A SCARLET SIN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 181, 12 August 1909, Page 4

A SCARLET SIN.

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A l'< >W hi J hi' Ij S'i'< )I!V.

Ny Aun: v.! r'IA.SfCF.W, Authors of "Ti."Anna of the I'lutns." . <&c.

♦ TWKNTY-THIUH INSTALMF.NT "Oh. 1 do love him. father." d'amfla murmurrH. "though H wo* to tell him thnt we must never meet ngn f n thai I went to see him this morning. You I thought he l.tirflf nothing of his mother's m*>torj'. anil I would never have l»een the ni*-mi* of revealing such a history t«» him— never. It was greatly iKmuM! of I hi* that 1 made my promise to ttob Perrint. " There was a sob in her throat o» *hc sjmke. I»ut »hr choked it down." "But there was n»» nml for secrecy after all." she tondnunl. "for Basil know.* everything. though it was only lost night that he learned the truth. I lis* mother has kept her secret well all these years, and it was chance thai revealed it to Basil." Pamela went on to toll her father of the accidental meeting lietween Hasil and Sir Charles Sainton and how the baronet, by a misapprehension. had blurted out the truth. "Neither llasil nor I can understand how this man Sainton has Ixni concerned in Mrs. Farradoy's history." she said. "Can you throw any light upon it. father?" George Mart indole knit his brow* as if in the effort of remembrance. "I know of Sir Charles Sainton." lie said, "but he is little more than n vngie recollection to me. I have hi'nril him s|>oken of as a friend of Clinton Peele. which alone was rnoujrh to make the name of the man ixlimi.H to me. Hut it is very atanp'—very strange." he continued reflectively. "that Sir Charles should be tn'sing Mith an interest in Methrrty nt the present time. I can't see tight in the matter, but perhaps old I.'iddy can help us if *c consult her. She has a wonderful memory, has I.itldy. I'amela the man's face flushed with excitement—"l can't help thinking thnt there is something behind all this of which we as vet know nothing. Now. we must all consult together— llasil. ypti and I. and old Liddy too—and decide what is ii.?»t to I** done. You say that llasil is coming here, anil I "am glad pf it—glad. I want to see him " n »«n smile came to his pale face — "ikj own nephew, JClsie's son. and to give you lioth my blessing. For vou shall never marry Koli Perrint, rameln. while I am alive to prevent it. No. not even if I should be convicted and hanged for the murder of Clinton IVele." His voice rose with forceful decision. "Not even if the old story of my sister's frailitv I* rgbtl up again. It must lie for her and f..r jne to bear the brunt of our misdoings, nnt for you and llasil. who are young ami strong, and have your lives before you."' There was enthusiasm Ul'W" v«hmi —the en' of one ready to lace degradation and |>ossibly death, lor the sake of dear to him.

It was nt this point that Hasil arrive*!. Kiddy. the nurse, a puzzled look upon her lace, came to announce a visitor for Miss Martindale. Mr. IVfrtnU. .««he explained, had gone out on hour or so bnck. ond had not vet returned. Visitors at Orgadale. and the good woman was mj(urtitly curious as to who this young man. *o evidently a southerner, mrgbf b\ "Show him up. IJddy. ?vet tlim rt>m- to im here, anil at once." cried George Mart indole, his enthusiasm ititl on him. "You want to know Who he is?" he laughed, almost boisterously. "Well, yirtt shall, all in good tiui". you who know my sCury. It will lie a surprise to you Liddy—o surprise." Anil so llasil was introduced without delay into the sick man's room. |le glanced at Pamela, and then advanced rfuickly to the bed where George Martindale. his arms outstretched. awaited him. "I'ncle ! " Hasil said, simply, as he look the thin hanils and pressed them between his strong lingers. "My boy." cried George Martindale. "I am glad you hove come. Pamela lias told me oyer} thing. Yon love one another, ond I say to \nu now. as I have Just said to her that whatever befalls us—whatever ,1,-tion our enemies may take—nothing shall come between you and r.trin la. Theie. you have my word"

As he spoke he look Pitmela's hiuul and placed it In that of tho ytmne man.

For a moment Pamela allowed her hand to remain in that of her lover. Ilcr whole Ihiil.v thrilled with emotion, nml her heart went out to the man who was lighting a brave liglit to make her his. And now her father had given tys blessing, and joined their hands together. 'flic terrible secret that might have parted them was a secret no longer. What was to come between her and Basil ?

Suddenly she remeuiliered. A hatful shape, a gaunt giant wilh bristling red beard, arose before her ~v.« She tore her hand away and Imrst. into tears*.

No. no; I cannot." she panted. "Fate is too strong for us, Basil, even now. How con I marry you? Think, ilear, think." The sick man on the lied Interrupted with a fretful movement. "Haven't we discussed all that. Pamela ? " he said with some irritation. "Haven't I decided that, come what may, you shall not marry tlob Perrint ? Haven't I said that I am willing to bear the brunt of my own wrong-doing ? " "But it must not lie." cried Pamela. "I, too, am decided as to that My father shall never stand in the dock, an acknowledged murderer, while I have it In my power to save him. And you, Basil »h® turned eagerly to her lover—"will you place your own happiness before your mother's hononr ? For it is to ibis f'-..if we have come. It is hard to ir —if i<4 cruel : but Fate has plac- -! a vfi eaf barrier liet ween us—a i n ,( with Mood, wherein are the : -r-.-s ff n fiend innn." sh.- gasping for breath, h t hatvl.*

■ r.-KTvt.-i i t-icht." f-ni.-t n.T-ii. afiuom- :if. I h • v " r t Clin- , |'- I -'s h • l.eps a! all I»«!e " l;<- Miiste.l grimly as ! . .>rirh with the i onsriousness of his ■.r» po-,ver—"l think th • secret may ;>■ k«-pt and Pamela Is* mine as well. Certainly I have no intention of giving her up to this man Perrint. Nor do 1 consider a promise wrung from her by duress to lie in the least degree binding. No he drew himself i|p and the sinile upon his lips changed Its character as his thoughts turned from Hob Perrint to the girl he loved—"no : I've come down to fight for you, Pamela, and for you 100. sir " —he turned to George Mart indole as he spoke, and there wan a strength in his tone well calculated to ' inspire confidence. "And things must lie going very badly Indeed before I abandon hopo of setting them right." CIIAPTKR XXIX. AN AI, ARM. "llrave words." murmured George Mai'indole. "and words that I'm glad to hear from your lips, my boy. You have the spirits of the I*eslies in you, llasil. Nevertheless things an* very bad indeed, and I do not see how you are to extricate us from the peril thnt Is so imminent. For myself, as I have told Pamela I care Hi tie. It would almost be a relief to me to know the worst has come. I killed a man. it is true " his hands shook as he spoke, and he again liegnn the restless tattoo of his fingers upon the linen sheet of the lied—"killed him in Mie heat of passion, not in cold liloofl. and for my sister's sake concealed my crime If the story tie mnde known, the law may condemn me. but the world will hold me ti. Hut let that Ik*. You say thnt the secret may still lie kept, in spite of Rob Perrint who has threatened to reveal it unless Pamela consents to be his wife. You say that you can do this, and still make Pamela yours, as I. her father would wish her to lie." He shook his head despondently, the conviction growing in his mind, as he spoke that the position was utterly hopeless. "You'll (In your l-est. I know llasil." he went on : "but. like fameli». I can see no way out. It's either you and she who must lie sacrificed. or else myself and your mother—my sister I-'lsie : and in the latter case, he added, with a sigh that was akin to a moan. "Pamela will go down branded as a murderer's daughter, and vou as the son of a frail and erring woman."

Basil stood upright by the lied, his face pale ond set. and for a few moments there was silence in the room a silence broken only by the sound of Pamela's low sobs. She had >«unk I'ack into her chair, and now, bending low over the lied, sho hit| her face in the pillows against which her father leaned. "That shall never lie." said Basil, at last firmly, and with decision.

"The Metherlv Held shall keep its secret. for I myself will go out and dig for the bones of Clinton Peele, even as Rob Perrint would have done. I will go this very night, since there is no time to Ik* lost. If Perrint insists on going lie shall iti'MHitpany me. He shall work for me "—Basil accented the pronoun—"and not against me."

George Martindale gave an impatient laugh.

"You don't know the man." he •aid. "or you would not s|>enk with Hiieh confidence. Rob Perrint is not one to lie turned from his purpose, as I have reason to know. He'll work with you readily, enough, and no doubt lie glad of assistance in the wretched task he has undertaken as long as he is convinced that his

price will lie paid him—yes. and to the uttermost farthing." "I'm not so sure of that." said Basil meaningly. "I propose to have a talk with Mr. Perrint as soon as he comes in. and I have an idea that I may l»e able to induce him to look upon matters in a rather diflerent light from that in which he sees them at present. " Basil spoke with confidence, and there was a curious light in his eyes. "I have no fear of Mr. Perrint." he added.

This was quito true. After what he had heard that afternoon Basil had little fear of Rob Peerint. Whether it was true or not that the master of Orgadale was married to the girl .less mattered little : it was quite sufTicfent thnt Rob Perrint had lieen r. ndy to pay a Ivnvy brilw to t|ie Melherly innkeeper In order that the whole matter might lie hushed up. Armed with this knowledge Basil felt himself strong enough to coji" with his adversary—yes. and to gain the advantage over him. But for the present, at least, it tyas wisest to keep his own counsel, or so he told himself. He would interview Rob Perrint as soon as that gentleman returned to the house, and he would lie able to ap-: ply the necessary pressure to attain the end he had in view. Rob Perrint must act. as Hasil himself expressed it. with him. and not against him. Together they would go that night to the Metherly fields, together they would dig. and together they would re-inter the bones of Clinton Peele in a safer restingplace. Such was Hosil's scheme and he smiled confidently as he sought to instil sotWthing of the confidence he felt in himself ih the minds pf his two companions. "You need have no fear," he rel»eatcd. "for I feel sure of myself—sure. Rob Perrint is an ogre and a dangerous fellow to boot. But there have lieen occasions when I have dealt with othqrs as rough and bullying as he. and have not come off the worst. " He was referring tq certain events which had occurred in the days of his art studentship in Paris : he had had to fight his own way up. and the path by which he had travelled had lieen a rough one. "liCave Rob Perrint to nie," he concluded- "I'll guarantee to make |tim sec reason." Naturally George Martindnle asked rfu est ion*. Pamela, too, through her tears, was constrained to express her doubt as to Basil's power of carrying out what he promised, though a ray of hope shot into her heart, and she raised her head from the pillows to meet her lover's eyes with a wan attempt at an answering smile. "H||,i!.'i>r 1 .|<m" u ;!i hav-- b<; done N»-r;iKh\" Mar-indalc

"fvrrTnt That tnc piircnasers oi Mi-ih-'ily have taken possession of their property. ami an* about to set t<i work upon it. Th" cursed era!! I would to Heaven that th-re had never Imtii a suspicion of coal upon the place. Had it not been for that Clint on Peele might have rested in peace * where I laid him till we were ourselves under the sod. Wei!, well " —he sank back wearily upon his pillows, half-closing his eyes, tired out from the exertions and the emotions of the afternoon —"I leave everything in your hands, Basil, for I myself ani utterly helpless, a sick, wretched man. It would have been lieiter for me, and for you, my children, if I were in my grave." He lay silent for a few moments while Hasil drew near to Pamela, resting an encouraging hand upon the girl's shoulder. "My poor father " she whispered.

"He is only just struggling back to life. He has come out of the valley of the shadow of death only to tight again with a worse enemy than death itself."

They stood together there, the young man and the girl talking in whispers believing George Martindale to be asleep. But presently the sick man stirred, his lips moved convulsively and his long fingers clutched awl tore at the bedding. He was talking to himself, muttering half-articulate words ; "A field of blood : a field of blood ! See how they are turning up the red soil ! It is time for the harvest—a goodly crop. And now, sec, they have come to dig "

"Oh. I can't listen to it ! T can't I tear it ! " Pamela stooped over the half conscious man calling to him gently. "They are friends who will dig in the field, lather—friends!" she murmured. Authe sound of her voice the expression of fear left George Martindale's face and his lips parted in a more peaceful smile. T 'Fricnds ? Ah, yes," he muttered. "Basil has come —Klsie's child. To-morrow all will be well with us. To-morrow we will leave this hateful place together— Basil, Pamela, and I." The lids fell over his tired eyes. He slipped down at full length on the bed. and lapsed at length into peaceful sleep. "I will send Liddy. to him," whispered Pamela, "and you and I can sit downstairs, Basil. We can sit in the hall before the fire and talk. When Mr. Perrint comes in he will find us there."

Basil acquiesced readily to this suggestion, and he followed Pamela to the hall, where she ensconced herself in her favourite chair, and he threw himself down upon the rug which was spread before the hearth. One of Rob Perrint's decrhounds rose with a low growl of remonstrance to make room for the invaders. But I'amela laughed for she. was not afraid now that Basil was with her, of hound, or indeed, of man. Basil laughed, too, and reaching out his hand, stroked the rough head. He was fond of animals, and they took to him naturally. so presently M'Alpin curled himself up complaisantly by the young man's, feet. The group thus formed was a homely ono. " What will Perrint think of us when he comes in?" smiled Basil. "I expect he'll be wild to find me here, an uninvited, and decidedly undesircd guest. But if will be best for him and for us that he should realize the position at once."

Hasil was sorely tempted to makeuse of his time in the manner that most naturally suggested itself. lie would have liked to speak to Pamela of his love—to have repeated the kisses that he had pressed on lvr lips that morning when they had met on the moors. It was very quiet and seductive by the fire and a gentle lassitude had come upon him after the fatigues of the night journey and the emotions of the day. Pamela, too, was looking at him with such a soft light in her blue eyes. He could guess what she was thinking. She loved him and sh<> wanted him to repeat the consoling words that he had spoken before her father. She wanted to throw herself upon his strength. But Basil, on the point of yielding to his desiro to place his arms arottnd the girl, and' whisper words of love into her ear, pulled himself up with a jerk. It "was not yet time for such demonstrations. Pamela stil| felt herself bound by her word, and he was anxious to tell her as delicately as possible all he had learned that day about Rob Perrint's dealings with the innkt«e|>ei\ Dugald M'l>aren. Thero was no reason why Pamela should l?e kept the dark as to the methods which llasil proposed to adopt in his dealings with Rob Perrint. He would have spoken more openly upstairs, had not George Martindale sunk oft into And so the two young people talked very seriously together while the shadows grew longer upon the wall, s»nd the autumn evening crept on. And still Hob Perrint delayed his coming.

Pamela learned all that Basil had to tell her, and she, for her part, told him of the events of the night before —how Rob Perrint had gone out to dig, and how an ambush had been laid, from which she had lioen the means pf saving him. Had it pot Ueca tvr this ambush, for the a\yakened suspicion of old Klspcth and her friends, in all probability the ghastly work that still lay hefore them would have been successfully accomplished. As it was Perrint had been obliged to make some excuse to George Martindale, averring that he had failed to find the right spot, but would surely do so fin a second attempt. George Martindale had given way to an access of passion—as Pamela had subsequently learned from Li tidy—when he was told that the hopes which he had built up during the night were to be ruthlessly shattered. And Pamela had succeeded In calming him, and indeed he was in better health and more rational to-day than he had lieen for many weary weeks. To be Continued.