For Love and Glory.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8183, 14 July 1906, Page 2

For Love and Glory.

By St. George Rattiborne. Author of " Dr. Jack," "The Witch from India," " Captain Tom," "Mynheer Joe," " Dr. Jack's Wife," etc., etc.

CHAPTER XXlX.—Continued.

He everted bis muscular force and flung tba door wide open, ambling through the opening, with the eager Armand at his elbow. "Surrender! Eseape is out off; the pluce is surrounded!" was what the valiant major bellowed. Armand looked for the insurgent host, ready to fight to the last gasp —for tbe blaze of firearms and the defiant shouts of those who were surprised yet would not surrender; ne might have oo:>tinued to look until doomsday without finding these things. For all they saw in the little, roofless penance hall, where the moon lighted the interior ao brightly, was the captivating Don Juan, rising hurriedly from a stone bench, with a cry of horrified alarm, a pretty daughter of Spain, rrobably the child of the homeless don who dwelt temporarily in the ruined monastery, olinging r wildly to bim. it was a sight for the gods, and Aiu<HDfl was sosurpv sad, s > muused at. this ridiculous outcome of their wonderful wild-goose ohasp, that be burst out into a roar of la ghter. CHAPTER XXX. WANTED—A BKIDOE. The poot majjr seemed almost ; petrified with amazement and chagrin when he discovered what a ridi- | calous turn affairs had taken. Prom hißh tragedy to low comedy —frpm a nest of dangerous oonspiritors to a couple of mooning lovers, meeting in secret, to avoid the parental authority—the mountain which they antioioated, had brought forth a mouse. . , : Mo wonder Armand almost sbiieKed with laughter. It was an awful tumble from the Biiblime to tbe ridiculous. And the haugnty Spaniard hardly knew what to make of the affair. There were several windows on either side of the little building-, gaping opening, destitute of glass,: ior even the transparent seashells used with such good effeot by the Filipinos in lieu of, the commodity of civilization. Each of these apertures speedilyframed a couple of heads surmount ed by insurgent hats, and eager eyes were bent upon the distressed oouple within. It was a striKing tableau. One man, at least, did not enjoy the sensation, and that was the Spaniard. , At first he shivered with fear; doubtless bis craven soul had leaped to the conclusion that the worthy father of bis enamorata, who doubtless had ere now ordered him off the premises, commanded these fiercelooking men, that a trap had been laid to catch him, and dire punishmeut.even to tarring and feathering, might be the outcome of his amorous expedition. Then came that laugh from Armand; there seemed to deocedly familiar about that. The major swore in plain, everyday United States, for he was dreadfully shocked and disappointed. That gave Don Juan a cue. It also aroused him to the consciousness of the fact that be was neglecting his bounden duty in the premises; he knew a few choioe words in that line * himself, and since tbe stranger had opened the door, it became his privilege as well as his pleasure to occupy the room. Besides, he heard the men exchanging remarks now in English; perhaps some of them were not exactly complimentary to him, and this helped to arouse his ire. At any rate, he launched forth. As he proceeded he lashed himy self up into a furious condition, for no man likes to be spied upon by rude eyes during his love-making, and such a base intrusion on'bis privacy will arouse him, if anything on earth may. The major was quite satisfied now that G. did not not always stand for Godiago. He was also convinced that because a man takes infinite pains to approach a rendezvous, it may not be settled that he is to meet desperate spirits there—that the oooing of turtle doves, when indistinctly heard through thick walls, may even be mistaken for the eager consultation of dastardly conspirators. Perhaps the gallant Boldier may have entertained some vague notion that he would iko to put la few leading questions to Senor Juan. This was before tbe Spaniard found bis cue and his tongue at the Same time. When that unfortunate combination took plaoe, despair seized upon the major's soul. There was no uso trying to stop the deluge that rollod from that patriot's throat—nothing but death or a gag could do that; ia thro l * languages ho shot them forth, the most stunning volley that ever fell from human lips, and as the major had run up against the same threshing machine before, he knew the folly of attempting to dam it. One resource was left—flight. The expedition had been a failure, and there was no use in denying it. Ho would have to wait his regular turn for promotion. So the major gave the signal agreed upon, and withdrew from the sacred precincts of the temple consecrated to love. Only one thing bothered bim—- - why should the Spaniard fear the father of his girl when able to paralyze all opposition by such an outburst of premium profanity? That would always remain a mysThe men gathered in front of the ruin, and the major grimly warned them as to tbe necessity for keeping absolute silence regarding the fiasco that bad come to their high hopes. '

He knew full well, however, that despite his efforts the story must eventually leak out, and beoome quite a chestnut among the officers of the army of occupation. While nearly every man may enjoy a good joke when it ooncerns some one else, few there are who oan laugh if it happens to be on themselves. And the major felt very sore. Possibly it mßy have been some lone-standing accounts which he figured on settling with his increased pay upon promotion that galled him worst of all. They had So camp at the station to await a down train, which wae very long in ooming. Armand took hia disappointment philosophically. Those papers seemed possessed of the nine lives of a oat, and continued to elude his eager hands in a way that was certainly exasperating, to say the least. At any rate they developed' the ataboorn trait in his character that hitherto had not cropped out. There was still time to do it all. Godaigo would hold en to the papers, believing that he had something that might be valuable. Perhaps tbe wheels could be set in motion, and his O whereabout|idis- I covered. Kadoliffe's influence with the would gain him tome favours in this line. And wherever he heard of Godaigo,' there he vowed to follow, if it were at the ecd of tbe arohipelago. So Armand dozed a little, await Jug the tram, and when it finally oame oreeping along, he enjoyed another nap all the way to Manila. The major was poor company. He had troubles of his own, and was busy figuring out the difference between a major's "pay and what he had hoped to speedily draw had the expedition been a humming success. The gallant son of Mars was not the first man to taste the bitter fruit of disappointment, or disoover how many a eiip J lies betwixt cup and lip. When they stormed into Manila making a great racket, as though the journey bad been accomplished in record time, Armand cordially thanked the major for his kindness in allowing him a share of the hononr; and the twinkle in the soldier's eye, as he shook hands, told that he was finally beginning to appreciate the stupendous humour of tbe affair. After all, our friend was glad to tumble into a fairly decent bed. Tnis was new business to him. Hitherto all of h ! s hunting had been done in the daytime, between the rising and setting of tbe sun, and be could not say that this crawling around the country at dead of nigbt, stalking cooing turtle doves in love's trysting plaoe, was exactly in sympathy with his feel ings, or appealed in any degree to the sportsman spirit that possessed him. Arising late in the morning,, he had breakfast alone, and then sauntered forth. Was it at all strange that his footsteps turned toward the spot, wberelt seemed most likely he should find Tbereae? Surely not, since his heart was yearning to behold her again. The little party had been doing some parts of the city along the old wall, surveying the weedy moat, and listening to ghastly stories from their guide concerning the amazing scenes of carnage which this bulky barrier bad witnessed in the stirring times of the past, when Spain, ruling with a cruel hand, was seldom free from warfare with the powerful mountain tribes, and Manila often beseiged and assaulted until this same ditch were dogged with human bodies. There is a strange, subtle fascination in listening to gruesome tales, whether in the Alps, where brave men lose their lives amid the ioecapped glacier mountains, or the tangled wilds of the tropics, home of the tiger, the cobra, and a thousand deadly things. The valour of mankind always appeals to the imagination, whether those who fell in the desperate charge were of our blood or aliens, blocks of the Soudan, Boers among the kopjes, or Japanese in the far East. So Armand found them, and of course, after hearing these tales of savage heroism, Tessio was in just the humour to be in sympathy with her favourite recreation. They jokingly asked Kadoilffe if he had changed his habits and taken to his morning nap, whereupon our friend thought it only right to defend himself by spinning a yarn. Thus the story of th° night campaign was told. As usual, Armand attempted to hide his own light under a bushel as much as possible, stating that he had accompanied the major for just the fun of the thing, but when he mentioned their expectation of discovering the hiding place of Godiago Takauori, the flash of Tessie's luminous eyes told him how well she read his secret. (To De continued).