THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3118, 18 February 1909, Page 2

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

BY WINTHRQP B. HARLAND. Author of "Lady Elgin's Secret," "A Harvest of Shame," "The Elder Son," "Lord Ashton's Heir," Etc.

CHAPTER lll.—Continued. ".Advertise again," the major said, "and say simply that Frederick Lugard, from India, would Le glad to hear of his Aunt Mary. She must have known me when I was a baby, though I do not remember her; and should that fail to elicit a reply, I will search for her myself, if I have to go from door to door through every street in London." "It shall be done, major. And now let me ask if you approve of our stewardship so fir? We have retained all the old servants, and kept the hurses just as they were when your uncle died; in fact, yoi •will find the Ravensktr.ie estate unchanged and intact, to deal as think bcEt." "Hang the Ravenskerne Estate," said the major gloomily.. tl What do you think I care what oecomes of it while two helpless, women, of my own kith and ki-.i, are hiding away perhaps, somewhere in the world, friendless and poor?

CHAPTER V.

THE BAWYER'S SURMISE,

The listening partner, Mr Copthall, was deeply shocked at Maj. Lugard's irreverent expression concerning the Ravenskerne estate, and his plump hand covered another solemn little cough of deprecation; but, Mr Kessiver cjuld sympathise with the feeling that stirred the Boldier's chivalrous natura.

"On your definite instructions that Mrs Walton and her daughter are to be found," he said, "they shall be; for I have no doubt they can be, and you need not neglect the estate on their account, major. Our search ■will be conducted by a quicker process than the one you suggest, of going from door tj door through every street in London."

"I would do that if 1 could find them by no other means," the major said; "but I am content to leave it in your hands for the present. As for your stewardship, you need not render me an accmnt cf that; I am quite sure you have done everything for the; best." Mr Copthall coughed again, more solemnly than on either previous occasions; and this time went to the length of shaking his bead with despair that was almost pathetic. What was to become of the Ravenskerne estate, if the new proprietor intended to pass all accounts without examining them, and believe everything that was told him? "I understand you," Lugard said, with a smile; "and you will find me quite as keen a man of business as you will care to meet, when I have once settled down to it. Bui I must confess lam sorely troubled about my Aunt Mary. Was she entirely dependent on her brother? Had she no money of her own?" "She had a few thousands, something under five. I can give you the exact ammount, for it was in our hands, paying a safe five per cent, on a mortgage; but she had it transfered to her husband, and he turned it over to a Scotch house, which paid high interest on a speculative business. The firm had been going for many years, and established quite a reputation. All the people who had their'money in it became, to a certain extent, shareholders; that is to say, they participated in the jsro fits, receiving heavy dividends, and had extras m the shape of bonuses, without risk, so they said. It was just the kind of thing to attract such simple-minded people as military mt n —your pardon, major, but they are simple-minded in some respects—clergymen, widows and spinsters, who expect an impossible income out of a thousand or two. We, of course, knew tha crash mu3t come some day; but it would have been useless to warn investors, and the crash did come. Poor Walton was only one ot the multitude it ruined." , "What was the name of the firm?" the major inquired, curiously. "Crombie and Co. The manager, Dallas Crombie, was a man you ■would have trusted with ytur honour and your life as well as your money; so Walton, who knew him person- | ally, told me. Crombie usod to j keep open bouse in Scotland for those who invested in his firm. It was a cheap and very effective way of advertising. The military men, and clergymen, who had partaken ot his lavish hospitality, where princely luxury and cheerful piety went hand in hand, could not fail to make their favourable impressions known; and in these things soldiers and ministers follow each other, like—ahem " "Sheep, you were going to say," J the major observed, with a smile. "Pray do go on, Mr Kpsaiver; it is ! something to get legal opinion for nothing, even if it is not a flattering one."

"There I must bag your pardon. It is distinctly a flattering one; the same noble trust in human nature is cnaracteristic of both professions, arid that is why gentlemen of the sword or of the surplice should never act without expert advice. Poor Walton lost his money; Crornbie absconded and died abroad." "I thall have someihirg to say about him, presently," the major tfcid; "but I want to clear up one or two things while they are in my mird. If my Aunt Mary had money nf her own, it is only fair to conjecture that my father was not penniKas."

"He had a few thousnds, but most of it went hefore he came of age, and soon after *hat he married, iike most of the Lugard's, without consulting the head ot the famli.y. Your mother, was a Miss Felton, the very handsome and accomplished daughter of a yeoman, who liad a fsrm on the JfavpViskerre estate. Your father died from the effects of an injury in the hunting field, or he would have

goiie to Australia with his w ;f e ' s family ; they went when the' run out." "Which means that nr nn .i p p pr . rival would not renew 6 re "It means that th ' * did not agk him. Ihe Feuons eV ery bit as proud, in their w ag L U g art j' S ; as sturdy in pri nc jpj e as were in builu. You r that 0 f y om - s> and those jroac ] shoulders, to the Feltors, > da j or> an d you would "find some ai CQ ] t y tqueezing yourself in oa- gu j t 0 £ ances tral armour. Feitons woui;i have taken you f .th them, but Mr Lugard put in .lis claim—ay, and he had to do it /Very humbly for him. Your father w.>s his favourite brother, the Ben- ! jamin of the family—the youngest 1 £n I best loved of all." "I cannot understand it," the major said; "if my uncle set so much ' value on me, why was he not more ; kind to me?"

' "You did not take to him; that is the whole sceret of it. He did not know how to unbend to children, he was always reserved and undemonstrative, but he had a generous and a tender heart. We who were the agents of his secret bounty, know h.AV kind he really was." "I wish I had come home a few years ago," the major said, regretfully; "we should have understood each other, but I will do my best to carry out his wishes." "Then you will take possession of Ravenskerne at once?" said the lawyer, promptly; "gather his old friends round you, marry as soon is yoa can, and restore the traditions of the family. Everything is prepared for your reception; I will t ke you over to-morrow; to-night you will be my guest, I hope." "I will, with pleasure; but why not go this afternoon?" "It would be pitch darK before we arrived. The roads are heavy, the lights few and far between, and I would like your first impmson of Ravenskerne to be a good one." Maj. Lugard assented, and the lawyei dispatched a clerk to Kavenskerne with a letter for the stwearc'. The roads would b3 just as heavy, and the evening as dark for the office messenger, but Mr Kessiver may have thought that a clerk more or less did not matter. He gave his client soma sherry, a wine so rich and mellow that the soldier could not help wondering whether they kept two kinds, one for poor subalterns going out to India, and the ocher for distinguished soldiers, who had returned to take possession cf magnificent estates in the adjacent shires. Another subject for wonder was what Mr Copthall would do without the partner who talked for the firm? Mr Copthall settled that question by looking at his watch, and winding several yards of a silk wrapper round his throat, preparatory to going home. Mr 'Kepiver had one of the finest mansions in Clifton as a private residence, and the major passed a pleasant evening with him there. [to be continued.]