THE STORYTELLER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 12 October 1907, Page 4

THE STORYTELLER.

OF THE DINEB. (.ilStrt Hardy, of tba firm of Max\v. i ant «jrdy, jenelicrs, of Hatton i d hrJiUy along the plati i i at Huston, looking for a vaca'Jt t i*. clou iiuukiiig compartment. At I, '. lie tuiiad whit he wanted, and at t auni* iiuinent a portly old gentle.i panted up, intent on securing the i> t rolhpartment of the corridor -h, vlith was alto empty. is door* were locta.l as the ticket • ..liaw had passed tlis particular co i?o, and both men hhl to wait hu- ,. eatly uatit the guard came lip at a run -"tick my bag m there for me, wQI

flight, sir, but hurry up; we're just tT * tirdr raj) Wk along the ' platform tjnarjfi | pVper boy, who was looking ).i Ltcttr' direction, but toe right onf behiria him, lie •t Wttat the portly < ,ti Xeaeßt Suntng along behind, c- dintlr bn.tae'same errand as him- •**, *- ' men prjbtidcd themselves with a t npp!y of pipers and hurried back to tr ir Mmpartments. ' Tump' 9, atr'" bawled the guard, his v ufle to'hh Hps "fa you go," gasped Hardy, and he propelled" the breathless fat man thfodgn the door, and followed m himself jut at the train commenced to gl!<«e from the piatform. 'tlia'pMtty on* gargled out something that might dthw have been a blessing or a-cww for the younger man's assistonceytn* Hardy want into bis compartanct, gtuaed down, saw that his Mag in safely under the seat, settled hiinMsf omnftrtably back on the cushkas, lighted hja pipe, and commenced to rand an rreadng paper. Soddcalf i he heard the rustle of sil-ktn-aldrU Mttide in the corridor, and, locking ap,-noticed the most beauti.ul waman he had ever seen standing in the op TO doorway. That the was dressed ia.some load of grey costume, with a fur round her neck, and a large grey hat tjarawontad on a head of rich brown luittJw noticed Tamely; it was the great, round, limpid, blue eyes that centred his whole attention.

.Shr- drew back nader his admirinj gaze, . , "Ok, I .teg jour pardon. I was look ing for. a friend who I expected to Ix on the train." *tWt neation if stammered Hardy asjl before he had finished she hai gone, and as he resumed his paper < tivu, dark young man passed hum'edlj along the eorridor, after peering fur tivcly into Hardy's compartment. Soon after passing Leighton he lcfl hu carriage and nude his way to thi dining ear, after locking the door lead ing to the corridor with the railway kc; hf always carried. In the bag node the seat was jewellery Tallied at man] hundred poaads, and it behoved one ti MeanttL fit was one of the first to enter thi diner. As he came in at one end, thi girl who haft half entered his carriage came in at the other, and, after glancin; casually round tig carriage, she sa <kim opposite Hardy, much to tha gentleman's secret delight. Mr Gilbert Hardy was, as a rule, i critical diner, but he could not hav< stated whether the soup was thick o clear when he had finished it; his who! interest ha£ been taken up in the prettj demure fawjianoatte him. The waijeijSJH hardly deposited hi bottle of (jjlfar Danide him, when th girl atretcM* ,-.ont her arm for tb menu, orephwV we bottle, and sen its fTftt*qt* streaming over the table. "Ofc, Vm so sorry," cried the girl eon tritely, her Hue eyes fixed appealing - ; upoa fcha. "It waa inexcusable careless nesa.* ~ Trajrdoat tenable about it," saic Hardy hastily. "I hope none of th wine has gone over your dress." "Jfo, I hare not received what I an afraid I deserved," she said with i smile. She looked vary pretty when sh amued-abe probably knew it. The waiter rejaid the table am lirooght •* aew bottle of wine. By th time-be had dee* this the rather good looking and very impressionable bachelor of thirty and the girl were chattin; gaily. The young lady's earelessnes had served the pmrpose of an fatrodue tian. • :,■ - - ■ Bj the fiats tha fish had been eatei they seemed quite good friends, and a the wafer deared away the plate Hardy passed his card across the table. "I an afraid our introduction is ver informal," he said, "but may I haTe tb honor of knowing your name!" # "My seme is Diana Chesworth, san the girl qaietiysHhen, picking up tb card and glancing earelessly at it, " am nleasedto make your acquaintance Irfetterf Hardy," , Hardy waa delighted, and before the; had reached the sweets he was tellinj himself that he was hopelessly in lov. nith the gW. Her nnconventionalit; and brightness appealed to him as neve: girl had appealed to him before. H< elicited that she was going to join be father, who was a retired manufacture living in the suburbs of Manchester after a short stay in London with son* friends. As they were approaching J<uneatoi coffee was brought in. At the momen it arrived the girl dropped her spoon oi the floor and stooped to recover it. "AUowjoe," cried Hardy eagerly, am the nextjbant he was groping unde TheidriSnt hott upright, her faci strangely 'pale, and, after a furtiv glance rounTthe ear, her little whit hand rested for a moment over thi man's eofifee. When Hardy, having secured tfo spoon, sat up on his seat, she was look ing oat of the window. "Oh, thank yon so much," she said sweetly smiling at him, though tho* blue eyes had narrowed as she watcbei him sip his coffee. After a few sips he looked across a! her. ••Is yonr coffee all right, Miss Ches worthr he asked. '■Of eonrse H is," she said, with a slight tremble in her voice. "It always Li on these trains. Don't you like vourst" ■ " -Didnt think it was as good as usual. Must be my fancy, I suppose." He took a long drink. When he put down Ids cup the girl rose. "Pnf going back to my carriage now, Mr Hardy, and must say good-bye." Gilbert Hardy rose. He was swaying unsteadily. He felt sleepy, and wondered* aVit, He was a moderate drinker, and a'bottle of Chablis had never affected hfm in this way before. '"Hejed" it be good-bye!" he asked somewhat thicfly. "Can't it be au revoirt I shall be staying in Manchester for a few days; mayn't I call on you!" The girl let him hold her hand for a moment, and then drew it away. "Yen may call and see me if you can and me!" she cried mischievously,

and the next moment h»d left the car. liardy sank back heairily into his scat, his head in a whirl. He would lik«4'fc> have continued the journey with his companion, but dared not auggest it for fear of offending her. * l!y hook or trooV he would find out where ihe lived at Manchester, even if ly had to follow, her from the station. lie drank off the remaindtr <>f hi* toffee »tk gulp; the heavy, ln'r" l '' l . iiflina seemed greater than ever. tS» won't do," he, muttered boar(ly, tad, polling himself together with a great effort, Se staggered along the corridor, towaiii hla compartment. He usually wanted a cigar after dinner, hut bow, the door with -nine difficulty,, he flung himself upon the cushions anil went straight off into a heary sleep. Toe train stopped at Crewe, and then was off again on ita track to the northwest, swaying over the many points that abound near the famous junction. Hardy began to tow about uneasily; W* Bwwere murmuring half-formed word* He was in a shady lane beside a beautiful girij her large blue eyes wore looking up into his face; her tiny, vH-gloTed hand was resting affectionately upon his arm. There was a gentle splash of a stream ivar by, and in the distance the sound .1 falling waters. The sound increased; ho could hear the roaring torrent jetting louder and louder. The noise angered him; he could not understand it for they were standing still, the girl .•tmi himself. It was like Niagara. He

had asked a question. lie could not hpar the answer for the noise, but the eyes spoke, and the full red lips formed a' word. It was—"Wake up, sir, we're slowing up for Manchester. (iilbert Hardy opened his eyes and blinked nnseeingly at the guard. "She said •Yes,'"" he murmured solemnly. The guard stared at him, and then with a grin withdrew and hurried along tb> train. Slowlv Hardy realised where he was. The train was" slowing down, and the

hiss of escaping strain and the grinding oi tlie brakes explained the noise in his dr Vim.

l)i course, he was in the Manchester i::;.?. ■*. The girl he had dreamed of was iu the train, Diana Chesworth—••Xiaa of the Diner," he christened her ,'..'.•;:■■ tiiit enjoyable meal in the car. '.'■'.' ■■... *.iY. ':e seeing her in a few minutes i. '■■ p..!: he must pull himself together. '■ ill hw his head ached, and he was " i'"V. iek and dizzy. Something had ■•I; i :Tm—the wine must have been •a i i.i. He looked in the mirror fixed to lie compartment, and was startled his dishevelled appearance. There was no time for a wash now. He made what improvement he could with the aid of a pocket comb and stooped to pull oirt his hag. Then as he dragged it out on to the floor, he started linek staring at it dnlly. This bag was not his! I A bag something the same size, but \ otherwise entirely different. He turned , it oyer absently. .Then the horrible truth came into Mi clouded brain. His own bag, eonL tajnU»gthe many hundred pounds'worth of jewellery" had been stolen, and this ;»W*wtwtiruted.-On a sudden impulse he burst the bag open; it was full of rubbish of some description. Then, as he dashed to the door, there came an angry shout from the next compartment. ' and the portly man bounced into the corridor, a Urge big in his hand and cannoned violently into the guard, who was returning to his The portlv man's face was purple. and the portly man's speech was lurid. "This is not my bag!" were the printable words. "I've been robbed of. valuable jewcllerv," shouted Hardy, trying to drown the other's complaint. Then his eyes fell upon the bag in the portly man's hand. He pounced upon it, and as he did so the train came to a standstill at the platform of Manchester station. "That is my bag," he cried. "One at a 'time, please, gentlemen, cried the harassed guard, as the portly man, firmlv of the impression that he was being'cheated of something, had turned his wrath upon the junior partner of the jewellery firm. "So one could have entered the carriage without me knowing it," declared the aggrieved one vehemently. "I always keep the door locked, and my bag was under the seat when we left Euston. I have not left the carriage since." Suddenly a light broke in upon the guard's face. "Are von sure it was your bag? he asked sharply. "Did you examine it?" "No—o, but " "Then that explains it sir. You two gentlemen gave me your bags at the same time. I remember a porter came up to ask me a question just as you both ran back, and I must have put the bags in the wrong carriages." Hardv. who had recovered his senses with the shock, with great relief was able to substantiate his "claim to the bag in the portly man's possession. "But hang, it!" cried the latter, "if that's yours, where on earth's mine." "Did it contain anything valuable, sir," asked Hardy eagerly. "TYhat has that got to do with you? "Nothing," was Hardy's cool reply, "except that it has evidently been stolen by someone who imagined it was mine." * "AYho left the train at Crewe? demanded the owner of the stolen bag, when he had recovered the power of speech. The guard scratched his head. "Let ine see, there was an old chap | with grev whiskers; he had a black brief bag; couldn't have licen him. Then there was the pretty girl in grey; wasn't her. And-Lord, yes, there was a tall, dark young chap got out ma hurry with a bag very similar to this "That's the man," broke in the portly gentleman, and the next instant he was dashing along towards the telegraph office. ~ \s the guard was about to follow him, Hardv caught him by the arm and asked him for a description of the young lady they had left behind at Crewe. "She distinctly told me she was coming to Manchester," he muttered sadly, „ » few minutes later he walked, bag in hand, along the platform. The excitement over, his headache had returned, and he felt it decidedly shaky. "I can't understand it," he said re--1 But before he retired to rest that night he had been thinking hard on several things. .... , , ' He went to bed thinking deeply. 1 The next morning the conclusions be 1 had arrived at from his deductions did not please him.

In a. third-rate hotel at Crewe a tall man with a dark moustache and a prettv woman with luge limpid blu* eyea were staring down disgustedly at an open teg. ~ , . ~ , In addition to a few toilet requisites, an old dress suit, and a pair of pyjamas, was a case containing screws of evendescription. For the portly gentleman was a traveller useful articles. But"thTtaU dark man and the pretty woman were not happy.