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Show ! ALLEN GKRAY; -ON TIib Mystery of Torley's Point i ? ' Beta - Fow Bomantio Chapters I From.the Ufa of a Country I Editor. ST JOHN X. XUSIUJL, I Mntonor uWALnaUnowi(riiLD,,"iiBuia .. ixiax," "BAKKin or BiDroaa," I xra Otui Stomal. PL (fryfrfcU; . r tkt . X. XitUfi Jtm. WJ jijiir Cempesir. ! J urowing tired of tho silly follow's nntlcs, i ' tho editor turned to his dcsl: and tried to t bury hlmsolf In his business, llut notwlth- t stunding tlio many exciting nnd ludicrous oventr, his rilnd was net wholly won nway & from tho mystery which scorned to bo real- ',' . ly blighting his life, and kept his thoughts ' front business. In his buslost moments, tJuf , amid tho most exciting ovcnt3,tho cry: "In Jf, Ucavcn's namo p.ro Mm!'' rung on his 'CNs oar. Tho sweet, sad face of tho mystic f glrlt whom ho could not but love, seemed M alwayn beforo him, pleading with tier largo W Lluo eyes for rollcf. Sur , i "WhoorQyoul Who arc you t" ho asked SL ' himself again and again as tho vision roso Sh" beforo his mind. Ten thousand tormenting wf fiends socmed constantly aggravating him fc with their Uoubtn and fears. MB "I will know tho worst," ho declared to Vw himself. " If I havo to board tho lion In his K den, I will know all." sm Tho stranger from Billy's Creel: wa for ;, gotten, so wholly was Alton absorbed with SP' thoughts of tho otono houso on the hill. Tho rustlo bully had grown weary with cursing ??' and striking tho air, nnd, m no nno scorned &A to dlsputo hts Utla to bo " tho best man on mu dirt," ho left tho village, to carry to his & friends a wonderful story of how ho had Jig mado tho editor quail. Br Tho editor, raoantlmo, sat In oblivion of $m his oxtstence, wiicn ho vras start ed by a ' S sob. Looking around, ho was not u liulo 'jL' surprise) to seo1IUsI;cthy Hopkins stand- & Ing just within tho door. 'VHR. " Why, Mli3 Hopklni, aro jou horol" tbo ,Jga wondering c.llt or asked. J9BE " Ah, aro you liurtl" she sobbed, hystcrio- mHL, .. " ' .,.,!,' No,' ho answered, In astonishment. !PSflVll?t. 'y "Oh, I-that Is -si.--vl, wis afraid thatu 'irtSWW' " "-'vloloncohad.boon dono .vou,'-!' gasped. Miss" .yy'Wi ;'. Hopkins, slnklag Into ncbair. Jtip'tV- ' Tnisuro.vou that I am uninjured." ' TjA i "Butti? looked bo furious!" il "Thoro la littlo dangor H looks." , "And I had such a dread of lilm." " Ho b gonb now, nnd ciii.il) you no in- Jury," oulj tho editor, mljlntorprotiug tho ;j old maid. j "Oil, Mr. Dray, 1 I would not havo had him Injure you for tho world, and wo woro J ' talking so pleasantly, too, when ho camo ', In." "So wo .were," roturncd Allen. "I bo- , llovo wo wcro talking about tho mystery of Turley'o Point, woro wo not!'' 1 "I?o, no oh, yoa roguo, yoj know about i,' what wo-woro talking," said illn Loothy, p , wiping hor oyoj nnd blushing prof usoly bo- , hind her handkcix-hlsf. A , If ho co jiprchcndud Miss Hopkins ho did v not pretend to, but la a cool, ovon volco "t said: w "Iwasgoingtoaskyousomotbing about l4 that oil Uouso on tho hlX" V " Don'tyou know It h forbidden toplol" " Vos, gcacrully It Is," ho nniworcd, with " aslfth. "It is not every ono that I would talk with on this subject, but U3 wo havo occasionally exchanod confidonco on other t subjects, wo might on this." k "Oh, ofcourca" Sho managed to blush B qulto''profu3oIy now, and coyly pinching at m tho folds of her dross, gathorcd them down M' Into narrow plaits. H "I thought you vrould bo willing to toll mo Vi all you know about tho matter." Y "Oh, yos." f J Sho sighed and gavo him a glacco from ) i tho cornor of hor uyos. , "What Is tho namo of tho man who Uvos ' I in tho stono housot" Allon nskod, without ' "J noticing hor look or making an effort to 8 tfanslato it ' A "Homo say It's Colllns.but ho has a groat, 3 big French name, something llko Do Col I Hour, which taoy say Is his roal name, and " that ho took tho namo of Collins In placo of g' It, becauso It Is coster to pronounce" 5 "How many havo thoy In family at tho rock housol" f "That Is vory difficult to ascortala Bomo i say thoro aro sovcral, others that thoro are 4 not many. They havo a good mnny servants, ; 9 but, as all talk French, no ono can find out ' l any thing from them." I "Did it novcr strlko you that thoro Is a j V great deal of romance about this slugularly l M mysterious old houso on tho hill?" Wl ' "Yos, sir, It has," sho answered; "and I j , bellovo that It would bo an excellent tbcm for a story." " "It might. What do you know of HI'' V f "Oh, not much." "f a "How long havo you known that toll, j dark-wblskorcd manl" 4 "I don't know him at all." "You moon you havo no formal acquaint- oncol" !X "No, sir." jr " How long unco you first saw him!" H " Throo or four yoars ago." hi "Had ho boon hero beforo that tlmot" Li , "I havo heard that ho had. Ho has been ju Uvlng at tho old stono houso on tho hill, at ) W, i short periods, for sovoral years." e 4 '"I bollevo you said that a young lady '$ was onco soon within thoso walls I" '' f'Ves, sir; that was only a fow months ago. I havo heard that she was seen again 'J " ' within thof last fow days. Boms ono discovered discov-ered hor Bitting on a rustic scat beneath an T K 4 CEDAR 1 oia oaK, at u spring on too MlUsldo, botwece tho vlllago and tho rock houso." "Whoisshol" " No ono knows. Sho seems to bo nn additional ad-ditional mystery. It is generally supposed that sho is tho daughter of tbo dark-whiskered dark-whiskered master of tho stono houso." "8ho has no roscmblanco toblmwhat-evor," toblmwhat-evor," Interposod Allen. "You havo scon hor then." " From tho description I havo had of hor, sho has no rcscmblanco to him." "No; yet parents nnd children aro sometimes some-times very dissimilar."-" dissimilar."-" Do you think sho has lived thoro longt" "No, sir, sho can not havo been there more than a fow months at most," answered an-swered Miss Hopkins. "Bho was nover icon about tbo ptaco until recently." "Havo you over heard of any chtldron oclng seen or heard thcrol" "No, sir." " Do you think thcro nro nnyt" "Thcro nro nono. They would find It tm-posslblo tm-posslblo to keep a child within thoso great walls so qulot and sllont that it would not bo seen or heard by somo ono," answered tho school-teacher. "Docs that dark-whiskorod man mako frequent trips away I" "I supposo ho docs-It Is soldom, however, how-ever, that any ono ovor sees him go away or coino back. For weeks at a tlmo bo Is not scon, nnd then wo know ho Is away from tho old houso on tho hill. Then all of a sudden sud-den ho Is discovered walking about tho olg houso, or even coming to tho vlllago, but making tho acquaintance of no ono. Bomo pcoplo think that ho If tho chief of a banditti nnd goes away to his rendezvous occisionally. Tbon thcro Is an old mothor Tiffin wbo bcliovcs la witchcraft. Bho says he Is a wizard, and that the strange sights scon and strange volcos heard there so often nro tho result of his wild Incantations Incanta-tions and invocations of tho evil spirit. 1 have heard pcoplo say that thoy have heard screams, shrieks nnd wild, demoniac laughter laugh-ter from within that old house, which almost al-most froze tho blood in their veins." Allen, having wltnoasod somo of those atrango sights and heard somo of thoso mysterious noises, did not think that sho was oxagtroratlng them in tho least. But his strong common senso told him that thcro was nothing supernatural In all bo had seen and hoard. It could all bo vory easily accounted ac-counted for If proporly understood. Ho was not so much Interested In tho bouso and tho mysterious sights and sounds emanating from It as In tho beautiful, mysterious Bertha. "Do you know any thing of the yotf 7, , lady I" ho asked. j'L-'tttl':;--ii,'j.ii . , 'N6?.l,V.siwnreStryfwnaeVf oxprosslon flitted over hor faco which bo could not understand, unloss It was a tinge of Jealous fear. r " I "Did you over hoar nny thing about her!" I "Only what I havo told you," sho nn-swercd. nn-swercd. "Bho has never been seen but twice" Ho could havo tnU murk moro of tho great stono houso oa tho UH than any ono know bad ho cheso to C.y so, but ho determined to keep his coumcl lilnsclf. Tbo conversation twrnn to drag, and as It was growhn Uto, uud oho considered the young editor frca from any further danger at present, JIlsi Loethy Ilepldm left the ofilco. Allen's rico w.t convulsed with mental cntunh, and, striking his desk with his fist, lio cald: " This hn gam lit enough. Iloltllfoor death, mbery or happiness, Heaven or hell, I will probo that niyMory I will know all beforo another t un risos. I will go to tho tall stranger r.m demand an explanation, avonlf hOBhoota'ina deod on his door-step. Death Is protn-ablo to another night of mis-' cry and doubt." With this desperate rosolvo fresh on his tips and ongravon In his heart ho seized his lint, nnd loavin ; Toby to closo the ofilco, left tho vtllara and hurried up tho old disused road to tbo great stono houso on tho hill. CIIAPTZR XVIL now Tunt.r.T' voint ncrxATED nr.ngEt-r. When Allen Gray reached tbo bouso on tho hill, Instead of going around It as ho bad done on fonnor occasions, ho walked directly direct-ly up to tho groat front gato and tried to enter It; but It wai locked. His first thought was to scalo tho wall, which ho could havo dono by going to tho rear, but seeing a servant In tho front yard ho called to him. "I want to seo your master," he said. Tbo servant, who understood somo English, En-glish, shook his head, saying: "Zo monsieur gono zo monsieur gone. Monslour no come no corao bon jaur tnon-lour tnon-lour 1" And turning about, wont away. Alton waited h bnj whilo at tho gato, hoping ho would boo aimo ono clso to whom bo could appoaL Darkness came ovor tho sarth, and ho was at last forced to leave. Slowly nnd sadly ho turned about and went Sown tho hllb bis head bowed In thought. "Af tcr all, am 1 not a fooll"ho said." Why need I carol What can sho bo to raol" But It was folly for him to altompt to drlvo her anago from his mind; It bad been indelibly stamped upon his heart and could never be effaced. Bho had been no coquette seeking conquests; she hud mado no advance nor evinced any boldness, oven when visiting him by night, to havo him take tho litttoboy to Frcncbtowu. Bhe seemed to havo been reared In seclusion seclu-sion and taught to look upon every ono as an enemy. It was only tbo direst necessity that induced hor to trust htm on that occasion. occa-sion. "I will banish bor from my mind," ho resolved, re-solved, and for weeks mado heroic efforts to do so. Ho was partially pldod by the potty annoyances, which, like tho sllngof hornets, tended to divert hi J mind from greater suffering. suf-fering. It was only a week after his unsuccessful visit to tho groat stono houso that ho was Interrupted ono morning by the abrupt entrance en-trance of Mr. Tom Glnmons. "I want to know tho truth from youl" crtea tbo czcitca tiuonio is. " Do you mean to nsmunto that I havo been telling you lnlscboodsl" demanded Allen, angrily. " No no I don't; but I want to know all Jl It now." "Tell mo what It la you want to know, 1 )r - - - 7 h Mi- K I : I "I WAST TO BEE 10CU MASTEK." and you khall lroow all of Itl" said Allon, with considerable spirit. "Do you Intend supportin' ma for tho Leglslatur'l" " I havo signed, scaled nnd delivered my contract to do so, and I certainly will." ' " Aro you coin' to support Qoorgo Btrongt" " Not for Heprencntatlvo." "For any otd col" " Yos." " What!" roared Tom Simmons. " Foi Rberiff." Is Ho runntn' for shcrlffl" "Yes." " Why didn't you tell mo oooncrl Havo yo published my announcement yltt" 1 " It Is sot up, Und will nppsar with tho next issue I" " Cbango It. Put mo In for sheriff. I wouldn't hov the Legislator' If I could got ' It I'm golu' to run fur sheriff." 1 " But roinombcr yonr contract you were to run for'tho LojlsUuwa." "Itcllyol dou't want it. I'vo got ye pledged In wrltln' to siijiport mo, an' I'm agoln' to run fur sheriff an' bust him up or die." I . . 1 ,"But took at yoOr Rntraet and seo if you OM. Don't you too that It you refuse to ' a)naldatc"for7'u3y other oQlco, ttiat you forfolt to mo the oum of ono thousand dol I larsl" 1 "It's a, trick; yo'vo sot. up a Job on mo," I crlod Tom Blmmons, furiously. "I'U not stand It." j "You havo signed tho ngrooiant," I "But you wasn't to work for Strong." I , "Nothinif whs ald about vuom I should or should not aup; .n for uny ruber ofilco. With niy paper mid ln'Juoncc I wai to support sup-port you for tho Legislature, and that was all." "I'vo hecrd ycr gwlno to support Blm-mohs." Blm-mohs." "Inm." "What, artcr yo obligator yorsolf 10 mel" "I support you for sheriff, and him for tho Legislature ' "Is ho runnlni; for tho Lcglslatoorl" "Yes." "Hov yo published my announcement yctl" " It will appear this week." "Chanijo It." "Wliyl" "I'mnotgwmoto run for sncrlSt. I'm gwlno (0 run for tho Lcglslatoor." ' But remember your contract." " What contract!" Allen drow tho written agreement from U10 )l;;cou-holo In bis desk and read It to -ho angry Mr. Strong. "But, then, I dldn'tknow ho was frivino to run f ur tho Loglalctoor," persisted Strong. "Now thct ho Is, I'm gwlno to beat bin, 1 don't kcer n cent what it costs no." "If you run for uny other ofilco than shcrlfT, ytU will forfolt to tin r,no thousand dollars," sold Allen, vory earnestly. "TliuudcratloD I" "Your contract says so," and ho called hts special attention to It. "It's a trick, yo two bev sot up n trick on me, that's all tbar Is 0' It." "No, It'a mo yo sot up a Job on," said Tom Blmmons, at this moment entering tho ofilco somewhat abruptly. Mr. Strong wboclod about and glared furiously at htm. Allen, now quite thanklul that tbo two men woro togcthor to vaut their sploen upon jack other, stood with foldod arms and a imllo on his fare to see what would bu tho result of tho mooting. "You hcahl" roared Btrony. "You licrot" yelled Blmmons. " Yes, on I'm na wino to beat you." " Ti) ngoln to sc yo laid In tho shado cf It busts mo to do It." " Yo'vo allors been n crossln' mo, Tom Blmmons. Ycr ono o' tbo kind t' nllcrs be In a feller's track. It war a mighty eorry ptcco o' timber thoy mado yo out ov any way." . "Jlst say what yo plcaso, I'm ugoln' to boat ye, George Strong, cf it ruins mo fur tho Loglslatur' to do It," Then Strong swore that ho would teat Blmmons, and vowed that ho would rather be defeated any day than seo his enemy elected. "Gentlemen," said Allen, coolly, as ho stood leaning against tils desk watchlne tho angry men, "luy support has been promised prom-ised to both of you nnd you shall havo it. It would bo a foather In our cap to havo both sheriff and Representative from our vlllago. I come hero In tho Interest of Turloy's Folnt, and to that end I am working." "D'yo think yo kin holo Turley's Tint, hv 1 scnain' mm 10 tno A,t-gi8iuioori" asked Strong. " I do." "Then sink Turloy's Pint." " Would It help our town by lectin' him shortffl" roared Blmmons. "Of courso." "Then let 'cr bust" "Gcntlcmon, so long as you entertain such hostile feelings thoro will bo little hopo for tho advancement of our town. If you wish to effect any thing hero, and to build up n thriving commercial center, you must stop this combatting each other; put your shoulders to tho wheel and go to work in curnost for yourselves, for each other and for Turloy's Point" "Mo work for him I Novorl" roared Simmons. Sim-mons. "Think I'm ngwlno to gin him a boost! Not much." said Mr. Strong. "But I shall hold each of you to a strict obsorvanco of tho contracts you havo signal. You shall each of j-ou run for tho oOlccs to which you wcro selected in tho beginning, be-ginning, and I will support both." "I'd rulhor bo beat a thousand times than seo him olectcd," crio I Strong, as ho loft tho ofilco In langungo equally as forcible Blmmons gavo vent to his feelings, as bo rotlrcd also. "I think I begin to seo tho causo of somo of tho trouble with Turloy's Point," said Allen, as ho stood on tho front porch of tho building gazing nftcr tho two receding figures going in different directions. " Tho town Is mado up of antagonistic rings and cliques. Evory man hero would rather die himself than seo Bono ono clso prosper. Thoy havo taken prosperity by tho throat and nro throttling her " Tho sun beamed lazily down upon the sloping roofs of the bouses scattered along tho narrow valley rnd hillsides. Tho Btoro bulldlncn wcrou.s-tlnruislicd by their square fronts and painted signs. Tho usual crowd of loafers wero gathered about tho stores and saloons and wcro sitting on tho porches or counters. The floors wcro well-worn nnd rotting, whlli1 from tho damp warorooms at tho rear ouo could Inhnle tho damp air Issuing Is-suing frn-n decay In t esetr.bloa. Thoro was an air of uullness about tho littlo village, as If it had been sllOcd by tho thick atmosphere at-mosphere of hato " No wnndtr that Turlov's Point Is on tho downward road," said Allen. " With such a class of citizen as tbeso thoro is littlo or no bono of it over reviving." Bummer passed, o.id as tho tlmo for the election drow near tho heated contest among candidates became tfreatcr all ovcrtho country. coun-try. Unkind words worg'iittercd by men irMgUtaMsUHM. of IndtpcndcnccTcuffniigoUcpuljllcan for tho Legislature nnd tho Democrat for sheriff. Ho bcoamo tho mark for many sharp retorts from othor nowspapors, nnd wns accused of riding two horses at onco horses that woro certainly going In different differ-ent directions. As tho contest became moro heated many camo to him to Induco him to glvo up ono of tho candidates, bat tio stated ho was pledged to both, nnd, having tho Interests In-terests of Turlcy'. Point at heart, could not boawirvcd from bis course. His determination alono prevented Blm-mona Blm-mona nnd Strong from withdrawing to do-feat do-feat each other. Candidates from other parts of tho country wero nomlnutctl, a Democrat Demo-crat from Bcntonsvillo was put in nomination nomin-ation for Representative, and n Republican from another vlllago put In nomination by his party for sheriff, against Mr. Strong. Tbo fight waxed hot No slander was too vllo, lower unreasonable for Simmons to tell upon his fellow townsman, Mr. Btrcng, nor could Mr. Strong conjuro up In his fcrttlo Imagination nny thing too base to toll on bis fcllo'v townsman, Simmons. Allen nppcaled In vain to their reason, assuring them that they wero ruining oach other, nud duHtiovIng Ml tbo bones of Turloy's Point Each swore no wouia siu Turlcy'a Point to boat his opponent . It was useless for Allon to advocato the Interests of tho Turloy's Point candidates when they woro dolug all In their powor to ruin each other. Evory good word lio spoko for them was flatly dented. Tho local hntrod which had bllghtod Turloy's Point scemod to culmlnato In wild ragoon election elec-tion day. At ton o'clock In tho forenoon it had bcoamo daugorous to bo out Drunken, burly rudlans woro parading .tho streets to tho torrorof all good citizens. Half a dozen brawls ruged during tbo day, and bluck oyes and bloody nosoa bocumo a common Bight beforo evening. Tho young editor, dUgustod with tho pcoplo, tho town and the election, remained in his ofilco all day. When returns camo In from all tho townships ho was.not surprised to loarn that both tho Turloy's" Point candidates candi-dates woro badly defeated. |
