Show 7 JI > F1r A THE FATAL REQUEST LYORFOUNDOUT Sy p L name Author of Mine Own Familiar Friend ole tIP I p r r yt r tip At 81 19 II 0 0 J CI 1b Ytg t r b t t t I ttatE Company BmttA CHAPTER I E Shall Find It Out Some Day < lie lvmt the beginning of the month of rfLlSSl the family of Mr Silas Bur observed a certain alteration In irentlemans habits and demeanor In appeared to those who studied that he became Imbued with an of anticipation that he started La a knock was heard at the door f I that the advent of tho postman 111 i awaited by him If not with anx at any rate with an amount of r expectancy which was In a gen quito foreign to him d fia1 II wU also observed that the nearer drew to the end of the month 1 W mere these symptoms became ex rated and as day after day t J by unmarked by an unusual oc ence he was observed to shake bead with a halfsmile and a half and mutter as he thought to aslf Dead or forgotten After id he remained plunged In roflec for a considerable time fit res his son Edwardmore genT gen-T known as Tedwho happened 0 head these words and they ued him no small amount of bo Jsnnent Hi stood with his sister May In the of Mr Burrltta large oldfash ltd house at Dulwlch It was about i en oclock In the evening that as I i brother and sister were talking invoices I r In-voices the former was interrupted lie sound of an abrupt loud double lock rrheres the seven oclock post pd the girl I wonder If theres any nn for father this time If there o1 I III j in Int as she turned towards the dlrec of G i of the letter box the study door thrown hurriedly open and an rlr gentleman Tushed across the 00 lind extricated from its receptacle ii letter In a thin foreign looking on II lope the direction on which was Jrti tieD In a large scrawling hand to barely left room for the stamp There was a singular look upon his e on which astonishment seemed s iggllng with some other emotion u tn he drew a long breath After these years ho said to himself he has kept his word after all on He recrossed the hall reentered his et dJ and closed the door As he did es4 both the young people heard the et 7 turn in tho lock Evidently their er was anxious not to be disturbed a the perusal of the mysterious mis e e whatever it might be Neither m them said any more on the subject ti the time but their minds were full It as they each turned to go their went ways the one to the billiard > m for a little private practice the her to the drawing room to try over I e last new song I I wonder what It was 1 soliloquized 4 e former and what made the t otnor so queer and unlike himself the sight of It However Its no t od troubling myself about it J Mr Silas Burritt remained shut up Ms study all the remainder of the I Nnlng and only encountered his I oa and daughter at breakfast the i oft morning being Thursdaywhen appeared to have regained his or Inary manner notwithstanding to Wo Pairs of Inquisitive young eyes ° ere still seemed to be a certain ab nt expressionthe expression of a n not that they described it to Mniolves In any such words who been reviewing tho past and hose > thoughts still linger behind him 1Il0ng the years that have gone by ero was also a slight suspicion of fousnncss about him and several nee he seemed on the point of saying lIlethln B which he put off from one went to another At last he made P his I mind to Bpoaltt hay dear he said addressing his a I am thinking that Is I have t sde up my mindat oW any rate I am log 6 away for a day or so At least o Hero he found that he had by weain miscalculated tho effect of s announcement for his voice at I nncture was drowned fum II I trio by a tall Where to What for How long tllrou stay How atranx diNs last remark emanating as it from q rom his son and heir seemed to oce the object of It some little annoy Strange Tedl slightly a < slightly knitting his as he It spoke What do you I In What ls there strange In my ring home business for dayon business I The last words came after a barely perceptible pause Oh then It is business after all broke in hla daughter May with an air of hardly repressed triumph I knew It was I said so directly I saw the letterdidnt I Ted Her father turned round upon her rather sharply What letter Thethe letter that came last night she stammered disconcerted by the unusual tone Then reassert ing herself I was in tho hall you know when It came and I thought it looked like business Her fathers frown relaxed as he patted her on the shoulder Inquisitive little girl ho said what does It matter to you what my letters are about But it was business wasnt IU she persisted secure In her position of spoilt child i Wollyesthat Is partly so he answered At least it was from an old He seemed to remember something and stopped short At any rate he continued I have to go to Dover Dover reechoed the family Yes he sam rumpling his hair and apparently taking some care in the choice of his words I find I shall uave to go there It Is rather Inconvenient Incon-venient just now but it cant be helped help-ed though It will not be more than a oouple of days at the outside By theby turning towards his helpmate It is not unlikely that I may bring a friend back with me No Its no one you know responding to the question he saw trembling on more than one pair of lips At any rate you had better have a room prepared In case of that event I Half an hour later Mr Burritt took a hasty but affectionate farewell of his family who as they watched his departure de-parture and waved their hands to him said to themselves that he would soon bo back again among them In spite of this belief however they craned eta y V N ti I m e w i I II I I III I s I i I I r v ll r u t L t t v y i BAs r u t I t i 11 i j t au m r He recrossed the hall their necks to see tho last of him A little later when his sister who had again had recourse to her piano was practicing scales like a Trojan Of the expression is allowable the young man put his head Inside the door of the room in which she was and the following brief conversation ensued I say May do you know it has Just occurred to me that the guvnor never mentioned the name of the friend he was going to bring back with himThe The scale of C major came to an abrupt conclusion To bo sure he didnt How funny But then you see we forgot to ask him I know we dla but you wuuld have thought that he would have told us without that However of course It doesnt matter and I suppose we shall find It out some day Tata Im off CHAPTER II After All These Years Mr Burritt arrived at his destination between six and seven Alighting he gavo a hasty and comprehensive glance round as though he thought It half possible that he might be met by someone Then he left the station and proceeded In the direction of the Lord Warden Arriving at that famous hostelry he made a certain Inquiry of the waiter who came forward to meet him To which the reply was that the gentleman gentle-man referred to had crossed by the boat that morning and had engaged a private sitting room leaving word that ho expected a friend from town who was to be shown up Immediately on giving his name My namo Is Burrltt was the reply Then please to walk this way sir The man ushered him up a flight of stairs and along a corridor then Indicating In-dicating a particular door said This Is the room the gentleman has taken I will announce myself said Mr Burritt and the man withdrew Then after a pause of a few seconds sec-onds ho tapped lightly at the door A voice from within cried Come 1111 and answering the summons ho turned the handle and entered The occupant of the apartment a tall lean elderly man who was looking out of the win dqw turned round sharply and confronted con-fronted the visitor A 10011 strange wondering Intent lookpassed between be-tween them Then the stranger made a stop forward Silas he cited At lastJand tho men grasp ell hands Then followed A brief and lmpro STO silence during vhleh each eagerly eager-ly scanned the features of tho other and which Mr Burritt was tho first to to break James ho said and there worn traces ot considerable emotion In his voice you are much changed I should hardly have known you Changed exclaimed the other somewhat bitterly and In twenty years Is It to be wondered aU Then with an alteration of tone But I should hate know you anywhere Silas Twenty years repeated his friend Ah well so It Isl How quickly the years have flown It seems nothing like that to me It Is that all the same said tho other It Is twenty years to the very day This is the 24th of April 1884 It was the 24th of April 18G4 when you said goodbye to me on board the vessel In which I was to sail to a now country It Is a long time to remain an exilea voluntary exile said Mr Bur ritt you might have returned years ago had you chosen The other man shook his head gloomily I have kept my wWd l he said You remember mylaBt speech to you I said I am going to begin a new liteto make my fortune In twenty years if I have aone so I shall return By that time I may hope that my crime will have been forgotten It may be that la twenty years some of those who know my wretched story will be deadI may even ba dead myself but If not I shall return to the country I am now about to leave behind for surely in twenty years the dlsgraco which now tarnishes my name will be blotted out and forgotten Until then faro well And now he continued the term of my selfimposed banishment Is at an end I have kept my word and I have returned Mr Burritt laid his hand upon his friends shoulder i You Judge yourself too harshly I he said the word crime is to severe se-vere a one to apply to that youthful Indiscretionsin If you willrepented of as soon as committed Repentance I cried the other impatiently < im-patiently what is the good of repentance repent-ance Will it recover a lost reputation reputa-tion and wipe out a stain upon the past The fortune I wont to seek le mine but I would give It all for an unblemished record so that I might not bo ashamed to look any man in the face Ah Silas 1 It U a terrlblo thing to think that a child of mine should ever blush for her father You are married then 1 Inquired Mr Burritt gladly seizing the opportunity oppor-tunity thus offered of changing the dismal subject Is your wife with you I am a widower was tho reply My wife died twelve years ago leavIng > leav-Ing mo with one chllda daughter Tell me all about your daughter said Mr Burritt and how you came to make up your mind to part with her for so long I have a daughter of mown m-own as well as the son who was born before you left Englandand though 1 have been threatening to pack her oft to boarding school for thilast four or five years I never could reconcile myself to the Idea of the separation And now shes too oldnineteen last birthday and her father shook his head over his own weakness and smll ed an Indulgent parental smile Thats the ago of my Agnes within a year said the other strange that we should have daughters so nearly tho same age He looked at his companion strangely strange-ly I I am In your hands Silas he said you can ruin me In my childs eyes as well as In the eyes of the world whenever you please To be continued |