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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Advocate, 1912-6-6, Page 24�. OR! A CURIOUS MYSTERY EXPLAINED. CHAPTER IV.—(Cont'd) Then presently, as they walked down to the little pier, she talked fast and gayly of all they would do when he eamo to England; she talked because, for onee, he was ab- solutely silent, and because she was afraid that her unele would gueas their secret; perhaps it was a relief to her that Frithiof volunteered to run back to the hotel for Mr. Mor- gan's opera -glass which had been left by mistake in the salon, so that, literally, there was only time for the briefest of farewells on the father and son to have their part - ng words alone, `I Took to you, Frithiof," the fa- ther said eagerly, "I look to you. to earry out the aims in which I myself have failed—to live the life I could wish to have lived, May Gad grant you the wife who will best help you in the struggle! 1 'sometimes think, Frithiof, that things might have gone very differ- ently 'with me had your mother been spared." "Do you not let this depression influence you too much, father ?" steamer, He went through it all 1 said Frithiof. "Why take such a in a business -like fashion, smiling dark view of your own life? I shall meehauieally in response to the only be too happy if I make as much good wishes, then, mash a heavy of the world as you have done. I heart, stepping on shore. Herr wish yon could have come to Eng- Falek, who was returning to Bergen land too." I think you want change by the same boat whish took the and rest,' other travelers only as far as S''ad- "Ah l" ,said Herr Fakek, 1a130- heim, was not ill -pleased to see his ing, "once ovor there you will not son's evident dejection; he stood, echo that -wish. No, no, you 'are by the bulwarks watching him, and best by yourself when you go a -woo - saying a word or two and then to jug, my son. Besides, I could not Blanche who was close by him, possibly leave home just now; we see'" he, exelaizned, "the shall have the herring -fleet back fellow is actually corning en beard from Iceland before many clays, again. We shall be carrying him Then, as the signal was given that away with us if he doesn't take allfriends of the passengers must care." leave the steamer, lie took Frithiof's "A thousand paxvdons ;" Frithiof bad exclaimed, shaking hands with. Cecil and Roy Boniface, "I did not ace you before. A pleasant journey to you, You must come again to Norway some day, and let us all meet once more!' "Vaer saa god!" exclaimed one of the sailors; and. Frithiof had to spring down the gangway, "To our next merry meeting, said Roy, lifting his hat; and then there was a, general -waving of handkerchiefs from the kindly little crowd on the pier and from the parting guests, and, in all the ba- bel and confusion, Frithiof was con- scious only of on-scious'only`of Blanche's clear "Auf wiederschn !" and saw nothing but the sweet, dark eyes, which to the very last dwelt on him. "Well, that is over!" he said to Sigrid, pulling himself together, and .stifling a sigh. "Perhaps they will come here next year," suggested Sigrid, con- solingly. „Perhaps I shall go to England next autumn," said Frithiof, with a smile. "So soon ?" she exclaimed invol- untarily. He laughed, for the words were .such a curious eontradiction to the ones which lurked in his own mind. "Oh ! you call two months a short time?" he exclaimed; "and to me it seems an eternity. You will have to be very forbearing, fox I warn you such awaiting time is very lit- tle to my taste." "Then why did you not speak now, before she went away V' "You wisest of advisers !" ache said, with a smile, "I did speak yesterday." "Yesterday 1" she cried, eager- ly. "Yesterday, on 111unkeggen ?" "Yes; and all that now remains is to get Mr. Morgan's consent to our betrothal." "Oh, Frithiof ! I am so glad! so very glad! How pleased father will be! I think you must write and let him know." "If he will keep it quite secret," said Frithiof; "but of course not a word must be breathed until her fa- ther has consented. There is no en- gagement as yet, only 'we know that we love each other." "That ought to be enough to sat- isfy you till the autumn. And it -was so nice of you to tell. me, Fri- thjof. Oh, I don't think I could have borne it if you had chosen to marry some girl I didn't like. As for Blanche," there never was any more sweet and lovely." It seemed that Frithiof's happi- ness was to bring happiness to the whole family. Even little Swanhild guessed the true state of things, and began to frame- visions of the happy future when the beautiful English girl should become her own sister ; while as to HerrFalck , the news seemed to banish entirely the heavy depression which for some time had ' preyed upon him. And time waiting,the of the .,n,. in spite slipped by quickly to Frithiof, : the mere thought of Blanches love kept him rapturously happy, and at: the pretty villa in .Kalvedalen Gives -Stamina. to. i . It willbenefit your. children or your E-2-12 that was cheap or common or ordin- ary Vias banished from view, and you felt that the chair you sat on was a very superior chair, that all the pictures and ornaments were the very best that could -lie- bought, and that ordinary people who could. not .boast of a very large income were only admitted into this ag,- gressivcly superior dwelling on sof- nonce. As to Frithjof, when he was shown into the great empty draw- ing-reoni with its luxurious couch- es a nd divans and its wonderful col- lection of the very best upholstery and the most telling works of art, he, felt, as strongly as he had felt in the dirty streets of Hull, that he was a stranger and a foreigner, In the -whole room there was no- thing which • suggested to him the presence of Blanche; on the eon- hand and held it fast in his, trary, there was everything which "God bless you, my boy; I think combated the vision of those days you will bring honor to our name, at Balholm and of their sweet free - sooner or later, Now, Sigrid, wish dem, hiun well, and let us be off Ile called little Swanhild to him, and walked briskly down the gang- way, then stood on the quay talk- ing very cheerfully, his momentary depression quite past, Before long the steamer began to glide off, and Frithiof, even in the midst of his bright expectations, felt a pang as he waved a farewell to those he left behind him. "A happy return to Gammlc Norge !" shouted Herr Falok. And Sigrid and Swanhild stood waving their handkerchiefs till the steam- er eoasdd no longer be seen. "I am a fool to mind going away !" reflected Frithiof. "In' three weeks' time I shall be at home J X. BVOTJI'S John -R. Booth, the ;lumber and paper king of Canada, recently celebrated his eighty-sixth birthday in Ottawa. All his life he has been a hard worker and was never much given to dress, style or titles. When the editors of "Who's. Who in Canada" asked him to state what his favorite recreation was, Mr. Booth replied, "work," and so it appears in that publication, Not- withstanding that he is tx million- aire rn.any times over, Mr Booth never stood on dignity or cere- mony. In this respect he differs from a certain glib ex -alderman of the Capital City who once managed to squeeze into the Council, and although he was never successful in being re-eletced, he was, particular- ly fond of referring to himself as Ex -Alderman D—. Now "Ex -.Aderman" is a pecu- liar designation" in that you can hang on to it until the day etc die if you feel disposed to make use of the prefix. The proud retainer of the title, going to the telephone one day, rang up Mr. Booth, who had Before many minutes bad passed, however, his host came into the room," greting him politely but soxnewhat stiffly, "Glad to make your acquaint - anee," he said, scanning him a little curiously as he spoke. "I heard of you, of course, from my brother. I am sure they are all very much in- debted to you for planning their Norwegian tour for them so well,"" Had he also heard of him from Blanche' . Had she indeed prepar- ed the way for him? Or would his request come as a surprise? These were the thoughts which rushed. through Frithiof's mind as he sat! opposite the Englishmen and noted': a airx,. And the next time I leave his regular features, short, neat - again. looking,gray beard elosejy cropped Bergen, why, who knows, perhaps g ' y ' : hair, and rather cold oyes. it will be to attend my own wed- ding i" And with that he began to pace the deck, whistling, as he walked, "The Bridal Song of the Hardan- ger." CHAPTER V. The event to which we have long eagerly looked forward is seldom all that we have expected, and Fri- thiof, who for the last two months had been almost hourly rehearsing his arrival in England, felt some- what depressed and disillusioned when, one chilly Monday morning, he first set foot on English soil. The southerner, arriving at Folkstpne or Dover, with their white cliffs and sunny aspect, gains a cheerful im- pression as he steps ashore; but the Norwegian, leaving behind him his mountains and fjords, and coming straight to that most dingy and un- attractive town, Hull, is at a great disadvantage. A fine drizzling rain was falling; in the early morning the shabby,' dirty houses looked their very worst. Swarms of grimy little chil- dren had been turned out of their homes, and were making their way to morning school, and hundreds of busy men and women were hurrying through the streets, all with worn, anxious -looking faces. Asehe walk- ed to the railway. station Frithiof felt almost overpowered by the de- solateness of the place. To be a mere unit in this unthinking, un- heeding crowd, to be pushed and jostled by the hurrying passengers, who all walked as if their very lives depended on their speed, to hear around him. the rapidly spoken for- eign language, with its strange north -country accept, all made him feel very keenly that he was indeed a foreigner in a strange' land. He was glad to be once more in a fa- miliar-looking train, ; and actually. o don ; and soon all on his way to L n , these outer impressions faded away. in the absorbing consciousness that he was actually on his way to Blanche—thatonth e very n ext day he might hope to see her again. Fortunately the Tuesday proved to be a lovely, still autumn day. Ho did not like to `•call upon Mr. Mor "It is curious that you should have come to -day," lie remarked, after they l ad exchanged the usual platitudes about the weather and'. the voyage, and the first =•nrpl'es-'I sions of England. "Only to -clay the final decision was arrived at about this long -mooted idea of the new branch of our firm at Stavanger, Perhaps you have heard rumors of it "I have heard nothing et ate" said Frithiof, "My father did not even mention it." "It is scarcely possible that he has heard nothing of the idea," said Mr. Morgan. "When I saw you I half thought he had sent you over on that very account. How- ever, you have not as yet ;one 'este the business, I understand?" "I am to be taken into partner- ship this autumn," said Frithiof. "I was, of age the other day, a,a1 have only waited for that." "Strange," said Mr. Morgan, "that only this very morning the telegram should have been set tri your father. Had I known you were in -England, I •would have waited. One can say things better face to face. And yet I don't know hew that could have been either, ler ,there was a sudden chance if get- ting good premises at Stavanger, and delay was impossible. I shall, of course, write fully to your fa- ther by the next mail, and you will tell him that it is with great regret we sever our connection with him." Frithiof was so staggered by this unexpected piece of news that for a minute all -.else, was driven from his mind. lir. oth. some cattle to sell, for the former eivic functionary was a. drover • by trade, In answer to the ring of the instrument, he inquired, "Is that you, Booth?" Receiving an answer in the affirmative, he proclaimed. "This is Ere -Alderman D— speaking. I understand, Booth, you have some fat eattle to sell, What is your priceV' i forthem Mr. Booth told the inquirer, but evidently the figure did not meet his fancy. "Too dear, Booth, we cannot deal. at the quotation you nanxe," and the speaker rang off. A bystander remarked, "Don't you think that Ottawa's leading captain of industry might have been styled. Mr. Booth ?" "Oh, I don't know about that," observed the ex -alderman. "He is entitled to no special distinction. You see, he never occupied a seat in the Council." there was lunch laughter and mirth, gan till the afternoon, and, indeed, a_ct music and sYn gi g , muchl eager thought that he'should,se lrce'1y 'find expectation and hope,.and much him at home earlier, so he roamed pia,nning' of a future life which. about London,' and looked at his: should be even more full and happy. watch about four times an hour, till At length, when the afternoons at length the time came when he cloeed in early, anrl tee long winter oould call a hansom-,aad drive 10- tween:us; is, afterall, a mere bu- ,ras beginning to give s'gns eel its Lancaster Gate, sinese necessity: I must flncl out approach; :Frithjof 1 wk leave of 045 There are some houses which the from Mrs, Morgan what free nights hem , and, en ,) Le October atur- moment you anter them'suggest to �,�,e'have, and you must come and day, started on his voyage to 1 you the idea of money.' The Mor- dine troth us. I -will• write and let l 1. It was, in a 'ease, the gree. Bans' house 'vas one of these; ev, you kziorr'.' Have you any parti- event ef.; his life, and they all in; erything was faultlessly arranged, eular business in London ? or have sti:nctively knew:. .t r:i Was a eris- your feet sunk into thv softest of you only come for the sake of is,'so that Siarxd vw aside little carpets, you were •served. by the traveling? wanli;ld" at the -fit n,d left the • SPAIN'S PREMIER 'TOREADOR. Irow Madrid Welcomed Return of Bombita to the Bing. DOMINION St -CURIUM CORPORATIONLI2viITED pu 'FEELY BO LIST A booklet giving complete particulars of our current offerings: GOVERNMENT BONDS To yielcl 3.90% '.MUNICIPAL DEBENTURES To yaeld 4% to 63% RAILROAD BONDS Toiect 4% to d P T73LIC UTILITY BONDS To yield 4,W0 to 6f% PROVEN INDUSTRIAL BONDS To yield 5,1/2.% to 6% j sent era recquest« to ii SECITIZMES •_ CORIPORATION LIMTED cSTA,Bi,US1,eo 1901 11SADDO'FFtCE S KING ST EAST -TORONTO.' ,MONTR eA1.7 LONQQN, ing of the man, filled the critical audience with new wonder at tho prowess of their favorite, A great shout went up. "The ear? The ear l" The toreador who has pleased the nubile by his skill is ac- corded car f odl.her right to keep thea o crest g p the bull' he has killed as a trophy. It is for the spectators to judge whether he deserves the supreme reward. On Sunday some were opposed to the award and for at least two min- utes it hung in the balance whether Bombita would take home the trophy and, as I suppose he does, nail it to the wall of his dining room. King Alfonso decided the matter by joining in the popular ery, and Boxpbita received his re- ward. NEW FRENCH BATTLESII:IPS. British Models Followed—England to Store.Oil Fuel. French battleship designers ap- pear to be following the general lines - of British constructors in their 1912 building programme for capital ships of the first class, ex- cept that the tonnage of the French ships will considerably exceed that of : the British ships of the Orion class, the displacement of which is 22,680 tons. The French are placing ten 13.4 inch guns on the new ships as a pri- mary armament, mounted on five twin gun turrets, all placed on the centre line after the Orion model. These guns are of slightly less cali- bre than the British 13.5 inchers, Bombita, the darling of Spain, has recovered from the dangerous. wound he had received in a bull fight, and last Sunday all Madrid went to the Plaza de Toros to wel- come the greatest of all ;toreadors to the scene of former triumphs, writes a correspondent of the Lon- don Standard. The sun was beating down on. the tiers of seats opposite me, where a thousand fluttering fans looked like brilliant butterflies. King Al- fonso' and the Queen were in the royal box surrounded by the flower of the Spanish aristocracy. All the women wore the graceful mantilla and the Queen had red roses in her hair. Charmed as the people were to see the' youthful King.and Queen, their chief thoughts were for Bom- bita, the dashing Bombita, whose photograph appears in dozens of newspapers every week. He is as daring and as expert a toreador as the men of the old school, but he is not in ordinary life the toreador with a little pigtail, happier in the cafe than in the drawing -room. The fabulous fees/he receives for his dangerous work permit of his keeping a motor ear and enables him to dine in the most fashionable restaurants, He is faultle sl s Y dressed by a London tailor, and when I met him the other night at an evening. party I took him to be Spanish a diplomatist: or a upanish grandea In the arena Bombita was radiant inrose color silk and gold lace, and he wore white silk stockings and dainty shoes—a charming' costume fox a masquerade, but inappropri- ate for the work of slaying ferocious bulls. But Boanbita was superb. He played with death like a child with a toy. He knelt for a moment in the sand as his second bull, snorting with fury, rushed upon him. The creatures horns :deemed within an inch of his body when he.rose, step- ped aside with the grace of Nijin- sky, and plunged his short sword into the animal's neck. The dexterity, the amazing da'r- "He will be very sorry to be no longer your agent," he said. "And I shall be sorry to lose him. Herr Feick .has always been most, honorable. I have the greatest re- spect for him. Still, business is business; one, can't afford to senti- mentalize in life over old connec- tions. It is certainly best in the interests of our firm to set up a i itshead= it own with branch of our avan er" My son will at St ,,head- quarters to g q go out there very' shortly.'' "The telegram is only, just sent, • you say ?„ asked Frithjof. "The first thing this morning,"' replied Mr. Morgan. "It' was de- cided ht; By this time last cided on night. ; your father knows all about it in- deed, deed, I' almost wonder we have had no reply from him. You must not let the affair make .any breach be - most obsequious of ="servants, all (To be continued, A' though the French "shins will be larger by over 1,000 tons, The new French ships will be 541` feet long and 88 feet 6 inches broad. Their speed will be 20 knots. The time for building and completing is to be three years, compared with' the two years of the British build- ers. The secondary armament will re- main of the same calibre as in pre- vious ships, that is, 5.5 inches, while in future ships the British will carry six inch guns. The armor will not be quite so extensive in area, but will be thicker in parts than in previous types. Turbine engines will be used.. The British Admiralty is making a considerable increase in oil fuel storage. This was determined upon when the coal strike was by no means regarded as a certainty. Still further extension has since been decided upon. At Portsmouth the amount of ex- penditure in providing storage has been raised from. $65,000 to $250,- 000; on the Humber from $210,000 to.: $600,000; at the Invergordon from $40,000 to $220,000; on. the Medway from $210,000 to $650,000.; A sum of $35,500 is to be spent to provide new accommodation for oil fuel at Hambowlinc , Dockyard; $125,000 for new works at Hong- kong and $66,500 at Pembroke. The commencement of work on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. hotel assures the fact that Edmon- ton will have a hostelry as large as the railway hotel in Winnipeg. \EJCTRA N;,). • ,,YqPtd Sugar Lonfe:' of 1E154 'i'HE CANADA �. SUGARREFININGCON:, .uM�aao, 4 astaa HE newest thing in sugar -and-= s; the best—is this 5 -Pound Sealed Package of "4,0:: Extra Granulated. In 5 pounds this crton un s full a weight of Canada's s finest' sugar comes to you fresh from the Refinery, and absolutely free from any taint for impurity. - Ask . your JGrocer for the 5 -Pound Package. CANADA SUGAR REFINING COMPANY, L,$MM£1TED, MONTREAL.