The Storgteller. THE GOLDEN TRAP.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 306, 25 June 1898, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Storgteller. THE GOLDEN TRAP.

By Charlks D. Leslie. Midnight was sriking as Mr Her bert Pattison approached his house in Bloomsbury Square. He was fumbling in his pocket for his latchkey when a sudden resolve made him desist. Perhaps it was the sudden puff of wind which fanned his face as he stood, bearing a faint fragrance from the flowers in the garden to the centre of the square, perhaps the recollection that he had taken no exerciso that day, or merely the i<-lle mau with no one but himself to consider, but a reluctance to enter the house and go to bed came upon him, and he decided to take a long walk through the empty London streets in whichever direction his feet carried him.

The season was May and the subtle touch of spring had not evaporated from the breeze in spite of the miles of bricks and smoke it had passed to reach Bloom9bnry, the soft intangible air played round him caressingly, inviting him to remain oat of doors ; with a final glance at his house standing wrapped in solemn silence and respectability, he tamed westward. He walked swiftly, with the firm troad of a strong man, his feet echoing on the empty pavement, for he chose the less frequented roads, by this time almost doserted, It is impossible at any hour to find London streets entirely so, and as yet there was plenty of traffic on the main streats, a little of which strayed into his path as he went along. A night cab passod him, drawn by a wretched horse, two drunken men were inside singing in maudlin voices, the driver half drunk also, thrashed the wretched herse, too weak to move beyond rt shuffling trot, the whole forming a cynical commentary on the city which sends missionaries to every part of the globe. Here and there ho met a belated reveller returning from theatre or music hall; the face of a woman, handsome once, but showing niggard under her paint flashed on his under a lamppost, further a wretched tramp sat crouchon a doorstep trying to snatch a few minutes' sleep before the next policeman moved him on. Above all twinkled the stars, looking down with serene disdain. Such things were, such things would be, for the world alters little.

Mi' Pattißon heeded nothing of what he saw. He had been to a dull dinner party, then to his club, which had been equally dull, he felt irritable and restless and devoted himself to walking off this feeling. He was a big, good-looking man of about thirty, with a sensitive lip belied by his air of calm British stolidity ; well off, materially, he would perhaps have been happier if obliged to work, but he had no occupation or profession. Of course he had a hobby, all idle men have; it is the only thing which prevents them from dying of boredom. He was the h*ppy possessor of one of the finest collections of china in England. Hishousewasfullofchina cups and plates. They lined the walls, they filled innumerable cabinets bought to hold them, they were the one trouble of Miss Marian Heath, a relation of his mother's, who kept house for him, and whose placid existence was only marred by the fear that a clumsy break some precious specimen of chinaware.

It was a curious concidence that while his feet were bearing him on to an adventure destined to alter his whole existence, his mind was dwelling on the prosinness of modem life in general and his own in particular. He was feeling bored and unable to make up his mind as to his future plans. Presently it occured to him that he had been walking now for some time, he slackened his pace and looking round wondered where he was. His geographical kuowledge of north-west London was limited, the Edgewaro road was a long way behind him ; what lay past it on the north of Paddington and Bayswater 1 He was now standing in a wide street and facing a row of houses fronted by the usual tiny garden; behind him were garden walls, night hiding what lay behind, A lane ran off from the road close by leading apparently to the exits of the gardens. There was a certain amount of light from the lamp-post opposite, and his eyes fell on some?hinf lying on the ground at the entrance to the lane, something glittering. He stooped and picked it up ; it was a soverign. He held it in his hand half air used at his find, it was one of life's little ironies, that he, well off, should find the coin while there were so many thousands near to whom the discovery would have meant an infinite piece of good luck.

picking up each coin, his excitement growing with his spoils. At about the eighteenth he came to a garden door, open, the first he had seen, on either side of the lane, a sovereign on the threshold. Looking round he saw opposite him the open French windows of a large room. It was brilliantly lighted, and portions of the interior were plainly visible from where he stood, but no signs of any person within. His curiosity roused to the highest pitch, hn advanced still collecting his golden harvest, the third sovereign in the garden brought him close to the open window and and he saw the figure of a woman standing within. She stood still and motionless and as. he looked interest turned to admiration of her beauty. He saw a young girl .dressed in a white silk dress her arms and neck bare, the latter, however encircled by a, string of large pearls. She was of medium height, and slightly formed, the face was pale but delicately refined and beautiful and crowned with a wreath of red brown hair. She seemed to have stepped out of another world and there was something weird, almost supernatural, in the sight. A few seconds ago he had stood in a dingy street, a row of dingy houses frowning upon him, and now he saw a lovely vision which did not appear to belong to the world at all but to be an apparition from Fairyland. Eawildered and confused he placed one foot within the room, and then after a pause entered with a halfformed intention of explaining his presence' by showing the money. His eyes were on the beautiful silent figure, the words of his query already on his lips, when he stumbled over a cord scattering the coins. As he fell a man who unseen by him had been standing behind the window curtains sprang upon him. An old man with white hair and a gray beard, wearing gold-rimmed spectacles, but his long thin fingers gripped the younger man's throat with a strength belied by his white hairs, and ere Pattison could pluck them off, a sponge was held to his nose, wet with some sickly smelling liquid which at once steeped his senses in darkness and oblivion. He woke to consciousness again to find himself in a small room lighted by two lamps fixed against the wall. It was bare of furniture, but this was of no consequence for he was lying on a soft rug, bound by cords to a bamboo pole, its ends fixed to uprights from the floor He could see a dark patch on the ceiling which he guessed was a skylight, and the wall were bare of windows. Between the two lamps, their light falling upon him, sat the man who had so unceremoniously seized and bound him. He did not look a vulgar robber; the forehead was broard, and the nose prominent, the eyes which gleamed behind the gold-rimmed spectacles denoted intelligence, and his whole air gave the appearance of a learned man, a scientist of some kind. Seeing Pattison's eyes open, he addressed him in a clear, bland voice. ' How are you feeling now V The unlucky prisoner, bound and helpless, unknowing what this man meant to do with him, full of rage at the way he had been captured, was goaded almost to madness by theconventional inquiry. He writhed and struggled to get free till the cords cutting him painfully, he desisted, and fixing his eyes full of hate on his interrogator, gasped. ' If I were only loose, I'd show you how I feel.' The old man surveyed his struggles through his spectacles with immobility, then replied to his prisoner's words: ' The wise man accepts the inevitable. You appear, I- perceive, to have quite recovered. Kindly inform me, if you please, who you are.' The other's calm exasperated Pattison. ' Who are you is more to the point,' he answered, ' and why have you kidnapped me in this fashion V ' All in good time, my dear sir, you will learn very shortly. You must answer me a few questions. Tell me your name, address and occupation.' 1 Herbert Pattison. I live in Bloomsbury. Occupation, I have none.' * You are, in fact, a private gentleman, doubtless fairly well off 1 ?' ' Yes.' 1 Are you married V ' No. But what is the object of all these questions. I suppose you will force me to ransom myself V ' You will learn directly. Then you have no wife ; but perhaps you are going to be married V ' No, I am not,' cried Pattison. ' I am not going to be married, and I am not going to answer any more questions.' ' Softly, softly, Mr Pattison ; your last speech is only half true. You need answer no more questions but you are going to be married.' ' What do y©u mean V 1 You say you are a bachelor and have no intention of getting married. That is a pity, Mr Pattison ; every man should marry. f I must insist on your doing so. You will marry ray ward, Miss Grace Vineent, whom you saw an hour ago downstairs.' The old man spoke in the same clear and unemotional tones which he had used throughout the con-

# r n ijiiia thinking he looked on the all round; it was purely mechanical instinct which everybody does on finding anything. Tho lane was dimly lighted by two or three gas lamps at rare intervals, there was just enough light for him to see another sovereign about four yards further down tho lane. Picking up the second sovereign, he now saw a third, and then a fourth and fifth. There was a track of them extending down the lane placed at equal distances apart. Pattisou followed tho golden path,

lUILUUI UUWU

versation. Pattison stared at him in alarm ; was the man mad ? ' But why ?' he asked, helplessly. 1 A legitimate query, Mr Pattison. I will now explain my conduct. My name is Me.loalf, and I hold the title of professor from the University of Berlin, where I studied. My mother was German, and I was entirely educated in Germany. My whole life has been devoted to the study of the Aryan race and the connection between us, the modern Teutons and the Hindoos. I have lived in this house in London, for many years pursuing my investigations, but now they will enter upon a new phase. It is ray intention to return to India, where I spent many years of my middle life. ' For the last fourteen years, that is to say since the age of five, when her father died, Grace Vincent has lived with me. Her father though a younger man than myself, has been, I may say, my only friend. On his death-bed —he died a widower and without known relations—l Dromised to take charge of Grace, to educate her, and keep her as long as I lived, or till she married. ' I have brought her up on a system of my own, not approving of governess for girls, and have been her only instructor since she was twelve. I own I made a mistake. It being one of my theories that both man and woman should bo taught to help on themselves and do without the society and friendship of other people. I brought her up on this principle, and she had no friends whatever. I now perceive that this gives her no chance of getting married. ' Desiring now to go to India and travel there from place to place, Grace will be very much in my way. I intend to leave her in England, but owing to the words of ray promise cannot leave her except to the care of a husband, and as we are quite without friends I have been obliged to resort to extreme measures to obtain one.' 'You are not going,' gasped Pattison. 'to marry me to your ward without my leave. In fact, you can't. I decline absolutely.' ' Then, Mr Pattison, I shall keep you here till you consent.' 1 1 am afraid,' siteered Herbert, 'in that case, professor, you will have to delay your journey to India.' ' I think not,' calmly returned the professor. ' You will get no thing to eat till you promise.' ' You would starve me to death V cried Pattison, in horror. • I would have no compunction. 1 look upon you merely as a means to an end. As a scientific man, the phrase ' sacredness of human life' has no meaning to me. I value your life as slightly more than a dog's' A cold sweat of horror dampened the prisoner's brow. ' Surely, you are joking,' li3 stammered. ■lt is cruel to both of us, each to marry an utter stranger. Can you not see the unreasonableness, of it V ' Frankly, I cannot, Mr Pattison. The marriage of convieneuce is coexistent with . marriage itself. Marriage by capture is also familiar to all students of history. The rape of the Sabines is a case in point, and I can also refer you to the Bible. 1 am merely inverting the process and capcuring a husband instead of a wife. Grace is not unworthy, to bo the wife of any man. I have brought her up myself, and can speak with absolute knowledge. Her reputation is without flaw. Her beauty is, I believe, undeniable, her character submissivef aud whit more do you want V This list of the virtues of the wife he was thus commanded to take maddened Pattison. ' I don't want her,' he shouted; ' she may be, nay, I will grant she is all you say. I have no intention of marrying till I fall in love.' 'Then for your own sake aud convenience, Mr Pattison, lose no time in falling in love. Till I have your word to marry my ward you will remain exactly where you are and to hasten your decision go without food.' The professor, as he spoke, and with a final steady glance at his prisoner, left the room. Hour after hour slowly passed, the lamps burnt dim, the dark patch indicating the skylight overhead grew light, day slowly dawned. For the hundredth time Herbert revolved in his mind what chance of escape had he, what hope of being traced when found to be missing 1 There seemed to be none ; his bonds cut him sorely whenever he moved. He was absolutely powerless. Not one of his friends had the smallest idea of where he was ; in fact he did not know himself. Ho could hear no sound either within or without the house, but it now struck him that his voice remained at liberty ; shouts might bring succour. Full of this idea, ho waited until he thought it must be well into the morning, for he began to feei faint from hunger, then commenced to shout'Help, help,' with a full force of his powerful lungs. There was no response. He shouted till he was tired, and then, cursing his impotence, lay in a sullen stupor. Presently the door opened, the professor reappeared with the girl he had seen the previous night. Her face was very pale, as though she had slept badly;

she was now clothed in a closefitting dress of dark green, which set oil admirably her pale features and rich coloured hair. She bore in her hand a glass of milk. ' Good morning, Mr Pattison,' said the Professor in the irritating bland tone of the previous night, ' You have been shouting very loudly, for I could hear you at breakfast. I fear you will be thirsty after so much exertion, so have permitted Grace to bring yon a glass of milk.' The girl approached silently, her eyes downcast, and held the glass to his lips. Herbert drank greedily for his throat was hot and dry. ' For your own comfort,' the professor went on, ' I should advise you not to shout, for no one can hear you, and you will only feel hoarse. I will leave you now to make the acquaintance of your future wife.' He went out and shut the door. Pattison refreshed by the milk he had swallowed, determined to make a strong appeal to the girl. ' Miss Vincent,' he began, 'is your guardian serious in his extraordinary wish to marry you, his ward, to me, a man of whom he knows absolutely nothing : and can you contemplate marrying an utter stranger like myself f The girl raised her eyes ; a faint colour came into her pale cheeks. ' Indeed, I don't want to marry you or anybody, But what can I say 1 I must do what lam told. She spoke with absolute*sincerity, and Pattison groaned to himself as he recognised that he could expect no active help from this quarter. The Professor's remark as to ' submissiveness' recurred to his mind, and he realised how annoying this virtue—so rare among present day revolting daughters—was at the present moment. ' Then you think he is serious ?' ' Yes, I fear so. When he makes up his mind nothing can alter him. I have tried.' 'Then your guardian has now takeu it into his head to marry you, and put the money on the road outside to attract somebody in the house. He must be mad. Was last night the first time he tried the experiment ?' ' No, the third. I had to stand in the room when anyone entered the garden so that they could see me when they approached the. window. The first night a man came, an awful man, and I think drunk. ' The Professor sent me out of the room, and I don't know what happened, the man left soon/ Next night no one saw the money, so ho picked it up before daybreak. Last night you came.' The girl told the extraordinary story simply, Pattison listened with mingled despair, and rage. If the Professor was mad, there was certainly method in his madness, and the plan had proved partly successful. An eligible bachelor had been captured, but Pattison had a strong fund of obstinacy in his composition and swore at the moment that he would die before he yielded. 'He threatens to keep me here without food till I promise to marry you.' ' I know, the girl answered dolefully. ' But won't you aid me to get away % At least you could bring me food secretly.' ' I will try and bring you some food,' she answered. ' Only lam afraid the Professor will forbid me.' Had Pattison any pity to waste he would have expended some oh the girl. She stood the picture of misery and shame, seemingly anxious to aid him, but utterly in fear of the old man who had brought her up. The silence was broken by the return of the Professor, who dismissed the girl with a motion of his hand. Then he turned to his prisoner. « Well V he queried. ' One may liko partridge, but not when thrown in one's face. Your ward is no doubt charming, but I refuse to be coerced into a marriage against my free will. ' There is nothing like starvation to cure obstinacy. It answers with horses, and I expect it will answer with you very shortly. Think it over.' {To be continued.)

The following is recommended by tha " Algemeioe Tisohler Zeitung " as a strong and lasting cement for rubber either on metal or wood, and heuce will serve for cementing bicycle tires :—Put one part of shellac, broken into small pieces, into 10 parts of ammonia water (strongest), and set aside for three or four weeks, or until the mass becomes entirely fluid. In use the liquid ia applied to the ludian rubber surface, and the latter is applied to the metal or wood, and (irmly wired or corded thereto. On the evaporation of the ammonia a most complete joint is formed between the two surfaces. Mr C. Baynes, a railway booking clerk, who died recently at G-oulburn, how South Wales, was the victim of a most extraordinary accident. Ho hurried out of his oHicc to take the tablet from the train then entering the station, under the impression that tho train was on the centre riils. He was stopping off tho platform when he was struck on the head by the engine, and flung back. A long lead pencil, which he was carrying with the sharpened end between bis teeth, was driven through the back of his mouth to the base of the brain, a distance of thrae and a half inches, when it broke off close to the flesh, necessitating: the use of forceps to extract it. Mr Baynes progressed favourably for some days, but inflammation of tho brain supervened, and death followed. Mr Baynes had been in the railway service for thirtoon years.

HAMILTON : SATURDAY. JUNE 25, 1898.