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Home My WebLink AboutThe Clinton News Record, 1939-05-25, Page 2PAGE 2 THE CLINTON 'NEWS -RECORD Eden Phillpotts "T'OM AYLMER: At the' time the story opens is living in Peru, man- aging silver mines belonging to his father. ELICE PARDO: A Peruvian who, although young, has been fifteen. :years in the service of the ,Aylmer ,mining enterprise. He is the .most trusted native employee. PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS Mrs. MERCY AYLMER': Tom's mother; egotistical and exacting. JANE BRADSHAW: Tom Aylmer's fiancee. At the time the story opens, the expectation is that these; two will marry on Tom's next,leave in England. ANGUS MAINE: A young Scot on Aylmer's staff, and close compan- ion of Toni. JACOB FERNANDEZ: A rich, eld- erly South American whose hobby is the study of bird life. Ile is a bachelor and is engaged upon a monumental literary work or}- the subject of bird life. SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS Tom Aylmer and Angus Maine are •enjoying a holiday on the hills of Peru when Felice Pardo rides out to tem with a cabled message announc ling the death of Tom's father. Tom .knows that his father has bequeath - ..ed to him the Peruvian silver' mines of which he (Tom) is the manager. llle decides to sail for England at .once and to take Angus for company. .Before leaving Lima, Tom buys a ipanot, to give to his fiancee, Jane The Clinton News -Record with which is incorporated THE NEW ERA TERMS OP SUBSCRIPTION $1.50 per year in advance, to Can- sdian addresses; $2.00 to the U.S. or either foreign countries. No paper .discontinued until all arrears are ,paid unless at the option of the pub- disher. The date to which every sub- scription is paid is denoted on the label. ADVERTISING RATES — Transient .advertising 12e per count line for first insertion. 8c. for each subse- quent insertion. Heading counts 2 fines. 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Parties deefritag to effect insure .:ance.or transact other business willa• be promptly attended to on applica to any ,ef the above officers ad- , di1eesed to their reepeetive post offi- ces. Losses inspected by the direetor who lives nearest the scene. • TIRE- eTABLE 11rsins will arrive at and depart from Clinton as follows: Buffalo and Gederick Div. 'Going East, depart .. , , ...6.58 a.m. Going East, depart 3.00 p.m. Going West, depart 11.45 a.m. 'Going West, depart 10.00 p.m. London, Huron lI•c Brnee eGoing North,. ar. ,11.25 lye. 11.47 p.m. Going South are 2.50, leave 3.08' p.m. Bradshaw. The bird, bought from a dealer whom Tom knows and trusts, is according to the dealer, a very exceptional parrot, and is about sev- enty years of age—no great age for a a parrot. t On the liner, the bird engages the attention of Jacob Fernandez, •a rich man, of Lima, who is bound for t Panama, whose life hobby is the study of birds. To Fernandez, the parrot talks,' but the only words he can detect in a string of sounds'are "Benny Boss." Fernandez says he knew a man of s that name, and proceeds to'tell Tom and Angus what he knows Benny was a man of mixed parent-! s age—English and Peruvian—who, forp a time, fifty years earlier, worked for Fernandez. They parted company a and after :an. interval, Benny tried,'n unsuccessfully, to sell to Fernandez p a large ruby'worth much more than s the price he put on it. Piecing to-' a gether what he learned about Beraiy1 in later years, it seems that Benny T had been engaged in dredging on Lake Titicaca, and that he had dredge f ed up jewels thrown into the lake at the time of the Spanish conquest. H Before leaving the ship 'Fernandez e advises Tom to try to get the parrot's a speech investigated by an expert. I n Arrived in England, Tom does so, ti but the expert, Gregory Barbour, is in baffled, despite an extensive know,- i edge of languages. share: my roof, because, I know, o re course, that fatal decision was hers —since she declined to meet a moth- er, in the matter of her only,. son, I droit frankly that I cannot feel quite he same to her. But she is blessed with plenty of commonsense, and she 1 jewellery when she sees it, hough site never wears any. Well, my jewellery, so to call it, is prac- tically worthless. The trifling'decora- tions you dear father allowed me are very little better than the sort of things you can buy at any 'cheap tares—the sort of things, no doubt, that you'll take out to delight the avages when you go abroad. I'd go o far as to say that I haven't a iece that is worth more than five - and -twenty pounds, and many a time t a bridge party, where you sit so ear people and give them their op. ortunity, I have almost blushed to ee cold eyes upon my wretched little dornments." "All in good time, mother," said om. "That's what Jane said. Very well or children but you must remember that I am an old woman in a hurry. owever, if I have not learned to be atient, no woman ever did. I'll wait nd •see if anything happens. I'll pro- iise to do nothing of any importance 11 you come back. Jane has a feel - g that you may find Inca jewellery n abundance. It will probably be rnate and vulgar. I believe the Incas vore breastplates of precious stones nd head-dresses two feet tall and tiff with gems. Also bracelets and nklets, glittering with emeralds and imbies and sapphires and soon. Such things—all set in gold no doubt— ould be no use to me. One doesn't et gems in gold nowadays, and in, ny case I could not go to a bridge arty or reception in a breastplate nd anklets, Bub if the stones them - elves were as marvellous as Jane thinks they well might be, then one ould choose the best and have them made up again by experts. De you think I am too old now for pearls? ersonally, if the pearls are worth ailing pearls, they seem to me as eautiful on middle -age as youth." "And you'll go on looking for a house when we're away—if we really o go.?" NO RETREAT Jane was not to be shaken from her purpose, and, somewhat to his surprise, her sweetheart found that Angus Maine supported bier strongly. Calmer reflection had decided Tom chat such an enterprise must be none - sense, but none the less he instituted inquiries, and decided that he would be guided finaIly by another opinion. 1 e "Felice has got mare horse sense than. Angus and I put together," he told Jane, "and I have written a full p account of the whole fantastic busi-' c ness to him. If he thinks it's goodb enough, ,and I find the probable ex-' pontes fairly reasonable, we'll go and meet ,lint down South; but if he says d we're niad, then it's off." "It isn't off, in the least," she pro- . snised,. "Angus is game, and if you're b going to show the white feather, Ton:, we'll go without you. I'm going, any- y way, and I've told your mother so, - much to her surprise." is "Perhaps she'd like to cone?" he I suggested. "No—she's far too busy, You can Y simply, see your remark`a'ble mother's ideas expanding day by day." Ib Toni had, indeed, endured some un- settling conversation with Mrs. Ayl- T mer.' At filet she protested against s the proposed adventure,,, but alter a Jane had come to luncheon and con -'1: vented her, she supported it. ' "I was never one to interfere With s the enterprises or amusements of a young people," she told her son. "I, remember too well how the youthful' mind soars, and can never forget all'st my own bitter experiences from the ex past, when I wanted to soar, but was su not allowed to do ' sot Your dear father' always, seemed to know by a curious instinct the natural bent • of my girlish spirit and invariably inter `vend at the critical momenta He "Yes," answered Mrs. Aylmei 'You know very well that I woul e content with any little box in t West End if I thought it would hel ou- and Jane to be 'happy, You'r ny first thought. I ant going to b clamant about rent. I simply won' ook at anything for which they as more than fifteen hundred a yea ou' can feel perfectly happy abou Lhat. The position is what matters ut adequate reception rooms ar vital. I will never. entertain in hotels om, and thought one often goes t uch entertainments, I always fee chill. sense of unreality. .I w ether wondering about a villa Cannes for next winter. My circl eels' to gravitate bodily to Canne f the Christmas,;' The lady rambled on; but she pro in 0 a s a ti w g p a s d he le e e t k it e 0 1 as at e s' s Tffl5RS., MAY 25, 1939 ones, and felt his mind at rest con- cerning his own future, He was am- bitious and welcomed the possibilities of, an overdue improvement in his own prospects; but though as a rule little ever happened to amuse him, the proposed attempt to find Table- top made Pardo laugh aloud. Despite the facts and remote possibilities, Felice felt such an enterprise a waste of wealth and felt that if Tom was. preparedto fritter some of his new- ly -acquired wealth it might be gut to far better, purpose." "If you want to spend money," he wrote, "ty Peau, not the Pacific. I've always told you that mineral ex- ploration in the Andes might be very well worth while and I feel sure, from what you told me about old Jacob Fernandez, that he knows it too. You go for the mountains, not hidden treasure on a' volcanic island, Tom. And by the same token, don't be in a deuce of -a hurry to part with Mount Atajo. If Fernandez' seemed keen, then you may be sure he knows stnnething. That man's twice' a mil- lionaire, they .say," Much more to the sante purpose wrote Felice, but the letter was never dispatched, for that happened before the sending ton make him tear it up and communicate in quite a different spirit. ' A vast new prospect unfolded un- der the young man's eyes and strange temptations assailed him from a still stranger quarter. Of all unlikely per- sons, itwas now destined that hie own mother should play a sinister part and .plunge his soul into perils beyond its experience. • THE "RIGHTFUL HEIR" For the first time in his life, Felice found his silent parent voluble, and her customary reserve vanished. .It happened on returning from the office, after reading Tom's letter and writing his own reply, that Felice, over their supper -table, told his mother - the story of the parrot. Whereupon she had dropped her knife and fork and stared at him as at 'a stranger. "What's struck you dumb, Moth- er'?" he irked. "Not this nonsense from Tom? I've written and told him what an 'ass he is—dear ehap." "Have you posted it?" "Not until to -morrow. An English boat comes into Carlo to -night and I may hear again to -morrow." "Finish your food and listen to me then," she directed. When they had left their Tittle dining -room and sat out of doors on the patio, the young man smoked and his mother spoke at greater Iengtn than he had ever heard her do so. She was a handsome woman still, anti might have wed again, but felt no mind to another husband, and had found the nurture and education of her only son enough occupation to make life worth while. "You've told me a wonderful, thing," l she began, "and filled up bits of old history in a queer fashion, my son, Belike Aylmer would have thought twice and again before` he revealed this story if he'd known what I know." She rose, entered the room behind them, dived into the drawer 'of an old cabinetand produced an object wrapped up in silver paper. "Look at that," she said, "and listen:4 Felice opened the little parcel and found himself gazing upon a brilliant, yellow stone set in gold. "You never were interested in our history," continued Anita, "but you've got to be interested lieu. Your grand- mother was a. girl Called Julia Bose, and she maeied a fruit -grower by the name of Pardo, He worked in Puna for two brothers called Garcia. That mist be round about sixty years ago I suppose. Julia was the eldest daughter of Benjamin Boss—known to his generation as 'Benny'—a very remarkable man by all accounts. Fie had other children besides Julia -- a son anal a daughter—but their old mother had lost siglut of them long before I knew her, and couldn't say. whether they were alive or dead. "Well, 'Julia. wed Pardo, incl that btono you're handling wast given to her by her father. "The pair had` one son 'and he was called Felice Pardo. At twenty-five year old Felice married me,and you are the only child that we ever had. Your grandparents on your father's side died not very long "after my husband married me; but your grew: grandmother—Benny Boss's wife --- only 1paseed about twenty years ago, Marie Bose she was called." "I remember her when I was .a small boy," said Felice. "She smok- ed cigars, when .the could get the, and knew English and had a blue parrot." "Start from her then and what follows?" asked Anita. "That blue parrot's living yet you see, and he's told his secret, that Benny tenger?, hien, to these alien people. He's told them where Benny hid his treasure When the Genies got wind, that he was playing then false. As to that there's little doubt. Benny took .,the pains to make up a riddle and teach it tochis,bird before he went on his 1ast'voyagge, and the Hand of Provid- ence paints to you, Felice, as his only rightful heir, "Stones are eternal things," she continued. "They outlive the hands and necks that wore. them, :and serve one generation after another, as that topaz served your grandmother,'hun- dreds of 'years after it had shone on the breasts of the Inca< priests. There's a hoard of wonders lying in faithfully not to buy preciou ones until Benny's cache had been Oared. She then tinned to another We. "Jane seems to think that you n't marry until you return; but I ncl' about that," she said. "It would very embarrassing for •a single rl to live in a ship entirely full of en. But if she were married to the ader of the expedition, one would of happier about her," "She's got an idea that it would be ore embarrassing if we were mar - ed," explained Tom. "I don't see myself, but she does." "A. mistake. However, she'll have er way no doubt. What is your ()reign friend, Mr. Pardo like? Some. mos a foreigner, with all his charm nd glamour: and southern fescina- on, will turn a girl's hemi." "There's not much charm end Lamour: about Felice' Pardo," he ati- we4 ed, "He's a realist and doesn't ice women particularly: He happens o be rather a short, square solidly unit man — the sort that'weulthz't mpt Jane. He'lI only be'interested - photography if he really does one." "You must all take care of your - elves — for airy sake," said Mrs. Aylmer; wo ini be had a strange and complete insen- mi sibility over clothes, for example. He le didn't seem to think that an element- fe any thing; like clothes mattered as m. long as the human forwas adequat- ely covered." • ei "He never- cared what he put en it the old dad." "I. knew. That was trying enough; b but he .never cared what I put on—, f quite another matter. It left a scar, ti dear Tom, became it meant so much. a When a man becomes indifferent to ti his wife's clothes, you may say that the rift in the lute has set in, or g whatever a rift does de exactly. You s will nodoubt tell me that it is late if in life to begin to dress; but I'm t certainly going to do ,so. I owe it b not only to myself, but my acquaint- te " ance "I see you've ;dtarted," 1msaid. c "You look ripping nowadays." "Black' .always suited me. It ages s some people, others it makes look younger., I have no wish to look younger than I am, of course, And since we ore on this subject. I will', talk \ about jewellery, Tom. You're h always so patient and understanding. h So's Jane. I'm not going to pretend th that she and'I always see alike, and when she decided that she would not a In the course of a few weeks; Toni card from, Lima, but knew not what ad happened in Parde''s life before e letter came. Felice had already received a full ecount of his friend's altered fort - wait for you, na doubt, on that isl- and." "Why for me, Mother?" he asked. "Because the treasure was gather- ed by your great grandfather, And you are the only one left alive with Benny Boss blond in yon. It cam. to you through; Julia Boss, and her son, you father, was in the line, ani if he'd lived, he'd have inherited any- thing that Benny had to leave behind.. You are the rightful ' -heir of the Boss fainily; and; if this story is true and the old, adventurous man hid his property for . safe -keeping qn some God -forsaken isle, and, lost his life trying to find it again, then the treasure is yours, if ever it should be found. Not one quarter part of it, Felice, es 'Aylmer says; but all. "Looking back after these things," she concluded, "I'd say that Benny Boss knew he was' going to have danger and trouble to recover his jewels, so, being a whimsical fashion of a man, he invented his riddle, and' left it behind him for other people to gu'es's if they could, should he never come back. And he never did come back, and foreign English folk have guessed it, because it's an Eng- lish riddle and was easy for them to do so." "I think it was a very clever thing to get to the bottom of this mystery," declared Felice. "You might easily argue that those able enough to solve the parrot's, .speech deserve to profit by it, Mother." "Why argue anything so foolish as that?" she asked. "You are not used, to being so,sentimental. The treasure is yours and only yours. By a strange accident, but with no credit to ahem, they discovered the existence of the treasure; but that does not entitle them to possess it. The only questeon for you is how best and safest to make it your own. That needsa great deal of thinking about. You owe them nothing. You have worked for Tom Aylmer's father faithfully, and very little money did he ever pay you for doing so. Now Tom Aylmer is become a very rich man, while you continue to be a very poor one. But you find that an inheritance is await- ing you. Remember that nobody can be trusted when money is the ques- tion, Many courses are open to you, Felice, and you will need to choose the right one. As the, great grana - son of Benny Boss, you ought to be equal to whatever challenge awaits you." "My friends have been good to me and there is a close tie that binds us three together," he said. "They are honest Hien, mother." "You are now concerned with the future, not the past, and if they are honest men, they will not endeavour to come between you and`your own," she answered, `But you must use the good brains that God has given you" "What better than to tell them the truth and prove it." She shook her head, e! A QUESTION OE CONSCIENCT "If you tell them that the treasure is yours, what nvi11 they say? What would any sane man say? If they are as honest as you. believe, then they will say, 'All right, Felice, go and get it." However honest they may hap- pen to be, they will not fit out an ex- pedition and incur great expenses and possible dangers to help you find Benny's gold and diamonds. You can- not fit out an expedition. Only a rich man ,could enter on such, adventure,, olid if Aylmer hears before you start that Felice Pardo is the sole member of the party who can profit, there is then nothing doing. How could it be otherwise?" "What other way exists?" he said, "What other honest way, Mother?" "Your duty to yourself and to me, because I am your good mother, is to avail yourself to this great ,chance put before you, And, to do so, you must first use your wits as you have never used them. You are a very clever man, but so far life has denied you any real opportunity to use your cleverness and reap the reward of it. Now life says 'Here is your chance at last, Felice Pardo.' You have good ideas, clear vision, consciousness of If your old furnace is worn-out , :. if it's fallen down on heating your home this winter ... take advantage of this oppor- tunity to instal a new Clare HECLA at the lowest terms ever offered. Have it putfn before spring house-cleaning! Save trouble and inconvenience ... And be prepared for next winter with the furnace that spells real heating comfort.' . . the furnace that ends costly repair bills and cuts your fuel costs 15% to 20%. Come inorcall us for details of this sensational offer. Expires May 31st ... Act now! tom' RE AlR. COSTS 0 FUEL BILLS Thos. Hawkins, Hardware HEATING, PLUMBING and TINSMITHING PHONE No, 244, CLINTON. the evils of poverty and the powers of wealth. "It is a matter for your conscience, then; and if conscience speaks a clear message, you must obey. The priest would tell you that." "There may be nothing there," he answered. "Benny may have got his treasure after all, and found no temp- tation to come home again; or he may have been knocked on the head ane his treasure taken from him Think if I lost these valued friendships and all they may mean in the future, for a mare's' nest, Mother." "You know nothing at all," she said ,"and your words chill my heart. Your .part is to hide your heart. If the expedition fails,'none need ever know what was hidden in you, and your `friendships are left without a shadow upon them. You are none the worse, The future takes care of itself, and takes care of us, too, if we face it like men. The future only tortures those who are frightened of it, You keep your secret hidden from them, until you are all home again perhaps. Then, and only then, you discover the truth, that everything belongs to you! You did not know it till you tell me about it. Even friendship is not lost if they do not put the treasure higher than friendship." "You are tempting me to put the treasure higher than friendship" "Let us go to our beds,_ then," she concluded. Her s.on made no reply and when night came both man and woman were kept wakeful by their thoughts. Anita blamed herself for not making a stronger case and wilting him to her view point from the first. She planet,' a stronger attack when morning came, convincing herself without the least difficulty that her opinion was right and just. It ap- peared that, as Jane Bradshaw before her, the Peruvian put faith in the certainty of treasure; while Felice felt more disposed to doubt and share the incredulity. of Tom Tyhner him- self. In Pardo, rival instincts fought for a decision, and it seemed that now one promised to conquer, while then the opposite secured an upper hand. He asked himself whether to get the better of the rich might be justified if, es a result, great powers • should be secured to benefit the poor, Fam- ous stories occurred to him of plc - turesque robbers in the past, who took from wealthy victims to better deserving people and achieved noth- ing but fame and goodwill as a re - suit. It • was inevitable that he shock juggle with values in such a mood and find deep temptation. He hoped presently that no treasure awaited the search; then he deceived himself for a 'little while by assuring his mind that to secure it and conceal his action from the rest would be impos- sible. But Anita had realized that 'also, and pointed an easier way. He must further the enterprise by every effort in his power, preserve the olcl amity with his friends, work for the common cause with all his might and only afterwards discover that the treasure belonged to him alone , So argued Felice until for weariness he slept; but with morning light he brought great happiness to Anita's mind. "The treasure may most probably not exist at all," he said, "or if it does, be of such a trifling value that the search for it must be the sole reward. And there are many such 'treasures of no intrinsic worth, moth- er, yet man's struggle and fight to 'reach thein are of mighty worth and !make roan greater by the battle he has fought to find them. An old isailor, ouch as Benny Boss, no doubt imagined his little hoard represented great riches, whereas the truth may be that, even if found, it will not pay for the cost of finding it, That is for the future to tell. But if found, great or small, it is emphatically mine, and after long thinking through the night, I am cure that it was meant to be mine—not for my, own pleasure,but for my own duty." "So long as you are clear on the main point, you can leave details un til you come to them," answered Sig- nora Pardo. "Write to Aylmer and tell him to count upon you: And do not undervalue the treasure, for that is a matter for God to decide." (To be continued) Stir ?Drilld."�.w c�. r, ROYAL VISIT COMMENTATORS GO TO SCHOOL Commentators of the CBC, assigned to broadcast to Canada and the world the visit of Their Majesties. the Ring and Queen, are seen as they receive their instructions at a meeting held at Ottawa on May10. Mr. E. L. Bushnell, General Supervisor of Programmes, seen standing in the centre of the picture, is in complete charge of all Royal broadcast arrangements. throughout the Dominion, Mr. W. H. Brodie, Coach h c to CBC. announcers, at extreme right, is seen is he explains pronunciations of names of various mem- 'bees of the Royal party, At Government, House, Ottawa, Capt. H. D. Walker, of the 'Black Watch and Lieut. R. Scott, R.N., Aides -de -Camp to His Excellency, the Governor-General, instructed CBC's commen.: tatters in technical terms and formalities concerning the Royal ,visit. . {-ea .1 ,