Evening star., 1924-09-01
from Yesterdays Starr
CHAPTER III.

Since that night, II years before.
John Penhale had done no love max
ing, nor had he again visited Tregors.
The Tregellas affair had broken his
nerve, but it had not impaired that of
his aunt in the slightest degree, and
he was frightened of her, being as
sured that, did he give her a chance.
she would try again.
And now the old lady was dead and
in dying had tried again. John pic
tured her casting her final moose sit
ting up, gaunt and tall, in her four
poster bed, debating her last will and
testament to the Helston attorney,
awed farm hands waiting to affix
their marks, sunset staining the west
window and the black bull roaring in
the yard below. And it was shrewd
cast she had made; John could feel
its tolls tightening about him. He
had always been given to understand
that TregorS was a s good as his, and
now it was as good as Carveth Don
nithorne's - Carveth Donnithorne.
John gritted his teeth at the thought
of the suave and ever prospering ship
chandler. Tregors had always been a
strong farm but in the last II years
Selma had increased the acreage by a
third, by 100 acres of sweet upland
grazing Topped from the Tregellas es-
tate. There were new buildings, too.
built of moor granite, to stand for
ever, and the stock was without
match locally. Johns yeoman heart
yearned to it. Oh, the clever old
woman! John pictured Carveth Don
nithorne taking ossession-Carveth
Donnithorne, with his condescending
airs, patronizing wife and school of
chubby little boys. Had not Carveth
goods enough in this world. but that
he must have Tregors as we'll?
John swore he should not have Ire
gors az we'll, not IL he could stop it.
How could he stop it? He puzzled his
wits, but returned inevitably to the
one answer he was trying to evade,
Marry within twelve months! Marry
within twelve months" His aunt
with grim admiration, the cunning
old devil! 1t was all very we'll saying
marry" but who would marry man
that even the rough fisher girls
avoided and children hid from. He
would have no more force or subter-
fuge If any woman consented to
marry him it must be In full knowl-
edge of what she was doing and OF
her own free will. There should be
no repetition of that night seventeen
years before. He shuddered. No, by
Tregors go to Carveth."
In imaginat alton he saw the sQuire's
daughter as he was always seeing
her in the dark nights when he was
alone, stricken numb in his arms,
glazed horror in her eyes-saw her
running across the blind country,
sobbing, painting, stumbling in fur
rows, torn by brambles, trying to get
home, away from him-the Terror.
He shut his eyes, as though to shut
out the vision, and rode on past Ger
moe to kenneggy Downs.
The\moon was flying through clouds
like q circus girl through hoops, the
road was swept by winged shadows.
Puddles seemed to brim with milk at
one moment, ink the next. At one
moment the surrounding country was
visible, a-gleam as with hoar frost,
and then was blotted out in darkness;
1t was q night of complete and star
tling Transformations. The shadow
of bare oak leapt upon them sud-
denly. fiinging unsubstantia1 arms At
them-a phantom octopus. Penhale's
mare SHE'D, nearly unseating him. He
came out Of his somber thoughts.
kicked spurs into her and drove her
on at q smart trot. She swung for
ward, trembling and uneasy, nostrils
swelling, ears twitching. as though
she sensed uncanny presences abroad.
They reached the high ground above
Perranuthnoe - waste, gorse.covered
downs. To the south the great in
dent Of Mounts Bay gloomed and
glittered under cloud and moonshine;
westward Paul Hill rose like a wall,
q galaxy Of ships riding lights prick
ing the shadow at its base. The
track began to drop down hill, the
moors gave over to fields with high
banks. An old pack horse track,
choked with undergrowth. broke into
the road from the seawArd side. The
mare cooked her ears toward 1t,
snorted and checked. Penhale laid
into her with his whip. She bounded
forward and shiad again, but with
such violence this time that John
came out Of the saddle altogether. He
aaue u ahadoU rush acr0Na the fonA.