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Show Sfe CZARS 5PY The Mystery of a Silent Love ChetefermiJAMlXQl0JX ? U AUTHOR f'mcCLOJED DOOR," ETC- S554 i ILLUSTRATIONS fy C-DifflODISfflKB I oopntGwor rnc$HARrsirrruBiiiHmQo v&WvW I W W W jHs I8YNOP3I8. Gordon Gregg In called upon In t-cir. ftorn by Hornby, tho yacht tola's owner, 5 K Vy.1,on Chator. accidentally sees nii?n.?ll0,OKraP.h of a yotins Kirl. That Snnin .i .c."."8.ul.1 8nf0 ,s robbed. Tho S?.l i0.ifln'1 Umt "ornby Is a fraud and lt nni?",nn.mea fft,ao ono- are vl-J.hnF,.pViJnck vl-J.hnF,.pViJnck Durnford of the marines win i?,'.1'1" Vc?so'- Durnford knows, but will not reveal, the mystery of tho Lola. fl" oncerns a woman." In London vrnrc trapped nearly to his death by Ti..?I5lorBCrvnnt Ollnto. Visiting In TfS.firk'" 0rt'KK "'eels Muriel lelthcourt. ilornby appears and Murlol Introduces Jiff., ias ilir"" Woodroffo, herfnthor'K T w ' P'SP nnds tl'ut she Is engaged 5?. voo('roffe. Gregg sees a copy of the i?,Ji Photograph on the Lola and finds Ul"' i 2. y,u"B Klrl Is Muriel's friend. iM'S"' disappears. Gregg discovers wic oody of n murdered woman In Uiin-noch Uiin-noch wood. The body disappears and In ii" P'nco Is found tho body of Ollnto. JrcKB (nlks to the police but conceals his "w.n knowledge of tho woman. Muriel K ",i8Ccrcilj: on Gregg and tells him that ' 'S." certain thnt a woman ns well as n. man has been murdered. They search Jlannoch wood together, and find tho oociy of the woman. Gregg recognizes ! Ii?! n8Arnl'la, Ollnto's wife. Gregg telU Ir. K?".cet but when they Ko to the wood i the body has disappeared. In London , il"B.K nweta Ollnto, allvo and well. Fall- iH?-t0 .fot ary cluo from Ollnto, Gregg graph yun' BM of tho torn photc- CHAPTER VIM Continued. . "Well, tho last I received only a fortnight ago. If you will wait a moment mo-ment I will go and got It. It was bo atrango that I haven't destroyed It." And she wont out, and I heard by tlio tho frou-frou of hor skirts that Bho was nscending tho stairs. After flvo minutes of breathless anxiety anxi-ety she roJolne,d mo, and handing rao be letter to read, said: "It Is not In her handwriting I won-dor won-dor why?" Tho paper was of foreign make, with tluo lines ruled In squnres. Written In a hand that was evidently foreign. lor tho mistakes In tho orthography woro many, was tho following curious , -communication: My Dear Lydla: Perhnps you may nover get this letter Uio last I shall ever bo able to send you. Indeed. I run groat risks In sending It. -Ah I you do not know tho awful disaster ihat has happened to mo, all tho terrors ind the tortures I "enduro. Out no one can assist me. and I nin now looking forward . to tho tlmo when It will all be ovoi. Do you recollect our old peaceful days In tho f garden at Chichester? I think of them lwajs, always, und comparo that Bwect h peace of tho past with my own terrible sufferings of today. Ah, how I wish I might seo you once again; how that I might feel your hand upon my brow, and hear your words of hope and encouragement! encourage-ment! But happiness Is now debarred from me, and I am only sinking to tho grave under this slow torturo of body and of soul. "This will pass through many hands bo-1 bo-1 fore It reaches tho post. If, howevor It I vcr does got dispatched and you recelvo : It, will 'you do mo ono last, favor a favor I to an unfortunato girl who Is friendless -and holpless. and who will no longir trou- 1 ble tho worldT It Is this: Take this let ter to London, and call upon Mr. Martin Woodroffo at OS Cork street. Piccadilly. Show him my lotter, nnd tell him from mo that through It all I have kept my promise, und that tho secret Is still safe. He will understand and also know why I annot write this with my own hand. If he Is abroad, keep It until ho returns It Is nil I ask of you, Lydla, and I Know that If this reaches you, you will aiot refuse me. You havo been my only friend nnd confidante, but I now bid you farewell, for tho unknown beckons mo. And from tho gravo I cannot write. Again farowoll, and for ever. Your loving and affectionate friend. ELMA. "A very strnngo letter, Is It not?" remarked re-marked tho girl at my side. "I can't make It out. You see thero Is no address, ad-dress, but tho postmark Is Russian. Sho Is evidently in Russia." "In Finland," I Bald, examining tho stamp and making out tho post town to bo Abo. "But havo you been to London Lon-don and executed this strange commission?" commis-sion?" t "No. Wo aro going up noxt week. 1 Intend to call upon this person named Woodroffe." I made no remark. Ho was, I know, , abroad, but 1 was glad at having ob tained two very Important cluos: first, tho address of tho mysterious yachtsman, yachts-man, Woodroffo, alias Hornby, and, socondly, ascertaining that tho young girl I sought was somowhere In tho vicinity of tho town of Abo, tho Finnish Fin-nish port on tho Baltic. "Poor Elma, you boo, apeaks in her letter of Borao secret, Mr. Gregg," my companion Bald. "She says sho wishes this Mr. Woodroffo, whoover ho Is, to 7 know that sho has kept her promlso 'T and has not divulged It This only bears out what I havo all along suspected." sus-pected." "What aro your suspicions?" I "Well, from hor deep, thoughtful manner, and from cortaln remarks sho at times mado to mo, I believe Elma 1b In possession of some great and terrible ter-rible socret a secret which hor uncle, Baron Oberg, Is desirous of learning. I know she holds him In deadly fear eh la In terror that sho may Inadver-tontly Inadver-tontly betruy to him tho truth I" CHAPTER IX. Strange Disclosures Are Made. Tho Btiango letter of Elma Heath, combined with whut Lydln Moreton had told mo, aroused within mo a do-'termination do-'termination to InvoBtigato tho mystery. From tho moment I had landed from tho Lola on that, hot, breathless night .at Leghorn, mystery had crowded upon L mystory until It was all bewildering. Had It not been for tho mystory of It all and mystory over arouses tho human hu-man curiosity I should havo given up trying to get at tho truth. Yet as a man with somo leisure, and knowing by that lottor of Elma Heath's that sho was In sore distress, I redoubled my efforts to ascertain tho reason of It all. On leaving Leghorn I had given up nil hopo of tracing tho mysterious yachtsman and had loft tho mattor in tho hands of tho Italian police. But. without any effort on my own part, 1 seemed to havo been drawn into a veritable ver-itable rietwork of strnngo Incidents, all of which combined to form tho most completo and rcmarkablo enigma ever presented in llfo. Thoso September days wero full of anxiety for mo. Alono nnd unaided. I was trying to solvo ono of tho greatest of problems, plunged ns I was In a veritable Bea of mystery. iNvantcd to seo Muriel Lelthcourt, and to question hor further regarding Elma Heath. Therefore again I left Euston and, traveling through tho night, took my sent at tho breakfast tablo at Greenlaw Green-law next morning. Sir Gcorgo, who was slttlnglono It not being my aunt's habit to appear eorly welcomed me, and then In his bluff manner sniffed nnd exclaimed: "Nice goings on up at RannochI Havo you heard of them?" "No Whnt?" I cried breathlessly, staring at him. "Well, It's a very funny Btory, and thero aro a dozen different distorted versions of It,'' ho said. "But, from what I can gather the true facts aro mi ftyji "It U Not In Her Handwriting I Wonder Won-der Why?" these: About seven o'clock tho night beforo last, as Lelthcourt and his hou'so party wero dressing for dinner, a telegram tele-gram arrived. Mrs. Lelthcourt opened It nnd at onco wont off into hysterics, while her husband, In a breathless hurry, slipped off his evening clothes again and got Into an old bluo sorgo suit, toBSod a fow things into a bag, and then went along to Muriel's room to urgo her to prepare for secret flight." "Flight!" I gaspod. "What, havo they gono?" "Listen, nnd I'll toll you. Tho servants serv-ants havo described tho whole affair down in tho villago, so there's no doubt about It. Lelthcourt showed Muriel tho telegram and urged her to fly. At first Bho rofusod, but for her father's Bako was Induced to prepare to accompany accom-pany him. Of course, tho guests woro In Ignorance of all this. Tho brougham was ordered to bo ready in tho stablo yard and not to go round, whllo Mrs. Lelthcourt's maid tried to bring the lady back to her senses. Lelthcourt himself, it Bcomod, rushed hlthor and thither, seizing tho jewel cases of his wlfo and daughtor and whatever valuables valu-ables ho could placo his hand upon, whllo tho mother nnd daughtor wero putting on their things. As ho rushed down tho main staircase to the library, whero his check book and somo ready cash wero locked ih tho safe, ho met a stranger who had Just been admitted and shown Into tho room. Lelthcourt closed tho door and faced him. Whnt afterward transpired, however, is a mystery, for two hours later, after ho and tho two women land escaped, leaving leav-ing tho house party to their own diversions, diver-sions, tho stranger was found locked In a largo cupboard and Insonslblo. Tho Bensatlon was a tremendous ono. Cowan, tho doctor, waB called, und declared de-clared that tho stranger had been drugged und was suffering from somo narcotic. Tho sorvnnt who admitted him declared thnt tho man had said ho had an appointment with his master and that no card was nocossary. Ho, howover, gavo tho namo of Chater." "Chatorl" I cried, starting; up. "Aro you certain of that namo?" '1 only know what Cowan told mo," was my unclo's reply. "But do you know him?" "Not at all. Only I've henrd that namo beforo," I said. "I know a man out In Italy of tho same namo. But whero Is tho visitor now?" "In tho hospital at Dumfrlos. They took him thero in preference to leaving leav-ing him alono at Rnnnoch." "Alono?" "Of course. Evcryono hnB left, now tho host and hostess havo slipped off without saying good-by. Scandalous nffair, isn't it? But, my boy, you'll re-momber re-momber that I alwayH said I didn't liko thoso people Thoro'B. something mysterious about them, I feel certain. That telegram gavo thorn warning of tho visit of tho man Chator, depend upon It, nnd for aomo reason thoy'ro afraid or him. It would bo Interesting to know what transpired between tho two men In tho library. And these aro people who'vo been taken up by everybody every-body mero adventurers, 1 should call them!" And old Sir George sniffed agntn at nought of such scandal happening hap-pening In tho neighborhood. "It Gllrao must lot Rannoch, then why In tho namo of Fortune doesn't ho lot it to respectnblo folk nnd not to the first follow who nnBwors his advertisement In tho Field? It's simply disgraceful 1" "Certainly It is a most extraordinary story," I declnrcd. "Lelthcourt evidently evi-dently wished to escapo from his visitor, vis-itor, nnd that's why ho drugged him." "Why ho poisoned him, you moan. Cowan snys tho fellowls poisoned, but that ho'll probably recover Ho la already al-ready conscloua, I hear." I resolved to call on tho doctor, who hnppencd to bo well known to me, and obtain further particulars. Thoreforo at eleven o'clock I drovo Into Dum fries nnd entered his consulting room. Ho was a Bparo, short, fair man, a trillo bald, and when I was shown in ho welcomed mo warmly, speaking with his pronounced Gallowny accent. "Well, It la a very mysterious cnae, Mr. Gregg," ho said, after I had told him tho object of my visit. "Tho gentleman gentle-man iS'Btill ut tho hospital, nnd I havo to keep him very quiet. Ho was poisoned poi-soned without a doubt nnd has had a very narrow escapo of his llfo. Tho police got wind of tho affair and Mnc-kcnzlo Mnc-kcnzlo called to question him But ho refused to make any statement whatever, what-ever, apparently treating tho uffalr very lightly. Tho police, howover, are mystified bb to tho reason of Mr. Lelthcourt's Lelth-court's sudden flight, and aro very anxious anx-ious to get at the bottom of tho curious affair." "Naturally. And more especially after the tragedy up in Rnnnoch wood a short tlnu ngo," I said. "That's Just It," said tho 'doctor, removing re-moving his plnco-noz and rubbing them. "Mackcnzlo seoms to suspect Bomo connection between Leithcourt'B sudden disappearance and that mysterious mys-terious affair. It Booms very evident that tho telegram was a warning to Lelthcourt of tho mnn Chnter's Inton-tion Inton-tion of calling, and that tho last-named waB shown in Just at tho moment when the fugitivo was on tho point of leaving." Knowing nil that I did, I was not surprised. sur-prised. Lelthcourt had undoubtedly takon him unawares, but knights of Industry In-dustry nover betray each othor. My noxt visit wna to Mackonzlo, for whom I had to wait nearly an hour, as ho waB absent In another quarter of tho town. "Ah, Mr. Gregg!" ho cried gladly, as ho came In to find mo seated In a chair patiently reading tho newspaper. "You are tho vory person I wish to see. Have you heard of this strange affair at Rannoch?" "I havo," waa my answer. "Has the man in tho hospital mado any statement state-ment yet?" "None. Ho refuses point blank," answered an-swered tho detectlvo. "But my own idea 1b that the affair has a very close connection with the two mysteries of tho wood." "Tho first mystery that of tho man proves to bo a doublo mystery," I said. "How? Explain It" "Well, tho waiter OJlrito Santlnl is alive and wel In London." "What!" ho gasped, starting up. "Then ho la not tho person you Identified Identi-fied him to bo?" "No. But ho was masquoradlng ns Santlnl mado up to resemble him, I mean, oven to tho mole upon his face." "But you identified him positively?" "When a person Is dond It Is very easy to mlstako countenances. Death alters tho countennnco so very much." "That's true," ho said reflectively. "But If tho man wo'vo burled ia not tho Italian, then tho myBtery is considerably con-siderably lncrenaed. Why was tho real man's wlfo hore?" "And whero has hor body been concealed? con-cealed? That's tho question." "Again a myBtory. Wo havo mado a thorough search for four days, without discovering any trace of It. Quito con-Hdentlally, con-Hdentlally, I'm wondering if thla man Chater knows anything. It is curious, to sny tho least, that tho Lelthcourta should havo fled bo hurriedly on thla man's appearance. But havo you actually ac-tually Been Ollnto Snntlnl?" "YeB, nnd havo spoken with him." "I Bent up to London asking that In-qulrtes In-qulrtes should bo mado at tho restaurant res-taurant In Bayawater, but up to tho present I havo received no roport." "I havo chatted with Ollnto. His wlfo has mysteriously disappeared, but ho Is In Ignoranco that sho la dead." "Thero Is widespread conspiracy horo, depend upon It, Mr. Gregg. It will bo nn Interesting case when wo got to tho bottom of It all. I only wish this fellow Chator would tell us tho reaBon ho called upon Lelthcourt." "What does ha any?" "Merely that he has no wish to prosecute, and that ho has no state mrtnt to make." "Can't you compel him to say something some-thing ?" I asked. "No, I can't That's the Infernal difficulty of It If ho don't chooso to speak, then we must still remain In Ignoranco, although I feel confident that ho knows something of tho strnngo affair up in tho wood." And although I was silent, I shared tho Scotch defective's belief. Tho afternoon waa chill nnd wet aa I climbed tho hill to Greenlaw. Tho sudden disappearance of the tonnntB of Rannoch was, I found, on everyone's tonguo In Dumfries. In tho smoko room of tho railway hotel three men wero discussing it with many grlmncos and sinister hints, nnd tho tnlkatlvo young womnn behind tho bar asked mo my opinion of tho strange goings-on up at tho castlo. I decided that tho man who had smoked and chatted with mo so affably on that hot, breathless night In tho Mediterranean must remain In Ignoranco of my prcs-enco, prcs-enco, or of my knowledge Thcroforo I stayed for a wcuk at Greenlaw with eyes and cars opou, yet exercising enro that tho patient in tho hospital Bhould bo unnwaro of my prosonco. The inquiry Into tho death of tho unidentified ,man in Rnnnoch wood had bcon resumed and a verdict returned of willful murder against somo person unknown, whllo of tho Becond crime tho public had no knowledge, for tho body was not discovered. Chater, us soon ns ho recovered, left tho hospital and wont south to London, I ascertained ascer-tained leaving tho police utterly In tho dark and filled with suspicion of tho fugitives from Rnnnoch. Ono dny I called at tho castlo, the front cntrnnco of which I found closed Gllrae. the owner, had como up from Lelthcourt Closed the Door, and Faced Him. London and discharged nil ,tho lato tenant's servants, keeping on only hlf own. Ann Cameron, a housemaid, was one of these, and It was Bho whom I met when entering by tho servants' hall. On questioning hor, I found her most willing to describo how sho was In tho corridor outsldo tho young mistress' mis-tress' room when Mr. Lelthcourt dashed along In breathless haste with tho telegram In his hand. Sho heard him cry. "Look.at this! Read it, Muriel. Wo muat go. Put on your things at onco, my dear. Never mind about luggage. lug-gage. Every mlnuto lost 1b of consequence. conse-quence. What!" ho cried a moment Inter. "You won't go? You'll stay horo stay hero and face them7 Good heavens! girl, nro you mod? Don't you know what this meana? It meana that tho secrot Is out tho secret la out, you hear! Wo must fly!" Tho woman told mo that Bho distinctly dis-tinctly heard Miss M'urlel sobbing, whllo her father walked up and down tho room speaking rapidly in a low tono. Thon ho enmo out again nnd returned to his dressing room, whllo MIbs Muriel presumably changod from her evening gown Into a dark traveling travel-ing dress. "Did sho say anything to you7" I Inquired. "Only that thoy wero called away suddenly, sir. But' tho domestic added, add-ed, "tho young lady waa vory palo and agitated, and we all knew that something some-thing terrible had happened. Mrs Lelthcourt gavo orders that nothing was to be told to tho guests, who dined alono, bolioving that their host and hostess hud gono down to tho village to seo an old man who waB dying. Thnt was tho story wo told them, Bir," "And In tho meantime tho Lelthcourta Lelth-courta woro In tho express going to Carllslo?" "Yes, air. Thoy say In Dumfries that tho police telegraphed after them, but thoy had reached Carlisle and evidently evi-dently changed thero, and bo got away." By tho administration of a Judtcloujs tip I was allowed to go up to Miss Muriel's room, an elegantly furnished littlo chamber In tho front of tho lino old placo, with a deep old-fashioned window commanding a magnificent view across tho broad Nlthsdalo Tho room had bocn tidied by tho maids, but allowed to icmaln Just as sho had left It, I advanced to tho window, In which waa set tho largo dressing tablo with its big 'swing mir ror and ellror-toppcd bottles, and on gazing out saw, to my surprise, It was tho only window which gavo a view a that cornor of Rnnnoch wood whor tho doublo tragedy had takon place. Indeed, nny porson standing at the spot would havo a clear vlow of that one distant window whllo out of Btj-.ht of nil tho rest A light might bo placed thero at night as a signal, for lnstnnco; or by day a towol mght bo hung frpm tho window ns though to dry and yet could bo plainly seen nt that distance. Another object In tho room also attracted at-tracted my attention a pair of long field glasses. Had sho used theso to keep watch upon that spot? I took them up and focused them upon tho boundary of tho wood, find lng that I could distinguish everything quite plainly. "flint's whoro they found tho mnn who was murdered," explained tho servant, who still stood In tho door-wny. door-wny. "I know," I replied. "I was Just trying try-ing tho glasses." Thon I put thorn down, and on turning saw upon tho mantel shelf a small, bright red can.-dlo can.-dlo shado, which I took In my bnnd. It was mado, I found, to fit upon tho eloctric tablo lamp. "Miss Muriel was very fond of a rod light," explained tho young woman; and as I held It I wondored if that light had over bcon placed upon the toilet tablo and tho blind drawn up whethor it had ever been used as a warning of danger? As I expressed a desire to bco tho young lady's boudoir, tho maid Cameron Cam-eron took mo down to tho luxurious littlo room where, tho first motnont I entered, ono fact struck mo ns peculiar. pecu-liar. Tho plcturo of Elma Heath waa no longor thoro. Tho photograph had been taken from Its framo and in Us placo was tho portrait of a broad-browed, broad-browed, full-bearded man In a foreign mllltury uniform a plcturo thnt, bo-lng bo-lng soiled nnd faded, had evidently been placed thoro to fill tho ompty framo. "Has tho gentloman who callod on tho evening of Mr. Lelthcourt's disappearance disap-pearance boon back hero again since ho loft tho hospital?" I Inquired as a sudden ldoa occurred to mo. , (TO 13E CONTINUED.) |