A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10554, 9 February 1912, Page 2

A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

OUR SERIAL.

By Mm Do Winter Baker, Author of "The Sin of Carino," "S r Biaudford'e Protegeo," "For Weal or Woo," etc.

' CHAPTER XXll—Continued. For a second the noise stunned Lor. Then with appalling force the _ truth shuck in upon her. She was aione--in some underground chamber. Oiner v. a:; 1:0 longer at her side. .She rushed in- the direction of tlio oak door and Hung herself against it. wrestling madly with the handle. L--was locked. Where was she? What did it nictin Was she to be left alone to he burnt alive: j Scream after .scream left her throat in terrified succession. "Mrs Omor, lot me out! 1 can't 0pcu the door —Mrs Omer —where are von? For mercy's sake help me!" There came a voice in response —a horribly oily voice, muffled by the ver." thickness of the door. M was plainly audible to the girl's strained ears. "Calm yourse.f, Miss Laser, les—<lo please calm yourseilf . It is useless to scream—nolredy can hear you. Yon ore quite safe —there ia.no. fire at all in the castle. I was only burning a f<w red Hares to rr [diten yon. You will

find .the room you arc in is quite c>mfortable—l saw to the -furnishing mv/self. Try and get a little sleep. I will be coming in to see you to-morrow.

Good night!" The voice ceased, a.nd Lettice staggered back from t-h° door. Her eyes, now accustomed to the black gloom, descried a couch against the wall. She lurched toward'it. "Mark Jason! What does it all mean?" she moaned and fell headlong. CHAPTER XXIII. A MI DXIGhTsURPRISE. More and moro impatient grew Eric as the hours sped by but brought him no messiago from Lettice. Twice that dav he mounted his horse .and went* to'the little post office at the village to ask if any telegram bad come for ■him. •,.:-

Rut disappointment awaited him time —disappointment so poignant t'lmt ho all-most decided to catch the next train to London then and there.

Then he rated himself angrily for his childish impatience and nervousness. Of coarse, the dear little girl was safe and sound. Probably she was busy looking for a suitable hotel —a hundred and one little things might have prevented her from writing. In any case he would surely receive a. letter from her on the 'morrow,' and the pleasurable anticipation of the first real love letter from her soothed him as nothing plse # could have done. Te bo quite sure that sho had caught her train, comfortably that morning lie now set his steed toward ihe station. But the porter tfliat he saw th#e —a man well known to Eric —could give ho solace to the point. "Tis market day to Plymouth, today, zur. Us couldn't rightly tell 'ee 'ow many ?x>wls went away in tho sixthirty. Twiz a mortal lot of 'em, and twiz more'n us could do to tako tho stock of aliof 'cm!" _ " : Eric'concealed, his fresh disappoint-ment.-He applied to the man who had-issued tho early tickets... - "..Did a young lady with golden liair take a ticket for London by-the sixthirty this morning?" JlO asked. "Wouldn't be likely!" came tho man's answer. "Six-thirty only runs as far as Plymouth, —-and we don't book no.farther than that by her." "But did you see any young lady answering to that description?". IfX .-.I I !_.._ * -.. i,l .'.''_'

"Lor* bless 'ee, zur, there was scores of 'em— all bawling vur tickets to Ply- ' mouth. Twiz tho market "train-. I. don't rekklict ivvery wan I sees!"' 'You had no one ask you for a ticket to London by that train then?" Eric i' 11.1 rally s'ni 1 os.cd that Leti!:v would try to book right through to Loudon in tho first place. "No zur. Twiz printed u]) plain vur

-till to zee. But, maybe, your yoiiiisr 'oomau booked to PlyiTwmtlh along with tho rest ov 'cm. She could catch a Luniion train from thero about eight o'clock, zinily!" "Aili—weill—thank you—good evening!" /Eric rode slowly back to the castle., .pondering over the information —or /rather lack of information that had greeted his inquiries. It was unfortunate that tho marketing crowd had obliterated all traces of Lettice But he (ronjeehured that she must have done, wil Kit the second man suggested. She had evidently taken a ticket to Plymouth ,and had gone on from there to London. .In any case he would learn everything in tho letter that would surely arrive for him to-morrow. And meanwhile lie must console himself with this swee.fc expectation. The evening turned out wet and ('heedless, and he. was glad to get back to his easy smoking room in the ejustlc —to the deep saddlebag chair and tho comfortable slippers. Again, neither Mark Jason or Lady Trevellan appeared at the dinner tablo that might, but Eric, was not surprised. Jason was doubtless keeping out of the way since that episode at luncheon time, while Lady Trevellan would hardly care to meet her sou at the table after tho words that had passed be-tween-them.

He wandered aimlessly back to the unioking room after dinner ,and lit a pipe, and from there to the billiard I*oolll and he knocked the balls about ifor somo time. Then he tried to read a. novel, but tho tale bored him to extinction.

Would the hours never pass to the morning to bring him tho letter that bo loi.ged fer —the letter wri'; 1 -n l:y her own dear hand, perhaps kissed by her sweet lips, that he could kiss it

Slowly the hands of the clock went round as lie sat there in the smoking room, lost in rapturous contemplation of his loved one. Ho tried to think of wivat who would was doing, sitting in the foyer of .some London hotel, lie imagined —perhaps busily writing to him at that moment. Or had she gone to lior sister's. Why had she 'i(-':i so indefinite on this point in her farewell message? Of course, he remembered now, she didn't get on with her sister,, she had said, so probably would not care to go back again. .Hew lio hoped she would, be comfortable —wherever sho was! Was there anything ho could send l .;er, he wondered. What would she be likely to treasure most in Loiidon? Flowers —yes, of course —ho would send her a box of flowers —a- box every day! But—where to send them? What an idiot ho was!—how could he send her anything •until'he knew whfcife she was? The thougJtt of flowers now led hint on a recollection of that bright, fresh morning in the sunken garden, when lie had so nearly bhirted out what-was in his heart. He rose from his chair ' and went over to the window.' llhe ' night was fine and clear. A bright ' moon was hurrying up tho bright starpricked sky. Eric took a cap down from a, peg and j was about to sally forth for a breath of fresh air before turning in, when he remembered that he had finished all I his cigars. He would have to go up to his bedroom to get a fresh supply. I He was surprised to hear the hall j clock chime midnight as he went up the staii'S; He liad no idea thlat it

was so iate. It took him a sew minutes to open a box of cigars and fill his case; then- he crept down-stairs again very quietly. The house was iii darkness—he did not want- to disturb its sleeping inmates.

Softly un'i..o'ih'fe the front d.njr snA

drawing back tlio latch, lie let himself out into the cool, night *'■"'• Tiptoeing down the gravel drive, he mad© toward the sunken garden. He sent out fragrant smoke clouds as he went.

j The- sunken, garden \ras very wet af- ; tcr the rain, so he decided to keep to , the gravel drive. Wandering on, he found himself at the entniee to the j Lime Tree Walk. . The bright moou, shining through I the tihick foliage, cast-a delicate network of shadows.at his feet. <■ j A sudden flash of white —something .moving—-caught his eye at the farther end of the avenue. He stopped in. his 1 tracks and looked again. It.was a,.woman's form. Instantly '''there came to his mind ■ the story; Lattice h<id t>ld liwrt- of what ; she had seen from her bedroom window. | He rushed down the path at full speed in hot pursuit. The figure in ] white liada good start'of him, haweyei, and he could only catch an occasional glimpse of tne flowing garment that covered her as the moon's ra-ys J momentarily dhotoo tijioh.it. ' Eric ha'd been a sprinter ...at Oxfortl >aod. hold Ms.- half-hluo for ; . the hundred; but, even fco, tJie woman •in white was far too quick for him. < He readied the end of ther'avenue breatSdess, and looked around in abject- Hmazomeiifc. .She was nowhoro to be seen. It was as if the ground had opened and swallowed her. ! OHAITER'XXIV, I AN EXPIiANATTON.

"Please send foi" Omer and Jason at once!" With those peremptory words Sir Eric greeted his mother next morning. For over an'hour after midnight he had explored the grounds of the castle in search of some traces of the mysterious figure in white, but without the slightest result. j 'Baffled and bewildered, he had at j last returned to his bedroom to spend i the rest of the night in trying to piece together the puzzle that had again confronted him. Until dawn he! fuul rucked his brain for some solution hut witliout avail. The only thing to do was to go to his nwther and- insist on her sending for Tier'two detestable satellites, Omer ami Jason. He 'would fallen boldly face the. three of them and demand an explanation. True., Lettice had asked him not to do .so, warning him thaat the only way to get to the bottom of the mystery woujd be to beat Jason at has own ] game. But Lettice —bless her dear I little heart —was safely in London 1 now. The castle mystery need never j trouble her again. There was no long- j er any necessity to observe the extreme caution siho ihtad^advised. | With bill's determination! fixed firmly in mind Blie young msin doized fitfully !untfl it ira.s time for him to dress and carry his plan into effect. Little did lie guess blunt it was more than over imperative now tlvat ho should follow the'advice of his little girl and meet Jason on his own pitch. Little ■did the young man reck of the terrible fate that had overtaken Lettice, !his beloved. Altogether too -impatient to wait until after breakfast, he proceeded to his mother's sitting room a.s soon as lie was dressed. Finding the room empty ho sat down to wait until she could see him. irribaMy he lingered a little wisp of coarse cambric, embroidered with the name "Margaret" in the corner. " (To be Continued.)