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Show CLOTHING I AUTHOR of- "THE LOME I ! L0W5'J05EPH V mwV7?? DRAS5 VrVfN VL COPYRIGHT BY L0UI5 JOifPtf VANC LYDIA CRAVEN LEARNS SOME AMAZING FACTS ABOUT HER FAMILY HISTORY AND HER FATHER EXPLAINS EX-PLAINS THE NATURE CF HIS MYSTERIOUS BUSINESS SYNOPIS. A well-bred young Knglishwoman, nervous and suspicious, sus-picious, finds when she hoards the steamer Alsatia, hound from Liverpool Liv-erpool to New York, that her stateroom mate Is Mrs. Amelia lieggar-s lieggar-s lu IT, a fascinating, wealthy American widow of about sixty years. The girl Introduces herself as Lucy Carteret and says she is going to America to meet her father. Lucy's behavior puzzles Mrs. Iieggar-stalV, Iieggar-stalV, who is vastly surprised to find the girl in possession of a magnificent mag-nificent necklace, stolen from a museum some time previously and passes the news on to her friend, Quoin, a private detective on board. Lucy, dressing in the dark in her stateroom, hears a mysterious conversation con-versation between two men just outside her window and recognizes one of them as Thaddeus Craven, her father, whom she hasn't seen for five years. She confesses to Mrs. Boggarstaff that she is in reality Lydia Craven, goes on deck, and searching around, discovers her father fa-ther milking love to Mrs. Merrilees, wealthy, beautiful young widow and friend of Mrs. Iieggarstaff. They and Lydia are much surprised. Mrs. Merrilees has just promised to marry Craven, but he has always posed as a bachelor and this fact she doesn't relish, i CHAPTER V. 6 In humor as radiant as that of a child presented with a long-coveted plaything, Craven returned to find his daughter as he had left her, alone. "Lydia ! My dear, dear girl !" She yielded without struggle to his embrace, instantly supple to the spell of that blind and unquestioning devotion devo-tion which never before that night had wavered from his image. In those firms the old enchantment regained full power, doubts and misgivings were all forgotten. Craven became to her once more the most splendid of men, nd the handsomest, dearest of fathers. fa-thers. And then he was holding her by the shoulders at arm's length looking her fondly up and down, wagging an indulgent indul-gent head. "The saints preserve us ! But you've blossomed out into a woman, wom-an, Liddy, my dear, to turn the heads of half the world! As tall as your old dad, as sweet as cherry blossoms, as lovely as the break of a day in .Tune! It's like seeing your mother again, the way she was the day we were married though she was only eighteen then, and now you're more than twenty ! God forgive 'em, but the years have magicked me into an old man before my time ! The father of a woman like yourself I can't believe be-lieve It!" "You haven't aged a day, daddy dear." Craven would have none of that. "It's of grandchildren I must be thinking think-ing now. Don't hang your pretty head : let me look my fill of my girl ! Lut you might be so good as to tell me how it comes you're here. If you dropped from the skies " "Surely you know, daddy," the girl protested. "I ran away I had to. You know why." "Devil fly away with me if I do !" "But I wrote you about it, everything, every-thing, from the very beginning; and when you didn't answer, I thought there was nothing left for me but to run away." "I tell you, Liddy, I've not heard a word from you for months!" His manner carried conviction credulous thrall that she was to the magic of that dear, carneying tongue! "You didn't get my letters?" "Never one. If I hadn't been the busiest man alive these last three months, I'd have written to ask what was the matter. Not that I worried Mrs. Hicks-Lorrimer's letters were regular reg-ular and reassuring." An ominous gleam informed the eyes of the girl. "Then she stole them !" "Who stole what?" "My letters to you Mrs. Hicks-Lorrl-mer must have stolen them !" "My dear girl, be fair to her!" "If my letters didn't reach you, someone must have intercepted them. One might have gone astray by itself, yes ; but it isn't likely five would." "Lydia, I don't get this at all." "Y'ou knew that woman wanted me to marry a man I didn't love?" "She wrote me you w:ere about to become engaged to young what's-his-name Keyes ; gave a good account of him. I wrote to you at the time." "That was three months ago. I haven't heard from you since. Her later letters must have told you I had refused him." "They didn't. She said the thing was hanging fire young Keyes a bit backward about coming forward. He must have been blind! Y'ou don't ni'-an to tell me it's fallen th-ough?" "I mean to toll you." the girl cried, passionately, "I didn't like htm! One of Mrs. nicks-Lorrimer's tame cats ! He may have money and family, as she claimed I don't know but he's abominable, and I loathe him ! And she wouldn't let me alone. I stood her Incessant nagging till I thought I'd go mad. Worst of all, my letters to you got no answers, save indirectly I mean, she said it was your wish I should marry him." "I never said that," Craven observed thoughtfully. "I did say that, if it was your wish and for your happiness, I gave my consent gladly. It wouldn't lie like me, would it, to wish unhappi-ness unhappi-ness to my own flesh and blood?" "No it wasn't like you : that's why I didn't understand. It it seemed as if you'd turned against me." "Liddy dear !" "Oh, I know I was wrong; but what could I think? Xou wouldn't write. But I knew if I could see and talk to you, I could make you understand. So I pawned some things some of your presents and got enough money for my passage. And now " Her voice was breaking. Craven passed an arm round her and drew her close to him. "There, my dear girl, there !" "And now I'm in your way !" "Lydia !" He had lost none of his old-time trick of quieting her with a show of righteous indignation. "You've no right to talk like that to your old daddy!" "What am I to think? I surprise you making love you are angry with me -" "Not angry, dearie, but so surprised I was hardly myself. Do be quiet now for a time, and let me do the talking. Listen, and learn never to judge a man hastily. Has it never struck you how little you really know about our family history?" "How often have I asked you " "Ah, but that was long ago, when you were ah too young to understand. under-stand. I never meant to keep you permanently per-manently inj the dark. In the first place, you've always believed yourself the child of American parents." "But surely" the girl expostulated. "Mrs. Grummle told me " "What she believed, too, no doubt. The truth is, your mother was an American Amer-ican ; but I'm British to the marrow of me. Craven's a good English name, you know. Not that it matters. I cut away from my people forever when they tried to prevent my marrying the woman I loved, an American girl who'd taken to the stage and somehow drifted to London. Well, we defied the family, and it disowned me, and I went on the stage with my wife. When you were born yes, ;n Mrs. Griim-mle's. Griim-mle's. Bloomsbury our combined pay didn't run to anything much. Most of the time one of us was out of a job. Still, we were happy enough till we went to America." He was silent for several minutes, apparently lost in memories. Lydia, fearing to interrupt, waited in mute fascination. Something of this history she had guessed ; much she might have guessed from words, hints, clues, carelessly sown in the past; but little or nothing had she ever known definitely. "You weren't a strong child, and we feared the effect on you of the Atlantic voyage. Besides, our engagement was to last eight weeks only. So we left you in Mrs. Grummle's care. Five weeks after we reached New York your mother came down with typhoid. A month later she died ; and when I had paid funeral expenses I was penniless pen-niless in a strange land, our company had gone back home, and my chance of ever seeing England again was tu earn enough money for my return passage. pas-sage. I wrote Mrs. Grummle to look out for you, and But this isn't a hard-luck story. Ultimately I left the stage for employment more attractive and better paid; but it meant permanent perma-nent residence in America. However, nothing called me back to England, since you were in good hands. I think we may say that for Mrs. Grummle." "She was always kind," Lydia affirmed af-firmed gently. "When I could afford a trip back to England, I found you in the best of condition, and it seemed hardly right to uproot and transplant you to a bachelor establishment in a strange country. Moreover, my new -York, you see, had divorced me wholly from my stage associations, and none of my : new friends knew anything about me before I came to Ihem. properly introduced, intro-duced, and I was careful not to excite , their curiosity for reasons that will , appear. So 1 never mentioned your existence. This reticence grew into u habit as years went on. And when Mrs. Gruuiinle died I had come to I think it best for you to attain woman- hood in England, and if possible marry j some decent Englishman. i i "Well a substitute had t-- b? fr.unrt for Mrs. Grummle. Mrs. HickvLr.rri-mer HickvLr.rri-mer presented tile strongest credentials. creden-tials. I can only say I'm sorry she i turned out badly and surprised. That, however, Is well over and done with, j Henceforward you live with me." i "Oh, daddy, daddy dear! You ' mean it? I'm not in the way?" j "It would have been better if this , could have been postponed a few I weeks," Craven returned without en- ! thusiasm. "But there is no helping what mischief has been done " "But surely, daddy, you can explain to her " Lydia faltered. He silenced her with a gesture effective ef-fective if a shade theatric, and walked with her to a closed hatch, where they seated themselves. "But I" "Hear me first, if you please, Lydia. Although your father, I'm by no means an old man. And love is paramount ! When you come to me and say, 'I love this man,' whosoever he may bet I sha'n't interfere even as now, when you say, 'I can't love this man,' I refrain re-frain from insisting. Mrs. Merrilees and I love each other. She pays me a great compliment ; for I'm fifteen years her senior. I can't permit my daughter " "But if you will only listen to me !" "Well?" Craven demanded severely. "I haven't 'the least desire to colne between you and Mrs. Merrilees. I think she's very lovely, and I wish you both every happiness." "That is my own dear girl !" Clipping Clip-ping her face between his palms, he lifted it to receive his kiss. "I only meant," the girl resumed, "I hoped you could make her understand, as you have me, by explaining " "Make your mind easy. There's been no real harm done. I've already received her assurance that our relations rela-tions will continue as before. She understands if not as fully as you do Ml "This Is a Great Secret, Dear Girl. Guard It as You Would Your Life." now. If I told her all that I've just told you, she might ask questions I couldn't answer; not, at least, until she is my wife, perhaps not then. Surely you must realize that your faith has taken a great deal on trust. You have refrained from putting a question that, with Mrs. Merrilees, would take the form of a demand What is the nature of this business of mine to which I have referred but never named?" "You will tell me when you think I should know, daddy." - "I'm quite sure you oughtn't to know," he said gravely; "but I'm quite sure you've got to, if our relation, are to continue in love and trust. Moreover, I know I can trust you, and, were I to keep you in ignorance, much might happen that you wouldn't understand, under-stand, that might make you doubt, misjudge, mis-judge, mistrust me. Y'ou may on occasion occa-sion see m in conference with strange men, of f class I'd normally have nothing i'i common with. Y'ou'll have to become accustomed to my keeping strange hours and help me keep them secret. You may even hear odd wdiis-pers wdiis-pers about me rumors that I'm not altogether what I seem. Well, they'll be justified; for I'm not. New York knowi me as a feather-brained fashionable, fash-ionable, with a decent income from the rea. estate business I maintain as a blind. I'm ashamed to have no object in existence other than amiable idling. Whereas, in reality " Though their solitude was absolute, Craven came closer to his daughter and lowered his voice: "This is a great secret, dear girl. Guard it as you would your life. I'm in charge of the secret diplomatic service representing Downing Street in the United States!" Does it seem to you that the nature of Tad Craven's work as a British secret service man Justifies Jus-tifies his posing as a bachelor for many years and his treatment treat-ment of Lydia? (TO BE CONTINUED.)' |