A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10578, 8 March 1912, Page 2

A DEEP GAME. OR THE HONOUR OF THE TREVELLANS.

QUE SERIAL

*■ By Mrs Da Wlntw Bafcsr, Author af »'TIW Sin Of Protege*," -'For

CHAPTER LV—Continued

"The sergeant ordered 'The I ill'ant' to lie brought in and examined. The 'Apache' laughed in callous fashion, and took Ins hat off to the dead body. 'A thousand apologies to you, M. Ja- ,, {■on,' he said, and then turned and faced us fcsmigrily. The notes of the serge® tub's examination I took down as '» best [ could. They may not be exact. My hand was paining." ~'J'ho gendarms pa seel for a moment, " aware of the dramatic climax that he 1- wins leading up to. Ho turned over a > page of his pocketibook and continued, in the same precise, formal tones: "Question : 'What do you know of Monsieur Jason ?' "Answer: 'That I 'have killed him quite by accident. I did not see who it was. The street was dark. He looked nieh. I saw his watch chain. He was a. friend of mine.' • "Question: "A friend? How is that?' "Answer: 'He gave, me money to play i» little .comedy an hour ago. And now I have killed him. lam a, blunderer. You would never have caught " me 'if I had not stopped to examine my victim.' "Question: 'What was this little comedy t-hiat you were paid to play?' ' 'Answer: 'Monsieur Jason wanted j to make friends wiith one who was his enemy. He commissioned me to attack this enemy at the appointed time. ! But it was to be a sham attack. At the critic-ail moment M. Jason would appear and put me to flight. It was -a pretty little comedy and worked admirably.' "Question : 'Who watf this enemy of l JVI. Jason's that he wished to make his - friend?' "Answer : 'The name is not easy to ' pronounce. It sounded some tiling like ' iSlir Arrique Travalon. He was stav--1 ing at the hotel Splendide.' "This finished the examination, mesj isieurs, and the sergeant ordered the . prisoner to be removed to his cell till . further inquiries were made." The gendarme saluted sharply, a,nd > reurned his pocketibook to its pouch, j "Jason dead! Hoist with his own j petard." C'ole could not conceal his astonishment, not only of the sudden end . of t'hiis rascal, but at the manner of j tiluart end. How utterly retributive ifc had been 1 _ j At this moment Eric joined the i group of officiails. The talo was re- f peated to him and duly confirmed. I • Thus did one of the biggest scoundrels that ever walked the face of the i eaiifch meet his ignominious death. That t/lio very hand that Jason had filled with stolen money should be the one to strike him down an hour later amazed 'Erie as it had amazed Oole. Truly, Mark Jason was a villain to the last of his blackguardly existence. Eric w r as now called upon to identify tllie body of the murdered man, so leaving Cole to look after the two girls, Jio went off in a taxi with the party of officials. He returned pale of face half an hour later, and called for brandy. "HorriWe sight!" wa.s his only reply.to Cole's inquiries. "Thank heaven it is all over,' he went on. "Now an end to the tragedy, Norman. Let's ring up the curtain on something mer- ( rier—let's all have a jolly good day m . Paris. Are the girls down yet?" The girls were down and quite ready for breakfast. They were also quite j ready to enjoy themselves. "Not a word to spoil the good time ahead of us,' whispered Eric to his elium as they went to meet their radiant sweethearts. It is scarcely necessary to describe here all that our little party of four—or rather our two couples —did in I is that day. Suffice it to say that late that evening two tired girls and two rather limp men met at the Care clu Nord and entrained for Calais, arriving safely back in I;or.don on the following morning. CHAPTER I,VI. THE LITTLE CHATELAINE. The trial of Grace Omer on the three fold charge of cruelty to her daughter, illegal restraint of Letbice, and blackmail of Lady Trevellan, came off almost at once. It caused a tremendous sensation. The dowager herself mnna'ged to j struggle up to the Exeter Assizes to , give her evidence. She refused to be deprived of this revenge at least upon ' one who had so foully misused her for 'eighteen long years. Lett-ice, Erie and Cole gave their evidence shortly, counsel on both sides doing all tliey j oould to spare Lett-ice's feelings. When tllie name of William Omer J was called counsel for the prosecution arose and addressed tlie judge. "M'lud," lie said. "Unfortunately we are unable to produce this witness": . . . . We have just heard that ho tumbled down stairs last- might while in a state of intoxication, and broke his neck. His evidence, however, would ibe superfluous. It would merely corroborate has signed confession — which has already ben read —and the evidence supplied by tllie Kensington Registry Office files." j At the conclusion the judge, summed \ ■ up briefly, but to the ipoint, and the j . jury returned a verdict of "guilty" on all tlhrce charges without leaving the box. i Grace Omer was accordingly sentenced to fifteen years penal servitude —the -utmost he was allowed by law to give, as the judge explained. With a contemptuous laugh, Omer suffered herself to be led out of the box and 1

; that is the end of her as far as this story is concerned. 1 A fortnight later, St. George's , Church, Hanover Square, was the scene of a. brilliant double wedding. J'lio story of Erie's romance and tHie . pluck of 'his pretty little bride was by . | this time known (to ail London, and a . Ihtige throng filled the church, over- . ' flawing into the square. | Lettice and Adelaide ciune in for a. l salvo of rousing cheers as they drove : «I>, it ho newspapers having made Lettico a very popular heroine. Norman and Eric lh:ad to find 'best men' else- ] where, after a 1 l v but they had no dif- ! fic it Ley in doing so. Lady Trevellan, though greatly exhausted 'by all she I had gone through, attended the cere- ! mony and the subsequent reception at | Hit/ Hotel in Piccadilly. J "I am quite ready to go back to Tre- | vellan Castle and die now," ahe said quaintly to one of the great crowd that congratulated her. "I have realised tho of my life—l have i seen my dear son married to tho girl •he loves, and I have nothing more to Jive for.!' *'* * # * Two years have passed away, with tlhem the old do wager has gone to her last rest, Trovel'lan Castle, now thor. oughly overhauled from top to bottom', is in new tends. Enic Trevellan is the owner and Lady Trevellan the sweet young chatelaine. Having attained theago of twenty-one she is a rich young lady, too. But both 'her (and iher adoring (husband shold sway to the. real master of the castle —ia pink and white person upstairs in a lordly cradle, watched over with reverential eyes by our old friend, Mrs Parfitt. There is also an undernurse an the establishment, a young girl who lias responded wonderfully to good treatment, and dareful training. Her name is Margaret. She hlas been iprovided with this home and situation ibv Lettice's special request, and it is hard to say which she worships itih.e more —iher misi tress or the bonny, chubby, twelveI month old boy. | It .is a liappy and very different es~ j tablishment nowadays, for great alj terations luave been made in the castle, i The chapel no longer exists, and all j the 'turret apartments have been swept I out of existence. Tho underground | chambers have been walled up for ever. I The Lime Tree Walk has given place to a magnificent expanse of lawn-tennis [ courts. There as a tennis party going on this | very afternoon. Adelaide and her fond J [ husbia.nd are '.stayinig at the castle. He J | is very well off, "and they often slip I ''down ifor the week-end. f [ A crowd of young people are laughing land chatting, while the more vigorous are playing tennis. Some happy-1 looking girls made their way to Lettice I and led by the young lady, Lettice's school friend, are asking to bo allowed to;see "His [Majesty, Eric the Second, . tlhe king of the castle," as they laughingly term him. Lettice sends -for Mrs Parfitt, and ■ presently a chorus of delighted admiration greets the a nival of a small mite of liumia.nity duly arrayed in best, bib and tucker. There .is a little glitter 011 one of Lettice's fingers as she takes her precious hurden from the nurse's arms. "Oh, Lettice, if it's not rude, why do you always wear that funny ring with the Burmese ruby in it? it's all wound round with 'wool, ttioo." "Ah!' sap; Lettice, and smiles mysteriously. "Ah!' ways her son, and deliberately chuckles. THE END.