HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1932-08-11, Page 6AGE SIX.
THE SEAFORTH NEWS.
Revenge
Mysterious
4 ,
D oyle
('Continued from last week).
den for hint as r noticed his uncouth
!nervous movements, his furtive glen
I paciificd' her as well as I could, • ces and twitching features, " l� t
would have believed that this slink
tog, covering creature had once been
a dashing officer, v ho hadfought--the
battles of his country and had won
the palm of 'bravery among the hos,
of brave men around him?
In spite of the ald soldier's' vigil-
ance, we managed to hold communi-
cation with our friends, Inrmedia'teiy
behind the Hall there was a spot
where the fencing had been so care-
lessly erected that two of the rails
could be removed without difficulty,
leaving a 'broad gap, Which' gave us
the opportunity for many a stolen in
and led her home with me, where I
took care that she should have some
hot port negus before going to bed. 1
avoided the subject of the TT'^ -'her
stones for fear of exciting her, and
She dad not recur to it of her own ac-
cord. I was convinced, however, from
what I had heard from her that she
had for some time back been making
her own observations upon our neigh-
bors, and thatin doing so she had put
a considerable strain upon her nerves.
I could see that the mere fact of the
Hall being illuminated at night -was
not enough to account for her ex=
treme agitation, and that it must, terviev, though they were necessarily
short, for the general's movements
were erratic, and no part of the
grounds was secure from his visite-
weird or unpleasant impression 'upon tions.
Iter :Lind. That was the conclusion How vividly Dire of these hurried
which I sante to at the time; and I meetings rises before vie! It stands
have 'reason to know now that I was out clear, peaceful, and distinct amid
right, and that my sister" had even the wild, mysterious incidents which
more cause than I had myself for be- were destined to lead up: to 'the ter -
Hering that there was something un- rible catastrophe which has cast a
cacny about the tenants of Cloomb- shade over our lives. I can rernem-
ber
er. that as I walked through the
Our interest in the matter may fields the grass was damp with- the
have arisen at first from nothing rain of the morning, and the air was
higher than curiosity; hot events soon heavy with the smell of the: fresh-
took a turn which associated us more turned earth, Gabriel was waiting for
closely with the fortunes of the Hea- me under the hawthorn tree outside
therstc'ne family. Mordaunt had taken the gap, and we stood hand-in-hand
advantage of my invitation to -come looking down at the long sweep of
down to the laird's house, and on sev- moorland, and at the broad blue chant
oral occasions he brcrtfght with him isel which encircled it with its fringe
his 'beautiful sister. The -fcur of us of foam. Far away in the northwest
Wander over the moors together; or, the sun glinted upon the high peak of
perhaps, if the day were fine, set sail \fount 'Throston. From where we
upon our little skiff and stand off into stood we could see the smoke of the
the Irish sea. On such excursions the steamers as they plowed along the
brother and eieter would be as hap- busy water -way which leads to Bel-
py and as merry as two children. It fast.
was a keen pleasure to them to es- "15 it not magnificent? Gabriel
cape from their dull fortress, and to cried, clasping her hands round my
see, if enly for a few hours, friendly arm, "Ah, John. why are we not free
and sympathetic faces round them. to sail away over these waves to-
There could be but one result when gether, and leave all our troubles be -
four young people were brought to- bind us on the shore?"
gether in sweet forbidden intercourse, "And what are the troubles which
Acquaintanceship warmed in friend- you would leave behind you, dear
ship, and friendship flamed suddenly one?" T asked, "!fay I not know
into :rove, Gabriel Bits'beside me now th:m, and help you to' bear them?"
as I write, and she agrees with me "I have no secrets from you, John"
that, dear as is the subject to our- she answered. "Our chief trouble is,
selves, the whole story of our mutual as you may guess, our poor father'e
affection is of too personal a nature strange behaviour. Is it not a sad
to be more than touched upon in this thing for all of us that a man who has
statement. Suffice it to say that, with- played such .a distinguished part in
in a felt weeks of our first meeting, the world should skulk from one o•b-
M'ordaunt Heatherstone had won the scure corner of the country to an -
heart of my dear sister, and Gabriel other, and should ,defend himself ,with
had given me that pledge which death locks and barriers as though he were
itself will not be able to break. a common thief flying from. justice?
I have alluded in this brief way to This is a trouble, John, which it is
the double tie which sprang up be- out of your power to alleviate."
tween the two familiiee, 'because I "But why does he do it, Gabriel?"
have tip wish that this narrative I asked.
should degenerate into anything ap- "I cannot tell," she answered frank_
proaching to romance or that I iy. "I know only that he imagines
Should lose the thread of the facts some deadly danger to be hanging
which I have set myself to chronicle, over his head, and that this danger
These are connected with General was incurred by him during his stay
Heatheratone and only indirectly with in India. What its n%tune may be I
my own personal history, Itis enough have no more idea than you have.",
if I say that after our engagement the "Then your brother has," ,I re-
visits to Branksome became more fee- :narked, "I am sure; from the way in
quent, and that our friends were able which he spoke to me about it one
sometimes to spend a whole day with day that he knows what it is, and that
us when business had called the gets- he looks upon it as real."
eral to Wigtown, or When his gout "Yes, he knows, and so does my
c'on'fined him to his room. As to our mother," she answered; "but they
,good father, he was ever ready to have always kept it secret from • me.
greet us with many small jests ep- My, poor .father as very excited atpre-
propriate to the occasion; for we had sent. Day and' night he is in an agony
to secrets from hint, and he already of apprehension, but it will soon be
looked;. upon us all as his children, the Seth of October, and after that he
'There were times when on account will be at peace."
of some peculiarly dark or restless 'fit "Haw do you know that?'-" I asked
of 'else general's it was impossible for .in surprise.
weeks on end for either:. Gabriel or "By experience," said she gravely.
Mordaunt to get away from the "On the 5th of 'October, these fears
gno.umds..,The old man would even of his come to a crisis, For yeaes'back
stand an guard at the avenue gate, he has been in, the habit of ;locking
or pace up and` drown the drive, as Mord:aunt and myself tap in our rooms
though, he steepeated' that attempts ani the date, so -that we have no idea
had been made to penetrate 'his se- of whet occurs; • but we ,have always
elusion. P,a'ssling of an evening 1 have routed that he has 'been, much reliev-
seen his dark, grim figure .flitting ed afterward, and has continued to be
about' in the shadow of the trees,. or comparatively in peace until that day
caught a ,glimpse :df his hard angular began to draw round aga'in,
face peering out .at me from' 'behind
the bars. My i elart would often sad -
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1932
was drawing to a close. "By the wa
clearest, why is it that yogi .light "u
all your roonirs at night?"
"You have noticed it then?" sh
said. "It comes also from any father
fears. He does not like to have on
dark sor
ter :m the whole house. I3
wanks about •a
goad deal at night, an,
inspects everything, Freon the attic
right down to the cellars. He ha
large lamps .in every room and ever
corridor, even the empty ones, an
he oorder
s the servants to light then
all at dusk"
ani rather surprised that yo
manage to keep your servants," I said
laughing. "The maids in these pard
are a superstitious class, and. thei
in eaginations are easily excited b
anything which they don't ,under
stand,"
'The enok and both housemaids ar
.from (London; and are used to ou
ways. We pay then: on a very hig
scale to make up for an inconveni
ences to which they may be put. Is
rael Stake.,: the coachman, is the• onl
one- nein conies from this part of th
country, and he seems to be a stolid
honest fellow, who is not easil
scared."
"Poor little; girl," ,exclaimed, look -
o rp•,"dov,m, at the slim, graceful figure,
by my side. "This.js .no atmo�sphere
for you tp live in.' Why will you not
let me rescue you from it? Why won't
you allow me to go, straight -;and ask
t the general for your':hared? At the
worst he coiled only refuse,"'
,She turned quite haggard and pale
at; the very thought. ',Tor God's ,sake,
John," she cried earnestly,, "do nowt&
ing of the kind: He would whip us all
away in the dead of the night, and
within a week we should be settling
down again in some wilderness where
we might never have a chance of see-
ing or heading. from you again. Be-
sides, he never would forgive us for
venturing out of the grSun'ds,"
"I do'n't think that he' is si hard-
hearted mean, ,I remarked. "I have
seen a kindly look in his eyes, for all
his stern face."
"He can be the kindest of fathers,"
she answered: "But he is terrible
when opposed or+thrwarted. ,Yon have
never seen' him so, - and I trust you
never atilt, It was that strength of
will and impatience of opposition
which made him such a splendid of-
ficer, I assure you that in India every
one thought a great deal of him, The
soldiers were afraid of him, but they
would have followed hlim anywhere."
"And had he these nervous attacks
then?"
"Occasionally; but not neatly so'
acutely. Ile seems to think that the
danger — whatever it may be — be-
comes .more imminent every year. Oh,
John, it is terrible to be waiting like
this with a sword over our heads—
and all the more terrible to me since
I have no idea where the blow is to
come from,"
"Dear Gabriel," 1 said, tacking her
hand and drawing her to my side,
"look over all this pleasant country -
aide and the broad blue sea. Is it not
all peaceful and beautiful? In these
cottages, with their red -tiled roofs
peeping out from the' gray moor,
live none but simple, God-fearing
men, who toil hard at their crofts
and beam enmity to no `man. Within
seven miles of us is a large town,
with every civilized appliance for. the
preservation of order. Ten miles far-
ther there is a garrison quartered,
and a telegram would at any time
'bring down a company of soldiers.
Now, I ask you, dear, in the name of
common sense, what conceivable dan-
ger could threaten you in this seclud-
ed neighborhood, with the means of
Help so near? You assure nee that the
peril is not connected with your fa-
ther's health?"
"No, I am sure of that. It is true
that Dr, Easterling, o'fStranraer, has
been over to see him once of twice,
but that was merely for sone 'small
indisposition. I can assure you that
the clanger is not to be looked for in
that direction."
"Then I can assure .you," said I,
laughing, "that there,is no clanger at
all. It must • be some strange mono-
mania or hallucination. No other hy-
pothesis, will cover the facts."
"Would my father's monomania ac-
count for .the Palet ornf, my brot'her's
hair be'dug turned gray andany moth-
er wasting aw-ay to a mere shadow:?"
"Undoubtedly," I answered. "The
long -continued worry of the general's
restlessness and irritability, bat they
have had no such effect upon me.
The difference between' us Hes in the
fact that they know this awful -sec-
ret and we do' not." '
"My dear girl," said 1,, "the days of
family,, apparitions' and that kind'- off
thing are gone, Nobody is haunted
nowadays, so we ,can ,putt that : sup-
position out of the question: Having
done so, what remains? There is, alb
soiutely no other theory which• could
even .be ,suggested. Believe me, the
whole mystery is that the ,heat of
India hies been toe mach for your
poor 'fat'her's brain,"
\What 'she would ,liave answered I
anatbt tell,' for at that Moment s'he
nave a start as ilf some sound had fall-'
n' upon, hier ear....A•s she looked round
y, ep'prchensiveiy I suddeniy ,.saw lien
p"features become rigid and her eyes
fixed and 'dilated. Following the cllrec-
c tion of her gaze, I felt a sudden thrill
's o'e fear pass through .me as I per-
ceived a Mitran 'face surveying us•
from r
e f 'behind one of the ri-ees—a false
d ever feature of v
y o witch was dtstortecl
s by the most malignant hatred and
s anger. Feinting himself observed he
y stepped out and: advanced toward es',
d when I San' that it was none other
n than the general himself. His 'beard
was all a -:bristle with fury, and his
u deep-set eyes glowed- from under'
their heav'i'ly veined lids with a most
s' Sinister and demoniacal brag
}:tress,
y CHAIPTER VT.
Ilo.w• I Became to be Enlisted as One
e
of the Garrison of Clioomlber, '
,r
h' "To your room, girl!" he cried in a
- hoarse, harsh voice, stepping between
- us and pointing autheritaitively tow=
y ard the house. He waited until Gab-
e rid, with• a last fdightened glance at
me, had passed through thegap, and
y then he 'turned union me with an ex-
pression so murderous titan' I step'pe'd
back a pace or two, and 'tightened.
nay grasp upon my oak stick.
"You you —" he- sputtered; with
his hand up to his throat, as tho'u'gh
his fury were choking hem. "You have
dared to intrude upon my priiv'acy!
Do you thlinik 1 built this fence that
all the vermin in the country tndght
congregate rotund it! Oh, you have
been very near death, my fine -fel-
low!' You will never be nearer until
your time comes. Look at this!" He
pulled a Squat, thick pistol out of his
bosom. "h1 you had passed through -
that gap and set foot on my land I'd
have let daylight into you I'•11 have no
vagabonds bete! I know how to treat,
gentry of that sort, w'heth'er their
faces are black or white."
"Sir,"' said I, "I meant no hart: by
coming here, and I do not know how
I have deserved , this extraordin:a'ry
outburst. Allow me to observe, how-
ever, that you are still covering me
with your pistol, and that, as your
hand is rather tremulous, it is more
than possible that it may go off. If
you don't turn the muzzle' down I
shall be compelled ,in self-defense to
strike you over the wrist with my
stick." ,
"'What .the devil brought you here,
then? he asked in a more composed
voice, putting his weapon back into
his bosom. "can't a gentleman' live
quietly wlt-hout your conning to peep
and pry? Have you neo.' busin'es's of
Your own .to look after, eh? And my
daughter how came you 'to know
anything of her? and w'ha't have you
been trying to squeeze out of her? It
wasn't chance that brought you
here." •
have derived its importance in her
eyes from being one in a chain of
incidents, all of which had left a
'Then you have only ten days or so g
to wait:," I remarked, for September e'
"No," said T, boldly, "it was not
chance which brought me here. I
have had several opp'ortunitie's of see-
ing your daugther and of appreciat-
ing her many noble qualities. We are
engaged to be married to each other,
and carne up with the express inten-
tion of seeing her,"
Instead of blazing into a 'fu'ry, as
I had expected, the general gave a
long whistle' of astonishment, and
then leaned up against the railings.
laughing softly to himself.
"English terriers are fond of play-
ing with worms," he remarked at last.
"When we used to bring' them out to
India they used to trot off into the
jungle and begin sniffing, at what they
imagined to he worms there. But the 1,
worn turned out to be a venomous!
snake, and so poor doggy paid the
penalty. I think you'll find yourself
in a somewhat analogous position if
you don't look ant." •
"You surely don't mean to cast an
aspersion upon your own daughter?"
I; said, flushing with indignation.
"Oh, Gabriel is all right," he ans-
wered, icarelessly, "Our family is not
exactly ranee, however, which 3 should
recommend 'a'young 'fellow to marry
ito. And pray how is itthat I was
not informed o'f this snug little ar-
rangement of yours?"
"4Ve were afraid, sir, that you•
might separate us," I replied, feeling
that penfe'ct candor was the 'beset pol-
icy under the cincutnatan'ces, "It is
possible ' that we were Mistaken, Be-
fore conning' to any (final decision I
implore you to remember that the
happiness • o'f ;both of us is at stake.
It is in your power to divide our
bodies, but our. souls shall the for-
ever united."
"My good' fellow," said the general,
in a not unkindly tone, "you don't
know .what you are asking for. iTihere
is a gulf 'between you .and any one of
the blood of Heatherstone w'hic'h can.
never Ibe bridged over." All trace of
anger !head vanished now from. his
Manner, anod given place to an ',airof
somewhat contemptuous amusement.
My family pride took fire at his
words, "The gulf may ,he less' than
than you imaginre II said coldly.
"We are not: clad'hoplpense 'because ,we
lige in this o'ut•.of=bhe-way place. . I
ant 'of noble descent on io.ne slide, and
my mother was •a iBuohan of ;Buchan.
nassrre you that there is, no such
'dis:parity, be'twe'en us as you sten' to
imagine."
"Yost misunderstand elle," the gen-
eral. answered. "It is op our nide oehait
the .disparity lies 'There are reasons
why ivy' daughter laabriel sihould 'live
and clic angle, at would not be to
your advantage to marry. her,"
"But sanely, sir," I persisted, "I
the best judge of my own interests
and advantages. iSinee you Make -this
round 11 beco•nees easy; for r I
S Y, do
assure you that the one interest f
:
h
overrides r all others is that tI should
heave 'the woman I love for my wife.
If this .is your only objection .to our
match, you may sanely ,giive •us your
consent, for any clanger gar trial which
I may in'cu'r in niarryung`�Gabreel..t�nill
not'weight with nnee one ifeather-
weight„
"Here's a young bantam!" exclaim,
ed the old soldier,: smiling at . my
warmth. "its easy to 'defy danger
wthen, you don't know what the danger
is,"
"What is qt, then?" I asked, hotly,
"There is no earth'ly' peril which wi\l
drive -Inc drone ,Galbriel's side. ;Let nee
lcnow* what it is and test me."
"No, no. 'Thai would never •do,".the
answered wiitha sigh, ,,andthen,
thoughtfully, as if speaking his :rind
aloud. "IIe has plenty of pluck, and
is a avelll :grown tad'.too." He 'went one
mumbling to hi'm'self with a va'can't
Stale in his eyes as if he had forgot-
ten my :presence.
"Look here, West," he said pres-
ently. "You'll eslc'use me if I spoke
hastily a little time ago. Lt is the sec-
ond otlime that S heave .had occasion to
apo'logize to you a for the same of-
'feuse, 'Lt c'han't o'ocur again. I>am 'ra-
ther over partitcullar, no doubt, in, •my
desire for complete isolation; but ,I
have good reasons for insisting on
the point. Rightly or wrongly, I
have got at into my head that some
day there might he an organized raid
upon my grounds. 111 anything of the
sort should occur I suppose I might
reckon 'upon your assistance ?"
"With all -my 'heart."
"So• that if ever you -got a message
such as 'Come up," or even simply
'Cloomberl' you would know that it
was an appeal for help, and. •,would
hurry up immediately, even if it were
in the dead 'of night?"
"Most certainly I should," 3 ans-
wered. "But alight I ask you what
the nature of the clanger is which you
apprehend?"
"There 'wosildbe nothing gained by
your, knowing. !Indeed, you would
ha'rd'ly -understand it if I told you. I
must hide you good day now, .for I
have stayed with you top.' long, Re-
member, I count upon You as one of
the 'Cloanvber garrison now,"
"One other thing, sir," Isaid, hur-
riedly, for he was turning away; "I
hope that you will ,not be angry with,
your :daughter for, anything which I
have told you. I:t was for my sake
that she kept it all seoret from you."
"_All right,' he said, with his cold,
estrutable ,smile, ''I ant not such an
gee in the ,bosom of 'my family as
ou seem to think. As to, this near -
lege question, I should advise you
s a friend to let it drop altogether.,
tit if that is impossible I must insist
hat it stand over .completely for, the
urn events may- take. Good -bey!" Ile
lunged into the wood and :was quick -
out of slight among the dense plan -
it
0
y.
a
b
p
ly
tation,
!Thus ended this extraordinary in-
terview, in which this strange man
had begun by .pointing a loaded pis-
tol at my breast and ,had ended by
partially acknowledging the possibil-
ity of my becoming his future sov-
in-law. I hardly knew whether to be
cast down or elated aver it. On the
otic hand he was Likely, by keeping a
closer watch over his daughter, to
prevent us from comae inicaeing 'a's
freely as we had done hitherto. Ag-
ainst this there was -the advantage of
braving obtained an im'p'liedconsent
to the renewal of my suit at some fu-
ture date. On the 'whole, I came to
the cpn'clusmon as I walked thought-
fully home that I had improved my
position by the 'incident.
But this clanger -- this shadowy,
unspeakable danger—which appeared
to rise up at every turn, and to hang
day and night aver the 'towers' of
Cloamber! Rack my brain' as I would
I could not -conjure u.p any solution to
the problem which was. ,551'1 puerile
and inadequate. One fact struck ne
as significant. Both the father and
the son had assured rte, independent-
ly of each other, that if I were
told what the peril was, I would
hardly realize .its signifi'cantce. iHow
strange and 'bizarre must the fear be
which can 'scarce Ibe'eepreesed in ,in-
telligible language. I held up my hand
in'the 'darkness before I turned: to
sleep that night, and I swore that no
power of -'nnan or devil sileouldl ever
weaken my •love for thee- woman whose
pure heart,il had had the .good fortune
(To be Continued),
"I -lad iany bites?" ,asked the passer-
by.
"Yds," telplied the fisher. "One Mos-
quito and a couple of gnats."
PROFES'SIONAI, CARDS
Medical
D.R. t. H. IkUIGIII ROSS; Physician
and Surgeon. eon
u
g Late of London 'FIom••
pita]," Lon don, England. Sipeciral.
attention to, diseases of the eye, ear,
nose and throat. Office and resi-
dence behind. Dominion Bank. Office
Phone No,
5; R •
esadence Phone 1104.
DR. F. J. BURROWS, Seaforth.
Office and residence, Goderioh street'
east of the United Church, Dorene
for the County of Huron. Telephone
No. 46,
DR, C. IvIAOIOAY.e-C. Macke%
honor graduate -of Trinity University'
and gold medallist of Trinity Medical
College; member of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
DIR. F. J, R, F1O'PSTEIR—Eye, Ez'i
Nose and Throat. Graduate in Medi-
cine, University of Toronto um.
Late Assistant New York Opfibhal-
mic and Aural Institute, Moorefield's•
Eye, and Golden Square throat hospi-
tals, London, England. At Comm-
ercial Hotel, Seafolbh, 31d Monday is..
each month, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m,
DIR. W. C, SIPIRIOIA'T. Graduate of•
Faiculty of Medicine, University of
Western Ontario, London. Member
of College of Physicians , and Sur-,
geofre' of Ontario.. Office in rear ode
Aberhart's drug store, Seaforth,
Phone 90. .Hours 1.30-4 p.m,, 7.30si
4 p.m. Other hours by appointmen't.
Dental
DIR. J. A. MLTNN, Successor be.
Dr. R. R. Ross, graduate of North—
western University, Chicago, III, li—
centiate Royal College of Dental Sur-.
geons,- Toronto. Office over Sills'
hardware, Main St, Seaforth. Phone..
151.
DR. F. J. B'EOHELY, graduate.
Royal College of Dental Surgeons,
Toronto. Office over W. R. Smith's
grocery, Main St., Seaforth. P.hones,
office 185W, residence 185J.
Auctioneer.
GEORGE ELLIOTT, Licensed
Auctioneer for the County of Huron.
Arrangements .can be made for Sale
Date at The Seaforth News. Charge&
moderate acid satisfaction guranteed.
WATSON AND REID'S
REAL ESTATE
AND INSURANCE AGENCY eallIke,
(Succsaors to James Watson)
MAtI'N S'T., SEAFORTH, ONT.
'All kinds of Insurance risks effect-
ed atlowest rates in First -Class
Companies.
THE McKILLOP
Mutual Fire Co,.ralusuraucpp �
G
FARM . AND ISOLATED TOWN
PROPERTY, 0 N L Y, INSURED•
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Seaforth No. 4, 'Sec; Treas,
Dieectors-:Ge.Sec.-Treas.
. R, McCartney, Sea -
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No, '5 tRobt. ,Ferris, Rye +No. 1;; Jas.
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Agents—Jas, Watt, Blyth No. 1; W.
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Seaforth No. 3; W. J. Yeo, 'Ciintom
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or transact other business, will be -
promptly attended to by applications,
to •any of the above natned officers ad-
dressed to their respective poste
offices.
Cheapest of all Oils.—Considering.
the qualities, of Dr. Thomas' Eclec-
tric Oil it is the cheapest of all prep--
arations offered , to the public. . I•tis,
to be found • in every drug store int
Canada from coast to coast and all.
country merchants keep it for sale, So,
being easily procurable and extremely
moderate in ,price, no one should be
without a bottle of le:
Want and For Sale Acts, 1 time 250^