Show E T THE ha FATAL REQUEST U JEST 0 R F 0 U N P D 0 OUT U T la fly by A L H harris r author of mine own 1 ar ail nillar 11 er etc 1 I 00 copyright py p y right 1891 by d y ua i i it t publishing company V amp a nv 17 co 0 p V y r i g h t 1 9 0 9 2 b v S tr r a t i t S S mith CHAPTER continued walt wait a bit W was as the impetuous there 1 la more to come still tie its told him about the visit to tho the detective and the detectives detective a opinion df at tho the matter then with a little hebl atlon in his manner he related his strange experience on the night ot of his eburn the voice which he heard beard tell ng him where to look and the dincov iry of the photograph in the ve very ry flace lac indicated having reached this in his bis narrative he paused to fudge of the effect it had bad produced upon his hearer bearer dr cartwright cartwight said nothing and ted tea went on to tell how the imperfect copy of the letter which he had made himself from the remains of tho the original had been completed and filled up in another hand the doctor withdrew himself into ambush as it were b behind igind his bis spec lades TY tn n he orned his mouth A remarkable co no hang it all was the tion don t let us have any more coincidences ira im sick of the very bound of the word call it anything you like but that dr carew right shook hla his head but W want bat else could it be my profession at al opinion in quite another tone of volee 1 Is that the sooner you hand this room over to the housemaid the better Mearim meanwhile lille suppose you show me the original document that was waa burnt the young man produced it from the same secret hiding place as before and laid of it out before him without a word there was aas silence for some moments which was mas only broken by the sound of the doctors voice as aa he repeated the vordi to himself as he succeeded in deciphering them at the tha end ot of live five minutes he be gave it up its it a of no use 1180 my brains and injuring my eyesight over this any longer let me see your copy of 0 the letter that copy which the ghostly hand filled in tor for you 1 I suppose you hai 1 a kept it under lock and key ever evar sincee 1 I have done better than that was waa the answer I 1 I 1 have carried it about my person ever since 1 I suppose you have some specimens of your late fathers father a that I 1 may compare it with ills ilia friend put hl R i hand band to hla his breast pocket and produced an envelope this la Is it he sidd As aa to corn com paring it with any other writing it happens that without noticing it I 1 made the copy upon the back of a heet cheet or of paper upon which my father bad written the first words of a letter a letter which for joine some reason oi 01 another was never finished the doctor took the envelope which was fastened down opened it and drew out the inclosure As he held it the other man could see on the outer paire pa 9 the date april and the words worda my dear ite watched notched the dooboi a face ile ho saw Us its expression change horn interest to and felt that he wis triumphing over the scepticism which had bad possessed his friend at the outset you antice the difference in tho the two la in which the copy la is madea he asked you observe that part of a sentence la Is written in one and the rest in an other well I 1 cant quite say that I 1 do was the unexpected reply I 1 what do you mean why its plain i enough look herel herd the doctor held the sheet ot of paper caper out toward him blin lie ile saw tho broken incoherent sen aft abich he had himself written lie ile saw baar and recognized his own hand writing the other had bad dib disappeared appeared CHAPTER dr jeremiah Is astonished for a moment there was waa a dead silence then the young man still holding the sheet of paper in his hia hand dropped into the nearest chair and the time ame worda foil fell bioni his lips which he had uttered before under somewhat similar circumstances am I 1 going mad not at all was the cheerful response don t you yell soot sey he went on clapping him on the back you dreamt it that wai ail 0 8 1 the other raised a haggard face towa toward rd him but how bow about the writing which I 1 saw und of which even though it has no now mysteriously clap feared I 1 can wall apall every vord it certain lyla to vory very stra strange tige W said dr cartwright buti atthe same time la Is an explanation POO poa sible and that isa as that in jou iou steep sleep this arrangement suggested itself to our mind so forcibly that ion were mere able to retain the impression on waking and what ahat iou you read with our out ward nard eyes was aas la in actual tact fact only visible to those of your imagination the young man gave an impatient sigh have it your own way of comae I 1 can t expect you to accept my statement as the truth IMY my dear foll fellow owl said the doctor let us its both agree to maintain our own without seeking to disturb the othern opinion nut but for all that I 1 should like it if you have hae no objection to sub aub mit the origin of ahli discussion to two tests testa and if you have a microscope anywhere about the premises and can also procure a lamp as there Is no fire in tho the grate we can pro aeed with ith the investigation at once doth both articles were forthcoming with very little delay the doctor examined the blank spaces on the paper carefully through the microscope then shook his head bead there is no sign of any writing but our own I 1 suppose you will stick to your original opinion in spite of this I 1 I 1 do was waa the answer given most emphatically I 1 I 1 thought you would answered his 1 I suppose that now you have told me all there is IB to be told ile he rose from his chair keep bour our sent seat said the young man I 1 have riot not done with ou yet first give roe me your pledge of secrecy 11 the doctor somewhat some Ahat puzzled gave his promise now said ted where Is the morning paper I 1 leu leil it in the other room do I 1 uw j aw no sign of any writing but our own r you want it yes ill get it he replied and quitted the room read that advertisement doctor he said bald when nhen he returned and he handed banded the paper to the physician dr cartwright road read blindly through a small announcement among the situations vacant and then looked wonderingly up at the young man I 1 in going to apply I 1 said ted what gasped the doctor you mean to so sa that you yon re going to trick yourself out as a servant on the oft off chance of locating your fathers father s mur derer why youre you re mad sir mad here let me ead the thing again man ser secant ant wanted at once apply personally J I 1 eri en ers era Delin ellmont ont house ferre a broke in ted impulsive ly that name of all names there can be no mistake I 1 tell you I 1 m going to apply for that situation and so BO got get a chance to study the man I 1 very well said dr cartwright after a pause go ahead with dour our plan and I 1 H help aou ou all I 1 can ill explain that business has made it nee essary eskary for you to apan a home for a time with ted to think waa nas to act and ho he wasted no time in shaving off his mustache and repairing to delmont rouse house ile he created such buch a favorable impression that he be was at once in stalled in his new position under the assumed name of edwards lie ile was ana not net able to discover anything for many days mr air ferrers kept his room for the most part and was careful to lock the door when lie he left for even the shortest it time me with great difficulty ted or edwards as we must now call him got an impression of the lock loch and ha I 1 a key made but could yet find no opi ort unity to use it but one tremendous discovery nd ed wards ards the man manservant servant made and one which he had not anticipated when his eyes fell on agnes ferrers the pretty daughter of the man he be was as trac tracking ng down awn his 1 9 heart eart was waa no longer in his keeping lie he had first hen boen pretty agnes ferrers in the royal academy Ara jemy and the smile she had bad then given him tor for Te returning turning a drop pel ped program had set his pulses throbbing and stamped her image on hta his soul now by a strange caprice of fate he wai wa 3 brought irto touch with her again but they were mere hotl not on equal footing now she sh was mistress he was waa a servant nay more apy besides had be not sworn to avenge his hia fathers father a mui minder der the situation was wag torie tori tortu e 9 it cannot ee b he grop grapnel grome neL fl AI 1 I troy not 1 I must not love her I 1 have a my allon 1 A abut try aade hel woul he could not altogether kid hill M affection ft eyes followed agnes about and if the rho did not notice it there was one other who ho lid did this was waa perkins the housekeeper who had ever been auspicious of the young man I 1 not for a moment did she allow him to escape her pert scrutiny and ho be was waa often handicapped in hla his task by her prying eyes lie ile dared not make buy any prolonged search for perkins would have bad him denounced as a thief mad and he ha should probably have been dismissed then came a break in his attempt to unravel the mystery ills ilia mother waa was talen taken seriously III and he hastened home only in time to hear bear her dying message hen the funeral had con eluded he returned to his task leav ing his sister in dr cart right a care CHAPTER extracts from a young Man mane diary 1 I find my self imposed baak harder and more toi torturing turing to my feelings than ever heaven kno knovs a how I 1 am to muster strength and determination to carry it through As it Is I 1 am torn by conflicting feelings my resolution varies a hundred times a day I 1 only returned to my situation two das ago I 1 had fully determined in my own mind before doing so that the only way in which to remain mas ter of myself was nas to put mi self as aa tar far as possible beyond the reach ol of temptation by allowing myself to see sea as little of and by holding no sort of communication whatever with aith the en who has made havoc of my st sterne ernetA bt and most justifiable resola eions and taken my heart and brain captive I 1 returned to this house full of the tha of keeping my plan and pur pose constantly before me of kemem beiling whose son I 1 was boll whose daughter she is and how long did I 1 keep faith with myself how long did I 1 preserve this precious pie cious clous resolve inviolate only until she encountered me quite unavoidably on my part and animated by some celestial sym path ani and divine impulse spoke to me of ny my mother pitted pitied my 8 sad nd bei bereavement ea wished she could have done something and even vent A ent so far as to say that she could sympathize with me because she was wag half orphaned herself bersel fl poor fellow I 1 heard her murmur to herself as she turned avay anay poor fellow what title would she bestow upon me if she knew the truth the truth which must out booner or later villain spy betray tra er erl I 1 dut but I 1 must not allow myself to think of this for if I 1 do I 1 am lost let me employ my pen on some other and less subject 1 I have made a since my return or mathei it has been made tor for me one of the alist items of in formation voitby of notice which I 1 received from cool cook who vas alpar antly bursting with that and a sense of her own added importance in having placed such a prominent part in the affair N waa as loi lei I 1 now whatever do you think young man massei a been and made is will aill which I 1 was the tha chief witness ahn m was as a piece of news worth having why has he suddenly taken this stepa what does he anticipate does he be begin to fear man mans s vengeance anca or god gods a Is he menaced by some soma in ortal mortal illness tho the chances of which I 1 have before contemplated or does he be mean to commit suicide and thus elude the just punishment which might await the discovery ot of hla his crime to bo be continued |