Literature.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 126, 1 June 1904, Page 4

Literature.

• the sins of THE FATHERS*. fi- (Continued.) "Don't lose heart," he counselled, S&'TOiere's many a slip between the g-cup and the lip, you know." R.* But Sydney found but little comv fort in the old adage, and, turning &{ abruptly, he left the room. His lather watched him as he went out. jr. When the door had closed, his face % again darkened, till its aspect was truly terrible. "Not yet," he muttered, "not yet i is the murder of my uncle avenged ! ~ But the hour is drawing near. I have waited—waited to see if I were destined to mete out justice to his ■: race—the race of that cold-blooded ; murderer, Luke Rutherford. And Fate is answering mo. Upon me the duty devolves. The rivalry is but a trivial thing, but a straw shows which way the wind blows. It is not for ;■ my son—though God knows how dear : he is to me—that I take this duty to myself. "My father mode, me swear that, should Fortune favour me and cir- ; cumstaoces lead uie on, I would V avenge the murder of his dead brother.—And now—now—all things point to the execution of that ven- : . geance. I have plotted for it—schemed and worked to bring it about. "The trump card- is now in my

' hand. For Hex Rutherford and his mother live in the very house wheris,in my father and his men were wont to conceal their contraband goods. He deemed me a fool for let ting the ' house so cheap. But he little dreams -,J how significant was the apparently ' benevolent smile with which I ani"i swered his unspoken surprise." hi; He was smiling now, but the smile Si was not indicative of benevolence. !:r The black eyes were flashing, the -< swarthy face dark with revengeful g; menace. Hut the white, strong hands c. were Bteady and firm. It was clear ij', that, once imbued with a set resolve, David Snow was not the man to wasM.vcror falter in fulfilling that pur-ft.-pose to the very utmost: • * # • • j Tho Rutherfords were at breakfast, t?:t. Tho household was a small one, conj eisting only of mother and son. Lucilia Merton was their guest, and K Sydney Snow's suspicion that she f was not wholly indifferent to i!r handsome Hex Rutherford was not | • iVory wide of the truth. a.> ' Mrs Rutherford was the daughter • of the famous Preventive Officer. She (? had married a cousin, thereby reb taming her name, but was now a f widow. Hex was her only son, and (, bhc loved him with all a mother's fondness. Her eyes were not shut I. to the secret of the two young peo- *< plo—a secret which, as yet, had not been verbally confessed—and the ■f knowledge pleased her not a little. & . For she loved this sweet girl almost ft; as dearly as sho loved her own son, t- while Lucilla warmly reciprocated tho feeling. il "Where are you young people going this morning ?" inquired Mrs £ Rutherford, beaming upon them in 3; torn. "It ia such a bright, sunny day "J that it seemß positively sinful to remain indoors." 1 "Then why not come with us ?" . asked Rex. w But Mrs Rutherford shook her liead. ■ Her intuitive sense of percep- !?■■; tion advised her to decline the pleai sure. she said decisively, "I have -*~'so many things to do." Lucilla looked up. r: "Then let me stay and help you," r she said. ■ But Mrs Rutherford only smiled v and shook her head.

"My dear," she said, "when you are as old as I am, you will have discovered that you cannot entrust certain little domestic tasks to the i cajre of even the dearest friend in the world. It is the ultra-preciseness of : mature years—and—and it is silly—t. silly and conceited. Yet there it is, and what is one to do ?" 5 ■ She sighed with a comic assiuni>i tion of injury, at which both Rex and Lucilla laughed, t "Wei." said Jiex, as the two lad- ■ ies rose from the table, "I thought s.v of taking iliss Merton to see the ' ruins of Dane's Castle. The drive > will be delightful." i Ho turned inquiringly to Lucilla. "Oh, that will be lovely!" ' she said enthusiastically. "1 have often j:': wuntcd to see the old castle." ~v- .-So Jtox went oil to see about the ■ dog-cart, and in less than a quarter i■; of. on hour he was round at the front : door, and tho reins in his hand, waiting for hor to come out. She looked

very sweet and charming as she , stood oil the steps by the side of bis mother. One little foot on the step of the dog-cart, one little hand clasi • ped tightly in his. and she was up / ,on the seat beside him. His mother *; was smiling at them as they drove away, and the soft Spring uir fanned .theirfaces with its perfumed breath. The drive was a long one, yet all too short. And when it ended, they wandered among the old, time-worn ' ruins and let their recollections glide back to old historic days, when the now crumbling castie v.as tall and statoly and impregnable. Hut when they left the ruins and wandered out . among the shady woods the present * came back to them anew, and they looked into each other's eyes. The look was a revelation to both, and Rex stood still.

"Lucilla," he whispered, " is it possible ? Is there any hope for me ? Will you be my wife?" And Lueilla's eyes drooped as she breathed the answer : "Yes." Hex took her two hands and pressed them to his lips. "Oh!" he whispered rapturously. "And I thought you were getting to care for Mr Snow Lucilla laughed. "He was not so short-sighted," she said. "He is a nice young fellow, and I like him very much—us a friend. But " And once more she lilted thoso eloquent eyes to his face. "And you loved me all the time ?" he persisted, drawing her nearer to him under the great shady trees. Lucilla pouted. "You are very inquisitive, sir," she said. ■ But Rex had caught her in his arms and was raining kisses on t he red, ripe lips. "If you only love me half as dearly as I do you," he said passionately, "I shall be more than content." It was dusk when the dog-cart took them homo to Ureycliffe. And once more the drive was long, yet tantalisingly short. For time Hies quickly when love is near. • * # # Once more the night was dark. The

lapse of sixty years had made no appreciable difference to sea or cliff. But to-night the wind was high and the rain descending in hissing sheets that mingled with salt spray of the broken white surf and -dashed against the rocky walls of GreyclilTe. It was a night to seek the shelter of one's own fireside. Yet one was out in the whirling tempest of wind and sea and rain—a man, fighting the elements, and groI ping his way along the dark wall of the cliff. Ever and anon he paused and touched with his hand the black rock beside him, as though searching in the dense darkness for something he knew to be there. At last he touched a great square ledge, upon the soil of which grew a few stunted tufts of grass. The cliff was less perpendicular here, and he mounted the ledge, with his lace to the wall, and felt still farther up for a projecting spur of rock. Finding it he put forth all his strength and drew himself up 'by it till again his free hand touched something in the cliff side. An iron ring this time, concealed by rank grasses, and once more he drew himself up. Not without care had he studied the old map of the cliff handed down to him by his father. Sixty years before many had whispered that the Greycliti'e smugglers carried their contraband wares to a great cave in the cliff side. But none had ever discovered it, and the rumour had been discredited. But the cave did exist, and David Snow knew the track by which it might be reached. Slowi./ and painfully he toiled up the steep cliff side, his hands bleeding, his breath coming in long, laboured gasps. For the lapse oT years had made the access almost impracticable, and several of the cunningly concealed stepping-stones bad been worn away. Still on he toiled, till he was some sixty feet above the sand below. The face of the cliff at this point was jagged and torn. Great rocks projected out in shapeless confusion. Some were almost hidden from viewby others set before them, and towards this mass of rock David Snow was steering. At length he reached it, and lifting himself suddenly up, dropped among the rocks and disappeared. "It's work for Hercules!" he said under his breath, as he groped with his hands among the debris between the great black rocks. "But I'm o* the right track now !" As he spoke, he lifted a square boulder from a hole in the ground then another, and another, till a dark chasm opened at his very feet. Without a moment's hesitation he let his feet slip down the abyss. His faith in tin; veracity of his fathers left nothing to be desired. (To be continued.)