Show 53 HOT ALL DROSS — g— n la hia father- but the General would have made considerable sacrifice to cover what he knew was treachery to liis generous patron providing he obtained the entire ownership for which ho had bo long plotted Sir Richard Courtney would not compromise his and he and Sir Edmund wealthy brother-in-laTemplar still declared that they would redeem the mortgage by involving their own estates “rather than allow the Blakely s to press the matter to such a consummation The General much en- raged gave up the point to bide the time when th'd D’Lacy should not ho so powThe time he hoped erfully bucked would sooner or later come and he calmuch culated He upon its probability instructed his son in his very last charge not to precipitate the on liis death-beissue' but to seize the most fdvdrable opportunity and at all cost and Without scruple secure the Ownership of the estates to the Blakelts Such an opportunity soon offered through the death of Sir Edmund Templar who left his son W alter to the d sole guardianship of ' his Sir uncle Richard This time Sir Herbert considered the gamd sure and Sir Richard would have been! Compelled to have accepted the conditions proposed had it not been for his impetuous nephew young Sir Walter When lawyer Wortley again iriade the proposal to Sir Richard which had beeii Write before made by General Blakely in person the boy Sir Walter Templar arid young Lord Frederick D’Lacy were at school6 Courtney wrote to the yoiiths informing them of the crisis and also wrote to the Reverend Ddctor Horn for a leave of absence for liis wards Had Sir Walter Templar been moulded d militarvtype of character and been lippointecTby destiny to command armies he tvould have won his battles with the His volcanic narapidity of Napoleon e ture would have forced victory by sur-Jiris- and the overwhelming velocity of No sooner was his design his movements conceived than executed with all the intensity and forcefulness of his character It was not in his nature to strike a light Ho planted it wittrall his might blow aud his irresistible rapidity was bewildering to those whb stood iu his way Caesar’3 sublime egotism would have been appropriate iu the mouth of Sir Walter Templar: “ I came!— I saw! I conquered!” “ Fred we snail be at Courtney House in the morning” said young Sir Walter as his friend ended reading the letter to him He had decided that point before the first half a dozen sentences were read in which he gathered at a grasp the whole matter ‘‘That is impossible” replied young Lord Frederick “We cannot start until the morning” “ We start Fred My dear fellow' you can ride seventy miles for such a stake I start Fred” “ Yes I can ride the distance well must we the but till mornistay enough ng Walter” “Not another hour Fred So let us Wo tan obtain don our riding clothesa pair of splendid hunters at the ‘Couch and Horses’” “ But it is now six in the evening We cannot reach Cotrrtney House without a change of horse's” “Which we shall obtain at Bath at Mathew Strong was the Goldon Lion coachman of my father and for Walter Templar he will not grudgingly leave his bed Boride we shall reach Bath before twelve’ to “ Doctor Ilnru will surely riot consent let us start “ We shall not ask his consent Fred “ Will it be proper to leave our kind master We so churlishly Walter ? ” would t not did I not know ho tvould oppose our starting and as he will oppose U3 I shall not ask his leave” “ Still I would sooner not good man Walter” would I Fred” Offend the “ ’Then let us stay till the morning” You make me angry Fred to talk so when your family estates are' under the hammer of the auctioneer” “ But your uncle Sir Richard will do all that can be done in the matter What can we do Waltet that he can- not accomplish ? ” “ What can we do Frederick D’Lacy? Do you ask wliat can Sir Walter Templar do in wrestiirig for liis brother ? ” impetuously aud proudly demanded the youth “ You have seen me in a wrestle Fred dash my antagonist to tho earth ? Thus will I dash the supplantcr of your family to the ground — aye and stamp the life out of the villiair if he provokes me liiuoh more” said the boy fiercely There was something almost ferocious in Walter Templars love and instincts of protection towards Fred who was to him as a younger orphan brother left to an elder brother possessing power and a large inheritance Walter had grown to arrogate a sort of a superior right even to Fred to battle for the D’Laeys just as though he really had been Fred’s Indeed elder brother the boy had conn? to the conclusion that if anything he possessed a higher right than even his uncle to act where liis friend Fred He had held an agreewas concerned ment with his uncle upon this point to prove that between him aud Fred’s father Sir Richard stood first but between Walter Templar the nephew of the father’s friend and Fred the son of the uncle’s friend W alter Templar stood first ’Twas the claim and argument of friendTo Sir Richard of course it was ship allpowerful and he approvingly gave up the point to his nephew “ But what do you propose ' to do Walter?” asked the young D’Lacy as tho groom of the “Coacli and horses” saddled a pair of ‘beautiful steeds which as lsual with him in everything he had forced from the landlord at a handsome price that could not be resisted “What do you propose Walter? For the life of me I cannot imagine What is it you can do ? ” “ I shall not tell you !” “ iSTow that is unkind” “ No Freil” “ Why wont you tell me ?” “ Because you will oppose it” “ Will Sir Richard oppose it Walter ?” “‘Most likely” “ Then you ought not to do it “ There you see I was not unkind but only right in not telling you for In you are opposing without knowing this Iwill have my own way: So to horse Fred and for Courtney House” Fred mounted laughingly observing: As if Walter Templar did not always have his own way” CHAPTER VIH “ Checkmated: On the morning alter the impetuous boy Walter Templar with youug Lord Frederick so abrnptl’y left the academy of ihe Reverned Dr Horn and started for the counting house Sir Richard was' closeted with lawyer Wortley tho agetil bf Sir Herbert “ My dear Sir Richard you rnurit acknowledge the terms are most genbrous Well well I see you dont like the phrase : say iu a business point of View most liberal One hundred and fifty thousand pounds as the bonus ! Positively a gift Now my dear Sir Richard I did not say it was more than an act of moral justice to the D’Lacys” “ Lawyer Wortley I beg you to fern ember that I understand the ihniter thoroughly” somewhat haughtily replied “ It is the necessity” ho Sir Richard continued “ that we have to Consider” “ Yes yes just so Sir RichaM I thought you would see it in that light ’Nothing could be clearer You ac- knowledge the necessity Sir Richafd?” “ I observed lawyer Wortley that wo had to consider the necessity ol the trains-fof the D’Laey estate with full owu- I will ership to Sir Herbert Blakely not condescend to treat the matter iu view of the means by which the Blakelfa obtained their present advantage and will grant that if the estates must be s61d I would not from my antipathy td tho purchaser deprive young Lord Frederick of so handsome a sum as you offer:” “ Quite a fortune Sir Richard is it not ? 0f course lid other purchaser would give it The’ estates are d to their full value” put in tho lawyer urging the issue for upon hia er mbrt-gage- success was placed a handsome fee: The servant brought in the morning letters which for a moment interrupted business between Sir Richard and the lawyer Courtney had been trying to negotiate the transfer of the estates into the harids of his own bankers: One of the letters brought was the alriswer from the firm stating that ffie Company would be most happy to oblige Sir Richard they had no doubt of its being a etc but Could uot good investment just at that mortfent invest in the matter so large a sum: Such was the pith of the answer The Baronet had tried ho considered his last resource to save tho estates of his dead friend: “ Well Wortley” he said sadly “you have us at an advantage hud I cannot clearly see an alternative” “You accept the handsome offer Sir Richard?” the lawyer asked eagerly “lam very glad we have come to so amicable an understanding “ Sir Richard Courtney will regret tho offer of Sir Herbert Blakely” And tho boy Walter Templar who had beard tho last remarks of liis uncle and the’ lawyer strode proudly into the robin: “ Good heavens ! Hbvfr Wry improper! Oh yes I see ! Young Lord Frederick of course ! Yes yes quite extus&blo my dear Sir Richard !” interjected tho lawyer bewildered by astonishment at the strong and haughty manner and speech of the boy For a moment Sir Richard frbtvf&d upon his nephew but it gave place to a smile of approbatiou and welcome He understood the character 6f Walter and knew that his presuming to asver for him had not the most distant meaning of presumption or disrespect for himself whom the impetuous boy venerated as a father It was only a strong illustration of the strong forccfuL nature of Walter who like a volcaW threw out his lara tide without even anger against that which it consumed Its internal forco gave the fury of tho external expression According to its nature tho majostio Hon is geptle when it roars and the voice of thunder is a soft voica of tftr r |