PRIMROSE DELORAINE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10291, 20 July 1911, Page 2

PRIMROSE DELORAINE

OUR SERIAL.

THE MISER'S DAUGHTER.

By MAISIE PENDENNIS, Author of "Sir Reginald's Whim," "The Forgotten Heir," "Rival Beauties,' 'etc.

CHAPTER XIII.

clasp his, she looked like a figure of stone in the dim, weird light. So still, so rigid, and —so beautiful. And who can. say what thoughts came to her as she knelt there, pleading for a love that would never be hors; she who had not always been' what she was then, whose early life and surroundings had been so very different from the life and surroundings of Red Tree Camp. Who can say to what scenes her wind flashed, what pictures memory j.iinted for her? But Poker Bill had no eyes for her beauty, no thought for her love, no pity for her despair. He only hated her, and longed, with a brutal, reckless longing, to bare his revenge, and to know that ha might never se« her

THE BRAND OF CAIN,

It was a day or two later that the chance came to Poker Bill to put his plans into execution. He was bettor —so much better that he had been out for a little time. Eve would have gone with him, to watch him and help him with tho tender that had never failed him all through his illness, but he had refused to have her, telling her roughly to stay in the cave, and that he would rather t'.o alone. So she had obeyed him, and when lie went back she r. as waiting for him, and quite a tempting little meal was set out on the flat stone that did duty for a table. She looked at him appealingly as he lurched into the cave, longing for a word of kindness or of praise'; but she longed in vain. Poker Bill only grunted as he sat down, and presently she turned away, with a sudden mist of tears dimming the stormy beauty of her great green-gray eyes.

again. 1 There was only one way, he told himself, only one way. As long as she lived she would con- | trinue to haunt him as she haunted him now, offering him a love, a devotion, a tenderness that he did not want now that h* knew and wanted Primrose, though in former days it had been different. As long as she lived she would strive, by all the means in her power, to keep him from the girl he did want. He knew Eve we] 1 enough, knew her wild, undisciplined, passionate nature ; and he knew that as long as she had the power she would stand be* tween him and Primrose whatever the cost to herself might be. But if she had tior the power? Ah! then Just for a mome it he hesitated, nut from any sense of pity <;r rcnuu'so, L«i:t from a vague sense 'it fear. < Tb?nhe turned en tie woman who j loved him like a fie id incarnate. j "I hate you," le snarled. 'Tiicie j is no peace for mo while you live. I wish you were deal. I hate yo.i . I hate you." He glared down v,'j the kneeling hgJure, and white, uplivSi.l face, with the | savage, insensate fury of a wild beast, while the lust of WooJ entered into his soul, and rioted through his reins in a seething fretixy. Then he raised hj« hair! and struck heavily, with all his powerful strength -—struck again and And Eve fell. Just one little cry «!»•> gave just one little, gasping, '.hokiug cry. .Then she fell, striking her head against a rock, and lay where she had fallen, white and still. And Poker Bill bei-t down and looked at the white, deathlike face, and then glanced ii.'itarUy around over his shoulder, as if already the fear of the.unspeakable deed he had committed had falien upon him. "That's done far her!" he muttered to himself; "shell never iroable me again, and no one will ever find her here. No one in the camp Ictjows where she is; she said so hersenf No one will trouble to look for her if she is missing, and if they did they would ~ never find this cave. That's my secret —mine alone. Here she may stay forgotten and undiscovered for all tame, and I have had my revenge, ohe will { never come between me and Primrose

If only he would have spoken kindly to her! she thought wildly; if only he would have shown her some signs of tenderness and care. But he never did —never would. And yet she loved him all tho same, in he/ passionate, wild, way.

"You had better go back to Red Tree Gamp to-day,' Poker Bill growled .presently. ''l ■■> m sick of the sight of your white face and green eyes messing about here, so you can take yourself off." And then he paused, and looked at her with furtive cunning. "Does anybody know you'are here in the cave?" he asked. "Does anybody in the Camp know that I have been ill, and that jou've been nursing me? Have you fool enough to let the secret of the cave get out to others while I've been too weak to know what you have been doing?" She shook her head drearily. "No," she answered. "I haven't seen a soul from Red Tree Camp since the night of the day that I guided Captain Jack here. Nobody know where I am, and nobody oares. I dare say they.will think at the camp, if they think at all, that I have left the camp, and gone somewhere else. But I don't suppose they will think at all. I have no friends, you know." "I'm not surprised at that," Poker Bill muttered. Ana then he pushed away his empty tin plate. "Nobody knows .where you are," he went on slowly. \i "Nobody cares? Nobody would trouble to. ask, I suppose, if you never went back to the camp at ■;di???:'*'v' ■■■: ''•' - ,; '' '•••'

She shook her red-gold head again. "Nobody!" she said. And the'lurking purpose in the man's evil heart grew into deadly certainty. 'lf that were the case,.he told himself, _what was there to prevent his carrying out his fell plans. But Eto knew nothing, guessed nothing, of what was passing in his mind. Her heart was too full, of her own sorrow and despair for her to think; of-'anything else.

For a moment she looked at him in silence.^ ; Tben, vii.li a swift, suddet movement, she went to him, and fell on her knees at his feet, and caught hold of his heavy band. "Bijll" she oriel passionately, "Oh, Bill, yrhy. do you treat me in this way? -Why :dio you talk to me as you do? It is pruel, cruel. You know how I *l6?e"you, have loved" yoil for years, and shall love you until I die. There is nobodf for me but you in all tihe ;woirldy, you're everything tame, and you feeat me as if I were the dirt under yctu^ifeeit. "Therms nothing T wouldn't do for you, and} you wou ; t give me a kind word. Sometimes I think I shall go mad or die; but [ suppose n't care if I did. Nobody would oare. I seem to be all alone in the world and the only living creature I care for vhater? me—hates me—hates me. Oh. Heaven, how oan I bear such awful torture. How can i bear it!"

• II ■ again. He gave one more glance at til© prostrate, lifeless iigure ait his feet, then looked.over hi: 1 shoulder again, and shivered, as f some grim, un explained fear.had come upon him. 'Already Nemesiswas following swiffcsly oil his;dee4;of,,hJjoad. r Already hi felt the deadly chill of the shadowy presence that he akne could see —that would haunt him. to his life's end. Then he swore savagely under liis breath, and went out of the oa-/-i into the starlit Australian uiglib. with the stain of blood on his hails, the [ brand of Cain on his brow.

Her voice rose *o a .shrill, High note that was almost a shriek, and rang, weirdly through ;fcne echoing silence of the shadowy cave. Her: small, pale face looked deathfy white witihin the -loose waves of red-gold hair that framHerwonderful, ever-changing-eyes;,' with ilieir curious, green lights, ■flashed and glittered with the reflection of the consuming fires that burn-

CHAPTER XIV. THE MYSTERY OF SMITHKRS. Primrose looked wistfully at Sir Gerard. "I wish," she said, rather diffidently, 'I needn't keep Smithers, Sir Gerard. I don't Dhink I 'shall like bitn at all.. Don't you think you send him, away, And get some one tire. Sir Gertard lookad back'at her hpt some perplexity. Just for the moment he could not remember who Smithers was. Then he remembered that it was the chauffeur .whom he ha i engaged for Primrose, and who had come to Lesbie Manor only the day before. He had not driven Primrose out once, even, and now she wanted him to be sent away. Really, it seemed very inreasonable and inconsiderate: an*"' if a man took charge of them and Jipir affaire in any way, he must expect fo be asked to do all sorts of apparently motiveless things. ~ (To be Continued).

Ed and seared her soul. Kneeling at Poker Bill's feet—this strange woman whose past life was wrapped in mystery—her head thrown back, her hand outstretched in a vain attempt to