"IT IS FOR ENGLAND"

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12175, 26 November 1917, Page 8

"IT IS FOR ENGLAND"

gw x 6) By Lawrence Cowen, g) Author of "Wake Up! "etc

g) © A Romance of ® our.own times

AH Rights Reserved

$ 't" mmm, xvi. " I would much, rather not go, Dad. Why can't you and mother go without me?" Mary was speaking with an ascerbity rather foreign to her, and her father looked up from the breakfast table with as much surprise as annoyance on his countenance. Mrs Marshall looked neither surprised nor annoyed. At the same time, she decided not to interfere, but to let- her husband and daughter fight it out themselve3. The subject under discussion was a long-standing invitation to Gorlton Castle. This was an historic, battleworn structure, charmingly situated at the head of a beautiful, sheltered bay on the South Coast. As far-back as Saxon times the Castle had been there, and had figured in many an incident connected with the early kings. The massive ruin?, weather-beaten and scarred, of the original pile were still standing. . Near by stood the Castle, which had been built later, and had seen even more adventures. It had been besieged, and taken, and retaken, more than once during the Wars of the Roses; and had played a great part in the struggle between King and Parliament. The building had been restored from time to time, reverently and artistically, so that it was still ■habitable. The interior had been modernised. For centuries it had been in the hands of the noble family of Summerdale. It was a Summerdale who had built this second castle. It had passed from them during the Civil War, lor the Summerdales were staunch loyalists. But the Restoration had -iven it back to them. The last of ihe race had fallen in the Boer war. His Avidow had not been able to keep up the old house, and spent most of her time in town. The castle was let furnished, and Sir Charles, as a guest r,f on" of these temporary tenants, conreived a groat liking for the stately building particularly for tho rums ot ihe still older castle so near at hand. H' loved .too, the lovely land and seascapes visible from his windows. Moreover, its proximity to an important naval blase offered opportunities, in certain eventualities, of which he readily grasped the. advantages, although lie quite honestly believed at the time that those eventualities would not come to pass. Still, he displayed characteristic Teutonic foresight. And then there were the caves in close, proximity; caves that had been smugglers' haunts in days of yore; caves thati penetrated far into the bowels of the earth, that ramified and spread themselves strangely. What safer or more suitable spot for locating his end of that secret cable, which as to keep him in constant touch with his Imperial master? Its. practical and aesthetic advantages alike made it an (deal country residence. When he made an offer for it, the .vidoAv of the last Summerdale was distinctly pleased, but shrewd enough to make-'Sir Charles pay a good price. He but merely from force of jiabit. He would have paid double i-ather than not secure, it. This -,vas gome months before the war. Later, it trill be remembered, he dieemed it --jd#isable to change his name, and assume than of the original owners. .- He filled the castle with beautiful objects of art. He had agents :md flealors all over the world securing treasures for him. He had a mania for '{ollecting, but also, what many wealthy Collectors lack, a genuine appreciation If what is really good and beautiful. /lis non-Teutonic ancestry possibly accounted for that.

The place had- only recently been completed to his liking, nnd on account of the war the extensive entertaining planned! by him had become impossible. But lie had repeatedly asked the Marshalls to come and -/lay with him, en farnille so to say. As bis passion for Cary grew, he used to picture her in the' "beautiful rooms, or di?■cending the stately staircase. With her for his mistress, he felt the dory of his new home would be complete. He even dared look forward to his services to his adopted country being lewarded with a peerage, and used to speculate whether he would be allowed to revive the ancient title. He rather fancied himself as Lord Summerdale of Gorlton. The rush of events since. the outbreak of war, the bewildering complications of his many businesses, roupled with his continuous plotting on behalf of his native land, had made the projected visit recede into the background. Mary's growing coldness brought it back into the foreground. In town, she found no difficulty in avoiding him. At Gorlton he felt! things would ho different. He meant to invite the }ther visitors, and with just themrlves he felt confident that* Mary, tvithout positive rudeness, could not ivoid him. He was sanguine /hat if )ie and Mary were thrown together a £ood deal under the conditions of country house life, he would soon make good, and mora than good. his lostground. And he felt in his heart that, it would be hard for any woman, especially one with Mary's love of historical association, to resist the charm ot queening it in tihat lovely place. Tims it happened that Mr Marsh:>ll and Mrs Marshall began to find .Si? Charles reminding them of iheir eld promise to come and stay with him. Mrs Marshall, who divine/1 what was in Sir Charles's mind' and knew what was in Mary's, was very successful in devising excuses for postponement. Mr Marshall was rather anxious to go, and frequently told his wife ilr-it ho 1 really couldn't understand why she, coifldn't arrange and fix a date for .the 1 visit. . She tried to make him understand exactly whati was in her mind; but he pooh-poohed her with masculine superiority.

Naturally (enough he was very much irritated when the receipt of a pressing invitation from Sir Charles was met by Mary with tJie words that opened this chapter. •'But why don't you go?" asked Mr Marshall. "You can surely drop your work for a few clays. Indeed, you are rather overdoing it, and a short holiday ia th» fresh air at Gcrlton would do you a world of good." "I'm all rights Dad, as far as that goes; but, to pub it quite frankly, I'd rather not accompany you as Sir Charles's guest." "What is the matter between you and Sir Charles ? You used to be very good friends." Mary hesitated; then she braced herself to say, " Sir Charles is not satisfied with our being good friends. He wants to be something more."

Mr Marshall laughed before replying. He was rather annoyed at Mary's {Straightforward avowal, but he did not tvish to betray his annoyance. He thought it more politic to pass over the flatter lightly. So iio answered, ''What i$ fie Goes? Voc've grown into a yqvv attractive woman, Mary, and you've attracted Sir Charles. But it he doesn't attract you, well and good- That's no reason for avoiding him, ortbehaving rudely in declining his invitation. you mustn't forget I should very much resent anything that tended to weaken the strongfriendship that exists between Sir Charles and myself.'' •'But, don't jou see. Dad, how verv

awkward it is for me, now that I know Sir Charles's hopes." "Pooh, pooh! The young women of my young clays didn't avoid their admirers simply because they didn't reciprocate. You're got plenty of tact, are are only making a mountain out of a molehill. After all. your mother and myself are behaving very decently about that romantic nonsense with Stephen, so you might put yourself out a bit to oblige us- We both want to go to Gorlton, and we don't want to go without you."

Mary could not resist a smile at the calm way in which he dragged her mother into it, and she caught an answering smile on her mother's face. Sh© was tempted to mention the suspicions of Sir Charles's loyalty, which had j strengthened in St George and herself since the open-air meeting. St George had, had some conversation with the men's leaders, and from what they told him of the circumstances under which the offer was made, and of the interview with the unknown Mr Smith, into | whose account the money had been duly returned, he had come to the. conclusion that his parting words to the men at the meeting had solid foundation. But still there was nothing approximating to proof, or even evidence. Mary therefore dismissed the idea, of giving'ibis additional reason for avoiding Sir Charles almost as quickly as formed. When all was said and done nothing was to be. gained by irritating her father, and she knew from recent experience that nothing was more likely to irritate him than doubting Sir Charles's loyalty. . Having deprived herself of this additional excuse for not visiting Sir Charles, she came to' the conclusion that it would be the simplest and best plan, to retire from the contest gracefully and accompany her parents, bhe must contrive, her mother to avoid as far as possible the tete-a-tete with their host which her father won d doubtless engineer- Gorlton certainly was an interesting place, and it should not be difficult, to pass a few days there without too much boredom, and «>> stave off anv actual declaration from Sir Charles. " She was destined to find that-her wishes to escape boredom were to be more than realised; that indeed, it was to be the most exciting time of her life. So <ho puckered her brows a hit, and Icokorl reflective, and then looked up at her father quite cheerfully as she told him that she couldn't refuse him anything and would he uehghtec to go with tliem. And Mr Marsha 1 kissed her verv affectionately, and patted her head and told her she was a good girl. She would never he really grown up tor him. It is usually sons who never grow up for their mother. AT^biU When he had gone. Mrs Marshal said. "You did the right thing my dear Your father is verv pleased. You'won't object to my Jieing a very strict chaperon, will your While this conversation was taking place at tJ« JfaisbahV, Sir Charles was bieaktastnt o with his secretary. T , "Bv the way, Sohaffausen. l nave invito! the Marshal, to stay with me ,at Gorlton for a few days. "Indeed?" inquired tho lighting a ciearette. "Is that awm , S, V^hal Ul tC devil do you mean*" aner asked Sir (baric J> late ho ad become, congous that Schaftousen was eyeing a tendency to As has been already pointed out, tlie\ were on very familiar terms when l>> themselves, but the. secretary had nevertheless always mamfostrd some reference, and Sir Ciliarles had alvvays assumed authority. Now ho. toll that the positions were being reversed. Ho had fallen into disfavour with his Imperial Master. The bro.akdo.vn of the promised coal strike had damaged us position considerably. Ho had prided himself so much upon it. in the communications which, in- corroboration ot his .secret, cable messages, lie contrived should find their wav by devious into the Katherhnd. High hopes had been built- upon it; and he himself had laid his plans so carefully. 3i:«rl engineered his plans so skilfully, that when failure, came, .'t seemed unreal and impossible. How ho had. cursed St George; ho had utilised.the swear words and imprecations of half a. dozen European and two or three Oriental languages, and then had felt himself unequal to the. situation. It. Avas unreasonable of the All-Highest to hold him responsible for such an entirely unforeseen stroke of bad luck.

H e tried bard to find something wherewith to reproach himself, some omission in the carefully prepared chain that was to bring about the strike. Hei could find nothing. The Avhole scheme was humanly perfect. "But it- had gonei a,wry, Through what lawyers with cynical irreverence term an Act of God. Yet the All-Highest was as annoyed as if Sir Charles had blundered and bungled. And now, he guessed that Schaffnusen had Toce.ived instructions to keep an eiyo on him, and so© thai he didn't- bungle again. That hurt his vanity, and hurt it the more became he. very properly felt- the slur was undeserved .

'*'T mean," replied SohauV.isen to Sir Charles's indignant question, "J mean that visitors at Gorlton, other than some of us, may be. in the way." " Explain yourself." " Have, you forgotten the big coup, woj are planning, which will be carried nut from Gorlton ?"

"I have, not- forgotten it; but T, expect the Marshalls visit.will be over before we tako active steps in that matter."

"Good. Whan are they coining?" "On the tenth. And T expect they will stay about, a week."

"The: tenth," repented Schaffausen slowly several times. " Lett me see, the tenth to the seventeenth, it's running things very close." "Why? I understood it was to ho about the twentieth at the v°ry earliest that our big coup was fixed for."

" True, But it. may bet altered. It is very likely that circumstances may arise, making it desirable to pull it off earlier. If .so, the Maxshalls will be, in the way, won't they? Can't you put thorn off?'" '"l'm afraid not. Besides, I don't want to. They haven't aecept'-'d yet, and I've/ asked them so often, and there have been so many difficulties in finding; a convenient time, that I don't want to risk a postponement." "Ah!" said Sohaffanse-n, -who sat quiet for quite a. time. Then lie suddenly broke the silenee by inquiring brusquely, ''Will the* Marshall girl bo there?"

"The invitation includes hor, and I therefore take: it for granted tho acceptance will." " She helped St George to queer that strike business for us. Do they know anything, those two?" " Don't be stupid. Of course notIt was just sheer, rotten bad luck. I suppose they learnt from Marshall that the mon were going to hold an open-air meeting—it was public property, anyhow—and St George went down them to ,spe>ak as part of his Messed catmf.- : paign to arouse England's conscience. ' And, damn him, he's doing it." "That's what is worrying us. As long as they were content to muddle along it was all right'for us; hut if they once wako up to see things as they are and set to in grim earnest, we shall have a harder tussle for victory than we bargained for." "Thank goodness," said Sir Charles, with a gratified look, " we're all right jvliatever happens. Our bread's hut-

(To be continued.)

tered both sides, The Kaiser* knows us for truly patriotic Germans; the Snglish Government believe. u s to be patriotic Englishmen. We are making the best of both worlds, Schaffausen."

"You're quite right there, Summerdale. At the same, time, T must confess to feeling -uneasy now and. then. We might fall between the two stools, as we English say.'' " You must be livery. T feel like that- when T'm livery."

"Perhaps," assented the secretary. " But to return to the Marshall.?. You're rather fond of the Marshall girl, aren't you?" " That's none of your business. Damn your inipudenee!" "1 am sorry. Pray accept my apolocries. Mav I plead in excuse that an alliance with a daughter of the enemy micbt not be pleasing to the All-Hichest?"

"Why not?'' Sir diaries put this ouestion to gain time. He saw what Sohnffausen was driving at; and bad himaelf sometimes • wondered whether his love for Mary might not weaken his allegiance. Tf she were his wife, he would be sorely tempter] to put an end to the double life. He could not bear the thought of her finding out. He knew that she would never recognise the difference he instituted between public and private codes of honour. His conduct in her eyes would be unspeakably vile and abominable. He knew that she would judge in just the same way any Englishman, if one were to be found, who had done in Germany what he bad done here. No plea of patriotism would win him forgiveness; and if that would be her judgment upon her own countrymen, working for the good of England, what would it be upon him, working against England? And. let it be accounted to him for righteousness, he was particularly anxious to stand well in Mary's eyes.

Schaffausen answered his unspoken thoughts as he replied, " A wife's influence is something to be reckoned with. Especially, my dear Summerdale, when a middle-aged man falls in love with a woman many years younger than himself, is there danger of his falling under her thumb. An English wife might make you leas useful, especially if yon marry before peace is declared." " There is not much likelihood of that," replied Sir Charles, rather glad of the chance of shelving the question in this way. He was not at all anxious to Avait till the war was over; rather was he keen on speeding his wooing, but there was no need to tell that to iSehaffausen. That worthy chose to put his own construction on Sir Charles's words.

"You're not sure of the lady, then, eh Summerdale?* was his malicious query. Sir Charles started despite his habitual self-command. Then he replied noncbnlantlv. " [ haven't asked her yet, of course; but you know we have been good friends ever since she was a schoolgirl, and nothing would please Mr Marshall more." "It is a great thing to please the father, in this country I have noticed that it is one of our English ' customs for girls to marry to please their fathers," and he laughed sarcastically. " However, its' no business of mine whom you marry. Only, I repeat, the All-Highest may not like it."

" T'm not so sum." An idea occurred to Sir Charles. It had often occurred to him before, and he was a bit annoyed with himself that it should have slipped his memory vtp till that moment.

"Not so sure?" repeated Schaffausen questioningly. "May I ask why?" " Don't jou see that my marriage with the daughter of a man like Marshall will strengthen my position here? There is talk about us. T mean about naturalised Germans. German armies and submarines hare not been careful enough of our susceptibilities. We have very delicate feelings, we English, and are very much shocked at war being war and not a picnic." Both "men laughed loudly, and Schaffausen sang the refrain of "Unto Britannia." They never wearied of the joke of talking of themselves as English when they were together, and alone.

"Now," continued Sir Charles, when they were too tirod to vlaugh any longer, "mv choice of an English wife, and that wife the daughter of Mr Marshall, will knock on I It 1 head any doubts of my perfect loyalty, and in that way T shall become all the more valuable' to the All-Highest. Really, Schaffauson, I shall have to find an English wife, for you.''' ""Hod forbid!" exclaimed Rchaffausen with intense devoutness. "To return to our muttons, as our very good Allies the French say, you cannot poseiblv put off the Marshalls' visit ?'\ ••'Tt's quite impossible. Besides, their being there need not interfere in any way with what we've got on. "Indeed, it may be a help.'" continued Sir Charles, quit* 1 pleased with himself at the new aspect which had occurred to him. " Having the. Marshalls at Gorlton will do much to avert suspicion, assuming that by any chance the local authorities should entertain any." "There's something in that, assented Serin ffnusen.