| Show THE MISSING MAN by MARY R P HATCH author of the bank tragedy copyright 1892 by lei od shepard CHAPTER X cont aued the man looking at him wondered but he did not know mr hamilton so he wondered less presently how ever as a quiver went through her eyelids her husband dropped on his knees beside her and clasped her hand in one of his but the watcher thought and said in a low hesitating voice constance my wife nd she opened her ees and looked at him vaguel at first then with a questioning half frightened manner the mar gazed into her face as 1 he would drink his nil of its sweet lineaments the eager gaze did not seem to please her and she drew away her hand there is much to explain she said gravely for she was now quite recovered reco ered biou are right constance and this is not the place for ou now and he glanced at the monument casual as was the look it brought the color to her face and she arose and drew down her veil mr hamilton and his wife passed out together and up the street to their bouse both silent both evidently con strained by deep emotions of which they did not speak the one to the other till they reached the hamilton grounds sir hamilton he d open the gate for his wife to enter and it reacted with a bang that made start nervously f you are not well said her husband and no wonder no I 1 am not well and as you say it Is no wonder they were soon at the door and they entered the ho ise together but constance with a hes tating step finally as they stood side by side in the sitting room she whirled sudden ly about and cried hysterically hysteric lly why did you leave mea why did you leave mea constance can you believe I 1 would leave iou willingly B heal ens you are the most beautiful woman I 1 ever why dd you leave me saw walking away from her in great agitation but you are tired your uncle will be here tonight I 1 will explain all then meanwhile you must rest go to your room and 1 will sit here she looked at him gratefully then as if a sudden recollection seized her she murmured something about the children yes they will be home from school soon I 1 suppose I 1 must wait they will find I 1 have not forgotten their commissions he said smiling constance stood watching him while he talked and then with a dazed questioning look in her aes walked toward the door I 1 will do as you say she said for I 1 am very tired his look followed her from the room then as the swish of her long silken gown died away and the door closed behind her he turned his face away and struck his breast with his clenched hand but no word broke the stillness perfectly immovable and rigid he stood in the middle of the room for several minutes then he walked about examining the pictures books and the view from the window as is the way with one who has been long absen and upstairs in her room with her door locked constance lay on her bed with wide open eyes gaz ing at the belling and thinking study ing at tea time mr carter arrived St rangel enough no tidings of mr hamilton s return had reached him and it was therefore a positive hock to see him sitting there with perley in his arms and are beside him while constance with grave pied gaze was busy about some trifling household matter bless my soul vane he cried and stopped gasping vane grasped him heartily by his hand and said yoi badat headd of my arrival hen not a word not one word well I 1 am glad more than glad to see you back hey constance vaguely un GAS at his nieces stillie stil lne yes uncle but ia ha not ex yet why he w ar eone so long yes I 1 will tell ou dlhy i stayed so long when I 1 meant to have re turned in two weeks you will won der greatly when I 1 tell you that I 1 lost all knowledge of my own identity my very name even soon after I 1 left grovedale Grov edale my memory was gone to tally absolutely what I 1 did or saw or where I 1 went then I 1 1 now no more than you do it was as it I 1 had sunk into a dreamless sleep after 1 left you that constance Is the reason I 1 did not leburn constance did not speak and he continued my mind was blank for weel s or I 1 sl sa m past was a blank for I 1 somehow n an aged to support mbelk through man ual labor perhaps for when I 1 regain ed m consciousness I 1 was at work with a gang ot men iu seattle wash ington hen she aske I 1 tid this loss of memory come to I 1 think about the time I 1 reached portland tor I 1 recollect some inci dents of the journey there in a vague way but nothing clearl do ou recollect a woman s ing to you on the street before you took the cars at she came out of the essex house yes I 1 recollect that perfectly she was a stranger a very pretty woman with curiously tinted hair almost green or am I 1 mistaken 9 he asked with a puzzled loolu no they said she had green hair said mr carter she ought to have traveled with barnum well what did she want of you she thought she knew me at first but I 1 assured her of her mistake but did she not go on the train with you to portland or part of the waya asked constance not that remember and yet stay that is one of the vague decol sections I 1 alluded to it seems some times as if I 1 did see and talk with her on the train you certainly did vane the con ductor sas so but she did not go as far as portland did ia yes I 1 thought so that is about the only thing I 1 recollect distinctly vane said 1 is uncle suddenly do you suppose any of your actions were questionable I 1 mean unlawful 7 I 1 hope not said vane looking startled still I 1 don t know I 1 know I 1 was do ng good honest work in se attle when I 1 came to any one can be ass ired of that by writing to barnacle Bai nacle co seattle washing ton there is something back of our questioning what Is it vane you are looked upon as a de caulter here in grovdale Gro edale A defaulter why I 1 did not take one penny of the bani f ads when I 1 went awa I 1 remember that pr fecto es but tony osborn declares ou came to the bank on tie twenty sec ond at about seven clock in the evening he must have been mistaken no he Is positive and bes des there is proof of it what you spoke to him hullo says tony ou said the same and that he probably dian didn t expect to see you so soon he said he dian didn t and passed on you opened the door with your own key and went in strange what does it meana did I 1 come herec iso you evidently came as far as the river bank and there all trace seemed swallowed up we thought ou might have been drowned A man was found in the river his re mains I 1 mean and constance had them buried at her expense but how do 01 know I 1 came to the rivera your traveling cap and one of your shirt studs were found there the last by an italian employed on the rail road the first by tony osborn an other shirt stud was found on the desk at the bank the morning after you entered it who says soa tony does tony think me a defaulter 7 no he does not he and con stance and and myself were the only ones who believed ou innocent henderson too thought as I 1 did but of course we were obliged to settle the bonds did it go so far as thata then son ething was taken from the bank it must have been a burglar a ho entered and deceived tony some how no not that nothing was actual 1 miss ng and the pass books were all right but it was the notes one of bow estes the other of cotton what of thema simon low declares you presented those ver notes I 1 mean bowles estes which he deposited in the na bani and he says that he paid ou five thousand dollars for it on the as collateral the note was but five hundred dollars originally until the amo nt was altered he got up and walked the room in great agitation what abbit the other cotea that was presented in the same wa the face altered to read four dollars inroad of four hun dred dollars the ushler u coniff not swear it was you but he supposed everything ery thing to be all right low declares he could not hae been mistake for he knows you as well as I 1 do yes low knows me but I 1 be lieve he has been deceived I 1 will see him and talk with him nine thousand dollars Is that the suma yes and m bondsmen had to pay ita yes well it shall be paid back every cent of it if it can be really proved that it was I 1 who tool it but as the matter now star ds it looks to me like a to il conspiracy to rob me of my good name though why any one sheild want to do it I 1 cant conceive ton must have been taen it must have been a b inglar so we tho ight until we heard from lo 10 icae had at ed mr hamilton after a period of deep tho ight yes t of them private detective pruce ani swan of the police head q in boston S an folio ed the river affair freie tho ight to have been drowned or and bruce 1001 ed up the defa biting matter he fancied at one time that he got on the trail of you or some one that looked like you in the west a man named ashley what sort of a man was ashley bad sort a ban swindler bruce saw his photograph looked like you bless my soul who 1 nowa but he was the man low saw I 1 thought of that but it seema too uncil ely for belief ashley had a wife named lenora said mrs hamilton Is the name new to youa she asked keenly it is I 1 never remember to have heard it and yet ou said in your dreams the night before you went away lenora nora a pretty name he looked at her in are 50 i yes and the green haired who anol e to you was named lenora and she was ashley s wife I 1 have no le collection of any such name dreams are hard to explain but how do you inov all this about ashley and a wife named lenoraa it was brought out by bruce s in said mr carter you see there was reason for suspicions so it seems this ashley may be my lo 10 ble well I 1 shall look into the matter tall aith low and if I 1 find beyond doubt that I 1 have teen guilty of altering notes and other question able acts I 1 will set them right to be contini ed |
