RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8371, 2 March 1907, Page 2

RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL.

A HOMANOE OF THE FUANCI3C3 JI3ASTBB.

CHAPTER I. t'LET HIM WHO WOULD STAND IN MY PATH BEWARE!" "I have my set heart on the girl; and whenever Nicholas Berdyne sets his heu t on any object, woe to him who would stand in my way!" 'i\io men were driVui j ..hrough the bea'.iiiful Santa Cl.ira/s'a: ey :n the late i i'ternoon of a v.i./ Ui..l was w il - nigJijeii'ect. ; Micholas Eerdyuc. whose lowspoken but determined wcr.l3 have ju r t leen heard, was a somewhat stoat, du'kly handsome man, well on to rri Idle age. His face, in spite of its strength and cjr.ilineoy, was marred by lines of dissipation and fast living. Among his a "oterie of intimites he was known as "Prince Nice"—a title that, in some ways, was mast appropriate. 5 His companion, some years younger and far from being so well-dressed, carrisd himself toward Berdyne with a cringing deference that was most noticeable. About him, too, there was the same abandon suggesting unsteady character and a reckless life. "Of course the girl is pretty?" observed the younger man. "Of course Hartley!" said Berdyne, as though annoyed that the other should think it necessary to put the question. "She prettiest girl in Denver." "But a working girl, Berdyne! It seems strange that a man like you should choose a wife from the working class." "Why is it the prettiest girls are often to be found among the toilers? Beautyjand poverty seem to go hand in hand." "The very fact that they do," said Hartley Trenwyck, with thinlyveiled significance, "gives wealthy men like you their opportunity." Berdyne indulged in a crafty smile.

"There are no such opportunities where girls like my peerless Beryl are concerned," answered Berdyne, a dreamy]light suffusing the sloe-black eyes; "she is my lady of the driven snows, more difficult to win than a princess of the blood. To clasp her in my arms, to feel the rapture of lenovying she is mine, will be more than a sufficient reward for all my scheming. If you ever love as I; do, Trerwyck, you will understand how mjch love justifies whatever a man' miy dojto win the object of it." Trenwyck gave'a careless laugh. "So far as lam concerned, Berdyne," said he, "whatever you do is all right. ' I stand or fall accordingly as I am high in your favour, or out of it. You have money and I have not; whenever I help you, you are always liberal—so you may count on my aid, at any stage of the game, for anything. Youjhavejfound that I canjfkeep my own counsel, have you not?" "Otherwise," said'BerdyneJJgrimly, "you would not be here." "Very good. I think you will serve you own interests by being perfectly frank with me." "I intend to be." "And will you allow me to be ■! equally frank with you?" "Certainly." ! "Have you thought of what Irma will d:> when she learns you have married Beryl'Graysbn?" Berdyne's brow darkened. "Irma has no hold upon me," he returned ; "she will have to make the. best of it." "She will be jealous, anda-jealous woman is;to be,dreaded."... , Berdyne "shrugged his shoulders and. dismissed the subject with a contemptuous laugh. "Then," pursued Trenwyck, "there is Neil Preston " Again the scowl came to Berdyne's eyes. "Beryl has forgotten Preston," he interjected. "She was engaged to him, and, if she is the sort of girl you say she is, Ido not think she would soon forget,." "Preston went to the Klondyke," proceeded Berdyne irritably; "and met his death in the Copper River country a year ago." "Did he meet his death?" asked Trenwyck. "The man, Dave Gorsline, came back from Alaska and reported Preston's death to Beryl Grayson." "Gorsline |is one of the worst characters from the Barbary Coast, 'Frisco, and you had a talk with him before he saw Beryl Grayson." "I am willing to be frank with you, Trenwyck," said Berdyne, "but I do not care to pursue his sub- j ject any further." "Beryl is an orphan, but if what I can hear is true, she has not always been penniless. Her father was a wealthy mine owner; -you and he had some business dealings before he died; and when Beryl was left alone, you had Grayson's mine and she had—nothing." 1 "Confound ,it, Trenwyck," cried Berdyne, "what are you digging all this up for?" "Because I think it necessary for your interests that I should know," Never once 'Jid Trenwyck's air of cringing deference forsake him, although hi? vords at f times were at v iriance with his manner. "I have & know ledge of the bar and have several times given you sound advice. lam seeking to be ,of help to you now, Berdyne." "I have a trunk full of papers in my room in San Francisco hotel," said Berdyne, after a few moments' thought. "Beryl and I will visit the city during our honeymoon, and you shall meet me there, and we will -soon go over the papers together. I have long wanted to do something of the kind, and to destroy every document that is in any way incriminating. My man, Hargreaves, has charge of the room and the trunk. Ppag thiifsutisfySyou,. Hartley?"

(To be Continued)

By Jußia Edwards, Aulh'v c/ "The Little Widow," "Sadia, the Rosebud," "Pre'.tie*t of All,'' "Stella Sterling," "Laura BrayUm," etc.

"Entirely, Nick." I "When we reach Sunset Ranch, you will please remember that the girl looks upon iqe as her benefactor, J that in her eyes I am the good ' knight, 'sans puev et sans reproehe'; my goodness to hiH' she is rewarding with her hand, and does not" pretend to be giving me her heart. I am to take har on an/ tar ms, ' " l 'cei srre that lin time shall awaksn her love." women can withstand you, j Berdyne, when you choose to make [ yourself agreeable. And if Neil Preston should not put in an untimely ap " j "If Gorsline were wrong," interrupted Berdyne, with a fierce look, "and if Preston should prove to be alive, never would I suffer him to snatch the prize out of my grasp. Let him who would stand in my path beware!" "Returning to Irma once more: Where'Jis she now?" "In Denver, I suppose." "You came directly Jose from San Francisco?" "Yes." "How do you know that Irma has not followed you? How do you know she is not doing everything she can to thwart your plans?" "Because, my dear Trenwyck, I have kept my plans to myself. You are the only person on earth whom I have honoured with my confidence." From that time on, Berdyne and Trenwyck relapsed into silence. The month of April was well advanced, and the rainy season—which corresponds with the California winter—was so nearly over that fair skies had all but become the rule. The air was. balmy, and the avenues of pine and eucalyptus, the orchards and vineyards,, were in almost tropical luxuriance after the rains. The ' road which the two men were travelling led out to picturesque San Jose, winding upward by an easy ascent past rock, glen, and rivulet to heights that seemed even fairer than those below. And over all was the brooding shadow of Mount Hamilton, ' sinister, silent, and, as it were, portentous of the, evil days to come.

CHAPTER 11. SUNSET RANCH. "Then sing the song we loved, love, When all life seemed one song; For life is none too long, love; Ah, love is none too long. "And when above my grave, love, Some day the grass grows strong, Then sing the song we loved, love; Love, just that one sweet song." "Ah, darling, I have made you sad! Indeed, /I should not have sung it; but it came into my mind as I sat here, and you know that whenever anything comes into your Tonita's mind it is as good as out at the lips. There, there, dear ! dry your bonnie eyes, or I vow I shall never sing another song as long as I live." A lovely Mexican girl had been sitting in a hammock, her thin brown fingers gliding over the strings of a guitar, and ■ her voice drifting away in dreamy song. Near her, on the broad, low rail of the verandah, sat another—a girl whose wondrous beauty would have won instant attention anywhere. ■ Tonita, the Mexicana, was dark, vtfith great, liquid eyes, glossy blueblack hair, and rounded cheeks of the clearest' olive; Beryl, on the other hand, had hair like spun gold, radiant violet eyes, a complexion like the lily, and a form so perfect and full of grace it was at once the delight and despair of the artist. • The Mexicana, gazing off across the prune orchards to the misty blue of the mountains, had begun a sad little ballad. In the . midst of it a stifled sob broke on her ears. Ceasing abruptly, she put away the guitar, went over to her friend, and put her arms about her neck. "It is nothing, dear," said Beryl, turning her tear-dimmed eyes upon her friend's face. "The song awoke memories of one whom I loved better than life, and whom I shall continue to love as long as life shall last." Tonita's head dropped lower, and her lips brushed tenderly against Beryl's blue-veined forehead. , "You are'thinking of Neil," she murmured. f . : "Always, always," sighed Beryl. "Ah, why was he taken from me? It is a year, now, since I learned of his death ; but I am no more reconciled to it than| I have ever been. Time does not heal the wound."

"Does Senor Berdyne know this?" A shiver ran through Beryl's slender form.