THE TREASURE-TROVE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIII, Issue 28, 8 November 1895, Page 21

THE TREASURE-TROVE.

(Edinburgh Catholic Herald. J

"My dear Nina, I fear there is no help for it. We must either let the place or sell it."

" Sell our old home ?" 1 cried tearfully. " Oh, Phil, you cannot mean what you Bay 1 "

"But 1 do mean it," my eldest brother replied in his grave, earnest tones. "To live here on our present iocome is clearly out of the question. Retrench as we may the thi D g cannot be done, besides there are the boys to be considered. Their education ia no light matter, and, with Denis' unusual intellectual gifts, it would be a grievous pity "

"Yee, I know," I hastily interposed. "Of course the darling boys must not suffer, but could we not think of some other way ?" " My dearest girl, I have thought until my brain is weary, and I have coma to the conclusion that this painful alternative is the only one open to us. We canoot keep up the old home without getting into debt, and that we have never done yet, thank God 1 Be reasonable, Nina ; you must see for yourstlf, that it is no use putting off the evil day. As a matter of fact we have delayed too long already, and I reproach myself for not having spoken to you sooner." I did not answer ; Philip's burden was heavy enough, I felt without my adding to it by useless bemoanings and vain regrets. We were orphans, and our grandfather, an eccentric old man of great reputed wealth, had died rather more than two months before, leaving Phil in possesion of the beautiful old home ; but of the money, about which he had often spoken in his curious rambling way there was absolutely no trace.

It is true that just before he died he sent for Philip and vainly endeavoured to give him some instructions. His strength failed suddenly, however; his words became a confused, unintelligible murmur ; the meaning they were inttnded to convey we could not even guess ; and so it came to past that my brothers and I found onr-

■elves io possession of tbe f ..ir home which bad b>-en in our family for generations, but witb means so straitened thit we could not by *ny possibility remaio. there. It see mid bard — cruelly hard I Yet what could we do 1 Of course there was ihe estate, but property in Ireland is not a ve r y profit ible Ugacy nowadays. And as for pressing our dearly loved tenants, that was not to be thought of for a moment.

While I tat in gloomy silence, my elbows resting on the table my face bidden in my nads, the library door burst open, and the boys dashed in. " Hullo 1 " cried Egbert, stopping short, "What's up? Why, Nina is doing a little weep, I verily believe I"

"I am doing nothing of the kind," I answered, indignantly. " I am only thinking. Oh boys, listen ! We shall have to go away from here."

" To go away from here 1" they bolh echoed in wondering tones. 11 What on earth for ?"

11 Because we can't afford to stay," I tersely replied.

The speaking faces of the boys reflected their respective feelings a way curiously characteristic of each, Egbert, the irrepressible, was, as usual, the first to break the silence.

•' Perhaps something may turn up in the meanwhile," he suggested, tentatively. Then a sudden thought seemed to strike bim. "I say, Nina," he cried, impulsively, "why don't you ask you r patron saint to help us ?"

I may here explain that my real name is Antonia, though the boys always call me .Nina for short, and my patron is the great and glorious St Anthony of Padui, on whose feast I was born.

" He might find us a treaeure-trovt."

" How likely," I contemptuously replied. "Such extraordinary favours are not usually showered upoa ordinary mortals like ourselves. "

" Nina, Nina, what a sceptic you. I declare you ou^ht to have been named Thomasina, for, without doubt, you am far and away the moat faithless, unbelieving girl I ever met."

" She is co hiDg of the ajr'," in erposed Denis kindly. He invariably took my part in all our discussions, and dearly a3 1 loved all three of my brothers, I loved him best,

He understood me as no one else io the world ev^r had or ev^r could do ; he kDew all my weak points and never t <ok advantage of them; he was clever — oh, far} cleverer thai II — but he never made me feel my ioferiority ; and although he was only sixteen and I nearly two years older, already I had learnt to lean upon him and seek his advicj even more than Phil's. He had wonderfully gray leyes, glowing with an intellectual light, and a beautiful, earnest face ; he was full of noble aims and high ideals; and, to crown ail, he possessed the sweetest temper and keenest tease of fun imaginable.

" I don't t UL.k it is unbelLving not to txpect treasure-trove," he remarked, in answer to Egb<rt's suprise at my sceptical turn of mind.

Dear Egbert ! He had wi'h all bis wild fun an inveterate love ol leasing, the moat vivid faith iv the world ; and I honestly believe be often felt a little shocked at my inability to accept 6ome of the really impossible stories put forward by our servants and many of the good people on the estate.

" I tell yon what it is, Nioa," he said, reproachfully, " you've got no devotion to our patroo — not one scrap. No, its not a bit of use shaking your head. You know I'm right, and I call it a downright Bhame 1 However, it doesn't matter to me what you do. I intend to begin praying to bim from this day, and to go oa s'raight away till biß feast. Who knows? Perhaps he may get us out of this trouble, 1 Bhould think you would hardly doubt his power then !"

" 1 don't doubt it now," I answered, promptly. But I knew all the time that a simple, sincere, and loving confidence was far enough from my heart.

" Well, doubts or no doubts," remarked Philip, looking up suddenly from the heap of letters and papers scattered on the table before him. " I propose that we all three follow Egbert's example, and, beginning from to-day, unite in imploring St Anthony's intercession in our behalf, Wbat say you, Nina and Denis ?" "That we are quite of your opinion," we both answered.

And co the compact was sealed,

Time sped oo with cruel haste. It was April when Phil told me that we must leave our dear old home— April with budding woods, whose sheltered glades were carpated with greenest moss— such ferDlike moss as is only to be found in the Emerald Isle — and delicate primroses clustering round the twisted roots of beech and elm in lavish profusion, " while the religious spring offered the inceDse of her blossoming." May, sweet and fair followed all too quickly for us who were countmg every moment that yet remained for us in tbe place we loved co well. But alas 1 tbe long sunny days seemed to have taken to themselves wings, they flew so fast, and now June was well on its way.

My feus- day bad come ; Already the stooping eun was dyeing the wee'em SKies with gold a: d crimson glory ; but no turn of Fortune's wheel had brought any change in our prospects — no unexpected pif cc of what, for want of a better name, is usually termed " Good luck " had fallen to our lot.

Phil waa in communication witb an English manufacturer who, though he ardently desired to possess an arcestral home, had no desire to pay a fair price for it.

'' People don't care to live in Ireland nowadays," he told my eldest brother, with brutal frankness — beiDg, as he was pleased to call him* self, au exseedingly plain-spoken man. " I should strongly adviaa you to meet me half way ; you will only hang on here a month or two longer, and then be heartily thankful to let the thing go for a mere song."

The indignation of the boys and my own contemptuous ragt, when these pleasant trutha were repeated for our edification and amusement by Callaghan, one of our faithful retainers, who did duty on that memorable occasion when the stranger come over to "view the place" and have luncheon with Phil, may be better imagined than described. Suffi-e it to say that Egbert and I vowed vengeance on the would-be interloper, while D nia sat silent with the pained look on bis face that any allusion to our approacLing departure always brought there.

{To le Continued,')