A SENSATIONAL CASE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9172, 21 August 1908, Page 2

A SENSATIONAL CASE.

By FLORENCE WAKDEN.

Author of " The Lady in Black," "An Infamous Fraud," "For Love of Jack," "A. Terrible Family," "The House on the Marsh," etc. etc.

CHAPTER Xll.—Continued

And Mrs Collingham skipped back to hur husband and Linley, leaving G rard, Netelka, and Jem to go on U'geihjr. Then Gerard amused the lajios with accounts of the fearful s.rugglo he had had to get to church in time, and affected to he so hungry thac he had to steal stray leaves from th bay-trees and other evergreens wuiih stood within reach inside the gardens they passed, frightening Jem into the belief that he was poisoning himself.

Netelka found an opportunity before they reached their respective homes of exchanging a few more words with Mrs Collingham. She thought that lady must be ignorant of the kind of guests to whom she was extending such a liberal invitation.

"They are rather a rackety set, these young fellows my husband ha» brought down with him," she said to the elder lady, in a tone too low to reach the ears of their husbands. "My husband doesn't much care what his friends are like as long as they are lively." "Why, that's just like me!" chirped Mrs Oollingham effusively. "I always say that the one thing I beg of peopla is that they shall not bore me."

"But," suggested Netelka, feeling conscious of the absurdity of her having to give such a warning to the matron ten years older than herself, "they are hardly the best possible companions for a pretty young girl like Miss Collincham, are they?" But Mrs ColHngham received the hint in a manner which irritated Netelka beyond measure, for she assumed the easy irresponsibility of perfect confidence. "Now, do you know, dear Mrs Hil■ liarJ, Ido think you make such a mistake in assuming that because a girl is young she must necessarily be foolish, and that because a man is he must necessarily be bad! I assurj you I have no such fears myself. A well-brought-up girl can be trusted anywhere. I know I could when i was unmarried, and I have every confidence that my girls will be the same. So pray don't give yourself any qualms of consicence r>n Jem's account, but briny your friends, whoever they are, and we ■will make them welcome."

On reaching "The Firs," Netelka gave the invitations she had received to Arthur Sainsbury and Sam Teak', both of whom were smoking cigarettes with an up-all-night look on their faces Netelka thought that t-a next door might keep them out of mischief for the afternoon, at least. Harrington Moseley, as Netleka had expected, preferred to remain at "The Firs," having, so he said, soma letters to write. Linley excused himself, also. It was tco cold, he said, to go from one house to another just to have a cup of tea which he could enjoy just as well where he was.

So the party for "Maisonette" <on- j sisted of Netelka and the three y<uing j bachelors. It wns not a very sue-1 cessful entertainment. Nobody talked freely except Mrs Collingham, who chatted gaily to the three young men, who seemed to retire into their shells under the influence of her irrepressible vivacity; and the, major who monopolised Netelka, telling her tedious stories, and paying her tedi- j ous compliments. And all the while i that she tried to listen she was j haunted by two things—the first was the look of humourous gravity in Gerard's eyes, which she found fixed upon her whenever p he turned her| hsad in his direction; the second was i a ttirtling appreciation of the differ- j ence between the major's generation, j which paid and accepted' such com-1 pliments, and her own. \ Ad for Jem, she poured out the tea, , and she answered when she was i spoken to. But she did not seem to j be enjoying herself, even when Net- j elka contrived, by a change of seat, j to leave Gerard sitting next to the young girl. | When Netelka suggested that she ; must not leave her husband by himself any longer, all ntr body-guard rose aa one man, with indecent haslo J to get out. Mrs Collingham, however, who had not perceived that the entertainment palled upon them, tried to engage them all for her "afternoon" on the following Saturday. "We shall be livelier then," said she buoyantly, evidently not conscious that they were anything else now, "for I've got some people coming who can do things—sing, recite, and play the mandolin. And there will be more of us." Arthur Sainsbury and Sam Teal.; begin with indecent haste to muke excises. Mrs Collingham, telling the n playfully thar they were "very wicked to abandon her," then turned impulsively 10 Gerard, who shot a glance at Ne';<:lk:i, and tie.l looked i.indrfstly dov.ti on the floor. "i should o-dy be too delighted to com.', Mr.s Collingham," he said, in a uu.-nure, bni-:h voice, "but 1 don't k.iow whether I s'.iall be hero next Sitirday. 1 could >'t get back to t)#\i very vvjli t:is same evening, a id " Again he glance:! shyly, or rather wiuii ir.i alte tut - n of bhyno.-,?, at Nitelka. his tv>o friendi laughed he irt.l/ fv the .irsi, time since th.'ii* a Dominance at ".Vlaiaonette." "Oh!" cried A.thur, speaking a: last with lis rnt'ir.,l overwhelrni ig bolsterjusou-s, and with a laugh tiat shook tri.- teacups, "we wouldn't be so ir.-nanni.red us to ask for .jiri inv c itio i wo .1 I we? Mrs H Uiard, clor-'i. a,k him. don't let him come, \'lhi p-aes un his knees." "I shouldn't HKk him if he had that, most iiKonve-iient habit, certainty," ar.svend Netelka, laughing. "A man takes up t.o much more

room on his knees than on his feet, you know; ami the position is ungraceful in modern dress. But if he wants "ery much to come to Mrs Collingham's "

"I do, I do!" interpolated Gerard in a plaintive voice, which somehow failed to carry conviction to the minds of his two friends.

"Why, then," continued Netelka, "I shall be obliged to promise that, if he gets the requisite number of good - conduct marks during the week," and she gave Gerard a significant glance, to which he replied by a sanctimonious look upward and shake of the head, "to ask him down from Saturday to Mondav." "I thought my beautiful behaviour would find its reward sooner or later," said Gerard meekly. "I thank you both, ladies, from the very bottom of my heart, for your kindness to a simple, friendless country youth, all alone by himself in big, wicked, London."

Then Netelka had to get out with her bodyguard as quickly as she could, for Sam and Arthur were so much tickled by the whole affair that their correctness of conduct was no longer to be depended upon; and she was afraid that their spasms of laughter and the looks they cast at Gerard would presently strike, even in Mrs Collingham's simple mind, a suspicion of their good faith. As she looked rather anxious, Gerard acted as her lieutenant, and restored same sort of order to the little force until the door of "Maisonette" was shut, and they were safely on the road home. Then they all broke into the cruellest laughter.

"So glad you've enjoyed yourself so-o much, de-ar," said Arthur sweetlv to Sam. /

"Oh, it was quite too, too charming, and so awfully r awfully sweet of you to bring me!" said Sam to Arthur.

"And didn't our little Gerard behave himself well, dJ-ar? And wasn't he quite a credit' to us?" went on Arthur.

"And didn't he show up the behaviour of his two chuckle-headed companions?" chimed in Gerard. And then Arthur and Sam took each other's hands and skipped along in a juvenile manner as far as the door of "The Firs."

"Oh, very well, now I know what you do as soon as you come out of a house where everybody has done his be3t to entertain you, and treated you a great deal better than you deserve, "said Netelka severely. "You will burlesque me like that to-mir-ow!"

"They won't unless they want their hearts punched!" cried Gerard Waller hutly.

"Oh, you're different," said Sam soberly. "And you needn't talk about punching people's heads, Waller," suappad Arthur, "for, as far a3 Mrs Milliard goes, we are all on the same side."

And they all entered the house in the friendliest mood, cemented as is the way with poor humanity, by their common feeling against the unlucky Mrs Collingham. (To be continued.)

The quick results of Chamberlain s TablotH in the cure of Biliousness, and prompt relief of all its bad symptoms is something unequalled by any other medicine. They cleanse the stomach, clear out and gently stimulate the liver, drive away every symptom of pain, distress and discomfort. For sale by all chemists and storekeepers.