it is a great blessing that the future is hidden from our anxious eyes, otherwise, to use a familiar expression, we would go out in a coach and four to meet our troubles. if keith stewart had only known that the detective suspected him of the murder of lazarus, and was surely but slowly finding out strong evidence in favour of such a presumption, he, no doubt, would have been much troubled. but he thought that naball's hints at the interview were not worth thinking about, for, strong in the belief of his own innocence, such an idea of his being accused of the crime never entered his mind.
in spite of the disagreeable event which had occurred, keith felt very happy on this night. he was young, he had a good sum of money in the bank, the gift of some beneficent fairy, he was going to make his début as a dramatic author, and, above all, he was going to see eugénie again. therefore, as he sat at dinner, his heart was merry, and to him the future looked bright and cheerful. things seemed so pleasant that, with the sanguine expectations of youth, he began to build castles in the air.
"if this burlesque's a success," he thought, "i'll write a novel, and save every penny i make; then i'll go to london, after marrying eugénie, and see if i can't make a name there--with perseverance i'm bound to do it."
poor youth, he did not know the difficulty of making a name in london; he was quite unaware that the literary market was overstocked, and that many criticisms depend on the state of the critic's liver. he did not know any of these things, so he went on eating his dinner and building castles in the air, all of which buildings were inhabited by eugénie.
from these pleasant dreams he was aroused by the entrance of the housemaid, a fat young person, who breathed hard, and rolled up to keith, puffing and panting like a locomotive.
"if you please," said the young lady, "the man."
"what man?" asked keith sharply.
"he's waiting to see you," returned the housemaid stolidly.
from experience keith knew it was useless to expect sense from the housemaid, so he got up from the table and went out to the front-door, where a bundle, with a head at one end and a pair of boots at the other, held out a letter.
"for me?" asked keith, taking it.
the bundle sniffed in an affirmative manner, so stewart opened the letter and read it quickly. it only contained a line from naball that if he heard of any new development of the case he would let keith know, so that young gentleman, wondering why the detective took the trouble to write to him slipped the letter in his pocket, and nodded to the bundle.
"all right," he said quickly; "no answer," and he shut the door in the bundle's face, whereupon the bundle sniffed.
"i know him now," said mr. tulch to himself in a husky voice, as he walked away. "i'd know 'im if he was dooplicated twice h'over." having come to this satisfactory conclusion, mr. tulch took up his position a short distance away, and began his dreary task of watching the house.
and it was dreary work. the long hot day was over, and the long hot night had begun. it was just a quarter past seven, and the sky was a cloudless expanse of darkish blue, blazing with stars; a soft wind was whispering among the leaves of the trees, and making little whirls of white dust in the road. every now and then a gay party of men and women on their way to some amusement would pass the spy, but he remained passively at his post, watching the sun-blistered varnished door of vance's boarding-house. at last his patience was rewarded, for, somewhere about half-past seven, keith came hurriedly out, and sped rapidly down the street.
"what's he arter?" sniffed mr. tulch, stretching his cramped limbs. "i'll 'ave to ketch 'im h'up," and he rolled as quickly as he was able after the tall figure of the young man.
a tram came along, and, without stopping it, keith jumped on the dummy--the spy, breathless with running, sprang on the step of the end car and got inside, keeping his eye on keith. the tram car went rapidly along flinders street, stopping every now and then to pick up or drop passengers, at which keith seemed impatient. at last spencer street station was reached, and keith sprang out; so did tulch, keeping close to his heels.
stewart walked impatiently up and down one of the long platforms, which shortly began to fill with people expecting their friends. the shrill whistle of an approaching engine was heard, a red light suddenly appeared, advancing rapidly, and presently the long train, with its lighted carriages, drew up inside the station.
such a hurry-scurry; people jumping out of the train to meet those pressing forward on the platform, porters calling to one another, boxes, rugs, portmanteaus, bundles, all strewing the ground--a babel of voices, and at intervals the shrill whistle of a departing train.
amid all this confusion tulch missed keith, and was in a terrible state, for he knew what naball would say. he dived hither and thither among the crowd with surprising activity, and at last came in sight of stewart putting a young lady into a cab, in front of which was the luggage. he tried to hear the address given the cabman, but was unsuccessful, so he rapidly jumped into another cab and told him to follow. the cabby obeyed at once, and whipping up his horse, which was a remarkably good one, he easily kept the first cab in sight.
the front cab drove up collins street as far as the treasury buildings, and then turned off to the left, going towards fitzroy. it stopped at the buttercup hotel, in gertrude street, and, stewart alighting, helped the young lady out; then the luggage was taken care of by the porter of the hotel, and keith, with his charge, vanished through the swing doors of the private entrance.
on seeing this, tulch dismissed his cab, went into the bar of an hotel on the opposite side of the street, and, ordering a pint of beer, sat watching the door of the buttercup hotel.
meanwhile keith and eugénie had been shown into a private room, and the landlady, a stout, buxom woman, in a silk dress and lace cap, made her appearance.
"miss rainsford?" she said interrogatively, advancing towards the girl.
"yes," replied eugénie brightly. "you are mrs. scarth, i suppose. did you get mrs. proggins' letter?"
"oh, yes, that's all right," replied the landlady, nodding. "your room is ready, and i will do anything i can for you. mrs. proggins is an old friend of mine, and i'm only too happy to oblige her."
"thank you," said eugénie, taking off her hat. "let me introduce mr. stewart to you; he kindly came to the station to meet me."
mrs. scarth nodded with a smile, for mrs. proggins had informed her of the relationship between the two young people, then observing she would go and order some tea for eugénie, sailed majestically out of the room.
"why did you introduce me to that old thing?" asked keith, in a discontented tone.
"policy, my dear," replied eugénie mildly. "mrs. proggins wrote to her to look after me, and i'm very glad, otherwise a young lady with you as escort would hardly have found shelter for the night in this place. i always like to be in favour with the powers that be."
eugénie rainsford was a tall, dark-complexioned girl, with clearly cut features and coils of black hair twisted round the top of her well-shaped head. she was dressed in a blue serge costume, with a red ribbon round her throat, and another round her waist. a handsome girl with a pleasant smile, and there was a look in her flashing dark eyes which showed that she had a will of her own. keith stood beside her, as fair as she was dark, and a handsomer couple could not have been found in melbourne.
"well, here i am at last. keith," said eugénie, slipping her arm through his. "aren't you pleased to see me?"
"very," replied stewart emphatically; "let me look at you--ah, you are more beautiful than ever."
"what delightful stories you do tell," said eugénie with a blush. "i wish i could believe them; now, my friend, let me return the compliment by looking at you."
she took his face between her hands and looked at it keenly beneath the searching glare of the gas, then shook her head.
"you are much paler than you used to be," she said critically. "there are dark circles under your eyes, deep lines down the side of your mouth, and your face looks haggard. is it work, or--or the other thing?"
"do you mean dissipation, eugénie?" said keith, with a smile, taking a seat. "well, i expect i have been rather dissipated, but now you are here i'll be a good boy."
"have you been worried?" asked miss rainsford.
keith sighed.
"yes; very much worried over this terrible case. i suppose you've seen all about it?"
eugénie nodded.
"yes; i've read all about it in the papers. now i suppose you've nothing to do?"
"no--not that i care much--you see i've got this burlesque coming off, and then there's that money."
"the five hundred pounds," said miss rainsford reflectively. "have you found out who sent you that?"
"no; i can't imagine who did so, unless it was caprice."
"caprice!"
"yes," replied keith hurriedly, flushing a little; "the actress i told you about, who is going to play the principal part in 'faust upset.'"
"oh!"
it was all the comment miss rainsford made, but there was a world of meaning in the ejaculation.
"from what i've heard of the lady, i don't think it's likely," she said quietly.
"well, at all events, i suppose i'd better use the money."
"yes; i suppose so."
"you're not very encouraging, eugénie," said her lover angrily.
"well," observed the girl deliberately, "if you think this money came from caprice, i certainly would not touch it. why don't you ask her?"
"i can't; she's been so disagreeable to me lately."
"oh!"
eugénie rainsford was of a very jealous temperament, and she began to feel vaguely jealous of this actress whom keith seemed to know so well. she remained silent for a few moments, during which keith felt somewhat awkward. he was not in love with kitty, nor, as far as he knew, was she in love with him, yet he saw that some instinct had warned eugénie against this woman.
"come, eugénie," said keith, putting his arm round her slender waist; "you mustn't be angry with me the first night we meet."
"i'm not angry," said the girl, turning her face towards him; "but i'd like to see this caprice."
"so you shall, dear--on the stage."
"why not in private?"
keith frowned, and pulled his moustache in a perplexed manner.
"well, she's hardly a fit person for a girl to see."
"pshaw!" replied eugénie impatiently; "i'm not a girl, but a woman, and am not afraid of anything like that, and besides--besides," with hesitation, "i'm going to see her."
"what do you mean?" asked keith, abruptly withdrawing his arm.
"nothing; only i saw an advertisement in the paper wanting a governess for a little girl. i answered it, and found it was miss marchurst who wanted a governess. she engaged me, and i'm going there to-morrow."
"no, no," cried keith vehemently; "you must not--you shall not go."
eugénie raised her eyes to his.
"have you any reason for wishing me not to go?"
"yes, every reason--she's a bad lot."
"i thought you knew her?"
"so i do, but men may know women of that class, and women like you may not."
"i don't agree with you," said eugénie, rising; "what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and if you persist in wishing me not to go, i'll begin to think you've some reason."
"i have none except what i've stated," said keith doggedly.
"then i'll go to-morrow," replied eugénie quietly; "at all events, i've got the right to have a personal interview, whether i take the situation or not."
"you must not see her."
"that decides it," said eugénie composedly; "i will."
"eugénie, don't go, or i'll begin to think you don't trust me."
"yes, i do, but--but you've been so much with this caprice lately, that i want to see her."
"i don't care two straws about her."
"i know that, but i wish to see her."
"you intend to go?"
"i do."
keith snatched up his hat and stick.
"then i'll say good-bye," he said angrily; "if you disregard my wishes so much, you can't love me."
"yes, i can!"
"you are jealous of this confounded woman."
"perhaps i am."
keith looked at her angrily for a moment--then dashed out of the room, whereon eugénie burst out laughing.
"what a dear old boy he is," she said to herself; "he thinks i'm jealous. well," with a frown, "perhaps i am. i wonder, if he knew that i gave him the five hundred pounds, what he'd say? he doesn't know that i'm a rich woman now, so i can test his love for me. i'm sure he's as true as steel."
she picked up her hat, and, going over to the mirror, leaned her elbows on the mantelpiece, looked searchingly at her beautiful face.
"are you jealous, you foolish woman?" she said, with a laugh. "yes, my dear, you are; at all events, you'll see your rival to-morrow. i'm afraid i'll make keith a dreadful wife," she said, with a sigh, turning away. "for i think every woman is in love with him. poor keith, how angry he was!"
she burst out laughing, and left the room.
