The Brussels Post, 1925-12-9, Page 7Lo,
ye, The Tyrant
CHAPTER XII (Cont'd).
`
was; Joking rather moodily over the
wide ettetelt of grass -land before hint
Thither canto quite elose up talent be-
fore ho saw her, then he raised his
hat sat if he expeeted her to pais on.
Esthirr would like to have done so,
but sin+ stopped as If she couldn't help.
et,
"Good -morning, M. Gordon," she
field. . "You look like Napoleon sur -
eying a battle -field. Is anything
he matter? Isn't the grass growing
to your liking?"
"Oh, the grass is all right," lie re-
plied; "au4 there'll be a good crop;
but I was wondering how on earth
we were going to get it in."
"IIow do you generally get it in?"
she asked, leaking round her hehptess-
fy
"Well, the way they try to get it
in is to put half a dozen old men in
to cut and aarry it; end while they're
muddling about the rain comes, and
rite crop's spoilt; To save it properly,
you want a hay -cutting machine, a
hay -turning machine, and those you
haven't got."
"Why not?" asked Esther.
"Because you haven't," he said,
in his brusque fashion.. "Last year
half the crop was spoilt, Martin tolls
rue; all for the want of machinery.
Out in, Aue—out in the .culolues they
have all the latest machinery, and
save the whole thing."
"Then why don't we have it ]fere?"
inquired Esther.
Jack shrugged his shoulders, and
got of his horse. It was,not fitting
that he should be seated while Miss
Vancourt, of the Towers, was stand-
ing. Esther noticed his change of
position. Yes; if not actually a gentle
man, he "behaved as such."
".13ee;tuse Sir Richard didn't take
enough interest. I've' explained that
before:. Everything's been neglect-
ed, the game, the farm, everything,
And it wouldn't cost much. Give
me two hundred, three hundred
pounds, and I'd buy the -machinery,
and pay for it almost in teh first sea=
alone,,
This is the way a woman likes to
hear a man talk. Esther's eyes spark-
led as she turned them to him swift-
ees.I
y "Then take the three hundred.
pounds and •go and buy it, Mr. Gor-
don," she said.
Jack caught fare at her enthusiasm.
"Aliright, he said, holding out
his hand. "Give ins the money."
Esther laughed.
"I don't carry throe hundred
pounds about with me, Mr. Gordon;
but If you'll conte up to the `house,
I'll give you a check."
"I shall have to go up to London,"
1 -Jack said. "I shall save sixty pounds.
'',r'` I want it at once."
"Conte to the house," she said.
Ile walked beside her, and giving
the colt to a groom, entered the halt
with her. She left him and went into
the library and wrote out a cheque
for five hundred pounds, which she
`held out to hhn.
"What's this?" said Jack. ."I said
three hundred."
"13ut there are your expenses!" ex-
plained
xplained Esther. "And L don't know
Nether you've been paid any eat-
ery?"
Jack shook his head. He had about
ten shillings irk his, pocket.
"That'll come later," he said.
"I wish you to take it now," she
.a -said; "at five pounds a week."
Jack stared at her and laughed.
"That's nonsense," he said. "About
thirty bob a week' is my wage."
Esther drew herself up haughtily.
"That is for, me to decide, Mr.
Gordon," she said. Then, as she saw
the unrelenting look on Jack's face,
she added, meekly: "Say three pounds
a week."
Jack shrugged his shoulders,
' 1 "'' "All right. It's not for me to
quarrel about—that. I'll go up to
i London to -night and buy—"
"Buy what you like," said Esther.
Jack laughed, :.
"That's rather 4 large orderand a
free hand,: Miss Vancourt;" , ,
"I don't understand anything about
it," said Estheg•. "1 trust toyou.'t .
Jack's face grew suddenly grave.
"I'll do just as if the farm were
my own," he said, :.quietly. "Don't
you, be. afraid, Miss Vancourt:"
"I'ni not afraid," said Esther,
proudly,
He nodded, and stalked out of the
hall. There was weeping and wailing
from Nettie when he declared his in-
tention of going up by the night train
and he had to get her to sleep in hie
arms, so great was her grief ; then
Georgia drove him to the station, and.
with Miss Vancourt's liberal cheque
La his pocket; Jack was carried to
�* ondon. Ori the journey ire thought
�r great deal. His was (=thinly the
strangest position in which a man
had over been placed., He was act-
ing as servant on the estate which
actually belonged to him. This was
strange enough, but More strange
and remarkable Was the fact that
kir was not unhappy in his position.
The home fart» lnteretsed hirci, but
the Mistretta of Vancourt Towers In-
terested flim still more. Ile regard-
ed her with a strange ;Peeling, in
which something of pity predominat-
ed: she seemed so alone, so helpless.
And she rentinded him of his dead
shunt In every word incl gesture.'
There were times, When she spoke
e"
and smiled, that the real Jed; Gor-
don seemed to stand before hien.
He reached London, and 'he put
up at a quiet and inor.peusive hotel.
At breakfast the next morning, he
realised that he, was still 'in his old
riding-suit—well enough `in r the
country, but, scarcely suitable to Lon -
dont and that desire to be prop etc
clad which is the instinct of every
gentleman assailed ,him as Ile was
+
with his duty strongly before him,
W went off and interviewed the ag-
ricultural engineers before he sought
a tailor, with whom, as "Arthur Bur-
ton," he had had numerous dealings.
The man rememebrod him, and greet -
h' with a respectful cordiality.
"I've got a dress -cult that I made
for you just before you went abroad,
Mr. Burton," he said, "and I was:
wondering whether you'd ever call
for- it."
"Alls right," said Jack. "Send it
on; "and he gave the address of itis
hotel.
He spent the remainder of his fleet
day inspecting the agricultural mach.
and when he got back to his
hotel in the evening, he found his
dress -suit, overcoat and all complete
awaiting him. It was a very long
time since he hacl donned evening at-
tire, and the sight of -the clothes re-
minded him of past days, when he
had dressed every night for dinner.
He dressed that night and thought
her would go to the theatre; it was a
long tine since hehad been inside
any place of amusement in_London.
His reflection ins the glass when
he had put on the things, smote him
strangely. Say what you will, man
is outwardly very much' what his
tailor makes him; and Jack Gordon
of the, home farm looked a very dif-
ferent person in correct dress clothes.
He emited at himself grimly, think-
ing "Fine feathers make fine birds;'
and having eaten his dinner, walked
down to the Strand and turned into.
a theatre. Every seat was full, and,
not much disappointed, he lit a cigar
—the first cigar he had smoked for
many,a long day—and strolled west-
ward.
He made his way towards Hyde
Park, and paused beside the railings
which front Park Lane, to look at
the flowers in the park on one hand,
and those sumptuous and costly build-
ings which face it; and for a moven':
the thought struck him, that, if ht
were to claim ills own, he might be 1
living in ono of those which aro re-
Mit v •sdfor t•
i the ill• and
h 1, nob ty n
the African millionaire,
As he was looking at the flowers'
though the rollinge a little girl
came up to him and offered flim, in
whining accents, a bunch of roses.
He gave the child a *tiling; and.
with a look of surprise, she ran on
in front of him. A moment later a
tail, dark man with a black meuetachi' i
Posed hien. The flower -girl, en-
couraged, perhaps, by Jack's liber-
ality, stopped *le man and offered
lailn her bunch of faded blosso,n:i.
She was very persistent .and trouble-
some, no doubt, and Jack saw the
lean half push, half strike her from
his path, She fell against the rail-
iu!s and whimpered; and, with a rush ,
of blood to .his head, Jack sprang
forwent and caught the man by the
cellae of his seedy coat. Jack had
merely meant to expostulate with
hint, to call Win to account for push-'
lure and striking a holplees waif of
the street; but art he seized the man,
a sudden flood of xeeeolleetion swept'
over hinn.
Ile had seen the man before. The
dark face, the cold malicious eyes
awakened a memory. Unless he were
mad or dreaming, this man's face
was that of the chief of the rangers
who had burst into the hut. who had
killed the real Jack Gordon, .his
chum! Foxe' a moment he was too
overwhelmed by the resemblance- to
utter a word; then he cried:
"It's
It's .Poul You!"
The man staggered back; then he
struck out wildly, and his blows were
smart and heavy. Jack struck back,;
still keeping hold of the man. All
the past came back to him vividly.
Wonderful, marvellous' as it was,
this was the man who had shot his'
chum. The chief of the ranges! Here 1
in London!
The two men struggled and fought 1
as if to the death. The flower -girl
crouched against the railing. the cabs'
and carriages rattled by. Jack got .
his opponent down on his knees for
one moment, but the man was as slip-
pery as an eel, and he slid to his feet
again and closed with Jack. But
Jack's enormous strength would have
told and the man would have been at
his mercy, if at this moment a stat-
wart park -keeper had not run for-;
ward and'thrown his arms about Jack. i
"What's wrong here?" he exclaim -1
ed. 1
"Hold that man!" exclaimed Jack. 1
"T know him—don't let him go!"
But the park -keeper: seeing that;
Tack was the stronger, clung to him, i
„he man ,slipped from his grasp and
Audley Street, and Jack was left
atone with the keeper acid the afright-
nod •.
no d 1lo er gla•1.
CHAPTER XIII.
The park -keeper who struggled
helpless, in the hands; of the sturdy
guardian, of order. The bushranger
if 11 wore indeed he, lied down South
took to his heels, and Jack stood,
with Jnolc wile a big man and stone,
and it was a minute or two before!
Jack could free himself and acquaint
Elle keeper with the feet that he was
detaining the wrong mune • At last
he did succeed in getting free, and,.
with the littre breath that wee left
him, demanded angrily and, 1 fear
with a familiar expletive: "Why on
earth 414 you hold me anil let the oth-
se' fellow go?"
"Well, sir., I saw you strike the
gentleman—saw you with my own
eyes—and I naturally went for you."
"I struck the villain because I saw
him• strike that child there; and then
T recognised him as a---" He stopped;
for it was of no use telling the park -
keeper that the man who had escaped
was the chief of a gang of Australian
bushrangers: the park -keeper wonld
probably think he was oat of his
mind and would Want to drag hila, off
to the nearest police station, "But
it's 'no use bothering about it now,"
Ise continued; "the man's got away.
Let us see if the child's hurt."
But long before this the little
street -girl who had regarded the
park -keeper's appearance on the
scene as that of a natural and official
foe, to be dreaded only one degree
less than the hated policeman, had
fled the scene.
"Very sorry, sir!" said the park -
keeper who long before this had de-
ckled that he was speaking to a gentle
man; "always difficult to tell when
there's a row between two persons,
which is in fault. I hope you're not
hurt, sir?"
"Not at all," said Jack, with a short
laugh. "I'm a bit crumpled, though,"
looking down at his crushed shire,
front and twisted tie, He gave the
keeper a shilling, wished him a plea-
sant "Good -night," and then went
down South Audley Street with rage
and disappointment burning in his
heart.
That the ranger should be in Lon-
don was marvellous enough, but that
he, Jack, should have nett him and
hacl him in his grip. and then bast
him, was maddening. Jack was the
last man to bear malice—the malice
of the low and common nature. If
the ranger had confined the attack in
the hut to himself, there would have
been no craving for revenge in Jack's
{
•
hearts he had been ties used to fight-
ing during Its rough life to beat' mai-
• ice against foe, vanquished or con-
; quoting; but this villain lead shot the
real Jack Gordon, had murdered
',Incise; chat», end that chum was Es -
thee Vancourt'IL brother; and it le
not too much to say that Jack thirst -
ea for the man's blood with un earn-
estness wlueit wos, alas. very heath-
enish. The man was not fit to 11:0
end 11' Jack had met him out in true i
t'ri1ds, lin would huve n,>.u,tedly blest
him on sight.
• Ile walked down South A:udioy
Street, looking about him, though ha 1
felt certain that the man had esdaped,
and that only a chance, to h w 'hot
which Ile had lost; would bring hint
Ines to face with him again; but, if
such a chance should occur, Jack told
himself that the man would not be
permitted to escape a second time.
At the end of the street he turned
to the right and walked on aimlessly,
still keeping n sharp lookout. Sud-
denly to his delight, he saw the man
passing the end of the aided. Jack
slipped into a doorway and thought
for a moment, If he followed, the
ranger, with the start he had, would
be sure to outrun him; so Jack, with
the cunning of the backwoodsman,
struck the street parallel to the one
which the ranger had entered, and.
running down 11, turned the corner
and waited, ready to spring upon the
man as he passed. He set his teeth
and gathered himself together for
the spring, for he knew that it would
be a hard struggle; but the seconds
grew into minutes and his prey did
not appear, Very cautiously, keep-
ing in the shadow of the houses,
Jack stole to the corner of the street.
It was empty; there was no one in
sight. Not a little startled and' sur-
prised, Jack hid in a doorway and
considered' the situation. It was evi-
dent the ranger had entered one of
the houses: but which? It was a long
street, and Jack could not very well
knock at every door and enemies-, if
a tall, dark man had entered. There
was nothing to be done but wait and
watch on the chance of the man't re-
appearance.
If he could have been in the street
a minute earlier, he would have been
in time to see the ranger knock at
the door of No. 14. It was opened
by Levett, and before he said a word,
the ranger, slipping in, closed it
quickly.
"Is Iter. Selby Layton in?" he ask-
ed.
Ther astonished and indignant Lev-
ett replied that he would go and see.
"That means that he is," said the
ranger. "Don't you trouble to an.
pounce ane. I'll go straight up to
him. 'Pin an old friend;" and he
sprang •up the stairs before the out-
raged Levett could Intercept bite,
even if lid had intended doing so.
Selby Layton was lying back in
the casiast of easy-chnira," smoking
a cigar and readseg "the lust minor
pout. The room was "the picture of .
comfort and bachelor luxury; the
furniture was Chippendale, exeoptins;' ,
the easy chair, which was far to
comfortable for that elegant but sev-
ere styli'; the decorations and hong-
Mee were in the beet taste; the water -
ohms on the walls were, good ex-
amples of modern masters; there was
a Rini -grand piano by Broadwood;
there were flowers on tali tables and
cabinets, and it rosewood book -case
zil took one of tilt choice Ilavant,s,
filled his ioekots with
hor' t
I t cnari
nde '
pill looked at'thc silver box longing.
lye esif he would like to put that in,
Ws pocket else, but placed it, with
'stalked reluctance, on the table.
„And how have' you been, and
where have you been, my dear Den-
zil?" asked Selby Layton, "I thought
you weds in Australia."
"Yon aneallou wishedI "
Y wa s,
said Denzil, as be lit bis cigar end"
anew lihnself back with an insolent.
air of self-assurance, "But I'm not;
Tin• bore in London, you see."
(Continued Next Weeic.)
BUSINESS OASSS
filled with volumes in choice and ex- — --
pensive bindings. Mr, Layton had
taken off bis dress -coat and deleted
a light and comfortable dressing -
gown, and looked serene and puttee -
al and altogether at his ease.'
But all his serenity and ease fled
as the door opened and the tall, dark
man stood and glowered at hint. Sel-
by Layton forced a sickly snide, and
rose with an attempt at welcome.
"Alt, Denzil!" he said. "How do
you do?"
His voice shook slightly and his
affectation at heartiness would not
have deceived an infant, Denzil clos-
ed the door, and, taking no notice of
Selby Layton's proffered hand, sank
into the easy chair from which hie
host had risen, drew a long breath,
and wiped the perspiration from hes
face with an angry, impatient ges-
ture.
"1 suppose if I hadn't come up,
you'd have told that lying hound you
weren't at home?" he said.
"My dear Denzil, : how unjust!"
said Selby Layton. "I came back
from the country on purpose to meet
you. You, seem hot. What is that
on your face—surely not blood?"
"Very likely," said Denzil, curtly.
"I had a row with a drunken beast
just now. And I ant hot; give me a
drink, sharp!"
Selby Layton was about to ring
the bell, but thought better of it, and
got out some soda and whisky from
a chastelooking cabinet.
"Say when, my dear Denzil," he
said. e, .
Denzil said "when" as the glass
was half full, and taking the tumbler
before Layton could add the soda -
water, drank off the neat spirit.
"Ah, that's better! Now you can
give me a long think and a cigar."
Selby Layton mixed the drink and
handed the silver -gilt cigar box. Den -
HE Industrial, Mortgage and
Savings Gompany,'of Sarnia
Ontario. are prepared to advanoe money on
hlortgnges ou good lands, Pnrtlee dnstr,ng
amney on lhrfn.mnr1FnR'gen willplees,e apply to.:
Jamas COMM,oafarth (nit., who w1)1 fur.
Disk rate,; and other particulars.
Tho industrial Mortgaro
and Sawingo Oompany
ez A .'$'db" - e%1 r .'•l+w�l'rtf GLJro "&°
AGENT FOR
Fire, Automobile and Wind ins,
COMPANIES
For Brusnots and vicinity Phone
JAMES M'EADZEAN.
Agent Dowick Mutual Fire Insurance Company
A18o
Hartford Windstorm and Tornado insurance
Phone 42 Son 1 TurnberryStreet, Brussels
JNO, SUTHERLAND & SONS
LIMITED
GVIS6PH QJ'''g'S/Sle
D. M, SCOTT
krl6d.Gi'Ji°8ililtiVriEWERS
FRiOES MODERATE
For references consult any person whose sales
1ho-es officiated at. Phone 28241
T. T. M'IME
M.B„M.C-P.,d,S.C.
M. 0. H-, Village of 13rusaela.
Physician, Surgeon, Accoeohenr
Oince at residence, opposite Melville Church,
William corset,
DR. WARDLgW
Honor graduate of the Ontario Veterinary
nonege. Div end night calls. O18oe opposite
!"Beer Mill, Ethet,
Wfi. eYIa & ware
BARRISTER, SOLICITOR,
CONVEYANCER, NOTARY PUBLIC
LECKIE BLOCK BRUSSELS
Evidently this big star of Uaiversal's
is not eetieflcd witit the publicity she is
cetting.
The seaien'a latest (awns are
arta on ranee at Ch. Prince of
Wale. Theatre. Landon,
Z
Viscount, a percheron/
stallion two-year-old, out of
Maata,rtiein by Tankress.
bred by George Lane and.,,
Company, photographed at
the Canadian Pacific cant
cid stank yot,ls, Montreal,
where it is awaiting .ship
meat to South Africa for
Government breeding "par.
Pones.
At the wedding of
Mist Elsie Kipling,
the daughter of the
great poet, to Cap-
tain George Barn -
bridge, at St. Mar-
garet's Church, woet-
ratnater. The bride
and bridegroom.
5.
>as
w 1, . 4,r X: ,;.
This in not tl,, chapel of a cathedral, It Is iaerely'a phota-
arapit-af- the interior of the new Canadian retitle Station
at Three Rivers, Quebec.
Rose Huntington `lchraater, hewn
annotate:1 director of the Ctnadis.!,
Pacific Railway
11
Mibi pferedce Le metal, the Iorely ttngilol, mega and
erase» ether, it1.8 b haw feateotng as "LOA a' Lt4,ghtet”
an nrootltray, 2440 tick,
Stanley
hidwln in a l=ent) `M