CHAPTER 11.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 44, 2 November 1899, Page 23

CHAPTER 11.

In the servants' hall there was great consternation, for one of the maids, a sober-minded and steady-going young woman, declared that on one night in the week, having occasion to go down to the kitchen in order to get some hot water, which she fancied would relieve an attack of neuralgia, she saw quite plainly the figure of a lady dressed in white who glided up the oorridor in the direction of the west wing of the castle which was uninhabitated.

'Lor', Emma, what a tale!' exclaimed one of her fellowservants. ' You was half asleep for sure, or gone silly with the pain of your head.'

' I was wide awake. I had not had a wink of sleep since I went up stairs,' replied Emma, indignantly ; 'as for being silly with pain, my head isn't put on quite as loose as that, Sarah Johns ! '

' What was she like, then 1 ' chorused the maids, their feminine instinct aroused at once. ' What was she dressed like ? '

' She was tall and thin and all in white ; it was like a wrapper or night gown or something of that sort,' replied Emma. Then turning to the head housemaid, 4 Didn't I run into your room, Lily, and tell you so 1 '

' Yes,' corroborated Lily, 4 she rushed into me like some one mad, and she was all of a tremble. She nearly frightened me out of my wits. I was scared.'

After this, evidence doubts*w to the veracity of Emma's story were not permissible, and a reign of terror existed among' the women servants, not one of whom would go anywhere near the fateful corridor after dusk alone, and even by day they hurried past with quickly beating hearts and bated breath. The climax was reached when a week or two later another maid encountered the figure in white and fled in terror to a companion's room, where she fell on the floor in a fainting fit.

Lord Homfray was much annoyed. He had often heard of the Homfray ghost, but placed no credence whatever in the story, and his only anxiety was to keep the affair secret from his wife. He was rather disgusted, therefore, when he heard from her that Edith had been talking about it.

' You don't believe it, darling, do you ? ' he asked anxiously. 'It is rather quiet here, you see, for the servants, and they must have some excitement, so they have got up this scare. A year or two ago they were crazy about burglars, and I had all this electric apparatus fitted, but, of course, no burglars ever turned up. I wonder what I can do to reassure them.'

' It may be one of the servants playing a practical joke on the others,' suggested Edith.

'Possibly,' said Lord Homfray, 'but just let me catch the culprit and I assure you I shall make it hot for him or her.'

Lord Homfray was a man of action. He meant to sift this affair to the bottom, so after allowing a short time to elapse he one night took up his station in the haunted corridor.

It was a glorious night and the moonlight shone in through the old-fashioned window, making a curiously chequered pattern upon the soft velvet-pile carpet.

For some time he paced up and down in the still solitude, until at length he felt weary and threw himself on a lounge to rest. He must have slept some time, for when he awoke the old clock chiming from the tower struck two. He started up and rubbed his eyes.

' Dear me.' he thought, 'it is getting cold. What a fool lam to stay here on this wild-goose chase ! I think I shall be off to bed.'

He stood up and yawned, but before he had time to close his mouth it was fixed open in amazement. His eyes nearly started from his head, his hair stood on end, and a clammy perspiration broke out upon his brow, for there, advancing towards him, was the figure in white — the ghost I But the shock was only momentary. He pulled himself together, determined to unravel this mystery. A few strides brought him vis-a-vis with the ghost. And then his astonishment was if anything greater than before — it was his wife, she was walking in her sleep !

In her hand she held a piece of blue paper, a semi-official looking document, which recalled vividly to his mind an incident that had happened shortly after his marriage, and of which he had taken little heed at the time. Cecile had gone to get ready for a drive, and as she seemed to be a very long time away Lord Homfray had gone in search of her. As he entered the room, she started, and crushing up a blue paper in her hand had thrust it quickly into her pocket.

' You quite startled me, Edward,' she said, as the blush which had risen quickly to her face vanished and gave place to a deathly pallor.

' I beg your pardon,' he answered. ' Are yon ready ? What a long time it takes you women to dress. Mazeppa is not a patient animal and has been waiting some time.'

' Yes, lam ready. lam sorry to have kept you waiting ; I was looking for something,' Cecile replied, and her usual colour began to steal once more into her cheeKs.

They had a most exhilarating drive, and Lord Homfray did not again think of the blue paper until he saw it now in his wife's hand.

He was puzzled and hurt about it. ' Evidently,' he thought, ' she is in some distress about this blue paper, and whatever it is, it is preying upon her mind. Why doe 3 she not take me into her confidence ?' He stood back and allowed Cecile to pass. ' How beautiful she looks,' he mentally exclaimed as he watched the slim girlish figure go up tfce corridor. Her golden hair hung in profusion over her white dressing gown which was caught in rouna the waist by a pale blue girdle and was not otherwise fastened. Her small, shapely feet were bare and sank deeply into the soft carpet. On reaching the end of the corridor she tried to open a door but failing to do so turned and made her way back to her own room. Her husband followed her and saw her lock the paper up in a small escritoire. Sleep had forsaken his eyes for this night at all events,

so he went down to the B moking-room to have a cigar, and try what its soporific qualities would do for him. The next morning both Lord Homfray and Cecile appeared at breakfast looking tired and heavy-eye<l. Edith who had been up early and had gathered and arranged the chrysanthemums and autumn leaves which appeared on the table, was as gay as a lark and as fresh as a rose. 'You look charming, Edith,' smiled Lord Homfray who was pleased for Cecile's sake to see her enjoying herself so thoroughly and yet so simply. I am porry I cannot return the compliment,' Edith replied. ' Why you and Cecy look like a pair of ghosts. You don't believe in the old proverb about early to bed and early to rise, I Pfreeive Why, it must have been four o'clock when you went to bed this morning, Edward.' • About that,' Lord Homfray said good humouredly, and with difficulty repressed an inclination to yawn. 1 How very foolish of you, dear,' said Cecile with some surprise and concern. ' You will ruin your health if you keep such late hours.' ' And you will certainly meet that wonderful ghost who is going about just now predicting your being cut off from the land of th e \ivin<r I shall begin to believe in it. I really think if you continue to look as you are looking at present that yon both mean to pop off together.' * Lord Homfray laughed heartily. Then he said : • I met that ghost last night.' • You did ? Really, Edward 1 ' Both sisterß almost jumped at im "'Yes, it is a f act— in the Vandyke corridor.' • And what was it like ? Oh, you are joking, how unkind of you,' Edith exclaimed, relapsing into scepticism. . <I am not joking. It was the figure of a lady, was dressed in white with a blue girdle, and was the happy, or perhaps unhappy, possessor of a tremendous amount of golden hair.' ' Do you mean it ?' the sisters asked again. • I do indeed, and I went close enough to it to touch it, and what do you think— it turned out to be Cecile here walking m her BleeP ''Well,' cried Edith disappointedly, ' I consider that a barefaced fraud Then there is no romance or anything of that kind about it ? What has become of your family ghost, Edward . 'Oh that is a myth; I told you so from the beginning but you would insist upon invebting the yarn with a supernatural halo.' _ ■.. • l a i ' How horribly commonplace. lam so disappointed. 'Don't despair, Edith,' Lord Homfray said with a banterm? lauffh ' I should think Captain Everest would be able to accommodate you at the Grange. It is a much more likely place for ghosts than Homf ray is ; there is a moat and the remains of a drawbridge the scene of many a murderous fight in what they call the good old days. Why, I should think ghosts would abound over th 6r Edith blushed a little at the mention of Captain Everest, but Bftid a'lrSth'do^out,' she said after breakfast,' and leave you, Edward, to give Cecy the good scolding she deserves f or toying to paBS herself off on ua as a phantom of the night. She went out Bmg o2al^ seemed * disturb^." She had not known that she was given to somnambulism. She sat down on a broad window-seat End looking out over the wide p*rk, tried to make some remarks about the beauty of the leaves in their changing colours. Edward was looking serious. He, too, was gazing out acro P s the country, and, deep iv hia own reflections, answered her in monosyllables. . Cecile got up and came over to him. ' Are you annoyed at something,' she asked. He looked down at her face and could not help remarking that all its happy youthfulness seemed to be departing. ' Yesf I am,' he said bruequely, but the lovehght in his eyes 1)6 l6< No? with me,' she said caressingly, resting her golden head upon hlsa 4 r Ve S W ith you, little woman,' he replied, putting his arm around her and almost lifting her into a lounge He sat down beaide her. His big blue eyes looked at her so kindly that the Bmall auiver of her lip went no further. ' Now you know that I am a perfect ogre, don't you, he began. • You know that I hate you, and that it is a supreme pleasure to me to see you making yourself unhappy. In fact, you know that if you could not make yourself unhappy enough I would step forward and Bee how well I should succeed in furthering that much-to-be-desired end. You know that I would not give you as much as But here a soft, white hand was placed over his mouth, and when he removed it two arms went around his neck and he was so crushed up that he could not continue. He did not dislike it, but still he said : ' Let me go.' And Cecile cried out : . ' Oh, no, Edward, not if you are going to talk like that. I know you love me and would do anything for me. Why ere you aneakinc so foolishly ? ' „ . , , „ . ' For this reason,' he answered, getting free again and holding both Cecile's hands imprisoned in his. • You cannot think I love you or you would have more confidence ;n me. • He looked at her steadfastly. ' Why Edward, what do you want me to tell you ? she asked feebly, but her face paled and she trembled a little. • I want to know about that blue paper you had in your hand last nieht There is some mystery about it, and you are making yourself ill and unhappy over it. Why can you not trust me, darling ? '

' Oh, Edward, if you only knew,' she cried with a great sobi hiding her face upon his breast, 'but I cannot tell you—oh, I cannot.' >*, ' What can it be V pleaded Lord Homf ray despairingly. ' I cannot even give a guess unless it is the vulerar one of money. Do you owe money to some one ? I don't mind if it iB so much that I have to go into the bankruptcy court if only you will tell me.' She only sobbed on. ' Give me the paper then— don't tell me anything. Let me draw my own conclusions.' . ±1. 'But it is so horrible and you cannot do anything in the matter. You don't know what I have suffered,' Cecile said, trying to control herself. ' I know you have been very unhappy. Come, now, tell me. Let me know the worst, or I don't know what I shall think or do. Thus adjured, Cecile said tremblingly : ' Come with me and I will give you the paper.' He went with her to her room, expecting he knew not what. Taking out the paper with nervous, hurried fingers, she handed it to him. saying : 1 Please don't read it in here ; I could not bear it. Feeling more excited and uncomfortable than he would have cared to own, Lord Homfray went to his own apartments. With her face buried in her hands, Cecile sat rocking to and fro in the utmost dejection, when suddenly — what was that f Could it be f Yes, certainly— Lord Homfray was going off into peal after peal of laughter. Presently the laughter died away, and Lord Homfray came tapping gently at Cecile's door. When he got in he began to laugh again, and taking the disconsolate Cecile in his arms he said : 'Oh, you poor little child, what have you supposed this paper to contain ? Come, you will tell me about this now, won't you 1 ' Are you sure you don't mind ?' Cecile asked still fearfully. I thought you would have been so ashamed of me. I will tell you then. We used to be so horribly poor after dear papa died. Sometimes we hardly knew where to turn for money to pay the bills for bare necessaries. One time, about two years before I met you, some of our water pipes burst, and it was quite a serious business. The bill for mending and for repairing damage done by the water was £70 Mother nearly fainted when she saw it. because we nad not seventy pence then to spare. I went up to my room and locked myself in to try and think of a way out of it, but could not. 1 was getting quite desperate when I picked up a newspaper and saw such a funny thing. It was a letter from the principal of an American medical school who was asking the former students of the college to " will " their brains to him, who would then claim them after their death so that they could be experimented upon in the dissecting room. He, the principal, you know, explained that of course they could get hold of the brains of criminals and paupers, but they were in want of brains of a different stamp. It occurred to me that if they did that sort of thing in America probably they would do it in England ; so after a great deal of trouble I found out some one connected with one of the big London hospitals ; he was at the head of the surgical department, and I determined to go and offer him my brains after death, if he would pay for them. He was a dear old gentleman not very old and not very handsome, but nice, you know. I went straight to the point with him and asked him what he would give me for my bm " 8 f wonder it did not rouse doubts within him as to whether you had any or not,' Lord Homfray said with a laugh. ' Perhaps he wat surprised to see a woman there on such an errand but he did not say he was. He hummed and hawed for a good while, and then went out and brought in another gentleman t0 ~^Gauge the amount of your brains,' suggested Lord Homfray, Cecil, Then she resumed, 'They were very kind and then when I was left alone with the fi rß t gentleman he made me sign two papers and he gave me LIOO for my brami. Kit horrid and vile! I think now when I look back upon it that I must have been mad. I wonder they did not send me to a lunatic asylum Of course I explained to the first surgeon why I wanted the money and about that American affair. Lord Homfray pulled out the blue paper and said : .... ' I should like to know this surgeon. He is a genuinely kindhearted man. What a pity you did not know a little Latin, my darhng. It would have spared you much suffering Why, it say. Sere "n Latin that Mr. W-H-makes you a gift ofLlOOae > ai ribute to your filial earnest love and your pretty face. What do you think ° £ doesn't it say anything about brains?' enquired Cecile in amazement^ her hugW . then .n. n layfa i ton e 8 he added ' I daresay he thought you had not any worth speaking of. ' EdwaXhow ashamid lam ! Fancy my taking LIOO from an Utter 4 r el? g he r won't be a stranger long. Shall we not call npoif* hlm B TouSt ffSSkff? but whatever can we do to repay him 'We shall manage that easily enough. And now we are happy, "^'Yel'' Cecile replied with a great sigh of relief, 'and look, Edward, 'at Edith cummg along with Captain Everest, lam jure gomethintr has happened to make them look bo happy. But, Xard I have been miserable, I have been picturing to myself day been a mistake somewhere, that some one had blundered and that Lady Homfray '

• Had never been burdened by such a troublesome commodity, interrupted Oecile. < Bat lam as pleased that you know about the SrrM nightmare that has been oppressing me for so long, I can LordTmf S& Homfray lived happy ever after, as the story-books says.'— Catholic Fireside.