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PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT. I Love Finds the Clue. By BEN BOLT, Author of "A Bride From the West," A Modern Delilah," &c., &c. ECOPY R I CHT.] CHAPER I. Sir George Beckett looked at the yonng man standing by his study mantelpiece, and his eyes were full of sympathy; neverthe- less, he shook his head. "I am sorry, lloger; but I must say 'no.' It would not be fair to Marjory if I did otherwise. She does not understand what Euch a marriage would mean. She is tender- hearted as I know full well, being her father, and she has romantic inclinations, though heaven knows where she gets them from, not from me certainly; but it is my duty to stand between her and the unhappiness these things might bring upon her." Unhappiness, Sir George!" Roger Arling- ton's face had flushed at the word, and there was a strong note of protest in the exclama- tion. The baronet nodded. "That was the word I used, Itoger, and I mean it. You tell me Marjory loves you and that she is willing to share with you the genteel poverty of Arling- ton Manor. It is just what I should expect of her; for I know my little girl; but I must remind you of the old saying about love fly- ing out at the window when poverty comes in at the door. Poverty is already in full possession at Arlington, as we both know, and a wife won't make it any better, unless you have the good sense to marry one of those American heiresses, or .the daughter of a Manchester cotton lord, who will have sufficient money to bring prosperity to the Manor. Marjory won't have that or any- thing like it, and, as you know, Wykeburn passes on to my nephew on my decease. So I say that it is best for both Marjory and yourself that we should forget what you have asked me this morning and put it out of mind altogether." "But, Sir George-- The baronet lifted his hand impatiently. "Better hear me out, Roger. I owe it to Marjory to look after her material interests, and it is your duty to think first of Arling- ton and make a marriage j ha will retrieve its fortunes. Take my advice, lad, put love out of your head, look round for one of those women who want a position in the county, and who have the money to buy it; there; are plenty of them in the voi-](i, piid then your son will burn incense to your memory." Sir Geo-ge laughed lightly as he gave this worldly advice, but a wry look came on Roger Arlington's face. "I would never sell myself in that way, Sir George," he cried impetuously, "not even to save Arlington." Then you'll lose it, lad, unless you have tho luck to find the Arlington treasure." I am afraid that is beyond hope," answered the young man quietly. The baronet nodded his head in agreement. "I think you are right there; so the best thing for you to do is to take my advice. marry a girl and a pile at the same time. It is the only way." He rose from his chair, nnd, after a glance at the clock, said quickly: I am afraid I shall have to ask you to excuse me now, Roger. I have a note from Austin Adler making an appointment with me at eleven-thirty on important business." He smiled, and then added, "I should not wonder if I know the errand on which he comes." Something in the other's tones made the young man fhvsh a questioning glance at him. "Indeed, Sir George?" Yes," answered the baronet, his smile broadening. "I should not wonder if lie were coming oil the same eriar.d as your- self. "Ah!" said Roger Arlington. -Now I understand. But surely you will not give him the consent you deny me. The man is < "A millionaire or thereabouts," broke in Sir George. "A millionaire, a prospective sheriff of the county, and Parliamentary can- didate for the division. I know what you would say. Roger; you would that he is not of our class, that his father sold sponges in Whitechapel, and that he himself used to be office boy to a firm of shady com- pany promoters in Johannesburg. It may be all true; but it belongs to the past, and if there is one thing more certain than another it is that within ten years lie will be able to tell his wife to go down Bond Street and order a coronet. And with a coi-oiiet," Sir George smiled, my little girl would look very well, very well indeed." Roger Arlington rose to his feet, with despair clutching at his heart. Sir George, as recognized, had already made up his mind. and lie was not a man easily turned from his purpose. It was no use lingering, so he made his adieu, and passed out of the house. As he made his way towards the gates lie was heavy-hearted. He had scarcely ex- pected the baronet to assume the uncom- promising position that he had taken in re- lation to himself. For delay in the fulfilment of his wishes he had been prepared; but for the utter denial of them lie had not looked. Sir George had known him from childhood; there were times when he had been like a. second father to him, and though he had heard the words which rang the knell of hit hopes, he could not find it in his heart to believe them. He knew, none better, that financially he was not a very eligible young man, but Marjory and he loved each other, and because of this, as as well as for other reasons, lie had looked for some consideration I from Sir George. As he reached the lodge, the sharp toot! toot! of a motor-horn caused him to leap aside. A fine car swept through the gates, carrying but a single passenger in the driver's seat. The man's face wa • h'dden by the peak of his cap, and a pair of motor- goggles further concealed his features, but Roger Arlington recognized him instantly. It was Austin Adler. A wave of bitterness swept o-ter him, as he remembered Adler's errand. A I)oiin(ler like il)at lie uttered the exclamation aloud, almost unconsciously. Surely Sir George could not be in earnest in declaring that Adler would make an acceptable son-in-law. And yet He rememhererl the man's enormous wealth, and contrasted it with his own genteel poverty; he recalled the fact that Adler, coming unknown and without introductions to one of the most exclusive districts in England, had forced it to accept him, and that now there was no function at which he was not a favoured guest. He groaned within himself as the situation presented itself to him as it would appear to the eyes of others, and he wondered how Marjory would be able to stand against her father's will and Adler's wealth and dominat- ing personality. Then round a turn in the lane came Marjory herself, pweet as a briar rose in June. In one halH1 she carried a basket of mushrooms, with the dew still on them, in the other a hazel-switch, with which from time to time sho cut off the heads of the knapweed on the roadside, in pure wanton- ness. She was hatless, and her wavy hair, ruffled by the autumn wind, was like an aureole about her face; her grey eyes were shining, her cheeks rich in delicate colour, and as she walked she hummed the words of an old song:— « Oh, will you accept a pair of shoes of cork, The one that's made in Dublin, the other made at York? No. I will not accept—" f The song ended abruptly as she caught 6ight of him. Why. Roger, I thought you were in London?" !"t came back lr.st night," lie explained, then giving a swift glance up and down the road, he stooped and kissed her. Her Hps were cool and fresh as the uiusju'oouis. in ihe road, he stooped and kissed her. Her Hps were cool and fresh as the mushrooms in the basket, and a. he felt the touch of them on his ONV i, Roger Arlington vo>ved that he would keep her, that he would not Jet her go for fifty Adlers or Sir Georges. "And where have you be^n this morning. Foger? You were not looking very happy a moment ago." "I have been to see your father," he answered quietly. There was no need that he should explain further. Marjory guessed what errand had taken him to Wj-keburn Abbey, and there was a little tremor in her voice as she asked, "Well?" "He refased you to me," was the brief reply. "Why? Did he fay?" I The tremor had gone from her voice now, and the level tones suggested that she was not really surprised. 1 "Because I am poor, because lift thinks there is no hope for Arlington." ) "What a sliaiiie," cried the girl in the I passionate protest of youth. "How could lie?" He suggested that there were only two I ways of saving the estate—one was to find the lost treasure of Arlington, and the other was to marry an heiress. He hinted pretty plainly that lie considered the latter course a duty that I owed to the estate." "And you?" asked Marjory quietly. "Don't you think he was right? Don't you think you oiiglit "Marjory! he cried leproachfully. "How can you? You know that I would die first; that you are the only one I can ever marry." "Yes, Roger, dear, I know!" The girl's voice thrilled with feeling as she made this admission; then she smiled. "I was only trying you, endeavouring to find out if there was anything of worldly wisdom in you. Apparently there is not." "Thank God there isn't," he said quickly. I may be poor, but I hope I have the roots 'I of honour intact within me. The man who'll sell himself, even though it l«e to save the home of his fathers, is a poor creature, and worse than a woman who sells "herself for a title and a position." "But it is done every day," said the girl title and a position." "But it is done every day," said the girl ] teasii.glv. "Half the society marriages in England "] know." he interrupted impetuously. But that does not make the thing any more right. Love should be the basis of true marriages, and not worldly-wisdom. There is too much of the latter commodity about. I Even your father He brok^ off, and the girl, little dreaming why lie had done so, asked quietly: "What were you going to say, Roger? Even my father, Avli it, I Marjory, how can I tell you? He refused rou to me because he intends that you shall marry Austin Adler." ( "Austin Adler!" There was a note of amazement in the girl's voice. The delicate colour of her cheeks gave way to a crimson tide, which ebbed almost as quickly, leaving her face marble pale. "Ye", lie told me as much, and Adler wa going to the house as I was leaving. Sir George told me tint he could guess his errand, that indeed he had no doubt that it was the same as my own." "Austin Adler!" There was a shocked I expression 011 Marjory Beckett's face as she repeated the name. "Whatever can my I ) father be thinking ef:" "He is thinking '.hat the estate will pass to your cousin when he dies, and that you vill have little. Adler is a very rich man, and is certain to get a peerage, and your father thinks it will be a fine thing for you to wear a coronet. I suppose it is only natural, after all!" "Yes, but Austin A (11er He is not even a gentleman; he is altogether impossible!" "Sir George does not think so!" "But I do!" Marjory's eyes flashed with indignation. And I will never marry him. Never!" she repeated, stamping her little foot on the turf to give emphasis to the word, Never!" That is what I expected you to say," replied Roger, quietly, but there is your father to be considered, Marjory. I11 a matter of this kind i-ii wislleq-- Jfnve no claim for consideration. I will not be persuaded or coerced into marriage with a man whom I not only do not love, but whom I cannot even respect; no—not if he wa« a hundred times a millionaire!" The voti.,ig man nodded agreement with i her passionate indignation. We are at one there, my dear, and I am afraid we are both a little behind the times. I expect sooner or later to see the marriage-broker openly established in English Society, just as he is amors the, Jews of tha Ghetto." v. e will be our own nroKers,' said the girl quickly, "and though we shall have no ) great wealth, we shall have love." To this Roger Arlington made no reply. He was looking through a gap in the autumn woodlands, where the ivy-clad chimneys of Arlington showed against the sky, and, following his gaze, and reading his thoughts, the girl's mood changed swiftly, and with a little laugh that had yet a touch of ruefulness in it, she ex- claimed What a pity you cannot find this Arlington treasure, Roger; it would solve all our difiielllty." I Yes," was the brief reply. I "I suppose you still believe in it?" she asked. "Just as firmly as every Arlington has done for a hundred years. How can I help it? It is on record that when Jasper Arlington rode away to join Prince Charlie in that ill-fated venture which ended at Culloden, he hid the family jewels and a great deal of treasure in a place that was known only to himself. I suppose he thought that if things went wrong and the estate was sequestrated he would still have some- thing left. Part of the secret he inscribed openly upon the sundial on the lawn, for all the world to read; and part he carried with him engraved upon a snuff-box. The record on the dial was no, use without the snuff-box, and I suppose he left it there to tantalize his enemies. It never seems to have entered into his thoughts that he might be killed; but killed he was in that awful rout at Culloden, and the snuff-box was lost, and with it the Arlington treasure." "You must search for it again, Roger. Perhaps Seareli 1" the young man laughed a trifle bitterly. We Aldingtons have done little else for a century. We have wasted money and time He broke off as he caught eiglit of a man crossing through the woods by a bridle-path. "By Jove! there's old r'laxton, the lawyer, to see me. I'd for- gotten all about him. I must be off, Mar- jory." For a second time that morning he glanced hastily up and down the road. There was no one in sight; so he kissed his swpet- heart good-bye, and vaulting a rail made a bee-line towards the Manor. Left alone, Marjory Beckett walked slowly forward reflecting on the momentous news that she had heard, and presently her thoughts were broken by a voice inquiring: Can you tell me the way to Arlington Manor, please?" She turned hastily, to find a man seated on a stile that gave admission to a planta- tion, a lean man, with keen. dark eyes, hawk-like nose and a sharp chin. His face was bronzed, and in the lobes of his ears were a pair of gold ear-rings. His clothes, as she saw, were English, but by his general appearance and his intonation she guessed him to be a foreigner, or, ut any rate, a man long resident abroad. She gave him the required directions, and was moving on when the man spoke again. "There's a sundial there, isn't there?" "Yea," she answered with a sudden quickening of interest, adding, "there are a fair number in this part of the world." "Maybe!" laughed the stranger, "and you are weicome to them; they're no use to me. But the Arlington one is another thing. Have you ever seen it, missy F" I She nodded. Often." She was surprised at the effcct of her answer. Excitement showed suddenly on the man's face, cupidity gleamed in his eyes, as, leaning forward, he asked sharply: "Then maybe you can tell me what's waitten on it Wh.v'do you "want to know?" asked Mar- jory quickly. The man laughed. "That's my business; (" and, anyway, I guess I caa read tho thing for myself." Without another word he jumped down I from the stile and marched off down the road. The girl followed him with wonder- ing eyes. What on earth did this man, a complete stranger, want with the sundial at Arlington Manor? Surely She dismissed the half-formed thought as absurd, started on her way homeward, then turned again and watched the man with j thoughtful eyes. If—plisaw! absurd! and I turning, set her face homeward.

CHAPTER II.

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CHAPTER II.