| OCR Text |
Show THE BINGHAM NEWS ' J The" Evil Slheplheird a-- E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM f Copyrlg hi fcy Little, Brawa sii4 Cosmf about with one or two whom w art keeping our eye upon." "Bobby Fairfax'! lot, by - any chance?" Shopland nodded. "lie was with Jacks and Miss Daisy Hysiop, a night or two before he dis-appeared. I am not sure that a young man named Morse wasn't of the party, too." "What do yon make of that lotf Francis asked, curiously. "Are they gamesters, dope fiends, or simply t1-- clousT The detective was silent, He was gazing Intently at his rather square-toe- d shoes. , "There are rumors, sir," he said, presently, "of things going on In the West End which want looking Into very badly very badly, Indeed. You will remember speaking to me of Sir Timothy Brast?" "1 remember quite well," Frauds ac-knowledged. . "I've nc.nlrt to go on," the other continued, "I am working almost in the dark to And a clue, as It were, hut I'm beginning to have Ideas about Sir Timothy Brast ; Just ldeus." "As. for Instance?" "Weil, he stands on rather queer terms with some of his acquaintances, sir. Now you saw, down at Soto's bar, the night we arrested Mr. Fairfax, that not one of those young men there spoke to Sir Timothy as though they were acquainted, nor he to them. let SHE HAD GONE SYNOPSIS. Francis Le-sa- m defends Oliver Hlldltch. a busi-ness man, In a murder caae and succeeds In sett Ins him oft, only to ba told by ht wife that HU-filt-l an arch-crlmln- Led-tt-dining with his beat friend, Andrew Wltnore. meets Hlldltch and his wlje and ta Invited to dine with tlrfm at their home. At dinner with he Hlldltchea, Oliver ahowa Ledum how he killed his victim and eaya hla own death the same way would make hla wife supremely happy. Return-ing home, Ledsam receives a phone call from Margaret Hll-dltch aaylnt Oliver baa been mur-dered. Ledsam rets the coroner, to aet Oliver's death down a sul- - clde. He admits to Wllmore that he has developed a keen Interest in Maraaret. He meets her fa-ther, Sir Timothy Brast, the evil ahepherd, who tella him a crime will be committed before they leave the cafe. A murder ti com-mitted. Ledsam determines to solve the mystery. Ha meets MarRaret She refuses him per-mission to call and warna him to have nothlnr to do with her fa-ther. Ledsam solves the murder mystery and Is oonaratulated by Sir Timothy. Ledsam strain meets Margaret and asks to have "his chance." Wllmore's younger brother mysteriously disappears from Ledsam's office. Ledsam dines with Sir Timothy and Ma-rgaret at their place on the Thames. awakening of her sense of bumor was something. "Too late," tie regretted. "During the last month or so the thing has come bj me which we all look for-ward to, only I don't think fate has treated me kindly. I have always loved normal ways and normal people, and the woman I care for is different," "Tell me about her I" she Insisted. "You will be very surprised when I tell you her name," he said. "It Is Margaret Hlldltch." She looked at him for a moment In blank astonishment. "Heavens 1" she exclaimed. "Oliver Hildltch's wife?" "I can't help that," he declared, a little doggedly. "She's had a miser-able time, I know'. She wns married to a scamp. I'm not quite sure that her father Isn't as bad a one. Those things don't make any difference." "They wouldn't with you," she said softly. "Tell me, did you say any-thing to her last night V. "I did," he replied. "I began when we were out alone together. She gave me no encouragement to speak of, but at any rate she knows." Lady Cynthia leaned a little for-ward In her place. "Do you know where she Is now?" He was a little startled. "Down at the cottage, I suppose. The butler told m that she never rose before midday." 'Then for once the butler was mis-taken," his companion told him. ' "Mar-garet Hlldltch left at six o'clock this morning. I saw her In traveling clothes get into the car and drive away." "She left the cottage this morning before us?" Francis repeated, amazed. "I can assure you that she did," Lady Cynthia Insisted. "I never sleep, amongst my other peculiarities," she went on bitterly, "and I was lying on a couch by the side of the open win-dow when the car came for her. She stopped It at the bend of the avenue so that it shouldn't wake us up, I sup-pose. I saw her get In and drive away." Francis was silent for several mo-ments. Lady Cynthia watched him curiously. "At any rate," she observed, "In whatever mood she went away this morning, you have evidently succeed-ed in doing what I have never seen any one else do breaking through her In-difference. I shouldn't have thought that anything short of an earthquake would have stirred Margaret, these 4a ys." Tnee days," he repeated (fulckly. "How long have you known her?" "We were at school together for a short time," she told him. "It was while her father was In South Ameri-ca. Margaret was a very different per-son In those days." "However was she Induced to marry a person like Oliver Hlldltch?" Fran-cis speculated. His companion shrugged her shoul-ders. "Who knows?" she answered Indif-ferently. "Are you going to drop me?" "Wherever you like." "Take me on to Grosvenor square. If you will, then," she begged, "and de-posit me at the ancestral mansion. I am really rather annoyed about Mar-garet," she went on, rearranging her veil. "I had begun to have hopes that you might have revived my taste for normal things." "If I had had the slightest Intima-tion " he murmured. "It would have made no difference," she Interrupted dolefully. "Now I come to think of it, the Margaret whom I used to know and there must be plenty of her left yet Is Just the right type of woman for you." They drew up outside the house In Grosvenor square. Lady Cynthia held out her hand. "Come anil see me one afternoon, will you?" she Invited, "I'd like to very much," he replied. She lingered on the stops and waved her hand to him h graceful, some-what Insolent gesture. "All the same, I think I shnll do my best to make yon forget Margaret," she colled out. "Thanks for the lift up. A blentot!" CHAPTER XI Continued. There was something almost mysteri-ous, a little Impressive, about the aroad expanse of river Into which they pres-ently turned. Opposite were woods and then a sloping lawn. From house hidden In the distance they heard the sound of a woman singing. They even caught the murmurs of applause as she concluded. Then there was silence, only the soft gurgling of the water cloven by the punt pole. They glided past the front of the great unlit house, past another strip of woodland, and then tip a narrow stream. "To the left here," she directed, "and then atop." They bumped against the bank. The little backwater Into which they had turned seemed to terminate In a bed of lilies whose faint fragrance almost enveloped them. The trees on either aide made a little arch of darkness. "Please ship your pole and listen," Margaret said dreamily. "Make your-self as comfortable as you can. There are plenty of ' cushions behind you. This la where I come for silence." " Francla obeyed her orders without remark. For a few moments, speech ' seemed Impossible. The darkness was to Intense that, although he was acutely conscloua of her presence there, only a few feet away, nothing but the barest outline of her form was visible. The alienee which she had brought him to seek was all around them. There was Just the faintest splash of water from the spot where the. stream and the liver met, the distant barking of a dog, the occasional croaking of a frog from somewhere In the midst of the bed of lilies. Otherwise the silence and darkness were like a shroud. Francla leaned forward In his place. Hla hands, which gripped the sides of the punt, were hot. The serenity of the night mocked him. "So this Is your paradise," he said, a little hoarsely. She made no answer. Her alienee seemed to him more thrilling than words. He leaned forward. His hands It was a caress or whether she were holding him from her. In any case It was too late. With a little sob of pas-sion his Hps were pressed to hers. Even as she closed her eyes, the scent of the lilies seemed to Intoxicate him. He was back In bis place without conscious movement. His pulses were quivering, the passion singing In his blood, the Joy of her faint caress living proudly in his memory. It had been the moment of his life, and yet even now he felt sick at heart with fears, with the torment of her passlveness. She had lain there In his arms, he had felt the thrill of her body, some quaint inspiration had told him that she had sought for Joy In that moment and had not wholly failed. Yet his anxiety was tumultuous, overwhelming. Then she spoke, and his heart leaped again. Her voice was more natural. It was not a voice which he had ever beard be-fore. "Give me a cigarette, please and I want to go back." He leaned over her again, struck a match with trembling fingers and gave her the cigarette. She smiled at him very faintly. "Please go back now," she begged. "Smoke yourself, take me home slowly and say nothing." He obeyed, but his knees were shak-In- g when he stood up. Slowly, a foot at a time, they passed from the mesh of the lilies out Into the broad stream. Almost as they did so, the yellow rim of the moon came up over the low hills. As they turned Into their own stream, the light was strong enough for hlra to see her face. She lay there like a ghost, her eyes half closed, the only touch of color to the shining strands of her beautiful hair. She roused her-self a little as they swung around. He paused, leaning upon the pole. "You are not angry?" he asked. "No, I am not angry," she answered. "Why should I be? But I cannot talk to you about It tonight." They glided to the edge of the landing-- stage. A servant appeared and se-cured the punt. "Is Sir Timothy back yet?" Margaret Inquired. "Not yet, madam." She turned to Francis. "Please go and have a whisky and soda In the smoking room," she said, pointing to the open French windows. "I am going to my favorite seat. You will find me Just across the bridge, there." He hesitated, filled with a pnssio-iff.i- . disinclination to leave her side even for a moment. She seemed to under-stand, but she pointed once more to the room. "I should like very much,"' she added, "to be alone for five minutes. If you will come and find me then please 1" Francis stepped through the French wlndowa Into the smoking room, where all the paraphernalia for satis-fying thirst were set out upon the sideboard. He helped himself to whisky and soda and drank It absently, with his eyes fixed upon the clock. In five minutes he stepped once more back Into the gardens, soft and bril-liant now In the moonlight. As he did so, he heard the click of the gate In the wall, and footsteps. Ills host, with Lady Cynthia upon his arm, came Into alght and crossed the lawn towards him. Francis, filled though his mind was with other thoughts, paused for a moment and glanced towards them curiously. Lady Cynthia seemed for a moment to have lost all her weariness. Her eyes were very bright ; she walked with a new spring In her movements. Even her voire, as she addressed Fran-cis, seemed altered. "Sir Timothy has been showing me some of the wonders of his villa do you call it a villa or a palace?" she asked. "It Is certainly not a palace," Sir Timothy protested, "and I fear that It has scarcely the atmosphere of a villa. It is an attempt to combine certain Ideas of my own with the requirements of modern entertainment. Come and have a drink with us, Ledsam." "I have Just had one," Francis re-plied. "Mrs. Hlldltch Is In the rose garden and I am on my way to Join her." He passed on and the two moved towards the open French windows. He crossed the rustic bridge that led Into the flower garden, turned down the pergola and came to a sudden stand-still before the sent which Margaret had Indicated. It was empty, but In the corner lay the long-stalke- lily which she had picked In the backwa-ter. He stood there for a moment, trannflxed. There were other seats and chnlrs in the garden, hut he knew before he started his search that It was In vain. She had gone. The flower, drooping a little now, though the stalk was still wet with the moisture of the river, seemed to him like her farewell, Francis was surprised, when he de-scended for breakfast the next morn-ing, to find the tHtde laid for one only. The butler, who was waiting, handed him the dally papers and wheeled the electric heater to his side. "Is no one else breakfasting?" Francis asked. "Sir Timothy and Mrs. Hlldltch are always served In their rooms, sir. Her ladyship Is taking her coffee up-stairs." Francis ate his breakfast, glanced through the Times, lit a cigarette and went round to the garage for his car. The butler met him as be drove op be-fore the porch. "Sir Timothy begs you to excuse hlra this morning, sir," he announced. "His secretary has arrived from town with a very large correspondence, which they are now engaged upon." "And Mrs. Hlldltch?" Francis ven-tured. "I have not seen her maid this morning, sir," the man replied, "but Mrs. Hlldltch never rises before mid-day. Sir Timothy hopes that you slept well, sir, and would like you to sign the visitors' book." Francis signed his name mechan-ically, and was turning away when Lady Cynthia called to blra from the stairs. She was dressed for traveling and followed by a maid, carrying her dressing-case- . "Will you take me up to town, Mr. Ledsam?" she asked. "Delighted," he answered. , Their dressing-case- s were strapped together behind and Lady Cynthia sank Into the cushions by his aide. They drove away from the bouse, Francis with a backward glance of re-gret. The striped s bad been lowered over all the windows, thrushes and blackbirds were twittering on the lawn, the air was sweet with the perfume of flowers, a boatman was busy with the boats. Out, beyond, through the trees, the river wound Its placid way. "Quite a little paradise," Lady Cyn-thia murmured. "Delightful," her companion assent-ed. "I suppose great wealth has Its obligations, but why any human being should rear such a structure as what he calls his Borghese villa, when he has a charming place like that to live In, I can't Imagine." Her silence was significant, almost purposeful. She unwound the veil from her motoring turban, took It off altogether and attached It to the cush-ions of the car with a hatpin. "There," she said, leaning back, "you can now gaze upon a horrible ex-ample to the young women of today. You can see the ravages which late hours, Innumerable cocktails, a thirst for excitement, a contempt of the sim-ple pleasures of life, bave worked upon my once comely features. I was quite good-lookin- you know, In the days you first knew me." "You were the most beautiful debu-tante of your season," he agreed. "ffhA. la ysu think of me now?" she asked. She met his gnze without flinching. Her face was unnaturally thin, with disfiguring hollows underneath her cheekbones; her Hps lacked color; even her eyes were lusterless. Her hair seemed to lack brilliancy. Only her silken eyebrows remained unim-paired, and a certain charm of expres-sion which nothing seemed able to de-stroy. "You look tired," he said. "Be honest, my dear man," she re-joined dryly. "I am a physical wreck, dependent upon cosmetics for the looks which. I am still clever enough to palm off on the uninitiated." "Why don't you lead a quieter life?" he asked. "A month or so In the coun-try would, put you all right. If you were my sister, I'd take you away for a fortnight and put you on the road to being cured." , "Then I wish I were your sister," she sighed. "Don't think I'm unsympathetic," he went on, "because I'm not. It la ust you people who ore cursed with a restless brain who are In the most dangerous position, nowadays. The things which keep us healthy and nor-mal physleully games, farces, dinner parties of young people, fresh air and exercise are the very tilings which after a time fall to satisfy the person with Imagination. You want more out of life, always the something you don't understand, the something beyond. And so you keep on trying new things, and for every new thing you try, you drop nn old one. Isn't It something like that?" "I suppose It Is," she admitted wearily. "1 could point out the promised land, but how could I lead you to It?" he answered. "You don't like me well enough," she sighed. "I like you better than you believe," he answered her, slackening his speed a little. "We have met, I suppose, a dozen times In our lives. 1 have danced with you here anil there, talked nonsense once, I remember, ut a musi-cal reception " "1 tried to flirt with you then," she Interrupted. lie noideil. "I was in the midst of n great case," he said, "mid everything that hap-pened to me outside It was swept out of my mind day by day. What I was going to s-- y Is that I have always liked you, from the moment when your mother presented me to you at your first dance." "I wish you'd told me so," she mur-mured. "It wouldn't have made any differ-ence," he declared. "I wasn't In a position to think of a duke's daughter. In those days. I don't suppose I am now." "Try," she begged hopefully. lie smiled back at her. The re- - "All the Same, I Think I Shall Do My Best to Make You Forget Margaret," . She Called Out. I happened to find out 'that every one of them, Including Fairfax himself, was present at a party Sir Timothy Brast gave at his house down the river a week or two before." "I'm afraid there Isn't much In that," Francis declared. "Sir Timothy has the name of being an eccentric per-son everywhere, especially in this re-spect he never notices acquaintances. I heard, only the other day, that while he was wonderfully hospitable and charming to all his guests, he never remembered them outside his house." Shopland nodded. "A convenient eccentricity," he re-marked, a little dryly. "I have heard the same tiling myself. You spent the night at his country cottage, did you not, Mr. Ledsam? Did he offer to show you over the Walled House?" "How the dickens did you know I was down there?" Francis demanded, with some surprise. "I was Just think-ing as I drove up that I hadn't left my address either here or at Clarges street." "Next time you visit Sir Timothy," the detective observed, "I should ad-vise you to do so. I knew you were there, Mr. Ledsam, because I was in the neighborhood myself. I have been doing a little fishing, and keeping my eye on that, wonderful estate of Sir Timothy's." Francis wns Interested. "Shopland," he said, "I believe that our Intelligences, such as they are, are akin." "What do you suspect Sir Timothy of?" the detective asked bluntly. "I suspect him of nothing," Frrficls replied. "He Is simply, to my mind, an Incomprehensible, somewhat sinis-ter figure, who might be capable of anything. He may have very excel-lent qualities which he contrives to conceal, or be may be an arcbcrlm-Inul- . His personality absolutely puz-zles me." There was a knock at the door and Angrave appeared. Apparently he had forgotten Shoplnnd's presence, for he ushered In another visitor. "Sir Timothy I'.rast to see you. sir" he announced. The moment was one of trial to every one, admirably borne. Shopland remained In bis chair, with only a casual glance at the newcomer. Fran-cis rose to his feet with a half-stlfle-expression of anger at the clumsiness of his clerk. Sir Timothy, well shaven and groomed, attired In a perfect!; fitting suit of gray flannel, nodded Frauds In friendly fashion and lal' Ids llomburg hat upon the table wli'; the air of a familiar. "If I can persuade your d. ugh. j ter to marry me, you content ( wdl not affect the matter." ; j' - I (To US ro.NTIM ED.) CHAPTER XII Fronds drove direct from ;n..n rior square to his chamber In the Temple, and found Shopland. his friend from Scotland Yard. Hwnltlng his ar.ival. "Any news?" Frumi Inquired. "Nothing definite, I am sorry to ay,H was the other's reluctant iidmidon. Framis hung up hl hat. threw him-self Into his easy-chai- r and lit u cig-arette. "The lad's brother Is one of my old-est friends, Shopland," lie said, "lie in naturally In a state of great The detective scratched his chin thoughtfully. "J said 'nothing definite' Just now, sir." he observed. "As u rule, I never mention suspicions, but with you It Is a different matter. I haven't discovered the slightest trace of Mr. Reginald Wlliuore. or the slightest reason lor his disappearance. lie wi'tns to have been a n young gentle-man, a little extravagant, perhaps, hut able to pay his way and with nothing whatever, that Is to say, except one al-most Insignificant tiling." "And Hint?" "A slight tendency towards had com-pany, sir. I Lave heurd of his being Her Lips Wert a Little Parted, Her Eyes Looked Out, at It teemed te Him, Half In Fear, Half In Hope. fell upon the soft fur which encom-passed her. They rested there. Still she did not speak. lie tightened his grasp, moved further forward, the passion surging through his veins, his breath almost falling him. lie was ro neur now that he heard her breathing, saw her face, pale es ever. Her lips were a llttl" parted, her eyes looked ut. lis It seemed to him, half In fear, htilf In hope. He bent lower still. She neither shrank away nnr invited 1dm. "fiear!" he whispered. Her arms stole from underneath the elotik, her fingers rested upon his houlder. He scarcely kuew whether Pawnee Indians Were j Whirlwinds in Rattle The Pawnees were never disciplined In a military sense. On one occasion when they were to start on a scout early In the morning, three days' ra-tions had been issued to them. They ate every ounce that night and had nothing to eat until the afternoon of the second day, when they shot a few antelope. They obeyed orders and suggestions preliminary to a combat, but to a charge or sudden attack they reverte to their own methods and were whirl-winds in a fight. Major North stated that In an engagement near Wood River, Neb., where the Sioux were completely surprised, the acout charged, firing their repeating car-bines, flung them aside when empty, used revolvers in the fame manner and wound up the fight with bows and arrows. They had to go over the field afterward to recover discarded wea-pons. I saw the command , as they passed through Julesburg; they ha eight scalps decorated and stretched on hoops. The next night I witnessed their scalp dance. It was the most thrilling savage rite I have ever seen. A Pawnee stripped for action and In war paint was a striking object. The head was shaved excepting a narrow ridge of hair In the middle that stood erect like a roached mane from the forehead to the crown where It ended In a scalp lock. A large circle about each eye was filled in with black, the rest of the face and portions of the body were streaked with vermilion and yellow. At a short distance their faces resembled decorated skulls. E. T. Scovilie In Adventure Magazine. Fox World's Greatest Debater at Age of 19 Recent rivalry as to who Is the "buby" member of congress has caused some of the bookishly inclined to hunt tip records, revealing that although William Pitt was premier of England at twehty-fou- r, and although Charles James Fox was acknowledged to be the greatest debater In parliament at ' about the same age, having got In when he was nineteen, there once was a young man elected to the congress of the United States when he was twenty-fou- r years old and to4 young to serve under the Constitution. This young fellow was John Young Brown of Kentucky, who could not take his seat until the second sessiqn of the Thirty-sixt- h congress, who later served In two other congresses and was governor of bis state. John Randolph of Roanoke, on ac-count of his youthful appearance, was challenged by the clerk of the house, who asked how old he was. Randolph replied that he had better "go ask the people who elected me." Henry Clay Is the only man In his-tory who served In the senate befora be was thirty yenrs old, "but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut about his age and no one else thought of it," the late Champ Clark commented. Clay was later secretary of state un-der John Quincy Adams and twl?e de-feated for the presidency, by Andrew Jackson in IS32 and by James K. Polk In 184.. Kansas City Star. His Question "Well, suzz!" remarked Mrs. John-son, In the midst of her reading, "I never knowed that before H "Never knowed wfcat?" asked Gap Johnson of Rumpus Ridge. "Why, it says here in the paper; 'Beans and other small objects can be removed from a child's nose by rub-bing red pepper on his upper Hp.' " "Hain't he got to poke some beans op his nose first?" Passing the Buck The new cook gave some pork chops to a relative who called while the lady of the house was out paying a few culls. "The missus will miss them," warned the parlor mnld. "Oh, I'll blame that on the cat" "We have no cat." "Then be a good girl," urged the new cook eimestly, "tnd let th canary out of Its cage." Salt Lake City Firms Te umn prompt irrvlrt and quirk returns to th.M advertisements mention the name ef this paper. BUSINESS COLLEGES L. D. 8. Ht'SINESS COLLEGE. School of hff irlencr. Ait enmmerrifi hranrfcea. Catalog free. 0 N. Min St, Salt Lake City. Henngrtr's Bualnesa College School .ill tlx- - yenr. KntiT nny time. Positions tuiirantceil to irnulimtes. Writ for infonimtion HOOKS AND SHORT HTOK1KS pnfiVC Any ,l",,l yon want ly moll, ('.. O. I) DUUIVJ .Dritr-- t Monk Co. 44 hunt So. Temple BONGS A SHEET MUSIC CflVfC WW juhI old All kinds. Sheet musle hy OUilUJ iU t ul). r,.,ry Must,. I'o. ; s Mitiil CUE AM WANTED SHIP DIRECT Plrert Cream Hhlpmentii Pay Most Money Xemt trinl can Illackmin A Griffin Company, Ocden, L'tah ( LASS PINS fl A! MM vi'lirn in neeil. "lion.t forjri-- in.' ILAJJ I UiJ Memiike A repair nil KiinKnf lew rlry P.. J. Iltr Mfu . Jeweler. II Main. I plir. "Say it With Flowers" Fresh Cut Flowers at All Times Hobday's Flower Shop Keith r.mporium Hldg. Salt To a Hair. Patron "I want the part exact"' in the middle." ISarber "Yes, sit Yes, sir! And where, sir, would yo have me place the one luif ttit Vs.' over J" |
