GRAND SERIAL STORY. JUDGMENT.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 28, 24 September 1920, Page 5

GRAND SERIAL STORY. JUDGMENT.

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Ifor new readers. jOHN MILLBANK, a successfol, ,ut stern jadge, quarrels with hia ony son, CK, who leaves his father's house to Sirht his own way in the world ; and Mlst serving with the Australian Bpgent, under the name of Dick foster, he meets, and falls in love TTY, the adopted daughter of Sir fohn. However, Sir John has aranged for her marriage with RD HAVERHAM. In a moment of lespair, Kitty writes to Dick, asking iim to meet her in the Blue Room at livercourt Mansions. At the appointi honr, Lord Haverham goes to ti® lue Room to write some letters, and, tibeknown to the guests, Sir John eets him there. An altercation -iSes between the two men, resulting ; the accidental death of Lord Havhani. Later, Dick arrives in the lue Room, is caught and accused of mrder, and found gnilty. Whilst assing the sentence of death, Sit ohn recognises the prisoner as hia ; wn son Jack! A few days later, ' lir John interviews the prisoner at ;is private residence under escort- of ie warders, and tells him he will £lve to serve at least three years' im•isonment. Just as they are leavtg, Dick with the assistance of Kitty takes his escape, and that night they .ecide to drive into Winnerleigh; but ■he car breaks down, and they are Eorced to accept the hospitality of 1AUM0NT CHASE, a millionaire. fhe following morning, Dick's hosfcinionns him that Sir John had called during the night and taken his daughter away, Dick, believing this story, Jeaves that morning for Winnerleigh. Kitty goes down to breakfast, and is cross-examined by Mr Chase, but on his promise of assistance tells him the whole story. At a fabulous . price Mr Chase engages the servioe3 of PELHAM WEBB, a ciever but unicrupulous detective, to find Dick Foster, and extracts a promise from Kitty not to attempt to see or write to ler lover until a year has elapsed. 3eiham Webb discovers Dick, and unleknown to Beaumont Chase, takes liin to the latter's residence where he is installed as gardener. Sir John and titty arrive at Beaumont Hall, and beaumont Chase loses no time in asking >ir John for the hand of his daughter. hr John consents. That afternoon Kitty receives news that the gardener 1 seriously injured. e.concluding paragraphs of last waek'a m8nt' rePnnted to refresh readers' ones. — But the money?" lut Hullo ! Hullo'" Z£T answer Mr Dixon Draka IrfiE qREATEST of these ts ■ love." y ihl 'M ^ew^^er^l, and indeed s, Dkk v feX* 1310 evidenc» of his 'JF. Jost® xephoad a® Tsomrer *|Ptaae and retenaed to tt© Ixb-

There he found Kitty, still clingmg to Sir John Millbank, and Beaumont Chase standing in the centre of the room in a threatening attitude, impatiently tapping the floor with his foot. It was Chase who addressed Dick as soon as he appeared. "I am glad you have come back, sir, " he said irritably. "Perhaps you will use your influence to induce your father to come to his senses. He still persists in. persuading my wife to refuse to fulfil the duty she owes to me. I think you will admit that 1 am not unreasonable when I protest against such an attitude, and that I am perfectly within my rights in bringing pressure to bear upon him." "Do you mind putting that in plain wordsj Mr Chase?" said Dick quietly. "With the greatest pleasure," retorted the other angrily. "What I mean is this. Sir John Mlilbank owes me four thousand pounds. I am willing to forget it or leave the payment to hig own convenience if he will adviae Kitty to act reasonably. If ha won't, he will have to pay me what he owes or be sold up. And, mark you, if I j am driven to it, I will have no mercy. I will make this eminent judge a bankrupt beggar, an outcast to all his friencts, and a laughing-stock to all his enemies. That's i what I mean, sir, and what is more, I don't mean to wait. I must have Sir i John's decision within five minutes. " "You canLave it now," safa Dick. "My father absolutely refuses the hatexul bargain you propose. Kitty will remain here in his house as long as it suits her convenience. As for the money you say — " He was interrupted by the sonorous ring. ing of the front-door bell. He paused Lut an instant, but there was a gleam in his eyes as he went on. "As for the money you say Sir John owes you, I should like further particulars." "Bah! The debt is not disputed. He owes me the money, and he hasn't got it. What's more, he can't get it and — " The door of the room opened, and a big, burly man caine puffing and blowing into the room. It was Dixon Drake. On seeing Dick he advanced towards him

and placed a bulky package in his hand. "There you are; my lad. I gathered from your remarks'on the 'phone you were in a hurry, so I came right alorig." Dick, without a word, took the package, tore it open with nervous fingers, and examined its contents. The crisp banknotes crackled musically as he fumbled them in his trembling hands. "Kindly count those," he said, handing the notes to Beaumont Chase. "I think you will find the amount correct. Then be good enough to give Sir John Millbank a receipt in full." Beaumont Chase, like oue in a dream, held the bundle of notes for a moment, and then flung it angrily on the floor. » "What nonsense is this? What trick — " he began furiously, and then stopped abruptly, becoming aware that the eyes of Dixon Drake were fixed on him. For a moment the two men stared at one another. Then Mr Drake burst into a delightod roar. "Beaumont Chase, as I live! Why, man, what a coincidence ! What a bit of luck ! Only a week ago I made a solemn promise that I would find you if you were above the earth. And now to come on you like this ! It's Providence. That's what it is — Providence ! ' ' "I" don't understand you, sir," said Chase coldly. "Your face seems vaguely familiar. We may have met, but I don't recollecto- " "Of course you don't. 1 was a no-ac-

count man in those days. I hadn't made my pile. But that's neither here nor there. You '11 be glad to see me when you hear my news. WhS do you think was my fellow-traveller on the boat over from Austra-Iia ?" "Really ?" 'Ha, ha! It's good news I have for you man. You wife is alive!" Beaumont Chase reeled like a man struck, and his face turned deatlily pale. "Are you mad?" he gasped. "Not a bit of it," replied Drake genially. "She was saved after all. Been living on one of the islands for eighteen months. A gunboat visited the island in July and picked her up, and now she's come to England to find you. We became great friends coming over, and I promised her — Why, man, what's the matter?" The face of the millionaire wore an expression of diabolical rage. "It's false!" he cried. "She's dead. I — I — She couldn't have been . saved. She Ke gripped at his collar as though he was choking. Then suddenly he roused himself, and stared at them all, from one to the other in a kind of stupefactioik Finally he broke into a bitter, mirthless laugh. "So this is the end of my romance. This is all I can buy with all my millions!" He looked fixedly at Kitty and took a step towards her. "You have beaten me, child," he said in a voice suddenly tender. "Fate has stepped in and played a card in your fav. our when the game seemed already mine. Well, so be it. Good luck, my little Kitty. Good luck, and — good-bye." Then turning from her swiftly he strode out of the room. For several moments there was a tense stillness in the room. Neither Kitty nor Dick looked at one another. The startling thing that had happened numhed their senses, and for a moment they hardly dared to realise all it meant. Dixon Drake was the first to speak. "It s,eems I've come as a sort of bombshell. I hope I haven't done any mischief." "Sir," cried Dick; "you have rendered a very great service, not only to all of us in this room, but to the cause of truth and justice. Amd now will you tell me why you have giveti me, a stranger, four thousand pounds?" "I haven't given it to you. Remember your promise, lad. Not that I mean to keep you to it. I'll buy the shares at a fair price, but you must let me have them." j "What shares?" "Good Heavens ! Don't you own a lot of shares in the Red Reef Mining Com- \ pany?" Dick laughed. "Oh, those! I bought - fifty pounds' worth ~ j They were only a few pence eaclr then, but when I left Australia they had dropped to nothing, and I nearly sold the lot for a tin of tobacco. j

"But you didn't?" "No. I held on. One never fcnows." "One never knows, indeed !" exclaimed Dixon Drake, with a great laugh. "Do you never read the papers? Those shares are soaring, man, and 'they '11 go higher. Your holding is* worth eighteen thousand pounds Mark you, not a penny more at the present market price. I expect you to let me have them at that figure." "Eighteen thousand pounds, did you say ?" said Dick slowly. "Eighteen thousand!" "They're yours," said Dick, and then he turned and looked at Kitty. j She was still standing close to Sir John Millbank in the shelter oi the old man s arm. j Dick advanced towards her timidly and took her hand. She did not resist, but her eyes were still downcast, and there was a buming blush in her cheelcs. When she finally raised her eyes it was not at Dick she looked, but into the haggard, pain-drawn face of the old judge. "Oh, daddy!" she said gently. "T will never leave you." He looked down at her and over the 1 stern old eyes came a mist of tears. I "My child," he said, as he gently stroked the fair curls from her Brow. "I do not deserve such happiness as this. All I my strength, all my cleverness, all my ' great ambitions came to nothing. They ! ended in ruin and disgrace. And now in | the hour of my defeat comes this joy, J this victory. And it comes not from any merit of my own, but from you two child.

ren. You two dear ones whom in my folly I did not know how to vaiue. Ah, child, I — I am faint." They helped him to a chair and stood by him one on either side, while Dixon Drake drew hack and watched the scene with curious, interested eyes. For some moments the old judge remain . ed silent, and seemed buried in deep thought. i. I Then he looked up, and a serene expresi sion came into hig face as he met the ' steadfast gave of his son. j "Jack," he said in a low voice, "have 1 ! disgrased the old name too much ; or will I you take it again ? I am near my end. I wonder — will you forgive me?" J "Father!" exclaimed the young man with emotion, "let there be no talk of i forgiveness between us. Heaven knows we ' have both had much to bear. Try to get j well, and I promise you I will try to be a good and dutiful son." The old man smiled, and taking his son's hand, joined it to Kitty's. "Thank Heaven I have lived to see this hour,' he said solemnly, "my son and my more than daughter. All my great schemes, my dreams of power, seem very trivial now. Wisdom has come late to me! And I thought myself so wise. The judge.

ment I , passed on so many was at last passed on me. I have been punished, and now my eyes are clear, and I know that the only real power in this world is the power of love. All else is vanity." A month later Jack Millbank — for the name Dick Foster, which he had borne so long he now relinquished for ever — beeame the liusband of Kitty ; and the young lovers long-deferred dream of happiness was at last realised. The old judge still lives with tliem, and. will live with them till he d'es. Men still speak of his greatness in the past and oi the success he once enjoyed, but at such talk Judge Millbank only | smiles. He has tasted power, and he has tasted worldly success, and he knows what they are worth. "'Ah, Kitty," he will say sometimes t his daughter-in-law, "my only real suocesa in life was in having a son worthy to be your husband ; and my only real happinesa is in seeing how fond you are of oi>e> am other." Then Kitty will reply with a smile aa she kisses him. "Dear daddy, Jack was always so won* desrful. I knew he must have a wonderful father somewhere." THE END. .. .• . ®