ALL OR NOTHING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 585, 16 July 1913, Page 6

ALL OR NOTHING.

(Copyright.)

A THRILLING ROMANCE, + By the Author of —, "A Bitter Bondage," "Two Keys," l ?'Stella," "The Unknown Bridegroom," &c., PA TIT 16. "Mabel," asked Mrs. Morton, "'whs did you tell me Dr. Ainsleigh was so different from all the Carsbrook people ?" "He is, mamma.," she cried. "None of them arc like him. He stands out from them, clear and distinct as a white lily painted on a back ground. Do you like him, mamma ?" And the dark, love-lit eyes, luminous with their love secret, the sensitive lips, tremulous with happy smiles, touched the lady's heart. "I like him nery much, Mabel," she said. "He is enthusiastic, and that is always a good quality. He is handsome, too, and Courteous in manner." She saw the perfect contentment that came over, the young face. Some words of caution as to the vanity ol making an idol came to her lips; but she repressed them. "To the young all heart and- plea-' sure ; A.nd the soul to loved at leisure. To the fair their face ; With eterr-al grace, And the soul to be heard, at lefsure,"

said Mrs. Morton to herselL Let Mabel gather her rosebuds, and God keep the sharp thorns from wounding her gentle hands !' "I am going to Mrs. Elderly's this afternoon, mamma," said Mabel. '"She has a party, you know, in the hayfield. We are to have tea there, and a dance on the lawn by moonlight. How beautiful it will be i How beautiful everything is !" Mrs. Morton looked at her, wondering if the child herself knew what made all the world so bright to her ; wondering if that wonderful radiance of love, now all golden light, would ever fall like a funeral pall over the young happy life and blight it. She smiled to herself when Mabel that bright June day went up to dress for the hayfield. The way in which the young girl lingered round her mother, longing to ask her which dress was prettiest, and which dress suited her best, ashamed to seem anxious over her appearance, until the wistful eyes told their own story, and Mrs. Morton laid down her pen ! "I suppose you will have a large party, Mabel ?" v "Yes, mamma, Alice Leyton is going, and she looks so nice. She dresses so magnificently, every one admires her." "Which means," thought Mrs._Morton to herself, "that 1 Dr. Ainsleigh has, perhaps, looked admiringly at tier once or twice." You must do credit to Mrs. Elinvitation, Mabel," she continued, gently. "Suppose you wear a white dress—one of those pretty muslins you like so much. I have a beautiful black lace mantilla somewhere that I will give you ; thpn, with a white bonnet, you will look as well as Miss Leyton." The girl's look of delight was charming t'o see. "How good you are, mamma," she cried, "to think of my dress ! The sun shines so brightly ; we " have a glorious day." Mrs. Morton thought no charming picture of youth or loveliness had ever eclipsed. Mabel when she came *d6wn dressed for the fete, her lovely young face flushed with hope and love, her dark eyes shining like two bright stars, the rippling golden hair covered with the' pretty white bonnet, the slender girlish figure, so full ; of gracious lines and curves, showing to perfection in the white | dress and rich mantilla of black lace. "She looks like a young queen," thought the lady. "Little need for Mabel to dx - ead any provincial Miss Leyton." In the dark after-days, when the sun had ceased to shine, Mrs. Morton remembered those words. Mrs. Elderly prided herself upon her al< fresco entertainments ; her hayfield parties -were always. looked forward to by the ladies ; such splen-, did opportunities for flirting, toying coquettishlv with the fragrant new-mown hay, sitting under the .broad shade of the maple trees, making the hay into fantastic shapes, always demolished with merry laughter. Then came tea under the maple trees, seated on great heaps of hay—such tea as one enjoys in a hayfield—ripe fruits, golden honey, delicate cakes, sweet white bread —a walk 1 through fragrant meadows to the Grange, and a dance by moonlight on the lawn ; such opportunities for flirtation as no other festivities ever gave rise to.. For once "society" was content to doff its ultra gentility and enjoy itself heartily, after the fashion of the young and the happy. Mabel walked rapidly down the high road, followed by the pretty maidservant who attended her as escort. "What time shall I come to fetch you home, miss ?" asked Susan, as they reached the great meadow where the fragrant liar lying. Some happy thought sent a rush ol colour to the young girl's face. " You need not come at all, Susan," she said, gently ; "some oneor other will pass our house, and 1 can return with them." Which speech was neither very grammatical nor intelligible ; but Mabel was confused. Her fancy been suddenly seized witih the idea of a walk home throueh the moon-

lit fields when the dew was lying, with Leonard Ainsleigh by her side Susan smiled to herself as she turned away, not forgetting the vount doctor she had seen that morning. Then Mabel opened the gate. Was there ever a scene so lovely as that hayfield ? A great row of chestnut trees, with their grand flowers ir bloom, ran down one side of it. under which there was a broad path, the hedges were crimson and whitf with wild roses ; the air balmy with the breath of woodbine ; the hedgerows were one gorgeous mass ol bloom—purple foxglove, wild violets, sweet forget-me-nots, and great clusters of wild hyacinths. Then, down at the end of the meadow, ran a grove of tall elm trees, with large overhanging boughs, the sky over head was blue and brilliant, the sunshine warm and golden, the fragrant new-mown hay lying over the fieldIt was a scene for Watteau ; pretty girls, in dresses of all gay colours, sitting amongst the hay, their admirers hovering round them. No sooner did they see Mabel than a whole bevy of them ran to greet her. '"l'm so glad you are here, Miss Morton," cried happy young voices; and her coming brightened every face, except that of Alice Leyton. Leonard Ainsleigh had been sitting by her side until Mabel appeared ; then he went to greet her, and a shadow dark as night fell over Alice's face. "At any rate," she said to herself, "though I have not such great waves of golden hair, I am much better dressed than she is."

CHAPTER XXVII. And Miss Leyton looked complacently at the rich folds of blue silk snot with gold. She kept her seat under the maple tree, the only one Uho did not hasten to Mabel • aud welcome her. Mabel noticed the omission. " Thfere is Miss Leyton," she said to Leonard Ainsleigh, who was with her. "I have not met her since the morning we went to eat peaches jn Mrs. Stanley's garden." She went, with a smile on her sweet face, to speak kindly words to the girl who disliked her, and who was jealous of her. Leonard Ainsleigh followed her, and the three stood under the maple tree together. If they could have foreseen the future, the three who stood there—if they could have known the great tragedy of jealousy and love to be played out by them, even to the last most fatal act of all—how they would have parted, shuddering, from each other —how tiie light would have died from the ' summer skies, and chill, dread darkness have fallen over them ! As it was, they were all unconscious. Alice looked at the sweet, happy face, the dark, lovelit eyes, the fresh, ripe mouth, so like in hue to a pomegranate blossom. She looked at the tall slender figure, the white, flowing dress, and the ricli black lace ; then consoled herself by remembering that, although her face was not so pretty, still she liad on j a dress fit for a ' queen, and one of I the largest fortunes in the county. "How bright everything is today !" said Mabel. '"The lady looks splendid." "I do not perceive it," replied Miss Leyton ; "the sun is very warm, and the flies very tiresome." " Crumpled rose-leaves !" said Mabel, with a still brighter smile. "I do not know about rose-leaves," replied the banker's daughter; "but I see nothing very bright or beautiful in dry hay." And Leonard Ainsleigh listened with a smile that had some little malice in it. Alice Leyton liad never thought herself pretty —even those who flattered her because she was the banker's heiress never went to the extreme length of telling her so. But they called her graceful and interesting—they discovered many points of attraction in her face far superseding the mere beauty of colour —they discovered many graceful lines in her thin, somewhat angular figure, far exceeding the mere pretti"ness of gracious curves and plump shoulders. Alice was firmly impressed with that idea that, although she was not what superficial people call .pretty, she was something still better—elegant, graceful, and interesting. "Mere beauty of colour," she said to her flatterers, "soon dies away—elegance never fades." So that when thto handsome young doctor came to Carsbrook she thought herself almost sure of winning the prize. There was but one rival she feared, and that was darkeyed, golden-haired Mabel. She could not deny tiie charm of that most fair face, although »lie pretended to despise it. 'There was young Squire Ayr ton, of Langholme, whenever he met Mabel Morton his face grew white and red by turns, his naturally loud, cheery voice became subdued and softened—an effect that no one else ever produced upon him. Every one knew that he loved the ground upon which Mabel stood, the wind that kissed her face, the flowers that gave her pleasure. Every one knew, too, that his love for Mabel was quite in vain. She (Alice) had tried in vain tc win - the young squire from his homage. She had displayed her richest jewels and her richest dresses before him. Her father had invited him to the Woodlands, where the most recherche dinner was served to him upon silver plate, and the mofit exquisite wines drunk from rare Venetian glass ; yet shine and dazzle and display as she would, Charlif Avrton was true to the dark eyes and the golden hair that had charmed him. * Alice was annoyed. She was ir some measure a queen amongst th« Carsbrook girls, who were all somewhat in awe of her yreat wealth. Lady Mackin made an especial fa-

voirrite of lier. and she had a fashion repeating ner ladyship's sayincs ,vith a:t air of authority that im pressed them. They tli.l not like her Diu'-self w ell as they liked Mabel. liut the prestige of wealth produced its usual effect. Accustomed to rule in the little coterie, Alice did not like to be defeated. It was with some little amusement the girls saw her rivalry with Mabel, who was so unconscious of it. She had failed mofit completely with the squire ; it remained to he seen whether she succeeded with the handsome young doctor whose coming heen hailed as such a godsend to all. "I do not suppose," said Miss Leyton. turning with a languid air to Leonard, "that you ever had any hay-making in London ? "It woihl he difficult," said Mabel "considering that they have no

iiay. "Do not malign London, Miss Morton," said the young doctor. "I assure you that I have seen real hayiields about Highgate and Ham P" stead." "I thought, perhaps, you would snd these rustic entertainments tiresome," said Miss Ley to*. "It would be very bad taste on my part to find any scene tiresome or dull enlightened by such fair faces," ae replied, with a laugh. Alice looked brighter. This was something like—a nice compliment, paid in well-chosen words. "I did not think, you paid commonplace compliments, Mr. Ainsleigh," said Mabel. Perhaps the light tone in which he !iad spoken jarred upon her sensitive ;ars. He . looked at her quickly, and was about to speak, when Alice interrupted. "Miss Morton likes people to be always in the clouds," she said — "always to be talking about poetry, and all k-"nds of liigh-tlown matters. Myself, I think poetry is all very well in its place ; too much of it ires mc." Ho could not repress the sarcascurl of the lip, the flash of amusement in his eves. "x" suppose," continued Miss Leyton, turning yo liiabei, "that this bay fie Id is a glorified place to you, full of perfume and light, and all Kinds of nonsense ? I only see tiresome hay flying about and a hot sun blazing. Mine is the commonsense view of the matter." "Undoubtedly so ; common sense is four forte, Miss Leyton," said Leoaard, with laughing sarcasm, all unperceived by her. Her face .began to brighten. It was really very pleasant to have the ioctor agreeing with her in everything. "Dr. Ainsleigh," she said, "I shall trust you to get us some of those strawberries and cream. We will sit iown while you fetch them." So Leonard went away in search Df the fruit, leaving the two girls together—Alice watching him., Mabel looking with a far-off, dreamy gaze tn her eyes to the distant woods. He toon returned, and brought with him ;wo dishes of strawberries. Then, instead of paying proper attention to Alice, he became absorb}d in watching Mabel eat strawberries—the prettiest picture he had sver seen. ■ - Happy thoughts- sent the beautiful :olour rushing over her face and ieck (I lit the wondrous eyes, and jrought such snnny smiles to her jweet lips that Squire Ayrton, who :ame up at that irioment, wss bewildered. "I—l think, Miss Morton," he stammered at last, "that you grow nore beautiful every day of your life." "Do you ?" said Mabel, simply. ,! 'I im so glad." She was thinking only of Leonard, langing for his sake to look as lovely is possible. Th«i squire felt rather astonished. He was far from thinking why his honest compliment pleased her so. Then, as Mabel had foreseen, when tea was over and the ladies stood in little groups, Leonard came over to aer, followed by a very angry look from Miss Leyton's eyes. "Miss Morton," he said, " may I aave the first dance —the second, the third, and all the rest ?" "You may have as many as 1 can spare, Dr. Ainsleigh," she replied. But the dark eyes were not raised to his. She knew too well what wm shining in them. And for years afterwards .Mabel was haunted by a dream —a dream Df sweet, fragrant gloaming, of dancing on the velvet lawn, while the lew fell on the lilies and glistened on the roses ; while the white acacia blossoms fell from the trees, and the dreamy mnsic or the " Soldaten Lieder" seemed to llo;i.t among the trees —a dream of great, solemn, rosy clouds that gradually faded away ; of golden stars peepin:: out, and a clear moon sailing along the sky—a dream oi a handsome face looking down into hers, of nark, eloquent eyes following her. of a strong arm clasped round her of strong hands holding her own in a passionate clasp, of a musical voice that whispered such beautiful words —a dream of a walk underneath a grove of flowering chestnuts and ot the voice that said to her : "I wish—oh, 1 wish this night would never end !" A dream —God help her ! —nothing but a dream ! Once, when she had been waltzing with Leonard Ainsleigh, and he was taking her to rest, sße caught sight of Alice Leyton's face, dull, sullen, ami gloomy. The very sight sent a chill to her heart ; elie did not know why. She never dreamed that the heiress could be jealous of her. " Miss Morton," said Leonard, bending over her chair, "promise that I may walk home with you. You know how the moon shines or those meadows ; perhaps we shall see the elves and the fairies dance May I come ?" (To he Continued.) Post-cards, first came into use ii 1870.