THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3175, 28 April 1909, Page 2

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

CHAPTER XLL—Continued. "I want you to help me, Mary." he said. "Ths poor lad Leonard is under the impression that he lias a sort of rival in me. As circumstances have made him extra sensitive, he would make himself miserable if he were not encouraged." "Is he under a wrong impression, Fred? " u „ *, "Hjwever that may be, the soliier answered. with a .slight change of colour, "you must see, my dear Marv. where my duty lies. Ever since I came to England, I have acted with the best intentions, but I cannot say I have always been successful." "No man can always be successful, Fred. But where have you failed?" "If I had "not arrived when I did, Leonard and Dora would have been comfortably married; and now —this is in confidence, of course—he seems to think that Dora cares more for me than for him." "As she may, for a time; girls are frequently attracted by men of your age. A youth is nervous and uncertain, in doubt even of his own opinions. You can speak with th 3 calm assurance of experience; and, In all you do, there is a sense of power, and all women like that. If you were out of the way, Leonard and Dora would resume their old relations tomorrow, and be as happy as they were before you came." "That is my difficulty." the major said. "The tame thing suggested itself to me. I mu?t confess, Mary, that if, when I came upon the field, I had found Dora free, it would have delighted me to win her love; and I think I could have won it." "I believe there is no doubt of that," Mary said. "But," he v.ent on, "when I saw that this poor lad's happiness was in my hands, I put myself aside entirely, and determined to go away till they were married. Then my difficulty cams in. At my first hint of it, St. Hilary shook his head. If I l?ft R ivenskerne, even for a month, he would go back to India. He does not particularly approve of Leonard as a'husband, but he wouid not forbid, or delay their marriage. His one condition is, that, afttr their honeymoon, they shall return and live here."

"That is not a hard condition, Fred; there could not be a happier home in England." "For which I have to thank your mother arid yourself There is, 1 beJieve, some amiable fiction by which a man is supposed to be the rr aster of the house;" but, if the masters cf houses would take my advice, they would give a cheque for the expenses, and never interfere; however, St. Hilary would like them to live here; but thty are not married yet, and, unless something can be done, I do not think they will be." "Whac can be done?" "Well, I thought that, when Leonard and De Vigne came down, it would be a good idea for me to take a3 little notice of Dora as possible, and make love to you, till Leonard is satisfied, and they are married. Of course, we can tell De Vigne, if you like." "Indeed, we can do nothing of the kind," Mary said, with a higher colour than the harmless suggestion seemed'to warrant. "Let him think what he pleases, aud find out fur himself when he wants to know." "Very well, my dear," he said meekly. "I only ihouhgt that, perhaps, you would npt like him to misconstrue our by pl#y, and I knew you are the one woman jm the world he loves. He is such a* good fellow, too, though he thinks your present position, which is your rightful one, takes you beyond him, he would not wish to see you in iour old one, even though it would give you to him." "I know," Miss Walton said gently; "but why did he not say that to me instead of you? Men have no right tu cherish such feelings, and be silent so long; if he were to lose me, it would be his own fault." "He does not think it would be honourable to speak till he has gained a certain position." "That waiting for a certain position has ruined many lives, Fred. You are my cousin, and a f. enthman, so I can speak to you in full confidence, and, if Athol had asked me years ago, I wowl have married hjrn without f§ar of %b<a future, or I would have consented to a long en- \ gagement, and been quite content in knowing that he belonged to me; now, I do not feel as if I care whether he is my lover or my friend. 1 am very happy as I am, with the colonel and you." "I dare say De Vigne will come to his senses before his visit is over," Lugard said. "Our first care must be to get Dora and Leonard married; and, after that, I do not suppose it will be long before you and Athol follow their example." ';. "And, then, what is to become tff you?" "I shall have more time to spend with the col onel, my dear. Not that I suppose I shaft escape forever. The owner of Ravenskerne is not a man to be let alone while there is an unmarried daughter in ono of the country families, and there will soon be a dead set at me; and, after all, what does it matter 9 The average good woman would always be a good wife, and a man past forty has no right to dream of such pleasant romance as a young girl's love." But he did dream of it, nevertheless, and with a sharp pain at his heart when hn pictured Dora at the altar in her bridal dress, with Leonard by her side. "The poor lad will not live long," he said to h?mself; "and Heaven forbid that I should grudge him a single day of his happiness!"

CHAPTER XLIJ. THE MAJOR'S REWARD. Nothing ccuH have been more natural than the acting of Major

By WINTHROP B. HARLAND. Author of "Lady Elgin's ceeivt," "A Harvest of Shame," " the Eider Son," " Lord Ashton's Heir," Etc.

; Luaard and Mary in the carrying out of tilth- friendly conspiracy, and Leonard's vanished into air before He had bean at Ravenskerne many days. Dorn, not being in the secret, felt pained at (.he change in l.ugard's manntr. If. was a cruel remedy, perhaps, but it had the desired effect, and she went to Leonard for sympathy., an she had done in tlw old days when she first became an inmate of Ills mother's house. "I used to be almost jealous of the major," Leonard confided to his friend De.Vigne. "I had no idea he was so fond of his cousin Mary; and now, upon my word, if they were boy and girl instead of grown-up man and woman, they could not be more in each other's company." They were standing on the terrace, from which they could see Lugard and Miss Walton riJing slowly down the avenue. Leonard did not ride. It was one of the accomplishments that had not come within the scope of his limited means, and Dora was too unselfish to go without him, and there was a resentful thought that sdie might not be wanted. Miss Waiton and her cousin seemed to get along very well with each other. "It was in the fitness of things," said Ue Vigne; "their habits are j congenial; their age ia suitable, j and there could not be a more admirable wife for a country gentleman—notthsthe always thought of her in that light. He had a prejudice against the marriage of cousins, but he has evidently changed his mind >in that subject. 1 might say it was a subject on which he deceived me," he added, without a touch of bitterness'; "but I think he deceived himself." "I used to think that you and Mary were fond of each other," Leonard said, betrayed 'into the remark by the other's apparent unconcern; "but that must have been another of my mistakes."

"Undoubtedly it was," the doctor said, with a dry laugh. "You see, my dear boy, there is some truth in the time-honoured axiom, that 'circumstances alter cases.' Athol De Vigne, the West End doctor, might have been a suitable match for Miss Lawton, the Fulham music-teacher, but when Miss Lawton becomes Miss Walton, of Ravenskerne, it is a different thing." "I think you are wrong there, Athol. No change of position would ever effect Mary. My own impression is that ths colonel has had a great deal to do with it. Mary is a favourite of his. Mary knows just the old songs he likes, and then she reads to him- you know how beautifully she can read? —and then, again, she is a Bristol woman, born and bred. This was her home when a child, and she would naturally prefer being here to marrying a London man." [to be continued.]