Show THE FATAL RE RT 0 R D OV T by A L Il larrie X author u h clr 0 ot pirline mine own familiar frind oto eo t 1801 ia 1 by V ait ft t J publishing u 6 i any vom company any 0 a 0 P n v y r 1 i 17 n A h 9 I 1 J B 0 0 B b IV B i r 0 0 t j r 5 M i A A I 1 CHAPTER continued the train on I 1 the e journey which N b alel wat as to nd in its destruction and retla in lie after mil allo 0 s sped ped away asay in el al lence once more the he feeling of re had settled down to w n 11 upon pon us and this ibis time heavier than before then I 1 remember a sudden awful never tobe to be forgotten crash followed by cries and shrieks such as aa have rung in my ears ever since 1 I found myself flung violently for ward against the opposite side bide of the compartment amid the smashing of woodwork and with alth the presentiment pie sentiment of some borne awful doom upon roe me I 1 was nas half stunned but recovering myself found that I 1 was not much hurt then I 1 remembered my companion and turned my attention to him silas bilas I 1 cried are you hurt but before he be could reply another sound was added to the awful babel ot of cries and groans all around fire we heard abri shrieked eked in voices mad with terror mingled with agonizing cries for help the atmos phere became stifling a sickening ilcken ing in supportable odor was wafted wafred towards us ua and clouds of thick black suffocate leg jog smoke began to drift past silas I 1 shouted in mad terror to my friend come exert yourself it if you wish to escape instant death and I 1 caught him round the body and a nd tried to compel him to move but in vain be only gave a scream of agony save yourself he groaned I 1 can not clr stir and I 1 think my leg Is broken I 1 was almost demented and tore at the tha shattered wooI woodwork ork which made his prison with my fingers but only to increase his agony without It hout freeing him from his hie ho horrible trible position and already the atmosphere was like that ot of a furnace and bell itself seemed to bo be open I 1 could not save him but I 1 might save myself I 1 knew tho door on the other si side deas was unlocked so that I 1 might attempt to escape that way 1 I prepared foi flight but before I 1 had taken the first step I 1 was stayed by my m friend a voice I 1 james he be ailed and the roaring 0 of the flames almost drowned hla his voice which was and chrell with horror put me out of my misery save yourself lf but shoot me through he be biala first quick quick it was aas the roost death and without pausing a second which on that awful day might have meant a life I 1 drew the revolver placed it to its hla temple my godl god front from tile tho and pulled the even as I 1 heard board the report a thin tongue ot of name flame curled upward ard through the splintered flooring and without ts eten een looking back without even a glance tit at IV face of my friend friand I 1 foicey open the door and sprang from the now burning carriage with mith the smoking weapon wt apon grasped in my right hand in doing so I 1 trod upon some shouldering ing timber and wien wrenched ched my ankle severely verely ee so BO that for a long time I 1 is nas as lame A few hours later and I 1 was con keyed to to town toan an together with nith a corn com pany of 0 the other survivors surN ivors ant and as soon as I 1 reached my destination my strength forsook me and I 1 was as pros tooted for days bv a nerious illness tile the result of my late terrible expert ence inalien ahen I 1 recovered it was to find that there was a title huo anti anil cry already after me that the partially consumed corpse of a first class passenger had been discovered dige shot through the head and that all the evidence c pointed to tho the crime having basing been committed by a fellow traveler who had niale male his es cape during the terror and confusion ot of the catastrophe anti and who was aas being eagerly sought for since then I 1 have had to submit to the ordeal ot of seeing myself by the reward of one hundred pounds Off offered tred for my detection and have lived in fit dally and hourly fear of being charged the committal of 0 this crime it if crime it can be called of 0 which aich I 1 wits was in thought it not in deed it is this which is kill ing me and I 1 do not regi et it I 1 sometimes I 1 regret nothing not sven even thu the shot which hleb took my best beat friend a life anti and branded me with the brand of cain CHAPTER dr jeremiah jeremiahh hs a little bill tula tills aka A all the reader drew a long shuddering breath my aly gol cod I 1 he h voice and everything seem cwiak lair to fill fall hiru hi ru fur the moment monel tt in the taco tace or of the revelation which had bad burst upon him my ily godl god to think that I 1 should know the tha truth at I 1 last astl but how marvelous marve loui lowi 1 11 how ow utterly be yond the re realization of my wildest dreams not for an instant did it occur to him to think the nar narral rathe he false it was too astounding and what was more it agreed so BC exactly with all the strange and hitherto mysterious clr cir cum curn stances which had attended the tragedy and the man he had wrong ed the man he had hunted down and would mould have betrayed to death belles ing him to be the vilest of his species whose whole bole nature he had bad read falsely by the light of his unjust sus BUS pic pinions ions ills his ees were closed he seemed to be hardly breathing had ho be fainted or was waa this death was wag he to be left alone and in the dark with it a dead or dying man lie rushed to tho the door and dished out of the house bouse in search of a doe doc tor james ferrers was not dead but the nearest medical man on leang rein summoned to the house shook his head bead over tiie taia case heart he said ald briefly I 1 get him to bed I 1 do not think he will ever need to get up again dy this time the whole household was roused and the sick man a daugh ter was hanging in speechless grief brief over her fathers father s unions unconscious c fous form at one time it was mas feared that he be would pass away unconscious hut but the untiring application ot of restorative 3 was at last productive of some effect and two or three hours later the dy ing man opened his ees lie he saw his daughter kneeling be side ills his pillow and not tar far away hla his old friend s bon who by some means had asserted and maintained a right to remain in the hick room the doctor seeing that the patient bad regained consciousness for a while beffie the end stood aside so as not cr I 1 have nothing to forgive was the broken answer to interfere with those last solemn moments the dking mans man s gaze rested upon the oung man who in obedience to a gesture approached and bent over him veth a strange intensity and hn ahli lips moved do you forgive he be murmured close pi OB to the other a ear car so BO that the words maht be heard by none but him for whom they were intended I 1 have nothing to foi forgive foigl give ve was the broken anaw anav er you acted for the best and I 1 bless aou ou for it I 1 A look of peace fell upon the corpse like countenance upon the pillow anti and he turned his ees again upon lite hla daughter I 1 don t gi leve much for me my child said he and when I 1 am I 1 gone ile he gave a deep sigh hla his eyes closed and ills his head fell a little to one side tile the doctor pressed pi essed formaad foiw ai d I 1 this is the ind t nd he be said and a very peaceful one but it was not quite the end once more the dying eyes opened open ed and fixed themselves upon tho the pale pill remorseful face of the young man inan who had bad once hoped to see him expiate his deed upon the scaffold then he ha turned them irani roni him to the bowed head of the girt girl who knelt with alth her face hidden upon the other side of the bed and back again ills ilia lips move movell for the last time but no words issued from them hem lie he tried again and this time though there was mas no sound it seemed to tho the other who had his eyes fixed them and lilt his ear strained to catch the lightest Alil that the motion of the lips might be translated into the words keep my secret I 1 will mill I 1 will he answered and even as lie he uttered these words the end came the next day ted burritt returned home unexpectedly the first thing he did was to arte a brief summary of events to dr jore aniah cartwright who ho la in spite of the very short time which had bad elapsed since his hia last visit apulu airala duade his at a bearance pe aranco arance at magnolia Alag nolla lodge osten sibly to hear bear flit guither ther de details falls but F core ore particularly to carry out a deep laid scheme of his own oun ard and what do yoa mean to doehl I 1 mean about the soang boung lady 01 rii tx look as though hoi iEli iou dont understand abat I 1 am talking about ls ie I e tot lot forgotten what you yon toll TOO me about her what a beautiful blushi blu sli anti anil the little gentleman chuch chuckled lel then all at once I 1 erasie preter ily gym grave ity by lh boby ly lie its gall sa dow irta tr ly and with a noticeable tendency to abold N old his friends friend 8 eye about that bill of 0 mine ted looked surprised dill bill he repeated yes bill continued the doctor Y you ou dlan t suppose I 1 was going to let you off did you you haven t foi boigot got ten tan what I 1 said eald a little while back about sending one in have you the oung boung man looked and felt non I 1 have made up my mind to take taha it in kind what I 1 mean is continued dr Cart carturight Aright that instead ot of receiving payment for whatever eier services I 1 mas haie base rendered in ready money I 1 am willing to take it out in some other article and what might that article be was the natural but still perplexed in fit your sister was as the brief and much to the point response by jove was the exclamation i called forth follo followed Aed by you dont mean it dont don t I 1 thought though was the deter mined reply lye ive been meaning it for some time past what s more ive I 1 ve sounded the young lady 1 I dont don t mean with a stethoscope and she gasn t half so much surprised as you seeni seem to be the brother of the young lady I 1 la question burst out laughing 1 I suppose I 1 shall haie hae to give in ind I 1 may as well do it sooner than later about three months later a gentleman in the most irreproachable attire c called at the residence of the late james ferrers esq of belmont house hampstead and requested to see miss bliss ferrers that 3 oung lady who tad had descended to encounter her visitor quite in agnor ance as aa to his identity was confounded beyond measure to discover in the supposed stranger et ranger none other than that same individual whom she had first met at the royal hoyal academy and who had afterwards after ocasio occasioned ned her the greatest perplexity of mind by doub ling the part of ct the young man who waited at table and cleaned the plate on he had bad grown gron the loveliest moustache and it seemed perfectly fir possible to imagine tor for a moment that he had bad ever lone done such 9 thing as aa polish the folks and spoons and make himself generally general useful ted plunged at once into the object of his visit 1 I should have called much sooner he be remarked with a compassionate glance at her deep mourning I 1 but N was as afraid of intruding upon our retire ment I 1 hane hae a statement to make an explanation to give which I 1 cannot withhold any longer lie ile came nearer to her and oh the presumption of the creature I 1 actually ventured to tale take her hand do aou ou remember being at the academy one day last june and drop ping lour our catalogue 9 did she not but she made no audible reply and the explanation th thus pro propitiously fly commenced was continued without any interruption beyond an oc cas casl onil ional wiled exclamation on the pat pait t of its recipient it is not necessary however to report the whole bole of what passed durl during 11 9 the interview A certain only of it need be referred to as being of some interest and you really mean to say sald said miss alias ferrers to the young man you mally mean to say that iou fell in love with me then and there and took the situation and put up with evert everything bing just for the sake of being under the same root roof with mith mea ile he looked at her strangely for a moment beffie answering what other reason could there have beena lie asked she clapped her hands bands together in delight whatever will the alls at school say to this the end |