A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10558, 14 February 1912, Page 2

A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

OUR SERIAL.

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

CAFfEII XXVl—Continued. 'lt is false—false—false!" she kept Saying to herself. "Eric, darling, 1 won't believe it. I trust in you uttery —implicitly. Nothing —nothing will can shako my perfect love for you." As the silent- hours began to go by ! her thoughts grew calmer. She hardly raised her head when Omer came in >with her dinner of cold mutton and broad and cheese. She was able to contemplate her fate with more serenity now, passing all tilings before her. Her one great hope was that she might find some way ol escape from the dungeon in which she was imprisoned. f l hat her lover would come to her assistance, she, alas! did harbour no hope. Omer and Jason would have sent him off 011 a wildgoose chase, she felt certain'. She wondered whui he bad done when she had failed to meet him in t'he courtyard, as they had agreed. What tale had Omer and Jason concocted to aeount ■for her absence.

With a courage and determination that .any girl of her tender years would have been proud of, she again began to cast about for some means of fighting Jason with his own weapons.

.She found herself putting everything that had happened to her into a sort of .narrative, beginning from tho timo that she h.nd let her bag fall out of the rack onto the head of the curly Eric TreveUan up to the present moment.

Over and abovo the story she thus repeated to herself, there floated always that silent ahadow of mystery. The strange figure in the Lime Tree Walk appeared onco more before her, Then, came Jason's strange warning, and Lady Trcvellan's objection to her engagement to Sit' Eric. Could it be, site asked herself, that Lady TreveUan objected to Eric's marriage because she knew that 110 was already married? Ah, no,, the thought was intolerable. How could a honest, upright man like her lover, possibly deceive her ,fool her? How dare .{•Jhe think of such a tiling? "I refuse to think."such.a thing of JJric, 'because I Ibve him, I love jiim/' she went ,on to hor&rlf. :; But Is it possible j/0 put this love aside for a while and see if tihero is any good reason why I .ahould believe it? If I do this, do I not prove myself unworthy of his Idvo by the very doubt that I cast upon ihini ? Or would he not rather have me satisfy myself of his integrity by making lall enquiries possible ? Oh, what ought I to do? Oh, God, her,) me. I love Mm so, I love Mm iso!' I can't believe that he has flooled me, yet down in this awful place I am weak and wretched. I don't know what to think. "Oil, to get out into the fresh air again! This .place stifles one!" She rose and began to pnee the small cell with restless footsteps. The foul cruelty, horrible mi justness of her fate began to oppress ficr witih newed force. ""

CHAPTER XXVII

- P answor .- Coihing hack for his unr-' '• Wt'li he should have it in ...istakeable words. She saw her , path clear before her now. Perhaps ' her little heartbroken prayer te heavron had been answered. At any rate, ; Mark Jason would hear what sho thought of him. He should know once and for all what a woman's love was and what her hatred meant."

Tho door of her prison chamber creaked sligjhtly, aucl she turned '•with J a start to face her jeering jailer, j "I .have come for my answer, as I j said I would, Miss Lascellcs," ho said. Ho stood with his back .to t'he door; his shifty eyes watched /Lettice's every movement. The young girl threw back her proud head and laughed it scornful laugh. Her eyes fkislhed gloriously; a bright spot of colour glowed on each cheek, as it might have g'lowed upon the cheeks of some heroic maid martyr of an earlier age. Sho spoko in low, rich, accents and pointed a derisive forefinger at- her persecutor. "You coward, Mark Jason. —you arrant coward. You are afraid of me; even as you stand there, guarding the door against my escape, you are afraid of 1110. T can .see it in: your eyes, in your face. You are wondering if I shall fling myself upon you now. No! calm your fears. I am only a girl. I have no weapon concealed about me. If I had I think I would shoot you without the slightest compunction.'' "Really, really, Miss Lascelles, harsh words for a. young lady—very harsh words, you know." Jason's .yellow fangs glimmered horribly in the gaslight. "Yes, harsh words," she repeated passionately. "You deserve them. You have come for my answer you say. Listen, then : this is my answer, as it was before, as it always will bo to the end of all things: I love Eric Trevellan, love, him witJh every breath I take, every beat of my heart! It is a sacrilege to talk about such a thing as love in your presence, but you have asked for my answer. Nothing—nothing can alter that love. You say he is married. I tell you you aro a liar to face, Mark Jason. You have repeated your insulting offer of marriage to me. Do you think I don't know what you mean? You arc suggesting that I pur-e-base my liberty at the price of myself. I prefer my present fate. Yes, J prefer it a thousand times to the fate 1 that you propose.' "Listen. I know that sooner or later, I'll escape from this foul spot, and then, God help you —if, indeed, there can be any ihelp for so black a fiend as you—for neither I nor the man T love will spare you till you have j paid the utmost penalty for this deed. ] And now, go, go. I cannot bear to

even breathe the same air as you. Go, go!"

Lattice's voice was hoarse with the fury she could no longer control. She eluteihed at her throat convulsively with one hand and pointed to the door witli tiho other. ■Shrinking beneath the lash of her tongue, Jason gripped the handle of the door. But his face was livid with rage. "Little fool," he hissed. "We'll see who'll win yet. You'll chango your mind presently. I will teach you better maimers. Do you know how disobedient puppies are taught manners? Something that is far more efficacious than the whip—something that brings them grovelling and whining to their masters' feet. You will soon sco what I moan. Pali!" With a hideous, inarticulate noiso such .as a beast might make, the chaplain turned his back 011 Lettice, and fumbled at the door handle. In ail instant she was upon him, struggling frantically with all her girlish strength for tiho liberty so dear to her. But how could she hope to prevail over -a man, with a man's strength! Everything went iblack around her as s'ho fought 011, but a moment later she felt herself hurled roughly across the room with a brutal oath. She fell across tlhe low c-oueli with a dull thud Clang, clash, went the bolts outside. Terrible, conrulsivo sobs rent her girlish frame; 'her lowly face was all wet with burning tears.

MRS PARFITT'S SUSPICIONS. With wildly heating heart Eric took the two telegrams from the boy who liiad cycled over from the small post office. As luck would -have it tho-first one he read from Miss Adelaide Lascellcs, and his face blanched momentarily, More slowly he opened the second. Ho read it, and all the world seemed to h{vY<3 changed for him at that "moment. " " _ . t "Pans!' 110 shouted ecstatically"gone to Pans for her trousseau. Little darling. What an ass I have 1)6011 to harbour all these fears. Isn't it just the thing a girl would do? 'Will write soon..' " —ho referred to t'he telegram again—"make it very soon, little girl, very soom, for I can't go on much longer witlhout news of you." At this instant his delightful reverie was distuiibed by a knock at the door. "Come in," he growled, being rather angry at being interrupted. In reply, Mrs Parfitt's head was thrust timidly round the door, followed presently by the rest of her body.

."Come in, " Mr? Par.fitt 2 " the Voting man, seeing the woman's evident nervousness.

"Do vou want to seme? What is it?*' She shut t'he door carefully behind ilier, and came across to where 110 was sitting. He was once more lost in contemplation of the telegram signed "Lettice."

"Begging your pardon, sir. Might I speak to you for a minute, .sir?" Eric thrust the telegram into his pocket and came to himself with a start.

"Certainly, certainly. Go ahead, •Mrs Fa.rtitt. lam listening."

"It's" like this, sir,' began Mrs Parfitt, in a quavering voice—"it's not a bit of use me going to her ladyship, for .she simply passes 1110 011 to Mrs Omei .and Mrs Omer I don't get 011 with, and it isn't- much wonder at

seeing .as how she has made more trouble in the servants' hall than I could tell of in a month of Sundays which I said to myself is the only thing to do is to go to Sir Eric "himself and tell him "

Eric,held 141 his hand. "Steady on,-Mrs Parfitt, take, a deep breath and go easy." "Thank you sir—l will, sir—it's so easy to talk to you that my tongue nius a,way with me. It's about Mrs Omer that 1 want to speak to you sir. They call mo housekeeper in tlhe castle, but liask you, sir what- sort of a housekeeper is one who isn't allowed to liave a key to tho cupboard, who doesn't have any authority, who is not allowed to check the books, who doesn't know one atom of what is being spent 011 food and things? It's Mrs Omer who ought to be called housekeeper, sir— I'm only a-.sort of upper housemaid, it seems. It has been, goin.g on like this for a long time. Over and over again I have complained to her ladyship, but she only says, 'See Omer —go to Omer!' I'm an honest woman sir, and I can't take housekeeper's wages if Felon't do housekeeper's work. That is what 1 says, sir. So I have come to you, thinking that you might be able to talk to her ladyship, and get things put on a fair and square footing between me and Mrs Omer —so that I know where 1 am, so to speak!" (To be Continued.)