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Show I Ckawilles Secret IWVkeU I (CHAPTER XIX (Cont'd). Thr Escape. y HC solicitor ordered a cab to I be read; in half an hour. and, his tea finished, sat gazing out on to the Ptablcyard of the Crown' and listening to the sounds of it, the hissing of the OSth r aa he rubbed down the horse, his Eulteral admonlshings to the animal no ho lod him across the cobbles with harness hanglnsc, jin-lmp. and backed him between the shafts of the crazy old landau in which Robert was to make the Journey to Mayfleld Then the ostler, throwing his cap into the harness room, took down a t attered silk ha: from lis pes, and placing it tenderly on hii head, changed from ostler tr oachman, and presenting himself at the open window, intimated that all WM B read; B but when the express for London M - J left the station at Mayflold, Robert t jj Baxenter was not among the pas r yfl scngers. for events had happened which liad considerably altered that '-Hr! gentleman's arrangements At the 7 I I no the train left, he was moodily vv J pacing tne Hlgb Street of t lie i manufn. Miring town in the vicinity of tlw wtWfi ' n minutes or quar'er of Tb t an hour he entered the ugly red J 1 I bl ' building and inquired anx- -dal lously if a telcgiam had arrived for mH him, and at last his impatience was -fjjB rewarded. He crossed over to the light that struggled in at the long, IBVM dirt encrusted windows, and eagerly IH tore open the buff envelope. The H message was quite short H "Leaving Euston soen arrive eight-thirty. SILAS " j Robert glanced up at the Hoc H which ining in the centre rf the BS great bare nail and saw he had H the better part of three hours In VBfl which to kick his heels In Mayfleld U A warm drizzling rain had com flH menced to fall, and lie made till wH way to the comfortable inn in tht markei square where he had beer Bflflfl deposited by the cab which had H conveyed him from Barchcster Hf BflH drew up a chair close to the old IBbJ fashioned bow window and sa -VBIJ looking out through Its blurred fH panes across the deserted square IjBT At the best of times an unattractive B town, it was on this particular Bfljl evening in its most cneerless mood BH The factories, the tall chimney- JB stacks of which showed above the jBIJ houses ol the market place, were 6endlng out shrill siren shrieks to Bfl tell their workers that the hour of BIH release had come and that they BIH were free to attend to their per- BIB eonal affair. BIB Beio him In the street a few BIB miserable figures shuffled past, or BIB from the doorways of the shops BIB opposite surveyed the weather BflJ A moment, and the square teemed . wltli life, men and women stunted IBj and pinched, hurried past, their BJBj shoulders bant to snatch such poor BHD shelter as shawls and r. joking a' Hflfl forded. Their rough ironshod shoes BIH. made a not unmusical clatter on BflJ the wet eobbles. RIB With the coming of darkness the Bflfl scene grew more than ever deprcs Bfl nine Little patches of blurred B light flickered ou' from the public flB house across the square and the ' houses surrounding the Town Hall HBV loomed a shapeless mass through BflJ tho curtain of sooty rain. A dock BV In the neighboring street chimed Bj dolefully seven times, and Robert. BflJ With a little shiver, rose and pulled BflJ down the blind as though to shut BflJ out the scene of sordid squalor HBJ He rang and ordered a whiskey- BflJ and-soda and fold himself, when he had finished it, that he felt consid- BflJ erabh better Ho would take the BflJ opportunity of writing to Stella It BB was fortunate for her peace of mind BB and his own Independence of action BflJ that l he girl was that week playing BB In the west of England and would BB not be expecting to see him Robert HBJ hoped that lie would be able to seo I his afi'alr with Dartln through to Its ' conclusion without her needing to know or worry her little head about BB If at all Any anxiety she may have felt vhen she did not receive a letter let-ter at the theatre would have been dispelled by the telegram he had BL sent to her on reaching Barchestcr that afternoon, y At 8 o'clock he ordered supper to 1 flL be served in a private room in an v it, hour, and dropping Stella's letter rr iu the box as he went through the j hall, he left tho hotel. The rain ! 1 had now ceased and the streets had ' taken on a more cheerful appear ance, and as the solicitor trade his way down to tho station his spirits rose, accordingly. , The train from London was well up to time, and as it cured into 1 the great Junction Robert made out I the figure of Silas Berwick at the I window of a prat-class smoker and 1 hailed hiin cordially. The mere sight of his friend gave him new energy In the matter he hud in hand, and he remembered tho many cases In which the investigator had ! acted wiih him with almost Invar- Bfl table success ' Although slightly under the I average height, nnd a little stouter J than ho cared to be. Silos Berwick ij gave one at first sight the Impres- "A woman put out her hand aa he passed, slon of strength, an Impression which rew stronger when one had time to notice the length of arm, the depth of chest, and the way the short neck sat on the square shoulder? His face, while pleasing pleas-ing in expression had no pretense to good looks; the eye; were small and gray but thoy shone out merrily mer-rily beneath the bushy tufts of eyebrow, the heaviness of which was intensified by their be.ng the only hair on his face. He sprang out with a chee:y salutation as he caught sight of the solicitor among the throng on the platform "Quick work. Baxcnter now. what's the troufble"' No, 1 haven't any lugeage only this,' and ho held up his suitcase. Robert linked his arm affection ately In Berwick's and led him to a cab, and w.thin the halt hour they were sitting down to und doing full Justice to the excellent supper which the hoet of the ' Three Pigeons" had prepared for them As they ate, the solicitor recounted re-counted the whole history of the Dartin affair His companion listened in silence. Robert, as a man of law, was precise and he marshalled his facts plainly, and questions on the part of h.s hearer were not necessary. He showed him also tho few scraps of Lurnt papers which he had rescued from the fireplace in fhe study at Adder-bury Adder-bury Towers The narrative was interrupted by the waiter clearing the table and when the coffeo and cigars uere brought in. and the men were alone again, the solicitor went on "I was com ng on to London to consult you I reckoned cm yout belnc; a lilt anxious after my letl "'I was. I called nt the office Cantle was expecting you and sent a wire (o the Towers I waited for the reply; it was quite satisfactory, and said that you were prolonging your visit. Of course, it doesn't take much intelligence to guess who sent that reply. Robert Baxenter nodded grimly. "Hardly, does it f Well, I was saying, 1 was on my way to London Lon-don when I rtn across a bit of information in-formation here that altered the complexion of thing a little The cab I drove over in from Barches-ter Barches-ter put up here, and I remembered, when I saw the signboard, thit 1 had called here with Dartln and Haverton when wo motored over to golf on Sunday 1 The 'Boots' here evidently has a fine memory and ho nodded to me as I entered and, thinking that perhaps per-haps I might lmiiroe the occasion. I slopped and chaired w-lih him for a moment. I learned that the oar with the two precious rascals from the Towers had passed through the iown on Monday night and hud pulled up here They had had a drink In the bar. and they had looked at the large road map in the bell, nnd one of them had asked how far it was to Doncaster " "And bow far is if" Raxenter thought for a moment. "Seventy miles. I should say-there say-there or thereabouts. I know the car they were using, a great six-cylinder six-cylinder affair, it would eat up that distance In no time. That decided de-cided me. As they went north, it seemed a waste of time for me to go south; hence my wire. I'm rather anxious to come to rrips with Mr Dartln." The investigator nodded his approval. ap-proval. "You did oulte right, Baxenter; wo're not far lhind them row. Just touch that bell, will you. and ask that antiquated waiter to let us see a map." And. when it was spread out on the table before them. "Those bits of charred paper you showed roe seem to point to France, don't they? I'm afraid they're useless unless further than that they show us that your man Is acquainted with the French language. lan-guage. I expect, whn he said to you that they were crossing the Channel, he wasn't far from tho truth, only I should say that they altered their plans and chose the North Sea. S'ou see here," and Be rwick placed his Index finger on the map. "either Goole or Hull would suit their purpose 'Goole is ouly a few miles off Doncaster. and there are boa's gft-ing gft-ing from there to tho Dutch ports continually; from any of these thoy cou'd reach Paris " ' You th.nk they've gone there, then0" Berwick gave a little laugh and shrui.'f;ed his shoulders "It's a shot In the dark but It's really surprising how many fugitives fugi-tives make n bee line for that city. Pails and Brighton are the two places I always set Into touch with as soon as possible when I am after game like Dartln There are rookeries enough and to spare in Montmartre and the Quart.er. ( liven a knowledge of the language, there are few hotter places to hldo in thau Paris "You see, it will lalce them a little longer, via Holland, and I'll wire through to France to-night, to a friend of mine In the police, to keep an eye on the arrivals They won't expect anybody on their heels i t.'1 The two men. having seen to the sending of the telegram, sat late ir lOn Tntrrnatlnnr over their cigars, but wore early SStir the next morning and pursuing pursu-ing their Inquiries In the auclent city of Doncaster. The car, by reason rea-son of its size, was not hard to trace, and they ran it to earth In the parage of the "George." Tho gentlemen who had left it the proprietor of the hotel informed Baxenter, had expressed their intention in-tention of returning for it in a day or two They had not done so. The hours spent In Doncaster by ho two men, making inquiries, had no result, aud later, at Qoole aud at Hull, their questions received no satisfactory answer. Berwick knew that there were many of the smaller craft which crossed the North Sea which did not officially carry passengers, but he also knew that some captains did not disdain to earn a pound or two did the occasion oc-casion serve. On the subject however, they were discreetly quiet. In this way the best of two days was wasted, and Berwick be gej) to have doubts as to whether the men they were after had really left the country. It was after midday mid-day on Friday when a reply came from Monsieur Brieux, his friend In the Paris force, stating that two arrivals by tho Amsterdam train had borne some resemblance to the telegraphed details. M. Rrleux added add-ed that this was strong enough to warrant his having their move ments watched. The message was vague enough, but It was sufficient to determine e movements of Baxenter- and his c om pan Ion. The deudlock with Which they had been faced at the portB of tho Humber had made I Ff-ntur Srvlre In. Oret Bi them greedy for action The telegram tele-gram had been sent to the Post Office at Hull, and there was ample time to reach King's Cross in order to catch the boat train from Victoria Vic-toria Chapter XX At the Hotel d" Eclair. IMj BRIEUX stroked his pointed beard and looked through his pihce-nei at Silas Berwick. "Oh, yes, my friend. I was glad to get your telegram I cannot forget for-get how you, as yon say, 'saved my bacon' over the Bonillet affair I have ever since longed for the tlmo when I could In some way repay the debt." Berw ick bowed "Yes," went on the police official, "your message came Just In time, your men, or whom I think are they, arrived Friday morning that is. yesterday I nm sorry to say that my man haB let them slip him." "Then they are lost again''' Berwick's Ber-wick's voice showed a keen disappointment disap-pointment M. Brieux gave an expressive shrug of the shoulders. "I did not eay that, m'sieu, it is but momentary. They put up at the littlo Hotel d'Lclair, over near the Uixembourg. Their luggage is Still there und the propriet res- nays they will return. We will go there together now. Sho is a friend of. mine." iUIn Rlchts RestrrtA. M BrleOT took his hat from fhe peg behind the office door and with a Mule bow preceded his companions compan-ions dowu the stairs to the boulevard boule-vard A white-haired cocher drew up if the curb and soon the three id n were rattlim; across the Place de I'Opera and over the Seine to the Quartlcr Latin. The city was looking at It? best, and the brilliant sunshine had brc ',h( great crowds out to take their coffee or bock at tho little tables outsldo the cafes. The chestnut chest-nut trees still showed their gigantic white-spiked blossoms, and the gardens gar-dens of tho Luxembourg were gay with children. Tho littlo Hotel d'Eclald was an unpretentious middle-class hotel, situated In one of the narrow streets !i l h straggle up from tho Boulevard Boule-vard St. Michel to the Montparnasse district. The window contained a few dishes of fruit and bottlo3 of wine; behind these S green curtain hid the interior of the cafe from the passersby. Half a dozen little marble-topped tables were arranged on the pavement under a green striped awning, and a waiter was engaged in laying cloths on these and sefing out the cartes-du-Jour. He looked up as the flacro drew In to the kerb, and bowed the visitors visit-ors in. They entered between the trees In big green tubs and were met by the proprietress, who. on recognizing recogniz-ing M Brieux, smiled her welcome Like all Frenchwomen of her class, she was a creature of the erriotlons, and the visit of the distinguished policeman to her hotel evidently pleased her. There would be so much to ialk of to tho patrons who would coon be straggling in to take their dejeuner at tho tables which showed their line of white-clothed ' mptineflS to the back of the room between the lines of faded mirrors She required but little persuasion to toll all she knew of the move-menta move-menta of her guests. Monsieur was right yes they had arrived yesterday yes-terday at ten o'clock; she remem-bered remem-bered 'ho time yes for was It not at that moment that Jules had broken the big soup-tureen? ten francs It bad cost at the new china shop In the Ruo Richelieu. Hor guests? Ah yos their lugw gage had been delivered an hour later, and an hour after that they bad left the hotel, using the door that led out into tho little Impasse. They had taken a bottle of wine yes at that table farthest from the door, but they had eaten nothing. I They had said they would re- I turn no, monsieur, they had stated 90 time. Their luggage was in their room would monsieur and his friends like to see it' And j might she ask the gentlemen to take a glass of wine, Just a petit vcrre? no then would they follow fol-low her' The proprietress walked behind the counter, laden with its crock- I! ery and fruit, and selected a key from a board on which were rows of hooks containing other keys; I then made her way up the dark and I winding staircase to the second floor, unlocking and holding open II the door for the three mon to enter. It w as an ordinarj room, such as one finds In hotels of this class all over Paris. A large mahogany red-curtained red-curtained bed took up fully half of the polished floor, the other fur- nfture consisting of a miniature washstand ard a few chairs A mirror, its gilt frame swathed in I dingy muslin, hung on the wall opposite op-posite the door. The window, which opened In- j ward, looked out on to tho corner, and between two houses a little glimpse of the gTeen Luxembourg Gardens was visible. That the late occupants did indeed in-deed Intend to return was obvious, for a kit bag and suitcase were standing In the corner by the bed These were locked and very heavy M. Brieux advised that they bo left as they were; It would not do to tamper with them and arouse suspicion He had put one of his assistants on to watch for the j men's return a reliable person, this tlmo who would also watch the door of the passage Madame Renier led them be- j tweon the little tables to the door and bowed them out. It had been no trouble no she had only heen too delighted to aid monsieur. The waiter doubtless the Jules of the tureen incident bowed also, and then M. Brieux and 1 i companions 1 entered the waiting flacro and rattled rat-tled away. Baxenter and Berw ick took rooms for themselves In a comfortable hotel In the Boulevard St Michel, and during the day kept within B doors M Brieux had promised to let them know at the earliest moment mo-ment after the visitors to the Hotel j d'Eclalr returned. As night fell, however, and the lights of the cafes beneath them twinkled out Invitingly, Invit-ingly, the restraint became irksome, and nt 0 o'clock, leaving word where they were to be found. Cier went out ou to the gaily light -d thoroughfare, and to supper at tbs Cafe d'Han ourt Perhaps there were few bettef places from which to watch the varied life of the Quartier than from this lively little cafe-rnstau-r.mt where the chairs and tables ' stand out on the boulevard and extend ex-tend round the corner and away up the Place de la Sorbonne. Before J them, in a never-ending stream, the I denizens of the district pass nnd repass merry bands of bearded students off to their dinner at their own particular little binsserle or on t-e(r way to the Bulier T relr supper finished. Bnxenter and Berwick sat out at a corner table enjoying the life around them and the cool air of the evening. From within the cafe the small orchestra or-chestra was playing a popular waits, and the melody reached them in little snatches, mixed with the clatter of crockery and the laughter of the diners. There was littlo traffic on the boulevard, save the gigantic double decked steam-trams and taxis and fiacres bearing their patrons off to their pleasures. Be-ond Be-ond the railings opposite, the trees of the Gardens made a grey-green silhouette against the summer sky. There were dark little openings over the way. too tortuous, narrow, nar-row, Ill-lighted streets and a few-doors few-doors up one of these the men could see the corner windows of the Hotel d'Eclalr, and they fell again to the eternal discussion on what it could be thit had taken their quarry aw ay from Paris so soon after their arrival ar-rival that was, presuming that they had left Paris. That there wns something further in tho Dartlgny Inheritance than Robert was acquainted with was obvious. He did not think for one minute that the chest had contained enough valuables to warrant the almost al-most Monte Crlsto-Mke existence which Haptisto Dartln had led at Adderbury Towers. Moreover, the man had been so J reticent in speaking of his Inherl- ! tance in fact, the only time Robert remembered his mentioning It was that night at the Empire when he had presonted tho Bolicitoi with the I necklace, and then It was only to remark on its comparatively little value. "What made them take that ; roundabout way of getting here, Berwick1 They could have crossed quite safely by the ordinary route." (Continual tn Next Page) j I 1 j ' ' JKJivisf k luuivmii, " - - "The man on the bed started up to find the steady hand oP ' I the man he had left in the cellars ai Adderbury Towers llm-" holdinc a revolver a lew inches iron; !.;. cl." 'w I I I I ,V VJ -i:; - i . - &;$fev '-"a - ' (ft. I (Continued from Prccding Page) Silas Berwick looked up as Bax-enter Bax-enter spoke. "Maybe they're known on the ordinary routes and were afraid -J leavmg a trail Again, there Is another reason that is, their luggage. lug-gage. No doubt Dartin knows a way through where sean-bln-, 1? not so strict a? the way vo came; those bags were very heavy ." "But thero are eustomi everywhere, every-where, surply''" ' Of course there are; but suppose sup-pose one -crosses to, say Ghent or Terneuzen, it seems to me that ono who knows the ropes could sneak into Paris you'll remember that Brieux's man said they arrived without luggage at the station, and our frlendlv madnme says it arrived ar-rived titer they did. You may be sure those bags passed no cus-tc cus-tc ms" The speaker broke off suddec'iy "and gripped Robert's arm. "Isn't that one of them look, gef.ing out of the fiacre ?" Robert gavp one glance in thr direction pointed out. and seized a file of Le Matin and heid It up before be-fore his face while he spoke to Berwick. It was only a few words "Haverton. by all that's holy' The man had taken off his moustache and discarded the monocle which had seemed to be such an inseparable part of his personality. To Robert, who had known the suave manner of the man. his present unrest was all too apparent His dusty attire, too. and his soiled hnen, wero as foreign to him as his manner. Round the corner of the paper, held shieldwlse before his face, Baxenter watched his prey. Berwick, Ber-wick, to whom the man was a stranger, needed no concealment, but regarded him openly, though unconspIcuouBly. They expected every minute, u first, to see Dartin join the man under their observation, but Haverton Haver-ton did not seem to gle one the Impression that he expected anyone, any-one, but rather that he wished to take his refreshment unobserved He had paid the cabman, and, after one glance at the crowds outside the cafe, had chosc-n one of the tables up the Place de la Sorbonno, the last one, where he took his seat and leant back in the angl of the glass screen, aj parently a prey to the deepest deji ction. It was a post Ion removed from observation and he lights, and had been evidently chosen for thai reason. Eddie 01 tared a tall glass ' w f a cf beer, and, after drinking hilf of it at a draught, he now sat twirling twirl-ing the glass by its stem round and round tn Its little white saucer Robert, as he watched Mm. remembered remem-bered he had noticed the very sntn action at that last dinner party at Adderbury Towers It was already late when Haverton Haver-ton arrived, and the crowds that had come down from the Bulier were thinning. The boulevards werf becoming less crowded anrl the tired waiters were yawning sleepily behind the great plate glass windows Intermittent bursts of merriment camp from belatetl parties at their cards, and Robert noticed that the members of th little orchestra v. ere putting away their instruments. Stlli the figure at the far table showed no slgn3 of leaving Still he sat there twirling the glass, his eyes fixed moodily before him. A waller who had been hovering near approached him. ostentatiously polishing pol-ishing the marble top of the table next to hjm and tipping up the vacant va-cant chairs. A shadow fell across the table as part of the lights within with-in the cafe were switched off. It seemed to the watching men as though Haverton had been asleep He started up and stared dazedly at the waiter, then stood up with a slight shiver. He took a coin from his waistcoast pocket and passed it to the man. then, not waiting for any change, he bui-toned bui-toned up his coat, and, without a glance at the few stragglers Mill at the tables, turned toward 'he boulevard A woman standing at tho little passage between the chain put out B hand as he passed, but ho hook her off with an oath and hurried across the road. The meu watched : '2 J? ' ; f- him as the narrow street which held the Hotel d'Eclair swallowed him up A moment later they were following fol-lowing him Once over tho road, they kept well In the shadow of the houses; but their caution was unnecessary, un-necessary, the man before them looking neither to right or left, but making straight for tho Hotel d'Eclair. which was almost in dark ness. After a little delay the door was opened and he entered. At the same moment a man emerged from the shadow of a doorway opposlle and hurried to the corner. Here he spoke a word to another man, who went off toward tow-ard the Seine at a run The first man, whom Robert recognized as the assistant M, Brleux had put on Watch, walked slowly back, and, tapping at the door of the hotel,' was in his turn admitted Berwick paused and drew Baxenter, Baxen-ter, who showed a disposition to enter also, into the dark doorway which the watcher had vacated. From Its depth they watched the windows of the room they had visited vis-ited that morning. They saw the glass doors pulled open, and tho figure of Eddie Haverton as he leant over the little balcony, then a light appeared, and the red curtains cur-tains were half drawn. On the celling they could see the gigantic shadow as the occupant of the room moved about, and noticed that It was thrown by a light that was at some low level from a can-die can-die placed on the floor, perhaps, or a chair seat. In about a quarter of an hour (C ilo. InKrnational tho light w.ns extinguished, and Robert and his companion crossed the street and tapped softly on the door of tho Hotel d'Eclair. CHAPTER XXI. Hai r? ton at Hay. AT their knock a voice on the other side of the door suddenly sud-denly ceased, then was resumed re-sumed in an excited whisper There was a delay of a few minutes, and the door was cautiously unlatched and P,i letix's man looked out. At sight of Robert and Berwick he drew the door wide open, and they Btepped into the dimly lighted cafe Madame Renler, the picture of anticipation, nodding brightly as the police officer shut the door. "Ali messieurs, you have come at tho good hour he is but newly arrived ar-rived and has gone to bed. Only one. messieurs, the other is not" and madame made an expressive gesture. ' We know, madame. we have watched for his light to go out We may go up" queried Robert "But certainly, messieurs; M. Edouard and I will accompany you " Berwick thought for a moment, and Bald a tew words to Robert In English. Then he tur.ied to the v on an. "If you will permit us, wo would prefer to go alone. It Is not a case of an arrest, and." looking toward M. Edouard. "it is not an official affair" They received thp pass key from Madame Renier, and eoftly ascend- Fcaturc Service. luc ?. ed me stairs On the secoml-flooi landing they stopped anj listened at Haverton's door. From behind it came the unmistakable sounds of a sleeper Either Mr. Eddie Haverton was remarkably conscienco free or remarkably tired. Berwick turned the key softly In the lock, and the men entered without with-out disturbing the slumbers of iho man on the bed, and it was not until un-til a match was struck and the candle can-dle spluttered into light that he Btarted up to find tho steady hand of the man he had loft In the col lan a Adderbury Towers holding a revolver a few inches from his head "Good evening Mr. Haverton Less than a week since we parted heavens! It seems a year keep those hands away from your pillow there on the coverlet where I can see them so!" Then, as Robert drew a Derringer from beneath be-neath the pillow: ' I don't think you would do much with this you haven't the pluck: but It might goA off they do sometimes." tr The man on the bed made no answer, but watched with sullen eyes while Berwick cut the cord from the window-blind and fled the hands on the coverlet deftly together. This done. Robert put up his revolver, re-volver, and together the two men began to examine the luggage. Their request for the keys raised no fight in Haverton; he nodd'.l in the direction of his trousers, and In the pockets they found them. At first sight the bags contained nothing but wearing apparel, but beneath this the searchers un- ( earthed a quantity of jt-welry and a considerable amount of gold coin. Between tho garments, too, reposed -v a small fortune in notes. It was hardly to be wondered at that they wished to avoid the inqulsltlveness of the Customs officers as much as possible. Robert noticed that the majority of the jewelry was engraved en-graved with the arms of the De Dartlgny family. "And what are you going to do 7lth mo?" Tho voice from the bed was tremulous, and It seemed as if Havorton's lips had formed a question ques-tion the answer to which he dreaded to hear Robert turned from his examination examina-tion of the treasure and seated himself him-self on the edge of the bed. "That, my dear Haverton. depends a great deal on the attitude you lake up what you tell us. " "As to that, Mr. Baxenter, 1 11 tell you what you like Can't you see I'm knocked''" "Well where's the other ono?" 'The other one?" "Yes Vivian Baptiste, whichever which-ever you like to call him." For a moment a look of terror passed over Eddie's fice and the bound hands trembled on -.ho coverlet. cov-erlet. "I believe he's dead he murt be dead 1 waited before God! I waited it was terrible listening there oh! he's dead all right I" Baxenter turned on him sharply "Don't drivel like that, man What is It that's happened? Where have you been the last two days?" "Chauvllle ho made me go he said I could help him I did wait I swear I waited" Berwick seized a bottlo contain- I lng brandy that stood on the crazy little table, and, pouring some into a glass, held It to the lips of the 1 man on the bed. its effect was im- ( mediate, and slowly thev extracted ; the story from him. He had been hurried off th" s morning before to Blola, and from ? thero had walked out to an inn f called i ho "Three Lillys" Haver- n ton remembered the name of the f( inn although they had not stopped f there. They had passed it and c sntered an avenue of trees at the ! ;nd of which, and across a moat tood a chateau. Dartin had sworn lc when he saw that tho windows ci vere lit up. and had cursr-d his luck Sventually they had left the arc- Cc nue. and skirting the moat, had reached a little wood of pines, in WflH which stood a chape! which thoy f I ' had entered through a window. i 'iK The listeners attended breathlessly breath-lessly to the tale of how Reoton i ji had removed the slab from a tomb y In the chapel iloor and descended ( ! by means of a rope they had brought with them. He had instructed in-structed Haverton to replace the slab and wait patiently in the Itr!"' shadow of the pews for two hours, or until he heard a tapping, when he was to reopen the tomb and let ' Vivian out. j f Haverton told them how he haa Lfi I waited until the dawn had entered the church before he heard a faint Wttl tapping, but he had been unable ' d to work the mechanics that moyed B the great stone Then he had heard the sound of a fall, and there had been no more tapping after f?: that, and at last Haverton had left his companion to his fate, and had slunk back to Paris. i To Robert and Berwick the story would have sounded like a fairy j i tale, but for the fact that the nar-rator's nar-rator's voice carried with it an un-mistakable un-mistakable conviction. After all what had Haverton to gain by 'Xing? If. as he said, he had waited until all hope of releasing lJB Renton was pasT, they could hardly blame him for saing his own skin The man seemed indeed to welcome ';' telling of the tale-perhaps there was yet a way to save the -nan below the Boor of the chapel Then the crime of Huberts death would be brought home to DarUn and not to him. martin. The solicitor spoke JS Lj ' Mr Haverton," he said quietlv . ; 8t.en carefully to what ' 7.5 Its in your pov.er to rie!,t ' -not your wrong. lIR'JS , cular quarrel with vou p Kenton's own word for it Lhl ML It'll keen I , night with -r.et BesideV U'. wir0 the TO Be Continued Next O., |
