THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3170, 22 April 1909, Page 2

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

CHAPTER XXXVlll—Continued. I "And would you have mc accept such generosity?" Leonard said, look- ; jng at t-is father with sorrowful and not reproachful eyes. "Do you think I could ask her to share a tainted name? I have known-for : some time that I shall not live ; long: I was never glad ot it till . DuW." , ~, I "Come, come." said Lugard with the same tone of kindness in which , his superior officer had spoken, you are out of health, and this sad business has dejected you: but a few weeks at Kavenskerne will put you right. We shall _be going down to-morrow, or within a day or two, and your father is forgiven. No one outside those who have assembled here will ever Know that he lived two lives. Colonel, can you give Mr Dacre your hand?" # The colonel advanced frankly to his enemy, and took the hand Mr Dacre surrendered to him with an averted head .. , "For the sake of his wife and son," the colonel said, "and because I think he has been rather a misguided man than a wicked man, 1 can." „.. , l __j

At the touch of St Hilary's hand, all the high-strung fortitude which had sustained Mr Dacre gave way. Shame and gratitude, humiliation and despair, crowded in upon him and crushed him down. Tears came to the stern, unflinching eyes, and he turned to leave the apartment with his features twitching convulsively, and his footsteps tottering. These were signs that De Vigne knew too well. . . , "Major." he said, ;n a quick and low aside, "I shall want your help." Lugard followed him without a wordr Mr Dacre, supported so far by his wife, had sunk in a huddled heap at the foot of the stairs; their strong arms raised him in a momenc, and carried him to his room. They put him to bed, never to leave it. again till he was carried out, never to articulate another word distinctly, or Lft his hand without help. When Lugard asked what it meant, he had the answer in one word: "Paralysis." Col. St. Hilary was deeply shocked when he was told. Jin all his passionate longing for revenge, he had never dreamed of anything so terrible; he knew what a living death it must be to such a man as Mr Dacre, with the strong brain at work in a helpless body, the intellect gone ior ever. "Is there no hone?" he askeo. "None!" was De Vigne's «rave reply. "The only wonder is that it has not happened before. 'Not one man in a thousand could have lived so long, and kept his reason under such a terrible strain; sooner or later it must have come." "I wish," the colonel said regretfully, "that I had known the truth at first, or that he had gone safely beyond my reach before I regained my liberty. It will always be on my conscience that I have done this in my relentless pursuit of revenge. I had forgotten that vengeance is rot for man to inflict. Can nothing be done for him?" "Nothing. Mrs Dacre will take care of him, and we must find the man who has robbed him. If not, he shall always find a home with me." , ~ "On my word," the colonel said, "you are a noble fellow, Dr. De Vigne." ~ "I am a grateful one, 1 trust, Atbol replied. "He rescued my father from the slow torture of intel ■ factual drudgery, the misery only known bv those proud men who have to work beset by poverty on ev ry side. If you want to sound the depth of human suffering, drop your mental plummet into the heart of a man of birth and culture, shut out from society because his means are inadequate "to the position he should rightfully occupy. And that was my father's fate, and mine, till Mr Dacre rescued him and me." "He should have been my friend and not my enemy," the colonel said for the second time. "Dora, go and see Mr Dacre, and do not let him think that he has quife lost your love Fred, can you find a eorner for us in your rooms till i have made arrangements?" "Mv dear St. Hilary.' the major said "the entire house in Half-Moon Street is at my disposal I objected To the other lodger, so they turned him out. I will send for my carriage at once, and we will go as soon as Dora comes down." , "I am very sorry for that poor bov " the colonel said. "He does not look strong, and I am afraid he will never be happy again. "I would have given him two years to live if this had not happened " aaid De, Vigne,. ''Now 1 should not care to give bra one, but I would not tell his mother so. The poor lad was always delicate, and he has overworked himself. His restless energy is part of his disease, and a secret trouble has preyed upon his mind." .'-=,'*" * "Had he any .suspicion then of the truth about his father? St. Hilary asked. "No- but his instinct told him that Miss St. Hilary's affection had undergone a change. She is too generous and too gentle to break her promise, but he knows that her lote has sobered down to a friendly regard, a sisterly tenderness, more hopeless than absolute indifference." -\ ~ "Is there any one else, then, that she cares for?" ' _ :",, A red tinge deepened in the bronze of Majcr Luenrd's countenance, [ and the truth dawned upon St. Hilary like sunlight through a rift in the clouds. "I hope," Lugard said steadily, "that your diagnoses may be at fault, doctor, for I love the lad as if he were a younger brother, and I could not easilv forgive anyone who tried to spoil his happiness. Dora

By WINTHROP B. HARLAND. Author of: "Lady Elgin's Secret," "A Harvest of Shame," "The Eldur Son," "Lord Ashton's Heir," Etc.

I will not forget her duty. I hope, ! in spite of tome slight fancy that may have led her affectio astray." ; It was bravely spoken, and both his hearers understood him. No one else was present, for Mrs Walton and Marv had gone to the invalid's ; room, with Mrs Da ere and Leonard. I "Who is the man who has robbed ;Mr Dacre 7 " the colonel inquired. "The man who lured you from the ; Liverpool Hotel. Captain Crauliss" ! said De Vinge; "and by this time be | will be in' Spain on his way to Mexico with a quarter of a million of money to gamble away or squander." I "I do not think so," said Lugard! quietlv. "I have had Captain Crauliss too closely watched for that; with everv step he takes a step will be taken by one o*-' the men who is on bis track like a shadow. I have a warrant out | against him for being accessory to ' the attempted murder of my man. Ditton; and when h*> is once under arrest a dozen charges can be brought j against him." "flow is it, then, asked De Vigne, ! "that he wrote to Mr Dacre from Calais, and asid that he was on his way to Mexico?" "The police are so sure of him, that they can afford to give him plenty of tether. I can stop his career at any moment, by a telegram to Mr Darlington." He had scarcely uttered the name when it was echoed by the footman who had opened the dining-room door. "A gentleman named Darlington wishes to see Major Lugard," the man said. "Let him coine in, please. Your visit is both timely and, welcome," he added, as the inspector's stalwart and handsome figure filled the doorway. "Have you any news?" "Well, sir," Darlington said, with a smile, "I should like to ask you the same question. I cahed at HalfMoon Street, and could git no information from either of your men, Ditton or King." "Has King returned, then?" "Yes, major. He had been assisting at a fire, it seems. Dr. Baracocci's, at Fulbarn. No lives were lost, but one of the patients escaped, and by the description given, and a certain air of knowing mystery your men had, I thought it might be '•' "Col. St. Hilary," Lugard said. "You are right, Mr Darlington. Here he is to speak for himself, and to thank you for the active part you have taken in the search tor him." "I wish I had dona more," the inspector said, taking with respectful pleasure the hand St. Hilary gave him; "but there, colonel, was your best detective. Major Lugard. Silence and discretion were invaluable, and the search would have ended long ago; had it not been that someone seemed %c have a secret knowledge not only of every step we took, bu every step we were going to take. [TO BE CONTINUED.]