For Love and Glory.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8153, 4 June 1906, Page 2

For Love and Glory.

By St. George Rathborne. Author of "Dr. Jack," "The Witch from India," " Captain Tom," "Mynheer Joe," " Dr. Jack's Wife," etc., etc.

.'" CHAPTER I. A COWARD AND A GENTLEMAN. It was a raw, breezy day, Armand wore hia favourite flannels, and the Harbour of Yoddo, off Yokohama, was said to be infested with legular man-enter sharks at certain seasons of the year; moreover, the young fellow had a shrewd idea bordering closely upon inspiration that Mies Tessie had deliberately allowed her pet poodle • to fall out of the "sampan" in they were drifting idly about, viewing the sights of the unique Japanese water panorama, with the amazing purpose of teetiug his heroics qualities At an rate, there ehe sat, wailing her distress in a dismal fashion, while the frightened bundle of silken hair and pugnac : ty wes ei'lashing pn-i yeloiug as the tide oai i i<-d him off. It rather came as a shock to Armand, and yet. down in his heart, a fierce oxultatii u arose. He had long been secretly jealous of Pido, upon whom the pretty maid lavished so much of her affection, and more than once ho had complained, ns any man had a moral right, that she appeared to think more of the little beast that of the man she expected to mai:y. Now it chanced that Armand, besides being a good-natured, lazy fellow, taking life as easy as he could, was considerable of a fop in tbo matter of dress, and bad always been a deep puzzle' to the girl, uho endeavoured in evory way possible to, dieoorer what lay under the Society polish he assumed. Keally, Armand was not conscious of his own powers. The ocoaslon J had never yet arisen vshoreby be must be compelled to throw aside his mask and COMB out in his true colours. He might himself be surprised at the depth of his character J when once aroused. Life had gone smoothly with him; there was a sufficiency of this world's goods to prevent any ordinary ambition arising within his heart, and up to now he had been content to swing idly along on the current, enjoying life as he found it, a handsome, good-natured sort of fellow, whom everybody liked because he was always ready to go out of his way to do a favour. Of course, it rather staggered him, then, when he conceived the idea that Mias Tessie lid deliberately allowed her pet dog to drop overboard, with the audacious idea in view of testing his avowed affection. Perhaps rebellion was rife within him; that the girl who always loved to compare the prosaio man of to-day with the chevalier who lived in the romantic age of chivalry, should yearn to have him risk taking cold in the sea, run chances of drowning, perhaps, or even being mangled by a shark just to satisfy a foolish whim on her part, was starting, to say the least. . Now Armand had never claimed any share of heroic blood; he could respect bold fellows who thought nothing of risking their necks, whether with a noble object in view or for a base love of the filthy lucre; he had listened to thrilling taleß of personal experiences by railroad engineers, balloon trapee artists, wild animal catchers, lion tamers, firemen and others of like ilk, and always congratulated himself that a kindly fortuno had not compelled him to face death daily in the pursuit of a competence. And now here was a wildly romantic and saucy divinity in petticoats, for whom ho cherished a deep and lasting affection, actually daring him to plunge overboard to rescue the mi&erable our he hated, und which ha had reason to believe had been made a Dart and parcel of a deliberate scheme to cause him to show his colours. While she wrung her pretty hands in an abandon of grief, which was not all assumed, she besought bim to snve her darling Fido. "Don't you see, ho will drown, the poor little dear -how can you be so cruel, Armand—what are you going to do?" "Try and get the boat round—too bad this halliard is jammed in the block. Never mind, perhaps I can paddle back in time," he said, quite coolly and deliberately, as, the "sampan" having been brought up into the eye of the wind, he picked up an oar. "Perhaps 1" shrieked Mis 9 Tessie,

her tear-bedewed eyes beginning to flash; "then you don't mean to jump over and save Pido—you will let the poor darling drown; I believe you are a oruel, hard-hearted man, Armaud Radcliffe." "Possibly so. I often find myself puzzled to know what I am," as he worked regularly to urge the boat after the struggling dog. "You don't love me; I have feared it quite some time; if you did you would never sit there and see my pet Fido drown; a true man would have sprang overboard and rescued the little darling, and have been well repaid by a look fromt the eyea he adored." "Perhaps," said the other, unoonoernedly, pulling away like a Trojan, "but I confess I'm entirely too matter-of-faot a chap to risk leaving you alone in a treacherous boat with a fre-sh breeze blowing." "J don't believe you thought of mc once—there wa« something else." Be smiled grimly. "You were afraid to wet your clothes; a fashion-plate makes a poor appearance when dripping with water. I'm glad we have a boat hook aboard, for if 1 happened to fall in the water I might stand some chance of being resoued." This was the first dose he bad had of her bitter sarcasm, and it made him wince somewhat, although burning

under a deep sense of her injustice. "As you please, my dear. I always warned you that I bad not been fashioned after you favourite beroioj mold. I don't believe I'm a coward, but somehow life seems too precious to me to risk it for even a pretty girl's whim." Perhaps she suspected that ho had guessed the deliberate share she had in the apparently accidental falling overboard of the wretched Fido, and the thought was disquieting. Anyhow, she turned somewhat white, and shot him a look of ineffable scorn, as though her feelings were too deep for words. Meanwhile Armaud, who seemed to bo qui to au athletic sort of a chap, in epito of hia Jove for dress and society, was making good hoadw«y against the wind. Pido was seen on the top of each wave, and apearod to be doing hia little act with such desperate persorvauoe as a desire to perpetuate his existence may arouse even m tbo mind of a wretched poodle; at uny rate, he splashed und \elpod heroically as, borne ou the bosom of the fast ebbing tide ho was swept seawaid. They were gradually gaining, and it began to look as though the rescue might bo brought about, did the beast; hoH out. In his heart Armand would have rather seen Fido go down; but he lacked the nerve to delay the progress of the "sampan." Besides, the peppery words she had showered upon his head still smarted, just 'as salt might in a fresh wound, for ho had never dreamed that in the pursuit of her favourite fad she would go to such serious extremes. Sou see, Armand did not know the girl to whom he was engaged any more than soe andergtogd, hia real nature; and it nvas fated that through muoh tribulation should these hidden traits of character shine forth and be made manifest. It is "Destiny that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will." Mias Tessie vouchsafed him no more words, not even a look, but crouched there, her eyes fastoned hungrily upon the little beast that made so gallant a struggle for his life.

Perhaps remorse gnawed at her heart—not in connection with the man who wielded the oar so leisurely, yet with such power, but toward the terrified wretch beating the waves so frantically in the endeavour to keep his hairy head above water, for she knew what Armand simply guessed the deliberate share she had had in Fido's unluoky tumble.

And perhaps in the anguish of the moment she even felt skeptical as to whether it were worth the sacrifice, to test a man's calibre at the expense of a pet poodle's life. Miss Tessie was possibly not the only one of her sex who ever plaoed

canine affection above that of a biped professing adoration. Since Fido was nerved to keep up the struggle indefinitely, being somewhat of a water dog by nature, and as they were decreasing the fatal distance that separated the boat from the floundering beast it looked as though the incident might close without the tragedy that seemed impending. Armand even coolly calculated that half a dozen more vigorous strokes would send the "sampan" alongside; and as for the girl, she was already bending over the starboard bow eagerly stretching out her white, shapely hands in anticipation of snatching the beloved canine from the oruel waters of Yoakhama harbour.

From many a boat gliding hither and you, curious eyes watched to see the outcome, though not a junk or lighter or "sampan" was near enough to offer afd.

Three more strokes—the poodle was now but a dozen feet away, when Armand chancod to see a Japanese, fisherman wearing fluttering "kimono" and blue headgear, making the most extravagant gestures which with his cries, warned the American of danger. "Tessie keop back, for Heaven's sake!" he shouted, which so startled the girl that she withdrew her yoarniug arras and momentarily assumed a more upright attitude. Then she gave a shriek. Armand had dropped his spoonshaped oar and sprang forward toward the girl, his face white with apprehension. For thero had appeared a sudden flurry in the water, when the oruul inverted nout of a huge shark shot into view, and Fido's raoe was run. He yelped no more, and the spot where the sil&y-haired atom had so recently struggled, knew him no more. Armand had naturally caught hold of his sweetheart In a sort of frenzied way. The,apparition in the briny waves had been so picturesquely ghastly that it left him in a tremble, for he believed she had been very close to a terrible death. The girl, too, was shuddering, and the face she turned upon the young man was as white as chalk; but there appeared an angry glow in her eyes, such as he had never once dreamed abided in those usually laughing orb«, and he oould feel her shrinking in bis eager clasp in a manner that was very strange. "My Godl Tessie, you are hurt!" be cried, seeing a spot of blood on one of her bands, where she had struck it against some sharp bit of bamboo. "It is nothing at all, sir. And now," with her angry eyeß fastened full upon his face, "I'd thank you to take your hand away from my arm and never touch me again, you coward*!" (To be Continued).