A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10545, 30 January 1912, Page 2

A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

OUR, SERIAL.

By Mrs De Winter Baker, Author of "The Sin of Carine," "Sir Blandford's Protegee," "For Weal or Woe, etc.

CHAPTER XII-Coiitiime<L <j • Mark Jason was in hot pursuit of the runaway couple. He was determined to find out for himself what die afternoon would bring forth between Sir Eric and Lattice Lascelles. if Sir Eric proposed marriage and an yngagement was .made between the two ho would see to it itlhat Lady Trevcllan did not fail him. It was essenthl,, however, that he ishould (have firsthand knowledge of what was to transpire that &S temoon,and to this end he pedalled with earnest, savage intent, taking care always to keep a bend'of tho road between him and the cart' hj« was .following. - The' road now picked up curves of the coast line, and Sir Eric pointed out with his whip the swell of the grey Atlantic, and. anon to the white-fringed ■base of red sandstone cliffs, where breaker after, breaker flung itself thunderously, impotently against the impregnable' haunt of myriads of sea. gulls. The salt spray-filled the; air with a. biting freshness'and set the skin tingling with its ocean-borne tonic. Overhead the sun shone out brightly from a mackerel sky, casting ». thousand translucent shadows and changing lights over field and sea. It was an-afternoon that made one Me\ glad to be alive, thought Lettice, •as she leaned against the comfortable back rest, and filled her lungs, deep with nature's sparkling nectar. Scarce half a dozen words had passed between tlhe occupants of the trap, yet each felt in .perfect svmpathy with the other—a sympathy'that commonplace conversation and trivial remarks' coulld only spoil. Each understood the other's silence, and was grateful for it. So they drove on and on through an ever-changing panorama' of .perfect scenery, until a thatched cottage hove\ in view'ahead of themV s v _ 'Cotter's Farm!' announced Sir Eric briefly. "We'll 'hitch the mare up here and walk down -to Smugglers' Cove, then back to tea.later.' It's only a short walk and a descent to the cliff. It won't tire you, will it?" "I don't think anything would tire me on ia day like this, Sir Eric," was Lettice's ready response, as the young man pulled the mare to a walk and went toward the.house. Half a mile down the white road a dark figure descended cautiously from the bicycle and crept to the hedge, from where 'he watched'with eager, straining eyes. For some minutes he remained thus, then advanced slowly, wheeling his machine alongside him. Sir Epic and Lettice had how dethe dogcart an- . walking slowly across the grassy meadow toward the edge of a far-jutting cliff. Once more that constraint—that nervous silence of the morning—seemed to Jiang over them. A stray whisp of Lettice's golden tresses was cawghthy the wind and l>lown into: Sir Eric's fate; he clenched his teeth 'hard and liis face went-'very'white;- .Hiael : . how brushed the girl's anil and she ■ -felit an exquisite thrill go through, her: ■ With a visible effort *3ir Eric began to explain that'there was an easy descent to Smugglers' Cove by a path and some steps, ending in a jump of a few feet onto the soft sand at the. bottom of the cliff. . ;: . . . Coming to '".the- spot where; the descent ibegan, he took, the lead;, and ali though his heart was .beating rapidly,* he tried to keep a cool head.;, Or<|inarily there was otio danger, at all it/ this .descent, steepas it wasj-andyet, When Who was with him, it "seemed "as. if a hundred danger's beset them, )one slip—a false step—lie hit (his lip hard to retain control of himself '; and went on down, step by step, pausing at frequent intervals to assure himself of Lettice'is safety. ■ .. It was with a deep sigh of relief that he came at last' to the bottom, and jumped down onto the soft, sparkling sand of the Cove. A few inches above his head 'stood Lettice waiting for his assistance. Her slini, girlish figure, silhouetted against, the dark .background of the cliff behind her, and outlined by the breezei that.iblew.her white skirt back against her graceful limbs, her golden hair alight with the stm?s fiery glow, her red lips slightly parted, her head thrown back, her bosom rising and falling With the descent, she stood tip . there, a figure so desirable, so lovable in' every soft curve and swell that Sir Eric's heart seemed to leap into his very mouth. . ' "Jump!" lie said, a/nd held out his arms wide.

Lettice looked for «a moment into the loving depths of the g««e 'beneath her and jumped— straight into the arms of the man she loved. She felt diem close about her with a fierce,passionate grip. "Don't let me go. Hold me for ever like this 1" she panted, and lifted her quivering mouth for that first, allsuirrendering kiss of perfect love. . Far above, peering over the top of the cliff, an evil face watched with fierce, brutal rage. Mark-Jason's breasth came and went in quick, convulsive gasps. His fingers clawed viciously art, the long grass that hid 'his prone fount, plucking great handfuls of the lush grass and flinging it to tho breeze. "You shan't have Bier, by heaven, you shan't have her!' he shouted out aloud. "'Not while there is a breath in my body." The wind blowing in over a thousand miles of foam-flecked ocean flung his cry >mockingly back upon him. •«'You -.shan't have her!'' Again his impotent voice was drowned by the

roar of the breeze and the sullen boom of the far-flung breakers. "You shall know the truth Sir Eric, yes, and your own mother shall tell you! The sins of the father, Sir Eric; remember the sins of the father." Deaf ears, blind eyes, heeded him not. Through close-met lips two souls had met —two souls that now were but, one.

CHAPTER XIII. TWO CONSPIRATORS. Reluctantly at last Jason roused himself from his hiding place on the cliff top. He cast a final, savage glance down to the shimmering sands two hundred feet below him, and saw Sir Eric and Lettice were now sitting side by side, very close together, and evidently engaged in very earnest conversation. His evil face'distorted with scowling rage, the chaplain returned to the' roadside where he had left his bicycle, and. was. presently speeding back .towards -the castle as fast as "he could pedal. No time must he lost in acquainting Lady Trevellan with the news of what had happened down there on the seashore. She must be made to understand that the time had now come for her to assert her authority,.,.Moredie must .be made (bo understand; ijhat Mark Jason would .not for one moment tolerate a marriage between these .two lovers. :

The sight of Lettice held tight to Sir Eric's breast had, in fact, been; more than sufficient'"'to, work Mark Jason up into a state of wild jealousy, - bordering almost upon madness. And in (his (present semi-insane eltatey he found no difficulty in persuading himself thaat Sir Eric must be even how gloating over him, triumphant over ,his vanquished rival. In Ms absurd jealousy it never, occurred to Mark Jason to suppose that ho one Would have been more surprised than Sir Eric himself had such 'motives been openly imputed to the young man. Sir Eric had, indeed, noticed that the'chaplain had been inclined to pay unwelcome-attention to Lettice, but as to. regarding him in the 'light of, a serious rival for the girl he would 'have laughed at the bare idea. . Savagely Jason gripped the handlebar of his bicycle as the turrets of the Trevellan Castle once, more appeared above the treetops. Should .he allow; Sir Eric to triumph over liim like this —to carry off the girl under his very nose? Never! ; The very thought of such a thing was intolerable, and it drove him to fury. _ , Swinging at full speed up the castle drive, and round to the disables at the back, he almost flung his machine at . one of the lads and .striked into the house.

I Making his way across the polished floor of the spacious Jiall ; he mounted the wide oak staircase, and strode impatiently down the corridor of the.west; Past thtf&ed Room, the Yellow ■Room and Room, he stamped j and Iris small 'beady eyes glittered with j an evil light.' He came at last to the [Black. Room and paused to detach a • ' small key from his watch chain. Snapping back the padlock-of the iron gate,he stood before the door itself, and knocked three times—two sharp'raps, followed after a while, by another one. The door of the Black Room was cautiously opened- from witliin, and Jason entered. "Well? What news?" Grace Omer stood -with arms'akimbo in the centre of the scantily furnished room, and faced him expectantly. He cast an anxious;.look, n round the apartment—-sombre and cheerless" with its .bare deal tablefi, solid • kitchen its hare deal : table,- solid kitchen chairs, pictaireless, distempered Avails', heavily barred. His eyes dwelt momentarily on a thick plush curtain I that hung from ceiling to floor at the farther end of the room—a curtain that seemed to screen that enti'ance to J another room beyond. ' l And now, once more, his glance returned to Grace Omer. ' "Asleep?" he queried cautiously, ignoring her opening question,.and nodding almost imperceptibly toward the curtain. Omer placed her finger on her lips and returned the nod. "Good!- Then we can talk here," ho continued. Listen, Grace! We must be prepared for action. The thing we both expected has happened. Sir Eric has asked the young secretary to marry him. She was in his arms when I left Smugglers' Cove an hour ago. I came straight back here with the news Now what are you going to do?" There is a lot to be made out of this if we put our heads together, you and I " J • I I (To be Continued.)