RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL,

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8384, 19 March 1907, Page 2

RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL,

A KOMANOE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO DISASTER.

CHAPTER XVI. THE in suttee I :-TREET. "The past h:\:< gone as tlu present will go, And the fcu.ro wh know not of; But ever the present seems filled with woe, And ever the past witlvlove." It was strange that, on that first "awful day of '(.ha shock when death stared the wii.-ie city in tho face and .women knelt, in the streets and implored the Most High for mercy, iniquitous me.i could think and plan and execute; for their own selfish ends. Yet, let it be borne in mind that such an opportunity for crime Irad never tefo> v> covr.e to the wicked in that great and ruined metropolis. Greed was the mainspring of action in both Trenwyck and Gorsline. _ The unprincipled lawyer was to gain by "separating Beryl from h<>r heart's love; a proud and haughty family ■was to pay him his price for the fiendish work, even as .was the wretched Berdyne in case the lovely prize should fall to him. As for the inhuman Gors-line, he had eyes for nothing but the priceless gem with which Neil had sealed his marriage vows. There were no blue-garbed infantrymen to interfere with the .brutal scoundrels as they proceeded in the carrying out of their dark designs. The smoke of fires, eating at the city's heart, was already hovering in the air, and the detonations of dymunite came fitfully from the region en.:c of Sansome Street. San Francisco's doom was written in livid characters, for the trade wind had set in and was fanning the flames westward. And through it all these two unprincipled men, in the hope i«f gain, continued to weave their about the destiny of the pure and helpless girl. Constantly watching the swiftly moving form of Gorsline, Trenwyck Jed Beryl along Sutter Street, and into the deserted house through whose door the beach-comber had flitted like an evil spirit. In one of the front rooms, whose appointments had been marvellously well preserved, the lawyer asked Beryl to be seated until he could go and bring Tonita. Trembling with joy and her sweet face flushed with hope, Beryl dropped wearily into a chair. Trenwcyk went out, and in a rear apartment, held a whispered colloquy with his confederate.

During his first visit to the abandoned mans'.n, Gorsline had surveyed it pret y thoroughly. He now broughtjthis knowledge to bear, >j*nd as a result of the colloquy, tihe returned to Beryl, and the 'hoodlum fled up a. rear stairway. In a chamber on the second floor he secured three or four sheets, which he twisted into ropes j then he stole down again, glided into a noble apartment luxuriously furnished as a library and secreted these gathered materials. Next he set out, on a table in the dining-room, some cold viands be found in a pantry, a silver pitcher half-filled with water, and a decanter of wine. This work completed, Gorsline secreted himself. Meanwhile, Trenwyck, with his lying face and false tongue, had returned to Beryl. "I am very sorry, Miss GraysonJ" said he, as though deeeply grieved, "but your friend Miss Morales has gone out herself to look for you." A sharp cry of dismay broke from poor Beryl. "All the rest of my family have fled from the house," went on Trenwyck, plausibly, "and only one servant i 3 left. This servant tells me, however, that Miss Morales said she would return in an hour or so, and requested that, if I was happily successful in finding you, and bringing you here, you should wait until she returned."

r "I must wait," said Beryl, resignedly, "for there is nothing else I can do. Besides, I am too weary to take another step." "I am very sorry," pursued Trenwyck, "that some of the female members of my household did not remain, but they are all at our country place in Monterey, by this time. However, if you will accept of my hospitality and accompany me to the diningkroom, I can oit'er you what food we have." "Could you tell me, sir," returned Beryl, "what news Tonita. has for me" "If*l am not mistaken," answered the artful lawyer, "she said somethingjabout aMr Neil Preston. This gentleman, as I understand, is seeking you, and has appointed a rendezvous somewhere in one of the parks. Miss Morales, I believe, is to take you to him." A half-sob cf joy broke from Beryl's lips. "Jh, my darling, my darling Neil" she murmured. "Is he well?" She reached up and caught one of the lawyer's hands with convulsive eagerness. "He must be well, Miss Grayson," answered the crafty lawyer, "or he would not be able to look for you. But, come! May I conduct you to the dining-room?" Fresh strength ran pulsing through her tired body. A wild joy had seized upon her heart, and she was disposed to think lightly of her present trials in view of the happiness that apparently lay before her. "You are more than kind to me," said Beryl, starting up. "Will you tell me your name? I wish to remember it with gratitude till my dying day." "Percival," he answered, with an insinuating smile. The girl's ravishing beauty, which had become radiant under the touch of hope, aroused something in his nature which he had never experienced before. He.recalled Berdyne's

By Mia EsSwardSj finllwr of "The Little Uidoir," "Fndio, the HosebiuU" "PrcUitxt of All," "Stella Stc'liii'i,'' "Laura Jiraiiton," etc.

exalted praises of Beryl's loveliness, and he now saw that, extravagant though they seemed, they had failed to do the subject justice. Trer.vvyck envied Neil Preston the love which he had won, and did not wonder why Berdyne should move heaven and earth in his attempts to gain so beautiful a prise. In the dining-room Beryl ate the food set forth by Gorsline. The water, too, although warm and insipid, she relished as a draft from the springs of paradise. No refreshment'had passed her lips since Neil had halted the automobile at the wayside resort the night before. She would have none of the wine, although Trenwyck urged her to drink of it. The lawyer himself drank glass after glass, and his eyes brightened and his face reddened with his potations. And outside the doom of the city was creeping steadily and relentlessly onward. Yet poor, deceived Beryl, the half-intoxicated Trenwyck, and the greedy Gorsline seemed h to think of nothing connected with their perilous situation. "I think," faltered Beryl, troubled at the recklessness which was growing in the lawyer's manner, "that I will go back to the other room, Mr Percival." "Certainly, Miss, certainly," said Trenwyck, thickly, starting to his feet. "This room," and he walked unsteadily to a door and threw it open, "has suffered less from the earthquake than any other room in the house. You can wait there for your friend—quite comfortably." "Thank you," answered Beryl, a vague fear rising in her breast as she caught the open and insolent admiration in Trenwyck's eyes/ In that moment a swift intuition of danger would have sent her flying from the house but for her cherished hope, of meeting Tonita. To go forth into that desolated city again, drifting to and fro with the aimless tide of refugees, and abandoning Tonita and her darling husband, was not to be thought of. She steeled herself to remain where she was, and passed into the library. Trenwyck followed her.

"You are weary," said he, pointing to a broad leather divan. "Take a little rest, my fair one, and be assured that I will watch over your slumbers until—until your friend arrives." The boldness of his manner in-, creased. Beryl stole a look about' the rich apartment. Books were scattered over the floor, and the massive furniture had slid about into unwonted places. A white bust of Shakespeare hung half over the edge of a bracket. The windows had fallen out, and, as the library was on the first floor, she felt that those windows were so many avenues of escape in case she found it necessary to flee. "You have been most generous and kind, Mr Percival," said she, as calmly as she could. "Will you not continue to be so? Pray leave me for a little—l can rest better if I a alone." "Jove!" muttered the lawyer, his eyes smouldering like coals. "You are as beautiful as a houri, my girl. I do not wonder that you have turned the brains of men like Preston and Berdyne, or—j— " A scream burst fronr her lips. "Berdyne! What do you know of Berdyne?" Her hands leaped to her heaving bosom, and she wondered if again—again she had been deceived! No, no, it could not be.' She was there to meet Tonita, and Tonita would take her to Neil. If this hope were blasted, she felt that she must die., "Oh, leave me, leave me," she cried, frightened by the lawyer's manner.

"Not yet, my enchanting little beauty," he answered, starting unsteadily toward her. "If you will give me a kiss—only one " "Never, never" she screamed, retreating before him. It seemed as though he would accomplish his purpose in spite of her. But at that moment, as though the angels of innocence themselves had flown to her protection, the floor heaved beneath them and the earth rocked. Many shocks had followed the great cataclysm throughout that momentous day, and this one, while far less severe than the first, was sufficient to jar down a few toppling walls. The white bust on the bracket fell, and just at the moment Trenwyck was reaching forth his arms to grasp Beryl about 'the waist, the bust struck the the half-tipsy lawyer on the shoulder, and bore him to the gviund. Beryl turned to gain the unglazed opening that marked the place of one of the windows. Before she could reach it, another man ran in. (To be Continued).