SIR JOHN'S HEIRESS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9675, 14 December 1909, Page 2

SIR JOHN'S HEIRESS.

CHAPTER IX.—Continued.

"Why do you look at me like that?" he asked. "Ah, my little elf, I can read your thoughts! Cling to my hand until I have done; and don't interrupt me. 1 am growing weary, and soon shall be able to sleep peacefully, with the knowledge that I have righted a wrong. And then you shall play and sing to me—just one little song to soothe me, liKe a chill with a lullaby." He biniled ever so faintly. "Yes—l guessed your thoughts; you were wondering if I had forgotten Mary Idwal—the only woman I had ever bved, the only woman I ever could love--and you have already condemned me for accepting my fate without a bravtr fignt." "No—no!" Hilda whispered. "I only " "Yes;, I know what you think. Waii a little while! My conduct was not that of the lover whose faiih remains unsnakui tnrough the stormiest of trials; but I had believed my brother, and circumstances confirmed that belief. I had a proud and fiery temper, too; but I never quite succeeded in banishing the image of Mary from my he<u-t. In the silence of the night the murmur of her voice has been in my ears, and her reproachful eyes have seemed to gaze into mine. When I stood again on British soil, an irresistible aesire seized me to ste my frail love, it only from a distance—if she were still free. It was both pleasure and pain even to a careworn man of the world to live once more in the happy hopeful past. "One sunny mor.iing in spring I left London and came here to Llanbaris. When I saw the towers of Ogof Llech, my heart leaped within me; I felt young again. I went to an inn, but the people had forgotten me; I was indeed greatly changed in appearance and iD manner. My name was not remembered. "I told the "landlord and his wife that I would stay with them for a week—hundreds of tourists did the same thing every year, so little notice was taken of that; then I asked if the owner of Ogof Llech Castle was at home. I had known the old chieftain years nefore, I said, but I had been abroad. "The man sigr.aled to his wife to leave the room, and thtn stared hard at me. At last he appeared to be 3atisfied, and a dark frown wrinkled his brow. '"Ah, I recollect you now!" he said. 'You are thj false Englishman who loved anj rode away, as the soi.g goes—who left the Lady Mary to die! I have no room for you at my inn; find room elsewhere, and take back your money.' '"No,' I answered fiercely, setting my back against the door, 'I will hear the whole story from your lips! Tell nw where I can find Lady Mary!' '"ln the churchyard at Llanberis!' was the man's answer. "My brain awam, and I clutched at the air. My love was dead! Per> haps she had been faithful to the last!

1 £"The innkeeper led me to a seat, but his stern features did not relax. 1 "'You must leave my house—l will not have jou here! Glydtr Idwal is I dead, and his daughter walked into j the lake one winter's night. Her ; wraith may be seen when the moon is at the full. Now get you gone!" ■ ''He held the door wide open, and told his servant to put my luggage outside, adding with a sneer: | '"The Castle is open if you would liKe to look through it—open for the inspection of the public—because it is for sale to pay the creditors of the last of the Glyder Idwals!' I "I made ro answer —my brain was on fire. Lady klary dead! And she had been true to me to the very last, and perhaps died believing me to be false! I think that my reason tottered in that hour. ! "I went to another inn. The Gaatle was for sale, and it should be mine. For the first time I thanked Heaven that I was a wealthy man; and when the day of the sale of Ogof Hech Gastle arrived, I was ready with my money. "Immediately after the bidding began I named a sum whch struck many of the other would-be purchasers dumb. Then I increased it, and they thought that I was mad. i The Castle and i*s dependencies were ' mine!" i Sir John's deep voice incressed in volume until it filled the chamber, and the smouldering fire in Jhis black eyes Mashed forth. Then he ■ was silent for some minutes, and a ! sob passtd his lips, a tear trickled down one pale cheek. "My story is nearly done, Hilda, though the bitterest port has still to come. The Ca3tle was mine, and I I changed its name to Wodcroft—people taiiced so much of the ghost |of Ogof Llech. I had to get servants I from London, and it was a long time i before I could gather about me a start I of faithful ones. j "For weeks—nay, months -I listened to every scrap of talk concerning t„e woman I lad loved. I visited her grave daily, and covered it with the flowera she had loved in

.BY F. L. DACRB, Author of "A Lo-T9less Marriage," "A Change of Heart," •'Trenholine's Trust," "A Case for the Court," Etc, etc.

life; I searched every nook and cranny of the Castle for things that had beloneed to her, for scraps of her writing; and the rooms she had occupied were entered by none but myself. Here, from time to time I placed all that had been hers, and here I held communion with the spirit which was mine still. Hilda, vou will find a packet in that desk over there. Open it, and remember that my wishes are that it buried with me!" SEMSSIMHiB The girl obeyed wonderingly.^^ "One moment," proceeded Vi Sir John, "then you shall read it for yourself. I discovered the packet in a secret drawer, together with Lady Mary's diary. The faded portrait and the jewellery will not interest you; merely read the letter—it is a voice from the grave, revealing the treachery of the brother whom I had loved and trusted." The sick man's glowing eyes followed Hilda's every movement, and, when she smoothed out the letter before her, his features worked convulsively. "Read it aloud—aloud !" ha commanded. "Then- I shall know that my conduct toward you in vindicated**' ' And in a voice that she vainly strove to keep steady, Hilda read as follows: — " 'My Beloved: So long a time has gone by without one word of you that I begin to fancy that some evil power is at work to keep us apart. We are in Rome, my father and I; out my resolution is so strong that he has become quite reconciled to our immediate marriage, as we planned together in the delightful summer days He complains now that your brother. Captain Vane Harrington, poisoned his mind against you in terms which will not bear repetition; and in such circumstances I think that -it is mj duty to tell you that Captain Carrington made love to me in your absence, and proposed marriage to me. His treachery and vanity are past all understanding! Then he begged of me on his knees never to tell you—that it was only momentary madness—and I promised that, so long as he did not offend me more, the matter should remain a secret between us, but I should prefer that we never met again, as I utterly despised him. "'He aid not leave the Castle at once, because you were abroad, and none of us knew where you were. I cannot thinK why you should go in this way, unless there is some State secret at the bottom of it. Or are you angry with my father for the letter he sent by your bro'.her? But surely you would not be angry with me, for I wrote at the same lime telling you of mv eternal love, and that my father's vanity was only hurt a little, Your brother promised to deliver both letters, and was so truly penitent that I was jurry for him. But this is the third time I have written to you, and not a word have I received to soothe my anxiety. Oh. my darling, come to me soon, or my heart will break ! "'Yours till death, and after, "'MARY lUWAL.'" "Read the writing on the back, Hilda." Sir John said tremulously. "It is dated two days later," The girl read:— "I think that life is ended for me. Joh i has gone—has left me —and I know not where to address him now. I3id brother h3S written that he cares for me no longer; and in my misery I pray to Heaven to send me strength!'" Hilda was horror-sticken. And this was the work of her father. How she loathed him! "Do you wonder now that I hated my brother and his child?" Sir John asked. " Wonder? I thiik that I should have killed him!" She sobbed bitterly. "Put back the letter. No- -give it to me; it shali lie near my heart until lam dead. And you will see that it Is burted with me? I have righted you at last, little eif. But beware of him!" He closed his ejes wearily, and Hilda sat still, her lips quivering her heart too full for words. Again she saw a tear on Sir John's cheek, and she wiped it away. "I am happy at last!'" he murmured. "He seemed to sleep for a little while, then opened his eyes. "You can si:g—the Carringtons were all singers—and vou can play? There is a piano, over there; I have had it brought up here for you, because 1 want you to stay with me until the last. Play something—anything you like. And kiss me, little elf!" His eyes rested on the girl as she moved to do his bidding, and he sighed—a sigh of satisfaction. Hilda forced back the sobs as thiy rose to her throat, and her fingers glided tenderly over the keys of the piano. What should she play -what should she sing? Almost unconsciously the words of an old song floated across her memory, and she gave utterance to them softly, dreamily:— TO BE CONTINUE 1).