RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8392, 4 April 1907, Page 2

RIVEN ASUNDER. OR, BERYL GRAYSON'S ORDEAL.

By Julia Edwards, Author of ":he Littk 1 Mow," "Sadia, the Rosebud"Pretiat of All," "Stella Sterling," "Laura liraytm," etc..

A ROMANCE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO DISASTER.

CHAPTER XVl.—Continued. "You say," he proceeded eagerly, ."that two young women saved Mrs Preston?" " Yes," the soldier answered. " What they , have done this day is something that shall never be forgotten, nor pass without reward. Please bring' the young women to me. I would have my aunt know how she is indebted to them just as soon as she is able to realize what has happened," , The officer to the bench "Where he had left the girls; but the bench was unoccupied. The girls had vanished. He looked around through the crowd, and culled upon others to look, but the search was fruitless. "The young ladies," .said the officer, returning to Mr Preston, "are not to be found; they have mysteridusty vanished." • !•, •\< "Wljo were they ?\' masked Arthur Preston. > "I can't tell you," was the reply, ♦"they Refused to give their names" "Does anyone know who those young ladies were?" cried Arthur Preston. There was a moment's silence; then a »oor woman with a tear- ■ stained face pushed closer to him through the crowd. JJJ "They were in my tent along with me, sir, l&st night," the woman answered. "When, they came I woke lip, and 'thought mebby it was my daughter, I heard 'em talkin' a little, and one called the other Beryl. That's the only name I heard." t "Beryl!" Arthur Preston started as though stung. "Describe that girl to me," he went on to the officer exr , eitedly. ' "She was a girl of rare loveliness," answered the young officer, "if'she is the one I believe the woman refers ■ to. She had waving golden hair, violet-blue eyes " "It is she!" gasped Arthur Pres? ton, with a bewildered look 1 In the direction of his aunt; "What n strange combination . of circumr stances!" he murniured.to himseli "I will give 500 dollars," he called "to the person t who will find those two girls and bring them to me!" JBut, although he waited for half an hour, at the ed'ge of the park; while, men, boys and even women scattered all over it in quest of the fcwo girls, yet his generous offer bore I no fruit. i By that time his aunt had so far recovered that she could be assisted into the crvr and the journey continued. Arthur Preston left with the officer the address of his lawyer,' who li'Ved'in San "Rafael; and the lawyer . was to be cfimmunicated..witlijn.cas« the girls could be found laterl-' Then . lyith Mrs Proston leaning 1 white and 'listless against the leather cushions of the rear seat, the automobile sped way, r

j CHAPTER XXVII. . A CHANCE MEETING. M We are wreck and stray, we are cast away, ' ' - Poor, battered, old hulks and Spafsj But we ,hope„ ancLpray, on th,e. Judgment i)ay, . - 4'-,' ■ We will,, strike ,it, up there in the stars. ■ Though battered and [old, our hearts are bold, , Yet oft do we repine ! For the days of old, For tlie days of gold— For the days of Forty-nine." , An old melodeon had been moved from a housel into a neighbouring i square. , of white-haired men surrounded it, while ,a younger, . one of their number played an a>* , companiment and' the rest' sang. There was something eery in the effect. Neil, wandering aimlessly,, yet with his one absorbing purpose in mind, drew near to the group and listened. "Where the tabbits play, and the quail all day Pipes on, on the chaparral hill, A few more days, and last of us lays • - His pick nside, and is still. Though battered and old, our hearts are bold, Yet oft do we repine For the days of old, For the days of gold— For the days of Forty-rune." Neil joined in the refrain with a queer tugging, at his heart-strings. The song finished, he thought hopefully of Golden ,Gate Park, the Presidio, Fort? Mason; and then he .turned his steps westward, to carry his search in directions hitherto untried. . "I will find her," he kept saying, *to himself. "I will—l must find her!", He had repeated the words over and over the day before, just as he was repeating them now. . And' if despair came, he always saw or heard something that pushed the benumb-; ing cloud aside and revived his drooping spirits. The constant tide of refugees swept through the ! dismantled streets toward the Market Street ferry; Neil seemed to be the only one who w/»s pushing in an opposite direction. He kept on tirelessly, proceeding from one refugee camp to another. ' ' During his wanderings he reverted wrathfully to his mother's heartlessness in keeping himself and Beryl apart. He could well imagine what sort of a reception had been accorded her, and how she had been sent away. His heart overflowed with bitterness, ■ and his strong hands clenched in a! fury, of impotent desire. If he could only be with his fair j young bride! If he could only shield her from the cruel misfortunes which threatened every one in that distressed and ruined city! That was all he i thought of. His mother had ordered him from her sight, and, wished never to see his face again.

His sorrow fought with his anger but he bowed to iiis proud mother's •will, feeling sure that her disposition would change when she learned that .Beryl, so far from being poor, was as wealthy as any of the Frestons. The precious packet which he carried with him wpuld establish his dear one's right to riches which, as yet, sho did not dream or. Eunice Bartholdt, to whom his mother had referred in their heated interview, was the daughter of a rich brewer. Eunice had ambitions, and if to her wealth she could add the prestige of the Preston name, no Society star irt all Denver could have competed with her. Eunicp had planned an elaborate campaign for the conquest of Neil Preston, and she had lived tp see her scheming set at naught by a mere working girl! While she remained in Denver, eating her heart out with jfealous enVy, Mrs Preston had ■ gone to San Francisco to find Neil, and to plead, for a last time, in Eunice Bartholdt's behalf. All this Neil learned later, but even then a glimmering of the truth had dawned upon him. While busy with his thoughts, his eyes roved restlessly as he walked. Nothing escaped his vigilance, although his mind now and again would dwell on matters but indirectly connected with Beryl. Suddenly his glance rested on a form in the moving throng about him. Recognition between him and the man was instant and mutual. The man, With an averting of the eye, sought to (drift away and skulk from sight. But in half a dozen steps Neil was upon him and had his arm in a firm grip.

"I want a' word with.you, Trenwyck," said Neil, sternly. "This way!" ■: - By chance the shifty lawyer had encountered Nei I. Trenwyck had joined the throng which was hurrying toward the ferry, bound across the bay. Drawing the man apart, Neil Surveyed him fiercely, j "l—l thought, up to last night," faltered the -lawyer, paling under the hostile look the other gave him, M that you had lost your life in that Sutter Street house." "Oh, you did!" returned Neil, "Arid what caused you toVhangeJyour opinion?" "1 called at your cousin's, on Nob Hill, and—and saw your mother. She told me that you had escaped, and were even then in your cousin's bouse. "What else did my, mother tell you?" demanded; Neil. The lawyer hesitated, and the young man leaned toward him and hissed: '"You had better be frank with me, Trenwyck. 1 You are well enough acquainted with the law to*know that, for crimes; such, as you and G rsline have, com-; mitted, you can be brought to account. What else did my mother tell you?" ( , "Why, that Beryl Gray " "Mrs Preston, if you frlease,'' in-' terrupted Neil. ' > "She told me, then, that your wife and a , dark-complexioned gjirl, who looked like a Mexican, had qalled at the House just before I came. , She haS told them that you had gone to Oakland-——" » j"! "To Oakland!' exclaimed Neil, with white lips. Could his mother, whom he reverenced in spite of her i "haughty pride, have descended to such a heartless subterfuge as that?

"Yes," went on "the lawyer glibly 4 "The two girls had just gone away she said, and- she wanted to followfthem and learn where they went." • "You followed them?" asked Ngil, a savage glint in "his eye. ' "Your mother's wish, Mr Preston, is law to me." - .- / . "It means to you as , well, > you cowardly spy! Go on. You followed my wife and her friend. Where did they go?" ] The lawyer had followed them, picking up the trail every time he | lost it, and finally watching while the soldier conducted them to a tent in Lafayette Park, He had reconnoitred the tent, and was busy with his nefarious work when a soldier discovered him find fired a shot. Trenwyck escaped the bullet, glided through the shadows to a large tree in the centre of the park, and to the; trunk affixed one 'of a number of cards which he was carrying iri his pocket Then he had vanished into the night • 'I f do not know where they went," | he replied the lawyer, "but I believe they have gone tq Oakland." " I Neil glared into the man's eyes. '"Trenwyck, I believe you are Jiyng !"■ he cried. "So help me Heaven, Mr Preston— —" V " . ■■■ Before the lawyer could finish, Preston had grabbed him by the throat. The man stumbled'from the suddenness of the attack and fell to the street. (To be Continued).