CHAPTER IV.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 348, 6 March 1889, Page 3

CHAPTER IV.

DOWN AT THE BROOK, ' ' A rosebud set with little Avilful thorns ; And sweet as English air could make her, she. Meanwhile, where was Dulcio ? She was sitfng perched on the top of a high bank, grasping a fishing-rod in both hands. Her two little stoutly-booted feet were dangling negligently over the brinki her broad straw hat was pushed resolutely back from her brow, whilst she gazed intently down at the dark water, gurgling sottly beneath her. Some fifty yards above, the river, hemmed in by steep gran te walls, rushed rapidly over the grey boulders in the midst, till it leached a ltdge of jutting rock, where, tumbling tempestuously down, ib formed a deep and still pool, on whose needy stagnant surface the pale yellow loam eddied ■slowly lound, accompanied by the debris of dried leaves, rotten sticks, and tangled weeds that floated almost imperceptibly by. Every now and again, a tiny circle bioke up tho glassy bosom of tho water, as a lean biown snout appealed for one .second, sucked in a dead fly, or snapped at a passing gnat ; bub the trout of to-day mostly kept to their own familiar haunts under the coo banks and big stones, where they lay motionless save for an occasional gasp of scarlet-lined gills, and gentle undulations of the tail and fins. They weie 100 weary to ii.se at an aibifieial lly in weather like this, when the hot sun rendered even their peculiar clement lukewarm, and when the finest of silken gut could be seen, like a white thread upon the Mater, inducing extia caution, in the salmo-laiio mind. Bob Morningbon, with his light little, ten-foot, Castle Connell rod, as lithe and springy as an ash-plant, has been throwing coaxingly aitistic casts over them neatly all the arternoon, bunging every resource of his piscatorial science into requisition, without avail. Bub black hackle and teal-wing have lost their charms to-day, and the tioub remain shy. Evidently they are not to bo persuaded by even the most finished of angling; and the disappointed fisherman is now reduced toafa\ourite cheny-v/ood pipe— in times like the present a mo=*b invaluable auxiliary — and the choice but ignominious ' gentle.' Bob sat calmly, though dejectedly, puffing away, some twenty or thirty yards beyond the placo where Dulcie had taken up her- station, reflecting disconsolately that of all the tantalising, ungrateful, and unsatisfactory pursuits, lishing decidedly headed the list. For nothing ever went right. Either ib blew too hard or not haul enough ; ib was either too hob or else too cold, too mild or too sharp, too early or too late, but never exactly satisfactory ; and even when the conditions did at last appear united in favour of the angler, then by some unaccountable whim, which set human calculation and expeiience at defiance, the fiah weic nob in a taking humour, jumped shoib at the pioficicd lly, or sulkily lefused to look ab ib at all. la this wise did Bob Mornington meditate moodily, as periodically ho sent hbble pun's of grey smoke into the aii, and amused himself by watching them spread into rings, that widoncd oub and grew moic ethereal, until they disappeaied altogether from sight. He even began to find Duleie's rogulaiiy recurrent demand, shouted oub ab tho top of her clear shull voice, of ' Bob, aie \. ou having any spoit?" grow exaspeiatingly monotonous. ' Sport V Of course not, he mused indignantly ; nobody but an ignoramus, or a simpleton, or — or Uulcie, could ask such a pieposterously foolish question. Bob was the eldest son of a neighbouring squire whose foi tunes had fallen from their ' high estate,' and were now in gieatlv reduced circumstances. Mr Moinington, senior, found it an endless struggle endeavouring to keep up Mornington Com t, and live in the style of his forefathers, and he would have displayed greater wisdom had he refrained from the attempt; bub, unfortunately, instead of boldly facing tho evil, actuated by that t.ilse piide and lo\c of appeal arce which prove fatal to so many of his class, he insisted, as far as was possible, on maintaining the same display as his ancestois had done. MisMoinington's only brothei, by name Tom Beckwith, was a lich man, and had announced his intention of making Bob his heir. Bub Mr Bockwibh was still a comparatively young man, who considcied, when he paid for his nepnew's education at a fashionable military crammer's, that he had behaved exceedingly handsomely towards the j outh. When poor Bob was ignorainiously plucked for tho army, he jumped ab the conclusion that the young man was nob only deficient in brains, bub a fool of the fit st. water. Therotoi e he had shut up his purse-strings for the present, taking a gloomy pleasuie in making the culpiit drink the diegs of abasement to the full, and announced his stern intention of nob helping him again until such bimc as Bob proved himself Avoithy of assistance. Thus matter s-tood ; and no « onder that poor Bob, as he re viewed the past and contemplated the future, regarded his iuuncdiate piospects somewhat dolefully. In the meantime, he felt the humiliation of dofeab very soAeicly, and \va" in that state of mental disoouragemenb incidental to young people who are doomed to kick (heir heels about at home doing nothing, and aie daily, if nob houily, leminded ot their incapacity by disappointed, fond, and injudicious paients. Dulcie alone did not taunt him with his stupidity, and took a sanguine view of his future career ; thereioie small wonder if to Dulcio he turned on all occasions for advice and encouragement, finding in her society solace for his many woes. The Mornington estate adjoined Milnacot Lodge, and the young people of the two I families had always been on terms of the greatest intimacy ; one of Dulc c's earliest recollections being of Bob Mornington kissing her in a corner at a children's party, and vowing, with all tho touching solemnity of boyhood, that phe should be his little sweetheart for ever and for aye. He — Bob — was a tall, broad chested, open-faced young man now, two-and-twenty years old, with an honest, rosy countenance, large, loose limbs liice those of a foxhound puppy, that had a constant trick of getting in the way of their owner ; and a soft fringe just beginning to adorn his upper lip, which he caressed at- intervals with a proud gravity comical to behold. 1 But ever since those days of long ago he had novei', for one single moment, wavered in his unquestioning allegiance to Dulcie. Even during the three or four years spent at Mr Maybor's well-known establishment ab Shoon— whenever Bob came across an extra rare bird's egg, captured an unusually brilliant butterfly, found a curious mineralogieal specimen, or turned with his lathe any peculiarly beautiful object of art, , the treasure was always put leligiously apart and presented to Dulcie with

nseimme pride during the holidays ; while eho, on' her side, looked forward to their meetings, shed tears of bitter 1 egret at their partings, wrote to him regularly, once a week, long, discursive letters in her big, sprawling, schodlgirlish hand, and altogether considered Bob Mornington the finest gentleman and the greatest hero, even though he had been plucked in his exams, on the face of the earth. And now that Bob was at home, and .she was grown up — or very nearly ssando — and Mrs Shepperton began to view their hearty friendship with increasing suspicion, not all her mother's exhortations could shako Dulcie's belief one iota, or render her disloyal, either in thought, woid, or deed, to the companion of hsr childhood. She liked Bob better than she liked anybody else. He might not be clever, but he was good and kind and sympathetic, and therefore, although she was a young lady on the point of coming out, she saw no reason to alter her conduct towardshim. He was hor fiiend, and always would be her friend to the end of time. In fact, Dulcie could not conceive a condition of things wheie such should not be the case. She was sitting now, as described above, patiently watching her thin line, as it drooped in idle circles on the unruffled surface of the water, and unsconsciously gazing at the long green rushes bordering the opposite bank, when suddenly, without the smallest premonitory warning in the shape of a bite or nibble, she felt a sharp jei k, and the point of her l'od assumed that rounded curve so dear to the fisherman's heart. Dulcie gave a little scream of pleasure, and ciied out in a sharp, tiiumphant voice, ' Bob ! Bob ! come here ! I've got a bite at last !' He gave one backward switch in the air of the Castle Connell, caught his dangling hook with a dexterity conferred by long practice, hitched it .swiftly into the reel, laid his rod down carefully on tho coarse green grass, knocked the ashes from his pipe, and came hastily towards her with quick strides. ' Got a bite, Dulcie ? Have you ? What sort of a ono?' he asked curiously, feeling every sportsmanlike instinct leaping into life. ' A trout, or an eel ?' ' Oh, I don't know,' she answered, her sweet flowerlike face, with its soft dark eyes, large and liquid as those of a gazelle, shining trom joyous excitement, while the rosebud mouth parted and displayed two rows of little pearly teeth. 'Something big, I do believe. Oh, Bob !' 1n an ecstasy, as the end of her rod jerked downwards, and the supple point once more bent round, ' something awfully big ! lerhaps,' impressively, 'even a — a — real — live — eahnon !' ' A salmon, Dulcie ? What nonsense ! Y\ by, if it were a salmon, he would be all over the place and break your casting-lino in no time, or else he'd sulk and refuse to move. Possibly,' he added, with a laugh, ' you may have captured a whale, but not a salmon ; of that I will take my oath ' ' But, Bob, you've no idea how hard the creature's pulling. I only wioh you could feel it,' gasped Dulcie, delightedly, as the silvery gut, atter slackening, grew quite taut again. ' Let out plenty of line then !' cried Bob, who could not rebi&t the contagion of her enthusiasm. 'Let out plenty of line, and ; whatever you do don't be too hard upon him. Give him lots of time' 1 xVll right, Bob!' and she immediately gave out so much that it dangled on to the giound, and stood in imminent danger of becoming entangled among the tall ma&se?. 'Hold hard!' shouted Bob, hastily, ' you're a bit too liberal. Wind ie up ngain quick, or else we shall get into a mess. Here, give me the rod and let me play him for you.' ' i wouldn't do such a thing for worlds,' lcplied Dulcie, looking gieatly oTended at the suggestion, ' a though thanks all the some foi your oiFer. Sliil, it's nob likely — Ls it?— that after bitting here fot hqnis and houis waiting and longing for a bite, directly I get one, and actually succeed in hooking a fish all by myself, I should make my lod o\er to somebody else, and let that person have the fun of playing him Iso. thank you, master Bob,' looking round saucily at her companion, l I'm not sufficiently generous ' ' I humbly beg pardon,' answered he, with a merry twinkle lighting up his clear hazel eyes. ' But I thought that possibly — the — the salmon might prove a little too much for your stiength. You can beat me at mo^-t things, Duleic — books at d conver- I sation, and so on— but even \ou must ! admit, when it comes to a case of dounI light pulling, that I am the stiongccpt, Besides,' he went on, fac6 iously, ' think what a bore it would be Feeing you diagged j bodily into the pool, and being obliged to plunge in, v. et one's clothes thiough and through, and pull you out again like a diowned rat, gasping For bieath and dying of flight.' Dulcie laughed. ' I shouldn't be frightened,' she said, resolutely. 4Oh yes, jou would ! When it comes to the point, I don't belie\e you're a bit braver than the rest of your sex. But how about; the salmon ? Is he nearly done yet? If so, bring him gently in alongside. Now, are you ready V And, so saying, Bob lay clown full length on the grass at the top of the bank, and cautiously stretched his long arm over the brink. ' Can't you get him in a bib nearer, Dulcie ?' he asked, after making one or two ineffectual attempts, which resulted m nothing but a teirifying amount of splashing. • I'll try,' she said, her cheeks all flushed with pride and excitement, ' only foi goodnest' sake don't lose him.' ' No fear of that.' Whcieupon, Bob once moie introduced the net softly into the water, and, in another second bore it high aloft, with the big droops sparkling amongst its meshes, and a smalj wiiggling creatux'e flapping violently, bub hopelessly, in the centre. 'Foul-hooked, by Jove!' he exclaimed, as he withdrew the hook from the trout's speckled side. 'I thought they wouldn't rise this weather. However)' he went on, with intentional sarcasm, 'it strikes me, Miss Dulci^, that this precious salmon of yours is a singularly small specimen ot his class. He looks as if he had been stinted in his childhood, to say the least of it.' Dnlcie's face lengthened perceptibly. ' Why !' she ejaculated, in tones of disappointment, feeling the disillusion more than sovero, ' he's not anything like as big as I thought, after all !' ' They se'dom aie,' retorted Bob, with the weight of a superior experience. • But, pray, how do your poor arms feel, Dulcie, after uhafc mighty tug of war ? Do they ache ?' ' I'm not going to answer such a question, sir ; it's far too foolish,' pouting. ' Very likely. Still, don't snub my kind inquiries. They were all well meant, and I honestly feared you might feel fatigued after your severe exertions, j I supposo,' holding up the diminutivo tiout by the bail and looking at itcontemptuously, 'that you'll dine oft' trui/e d\i riviere tonight, Miss Shepperton, and feast on tho remains to-monow morning at bteakfast? Eh ! Let me see, there vie live of you, aren't there? The trout will make quite

a handsome dish, repoeing all by itself in solitary grandeur, with no companions to detract from its vast size. Such a catch as this is not caught every day of one's life.' ' It's very well to talk, Bob,' retorted Dulcie, with rising heat. ' But pray what have you succeeded in 6atching yourself ? Not one single thing ; not even'a minnow, let alone a trout.' 'That's true enough. Fishing is but a poor sport at best.' 'I don't agree with you in the least : I call it capital sport.' 'Humph ! I'm glad you're so easily pleased, Dulcie. Most pec pie would have treated that poor little wretch,' pointing scornfully at the now stiffening fish as it lay gasping in the sunshine, 'with the contempt it deserved, and restored it at once to its native element. There's nothing like a woman, however, for cruelty.' 1 And there's nothing like a man,' retorted Dulcie, indignantly, * tor thinking he knows better than everybody else, and for being annoyed when he finds other people can do things just as well as himself. Do you know, Bob, I really believe that you are jealous because I have caught a fisl v , and you have i ot even had a rise, in spile of all your fine casting.' 'Awfully!' icturned he with a broad grin. ' I shan't get over il in a hurry, I can tell you.' 'And you must admit, Bob, you are only a fairweather sportsman, and did not stick to your rod with half the persexerance as myself.' ' No, because there was no use in doing so, and 1 fell back on a better employment.' ' Yes, you smoked that nasty dirty pipe. I saw you puffing away. , You men aie all 1 alike, and haven't got a fcrap of patience. ' ' Oh, indeed ! Miss Dulcie. Are you not rather young to jump at such sweeping con-clu-iona ?' 'No, not a scrap,' she continued, ignoring the interrogation.- 'If things don't go exactly right, you give up at once, and won't even try. I call that awfully soft,' curling her short upper lip disdainfully. ' Do you ?' ' Yes, I do. I admire the old copy-book maxim of " try, try, try again." ' ' Very good in theory, but somewhat hard to apply in practice,' responded Bob, despondently, recalling the various unsuccessful attempts he had made to pass his examinations. ' It's easy enough talking — any fellow can do that — but it's mighty difficult to achieve.' ' A man ought never to acknowledge defeat,' said Dulcio, setting her little white teeth with a cuiious-ly resolute expression. ' When he wills a thing, he should go on and onandon, plodding away until at length he succeeds in his object.' ' And how about women ? Does the same rule apply to them ?' ' Oh, we are quite different. We are stuck at home all our lives, scolded by our nurses in our infancy, by our mothers in our girlhood, and piobably by our husbands in our womanhood — that in to say if we aie foitunate enough to possess them. What independence of freedom i 3 theie in our lives compared with those of men ? None whatever. ' ' Would yon really like to be a man, Dulcie?' looking down at the slim, girlish figure by his side. ' Yes, in some ways. I should not stop at home long if I weie, that's very ceitain.' 'I suppose that lemaik is intended to apply to me ?' ' It was not intended for anyone in particular. Still,' smiling atchly, 'it the cap fits — you know the sequel.' ' I am perfectly awaie that, like all the rest of the world you, think me a very poor cieatuie,' said Bob, dolefully. ' I wish to goodness I could find some employment, even if it were no better than bi caking stones on the toad.' 'I can give you one this minute, Bob.' 'You, DuleieY' he exclaimed in astonishment. ' Aie you joking ?' ' Not a bit. I never was more serious in my lite. lam going to begin to fish again at once, and t-ince you are so humble in your aspirations, you may as well employ your leisure by putting another worm on for me. That's a nice job, isn'o it?' 'Veiy,' answered Bob, who was by no means deficient in a sense of humour. .' And I'm sorry I can't comply with jour request. I I would if 1 could, but I can't.' ' How do you mean can't? Have you left the worms at home?' 'Oh dear no ! I've got a whole lot in my pocket,' bringing toith a little tin box, lined I with mould, on which reposed sundry small pink writhing cieatuics. 'Any number, you see.' Dulcie looked puz/led. ' I don't understand, Bob,' ehe sold. ' I daie&ay it's my stupidity, but I with you'd explain. Theie aie the woims, and theie is my hook. Y\ hy can't you oblige me by putting one on ?' ' May I ask a question firtt ? You wish it done, don's you, Dulcie ?' 'Of coui&e 1 do. 1 m sorry, however, to ha\ c begged so tiifling a favour,' with growing dignity. 'And when people want a thing don , said Bob, mockingly, and pietending to walk away, ' I have been told that they should go on and on and on until they sue ceed. Well, Dulcie, you have nevei yet achieved the ait of baiting your own hooks, whether owing to fastidiousness, or. inability, or lack of volition, I cannot undertake to say ; but, anj how, I profit by- this opportunity of telling you what you had the goodness to tell me ashoit time ago. Ne^er acknowledge defeat, and tiy, try, tiy again. It's an excellent copy-book maxim, you know.' Dulcie's cheeks suddenly flamed into colour. ' You're veiy disagreeable to-day,' she said, feelmg more than half inclined to begin to ciy. ' What's the matter V 'The matter? Why, nothing at all. What shovld be the matter? However, since you don't seem to like your own advice when applied to yourseit, I'll ju.st take n little turn up the river to see if there are any water-rats about; so here's the box with the worms/ ' I don't want the nasty thing,' cried Dulcie, irritably, conscious that, though she might chaff Bob as much as sho ploisod, it was horrid to be chaffed by him in return • ' I wouldn't touch it with the tongs. No, not if I were paid.' ' Oh, indeed !' remarked Bob, v coolly. * I'm sorry *or that, because 1 greatly fear, unless you condescend .to dirty those pretty little fingers of youis, you are likely, in your turn, to prove somewhat a "fairweather sportsman," ha ! ha ! ha !' And, laughing heartily at his own powers of repartee, he strode off, leaving Dulcie fiercely vexed and angry. (To be Continued.)

Judge : " Whab sorb of a man, now, was it whom you saw commit the assault?' Constable : '' Shure, yer honour, he was a small, insignificant ciaytluu I—about1 — about yer own size, yer honour.'' A commercial treaty between England and Servia has been concluded. Tne Radicals have iailed in their attemnb to form a new Servian Ministry. Ninety fivo thousand pounds' worth of forged jilver coin? are iv circulation in England.