapidly became a stolid mask again; < £ .: altogether he seemed too much wrapbT V U _P * n himself and his own affairs. ?l ■ i " My first chance of getting up j v :'. here," he continued, consequentially. H.;\ "I have been hard at it with the lawfera. By the way, how's your father? want a few words with him." j$V I ■ " He'll he here directly." 's& ' While the servants were bringing in W'. the tea things Mollie chattered with ' Dr ■Bryant, and Lord Keighley took if ; , ■ the opportunity of speaking in a low W, ;Todce to Kathleen. W&] : i(J sa y- ' I hoped to catch you I •lone—but it doesn't mater. I trust K*'-"\ Stdu haven't thought that I was neglectfe ( Sng vou all?" $:;., I, ■ . Oh, no. We knew how busy you ffik,,. were." m. :, "'\ "ft w curious, but, speaking to her, ' he . beoame at .once the nice—the nice—Keighley of recent re;«, ; times. He looked at her with kind |||. fend intelligent eyes, and hia voice was |K; full of friendliness and good-nature: %gfe: :'"Look here. Miss Kathleen. It's mr, albout your father. I ought to have mg t come up long before now, because I ife';.»'have been given a diplomatic mission— ask him something—as a favour." £&'',j .'"Something seriousP" M\; \ "Oh, dear no. But he mayn't like pi p . ; li^-and,' - on my honour, I feel very shy |{i J and uncomfortable" in putting it before p} .•; him. They've made me their embassa-i'-§f< dor, because we are such friends—)mj ' and so they think he'll take the request ffeirr - hetter from me." ' IK. \■ - '■' Yea? Tell me what it is," Ife-I '"WeU. they ask him—simply as a jffiv. : "favour—to sacrifice his private amuseM}-'' aaents in the public cause. They say, |g& , if he wants to help the official organisa- *&&\ Aion of tho county " m& ■ '' But just then General Mallock was, gfty heard calling loudly in the hall for !!*''. O'Kelly, and Lord Kei Hi ley said nc |sf, more, fie had beeh everything that he yp.- ought to be while talking to Kathleen ; !§*/- now T however, he soon relapsed into m i ■ pomposity. m{ ';, , Outride in the hall General Mailed: I'^'" 'l?*' fr | " v '' t ys O'Kelly bis new cardboard t|:'' "'w.-geti and its detached 'wooden supfk\ port. fj'. .'" O'Kelly, your rabbit won't work, or & r else I have broken it." ;jf;. " Rabbit I" raid O'Kelly. " 1 intend'&s*" «d it for a mounted warrior." if k "Did you? Well, it's unmounted 1 It won't move." I'.f- -"-'"Oh, we'll soon- patch that," sakl ffi, ■ O'Kelly, examining the damage. "/• life" soiissors and some more string, and we'll i£> " splice it." tJj General Mallock hurried into th< 7f£&* morning room, and fussily demanded £jj? assistance. & " Mollie 1 " Your largest pair of scist'J'\ «ors. Be quick!" said Kathleen, "Lord &•£>"- ' "How are you, my dear lellow: j fcV iJoW, Mollie, the laigest you can find. ' | %V ■ "General," said Keighley, "I havf ':'". been deputed to approach you about £;- something. Those.in power have sent ( ■me because they know " . . r- ' "I'll be back in a minute." _ Anci ; > General Mallock hurried out again, to

return presently with his broken cardboard and a ball of string.. Then, altogi&rar «r®r3s3ed by liis little task, ho bognn laboriously to bind the string round and round, carefully tying it at intervals and cutting off .the ends. Meanwhile the tea not and.cake-di.jhe3 appeared, and Kathleen and her sister were attending to the visitors: " There,' ' said Kathleen, handing a cup to Lord Keighley. "Sit down. You must be tired as well as hungry. What trouble these discontented people are giving you 1" "Yes. I don't mind saying lam tired of them and He did not sit down, but stationed himwlf on the hearth-rug, and, standing with his broad back to the fire, he seemed almost aggressively large and dominant. " Fed up with it—worn out with it—dead sick of it." " You are determined," said Dr Bryant, mildly interrogative, "to reinstate Mr Gilchrist—if he is acquitted?" "Certainly I shall do, so—and of course he will he accuritted." " I am told that your men will never forgive him." "Who t<rll3vou that?" " Donaldson!" "The dissenting parson!" Lord Keighley took a gulp cf tea, and then shrugged his shoulders contemptuously. " With all due respect to his cloth, he's a meddlesome fool " " But don't you think," said Kathleen, " that by your loyalty to Mr. Gilchrist you may be mortgaging your future comfort? " I can't help that.". " I do wish ho hadn't shot the man." "So does he now. If the chap hadn't recovered, it would have been very .awkward. But the chap has recovered; and, as X say, we're most grateful to Dr Bryant for making him ad right so quickly." ■ " It's impossible not to blame Mr Gilchist,'' aaicl Kathleen, earnestly. " The poor man—what was his name, Dr Bryant?" "Denham.** " Poor Denham swore that he intended no violence; and he and the others were quite unarmed. That was proved, wasn't it?" Keighley. shrugged his shoulders again. " My dear Miss Mallock. put yourself in Gilchrist's place. It was the middle of the night. These ruffians came bellowing round nis house. What did they expect ? If you were roused from your sleep by a dozen raving scoundrels, wouldn't you have a bang at them?" " Not till I knew that I was in real danger." "Then you've better nerves than most of your sex," and Keighley smiled at her. " Indeed., I'm ready to admit that' you have. I admire your pluck, but——-" ' " Let me give you some more tea," said Kathleen hurriedly. The conversation had taken a bad turn. Instinctively looking round to the window where her father was busy with his cardboard and string, sho saw that he waa listening. T< Thanks," said Keighley, taking his cup to the tea-table. "No, rightly or. wrongly, Gilchrist was in fear of his life. I don't pretend that Gilchrist was a hero. Heroes are rare. And I do say, put any ordinary middle-aged man in a tight place—and you won't find much of the nero left in him. The odds are that his first notion will be to save his skin—at all costs."

" That's your view," said General Mallock. He had dropped the ball of twine, and turned from the window." Standing very erect, he stared hard at Lord Keighley. , " It seems to me commonsense," said Lord Keighley, quite oblivious of his clumsy hadling or a perilous subject. " Here's your tea,' said Kathleen. " Do eat and drink." " Thanks." And he heavily and didactically, following the line of his own thoughts with fatal persistence. " I consider that I stand here for law and order—doing the Government's work; and I maintain that if the Government aren't grateful to me—" " Don't expect gratitude from Governments," said General Mallock. " No, nor justice either." " They listen to what I say, hut " j Do they listen to youP" said General Mallock. " Ah, that's because you're a person of importance." "Well, one is compelled to remind them that one isn't a mere nobody. My position carries certain obligations." "Noblesse oblige," said Mollie. , " I often wish that my old unole had provided himself with a son and heir. shouldn't be here. But he didn't*. I am here." " J'y suis, J'y reste,' 6aid Mollie. But Lord Koighley disregarded childish interruptions; he looked from one to another, and continued as if addressing an audience from a platform"The quarries scarcely pay expenses. I might shut them up. How would the men like that? But no, they are in my charge. I must hold them; and, whatever the trouble, I must see it through. Mind you." and he pointed his finger impressivly at Dr Bryant : " I thing it may be very serious trouble. But I can't give way to threats without a fight for it, can I? I can't throw up the sponge, and cut and run." Once more General Mallock had drawn himself to his full height. He was glaring at Keigbley. Kathleen, Mollie, andDr Bryant betrayed the utmost uneasiness. " Do drink your tea before it's cold, Lord Keighley.". "Thanks. And may I have another bit of cake? Excellent cake!" " Yes, isn't ib. Our cook makes '• " The trouble here is a part of a wider trouble." Lord Keighley, declining to be interrupted, pursued his argumentative harangue. " Agitation unchecked by authority. Look at these parades and speechifyings at Bevistown. They had something like a riot there the other day." " Oh," said Bryant, " a very mild riot." " Yes, but don't some of the worst -diseases begin mildly? Nevertheless, they want strong remedies- There's a cavalry regiment doing nothing at York. Let them come here and help in keeping order." "Do let them," said Mollie. "It's simply a grand idea." ' " And I've urged the appointment of half a dozen more with some sense and grit -in them. Why, no strong Bench would ever have committed Gilchrist—or made me put up such a bail for him. They allowed themselves to be overawed by mere clamour. Nincompoops 1 But, of course, che difficulty is to find suitable people —men with some education and knowledge of the world, who can afford'the time, and will give their services regularly. You see, General, that is an admitted difficulty, but " Kathleen's face had suddenly lit up, •md she broke in delightedly. " And /ou want father to be one of the new magistrates! Oh, father, you must *ay yes to that." " I am quite willing to serve," said General Mallock, with quietly dignified satisfaction,- " since it has at last occurred to somebody that I am suitable for the honour." "No, I really didn't mean to bother /ou*, General, because I know you cling uO your leisure hours. But, of course " —and his Lordship sxopi>ed lamely and ■tupidly, looked embarrassed, and 'hen floundered on again—" the sc-lec--ion doesn't lie with me—don't you know. But—er—l shall be most happy -o submit your name." " Oblige me by not doing so." " Whatever you wish." "I own a few acres of land. The poor peopls—the common, ignorant neople—look up to me, respect me. doesn't it strike you as rather odd that I haven't been made a J.P. long igoP" " It seems an oversisht." "Oh.no. They oboy orders." The' H-eneral "<'a3 spsaking..'with' loine heat. "The word >,as been given:' ' Neglect no opportunity of putting a slight upon George Mallook.' " " I don't for a moment think " "Not tho smallest consequence." And the General turned his back, and tvith trembling fingers wound up the loose string. Mollie went over to him, stood by his side, and asked if she might assist hin.

by holding tho piece of board while he bound the string. "Thanks, Mollie. The fiddling work makes one's hand shake." " Lord Keighley," said Kathleen, in a hard, cold voice, " will you have some more tea?" "No, thank you; I must he moving on—l'll bid you good-night." Kathleen had turned and was going to assist Mollie in assisting her father, she spoke as coldly as before, and without looking round: "Yes, you have a long walk, navoh't you-" Dr Bryant, observing the General, saw how great an effort was required before he could his ordinary courteous manner. But jbe completely succeeded in doing so. " Good-night, Keighley—my dear fellow, good-night. One moment, and I'll walk with you as far as the gate." "There," raid Mollie—"done now, father. That's all secure now." "An invention of my boy's," said the General. "Look at it, Keighley. We are improving our range. Targets that move I . "Oh, by Jove 1 I forgot." Instead of scrutinising the cardboard target, Lord Keighley drew back and exhibited every sign of extreme embarrassment. " Our talk drove it out of my head. But this is -just what they deputed me to approach you about—your range. The territorial authorities don't altogether approve of what you are doing here." "Indeed!" " They seem to think that it clashes with the official association." " But I haven't yet been invited to join the association." "Oh, that must certainly be an oversight." " Perhaps 1" " What they say is, they couldn't recognise your private organisation as a club." . " I haven't craved for recognition for it." " No. But they do feel it clashes. And—er —in fact—they want you to drop it." "So that is it?" General Mallock tossed the cardboard, to the windowledge and laughed harshly. "That's it! The word has been given. I'm not to be allowed even to play at soldiers. I am the disgraced child, who must not solace himself with toys." And he laughed again. "No—it is necessary to make him feel his disgrace. That's the essence of the punishment. '' "But," cried Kathleen, indignantly, " they can't preeume to say what you should do with your own servants 1" "No consequence," said General Mallock—" Not the least consequence. Where did I leave my cloak?" And he went out of the room, followed by Mollie and Lord Keighley. Kathleen had turned to Dr Bryant, and was appealing to him for sympathy. " Isn't that a burning shame?" " Yes, it is really too bad." " Pleasa go with him and smooth things over. Lord Keighley is utterly tactless." " Yes, I'll endeavour " " Stay and talk with father at the gate. He waits there for the postman. And don't let Lord Keighley stop—get rid of bim." Lord Keighley did not thrust his company upon General Mallock or Dr Bryant, and the final task of getting rid of him fell upon. Kathleen herseli. While the others were going out, he returned to the morning-room. "Miss Kathleen!" He stood_ smiling on the threshold, and spoke lightly and easily. " You didn't say goodnight to me." "Good night, Lord Keighley." He seemed' quite surprised by the coldness of her voice; and, coming from the door, ho looked at her inquiringly " I say, I'm awfully sorry that I upset your father. But have I been unfortunate enough to offend you too?" " Yes—bitterly." " May 1 ask how?" '• By almost every word you uttered from the moment that you came into the room." "Really?" "Is it that you have no tact—no heart?" " As to my heart But that must take care of itself." He was stolidly huffed. He had assumed his heaviest air, and he set his face as if in pride, denuding it of any emotional expression. Yeb as he looked at her so stolidly, his eyes seemed to speak a reproach. "Couldn't you understand?" She went on with a change of tone, as if her resentment had been softened by the silent protest. " Couldn't you see how you were wounding him?" " I meant to save him from annoyance. The association were going to v.rite to. him. b"t I persuaded them to wait. I thought he would take it more pleasantly from me. in a casual way." "But what about the magistrates?" " Well, you did that—not I." " Hot,' could I suppose anything else, when you'd just said you had a mission to ask him something?" "Yes; but if it comes to tact, ladies ought to be quicker than men to " " That wasn't all. Every word was double-edged. About running away—and throwing up the sponge! How could you? To him!" "It's difficult always to remember. Surely y~u know I'd cut my_ tongue out sooner than say anything likjj>> that on Kathleen's tone changed again.

Ceasing to accuse, she began to entreat, and her words came fast and eagerly in a forcible appeal. "They must make him a magistrate! Oh, it's infamous, the way they all treat him. Lord Keighley, compel them to do it. Insist upon their appointing him." "I can suggest the appointment; but If ear " *'You are not afraid of reminding people of your importance when it's for your own affairs. Now be important for someone else." But this was too much for Lord Keighley. He'showed that he felt seriously huffed, and he answered with a most ponderous dignity. "I regret that in your judgment I have been guilty of boastfulness—and —er —vulgar self-assumption." " Oh. please show ' yourself a real friend for onoe." " I thought I had shown it consistently." • " Force them to give him this sign of respect." And Kathleen's appeal became piteously intense. " Heaven knows it's trifling enough—but it may be everything to him. You can't gues what he suffeis. He came here to escape from petty humiliations —to be alone—far away from everybody; and it's worse—yes, it's worse—than if we were in a brutal city where the rabble mocked him in the streets." "On my honour, if I could " : " They won't refuse you. You can do it for him—if you will." "I'll do*it for you—if I can:" " For all of us." " No," said Lord Keighley, stolidly. "For you." « " Then, yes," said Kathleen, impulsively, " for me—if you care for my good opinion." "You know I care for it." And he took her hand and held it firmly. Mollie, as she came into the room, saw them shaking hands; and then at last Lord Keighley was got rid of. (To be continued.)