The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-09-30
CHAPTER IT. A NEW WORLD

Nan saw Weare for the first time under driving rain. They tax jed from Croyston with the skv blue behind them and a heavy in- digo cloud coming up out of the west. The road ran inland for a couple of miles and then, turning zigzagged up the side of a large hill covered with close sneep-crop- ped grass. As they came up the last rise, the wind met them, and the rain-first heavy splashing drops, and then a solid shimmer- ing fall.
 Then tall stone pillars and straining trees lashed by the wind until they brushed the car as it passed. At last grey house, and a portico under which they came to standstill.
 Jervis jumped out, and she fol- lowed him. Her new suitcases emerged; her new trunk came down dripping. There was com- fort in them and Nan needed comfort badly. She got none from Jervis. He hurried her up the steps and through lobby into the hall with an air of gloomy ab- straction.
 She started at Jervis' touch on her arm.
 ''Nan-this is Mrs. Mellish. She has been housekeeper here for How long is it Mellish? Thirty years?'
 Mrs. Mellish rosy and buxom, with severely parted grey hair and a black dress with a big stiff collar surmounted by white frill- ing and clasped by a large brooch of moss-agate set in a pale gold rim, interposed in a firm, respect ful voice.
 "Thirty-one years and six months in September, sir"
 Just for a moment she looked at Nan, and there was no welcome in her look. Nan was a stranger.
 With the cold of it at her heart, she lifted her head and smiled prettily.
 Monk, the butler, considered that she smiled very prettily indeed He was fat man. with small sunken eyes, spare pale hair, and voice so soft as to lend his most casual remark the air of confidence. "A very pleasant young lady" was his comment to Mrs. Mellish in the housekeeper's room later on. "A very pleasant young lady"
 Mrs. Mellish received the remark in a birding manner. She drew back her double chin till it rested upon the neat white frilling. Not until Monk had repeated his re- mark for a third time did she make oracular response
 That is as may be-" she observ- ed
 When Nan was alone at last in the big room which had been Am prose Weare's, she stood in the middle of it and looked about her with a mixture of passionate in- terest, shy pride. and tremulous something akin to fear Mrs. Mel fish had conducted her in state. A red-cheeked girl had appeared and been named, with faint flavour of disapproval, as Gladys. Now she was alone, and she stood in the middle of the floor and looked about her
 The room was large and light. A big old fashioned four post bed with a maroon canopy and hang ings stood against the long wall with the door on the right. To the left beyond the bed was a built-out window nearly as wide as the room, and opposite the door another window, hung like the bed with dark red curtains.
 There was a great deal of dark red about the room-carpet, cur tains, bed-furnfture and upholstery of Victorian couch, and the covering of two deep armchairs set very formally one on either side of the hearth. The furniture dated from the forties-square sclid mahogany wardrobe, chests of drawers, and mirror. The dress ing table had crimson petticoat with transparent muslin over it,
 and looking glass with a great many little drawers. There was a