The Great Anvil

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 374, 7 June 1928, Page 5

The Great Anvil

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Rowan Glen.

Author of ” The Bes-t Gift of Alt.' ’ The Bishop's Masquerade,” Ac., Ac

CHAPTER XVI.

A man," Welland pointed out. '■oesn’t necessarily love a woman h® marries her. But we won't 1J ? l8s the thing further now. A week sat so very long. Shall 1 get a taxi f you? Let me do that, please.” , thanks!" she said. “I'll walk to -e street corner and get a bus there.” Mu waited, watching her till she had from sight. Momentarily the warns of her appearance touched him. ' a - anapping a. finger and thumn : o. he turned and re-entered the aoteL

ith* had always lo nged for Mary CarThat longing was stronger than it had even been before. ,“ ea Oliver Pratt took Carruthers , . “Iter's bedroom on that night. , aag ‘ ve n a perplexing order. , arran Sements for us to clear , h°, * s Pl & ce in the moaning,” Cari. ers Ba id- “We’re going back to wrenford, and perhaps to Apple>l ® y ‘ 1 think there's a train about «Y thirty. We’ll start by that.” Ist ry > good ’ sir -” said Pratt. “I’ll H h• arran sements.” ;e a a 30 * and on th e following day u , Oarruthers ate their luncheou ’ter 1 uarren tord Arms. The meal , v j r att received instructions which J y»tifle<l him. ,! ant you to go to th e hospital, “Tins- aSk *' ,urse Robinson if she can Can-no to call here this afternoon, H r jii ers sa id. “If there seems to be ;at.;ryj Ulty a b°ut that, you'd better ;t s ® w the matron and explain who titink yishes to see the nurse. I they taat ’U make things easy, for %„[ l® ten< led to be up in the air aat cheque I gave them.” '“•n't c ' along now, for if the nurse An n i- ~® e ’ 1m going to motor over to we-Warley. the hn/l tWe nty minutes of leaving “I s ® ' Pl 'att had returned to it. "inj . matron, sir,” he explained, to | e . ® sa ' d she’d have been very glad Ser e fc Urse Robinson off to come after,,„„ Ut tlle ourse’s off duty this o dock n and w on’t be back till eight 'ta^h/i?' I '"' sa * d Carruthers. “It helped. Just hop along to the to G ad see if you can fix for us ,° ave a car.” they al as towards four o’clock that a« th» V v through Apple-Warley, and slowed down, Caris*k Bh n. Up with “Radium.” Boots, „ metals. Each the best. '■cHapeti tion closes Junto 30. 5

ruthers leaned forward and spoke t>o him.

“I want you to take me to Mr. Marsh’s vicarage,” he said. “You turn up Orchard Street, and then into Warley Road. The house is the second one you come to on the left.” • There was a carriage drive leading to the vicarage, and when the car had been pulled up, Pratt, a little anxious as to his employer’s purpose, rang the hell at the house door, and learned that Mr. Marsh was at home. “Shall I come indoors with you. sir?” Pratt asked, when he had guided the blind man up the steps. “No,” he was told, “you can wait in the car. I shan’t be more than a few minutes.”

A maid-servant guided him into a pleasantly-eool room, and almost- as the maid announced his name, he felt friendly fingers about his right hand, and heard a richly-toned voice give him greeting. “Sit down, Mr. Carruthers,” the vicar said. “There’s a chair just at vour elbow. Allow me— ’’ He was a fresh-faced, kindly-dis-positioned man of middle-age, and the fact that his visitor had long ago confessed to being no church-goer, did not weigh with him in the. latter’s disfavour.

“This is a real surprise,” he went on. ”1 fancy that someone mentioned to me that you’d been in Apple-War-ley recently, but I hadn’t expected to see you, which makes this call all the more welcome.” “Thanks,” Carruthers answered’ “It’s kind of you to put it like that. The fact is, I've cone to speak to you on a matter of deep personal in16"I'take it. of course, that you’d heard of my blindness, and also that I d lost my mother?” “Ah yes!” the other commented soberly. “A sad affliction, Mr. Carruthers, and a sad loss. Your mother was one of the best women I was ever privileged to know. nad, perhaps, some message for me?” Carruthers shook his head. “Her death was too sudden for that, he returned. “She left no messages. I came here to talk for a few minutes about my wife.” “Ah!”

“I’ve never been able to get, even from mv mother, the true details of Mary’s death,” Carruthers went on. ■*lf you can tell me anything, 1 11 be grateful.” The vicar's eyes puckered. ■•But what is this?” he asked. “Your wife’s death? I don’t understand. I