The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-12-25
Oh apter VIII.
LIGHT AT LAST.

Inc nero OF this story was returning to
Dunbar House, having just seen Marian
Marston home to her aunt's picturesque
little cottage at the end of the green lane
which passed the garden wall of Mr. Har-
trees fine house. He walked slowly,
with his hands olasped behind him and
his head bowed. as though in deep thought
The hour was trife past one O'Clock;
the noontide sun stood high overhead
and but for the refreshing shade of the
wide spreading trees on either hand IFS
rays would have beat down fierce and hot
upon the little dusty lane.
During the six days that he had now
been in Sydney. Rawlings had seen much
OF Marian. Indeed, there was scarcely an
hour together throughout the day that
the young couple were not in one an
others company. Their houses were
scarcely more than biscuit toss apart.
Mrs. Murray had taken a great fancy to
Rawlings; his handsome person, gentle
manners and unhappy condition ap-
pealed very strongly to her, and she was
perfectly willing for her niece to be as
often with him as she chose, especially as
his compaDionship seemed more than any
thing else to reconcile the girl to her new
home; whilst he, on his part, considered
that it was hisssduty to relieve his hospita-
bic entertainers, as far as he possibly
could, of the many little obligations
WulCA bu6 JI0ScaCo Vi stranger IL
household necessarily imposes. The con
sequence was that their intimacy contin-
ued to be scarcely less CLOSE than when
they had been on board ship
Rawlings felt singuiarly downcast in
spirits on this occasion after quitting
Marian at the little wicket gate of Bun
garee Cottage. He had already been six
days in Sydney; his Estory had by this
timeSgot pretty well about the place. al
though indeed it had only that morning
appearedsin the public prints, and SO far
nobody had come forward to claim ac
quaintance with or make inquiries con-
corning him. This much he had learnt
during the course of q long interview
with Messrs. Bryant and Wood upon the
day following the hauling alongside of
the Strathnairn-that the Lady Godiya
was a large sailing ship which had been
chartered by Liverpool firm to carry
cargo and passengers from the Mersey to
Sydney, and, as they might infer from
the fact of his having been found in one
If the vessels boats, that he must have
been on board her, the natural presump-
ton was that he was bound to the latter
port. They promised to write home
without delay for the names of the pas
sengers by the ship and for such infor-
nation as the owners could supply them
with regarding any persons that might
DC on board whose names would give the
initials G. R.. and they Furthermore dis.
played in the window Of their offices a
printed notice stating that boat belong
ing to the ship Lady Godiva had been
found in the South Atlantic, having in
her gentleman who had lost his mem
Dry, but whose Christian name began
with G and his surname with r, and
inviting inquiries respecting him from
ali who fancied themselves in any way
This occurred the day follow
Ing the last occasion upon which Clara
Lambert had called to ascertain whether
there was any news of the overdue ship;
and this is how 1t came about that the
first intimation which she had of Rawl-
ngs' strange story was by reading the ac-
count of it in the "Sydney Morning Her
AID" But SO far all this had produced
not SO much as a single question from
lny person in the least degree likely to
be capable of establishing the individual.
ty of the memoryless stranger.
Ito be continued