LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1704, 6 August 1879, Page 3

LITERATURE.

ALBA MAYNE. Chapter L ( Continued.) The four horses gave a great plunge, the ladies In the wagon a scream, and there wa; a crashing and a splintering as the heavier conveyance out tke cart right down. A man was shouting from a cabin near by, but “ Rosinante ” had completed her labors and was satisfied with tho wreck she had made, whilst Alba had her hands too full with the management of her team to pay much attention to the man, Hurd Decker would have grabbed the lines, but she laughed lightly, without a shade of extra color in her face—- ‘ Lot ’em go ; they’re as kind as kittens. He must keep his go-cart out of tho read If he wants to steer clear of damages.’ As she spoke, though, she threw down the brake, and braced one tiny foot steadily upon it, and then spoke gently to tho horses. Decker looked down at the little lady, with something of a smile on his saturnine face, and nodded. ‘ As long as you keep their heads straight there will bo little danger. I don’t see but the thing would have happened if I had been driving mysslf, but I suppose we’ll be blessed for our experiment.’ ‘ What care I, what care I?’ sang Alba, and her steady pull brought the team down to the pace they had held before this accident. * Where, in Heaven’s name, does she get the strength from ?’ said Guy Hamilton, a little excited by the episode. ‘ She has no weight to speak of.’ ‘ Strength ? She is made of brass. There is no bend or break about her. If she thinks she can catch Mr Decker by such a shocking display, she will reckon without her host.’ Kor once In his life, Guy Hamilton felt like defending Miss Mayne; perhaps tho tone and manner of Gertrude supplied the cause. She was watching Hurd Decker’s face with an anxiety that Guy, with a hasty glance, noted, and with surprise. Ho was not a jaslous fellow, and yet that look of hers gave him a twinge or two, for which he reproached himself a moment after, and devoted himself to Gertrude heart and soul, as atonement. The day passed off then, as such days usually do. There was plenty of laugh and talk, plenty of fun and a cold collation, that everyone enjoyed with an amazing appetite. When Guy Hamilton saw Hurd Decker helping Alba Mayne from a peroh in a tree, he forgot his momentary admiration, and all his old-time prejudices came back. Chapter 11. The ladies having had a fair share of attention, in a day or two Hamilton began to think a little of sport. Oae morning he shouldered his gun, took his dog, and went out for a tramp, aooom panied by a young hanger-on of the house of Stanhope, who acted as beatsr, game carrier, and made quite a good thing of it from their gratuities. By chance, Guy’s wanderings took him past tho scene of the accident of a few days before. There was the cabin, the man at tho gate, and ‘Rosinante’ hitched, as bo'orc, to the fence. But the cart was a brand new one, whilst in the yard there lay the wreck of tho old one. With tumble down shanty, rickety shed, falling fences, and a tottering steed, how had the old man of many years and more patches managed to replace his loss 1 The old man nodded his head, and Guy halted by tho wayside and asked fora drink. Having swallowed the cool draught, ho looked at the now cart and the old one, and then at his humble entertainer.

‘ Something of a wreck you had hero tho other day. I was one of tho party, lam sorry to say, and we might have had grace enough to stop and see about the damages. At any rate, 1 propose to help to make it straight, it you can tell me just how much it will take.’

‘ It was all fun, thank ye, and my fault, too, though I did swear a bit when I saw the pieces lying ’round loose, and me with no way to haul my truck to market; but I might a know’d it would be all right. She was ’round the morning, almost afore I got my eyes open, to see about it, and you see

how she fixed it for me,’ ‘ Who was that ? It’s the first I have he»rd of it.’

‘ Mies Alba, bless her bright face. _ You dm’t think she’d let an eld man like me stick ? No, she came galloping up on her sorrel, and she says ; “ Uncle, you’ve got to have a new cart, right away, so just look around to-day, and let me know to-night what it is going to cost, and you shall have the money.” I told her it was a shame to take it from her, because I saw it, you see, and knew it wasn’t her fault, and said that a few dollars would fix up tho old one so it would do ; but she’s not that kind. t*he said I should have a new one, and a new one I’ve got, and there ain’t a better lady living, or a sweeter face. You won’t find a poor man ’round hero who won’t say the same thing. She’s a bit wild, but she’s got tho biggest heart you ever »ee—and plnoky, I tell you ! Didn’t she ride thres miles in a thundering storm and driving rain, and swim h«r horse over the Big Muddy, to get a doctor for old Gramma Young ? That’s ■’o you see, thanking you all the same, I’m fixed air. ady.’ Guy Hamilton went away with some new ideas about Alba Mayne. She was more than a fool and a flirt.

Since the morning they had started on the excursion to Block Bock he had met her more than once, and she pleased him in spite of himself. Now, since he knew this little secret about tho cart, of which she had not breathed a word, he thought what a pity it was she could not tone down into the true, noble little woman she might be if she gave up being fast and slangy. She did not trouble him long, however. There were the birds, and between times Gertrude.

He managed to cover a good many miles that morning, meeting with fair success, and at last, drawing near tho Stanhope mansion, his boy having gone on by the road, ho threw himself down under a tree, partly to rest, partly wooed by a glorious autumn day and the satisfaction of success. Had he peered through the few trees that stood between him and the edge of the woods, ho might have seen the house a quarter of a mile or more away. He sat leaning against an oak that stood near a footpath, and was just going to light a cigar, when the sound of voices and footsteps caused him to stop and look up over his shoulder.

Two persons were strolling toward the spot, and in one of them he recognised, by his deep voice, even before he came in sight, Hurd Decker.

His companion was a lady, hut who she was he could not at onoo decide, since he could not see her head for Decker’s broad shoulders. The dress wss unfamiliar, and his glimpse was one of tho briefest. At any rate, he felt embarrassed enough, and wished that he had continued straight on, or chosen some other resting-place. Decker was bending over his companion, and there was a look on his face that passed with him for lovo.

Bis arm had dropped down, until it seemed to Guy that it was around the lady’s waist, and he could hear his voice quite plainly, ‘Do not hesitate longer,’ he urged. ‘ Make your decision once and for all. The young man may feel it for a week or two, and that will Be the end of it. You shall have no weary waiting for what may never come. My home and heart are both waiting for you now. Give me your answer, yes or no.’

They paused. The lady turned, and stepping track a pace or two from her companion, looked him in the face in silence, and tbea extending her hand, said : ‘ If you will wait— ’ That was her answer—aa answer that no oae could mistake, but before it could be completed, with a great bound Guy Hamilton cams flaming in between them. He caught Hurd Decker by the breast and hurled him back, powerful man that he was, half a dozm paces. ‘No nearer just now, my friend. I hare a word or two to say to this lady, and then yen can go on with your endearments.' He left Decker aa he spoke, and advanced towards Gertruda Atley, who, after one short scream, and one wave of crimson flaring over her brow, cheeks and throat, stood silent, p»le and stern. Decker made a movement as if to follow him-; then, by an effort such as he alone could scarcely make, he folded his arms and bent his evil eye on him. * I do not think that any one who knows me will impugn my personal courage, and as I do not want the name of my future wife mixed up in any scandal, I will let this pass.’ Guy did not notice, if he even heard these words.

Straight to Gertrude he strode, and looking her full in the eyes, held out his hand with the palm extended uppermost. She knew his meaning, and hesitated just long enough to glance at the dark face, lowering over her shoulder ; her lips tightened, and she made her resolve, drawing from her finger Guy’s solitaire that was blazing there, and dropped it into his outstretched palm. ‘ Poor fellow, ’ she said ; ‘it is a pity, but we must part. Pawn it, and it will relievo yonr poverty and bury unpleasant memories.’

He stared at her, to see if it was really the woman he had once loved, or a fiend who had stolen her shape. There was no mistake. There was an ugly glitter in her eye, that came to him as a signal of triumph in tho midst of her shame, and Hurd Decker, who was bidden and bought, stands with his arms still folded, waiting for the transfer to be complete. There was a mighty impulse in Guy Hamilton to strike and slay, a yearning for a grip on some one’s throat, and a flood of bitter, burning words ; but, by an effort still mightier, he forced down the rising passion, and hounded out of the path. He caught up his gun, called kindly to his dog, and strode away, with no farther sign of a bursting heart.

He steadily makes his way toward the house. Certainly no one could have guessed that he was leaving behind him the woman he loved, and who, even now, he thought, loved him, and leaving her for the arms of another.

Half-way across the field he heard a shout from his right. He looked and saw a woman on horseback, cantering along a lane He doubted if the cry was for him, and kept steadily on. A moment later he looked again, and saw the horse floating over a part of the fence a little lower than the rest, and Alba Mayne swaying gracefully in her saddle as the horse landed from the leap. Then came tho thud, that of hoofs on the sod, aa she rapidly overhauled him. ‘ Halt a little, sir seigneur. I’ve a word for your ear.’ Without great disrespect he could not disregard the summons, so Guy turned and awaited her coming. ‘ You’ve been up at Drake’s, it seems, and pumping him nicety. Now I don’t let my left hand know what my right hand doeth, and by the same token I don’t generally announce it in the community at largo. Men are such idiots about some things that I wanted to head you off before you got to the house, and ask you to say nothing about the cart affair.’

* Of course, I shall do as yon request, but I can hardly see why yon should want to make a mystery of such a thing. Surely there can bo no reason why a piece of generosity to a poor old man should bo covered like a crime.’

‘Oh, there’s no reason; but don’t yon see, they would say I know I couldn’t drive, and paid tho old roan to keep him quiet. I have some elegant friends in tho world.’ ‘Bat it was not your fault; I could see that myself Hurd Decker himself could have done no better.’

‘ That’s all true enough, and I don’t believe, between you and I, that he would have douo as well. So much for that. Now, see here ; haven’t 1 an old account to settle with you ? Do you remember ever, on a Sound boat meeting a young lady who had lost her purse and her railroad ticket for Breton, and, without any questions, handing her five dollars and your card ?’ ‘ I believe I did do something of the kind, but I assure yon it had escaped my memory. ’ ‘ That was mo. I lost my card, and felt like a pirate for a week in consequence. It’s not outlawed yet, so here’s tho amount of the debt in full.’ ‘ I’m fortunate to-day. If this thing keeps on I shall bo a Crcesus.’ The words were jesting, but the tone was bitter. Alba looked down at him as he stood by her side, and seemed to read tho meaningof what was written on his face. Her voice changed and softened. (To be continued.)