A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10551, 6 February 1912, Page 2

A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

OUR SERIAL.

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

CHAPTER XVlll—Continued. ] "It seemed to come from one of the f pillars— right down near the ground I. hanged the gate accidentally, and lig'hit went out immediately." "How extraordinary, but— winch pillar was it?" "The third one down to tiie Jett. hand side of tiho aisle." Jason strained his eyes, shading them from the candlelight ■ "Whv tiiit pillar is o»'pf-S!to a h-uj-ii. Sir Eric '' he asked. "'Of course, I see it now, it was the moon ■ight st-nimiiign through the stained .glass wi.idow that you saw!' The cnaplain cached in a falsetto voice. Sir Eric appeared to be con-' eidering the suggestion. "Might have beero," he admitted a I length. "But the moon does not generally go out like a bull's-eye lantern when the shutter is snapped." Jason started imperceptibly ait the . remark. "Cloud?' he ventured. "Well, it is pretty strange. Open tilie door and let us go in and 'have a look round, Jason!" Eric now ordered. The chaplain thereupon took a large bunch of keys from his pocket, and fitting one to the iron gateway he , 'swung it back and both entered. Carefully with lighted candles, Sir Eric searched from corner to corner, and Mark Jason appeared to be doing the same with great assiduity. But nothing could be found. There were no traces of a candle or light of any kind at the base of the third pillar down on the left-hand side of the aisle. The solid gold altar plate was all intact. Gradually Sir Eric began to attach more credence to the chaplain's suggestion that it was the moon that he had seen. But if this were the case, surely the light would, have appeared again when the moon came from behind the cloud He mentioned this to Jason now. Then he left the chapel arid made for his bedroom again. >"" Fool 1' Jason hissed to himself, when he.was alone onee^more; •> ■'. 'What, .does, he wanjt.to come. prowling around in felt slippers for at midnight? I 'Jolly , lucky I: left the gate 1 open though, otherwise I should never have heard it j bang." But in thus, anathematising carpet slippers, Mark Jason forgot that he himself- had been guilty of very same footwear only a few hours before in the conservatory —behind the screen.

CHAPTER XIX. A LETTER FOR SIR ERIC. ; Waiting till he was sure that, Sir Eric had returned to his room, and he was not likely to be further interrupted, Mark Jason closed the chapel gat* and went up to the third pillar on the left-hand side of the aisle. Orico more -tfhe concealed door swung open to admit him, closing silently behind him and leaving the chapel in complete darkness. Down the ironranged ladder descended Jason, down through a continuation of the hollow shaft, till his foot touched sohf. ea<th again. He now stood in a kind of vault. The flickering flame of ; u's candle just revealed the brickwork of the w all —the air was damp and the ground seemed slippery under foot. With the sutre steps, of one who knows has way perfectly, the chaplain walked across the vault until he came to a narrow opening at the further end. He <iow proceeded along a long, narrow tunnel bending his head as he went. Up and down, round and about, the tunnel twisted, vagrant drafts of wind making the candle splutter and flare despite his protecting band. At last he came to a point where the tunnel widened nnd branched off into two anns, one to the right and one to the left Both these branches were riuite short, and appeared to end m soh-1 will. Down the left arm Jason now turned and the yellow light of the candle fell on two small oak doors facing each other on either side of the, passage. They were apparently let into the wall —and both were heavily harred a<nd studded with nails. On one. of these doors Jason rapped knocks followed -by a third at a. longer interval. It swumg silently open from within.' Jason stepped into a well-furnished sitting-room —evidently a woman's by the knick-knacks and ornaments dotted about. A shaded light stood on a table in the centre of the room, easting its bright rays down onto a blotter and writing materials. The chaplain blew out his candle and sat down. Grace'Omer shut the oak door quietly. Resuming her seat the table, she took Tip her pen. . "Nearly finished?" asked Jason in a whisper, peering lacross at a, paper on which she was carefully tracing a few characters. "Nearly!" camxe tlhe equally soft answer. "Hutrry up, then. We must put this thing through to-night. That young fool of »a boy nearly caught me just how. I was burning one of those red flares just to see that they were alright and lie was prowling round, and must have seen the light as I came out of the pillar into the chapel. 'Luckily, the silly young idiot banged the iron gate, and I shut the pillar door a$ once and extinguished the flare. Then I. rushed back along the tunnel to the Black Room, and came down the stairs to the lhall, and-put him off the, scent completely by pretending to help him search the chapel, and telling him it was moonlight; he saw —ha, ha!" The chaplain emitted a hideous chuckle. Grace Omer held up a warning finger and glanced toward; the door. Then ehe went on with her work.

At last, whatever it was she was writing was finished, and she handed it over to Jason. Ho studied it closely, and nodded with a satisfied, cunning .smile. '•'Envelope?' 'he queried, passing the pih.per back to the woman. She took an envelope from the blotter and wrote on it. Then, folding the paper, she placed it in the envelope and licked the flap. "Shall I give it, or will you?" she asked. "You give it," replied Jason. "It will seem more natural." They both rose now, and Grace 0mer turned out the shaded table lamp, winle Jason relit his candle. Then they left the subterrpnean chamber, closing and barring the door behind them. Grace Omer bent down at the door on the opposite side of the passage, and listened closely for some minutes'. "Fast asleep!' she Observed, in response to the chaplain's questioning look. . »

. On tiptoe they crossed to the right- I hand arm of the tunnel, and walked straight up to the solid wail at the I end. ' A steep flight of zigzag steps j confronted them, and ,t'hey climbed up to the top. Here Jason paused, and ' felt up and down the .brickwork with his hand. ■:• • ' A moment later heiand Grace Omer stood within the Black Room . Seven o'clock on a bright summer morning. Sir Eric Treveltan, seated in -the high dogcart, kept his eyes glued on tlie back entrance of the castle. The stable yard was quite deserted save for the groom that stood at the mare's head. Sir Eric was waiting for Lettice to come out. He wondered why she was late. ■ Somewhat irritably he fingered a litltle gold ring that lay in his vest pocket. Tlhe minutes sped by, and the hands on the stable clock were «Jready •pointing to the quarter past seven. They would have to gallop-the' whole way to the station: ~- Suddenly door opened and iJie,young man's .hear* bounded within him. But a moment later his face | wore/a- more gloomy 100k v than ever. I For it was Grace Omer who emerged |and came straight across to the dogcart where he was., She was carrying a letter in her hand, and she handed it to Sir Eric. "'Miss Lascelles asked >me to give you this," she'said calmly. Turning on her heel, she went inside the castle again..: Eric's fingers atreimibled a, little and he dropped the fysins and slit the flap of the envelope. CHAPTER XX. AN ACCOMPLISHED LIAR. With eyes that well-nigh started out of their sockets Eric read the letter ■ handed ~o him by Gnce Omer. The lad standing at the mate's head wondered why his master had turned white so suddenly. Straight on to the end the young man read, then'tin .to the beginning again. "Darling," the letter ran, "I could not bear the thought of parting -from you for even a short time, ,jso : I am running away while everyone is asleep. I vvaat to bo.alone,to think over everv thing, I Grace Omer to send ray boxes to London. Ido not know whether I will go to my -sister's ; or not*, so do.not write there until 1 let you know definitely. Foiigive mo/for disappointing you, but remember I am always, Your own, Lettice." . With one bound Erie was out of the trap and into the castle. At last he came up with Onier in the ha.ll. Seizing her by the arms, he j spoke breathlesly, fiercely. ■'-.'"'. "When—when did Mass Lascelles give you tOiis?" J Grace Omer ic.eoned instinctively, at ; the you v? man's onslaught. 1 "Early this morning, sir. It must i.hiave been-about five o'clock. 'She came into my room and woke me up." "What did she say?—quick!" "She said ; she was going away b.\ the six o'clock train,,and asked me to s?nd her boxes on to Paddingttoh cloak room." * -.-..■ "Bub—but!" Sir Eric stammered in his excitement, "didn't you stop Jier? Didn't you ask her why she was going 1 so early?" \ r "Yes —of course —I was greatly as- ' tonished. But she begged me not to say anything till she had gone. She didn't want anyone to know she was , running away, she said." "Strange!" Eric groaned aloud. j "But 'why—how—what made her ! change her plans?" I "Ohange her plans, sir?" Grace. ; Omer's face assumed a. surprisedex- ' pression with" fiendish cleverness. She wore an air of complete bewilderment. Eric perceived with sudden annoyance that he had given himself away, and would have t° explain himself further now—bake this woman into his confidence. Shrugging his shoulders, be i proceeded: ] "Well —it was a secret betweeu Miss ■ Lascelles and myself, Mrs Omer. We iaare to be married, and [ it was arranged that she shout Id go owoy to London by the seven-thirty ' away to London by the seven-thirty, this morning. I was waiting to take her to the station when you handed me that letter."' L (To be Continued.)