Men were Deceivers Ever.

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1030, 2 July 1904, Page 4

Men were Deceivers Ever.

BY EDITH FRANCIS,

Authoress o! " Sinned Against and Sinning'," » Love in Idleness," etc, oto.

. CHAPTER ll.—Continued L ' Aline sighed and let the subjoob drop. Jaok she had always likod, perhaps un- j consciously loved, in a shy, innocont way, but now he seemed a long way off; she saw him but through a glass darkly, and ; Neil was present, and all her young heart turned to him. The baronet, however, having ontored on a theme which for some time ho had been considering wont' on talking, whilst his daughter's thoughts strayod, for the time wbb slipping by, and Neil had promised to oall that afternoon, The stable clook was striking four when she saw him riding up tho avenue, but with love comes discretion, and it «as not till she was quito euro that, neither voice nor face showed the joy-a joy which was almost ft pftin—Bho h't that sho drow her father's attention to. tho arrival nf Captain Denton. ~ He was v/alking his horses up the 'avenue, and. boibg n good horseman, '■'■ seemed to the girl, whoso fresh voung -heart beat only for him, liko a fabled hero of time gone by. . ' As Sir Qodfroy raisod his hand lo shield ■- \ hiß oyes from the sun she shrank behind '■': : ;~ "him so that he might not seo her face _ > "You are .right. Aline," he said. ",And lam deuoed glad lo see him I

want him too look at that fouryoar-old I have just taken tip from grass. Bun in, dear, and tell one of the servants to ] /take bis horse round to the stables," ~'i The girl, glad of tho obanco to compose 'herself, tripped away and entered tho honso by a side foor. ■ln a few minutes Neil Denton was shaking hands with the baronet and and wondering what had become of Aline, whom he had seen beside tier father as he rode up the approaob. The baronet's welcome was hearty, but to Neil Denton's dismay he was carriod off • at once to see the four-year-old. However, he was recompensed for this by au invitation to stay to'dinner. *" Aline must donor boat to entertain you for a couple of hours," Sir Godfrey remarked, as they returned to the garden ■ \ "I have to see a tenant of mine, a far- " met. They are all a grumbling lot, and ''■'■, this one deolares that his barM are rick* ety and his house failing down, bo tho ' ohanoej'aro that I sha'l have to drive over and look at the place myself, lean take you with me if you prefer it." But the young man declared that he would be well contented to lounge about the gardon with Miss St Glare. !%t : It was the moment both had been looking forward to, and yet the captain bad to 1 waii with the best patience he might for \ for nearly an hour before Aline appeared, ~ . For she had gone to heVown room, and :''.'■ , had been peeping through'jthe curtains in a delightful tremor of expectation, wnteh l '' jhg her lover as he Strode to and fro in tho gardens below, ',, .How handsome be wis, what la dear, strong manly felow, and how sweet it was to know that he waa waitjng for her, that she. just a weak girl though she was, had powor to influenco him for good and evil, to "twist him round her

littie finger," as the saying is. » And being but a woman, Aline gloried in the thought, and went to.,her glass a dozen times to make qhite'jjiM she wai looking her best and that"'(he touoh of colour in her vest was quite the moßt.be* _/ at last courage to'face his dear oyeß,'6 see tho'lovo light kindle in theifftepths,and so, longing to be with yet(,t*erribly tempted to run away, she wint out of the house and across the sunny lawn to meet him. Even then she'feignod suprise, and protended that she thought he bad gone with her father. " "Am I tOijderstand that you are - Borry I have n'6lfgshe ?" he asked " I have been strolling half an hour up and down i and grudging every moment that I passed i alone," 1 ; : She blushed, and he who had read many a woman's heart saw that he bad virtually gained the victory. Only the day before she would havo received his implied compliments with seeming indifference, at the most with a smile. : He led her, as if inadvertently, away from tho house, into the shady pathß of shrubbery, ' • • Here in a secluded nook, where a rustic ; Beat tempted them to rest he told her of his love. How that he had sprung up in his heart the first time that hisoyes had rest- '. Ed on her; How that it had grown day by day, ' hour by hour, till he could hold his secret no longer. It was in her hands whether his fututo life proved a happy ono or not, » '.< As ho spoke, his arm crept round her waist and drew her nearor to him, whilst his honeyed words were whispered in her ears, and she, with half opened lips, and misty ejjes, drank in every word he spoke, ' Her,,heart beat fast, and her breast heaved with this new focling, this, as yet nnfelt passion, which each minute was changing her from the impassive, girl to the impassioned woman. She loved and was bolofod! And if there is a paradise on earth, first love is this. Her head drooped on his shoulder. She felt the burning kisses on hercheoks and her lips, Time was forgotten, All else was forgotten in the dreamy ecstasy of the moment. She was awakened from her dream by the voice of her father calling • her name, Both she and her lover sprang to their feet, and the lattor, to give her a few minutes' time to recover herself, led hor down ono of the inoesy paths ' reaohed an opon spaoe whero a stone Bundial stood, and near which was an aviary, ■ in which strutted golden pheasants, Aline's latest /fancy . . , The baronet's voice sounded nearer and • nearer, and tho girl's voice failed her, Neil

1 had to answor the call. ; , Thej were standing a littlo apart. Aline stooping down to <stroko the gleaming plumage of one of her pets when Sir Godrey appeared. " Well, so hero you aro," ho said, " I thought, Captain Denton, that you had carried off my little girl. Has aha managed to amuse you whilst I have been away ?" " The lime always passes quickly in Miss Clare's Company,". was Neil's "• ' answer, The baronet laughed good humouredly. " You must not spoil her by euoh open flattery. lou must remember Denton that this yoang lady is convent bred, and nnnsed to hear words which other girls are accustomed to, and value at their own fforth. Wby tho child is actually blush-> ing. Come away, you young people, for dinner will be served in a few, minutes.' "And thefaroer, sir?" Neil asked in order to Bave Aline from further bandu l« naee. " Have you stopped his grumbling by promising to build him new barns ?" »He has made me promise to do some* thing of the sort. lam too good-matured . I ought to have taken yon along toproteot '■!'■■■ me," /■•■■"'"* ''Thank you, Sir Godfroy. I don't like '.' grumbling farmers," said Neil as they 1; ; -f reached the house.

It was a very pleasant dinner to althree. The baronot had an oscollent appetite and had nothing to of moment to troublo him. Captain Denton had come to the con* elusion thaa Sir Godfrey had thrown him and his daughter together with a purposo and felt pretty certain in his mind as to being aole to gain his consent to their marriage', In abeaaiful vision be saw himself no longor persecuted with duns, Ho would, naturally, quit the Bervice, ] and, with a flat in London, and the Abbey to run down to at all times, and a rich fatheriin'*law behind him, ho considered Limsblf done with troubles and worries. As for Aline, she was perfectly happy Hstoning to her lover's talk, and stealing shy glauces at him from time to time. To be continued,)