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BY

MR S

A LEXA NDER

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.

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A DMIR A L S

WA R D

A 7 BA Y

B EA T ON S BA R G A IN

BY

W OMA N

WIT

H ER ITA G E O F LA NG DA LE

SE C OND LIFE, A

C ONKE Y C OMP A N Y

A l

BAY

C HAP TER ]:
STRIKING THE TBAIL.

PARIS on a brigh t April morning Can any city make a

b right er braver show u nder a cl ear bl u e s ky and a bril
l iant sun the chestn uts in t he Champs El ys e es and T uil
erie s gardens bursting into bl oom the owe r market o f
the Madel eine a mass o f col or e x h ali ng del icio u s perfume
the f air purchasers in the r st freshness o f their sprin g
att ire the tide of business and o f pl easure at the full est
It is a si ght t o ll any he art tol erably free from
oo d
pressi ng anxi ety wi th an irresistibl e sense o f yo uth
Though the month was still young the weath er was
warm enough t o make Open window s an agreeabl e ad
dition to th e comfort o f a pretty lit tl e s alon in th e e ntre s ol
of Me uri ce s hotel where an e l derl y l ady was seated at a
tabl e on which a dainty d ej e u ne r and a co upl e o f bottl es

inscri bed respectively Mosell e and Pomard was l ai d

.

ou t.

She

was not hand so m e never coul d have b een h and

some her face was broad and st rong w ith sm all twinkl ing
bl ack eyes and a heavy jaw Her gure still showed
trace s o f the sym metry f or which s he had been remarkabl e
and the hand s he had st retched ou t t o tak e another oyster
was ne bo th in shape and col or Her rich bl ack silk
dress the l ace o f her cap the jewel s on he r ngers all her
surroundings i nd icated weal th he r expression comf ort
abl e sel f satisfaction
She nished her oyst er with an air o f enjoym ent and
th en l ooking at her watch murmured he is l ate
as she
oke the door was opened and a waiter announced M
,

,
,

213 5991

AT B AY

The visitor was a tall broad shoul dered man, o f pe rhaps

thirty v e or more, wi th very dark hair, eyes , and com
pl exion, well dressed and easy in his bearing and mov e
ments, yet not l ooking quite like a cl ub or a drawing
-

room man

Thi s is not your usual punctu ali ty Hugh sai d the

l ady s m il ing benignl y as s he stretched o ut a wel com i ng

h and but you make your o wn puni shment 1 Ti m e tide

and v ol c u ve nts wait for no man

I have a thousand apol ogies t o make ! Yo u may b e

sure the del ay was unavoidabl e or I shoul d not have kept

yo u waiting

Bu t I have not waited ! Take some oystersand

th en tell me what has kept you if it is a di screet qu e s

tion
Perfectly No oysters thank you Do not l e t me
del ay the routine o f your d j e u ne Just as I was l eaving
the Bo urse I ran against Deering of De nl i am who in

siste d o n walki ng al mos t to t he door with me

Travers Deering ? I did not know he was in Paris

Is Lady Frances with him ?

She is for he honored me with an invitation to di nner
to morrow mentioning that Lady Frances woul d be very
gl ad to s e e me I was engaged however ; I don t nd
dining wi th Travers Deering a cheerful occupation
Tho u gh Lady France s keeps a brave front there is a pro

found sadness i n her eyes or I fancy there is

Fancy ! yes ; I s uspect your fancy is tol erably vi vi d

still Now eat your luncheon and we will tal k presentl y

She proceeded to pres s various dainties on her guest who
ate moderatel y

I don t think you c are for good things as much as I

do s ai d the hostess l eaning back in her chair ; I am

al ways vexed with peopl e who don t care what they eat
it sh ows de ciency o f brain power Now tell me
hav e

you succeeded this morning ?

Ye s h e returned with a sm il e as h e poured o u t

another h al f gl ass o f Pomard ; I have dispo sed of all

your Honduras shares not at par b ut at a triing de

crease Here drawing o u t hi s pocket book

are bill s
and notes to the amoun t o f fteen h u ndred po unds I
am glad you are out of the co n cern, you might have l o s t
.

'
s rm m

o TH E

TR AIL

doubl e t he

am ount ; pray avoid th ese foreign b ubbl e

co mp anies in future none o f them are to be trusted

L ady G e thin none that off er h igh interest are

My dear Hugh I never will do anyt hing without your

advice again I have had a perfect nightmare abo ut these
horrid thi ngs I am no miser but I hate to l ose money
I am very gl ad you managed t o get rid o f these shares so
soon for I want to go back to London to morrow ; the
rooms I have had al tered in that ol d house o f mine are

ready I am dying to furnish them

Well yo u had better post this money to your bankers

and register yo ur l etter than carry it abo ut with yo u

Yes it wo ul d be th e b e st pl an S hall you stay here

m uch l onger ?
Some li t tl e time I h ave a special mission t o ex ecute

f or the House which may keep me a few weeks

Be s ure yo u come and see me directl y you return ;

and do go and see Lady Frances Deering s he woul d be a
charming woman if she l e t hersel f go I was alway s
interested in h er
Why can t sh e get o n with Deering ?
h e i s good l ookin g well bred well thought of and not

very much ol der than hersel f

Perhaps she does get on with hi m s aid Gl ynn

I used not to care for Deering repl ied Lad y G e thin

He h ad a q u arrel wi th a co u sin whom I li ked very m u ch
and who was kill ed afterwards poor fell ow
I have f or
got ten what t he qu arrel was abouta woman I think and
I have an idea Travers b ehaved badl y but he is qui te an
irreproachabl e personage now and monstro usl y civil to
me especiall y since poor dear Sir Peter b equeathed me
all his real and pers on al property
Then you know we

are s econd co u s m s two or thr ee times removed

O h indeed ! Well h e is very civil to me to o and I

am certainl y no rel ati on bu t

Ah a ! you are dearer than kith or kin interrupted

L ady G e thin ; you can give hi m nanci al tips and

chance s o f turning I won t say an honest pe nny but
s impl e hu ndreds into spl endi d thousands by the vari ed
sources o f inf ormati on you comm an d Ah l were I a man
I shoul d l ike t o b e a nanci er whi ch is high fal uti n f or
s tock broker

Glynn s m il e d
I h av e had v e ry f e w b us ine ss trans
,

B AY

Ar

ti ons with D eering or for hi m H e is weal thy enough

with out hel p from any one By the way he is more
inammabl e than I im agined ; we were at th e Aute u il
race s together the day before yesterday and wh en saun
tering ab out we were both struck by a girl wh o was in an
Open carriage with two other l adi es ; she was certainl y
pretty more than prettyand Deering seemed qu ite
fascinated he coul d not keep away It was no t like his
usu al cool hi gh bred indifference t o all m un d ane things
t o go back again and ag ain to st are at th e young l ady

for you know he is rather a de cent fell ow as men go

You don t s ay s o !
cried Lad y G e t hi n with keen

in t erest
What woul d Lady Frances have said ?
The l ast time we went t o l ook at the bright particul ar

star she and her party had l eft th eir carri age continued

Glynn
Deering then seemed to pull him self togeth er
and t o remember he was not al one but I coul d s e e he
was desperately vexed t o have l ost sight of her though
h e tri ed to l au gh at himself and sai d sh e was wonder
fu ll y like some one he used to kn ow I was both surprise d
and amused by his manoeuvres I l eft him before the
l ast race and I rather f ancy h e was go ing to renew his

s earch for her

no doubt thereby hangs a

Al i ! said Lady G e thin

tal e
Perhaps s o Th e yo ung l ady h owever i s very young
littl e more than s eventeen o r eighteen and s he certainl y

did not recogniz e hi m nor even notice him

The wisest have their weak moments observed Lady

I certainl y have never

G e thi n wi th an air o f wi sdom
h eard any q u eer stories about Deering Did you see any
o ne e l se you knew at Auteuil
A few second rate racin g men and George Verner

O h be generall y haunts th e Deerings when he is not

Aft e r a good de al more talk partly business

at sea

l
part y wittily tol d scan d al Gl ynn rose t o take l eave
I
dine at the C af e de Fl orence to day with Captain Methvi n

and Mad ame Gauthi er will you join us ?

I am unfortunate ly already engaged so mus t forego

that pl easure said Glynn

I sh all s e e yo u then as soon as you return to L ondon

and b e sure yo u te ll me an ything fre sh about the De erin gs
ac

"

sm

mm

T HE

TRAIL

don t f ancy th ere will be any exciting e sclandre in

If the weat her continues as ne as it has
that quart er
be en f or t he l ast few days yo u will have a pl easant jour

ney Good morni ng Lady G e thin

When Glynn l eft the hotel he walked briskl y f or a f ew
minutes towards the Louvre then he graduall y rel axed hi s
pace 3 his thoug hts disengaged themselves from his su r
roun di ngs and pre se nted hi m with a picture they had
frequ entl y mirrored during the l ast three days
After m aking a few purch ases at the bookstall s o f t he
Pal ais Roy al he made his way do wn the Rue St Honor
nall y comi ng to a hal t at the crowded crossing Opposite
th e Madel e ine where the contrary currents com i ng from
the Boul evards meet the trib utary tide of the Rue Roy al e
He was in no hurry it am u sed him to see the huge omni
b uses di sgorging their contents ; t o watch eager women
wi th parcel s and refractory chil dren tightl y hel d b y the
h and make ineff ectual dashe s at the Opposi te s hore and
come scurrying back again baf ed b ut sti ll re sol ute To
Observe the l ittl e o w e r girl s pl ying their trade and h ear
the sharp bargaining between th em and their customers
Suddenl y however his eyes brightened th e expression
O f a l azy l ooker o u vanished and was repl aced by one of
keen vivid interest as his gl ance fell on the original of
the picture whi ch had haunted him since the day o f th e
races at Auteuil A sl ight girl ish g ure in a pal e gray
dress ; a mantl et o r s carf edged with bl ack l ace drawn
cl osel y round her she was crowned by a prett y l ittl e hat
al so bordered with bl ack l ace and adorned wi th a large
bouquet Of primroses and tufts Of narrow bl ack velvet
ribbon U n d er the hat beamed a pair o f thoughtful
earnest dark bl u e eyes
eyes that
l arge and l u strous
none coul d pass un noticed ; l ong lashes ; di stinct but
del icate eyebrows a cl ear pal e compl exion a sweet
though not very small mo uth and abu n d ant light gol den
brown hair made up a whol e that might have at tracted
th e attention o f even a more potent grave and reverend

S ignor than Travers Deeri ng o f Denh am

This was the face and gur e that had dwel t in Hu gh
Gl ynn s imagin ation since he had r st seen th em In any
cas e he must have noticed s o fair a gi rl ; b ut there was
s omething in th e e ff e ct sh e produced on D eering that
I

AT B AY

impre s sed him

with a curious sense

of

inte re st

and

un

easiness
He had laughed at his o wn condition o f m i nd as a silly
after gl ow of boyish foll y unworthy his experience and
maturity Yet there w as a wonderful charm in the soft
grace of her quiet movements and accu stomed as he had
be e n to women who rarely stirred o u t u nattended he
l ooked round t o ascertain if this del icate ren ed creature
NO ! she was
had no companion no bonne or chaperon
quite al one Three times whil e he watched her s he
attempted to cross the street and thr ee times she return
ed b af e d Glynn coul d not l ose s u ch a chance adv anc
ing to her s ide he raised his hat and said with grave
politeness :
There is an unusual crowd will you al l ow me t o see

you saf el y to the other si d e ?

She raised her wonderful eyes to hi s with a sl ightl y
s tartl ed b u t frank expression

Yes s he said simpl y in exactl y the l ow cl ear tones

that might be expected from her

I shall be very gl ad

Keep cl ose to me retu rned Gl ynn and seizin g a l ull

in the trafc he pil oted her to the pavement in front o f
the Madel eine

The reason of the strongest is al ways the best s he

said quoting La Fontaine aptl y in his own l anguage

I
shoul d never have had resol ution to seize that Oppor
.

,
.

tu ni t y

I thi nk I speak to a countryw oman remarked Glynn

Yes I consider myself Engl ish I am very much

obliged Good morning

This decidedl y though po
.

lit e l y
Glynn
.

felt himself obliged t o rel inqui sh an eagerl y

formed intention Of drawing her into conversation He
co ul d not thrust hi msel f u pon a l ady and he felt strongl y
disposed to bel ieve that hi s new acquaintance was thor
oughl y a l ady tho u gh a knowl edge o f l ife in most Euro
pean capital s disposed hi m t o suspend his judgm ent He
foll owed her at a l ittl e dis tance as she threaded her way
thr ough the booths whi ch shelter the ow e r s ell ers and
their fragrant wares till s he reached one where sh e was
apparentl y greeted as a regul ar customer by its wrinkl ed
Th en with a ce rtain degree of contempt f or his
owner
.

'
IRIKIN

TR AIL

G TH E

weakness he t urned resol utel y away and w al ked down

the new Boul evard Mal esherbes
He had not gone far when his attention was attracted
by a g ure advancing with a somewhat sl o u ching gait to
wards hi m a m an of scarcel y mid dl e height but broadl y
and strongly buil t well thou gh rather showil y dressed
hi s trousers tight bel ow the knee and l oose above his c u t
away coat bright col ored neckti e and l ow crowned hat
had a horsey aspe ct a broad s u n burnt face with well
trimm ed but coarse red mo u staches and hair a blunt
resol ute nose sharp l ight eyes the lids p u ckered as i f
from trying to l ook at strong s u nl ight gave him an air o f
intense know ingness all these seemed somewhat familiar
to Glynn as was al so a cert ain expression o f l azy good
natur e which softened the ru ggedness o f his aspect
Whil e Gl ynn was struggl ing to answer the question
with which we have all p u zzl ed ourse lves at o ne time o r
another
Where have I seen that f ace
its owner
stopped su ddenl y before him excl aiming Mr Glyn n ! if

I am no t greatl y mistaken I hope I see you well s ir

The voice and accent which were pecul iar neither
French nor Engl ish nor American though a l ittl e Of all
with an undertone o f s omethi ng th at was none o f the
thr ee brought back to Gl ynn as by magic certain pas
sages o f his l ife ten years before a big crowded g am
bl ing sal oon in the Far West dim with tobacco smoke
an d hot with gas l ights reekin g with the fumes of strong
drink and echoing wit h the din o f strange oaths su ddenl y
rose from o u t the caverns o f memory a conf u sion o f
st ru ggl ing gu res a hand t o hand conict the man before
hi m g all antl y backing hi m in a de sperate ght t o reach
the door
Mr Merrick I had no i dea you were at thi s si de o f

the Atl antic !

I have been more than once at this side Of th e Atl antic
si nce we met l ast Y ou know all good Yanke es hope t o go
t o Paris not onl y when they di e b u t a considerabl e few
times before that event I m right gl ad to meet you and
b efore going further I beg to observe that I have ass um
ed (he said as hum e d
another name since I had th e
pl easure of seeing you z or rather I have reverted to my
a
t
ron
m i c, whi c h wa s a deuced deal too ood f or
Ori i n al
g
p
y
g
own

10

AT

RAY .

the ra amongst wh om we were temporaril y engul fed to

mo uth Al l ow me with an el egant air he drew forth a
note book and pre sented a c ard engraved Captain Lam

bert
Tim es have changed
27 Ru e de L ev e qu e
for the better wi th me and I am now e stabli s h ed here

permanently

Gl ad to hear it Captai n Lam b ert sai d Glynn amus

ed by the rencontre Then gl ancing at th e card You

are no l onger o n active service ?

No in a sense no Life is al ways more or l e ss a bat
but for the present the bugl es sing tru ce and I am
tl e
e njoying well earned rest in the society o f my daughter
and onl y chil d to whom I shall be del ighted to introduce

an est eemed comrade if you will all ow me to say s o

You are very good ! I sh all be happy t o make the

young l ady s acqu aintance

And yoursel f s ir ? I fancy yo u have b een l ooki ng up
to o there s an ai r of success O f s ol id respectabili ty eh ?

worthy o f a churchwarden about you !

Yes I may s ay I am now a s ober citizen of f am o us

L ondon
I bel ieve you and I am right gl ad to hear it I sh all
yet sal ute you as Lord Mayor Of London
Turn again
Whittington hey ? Where do you p u t up ? Ill call and
get you to x a day t o di ne with us b ut for th e pre sent I
must bid you good morning for I promi s ed to meet my
daughter at the ow e r market and I never keep her wait

ing Eh ! by Jove here she is

Struck by the s u dden joyous l ighting u p and softening
Of his interl oc utor s eyes Glynn turned to s e e the caus e
and found hi m self face to face with th e beauty of
Au te uil
Sel dom had h e b een so surpri se d and it must be con
fessed shocked as when he saw this ch arm ing ideal crea
ture smil e back aff ect ionately t o the rowdy l ooking nomad
who cl ai med her as his chil d whom he remembered as
o ne of an adventurous gang ready ali ke with dice bo x or
revolver barely ten years ago

I tho u ght yo u had forgotten me sh e said slipping

h er hand thro ugh hi s arm
Forgotten yo u ? N 0 faith ! you must bl ame my
This is an Ol d acquai nt
frie nd he re, if I am a trie late
,

STRIKING T H E

1)

TR AIL

my dear we have faced death together more than

onc e and a better pluckier co m rade no man need wish

f or Mr GlynnMiss Lambert
Glynn raised his hat with profound respe ct

He has already be friended m e she returned gazing

at him wi th a pretty surprised b ewil dered l ook in her

I shoul d still have been waiting to cro ss

l arge eyes

th ere at Madel eine had he not escorted me

L am bert gave a quick questioning gl ance at his
daughter s open smil ing face and then excl aim e d
I
am innitely obli ged to you sir ; innitel y begad ! I tell
you what El sie you mu st n t b e o ut so l ate in the d ay by
yoursel f Why don t you take the bonne with you or wait
till I come in
Oh it is su ch waste o f time waiting for a chaperon on
a ne day but we sh all be t o o l ate to s ec ure pl aces if we
ance ,

d e l av

Yes we had better be j og gi ng Can you dine with

And we ll have a talk over o l d times and my
u s to day ?
girl will give us a song or two Pot l uck my de ar fell ow
but you shan t starve

Many thanks I am engaged unf ortunately returned

Glynn half pl eas ed hal f regretful that he had a real ex
cu se ready
Well to morrow then at s ix sh arp and we will go

an d hear the new ope re tte at the Comiq u e after

You are very good I sh all be most happy sai d

Glynn with an irresi stibl e impul se as if some voice not
his own answered for him
Well good bye for the present By the way wh ere
do you hang out ? What s your hotel ? Wagr am very

good
He swept O ff hi s hat in continental styl e and his
daughter best owed a bow and smil e upon Gl ynn which
conveyed to him in some occul t manner the i mpression
that it p leased her to thi nk he was a friend O f her father
How in the name o f al l that was contradictory did he
come to have su ch a daughter ? Fro m the crown of her
head t o he r dainty shoes she l ooked thoroughl y a gentl e
woman More di stinguished than fashi onabl e in styl e
and s o del ightfull y t ranquil in pose and manner
I hate
chattering animated women thou ght Gl ynn wi th that
re adi ne ss t o c on de m n e veryt hin g d iff ere nt from t he attrae
.

"

12

AT B AY

tion of the m om ent pe cul iar t o the stronger and m ore

l o gi cal sex
It was to o dr eadful t o think Of s o fai r a creature wh o
l ooked the incarnation O f high toned pu rity being sur
rounded by a swarm o f sharpers for that Lambert alias
Me ni ck and a dozen other names pro bably coul d have
e ver settl ed down t o sober h onest work seemed im pos
,

Glynn dived deep into the recesses of hi s memory t e

c all ing al l the circumstances O f hi s former acquaintance
with Merrick or Lamb ert and necessaril y re viewing hi s
o wn lif e al so
He had l ost his parents in b oyhood but was l eft well
provided for and had been careful ly educated taking a
creditabl e degree at Oxford shortl y before coming Of age
Then came a spell of w an d ering of high pl ay o f rage f or
cost l y excitement which with a l ove Of specul ation beg
gared him in a few years This clim ax found him in
New York and for a considerabl e time h e was put to
strange shifts to m ak e ou t a l iving f or h e woul d not beg
he was t oo tru e a gentl eman t o stoop t o dishonesty but
he was by no means ashamed to d ig or to do any work
worthy an honorabl e man During hi s desperate struggl e
wit h fortune he joined an expl oring expedition and found
himse l f among queer companions in o ne o f tho se wonder
f u l improvised far western towns whi ch spring up mush
room like al most in a night having spent the l ittl e money
he had scraped together in his attempt t o reach it after
th e fail ur e and dispersion of the prospecting p arty he
h ad been induced t o join
O n the road h e h ad fall en in wi th Merrick wh om h e
f ound frien dl y hel pful and not without gl eam s of good
and of decency So for a week or two they kept together
Fortune befriended Glyn n at the gambl ing tabl es till t he
row occurred with which Merri ck was so in s eparably a ss o
c i ated and which aros e o u t o f Gl ynn s extraordinary run
o f l uck at which th e m ix ed company of m iners expl orers
d esperadoes and rui ans took o ff ence Finding th e pl ace
rather t o o hot f or s af ety Gl ynn and hi s new fri end parted
co mpany the former m aking his way to S an Francisco
whence he sail ed for Australia where aft er vari ous ad v e n
ture s he was agree ably surpris ed, by se e ing an adve rtis e
,

S TR IKING

TR A IL

TH E

13

m ent in th e Tim e s requesting hi m to com muni cate with a

well known rm o f soli citors in London
The resul t
roved
that
hi s un cl e the l ate Sir P e ter G e thi n had l e ft
'
m a handsome l egacy
Th e l ate Baronet had been a partner in a great banki ng
and money l endin g hou s e ; Gl ynn el ected to l e t his capital
remai n inve sted in th e concern Hi s varied experience
in specul ati ve communi ties hi s knowl edge o f modern
l an gu age s and his training gener al ly m ad e hi m a val u
a bl e acqui sition to th e rm rst as an empl oy and after
a few years as a junior partner
He was frequentl y
despatched to conduct complicated transactions with for
e ign hou s e s t o inquire into the val idity Of di stant s chemes
to test the prac ticality o f proposed un dertakings He
had thoroughl y sown his wil d oats and had devel oped
ambit ion se lf respect sel f c o n de nce but unknown t o
hi m sel f the spring o f imagin ative passion which had been
the cause of all his misfortunes and most of his pl eas ure
was onl y covered in not exhausted and l ay there ready
t o bubbl e up an dwell over into a strong current at th e
touch of the divining rod
Perhaps it w as some hidden sym pathy arising from thi s
l atent warmth that made hi m s o great a favorite wi th his
uncl e s wid o w a shrewd worldl y vol tai rean woman well
born and well bred
who escape d from povert y and de
pe nd e nce by accepting th e position o f wedded nurse to
the aged gouty city kni ght Sir Peter G e t hin
It was l ong since Glyn n had been so ro u sed and inte r
e s t e d and the acquaintance s on whom he c all ed that after
noon found him unusuall y animated and agreeabl e All
through a s omewhat sol emn di nner at the house o f a
great Frenc h banker he w as buoyed up by the pro spe ct
o f th e diff erent ki nd o f festivity whi ch awaited him next
day There was something c u riousl y stimul ating in thi s
encounter with hi s Ol d Cal ifornian acqu ai ntance thus
swept into such incongruous s u rroundi ngs by the eddying
current life s stre am How di d he come t o have such a
daughte r ? What matter ! enough t hat there woul d be s o
charming an ingre di ent in the morrow s pl easure As for
hi s own ru de nce sel f control worl dl y wi sdomit never
cro ssed i s mind t o doubt them HO woul d pose as a
cal m spe ctator study the uzzl e O ff ered t o hi s o bse rvati o n,
p
,

AT BAY

14

and if nece ssary le t Merri ck or Lambert know th e e xact

position o f Deering shoul d he ever cross their path
The weather was sti ll cal m bright warm when h avi ng
drawn a li ght p al etot over his evening dress Glynn l eft
hi s hotel preferring to wal k as he was in good tim e for din
ner At the corner Of the Ru e Castiglione he met Deering
who was coming l eisurel y from t he Oppo site di rect ion
they stopped to exchange a few words and then Deering

excl aime d l ooking at his watch I di d not lm o w it was

so l at e I am t o do d uty and escort my wi f e and her s ister

to the Opera Comi que to ni ght c u re w ir and they

p ar te d

The Opera Comi que m uttered Glynn with a s trong

feel ing o f annoyance
He will see his Aute uil att raction
and recognize m e in attendance The presence o f su ch a
father to o will dispose him to believe it s a case o f fair
game ; but after all I have no right to thi nk ill O f Deering
There is a curious sort o f fate about the whol e aff air I
am a fool t o worry myse l f I will try t o enjoy the pas sing

hour and l e t omen s and auguries al one

O n reaching his destination Glynn mounted to th e third
tage and w as admi tted by a neat bl ack eyed bonne to a
di m lighted littl e ve stibul e containing so me o ak chairs
and a small orange tree in bl o ss om the perfume o f whi ch
was al most overpowering

Enter then Monsieur said th e se rvant throwing open

one o f several doors on either si de and Glynn found him
self in a pretty pl easant s alon and the presence o f Miss
Lamb e rt ; who somewhat t o hi s s urpri se was in outdoor
dress

My father will be here di rectly sh e s aid givi ng him

h er hand
He has gone to fetch ou r friends M adame
and Mademoisell e Dav illie rs for we have changed o ur
pl ans not being abl e to sec ure pl ac es at the Comi qu e for
to ni ght we propose t o drive through the bots and dine at

the Cafe de Madrid I hope this will be agreeabl e to you ?

Any arrangement you make will be most agreeabl e to

m e ! sai d Gl ynn indescribabl y rel ieved to nd himsel f
and her delivered from the pos sibil ities o f an encounter
with Deering and charmed with the unpretending re n e
m ent Of her surrounding s The room was well but simpl y
furni sh ed and innocent o f th e as hy ne ry whi ch might
.

S TR IKIN G

TH E

TRAIL

15

h ave be en l ooked for in an apart ment where Lam bert was

master Some small but good water col ors enl ivened the
walls which were o f a ne utr al tint ; an Open piano l oaded
wi th music the stove converted into a stand f o r owers
th e f ur niture of carved oak and green velvet ; a sm all
b asket work tabl e ove rowing with b right col ored wool s
and sil k s ome ne old china on the mantel shel f a vase or
two o n corner bracket s formed a pl eas ant picture of
co mfort and occu pation

You know the Cafe de Madri d o f course ? said Miss

Lamb ert when Glynn had tak en a seat as she put h er
m u sic together and cl osed th e piano

Ye s I know it well it is a capit al pl ace to dine at

On such a ne evening it is del ightful to be among

the trees ; th ey are qu ite green already and there is a
char ming w al k down to the river We must try and per
suade Madame Bavill iers and the dear father to walk do

She
s at down s u ddenl y
o u mind wal king after dinner ?
y
whil e she spoke and l ooked straight at hi m gravely as if

Does she
it were a question o f the l ast importance

th ink me an old fogy ? tho ught Glynn and answered

with a smil e I have not yet reached th at period of li fe

when repose after eating is essenti al

No still con sidering hi m gravely

you are much
When he spoke o f you as a
younger than m y f ather
comrade I thought you m ust b e ab out th e sam e age Is

it l ong si nce you m et ?

! ui te ten years
Th at is a long time But my f ather is al way s young
I s ometimes thi nk he is younger than I am nothing
depresses him he is s o full o f re source and enjoys as if

he were but v e and twenty

Y es I was al ways struck wi th his re m arkabl e re adi

ness Do you remember America ?

Am erica ? I never was in Ameri ca I w as born in

Austral ia b ut my father
Ah ! here he is l ooking
o u t of the window as the carri age was heard to stop
She
took up her gl oves whi ch were l ying beside her sunshade
In another moment the door
and b egan to put them o n
opened to admit Lambert wh o came in with an expre s~
s ion o f ra di ant satisfaction

Glynn my ne f ell ow ! I am delighte d t o s e e you

-

"

AT B AY

16

my daughte r tol d you we have changed o ur pl ang

and subs tituted a l ittl e dinner at the Madri d i nstead o f
baking oursel ves at the Comique ? All right come al ong
Madame Dav i llie rs and Toinette are waiting f o r us be
they have bro ught the co u sin young Henri Le
low
Cl erc El sie and who shoul d I stumbl e o n
at the cor
ner o f the Rue d Agu e s s e au but Vincent going to dine
s o I made him j ump u p o n
all al one by him self
We ll be a nice littl e party ; you l adi es will have a cava
l ier apiece and one t o sp are that s myself I am only a

su per nowaday s don t forget a wrap f or comi ng h ome

El sie l ocked the drawe r o f an ornamental bureau u t the
key in her pocket and decl ared herse l f ready an Lam
bert l e d the way down stairs Arrived at the entrance
Glynn was dul y presented to Madame and Mademoisell e
Dav illi e rs in whom he recognized the l adi es who were
with Miss Lambert at Aute uil ; they smil ed and bo wed
mo s t graciou sly expressing their del ight at M Lambert s
change O f pl ans in rather shrill toned raptures After a
l ittl e conf u sion it w as settl ed that Mr Vincent a very
el aboratel y got u p c o nt i ne ntali ze d American with fair
hair moustaches and compl exion and rather sl eepy p al e
blue eyes shoul d escort Madame Davilli e rs and her
dau ghter Wh il e Miss Lambert her father Glynn and
yo ung Le Cl erc a good l ooki ng boy in the pol ytechni que
u nif orm shoul d occupy another open carriage
Glynn fancied he Obse rved an expression Of decided re
lief in El sie s face as Vincent to ok the seat assigned him
and she gave her hand to her father who assisted her
with careful pol iteness to her pl ace it was absurd to feel
pl eased by so tri ing an indi cation yet Gl ynn did fe e l
pl eased
The drive al ong the b eautiful Champs Elyse es and th e
Avenue de l Im pe ratri c e as the approach t o the boss was
then call e d is exhil arating especially when seated Oppo
site an exceedingl y pretty woman whose prettiness pos
sesses a pec uliar charm for your o wn i ndividu al taste
and with whom for some occul t reason you feel in s ym
pathy Away past the marionette shows and Punch and
Judy s the well kept gardens and fo untains the mansions
all shel tered from t he heat by their cl osed alo us i e s at t he
j
'
furt her end round the wi de sweep whi ch encircl e s the
,

AT B AY

18

gathering fro m the conversation that Mademoisell e Ant O I

nette Dav i ll i e rs had been Mi ss Lambe rt s d earest friend
at the convent school where they had spent nearly six
years together that the papa Bavill iers hel d some govern
m ent empl oyment and that Vincent w as the agent for a
New York commercial house Lambert s own occu pation
seemed very in d enite He talke d o f having been con
ne ct e d with the press o f having had b u sine s s in terviews
with various artist es of writing hi m s elf o n sporting mat
ters The symposium was prol onged and when it was
over Glynn Observing a piano in a corner of their dining
room asked Miss Lambert if she remembered her father s
promise that s he sho ul d sing ?

Bu t it w as his promise not mine

Yes smili ng
Ah ! my
cried Lambert ov e rbe ari ng
You ll

not di shonor yo u r father s draft o n your m u sical bank !

No I will sing with pl easure by and by Antoinette
begin

And an uncommon s weet l ittl e pipe she has o f h er

Mademoisell e is al ways gracio u sand ready to give
own
pl easur e ! Open the instr ument El sie I h ope it is n t an

ins tru ment o f torture

It might be much worse she returned wh en she h ad

pl ayed a few chords

Come An toinette she said as
she began an accompanim ent and Mademoisell e Davillie rs

a neat littl e bl onde wi th a saucy tip tilted nose and a

pretty toil ette of the l atest fashi on went over to the piano
and in a sweet sl ightly shrill soprano proceeded to
request some ide al Jeannette t o l ook into the well that
the reection of her blue eyes might gl adden the singer
She s ang with much piquant expression and was l ou dl y
appl auded
I think I sh oul d pre fer l ooki ng into the blue eye s th em

s elves to searching for a col d reection said Glynn who

had pl aced hi mself at th e end o f the piano s o as to see the
faces of the singers

It woul d be far b etter returned Mi ss Lambert

re al ities are al ways b e st

Now El si e we are waiting for you cried her fath er

Her reply was t o st ri ke a few chords and begin a sweet
wil d pl aintive air with Ital ian words Her voice was
e
l
e
u
iar
y
it
s
ower
note
s
wer
l
l
rich and sympatheti c
c
p

"

TR AIL

STRIRING T H E

19

all y ne sh e had b een th oroughly well taugh t and

had besi des a degree o f natural expressi on that sent her
ton e s right t o the heart o f her hearers

This is indeed music s aid Glynn in a l ow voice wh en

DO you fe el s omething Of the delight you

she cease d
give
Do I give you delight
You l ook as if you liked my

I am gl ad
s i nging

It is heaven t o l isten to you he exclai med al mo st in

spite o f hi m self
Your song is quite un known to me

It is a Polis h air arranged by my music master for

some Italian words He is Ital ian

I feel as if I were un worthy t o ask for another song

said Gl ynn after a short paus e
Why ? I will sing as m uch as you like I can al ways
si ng well f or tho s e who like my sing ing and a ain her
deft ngers st rayed over th e notes till they seemed to fall
o f th eir own accord into an undul ating accompa niment t o
which she s ang a barcarolle bril l iant pl ayful bu t with an
undertone o f sadness

She can si ng a bit can t she ? asked Lam bert

approachi ng wi th exul tant l ooks
Why s ir she d create
a u re u r a regul ar fure ur she d pick up gol d f or th e
g ay in hatful s if she d go on th e stage fancy her
in th e Trovatore or Th e Figlia or Martha !
give us
The Last Ro s e of Summer my heart why sh e d bring
down any house ; and the obstinate l ittl e sinner refus es
appear on the boards says it wo ul d kil l her
s a right royal way to keep l ife in one and the
d evil o u t Of one s pocket ; by Jove she woul d hol d her
own with the best when she has a father that can crack
a wal nut at fty paces and woul dn t mind if it were a

skull in a good cause !

Ah no ! the stage woul d be a miserabl e fail ur e f or me

You do not take temperament into acco u nt said Miss Lam

bert with a sigh and then stopped the conversation by
ou t the exquisite air for which Lambert had
e ng

Now s ai d th e singer when she had nish ed risi

from he r s eat
ou must do what I ask dear fat her

want to wal k t o t e river

It s a g o od step s aid Lamb ert

le ave your company

e s pe ci

"

wi
,

20

AT B AY
Bu t th ey will come with me

Will you not Madam e

and yo u Antoinette yo u W i ll I am sure ?

Dav illi e rs
raising her eyes with a c o n di ng gl ance t o Gl ynn s

I shall enjoy a stroll immensely he replied Ma

dame however preferred t o rem ai n where she was and
Vincent o ff ered to stay an d pl ay a gam e Of piquet wi th
h er t o pass away the tim s
Eveni ng was fast cl osing in when they started o n their
ram bl e and the f all ing dew drew o u t de licious odors from
grass and owers and shrub s as they proceeded al ong
the aven u e whi ch skirt ing the bois l e d to the river side
It was l onger than Miss Lambert thought and the moon
had ri s en before they reached the Seine At rst they
had kept all together but graduall y Gl ynn contrived to

separat e him sel f and Mis s Lambert from the rest

And
so you had not courage eno u gh for th e stage he said
after a short paus e in their convers ation
No ; I suppo s e it is want o f courag e that holds me
back a sort of constitution al di s hke to s uch a call ing
Though I greatly admire actresses and singers I coul d not
be one I l ove quie tness still ness being wi th a few

p e opl e I like

Then yo u cann ot l ike Paris ?

Oh yes ! I am very happy here I enjoy m u si c and
pictures and my father gives me everyt hing I can want
I am a most fortun ate g irl bu t
o r wish

There are b u ts in every life said Glynn as she

paused He wanted h er to speak on
There is scarcel y a but in m i ne I was going to
say that I s eem to want a few months in the count ry

e very year to make l ife compl ete

Have you been accust omed t o th e country th en ?

Yes When we came rst from Australia I was rath er
d elicate and I used to l ive with the ki nd woman who took
care of me after my mother s death at her brother s farm
in a beau tiful country on the borders of Wal e s
It was a
delightf ul pl ace Then when I was abou t twel ve my
father tho u ght I ought to l earn something and he put me
I have never been in Engl and
t o schoo l in the convent

sin ce still I al ways fancy I am English

An d I f eel as if yo u were b ut Mr Lambert is Ame r

-

"

ican

sTRrKING

Not by birth

Tell m e

well l ong

TH E TRA L

21

di d you

know my f ath er very

ago ?
that is we ran so m e

hy do
Yes ;
W
ri sk s together

ou a sk ?
y

Becau s e you are s o u nlike all hi s oth er fri ends

Indeed ! Am I too English
No I cannot e xa ctl y say what t he diff erence is b u t

it is very great
Somehow t hese few simp le words e late d G lynn as t hough
they cont ai ned the highest c ompli ment
He restrained
the reply whi ch sprang to his lip s and changed th e su b
j e ct by exclaimi ng Th ere is the river how ne it looks
in the moonlight
Yes there is re al harm ony th ere

You are right El sie excl aimed her fath er

It gives
o ne
the fee li ng o f be ing in church when th e organ is
p laying
And you and you r delightful s inging give me the feel

ing of sil very light upon a still smooth l ake s aid Glyn n

in a l o w t one to hi s companion
You will be forever
ass ociated in my memory with moonl ight and music
El sie smil ed a tho u ghtful smil e
I am not sure that such an association o f ideas is a
good omen There i s something mournful and mystic in

t he moon

I coul d never bring anythi ng bu t good to you

wh i spered Glynn who was strang ely stirred by the ch arm
o f hi s companion the beauty Of the scene
t he curious
fatality which had bro u ght him into contact with Lambert
aft er having l ost sight Of him for so many years
Dze u I cried Mademoise ll e Dav ill i e rs
I am expiring

wi th fatigue and I have all that l ong way t o wal k back !

Not at all my dear yo ung l ady said Lambert with a

superior air
I made a few inquiri es before we started
and tol d them t o send on one o f the carri ages after us

There I think I hear it coming

The drive back was a tting end t o a delightf ul day
Gl ynn secured a seat next Els ie and thou gh neither o f
them spoke many words he at l east felt that the el ectric
communication o f unuttered sympathy was compl ete and
s uf cient

Thank yo u for a del ightful day Mr Lam be rt

"

"

"

,
.

AT BAY

22

My dear

it

boy
is a re al

b e e n m y dear air th e day

b efore
it
pl easure to meet you Look in o n
us now and again I am s ur e m y dau ghte r will be de

El sie ! Wh ere is she ?

lighted
Miss Lambert is rather tir ed I t hi nk sh e has gone in

G oo dn ight th anks I hav e a cig ar

.

CHAP TER H

PLAYING

WITH FIRE
.

WHEN Glynn woke next morning to broad

day, t he

noi se
and the consciousness of an early
o f the busy street
business appointment last night with its music and moon~
It was all
ll ght seemed to him dream hke and unre al
very pl easant w hil e it l asted but in a few days he woul d
ui t Paris and probab ly never s e e Lambert o r t hat w o n
de rf ully charming daughter Of his again What wo uld be
the destin y of such a woman s o pl aced ? Not happiness
he feared if s he were al l sh e seemed
Yet ho w devoted
that qu eer sh Lambert w as to he r SO far as he coul d
take care o f her he wo ul d but what perceptions co ul d he
have o f what was right and suitabl e for a de licate sensi
tive girl !
However Glynn had other things to thi nk o f j ust the n
and soon hastened away to hold high council on money
m att ers with a sharp but soft spoken German Jew whose
oil iness had not a soothing e ff ect o n the cool cl ear s ighte d
Engli shman
Business hours are ear lier in Paris than in London
Gl ynn found hi mse lf on the Boul evard des Itali ens and
free whil e it was st ill early eno u gh to pay a visit With
a vague c uriosity arising from very mixed moti ves he
di rect ed hi s steps to t he hotel where Mr and Lad y France s
D eering lodged and fo und t hat lady at tea with her son
a pal e delicate deformed boy and a gentl eman o f mid
dJ e height with a frank s u n bu rnt face and a certai n
e asy l ooseness about hi s well made cl o t hes

You are j u st in time for t e a Mr Glynn said Lady

Frances in a soft bu t mono t onous voice
Do yo u kn ow
my cousi n Captai n Verner
Ye s the gentl emen had met before and th ey exch anged
a f ew civil words
Is this your rs t visit to Paris ? asked G lynn kindly,
,

(33)

24
as

AT BAY

c air

he drew hi s

was 1

b e side th e s o fa

which th e boy

on

e s th e very rst

And how do you like it ?

Oh so much ! It rs s o be autif ul and bri ght I sh oul d

li ke t o stay here al way s

Berti e is much bette r and stronger since we cam e h ere

whi ch partly accounts for his wi sh to stay said his m other

with a sl ight sigh

I wish I coul d take you to sea my boy cried Captain

V erner ; a crui s e with me woul d make yo u al l right

Lad y France s turned her pal e eye s on the speaker and
Gl ynn noti ced that they darkened wi th a l ook o f intense
pain onl y for an instant whil e she said with her usual

composure I have no doubt that Herbert will be quite

fortied by Dr Le m aire s treatm ent Then th e summer
is before him and he will h ave gathered strength before

winter Winte r i s very severe and dreary at Denham

You shoul d wi nter at P al ermo Observed Glynn

It
a sort Of p lace t o make you forget
is a delightful spot

troubl es

I wish you woul d said Verner earne s tly

Say could ret urned L ady France s and sh e rose to

ring the b ell
She was very tall and slight ex cee dingl y digni ed and
deliberate in her movements and woul d have been rath e r
h andsome b ut for her extreme still ness col dness and
want o f col or A pal e bl onde sounds l ike insipidity b ut
Lady Frances was not insipid ; she w as a great l ady to
the tips of her ngers yet simple in dre s s and manner t o
a degree that bewil dered those gorgeous dam es the wives
o f her husband s weal thier consti tuents o n th e rare occa
sions when they were adm itte d within t he sacred portal s
O f Denham Castl e

Why are you hurrying away to Lon don ? as ked

V erner
There is no thing to call Deering back as he

has l ost his s eat

He is not happy ou t of cl ub l and I suppo se said

L ady Frances sitting down b esi de h er s on
I mu st say I
am very s orry he l o st th e el ecti on He deserved better at
the h ands o f the Denham men but it was th e radi cal
m i ni ng pe opl e that turned hi m on
.

26

AT

BAY

Frances had gro wn col der and still er since the de formity
and delicacy o f her only chil d had become perceptibl e
and hopel ess whil e Mr D eering never stayed at Denham
al one with her
Gl ynn was conscious of an unac countabl e sense o f re
l ief when Deering expre s sed a desire to quit Paris even
sooner than he had at rst intended
It w as absur d t o imagine that any evil coul d arise
o ut o f a mere passing admiration ; it coul d be no thing
more for a handsome stranger Yet the ex re s s ion o f
Deering s eyes the uneasiness wonder re a commin
gl ed which had s o impressed him ashed back vividl y
across his memory with undi mini shed disturbing force
Bu t Deering was t alking

I have been ro und Count de Lat our s stabl es t his

morni ng Have o u seen them Glynn ? They are wort h
a visit His stu cygroom and head men are all English
I am very much inclined t o back his chestnut Bar le
duc for the Derby He s a Spl en did horse onl y o f
course it isn t al ways bl ood or breeding that wins There
were a coupl e o f Americans l ooking through the stabl es
at the same t ime who seemed deucedly wide awake and
inclined to back both Bar l e duc and a ll y Et oil e d Au
vergne abou t which I am not so sure I have me t o ne

o f them Vandervoort in London do you know him ?

Glynn said he though t he di d The t alk became for a
few minutes of the Turf turfy And whil e it went o n
the bo y rose and foll owed by hi s mother who covered
his retreat noisel essly l eft the roo m Glyn n l ooking at
D eering at this m o ment caught an expression o f m alig
nant disl ike in hi s eyes towards his deformed son o r his
wife or both whi ch surprise d and revol ted him It was
inst antaneous and he c ontinued to t alk l igh tl y and pl eas
antl y till Gl ynn ro se to bid Lady Frances good morning
Verner l eft the room at the same tim e and the two men
wal k ed towards the Pl ace de la Concorde to gether

Pity that p oo r b oy is a crippl e s aid Glyn n speaking

o ut of his th oughts
I fancy Deering is a go o d deal out

u p ab o ut it

I don t k now about D eering n o r do I care much

returned Captain Verner blun tl y ; but it has been a
Why when w e w ere
d e sperate grie f to the m oth er
.

PL AY ING wrrn

27

FIR E

children to ge th e ray and afterLad y France s was the

I never s aw a girl with so much go in her ;
lif e o f us all
and n ow 1
he brok e o ff expressivel y
However no

o ne can help her he added after a moment and then

kl y turnin g the subject began t o tal k of French pol i
til l they reached the corner of the Champs El ys e es
where they paused t o see the Empress drive by There
Verner turned bac k to keep an engagement and Glynn
stroll ed on sl owl y t o hi s ho te l resolutely resisting a strong
temptation t o call and inquire f or Miss Lambert Indeed
with the help of a good deal o f l etter writi ng and inter
views with su ndry personages of nanci al importance
Glynn contrived to keep hi s m i nd free from imaginative
pictures and irresistibl e suggestions H e was not going
t o m ake a fool o f himse lf or o f any o ne e l se ei ther he
was too old and experienced to be carried away by a ro
mantic en c o u nter or the liquid l oveliness o f a pair o f
What eyes they are l
l u s tr ous dreamy dark bl ue eyes
he thought as he s at at his second d j e u n o n Sun d ay
mornin g three whol e days since he had enjoyed the ho s
l
i
t
o f his quondam com r ade o f the Calif ornian epi
i
t
a
p
y
sode
Mere civil ity demands that I shoul d call I think
I have been under re often enough to stand this l ast
fus ill ade without inching besi des the whol e thing is

deuce dl y curious
So af ter l ooking in at G agli nane s
and readi ng the English papers Glynn fo und himsel f o n
his way to the Rue de L Ev qu e
The perfume of orange bl ossoms which came forth
from the Opening door greete d him li ke the prel ude o f
delight so vivi dl y di d it re m in d him o f the pl easant
hours to which his rst visit was an intr oduction

Y es monsieur was at home and mademoisell e al so

and the servant O pening a di ff erent door from that
through whi ch she had ushered him o n the former occa
sion spoke to some o ne wi thi n and immediatel y Lam
bert hi mself in a gorgeous dressing gown a fe z on his
head and a cigarette in his mouth came forth to greet
,

Gl ynn c o me al ong into my den here I thought you

I was going t o l ook
had l ef t f or so me o t her diggi ngs
I ve not had a moment I coul d call m y
you up t o day
own s ince we p arte d !
Whil e he s p oke he u sh e r ed hi s
.

28

Ar BAY

vi sito r into a sm all very small room c ontainin g a l arge

knee-h ol e tabl e l oaded wit h letters ne wspapers small
account books and all appliances f or wri ting and tw o
v ery comfortabl e circul ar chairs These articl es o f
ture scarcel y l eft room to mov e A l ooking gl ass s ur
m ounted by a coupl e o f revolvers compl eted the decora
tions A dim light w as adm itte d by a l ong narrow
stained gl ass window ; and a second door whi ch stood
open l e d into a c om f

This is my Cabi ne t dc travaille said Lambert wheeling

round one of the chairs
and I am just taking an hour
or two from the Sabbath to cl ear up some li t tl e arrears o f

work Where have you be en all these days ?

Very busy
or I shoul d have paid my respect s to you

and Miss Lambert sooner

To be sure to be sure you are in bu siness yourse lf
An yt hing in the book maki ng way ? I thi nk I remember

you had a fair noti on as to the value of a horse

No mine is a more so ber system o f gam bli ng }:

Aha ! the share market ! I c oul d gi v e yo u a hint or
two about that new st eamshi p company they are getting
up in Hamburg
Thank you my hands are pretty full al ready
Aft er a littl e further conversation on nancial and spo rt
ing topics whil e Lambert was putting his papers t oge ther
wi th some degree of rough order he proposed t o join hi s
daughte r

She was out t o mass with her friends the Dav illie rs
and had breakfast wi th them I have scarce ly seen her

this morni ng
S o sayin g he rose and l e d Glynn through
the dining room to an arched doorway across w hich a
curtain o f rich dark st uf f was drawn and li fti ng i t cried
Are you there my jewel ? I have brought Mr Gl ynn to
see you

Come in said a v oice and as he enter e d Glynn saw

Miss Lambert adv an cing from an open wi ndow t o meet
,

The roo m into which he had been ushered was small

though l arger than the minu te apart men t Lambert had
appropriated It was pre ttil y and light ly decorated the
hangings and chair covers being of chin tz bouquets o f
ros e s ti ed wit h bl ue ribbo n on a cre am g r oun d and had

wrrn m

NG

P L AYI

29

opening o n a b al cony full o f owers

garden bel ongi ng to a l arge hotel in a
There were books and nee dl e work a
s treet be hind
writing tabl e and a s ewing m achi ne ab o ut and it was
evidently Mi ss Lambe rt s privat e sitting ro om A stou t
el derly w oman in bl ack with a l ace cap and a large apron
who l ooked more than a servant and l ess t han a lady rose
as they entered and was about to l eave the room whe n
Lam bert exclai med in hi s hearty manner and rather pe cu
How goes it Madame Weber ? I hope yo ur
l iar French
col d is bette r ; a summer col d is w o rse than any other f o r
it s out of season
Madame thanked monsieur reported herse lf ne arl y
or qui te well and vani shed

I thought yo u had l eft Paris at l east my father did

said El si e Lambert gi vi ng Glynn o ne han d whil e the other
hel d an open book a shabby well thumbed book

I shoul d not have left without calling to say good bye

returned
t o thank you agai n f or your de lightful songs
large wi ndow
which ov erhung a

one

"

Will you sit down or s hall we go into

th e salon thi s is such a tiny pl ace
O h w e are sn u g enough here An d h o w are you my
dear ? y o u haven t said good morning to your o ld father

yat

My old f ather ! l eani ng her head agains t him for an

inst an t wi th inexpressibl e l oving grace

why he is
ounger th an I am Mr Glyn n When I have been
yrooding over my book or work 1 al ways fe el as if some
bright pl easant pl ayfell ow had come to rou se me when

m y father walks in

Thar ! said Lambert l oo king ov er wi t h inn ite prid e

and a queer expressive nod and toss o f the head t o Gl ynn

Wh at do you think o f your o ld ghting

as if t o say

gaming hand to mouth comrad e now ?

It s n ot eve ry
o ld cuss that can nd a ni ce young l ady to say as much

for him hey ? he said al oud

I qu ite underst and it retu rned Glynn sm ili n g hi s

Wha t a cu ri o us puzzl e
6 es fu ll of tender admirati o n
H ow had Lambert al ws Merrick
9 who l e thi ng was
o r Merrick alws Lambert found t he funds to keep u p this
e s t ablis hm ent whi ch, m o dest as it was m us t cos t 811 or

30

AT BAY

seven hundred a year ? H onestl y he hOpe d thou gh from

cert ain di mly remembered trai ts he feared the lively
boyish Lambert was not the most scrupul ous o f men
Still regard f o r so sweet so rened a d aug hter m u st
ough t to keep him straight
What are you going t o do with you rself El si e thi s

damp drizzl ing afternoon ? you can t go o u t

O h yes I c an ; I was just asking Madame Weber if

she fel t well enough to come wi th me to the s alon one

can nd al l weathers in the pict ures

A good idea faith Will you come with us Glynn ?

f or I ll be your escort mysel f El sie Just l e t me get into

my coat and boots and I ll b e wi th you in a twi nkl i ng

Y es do come that will be delightful And you too

Mr Glynn ?

\Vit h in nite pl easure

Then I ll m ake my toil ette before y o u d say Jack R ob

inson cried Lambert as he l eft the room

Y ou are fond o f reading Miss Lambert ? asked Glynn

Yes very fond and this is such a del ightful Englis h

b o ok
I l ike it much bette r than French p oetry

May I see ?

Certainl y handing it to

Ah The Lady o f the Lak e that is a very ol d friend

I thought modern young l adi es had l eft such chil di sh pro

d u ct io ns far behind
Chil dish ! what can you mean ? Why it is so cl e ar
and v ivid I al most feel the mount ain air as I read and
that combat between Fit z James and Ro derick onl y a
man coul d have wri tten that

I must read it again said Glynn h al f to himself as

he turned over the pages
I have not seen it since I was

a boy

Then you read t o o ? that al so is unlik e my father s

other friends

I am afraid your f ather s friends do not s tand very

high in your est i mation ; I earnestly hOpe I m ay nd

more favor

I think I sh al l l ike you

softlyg rav ely and wi th out
a tinge o f coquetry l ooki ng at him whil e she spoke
He coul d not have answered her l ightl y even had he
b e en incl in ed ; ther e was s o m ething i m pos ing in he r
,

P LAYING

wrrn

31

FIR E

st raightforward simplicity and he replied in the sam e

tone : I hOpe you will try to l ike me You hav e not

read many English books perhaps ?

Very few book s of any kind and th o se ch iey since I
It is a great delight but I read very sl owly
l eft school
indeed I am slo w about ev eryt hi ng n ot that I enj oy the
l ess )

I am sure you l earned music quickly

I can al ways pick up airs and even l on g pieces by

e ar but I do not think I l earned by note quickl y

Te ll me asked Glynn moved by a sudden imp ul se

did you enjoy the races l ast Sunday at Aut euil ? I shoul d

not imagine racing an amusement suited to yo u

But I was amused the crowd and the brightness made

a pl easant picture
Then with a sudden recoll ection

Bu t how do you know I was at the races ; they were

long ago before I knew you ?

A strange thrill o f triumph shivered through G l ynn s
veins at this impl ied admission that her acquaintance with
him was an event t o dat e from

I s aw you there and I feared y o u m ight hav e seen

me for I was with a man who gaz ed at you al most rudely
because you reminded him o f some o ne and I di d no t

wish yo u t o associate me with him in your mind

Was he a tall ha ughty l ooking man v ery English and
rather dzs tingu

Y es

Then I did see hi m but not wi th you it was j ust be

fore we c ame away He walked up to the c arriage and
l ooked into my f ace
I felt fright ened Why did he do
it ? O f whom did I remind him ? som e o ne he did n ot

lik e I am s ure

That I cannot te ll said Gl ynn th oughtfull y whi l e he

remembered that Deering had no doubt retu rned to gaze
once more at the face which had so f ascinated him

D o you know the gentl em an we ll ? Is he good I

mean kind or hard and cruel ? He ll ed me with a strange
fear ; but I did not mention it to my father because he

is s o fond so anxi ous about me

Now then go put on your bonnet m y darlin ; the s un
is trying t o come o u t
We ll take a am e and hav e a

o d l o ok at the pi ct ure s , cri e d L am b ert b re akin

,
g in on
s ir dis cours e
,

32

Ar BAY

Elsie was so on ready and a few h ou rs o f simple

but thorough enjoyment ensued L ambert candi dl y
ing his ind i ff erence to art generall y sec u red a comf ort
abl e seat and produced a coupl e o f newspapers from his
pocke t To these he dev ot ed his attention telling his
daught er he woul d await her pl easure
So Gl ynn was practi call y al one with El sie
He foun d a
new experience in her genui ne though uncul tur ed appre
c iati o n of the paintings in the comp l ete unaff ected real i ty
Then
o f her manner the honesty of her c rude opinions
when she found he had seen many gall eries and knew
somethi ng o f art the in terest with which she listened to
him was att ering and amusing not that she was ready
t o accept hi s dict um unquestioned she tried m o st asser
tions by the test of her o wn common sense
The restful charm of her gentl e composur e whil e it e n
chanted her companion conveyed an impression of l atent
strengt h whi ch un consciousl y piqued him into
s is tibl e desire to exert an in uence a di sturbing inuence
over her He was growing conscious that at the rst sign
of discomposur e the rst uttering hesitation in her l ook
o r voice his rmness prudence good resol utions woul d g o
by the b o ard For t he present however all was safe he
g ht as well enjoy himsel f in another week he woul d
probably be f ar away and might never see his que er
Californ i an comrade or his l ovel y daughter again Nev er ?
Well he was no t s o sure about that
Meantime th e
severest chaperon coul d not nd cause to cavil at any o f
his words or l ooks he was cal ml y agreeabl e and put forth
his best powers of conversation his memories o f art o f
other l ands o f all that coul d l ay hol d of his companion s
imagination with intuitive skill

Have I kept yo u t o o l ong dear f ather ? excl aimed

Els ie when at l ast she sough t her much enduring parent
and sank into a seat beside him
Well you ve been a trie l onger trav ell ing arou nd
than greased l ightning I ve nished my two j ournal s

and had a do z e but you have enj oyed the pictures eh ?

Very very much Mr Gl ynn knows a great deal
about painting and he has expl ained many things that
I never enj oyed t he s alon so mu ch be f orG
uz zl e d me

ill you co me with u s agai n Mr Glynn ?

,

34

A T BAY

house with Lambert feel ing that an other link had b een
added t o the magic chain whi ch was twi ning itsel f aro und
,

S he s an el egant woman faith said Lambert with the

air o f a connoisseur as he l eft the house with Glynn and
so is the demoisell e I al ways count it real good l uck that
El sie fell in with them for between you and me and the
post none of my acquaint ances were just suited to intro
duce a young l ady in t o society It s been uphill work I
can tell you but Madame D has been no end o f a hel p t o
me Why you d never have the faintest no tion of all the
'
whi m whams she has put me up t o ! Wouldn t you th ink
no w a girl woul d be all right in her fat her s house wit h a
respectabl e young woman l ike Cel estine to wait o n her
Not a bit of it Madame says I must have a sort o f a
l ady to be a compani on to El sie and so she found Madame
Weber for us Now they are going to marry An toinette
t o a v ery respectabl e weal thy young Vicomte that will be
another backer for El sie
I believe prel iminari es are
nearly arranged and then he ll be presented as a p re

te nd ant

What a hi deo us syst em it is ej acul ated Gl ynn

I don t see that at all

returned Lambert ; a go o d
girl will get fond o f any man who makes he r a kind hus
band and God onl y kn ows the relief it is to a parent to
make sure that all s right and see to o one s girl safe

under the prot ection of a strong man

He spoke with
feel ing
There are som e bett er asp ects I c o nfess to the m anage

l e e on ve nane e
said Gl ynn
but the worse outweigh
k;em
Well I am incl ined for th e system th ough our Amur

rican girls woul d never st and it

Are you Ameri can ? asked Glynn enc ouraged by

his companion s condential regre tful to ne to put the
question

A n atural ized American I was obliged by the perse

c u t io ns of a cruel government t o quit my native l and as a
mere boy and l eave behind me the l ife of a gentl eman
for I can t ell you sir the L amberts of Ball yb o u gh are as
good a stock as any in Irel an d that s v e and
thi rty
years ago between y o u and me I had a hard sometimes
,

35

a desp era te ght o f it since but I keep all that t o

mysel f Madame D there thinks me a big man entirely
it s al l t he be tter f or he r and all I care for is my j ewel
El sie

This brought them to Lambert s door

Honor bri ght

said he giving his hand to Glynn I know I may trus t

,

yon

Glynn shook hands cordi all y and went t owards his

hotel musing o n t he curious c ontradictions displ ayed by
his f ormer friend and the incongrui ty o f being made a
condant by the adoring father o f the girl agains t whose
subtl e charm he had de termined to steel hi mself
,

A fortni ght had gone by swiftly too swi ftl y and Gl ynn
was still in Paris Tr u e t he pl ans which wo ul d have
compell ed his presence in Berl i n were changed and he
was consequently det ained a l ittl e l onger in the French
capit al but he was now free and had some weeks at hi s
own disposal
Fo r various pl ausibl e reasons he was frequentl y at the
Rue de L Ev que and also a we l come visitor at Madame
B avil li e rs who decl ared him worthy o f being a French
He was al ways careful t o best ow his whol e atten
m an
tion o n her when in her pres e nce and did no t s ho ok her
sense of propri ety by throwing away any smal l pol it e
nesses on the young l adies
His happiest moments however were those in which
he found El sie sitting at her work o r at the piano with
Madame \V eber and her knitting est abl ished beside her
Then they t al ked l ong and condentiall y o n many topics
sometimes in French to incl ude the good Al s aci an but
more oft en in Engl ish ; and El sie woul d practice her
so ngs whil e he sat in a deep l ow chair and dreamed and
was l apped int o a stat e of feverish uneasy delight Every
day the difculty of t earing hi msel f away grew greater
and still the qui e t uncons ciousness o f Elsie the easy
frien dl y tone which she preserv ed to wards him convinced
him that what ever of pain mi g h t resul t from their inter
course woul d be unshared by her
Glynn was oft en Lambert s guest and more than once
entert ained the father and daught er at some on e of the
ple asant re st aurants in the bois or on the Champs Elyse es
,

86

AT

B AY

L ambert,

th ough spe aking frankl y enough o f himsel f

never expl ained very di stinc tl y what his empl oymen t was ;
n o r di d he make any all usion t o the posit ion o r occupa~
tion of hi s former fri end and comrade as he was fond of
c al ling Glynn

I have a wonderful piece of news for you Mr Glynn

s ai d El sie o ne ne warm aft ernoon when he had been
ushered through the orange scented vestibul e to the s alon
where she was sittin g beside her work tabl e wi th a book
Glynn had l ent her in her hands and she motioned
towards a chair Opposite her
Indeed ! what may it be ? G o od morning M adame

Weber bowing
May I try to di vi ne it Miss Lambert ?
Has Mr Lambert agreed to t ake you t o the Pyrenees or

t o Engl an d ? l oo kin g into her eyes

No ! then he will
go f or a month o r two to Switz erl and ? No ? Then your
rs
I forget the name who used t o take
O l d friend M
care of you is coming t o Paris ? No ? Then I am at the
end of m y conjectures You see I al ways read no in

y o ur eyes
Y ou coul d never guess ! My father has gone away t o
H avre quit e early this morning and will not ret urn for
three or four days He has never l e ft me since we came
t o l ive here till now and I canno t t ell you how st range
and restl ess and half frightened I feel but Madame
Bavill iers has kin dl y ask ed me to stay with her and I go
there t o di nner t o
day I shoul d have gone sooner but I

thought you might call so I waited

Her perfect easy candor was charming yet mortifyi ng
t o his am ou r prop re
Thank you very much I am gl ad t o have an oppor
t u ni ty of hearing o f your intended movements from your
se l f ; it woul d have been an awful shock to have found

every o ne gone but l ookin g keenl y at her what have

you been doing or suf f ering ? Yo u are pal e There is a

weary l ook in your eyes

And you are l ike my dear father too ready to thi nk I
must be su f fering or unhappy o r somethin g dr eadf ul if I

l ook a shade pal er than usual

I am quite well
She
smil ed stopped abruptly l e t her eyes droop whil e the
col or rose softly in her cheek and her smil e was repl aced
by a Is ri ou s al most sad express io n in th e curves of her
,

m ou tl

wrrn

P LA ING

37

rm n

have somethin g to tell me ? s om ething that dis

Speak yo u may trust me

tu rb s yo u

I am Sure I can Well I was fooli shly frightened

yesterday We Madame Weber and I had gone to hear
the band pl ay in the Tuil eries Gardens It was very
pl easant under the trees and we sat a l ong time Just as
we rose to return home two gentl emen came up from a
side walk o ne I recogni zed at a l ittl e distan ce to be Mr
Vincent the other when they came nearer I s aw was the
s ame m an whom I noticed at Auteuil y o u know who I
mean ? H e l o oke d at me so strangely I felt uneasy
frightened and I hurried Madame Weber away They
must have taken some shorter path for when we reached
the gat e opposite the Rue de l a Paix they came upon u s
again Mr Vincent raised his hat and s o did the other
and stared at me with such an o dd piercin g l o ok o f dis

like and doubt O h l I cannot forget it

Yes said Madame Weber gathering from Elsie s ex

pression and the words Tuil eries Gardens that she was
rel ating the events o f yest erday that gentl eman there
was not at all pol it e ; he gl ared at mad emoisell e Mon
Die u ! li ke a savage b e ast ; neverthel ess he was distin
l
and
no
doub
t
nob
e
h
d
i
s
e
u
g

I thi nk yo u must be mistaken said Glynn

the man
whom you s aw at the races l eft Paris nearl y three weeks
ago I shoul d most probably have seen him had he re

t urned You must have been mistaken

El sie shook her head
I coul d never be mistak en in

that man s he said

Glynn was greatly stru ck by the reappearance o f D eer
ing but he threw O ff the impressi on It was probably an
ill usion on the part o f El sie That Deeri ng the proudest
o f men shoul d be wal king wi th so doub t ful a personage
as Vincent seemed al most incre di bl e He woul d make
in q uiries however Me an time he ad dressed binas e l f to
soothe Elsie s ev ident uneasiness

After all granting you are right what have yo u to

fear ? Your adm irer can only l ook ; he d are not annoy
you or any att empt at ann oyance coul d soon be put a
st op t o Indeed I am sure Deering is t o o much a gen
tl e m an and a man o f the worl d t o o utrage go od mann ers
Y ou

38

AT

B AY

What is his name ?

Deering o f Denham rather 1 perso na e in York
shire I know him and hi s wife
He is married ? as if a li ttl e su rprised
Y es I dare
say I am fool ish t o be afraid of anyt hing but I am some
times s uch a coward I suppose i t is the e ff ect O f the ter
ribl e terror I su f fered when al most a baby
Indeed ! s aid G lynn his cu riosity profoundl y st irred
and feel ing more than ever co nvinced there was some very
unusual st ory att ached to the sweet graceful daughter

I suppose I ought
O f his former rowdy acquai n t ance
not to as k you how and where y o u e ncountered such a
shock

I do not mind speaking o f it to you ; it is a sort of

relief for I have seen you l ook surprised when I have
started and shuddered at t ri e s I do not wish you t o

thi nk me sill y
Sill y l do you kn ow that you seem t o me the imper

sonation o f tranquil womanl y wisdom ?

A l augh so merry and spont aneous rippl ed over l ip and
cheek and ashed from her eyes that for an inst ant Glynn
feared he had erred by appeari n g to exaggerat e

That you shoul d think so ignorant a girl as I am wi se

is t o o funny she excl aimed

Wisdom is a gi ft that may be improv e d not created

by l earning said Glynn

but as yo u permi t me to ask
what was the te rror t o which you all ude
It was so l ong ago that my memory of it is mere con
f usion
When I was three o r four years o ld the bl acks
came and burnt o ur house away in Aust ral ia they kill ed
some peopl e too Then I remember being on a horse and
clinging to my father I think I was quite o u t of my
mind for I remember being afraid of my own dear father
and thinki ng him changed and diff erent from what he
u sed t o be
Oh it is al l so confused
Then there was a
l ong v oyage and great quiet ; yet I used to scream if I
were l eft al one f o r a moment S ometimes it seems true
that I had two l ong sea voyages and that my onl y com
fort was t o crouch in my father s arms Then came a
l ong period l ong and peaceful in the sweet fresh coun
try where I grew s trong and fearl ess though I al ways
had p anics
I had on e th e rst time I m e t that g entl e~
g

P LAa

WITH

39

FI E

eyes and sometimes I feel afraid with Mr Vincent

I was very happy with Mrs Kell ett she is the good
fri end who took care o f me till my father put me in the
conv ent He used to come and see me f rom time to time
and when I saw ho w much he l oved me I grew to l ove
hi m with my wh ol e heart
That is all I know ab out m y

own l ife
And it is en ough Yo u must banish all se nse of fear

lif e promises to be fair and smooth f o r y o u

I hOpe s o but curi ous thril l s o f terror steal thr ough
me sometimes I never like to ask my father about that
dreadful night I thi nk my poor mother died then and
he cann ot bear t o speak of it It was that fright I sup
p o se that made me a l ittl e sl ow and dull but thank Go d I

can and do enjoy a great deal

It woul d be a frightful inj usti c e i f you c oul d n ot ;

and you must throw your fears to the winds You are
formed to win friends dream onl y o f happiness and
aff ection ! May I wait and esc ort y o u to Madame D
liers ?
Thi s re qu e st was pro mpted b y a st rang e inexpre ss ibl e
rel uctance to l eav e her al on e in her o wn apartment durin g
her f ather s absence

h e th ou ght ; am I o n th e
1 am t am ing drivell er
v erge of m aking a f ool o f mysel f ? N ot wi th my eye s
o pen yet I woul d risk a good de al to i ns ure this fair
delicate creature fro m shock o r real danger
for wi th
such a f ather such dubious surr o undi ngs her future is to

say the l east unpromising

Oh yes I shoul d be v ery gl ad if you will c ome with

u s and then you will come and see Madame Dav illi e rs
whil e I am wi th her ? My father will be h ome on M on
day in the evening H ow deli ghtful it will be t o hav e
h im back again
Ah ! he is so good t o me I am some
times oppressed t o think how dearl y he l oves me I sup
po s e i t is because I was so weak so nearl y imbecil e when
a chil d Shall we g o t o Madame Bavilliers now ? I am

quite ready
When you l ik e b ut rst do me a great fav o r sing me
a song before yo u go away am ong a set o f strang ers a

song all to mysel f

Elsie smil ed and turni ng to th e piano at onc e com pli e d
m an s

$0

choo s ing a Latin hymn expr essive o f faith in D i vine pro

tac tion o ne o f those she was accusto med to sing in her
convent school days
When Glynn had escorte d her and Madame Weber to
the Dav illi e rs residence he wal ked to the hotel where Mr
and Lady Frances Deering were in the habit of st aying

No the
an d inquired if M
r Deering had ret ur ned

waiter said nor did they expe ct monsie ur wh o had l e ft

more than a fortnight ago

She must have been m i staken mused Glyn n as he

went on to his own quarters
Deering coul d no t endure
the companionship o f such a man as Vincent and what
object c oul d he have in foll owin g a girl l ike El sie Lam
bert ? She is a sensi tive tim i d soul more s o than I
imagined yet there are possibil i ties of heroism in her
A most delightful companion with fresh di scoveries of
s hel tered noo ks and mossy dell s Of character at every st ep
in o ur ac quaintance I will not l eave Paris until I see her
safe u nder her father s wing again ; then if I have an
o un ce o f c ommon sense l eft I will y I
Reachi ng hi s own room he found among others a le t
ter from Lady G e thin asking the re al reason o f his pro
l onged stay in P aris Having a spare half hour he replied
at once
I am trying to put the pieces o f a puzzl e to gether I
am n ot sure I shall succeed but am going to give mysel f
a few days l onger then I shall come and report proceed
ings I w onder what sol ution you will suggest Till we
meet then I can s ay no more on the subject Have you
seen the D eerings ? Are they both in Lond on ? I assur e
I
l
ong
to
bring
my
doubts
and
suspicions
to
the
test
o
u
y
o f your e xpe rie nce and acumen
Ev er y our dev oted Nephew

HUGH G LYNN
,

42

AT BAY

F rench Bu t El sie s e Xpre s s iv e eyes tol d hi m much

They said frankly and innocentl y I wi sh I coul d tal k to
you I wis h I dare speak as usual This is all rather

tiresome
And he l onged unutt erabl y to tak e her o ut
f or a l ong rambl e in the bot s her arm through hi s o wn
her sweet candid face uplif ted to his that she might the
better comprehend the meaning of his words ; but he
must not think o f such thi ngs He ought t o be thank
f ul especiall y thankful that her feelin gs towards him
were so cal m and fri endl y If he were t o read any thing
tenderness o f passion in those l ov ely bl ue eyes o f
of
hers why chaos woul d be c o me again ! For to call Lam
b ert father in l aw woul d be chaotic !

How is M Vincent ? asked Madame D e vill iers as

Glynn rose to tak e l eav e one afternoon ; he has not pre
sented himself l ately He is a most interesting man and
qui te French in hi s knowl edge o f life and character ! I
sh all beg hi m to give hi m s el f the troubl e of di ning with
us o n Wednesday next and I hOpe that you too monsieur
will do us the pl easure of j oining our l ittl e party Wed
ne s d ay is the anniversary o f o ur wedding day and M
Davillie rs proposes t o m ake a li tt l e f e te in its honor If
ne we shall din e at the Grande Cascade at six o cl ock
we hope our good friend Monsie ur Lambert will return in

ti me f or our reunion

It is als o the anni versary o f Lodi and the Grande

Cascade will be ill uminated cried Antoinette It will be

superb

Yes d o c ome it will be charming said El sie

I need no pers uasion replied Glynn

I shall b e but

t o o happy to j oin your party madame

During the days which interv ened Gl ynn k ept a sharp
l ookout wherever he went both for Deering and Vin cent
but in vain he saw no trace o f ei ther The weather was
v ariabl e and Glynn off ered up earnest prayers for sun
shi ne and bl ue skies on the eagerly anticipated Wednesday
There were opportuni ties for a tle a
tte in the freedom
of a restaurant dinner which were not to be found within
the narrow l imits of a private dwell ing
The fates were propitious We dnesday brok e bright
and warm and m ost of the party were assembl ed when
Glynn drov e up to the res taurant o f the Grande Casc ade

O LD

SCOR ES

43

Madame Bavil li ers was richl y attired in crimson and black

brocade wi th whi te pl umes in her bonnet her daughter
in di aphanous dove col or and pink whil e Miss Lambe rt
who was unusuall y animated l ooked l ovel y in soft cl ear
white Indian musl in over spring l ike green with abun
dance o f del icat e l ace and a poetic li ttl e bonnet decorated
with viol ets whi ch showed the wavy richness of her gol den
brown hair
She was l istening with an amused smil e to some remarks
of Monsieur B avi ll iers a good hu m ored l ooking and
rather ponderous man with a morsel o f red ribbon in his
butt on hol e
Glynn was warml y greeted by all incl uding Vincent
who t o hi s ( Glynn s ) annoyance was amongst the guests
magn icentl y got up in the height o f fashion wi th a
heavy emeral d ring fastening his necktie a bri ll ian t
di amond on o ne l ittl e nger an onyx Signe t ring o n the
o ther and a massive gol d pencil
case and bunch of charms
dangling from his guard chain

Is it not un fort unate ? said El sie in a l o w to ne when

Glynn succeeded in gett ing near her
my father cannot

return till to morrow

Yes it is too bad that he cannot come and that Vincent
,

,
.

can

Do not l ook so angry she returned with a smil e

I
am sorry too and yet I don t know why ; he is al ways
very pol ite and obl iging and seems to be great friends

with my father

There are instincts

began Glynn ; but dinner was
announced and he was d irect ed to escort a brill iant d ame
who made a det ermined attack upon him and woul d not
share hi s attention with any o ne
Vincent was pl aced next Miss Lambert and appeared
to succeed in entert aining her
Al t ogether Glynn fel t
provoked and by no means
ed as he had anticipat ed
When dinner was over Vincent proposed that they
shoul d t ake their co ff ee i n the veranda which w as onl y
raised a s t ep above the gardens in front o f the restaurant
and from whence they coul d see the spray of the waterfall
glittering in the light of the se tting sun Thi s was readil y
agreed to and in the movement whi ch ensued Glynn con
triv e d to pl ace hi mse l f near El si e
.

44

Ar BAY

What an interminabl e dinner ! he e xcl ai m e d

Yet you had a very agreeabl e neighbor ?

If a forty horse power of talk constitutes agreeabili ty
I had I hope your father will retu rn t o m orrow It

seems such an age since I he ard you sing

Bu t I sang t o you on Sunday

To m e ? n o to a cr owd o f strangers o f whom I was

o ne

I do n ot c onsi der you a stranger

Thank you you are inni tely go o d to say so gazing

into her eyes

It is a great additional ch arm to hear
lf
yo u in your o wn room wi th onl y your father and myse

f or audi ence D o you think me selsh f o r saying so ?

No yet music is music wherever you hear it

You r music is some t hing diff erent from all o ther

b egan Glynn scarcel y abl e to keep back the imprudent
expressions whi ch rushed t o his l ips s o deli ghted was he
to hav e a few words aside wi th her

I hope you will not go away rn t il my father ret urns

said El sie not seeming to heed his c ompliment
he

woul d be sorry to miss you

I shall certainly not l eav e until he returns sai d

Glynn feel ing himself in some o dd way bound to wat ch
o ver El sie in Lambert s absence
Do n t you think he
will come to morrow ?

Mr Vincent seems to think it prob abl e h e may b e

delayed
Indeed ! Vincent appeared t o have a goo d deal to say

f or himsel f at dinner

Yes he seems to be l ooking for some o ne for Vin

c ent had gone to the edge o f the veranda and was sur
v e in
y g the various groups standing or walk ing about the
littl e l awn in front o f the caf
Presently he bowed and
smil ed saying to Madame Dav ill ie rs

I see an Engli sh friend o f mine apparentl y al one ;

h ave I your permission t o present him t o you ? He is a
man o f fashion and distinction a Mr Travers

But certainl y cried Madame Dav illi e rs

any
f
riend
'
of your s dear s
Vincent st epped forward whil e Glynn f el t a thrill o f
an gry anticipation In a few minutes he ret urned ao
c ompani e d by D ee ring !
V incent at o nce presente d him
.

OL D

45

s GOBEs .

Madame Dav illie rs who put o n her m o st el eg ant man~

ner to receive s o dist ingui shed an addition to her party
an d El sie s eyes sough t Glynn saying as di sti nctly as eyes

You s e e I was right

c o ul d say
Madame s el egancies were thr own away up on D eering
H e understood but littl e French and onl y bo wed with a
so rt of haughty courtesy to his smiling host s s
Ah Glynn you here ? he excl aime d turn i ng fro m

her to his compatri ot

I fancied yo u were at Berl in

And I imagined you preparing f or the n e xt general

el ection whi ch is not far o ff I suspect returned Glynn

I hope yo u l eft Lad y Fr ances and your b oy quit e well

They are all right retu rned D eering s h ortly and

ev en as he spo ke his eyes were ri vetted o n Mi ss Lam bert
wi th a st range watc hful gaz e at once admiring and hos
til e The col or sl owly r ose in her cheek and she l ooked
away in e vident embarrassment whil e Glynn fel t an al most
irresistibl e impul se t o take hi m by the neck and throw
hi m o ut o f the circl e into which he had intruded
Bu t
civili z ati o n c ompell ed them to exchange po lit e s en t ences
inste ad of foll owi ng their natural tendency to y at each
o ther s throats

Pray introduc e m e t o y our Engli sh friends said

D eering to Vincent with a cert ain air o f condescension
The on ly Engl ish speaking memb e r o f o u r party
be sides M r Gl ynn is this young l ady and I cl ai m her as
American Miss Lambert all ow me to pre sent Mr Trav

e rs Deering to you
Glyn n noticed that he u sed both names this t we W as
the omission o f one of them at r st int entional ?
You must t ake pity o n me and all ow me t o sit beside

you said Deering in a care full y softened tone ; f or

u nfort unate ly I cannot spe ak French and fee l awkward

when I am al ongside one o f our lively neighbors

H e drew a chair by her as he spoke l aying asid e his
hat and taking his pl ace with the easy well bred decision
of a man perfectly sure of himsel f o f his soci al standi ng
and his general accept ability El sie g az ed at him as if
fascinated and Glynn coul d not help thinking ho w hand
some and l ordl y and thoroughbred he l ooked just th e
s t yl e o f man to cap t ivat e a girl s imagination
Do y o u know Mi ss Lambert I hav e so me v ery hu m bl e
to

"

46

AT

BAY

apol ogies t o o ff er you f o r my invol untary rudeness I can

onl y urge that when I saw you at the races I was so
struck by your remarkabl e likene s s t o a very charming
woman I knew l ong ago that I really co ul d not keep my

eyes in order

Y ou
di d n o t off end me said El sie wi th a q uick littl e
sigh and making a sl ight unconscious movement as if to
I am gl ad I remi nded you o f some
dr aw nearer Gl ynn

o n e you like d

I did not say I

like d her though she was charming
returned Deering with a searchi ng gl ance and a some
what cyni cal smil e
El sie did not repl y she l ooked wonderingl y at him ou t
of her great serious bl ue eyes as if at some curious dan
g e rou s creat ure

So I am t o con s ider mysel f pardoned ? resumed Deer

.

l n$

2
I hav e nothing to f orgiv e

The n turning to Gl ynn

she asked Do yo u think the reworks will soon begin ?
Not un t il it is considerabl y darker I suppose w e
ought to go out to see them we shall o nl y have a very
n arrow view here

Y es we can t possibl y stay in this corner excl aimed

Deering l ooking round impatiently

Oh I fancy madame will make a move said Vincen t

who was hovering about in his charact er o f sponsor to
his aristocratic friend

I di d not know you had so dist inguished a circl e

of French acquaintances resumed Deering addressing

Glynn and gl ancing with sl ightl y el evat ed eyebrows t o
wards Madame Dav illi e rs and her friends The gl ance
caught that l ady s attention and induced her t o turn the
re of her conversat ion upon him To which Deering re
pl ied with the assist ance o f Miss Lambert and Glynn
On her o wn account El sie said very l i ttl e and seemed t o
have l ost the brightness that animated her before and
during dinner
At l ength the rst rock et rus hed towards the sky and
bur s t into a cl ust er of many col ored st ars whereupo n
every one jumped up and made f or the garden the l awn
the roadway

Pray take my arm said Gl ynn to El sie th e m oment

O LD S C O R ES

4"

saw the stampede beginning

It may not b e easy t o
keep t ogether in the crow d

That is not fair Glynn said D eering with a smi l e

Y ou appropriate the onl y l ady who can spe ak Engl ish

and con demn me to sil ence f or the next hour

I am very sorry said Glynn cooll y

but in Captain
Lambert s absence I consider myse lf in some degree re
spo nsibl e for his daughter

Ant oine tte speaks a l ittl e English said El sie and

wi ll be charmed to t alk t o yo u I mean Mademoisell e
Dav ill i e rs l ooking t oward s her

Pray do not trouble yoursel f returned Deering hasti

I can exist f or hal f an hour in an unattached condi

ly
tion besides o ne can al ways pick up the crumbs whi ch

fall from rich men s t abl es This with an insol ent l augh
which grated on Glynn as di d Deering s whol e tone ; it
conveyed the idea that he was amongst peopl e whom he
did no t respect suf ciently to feel any restraint and m ore
over that he was in a bad temper
El sie did not require a s econd invitat ion Glynn was
amused and touched by the readi ness with whi ch she took
and al most cl ung t o his arm as they salli ed forth and
mixed wi th the crowd Deering true to hi s avowed in

tention of picking up the cru mbs kept persistently on

her right her unguarded side and mastering hi s ill
humor tal ked lightly and easil y every now and then
pl anting a query as to her past li fe the drift
Glynn thought he perceived
North o r S outh America whi ch has the honor o f

cl aiming you Miss Lambert ?

Neither I have never been in America I was born in

Australia
Australia ! s o much for preconceived ideas I was

d isposed t o swear that you were Engl ish born and bre d
I have been more in Engl and than anywhere el se

Indeed ! whereabout s may I ask ?

Look ! what a spl endi d e ff ect 1 excl aimed Glynn wh o
was not t o o pl eased at this acquaintance

Oh how l ovel y ! excl aimed Elsie her attention quite

di verted
A l arge star o f sil very light had sudde nl y ap
pe are d over the waterfall through the S pray o f which it
s h o ne in v ari ed pri sm atic col ors and Vin c ent co m in
u
p
g
he

"

48

AT

B AY

m o ment to speak to D eering Gl ynn manag ed de x

t e rous ly to l ose hi mself and hi s companion in the crowd
and for a del icious hal f hour had her all to himsel f

It is nearl y over he said at l ast

Let us make our
way to the c af we were all to assembl e there you are

tired I am sure and I am afraid Deering has bored you

I never kn ow what being bored means exac tly I di d
not l ike speaking t o hi m at rst but he can mak
v ery pl easant and he l oo ks well
How did he come to
know Mr Vincent ? reall y Mr Vincent sc arcely seems t

to be his servant

That is rather strong said Glynn l aughing yet wi t h

a sense of annoyan c e at her words
but hi s acquaint ance
I wonder if he
with Vincent d o es se e m inexpli cabl e
woul d ask hi m to D enh am and introduce him to his wife

Lady Frances ?

Is Mr Deering s wife a gre

Yes thoroughbred and I suspect with a thoro ugh

bre i s power o f endur ance

Is she n ot happy then ?

El sie my chil d cried Madame Davilli e rs cl o s e be side

them we are going t o return home Y ou must go in

the carria e with monsieur Henri Le Cl erc and Madame
Dubois ; they awai t yo u in the veranda Ant oinette is
speaking English qui t e well but exce e dingl y well t o M
D e rin He is reall y most distingui shed H e ought t o

l earn French

I am afraid he is a littl e t o o old madam e said Glynn

They were soon at the rende zvous the carriages were
ready and Glynn having wrapped El sie s cl oak round her
was obl iged t o l e t Deering hand her into the carriage as
he had st at ioned himsel f at the door
Good night Miss Lambert I hope to have the pl easure

of seeing you soon again

with a l ittl e ring of t riumph
in his to ne and she was whi rl ed away into the soft dark
ne ss of the sum mer night
Are you going straight back to y our hotel ? s aid
Vincent to Deering when Madame Dav illi e rs had driven
at

the

o ff

Yes ; I shall ret urn with Mr Glynn if he wi ll all ow

cou rteously to the l atter then abruptly to Vincent

me

I
o r e l even
But I shall expe ct you t o m o rrow at

want to hear m ore ab out this wonde rful colt

.

50

AT BAY

sh He is not a highl y polished c ourtly gentl eman but

he is not a bad fell ow and he is devoted to his daug h ter

Indeed ! Well Gl ynn I believe y ou have seen a good

deal of the worl d and it is pl easant t o nd that so much

fai th in your fell ow c reat ures survives the experience

Faith is certainl y a more agreeabl e sensation than

doubt ret urned Glyn n unmoved

By the way I quite
forgot I had an engagement this evening I am l at e

there is a acre
He hail ed it
Will you
al ready
drive with me Deeri ng ?
No thank you I shall enj oy my weed and a stroll so

good ni ght I ll l ook y ou up to morrow or next day

Curiosity murmured Glynn as he roll ed away towards

Is it onl y curi osity ? I w onder wh o El sie s
P aris
mother w as ? It seems too bad that any unholy myst ery

s houl d hang r o u nd s o sweet and fr ank a creat ure ; and

recalling the beautif ul eyes which had l ooked up in t o his
with cl ear unconsciousness and unhesitating trust Glynn
cl osed his own and gave hi mself up to so m e delightful
though disquieting ree ct ions

What inf ernal bad l uck ! th ou ght D e ering as h e lit

his cigar vi ciousl y

I di d not dream of meeting that
fell ow I never reckoned on such an obstacl e Ho wever
cost what it may I ll get to the botto m o f her parentag e
and hi story If my suspicions are right I must ge t rid o f
her or bind her to me indissol ubly and the l ast wo ul d be
the pl easanter pro cess There is a wonderful ch arm abo ut
her and yet at tim es I can catch traces o f him to o ! I
wonder who thi s father of hers is ? I mus t get at him I
wish I hadn t been obliged to send that c ad Vincent to the
right abo ut so shortl y j ust to keep up appearan c es It is
d oubl e dist ill ed bad l uck to have that fell ow Gl ynn here
Bu t if he thi nks he is going to m ake all the running with
Mi ss Lambert he is c onsiderably mis taken She is l ovely
s o l ov el y that I alm o st f orgiv e her f o r
-

Glynn waited impati entl y for the moment when h e

coul d present himsel f at Madame Bavill iers weekl y recep
tion The reasons why he mus t remain in Paris mul ti
pl ied He co ul d not l eave El sie until her fathe r retu rned
and then he mu s t stay u ntil he got so me cl ue to D eering s
schemes That t here w as m ischie f brewing he f el t co n

5]

O LD soonns .

Indeed he was inclin ed to bel iev e that Deerin g

did not intend giving his real name when Vincent intro
d u ce d hi m t o Madame Dav ill i e rs and her frien d s bu t per
c e iv i ng Gl ynn he had probabl y changed his int entions
and tel egraphed accordingly t o his associate S till con
s i de ring that Deering bore a fair character it was highly
impro babl e he woul d be g uil ty o f any overt basen e s s
On reaching Madame B avill iers Glynn found about
hal f a do z en intimat es al ready assembl ed
Monsieur s
rtie at whist had been made up in a small side room and
a
p
in the s alo n Mademoisell e Antoinett e and El sie assist ed by
the singing master were performing a trio Glynn w aited
till thi s was ov e r to make his bow to the l ady o f the house
enjoying from the corner where he had stationed hi mself
un interrup t ed view o f El sie s face which had the rapt
far away l ook it al ways wore when she was singing How
sweet and nobl e her expression was
No he woul d not
l eave her unl ess he felt sure she was safe and her father
forewarned The trio ended young Le Cl erc pressed for
ward wi th animated t hank s Then El sie l ooked round
as if se eking some on e when her eyes me t Glynn s a
bright happy smil e sparkl ed over her coun t enance and
she made a movement as if to go to him He was soon
at her side

You have some pl easant news I am sure ? he said

as he to ok her hand

I have indeed My f ather has returned ; he will be

here presentl y and he l ooks so well He is so refreshed
by the sight o f the sea that he says he will take me to

Brittany when it grows t oo hot in Paris

You will e nj oy Brittany said Gl ynn s voice mechan

ic all y whil e the re al man was thinking what a heaven it
woul d he were he al one wi th her in Brittany o r Buenos
Ayres o r Botany Bay or any o ther spot o n e arth pro
v id e d they were t oge t her away from every o n e el se
The
r e x t i nstant he was reproaching himsel f f o r his weakness
'
lil s foll y

I believe the scenery is very ne El sie was beginning

when she was interrupt ed by the words Good evening

Miss Lambert
Glyn n had been so abso rbed in her that
he had not observed the approach of Deering until he
spok e Els ie turned t o him s till c ompo se d and smiling

vinc e d

52

AT BAY

without any trac e o f the nervous dre ad whi ch she had

evinced at their rs t mee ting
I am in a str ange l and here said Deering when the
y

had exchanged gree tings

so I cl aim your pro tect ion

He
you must be my gui de phil oso pher and friend
dre w a chair forward as he spoke and El sie sat down

Ar e yo u a frequent attendant of these soire s Glynn ?

he asked af ter having besto wed a nod o n his countryman
Y ou are certainl y fonder o f innocent amu sements here

than in London !
It appears that Paris produces the same e ff ect upon

us both returned Glynn coolly

Monsieur Glynn said Madame Bavill iers sail ing up

will you come and speak t o my o l d friend M Le Col onel
Dubois ? He is a most interesting person ! H e fought at
\V at erl oo in the rst year o f his service and is all the

fonder of your nation because they were g all ant foes

S o Glynn was carried o ff to hi s great annoyance just as
Deering took a seat beside El sie and seemed to settl e
himself f or a l ong tal k
M Le Col onel D u bois di d not nd the most attentive
list ener in Gl ynn and w as not sorry when the host came
t o pay hi s compliment s t o the oct ogenarian and pe rmitted
his English guest t o escape Glynn stroll ed in to the next
room and found Mis s Lam bert still conversing with Deer
ing with an air o f interest t o o that surprised him He
did not attempt t o interrupt them but sto od watc h ing an
opportuni ty of begging Madame Davi llie rs t o as k Mi s s
Lambert for another song From his position near the
portiere s between the two roo m s he coul d see t he door
l ead ing to the vestibul e
Whil e he l ooked it opened and
Lambert came in Lambert in a gorge ous col ored waist
coat and a bright necktie for evening dress was not indis
nsabl e at Madame Dav ill ie rs receptions
e
There
was
a
p
j oyous twinkl e in his eye an irrepressibl e air of success
in his he aring He sal uted madame with much warmth
and then l ooke d round
the room as if se eking his

Jewel
Suddenl y an extraordinary chang e passed over
hi s face
The l aughi ng joy ous humorous l ook vanished
an d was repl aced by a
erce st art l ed angry gl are l ike
a wil d creat ure suddenl y roused to apprehension and
de ance as if . throu gh the thin smooth co ating o f l ately
.

53

OLD s coas s .
J

q red d omesti city the savage nature o f the u ntamed

de s perado had broken forth all the more v ehementl y f or
Glynn saw that his eyes were
its temporary slum ber
x ed on D eering wh o was smil ing and bending forward
as he spoke to El sie She did not heed him for she had
caught sight of her father and Deering struck by her
expression turned to s e e what had attrac t ed her Then
hi s fac e changed too his j aw cl osed with a l ook o f rigid
determination his steel blue eyes lit up with a ash o f
angry recognition By an in vol untary impul se Glyn n
started forward to greet L ambert with a v ague intention
to assist him in recovering his self c ontrol to aid Els ie s
f ather in any way he coul d

Glynn said Lambert gripping hi s hand hard who

who is that mansitting the re by m ydaughter

He is Deering o f Denham Do you object to him ?

No why shoul d I ? O nl y I knew a Deering once

This may not be th e
not a cl ean potato by any means !

same Ah Els ie my chil d ! Come here keep by me

What is the matter dear ? Yo u are not l ike yourself

she excl aimed as she cam e up and p assed her arm through
his

Not like mysel f ! y o u are wr ong there

Then with a
so rt of eff ort he went straight up to D eering and said
audibly in English W e have m e t before sir hav e we
not
D eering who was c onsi derabl y th e tall e r l o oked do wn
on hi m from the ine able heights o f his so cial superiority
and repl ied deliberate ]
I hav e certainl y hadthe pl eas ur e o f y our ac quaintance

s o me years ag o
Then th ey s t oo d sil ent ey e to e ye sil ent yet e x chang
Deering the m o st self
possessed o f
ing deadl y de an ce
t he two was the rst to spe ak

I f ancy we hav e se en s om e change s sinc e we m e t

P aris is n ot a bad pl ace t o an ch o r in afte r a wandering
life especiall y when o ne has so charmin g a c o mpanion

adding the nam e af te r a slight pause

as Miss Lambert

How do yo u know my dau ghter ? ab rupt l y

Your friend Mr Vinc ent was good enon h to

me
s ai d De e ring 991
m l! with 80m e m
ac ui

nam e

54

Ar BAY .

My father seems to have found an other acquaintan ce

It is curious
s aid El sie t o Glyn n
Glynn scarce knew what to say It was probabl e that
Deerin g had known Lambert by some other name known
hi m under more doub tful circumst ances than even he
h
n
G
yn
n
had
The
idea
s
t
ung
i
m
w
i
th
a
sense
o
f
a
l
)
g
(
ain Deering was the las t man to be truste d wi th e ng
,

o wl e

dg e

Mr Deering has been tell ing me about the l ady of

whom I remind him

resumed Miss L ambert
S he
must have been very sweet and very charming but most
unhappy her husband was murdered I was quite
int erested but I hope the likeness is not an evil omen

Impossibl e cried Gl ynn

Do not think o f omens
Here comes Madame Bavilliers to ask you to sing pray

do not refuse
Whil e he spoke with Miss Lambert Glynn n o ticed that
her father and D eering exchang ed a few sentences in a
l o w tone and that Lambert al though he had compl etely
mast ered his t emporary di sturbance had by no means
recovered his spirits A l ook o f care and thought cl ouded
his brow though he spoke with some animation t o one
Deerin g on the contrary l ooked
or two acqu ai n tances
supremel y cal m with so methi ng of exul tation in his cold
l ight eyes
Miss Lambert sings well he s aid
I am no great
jud ge of music nor do I care for it yet I shoul d imagi ne
that such a voice such a styl e o ught t o be worth a g oo d

de al o f money

I don t int end her to sell her songs said Lambert

roughl y
And now Madame Dav illie rs Ill wish you
goo d ni ght I m a bit tired after my journey El sie get
on your hat Ill take her home wi th me to ni ght madame

wi th a thousand th an ks for your good c are

El sie rose from the piano and cast an anxious l ook on
he r father
Then she gav e her hand t o Glynn bowed to
Deering prese n ted her brow t o mad ame s kis s and slip
ping her arm throu gh An toinette s l eft the room

Let me s e e you soon said Lambert to Gl ynn

You

do not re tu rn to London jus t yet ?

Not thi s week at l eas t

uppo se you br e akf ast Wi th me tO m orr ow
,
S

"

"

OLD

S CO RES

Lambe rt sai d D e e ring

W e ll sm ok e th e pip e o f p e ace

and t al k over o ur advent ures by ood and el d

Thank you sh ortl y

I never breakfast away from

h ome
Oh indeed ! Th e n I shall call on you and pay my
respects t o Miss Lambert at the same tim e f ret urn e d
D eering in a tone o f imperturbabl e good breeding
Lambert who was makin g hi s adi eux to Madame D avil
liers did not seem to hear but before he reached the
door he turned qui ckly back and said in a c onstrained
tone to Deering

I cannot breakfast wit h you but I will call at y our

h o te l t o morrow morning at

That is wi ser said Deering with quiet superiority

Gl ynn was greatly str uck by the signicance o f these
words What hol d had Deering over the wandering ad
v ent urer who seemed as far removed from the haughty
English gentl em an as the east is from the west ?
He walked home revol ving thi s question and others
Ev ery day increased the fascination which Lambert s
daughter unconscious l y exercised over hi m ; every day
showed more and more cl early the unsuitabil ity nay from
a common sense point o f view the impossibility o f allying
hi msel f with so doub t ful a character as poor Lambert
O n reachi ng his hotel the concze rge handed him several
l etters and when saf e within his own room he Opened
them O ne pro ved t o be from his rm o n business which
compell ed his immediate return to London
He had sel dom been so annoyed and irri t ated as by this
unav oidabl e necessity t o qui t the scene of the mysterious
drama whi ch interested him so intense ly He migh t be
pru dent enough mean enough to shrink from linking
himse l f for life with a creature who was probably t oo
g oo d for him but he woul d not desert Lambert in a dii
cul ty H e woul d return as soon as possible and see him
cl ear of Deeri ng Seizing hi s pen he wrote a hasty li ne
to the e ff ect that he was obl iged to run over to London
for a week but woul d return without fail adding his
priv ate address When this had been seal ed st amped
and directed t o L ambert he rang and ordered his bill
nd a v ery early cup of co ff ee next morning
a
Th e rst train fo r C al ais le av es at s ev en in the m om
.

56

Ar BAY .

said the waiter

There is an earlier o ne abo
I think by the Dieppe ro ute but y o u gain n o t in

the traj et is lon er

Of course will g o by C al ais re tu rned Glynn

not f ail to call me in goo d
ing ,

AT BAY

58

Don t l eave till the others have g one whispered L ady

G e thi n as she passed him when foll o wing her l ady g uest s
fro m the dining
room
It was the heigh t o f the seaso n every one had more
engagements than they coul d well m anage the arty
therefore broke up earl y it s members dispersing to p
alls
co ncerts or receptions

Now then have a lit tl e iced sel tzer and co gnac it is

qui te warm thi s eveni ng said Lady G e thi n

and l e t us
have a l ong talk that l etter o f yours whetted my curiosi ty
at in the worl d has kept you away so l ong ? every one
has been asking f o r you !

Partly business and partl y curiosity

What about ?
I will tell you pre sentl y Have you se en L ady France s
D eering lately ?
I saw her ab out ten days ago ; sh e has go ne down to
D enham and Deering is o ff t o Vichyliver or something
wrong but he di dn t l ook as if he had much the matter

with him

Vichy ? He is n ot at Vichy ! I saw him in Pari s the

night befor e I l eft
Well I suppose he must p as s through Paris but you

mean something more where and how did you see him ?

I s aw him saying good night to the yo ung l ad y with

whom he was struck at Aut e u il and whom I thi nk I

mentioned to you
You don t say s o ! That s the li ver complaint is it ?
and the drama into the bargain Come now Hugh d o be
candid and do not worry me with any attempt to heighten
eff ect What do you kn ow ? What have y ou seen ? What

do you sus pect ?

These are tremend ously l eading questions !

Well I want t o get at your drama as soon as po ssibl e

Then I sh all answer categoricall y I know n othing
I have s een very l ittl e I sus pect everythi ng

What a sphinx like repl y Just go on you r own way

and te ll me everyt hing you wzll tell for I hav e an idea

you will mak e reservations

Whereupo n Glyn n described his meeting wi th
her father not omi tt ing Vincent the curi ou s contrast
be tween Lam be rt and hi s dau ghte r, th e reapp earan ce of

"

"

D eering o n the s cene hi s incongruo us acquaintance with

Vincent and Lambert and the evident astonishment o f
each o n re c ognizing the other He onl y s uppresse d or
softened the circumstances u nder whi ch he had known
Lambert and the fact that he had changed his name
Wh en he ceased Lady G e t hin who had listened with
profound attention exclaimed
A very prett y mystery upon my word
That Deer
ing is a end ! He kn e ws something again st Lambert
and is going to use his knowl edge to help him with the
dau ghter I never l iked Deering He i s a smooth
tongued sneering hypocrite and has many queer corners

in his life or I am much mis taken

I never heard anything against him indeed he is

rather lik ed among m e n Even now I scarcely think he
can be capabl e o f any evil designs against a girl l ike
Miss Lambert W hat struck me at rst was the sort of
erce une as y curiosity he displ ayed concerni ng her He

certainl y admires her very much

So does some o ne els e retu rned Lady G e t hin with

I trust and hope that the beautiful
a knowing nod
eyes and lovely voice and attractive my stery will not

draw you into m aking a fool of your sel f

Bu t Lady G e t hin ! cried Glynn amazed at her pene
trat ion and q u ite uncons ciou s how much he had betrayed
you do not imagine that at my age I shoul d be s o weak
a marri age
as to b e drawn into an entangl ement
of

which my judgment di sapproves

I wo ul dn t give ve minutes purchase for your judg
ment Hugh You are
at the age when if men are
sl ower in igniting they b urn with a more intense and
lasting re
The frothines s o f your enth u siasm may have
evaporated b ut the warm strong spirit remains Take
care o f you rsel f Hugh ; connection with such a man as
o u describe Lambert
and
fancy
you
have
made
the
I
(
ye st of him ) woul d be a frightful cal am ity no eyes
voice or angel ic natu re coul d make up for it You d soon
nd that ou t Th ere is a certain degree o f disenchant
ment in marriage eve n under the most favorabl e circum
stances T ake my advice d on t go back to Paris l e t
them manage their myste ry themsel ves You will be le t

in for s om ething unpl easant and risky d on t go back

,

'

60

BAY

Ar

b ack ! I promised L ambe rt I worl d ;

see the pl ay out and you al arm your
sel f u nnece ssaril y I admire Miss Lambert I thi nk her
as good as she is charming ; b ut I am as averse t o a m ar
Moreover I h ave a safe
ri ag e with her as you can be
guard in h er indiff erence f or she treats m e wi th frank

con dence as her father s ol d friend nothing more

This is worse and worse sai d Lady G e t hin gravely

How do you know what profound tenderness her indif

f e re nt airs may mask ?

Do you th ink I have never looked into any eyes nor
l earned th eir l anguage before I saw Miss Lambert s that

I shoul d be s o mistaken ? asked Glynn l aughi ng:

Oh I dare s ay you are l earned enough in such m at
Pray be guided by m e put th e Parisian episode
t9rs
o u t o f your h ead and make up your m ind to m arry th at
nice piquant littl e daughter o f Pears on s I asked th em
o n purpo se to meet you
He will give h er te n th ousand
pounds and he is a rising m an he will b e o n the bench

in a year or two they are peopl e o f good fam ily

My dear Lady G e thin ! I don t want to marry any

one and s o I will b id y ou good night
A t h o usand thanks

for your o od advice

Whi o of course you will not foll ow ! Well keep me
I wi sh I c oul d see all your
inf ormed o f what goe s o n
0pl e I think I sh o ul d nd a key to th e rid dl e
I never

ed D eering

I have no doub t you coul d read between t he line s

As to D eering no w that I am away from him I am hal f
It is rather absur d to im ag
as h am ed o f m y su spicions
ine that a man of h is standing woul d risk his reputation

for a passing whi m

Bu t h e doe sn t risk it sai d Lady G e thin

He is
unknown
not inf ri ngi ng any soci al law in Engl and
doubtful American s neith er rich nor hi ghly pl aced are
beyond the pal e If that Lambert had any sense he
wo ul d give hi s dau ghter a l ittl e money and marry h er to
He could easily arrange it I
s ome sol id bou rge oi s
Oh, I must go
be sides, I want t o

W
W
t t on

I
I, g ood-ni ght,
odd feeli ng o f
irri a i
I sh all call and s ee you before I l eave, and
d o not he si tate to give m e any co mmi ssionm y taste
love s and e ve n i ri b n i8 1 to b?
g
n b os
9

A m

ar cm

61

Take care was her v al ediction

Th e next day brought Glynn a few line s fro m Lam
b ert whi ch struck hi m as expressing more uneasiness
than was inten d ed

1 have no right t o as k you to return if it doe s not suit

you he wrote
but I hope you wi ll I feel in need of
your counse l I have had wonderful luck for years and
now I m afraid it s turning Then I am not as young or
as strong as 1 us ed t o be ; and one way or anoth er it

wo ul d cheer me up a bit to have a talk with you

Had Glynn had any hesitation as to revisiting Paris
this letter woul d have decided hi m He sent a few lin e s
in repl y and then applied him self s te adily to cl ear up all
bu sines s engagements as far as po ss ibl e to secur e a l ong
h ol i day
He c all ed on Deeri ng at his cl ub and was tol d that
gentl eman was travell ing abroad and that letters ad d ressed
Lady G e thin was
t o his town ho u se woul d be forwarded
not at home to receive his adi e ux but wrote him a quaint
characteristic li ne of warning
Having performed all hi s d utie s Glynn fo und himself
in th e mail train for Cal ais o ne evening about a fortnight
after he had l eft Paris with an irrepressible se ns e of exul
t at ion of keen delight at the idea of ret u rning to what he
knew in his heart was a scene o f danger determined to
enjoy to the uttermost the pl easure of El sie s companion
ship s o l ong as he s aw no sign o f con sciousne ss on her
part Life had s o few moments o f bl iss that he coul d not
and woul d not deny hi mself the draught that chance had
o ff ere d
It was a d amp dr izzling morning when he re ached his
u
rney
s
end
Perhaps
no
to
w
n
ch
nges
so
much
w
i
th
a
o
J
ch ange o f weat h er as Paris m u ddy streets wet umbrel
las heavy grey cl o u d s di sguise it compl etel y and give it
the aspect o f a beautiful coqu ette in deshabill e and a bad
temper As early as etiqu ette woul d permit Glynn took
hi s way to the Rue de L Ev qu e hoping to nd Lambert
as he coul d not expect to gather any inf ormation from
El sie Hail ing a W e he tol d the dr iver where to go
and s mil ed to hi mself at the notion of L ady G e t hin s
al arm thinking that if she knew how fast hi s heart was
be ating she woul d re si gn all hOpe o f saving him As he
.

,
.

62

AT B AY

approach ed the h ouse Glynn saw th at hi s dri ver h ad eithe r

forgotten or m istaken the n umber and w as driving past
He had j u st started forward t o s t 0p him when he saw
it
two men c ome o u t o f the entrance and t urning their backs
on his c onveyance w alk smartly do wn the street in cl o s e
conversation They were Deering and Vincent A quick
thrill o f pain o f anticipated evil shot thro u gh hi m as
h e recognized them He feared he knew not what Bu t
above and beyond all reasoning he fel t that their co m
l
ani o n s hi
their
pre
s
ence
were
omen
s
of
troub
e and o f
p
p
wrong

St op where you are I will descend here he call ed to

th e driver and w as soon springing up the famil iar st airs
How vividly th e perfume o f the orange bl oss om s reminded
hi m of the surpri s ed adm iration which Elsie and her h om e
h ad excited on hi s rst visit
Oh ! it i s you m ons ie ur
cried Cel estine dire ct l

sh e Opened the door

I will tell Madame Weber and

am sure m ademoise ll e will receive you

She went into
the s alon and returned al most immediately
Ente r
monsi eur b ut enter mademoise ll e will b e pl eased to s e e

you
Mi ss Lamb ert was al one when Glynn found himself in
h er pre s ence and sitting at a writing tabl e she rose
quickly and came forward with outstretched hands I

am s o gl ad yo u have come
Gl ynn di d not spe ak imme
di at e lyhe was surprised at the intensity o f his own
del ight o n nding himself once m ore besi de her l ist ening
t o her voice holdi ng her h and gazing into h er eye s
He
di d not know he was so far gone
She l ooked pal er
thinner graver than when he l ast saw her
She wore a
bl ack dre s s and had a sm al l scarf of delicate l ace t ied
loo se ly round h er throat
Her bright brown hair l ooked
gol den even in th e dul l l ight o f a grey day and there was
s omething s ad in her pose and expression that Gl ynn
fo und innitely touching
Yo u knew I shoul d return at l east your fath er di d
he s aid at l engt h
My father did expect you bu t I I thought it l ikely
that when yo u were amongst your Own fri ends your o wn
peopl e yo u woul d not car e to l eave them

I am afraid th at you are not s o well as when I l eft

,

"

"

63

LAS T C AR D

aid Glynn drawin a chair near her writing tabl e at

whi ch she had re s ea d hersel f

It is perhaps im pe rti
nent t o s ay th at you are not l ooking as well as brilli ant as

you were

wi th a brief sweet l augh

Brill iant
s he repeated
That I never co u l d be but you are right I am il l
ill at
he is s o changed ! And
ease I mean My father Ah
he is angry if I notice it but he is very unhappy I know
h e is That is why I am s o gl ad you have come h e can
Speak to y o u he m ay speak t o you
You m ay be abl e to
help him but I am onl y a helpl ess ignorant girl Yet I

coul d do m u ch if I were dir ected

I shoul d be m ost h appy to be of any u s e to Captain

L amb ert said Glynn

No doubt your aff ecti onate anxi
ety incl ine s you t o e xaggerate but

When you s e e him you will underst and interrupted

El sie you w ill see th at I do not e xaggerate He will

not tell m e w hat h as h appened He says h e h as not l ost
hi s fortune
I sh oul d not care if h e had for I coul d earn
m oney b y singing th ough not o n the stage However
my knowing woul d not help hi m b ecause I h ave al way s
b een shut up and am s o ignorant You do not mi nd m e
tell ing you all thi s do you ? Though I h ave not known
you l ong my fath er h as and andyou s ee m like a re al

fri end to him

She looked full in his f ace h er great s o ft eyes all suf
fused with tears like vi ol ets l aden with dew

I am gratied that you conde in me s o far sai d

Glynn quietl y wi th l au dabl e self control
I shall ob
serve your f ather by the l ight o f your remark s and if he
is re ally in any dif cul ty o r care s t o co ns ul t m e I shall
b e most happy to assist him s o far as I can Prob abl y hi s
depression arises from some temporary l o ss e s Bel iev e

m e and his dark face lit up with a pl easant sm il e money

is a m o st im portant f actor in exist ence I am abl e t o as
s ert from experi ence that there i s no vacuum s o di stre ss

ing as an empty pocket

If it is the l oss o f m oney sh e returned gravel y we

ou ght not t o stay h ere lif e is very costl y I know I h ave
paid everything for the l ast eight month s My dear
f ath er is too generou s ; we oug ht t o m anage as we u sed
whe n h e wa s trying to s ave ; h e mi ght m ov e ab out as his
-

64

AT BAY

busin ess

l ett
Who

require d and I coul d go b ack to good

,

Mrs Ke l

is Mrs Kell ett

My foster mother ; the only moth er I have ever known :
she l os t her baby and her hus band and took me t o l ove
inste ad at the tim e o ur pl ace was de st royed in Austral ia
Bu t Mr Glyn n it is m ore than money that disturb s my

father

Let us hope h e will speak ope nl y to me but I h ave

no right t o ask hi s con dence No w yo u must not worry
your sel f unnece ssaril y I wis h it were a ner day and I
sh oul d try to
rs u ad e you and Madam e We b er t o come

for a drive in e bots

Th ank you very much ; I shoul d h ave liked it for I

have gone ou t very l ittl e of l ate bu t Madame Weber is
not in the house she went t o the Hall e thi s morning earl y

to buy fruit and has not returned yet

Then you have been dull as well as tro ubl e d H ow is
Madame Dav illi e rs and Mademoisell e Antoinette ? asked
Glynn making a circui tou s approach to the topic upper
most in his mind
They are very well and very bus y Antoinette is go
ing to be m arried in Au gust to M Le Vicomte de Pon
tigny : it has been all arranged since you l eft I shoul d
have l es s to regret therefore in l eaving Paris for An to i
nette i s going t o travel for some ti m e and when she re

turns it will not be the same

Thi s seems to have been a rapid act ?

I dare s ay Monsieu r Bavilli ers and the Vicomte h ad

begun the treaty l ong ago sai d El sie l au ghing but we

onl y heard of th e intended m arriage three or four days
ago

And Deering h e is still h ere ? l ooking keenl y at h er

al l her gravity returni ng

Ye s
He call ed thi s
morning just before you came I di d not see him for it
is very extraordinary my father has turned against Mr
Vincent who is alway s with Mr D eering ; that I do not
mind but though he says l e ss about it I think he is qui te
as di stru st ful o f Mr Deering Now I have got over my
rst fool ish fear of hi m ; he is s o gentl e and polite and
seems t o want to be friends wi th my father I do not un
de rs t and i t all but I never di spute what my dear fath er
.

AT B AY

66

A week or two perhaps a month I am not sure

Then good morning a u re vol r
The rest o f the day was strange and dream like He
wandered thro ugh we ll known pl ac
ance to dr aw him from the p uzzl e o f his
and n di ng none till towards six o cl ock
toni s he found hi msel f face to face with
w as seated at one of the l ittl e round tabl es eating an ice

Hull o Glynn! I thou ght you were in London ?

Well you see I am in Paris

When di d you arrive ?

This morning
A l ittl e ordi n ary talk en sued the tone o f which showed
a strong desire on the part o f Deering t o be civil and
friendly Glynn at once dete rmined to accept his ad
vances ; he might th u s dete ct some indications o f the
secret which underl ay hi s acqu aintance with Lambert
and the cu rious in u ence he seeme d to have exercise d
over him He coul d not however bring him self to ac
cept his invitation to di nner though he agreed t o dine
with him at o ne o f the l uxuriou s cafe s which abound in
the great capital o f pl easu re
Deerin g tal ked well o f many things chiey pol iti cal
he al so mentioned his wife and home pressing Gl ynn to
come do wn to Denham for the tw elfth o f August prom
isin g him goo d sport
It w as no t till they had ri se n from tabl e and were
li ghting their cigars previo u s to separating that Deering
made any mention of the subject probably uppermost in
both their minds

Of co urse you have not seen any thing o f Lambert ?

No not yet

He is a queer s h a very shady member I knew

him under another name and rather doubt ful circum
s tances ; I am afraid he is not in a very s ound nancial
position he is a thorough adventurer It is a bad bu si
ness for th e daughte r ; she is a very ni ce creature I
wonder where he pi cked h er up for one can t b el ieve she

reall y is his daughter ?

There is not much fam il y l ikene ss b etween them ; cer
t ainl y ; but I s e e no reason f or doubting his representa
tions He is evidentl y devoted to her and hi s surround

m gs are pe rfe ctl y re spe ctabl e

A ST

A RD

6?

Perfectly Where did you meet him ?

In America m any years ago

Indeed ! Oh are yo u going ? Well good ni ght

.

Hu gh Glynn was caref ul to stay in his room all the next

morning thi nking that if Lambert wi s he d to make any
private communication they were more secur e from in
t e rr u pt io n there than el sewhere
It was barel y e l even when Lambert was announced
Glynn was positivel y start l ed by the change in hi s aspe ct
His weather beaten face was col orl ess and haggard his
eyes had a hunt e d l o ok as tho ugh seeking a way of e s
cape his cl othes were c arel essly p ut o n his moustaches
no l onger waxed and ercely twisted his whol e air b e
spo ke negl ect

Del ighted to s e e you Glynn he said a f aint gl eam

I was afrai d
o f pl easure l ighting u p his restl ess eyes
you woul dn t get b ack again this season busines s must

be attended to You re in b u si ness aren t you ?

Y es but I can atten d to it some times at a di stance

That s fortu nate and you have been all right ?

Yes qu ite ri ght th ank you

awkw ard pau s e Lambert see m ed unabl e
matter whatever it might be which ll ed
he took u p a paper kni e which he turned
restlessly to and fro he changed his position and then
with a sigh excl aimed Yo u s aw El sie yesterday She
was gl ad you c all ed but she is no t very bri ght Yo u
di d n t think her l ooking well hey

Not as well as usual certainly

No s he is fretting fretting abo ut her ol d dad It s

wonderf ul how that creatu re l oves me Me sometimes
when she is hanging abo ut me and s inging the songs I
l ike and making a servant o f hersel f for me I j u s t l ook
back and think of the scenes I ve gone throu gh and the
qu eer scrambl e my life has been and wonder how the
dickens it happens that an angel like her can be s o fon d
of an old scapegrace that she doesn t shrink f rom me

but s he d oesn t with innite exul tation she l oves m e

s ir a s we ll as ever chil d l oved father !

O f that I can have no doubt cried Glynn

An d

d
our
a
ectio
f
or
her
eserve s it
ff
n
y
,

AT B A Y

68

es I
you ll
to see
.

am rambling on like an i d iot

come and di ne with u s t o
ni ght

an honest face
Glynn accepted the invitation
during which he
.

e nc e

pause

I have not h
Gl ynn I have
treachery of a man I tho u ght a friend
over it I think I ll get over it and
El sie s l ittl e fortun e is out o f harm s w

t hat
She need never starve

Very prudent and proper retur ned Gl ynn

earnestly hope you w ill e s cape the l e s s you

Been bitten by a bhb bl e comp an y ?

No ! It s a l ong story I ll tell it to you some day

and you ll j udge for yourself b u t not now not now Ah !
yo u are a bri ght chap Glynn strong and ste ad
had a littl e capit
rose as he spoke
Gl ynn did not
.

Lam bert had ma d e no conf ession of tangibl e dif cul tie s

and yet he was brimful of some troubl e whi ch he coul d
no t bring him s e l f to confess
Lambert resumed his s eat
and began tal king in a rambling fashion o f or d inary
topics but hi s thoughts were evidently el sewhere and at
l ength he went away l eaving a most painf u l impressi on on
Glynn s mind of profound despondency o
qu ietu de which he coul d not or wo ul d not express
At dinner some hou rs l ater he either was more che e rg
f u l or assumed a livel ier aspect f or hi s daughter s benet
She seemed to acce pt the improvement as real and tlie
evening went qui ckl y With the hel p o f m u sic and c o n:
versation Lambert towards the end seemed to forget his
troubl es and was more l ike himsel f At parting El sie gave
Glynn an el oquent gl ance expressive o f thanks o f m u tual
u nderstanding which s ent him away charmed re stl e ss
,

A
l onging f or

A ST

69

C AR D.

their next interv iew yet full

dread

of

f or

the

futu re
The next day as he was l e aving his hotel he ran against
Deering who was coming in
I am o ff to Vichy t o
day
he said
I thou ght I sho ul d j u st l e t yo u know I ought
to have gone a week ago but I met s ome peop l e that
'
am u sed me Lady Harriett Beau champ and W e dd erb urn
you know them I suppose ? Shall I nd o u here when
y

I retu rn ?

That depends on the l ength o f your visit

O h a b ou t a fort night

I shal l hardl y st ay s o l ong

Good bye then Don t forget Denh am in Au gust

Lady Ih ance s will be delig hted to see you

.

The very atmosphere seemed l ighter and brighter to

Glynn when Deeri n g w as safe away Lambert was visi
bl y relieved and his dau ghter reected her father s mood
Thi ngs went on much as before Madame Dav ill ie rs Fri d ays
were more crowded and v aried They made l ittl e excur
sions to S e vre an d to the beautiful woods of Mendan
sometimes with the Dav illi e rs sometimes onl y a quartet
L ambert El sie Madame Weber and Gl ynn
These were delightf ul d ays The qu iet harmony o f the
present made Glynn regardless o f the future It was
wonderfully interesting to d raw El sie from the observant
sil ence which was habitu al to her into sympathet ic t al k
There was al ways something t o discover in her somethi ng
t o win of condence o f sel f revel ation and s he was s o
teachabl e with all her honest cl ngi ng to the concl u sions
o f her own cl ear sense
There were moments when his h e sitation disappeared
and Gl ynn was ahn o s t resolve d to make her his wife if s he
woul d have him b u t that vagu e cl oud of mystery was a
bad accompaniment for marrie d lif e
The onl y di scordant ingred ient in thi s h appy interl u de
w as the occasional intr u sion of Vin cent to whom Lambert
showed a c u rious ceremonio u s pol iteness dashed at times
with epigrammatic bitterness o f which t he d andi e d
American took no notice El sie o n the contrary was more
friendl y to him than form erl y
It was about ten days after Gl ynn s return and he was
.

70

Ar

B AY

a retreat whil e he had sti ll some comman d

wil l Dinner was over in
El sie had l eft
for the lazy comfortabl e half hour which succeeds
evening me al
of

the

Glynn hi s imagination t o o full o f her to resist speech

She is returned her father
That is because I am
brighter ; but I am not
He w as sil ent for a m e
whil e he thought
Ay l
co sts me I d give a
to know s he was
Gl ynn I am going to prove the condence I have i n you
We are men of the worl d and can talk t o eac h oth er with

o u t fear o f mi sunderst an ding

It s co m ing at l ast thought Glynn

Y ou m ay be

sure that anythi n you li ke to te ll i s saf e with me he s aid

al ou d

I know it
He rose lift ed the cur tai n which h un g
ac ross the doorway l eadi n g to El sie s littl e stud y as sure d
himself it was unocc upied and the outer door shut Then
h e resum ed his seat and pl acing hi s arm s on th e t abl e
l eant towards Gl ynn and began in a l ow voice whi ch as
he pl unged deeper into hi s subject gr ew cl earer and
l ou d er
Look here now I don t see why when I am in
Rome I shoul dn t do as Rome does I know yo u ll m e et
me in my own spiri t If you l ike what I am going to
propo se well and good ; if not there s no harm done
First of all I suppose I am ri ght in concl u din g yo u are

not married that you are free and independent ?

I am said Gl ynn greatly sur prised

Then what do you say to settling yourself ? Y ou are
o l d enough
You are six or seven and t hirty I g uess
Now if you are s o di sp o sed I d di e happy if I saw you
married to my El si e !
Gl ynn starte d at th is bol d propo sition ; yet gazing at
t he eager eyes the e arnest face the slight nerv ous t witc h
in t h lips which had ju s t u ttered it he fel t strangel
y
m ove :

a
n
a
ll
Don t
swer
at once continued Lambert ; I
.

71

LAs r OAI D.

cal cul ate there s a goo di sh bit more to b e said o n the s u b

je ct I know this sort o f thing isn t ou r fashion b ut I
am t o o uneasy about ah ! abo ut the f u ture to wait for
the chance of my jewel meeting the right man and l ife is
uncert ain mine especially I w oul dn t give h er to yo u

empty handed either

Why Lambert you take my breath away ! In the
rs t pl ace I don t fancy Miss Lambert ever wasted a
thought o n m e except as to how f ar I might be of use to

you
I know that I am sure of it If I thought s he was
in l ove with you I don t think I coul d speak o u t li ke thi s
No l ove hasn t come into her he art yet and yo u are too
much a high min d ed gentl eman to try and re u s e it ; b ut
and l ook here I have s aved up and
s he co u l d l ove well
invested nearly ve thousand pounds I ll make it ve
full that would b e a nice l ift to whatever business you
are in You see how I trust you I don t care if you

have a struggl e El sie is no fool ish extravagant doll

Pray hear me interrupted Glynn wi th d ifcul ty

so
ch arming a creatur e as your da ughter wants no make
weight t o recommend her ; she woul d b e a treasur e in
h erself to any man o f taste and feeling Bu t I do not

wish or intend to marry for a considerabl e time to come

h e continued with increasing rmnes s quite determined
no t to yiel d to the suggestion of another wh at he denied
As you say
t o the pas si onate crav ing o f his own heart
we are men of the worl d and can discuss such a question
cooll y and fairl y wi tho ut on my part the small est infri nge
ment o f the warm respect and regard I feel for Miss
Lambert There are circumstances reasons o n which it
i s unnece ssary to dil ate which forbid my entertaining

your att ering and attractive proposition

Suppo se I guess what they are said Lambert eagerl y

roll ing u p a cigarette and scattering the shre d s of tobacco
as he did so
You re a bit of a swell I cal cul ate you
are among a desperate respectabl e s e t of city bo ss e s
Hear me now ; I m not thin skinned I know I m not
the s ort that woul d go down with them and you know 1
was a queer l ot once Well if you take my El sie I ll go
right away ; I ll never ask to troubl e you or her What
m atter what become s of m e if she i s safe oh God ! s afe

72

A T B AY

with an honorabl e ki nd man who woul d give her a peace

f u l home
Ay El sie I l ove yo u well eno u gh never t o as k
to s e e yo ur sweet face if I coul d earn peace and security

for yo u !
And do you think she woul d l ove a hu sband who coul d

part her from such a father as you are ? asked Glynn

deeply touched

eagerl y
I d just go
Bu t she sho ul d never know
away on business and stay away and she d forg et ; s he
woul d always have a kind thou ght for me b u t the new
l ove wo ul d ll her heart ; and if you tried to w in her
she d l ove you I am sur e she woul d ! Now can t it be
Gl ynn can t it
No It is with deepe st rel uctance I s ay it If I can
in any way serve yo u or her command me ; but u nf or

tu nat e ly for myself this cannot be

There was a short expressive sil ence then L ambert s aid

in an al tered voice Anyhow there is no harm d one ; I

am sure you ve some good reason and we ll not be the

worse friends because we can be nothing nearer

Certainl y not and f o r my part I have a higher esteem
for yo u than I ever had before I trust however that
you have no seriou s cau se f or un easiness abo ut you r
dau ghter If her l itt l e fortune is secured these are t o o
prosaic times f or daring and vill ainou s l overs murd ero u s

conspirators or other dramatic dangers

Ay civil ization is j u s t deep eno u gh to hi de the devil s
th at work un d erneath it I had one o r two things to tell
a son in l aw that maybe I had better keep to mysel f

now

I sincerel y hope you will not l ook on me as the l ess

warm a fri end because I cannot unfortunately fall in with
you r views you do not wish me to absent mysel f ?

Far from it interrupted Lambert

be tru e to me
b e true to her maybe by and by you ll have a good wife
that might befriend my girl s he has no o ne in the worl d
bel onging to her b u t mysel f and I begin to fear I am a

broken reed

My marriage is a remote contingency said Glynn

Were you in London I co ul d introdu ce Miss Lambert
to a somewhat pecul iar but ki n d hearted woman a con
ne ct i o n o f mine who wo ul d most probabl y be interested
,

N SHED

VA I

far from being satised with his o wn deci

sion O f cour se t he mere fact of having any wom an
off e red t o hi m is enough to make an Engl ish m an rej ect
he r were she an a m al gamation o f the Bl essed Virgi n
Fl orence Nightingal e Ven u s and Psyche in one That
he shoul d decline Lambert s suggestion w as right enou gh
tho u gh the evident singl eness o f purpose the intense
fatherly feel ing whi ch pro m pted hi m took from hi s strange
proceeding all trace of coarse worldl iness ; but having
congratul ated himsel f o n his o wn wisdom and rm ness
another train of thought p u t itsel f in motio n haunting
him with maddening pertinacity in all hi s comings and
goings throughout the day which succeeded the memo
rabl e conversation El sie s face her eye s the qu iet grace
o f her g ure and movements were perpetuall y before him
Her tender gravity which did not prevent her from enjoy
ing in brief l ight ashes of perception the droll side o f
things the genero u s symp athy ever ready to well up when
needed all this was vividly present to his i m agination
Had he done well to turn from so rich 3 store of goodl y
gifts because it was s e t in unco u th surr oun di ngs ? Was
it the part of a tru e man to cou nt the cost to shrink from
any possibl e risk rather than t o brave al l things for true
l ove ? When and where sho ul d he nd a companion so
sweet s o intelli gent so satisfying to h eart and sense ?
Then again came the doubt woul d it be well to pl ant in
the mi d st of one s home and its sanctities th is branch o f
a wil d vine l ovel y thou gh it was ? Might not sorrow and
di sgraceful associat ions be the bitter fruit thereof ? How
wo ul d imperfect human natu re imperfect hum an l ove
stand such a test ? If El sie l oved him then he woul d
dare all things ; but s he di d not It woul d be better for
h er as we ll as for him to l eave her in the tranquill ity o f
G LYNN was

AN ISH ED

75

than awaken an interest that co ul d onl y l ead

Yes he woul d continue to preserve the tone
Still he must not
o f q u iet friendli ness he had adopted
l eave Paris imme d iatel y
He woul d not desert poor
Lambert who was evi d entl y in a mess o f some kind
Later on he woul d probabl y make a cl ean breast o f it So
as it was Friday Glynn determined to go to Madame
Davillie rs in the evening f o r the result o f his wise cogita
tions was a b u rning desir e to m eet Miss Lam b e i t t o
assur e himsel f of her indi ff erence
The gathering at Madame Bavill iers w as l ess crowded
than usual still a considerabl e number o f visitors were
present among them one o r two professional singers and
Mr Vincent who was talking to Elsie when Glyn n m ade
his appearance He was soon call ed away however by the
h ostess and Glynn eagerly took h is pl ace
El sie greeted hi m with a bright amu sed smil e as though
his presence suggested some droll idea

I don t s e e your father here to night said Glynn

He has been call ed rather suddenly to D u nkerque

she repli ed
but will return o n Monday He seemed
in better sp iri ts and I think the chang e will d o him
indiff erence
t o tro u bl e

o o df
g

I hope s o especial ly as you reect his moods Yo u

are l ooking more l ike yoursel f than when I rst ret u rned

Ah I was very miserabl e then Bu t o ne reason why I

feel s o much brighter is that my father has promise d I
sh all go for a few months to Mrs Kellett to my o l d
home Woodburn and then we shall give up o u r d ays

here
And h ow will you be ar the secl u sion the change from
Paris ian gaieties
l ooking earnestly in to her eyes and
wondering what motive u nderl ay this s u dden scheme
I sh all like it very m u ch I shoul d l ike anyt hing that

woul d secure peace

Pray monsieur s ai d Madame Bavill iers who came

up at that moment have you received your c ard f or the
b all on the 20t h ? Our young d butante s Mademoisell e
Lambert and my Antoinette count on you for o ne of their

partners

I am innite ly honored but I fear my dancing is not

o f the best
However in such a caus e one woul d attempt

th e impossibl e
.

76

It is m u ch to be regretted that the a m iabl e Monsie ur

char M Vincent d oes not
D e rin is not i n town ; and
know when he will return Sti ll our p arty will be l arge

and dis ti ng u
O f that Glynn had no d oubt He had received his
ticket and if stil l in Paris wo ul d certai nl y present hims elf
etc etc
Then he fel t obl iged to off er his congratul ations to
Mademoisell e Antoinette after which M Le Vicomte was
intro du ced and it seemed to him that h al f the eveni ng
was over before he managed to return to El sie She was
by no means sol itary or negl ected however Antoinette
chattere d perseveringly at her side and vario us well
d ressed e mp lo ys in sun d ry imperial bur eau x bestowed
fragments o f their time upon her Vincent came back
more than once to her si d e and was tranqui ll y if not
favorabl y received At l ast Glynn contrived to obtain a
seat beside her

Are you not going to s ing to night

No these gentl emen and Madame d It ali a will give u s

far bette r music than I can

Not in my opinion your singing goe s straight to my
.

b e art
El sie
.

smil ed and l ooked at her fan Glynn felt almost

irresistibl y impell ed to tell her how charming she w as b ut
he d id resist

I suppose I must not call whil e your father is ab s ent

he resumed
and I have found some delightful volu me s
in Tauchnitz whi ch I shoul d l ike to give you

Can you not send them ? s he aske d l o oking at him

l
with aughing eye s
I want books very much ; no one

gives me books but you

Then I must bri ng them mys el f

t
y not ? I shall be very glad to see you s o will
Madame Weber
Thank you ! May I come to morrow
To morrow ? No to
morrow I go with An toinette t o
visit the good l adi es of the Annonciad e s the convent
where we were at school Bu t come on Sun day if you
l ike
O n Monday my dear father will be with me again
l n he will be abl e t o tell me when we can go to Eng
.

ANISH ED

77

Bu t yo u

will return to Paris ?

I d o not kno w nothing is certain

I hope you will promise certainly to dance with me at

this ball
Shall you be here when it takes pl ace
Ye s ce rt ainl y nothing shall prevent me fro m being

present
A faint col or ickered over El sie s cheek as if thi s
resol u tion implie d a personal comp liment and an amused
sm il e parte d her lip s

Then yo u l ike d ancing ?

That depends At any rate I want to dance the rst

dance with you at yo ur rst ball

Elsie l au ghed
Very well Bu t though I have never
been at a great ball I have been at several s ozre s dans ant e s
with Madame Dav illi e rs Wh enever An t oinette went they

kindl y took me

An d I s u ppose you are fond of danci ng ?

I l ove it earnestly

Does your friend Vincent dance well ?

I bel ieve he does most Americans do but he is not

my friend and I cannot bear to dance with him

You receive him very well considering yo u d o not l ike

h im
El sie pau sed an instant and l ooking u p with an expre s

sion o f tru st said in a l ow tone I am afraid of him

Why ? drawing unconsciousl y nearer to her

I cannot tell no that i s not quite true ; I begin I

think to understand why

And will yo u not tell me ?

I shoul d rather lik e to tell you but not here

O n Sunday then when I bring you your book s ?

No ; I do not want to mention his name be fore

Mad ame Weber

Is sh e a friend of hi s

I am not sure b ut it is well to be cautious

It gives me a kind of shock to think you are obl iged

t o be o n guard in yo u r own home

That will be all over when I am at Woo db urn

I wish your father wo ul d come and settl e in London
'
it wo ul d be pl easant and u seful for you to have s om e

Engli sh frien ds
.

'

A T B AY

78

It is more likely my father woul d set tl e in Am eric a

Then I shoul d never s e e yo u
The words had passed his
them and he watched their eff ect keen ly

I s uppose no t very quietly

I sh oul d be so rry

and my father woul d be very so rry

Glynn fe lt un reasonably irritate d W as thi s
sl ight inexperienced girl stronger than hi msel f that the
tone in which he was conscious his words were ut t ere d
s houl d in no way move her ? He w as diml y aw are o f a
change in her manner so del icate as t o be inde nabl e it
was not less frien dl y but more coll ecte d as if s he thou ght
before she spoke
Bu t Antoinette approaching with an el derly cousin of
her ance who had requ ested an introd uction to the be lle
Am rzc ai ne p ut an end to their conversat ion and no t l ong
af ter El sie went away
The days w hich intervened between Lambert s su d den
jou rney to D u nkerqu e and the b al l went rapidl y to o
rapi dl y Glynn dine d twice in the Ru e d e L Ev qu e
Lambert was g rave but l ess d eject e d than previou sl y
He had the air o f a man w ho had escaped from a p e riod
and had thoro ughl y made u p hi s m ind
o f in d ecision
Glynn on the contrary sank d eeper and d eeper into the
qui cksands o f irresolu tion and felt each d ay more vivi dl y
how strong an e ff ort it woul d cost him to tear him sel f
away ; how impossibl e it seemed to l eave El sie t o the
chances of undene d danger none the l e ss formi d abl e
beca u se it was impalpabl e
It was with an unaccou ntabl e impre s sion that something
im portant someth ing d ecisive w oul d occu r before the
evenin g was over Glynn d ress ed and dined taking care
to be in the ball room and near the door in good tim e in
order to cl aim El sie s promise o f the rst dance o n her
Madame Dav ill ie rs and her party were rather
l ate and to Glynn s annoyance she entered the room
l eaning o n Vincent s arm
Mad emoisell e foll owed co n
d u cte d by the Vicomte and nally Elsie l eaning o n M
Bavill iers Elsie in he r rst ball dress a d eliciou s com
bination of white sil k and t ulle and lace with sprays o f
wil d rose s l ong grass and folia e a delicate wreath o f
th e sam e owers in her h air and a simpl e neckl ace o f
.

vm

79

mn

ss

himm ering V eneti an shell s round h er throat She l ooked

a l ittl e s hy a l ittl e self conscio u s l ess composed than
u s u al and when s he di sting uished Gl ynn s tall gure and
met his dark eager admiring eyes s he col ored suddenl y
l ooking away with a smi l e s o swee t so gl ad that Gl ynn s
heart gave a quick bound and throbbed with a t i i u m ph
ant sense o i victory after whi ch reason gave up the
strug gl e and resigned hersel f to defeat

This is our dance Miss Lambert said Glynn after a

brief greeting to the rest of the party as he took her hand

Bu t it i s a set of l ancers ; wo ul d you not li ke to wal k

round and l ook at the decorati ons until the next dance

which is a wal tz ?

Thank you I sh o ul d
So Glynn took her programme
and wrote his o wn name for s everal wal tzes prefacing

e ach inscription with a pers uasive May I ? El sie l au gh

ingl y restricted the number saying s he had promised
some dances to M Bavill iers Henri Le Cl erc and M de

Pontigny
Bu t she adde d with sl ight gr aceful hesita
tion
if it does not interfere with your other dance s
might I say I am engag ed to you if Mr Vincent asks me
for a wal tz ? I m u s t d ance with hi m but not a waltz I

cannot

Yes I will grant yo ur very serio u s request sai d

Gl ynn smil ing down u pon her
I shall keep all waltzes
at your dis posal and take care t o be within hail !
Is it
perm itted to a brutal En lishm an to s ay yo ur to il ette is
perfect

I am very gl ad you think s o ; it i s chiey Madame

Dav illie rs choice
It pl ease d my father who never counts
the cost o f anything f or me she sighed

Why is Lam bert not here to see your tri u mph ?

He did think o f coming but fel t t oo tired ; he has

been very busy s o it was d ecided that I shoul d come with
the Bavill iers and if we stay very l ate I am to go home
with them for my father al ways wakes when I come in
The decorations were dul y admire d and then the wal tz
for which Glynn had been l on ging stru ck up
Gi ven good m u sic a rs t rate oor a partner whose
step sui ts your s and w al tzing is certainl y a pl easant axer
cise but when in addi tion yo ur partner is just the very
creature th at you h ave f e lt t e mpted over and ove r ag ain
s

80

Ar

BAY

cl asp in yo ur arms and po ur o ut expressions of tende r

ness and adm iration whil e yo u r heart throbs against hers
the pl easur e becomes al most painf u l
G lynn as the hours went rapidl y by fel t hi s power over
himsel f meltin g away there was a soft reserve a frequent
avoidance o f being al one with him o n the part of Miss
Lambert that fanned the l ong
smoul dering re o f pas sion
into a strong an irresistibl e gl ow Why shoul d he l e t
hi mse lf be cheated by col d caution o u t of the deliciou s
perhaps invigorating draught which fortun e off ered him
He w as no mere conventional man of the worl d to t urn
hi s b ack on a woman worthy o f all l ove becau se her father
w as not exactl y eligibl e to be comptroll er o f Her Majesty s
househol d ! He woul d be true to hi s better inst incts hi s
higher self
Meantim e it was in ni tel y irri tating to be obliged to
give u p his fascinating p artner from time t o time as other
cav al iers came to cl aim her
Suddenl y as he was l eading her acro s s th e room to
Madame B avill iers he felt her start and press his arm a
movement which be attributed t o Vincent s approach
You have not granted me a waltz yet Miss Lam bert
may I have the next ? said the American

I am engaged for the next

Indeed ! t o Mr Glynn ? He has been so hi ghl y f a

v ore d that I think he might permi t a change o f partners
as I am obl iged to l eave al most immedi ate ly and sh all
not s e e you ag ain for so me time I start by t he earl y
mail for Bordeaux to morrow or rath er thi s morn ing
I have l e ss benevol ence than you credi t me with sai d

Glynn hau ght il y

I am not disposed to forego an iota
o f my temporary right
What woul d yo u r father s ay to your desertion of your

asked Vincent with

o ld friend f or a new acquaintance ?
an u npl easant l augh
To Glynn s surprise El sie made a sl ight movement as if
t o wi thdr aw her arm
Glynn hel d it tightly a ainst his
8 1d e

I have not deserted you Mr Vincent she said qui etl y

as if recovering her rst impul se to l eave Glynn for I

was not engaged to you

Pe rhaps not ; we will discu ss that point when we m eet
to

A T BA Y

82

Why ? he excl aimed

May I come and te ll you
why ? to morrow will you hear my expl anation with kin d
ness with patience ?

Ah
she returned shrinking sl ightl y it is l ate

Madame Dav il lie rs will be l ooking f or me

But El sie may I come will yo u hear me ?

Yes she sai d very gravely and softl y you may

O ther coupl e s now invade d their sol itude and

c ome
Gl ynn was o bliged to take her to her chaperon
Madame Dav ill ie rs was read y to l eave the ball and
observed that the dear child meaning El sie l ooked qui te
tired
Glynn accompanied them to the door wrapping El sie s
cl oak ro und her careful l y

To morrow he whispered pressing her arm to his

side She l ooked u p a serious searching l ook
You puzzl e me !
she said

How ? b ut you will t ell me how and why ! When may

I come to morrow

In the afternoon

You will stay with us to night chre El sie ? cried

Madame Dav ill ie rs from the carriage

A thousand thanks but I sho ul d rather go home ; I

have caught col d I think

Her v oice was unsteady and
Glynn noticed that she was trembling
He l onged to
speak some soothing words to her b u t there w as no possi
bilit y of doing s o
The next moment the door was sh ut
the coachman ordered to drive to the Ru e de L Ev e qu e
and Glynn l eft gazing after the retreating vehicl e
Bidding good night to yo u ng Le Cl erc who was retu rn
ing to the ball room Glynn li t his cigar and walked
sl owly down the Rue de Rivol i It w as a heavy intensely
dark ni ght but he was too much excited to feel atmos
h
In hi s o wn mind he had passed the
p e ri c inuences
rubicon ; and his request to El sie for an interview on the
morrow had he considered p l edged him to o ff er his
future l ife for her acceptance Wo ul d sh e accept it ? He
was t o o deepl y and trul y in l ove t o make sure of the im
pression he had created himsel f too much in earnest not
t o be humbl e
El sie had been startl ed to u ched ; but it
did not foll ow that she l ove d him
However s he de
cided he wa s gl ad he h ad spoken as he d id She must

ANISHED

83

know what his intended expl anation meant ; woul d s he

have promised to hear it if she were not dispo s e d to hear
it favorably ? If what rapture o f anticipation shivered
through him at the possibil ities thus su ggest ed Then he
al m os t l au ghed al o u d at t he idea of La d y G e t hin s anger
and desp air at such a marriage as he contempl ated He
even pictured a futu re home s o peaceful s o l ovi ngly
home like that not even the tol erably frequent visits o f
Lambert in his gorgeo u s array and most anecdotal mood
sho ul d di sturb its del icious h armony ! The rst faint
streaks o f daylight were steal ing across t he eastern sky
when Gl y nn at l ength entered his hotel
The porter han d ed him his key and with it a card o n

which w as printed
Travers Deering Denham Castl e

and written in pencil Want particul arly to s e e you

Will call t o morrow about two
What an infern al n uisance ! was Glynn s rather pro

fane reection
he shall not keep me here after
if
it were to save his l ife !
.

Deering was not u nct ual It was already two o cl ock

when he presented im s e l f and he at once asked Gl ynn
to l e t their interview take pl ace in the l atter s private room
as he wished t o spe ak o f person al matters They there
fore adjo urned from the general s alon and Deering
quickl y pl unged into his subject which was to ask Gl ynn s
advice as to the organizing o f a scheme for makin g a
branch from the main l ine o f rail way which ra n within
eight or nine mil es of Denham to some vill ages o n his
estate and past a certain quarry he had l ately begun to
work This had been su ggested by a shrewd l and agent
and Deering was anxio u s to cons ul t Glynn before he l eft
Paris f or his summer wanderings The conversation
w hich ens u ed w as a nimated and interesting ; but Glynn
did not forget t o l ook at hi s watch from time to time

I s e e I am keeping you said Deering observing hi s

movement
I sh al l not trespass any l onger I shall f ol
l o w yo u r a dvice and s e e the heads of your rm as t o
fun d s on my way thro u gh London How is our queer
acqu aintance Lambert and his incomparabl e dau ghter 9
I have fou nd traces of a c u riou s story connected with
him whic h if true
as he spoke the door was burs t

84

BA}

Open and Lambert rush ed in Lamb ert in a state o f in

tense agonized excitement His eyes wil d with ang ry
terror his face pall id through all the deep su nb urn o f its
acquired tint a sl ight froth at the corners o f hi s mouth
his necktie disarranged his hands gl ovel ess both Deer
ing and Gl ynn st arted to their feet at this unexpected ap
,

pariti o n

My chil d ! cried Lambert hoarsely where is my

chil d ? Deering you l imb of the devil ! have you hel ped
that s coun drel Vincent to take her away ? Fo r Go d s sake
tell me ! have mercy ! I ll d o anything ! Gl ynn you wi ll
hel p me ? you are an honest honorabl e man She s gone

and I am going mad !

Gone ! cried his hearers togeth er

what do you
m ean

Listen said Lambert gasping as i f for breath and

throwing himsel f into a chair
She was at the ball l ast
night Why did I ever l e t her from under my o w n eyes !
It w as agreed that if she was l ate s he shoul d st ay at the
When I asked for her this morning the bonne
Bavill iers
said she had not returned s o I tho ught no more abo ut it
and went to w ork as u su al I had some business ap
e vill iers
and
then
I
turned
into
D
h
inking
i
n
m
n
t
o
t
e
t
s
p
I d w al k home with El sie m y j ewel ! if s he was still
there Bu t she wasn t oh ! great heavens ! they had
l eft her at her o wn door seen her go in and he ard it

cl ose and no w s he is gone !

Bu t thi s is not possibl e ! Mad emoisell e Antoine tte i s

pl aying some stupid trick Have y o u
I tell you they are nearly as distracted as I am in
t e rru pt e d Lambert starting up and grasping the b ack o f
his chair
I ru shed to your hotel Deering for I cannot
help thinking Vincent has some han d in it He is a
doubl e dyed scoundrel Deering I charge you ne t to

screen him !

How dare you ac cuse me o f such vill ainy ! cr ied

Deering in great agitation

I am a s ignorant o f t he
af f air as you are more s o don t pretend that you are
wi thout su spicion She has not been taken away wi th
o u t her o w n consent
you must have some id ea who it is
she has gone o ff with
Gly nn in the mids t of his o wn st unning horror was
,

'

ANI SH ED

85

struck wi th the consternation which Deering s face e x

pressed and was incli ned to acquit him o f any g uil t in
the matter
Have you been t o the pol ice ? No ; for God s sake

Glynn seized hi s hat

I will go
l e t us l ose no t ime

with you
I returned t o question the concie rge in order to get
some cl ue before going to the P refe ctu re de P oli ce th en

noddi ng to Deering to
.I fel t obl iged to question hi m
tell you t o Oh ! stand by me Glynn my head is

goin g

You must keep cal m for her s ake s ai d Glynn

come on if s he is above g round we ll nd her !

An d I ll second yo u s o far as I can cried D eering

though you have attacked me so shamefull y
Lambert wi th a dazed h al f s tu pe e d air stared at him
till Gl ynn who fel t hi s o wn head reel ing under the shock
passed his arm through his and l e d hi m to the acre
which was waiting
Littl e was sai d except to urge the driver to greater
speed until they reached the R ue de J ru s al e m where
after a short parl ey with one or two l o wer ofcial s they
were admi tted to the presence of the chief of the detectives
a quiet simpl e l ooking iron grey man with watchful eyes
and a cl ear penetrating voice He li stened with profound
attention to Lam bert s statement s carcely putting a qu e s
ti on onl y occasion all y restraining the detail s Lambert
had evidentl y made a supreme e ff ort to maste r his terri
bl e emotion the vital nece ssity for cl earness giving him a
force beyond himsel f
Whil e Gl ynn listened with agonized keenness t o th e
recital he al so heard the whi spered terrors o f hi s o wn
heart What horror had befall en the tender del icate
darl ing whom he had hoped to call hi s promised wife
day ? To what hideo u s pl ot had she fall en a victim ? He
scarcel y knew ho w to restrain the wil d impul se to rush
forth in hopel ess bl in d pursuit
Having heard all particul ars M Cl aude (the chef)took a
sheet of paper and demanded a d e s cription of the young
l ady
Thi s was furnished by both Lambert and Glynn
t he l atter eagerl y adding some characterist i c detail s of
which even the f ather di d not think Cl aude then touched

,
,

86

Ar

B AY

bell and ordered the s ub ordi nate who answered it t o

tel egraph the d escript ion at once t o every seaport and
frontier tow n in Fran ce warning the p oli ce de s ure t in each
pl ace to arre s t any pers on answering t o it no matter who
accompanied

Time has been l ost al ready said the immovabl e chef

Still things are always discovered Have the goodn ess

t o answer my q u estions

Wl ll yo u s ay broke in Deering with hi s supreme air

addressing himself to Glynn that I shall be happy t o

uarantee
expenses
g
Damn your money ! cried Lambert turning on him
ercely
not a penny o f it shall pay for the recovery o f

my chil d

He doesn t kn ow what he is sayin g poor beggar said

D eering in an un dertone with contemptuous pity and an
evil l ook o n his face
As I don t u nderstand what is
going on I ll l eave you I have an idea she ll make for
Engl an d if s he hasn t gone o ff with some Yankee So I
shall write to my l awyers to stir up o ur detectives I will
call at your hotel for fu rther news this evening Glynn
He l eft the b ure au and Glynn gave his undivided atten
tion to the interrogatories noting with desp air which
increased every moment the hOpe l e s s ne s s of the search in
the f ace o f nearl y twenty fo ur hours s tart
That the extraordinary ne ss e o f the police sho ul d nall y
s u cceed was possibl e but in the interi m what crime might
not be committ ed ?
The distinct qu eries of the astute detecti ve established
That Lambert had risen at his us u al hour ; that on
receiving his cod e s from the bonne he asked if m ad e m o i
sell e had ret u rned ; and nding she had not remarke d
that do ubtl ess she had danced well and late s o it was
better for her to stay at Madame Dav illi e rs for the night
He al so inquired if Cel estine t he bonne had taken her
young l ady s morning dress to Madame Dav illi e rs to
which she repl ied in the afrm ative
The conci e rge had heard the bell abo u t two or h alf past
had pull e d the cordon heard t he door shut it was a heavy
door and recognized Mademoisell e Lambert s voice ; afte r
that there was no trace
Have you any suspicion ? Had your daughter any
admirer to whom you were averse
a

No ; certainly not

ANISH ED

87

Certain y o u cannot be where a yo u ng l ady is in ques

tion said M Cl au d e with qui et cynicism

Bu t i s there
no o ne towards whom you r suspicion po ints ? you spoke
angril y to the gentl eman who has j u st gone o u t
There is o ne man respecting whom I have some

doubts and that gentl eman is his associate

Lambert
proceeded to describe Vincent wi th considerabl e accuracy
ad ding that he had more than once demande d the han d o f
his dau ghter bu t that the yo u ng l ady hersel f was
strongly opposed to hi m
Here Glynn w ho had been l istening wi th painful fever
is h interest to the dial ogue vol u nteered an acco u nt o f his
appe arance at the ball o n the previou s night o f his
endeavor to persuade Mademoisell e Lambe rt to dance
wi th him and hi s avowed intention o f l eaving early th at
morning for Bordea ux These detail s were all carefull y
noted down

l
Then M C au de rising said Now to v iew the hou se
He struck a bell whi ch stood beside his d esk and whil e he
gave some instructions to the o f fi cer who an s wered his
su mmons he p ut o n h is gl oves l ocked his desk and
di recte d that a certai n com m is s ai re sho u l d accompany him
t o M Lambert s residence
I s uppose you will wish to

assist in the examination o f the premises ? said M

Cl aude
you may help to throw l ight on the cas e

O f course I will go with you

And you will all ow me to assist s o far as I can u rged

,

Bu t

can nothing more be done ? no more rapid action

taken ? cried the fevered agitated father l etting his

cl osed hand fall heavil y o n the tabl e The chef took o u t

his watch gl an ced at it and remarked dr amaticall y It

is forty min utes since I noted d own your description of
our daughter and all egress from France is cl ose d to

yer
Lam b ert uttered a l ow moan

We must l e t them work their o wn way They know

what they are abo ut bu t the su spen s e is al most int ol e r

abl e said Glyn n whose heart was bursting with despair

and remorse Why had he no t accepte d Lambert s propo
s it io n ?
Had he b een El sie s betrothed this might not
have happened !
,

AT B AY

88

Th e drive t o th e Ru e de L Ev qu e seemed en dl ess ;

L ambert s at imm ovabl e and speechl ess Arrived the
chef de la s urcl e and hi s subal tern immediate l y proceeded
to examine the hou se carefull y and t o question the
In the re z de c haus s e was the
c onci e rge as t o the tenants
o n the rs t
m agas zn o f a Patent Pol ish Stove Company

o
n
in l aw re
an
ady
with
her
and
daughter
s
o
l
l
d
a
e
t g

sided
Pers ons oi high consideration said the tearful
conci e rge The second tage w as vacant M Lambert o c
Then came a Professor o f Mu sic Mons
c u pi e d the thi r d
l s Capitai n G all iard Maitre d Ar m e s and others
Both Lambert and Glynn watched with qui vering inter
e s t the del iberate min utene s s o f the examination rst of
the conc ie rge then o f the ho u se itsel f The Professor of
Mu sic and the Maitre d Arm e s were o ut so M Cl au de
contented hi msel f for the present by aski ng some l eading
qu estions ab out them
Then he and his attendant com m is s aire ascended to
Lambert s apartment and qu estioned Madame Weber and
the bo nne as to the sm all est d etail s concerning the m i ssing
girl her character her habits o f life her friends her pur
s uits and nall y as ked for her l ast photog raph It sent a
sh arp dart of an gry pain thr ough Gl ynn s heart to s e e the
chef de la s are t e and his aide
de
camp cooll y ex amini ng the
portrait which to him had a certain sanctity to observe the
u nm oved compos u re o f the practiced detectives in face of
the father s d espairing anxi ety the professional instinct
which subordinate d h uman interest to the keen percep
tion of possibl e crime the sl eu th ho u nd scent for a l e gi t i
mate prey
From Lambert s abode they proceeded to the vacant
l age which t he conc ie rge in all the tearf ul yet delightful
excitement o f such an extraordi nary occurrence threw
open with eager zeal
It was ahnos t the same as the dwell in g above and after
l ooking carefull y thro u gh the empty rooms they reached
the kitchen The door was fast ened
Tie ns !
cried the conc ze rge l ooking rapidl y through

the keys she carried this is strange I d o not remem

ber l ocking the d oor and I have not been in here more
than twice sin ce the d ay you l ooked at the apartment
Monsie u r Lambert for s ome friends who thou ght o f com
ing to Paris

'

90

AT

B AY

which I am unacquainted Bu t I believe what may be as

bitter as her death t o you that she has gone wi th her

o wn free consent

And that I never can believe cried Lambert

She
the sweetest most l oving obe di ent chil d man ever had 1

Even s o said the det ective wi th a tinge of sadness

The aff air might have occurr ed under chl oroform

said th e com m is s ai re in a l o w submissive to ne

A res o
l ut e pract iced vill ain mee t s her ascendi ng the st airs ; a
handkerchief saturated wi th chl oroform suddenl y wrapped
roun d her face renders her hel pl ess She is carried t hrough
l
thi s empty apartment her dress changed whi e she is stil l

insensibl e
An irrepressibl e groan from Glynn made
the chef de la s zlre t l ook at hi m'
They carry her down

stairs continued the com m is s azre

And then int errupted the concie rge shrill y they are
caught ! how can any o ne get o u t without cal l ing me ?
My faith ! do yo u think I negl ect my duties or that a
great warrior lik e my husband n ow e n re iraiIe and em
p l oyed at the Gare St Laz are w oul d permit hal f a doz e n
such brigands t o p ass ?
Sil ence
said M Claude impressively
Feel al ong

the oor in that corner beyond the window

His subordin at e obeyed and discovered a small square
of chocol ate a few crumbs of bread and two pins These
l ast were most carefully examined
Bu t that is
They are English said the detective
easil y accounted f o r ; t he person o r persons engaged in
the abduct ion evidently part ook o f refreshment ; nor is
there any sign l eading t o the supposition o f viol ence The
dif cul ty is t o discover how they managed t o l eave the
house At what hour di d y o u l ock the door and put o ut

your light l ast night ? to the concie rge

In reply to his questions she stat ed that the entrance
door was al ways l ocked at ten o cl ock but that she herself
often sat up till el even Last ni ght feeling weary she
went to bed at hal f past t en Before she sl ept the bell
rang and she pull ed the cordon M Lambert s voice said
who was there and bid her good night Twice after e n
trance was demanded by diff erent inmate s ; then after
what seemed t o her a l ong t ime some one rang and wak
ing c ompl e tely she distinctl y heard Mis s Lambe rt s voi ce
.

"

AN IS H ED

91

She di d not sl eep again for what seemed to her more than
an ho ur during which all was profoundl y quie t S he
al ways rose before six and after l igh ting her re t o pre
pare the c o fe e o f monsieur her husband she unl ocked
the great door and went t o ll her pail with wat er at a
pump whi ch was in a court o n which the entrance Opened
at the far side from t he street i n order t o wash the
passage

Can you see the chi ef entrance from thi s court ?

Bu t yes cert ainl y

And the p ump ho w is it sit u ated ?

About the centre

I sh all inspect it said M Cl aude Having carefull y
wrapped up the mors el of l ace and ribbon the square of
chocol ate and the two pins and pl aced them in an inner
pocket M Cl aude l e d t he way down st airs t o the cour t
mentioned by the concie rge foll owed by her Lambert
and Glynn who were t oo penetr at ed by the sense Of their
o w n hel pl essness in such an aff air to O f fer any interference
o r s uggestion
The court whi ch was like a well being surrounded by
l ofty houses was exac tl y Opposit e the entrance and the
pump as st at ed was in the centre but wi th its back to
wards the doorway so that any o ne using the handl e to
rai s e the water woul d nat urally tur n his o r her face from
it especi all y as it was necessary to watch the lling Of
After l ook
Whatev er vessel was pl aced bel ow the spout
ing carefull y at the rel at ive posit ions of the door and the
pump M Cl aude requested the concie rge t o ll a pail of
wat er as she was in the habit Of doing She obeyed he
stood behind her during the Operation and at the end

observed The fugitives walked through the Open door

whil e you were p u mping ; no force o r chl oroform coul d

have been used

The concie rge burst int o tears
Gen

t l e m e n conti nued the chef de la s re t

I sh all now pro
oecd t o Madame Bavill iers and the remainder Of my i n
M Lambert do me
qu iri e s I wish to prosecut e al one
the favor to call at my of ce to morrow morni ng about

ten and come u naccom p anie d

And can you do no more to d ay ? asked poor Lam
be rt his mou th twi t ching from the nervous strain o f s up
p ressi ng his cruel anxi ety
.

92

AT

B AY

I consider that we have secured a cl ue I f eel sure o f

n ding your daughter if not immediat ely at no distant
date

At no distant date repeat ed the f ather as the chef

do la s ii re t l eft the house foll owed by the coni m is s ai re
Bu t in the mean time O h G o d Glynn how can I live
o n s u ch a rack and I don t know where t o t urn !
It is almost unbearabl e Can you remember nothing
that might serve as a cl ue to her extraordinary di s ap
.

aran c e
e
p

Nothing If I don t nd her I have done with life

I feel f or you Lambert fr om the bott om of my soul
I d give all I possess t o know that El sie is safe ! you ll

have an awful ni ght o f it Shall I st ay with yo u ?

I am best al one re turned Lambert l ooking sharpl y
at hi m
I di dn t think yo u cared so much Thank y e

- I am b e st al one

CH AP TER VI

URSUIT

GLYNN had known some rough times in his life but a

s tupendous cal amity such as had now o v e i t ake n him can
onl y happen once in an existence Littl e more than
twel ve hours before he had thrill ed at El sie s t ouch and
dreamed Of winning her l ove ! Why had he no t a e com
ani e d her t o her house and seen her safel y wi thin her
p
father s door ? What was the di m haz e o f mystery which
had hung about her and had now suddenly deepened
in t o darkness so profound that it deed conjecture And
suppose she were discovered might not the discovery be
nearly as t erri bl e as the l oss ? In spite Of M Cl aude s
profoun d conviction that Miss Lambert had gone will
ingly Gl ynn coul d n ot woul d not bel ieve that there was
a shadow of dupl icity in the soul that l ooked so c andidl y
NO
s o earnestl y o u t Of those gl orious deep bl ue eyes
but she might have been decoyed away by some pl ausibl e
story if so she was not wanting in cour age and resol u
ti on ; she woul d probabl y manage to communicat e wi th
Lambert Bu t in the meantime what agonies Of te rr or
what unspeakabl e di stress she must endure
Af te r a hideous night during which he did not attempt
t o undress Gl ynn was earl y next morning at the Rue de
,

L Ev q u e

Lambert l ooked l ess terribl y agitat ed than he was t he

day before but he had an exh austed s t u pe e d air as if
natur e co ul d not hol d o u t much l onger He was dressed
and ready t o g o out however and as he was too soon for
the appointment wi th M Cl aude Glyn n accompanied him
t o see Madame B avill iers who with her husband had vis
it e d and condol ed with the bereaved father m ore than
Once durin g the previous evening
They found her still much agitated
She received
Lambert wit h aff ectionate symp athy but t al ked in a strain
,

AT

94

BAY

that maddened Glynn The chef de la s are t e had evidentl y

communi cat ed t o her his own belief that El sie had ed
will ingly
'

Antoinette she said was weeping in her own room ;

the poor chil d coul d no t of course un d erstand the despair
To her it was like some fairy tal e Of a
o f her el ders
cruel ogre ; the l ess she heard o f so awful a catastrophe
the bett er It is not f or me to judge the habit s of other

b ut the resul ts o f such

nations continued madame
freedom as is permitted to young American girl s cannot
fail t o be fat al ! That dear Elsie was an angel o f goodness
and p u ri ty brought up by those holy l adies O f the convent
and all the more likel y to be l e d away because o f her

extreme innocence S he (Madame B avill iers ) was the

l ast woman to be taken up with egotism but the disgrace
of such an occurrence woul d reect on all who had come

in contact with the unhappy one

DO you mean to say that yo u think my chi l d my j ewel
my pride is to bl ame ? that any one l iving coul d l ead her

astray ? al most screamed Lambert stung from his de

s pairin g apathy into angry excit ement

Dear monsieur I onl y bl ame your system not its

victim !

Y ou are premature in your conclusions said Glynn

with col d disp l easure

Within twenty four hours she
will no doubt be discovered and all that seems ine x pl i c

abl e expl ained

I tru st it may be so monsieur ; meanwhil e I agree with
the excell ent M Cl aude that the aff air shoul d be kept as
secret as possibl e rumor will make everyt hing worse
than it really is and for the sake o f

A di eu madame ; mine is too terribl e an al ict ion to

l eave room for thought about appearances !

cried poor
Lambert turning away

Poor u nhappy father ! all things may be pardoned

to him said madame compassionatel y to Glyn n wh o

bowed sil en tly and foll owed hi s distracted friend
Arrived at the Bu re au de la s are te Glynn remained
Outside sl owly pacing the street ; and whil e he waited
somewhat t o his surpris e he saw D eering come o ut from
a d i e re nt door to that by which Lambert had entered
H e w as accompanied by a man in uni fo rm and walked
.

UR S UIT

95

bri skl y away in the same direction in which Glynn was

,

sauntering but as they were considerabl y ahead o f hi m

it was usel ess t o attempt pursui t Nor did Glynn par
He fel t that f o r
t icu l arly wish to speak wi t h Deering
some occul t reason he was Lambert s enemy and he
entirel y acquitted him of any share in El sie s disappear
ance That he shoul d make independent inquiries was
natural as L ambert s treatment of him the previous day
probabl y
al most forbid their ho l ding further intercourse
the man with him was an Of cial interpreter G lynn s
thoughts were sufcientl y painful as he stroll ed t o and
fro He wi shed Lambert woul d v ol untarily conde to
him the secret o f his enmity to Deering He fel t an u h
reasoning conviction that the extraordinary disappear
ance o f El sie was in some way connect ed with it
Time went sl owl y painfull y ; but at l ength a 9n
dc

saying
Will monsieur
ville approaching sal uted him
give himsel f the troubl e to enter ? M Le Chef wi shes t o

speak to him
Glynn foll owed readil y and found Cl aude alone

Monsieur Lambert awaits you in an ante chamber

said the grave chef ; y o u shall soon be at l iberty to j oin

him Meantime y o u will have no Obj ecti o n t o answer a

few questions
He proceeded to put a few l eading
queries as to Glynn s position and occupation the origin
o f his acquaintance wit h Lambert it s renewal his knowl
edge Oi D eering and Vincent and their connection with
father and daughter The astute chef was courteous though
searching and having meditated f or a moment or two

said
I shoul d recommend your advising your friend
t o con de e ve ry circumst ance connect ed with his daughter
to me He is k eeping something back and that something

nu ll i e s all O ur eff orts

I think he must have tol d you everyt hing espe ciall y

connected with his daughter

There is small chance o f success if he does not

I suppose you hav e no intell igence as yet ? said

,

Thi s is all we hav e discov ered said M C laude throw

ing Open the doors o f a l arge arm oi re or cl othes press an d
th e re hung in ghastl y mockery the pretty white ball
dre ss which had so deli ghtfull y become the wearer its
.

96

AT

B AY

b ouquets O f wil d owers crushed and attened

l ong

and

revol ting stain of hal f dried mud al ong one side o f

the creamy silk

G ood God ! excl aimed Glynn starting back horror

struck
Where where did you nd this ?

O ne of o ur men found it near the Pont de L Alm a

early this morning See here is where the l ace and knot
Of ri bbon were torn away There is no other mark o f
viol ence The intention evidentl y was t o throw the par
c e l (it was tightl y roll ed up ) into the Seine ; but it fell

short and the river was l ow You recognize the dr ess ?

Yes and now ?

This proves nothing said the im perturbabl e M

Cl aude
The dress was del iberatel y thrown away either
to direct attention o n a wrong scent o r simpl y to get rid

of an encumbrance

Then you have not advanced since yesterday ?

Not much I have foun d that M Vincent is at Bor

deaux but al one

And you have seen M D eering ? said Glynn qui ckl y

Y es retur ned M Cl aude l ooking at him f or an in

stant
He came to seek tidings o f the missing young

l ady in whom he seems deeply int erested

There was a pause Glynn sought in his soul for some
suggestion t o keep the inscrutabl e de tective in conversa
tion He c oul d not hel p a conviction that he was in po s
session oi more in f ormation than he cared to imp art but
nothing came t o him

Y ou do not then bel ieve that any great crime has

been commi tt ed ? he falt ered

All things are possibl e but I hope that before many
days are over you will hear from the young l ady hersel f
I believe it is an unusual ly cl ever case Of el opement I
have communicated with the Engl is h pol ice ; but an
el oquent shr ug
they have fewer facil ities than we My
tel egram yesterday was too l ate t o catch the Dover mail
boat not that I think it was o f much consequence
for
His reason was never utt ered a tap at the door inter
He rose t ook a dispat ch from the hands of
ru pt e d him
a messenger Cl osing the door, he read i t and then with
-

gn m

sm

il e

s ai d :

98

AT

B AY

unsteady steps you are not t to travel al one I will

go with y ou

I m bett er returned Lambert withdrawi ng his arm

and I thank yo u fro m the bott om o f my he art ; but

I d rather go al one If if O h ! great he av e ns lShe

mightn t like t o see you Glynn NO no with increasing

decision I woul d rather go al one and I will send you

word what I nd Y ou have been wonderfull y good to
me and yo u know what she wasis Why d o I despair ?

If
O h if
I ever get my grip o n the
wit h sudden f ury
i nfernal vill ain that drove her to t his he ll have seen the
l ast o f l ight and go down t o darkness forever
There
I don t know what I am talki ng ab out My head see m s

al l wrong

You had better l e t me go with y ou Lambert Be

lieve me yo u are not t to go al one and you must keep

well at any rate till you recover or rescue your daughter

Recover her ! Ay that I will st anding still suddenl y

D o y o u think I m no t proof against everyt hing till I nd
her ? and then and then when she is saf e I have done
my work and Ill rest ay rest well and l ong Bu t I ll

m ake this journey al one

There was nothi ng for it but to gi ve up all th oughts Of
persuading him Then he seemed t o revive t o master his
te rribl e despondency He accepted Glynn s invitation
to lun cheon and forced himsel f t o take food and wine
Then he returned t o his desol ate home to make prepara
tions for his departure nally Gl ynn saw him safely into
the train
The h ou rs which succeeded how sl owl y yet swiftl y
they dragged their torturing l ength ! sl owl y for the mo
ments as they dropped int o the abyss of the past seemed
deliberately distill ed from the bi tt erest in gredients l ife
c oul d supply ; swiftly for every hour of del ay added to
the dii cul t y o f the search o n the success o f which all
Glynn s hopes hung He exhausted himsel f wandering to
and fro the Rue de L Ev qu e the Rue de J ru s al e m even
the Morgue where he woul d rather have foun d the corpse
of her he l oved than know her al ive under such circum
stances as the detective s tel egram suggested Bu t thi s
he did not for a moment bel ieve though through his l ong
m e ntal agony s trange d oubts w oul d obtru d e the m se l ve s
.

99

PU R SU IT

more o f Lambert than hi s daughte r H e was evidently

conceal ing somethi ng Those vag ue threats again st some
unnamed vill ain what di d they in di cate ? Knowl edge of
some possibl e and real abduction o r merely imaginative
fur y
Still fast or sl ow the hou rs went by Glynn was nall y
overcome with fatigu e and sl eep s o enj oyed a few hour s
of bl ess ed oblivi on
He woke with a startl ed sense o f wrong doing in having
f orgotte n even f or a moment the awful uncertainty that
had l aid its curse upon hi m and coll ectin g hi s thoughts
remembered his su rprise at not having received a tel e
graphic message from Lambert True he might not have
succeeded at once in seeing his supposed daughter
The expected commun ication came however before he
sal lied forth to renew the restl ess round Of yest erday
Of cer mistaken A fresh track Am O Eto Marseill es
.

In a se nse thi s was a relief ; but Marseill es ? that

se emed the most unl ikely pl ace to nd the Object o f their
search However all pl aces were unl ikel y Lambert had
be tt er k eep at hand in Paris He woul d write and beg
hi m t o return
nn had t aken hi s hat and was at the door when
l
some o ne knocked and D eeri ng ent ered well dressed
cool distin g uished l ooking as ever b ut with a somewhat
haggard aspect and a set sin ister expression about hi s
.

I suppose you have heard nothing fresh ? no discovery

o f any cl ue to the whereabout s o f Lambe rt s dau ght er ?

he asked
Nothing Her f ather went down t o Bordeaux yester
day at the suggestion o f M Cl aude to identify a girl de
scri bed as resembling Miss Lambert I have j u st had this

tel egram from him

Ha ! said Deering on reading it I doubt if Lam

bert will a ff ord M Cl aude much assi s t ance I fancy some
o f his raf s h associates have carried O ff the young l ady
and he is t o o much in their power to be v ery earnest

about di scovering or puni shing them

Have you suggest ed this idea to the chef de la s am e 3

as ked Glynn col dl y

100

AT

B AY

Why sh oul d you think s o ?

Because he tal ked to me o f Lambert s c onceal ments

as mili tating against the success O f the se ar ch j ust af ter

you l eft him

Deering s brows met in a erce quick frown and then
resu med their ordi n ary haughty composure
Yes I
though t it well to warn hi m I am even now endeavoring
to sif t a curio us story about Lambert it may not be true
but I am a good de al concerned at this di sappearance Of
S he is a fascin
hi s daught er and I think so are you
ating morsel of fem al e esh and i t is maddening to see
the prize you had marked f or your o wn c arried O ff under
your very eyes Re all y there is n o line deep enough to

fathom a woman

I never marked Mi ss Lambert as my own said Glynn

an gril y
I Object to your mode Of mentioni ng her As
t o Lambert no one can doubt the unf ortunate man s
despair and distress I do n ot beli eve that Miss L ambert
l eft her home will ing l y unl ess dec oyed by fals e pre

tenoes
Be that as it may I woul d giv e a go o d de al to kn ow
where she is I bel ieve she is in England sh e was
brought up there I bel ieve Well I cross to nigh t and
will set the pol ice at work so so on as I get to London

Shall you be much l onger here ?

My movements are uncertain returned Gl ynn s t ii y

Y ou ll wait and assist the bereaved father I presume

said Deering with an unpl easant smil e
By the way
Vincent has returne d and is awfull y cut up about the
affair Vincent was I fancy a sui tor might have been
a decent match fo r Miss Lambert he is a shrewd fell ow

Bu t you are in a hurry I will not detain you

He bid Glynn good
morning wi th courteous friend
lin e s s and l eft hi m hal f maddened with torturing wav es
of doubt whi ch seemed rising on all sides
Another l o ng miserabl e day its onl y sol ace a visit to
poor M adame Weber and Cel estine who talk ed Of the
dear l ost chil d with u nb ounded panegyric and oods
o f tears
N0 l etter from Lambert and fail ure in an attempt to
s e e the c he
f de la s re t c o mpl e t ed the day s tri al s
The fourt h morning brought Lambert s promise d l ette r

102

BAY

Do y ou think her father will thank you ?

I do Can you doubt his agonized impatience u ntil h e

c an get tidings o f his daughter ?

No but there is something in the af f air I cann ot

quite fathom

There was a pause

I suppose resum ed Glynn there
is no objecti on to my visit ing the l adi es your agent de

s cribes ?

None in the absence of the father

Then I shall start at once Give me a l ine o f intro
duction t o your representative I shall tel egraph to you
the resul t O f my journey N o doubt you will see M

L ambert back t o morrow

M Cl aude wrote the desired l etter and arm ed with it
Glynn l eft the bu re au
A rapid j ourney foll owed a j ourney such as men m ak e
in bad dreams with a curi ous sense of acting und e r
some hideous m ali gn ant inuence a depressing anticipa
tion of coming fail ure O ft en in after l ife the memory of
that j ourney came back as the most painful experience of
all he had e v er known f o r years it haunted hi m wi th
thrill s o f horror Littl e he heeded the quaint aspects of
the Ol d me di aeval town though the pictur e o f the streets
thr ough whi ch he was conducted to the H e t e l des Trois
Co uro nnes remained forever st amped u pon hi s memory
His anticipations were fulll ed The l adies were both
total strangers t o hi m ; he had therefore nothi ng for it
but to ap ol ogiz e and retire
Back to Paris where Lambert had not yet returned
and M Cl aude re ceived him wi t h col d displ easure M
Cl aude was growi ng impatient at the unwont ed fail ure of
hi s e m issaries
It was now six days since the disappear
ance o f Miss Lambert and not the faintest cl ue had been
found by which to trace her
The k een eyed 0W de la s urcl e threw himsel f in t o the
pu rsui t with all the energy i f his nature all the pro i es
s i onal pride that a hi gh re] s tation coul d inspire
There
not a town of any imp o rtance in Europe where his
researches did not penetrat e and yet the days roll ed on
and not a trace was t o be found o f th e missing girl Fo r
so me reasons unkn own very li ttl e was said o f the occur
The p ol ice al ways p owerful in
re nce in th e newsp ap ers
.

103

P URS UIT;

were espe ci all y p otent in the later days o f the

Em pire One or two j our nal mentioned the mysteri ou s
disappearance of a young ady and the matt er was
droppe d
T o Gl ynn the te rribl e darkness whi ch seemed cl osing
in deepe r and deeper wi th each succeeding day over the
fate of the fair girl he had l earned to l ove s o passion
atel y was appall ing He chafed against his o wn hop e
l essness he exhausted himsel f in conj ectures and restl ess
going t o and fro
When Lambert came back from his fruitl ess journey t o
Marseill es he seemed sunk in a strange sull en apathy
nor did he accept Gl ynn s well meant e ff ort s to comfort
and sustain him wi th cordial ity He dec lared his int e n
tion of remaining in Paris as the pl ace where the earliest
tidi ngs o f his missing d aught er were most likely t o reach
hi m
He had already given notice o f his intention to
l eave his apartments and now dismissed Madame Weber
and the bonne
I do not know where I may have to go or what I may

have to do he sai d to Glynn

I ll hang o n here till my
time is up and then Ill t ak e a room somewhere and
wait You are very good Gl ynn ; you coul d have done
no m ore if you had been my poor darling s ai anc e d
l over
I littl e knew yo u were a rich m an and partner in
a great rm when I Off ered you her poor l ittl e portion

Do not speak O f i t said Glynn with inexpressibl e

emotion
but treat me as a trusted friend Tell me what

conjectures you have formed as to her fate

I bel iev e she is dead said Lambert in a broken

voice and covering his face
H ad she been in li fe she
woul d have managed to communicate with me No w I

hav e nothi ng l eft to l ive for but revenge

Have you any idea where t o direct your veng eance ?

I cannot answer yes o r no yet though if I d ans wer

any o ne it woul d be you Gl ynn

That means Y es returned Gl ynn
Lambert di d not repl y He seemed sunk in gl oomy

hard resignation t o a dete sted destiny

Y ou shoul dn t

wait on here Glynn he resumed after a m inute s si

l ence
Yo u can do no good
as they di dn t nd her
withi n the rst week it will j ust be a waiting race We ll
France

104

Ar

hit on

it

B AY

truth j ust by accident that will be the

th e

way

of

Bu t

Glynn coul d not tear himself from Paris How

ofte n he recalled the circumst ances under which he had
uttered these words to El sie they were al most the l ast
he had spoken t o her He coul d al most hear the soft
tremul ous tones in which she promised to list en to his
reasons for not be ing abl e to te ar himself away No it
was impossibl e that she coul d have had the small est an
t icipati on of the dr e ad ful catastrophe which awaited her
Yet her v ery l ast wor ds her l ast l ook haunted him The
questioning wondering gl ance the hal f whisper
y ou
pu zzl e me !
T wice during this miserabl e period of indecision Gl ynn
encountered Vincent once o n the stair l eading to Lam
bert s abode and once in the Boul evards
In the rst instance he greeted Glynn with the frankest
expression o f sorrow and sympathy f or the great m is f or
tune which had bef al len Lambert mentioning his o wn
deep grief and his compassi onate forgiveness of Lambert s
injurious accusat ions against him sel f
Gl ynn found Lambert in a stat e of furious excite ment
aft er this visit and uttering vi olent half unintelli gibl e
threat s against Vincent
On their second meeting Glynn tried to pass hi m but
in vain and was obl iged t o l ist en to a s tring o f s u gge s
tions an d conjectures respecting the supposed fugitive
whi ch nearl y drove him to throttl e his in terl ocutor and
ing him in t o the street under the hoofs of the passing
horses especi all y as he felt that Vincent s sm al l pene
trat ing watchful eyes were intentl y searchingly fixed on
his face whil e he spoke
At l ength l ett ers from his partners obliged him to qui t
the scene o f so much suff ering and disaster
It was with the deepest rel uctance that Glynn bid Lam
bert good bye The unhappy father still wore the same
aspect o f hel pl essness o f sull en submission to the irre
s is t ibl e
He scarcely heeded Glyn n s announcement o f
his immediate depart ure and merel y answered his ardent
reques t for the earl iest inform ation respecting any cru mbs
o f intell igence in the af rmative
He put Glynn s card in
his pocket bo ok mechanic all y Yet he wrung his hand
.

HAPTER VII

o n the just and the unj ust

the fortunat e and t he unf o rtun at e Lady G e t hin had
arrived in town after a prol o nged Christmas visit to some
att ent ive rel atives in one o f the m i dl and counties
She was al ways l eased to be at home ; she liked to
exercise a frien dl y p
os pit alit y and she was by no means
afrai d of a l onel y eveni ng o f whi ch she nev er had t o o
A NEW year was Ope nin g

It was the day after her return Night had cl o sed in

her d ai nty di nner was over and she was est ablished in
her favorite ch air beside a bright wood and coal re in
the sm all er and cosier o f her two drawing rooms whi ch
was li ghted onl y by the ruddy gl ow of the re and a
shaded readi ng l amp by which she w as perusing a new
novel She had l aid down the book and was thi nking
wi th an unusuall y softened expression on her strong face
of her favorite Hugh Glynn She had been intensely
anxious about him during hi s severe ill ness She had
const antl y vi sit ed his sick room and satis ed h ers e l f that
nurses and servants were doing their duty When his lif e
was despaired of she was griml y st ill sil ent and endur
in g but s he knew that all the woman in her somewhat
mascul ine nature had gone out in maternal aff ecti on to
her husband s nephew
When he was sl owl y struggli ng back to l ife and strength
she accompanied him to a south coast bathi ng pl ace and
gave hi m the great benet o f her companionshi p for she
knew how to be sym patheticall y sil ent as well as c onge ni
all y talkative In this prol onged tte d tte Gl ynn grew
sincerely and gratefull y attached t o the outspoken free
thinki ng ol d woman whose frank ki ndness was never
Oppressive and whose un compromising sinceri ty
n
o nvi nc e the hardest sceptic o f its r e ality
.

103)


-O -TH

WILL

107

E-WIS P

Attac hm ent bro u ght co n dence and b efore they parte d

Hugh Gl ynn had tol d her the strange history o f his sud
den l ove for El sie Lambert of the hol d it had taken of
him in spite o f reason prudence worl dl y wisdomevery
motiv e that o ught to guide a man o f his maturity and
experience He even confessed to the we akness o f regret
ting he had rej ected L ambert s propo sal o f m arriage wi th
,

In the story o f El sie s di sappearance Lady G e t hi n was

profoundl y interested though to Gl ynn s di s appointment
and indignation she di d not hesitate to decl are her belief
that the young l ady el oped vol untaril y and had probably
since inf ormed her f ather of her w hereaboutsa fac t
whi ch he might thi nk it wiser not to divul ge S he fur ther
decl ared that al though she did not think the worse of
Glynn f or his in f atuation she thou ght he had had a great
e sc ape and belie v ed he woul d come to thi nk so hi msel f
when he had recovered his health and resum ed the ordi
nary routine o f hi s li f e
Reviewing these conv ersations Lady G e thin sat forget
f ul of her book wh en the obj ect o f her thoughts was
announ ced

Why didn t y ou c ome to dinner ? she excl aim ed

hol ding o ut her hand
Becaus e I have been dini ng earlier than usu al at the
house of a cousin o f mine in the suburbs where I have

been ofciating as g o d father to his rs t born son

A v ery pat riarchal procee din g
Who-is this cousin

do I not kn ow him ?
I thi nk no t he is a cousin on my m other s side and

has a cure of soul s at Cl apham

Well Hugh and how are you ? You l ook better and

stronger
I am I I have turned the corner and am beginning to
pul l mechani call y against the coll ar once more
Lady G e thin l ooked earnestl y at him He seemed tall er
than ever gaunt and bo ny H is dark face was very
col orl ess his eyes sunken ; yet his attitude and air had
less o f l assitude than when they had parted l ast

You have been across the Channel ?

Yes I ran over to Paris for a l ittl e change
bef ore

Paris draws me lik e a magnet

Chris tm as

108

AT

B AY

A magnetism y o u o ught to resist

f ul

H ow is the beauti

city ?

Beautiful as ever ; but there is mischief in the air

However I am no prophet I wandered about the old

scenes li ke a troubl ed ghost and I saw Lambert

Indeed ! I wish Hugh you woul d break away from
all the p ainf ul associatio ns with that man you can do him

no good
True but I have the most profoun d pity for him all
the more that he seems by no means gl ad t o see me I
fancy his terribl e misfortun e has af f ected his brain He
is sull en and averse to speak o f anythin g that l eads up to
the subject o f his l ost daughter and yet he l ooks in sur~

ri s ingly good heal t h

p

H e has not had a brain fever ! said Lady G e t hi n

signi cantl y
I suppose no trace whatever has been d is
covered
Not the f aintest I succeeded in obtaining an in ter
view with M Cl aude who rel uct antl y admitt ed that the
French pol ice have rarel y been so baf ed

It is a most extraordin ary case said Lady G e t hin

and then hastened to change the subject

I have had
rather a pl easant time o f it at the Kingsfor ds
I went
down the day before Christmas and onl y returned yest er
day The Deerings put up there f o r two nights o n their
way to Lord Ar thur S avill e s Lady Frances was l ook
ing a littl e more alive ; and reall y Deering can be v ery

agreeabl e
He is I su spect a tremendo usl y white washed

sepul chre

I cann o t u nderstand your suspicions of Deering re

turned Lady G e thin
as to hi s being mixed up wi th the
Lambert aff air it is mere nonsense What on earth coul d
he have to do with such a man as you describe Lambert ?
He m i ght have met hi m in a trai n or on a st eam boat or
a race course but it is impossibl e he coul d have known

much o f hi m

He di d however I am cert ain said Gl ynn sl owly

and thoughtfull y ; and you woul d agree with me had

you se en them t ogether There was deadl y enmity as

well as acquaintanceshi p between them

Well P erhaps s o she retu rned

Will you have a
.

110

AT

B AY

pied some time then we had to walk round by a road

which ran the l engt h o f the two gardens to turn again
o n reaching the common and go a lit tl e way back to the
gat es of Montp ell ier Ho u se ; al together twenty minute s
must have el apsed from the tim e I rst heard t he voice
before I rang the bell at Mrs St orre r s As we ap
a
cab
was
driving
away
O
n
asking
f
o
r
the
r
a
c
h
d
o
e
p
head o f the establis hment we were i nformed that n o one
was at home but the head gove rness and the French
teacher Heathcote sent up hi s card and begged to be

all owed t o speak t o o ne or both of the l adi es

Well ejacul ated Lady G e thin what di d you nd ?

Af ter a l itt l e del ay we were ushered up stai rs and were

received by a l ady who re c ognized Heathcote He l eft
me to expl ai n mysel f which I di d as well as I coul d

though it was not easy

You heard a v oice you recogni zed spe aking in our
groun ds repeated the l ady ; it must have been either
Mademoisell e Laroche o r Mademoise ll e Moppe rt They
were in the grounds just now
May I see these l adi es ?
Mademoisell e MOppe rt
yes but Mademoisell e La
roche has just driven away Mademoisell e Moppe rt has
come to repl ace her as French governess
I confess I
l ost hope as she spoke st ill I begged for an interview wi th
the incoming teacher and a servant was sent to request
her presence A gl ance at her was enough She was a
short: s to ut el derl y young l ady wi th piercing bl ack ey es
and di stinc t moustaches I had t o muster my best French
and apol ogize el aboratel y Then I begged for some in
formation touching Mademoisell e Laroche Was she
French ? Yes u ndoubte dl y from Picard y
Was she
tal l or short ? sl ight or st out ?
She was the French
governess said about her height and a l ittl e ye s a very
littl e thin ner
The Engl ishwoman added that she did
no t l ook in g oo d heal th
Did she sing ? I asked No
she had never sang or pl ayed whil e in Mrs Sto rre r s estab
Ho w l ong had she been there ? About se v en
l ishmen t
months She had been engaged in May l ast but did not
co me till the middl e of Jun e Where had she gone
It
was u ndersto od she had made an engagemen t t o go to
Indi a but she was extremel y rese rv ed N o o ne knew
,

wa

d Tri m m
-

111

e r.

much ab ou t he r ex cept Mrs Storrer wh o was sp e n di ng

This was all I
t he hol idays with a friend at Chel te nh am
Heathcote was desperate ly put o u t by my
c oul d extract
eccentric procee di ngs I was obl iged to return with him
and to give so me expl anation of my conduct Then I w e nt
to the cab stand and found o u t the number o f t he cab
and to the police
st ation and commissioned a const abl e
to ascertain where t he cab had taken Mademoisell e La

roche
I thi nk your time and troubl e hav e be en thro wn

away s ai d Lady G e thi n

A fancied resembl ance to
Mi ss Lambert s v o ice was but shall ow groun d to buil d

any hopes upon

It was not f ancied said Glynn l eaning b ac k and

l o okin g straight before him with xed dreamy eyes
The
to nes struck my ear my heart wi th inst an taneous recog
ni t i o n
I cann ot believe that any two peopl e coul d spe ak
s o much ali ke
I must say the description doesn t tall y
nor is it possibl e to account for her being in a l adi es
school in Engl and st ill that voice

My dear Hugh your imagination is so saturated with

the tragic ideas y o u associate with that unhappy girl s

f or Gl ynn turned
i ght I mean her disappearance
sharpl y t o wards her that you can hardl y trust y our o w n
impressions I wish y o u woul d put the aff air ou t o f your
he ad You were qui te right to hel p the
or f ather as
much as you coul d ; but now le t thi s 0 apter o f yo

li fe be cl osed and be gin afre s h

Excell ent advi ce but usel ess to me I can not forget !

Is it possibl e that on s o sh ort an acquaintance you

were s o severel y hit ?

Ay in the rst twenty f our hours of our a cqu aintance

sh e touched my heart as no other woman ever di d and
every su bsequent interview added to her p ower There
was a sweet gravity about her which woul d be as charm i ng
in her whi te haired age as in her f ai r youth ! And yet s o
mise rabl y f ai thl ess is this human nature of ours there are
moments when doubt pl unges i t s jagged darts into me
and for a hideous moment I thi nk it possibl e she may
have gone willin gl y wi th some unkn own l over but at any
su ggest ion o f the kind from another the doubt v ani shes
It onl y gathers at rar e interval s wh e n I broo d al one and
.

112

AT

B AY

grow morbid In my saner m oments I nev er doubt

her but the horror of the thi ng ! nothi ng dimini she s
.

He started up and began to pace the room The

ang uish o f hi s voice touched Lady G e t hi n in spite o f her
conviction that he was weakl y credul ous

It is a terribl e b u siness al toge ther What do you

think of doi ng now ?

I sh all go down by an earl y train to Chel tenham to

morrow and see this Mrs S torrer M future move

ments will depend on what I gather from er

S h al l you wri t e to the f ather ?

Not unl ess I have somethi ng deni te to report It

woul d be cruel to rouse hi m ou t o f his apathy by a gl eam

of f al se hope

Yo u are a most unl ucky f ell ow Hugh ; y our l ife is

quite spoil t by thi s en
l eme n

It is my f ate said lynn He rested hi s el bo w on

the mantelpiece and his head on his hand

Yo u will return to morrow night I suppose ? said

Lady G e thi n
Most probably I don t fancy I shall ge t any inte lli

gence that will send me fu rther ael d

Y ou must come and tell me your news as so on as

possibl e

O f course I shall gl a dl y
Then dine wi th me the day after to m orrow I shall
not ask any one to bre ak our solitude d de uar:

Thank you It is an inni te comfort to talk to you

though I know very well y o u are sceptic al o n so me poin ts

where I cl ing to belief

After some more conversation they parted an d Glyn n
di st urbe d but scarcel y hope f ul went home to snatch what
repose he coul d before hi s e arly start next day
.

Whil e

Gl ynn

was making his way t o Mrs St orre r s tem

porary abode through muddy st ree t s and a chi lling shower
of sl eet D eering sat over a gl owing re in the particul ar
apartment occupied by him in his town house He was
i n London for a few days on his way to visit a sporting
friend in Leicestershire and was uti li zing the time by an
interview with his solicitor who had already risen t o take

AT BAY

114

fell ow who woul d be t oo proud of doing you to k eep

If he were not within reach o f the police
s il ent about i t

man he d give m e my quietus

No doubt said Deering with calm compl ete acqui~

What is t he name o f the woman in Wal es ?

e s c e nc e

Mrs Kell ett

I thought we might have got somethi ng ou t of her

Well I did no t returned Vin cent

Lambert was
so read y to apply to her Moreover the man that went
down t o the pl ace found she had been ill in be d at the

very time Miss Lambe rt di sappeared

There was a pause
It is the strangest case I shoul d

think that French det ective ever came across resumed

Deering
I suppose he never was bafed before Who
has any interest in t aking her away ? Have you any
theory
No t much of one I am so metimes incl ined to think
she went 03 with Gl ynn He was I suspect far gone

about her

No said D eering thoughtfull y

No he was wi th
me when Lambert broke in like a madm an and no o ne
coul d have aped the horror and as toni s hm ent he betrayed
No he doesn t know anyt hing or di dn t a few weeks
ago but I wis h t o heaven he hadn t got over that fever
Shoul d we ever nd the girl we sh all have to re ck on with

hi m and he is a formidabl e antagonist

He can be dealt wi th I su ppose

D eering did not heed hi m he moved uneasil y in his
chair His brow contracte d wi th a l ook of erce reso

Have you tel egraphed to the New York police ?

l ut io n

I w ai ted to see you rst

You had bett er do s o They have a description of

L ambert I suppose ?

I rather think not

Send it then

What by wire
Yes but wait do it through the French detective
I don t want to appear in the matter They were rather
t aken with the notion that Lambert himse l f had made

away wi th his daugh ter ?

At rs t yes ; but the l ast time I saw M Cl aude he

seemed to have qui te giv en up the idea

,

-o - T

115

H E-W IBP .

You nev er know what he thi nks Now what has your

j ourney cost you ?

I don t care to take any m oney at prese nt ; I will
write when

No interrupted Deeri n g i mperiously no l ett ersI

will neither writ e nor receive t hem a te l egram if abs o
If you have anythi ng to tell come and
l u t e l y nece s sary
t ell it you can al ways nd my address at the Club and
never giv e up the search Here are t wenty sovereigns
I have no more gol d about me and Ill not give yo u
no tes take them I insist It sui t s me bett er to pay
when I have the opportunity Remember the s u m orig
i nally promised if yo u c an nd her dead doubl e if yo u
nd her al ive Now you may g o st op wait till the ser

vant comes
Vincent paus ed and as the door opened

D eering sai d distinctly i n courteous tones

I am very
much obli ged t o you for taking the troubl e to call I am
interested in your searchand wis h you all success
Good morni ng
.

Lady G e thin was restl ess and expectant u ntil the hour
arrived at which Glynn was due She was profoundl y in
t e re s t e d in the mysterious disappearan c e o f the girl who
had made so deep an impression o n her favorite nephew
She woul d like her to be di scovered safe and well but
above all things married to some worthy person and so
se c ure from doing or receiving harm Then she shoul d
l ike to see her perhap s as sist at her reconcil iation wit h
her father Anyhow it was a great mercy that she was
well o u t o f Hugh s way f or reall y the foll y and weakness
o f men were such etc
etc
Glynn was a few minutes l ate but was cordiall y we l
co rned

I see you have found nothi ng excl aimed Lady G e t hin

as soon as they were al one

It was a wil d goose chase he repl ied with a weary

.

100k

You mu s t tell me all about it after dinner Yo u seem in

want o f a gl ass o f wine you shall have some o f my best

Burg un dy i t is a spl en d id to nic

The frien dl y hostess was greatl y distressed at her
guest s want of appe tite she pressed him to eat and pre
.

116

AT BAY

sc ribed v ari o us nostrums which he rejected A s soo n as

the serv an ts had l eft the room he bright ened a l ittl e and
drawi ng hi s chair nearer hers began his story in oomph
ance with her reiterated entreaty Come tell me every

th ing
He had he said found the head of the Cl apham est ab
li s hm e nt easy enough she was a composed ceremonious
typical school mistress civi l but guarded S he l istened
attentivel y t o his story and decl ared her will ingness to t ell
all she knew about the young French l ady who had just
quitted her service She had been recommended by some
Englis h friends at D inan and her chief attraction was
the fact of her being a Prot est ant Hitherto Mrs St orrer
fe ared the introduction of a foreigner int o her sel ect and
sacred househol d but had no reason t o regret the entrance
o f Mademoisell e Laroche withi n its precincts It was
early in May l ast that negotiations between hersel f and
the French teacher began ; but she did not enter upon
her duties till the 15t h of June

That said Glynn interrupting himsel f was the

day of the b al L the day before her di sappearance

Mrs Sto rrer described Mademoisell e L aroche as about
middl e heigh t inclined to be st out wi th hair and eyes
between dark and fair not particul arly graceful and as
to age well it was hard to say she might be twenty
one she might be twenty v e appearances are de c e p
tive As t o her voice ye s it was pl easant un usuall y
soft for a French wom an but nothing remarkabl e ! If
he wished f or Mademoisell e Laro che s ad dress Mrs S torrer
woul d be happy to furnish it thou gh that woul d not be
o f much avail as the family to whom she had gone were
to start to morrow or next day for India She had not
her address book wi th her but wo ul d send a note to the
governess t o forward it to Mr Gl ynn
Finally I showed her Miss Lambert s photograph
which I al ways carry about with me S he l ooked at it with
a sl ow smil e and then turning it said : N 0 this is no t
Mademoisell e Laroche this is a charming youn g l ady
Her qui et un c onsci o usness o f any resemblance convinced
me even m o re than her words that she coul d not kn o w
.

Ind ee d,

ad

de d Glynn,

a qui e t young l adi es bo ard

118

BAY

will be hard Curiousl y enough I found a l etter awaiting

me when I retu rned from Lambert dat ed Liverpool in
forming me he was t o sail next day f or New Y ork where
he had some faint hope of nding a cl ue t o his daugh ter
He must have passed through London I am surprised
he did not call o n me I di d not think he woul d have

avoided me

By the way l e t
It l ooks o d d said Lady G e thin
me see the dau ghter s photograph I did not know you

carried i t about o r I shoul d have asked for it before

Glynn took o u t the l itt l e case in which the picture was
carefully encl osed and gave it t o her Lady G e thin
l ook e d l ong and though tfull y at it

A sweet f ace she said

somewhat sad ; but a ne
expression ; i t seems somehow famil iar to me Photo
graphs are sel dom true representations and she may be
very unl ike the idea this suggests ; but I wish I coul d

rem e mber who it is she reminds o f

It has not been fortunat e for El sie that her face sug

ge s t s memories said Gl ynn

I have a strong convi e
tion that if she had not attracted Deering s att ention at
those Auteuil races she woul d be still safe under her

fa ther s care
Yo u mean to say yo u think that a man o f Deering s
po s ition character standing woul d give himself up to

such scoundrel ism Hugh ! it is too absurd !

I know it is ; I al ways dismiss the thought and then
it gathers again like a mist over the morass o f doubt in
which I am pl unged However i f he is responsibl e f or
her disappearance he certainl y does not know where she
is now ; but he is seeking for her Cl aude the a ch

de t ective l e t out as much the l ast time I saw him

Depend upon it the fat her knows she is in America

You think so ? I doubt i t

I won d er he is not more condenti al with you Do es

he know you were in l ove wi th her ?

No certainl y not !
The whol e aff air is incomprehensibl e l e t me l ook at
that phot ograph again ! Who is it she reminds me o f
Finding no repl y in the sto res o f her memory Lady
G e thin shut up the case and resto red it to Gl ynn and to
change the subj e ct b egan to urge him to resume his f ormer
.

WIL L

TH B- wrs r

119

soci al habits and m i x with hi s kind

It will not re nder
you r chances o f n di ng your l ost l ove any the worse
perhaps bett er ; for if you ever get a cl ue t o he r I s u s
o ne was ever reall y l o s t
No
e c t i t will be by accident
p
in this small worl d o f o u rs unl ess indeed death fol ds its
p all over the missing one

Yes I shall probably nd her but how ? and where ?

said Gl ynn with a sound of pain in his voice
At any
rate I shall foll ow your advice I I will try to sh ake o ff this
despairing apat hy and though I cann ot t urn phrases
prett il y believe me I am warmly grate f ul f or your sym
pathy your forbearance ; indee d I do not know what I
sh oul d do wi thout it
.

DAWNIN G LIGHT

G LYNN was true t o his promise He forced him sel f b ac k

to something o f his o l d rout ine He t ook a deeper int er
est ih business than before and found something o f relief
in the ment al e o rt it obl iged him t o make
Men said Glynn was greatl y changed since that bad
fever he had had Women though t him more interestin g
The truth was h ardl y suspected It suit ed the authorities
o f la s are t e that the a
e i re R u e de L Ev u e shoul d no t get
f
q
into the publ ic print s
The English newspapers had
therefore never got hol d of the story
O ne o f the chief interests in this new phase of Glynn s
e xistence was t o w atch D eering
whom he frequently
met
That gentl eman a e ct e d so me intimacy with Glynn and
made many visit s to the of ce of Messrs Ottl ey B assali
and In ce ap mp os o f his rail way scheme
Glyn n di d not reject his advances though never l apsing
int o in timacy D eering often spoke o f Lambert and v ol
u nt e e re d the inf ormation that t he New Y ork
oli c e had
their eye upon him that he had arri ved al l rig t l anded
and gone away S outh al most immediat ely
Gradu all y it dawn ed upon Glynn that D eeri ng was
watching hi m that he suspected him o f knowi ng more of
El sie s disappearance than any one el se He was careful
not t o l e t Deering see that he perceived this and so
under the fair seeming o f frien dl y acquaintanceshi p the
two men kept wat ch over each o t her wi th deadl y pe rt inac
i ty an d keenness Glynn keeping profoundest sil ence as
t o his convic tion that he had heard Elsie s voice a con
v ic t i o n that torment ed him in all hi s sil ent l onel y hours
O ft en he accused himsel f of s t u pi di dy for t o o readily b e
lievi ng t he st atel y Mrs St orrer Bu t her quiet disav owal of
all lik eness i n t he photo graph to her Fr e nch t e ach er,
.

(120)

122

AT BAY

back on hi s o wn inte rests described hi s h ome hi s wi e

and chil dren pressing Glynn warml y t o pay them a visit
when to the great surprise o f both Deeri n g was ushered
in He apol ogized shortl y for hi s intrusion and ex
pl ained that he had
had privat e in t elligence that the
member for a borough town near D enham was danger
o u s ly ill that even were he t o recover it woul d be l ong
before he coul d enter into publi c lif e again and that he
l
Deering
wished
t
o
win
the
probab
y vacan t seat He
(
)
therefore wished Wel don who knew the l oc al popul ation
and was well abl e to feel its p ul se to l eave to wn next
morning and put matters in tr ai n f or an immediate can
v ass as the re tirement o f the sittin g member w o ul d m o st
probably be announced in a day or t wo
As soon as he coul d withdraw without too rude a di s
pl ay of indi ff erence Glynn rose t o say good
night when
D eerin g s o m e what to his ann oy an ce propo sed to go with
f

I have n o more to say now Wel don A s soon as the

death or retirement is decl ared I will go down t o Den

ham and we will n ot l e t the grass grow under o u r f eet !

On reaching the entrance o f the hotel they st opped
intending to call a cab and whil e waiting Gl ynn s atten
tion was attracted by tw o cl oaked and veil ed women who
were standing cl ose together
within the doorway
O ne was tall and stout the other barely of middl e size
her shoul ders even through the rai n cl oak wrapped round
her showed unmistakabl e grace unmi stakabl e and f a
mil iar ; a small hat was entirely envel oped in a thick veil
which was tied over her face the ends being brought
l ou s e ly round the throat t o the front
Gl ynn s eyes were
riveted on this gur e whil e he seemed to be peering into
the darkness and fel t nervousl y anxious n ot to direct
D eering s notice to the object which at tr acted

If he coul d onl y hear her Speak !

He li stened in
.

te ntl y

It is usel ess w e must try an o mnibus it is reall y

safer he overheard the tall er l ady say The other mur

mured somethi ng and t urning her head di spl ayed in
spite o f her m ufing a morsel o f whi te neck and a
glimpse of gol den brown hair Glynn s he art beat At
all ri sks h e mus t k eep that girl in view
any mis tak e was
,

'

DAW NIN G

123

LIG H T .

better than to l ose the faint est chance

Bu t

D eering

must not know his suspicions S ur el y the f ai nt s u gg e s

tions o f a l ikeness woul d stri ke him also ? Bu t D eering
made no remark nor did he seem t o see
At l ast the t all er o f the two women said Come and
went forth into the street At that moment an Islingt on
omnibus drove up
She st epped forward un der the
nearest l amp and tried to st op it by waving her um brell a
The vehicl e was full and the t wo cl oak ed gures walked
sl owl y away towards Oxford S treet

Excuse me said Glynn abruptl y I am anxi ous t o

get home ; I will walk on and tak e my chance o f a cab

Very well returned D eering I ll come with you

Glynn was di smaye d Did Deeri ng suspect as he did
that this cl oaked and veil ed gure might be El sie Lam
bert ? If s o what coul d he do to save her from hi s rec
.

o gni t io n

His heart thrill ed with pain and delight at the bare

idea o f standing once more face to face wi th his l ost l ove
W hat s ecrets woul d that meeting unveil ? Meanwhil e he
never l ost sight o f the gur es going o n be fore them and
D eering spoke at interval s

There s an empty han s om at last he cried

I am going on a l ittl e furt her said Glynn

But

don t l e t me interfere with you

O h ! I don t mind walking wi th you ; I have no e n

l
n
I
care
to
keep
he
rep
ied
m
e
a
e
t
g g

Why does he persist ? thought Glyn n

I am going
to l ook in o n an artist friend near Totte nham Court Road
he said al o ud
Oh ! v ery well queer pl aces these fell ows put up in
By the way I have had anot her report of o ur mutual ao
quaintance Lambert He is at St Loui s and has changed

his name for the thir d o r fourth time

Indeed ! then you must have had a tel e gram

Yes that is o ur friends Cl aude and Co have c om

m u nic at e d their s t o me
If Lambert begi ns to try con

c e al m e nt we ll nd o u t so mething

I trust we sh all said Gl ynn mechanica ll y hi s eyes

greedil y foll owing the t wo gu res l amp after l amp shed
di ng its l ight upon them as they passed

Will h e nev er g o ? he th ought qui vering with ex cite

m ent
.

124

AT

BA Y .

It was an ex traordinary situati o n to b e thus dogging

the f oo tsteps o f the quarry you wished to pre s erve from
your fell ow hun ter and yet t o be unavoidabl y l eading
that hunter on her track

I fancy you don t want me said D eering at l ast

If
-

SO

Why shoul d you thi nk I do not ? interrupted Glynn

nervousl y afraid to betray his burning anxie ty t o be rid of

him

I can t exactly tell why said Deering l aughing but

I am sur e I am right

Well do whichever y ou li ke s aid Glynn with well

assumed indiff erence
come o n with me t o Tottenham
Court R oad where you will be sure to nd pl enty of cabs
or pick up t he rst empty one we f all in with and l eave

me t o my fat e
Gl ynn was alm ost beside hi msel f wi th hope dread and
nervous tension
Ano ther Isl ington omnibus drove past and stopped
The two l adies darted to it, exchanged a hasty hand pres
sure and then the shorter o f the two mounted swiftl y
and vanished into the interior
Good night
cried Gl ynn abruptl y ; the humbl e

bus wi ll sui t me admirabl y

Before his as t onished compani on coul d repl y he was
beside the vehi cl e which w as st ill standing as a stout and
irritabl e el derly gentl eman was painfull y di sentangl ing
himself from among the tightl y packed pas sengers

If you had onl y l e t me o ut rst he excl aimed angrily

as he al ighted

Troubl e you f or threepence interrupted th e c o n

ductor

Threepence ! why I onl y g ot in at Leather Lane

All right lIslington
Another instant and Gl ynn occupied the stout man s
pl ace nearer the door but o n the opposite side to the
l a dy he was foll o wing and they were rolli ng rapidl y
westward
At r st he woul d not l e t himself seem to see her and
by the light of the omnibus l amp he c oul d hardl y make
o ut her features so thick was the l ace whi ch conceal ed
them Suddenl y he saw her start and draw her cl o ak
.

126

AT

BAY .

With a l ong quiv ering sigh she whi spered It is

Let me l ook at yo ur face once more said Glynn in

a low intense tone
D on t you kn ow you may trus t
me

It is not for myself I f ear she said in the same

hushed frighte ned voice as she yiel ded t o the mov ement
by whi ch he drew her under a l amp and l oosening her
v eil she l if t ed it raising her eyes with their well remem
bered express ion o f though tful c andor t o his How l ovel y
they were ! With what rapture Glynn re ad in them the
conrmation o f her assurance that she was t he same El sie
he had l oved and l ost Bu t she was changed the sweet
eyes were unutterabl y sad and the del icate cheek was l ess
rounded The soft lips were pal e and quivered nervousl y
and the hand he still hel d was thinner She seemed u n
abl e to suppress the excessive trembling that had seized
her Glynn s whol e sou l went o u t to her in l ove and trust
he coul d hardly resi s t the impul se to cl asp her t o his heart
to shelter her against all ill in his bosom Bu t might she
no t be the wif e of ano ther man ? Anything might hav e
happened during the terribl e bl ank and abov e all he
must win her con dence

Ah yes you are indeed the same Whywhy have

you given us all thi s sorrow this fearful anxiety ? Think
of what your poor father has suff ered ! D o y o u kn o w that
he has gone t o America t o se arch for you

My father ! she repeated my poor dear father !

Then she paused as if resist ing the incl ination t o Spe ak

I m u st not keep you here in the col d dark street I

cannot l e t you go al one May I not come with y o u

Oh no no no she repeated
y o u must l e t me go
I cannot dare not l e t you co me wi th me I mus t n ot tell

you anyt hing

Now that I have f ound you d o you think I will l os e

sight of you again ?

Yo u will I am s ure do what is best f or me and kind

said El sie t rying t o be c al m and wrapping the veil
e st

round her face again

Let us move o n we shall attract
,

She di d not resist when he drew her arm through his

o wn and they sl owl
y paced up the s treet in whi ch he had
overtaken he r
,

DA W N ING L IG HT

Do

127

think me c apabl e o f betraying yo u

yo u

ask ed

No aft er a pause as if to pl an her speech

but I
have more than myself t o think o f Y ou mus t not ask me

any questions
Can yo u say nothi ng ? Is there no way in which I can

hel p you ?

I fear not I do n ot kn o wI
she stopped and
drew a l ong sobbing breath
I dare n ot speak Any
word migh t be tray more than I o ugh

For your father s s ake thi nk o f all he must endure

Have you any duty to c ome before what yo u owe hi m ?

He w ai t ed for her repl y as f or a sentenc e of life o r
death
Think o f him ! do I not think o f him ? My l ove and
duty are hi s onl y Bu she tried to wi thdraw her arm

you mus t le t me go I dare not st ay

I cannot l e t y o u go u nl ess you pro mise to meet m e

again or tell me where I may see y ou No I will not re
l ease your arm
El sie Miss Lambert I have been seek
ing you for se ven months ; my brain has reel ed at the
horror o f its own picture o f you r fate I cannot l e t you
go n ow Why do you distrust me ? Let me take you

h o me How coul d I l eav e you here in the dark al one ?

Oh do not torment me she excl aimed and her voice
expressed such pain that Gl ynn al most hesitated to per

severe in his e ff orts t o det ain her

In truth I l ong t o
take you with me I am sure yo u are kind and true and
I fear to be al one but I will brave anything endure any
thing rather than say whence I came and whither I go

Do not be angry wi th me
She bur st into an agony o f tears l eaning agai nst hi m
as if from sheer inabil ity t o stand al one
Good God ! El sie what can I d o to comfort and hel p
you ? I impl ore you t o trust me If I le t you go now
without ret ainin g some cl ue b y which I can nd you I

can never forgive mysel f

I l ong to tell you much all but I must n ot Yet I

might get l eav e I might write G ive me your address ;

I m ay write to you

Will you promise thi s sol emnl y faithfull y ?

If I do will y o u l e t me go ? I am l ate al ready

He

will be so anxi ous

,

128

AT BAY

He !

wh o ? a thr ob o f erce j e al ou sy vibrated through

Glyn n s heart
If yo u promi se to see me once more
when and where you will I will trust yo u and l e t you go

Yo u see I have more f ai th in you than you have in me

No you are free I am not I hav e faith in you but

W ell promise for prom i se I will promise t o write to

you before Friday night if you will promise not to make

any attempt to discover me until after I have written

Good then promise for promise

I promise to write t o you andand if p o ssibl e to s e e

o
n
y

,
o

There must be nothi ng ab out p o ssibil ity sai d Glyn n

sternl y
Give me an unconditional promise or I shall
not l eave you

She hesitated and then said sol emnl y I promise

And I trust your prom ise returned Glynn

On
my part I promi se not t o make any attempt to track yo u
until I have receiv ed your l etter or rather until I have

seen you
There was a moment s sil ence then El sie who seemed
to recover herself a l ittl e said softl y Then good night

I cannot part with you yet cried Glynn passionately

I cannot bear t o le t y ou go al one Te ll me did you re c

ogniz e me in the omni bus ?

Not all at once a littl e whil e after I had got in At
rst for some time I thought y o u di d not know meI

h o ed you did not

pI knew you at the door o f the hotel and foll owed you
She started
I m us t go now I have stayed too l ong
Call a cab for me and te ll the driver to go to the

Northern Station I will direct him after

I cannot bear to l e t you go al one

You must ! impressiv el y
I am braver than I u se d

to be

At l east h ol d my arm till we nd a cab sai d Glynn

pressing hers to his side as they turned back to the thor
El sie subm itted to
o u ghf are from whi ch the street l e d
Glynn s heart be at st rongl y with
hi s gui d ance sil entl y
mixed emoti ons The rapture o f meeting her was great
His promise forbade
th fear o f l osing her still greater
hi s f oll owing her and he seemed as f ar fr om sol ving the
She was m oved at
m yst e ry o f he r di sapp e aranc e as e v e r
,

130

AT B AY

tremul o u s voice all his faith in h er returned i t was

marvell ous the sort of tender reverence she insp ired in
him this inexperienced creature who was al most young
enou gh to be his daughter and u tterly unl earned in the
worl d s l ore which was s o famil iar to himsel f ! She was
n o t even a highl y accomplished deepl y read young l ady
There was an ol d fashi oned charm o f sincerity and earn
Bu t she m u st have
s e t nes s abo u t her inni tel y attract ive
undergone some s evere shock or trial Her nerves seemed
shattered When shoul d he kn ow all ? Woul d any blam e
attach to her ? And Glynn answered hi s o wn qu estion

with a resol ute No

Then giving hi mself up t o the
rst real intense pas sion he had ever felt b e resolved to
win her to wed her t o kn ow even a few months entire
happinessif s he woul d share that happinessunl ess the
s ecret to be reve al ed hi d some insurmountabl e b arrier
So far sure of his own cons ent Gl ynn felt more com
posed but the hours dr agged fearfull y
The next day he had a visit in hi s private room fro m
Deering who was at the oi c e on bu siness and s ai d he
was goin g to Denham for a few days He th en added
that Vincent had presu med to c all on hi m t o hi s great
surprise his excuse being that he had heard from St
Louis that L ambert was there under another name and
had a wi fe and daughter with hi m that th e police were
foll owing him cl o s e but co ul d nd no pretext at present
for arresting him
Gl ynn sai d very l ittl e in repl y He watched Deering
keenl y as he spoke and cam e to the concl usion that he
had no suspicion that El sie was s o near

I don t suppose we sh all ever get to the bottom o f th e

af f ai r
Rue de L Ev qu e as the French detectives c all it
till the l aw has got its grip on that scoundrel Lambert

I thi nk he is more an adventurer than a scoundrel

said Glynn col dl y ; and I confess I s e e no reason for
su pposing h e is in the secret o f hi s daughter s di sappe ar

ance but perhaps you know more than I do

Deerin g l ooked at him with a quick keen gl ancea
gl ance o f d isl ike and di stru st
O n the contrary you
were the intimate friend the favored guest o f Lambert
and o f his charming d au ghter o f whom I suspect he
m ade a protabl e inve stme nt
.

"

DAWNING LIG HT

131

It is bl asph emy to s ay s o e xcl aimed Glynn indi g

Lambert may have a queer his tory b ut no irre
nant l y
ro ac habl e member o f the best society co u l d be a better
p
g u ardian of his d aughter than he was ! Do not l e t hi m
hear yo u utter su ch an insinu ation sh oul d you ever meet
again or you might not lik e hi s reply !
Deering el evated his eyebrows contemptuousl y
You

are remarkabl y l oyal he said

Well good morning I

shall probabl y s e e yo u next week

Thursday passed and no l etter well th ere were twenty
four hours yet to spare Glynn di ned that day with Lady
G e t hi n and as us u al o utstayed the other guests

I haven t seen you for an age Hugh s he s aid settling

herself in her favori te chair
You are l ooking better
but you are
as if some l ife was wakin g up wi thin you
very restl ess and dis trazt at di nner yo u did no t seem abl e
to attend to any o ne or anyt hi ng for more than ve

min ute s Have you found any trace o f the l ost one ?
I am too un certain to talk ab out it wait f or a few

days

Ah ! then you h ave cried h er l adysh ip triumph antly

I protest I woul d give m y Loui s ! uatorze watch dia
monds and all to know the t r uth of that extraordinary
story and to s e e the girl who has fas cinated youfor she
has you kn ow s he has !

I will confess nothing and discuss nothi ng with you

Lady G e t hin he returned l aughi ng and p ulling his l ong

dark mo u staches
I know the power o f your fascina
tion su f cientl y to b e aware that if I once began there
is not a corner of my mind I woul d not turn in side out

f o r your inspection

Ah ! that is all very ne excl aimed Lady G e thi n in

h igh gl ee
but you will not s ay a word more than you
choose If you ever n d this you ng l ady you reall y

must manage to l e t me see her

l V o ul d you come and s e e her ? asked Gl ynn as de

l ightf ul intoxicating possibili tie s oated before his eyes
Find me a decent excuse and Ill come fast enough !

Hugh I s u spect you know where she is ?

I do no t indeedI wish I did

Well for Heaven s sak e do nothi ng fooli sh when she

doe s appear for you will nd h er if s he is above groun d

132

BA Y

AT

Fri day and no l etter Gl ynn kept in d oors nearl y the

whol e day sent an excuse to the ho u se where he was
engaged t o di ne and sat
t o read and watching
for the l ast del ivery It came b ut brought him no l etter
from El sie
Then he c al l ed hi msel f a drivell ing fool a weak minded
idiot Why had he all owed the tears and terror o f that
un happy girl t o delude him ?
He ought to have kept her
in hi s grasp once he had found her Bu t he had been s o
su re o f her keeping faith Now hi s very f aith was
shaken Wh at might not b e reve al ed if El sie h ad de
ce iv e d him ?
He coul d not sl eep He spent the night in pl anning
schemes of detection He foun d in the depths o f his
present depression the meas ure o f the height of hope to
which he had ri sen yesterday
Next m orning he ros e fevered b y want o f sl eep and
eager t o begi n hi s search He w as dressed before the
eight o cl ock post cam e in and was already writing when
several l etters were brought t o hi m one directed in a
stiff careful unknown hand bearing the postmark o f

Cl apham
He tore it Open and read
Come o n Sat
u r d ay at two
30 Garst on Terrace Towers Road Isl ing

ton
Th ese line s were unsigned and m ight be meant
for any one as there was no address yet Glynn never
doubted that the line s were meant for h im and were
writt en b y El sie Lambert At t wo o cl ock ! How near
and yet how far ! li t tl e over s ix h ours H ow shoul d he
get through them ? He had work at hi s ofce and m u st
arrange f or a free afternoon th at was not difcul t he
had not been re gul arl y in h arness since hi s severe ill
ness Then he m u st suppl y h imsel f with money It w as
impossibl e to s ay what steps might be necessary He was
gl ad Deering had gone ou t o f to wn T here s eemed a
fatal ity abo ut hi s conn ection with Lambert He al ways
came t o the front when there w as any stir in the Lambert
,

a air

At l ast it w as time to go citywards Fir st however he

dr ove t o Deering s house and ascertained th at he had
me o u t of town
The morning hours ed away s wifter
g
t an he had hoped thou gh he had a h ard struggl e to at
t e n d to the b u sine s s be fore him
But h e had acqui red a
.

134

AT B AY

tense feeling
Why h ave you caused u s this cru el
anxiety

How good you are to care so m u ch s he said l ooking

at him with a wondering expression
You will nd I am
not t o bl ame Oh ! I feare d I sho ul d never get l eave to
write to yo u that yo u woul d think I had broken my prom
I wished to send for you l ong ago I know we can
is e

trust you
Good heavens ! was she marrie d then ? We !
We
who who do you mean your
he repeate d hoarsely
h u sband and yoursel f ?

My husband ! a smil e gl eaming over her face I

am not married ! NO m y father

Your father ! l etting her withdraw her hands

He

is in Ameri ca is he not ?

He is here here in this ho u se

I feel bewil dered said Glynn taking the seat s he

i ng it near her
ointed
to
and
draw
Wi
ll yo u not e u
'

pght e n me ?
I know s o l ittl e and my father wishe s to tell you

everything himself Ah ! you wil l see him s o changed

A qui ck s ob caught her breath but s he went o n calmly
He was changed enough when he rst came but he has
been seriousl y ill
He caught a bad col d when travelling
h ere and has h ad inammation of the l ungs He is so
weak wi ll you come to him ? Now he has agreed to le t

you come h e i s quite anxious to s e e you

In a moment Tell me how are you yourself ? You

l ook weary as if you had suff ered

I have It has been such a wretched miserabl e time
al most u nbearabl e until my f ather cameal ways hiding

al ways a m ystery
And how did Lamberthow di d your father nd
.

you

My father nd m e ? with an
Ah ! h e will tell you everythi ng

o f astonishment
Come u p stairs to

air

Glynn rose to foll ow h er with a faint feeling o f dis ap

pointment She was evi dentl y del ighte d t o s e e him full
but utterl y devoid o f that del icio u s con
o f faith in hi m
and
s c i o u s n e s s which no woman in l ove c an qu ite conceal
l
rief
f
o r the sup osed l o ss o f thi s
ir
had
a
m
ost
cost
l
hi
m
g
g
p
.

w ww

LIG

HT

135

h i s l ife lwhil e f or the present the my ste ry was more

myste riou s than ever
El sie l e d the way up a narrow stair to the upper
the same l ook o f neat simplicity characterizing the rest of
the house and opening the door o f a good siz ed bed

room she sai d Here is Mr Glynn dear

In a l arge arm chair his feet o n a footstool and covered
with a warm pl aid propped by pill ows and cl ose to a
good re s at or rather recl ined Lambert a small tabl e
near him o n which stood a m e di cine b ottl e and gl ass A
door l eading into another room stood Open
Elsie was right Her father was wof ull y changed His
cheeks were holl ow ; his ski n yell ow and wrinkl ed ; his
once h alf humorous h al f d e ant expression was gone and
repl aced by a watchful pitiful l ook l ike a creature al ways
expecting a bl ow pathetic to o in its wistful ness O ne
thin cl aw li ke hand grasped the arm o f the chair
As
he tur ned to gaze eagerl y toward s the door a smil e o f
pl easure a sort of rel ieved l ook beamed over his face as
Glynn advanced
Ah ! this is kind this is l ike a good

f ell ow as I al ways thought yo u were he whispered in a

weak trem ul ous voice

I have just been wearying to

see you b u t afraid afraid !

He sank back o n his cu sh
ion s still hol ding Glynn s hand and gazing at him im
.

You know Lambert I am worthy o f some trust and

desire nothi ng more than to be o f service t o you said

Gl ynn suppressing all token s o f hi s immen se surprise

studi ed cal mness

You mu s t not
e aking with
fatigue or ex cite your self No w that you have all owed
me to know your address I can come often to see you

and do anyt hing you want in the way o f commissions

Ah ! b ut we must take care w e must take care

He
sighed deepl y raising and l etting fall hi s poor wasted
hand with a despairing gest ure
Whil e he spoke Elsie had measured out hi s medicine
and now gave it to hi m saying Try not to speak too
much dear father I will l eave you t o have a nice visit

from Mr Gl ynn all t o yoursel f with a sweet kind sm il e

and thankfu l l ook

I shall see you before you go
She
cl osed the door between the two rooms

Lock the other one l ock it El sie s aid Lam be rt

,

56
11

AT B AY

I will
She di sappeared

Come near m e nearer we must speak l ow sai d th e

inval i d
Glynn brought a chair cl ose t o hi s

Tell me sai d Lambert more calml y th an h e had yet

spoken do yo u thi nk your ol d com rade a mal ef actor ?
do you think I am d o dgm g the poli ce b ecause I hide
away from every o ne ?
No ! Th ere i s somethi ng wrong o f course conceal
ment al way s im pl ie s that ; but I suspect you are more
sinned against than sinning at any rate I repeat if I c an
serve you

interrupted Lamb ert ; but to s erve me you

Ay !
must know all and that is more than I can tell to day ;
but I have broken no l aw I don t know that I ever di d
though I have done qu eer thingsnot for thirteen years
thou gh f or all th at time I have l e d a dec ent life and now
it s f o r the good as we ll as the evil I have done that I am
pe rsecuted ! Glynn all I can n d strength to say is
will you help me to save my Elsi e ? Will yo u b e her

g uardian and take care o f her littl e fortune ?

I will said Gl ynn
but I trust and see every reason
to hOpe that you will b e her g uardian yoursel f for many a

year !

That has nothing to do with it im pati entl y

I want
you to take charge of her money witho ut deeds or papers
o r l awyers f or I can see no o ne
Just give me a written
acknowl edgm ent Her money stands in th e name of the
good woman who was my darling s foste r mother and s he
i s not t to manage it and is afraid to keep it Bu t I
tru st you Gl ynn ! O G od ! I m us t trust you ! and when
th e money is tran sf erred to you then you mus t settl e

it on her and appoint trustee s

He pau se d much e x
hanst ed

I wil l do exactl y wh at you wi sh in th e m atter sai d

Glynn anx ious to s oothe hi m and do my b e st to des erve

th e high condence you pl ace in me

Thank you G o d bl ess yo u ! wi th a sigh o f relief

and yo u will lose no time
l aying his hand o n Gl ynn s
rs Kell ett sh all call o n yo u o n Mon d ay and
about it M
go with y o u to the brokers
The money is in Spani sh
bonds and Au stral ian rail ways it can be handed over to
Ye s

AT BAY

138

Here there was a tap at the door and El sie ente re d

I think I must as k yo u to come away she said

I fear I have stayed too l ong returned Gl ynn

Will you come to morrow ?

Yes without fail at the same time

Th en foll owed a del ightful half hour with El sie who
gave him a cup o f tea in the sitt ing room bel ow
I can tell yo u nothi ng of my father s reasons she said
I have simply obeyed him for I
in reply t o his q u eri es
am sur e there is some great nece s sity and he promises t o
expl ain all to me l ater I cannot describe the state o f
despair my father gets into occasionally h is terror at the
idea O f o ur being dis covered ! b u t now perhaps h e will

tell yo u ! You will come again will yo u not ?

I shall come to morrow

I am so gl ad s o gl ad
Her voice trembl ed she
strove to keep her sel f control ; then rest ing her el bows
o n the tabl e s he covered her face in her hands and bur st
into irrepre ssi bl e te ars

It has b een all so terri bl e she sobbed

this conceal
m ent this fear of I know not w hat thi s s hameful chang
ing from one home to anoth er Shall we never b e free

and happy again ?

You shall you must whispered Glynn

Your
father exaggerates hi s tro ubl es I am sure he has
and I will never l eave
I m i s e d to te ll me everythi n g
Yo u can not live on un der suc h
pIIgl till he is reinstated
1

h orribl e conditi ons

.

--

CH AP TER IX
.

THE

SEC RET

ON HOU SE

OF TH E P RIS

IT was many a month since Gl ynn enjoyed such re fresh

i
T O have
ing sl eep as soothed his weary brain that n ght
found El sie safe unharmed even thou gh sur rounde d by a
haze o f doubtful circumstances o f painful my stery was a
bl essed rel ief Al l must turn ou t well whil e El si e was the
same untouched unchanged
To hi m s he seemed more charm ing in her grief and
terror than in the freshne s s o f her b eauty which rst
attracted him Though full of passion hi s l ove was pur e
and tr u e To save its Object from harm or spare her
s u ff ering he woul d even sacri ce hi m se lf Something in
the unconsciousness of her manner her l ook her words
warned him to keep the l over in the background for the
present onl y for the present for deep in his heart he
re gi s tered a vow to win her if tenderness and l oyal ty and
perseverance coul d He counted the cost and decided
that in wi nning her he shoul d win all that woul d make l ife
worth l i v ing Glyn n was not a conventi onal man He
liked society but was not its sl ave
A quiet h ome with
s u ch a companion what co ul d be a fairer l ot ? Woul d
the day ever come when she woul d l e t him hol d her to
his heart when her soft arms woul d steal round hi s neck
and her sweet s ad tremul o u s lips return his kisses ?
Whatever Lambert s circumstance s misdeeds crimes
Glynn resol ved to give his l ife to the tender bl amel e ss
dau ghter
He started in good tim e next day and spent a l ong e u
trancing di sturb ing afternoon wi th El sie and her father
With the l atter he had not much private con v ersation
and in that l ittl e Lambert tol d hi m he had discovered
early in th eir renewed acquaintanceship that Deeri ng had
fall en in l ove wi th El sie that he knew him to be a daring
and un s crupul ous man and th at moreover he had a ve ry
.

(139)

AT B AY

140

strong hol d over Lambe rt himself which made it exceed

in gly difcul t to protect his daught er witho ut running cer
tain risks and to cut the gordian kn ot he determi ned t o
hi de her Thi s w as so far su c cessful b ut the conviction that
it was i mpossibl e to keep u p the game was pressing on
him and with the conscio u sness of fail ing health al most
drove him mad
,

May I dine with yo u tte a tte the day after to m or

row ? I have much t o tell

Thi s requ est reached Lad y
G e t hi n o n e morni ng at breakfas t and threw her into a
state o f deli ghted anticipation She despatched a warm
i nvitation and wrote t o decline one or two engagements
for that day

she said when

Yo u are l ooking a diff erent being
they had settl ed into their pl aces for a l ong tal k afte r din

ner
Bu t what has become o f yo u ? I have not seen
ou b een ab out ?
for
the
ast
ten
days
What
have
l
o
u
y
y

Have you foun d your young woman ?

Gl ynn l ooked strai ght at her and to her amazement re

plie d I have
You are not s erious
Here
in famous London
town

I have

Well I al ways sai d you woul d Do tell me all about

-

it

And Gl ynn b egan at the begi nning and did tell her
everything

This is indeed extraordinary ! s he excl aimed with

Bu t after
unusual gravity at the end of his narrati ve
there is s om e
all they have to l d you very l ittl e

secret behi nd

I suspect there is very gravel y

Now that you have found yo ur fair Hel en what are

you going t o d o with h er
asked Lady G e thin l ooking
sharply at him

Marry her was the unhe si tati ng reply

Good heavens Hugh ! you are not in earnest ?

Very much in earnest I assu re yo u

Bu t your f uture fath er in l aw may be a mur derer

Bu t my future wife is not a murderess

emphaticall y
Re m e mber c rim e is often
Not ye t
,

A T BAY

14 2

This entire and di sinterested devotion touched her in

nitel y and gave her an i nst ant s gli mpse o f the l ovel iness
lif e m i ght have if tenderness and l oyal ty and self forget
f ul generosity co ul d onl y share and sh are ali ke with
s cience stat is tics and poli tical economy

Not to morrow resumed Glynn aft er a pause I m ust

give Lambert warning for he is very nervo u s about any
one coming near him He is so possessed by the idea that
he is being watched It is an awful feelin g I had no con
c e pt i on what it is until I s aw a man u nder its in uence
I
will settl e with hi m and Els i e when they sh all receive you
At present I am not qu ite s o un easy about them f or Deer
in g is out of town
I am afrai d he has some very strong

hol d on Lambert

Deering is not out o f town ; I s aw hi m at the opera

l as t nigh

Indeed !
Then after a pause It i s amazin g how
L ambert has escaped detection so far b ut it is inevitabl e
Why he dreads it and what he is afraid o f remains to be
tol d I think he is l onging to tell yet dr eads to do s o
whi ch is inconsi stent wi th hi s asse rtion that he has broken

no l aw

Hugh said Lady G e thin I wi sh you woul d gi ve

m e a promise not to decl are yoursel f t o Mi s s Lambe rt
until you know the whol e trut

No Lady G e thin I will not pl edge myself t o any

t h ing
returned Glynn sm il ing ; and s oon aft er he took
his l eave
Thi ngs were l ooking brighter h e thought If Lambert
woul d onl y m ake a cl ean breast something deni te m i ght
b e arranged
The n e xt day glad o f an excuse to present himself at
Garston Terrace Glynn was making his way towards one
o f the Metropol itan stati ons when he m et Deering co ming
t o the ofce

I was going to c all on you h e sai d

Sorry I cannot go back with yo u returned Gl ynn

but I have a special engagement You will nd Mercer

whi ch will answer your purpo s e even better

No doubt By the way do yo u ever he ar anything of

th e Lambert b usine ss ? l ooki ng se archin gly at hi m

Never said Glynn ste adily

,
,

S ECR ET

TH E

on T H E

14 3

P RIS ON H OUS E

And I pre sum e you t ake no further intere st in it ?

I woul d give a good de al to get to the

Ye s I do

bottom o f that aff air and Gl ynn returned Deering s gaze

with equal keenness

Are you s o ignorant th en ? asked Deering with a

sneer
Well I heard this morni ng from a man I have
empl oyed (f or I confess I am determined t o track that
sco u ndrel Lambert) that those stupid Yankee detectives
have been o n a fal se scent altogether The man they have
been foll owing proves not to be Lambert and they now
s u spect that whil e they have been dodging hi s double at
St Louis and other pl aces the re al man has e sc aped to

Canada Bu t he is certai n to be found

I su ppose s o said Glyn n with such equanimity

that Deering s brow s contracted and h e nodded a hasty
adieu

I wonder h ow the mis take arose though t Glynn as

he strode al ong ; b ut having found it ou t I fear th ey may

get o n the right track

He took a l onger d tour than us ual b e fore appro aching
his goal Arri ved there he found Els ie waiting t o see th e
doctor after hi s vi sit t o her father
She l oo ked very anxious His ni ghts sh e s aid were so
f everish and restl ess that it was impossibl e he co ul d make
any real progre ss Sometimes he was qui te cheerful ; then
the cl ou d o f nervous depression woul d sett l e do wn upon
hi m and nothing seeme d t o rouse or cheer him
Glynn to ok care to Speak to the doctor himsel f and h e
gave the s ame account He said the bronchial attack was
cured but an extraordi nary degree of mental depre ssion
continued Was Gl ynn aware Of any hereditary tendency
in that direction which might acc ount f o r much ? It
m ight be well t o have a second opinion but Mr Lambert
was SO averse to call in any oth er medical man he did not
like t o pre ss it etc etc
AS soon as he had gone Glynn was su mmoned t o th e
inval id who w as more than us u all y querul o u s and uneasy
until his visitor broached the s ubject of Lady G e t hin s
visit de s cribing her as the embo di ment o f all Lambert
desired in the shape o f a femal e friend f or El sie Her
father caught at the idea b ut shrunk from his friend s
propos iti on that he s houl d be pre sente d to h er by his re al
.

I44

AT B AY

Beli eve

i
l
s a d Glynn impre ssiv e y, it is
remain conceal ed m u ch l onger

me Lambe rt
u sel ess t o hope you can
If yo u woul d te ll me all I might be abl e t o advise you ; at

present I cannot for want o f knowl edge

Well l ook here then said Lambert after a minute

you bring thi s l ady to us ;
or two o f profound thought
l e t her see what a swe e t el egant creature my El sie is ;
mayb e she will take a fancy to her I d like to s ee this
aunt o f yours t o o Gl ynn ; and as th e doctor say s I am to
chan ge the air and scene I m going down to the drawing
room to morrow s o l e t her come th e day after Ill put
o n my c oat and get mysel f shaved th en Ill b e t t o b e
seen Do you think She will c ome the day after to
m orrow
Yes I am sure She will She cannot f ail to b e charm ed

with Mi ss Lambert and may be a very useful friend

Th e n bring her in G od s name ej acul ate d Lambert

l eani ng back wearil y and Gl ynn se eing h e was incl ined
t o sl eep stol e quietl y away t o El sie s sitti ng room down
,

He found Mrs Kell ett with h er and on h earing him

say that he th ought her father was sl eeping Els ie went
away t o s ee if he was wrapped u p and comfortabl e and
f or a minute or two Glynn felt at a l oss what to s ay to
.

She was a tall thin, dark eyed woman wi th grey h air

-

h igh cheek b ones and a s evere express ion but her smil e
w as ldn d her eyes steady and hone s t
She Spoke very
li ttl e and her manner was g uarded
Glynn had been
favorabl y impre s sed on the onl y occasion when he h ad
m et hertheir visit t o th e stock broker s and th e transf er
o f El sie s money t o Gl ynn s care
I nd Miss Lambert by no me ans s o well as I shoul d

like t o s e e her he s aid at l ength

No s ir ; and I am surpri s ed She l ook s s o well Her

lif e has been a very tryi ng one f or many months

I h as I tru st its tri al s will soon be over

Th ere seems l it tl e prospect Of that unl es s Mr Lamb ert
-

As an Ol d fri end Mrs Kell ett you ought to beg him

to e xpl ain his po siti on or if the e ort b e t oo p ai nfu l for

him t o l e t y ou do it f or him

A T B AY

1956

The l ady I am going to b ri ng here the day after to

morrow w ill tell yo u ho w ill I w as She w as very kind

and helped to nur se me She is a sort of a unt of mine

If she took care o f you I shall like her You have

been s u ch a tru e f riend to my father cried El sie wit h

su dd en warmth and stretchi ng o u t her hand sh e pl aced
it in hi s
Glynn was greatl y surprise d and n o t al together pl e as ed
by her extreme unconscio u sness but he gentl y retai ned
the hand for a m oment whil e she went o n

I S it qui te safe her coming here ? I do not under

stand o u r extraor di nary position but it seems to me that
Does
o u r hid ing pl ace is becoming too generall y known

the l ad y know we are h u nted fugitives ?

She does and I will ans wer for her goo d faith
There must be some very strong reason for my
f ather s st range l ife ! and she l apsed into thou ght
Then they spoke again of Lady G e t hin and the extra
ordin ary chan ce whi ch had brought them together At
He never l eft
l ast he was obliged to te ar himse lf away
her without an unspe akabl e pang a dread o f some crim e
b eing committed before he saw her again
The d u sk o f a bl usteri ng March evening was deepen
ing and El sie was struck by the min u te d irections he
gave the ol d l andl ady to fasten the sh utt ers and l ock t he
doors to adm it no stranger and put ou t the lights e arl y

You are as fe arful as my father She sai d ; but I

think we are very safe in this quiet neighborhood

Good night I su ppose I m u st not come t o morrow ?
Well the day after I will with Lady G e thi n If you want
me in any way tel egraph
.

Glynn was surprised t o nd Lady G e thin not onl y

ready but in a state of im patient expectancy when he
reached her ho u se o n the day appointe d
I su ppose my kinsfolk and a cquaintance woul d con
si d er me insane if they knew I was thu s encouragi ng yo u

in s o wil d a project s he sai d as she took Gl ynn s arm to

go down stairs

That can be o f small conse qu ence to you

H um ! I shoul dn t like to b e l ooked upon as an

However I am dying to get to the
Idi oti c old wom an
,

TH E

S ECRET

on T H E P

14 7

R IS ON H O U S E

this mysterio u s aff air that s the truth As to

o u y o u are past praying for

y

Not past retu rning thanks for I hope said Gl ynn as

h e hand ed her into her bro u gham and tol d the coachman
Arrived there Lady
t o drive to Eu ston Square station
G e thin said s he wo ul d no t requ ire the carri age again a s
l
l
u
Mr G ynn wo d see her home ; and as soon as they
reached the arrival pl atform they took a cab and dr ove
t o within an eas y walking di stance of Garston Terrace

I never w as s o far north before said Lady G e thi n

l ooki ng about her with interest

It does not seem a
ve ry li vely place How l ong has thi s poor girl been shu t

up here ?
She has been secl uded al together for nearl y nine o r
ten months It is time this persecution were over ; a

e cour age and candor woul d soon put an end to it

Nice ol d woman ej acul ated Lady G e thin as Mrs

Ritson the l an dl ady opened the do o r and dropped a
curtsey

Walk in pl e ase sh e said and ushered them into a

small front room furnished as a s e lle d m ange r
Lady G e thin im medi atel y took a tour of inspecti on
I don t know how it is but this doesn t l ook quite like a

said sit ting down suddenl y

I don t
l od gi ng
s he

think that Old woman fu rnished t his

I s uspect you are on th e l ook o u t for mysterie s

Glynn began when Elsie came in dressed in her
nary costume of bl ack with a l ittl e s carf of ne creamy
l ace round her throat and a bunch o f daff odil s beside it
The excitement o f seeing a stranger had brought a
li ttl e col or to her cheek and as s he stood still for a mo
ment o f graceful hesitation Gl ynn s heart throbbed with
ten d erness and pri d e and he thought it must p uzzl e
L ady G e t hin to nd faul t wi th s o fair a creature
He
tu rned to read her Opinion in her countenance She was
gazing at El sie with a curiou s expression o f startl ed s ur
prise al most o f reco gnition and seemed t o o absorbed to
rememb e r the ordinary Observance s o f a rst intro
duct ion

I hav e b rought my aunt Lady G e thin to s e e you

Miss Lambert said Gl ynn shaking hands wi th h er

returned El sie wi th a
She is v e ry ki nd to co m e

bo ttom

of

14 8

AT BAY

sli ght pretty curtsey expressive o f respect to the age and

position o f her visitor

And I am very glad I came said Lady G e t hin P IS

ing and hol ding o u t her hand gravel y but cor di all y
Mr Gl ynn s interest in your father and yo u rself has ih
d u ce d me to o f fer a visit even tho u gh no t qui te su re it

will be acceptabl e

Oh yes ! it is most acceptabl e cried El sie her eyes

ll ing with tears and feel ing strangely fascinated by Lad y
G e t hi n s gaze

I am pl eased to think s o said Lady G e thin with

more o f her usual manner as s he resu med her seat
In a few min utes my father will be ready to receive
you if you will be s o very good as to vis it him he has
been so ill !
Yes certainl y I want to s e e him very much You
do not l ook particul arl y well yoursel f ! t o o much c o n n e

A pau s e and l on
ment in a sick room I suppose
s earching l ook

I have gone out very l ittl e f or months

Excuse me my d ear yo u will thi nk me an intrusive

ol d woman
but what is your name ? El sie El sie ! that
is qu ite strange t o me Do you remember your mother
at all ?
N oth at is li ke a faint f ar away dream

What w as her name ?

I think I was call ed after h er I never spe ak about

her for my father cannot bear it His sorrow m u st have
been grea

I s uppose s o I suppose s o thoughtful l y

Yo u
will forgive my abruptness I am not asking from idl e

curiosity

I have nothi ng to f orgive

Here the tinkl e of a bell

w as heard
My f at her is ready will you come ? said
El sie rising She conducted them into the drawing room
where Lambert shaved and smartened up sat in his l arge
chair whi ch had been brought down stairs a few owers
and some books gave an inh abited air to the room whil e
the exquisite neatn ess of the inval i d and his surroundi ngs
bespoke l oving care
Lady G e thin s qu ick e e noted everything Lambert
b rightene d a l ittl e as he
ed her with si mpl e co urtesy
,

150

B AY

Ar

h ere
He paused whil e the s ervant pl aced the brandy

and water besi d e him

I m u st go a l ong way back he
res umed when s he had l eft the room
It w as about f
teen years ago when after knocking about in Te xas and
Cal ifornia I found myself at Chil i in a very l o w condition
both as t o money and prospects Jus t at th at time a rail
way had been begun by a cl ever adventurer who had been
kicked o u t o f Frisco b ut persu aded the Government o f
Chil i to take up hi s scheme Thi s rail way was to a v ill age
up in the moun tains in the m i ddl e of a ri ch mi neral d is
tri ct teeming with we al th
The di fculty was to n d
read y money t o pay cu rrent expenses ; they were never
more than a week ahead o f the men s wages To provide
for this o utl ay J e a e rs on the Yankee promoter got to
gether three or four gambl ers t o meet the men at the vil
l age where they were p ai d and win back the cash j u st
given o u t and have it ready by the next payd ay I was

'
o n e o f these n e gentl emen
bitterl y
We had a per
centage o n o ur winnings and l ots o f f ood and drink at
the bars kept by the company that is J e aif e rs on It is
curious how l ittl e I minded it all then and what a rascall y
b u siness it seems now ! Am ong the e mp lo ys there w as a
cert ai n Deering a col d stern Englishman an engineer
He was a sil ent self possessed fell ow proud and pl u cky
We all hated him for he l ooked down on
as the devil
us He seemed to s e e through the gambl ing s cheme he
w as al ways interferin g and warnin g the men against u s
He had had a wife
an d making enemies o n bo t h sides

with hi m b ut She was dead I never saw her

He
paused Both Lady G e t hin and Gl ynn dr ew a littl e nearer
with breathl ess interest

Well resumed Lambert o ne night I met Deering

in a hotel in Lima with a t all Englishman not unlike him
se lf onl y fair with whom he was talking over a bottl e o f
win e and they had papers and money l yin g on the tabl e
between them
They seemed greatly occu pied with their
conversation I had had a hard ri d e and a hard dr ink
d
I
drink
then
and
I
co
u
n t resist trying to get u p a
l
did
)
(
qu arrel with Deering SO I broke in on him and his friend
and o ff ere d t o stake as m u ch as l ay there and pl ay him
for the whol e at poker e u chr e anything he like d He
ans were d me cont e mpt uous ly and rising l e ft th e roo m I
.

TH E

S ECR ET

OF T H E

P RISON H OUSE

151

Was in an awf ul fury, and swore th at I d have hi s l i fe

and

a deal more The tall friend who remained l aughe d

and taunted me and gave me more drink so we
rew
a
bit
fami
l
iar
The
upshot
was
I
went
to
see
g
in hi s private room
there we got ab u sing
hi m
Deering t o di rt and I swore I d have his l ife
When this man had listened awhil e says he
If
you are in earnest I know a party as woul d give a bigger
pil e than that (meani ng the money that had been o n the
tabl e ) to know that he was safe u nder the sod and not
onl y the serpent b ut the spawn to for says he he has
a chil d who may prove worse than the father This
sobered me Ay yo u may l ook hard ; it had an ugl y
s o und and bl ackguard as I had been I was no cowardl y

assassin
He stopped and si gned to Glynn to give hi m
some brandy and water
I parl eyed with him a bit However I coul d get little
o u t of him except that there w as a good s um t o be mine
if I woul d shoot my enemy Well I kept qu iet I felt
somehow desperatel y d isgusted and all my f ury agains t
Deering began to die away I said to my ne w acq u aint
ance that he shoul d hear from me and next day I
mo unted my horse and rode away to nd Deering ; not
t o chall enge and shoot him b ut to warn hi m against the
treachero u s d evil that w as thirsting for his life It s tru th

I m te ll ing you Do you bel ieve me ? interrupting him

s elf feverishl y

I do sai d Gl ynn earne s tly

Pray go o n urged Lady G e thin

Deering l ived away at o ne o f the stations in the

mo untains an awful wil d pl ace with a l o t o f In di ans and
hal f breeds round hi m ; the rail way was p u shed s o far
and the next payments were to be mad e there SO m e n
were b u sy rigging up a bar an d a gaming sal oon with l ogs
and what not when I ro d e in Lord ! what a beautiful
pl ace it was ! J u st a strip of heaven peopl ed by ends !
I got in there a littl e after sun d own and fo u nd Deering
kicking u p no e n d o f a row wanting to prevent the sal oon
being nished and opene d I Spoke to him as I hope
no I d on t hope anyt hin g b ut as I live full o f the best
int entions I asked him to come away ou t into the o p
with me a bit Th ere I tried to speak frien dl y to him b t
.

'
.

152

AT BAY

was no us e He tu rned on m e and ab u sed me like a

pick pocket for o ne o f a gang o f Sharpers He stung me
I l ost all control o f myself and pul ling ou t
t o the qui ck
my revolver I challenged hi m t o ght there o n the spot
He said something about riddi ng the pl ace of a pe s t Jus t
then a boyO h o f about nineteen or twenty a factotum
o f J e aif e rs on s
cam e up We both asked him t o see fair
0 God ! it w as soon over ! He fell at my rst re
lay
phad winged my man before and didn t mind m u ch
Vexed with myself I
Bu t somehow I fel t s orry for him
threw away my revolver and knelt down besi d e him call
ing to th e boy to hel p but a conf u sed sound o f shouting
and a l oud hum c am e from the vill age or camp and th e
boy said Th ey are up to mischief there and
ran Deering seemed to hear it he Opened his eyes and
muttered somethi ng I coul d onl y make o ut the word
destroy
Then he caught my hand and with a despair
ing impl oring l ook in hi s eyes I s ee it still groane d
My chil dsave her
And hol ding his h and I swore I d
take care of h er s o l ong as I had breath He p o inted to a
ring on his li ttl e n ger and muttered Take then he
said My chi l d turned sharp as if in pai n and was gone
I took t he ring (Ill show it to you presentl y ) then I mad e
away to his Shanty The devil s of miners and navvies
and hal f breeds had risen to revenge themselves and were
wrecki ng his pl ace O ne fell ow call ed out that there was
a pil e of money in the house that Deering had got d own
in the town ye s ter d ay Th e l ot o f them were ragin g like
furies and had
set re to the h ut when I got up
There w asn t a Sign o f the chil d I hunted thro ugh the
pl ace The men all thinkin g I w as dead against Deering
didn t interfere with me At l ast crouchi ng in a corner
behind a door qu ite st u pe e d with fear I found a l ittl e
gol den haired darli ng o f three or four years ol d all

al one

Had s he no nurse or did the nur se forsake h er ?

asked Lady G e t hi n as he pause d
How did he come t o
keep her in such a pl ace ?
Th at I cannot answer I think Deering must have
b een desperately poor o r he woul d not have taken service
wi th J e ae rs on Anyhow I took the chil d who screamed
I to l d h er I woul d take he r
at m e in an agony o f te rror
it

154

AT BAY

was away taking some food t o h er husb and An yh ow

that l ong devil was satis ed and gave me the m oney I
,

I had agreed t o qui t South America and s o I took a

passage to Mel bourne I never thought the chil d woul d
There was a good
live
s he pined and seemed sill y
woman o n board the vessel we sail ed in who took t o my
She had l ost her baby and her husband
l ittl e darl ing
He w as the ski ppe r of a shi p that traded between San
Francisco and C al l ao and sometimes to Melbourne She
was wonderful fond o f El sie I call ed her El s ie afte r a
littl e Sister of my ow n I never knew what name s he had
been christened Thi s good woman is Mrs Kell ett She
w as going t o join a sister who was m arried in Me lbourne
and intended getting work o f s ome kind as s he had l ittl e
o r no money
Well the upshot was that s he agreed t o take ch arge
I paid well and then I took to bre aki ng hors es
o f El sie
then I bought and sol d them and made a good bit and
saved Lord how I saved ! I l eft o ff drin k t wo gl ass es
o f beer i n the day w as my all owance
If I co ul d onl y
make up t o that chil d f or all I had robbed her o f and
s he began to know me
The d ay She rst p ut her li t tl e
arms ro und my neck and stroked my face and wou ldn t
l e t me go I made a d arned fool o f mysel f and crie d
Mrs Kell ett not understanding s ays She ll be as s e n
sibl e as any chil d yet Ah ! so she is O ne time I wasn t
l ucky that i s I g o t next to nothing for mysel f for I ke pt
the prots of El sie s money separate from my ow n and
it s wonderful ho w everything I u ndertook for that child
prospered It was then I went over to California an d
scraped around a bit and coll ected gol d d ust and n u g
gets some I bo u ght some I d u g myself It w as there I
fell in with you Gl ynn I seemed a penn il ess adv e n
turer didn t I ? Aha my boy I had nigh a thou san d
po un ds worth stitched into my belt I kept o u t a littl e
j u st to throw away and keep u p with the othe rs b ut d id
yo u ever s e e me forget myse lf in drink ?

I was al ways s t m ck by yo ur extreme temperance

returned Glynn

Ah ! well those were hap )y days resumed Lambert

Af ter that spurt I went b ackto Melbourne Pre s ently

,

S ECR ET

TH E

Mrs Kell ett wanted

P RISON H OUS E

or TH E

155

go hom e ; h er broth er had come

into his uncl e s farm he was a widower with a l o t o f
boys and wrote for hi s sister to keep his house ; s o I
came with her and saw t he pl ace and l eft my precio u s
chil d there where she throve l ike a lil y for near ve
years I settl ed in Paris al ways worki ng her money and
my o wn very cautiou sl y and l ooking forward t o the day
she d come and take care of her father I decl are to God
I u sed to forget s he wasn t my o wn chil d ! When she
was as I reckoned about t welve I put her into the con
vent and u sed to have he r ou t on holidays She never
enjoyed them more than I did and she grew fon d er and
fonder of me Then I made a sn u g l ittl e nest for her
and took her home for good Then I met you Glynn and
now I m coming t o the tro ubl e You remember Vincent
Well when I rst met him wi th some very respectabl e
Americans in Pari s I was puz zl ed with the notion that I
had seen him before an d I tol d hi m SO Then he grinned
an d s ai l he was the b o y that had witnessed my d u el with
Deerin g We agreed to b u ry the past as it wasn t ex
ac t ly a l e t t e r of recommendation
I wasn t over pl eased
with him b u t he was uncommon civil and u sed to come
to the ho u se and I got accu stomed to him Then he
proposed for El sie an d I refused him still he h u ng o n
and asked a secon d time
after that he got spiteful You
know all abo u t that tim e Glynn ! \V as n t it a sl ice out
'
o f heaven ?
It didn t l ast l ong Yo u were at the D avil
l iers the evening I came in and saw Deering tal king to
my Elsie and l ooking at her By Heaven I u nd e rs t o c d
his l ooks ! and if I had had my kni fe in my belt as in
the old d ays he d have l ooked his l ast I tho u ght the

sight o f me woul d have frightened him

L am bert pau se d and l ay back in his chair

Did he recognize yo u ? cried Lady G e thi n with

breathl ess interest

He w as cal m and civil and dam

Ay that he did
nably s u perior and came the next day to c all and sat tal k
ing so so ftly and el egantl y to my bl essed chil d At l ast
he begged for a private interview wi th me
said he had
something of importance t o s av I was obl iged to go to his
hotel there was no u se refus ing
Lambert stopped took
a littl e m o re b randy and water drew a l ong breath an d
to

AT B A Y

156

be gan again
As s oon as the door was cl ose d he asked me
t o come up by his writing tabl e
Then l ooking straight
at me he excl aimed You lied t o me You di d not strangle
Gil bert Deeri ng s inf ant ! I recognized the girl s l ikeness
t o her mother at the rst gl ance
What s that to you ? said I
There s a crime the
l ess o n your cons cience
He l aughed harshl y
I confess s he w as worth
ing she is a charming creature You seem to
brou ght her up remarkably well b ut I think you have
d one enough
I propose to assume her guardians hip in
f uture
Then he went o n to Off er me money m e l t o
give up my chil d I s aw his infernal scheme and I bu rst
I threatened to expo s e hi m
Try h e
o u t in a fury
repl ied and s e e what will become of it I shall simply
tell my st ory I went o ut t o Chil i t o nd my cousin who
had succeeded t o the family estate o f Denham I had a
considerabl e su m of money with me f o r his u s e A d e s
perate scoundrel see s u s discussing busin ess matters and
the money on a tabl e before us He fol lows poor Gil bert
murders an d robs him ; incite s the ruf an s o f the p lace
to re Deering s ho u se In the scufe Gil bert s li ttl e girl
is supposed to be bu rntyears after I dis cover her i n
Paris I denounce the m u rderer save my young cousin
unveil the monster o n whom s he has l avished her li al
af fection and
Y ou didn t want
Lo s e yo u r estates I inte rru pted
How wo ul d my
t o mur der Gil bert Deering for nothing
story tell against yours ?
My good fri end not a soul woul d bel ieve you r word
Your antece d ents woul d p ut you o u t o f
ag a ins t mine
court !
Yo u woul d need a witness or two said I
I might nd o ne he s ai d with an ai r o f carel ess
se curity that thrill ed me wi th fear I tho u ght o f his
s trange intimacy with Vincent But he wo ul dn t be Such
a vill ain as to forswear hi msel f ? I ll give yo u a few
days t o re e ct he went o n
This is my proposition
Hand over the girl t o my custody I will nd her a good
h usban d and generall y take c are o f her You make
yoursel f scarce be o ff t o America and dri nk yourself to
I ll give you two hundred a year whil e you are
d eath
.

158

AT

B AY

my l ove for my chi l d and obeyed my instructions I

transferred all the money I coul d to her name I t ook
counsel with her as to where Elsie shoul d stay and when
she (Mrs Kell ett ) shoul d come to Paris and many det ail s
I haven t time to tell A day or two before the ball Mrs
Kell ett down at her brother s pl ace w as l aid up with a
severe col d and was waited o n by a faithful ol d servant
who was partl y in her condence and l e t no o n e el se int o
her room ; whereas i n the ni ght she had slipped out o f the
house and wal ked t o the neares t st ation where she caught
t he rs t train t o London and came t hroug h t o Paris
bringing with her some English made cl othes t o dress
Elsie in I di d not warn my jewel l est she shoul d betray
any uneasiness but at the l ast momen t I made he r prom
ise t o come home from the b all not to go t o Madame s
This between oursel ves
Then I met her and took her into the kit chen of the
empty tage bel ow us I had t o con trive t o get hol d o f
the key She was terribly st artl ed ; but I made her be
She change d
lieve her hi di ng was esse ntial to my safety
her cl othes and tried to eat something We waite d till I
heard the concie rge moving about for the d anger was in
going out I had brought Mrs Kell ett in with mysel f the
nigh t before as soon as the house was shut up so that no
voice but mine was heard when the concie rge asked
Who was there ? Well they go t ou t exactly as that
thief of a detectiv e guessed whil e the conci e rge was at the
pump They walked quietl y al ong over the Pont d Al m a
where they got rid o f the ball dress and near the
Inv al ides t ook a ac re ; thus they got off by the rst
train
I was careful to m ak e no discov e ry till I thought they
wou l d be safe on board the Cal ais boat O nce l anded
safely in Engl and and steaming t o London it woul d be
next to impossibl e t o t rack them In London they drove
to the Great Northern and thence l ate in the evening t o
the S outh Western from that to a l ady s school at Cl ap
ham kept by a cousin of Mrs Ke ll e tt s where El sie w as
t o go as a teacher without sal ary
I made up my mind t o do with out l ett ers for months ;
o nl y o ne I m u s t have to say she was safe ; that was sent to
I
a fal se name at Mars e ill es where I j ourneyed t o ge t it
,

S ECRET

IHE

had

o r THE P

159

RISO N H O U S E

given Mrs Kell ett a certain set of advertiseme nts to be

insert ed week aft er week in the Daily Ne ws o n W e dne s
days and Fridays which informed me th at all was well ;
and one which was onl y to be insert ed if my presence was
required a danger sign al in fact I knew the shrewd
devil s I had to de al with the money power that Deering
wiel ded
Nothing gave me a chance but the eight or nine
hours start before the police were o n the track
So I waited and waited never writing to Engl and
except to Mrs Kell ett now and again l ett ers comp os e d
f o r inspecti on ; never remi t ting money ; waiting wat ch
ing f or a chance o f seeming to go back to America ;
really o f joining my j ewel and I found it at l ast but
there I can t say anot her word If it hadn t been for
this unl ucky ill ness we d have been on our way t o Au s

tralia
There give me some more
He lay back profoundl y exhaust ed Glynn hel d the
gl ass to hi s li ps whil e he exchanged a l ook o f won de r
and sym p athy wit h Lady G e thi n
.

CHAP TER
A

TRUE

Lo vnx

KNOT

hearers were sil ent for a few minutes Bot h

perceived the danger and di f cul ty o f his si tuation If
Deering stuck to his text and coul d t rust Vincent to
show equal e rt inacity all probabili ties were on the side o f
the man of igh character f o rtune and position
Lady G e t hin and Glynn might bel ieve hi s story from
the int ernal evidence of sympathy and sentiment but to
the l egal mind that woul d not be worth a straw
If Deering chose he might obtain Lambert s cond e m
nation as a robber and murderer and purchase revenge
by the sacrice o f his estate Thus a bl ow a fatal bl ow

woul d be de al t to Elsie whose tender faithful nature

woul d su ff er intensely from the shock of such knowl edge
To Glynn there seemed but one means of security to
botho ne he was most ready t o adopt As his wife
Els ie woul d be out o f Deering s reach and with such a
champion of her rights he coul d not hope t o make v ery
favorabl e terms still for character s sake he was al most
bound to support his assertions shoul d a whisper o f them
reach any ears save Vincent s and Lambe rt s Whil e he
thought Lambert seemed to revive

I never he ard o f such an utt er vill ain ! excl aimed

Lady G e t hin
I perfectl y remember the death of ol d
Deering The next heir had been carried off by fev er
just before making way rather unexpectedly for Gil bert
This man Travers D eering who had had a quarrel
with his cousin was in the ofce of the famil y solici tor
and was sent o ut to l ook for him in South America as he
had not been heard o f for so m e time The story goes
that he me t him and gave hi m rather a l arge sum o f
money for hi s expenses which Gil bert took away up to
some barbarous pl ace where he had l eft his baby girl
He was murdered and robbed in an o utbre ak o f ro u ghe ,
LAMBERT s

( 160)

162

B AY

AT

ti m e and had l itt l e o r n o thing t o give s o

ol d thi ng from my n er to put on hers
g

I never saw the p oo r girl again

What an e xtraordi nary piece o f evidence 1 ex cl aim e d

,

X
I
?co robor tes the eff e t of your daughter s remark

G1 I

bl e likeness t o

her mother
There is a providence that
said Lady G e t hin in a lo w tone and
s hapes o ur ends
silence fell upon them from which she was the rst to
rouse hersel f
There is no time t o be l ost in m aki ng some arrange
ment that will rel ieve you from thi s horribl e conditi on o f

f ear and concealment Let us consul t my l awyer

A l awy e r
no no
cried Lambert
That woul d be

dangerous

We must proceed with inni te caution observed

Gl ynn
D eering s po sition is a str ong one You have
onl y y our own word to weigh against hi s If we co ul d get

h ol d of Vince nt ?

There is littl e chance o f that sai d Lambert

If I

c o ul d onl y be sur e my precious Els ie were saf e

She shall come and stay with me cried Lady

That woul d be goin g into the lion s j aws sai d Glynn

Thi s is my pl an I have l e arned t o l ove your daughter

( as I still consider he r) l e t me tryand wi n her and l e t
dark till she is my wif e
st retched ou t hi s hand t o grasp Gl ynn s ; he
tried to speak in vain and bu rst into a t of hysterical
.

Moreover continu ed Glynn sol emnl y I promise that

if D eeri ng resigns his bol d at te mpt s at revenge no l ov e o f
mere wealth sh all induce me t o open up the question o f

Elsie s p aren tage or your past l if e

The s ound of her father s sobs bro ught El si e into the
roo m and broke o ff the conversation
,

It is al together the most e xtraordi nary romance I eve r

heard of sai d Lad y G e thin when Gl ynn call ed a f e w

d ays after these exciting di scl osures

I have been
thinkin g what is best to be done Suppos e
abro ad wi th me and you f oll o w
You can be m arri ed
,

TR U E

LOV ER s

163

KN OT

quietl y and t hen snap your ng e rs at D ee ring Lam be rt

al o ne he coul d easil y cru sh but Lambe rt as father in law
to a very magni cent three tail ed Bashaw is a di e re nt
matte r I am deeply interested in your l ittl e l ad y l ove
and I am by n o means di spose d to give up her inheritan c e

to that doubl e dyed traitor

You must remember I hav e not yet be en ac cepted I

have not ev en tried my chance

She woul d nev er be

P ray d o n ot l o se any m ore time
You are reall y a v ery ao
s u ch a f ool as to re f u se you !

c e pt abl e s o rt o f man
Thanks for th e compli m e nt But I hesitate becau se
I dread th e c ompl i c atio ns which wo ul d ensu e if she ref uses

me !
F iddl e de de e Sh e wo n t re fus e you ! I w oul d not

re fuse y o u were I a y oun g lady

Glynn l au ghed and then grew grav e

I was rather
annoyed yest e rday to hear from Mrs Kell ett who is stay
ing at her co u sin s school at Cl apham that she is afraid
she is being watchedshe is not sure but o f c ourse s he
is nervousl y on the qui vi ve She rarel y ventur es to
G arst on Terrace and the bl essed day I found Elsie they
had met at that h o tel in Holborn to arrange so me m oney

m atters as Mrs Kell ett is afraid t o w rite

Wh at a dread ful st ate of things ! So it was Els ie s

W as that Mrs Storrer in
v o i ce you heard at Cl apham !

the secret ?

Not al to gether When Els ie rst went she thou ght

s he was French ; afterwards Mrs Kell ett parti all y c o nded
in her and between them they prepared the story of her

havi gone with a famil y to India in case of inquiries

gge ll ! said Lady G e thi n I shall make my prepara

t i o ns for go ing abroad ; and you go and se t tl e thi ngs wi th
El si e and her father By the way have you found ou t
how h e esc aped fro m the steamer where V incent abs o

lu te ly saw him e n rou te f o r A merica ?

By a v ery cl ever d o dge Lambert waite d and watche d

till he found a needy cou ntryman so mething of his own
He
height and c ol o r who wi shed to g o t o New York
off ered to pay thi s m an s passag e fr om Li verpool if he
w oul d go under the nam e of Lamb ert This he readily
Lam bert went to s e e him o ff H is re pre
agre e d to
.

164

AT

RAv

w ore a mackintosh of a pe cul iar cut a chimney

p o t hat and a l arge whi te comforter m uling the l ower
Lambert had a brown cl ot h overcoat
part of his f ace
and fur travelling
cap He and his friend tal ked together
on the deck till the l ast moment and then seeing Vincent
(o f whose presence he had been aware ) move o ff he
slipped behind some shel ter wi th his friend and changed
coat and hat in hot haste ; Lambert twiste d the com
forte r round hi s throat and face and j oined the crowd
on the gangway a li ttl e behind Vincent The fell ow
paused on the pier t o watch the rest go by ; and Lambert
passed him wi th the utmost s angf roid even st opping t o
wave his hand to his fri end o n deck and then walked
sm artl y on j um ped into a cab and caught the London

train

Well done ! Bu t the mos t determined will the most

inv enti v e brain cannot k eep up conceal m ent in these days
if you are l ooked for ! Supp o se you were to s e e Deering
lf
o
se
H
ugh
u
r
y

No ; the onl y chan ce f or present pe ac e is to l e t him

Supp o se that I am ignorant of the truth

Perhaps s o ! I m ust say I am m o st rel uc tant to l e t

that wretch escape

So am I but I think o f El sie be fore ev erythin g
Well go away and se ttl e everything with her tell her to

be ready t o start for the Continent on Monday

he
It was l ate before Glynn reached Garsto n Terrace
had had some business to attend to and took a hasty
m e al at hi s cl ub thus securing a l ong eveni ng
Ne ver di d the way seem so l ong He was resol ved that
if an Opportunity off ered or even if it di d not to avow
his aff ection to El sie and try to obtain her promise in
return
When h e re ached th e door the l an dl ady in formed hi m
that Mi sse e was ver much upset and waiting for him
y
in the drawing roo m
The moment he entered she e w
o im witn ou tstretc hed bands whi ch he to ok and te nderl y
e (1

Why have y ou be e n so l ong ? Oh ! I have se en him

H e has f oll owe d u s here
What sh all we d o how s hall

we e s cape ?
Who m have you s ee n
drawing he r to
him dis tres s ed at the wil d
s e nt ati v e

,
,

ih

166

AT BAY

O h ! I di d not mind ! These pl ans o f marriage are

o fte n made by th o ughtful p arents You hardl y knew me
then it w oul d have been fo olish to agree to what mig ht
I did not dr e am of marryi ng
not hav e been s u itabl e
you You seemed t o me t oo

Old ? s u ggested Gl ynn more charmed than ever with

her sweet grav e simplicity and thi rsting to kis s the l ovely
mouth that spok e so mel o diousl y

No with a smil e
not ol d but grand I cannot
e xactl y express what I mean I di d no t want t o marry
you Indeed I was so taken up with w hat m y father said
ab out keeping away from me that I di d n ot think much

ab out y ou

Will you think o f me no w ? excl aimed Gl ynn

Look at me dearest read my heart in my eyes Be lieve
me there is nothing in heaven above or eart h beneath
that I desire as I desire y our l ove
El sie grew a littl e p al e
I am hal f frightened at the idea It is n ot g ood fo r
y o u it is not wise of you though I am ignorant o f the
worl d I know it must be bad f o r any man to m arry a girl
who has been obliged to hide away as I hav e beenwho
is surrounded with myst ery and f ear and who c oul d

never never fors ake her dear father even fo r you !

Even for me 1 then yo u l ove me a littl e El sie ?

I do ! wi th a sl ight sob
I l ov e you for your l oyalty
and goo dness to my father I l ove you she stoi ped

and added with gentl e s ol e m ni

f or yourse l f
Yi e ld
ing to his passionate embrace e cl ung to him and burst
into a t o f wil d weeping that su rprised and disturbed

hi m
I hOpe it is not wr o ng to l e t y o u l ove me s he
m urmu re d brok enl y ; I d o not kno w what is behi nd
and if we m u st p
We n e ver sh all unl e s s b y y our sp e cial wish my own
my life I kn ow everyt hing and you shall kn o w every
thing by and by W ill you not wait and trust y our father
and me

I will she retu rne d and Glynn fel t her I will was
e q ual to another s oath
She di s engaged hers elf fr o m his
arms and sto od f or an instant wi th cl as ed hands in
sil ent prayerful thought Glynn waited
she stirred
and the n taki ng her hand b e gan s o f tl y t o expl ain to he r
.

TRU E

167

KNO I

LOV ER s

nec essity o f a Speedy marriage and L ady G e thin s

wish to take her abroad at once Thi s El si e demurred to
she co ul d not l eave her father who though wo nderfull y
recov ered in he al th was greatl y depressed and d e
spon dent

Let us go and consul t him s aid Glynn

Oh yes I hav e f orgotten him t o o l ong Shall we tell

hi m that I saw Vincent ?

N o certainl y not The kn owl e dge will n ot add to
his safety and may injure hi m
He must l eav e this
He is v ery safe here The house is reall y ours Mrs
Kell ett took it fur nished f or a year
The landlad y is
reall y her old servant who kn ew me as a chil d She was
here for t w o months before we came She will never s ay

anythi ng that coul d b e tray us

Ah ! an excell ent pl an Bu t com e t o your father

we must consul t hi m
Lambert was reading a newspaper when they ente red
He was l ooking stronger and more like him
his room
sel f than Glynn had seen him since they had met in
London H e wel comed them cordi all y glancing from
o ne to the other as if perceivi ng traces of u nusual emo

tion
Lambert said Gl ynn we have co me to ask
your co ns e
so in ni t el y happy as t o have won
El sie s you wil l not withh ol d yours ?

My God I thank Thee ! m u rmured Lambert

My
c hil dm y El sie y o u will be saf e now and I hav e d o n e

w i t h l if e
El sie ran to him and puttin g her arms round his neck
kiss ed hi m over and over again excl aim ing No my own
dear father you will be gin li fe an ew the best o f it is to
ome He l ov es you to o ; he will hel p m e to mak e y o u

the

ppyf
.

When they were

c al mer Glynn be gan to speak
o f L ady G e thi n s pl ans
and rather to Els ie s su rprise
L ambert was eager to adopt them He decl ared it w oul d
make hi s mind qui te easy to know that hi s daughter was
under Lady G e thin s care that h e woul d soo n be abl e to
travel and join them with Glyn n H e seemed eager that
t hi s pl an shoul d be carried out

Father said El sie

his h and in bo th hers .
will you not trust m e will y ou not te ll m e the s o

cre t

168

AT

BAY

Well not quite all o f it said L ambert wi th a pe culiar

You see my de ar a l ong t ime ago I
l o ok at Glynn
was fool ish enough t o get mixed up in a pol iti cal pl ot to
upset the Government in Irel and Well it never c am e to
anything a bl ackguard connected with it betrayed every
thi ng and he was m ur dered o u t o h o u t in Cal if orn i a
Well unfortunat el y I was the l ast pers o n seen with him
and D eering has got e vidence that m i ght hang m e Now
I don t want a row until I have the means o f di sproving
O f course he has an object in all this and
hi s assertions

o f course y o u don t bel ieve I woul d take a l i f e ?

You dear dear f ather ! No indeed but whywhy
were you obliged to hide m e ? W oul d it not be bette r to

f ace it all ?

I hid y ou my darli ng be cau se that red de vil had a

desi gn to remove you from my g uardianship on the pl ea
that I was a cri minal ; and as to facin g i t Ill do that

when I hav e c o unter evidence whi ch I hope to get

Whi ch is onl y prudent put in Glynn

It is all v ery strange s aid El sie trembl ing visibl y

They cannot hurt him can they ?
t o Glynn
They

shall not An d you she continued turn ing t o him

you wish to marry me in the face o f all this ?

As ardentl y as if you were the daughter o f the proud

e s t potentate in Europe
El sie was sil ent her b osom heaved tears hun g heavy
o n her l ong l ashes and i t was onl y by a strong ef f ort of
her habitual self control that she resiste d
te ars

You are t fo r the be st king that e v er sat on a

throne cried Lambert : and Glynn is worthy of yo u

Now my darl ing g o g o write a l ett er to Mrs Kell ett
Glynn will post it (we are des
and te ll her e v eryt hi ng
era tel y cautiou s abo ut communi cating wi th Mrs Ke l

p
ett ) and I will have a l it tl e tal k with Gl ynn
El sie who l ooked shocked and sh aken ki s sed her
father s hand l ovingl y and excl aimed
You can never be accu sed seriousl y Surely there is
no dange r ? Why does Mr D eeri ng hate you ? I did not

be lieve there was such wickedness except in bo oks

With an appe al ing l e ok at Glynn she l eft the ro om

It w as a g oo d thought s aid Lambe rt l eaning b ack

,

170

AT

BAY

d elightf ul h our with El si e and

to go He had persu aded her to ac
G e t hi n and had undertak en n o t to
f ather un til he c onv eyed him saf ely to Lau sann e The
i dea that D eerin g was pl otting agai nst hi s lif e had greatl y
aff ecte d her

There must be much y o u do not tell me sh e said

The wh ol e thing seems so strange and terri bl e

No doubt it d o es said Glynn

Later I am sure
your f ather will te ll you more Now my l ove my dar

ling I mu st l eave y o u

Be fore you g o
said Elsie raising her eyes to his

tell me your name ! I nev er hear d

grave smil e
it and I want to kn ow I want to call you by some name

m ore f am iliar than Mr Gl ynn in my thoughts

I hope yo u will dearest I am call ed Hug
Hu gh ! I d o not know that name I l ike it It so unds

Then with a vivid bl ush but a certain s t e adi

s tro ng

Go od
ness as if she had m ade up h e r mind she said

night dear Hugh

Glynn cl asped her in hi s arms and
her tenderly
impl ored her t o take cou rage and believe that her father s
innocence woul d yet be prov ed and the vill ainy pl otted
against him frustrat e d
,

was a dre adf ul wrench f or Elsi e to part fro m her

f ather It needed the united in uence and urging bo th
o f Glynn and L am bert to persuade her at the last F or
the few days inte rvening bet ween Glynn s avowal and
El sie s de parture Lambert walk ed every m o rning in the
li ttl e garden behind the house l eaning o n his daughter s
He seemed feverishl y eager to regain st rength now
that the l ocal doctor who attend e d hi m c e as e d his v isits
and decl ared hi m conv al escent
Lambert havi ng determined to de cl are himself to D eer
ing w as l ess nervousl y anxious to k eep in hiding and
ev en dr ove wi th Glynn and El si e as f ar as Lady G e t hin s
t he m orning o f the day the l atter were to st art f or the
C o ntinent He wanted he s aid to see the l ast o f his
It

Th e last fo r the next f ew weeks

co rrected Glynn

A TR UE

KNOT

Lo vER s

May be so may b e so sai d L ambert with a s ad ring

in hi s v oice
Lady G e thi n made hi m wel co me and at o n c e evi nce d
an incl ination to pet El sie wh o was too much ov ercome
b the dread of l eaving her f ather to h e ed the minute
y
ki ndnesses heape d upon her

D on t be t o o downcast abo ut her said L ady G e thi n

who was in her element at the head o f aff airs and in the
centre o f a romantic mystery
Wh en s he is cl ear away
and has had a f ew cheering l etters from her father she
will be all right The so oner he makes things square with
,

di o t as to thr o w away a spl endi d estate and

i
g

high pos rti on f or the sak e o f mere revenge

Mere revenge ! It is a powerful incentive Remem
be r the ill he al th of that crippl ed boy o f hi s ! I d oubt if
he cares to transm i t much to him , and then he no doubt
coun ts o n a compromise that he woul d be l eft the lif e u s e
9

he a'
d

of the property
To whi ch I hope and trust you woul d never conse nt
Hugh ! I d take that wretch s skin o ff if I coul d ! In
f act I have set my heart on se eing you master o f D enham
one of these days It is inf amous that wick edness s h oul d

ourish in hi g h pl aces
I prefer k eeping my word to Lambert that El sre sh oul d
never kn ow how her real father di ed to po ss essing the

nest property in th e kingdom

Well you need not bre ak y our word ; n ei th er need

you be ! ui xotic
These sentences were exchanged in the dining room
from whi ch Lambert and El sie had retired to have a few
word s in pri vate in Lady G e thi n s boudoir. Thithe r s he
and Glynn foll owed them the l atter drawm g Bl s w i nt o
the conservatory adjoining

The next fortnight will be awft bl ank he excl ai m e d

when they were o ut o f earsho t
By that time I trust all
dif cul ties will be surmoun ted and I shall be abl e to
with your father f or Lausanne ; then I tru st there Wi ll

onl y be peace and l ov e for you both in the future

Woul d to God thi s terribl e interval were over ! sai d

Elsie wi th a qui vering sigh

I inte nd to ins is t o n y our f ather s

wi th m e in
.

,
.

172

AT B AY

chambe rs until he is fre e to join you ! Trust hi m t o

m e dearest
replied Gl ynn
How go od you are ! How can I ever thank you

enough ? cried El sie and carried away by tenderness

and gratitude her arms stol e round his neck and she
kissed hi m repeatedl y in all the simpl e sincerity of unh es
i t atin g aff ection
Soon after as it was growing l ate Lam bert proposed
returning to his l odgin gs He had s aid good bye t o Lady
He had even gone
G e t hin and tenderl y embraced El sie
h al f way down stairs when he suddenl y paused and t urn

ing back excl aimed I must tak e one more l ook at her
and ascending to the drawing room to ok her hand in both
Gazing intentl y into her face he said softl y
hi s own

My own jewel ! Have I made you happy ? Will you

pardon me any wrong I may have done you ?

Wrong you have done me nothing but good N o
father ever made a daughter happier than yo u have made

me

Then give me a l ovi ng thought now and again G od

bl ess yo u my darling Good bye good bye

Onl y for a l ittl e whil e dearest best ! she e x d a e d

Be careful and come t o me soon !

Lambert made no repl y He hurried into the cab which
wait ed bel ow and accomp anied by Glynn re t urned to hi s
l odgings in saf ety

my

There was l ittl e or no dif cul ty in persuadi ng Lambert

to accept his future son in l a w s invitation Though
greatl y pl eased to know El sie was wi th Lady G e thi n he
evidentl y shrank from being al one and was in so l o w and
nervous a condition that Gl ynn insisted on carryi ng him
o ff to his chambers the day after E lsie s departure
Here he revived considerabl y and was abl e to receive
a vi sit from Mrs Kell ett
Letters from Els i e and Lady
G e thi n al so cheered him
Still he was not hi msel f and
hi s restl essness was painful at times
Glynn carefully avoided any appearance of change in
his habits and went out to di nners and parties as usual
At one of these he encount ered Deering and to ok the in
iti ativ e by asking if he had been all this ti me in th e co un
try as h e had not m et him anywh er e lately
-

CH

A P T E R XI

mys elf said Lam be rt t o his host a f e w

days afte r the enco unter abo v e recorded
Ill go down to
D enham to m orr ow and get my interview with Deering

ov er

I am n o t at all sure you are equal to it Lambe rt you

are fe v eris h and e xci ted
Why no t wait till he comes up

to to wn ?

Because I d f eel saf er in the co un

That fell ow is
j ust trait or en ou gh t o ke e me in tal k w e be se nt for a
constabl e and made a c arge

C o nstabl es are n ot so near at h an d in the c ountry

I think y o u are mistaken I d o n t fancy D eering will

c ut o his nose to spite hi s face

It s har d to tell Anyhow Ill try

there is s o m e vill ag e o r town near where a man
I FEEL lik e

uP

There

age at D enham I b eli ev e b ut the rail

mil es o I am tol d at a town
v e or s ix
where no doubt you will nd accom m o
wish yo u w oul d l eav e the matt e r in my hands
a

is

vil l

dati on I

Lambert

That I cannot ; but I think I am s ui cie ntly b ack ed

u p now to mak e te rms with him

I wish y o u c oul d carry the war into the enemy s coun

re
try but that wi th out witnesses woul d be impo ssibl e

turned Glynn
Mak e the best te rms you can I agre e
with you in thinki n g that no am oun t of we al th coul d ato n e

f or shocki ng and gri eving El sie

N othing coul d
And su pp o s e
e j acul ated Lamb e rt
I am hanged will y o u be tru e to my darling

Yes ev en if I believ ed you gu ilty of murd er I woul d

s tick to her !
L am be rt s e ized and pre s sed hi s hand and after a m o
m e nt s s il ence r e su med
,

PAID

mv FU LL

175

Ill go and sl eep at my o wn pl ace to ni ght it s neare r

the Great Northern and I ll start o ff t o morrow morning

Maybe I ll be l ucky hey ?

He pull ed o u t Els ie s l as t
She i s happy any
l etter and read it thro u gh in sil ence
way but she s wearying for h er ol d dad 1 God bl e s s her !

!
b
es
s
h
er
and
watch
over
her
with a bur st o f
l
o
d
G

feeling
Th e bl e s sing of a vagabond l ike mysel f isn t
worth much but there it i s Mayb e b ut for me she d be
a great l ady now and hol ding h er own in the sight o f all

men
And perh ap s b ut for you sh e woul d b e in her grave

said Glynn
o r struggl ing in poverty and degr adatio n

Who can tell ? rejoined th e other and he l eft the

room to prepare for his return to his own abode

I ll not write to you Gl ynn were his l ast word s at

starti ng ; Ill ju st come straight b ack and tell you every

Do ; and rememb er th at th e b ol der f ront you can

Speak as if
s h ow the greate r the chance o f hi s yi el din g

you had a cl oud o f witness e s to back yo u

Ay th at s th e pl an ! I ll try it if onl y my ner v e s keep

as steady as they f eel to-day

.

Th e chi e f inn of Earls hall a small town on th e b orders

orth shi re was full and busy one morning in May
of N
m ore than twe lve m onths from the openi ng o f thi s true
h istory It was market day and the c o e e room resound
e d with the l oud voice s and creaking boot s o f the neigh
b oring f armers wh o had l ooked in for a mouthful and a

d ro of dri nk s omewhat stronger than co ff ee

e stabl e s were full of s trong servi ceabl e nags worthy
o f the shi re whi ch b red th e m and the busy hostl ers had
scarce tim e to attend to the demand o f a stranger who
had be en st ayi ng for the l ast t wo day s at the inn that one
or other o f them sh oul d s addl e the h or s e he had ridden
each day s ince he arri ved

Hand it over to me and Ill s addl e hi m mys el f he

I am no fool abo u t a horse and c an
l ai d at l engt h

So
general] m anage all I want with my o wn hands
s ayi ng
6 proceede d t o s addl e th e ste e d h e h ad s e l ected
and s oo n t rotted ou t of the yar d
,

176

AT

BAY

st ranger was a novelty at Earl s hall and several

inquiries were address ed t o mine host who mixed o n

pl easant easy terms with hi s guests

The vi s itor was

fro m Lunnon o r from f urrin parts

Bu t he knew a
hors e when he saw o ne he had been over to Denham all
day l ong ; th e l an dl ord s opinion was that lik ely he cam e
fr om a newspaper and he hoped as how he woul d write
up the Bl ack Horse
There was a l etter f or him that
morni ng from Denham
I know the pape r and the cre st

stamped outside added th e h o st ; I dare say he s an

el ectioneering chap
U nconscious o f these co mm ents Lambert rode on with
a grey s e t f ace and rm l y cl osed mouth The l ett er he
had received that mornin g had been brief
I will hear
what you have to say b u t I do not wish a crimin al to
cross my threshol d You must m eet me by th e Deer s
B arn in th e Beech Wood abo ut a mil e from the vill age

Thi s had no signature and

Any o ne will direct yo u

Lambert took it ou t and

w as addre ssed to Mr S mi th
read it gnashi ng hi s teeth as he di d so

The insol ent daring vill ain he muttered

can I do
nothing to turn his ank ? If h e h ad a gl eam of con
science h e woul d be l es s daringl y unscrupul ous but he
h asn t enough to make a coward o f hi m Glynn is my
best card b ut D e eri ng knows hi s strength ; h e has onl y
Bu t he ll
to l ie bol dl y and I am at hi s mercy

hol d o f he r : she is s afe from him

Then his
wandered away to a bit of country near Mrs Ke ll e tt s
home where in s ome o f his m any vi sits to hi s darling
daughter he h ad le d her litt l e Wel s h pony whil e she
talked to him of her own si mpl e fancies
o f her de arl y
l oved pets o f th e wil d owers and birds and insects all
of whi ch we re s o fam ili ar to th e country bred
What a foretaste o f heaven it all was ! No soil ed sinner
pur ied b y purgatori al re s and admi tted into the
c al m of ce l e s tial joy coul d have f el t more keenl y th e sen s e
o f re generation and revival th an th e poor b atte red wan
d erer who had devoted hims el f to the care o f hi s enemy s
orphan ; and now as he reected that he h ad brought
misf ortune to th e creature h e s o fon dl y l oved t hat he had
u nc onsciousl y put h er and hi ms el f into the pow e r o f a
b ol d scoundrel his h e art thro bb ed wi th
s o wil d so
ov e rp owering t hat he was alm o st al arm e d at
A

AT B AY

178

towar ds some di s tant hills And all th e s e grand woo ds

this b eauti ful sweep o f hill s th ese group s o f dappl ed deer
that murmuring brown str eam the s ol emn statel y b eech es
t h at cl us tered round the barn which stood at the verge o f
the deer park all th ese were Elsie s ; and as he th ought
Travers Deering came ou t from the shadow o f th e rou gh
pict uresque edi ce and advanced t o meet him
The two men came face to f ace a lit tl e in th e rear o f th e
barn and stood in sil ence for a few s econds eyeing each
oth er with deadl y hatred nor was th e gaze o f the
u nscrupul ou s v ill ai n a sh ade l e ss st e ad y o r uni nchi ng
than that o f the man h e intended to m ake hi s vi cti m
Pray why hav e you taken th e troubl e t o come down
here when you might h ave s een m e in town next week
asked Deering cooll y

For vari ous reasons chiey b ecau se I coul d not wait

Then you have something importan t somethi ng favor
abl e for yours el f to propo se Firs t where is Elsie ? You
know

I do

Is sh e i n Eng land ?

No

Will you tell me w h ere sh e is ?

I will fu rth er o n

Very goo d Let me hear wh at you h ave t o say taking

o u t a cigar and s triki ng a fusee he li t it with el aborate
composure
I succeeded in hiding my sel f and my chil d from you

and your devili sh designs beg an Lambert in a voice that

vibrated with the anger he coul d hardly control ; and if I
h ad not been struck down by ill ness my g irl and I woul d
have been o u t o f your reach at the other side o f the
world However I coul dn t carry o ut my pl ans and I
know o ne cannot keep o u t o f sight forever so I made up
my mind to s e e if we can t come to an agreement Let
us go and Ill never s ay a word against you o r meddl e in
,

Is that all you h ave to s ay for yoursel f ? ret urned

I t hou ght you had somethi ng

D eering contemptuousl y

new

S o I h ave ! I have found a man who beli eve s my

story and h e is a b acker not to be de spised

.

PAID

An d h e is ?

179

IN FULL

sked Deering without taking his ci gar

from hi s l ip s

Glynn ! You know hi m

a l ook o f
Ha ! and he bel ieves your littl e romance
concentr ated fury contracting hi s brow
Satis facto ry to
b ut unf ortunatel y men s beliefs are not evidence
you

Now I have positive evidence

Deering !
you are the mos t accursed scoundrel th at
ever disgraced God s e arth ! Were it not f o r my chil d I d
gl adl y pay forfeit with my life f or the pl easure of kill ing

you

I dare say ! Knowi ng my man I am not su ch a block

h ead as to come here unarmed and he made a motion

with hi s h and to hi s b reast pocket

Good cri ed Lambert and he l aughed a pecul iar wil d

l e t us t al k
l augh
Bu t thi s is nons ense he resumed
Just s e e what foll y it is to throw
li ke reasonabl e being s
away fortune and all thi s waving his hand toward s t he
trees and upl and
for what a whim a bit o f revenge !
Wh en you have dest royed me and pl anted a t he m in
El sie s he art that ll pierce h er thr ough her life l ong for
you can do that though she s beyond your power to harm
morehow will you like to turn o u t o f this grand pl ace

and cou nt every penny in your pocket ?

I don t intend to do either ; I sh all b e rewarded for

my dis interested honest y by keep ing the estate for my
lif e My s on a mere hel pl es s crippl e can exist on a trie ;
m y l ady wi f e is onl y half al ive as it is and probabl y may
resign th e frail half s he possesses before l ong t hen I may
marry my sweet cou sin and all wil l go well and happil y
when we have h ung you you blundering bl ackgu ar wi th
a su dden ash o f rage and hatred

Gently said Lambert thi nking the mo m ent was come

to pl ay his tru mp c ard
Yo u ll not be abl e to carry o u t
your neat l ittl e scheme My El sie is engaged to Glynn
and will be his wife b efore thr ee weeks are over She is

staying with Lady G e t hi n until the wedding t akes pl ace !

Deering was moved at l ast he started bac k

known your secret during

Wh at ! h as G 1

The l ast mont and more interrupted Lam bert

And Lady G e thi n

i s s he equall y well inf orme d ?
.

She is .

180

AT BAY

Deeri ng grew deadl y whi te

te eth pre ssed hi s under lip for a m om ent o f sil ence b efore
h e burst ou t
Infernal i diot ! you have driven the l ast
nail into your o wn cof n El sie Glynn s wife ! I d strangl e
h er with my own hands rs t ! You have l eft me no al terna
tive I must in mere se lf defence attack you You have
shattered your own s af eguard ! If yo u have tol d Gl ynn
and th at sharp tongued ol d woman I must not keep qui et
any l onger Their credul ity does not we aken my po siti on ;
it is impregnabl e 13 I h ave pl uck enough t o stand to my
guns which I have You h ave l e ft m e nothi ng but revenge
and Ill have that Who will b eli eve a word you utter
Ill make your vi si t here th e starti ng po int o f my accusa
ti on Yo u have come to extract m oney ! and threaten m e
'
with the cl ai m s o f Gilbert Deering s daughter I havi ng
al wa s sus p ected you
and h aving recentl y m et Vincent
and eard hi s st ory I l ay the m atter b efore a magistrate
b oth to obtain and be stow justice Then le t Glynn marry
th e protge o f a di sgraced detecte d criminal if he will
nothing shall s ave you from appearing in Els ie s eyes as
the murderer o f h er o wn father the destroyer of h er li fe
There ! I tell you my pl an repeat it or not as you
choose Your words your st ory your very existence are
in vain I have but t o be rm and you go to a di shonored
rave
fo
wed
by
t
h
e
ho
rror and disgust o f the creature
ll
o
g
o n whom you spent yo ur lif e lay ! wh o rejected by

Glyn n will e t b e mine

Lamb ert ad lis tened wi th a wil d mi ng l ing o f fury and
despair He gazed at D eering t o s e e if there was any
sign o f fal terin g o f he sitation but the l eader o f t h e
rebel angel s him self coul d not have l ooked more deter

mined to make evil his good

Contempt as well as
h atred gl eame d from hi s erce light eyes a sudden sens e
that all hOpe was over th at a dark cl oud streaked with
bl ood was al ready rising between him and his darli ng
his jewel pressed with maddeni ng force u pon Lambert
D eering misunderstood his momentary stunned sil ence
I am m as ter o f your f ate Fin d
and added with a s neer :

a way o u t o f th e dil emma if you can

I There is
cried Lambert hoarse ly ; an d
one way l eft
snatching a revol ver from hi s b re as t pocket h e red al m ost
be fore h e ce as e d to sp e ak

,
.

AT B AY

182

Ah ! few have done

compl ete a b it o f work as I

returned Lambert griml y as he started at a quick
so

h ave
trot
His horse was fresh and free and di d th e di stance to
Earl s hall within the time all owed by hi s rider The hostl er
remarked that the gentl eman m u st have been took ill o r
summat he had s u ch a ghastly daze d l ook in his face
Anyway he di d not forget to tip me handsome af ore h e
ran o ff t o catch the train
Meantime the rst and second dr essing b ells rang in
Denham House but the m aster di d not come in from the
w al k he had evidentl y prol onged
Wel don had come
over to dine and di scu ss business with hi s empl oyer and
endeavored t o keep up a conversation with Lady Frances
sitting in state in the grand so l emn drawing room The
dinner hour was lo ng past and Lady France s grew nu
e asy Deering s v al et was call ed but coul d give no ex
pl anation o f his master s ab sence Night cl ose d in whil e
se arch w as being made and then a col d and rigid gure
that a few hours ago was the l ord and mas ter of Denham
was brought reverently back carried by the gamekeepers
and gardeners and foll owed by the awe struck men who
The revolver w hi ch had ap
had assisted in the search
h
and
was
recogni
ed
by
th
e
are n tl y f all en from hi s
z
p
val et as bel onging to his master indeed he saw it in i t s
accust omed pl ac e that very morni ng Yet neither Lady
Frances o r Wel don coul d accept the idea o f sui cide H e
was s o active s o ful l o f schemes s o inst inct with l ife
Bu t there was the incontrovert ibl e fact Deering o f
Denham was no more and Bertie hi s s on reigned in his
stead
,

,
,

Away b y the b eautiful shore s of Lake Leman El si e

Lambert enjoyed a growing sense o f security
Lady
G e t hin w as a strong protectress
Lambert wrote cheer
fully and seemed t o enjoy his visit t o Gl ynn ; and the
l atter s fre qu ent l etters were an ever increasing source o f
delight whil e it w as an ennobling ed u cation in Elsie s
estimation to answer them With Lady G e t hin sh e
grew in favor d ay by day ; her th ou ghtful softness her
d elig ht in l earning and her deli cious voice c harm ed t he
.

PAID

183

IN FU LL

ewhat e x ige ant dowager Again and again she vowed

t o hersel f th at s he wo ul d never rest till she had won back
that dear girl s rights and exposed Deering
I b el ieve

every word th at good soul Lam b ert say s was th e gen

eral climax of her meditations
Lady G e thin was pondering these th ings one day as
she sat after lu ncheon on th e delightful b al cony o f their
h otel overl ooki ng the l ake
She had beg un t o specul ate when Glynn woul d join
them and what preliminary arrangements woul d be nec
essary previo us to th e wedding which s he h ope d woul d
soon take pl ace Th e approach of a waiter di st urbed
her
He brought a tel egram
It was from Glynn
Keep all newspap e rs especiall y Engl ish ones from

El sie will be with yo u o n Wednesday

There is something dreadfull y wrong s ai d Lady

G e t hin to hersel f
and the wrong i s with Lambert I
tru st the poor man s head hasn t tu rned with all hi s trou
bl es I hOpe Hugh will write This is S aturday : o ne
two th ree days to wait and hol d my tongue Why it i s

more than hum an nature can endure

Bu t though carefull y keeping the papers from h er young
prot ge no very dif cul t task Lad y G e t hin s earched them
d iligently hers el f and soon fou nd the word o f the riddl e
rst in a col umn head ed Myst erio u s Death o f Mr Deer

ing o f Denham foll owed by all p artic ul ars and an ac

co unt o f th e stranger artist w ho had been sketching in
Denham woods and had according to the evidence o f the
h otel keeper at Earl s hall received a l etter with the Deer
ing crest the day previo u s to the fatal event
In another col umn w as an account of a robbery and
murder in a rail way carriage between York and London
On reaching an interme d iate station one o f the carriages
o f the u
p train was fo u nd open and empty the door swi ng
ing to and fro whil e the cushi on beside it w as smeared as
if something bl eeding had kn ocked against it The carpet
was displ aced and some sovereigns and l oose sil ver s cat
t e re d about
On search b eing made th e b o dy of a middl e aged man
well dressed and appar entl y in good circum stances was
found lying be side the rail s some m il es back his h e ad
and f ace sh attered his pockets turned inside o u t and at a
s om

184

B AY

hr

Am eri can revolver

His purse was

gone but a
pocket an d an
old envel ope with an Am erican stamp addressed
M

Lambert Rue de L ev e que Paris was th e onl y clue to

,

Aft er reading th e se ghastly detail s L ady G e thi n spent

an anxious and mise rabl e ti m e until Gl ynn appeared He
had s ent a hasty li ne t o El sie to say he was
away an accumul ation o f busine ss in order to be with h er
o n We dn esday
I suppose my father will co m e with him ? It is strang e
he doe s not mention hi m Nor h as my f ath er writte n for

s everal days s aid El si e

O h ! Hugh will expl ain everyt hing wh en h e com e s

repli e d Lady G e thin who im mediatel y after decl ared sh e
had a si ck headache and retired to be d to avo id th e dis
tressing si ght of Elsie s unconsc ious content
Lady G e t hin contrived t o impres s Elsie with th e idea
that Gl ynn woul d not arrive till l ate in th e eveni ng and s o
manage d to secure a short interview with him b e fore h e
went in t o break his sad news t o the orphan
H e l ooked ill and worn

Oh Hugh ! what an awf ul b usiness excl aim ed Lady

,

G e t hin

A profound tragedy he returned

T o you I may
venture t o conf ess my beli ef that Lambert rst shot
Deering and then bl ew hi s o wn brains out He coul dn t
have been recognized poor fell ow ! His h e ad was s o
shattered and the curious thing is he had o n diff erent
cl othes from any I had ever seen him in I suspect he
bought th em somewhere between Earl s hall and London
It was the day after Deering s murder Lambert destroyed
him s elf I have b een expecting every day to nd that he
h as been i dentied in some way with the artist who spent
a coupl e of days sketching at D enh am O f course th e
watch and a ring and the man s gure generally were
enough for me I knew who h e was f ast eno ugh I
attended the e xa mination and gave my evi dence frankl y
Nothi ng was said about Deeri ng Now le t m e go to Els i e !

I both l ong and dr ead to s e e her

Lady G e t hin l e d him up s tairs to th ei r private sitting
,

186

AT B A Y

m onths l ater th erefore a very quiet wedding took place

at Lady G e thin s residence Glynn s cl erical cousi n from
Cl aph am and th e faithful Mrs Kell ett were the onl y
guests and graduall y time and tranquillity heal ed the
wound whi ch death had inicted
Bu t Lambert li ved ever tenderl y ch erish ed in his
d aughter s memory and Glynn found that the best com
fort he coul d give his young wife was by de scribing th e
cheerf ulness and returning sense o f enjoyment displ ayed
by her father duri ng the ti me he spent with hi s intended
s o n in l aw
The mortal agony that darkened his l as t
ho urs she never knew Even when in the course of time
sh e was obl iged to bel ieve she was no t his dau ghte r her
s e ns e o f l ov m
g gratitude was onl y deepened and exal ted
,

Ten year s l ater S cene a reception at Lady France s

V
erner
s
Speaker
s
a
we
known
dowager
and
a
nephew
ll
:
j ust returned from India w hom she is l ioni zing
Yes Lady Frances is very h andsome and has a good
deal o f qu iet animation She w as th e widow o f that poor
Deering o f Denham wn not h imself some years ago
That stout broad shoul dered man with the bl ue ribbon
is Admiral Verner and the pal e delicate l ooking lad
talking to Madame R e nika the great violinis t i s young

Deering who writes su ch beautiful poetry

Who is that distingu ished lo oking woman the small er
o f th e two tal king to A d miral Verner ?
She h a s such a

sweet pensive face and great bl ue eyes

Oh you mean Mrs Glyn n She is greatly admired
b y artist s and those sort o f peopl e and has s u ch a roman
tic history Her father was murdered by the Indians or
the Kai rs she was s aved by a Y anke e gol d digger H e
b rought her up in the Rocky Mountains among an awfull y
l awl es s set of m en
Then he took her to Paris and I
b elieve s he was t o come o ut a s the daughter o f the Incas
in a ball et or some such thing when Glynn s aw her and
m arried her w hich seemed rather i d iotic However old
Lady G e t hin recognized her remarkabl e likeness t o a dear
friend who married Gil bert Deering and whose dau ghter
she roved to b e Then they found the nurse to whom
ankee had given he r s o th e Deerings thought it
the
.

PAID

IN FULL

18?

be tter t o come to an am icabl e settl ement Lady France s

keeps her dower and young Deering the e states for his
lif e but this charming Mrs Gl yn n or her s o n will s u c
They are great fri ends W h at Spl endid dia
ce e d him

monds she has !

Well ! excl ai med th e Indi an nephew truth re ally

is strang er than cti on

P O EM S O F P LEAS U RE
Ma n y o f t he b e s t p o e t i c c r e a t i o n s o f El la W h e e le r W i l cot
are t o b e f ou nd i n this ch ar min g c o ll e c t i on Be s i d e s m an y
.

d m ira b l e s p C m ns o f r om a ntic v er s e t h ere a re s e v era l

o e ms o f r a re b ea ut y dea l in g W i th e v ery d a t o pics E ver :
Pine of th e s e p o e ms p u l s a t e s W i t h l i f e a n d th r o 8 W i t h e mo t io n
Mrs W i l c o x is an ar t i s t wi t h a t o uch th a t r e m ind s o ne
P n R g t
o f Byr o n s i m p a s s w nat e st ra i ns
E v ery t h i n g t ha t sh e wri t e s h a s th e m ar k o f h e r u ni q u e
po wer f u l per sona l it y i m pre ss ed u p o n i t a n d t h i s vo l u m e W i ll
n o t b e a d i s app o in t m e n t to thos e a c q u ain t e d w i t h h e r
.

zs e r .

"

Ne w

Yor k P re s s

b oo k i s r ep l e t e wi t h g oo d t h i n g s an d th o u h a book
o f f ewer th a n t w o hu nd red p age s i t is w o r th w ho e rea ms
o f t h e s e nt i m e n t a l ism ou r i sh i ng u n der t h e m i s n o m e r o f l it er
a tu re W t n B k ll
'
e
s W i l c o x t a k e s h er rap tu re s wi t h a f u ll h e a r t r e v e l
in g i n b l i ss e s a n d dra inin g so rr o w s deep l ; no t mo r b i d l y b ut
h o pe f u ll y Ske pti c a s sh e is o f a l l f o r m a yc reed s sh e d o e s
n ot b e c om e c y n i c a l o r pe ssim i s t i c bu t m a ke s a g l ad re l i gi o n
out o f e vo l u t i on and h u ma n f e ll o w sh i p N w Y k D ad y

T he

"

es er

oo

se

e r.

"

or

r e s en t a t i o n Edi t i on 12mo m aroo n

De Lux e Ed iti on w h it e v e ll um g o l d
P

P O EMS O F P ASS IO N
Ell a W h e e l e r W i l co x i s kno wn a s t h e g r e a t e s t l iv ing p oe t
o f p a ss i o n . T o h er t h e h u m a n h ear t s ee ms t o h a v e re v ea l ed
i t s m s t e ri e s f o r sh e h a s t h e p o wer t o pic t u r e l ov e i n a ll i ts
m o o s a n d v ar i a ti o n s a s n o o t h er h a s d on e Si n c e Byr o n

O n l y a w oma n o f ge n i us c ou l d p r o d u ce s uch a re m arlb

.

ab l e w ork Ill t at d L nd n N w
Be s ide m a n o t h er s t h ere a e som e f t y p o e m s w h i ch
t rea t e nt i re l y 0 t h a t e
mo ti on w h i ch h a s b ee n de nom in at ed
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