RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8378, 12 March 1907, Page 2

RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL.

A KOMANCE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO DISASTER.

CHAPTER X.-Continued. a s He picked up his revolver from the place where- he had dropped it when v Neil had felled him hi the road. a After slipping it into his hip pocket, v he mechanically began dusting off his c garments. His evil cunning, was not v fong held in subjection by hia tempest s of anger. Implacable hate burned in j his breast, together with a demoniacal desire for revenge; but, through { it all, reason was gradually pushing ■to the fore and obtaining the mas- t tery. e "Where will he go, do you think?' t queried Trenwyck. "Will he take thegirltoSanJc.se?" i "Never fear," was the gloomy re- t sponse. "Unless I am wide of my reckoning, he will not halt until he has made the girl his bride. But N even so," he added, lowering his voice, "if I cannot have the maid, I will have the widow." s Trenwyck took fright at the grim j menace of the words. < "Think well what you plan, Ber- j dyne," he cautioned. "As your legal . adviser, I warn you to beware of going too far." ] "I will go any length!" snapped , Berdyne. "I yearn for that little beauty with all my heart and soul; but, apart from that, every dollar, I own in the world may hang upon my making her my wife. What Preston learned in the far North may be " He ceased abruptly, apparently thinking that he was going too far with his confidences. Trenwyck's eyes opened a little wider in the semi-darkness, and a half-smile curled about his crafty lips. However, he did not press Berdyne for further information. "Then Preston will take the girl North?" "If I know him," said Berdyne, "he will not stop short of San Francisco. And he will not let any grass grow under his feet in seeking a minister. By gad!" he exclaimed, under spell a of a sudden "I can send a telegraph message to all the towns between heref and 'Frisco, telling the authorities to be on the lookout for a stolen automobile called the Red Flier, and to arrest the man in charge of it.' That's the idea, Trenwyck! I can foil Preston in the very midst of his triumph! Let us get back to San Jose as quickly' as possible and send the messages." "It will not do, Berdyne!" demurred Trenwyck. "Why not?" "If you have Preston arrested for the theft of your automobile, your dealings here will be aired, and not only you, but Jackman and myself, will be caught in the net of the law. The move would prove a boomerang." The logic of this appealed strongly to Berdyne. He had wealth, and wealth could do many things, but it . could not save him from the conse-

quemes of his illegal attempts against the person of beautiful, Beryl Grayson. It was a matter that had best not be aired in a court of law." "Then what would you advise, Trenwyck?" Berdyne queried. "There is a train out of San Jose that will get us into the Townsend Street station in 'Frisco at four in the morning. Let us catch that train. It may be," he added, grimly, "that we shall reach the city in time to greet Preston on his arrival. If you had someone there whom ' you could trust, some one who is not over scrupulous, you understand, that person could be set on the watch; then, in case Preston should reach his destination ahead of us, we might have some clue to work on." "Gorsline!" muttered Berdyne, "Gorsline is the man to help us now." "He is in San Francisco?" asked Trenwyck. "Yes. When I departed from the city, to come here, I left him there. I had learned that Preston had returned from Alaska on the Argonaut, and when I hastened south, to be beforehand with my plans at Sunset Ranch, I gave instructions to my man Hargreaves to have Gorsline watch Preston and keep me informed of his movements."

"Then why did not Gorsline let you know that Preston was coming here?"

"He did; but I did not receive the ' telegram until after my visit to the ranch, this morning. It was put into my hands when I returned to San Jose, to wait for the Red Flier and put it in readiness for the work I had in mind." "Then let us make a quick return to San Jose," said the lawyer. "Before we take the train, you can send a telegram to Gorsline." Thus the plotters agreed between themselves, and Jackman furnished a buckboard, two draught horses, and a driver to convey the two men to San Jose. Their departure was an intense relief to the ranchman, although he still had his guilty conscience to trouble him. In due course, the wealthy villain and his guileful henchman were set down at the San Jose railway station, with still an hour or more before their train should leave. Berdyne's telegram to his hired ally in San Francisco merely stated that "the man from Alaska" had made oft' with the Red Flier, ostensibly bound for the city, requested that Gorsline do what he could to locate him, and meet the four o'clock train in the 'Townsend Street station to report. During most of the northward journey, Trenwyck slept, but there 'was no sleep for the iniquitous Berdyne. His restless spirit chafed for action, and his heart thirsted for revenge.

.The train was late, from some «ause, and Berdyne consulted his gold Watch time and again. It was a quarter to five when the train lagged into the railroad station, that fateful

By Mia Edwards, Author of "The Little If idow," "Sadia, the Rosebud," "Frctliext of All," "Stella Sterling," "Laura J! ray ton," ctr..

but beautiful morning, and the two scheming rogues descended to the platform. At the great iron gate through which the arriving passengers passed, a burly vicious-looking man was waiting. As Berdyne and Trenwyck came through the gate, the waiting rascal caught sight of them, and stepped apart. The other two followed him. "Well, Gorsline?" were Berdyne's first impatient words. "The cove you're looking for is in town, all right," said Gorsline, with a cunning leer; and a fierce joy shot through Berdyne's breast. "Leastways the fellow added, "I've found the automobile, and, if Preston stole it, he can't be a great ways off." "Luck is with us!" muttered Trenwyck. "It wasn't luck altogether, grunted Gorsline. "When Hargreaves told me to watch Preston, I picked him up at a hotel on Market Street, near the Ferry Buildin', an' , he went callin' two or three times at a house in Pine Street. First thing I done, when I got that telegram last night, was to go to the hotel. Our man wasn't there; then I nosed around the house in Pine Street. Didn't expect to have much luck, 'cause lookin' for a feller in 'Frisco is about like huntin' for a needle in a haystack—'specially when it's night, an'you're in a hurry; but the last time I went to that Pine Street house, about half an hourjago, there was the Red Flier in front. I knowed this train was late, havin' found out about it over the telephone. As it was, I had to move lively to git here." "Who lives in the house, Gorsline?" queried Berdyne. "Do you know?" "A reverend gent by the name o' Bickerdyke." "A minister!" exclaimed Berdyne, with a meaning glance at Trenwyck. "That's-what." "We'll have to hurry," said Berdyne, starting for the street. "What can we do?" demurred the lawyer, hastening along at Berdyne's 1 side. "We're not at Sunset Ranch 1 now, Nick. This is a big city, and the police will make things warm for 1 us if we go too far." : "I shall claim to be the girl's guar- ' dian, and forbid the marriage—if ' we are in time; if the marriage has " already been performed, I shall " Berdyne paused, his eyes smouldering with a desperate resolve. r "Well," he added, as he gained the "•" sidewalk and hailed a carriage, "I fc am not to be foiled this time. Gors- » line is with me, and he will do what--3 ever I tell him." a The carriage drew up alongside the curb. y "Ride-with the driver," said Ber- * dyne, to the man from the Barbary * coast, "and tell him where to go. ! " Double fare for double speed." s With that he opened the carriage [l ' door, pushed Trenwyck inside, and r stepped in himself, drew the door a shut and the carriage rolled away. It was ten minutes after five when "-y Berdyne, Trenwyck, and Gorsline jumped to the sidewalk in front of a e small frame residence. The Red d Flier was still at the curb, n For the most part, the great, it pleasure-loving city was still asleep, r > all unconscious of the doom whose e approach could be numbered by u pulse-beats, by the ticking seconds d of a watch. i- It was a rarely beautiful morning; n and yet fate shuddered in the balmy n air. >- "As though an earthquake smacks e its mumbling lips. O'er the thick peopled city."

CHAPTER XL "RIVEN ASUNDER." "When both were parted on the sudden. With hideous clamour, and a loud one, As if all sort of noise had been Contracted into one loud din."

"My bride to be, my dearest love, we have reached the'end of our journey. Thank Heaven we are in San Francisco, and here is the home of the good minister who is to make you mine, forever and a day.''

Both Beryl and Tonita, cruelly worn by the events of the previous day and evening, had slept on the cushions of the automobile during the latter part of their night ride. Well indeed was it for them that they were able to snatch even this small amount of rest, to buoy them up against the trials that lay before them. Neil, stooping over Beryl, awakened her with tender words. Both girls were instantly wideawake. "Why did you let us sleep, dearest?" cried Beryl. "It must have been very lonely for you." (To be continued). i