LI E) RARY OF THL U N I VLR5ITY or ILLINOIS F359o V.\ NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Materialsl The Minimum Fee for each Lost Book Is $50.00. The person charging this material is responsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli- nary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN L161— O-1096 OF HIGH DESCENT. VOL. I. ^ |Tcbj ^^loticls at the ICibratics. ROY'S REPENTANCE. By Adeline Saejeant. 3 vols. THE STORY OF A MARRIAGE. By L. Baldwin. 3 vols. ROGER FERRON". By Mes. Macquoid. 2 vols! A YOUNG GIRL'S LIFE. By B. L. Faejeon. 3 vols. PRINCESS SUNSHINE. By Mrs. Riddell. 2 vols. AT THE MOMENT OF VICTORY. By C. L. Piekis. 3 vols. WARD AND DOWNEY, PUBLISHERS, LONDON. >- OF HIGH DESCENT. % lobcl GEORGE MANVILLE FENN, ATTTHOR OF "THIS MA>''S TVIFE," ETC. 7.Y THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. ^YARD AND DOWNEY, 12, YORK STREET, C0YE:XT GARDEN. 1889. [All Rights reserved.^ i # KiciiARD Clay & Sons, Limited, London & Bungay. v-l CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. xiir. X XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. '' IN THE WEST COUNTREE ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE DISCORDS A THUNDERBOLT POISON AND ANTIDOTE HARRY VINE SPEAKS PLAINLY ; SO DOES HIS FRIEND ... CHEZ VAN HELDRE ... UNCLE LUKE SPEAKS HIS illND IN OFFICE HOURS ... HARRY VINE HAS A WANT ... AUNT MARGUERITE STUDIES A COMEDY UNCLE LUKE's SPARE CASH TO REAP THE WIND DIOGENES IN HIS TUB MY aunt's bete noire IN A W^EST COAST GALE THE NEWS ... HARRY VINE SHOWS HIS BRIGHT SIDE A BAD night's WORK 1 17 40 58 74 90 104 113 124 139 150 159 176 183 205 219 233 243 255 OF HIGH DESCENT. CHAPTER I. '' IX THE WEST COUXTEEE." " Take care, Mr. Luke Vine, sir. There's a bis: one comino^." The thin, little, sharp-featured, gray-haired man on a rock looked sharply round, saw the " big one coming," stooped, picked up a large basket, and, fishing-rod in hand, stepped back and climbed up a few feet, just as a heavy swell, which seemed to glide along rapidly over the otherwise calm sea, heaved, flooded the rock on which he had been standing, ran right up so high as to bathe his feet, then sank back in a series of glittering falls which sparkled in the glorious sunshine ; there was a hissing and sighing and sucking noise among the rocks, VOL. I. B 2 OF HIGH DESCENT. and the wave passed on along the rugged coast, leavino[ the sea calm and brig^ht once more. " Many a poor lad's been took like that, Mr. Luke, sir," said the speaker, " and never heard of again. Why, if I hadn't called out, it would have took you off your legs, and the current's so strong here you'd have been swept away." " And there'd been an end of me, Polly, and nobody a bit the worse, eh "? " The last speaker seemed to fill his sharp, pale face full of tiny wrinkles, and reduced his eyes to mere slits, as he looked keenly at the big robust w^oman at his side. She was about fifty, but with her black hair as free from gray as that of a girl, her dark eyes bright, and her sun-tanned face ruddy with health, as she bent forward with a great fish -basket supported on her back by means of a broad leather strap passed over her print sun-bonnet and across her forehead. "Nobody the worse, Mr. Luke, sir?" cried the woman. " What a shame to talk like that ! You arn't no wife, nor no child, but there's Miss Louise." " Louisa, woman, Louisa," said the fisher sharply. " Well, Louisa, sir. I only want to be right ; but it was only yes'day as old Miss ^ 'IX THE WEST COUXTREE.' 3 Vine, as stood by when I was selling her some hake, shook her finger at me and said I was to say Miss Louise." " Humph 1 Never mind what my sister says. Christened Louisa. — That ought to fetch 'em.'"' " Yes, sir ; that ought to fetch 'em," said the woman in a sing-song way, as the elderly man gave the o-listenino' bait at the end of his runnino; line a deft swincr and sent it far out into the bright sea. " I've seen the water boiling sometimes out there with the bass leaping and playing. What, haven't you caught none, sir ? " "Xo, Polly, not one; so just be off about your business, and don't worry me with your chatter." " Oh. I'm a-going, sir," said the woman good- humouredly ; "only I see you a-fishing, and said to myself, ' Maybe Mr. Luke Vine's ketched more than he wants, and he'd like to sell me some of 'em for my customers.' " " And I haven't seen a bass this morning, so be off." " Toe be sure, Mr. Luke Vine, sir ; and when are you going to let me come up and give your place a good clean ? I says to my 'Liza up at your brother's, sir, only yes'- day " B 2 4 OF HIGH DESCENT. '' Look here, Polly Perrow/' cried tlie fisher viciously, " will you go, or must I ? " "Don't be criss-cross, sir, I'm going," said the woman, giving her basket a hitch. " Here's Miss Louise — isa — coming down the rocks with Miss Madhn." *' Hang her confounded chatter ! " snarled the fisher, as he drew out his bait, unwound some more line, and made another throw, '^ bad as those wretched stamps." He cast an angry glance up at the mining w^orks high on the cliff- side, whose chimney shaft ran along the sloping ground till it reared itself in air on the very top of the hill, where in constant repetition the iron-shod piles rose and fell, crushing the broken ore to powder. " A man might have thought he'd be free here from a woman's tongue." He gave another glance behind him, along the rocky point which jutted out several hun- dred yards, and formed a natural breakwater to the estuary, which ran, rock-sheltered, right up into the land, and on either side of w-hich were built rugged flights of natural steps, from the bright water's edge to where, five hundred feet above, the gray wind-swept masses of granite looked jagged against the sky. Then he watched his great painted float, 'IX THE AVEST COUXTREE.' 5 as it ran here and there in the eddies of the tremendous Atlantic currents which swept along by the point. The sea sparkled, the sun shone, and the erav o-nlls floated above the deep blue transparent water, uttering a querulous cry from time to time, and then dipping down at the small shoals of fry which played upon the surface. Far away seaward a huge vessel was going west, leaving behind a trail of smoke ; on his right a white-sailed yacht or two glistened in the sun. In another direction, scattered here and there, brown-sailed luggers were passing slowly along ; while behind the fisher lay the picturesque straggling old town known as East and West Hakemouth, with the estuary of the little river pretty well filled with craft, from the fishino- luo-o-ers and trawlers up to the sood-sized schooners and brig's which traded round the coast or adventured across the Bay of Storms, by Spain and through the Straits, laden with cargoes of pilchards for the Italian ports. "Missed him," grumbled the fisher, with- drawing his line to re-bait with a pearly strip of mackerel. " Humph ! now I'm to be worried by those chattering girls." The worry was very close at hand, for directlv after, balancincr themselves on the b OF HIGH DESCENT. rough rocks, and leaping from mass to mass, came two bright-looking girls of about twenty, their faces flushed by exercise, and more than slightly tanned by the strong air that blows health-laden from the Atlantic. As so often happens in real life as well as in fiction, the companions were dark and fair ; and as they came laughing and talking, full of animation, looking a couple of as bonny -look- ing English maidens as the West Country could produce, their aspect warranted, in reply to the greetings of " Ah, Uncle Luke I " " Ah, Mr. Vine ! " something a little more courteous than — " Well, Nuisance ? " addressed with a short nod to the dark girl in white serge, and " Do, Madelaine "? " to the fair girl in blue. The gruffness of the greeting seemed to be taken as a matter of course, for the girls seated themselves directly on convenient masses of rock, and busied themselves in the govern- ance of sundry errant strands of hair which were playing in the breeze. The elderly fisher watched them furtively, and his sour face seemed a little less grim, and as if there was something after ail pleasant to look upon in the bright youthful countenances before him. ' IX THE WEST COUNTKEE.' 7 '' Well, uncle, how many fish ? " said the dark girl. " Bah ! and don't chatter, or I shall get none at all. How's dad ? " " Quite well. He's out here somewhere." ''■ Dabbling ? " " Yes." The girl took off her soft yachting cap, and fanned her face ; then ceased, and half closing^ her eyes and throwing back her head, let her red lips part slightly as she breathed in full draughts of the soft western breeze. '■' If he ever gives her a moment's pain," said the old man to himself, as he jerked a look up at the mining works, '' 111 kill him." Then, turning sharply to the fair girl, he said aloud — " Well, Madelaine, how's the hon fere ? " " Quite well, and very busy seeing to the lading of the Cormina',' said the girl with animation. " Humph ! Old stupid. Worrying himself to death money-grubbing. Here, Louie, when's that boy going back to his place ? " " To-morrow, uncle." '"'Good job too. AVhat did he want with a holiday ? Never did a day's work in his life. Here ! Hold her, Louie. She's going OF HIGH DESCENT. to peck/' he added in mock alarm, and with a cynical sneering laugh, as he saw his niece's companion colour slightly, and compress her lips. " Well, it's too bad of you, uncle. You are always finding fault about Harry." " Say Henri, pray, my child, and with a good strong French accent," cried the old man, w^ith mock remonstrance. " What would Aunt Marguerite say ? " '^Aunt Margaret isn't here, uncle," cried the girl merrily ; " and it's of no use for you to grumble and say sour things, because we know you by heart, and we don't believe in you a bit." ''No," said the fisherman grimly, ''only hate me like poison, for a sour old crab. Never gave me a kiss when you came." " How could I, without o^ettinof wet ? " said the girl, with a glance at the tiny rock island on which the fisher stood. " Humph ! Going back to-morrow, eh ? Good job too. Why, he has been a whole half-year in his post." " Yes, uncle, a w^hole half-year ! " "And never stayed two months before at any of the excellent situations your father and ' IX THE WEST COUXTEEE. 9 I worried ourselves and our friends to death to ^et for him." "Now, uncle " '•' A lazv. thouQ^htless, o-ood-for-nothing^younG^ vag There, hold her again, Louie. She's going to peck." '•' And you deserve it, uncle," cried the girl, with a smile at her companion, in whose eyes the indignant tears were rising. " What ! for speaking the truth, and trying to let that foolish girl see my lord in his right colours ? " " Harry's a good affectionate brother, and I love him very dearly," said Louise, firmly ; •''and he's your brother's son, uncle, and in vour heart you love him too, and you're proud of him as proud can be." '•'You're a silly young goose, and as feather- brained as he is. Proud of him ? Bah ! I wish he'd enlist for a soldier, and get shot." '• For shame, uncle ! " cried Louise indig- nantlv : and her face flushed too as she cauoht o and held her companion's hand. " Yes. For shame ! It's all your aunt's doing, stuffing the boy's head full of fantastic foolery about his descent, and the disgrace of trade. And now I am speaking, look here,'^ he cried, turning sharply on the fair girl, and 10 OF HIGH DESCENT. holding his rod over her as if it were a huge stick which he was about to use. "Do you hear, Madelaine ? " " I'm listening, Mr. Vine," said the girl, coldly. " I've known you ever since you were two months old, and your silly mother must insist upon my taking hold of you — you miserable little bit of pink putty, as you were then, and fooled me into being godfather. How I could be such an ass, I don't know — but I am, and I gave you that silver cup, and I've wanted it back ever since." " Oh, uncle, what a wicked story ! " cried Louise, laughing. " It's quite true, miss. Dead waste of money. It has never been used, I'll sw^ear." " No, Mr. Vine, never," said Madelaine, smiling now. " Ah, you need not show your teeth at me because you're so proud they're white. Lots of the fisher-girls have got better. That's right, shut your lips up, and listen. What I've got to say is this : if I see any more of that nonsense there'll be an explosion." " I don't know what you mean," said Made- laine, colouring more deeply. " Yes you do, miss. I saw Harry put his 'IX THE WEST COUXTEEE.' 11 arm round your waist, and I won't have it. What's your father thinking about? Why, that boy's no more fit to be your husband than that great, ugly, long, brown-bearded Scotch- man who poisons the air with his copper-mine, is to be Louie's." " Uncle, you are beyond bearing to-day." " Am I ? Well then, be off. But you mind, ]\Iiss Maddy, I won't have it. You'll be silly enough to marry some day, but when you do, you shall marry a man, not a feather-headed young ass, with no more brains than that bass. Ah, I've got you this time, have I ? " He hEid thrown in again, and this time struck and hooked a large fish, whose struggles he watched with grim satisfaction, till he drew it gasping and quivering on to the rock — a fine bass, whose silver sides glistened like those of a salmon, and whose sharp back fin stood up ready to cut the unwitting hand. "Bad for him, Louie," said the old man with a laugh ; " but one must have dinners, eh ? What a countenance ! " he continued, holding up his fish ; "puts me in mind of that fellow you have up at the house — what's his name, Priddle, Fiddle '? " " Pradelle, uncle." 12 OF HIGH DESCENT. " All, Pradelle. Of course he's going: back too." '' Yes, uncle." "Don't like him," contmued Uncle Luke, re -baiting quickly and throwing out ; " that fellow has got scoundrel written in his face." " For shame ! Mr. Vine," said Madelaine, laughing. " Mr. Pradelle is very gentlemanly and pleasant." ** Good-looking scoundrels always are, my dear. But he don't want you. I watched him. Going to throw over the Scotchman and take to Miss Louie ? " " Uncle, you've got a bite," said the girl coolly. " Eh ? So I have. Got him, too," said the old man, striking and playing his fish just as if he were angling in fresh water. " Thumper." *' What jDleasure can it give you to say such unpleasant things, uncle ? " continued the girl. "Truths always are unpleasant," said the old man, laughing. "Don't bother me, there's a shoal off the point now, and I shall get some fish." " Why, you have all you want now, uncle." " Eubbish ! Shall get a few shillings worth to sell Mother Perrow." "Poor Uncle Luke!" said the girl with 'IX THE WEST COUNTREE.' 13 mock solemnity ; " obliged to fish for ins living." " Better than idlino- and doing- notliino^. I like to do it, and There he is again. Don't talk." He hooked and landed another fine bass from the shoal which had come up with the tide that ran like a millstream off the point, when as he placed the fish in the basket he raised his eyes. "Yah ! Go back and look after your men. I thought that would be it. Maddy, look at her cheeks." " Oh, uncle, if I did not know you to be the best and dearest of " " Tchah ! Carney ! " he cried, screwing up his face. " Look here, I want to catch a few fish and make a little money, so if that long Scot is coming courting, take him somewhere else. Beofi'l" " If Mr. Duncan Leslie is coming to say good-day, uncle, I see no reason why he should not say it here," said Louise, calmly enough now, and with the slight flush which had suffused her cheeks fading out. " Good-day ! A great tall sheepish noodle who don't know when he's well ofi"," grumbled the fisher, thro win of out once more as a tall 14 OF HIGH DESCENT. gentlemanly-looking youDg fellow of about eight-ancl-twenty stepped actively from rock to rock till he had joined the group, raising his soft tweed hat to the ladies and shaking hands. '' What a lovely morning ! " he said eagerly. " I saw you come down. Much sport, Mr. Vine ? " he added, as he held out his hand. " No," said Uncle Luke, nodding and hold- ing tightly on to his rod. *' Hands full. Can't you see ? " " Oh, yes, I see. One at you now." " Thankye. Tliink I couldn't see ? " said the old man, striking and missing his fish. " Very kind of you to come and see how I was getting on." '' But I didn't," said the new-comer, smiling. " I knew you didn't want me." " Here, Louie, make a note of that," said Uncle Luke, sharply. " The Scotch are not so dense as they pretend they are." " Uncle ! " *' Oh, pray don't interpose, Miss Vine. Your uncle and I often have a passage of arms together." " Well, say what you've got to say, and then go back to your men. Has the vein failed ? " " No, sir ; it grows richer every day." 'in the west countree. 15 " Sorry for it. I suppose you'll be burrow- ing under my cottage and burying me one of these days before my time ? " '' Don't be alarmed, sir." " I'm not," OTowled Uncle Luke. " Uncle is cross, because he is catching more fish than he wants this morning," said Louise quietly. " Hear that, Maddy, my dear ? " said the old man, sharply. " Here's a problem for you : — If my niece's tonorue is as keen-edo'ed as that before she is twenty, what will it be at forty ? " The oirl addressed lauoiied and shook her head. " Any one would think it would be a warn- ing to any sensible man to keep his distance." " Uncle ! Pray ! " whispered the niece, look- ing troubled ; but the old man only chuckled and hooked another fish. " Goingr to make a fortune out of the old o mine, Leslie ? " he said. " Fortune ? No, sir. A fair income, I hope." " AVhich with prudence and economy — Scottish prudence and economy — " he added, meaningly, '' would keep you when you got to be an old man like me. Bah ! " 16 OF HIGH DESCENT. He snatched out his line and gave an im- patient stamp with his foot. '' What is the matter, uncle '? " " What's the matter ? It was bad enough before. Look there ! " CHAPTER II. ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. Madelaine Van Heldre had seen the object of Uncle Luke's vexation before he called attention to it ; and at the first glance her eyes had lit up with pleasure, but only to give place to an anxious, troubled look, and faint lines came across her brow. " Why, it is only Harry with his friend," said Louise quietly. " Yes : flopping and splashing about in the boat. There will not be a fish left when they've done." " I'll tell them to land at the lower stairs," said Louise eagerly. " No ; let 'em come and do their worst," said the old man, with C[uite a snarl. ''Why doesn't Harry row, instead of letting that miserable cockney fool about with an oar ? " ''Miserable cocivuey ! " said Duncan Leslie to himself ; and his face, which had been over- VOL. I. <^ 18 OF HIGH DESCEKT. (iast, brightened a little as lie scanned tlie boat comino; from the harbour. "Mr. Pradelle likes exercise," said Louise quietly. Duncan's face grew dull again. " Then I wish he would take it in London," said the old man, "jumping over his desk or using his pen, and not come here." The water glistened and sparkled with the vigorous strokes giveii by the two young men who propelled the boat, and quickly after tliere was a grating noise as the bows ground against the rocks of the point and a young man in white flannels leaped ashore, while his com- panion after awkwardly laying in his oar fol- lowed the example, balancing himself as he stepped on to the gunwale, and then, -after the fashion of a timid horse at a gutter, making a tremendous bound on to the rocks. As he did this his companion made a quick leap back into the bows to seize the chain, when he had to put out an oar once more and paddle close up to the rock, the boat having been sent adrift by the force of the other's leap. " What a fellow you are, Pradelle ! " he said, as he jumped on to a rock, and twisted the chain about a block. ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 19 " Very soriy, dear boy. Didn't think of that." " No," said the first sourly, " you didn't." He was a well-knit manly fellow, singularly like his sister, while his companion, whom he had addressed as Pradelle, seemed to be his very opposite in every way, though on the whole better looking ; in fact, his features were remarkably handsome, or would have been had they not been marred by his eyes, which were set close together, and gave him a shifty look. ^' How aTe you, uncle ? How do, Leslie ? " said Harry, as he stood twirling a gold locket at the end of his chain, to receive a grunt from the fisherman, and a friendly nod from the young mine-owner. " So here you are then," he continued ; " we've been looking for you everywhere. You said you were going along the west walk." " Yes, but we saw uncle fishing, and came down to him." " Well, come along now." " Come ? Where^? " " Come where ? Why for a sail. Wind's just right. Jump in." Duncan Leslie looked o;rave, but he brigjht- ened a little as he heard what followed. •" Oh, no, Harry." C 2 20 OF HIGH DESCENT. As she spoke, Louise Vine glanced at her companion, in whose face she read an eager look of acquiescence in the proposed trip, which changed instantly to one of agreement with her negative. " There, Vic. Told you so. Taken all our trouble for nothing." " But, Harry " " Oh, all right," he cried, interrupting her, in an ill-used tone. " Just like girls. Here's our last day before we go back to the con- founded grindstone. We've got the boat, the Aveather's lovely ; we've been looking for you everywhere, and it's ' Oh no, Harry ! ' And Madelaine looking as if it would be too shock- ing to go for a sail." "We don't like to disappoint you," said Madelaine, " but " " But you'd rather stay ashore," said the young man shortly. " Never mind, Vic, old chap, we'll go alone, and have a good smoke. Cheerful, isn't it ? I say. Uncle Luke, you're quite right." " First time you ever thought so then," said the old man shortly. " Perhaps Miss Vine will reconsider her determination," said the young man's com- panion, in a low soft voice, as he went toward ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 21 Louise, and seemed to Duncan Leslie to be throwing all the persuasion possible into his manner. " Oh no, thank you, Mr. Pradelle," she replied hastily, and Duncan Leslie once more felt relieved and yet pained, for there was a peculiar consciousness in her manner, " We had brought some cans with us and a hammer and chisel," continued Pradelle. " Harry thought we might go as far as the gorns." " Zorns, man," cried Harry. " I beg pardon, zorns, and get a few speci- mens for Mr. Vine." " It was very kind and thoughtful of Harry," said Louise hastily, " and we are sorry to disappoint him — on this his last day —but " '' Blessed ditf ! " said Harry, with a sneer ; and he gave Madelaine a withering look, which made her bite her lip. " And the fish swarming round the point," said Uncle Luke impatiently. " Why don't you go with them, girls ? " " Right again, uncle," said Harry. The old man made him a mocking bow. " Go, uncle ? " said Louise eagerly, and then checking herself. 22 OF HIGH DESCENT. Duncan Leslie's heart sank like an ingot of his own copper dropped in a tub. *'Yes, go." " If you think so, uncle " " Well, I do," he said testily, " only pray go at once." '' There ! " cried Harry. '' Come, Maddy." He held out his hand to his sister's com- panion, but she hesitated, still looking at Louise, whose colour was going and coming as she saw Pradelle take oif his cap and follow his friend's example, holding out his hand to help her into the boat. ''Yes, dear," she said to Madelaine gravely. ''They would be terribly disappointed if we did not go." The next moment Madelaine was in the boat, Louise still hanging back till, feeling that it would be a slight worse than the refusal to go if she ignored the help extended to her, she laid her hand in Pradelle's, and stepped off the rock into the gently rising and falling boat. "Another of my mistakes/' said Duncan Leslie to himself ; and then he started as if some one had given him an electric shock. "Hullo!" cried the old man. "You're going too ? " "I? going?" ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 23 " Yes, of course ! To take care of them. I'm not going to have them set off without some one to act as ballast to those boys." Louise mentally cast her arms round the old man's neck and kissed him. Harry, in the same manner, kicked his uncle into the sea, and Pradelle's eyes looked closer together than usual, as he turued them upon the young mine -owner. " I should only be too happy," said the latter, " if " " Oh, there's plenty of room, Mr. Leslie," cried the girls in duet. " Pray come." The invitation wa,s so genuine that Leslie's heart seemed to leap. " Oh yes, plenty of room," said Harry, '' only if the wind drops, you'll have to pull an oar." " Of course," said Leslie, stepping in. Harry raised the boat-hook, and thrust the little vessel away, and then began to step the mast. "Lay hold of the rudder, Leslie," he cried. "Send us up some fish for tea, uncle." "Lll wait and see first whether you come back," said the old man. " Good-bye, girls. Don't be uneasy. I'll go and tell the old people if you're drowned." 24 OF HIGH DESCENT. " Thank you," shouted back the young man as he hoisted the little sail, which began to fill at once, and by the time he had it sheeted home, the boat was swiftly running eastward with the water 73attei'ino: a^^ainst her bows, and -1- O O ' a panorama of surpassing beauty seeming to glide slowly by them on the left. " There ! " cried Harry to his friend, who had seated himself rather sulkily forward, the order to take the tiller having placed Leslie between Louise and Madelaine. " Make much of it, Vic : Paddington to-morrow night, han- som cab or the Underground, and next morning the office. Don't you feel happy ? " " Yes, now," said Pradelle, with a glance at Louise. " Easy, Leslie, easy," cried Harry ; " where are you going ? " " I beg pardon," said the young man hastily, for he had unwittingly changed the course of the boat. " That's better. Any one would think you wanted to give Uncle Luke the job he talked about." Madelaine looked up hastily. " No : we will not do that, Miss Van Hel- dre," said Leslie smiling. *' Shall I hold the sheet, Vine ? " ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 25 "No need," said the young man, making the rope fast. " But " '•Oh, all right. I know what you're going to say — puff of wind might lay us over as we pass one of the combes. AYasn't born here for nothing." Leslie said no more, but deferred to the opinion of the captain of the boat. " Mio-ht as well have brouQ^ht a line to trail. You'd have liked to fish, wouldn't you, Vic 1 " " Only when we are alone," said Pradelle. *' Can vou tell me the name of that point, Miss Vine r " Brea," said Louise quietly. "• And that little valley ? " " Tol Du. The old Cornish names must sound strange to any one from London." " Oh no," he said, bending forward to engage her in conversation. " This place is very interesting, and I shall regret going," he added with a sio-h, and a thouorhtful look toward the picturesque little group of houses on either side of the estuary. " I should think you will," said Harry. '* Never mind, we've had a very jolly time. I say, Maddy," he whispered, " you will write to a fellow, won't you ? " 26 OF HIGH DESCENT. " No," she said quietly ; *' there is no need." " No need ? " " Louie will be writing to you every week, and you will answer her. I shall hear how you are getting on." Harry whistled and looked angrily at his sister, who was rejjlying to some remark made by Leslie. *' Plere, Vic," he said, "she's too heavy for- ward. Come and sit by my sister. That's better. A little more over to the side, Leslie. Always trim your boat." The changes were made, and the little yawl sped rapidly on past the headland of gray granite hoary and shaggy with moss ; past black frowning masses of slaty shale, over and amongst which the waves broke in sparkling foam, and on and on by ferny hollows and rifts, down which trickled tiny streams. The day was glorious, and the reflection of the sapphire sky dyed the sea tint of a blue that seemed amethystine in its richer transparent hue. The gray gulls floated overhead, and the tiny fish they pursued made the sea flash as they played about and showed their silvery sides. But the conversation flagged. Possibly the ELEME^'TS OF A WHOLE. 27 fact of its being the last clay of a pleasant sojourn acted npon the spirits of two of the party, while the third of the male occupants of the boat rather welcomed the restraint and silence, for it gave him an opportunity to sit and think and wonder what was to be his future, and what the animated countenance of Louise Vine meant as she answered the ques- tions of her brother's friend. He was a visitor as well as her brother's companion ; he had been staying at Mr. Vine's for a fortnight. They had had endless oppor- tunities for conversation, and — in short, Duncan Leslie felt uncomfortable. It was then with a feeling of relief that was shared by both the ladies, that after a few miles run Henry Vine stood up in the bows, and, keeping a sharp look out for certain rocks, shouted his orders to Leslie as to the steering of the boat, and finally, as they neared the frowning cliffs, suddenly lowered the sail and took up the oars. They were abreast of a large cave, where the swift gray-winged pigeons flew in and out over the swelling^ waves, which seemed to oiide slowly on and on, to rush rapidly after the birds and disappear in the gloom beneath the arch. Then there was a low echoing^ boom as 28 OF HIGH DESCENT. tlie wave struck far away in the cave, and came back hissing and whispering to be merged in the next. " Going to row close in '? " said Leslie, acanni Dg the weird, forbidding place rather anxiously. '' Going to row right in," said Harry, with a contemptuous smile. " Not afraid, are you?" " CWt say," replied Leslie. *' A little per- hajDs. The place does not look tempting. Do you think it is safe to go in ? " " Like to land on the rock till we come back ? " said Harry, instead of answering the question. " No," said Leslie quietly ; " but do you think it wise to row in there ? " " You're not afraid, are you, girls ? " " I always feel nervous till we are outside again," said Louise quietly. " But you will be very careful, Harry," said Madelaine. "Think I want to drow^n myself? " he said bitterly. '' I might just as well, p r'aps, as go back to that dismal office in London, to slave from morning till night." He rested upon his oars for a minute or two, and perhaps from the reflection of ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 29 the masses of ferns which fringed the arch of thj cavern, and which were repeated in the clear waters, Victor Pradelle's face seemed to turn of a sickly green, while one hand grasped the edge of the boat with spasmodic force. " Now then, hold tight," said the rower, as a swell came from seaward, runnino^ rio;ht in and raising the boat so that by skilful man- agement she was borne forward right beneath the arch and then away into the depths of the cavern, leaving her rocking upon the watery floor, while it sped on away into the darkness, where it broke with a booming; noise which echoed, and whispered, and died away in sobs, and sighs, and strange hisses and gasps, as if the creatures which made the cavern their lair had been disturbed, and were settling down again to sleep. " There, Vic," cried Harry, " what do you thmk of this ? " Pradelle was holding tightly by the side of the boat, and gazing uneasily round. " Think ? Yes : very wild and wonderful," he said huskily. " Wonderful ? I should think it is. Goes in ever so far, onlv it isn't wide enouoh for the boat." 30 OF HIGH DESCENT. Leslie looked back at the moutli, fringed with the fronds of ferns, and at the lovely picture it framed of sunny amethystine sea ; then at the rocky sides, dripping with moisture, and here of a rich metallic green, there covered with glistening weeds of various shades of olive-green and brown. " Ahoy — oy ! " shouted Harry with all his micrht, and at the same moment he let his oars splash in the water. Pradelle leaped to his feet as there came a strangle echo and a whirrino; rush, and a dozen pigeons swept past their heads from out of the depths of the w^ater cave, and away into the brilliant sunshine. " Oh, if I had a gun," cried Pradelle, to hide his confusion. ''What for — to make a miss?" sneered Harry. " Now then, out with those cans. Fill every one, and I'll try and knock off a few anemones for the governor." As he spoke he laid in his oars, picked a hammer and chisel from out of the locker in the forepart of the boat, and then worked it along by the side of the great cave, a,s from out of the clefts and crannies above and beneath the water he searched for the semi-gelatinous sea-anemones that clustered among barnacles, ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 31 and tlie snail-like ^YllOli molluscs whose home was on the weedy rocks. The girls aided all they could, pointing out and receiving in the tins a many-rayed creature, which closed up till it resembled a o;out of blood : now still adherino^ to the rock which Harry chipped off, a beautiful Actinia of olive-green with gem-like spots around the mouth and amid its fringe, of turquoise blue. Duncan Leslie eagerly lent his help ; and, not to be behindhand, Pradelle took up the boat-hook and held on, but with the smooth- ness and care of a sleek tom-cat, he carefully avoided wetting his hands. •'•' Nothing very new here," said Harry at last, as the waves that kept coming in made the boat rise and fall gently ; " there's another Ijetter cave than this close by. Let's go there ; or what do you say to stopping here and ha vino- a smoke till the tide has risen and shut us in ? '"' Is there any risk of that ? " said Pradelle anxiously. 'r Oh, yes, plenty." Leslie orlanced at Louisa and thouo-ht that it would be very pleasant to play protector all through the darkness till the way was open and daylight shone again. He caught her 32 OF HIGH DESCENT. eyes more than once and tried to read them as he wondered whether there was hope for him ; but so surely as she found him gazing rather wistfully at her, she hurriedly continued the collecting, pointing out one of the beauti- ful objects they sought beneath the surface, and asking Pradelle to shift the boat a little farther along. " All my vanity and conceit," said Leslie to himself with a sigh ; " and why should I worry myself about a woman ? I have plenty to do without thinking of love and marriage. If I did, why not begin to dream about pleasant, straightforward Madelaine Van Heldre ? There can be nothing more than a friendly feeling towards Master Harry here." *'Now then, sit fast," cried the latter object of his thoughts ; " and if we are Ccapsized, girls, ril look after you, Maddy. Pradelle here will swim out with Louie, and I shall leave you to bring out the boat, Leslie. You can swim, can't you ? " " A little," said the young man dryly. Pradelle looked rather more green, for the light within the cave was of a peculiar hue, and he began to think uneasily of bathing out of a machine at Margate, holding on to ELEMENTS OF A \yHOLE. 33 a rope, and also of tlie effort he once made to swim across a tepid bath in town. But he laughed heartily directly after as he realized that it was all banter on his friend's part, while, in spite of himself, he gave a sigh of relief as, riding out on the crest of a broken wave, they once more floated in the sunshine. Ten minutes' careful rowing among the rocks, which were now four or five feet be- neath the water, now showing their weedy crests above, brought them to the mouth of another cave, only approachable from the sea, and sending the boat in here, the collection went on till it was deemed useless to take more specimens, when they passed out again, greatly to Pradelle's satisfaction. " Howe's time ? " said Harry. " Half-past four ? Plenty of time. High tea at six. What shall w^e do — sail rig^ht out and tack, or row along here in the smooth w^ater among the rocks ? " "Row slowly back," said Louise; and Pradelle took an oar. At the end of half a mile he ceased rowing. " Tired ? " said Harry. "No; I have a blister on my hand; that's all." VOL. I. D 34 OF HIGH DESCENT. " Come and pull, Leslie," said Harry. '' You'd better steer, Louie, and don't send us on to a rock." The exchange of places was made, and once more they began to progress with the boat, travelling far more swiftly as they glided on close in to the mighty cliff which rose up over- head, dappled with mossy gray and patches of verdure, dotted with yellow and purple blooms. "To go on like this for ever ! " thought Leslie as he swunor to and fro, his stronsc muscles making the water foam as he dipped his oar, watching Louise as she steered, and seemed troubled and ready to converse with Pradelle whenever she caught his eye. " Starn all ! " shouted Harry suddenly, as about three miles from home they came abreast of a narrow opening close to the surface of the water. The way of the boat was checked, and Harry looked at the hole into which the tide ran and ebbed as the swell rose and fell, now nearly covering the opening, now leaving it three or four feet wide. " Bound to say there are plenty of good specimens in there," he said. "What do you say, Yic, shall we go in ? " ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 35 '' Impossible." " Not it. Bound to say that's the opening to quite a large zorn. I'v^e seen the seals go in there often." " Has it ever been explored ? " said Leslie, who felt interested in the place. '^Xo; it's nearly always covered. It's only at low tides like this that the opening is bared. If the girls were not here I'd go in." "Howl" said Pradelle. '• How ? — why swim in," " And be shut up by the tide and drowned," said Louise. " Good thing too," said Harr}^, with the same look of a spoiled boy at Madelaine. " I don't find life go very jolly. Boat wouldn't pass in there." He had risen from his seat and w^as stand- ing with one foot on the gunwale, the other on the thwart, gazing curiously at the dark orifice some forty yards away, the boat rising and falling as it swayed here and there on the waves, which ran up to the face of the clifi" and back, wdien just as the attention of all w^as fixed upon the little opening, from wdiich came curious hissing; and rushino; noises, the boat rose on a good-sized swell, and as it sank w\as left upon the top of a weedy rock which D 2 36 OF HIGH DESCENT. seemed to rise like the shaggy head of a huge sea monster beneath the keel. There was a bump, a grinding, grating noise, a shout and a heavy splash, and the boat, after narrowly escaping being capsized, floated once more in deep water ; but Harry had lost his balance, gone overboard, and disappeared. Madelaine uttered a cry of horror, and then for a few moments there was a dead silence, during which Louise sat with blanched face, parted lips, and dilated eyes, gazing at the spot where her brother had disappeared. Pra- delle held on by the side of the boat, and Leslie sprang up, rapidly stripped off coat and vest, and stood ready to plunge in. Those moments seemed indefinitely pro- longed, and a terrible feeling of despair began to attack the occupants of the boat as thought after thought, each of the blackest type, flashed through their brains. He had been sucked down by the undertow, and was being carried out to sea — he was entangled in the slimy sea wrack, and could not rise again — he had struck his head against the rocks, stunned himself, and gone down like a stone, and so on. Duncan Leslie darted one glance at the pale and suffering face of the sister, pkced a foot ELEMENTS OF A WHOLE. 37 on the gunwale, and was in the act of gather- ing himself np to spring from the boat, when Harry's head rose thirty yards away. " Ahoy ! " he shouted, as he began to paddle and tread water. '' Hallo, Leslie, ready for a bathe ? Come out ! Water's beautiful. Swim you back to the harbour." There was a long-drawn breath in the boat which sounded like a g;roan, as the terri1)le mental pressure was removed, and the young man began to swim easily and slowly towards his friends. " Mind she doesn't g^et on another rock, Leslie," he cried. '^ Here, catch hold of this," cried Pradelle, whose face was ashy, and he held out the boat-hook as far as he could reach. " Thank ye," said Harry mockingly, and twenty yards away. ^' Little farther, please. What a lovely day for a swim ! " " Harry, pray come into the boat," cried Louise excitedly. " What for ? Mind the porpoise." He gave a few sharp blows on the water with his hands, raising himself up and turning right over, dived, his legs just appearing above the vsurface, and then there was an eddy where he had grone down. 38 OF HIGH DESCENT. " Don't be frightened/' whispered Madelaine, whose voice sounded a little husky. " Here we are again ! " cried Harry, reappear- ing close to the boat and spluttering the water from his lips, as with all the gaiety of a boy he looked mirthfully at the occupants of the boat. " Any orders for pearls, ladies ? " " Don't be foolish, Harry," cried Louise, as he swam close to them. " Not going to be. I say, Leslie, take the boat-hook away from that fellow, or he'll be making a hole in the bottom of the boat." As he spoke, he laid a hand upon the gun- wale and looked merrily from one to the other. " Don't touch me, girls. I'm rather damp," he said. " I say, what a capital bathing dress flannels make ! " ** Shall I help you in ? " said Leslie. " No, thank ye, Fm all right. As I am. in, I may as well have a swim." " No, no, Harry, don't be foolish," cried Louise. " There, you'd better hitch a rope round me, and tow me behind, or I shall swamp the boat." " Harry ! what are you going to do ? " cried ELEME^'TS OF A WHOLE. 39 lladelaine, as he looked his hold of the gun- wale, and began to swim away. " Wait a bit anour, and the lantborns forward and astern shone with a dull glare as that first great wave was reached, up which the boat glided, and then plunged down and disappeared. One lono; hour of intense aofonv, but not for those in the boat. The energy called forth, the tremendous struggle, the excitement to which every spirit was wrought, kept off agony or fear. It was like being in the supreme moments of a battle-charge, when in the wild whirl there is no room for dread, and a man's spirit carries him through to the end. The agony was on shore, where women clung together no longer weeping, but strain- ing their eyes seaward for the dancing lights which dimly crept up each billow, and then disappeared, as if never to appear again. "Madelaine !" "Louise!" All that was said as the two girls clasped each other and watched the dim lant horns far at sea. " Ah ! " Then a loud groan. " I knowed it couldn't be long." Then another deep murmur, whose strange intensity had made it dominate the shrieks, roars, and thunder of the storm. 254 OF HIGH DESCENT. The li^lit, whicli had been slowlv waving; up and down in the rigging of the brig, had disappeared, and it told to all the sad tale — that the mast had gone, and with it those who had been clinging in the top. But the two dim lanthorns in the life-boat went on and on, the thunder of the surf on the wreck guiding them. As the crew toiled away, the landsmen sufficiently accustomed to the use of the oar could pretty well hold their own, till, in utter despair and hopelessness, after hovering hours about the place where the wreck should have been, the life-boat's head was laid for the harbour lights ; and after a fierce battle to avoid being driven beyond, the gallant little crew reached the shelter given by the long low point, but several had almost to be lifted to the wharf. A few jagged and torn timbers, and a couple of bodies cast up among the rocks, a couple of miles to the east, were all the traces of Van Heldre's handsome brig, which had gone to pieces in the darkness before the life-boat, on its second journey, was half-way there. CHAPTER XIX. A BAD XIGHT's WORK. " Oh, yes, you're a very brave fellow, no doubt," said Pradelle. '• Everybody says so. Perhaps if I could have handled an oar as well as you did I should have come too. But look here, Harry Vine ; all these find words butter no parsnips. You are no better ofi" than you were before, and you gave me your promise." It was quite true : fine words buttered no parsnips. Aunt Marguerite had called him her gallant young hero ; Louise had kissed him afi'ectionately ; his father had shaken hands very warmly ; Uncle Luke had given him a nod, and Van Heldre had said a few kindly words, while there was always a smile for him among the fishermen who hung about the harbour. But that was all ; he was still Van Heldre's clerk, and with a dislike to his position, which had become intensified since 256 OF HIGH DESCENT. Madelaine had grown cold, and her intimacy with Leslie had seemed to increase. " Look here," said Pradelle ; '' it's time I was off." " Why ? What for ? " said Harry, as they sat among the rocks. *' Because I feel as if I were being made a fool" ''Why, every one is as civil to you as can be. My father " " Oh, yes ; the old man's right enough." "My aunt." "Yes, wish she wasn't so old, Harry, and had some money ; I'd marry her." "Don't be a fool" " Not going to be ; so I tell 3^ou I'm off." " No, no, don't go. This place will be un- bearable when you are gone." " Can't help it, dear boy. I must do some- thing to increase my income, and if you will not join in and make a fortune, w^hy I must go and find some one wdio will." " But I dare not, Vic." " You gave me your w^ord — the word of a gentleman. I ask you to borrow the money for a week or two, and then we would replace it, and nobody be a bit the wiser, while we shall be on the hidi-road to fortune and fair France." o A BAD night's WORK. 257 ''• I tell you I dare not." " Then I shall do it myself." " No, that you shall not." "Then you shall." "I daren't." " Bah ! what a milksop you are ; you have nothino' to care for here. Miss Van Heldre o has pitched you over because you are now her father's clerk." *' Let that be, please." " And taken up with Mr. Bagpipes." *' Do you want to quarrel, Pradelle ? " "Not I, dear boy ; Tm dumb." He said no more on that subject, but he had said enough. That was the truth then. Madelaine had given him up on that account, and the sting rankled in Harry's breast. " Money goes to the bank every clay, you say ? " said Pradelle. " Yes. Crampton takes it." '* But that sum of money in notes ? How much is there of that ? " "Five hundred." " Why don't that go to the bank ? " " I don't know. A deposit, I think ; likely to be called for." " May be ; but that's our game, Harry. The TOL. I, S 258 OF HIGH DESCENT. other could not be managed without being missed ; this, you see, is not in use." " Pradelle, it's madness." '' Say Vic, dear boy," " Well, Vic, I say it's madness." '' Nothing of the kind. It's making use of a little coin that you can get at easily. Why, hang it, old fellow, you talk as if I were asking you to steal the money." " Hush ! Don't talk like that.'' "Well, you aggravate me so. Now, am I trying to serve you, or am I not ?" '' To serve me, of course." " Yes, and you behave like a child." " I want to behave like an honourable man to my father's friend." " Oh, if you are going to preach I'm off." *' I'm not going to preach." *'Then do act like a man. Here is your opportunity. You know what the old chap said about the tide in the affairs of men ? " Harry nodded. ^' Well, your tide is at its height. You are going to seize your opjDortunity, and then you can do as you like. Why you might turn the tables on Miss Madelaine." " If you don't want to quarrel just leave A BAD XIGHT's WORK. 259 her name alone,*' said Harry, witli a bulldog- like growl. " Oh, 111 never mention it again if you like. Xow, then, once for all, is it business ? " Harrv was silent for a few minutes, and then replied — ' les. *' Your hand on it." Harry stretched out his hand unwillingly, and it was taken and held. " I shall hold you to it now, my lad. Now, then, when is it to be ? " " Oh, fir.>t opportunity." '•'Xo; it's ooiiio' to be now — to-nicrht — as soon as it's dark." " Nonsense, it must be some day — when Crampton is not there." " That means it will not be done at all, for Crampton never leaves ; you told me so. Look here, Harry Vine, if you borrow the amount then, and it's missed, of course you are asked directly, and there you are. No, my lad, you'll have to go to-night." " But it will be like housebreakino;." *' Bah ! You'll go quietly in by the back way, make your way along the passage to Van Heldre's room, take the keys down from the hook " S 2 260 OF HIGH DESCENT. "How did you know that the keys hung there ? " ** Because, my dear little man, I have wormed it all out of you by degrees. To continue ; you will go down the glass passage, open the office door, go to the safe, open that, get the two hundred " " Two hundred ! You said fifty would do." " Yes, but then I said a hundred, and now I think two will be better. Easier paid back. You can work more spiritedly with large sums than with small. You've got to do this, Harry Vine, so no nonsense." Harry was silent. " When you have the notes, you will lock all up as before, and then if they are missing before we return them, which is not likely, who can say that you have been there ? Bah ! don't be so squeamish. You've got to do that to-night. You have promised, and you shall. It is for your good, my lad." " Yes, and yours," said Harry gloomily. " Of course. Emancipation for us both." Harry was silent, and soon after they rose and strolled back to the old house, where through the open window came the strains of music, and the voices of Madelaine and Louise harmonized in a duet. A BAD night's WOKK. 261 "One less at Van Heldre's, lad. The old man will be having his evening pipe, and the doors o^^en. Nothing could be better. Half- past nine, mind, while they are at tea. It will be quite dark then." Harrv was silent, and the two youns: men entered and sat down, their comino; seemino; to cast a damp on the little party, for the music was put aside and work taken up, Alne being busy with some notes of his day's observations of the actions of a newly-found mollusc. Tea was brought in at about a quarter past nine, and Pradelle rose and went to the window. "AVhat a beautiful night, Harry," he said. ''Coming for half an hour's stroll before bed?'^ " Don't you want some tea ? " said Harry, loudly. '' No. Do you ? " " No," said Harry shortly ; and he rose and went out, followed by his friend. " You mean this then," he said, as soon as they were out on the cliff. "No; but you do. There is just time for it, so now go." Harrv hesitated for a few minutes, and then 262 OF HIGH DESCENT. strode off down toward the town, Pradelle keeping step with him, till they reached the street where a lane branched off, going round by the back of Van Heldre's house, but on a higher level, a flight of steps leading down into the half garden, half yard, overlooked by the houses at the back, whose basements were level with Van Heldre's first floor. The time selected by Pradelle for the carry- ing out of his scheme happened to be Cramp- ton's club night, and, according to his weekly custom, he had gone to the old-fashioned inn where it was kept, passing a muflfled-up figure as he went alono^, the said fi o-ure turnino- in at one of the low entrances leading to dock premises as the old clerk came out, so that he did not see the face. It was a trifling matter, but it was not the first time Crampton had seen this figure loiter- ing about at night, and it somehow impressed him so that he did not enjoy his one glass of spirits and water and his pipe. But the matter seemed to have slipped his memory for the time that he was transactinQ[ his club business, making entries and the like. Later on it came back with renewed force. Harry and Pradelle parted in the dark lane with very few more words spoken, the under- A BAD night's WORK. 263 standing being that they should meet at home at half-past nine. As soon as the former was alone, he walked slowly on round the front of Van Heldre's house, and there, according to custom, sat the merchant, smoking his nightly pipe, resting one arm upon the table, with the shaded lamp shinino- down on his bald forehead, and a thoughtful, dreamy look in his eyes. Mrs. Van Heldre was seated opposite, working and respecting her husband's thoughtful mood, for he was in low spirits respecting the wreck of his ship. Insurance made up the monetary loss, but nothing could restore the poor fellows who had crone down. Harry stood on the opposite side, watching thoughtfully. " It would be very easy," he said to him- self. " Just as we planned, I can slip round to the back, drop in the garden, go in, take the keys, get the money, lock up again, and go and hang up the keys. Yes ; how easy for any one who knows, and how risky it seems for him to leave his place like that. But then it is people's want of knowledge which forms the safest lock." " Yes," he said, after a pause, as he stood there in profound ignorance of the fact that 264 OF HIGH DESCENT. the muffled-up figure which had taken Cramp- ton's attention was in a low dark doorway, watching his every movement. '' Yes ; it would be very easy ; and in spite of all your precious gloss, Master Victor Pradelle, I should feel the next moment that I had been a thief; and I'll drudge as a clerk till I'm ninety-nine before I'll do anything of the kind." He thrust his hands into his pockets and turned off down by the harbour side, and hardly had he reached the water when Pra- delle walked slowly up to the front of the house, noted the positions of those within by taking his stand just beneath the arched door- way opposite, and so close to the watcher that they nearly touched. The next moment Pradelle had passed on. " I knew he hadn't the pluck," he muttered bitterly. " A contemj^tible hound ! AVell, he shall see." Without a moment's hesitation, and as if he were quite at home about the place, Pradelle went round to the narrow back lane and stood by the gate leading down the steps into the yard. As he pressed the gate it gave way, and he could see that the doorway into the glazed passage was open, for the light in the hall shone through. A BAD XIGHTS WORK. 26*5 There was no difficulty at all ; and after a moment's hesitation he stepped lightly down, ready with an excuse that he was seeking Harry, if he should meet any one ; but the excuse was not needed. He walked softly and boldly into the passage, turned to his right, and entered the back room, which acted as Van Heldre's private office and study. The keys lay where he knew them to be — in a drawer, which he opened and took them out, and then walked straight along the glazed passage to the office. The door yielded to the key, and he entered. The inner office was locked, but that was opened by a second key, and the safe showed dimly by the reflected lights which shone through the barred window. " How easy these things are ! " said Pradelle to himself, as he unlocked the safe ; " enough to tempt a man to be a burglar." The iron door creaked faintly as he drew it open, and then began to feel about hastily, and with the perspiration streaming from his forehead. Books in plenty, but no notes. With an exclamation of impatience, he drew out a little match-box, struck a light, and saw that there was an iron drawer low down. The flame went out, but he had seen enough, and 2G6 OF HIGH DESCENT. stooping lie dragged out the drawer, thrust in his hand, which came in contact with a leaden paper weight, beneath which, tied round with tape, was a bundle of notes. "Hah!" he muttered with a half laugh, "' I can't stop to count you. Yes, I must, or they'll miss 'em. It's tempting though. Humph ! tied both " Thud! One heavy blow on the back of Victor Pradelle's head wdiich sent him stag-orerino^ forward against the door of the safe ; then he felt in a confused, half-stunned way that something had been snatched from his hand. A dead silence followed, during which his head swam, but he had sufficient sense left to totter across the outer office, and along the passage to the garden yard. How he got outside into the little lane he could not afterwards remember, his next re- collection being of sitting down on the steps by the water-side bathing his face. Five minutes before Harry Vine had been in that very spot, from which he turned to go home. " Let him say what he likes," muttered the voung man ; '' I must have been mad to listen to him. Why " A BAD NIGHTS WOEK. 267 Harry Yiue stopped short, for a thought had struck him like a flash. How it was — why he should have such a suspicion he could not tell ; but a terrible thought had seemed to burn into his brain. Then he felt paralyzed as he shivered, and uttering an ejaculation full of rage and anger, he started off at a run towards Van Heldre's place. "Nonsense!" he said to himself, and he checked his headlong speed. " What folly ! " Pie walked on past a group of seamen, who had just quitted a public-house, and was about to turn up the lane which led to his home, when the thought came once more. " Curse him ! " he said, half aloud, " Td sooner kill him,'' and hurrying back, he made straight for the lane behind Van Heldre's. The gate yielded, he stepped down quickly into the yard, walked to the open door, looked to the rio-ht toward the hall, and then to the left toward the office. A dim light shone down the passage, and his heart seemed to stand still. The office door was open, and without hesitation he turned down the passage panting with horror, as he felt that his sus- picions were confirmed. He crossed the outer 268 OF HIGH DESCENT. roam, the inner door was shut, and entering he paused for a moment. " Vic ! " he whispered harshly. All was still. Trembling now with agitation, he was rapidly crossing to the safe when he stepped on something which gave beneath his feet, and he nearly fell headlong. Eecovering himself, he stooped down to pick up the heavy ebony ruler used by old Crampton, and polished by rubs of his coat- tail till it shone. Harry felt giddy now with excitement, but he went to the safe door, felt that it was swung open, and groaning to himself, " Too late, too late ! " he bent his head and felt for the drawer. Empty ! " You scoundrel ! " he groaned ; ^' but he shall give up every note, and " Once more he felt as if paralyzed, for as be turned from the safe he knew that he was not alone in the office. Caught in the act ! Burglary — the open safe — the notes gone, who would believe in his innocenc}^ ? He could think of nothing else, as he heard A BAD NIGHTS WOEK. 261) Van Helclre's voice in the darkness — one fierce angry utterance — '"' Who's there ? " " He does not know me," flashed through Harry Vine's brain. *' You villain ! " cried Van Heldre, springing at him. It was the instinctive act of one smitten by terror, despair, shame, and the desire to escape — a mad act, but prompted by the terrible position. As Van Heldre sprang at him and grasped at his breast, Harry Vine struck with all his might, the heavy ruler fell with a sickeniug crash upon the unguarded head, he felt a sudden tug, and with a groan his father's friend sank senseless on the floor. For one moment Harry Vine stood bending over his victim; then uttering a hoarse sigh, he leaped over the body and fled. END OF VOLUME I. Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London & Bungay. I