The Mystery Road

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 238, 8 October 1928, Page 18

The Mystery Road

i % j E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM

CHAPTER 111. The Child Madonna.

The twilight overtook them swiftly. The lights of Monte Carlo, as they began the long descent, were like pinpricks of fire thrust through a deep blue carpet. Out in the bay the yacht of an American millionaire was illuminated from bow to stern. From the back of the twin range of hills on the left the golden horn of the moon was beginning to show itself. Myrtile, whose eyes had been fixed upon the flying milestones, leaned forward now with a little exclamation of wonder. "It is fairyland!" she cried. Gerald looked down at her indulgently. "You live so near and you have never been even as far as this?" he asked. "It is as I have told you," she answered. "I have never travelled ten kilometres from the farm in my life." Christopher was' almost incredulous. Gerald, however, nodded sympathetically. Both young men had taken it for granted from the first that their charge understood no English. "In France they are like that," Gerald remarked. "It is the sous that count. But this child—isn't she amazing, Christopher? Except for her clothes there isn't a thing about her that suggests the peasant. She is like a child Madonna —an angel—who has stolen into the clothes of a girl gone for her first communion.". "I should still like to know what you are going to do with her when we arrive?" Christopher asked, bluntly. "Ale you going to take her to the villa?" "Later on, perhaps," was the careless reply. "Certainly not this evening." "Why not?" Christopher persisted. "You sister is a very kind-hearted woman. It seems to me, as long as we have the girl on our hands, that she is the proper person to look after her." Gerald smiled slightly. "My dear Chris," he said, "you and Mary are pals, I know, but I am not sure that you altogether understand her. She doesn't like surprises. .We niust pave the way a little before we ask for her help." "And in the meantime?" Gerald yawned. "What a persistent' fellow you are!" he observed. "You can't imagine that they will take her in at. the hotel without any luggage and in our company!" Myrtile had been looking from one to the other of her two companions ■ with a; sense of growing trouble in her eyes. '"Messieurs," she interrupted, "it was wrong of me not to tell you before. I speak a little English. I understand very well." "You are a most amazing child!" Gerald. exclaimed, looking down at her in genuine astonishment. "You have never been ten kilometres from your homestead, and you speak a foreign language! That comes of having a schoolmistress for a mother, I suppose. However, have no fear. We shall dispose of you pleasantly." ; she said timidly. "I can find work." .'"To-morrow be hanged!" Gerald repHed. "Look about you, little one. We are entering the town. If'your story is true—andwe know that it is," he added hastily, "you see for the first time shops, villas, hotels. The building in front of us:,is the Casino. Now you see the lights that fringe the bay." "It is amazing," Myrtile They drew; up at the side door of the hotel where the two young men were to stay. - Gerald descended. "Take care of the child for a few minutes, Chris," he begged. "I am goirig to interview one of the house- \ He disappeared into the hotel. Myrtile watched his tall, slim figure, until he became lost to sight, TOien the fear seemed to return. Sheshivered. "1 am a trouble to him/' she faltered. "He will hate me for it. I only meant that you should drive me somewhere, where I could lose; myself. Perhaps I had better go, monsieur. Can I not slip away before he returns t" ;

"He would tie very angry if you did," Christopher assured her. "He has gone to arrange for someone to look after you for the... night. To-morrow I think yOu will do well if you try to find some work. \ If. you wish it, I> ; will help you.? "• . Her eyes stHl devoured the" door through which Gerald had passed. ''Tell me his name," she begged. "His name," Christopher replied, "is Gerald Annesley Dombey." '«; , <• She repeated it after him a little hesitatingly. '/ t . 'I shall always think of him as CjeraW," she said. "It is a ' very pretfy name. Tell me, why did the chauffeur say, 'Your lordship?'" "Because he is the eldest son of an earl and he is entitled .to be called Lord Downe." "He is noble, then? - I am not surprised. He seemed like that to me. And you, monsieur? May I • know / your" name?" - v * "My name is Christopher Bent," he replied. ''Plain Christopher Bent." 'Christopher' is a very nice name/'' she said, With a trifle of uncbnscious condescension,, "but of course it is not like 'Geraiid. 5 " 1 y ' 1 1 " She looked longingly back towards tbe crowded doorway, and the young man who stood by her side was aware of a curious and altogether inexplicable, sensation. He suddenly f found himself envying Gerald s careless but fascinating manners, his good loolts, his light debonair manner of speech. < Even this little waif, jacked up at the roadside was already under his spell. Christoother things about his friend, and his face grew stern. Gerald returned ' presently with a neatly-dressed young woman. He held out his hands to Myiitile and assisted her to alight. . ~" lt j® arranged, child," he announced. Annette is a chambermaid here, and the niece of one of ,the housekeepers, whom I know well. She will take y<»| to some rooms close at hand, where you will .be made comfortable. To-morrow morning; early, Christopher and I win come and see you." "Mademoiselle will be entirely well suited/' the young woman decl&red.. "It is but a few yards away." Myrtile, still wrapped in Christopher's coat, looked a little pathetic as she stood upon the pavement at, Anfletfe's side, "I fi hall not see you again to-night, then; Monsieur Lord Downe ?" she asked shyly. to-night," he laughed, "And Monsieur Gerald 9 is quite enough from you, petite. To-morrow we will hsw ik

long talk. Have no fear—you shall not return to the farm unless it is* your wish." 0 Myrtile stopped, and, with a sudden, passionate gesture, raised his hand to her lips. Then she dragged Annette off, without looking behind. Gerald laughed a little consciously. "Our village maiden is somewhat demonstrative," he remarked lightly. "Come on, Chris. A cocktail whilst they unpack our clothes. I've telephoned to the villa. We must do a duty dinner there first, but afterwards I will show you the land where the pleasureseekers of the world have built their temple."

CHAPTER IV. The Most Wonderful Creature. Lady Mary .Dombey was a young woman of very pleasing appearance, but there were occasions upon which she could look stern. This was one of them. "I am never surprised at anything that Gerald does," she told Christopher, who was seated next her at the dinnertable. "but I must say that I should never have expected you to have been mixed up in one of his escapades. What are you going to do with the girl?" "We rather hoped for some advice from you," was the somewhat rueful reply. , "You are welcome to it. Send her home." "You wouldn't talk like that if you'd seen the state of terror she was in when we found her, Mary," Gerald remarked from the other side of the taible. "fa she very beautiful?" his sister inquired. "Wonderfully," Christopher pronounced. Gerald shrugged his shoulders. "She is of an age when all girls are beautiful," he observed. "Perfectly filthy time she seems to have been having, though" '*We hoped," Christopher ventured, a little doubtfully, "that you might be able to make use of her as a kind of undier sewing maid, or something of that sort." "Thank you/' Lady Mary replied 1 , without enthusiasm, "I am perfectly satisfied with the services of my own maid. Besides, the servants' quarters here are ridiculously cramped. They are all complaining as it is." Lord Hinterleys, who had taken only a languid interest in the conversation, intervened for the first time.

"Where is the young person now ?" he inquired. '"In some rooms ope of the housekeepers at the hotel found for me, sir," Gerald replied. "Perhaps-the housekeeper can find her some employment,"' his father suggested. "We'll dispose of her all right," Gerald declared, confidently. "She may wake up in the morning and feel homesick, and, if so,v;we'b send her back." "You know veiy well that she won't do anything of. the sort," Christopher protested. Lady Mary .rose to her feet. "I can't quite; decide," she said, "which of you two his heart to this paragon of village loveliness. However, I feel sure that my advice is the best. Send her back to her , people." Gerald strolled to the door with his sister and to his place, fingering his cigarette case irritably, "I have always thought," he remarked, with mild, sarcasm, "that, & barrister 'should be a person of infinite tact and perceptions. It appears that I was wrong. I never dreained that anyone could be such a blithering ass as * you, Chris." v "Thank you, Gerald,"; his friend replied, helping himself from the- decanter which Lord Hinterleys had passed round. "In what respect have I merited this severe criticism ?" "Why, by talking about the girl as though she were something unusual! Mary's a good sort, and all that, but no girl likes the man who is sitting next her at dinner time to rave about his latest discovery of violet eyes. You'd probably have had those violet eyes to look at every time you came down to stay at Hinterley's if you hadn't made such an ass of yourself." Lord Hinterleys sipped his wine thoughtfully. Gerald, who was longing to smoke, watched its leisurely disappearance with impatience. ' '1 am not suggesting for a single the foririer observed, "that your fowairds this young woman is- not'and will not always be entirely irreproachable, but at the same time you must remember that, we are in a country where sudh. adventures are likely to be misunderstood. I feel inclined, therefore, to endorse your advice. It is very possible that the .young woman, at the time you discovered her, was indulging in a passing fit of petulance. I should do all that you can to encourage her to return to her- people." -?

we ll tauc to ner in cue morning, sir, Gerald promised., ."Wondeyfiilly this port'lias travelled."" "We brought it out six years ago" his father remarked. "Martin laid it down himself, and it* has not-been disturbed since. There, I haye finished my. two glasses. I shall retire to the draw-ing-room and persuade Mary . to " sing to me, and' you two; young fellows can smoke to your heart's contents Give me your arm,.Gerald" "Don't think we shall stop long, if youH excuse us sir," Gerald confided, as he rose to his feet. "It's Christopher's first night in Monte Carlo, and I want to show, him the Topes. Cfome along, old chap, and make your adieux," he added, turning, to his friend. Lord Hinterleys nodded as he leaned on his ivory-topped stick; "TP? y° un g men choose weird- games at which to lose your money nowadays," he observed. places, all casinos . ®o ventilation, foul atmosphere, reaka»d tobacco, and, to say the amr r' 8 very company. 2««iA T" 5 your age I suppose I shouldn t notice theße things. Did you th w » gj: t *v m Geraldt One of! I fought was good enough for C ° nnt 7 rtwpte&asfs." son ; became, temporarily absorbed m a subject of commofinE? Mary made room for Christopher by her side. She was scarcely possessed of her brother's rood looks, but her complexion was excellent her features unexceptionable, her eyes clear and as a rule sympathetic, fcer

ton® and manner attractive. Her figure, especially in a riding-habit, was undeniable, her skill at golf and tennis far above the ordinary amateur. It was not for lack,of offers.that, at twenty-four years of age, she was still unmarried. "Must you rush off so soon on your first evening?" she added, reproachfully. "Not so far as 1 am concerned," he assured her. "I would rather stay here and listen to you sing. It's Gerald who is dying to lose his money." She made a little grimace. "Everyone goes to the Casino or the Sporting Club at night," she said, "and for the first few evenings it is amusing enough. I hope you won't spend all your time there. When shall we play golf I" "To-morrow afternoon ?" he asked. She nodded. "I'm taking father to lunch at the club," she said. "We'll play directly afterwards, if that suits you. Tell me, have you had any interesting caßes lately? I saw that you won the libel suit you were telling me about, for your client;" They talked for some time with interest. Lady Mary's wit was keen, and her insight unusual. During a pause in their conversation Lord Hinterleys looked across the room through his horn-rimmed eyeglass. "Your friend sems to get on,very well with Mary,'' he remarked. "They've always been pals," Gerald acquiesced. "Doing pretty well at the Bar, isn't he" "Thundering well. They say he's certain -to be one of our youngest K.C.'s." "I knew his father," Lord Hinterleys reflected. "He was at Eton with me. Very good stock, though not remarkably prosperous." "Christopher isn't well off," Gerald admitted. "You don't make a lot of money at the Bar your first few years." Lord Hinterleys was silent for several moments.

"Mary has her aunt's hundred thousand pounds," he said, at length. "She is a difficult young person to marry. Knows her own mind, though. I should never interfere." "Chris is a good fellow, but I don't fancy he has any thought of marrying just yet," Gerald remarked. "You won't mind if I take him off now, sir? We shall meet for lunch at the Golf Club tomorrow." Christopher obeyed his friend's summons without enthusiasm. Gerald, however, was both insistent and impatient. The two young men took their leave a few minutes later. Christopher, already obsessed with the charm of the place, would have willingly spent the remainder of the evening seated outside the Cafe de Paris, watching the passers-by, listening to the music, and marvelling at the amphitheatre of lights, which fringed the bay and' dotted the whole background of hills with little specks of yellow fire. Gerald, however, was too anxious to do the whole honours of the place. He dragged his friend into the bureau of the Casino, where they obtained their tickets for the Cercle Prive, and afterwards on to the Sporting Club, the mecca of Gerald's desires for the evening, at any rate. Christopher breathed a little more freely here than in the Casino—the atmosphere was less pernicious, the crowd by which he; was surrounded far ' more attractive. After Gerald had taken a seat at the baccarat table, he wandered around for some time, fascinated by this strange, cosmopolitan gathering—their diversity in class, manners, and dress. Presently he found a seat in the little bar, ordered a whisky and soda, and leaned back to watch the never-ceasing stream of pleasure-seeking loiterers. Suddenly, without any warning, his thoughts played him a queer trick. The walls of the thronged room fell away; its murmur of silvery voices, its tangle

of exotic perfumes, were non-existent. He was back on the cool, sunlit hillside, with the odour of the violets and the pines in his nostrils, and the girl looking over the gate. She turned her head and he saw her face—her beautiful eyes, with their passionate, terrified appeal; her quivering lips, her child's figure; the tender appeal of her, .the soul and sweetness of her innocent youth clinging like some fresh, sweet, perfume to her trembling body. v Gerald stood suddenly before him, his face aflame, his eyes brilliant. His voice quivered with excitement. "Christopher, you moon-struck: old dodderer," he cried, "wake up! I have seen the most wonderful creature on earth. I won't leave this place until I find out who she is!" s "What, another adventure?" Christopher exclaimed. "Sit down and have a whisky and soda." "Don't talk to me about whiskies and sodas," Gerald replied, sinking into the vacant chair, however, and calling a waiter. "I tell you she's the most amazing person I ever saw—a revelation!" 1 "You're not thinking about MyrtileP "That child? No!" was the impatient rejoinder. "I tell you it's someone here to-night. She's either French or Russian or Italian—l can't make up my mind which. She is with ,an older woman, who seems to be a sort of attendant. Everyone's talking about her, but no one seems to know who she is." "This place is full of that sort of people, isn't it?" Christopher asked, not greatly impressed. "That sort of people!" Gerald repeated, contemptuously. "Wait till you see her! I'm not easily led away. I've seen the most beautiful women in most of the capitals of the world. I was at Vienna and Rome before the war, you know, but I never Don't move, Chris. Don't look as though I've been talking about them. Here they come!" (To be continued daily.)