The Colonel's Enemy.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3138, 15 March 1909, Page 2

The Colonel's Enemy.

CHAPTER XlV.—Continued. , j "That is the one thing I will not df\" Dacre s-id, with a deliberate rts ilution which made argument and persuasion alike impossible. "I will ■ n.var, excent for natural rest, take , to my bed until I know that my clays are numbered. Come and see me j every day if you like, send me as j much medicine as you please, and I . wikl submit, to please my little nurse;; but do not attempt to fetter my j actions, or I shall have to close the j rio>r against you." "But," said Dr. De Vigne, "if yoi are so anxious to be on the move, why do you persist in doing j the vary thing that rnupt retard your recovery?" "Because lam a strong believer in the power of will.", said Dacre, "snd I never knew my own to fail roe yet. Do not irritate and tire by a useless discussion. I will not change my habits for a single day; and if I were called upon I ■would travel a hundred miles tomorrow. Have you any news, major?" "None," said Lugard, carelessly; lor he saw that Dora knew the questions referred to her father. "Did jou expect to hear already?" "Well, no; to-night or in the morning we may, perhaps not for a oay or two. You had better look in saain this evening. I shall be in tire drawing room, and you can sit •with me while Dora takes a rest. She heard me moaning in my sleep, »t some unearthly hour, four or rive, 1 think it was, and would come in, «nd she has hardly left me since for a minute." Her own father could not have looked at her with more grateful Ijv», or stroked her little hand with a fnfter touch. jf •' i was so sorry and frightened, 3) r i said. "Papa's room is next to v m;n j, and when I heard him went ii; he was struggling, as if some one had hold of him and would not Jet Mm go; some one that he did not wju't to hurt, just as he would if he vi"v awake. I know his way so v, 1). I believe if anyone were to . roi> j.nd half murd«r him, his first thought would be how to let them escape." " .-wery sin brings its own punishme it without the aid of man," Dacre said. "The law, when it measures out it-< sentences, doe« not know, and would not consider, what the terrptation may have been; that is wh, I would never go to the law for redress, nor encourage others in pulng to it." "i J apa would never injure any03if,"*Dora said. "Even in his i,l •p. when he was struggling, I >■vhi••! him say, 'I would rather die that injure a hair of your head,' and then I woke him." "Was that ail I said?" Mr Dacre asked. '»t was all I heard, papa. I tout 1 not bear to see you in such tJMible, so I spoke to you." "t remember something of a confute! struggle in my dream," Mr Dacre said, "or nightmare, rather, n"i { was glad when you woke me, U.r.i: but it must not occur again, or vou had better change your room, f •»• I will not have your rest broken." "Y ou would rather me near yox than a stranger, would you not?" •Yes," he said, slowly. "I am not fond of strangers at the best of tines, and if I am likely to talk in n. ,' steep I would rather be overheard by one who can take my wild words su their value. Strange things these ur.-ams are; we know they only come of fatigue, indigestion, or worry, and y- 1 how real they S3em why they 1 s\" .le closed his eye as if wearied, a. 4 they left him with Miss St. iiilary. He was lying on a couch in tru- back dining room, with a soft rug ov;:rhim, his eyes shaded from the fire by a richly worked banner screen, fastened to'a shelf by a jointed golden Ih> quered rod; the silken colours on th<2 screen, with the firelight playvaz over them," threw some curious tivjis over his face; with its closed e/> s and the perfect peace that came of Dora's presence, it looked like the * monumental countenance of a dead nun. The major could not help thinking that he would make a splendid subject for a sculptor. Wl.ile the thought was.in his mind, hs mentioned it to|Dr. 'De Vigne. "■";;" Yes; and few men are more deserving of a statue." the doctor SJ.id; "but he has a singular objection to anything like publicity. Few men are so well acquainted with his good work as I am, for I have the honour of being one of his secret almoners; and if I were not under the r»cal of confidence, I could astonish y.x But though many of our leading institutions are governed by his generous and far-reaching hand, he will rot let us print a line of his speeches (.r publish his portarit." They were in the hall, and the major'had put on his overcoat by This time. When they went into the street the doctor paused. "I am going toward Brooke Street," he said; "would that be jour way?" "I can make it so," the major responded. "You can hardly won.er that a man of Dacre's intelliv - nee shrinks, from publicity in \,t int. To have a place in the mod•rn gallery of celebrities, as represented in the illustrated papers, ii to figure in the list of actors and aldermen, princes and pugilists, vntvellers and ahowmen, generally. i• : is content with the good he uis, as [a good man would be. A i (J ire important matter than his obj ction to publicity is his health. What do you think of it?" "£ asked you to make your way «iine, so that we might speak about 1 .at very thing. You have been t avelling a great deal with him ].t«-l-\ &nd should be able to eni nht. n me. He is sufferirg from » ;.me terriole mental strain; he is b-idly shaken physically; but that

$ By WINTHROP B. HARLAND. 5 / Author of "Lady Elgin's Secret," "A Harvest of / C Shame," "The Elder Son," "Lord § J Ashton's Heir," Etc. I

with his iron constitution and extraordinary nervous power, is comparatively trifling. The thing we have to contend against is the mental strain; and he will not admit that he has been, or is, troubled by anything of the kind." "He is vt-ry anxious concerning the fate of Co). St. Hilary. Were you not aware of that?' "I was not aware that it was a serious matter. They have had a telegram from him, and are expecting a letter." "And you know nothing more than that?" "Nothing." "We are obliged to say as little as possible, for Miss St. Hilary's sake," the major said; "and you will, of course, not repeat a word to her, but we have grave reason to believe that there has been foul play. We have the police at work in every direction, and in addition to them, we have a private inquiry agent, and they agree in thinking that the colonel's disappearance is one of the most inexplicable mysteries they have ever had to deal wftb." "I ati something of a detective myself," said Dr. De Vigne, "and you have interested me arleady. I have cultivated the inductive faculty to an extent which would have made me a valuable member of the secret force; and 1 should have joined it, had not Mr Dacre's kindness enabled me to make a start in my own profession. If you tell me exactly what has happened, I may be able to give you a useful hint or two. First of all, who is the private inquiry man?" "Fletcher." "Of Fletchf-.r and Wyman?" "Yes." "You could not have a better; he is rather dogmatic and impulsive, but if you leave him to follow the trail in his own way, he is rarely at fault. He is slow, however, as they all are. Still, his diagnose is sure to be a good one; and when I have heard you, 1 should like' to know what he thinks of it" "We will go there now, if you like; I have the time to spare," the major said; "and I will give you my version on the way." The young doctor agreed readily; his share—a junior partnership in 'an oid-fashioned West End practice —did not throw much work upon him as yet; he was merely, as he said, qualifying to take the place of one of the elders by letting the dowagers and valetudinarians get used to him. He was a handsome fellow, with winning manners, but he had tbe misfortune to appear very young for his five-and-thirty years; though few men worked or studied harder, he looked more like a youthful athlete in perfect training than a physician who was beginning to obtain the recognition of the leading men in the his profession". "A more singular story I never heard," he said, when the major had told him how St. Hilary had left the Liverpool hotel, and the subsequent bearch for him, "and I am half inclined to think Mr Fletcher was right when he suggested the detention of those two men on the charge of personation. It may not have been warranted by the facts, but they could have been detained long'enough for a close inquiry into their antecedents, and something might have been gained by seeing what kind of people came forward to give evidence in their favour; even if they were cleared they could only have begun an action for damages for false imprisonment, and money would be no object in a case like this." [to be continued.]