A Daughter of Mystery

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10248, 26 May 1911, Page 2

A Daughter of Mystery

BY F. L. DACRE, Author of "Was He the Man?" "A Phantom of the Past," Sir John's Heiress," "A Loveless Marriage," "The Doctor's Secret," etc.

OUR SERIAL.

CHAPTEiI XVl.—Continued

great, and there is nothing homely about it for a lonely girl." j "Then get out of it. I told my manj againg clerk that you were coming to [ the office, and asked him if he knew i of any respectablo people who let lodg- • ing to ladies. He immediately jumpf ed at the chance of having you him■j self. His wife is a nice little body. . For the sake of getting decent neigh- - hours they are living in a house and - a neighbourhood at Streatham rather [ abovo their manns, and want someone ) to help pay the rent. An excellent , opportunity for both sides, I think. 5 Mr Moberly, my clerk, has a type- . writer at his home which you can - practise on, if you want to " ' "Yes," answered Elneth slowly. <f lt ) all seems very nice, and cut and dried J for my benefit. You are doing a great . deal for me, Mr Lawrence, and I may • not be at all satisfactory." ) "I am convinced taht you will suit - me," he smlied. ! "Do you usually engage your clerks in this haphazard fashion?" she askl ed. "Or is it because you are sorry . for meP" "If I didn't think you would earn your salary, I wouldn't have you within a mile of me. I am a busy man, Miss Tyndall, and you are wasting my time. I admit that I am interested i in you, as a client, too, and —ah, well, that's about all there is in it." "I hope so." Her clear eyes were turned upon him, "And I will do my best to please you, Mr Lawrence. If I dislike the work I will tell you so." She hesitated, then resumed. "About my parentage, I would rather the matter rested where it is for the present. I haven't any money to waste." The lawyer brushed the question aside. "Mr Moberly will call here for you between one and two o'clock to-day, and you can drive with him to Streatham. In the meantime, settle with the hotel people and banish your headache!" "Very well. lam like a feather in a whirlwind. A woman's self reliance is a poor thing, after all." When Mr Lawrence was gone she went to the office and gave the clerk • notice that she was leaving that mornj ing. He madeout her bill and receipted it. Then she went to her room, and packed her bag once more. It seemed that she was everlastingly packing that bag. Just before two o'clock Mr. Moberly arrived in a wheezy old four-wheel-ed cab. Elneth recognised him immediately. He was a middle-aged, weary eyed little man, dressed in a complete suit of rusty black. His linen was scrupulously clean, but frayed at the edges, and his tall hat had seen better days. It was he who had ushered her into Mr Lawrence's private office. Elneth was waiting in the vestibule, fully dressed. Her bag was in charge of a porter. Mr Moberly raised his hat ceremoniously, revealing a highlypolished bald head. "Miss Tyndall, I believe ? My name is Moberly." Elneth nodded, and made a sign to : the porter. "I engaged a four-wheeler," Mr Moberly apologised, glancing at the girl's meagre luggage. "I shouldn't like to disappoint the driver, things are so bad for the old-fashioned cab--1 men nowadays." I They were soon rumbling away, and J during the long journey Mr Moberly I aired his views upon the overcrowded J state of the labour market, and the constant evolution that was taking place. "Systems and conditions that made men prosperous twenty years ago. are obsolete now," he said. "Pace must bo kept with the motor and flying machine. I obtained my honours at five and twenty, and at thirty had a large practice. At fifty lam a managing clerk at three pounds ten shillings a week, and begin to think that I have no real place in the struggle at all. There are too many of us, miss Tyndall, and I thank Heaven every day of my life that I have no children. Unless the population is thinned by a tremendous flood, or an earthquake, or something equally terrible, people will be killing and eating one onother soon."' Elneth was startled. "I did not think things were as bad as that," she said. | "Thero are too many women—j everywhere. They do the work of the j men, and do it equally well, at a third 6f the proper wage." "I hope I am not going to cause i man to lose his employment," Elneth said tentatively. "Oh, no," was the hasty rejoinder. < "Wo are not discharging anybody. On the other hand you will be helping to keep a roof over our heads, if you are satisfied with the home we can offer you. After what appeared to be an almost interminable journey, the cab turned into a short street of smart, semi-detached red brick villas. Each had a small, carefully tended garden, in front, and it was apparent that the owners spared no effort to impart an air of distinction to their homes. On every fanlight there was a conspicuous namo painted in letters of gold."

"Yes—God help nae!" Morosov'** face had been buried in his hands. He now raised it, haggard and drawn. "I know that you are seeking what you can never discover. The golden towers and brilliant domes of the city of your babyhood was Moscow, and not India. I deceived you for a purpose. Now you shall know the truth, Elneth.' You are my daughter, and naturo should speak in your heart. I am going away now —my mission here is fulfilled; I am going to America, and you must come, too. It jieed not be yet for a while—say in a few hours. Wo sail from Southampton to-mor-row. Why don't you speak, my child.' "Speak'!" she panted. "Speak! No speech would give expression to the loathing I feel for you, Paul Mprosov. My father! You lie as you have ali ways lied. I will have nothing to do [with you—nothing- And if you persist in annoying me—you know the extent of my power." "Is this melodrama ?" he began, and then his voice softened. "Elneth—Elneth, it isn't yourself speaking. If I believed that you meant it, this would be the end of it all. We would die together—here, in this room!" His glittering eyes both fascinated and terrified her. Then she moved swiftly to the electric bell, and pushed the button hard.

CHAPTER XVII

ELNETH'S NEW HOME

"Elneth—Elneth," came Morosov's pleading voice, "what are you doing? What has come over you, child—you, who were always so good and obedient? You must not be frightened if I threaten. I did not mean it. Could I leave my wife and the little ones? No! But what I said was possible, and for a moment I was frenzied that you should turn against me. You observe this caneS Inside it there is a metal tube, and the tube is stuffed with a highly inflammable mixture of cotton and wool. If I unscrewed the top of the cane, and applied a lighted match, the anaesthetic fumes would kill an elephant. The cotton is saturated by a combination of chloroform, hydrogen and arsenic—a little invention of my own. The fumes merely stop the heart's action, and the verdict is always 'heart failure.' Ah, here is the chambermaid in answer to your summons. Order some coffee, and tell her that We will go down to the coffee room."

The words flowed from his lips in a torrent, but he was outwardly calm, and his eyes shone with tranquility and tenderness. Elneth answered the maid as he had directed, and threw open the door. "Go first," she said, "I cannot trust ,you. I believe you are mad. There is more phantasy than truth in all that you say." "And yet your heart tells you that I speak the turth." His voice quavered a little, and his brilliant ©yes became humid. He took a seat at the first table in the coffee-room, and bowed his head over his hands. Then he looked up pleadingly—tearfully. "It is like rending soul from body to leave you, Elneth', but it will not* be: for long. You will think better of it —you will want to come back to me.' You must always remember that you j are being watched by the Brotherhood. Ho drank his coffee at a gulp to hide his emotion. "I am leaving England to-morrow, but your allowance will be continued. I shall know where you are —no matter where you go, and the money will bo sent to you every three months. Nay—nay! It is yours, and you shall have it. You must not refuse —you shall not deprive me of my last crumb of satisfaction. Good-by." He held out both hands, and the tears were now streaming down his face. Elneth could not remain unmoved. !

"Good-by!" she called chokingly. She remembered many kindnesses on his part, and half wondered if she was selfish and ungrateful. "Kiss the children for me." She broke down. He gave her one long, lingering look,, and with bowed head turned away. He paused in the doorway to say "My daughter!" and then vanished.

Elneth retired to her room early that night, but she was too exhausted to sleep comfortably, and the morning found her pale lipped and heavy eyed. Her very soul revolted from the idea that Paul Morosbv was her father, and yet thero were moments when the idea became a horrifying belief. And he had said that her mother was alive! Since nothing could now induce her to marry the man she loved, would 't not have been best to cling to Morosov to the bitter end ? He was a maker of bombs, who gloated over the destruction of life and property, and did not share in the knowledge* at least, of his crimes? Was it not her duty to go to the officers of the law? Mr Lawrence's card was sent to her room after nine o'clock. Ho was in the library, and she went to him. "I hope there is nothing wrong,'' lie said quickly. His eyes were searching her face. j

A slight headache. lam not used to the noise of the streets. It seems that cabs aro running about nil night." "That gives mo an opening for my suggestion. You can't go on living here."

"Oil, no! The expense is much too

(lb be continued.)