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THE SRUSSELS POST WEDNESDAY, MARCH nrd, 1926.
V 9
The Tyrant
CHAPTER XXIV.
Selby Layton stood, with the gun
in Ids hand, t4taring vacantly at the
long figure stretched, facie upwarde,
on the .cruslied bracken. He was
simply stupified by his act and its ,
effect; for the impulse to catch up
the gun and strike dawn the villain ,
who held him in hid power, had come
so suddenly, so irresistibly, that he
had yielded to it ari one of the low-
er animals Yields to the brute desire
to bite or claw. He had struelt the
first time in obedience to this im-
pulse, and the second time, as Den-
zil went for him, in self-defence,
He scarcely knew what he had in-
tended; he had -boon inspired by a
blind and burning rage; and now—,
How mech had he hurt his foe and
tyrant? Denzil was stunned, of
coursei but ,Selby Layton was filled
with astonishment that he, who was
so much weaker than the other man,
.should have been Eible to kneels him
senseless with a couple of blows.
He did not know that a gun, held by
the barrel and well swung, makes
one Of the most deadly of clubs. A
feeling of disgust with himself fol-
lowed his impulse and broke kis stu-
por.
"I must bring bim to," he mut-
tered. "I must do that; though it's
'scarcely safe, for he'll turn on me
like a wild beast. What a fool I
was! Better have paid anything.,
endured anything, to keep him quiet.
And now I've roused his resentment
and he will want, and have his re-
venge."
Swearing to himself, he went to
the edge of the pool—the men had
been standing quite close to it—and
soaking his handkerchief, knelt be --
side the motionless form and bathed
• Denzil's forehead. As he did so, he
saw that the blow had fallen on the
right temple, and with a• shudder
noticed that the skull bone was
crushed in.
"Pull yourself together, Denzll!"
he whispered. "I'm sorry; but you
drove me rather hard. Can you hear
me, are you conscious?"
The prostrate man made no sign,
and Layton, fiseiting against an aw-
ful dread, raised his head. It roll-
ed on his arm like a wooden ball,
and he dropped it, and with shaking
hand thrust his hand inside DenziPs
sveistcoat, and felt for his heart.
It was still, as still as the slime -
grown pool that lay, hideous in the
moonlight. The man was dead!
Selby Layton nearly fell across the
body, then he rose and staggered to
a tree, and leaning against it stared
with distended eyes at the corpse.
The man was dead, and he had
.killed him. therefore, he was a mur-
derer!
It was too terrible to be true, too
ridiculous, absurd! He tried to
smile, to thrust the thought away
from him; ari,d after a moment Or
Iwo he crept slowly, reluctantly, to
the body and examined it again.
Horrible as it was, it was true. The
man Was -dead, and he, Layton, had
killed him.
He, Selby Layton, the cultured
and refined gentleman, the "drawing
room pet," as he had once heard him-
self called, had murdered a man
with as vulgar and brutal a blow as
was ever delivered by a foot -pad or
coal -heaver.
He shuddered, and, uttering, a
cry, staggered back to the tree and
shut out the sight of. the awful fig,
ure lying so still—the white face,
with the livid marks on the temple
that stared at him eccusingly.
What should he do? His first im-
pulse was to rush from,the spot and
give himself up to the polic.e. It
was the only thing to do, the only
coarse to pursue. Yes, he meet give
himself um • Then, as he thought of
the consequences of his mad deed,
he paused and considered, To give
himself up would be to take the first
step to the gallows. There could he
no escape for him. This which he
had committed was not even man -
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slaughter, but murder, wilful mur-
der,
Oh, God! What should he de?
What was the best, the most pru-
dent thing? Flight occurred to him;
but he knew that flight would be im-
possible. He would be run down be-
fore he could get as far as Londen.
No; flight was imposeible; a shame-
ful death from which there seemed
no escape, stared him in the Loos
.unless—unlems he could conceal Me
,.rime, He sank in a heap at the'foot
of the tree and gripped his hoed
with his hands. -
"Let me think—let me think," he
muttered, hoarsely. "My life de-
pends upon the step I take now;
there seems nothing but the gallows
before me; and yet—"
He shut his teeth and strove for
self-possession, for calmness, as he
reviewed the. situation—the awful
mituation. There, witihn a few feet
of him lay the body Of, the man he
had killed. Would it be possible ie
conceal the body, to remove any sue-
picious circumstances connected
with himself?
Denzil was a stranger in the
place, had been seen by few, ae-
cording to his own account had
spoken to few. No one knew that
he was going to that lonely spot,
and he had been sure that no one
had followed him. The landlord of
the Black Crow was under the im-
pression that Denzil was -already on
his way to London.
Would the man be missed? Not
in Vancourt, certainly; but how a-
bout London? Here, again, there
was. a hope, a chance of escape for
Layton. Denzil belonged to the
erbninal class; his sudden .disappear-
ance would not seem singular to his
friends, who were, no doubt, them-
selves given to sudden disappearan-
ces. It would be thought, when ha
did not turn up in his usual haunts
wherever they were, that he had
gone back to Australia,
Selby Layton worked this out in -
his mind slowly, carefully.
So far, so good. But there was
his own time to account for. How
long had he been away from the
house?
He took out his watch; but as he
did so, the stable chimed the quar-
ter to eleven. Only half an hour.
His mouth opened, . and he fell into
a kind of stupor at the thought of
all that had happened in that short
One. Thirty minutes: and he had
killed a man within that spade! Half
an bin: ego he had been free free"
(gime, at peace with the law; new
he was a murderer and trying to -
scheme out some way to escape from
that same law. Could it be tree?
Hadn't he been taking too many
sodas -and -whisky's, and was he not
dreaming? He had only to glance
at that terrible, straight, long fig-
ure, with its white face and livid
mark, to realize the truth.
. But let him think, think, think?
—not -give way to morbid reflec-
tions If he ,was to save his life, he
would need all the acuteness on
which he prided himself; all the
co-urage, in which he knew he was
deficient: and yet he had killed. a
manwith only two blows!
' If he decided not to give himself
up, the body must be concealed. He
looked round. Burial is the fast
thought of the murderer; but Selby
Layton knew that he could not bury
the corpse. There were no tools, no
time. His eye caught the pool shim-
mering in the moonlight, and his
mind seized the idea it conveyed. If
he could put the body in the pool:
to rise again, a ghastly accuser'? At
ri little distance was a ,boat -house.
It was a ruined and tumble-down af-
fair, as such places soon become
when they are neglected; and the
Hawk's Pool- had long been left to
iteelf; for it was not large enough
for boating, and the only persons
wh.o visited it were sportsmen—and
poachers—in search of game; the
place abounded in water -fowl.
Cautiously, pausing to listen at
every step, Selby Layton made his
way to the boat -house. The boat,
half -full of water, was lying at the
edge Of the pool, moored to the hoot
house by a chain and anchor -4i
heavy anchor which had no doubt
come from a wreck in the bay.
He conceived his plan in a 111001 -
ant, and, unfastening the boat, soft-
ly pushed it into the water and, with
a broken oar, seulled 11 opposite the
body. 'Then he stepped ashore and
fastened a rope which he had foetid
in the boat -house to the body, and
carried it :to the edge of the water.
He was about to pueli it in, )11S
eyes Shut, his whale form tingling
with horror and • loathing, when it:
°catered to him that in all probabil-
lly Denzil 'had the certificate ripen
:Eft; rentenibered the old peek -
et -book: in ..which he had seen Den-
zileplace Were, night he had vislite.d
GlareniOnt Street 'Sittiddering and.
e}iak{ng 150 earelted In the •Peeketa
0+04.3,44+.4444+404.0.144-41044+.+
•
4
• I-lighest market prices
• paid, •
• See me Or Phone No. 2x, Bilis- ±
Helm, and 1 wilteall awl get ;
ou • •Hides,
•
• M0 V Ilick
WANTED
iryoraa•limm•
•
of the coat, .A few shillings were
in one of the waistcoat pockets;
there was a deadly looking knife,
tobacco, and a pipe; and in the belt
was the revolver.
"If I had not struck him again
end—and killed him, he would have
killed me: it was manslaughter, after
all," he mused. "But no jury would
believe it The pocket -book is not
here; where is that certificate,—
where, where?"
A slight sound startled him, and he
flung himself face downwards beside
the body. A pheasant rose from the
undergrowths and whizzed by him,
and nearly paralized him with ter-
ror.
He rose and with feverish haste
half dragged, half pushed the body
into the water, and getting into the
boat, carefully rowed it a little way
into the pool keeping in the shadow
of the trees. The body floated and
bobbed in ghastly fashion, and the
face, as the wan moonlight played
On it, seemed to grin at him 'threat-
eningly and mockingly,
Across Selby Layton „s mind there
flashed the lines from the immortal
poem. of. "Eugene Aram." He had
not read or heard them for years,
and yet every word seemed to burn
in his brain:
'I took the dreary body up,
And cast it in a strewn,—
A sluggish water black as ink,
The depth Was so extreme: -
4. 4* 4. 4.
Heavily I rose up, as soon
As light was in the sky, '
And sought the black, accuneed
pool
With a wild misgiving eye;
And I saw the dead in the elver
For the faithless stream was
dry 1" '
The fool who wrote the thing
might have had this night's work in
Isis eye! What rot it was, what rot!
Why should the pool ever dry up?
It had been in its present condition
for centuries,no doubt, and would
remain so for centuries more. Why
did the accursed lines run in his
mind?
"And I saw the dead in the elver bed
.For the faithless stream was
"And I saw—"
I . When he had got the 'boat into
the position he fancied, he wound,
the anchor-chalei tightly round the
1 body, cut the rope, and slowly, gen-
tly, inch by inch, lowered the anch-
or over the side and let it slip. into
the water. The thing was heavy—
the manipulating of it had brought
th'e cold sweat to his face—and the
moment it was released it went
down, dragging the body with it, as
if a hand had been thrust up and
snatched it down, down, into the
black depths.
There was a swirl on the green,
slimy surface, then ell was still.
Fascinated, Selby Layton stand
at the spot with pallid face and star-
ing eyes; then he remembered his
own danger, and forced himself, for
he was like a man under a spell, to
row the boat back to the boat -house.
• He fastened it up, as nearly as
possible in its original position, than
went back to the fatal spot.
There were 'two objects to be die -
Posed of,.Denzil's cap and the gun.
He pondered for a moment, then he
carefully brushed the bracken aside,
dug a :small hole with a pen-knIfe,
buried the cap, and arranged the
Fluid the P !miler
111/0,11 found A purse your
Impulse Wallet be to look In 3(10
Lost, and Fouod " columns of
our slopes.
13 00,1 hallo lost 5 purse tain't
you thinkthe finder Would do the
name.
If you wiati 01 find tho coulee
ono OUP GlaosItind Want Ade.
bracken over the spot.
The gun troubled him. • He ex:un-
ified the butt. There was no indiva-
Lion of the foul use to whieh it; had
been put; death had been caused al-
most instantaneously by the forge of
the blow falling directly 011 tbs. tem-
ple. He decided to replace the gun
where hehad found it. The num—
whether keepee or ;nitwits:is—to
whom it belonged would be sure to
come back for it—might be on his
way even now at that moment, he
thought, with a thrill of terror—
and would naturally be suspicious if
it wero not where he had left it and
would make impiieles,
He *tied the gun against the
tree, trying to remember the exact
angle at which it had stood, then
straightened kis back and wiped the
huge drops of sweat from his face.
His work WaS done, whether for
good or ill. It was dom., and he was
free to go. But, strange as it may
seem, he still lingered. As the body
had fascinated 111111 so did the spot
on Which it had lain, and he stood
and stared at it. Mechanically he
raised the bracken which had been
crushed by their footsteps and thu
fallen man, then, slowly, with many
a backward glance, which took in
the horrible pool, he stole away.
To say. that he felt the mark of
Cain upon his brow is to say a hack-
neyed and obvious thing; but, for
very certain, Selby Layton felt tint
he was a different man to the man
who had stolen into that samewood
an hour ago. He felt as if something
had, gone out of his life. Sumething.
that would never come back; that
S0050 of confidence and security
which belongs to the man who has
kept within the pale of the laW. And
in its place something had entered;
something which would never go; a
dull and heavy, voiceless terror,
which hung upon his soul like lead.
Its oppression was so awful that
he thought of flight. He wonld
kayo, England— Yes; and rouse sus-
picion if Denzil were missed!He
fought against the desire to fiy,
fought fiercely, until a kind of pas-
sionate resentment of Ida weakness
took possession :of him. The sight
of the Towers increased his feeling.
"No, I'll stay!" be muttered, be-
tween his clenched teeth. "MI stay
and win what I've fought and paid
for, What a price, my God, what a
price! And I'm to give up the prize
and let the cost go for nothing! No
I've risked the gallows to -night to
get you, and Pll have what I've paid
for. And enjoy it. There shall be
none of the remorse that the idiots
of novelists and poets maunder a-
bout. The brute deserved to die—
he had threatened me before, would
have killed me to -night if I hadn't
been too quick for him—he deserv-
ed to die, and I did the public a ser-
vice in ridding it of a wretch who,
for all I know, was stained with
blood. He insisted upon a thousand
pounds, five hundred a year to hold
his tongue—"
He stopped dead ahort as he mut-
tered the words and his face worked
with sharp terror; for he remember-
ed that he had left the cheque sign-
ed with his name in the dead man's
trousers' pocket, and that the mem-
orandum, the promise to pay, and
the stylographic pen were lying in
the .bracken.
He must go back and get the piece
of paper and the pen. He must! He
turned, but hiss soul revolted. He
could not go back to -night. He
should break down, go mad if he
save the spot again that night. He
would wait until to-morrow—the
day after; the paper and the pen .
must have fallen under the bracken
or he would have noticed it; and no
ono was likely to discover it.
With a sickening sinking of the
heart,. he made his way out of the
woods to the park. Here he paused,
and instead of going straight to
that part of the terrace from which
he had started, he Made a detour
and struck the road.
He sauntered along the road, go-
ing away from the house for half a
mile, then he lit a cigar, smoothed
his hair and carefully examined his
boots. They were wet, but the dew
was heavy end would satisfactorily
account for their condition; mid
there was no—no blood noes( him:
he made himself certain of that fact.
No one seeing him, as he walked
along leisurely, smoking one of Sir
Richard's choice Havanas, ' would
suspect him of having committed—
"It was not =Her!" he told him-
self, "It was in self-defence; it was
justifiable homicide, nothing worse."
Re laid this flattering unction to
his sotil, as he proceeded, fighting a-
gainst the remorse which .brooded
over him, Presently he. reached the
south lodge,
It was kept by one of the garden-
ers, a man named Hallett, and he
wag leaning against the open door
smoking a pipe. Ile hastened to the
gate and -opened it.
"A fine night, 'air," he said, touch-
ing his forehead.
"Yes; beautiful," OttpottOtti
y Leyton. ello-wast woliood by the
ovett0088,'tbe' cotopooure of hitt voloo
hut he bad his volee always un.ler
control, thank Heaven! He stopped
and looked up- at the sky appreciate
ingly.
"It is so fine that I was tempted to
go for a stroll." -
"Yee, sir; it's a glorious night for
a walk," said the man.
'Yrs, it id indeed. 1 have' been
quite a long way—to the cross.ireeds
--und was quite reluctant to turn.
But is is getting hte." 'He looked at
his watch. "Past half -past ten, I
"I thought it had struck eleven,
sir," remarked the man.
it is only jest past the half
hams My watch is an excellent one
—it has been in my family for
years—and keeps accurate time.
How sweet your etsicks smell! Take
a cigar, Hallett."
He offered his ease, and the nine
took a cigar with profuse thanks
and much touching of the forehead.
"That's a pretty bit of road, by
the cress -roads, Hallett," ronlariced
Selby Layton, lingering, as if lie were
loath to go and inclined for a chat.
"I've often noticed it, but I remark-
ed it particularly to -night, I mean
by those big elms. Do you want a
light?" Ile offered his match -box.
"Thank you, sir. Yes, it is very
pretty, Sir Richard's grandfather
Plented them trees, and they're very
much admired."
"Well, I must be going in," said
Selby Layton. "Good -night, Hal-
lett,"
"Good -night; and thank you, sir,"
responded Hallett.
Selby Layton sauntered on. His
heart was throbbing heavily.; there
was a pain at his temple as if—as
if someone had struck him a blow
there; bue he walked on leisurely,
and he began to hum the air he had
sung in the drawing room that
night. But was it really he who had
sung it; and was it only that night?
It seemed to him that it was quite a
different person, and that the song
had been sung weeks ago. Surely a
month, a year of months had passed
since he had sat at the piano?
As he. reached the terrace the hall
door opened, and Pahner stood waft-
ing. for. him. Layton set his teeth
sharply. His meeting with the lodge
keeper had been an ordeal, and he
wae :verve'y prepared for another
that night; but he nerved himaidf
for it.
"Alt, thank you, Palmer! I'm
raid I've kept you up."
"No, sir," said Palmer. "I'm not
generally in feel before this; and I
MAY you coming up the drive, I did
think 1 beard. you at the back juet
now, but 1 inuet have been ride-
tuken."
"Ifeerd wie?" said Selby Layton,
with a quick, euspicicua glance. "No;
I came up the drive, lie you saw. I
strolled as far as the cross-roads."
"Just so, sir. I must .have been
mistaken. Can I give you anything
—eola and whisky?"
"No, thank you, Palmer," Selby
replied, pleasantly. • "I will go
straight to bed— What's that?"
A low and piercing - howl had
pierced the silence. -
"It's Mr. Gordoe's dog, Bob, sir,"
said Palmer. "He's shut up in the
stable, and he's fretting for his 20150 -
ter,"
Layton nodded absently.
"Ah, yos; poor dog!" lie said,
empathetically. "I hope he will
eot keep Miss Vancourt awake.
Good -night, Palmer."
CHAPTER XXV.
Selby Layton lay awake the whole
night. Whenever he closed his eyes
he saw the tall figure lying in the
bracken with the livid mark 011 its
temple and its loose, grinning
mouth, heard the dull thud of the
gun as he dealt the fatal blow; and
when he opened his eyes, it was to
; stare at the bed -curtains and the
wall -paper, which seemed alive with
the same hideous shapes.
All through the night he told him-
self that it wasn't murder, that it
was justifiable homicide, or, at the
worst, manslaughter; but lee could
almost see the judge shaking hie
head at the plea, and hear the sen-
tence of death.
When he rose in the morning, Ise
was almost afraid to look in the
glass lest the horrors of the night
should have left their record on his
face; but though he looked white,
and there were marks under his
eyes, something of his pallor and
1 the dark shadows had gone when he
had finished his bath, and 10± went
downetairs looking verY 010011 118
usual. And yet he felt the elringe
in his inner sell' whieh had come
over him iminediately after the mur-
der. He felt years older, and as if
31 weight ivere beering him down,
ti weight &um which he should nev-
er free himself.
(To Be Continued),
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