OCR Text |
Show I Sfe CZARS 5PY The Mystery of a Sileni Love I ' Giralkr WILLIAM U QUflJX ' AUTHOR "WCLOJED DOOR," ETC- A?9??S?s! . . ILLUSTRATIONS C-D-RnQDHSaSB H coprtGHr or rue smart-ssr neujHfir co vsSH?ic5v I W W W Z-JWR H CHAPTER XVI Continued. H 16 H "Well, tlio only Russian who np- H peared to linvo any connection with Hj thorn was Hnron Oborg, tho governor n J gcnoral of Finland, wIioro habit It HH was to spend part of tho winter In H tho Mediterranean. From El ma H Hcnth's conversation at dinner Hint H evening at Nice I gathorcd that sho H and her uncle hnd been guests on the H Iris on scvornl oocnslous, although I H must say thnt Muriel wnn extremely H reticent regarding all that concerned H tho yacht." H "Of courso,' she said quickly. "Now H thnt I have told you tho truth, Jack, H don't you think It was onlv natural?" H "Most certainly, denr," ho answered, H still holding her hand. "Yours was H not a secret that you could very well H tell to mo until you could thoroughly H trust mo, especially as your father H hnd been Implicated in tho theft of B thoso documonts from Malta. Tho H truth Is," ho snld, turning to me, H "Philip Lclthcnurt has all along been H tho catspaw of Hnron Obcrg. A few H years ngo ho was n woll-known money B lender In tho city, and In that capacity H met tho baron, who, being In disgrace, H required n loan. Ho was also In tho H lmblt of having cortnln shady trans H actions with thnt daring gang of con- H tlncntnl thieves of whom Dick Archer H and Hylton Chater were leaders. For H this reason ho purchased n yacht for H tholr use, so that thoy might not only H uso It for tho purpose of storing the H stolen goods, but for tho purpose of H sailing from placo to plnco under the H gulso or wealthy Englishmen travel WW Ing for pleasuro. Upon that vessel, Indocd, was stored thousands and H thousands of pounds' worth of Jowels H and objects of valuo, tho proceeds of H many grent robborlcs In England, H Franco and Rolglum. Sometimes they H traveled for tho purpose of disposing H of tho Jowels In various Inland towns H whero tho gems, having been rccut, H were not recognized, while at other H times, Chater and Archer, assisted H by Mackintosh, tho captain, and Ollnto H Snnttnl, tho steward, sailed for a port, H landed, committed a robbery, and then L' sailed away again, qulto unsuspected, H as rich Englishmen." H "And tho crow?" I asked, after a H. pause. H "They wcro, of courso, well paid, H and wore kept In Ignoranco of what H tho supposed owner and his friends H did ashoro." H "Out Oborg's connection with it?" H I asked, surprised at thoso rovela-H rovela-H H "Ah!" exclaimed Murlol. "Tho in H genulty or that crafty villain Is fiend- H lali. Dcforo ho got into tho czar's H favor ho owed my father a largo sum, H and then sought how to ovade repay- H ment. Dy means of his spies ho dls- H covered tho real purposo of the H cruises of tho Iris for I was often H taken on board with a maid in order H to allay any suspicion that might Hg arlso ir only men wero cruising. Then H ho not only compelled my father to H cancel tho debt, but ho impressed th- B vessel and thoso who owned and na- B gated It Into tho scctet scrvico i m Itussia. A dozon times did wo make H nttempts to obtnln secret papers from H- Italian, French and English dock- H yards, but only once In tho enso of H "" Malta und onco at Toulon did wo sue- H cccd. Ah I Mr. Gregg," sho added. m "you do not know nil tho anxiety I H suffered, how at ovory hour wo wero H In danger of betrayal or capture, and M of tho hundred narrow escapes wo H have had of customhouse oinccrs H rummaging tho yacht for contraband. B You will no doubt recollect tho sen r satlon caused by the theft of tho H Jowels of tho Princess Wllhelmlne of H Schaumbourg-Llppo from tho lady's M maid in tho rapldo between Cannes H and Les Arcs, tho robbery from the H Marseilles branch of tho Credit Lyon- Hj nals, and tho grent haul of plato from 1 tho chateau of Dardon, tho Paris mil- M llonalro, close to Arcnchon." B "Yes," I said, for they were all rob- B borloB of which I had read In tho WW newspapers a couple of years before. H "Well," sho said, "thoy were all m committed by Archer or Woodroffo B and his gang with accomplices W ashore, of course and never once did IH it seem that any suspicion fell upon BH us. While tho police wero frantically VH searching hither and thither, we used Bfl to weigh anchor and calmly steam B away with our booty on board. Wo aVB had with us an old Dutch lapidary, VAWA and one of the cabins was fitted as n JjM workshop, whero ho altered tho ap ftM pearance of tho stones, and prepared fifsyjl them ready for sale while tho gold )j$jm was melted in a crucible and put jPS. nshoro to be sent to agents In Ham- ffif&- burK'" WtWk. "But that night in Leghorn?" I said. rfVyMw "What happened to poor Elma?" SvtHMBik "l Jo not know'" waa Muriel's reply. TwflB "Wo woro ljoth on l0ard together, and vtnt&WEBk standing at tho crack of tho door jBsfflLh. watched you oltting at dinner that uwoko me, and snld that tho baron was taking her nshoro, and that thoy wcro to travol overland bnck to Lon don. Sho was ready dressed to go. I kissed her, and promising to meet her soon, wo pnrtcd. That was tho lost I Baw of her. What happened to her nrterwnrds only sho alono can tell us." "Imt sho Is not tho baron's nleco?" I snld "No. Thcro Is nomo mystery," dn-Glared dn-Glared Murlolv "Sho holds somo secret se-cret which ho fenrs sho may divulge. Hut of what naturo, I am in Ignorance." Ignor-ance." "You say that your father has never tnken any nctlvo part In tho robberies? rob-beries? Where Is ho now?" 1 asked. "Ah!" sho exclaimed sadly, her faco pnlo nnd haggard "1 havo hoard that tho vessel wan , scuttled somewhero In tho Baltic " I "That fir true. Oberg's purpose having been Bcrvod, ho domnnded half tho property on board or ho would glyo notice to tho Russian naval authorities au-thorities that tho plrnto yacht was afloat. IIo attempted to blackmail my father, as ho had already dono bo many times, but his schema wns frustrated frus-trated My father, because of his In-human In-human treatment of poor Elma, defied him, when it appears that dborg, Who was In Ilolslngfors, telegraphed to tho admiral or tho Russian fleet In tho Rattle Rat-tle Tho crow from tho Iris wore at onco lauded at Riga, nnd only Mackintosh Mackin-tosh and my father put to sea again. Ah! my father was desporate, for ho know tho merciless character of thnt man whoso victim ho hnd been for so long. Thoy watched a Russian cruiser benrlng down upon them, when, Just as it drow near, thoy got oft in n boat and blow up tho yacht, which Rank in threo minutes with Its lll-ob-tnlncd wealth on bonrd." "And your rather?" Sho was silent, nnd I Baw tears standing In her eyes. "Thoro wns a tragedy," Jack explained ex-plained In a low, hoarse volco. "He and tho captain did not, unfortunately, unfortunate-ly, get sufllclcntly far from tho yacht wl&n they blow her up, and they went down with her." And I looked In silenco at Muriel, who stood with her head bent and her whlto faco covered with hor hands. Almost at tho snmo moment thcro was a low tap at tho door, and the servant maid announced: "Mr. Santlnl. miss." "Ah!" exclaimed Jack quickly, ns Ollnto entered the room. "Then you had my noto! Wo havo asked you hero to reveal to us this dastardly plot which scorned to havo been formed against Mr. Gregg and mysolf. As you know, 1'vo had a narrow en-capo," en-capo," "I know, slgnoro. And tho slgnor commendntoro Is also threatened." "Dy whom?" "Dy thoso who killed my poor wife, nnd who Intended also to Bllenco me," was his answor. "Tho Bamo who compelled you to take mo to thnt house whero tho fatal chair was prepared, el?" "It was Archer, who, fearing that you camo to London in search of them, dovlsod thnt devilish contrivance," ho said In "his broken English. Then , continuing, ho went on florcoly: "Now that I havo discovered why my poor Armlda was klllod, I will tell tho i truth, and not sparo them. SInco ! you loft Scotland, slgnore, I hnvo been ' up In Dumfries, and have discovered several facts which pro;o that for somo reason known only to himself, Loithcourt. while at Rannoch, wroto to both Armlda and mysolf separately, : making an appointment to see us at tho same time at that spot on the odgo of the wood, ns ho had somo secret commission to entrust to us. Tho letter addressed to mo apparently apparent-ly foil Into Bomcono else's hands probably one of tho secret agents or Baron Oberg, who wero always watching watch-ing Loithcourt's doings, and he. anxious anx-ious to learn what was Intended, mado hlmseir up to look llko mo, and kept tho appointment In my placo. Armlda. having received tho letter unknown to me, went up to Scotland, nnd wns nlao thoro nt tho appointed time. What nctuully trrnsplred can only be surmlBod, yet It seems that Leithcourt was in tho habit or going up to thnt spot and loitering there in the evening eve-ning in order to meet Chater In secret, as tho latter was In hiding In a small hotel In Dumfries. Therefore thoso who formed the plot must hnvo endeavored en-deavored to throw suspicion upon Loithcourt. It Is plain, however, as both myself nnd Armlda knew tho gang, it wns to tholr Interest to get rid of us, because tho suspicions of the police had at last become nrpused. Poor Armlda was therefore ' deliberately delib-erately enticed there to her denth, while tho Inquisitive man whom the assassin took to bo myself was also struck down." "Dy whom?" "Not by Chater, for ho was In London Lon-don on that night," "Then by Woodroffo?" Durnford said. "Without a doubt. It wob all most cleverly thought out, It was to his advantage alone to closo our lips, becauso In that same fatal chair in Lambeth old Jacob Mouer, tho Jew - t ti bullion broker of Hatton Garden, met his death a moBt dastardly crimo, with which nono or his Wends wero associated, and of which wo albno held knowledge IIo thorcforo wroto to ub as though from Loithcourt, calling ub up to Rannoch, in order to strlko tho blows in tho darkness," no added In his peculiar Italian manner man-ner "Dcsldes, ho reared wq would tell tho slgnoro tho truth." "You havo not told tho police?" "I dnru not, slgnoro. Surely tho leris (ho pollco know about this mntter tha better, otherwise tho Slgnorlnn Leithcourt Leith-court must suffer for her father' avarlco and ovll-dolng." "Yes," cried Jack anxiously. "That's right, Ollnto. Tho pollco must know nothing, Tho reprisals wo must mnko ourselves. Hut who wno It who shot mo In Suffolk street?" "Tho snmo man, Martin Woodrorfe." "Then tho nssassln is back troin Russia?" "Ho followed closoly behind the Slgnor Commcndatoro. Markoff, a clover secret ngont ot Raron Oborg's, came with him." Then ror tho first time I recollected that tho man I had recognized In tho Strnnd waa a fellow 1 had seen lounging loung-ing In tho antoroom or tho palace of tho governor-general ot Finland. Tho pair, rearing thnt I should reveal what I knew, wcro undoubtedly in London to tnko my llfo 111 sccrot. Now that Loithcourt wns dead, Woodroffo hnd United forces with Oborg, and Intended Intend-ed to nllonce mo becnuso thoy reared that Elma, besides escaping them, had also revealed her secret. "I trust that tho Slgnorlnn Leithcourt Leith-court has explained tho story or tho yncht nnd Its crow," Ollnto rcmarkod. "And hns also shown you how I wnB Implicated. You will therefore discern tho renson why I hnvo hitherto feared to glvo you any explanation." "Yes," I said, "MIbb Leithcourt has told mo a great deal, but not ovory-thing. ovory-thing. I cannot yet gnther for what reason sho and her rather fled rrom Rannoch." "Then I will tell you," stud Muriel quickly. "My rather suspected Woodroffo Wood-roffo of being the nssnssln in Rnn-noch Rnn-noch wood, for ho know that ho had broken away rrom tho original compact, com-pact, and hnd now allied himself with Oberg. Yot It wns also my father's object to appear In rear or them, becauso be-causo ho was only awaiting nn opportunity oppor-tunity to lay plans ror poor Elma's roscuo rrom Finland. Thereroro ono evening Voodroffo called, and my father fa-ther encountered him In tho nvonuo, nnd admitted him with his own latchkey latch-key by ono of tho sldo doors of the castle, afterwards tnklng him up to tho study Ho know that ho had come to try and make terms for Oborg, thereroro ho saw that ho must fly nt once to Newcastle, whore tho Iris wob lying, got on board, nnd Bnll away. "With Bomo oxcuso ho leR him In the study, and then warned my mother nnd mysolf to proparo to leave Dut while wo wcro packing, It appeared that Chater, who hnd followed, was shown into tho study by tho butler, or rather ho entered there hlmseir, be-Inc be-Inc well ncauaintcd with tho house. Thus tho two men, now bitter one-mioB one-mioB met. A fierce quarrel must havo ensued, nnd Chater was poisoned and concealed, Woodroffo, of courso, bo-llovlng bo-llovlng ho had killed him. My father entered tho study ngaln, nnd seeing only Woodroffo thoro, did not know what had occurred. Somo words probably prob-ably aroso, when my father again turned and loft. Thon wo fled to Carlisle and on to Nowcnstle, and next morning wero on bonrd tho yacht out In tho North sea, aftorwardB landing land-ing at Rotterdam. Those." nho added, "aro briefly tho facts, as ray poor father fa-ther related them to mo." "And what of poor Elma and of her sccrot? Whon, I wonder, shall I boo her?" I cried In despair. "You will bco hor now, slgnoro," answered an-swered Ollnto. "A scrvnnt of the Princess Zurlon brought her to Lon- don this afternoon, and I have Just convoyed her from tho station. She Is In tho next room. In Ignorance, how-over, how-over, thnt you aro horo." And without another word I fled forward for-ward Joyfully, and throw open the folding doors which separated mo from my silent love. Silent, yes! But sho could, nevertheless, never-theless, tell her Btory surely tho strangest that any woman has ever lived to tell. CHAPTER XVII. Contains Elma's Story. Deforo mo ttood my love, a slim, tragic, rather wan flguro in a heavy dark traveling coat and felt toque, her sweet lips parted and a look of bewildered be-wildered amazement upon her countenance coun-tenance as I burst In so suddenly upon her. In silenco I grasped hor tiny black-gloved black-gloved hand, nnd then, also In silence, raised It passionately to my eager lips. Her 80ft, dark oyes those eyes that spoke although sho was mute met mine, and in them was a look that I had never soon there bofore a look which ns plainly as any words told mo thnt my wild fovered prrjlon was reciprocated. Sho gazed beyond Into tho room where tho others bad assembled, and then looked at mo inquiringly, whereupon where-upon I led her rorwnrd to whoro thoy were, and Muriel tell upon her and kissed hor with tears (Streaming rrom hor oyoB. "I prepared this surprise ror you, Mr. Gregg," Muriel said, laughing through hor tears or Joy. "Ollnto learned that the was on Lor way to London, and I sent him to meet her. Tho prlncfiBS has managed magnificently, magnifi-cently, has sho not?" "Yes. Thank God sho Is froot" I exclaimed. "Rut wo must lnduco her to tell us everything. Muriel was already piping my lovo out of hor heavy Russian coat, a costly cost-ly garmont lined with sable, and when, aftor greeting Jack and Ollnto, sho waa comfortably seated, I took somo notcpaper from tho little writing table by tho window and scribbled In pencil tho words: "I need not wrlto how delighted I am that you aro safe that tho Almighty Al-mighty haB heard my prayers ror you. Jack and Muriol havo told me all about Leithcourt and his scoundrelly associates. 1 know, too, dear tor I may call you that, may I not? how terribly you must hnvo suffered In Bllenco Bl-lenco through It all. Leithcourt la dead. Ho sank tho yncht with all tho stolen property on board, but by accident acci-dent was hlmsolf engulfed." Rending and watching Intently as I wrote, sho drew back In horror and surprise at tho words. Then 1 ndded: "Wo are all rour determined thnt the guilty shalt not go unpunished, and that tho uflllctlon placed upon you shall bo adequately avenged. You aro my own love I am bold enough to call you bo. Somo strong but mysterious mysteri-ous bond ot nfllnlty bctweon us caused mo to Book you out, and your pictured faco seemed to call me to your sldo although I wns unaware or your peril. 1 was sent to you by the unseen un-seen power to oxtrlcato you from tho hnnds of your ouomlcs. Thoreforo tell us everything all that you know without fear, for now that wo aro united no harm pan nssnll us." Sho took the pencil, and holding It In her whlto lingers sat staring tlrst nt us, nnd then looking hesitatingly at the whlto paper beforo hor Hor position, posi-tion, amid a hundred conflicting emotions, emo-tions, wns one or cxtremo dlftlculty. It seomed ns though even now sho ' 9 And Threw Open tho Folding Door Which Separated Me From My Silent Si-lent Love. was loath to reveal to us tho absolute truth. Muriel, standing behind hor chair, tenderly stroked back tho wealth or chestnut hnlr rrom hor whlto brow. Her complexion was porfect. even though hor face was pale and Jaded, and her eyes heavy, consequent upon her long, weary Journey from the now trozen North. Presently, Then by Blgns both Jack and Ollnto had urged hor to write, sho bent suddenly, and her pencil began be-gan to run swirtly over ho pnpor. All or us stood exchanging glances In silenco, neitller looking over her. but each do'ormlnod to wait In patience pa-tience until the end. Once started, however, sho did not pause Sheet . rter sheet sho covered Tho silenco ror a long tlmo was complete, broken only by tho rapid running or the pencil pen-cil over tho rough surface or the paper pa-per Sho had apparently become solzod by n Ludden determination to explain everything, now that sho saw wo wero In real, dead earnest. I watched her iv,eot race bent so Intently, ana as tho firelight fell across It found It Incomparable Yes; sho was affirjied by loss of speech. It was true, yot sho was surely Inexpressibly Inex-pressibly sweet und womanly, peerless peer-less above all others.- With a deep-drawn sigh sho at Inst finished, nnd, hor head still bowed tn an attitude of humiliation, It seemed, she handed who', she had written to mo. In breathless eagerness I read as follows: "Is It true, denr love for " ca'.l you so In roturn that you were Impelled Im-pelled towards mo by the mysterious hand that directs all things? You camo In Bearch of me. nnd you risked your llfo for mine at Knjana, thoro-roro thoro-roro you havo a right to know tho truth. You. as my champion, and tho princess us my friend, hnvo contrived to effect my freedom. Wero it not for you, I should ere this havo been on my way to Saghallen, to tho tomb to which Oborg had bo Ingeniously contrived con-trived to consign mo. Ah! you do not know you never enn know all that I havo suffered over slnco I was ft girl." Here tho statement broko off, and recommenced as follows: "In order that you should understand under-stand tho truth, I had hotter begin at tho boglnning, My father was an English Eng-lish morchnut in Petersburg, nnd my mother, Vera UesEanotf, who, beforo her marriage with my father, was ! celebrated at court for her boauty. and was ono of tho maids of honor to tho czarina. Sho was tho only daughter daugh-ter or Count Taul Rcssanoff. ex-governor of Kharkoff, and before marrying marry-ing my father sho had, with her mother, moth-er, been a well-known flguro in society. so-ciety. Immediately after hor marriage mar-riage her father died, leaving her in possession of an amplo fortune, which with my father's own wealth, placed them among tho richest nndmost influential in-fluential in Petersburg. "Among my fathor's most Intlmato friends wns Raron Xavlcr Oborg who, at that time, held a very nuh-ordlnnto nuh-ordlnnto position In tho ministry of tho Interior and from my earliest recollections I can remembor him coming frequently to our houso and being Invited to the brilliant entertainments enter-tainments which my mother gave. When I was thirteen, however, my father fa-ther died or a chill contracted whllo boar-hunting on his estnto In Kiev, and within a few months a further disaster dis-aster happoned to us. Ono night, whllo I wbb sitting alono rending aloud to my mother, two strangers woro announced, nnd on being shown In thoy arrested my dear mother on a chargu or complicity In a revolutionary revolution-ary plot against tho cznr which hnd been discovered nt Petcrhof. I stood defiant and Indignant, for my mother was certalntly no nihilist, yet they snld thnt tho bomb had been Introduced Intro-duced Into the palaco by tho Countess Anna Shlproff, ono or tho ladlos-ln-waiting, who was an Intlmato trlend or my mother's and oRen tised to visit hor. Thoy alleged Jmt tho conspiracy con-spiracy had been hatched In our houso, color Lolng lent to that theory by tho fnct that a year beforo a well-known well-known Russian with whom my rathor had had many business dealings had been proved to bo tho nuthor or tho plot by which tho czar'B train was blown up nenr Livadla. They toro my mother away rrom mo and placed her In tho gray prlson-vnn, tho sight or which in tho streets or Petersburg strikes terror into tho heart or every Russian, for a person onco In that rumbling vehicle Is, ob you kr-ow, lost forover to tho world. I watched hor from the window being placed In that fatal conveyance, and then I think I must havo fainted, for I recollect nothing noth-ing moro until I found myself upon tho floor, with tho gray dawn spreading, spread-ing, and all tho horrlblo truth camo back to mo. My mother waa gonq from mo rorcvor! (TO BR CONTINUED.) |