CHAPTER II.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 24, 5 October 1883, Page 7

CHAPTER 11.

•j rr thu J k you less a coward than any woman I have ever known, said Kenneth warmly ; " except, pp.rhap 8 , my mother, who had the courage of a hero, when she followed her son into exile on this island Few would make so little of the loss of a fortune as you do I have been thinking, that, perhaps Dairy mple may be able to suggest something concerning these jewels." "Hardly," said Priscilla, with a smile; « evidently the sea has got them. Why talk of them any more ?" m " Talking does no harm ; and we will hold a council on the subject. As yet, mother, I have not told mv new patient of Miss Emerson or her circumstance?. I ordered him to keep quiet and think a little as possible of what has happened. To-morrow we shall get him here, and then " ° -„ "J wo ?^* f he ia aQ y one whom I can remember ?" said Priscilla, thoughtfully. " I was so ill nearly all the time that I stayed in the cabm and saw little of my fellow-passengers. But Ido thini, yes, lam almost sure, that the man who gave me his ulster, and put it on me, was called Dalrymple. The evening after we left New I saw two men walking up and down the deck together, and pne called the other Lalrymple. When I looked up in the glare of the lightning at the man who was putting me into his ulster, I think the face I saw was the face of the man who had been called Dalrymple. It was a fair-complexioned face " "This is a dark man," said Kenneth, " dark and small, and I am bound to say not very attractive, at least to me. But his appearance may improve after a day or two." Ft* cai*u«s Was ita spasm of jealousy that made Dr. Kenneth so hard on the looks of the man wio had given his ulster to Priscilla ? " He may improve under treatment," he repeated, suddenly conscious that it might be so. « His manners are rather better than his leatures. " I certainly had the impression that the man called Dalrymple was a fair man— however, my memory is all confusion, and faces may have got mixed. I shall feel much interest in my fellow passenger.' 1 The next day Dr. Craig walked across the island to the cottage where the new patient was housed, and conducted him, leaning Sn his arm, to the Lodge. The ladies awaited his arrival with much curiosity, and Mrs Craig welcomed him with friendly warmth As the stranger entered the shabby but comfortable drawing-room his anxious eye went eagerly towards the lady who approached to meet him, as if rapidly reading her character, and then fell, with an expression of satisfaction. Another instant and he was presented to the younger lady, who safe naif-buried in a huge armchair in a shadowy corner. Pnscdla arose and came forward, holding out her hand Mr. Dalrymple raising his eyes, saw her, started, stared, and his already colorless face became livid. Instead of taking her offered hand he looked round as if he would fly from the room ' Priscilla said quickly, «■ I do not wonder you are startled to see me again . The man threw up his hands as if repelling her— " Whom you last saw m such a fearful moment, and never thought to see alive again. And but for yon I should probably have perished It was you who gave me your ulster " Dalrymple had hidden his face in his quivering hands. Afcer a moment or two of silence he raised his head, saving, " Madam excuse me ; I feel that I am quite unnerved, and as yet unfit for the company of ladies. lam ashamed of my weakness; but perhaps you who have suffered so much yourself will know how to feel for me. As for the slight service I was able to render von, I fear it would have been useless, indeed, had not Providence "watched over you. My head is whirling— l am faint " Dr. Craig made a sign to the ladies to speak no more, and, hastily pouring out a glass of wine, he made the patient swallow it. Then as soon as he was able to move, Kenneth led the stranger away to the chamber prepared for him, recommending him to rest, and, if possible, sleep before he thought of the shipwreck a^ain Mr Dalrymple did not rejoin the little circle in the drawingagain that evening, but next morning he was able to appear at breakfast He was then looking much better and had a slight tinge of .the hue of life m his face ; and his manner had gained more ease. 1 hope your loss has not been great Mr. Dalrymple, " said Mrs. Crai?, kindly, as she attended to his wants "Thank you, no. Fortunately I bad but little property on board with me. The usual thing, of course, nothing more. I have tjjajrabroada good many years, and realized a sufficient fortune, not pich to boast of perhaps, but enough for me; and I have it safely lavested, lam thankful to say. Nothing like putting your property out of your own hands, 1 have always thought. I—" i" o **"* Ktti Kenneth . and Mrs - p^S looked at Priscilla, who reddened a little under their sympathetic glance 3 and smiled " \}° Vl'V 1' Em «'son-how the name and face come back-I remember the first evening I saw you on board ;— well, it is a face not easiy forgotten," 6 aid Dalrymple with a bow. And there was another lady. I hope— — w«f " S » 6 T^ Ot my mot *? er > nor m 7m 7 sister, nor any relative. And yet—— said Priscilla, and her eyes filled with tears. Kenneth gave his new patient a warning glance. mnoh nr™f Se 'A°T f - C °£ rße 5- f< > r g ive m e. I trust you have not lost much property, Miss Emerson ? " 1... w Ut n 8 !f haS> " 6aid Mr8 ' Crai S- " Less fortunate than you, she has lost all her property, in the shape of a quantity of jewels." ™™ t Dalrymple. " True ; -now it all flashes ?n P mv mind tth i nkwhy ** idea o£ i^els was associated the lightning and attracted my eyes to you : that was how I perceived you among the other women, and was able to offer you my

ulster. Only for their brilliance I should not have found you in the I crowd." " You were very good," said Priscilla, looking at him gratefully. " But you do not mean that the jewels were all lost, though you were saved ? " cried Dalrymple. " " That is what we have be«n talking about for two days," said Dr. Craig. " Miss Emerson tells us her jewels were clasped with strong clasps, and that the rings on her fingers were well-fitting and many. The point we have been discussing is whether the jewels could all have been wrenched ftom her by the sea, without a single ring remaining to tell of the rest. What is your opinion, Mr Dalrymple?" " I do not think they could have been all so washed away, especially as my ulster was buttoned and the belt knotted tightly around her waist. It was too wide — was it not, Miss Emerson I— and I knotted it tightly to keep it from opening. The sea is a rough enemy, but it has not got fine fingers to unpick, and unbutton, and steal." - ' " That is what I have fancied," said Priscilla "and yet " " Where was Miss Emerson found ? " asked Dalrymple, " and who found her ? " At this question Mary Burns, who was waiting behind Miss Emerson's chair, crimsoned up to the roots of her hair, and then turned pale as death. " Duncan found her," she answered, fixing her dark eyes upon the stranger, with a defiant flash,—" Duncan and me." "Mary," said Mrs. Craig, "nobody spoke to you. You are not behaving as nicely as I expected you to behave. Leave the room." Mary stood for a moment gazing at every face in turn, with her lips parted, as if she would pour out a torrent of eloquence in defence of Duncan's honour, but controlled herself, and walked ont of the apartment. " What a handsome little firebrand," said Dalrymple, following the girl's trim figure to the door with admiring eyes, and then smiling at his friends. " Mary is a good girl," said Mrs. Craig. " Indeed she is ; and kind and tender," said Priscilla, eagerly ; " I am sorry to see her rebuked." " She is not a bad-tempered girl," said Kenneth, "but she will not hear a hint against Duncan." " Who is Duncan ? " " Oh, Duncan MacElratb, a fisherman, to whom Mary is plighted. It was he who found Miss Emerson on the sands." "He did, did he?" Mr. Dalrymple coughed a little, and a peculiar look came over his face. " Mary ought not to be so touchy," he said ; " truth should fear no inquiry." " Then you suspect Duncan 1 " said Mrs. Craig. " I should be very sorry to vex Mary," said Dalrymply gently ; " but it will take a good deal of proving to convince me that Miss Emerson's jewels were all taken from her by the sea, and not by the first hands that touched her as she lay insensible on the sands." Mrs. Craig turned quite pale, and a cloud of pain gathered across Piiscilla'B eyes. " Mary has been so good to me," said the latter, " I would rather lose all than break her heart." "My dear," said Mrs. Craig, warmly, " that is nonsense. If Duncan be a rogue we must find him out, even if you were to gain nothing by it. Mary herself" " Would not break her heart for a scoundrel, once he was unmasked," said Dalrymple, somswhat absently. " But, surely," he continued, rousing himself, and speaking energetically, " surely I am not the first person to whom this idea has occurred. You have all come to the conclusion that the sea can not be held accountable for this particular loss in its entirety " Mrs. Craig nodded at Mr, Dalrymple : she was quite pleased with the interest he displayed in the matter. Kenneth waslooking anxiously at Priscilla's fair, downcast face. There was a dead silence during which the storm seemed to grow wilder, and bullied more fiercely at the small and deep-set windows. "You are right," said Dr. Craig, at last, speaking gravely and reluctantly ; "we had all unwillingly arrived at somewhat the same conclusion, that there was some reason to question the fate of the jewels. And if any one else had found Miaa Emerson. You see we know MacElrath, and have always found him an honest man ; besides, Mary came up within a few minutes after he found her." "Was the ulster then buttoned or unbuttoned ?"' asked Dalrymple. " Unbuttoned, and only fastened at the neck." 18 And all the jewels gone 1 " "All." Mr. Dalrymple shook his head. "lam an older man than you my dear doctor, snd I have knocked about the world a good deal and have been obliged to keep my eyes open. A very few minutes would suffice to take the jewels and secrete them. Probably our friend Duncan thought he had found a dead woman and persuaded himself that there was no great harm in cheating the coastguards, as he would put it, by secreting the property for himself. I have heard that there is a certain wild law by which men who lead lives of danger, on the seaboard of various countries, rule their own conduct with regard to waifs from the ocean. Is it not so in Orra 1 " " I admit," said the doctor, " that some of our fellows will, if they can, sink a barrel of butter or a plank of timber in the sand, before the arrival of the coastguard officers from the mainland, after a storm ; and think they are only -taking care of a gift which Providence has sent them. But this appears to me to be a different case. A man like Duncan would know that property like this must have some lawful owner in the world, even if the lawful owner were no more." " He is a poor man, I suppose ? " said Dalrymple. 'Of course ; all the fishermen of Orra are poor." ' "And plighted to a handsome young girl like Mary ? Probably they are unable to get married." " They expect to have to wait a considerable time,' 1 said Mrs. Crai<» To be Continued. °