Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-29
CHAPTER XI.

When Mr.: Petrie comes. show him to me
here" Henry gave orders to Bates.
1t was late In the afternoon and he was
alone in the rose inclosure-the library had
proved too sitting. He had managed to at
tend the afternoons drill. and discharge
without comment The duties required of
him by his guests. The bishop and q great
number of visitors were still in the park.
Diana. on the plea of illness. had
remained In her room, but had sent
word that she would be down at tea tiuf7
Absorbed in his own reflections. Henry
hardly observed that Jim was passing the
entire day In camp with the troops. That
the farce of the days pleasure was nearly
over was his most comforting thought; a
few hours more and the house party would
dispense. IL only Petrle would come.
No news. good news" over and over he
tried to comfort himself with the old saw.
Lady Elizabeth, If she had remembered.
would have warned him of the intended
presentation, but the night with its tor
turing memories had made her forget ut
terly the surprise arranged by the bishop
and Sir John.
Henry looked at his watch-it was past
four Would Petrie never come? He
cursed the hour in which he had listened
to the tempting voice that urged him to
speculate in a mine controlled by Hobbies
He remembered the night he had finally
agreed to enter into the game, and-then.
loss here and an unexpected blow there had
disastrously crippled his resources.
Money had been necessary to protect the
already invested fortune. The fund was
under his control-why not use 1t tempo
rarly? He used the word borrow to his
mother. and he mad tried for weeks to
knew that the world had an ugly name
for such borrowing" Wherever he turned
he could see five blazing letters-the fam
ing stigma was beginning to burn In his
brain Was there no way of protectiuA
himself little longer? He closed his eyes
and tried to think.
No. 1t would be impossible to evade the
request of the committee. To elude the
young curate, Chiswick, had not been diff
ficult. On the plea of his devotion to the
cause. he had succeeded in controlling all
but nova cold perspiration began to ooze
over his body; 1t was followed by hot
flashes that tormented him like the five
fantastic little demons ever before his vision,
as they twisted, contorted, shaped and re-
shaped themselves into one hideous imputa-
ton An hour before he had promised to
give to his secretary the keys OF his desk;
to put off the auditing any longer would
have aroused suspicion. His only hope now
was that perhaps the absorbing interest In
the last day Of the mGneuvers would give
Petrie brought reassuring news he might be
able to realize the net essary amount and
prevent discovery. He poured himself
some brandy. Just as he raised the glass.
Bates announced:
'Mr. Petrie, my lord"
The glass slipped to the ground: Bates
stopped to remove the FRAGMENTS. John
posture and shook Henry's trembling hand.
your lordship," he said. Then both men
waited untir Bates disappeared toward his
quarters To Henry the moment seemed an
eternity.
They were alone. and yet neither spoke:
Through Petrie's mind ran memory OF
with the late earl. while the man before
him as q boy sat on his fathers knee: He
knew nothing of Henry's use Of the fund:
big loss to his client. Henry's face as he
grasped Petrie to steady himself told him
something of the importance attached to
well, Petrie, we'll? 'speak-man Don't
you see you are killing me? Hobbes-what
of Hobbes?"
TruthfuIly. Petrie answered: Hobbies is
a fugitive--the whole scheme was gigan-
tic swindle. Every penny invested Is IRE
mediably lost"
Almost before he had finished speaking.
from the various side paths leading toward
them came the sound of voices. Henry made
a staggering movement as though to escape
toward the house. but his way was blocked
by Sadie Jones. who had gone at the bish-
ops request to fetch Diana. AS Henry
stared at the advancing groups he saw him
self already convicted What was the
meaning of this unusual gathering of officers
and men silently falling into lines behind
the circle of friends who surrounded him?
He supported himself by his chair. Petrie
quickly realized the situation as he saw,
sergeant approaching with an open case
containing the gift Of the big loving cup.
He tried to reach Henry, but Lady Eliza
beth anticipated him. She had recalled too
late the demonstration arranged to take
place at tea time. There was moments
hush. A little way off the servants were
gathering to witness the honor shown to
their master. and the Enclosure about Henry
was quickly crowded.
Henry chung to his support. He could dis
tinguish all the faces quite plainly, except
Jim's Where was jim? Muff1ed. as though
coming from a long distance, he heard the
bishops voice:
MY lord, I am so overwhelmed with the
significance of this delightful occasion and
my own imperfections as a speaker that
could have wished my task to have fallen
into better hands. But when l was APP
preached in the sacred name Of charity and
of that noble cause so dear to all our
hearts. the relief and succor of the widows
and orphans of the brave men who have
given their lives in the smoke Of battle. l
felt I ought to be sustained by your own
noble example 1 will not dwell on the
lofty nature of your lordship's services to
the fund
Henry's impassiveness began to desert
him: Liar! liar!' shrieked the little de-
mons as they came In swarm toward him.
He closed his eyes.
I'm accepting this very beautiful loving
cup" droned the bishop.
But 1t had gone too far. His greatest
Drfde-hiS regiment his men, their 1und.
was his greatest dishonor. Better discov-
ery-anything rather than this awful con-
tinuation He swayed-Petrte caught him;
there was q moments surprised ejaculation
from the crowd.
Lord Kerhill was i'll. The heat had been
intense during the afternoon drill. 1t was
noticed then that he was unwell-and so
the tactful excuses went from one to
another as Henry was assisted by Petrte
to the library But Lady Elizabeth. with
some hurried orders to Petrie, turned to
the assembled guests.
MY lord bishop. some one has said,
Speech Is but broken light falling on the
depths of the unspeakable.' This in thanks
for the great honor done our house. am
sure my sons inability to reply is more
due to your eloquent tribute than to his
slight indispositton. Won't you allow the
tea to be served? Lord Kerhill will. am
sure, Join you very shortly"
Imperiously she took command OF the
situation and soon the waiting servants
were dispensing tea, while the guests dis
cussed the beauties Of the cup that lay IN
its velvet case. as II nothing unusual had
happened Then quietly she made her way
to Henry She found him alone. and mo-
toned him to follow her into a small room
a adjoining the library: 1t had been a prayer
closet In the past for a devout Kerhill. but
during recent years 1t had been used as q
smoking den. with old sporting prints and
curious whips and spurs In place OF the
prie-dieu and the crucifx. Drawing the
l.