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The Brussels Post, 1890-12-12, Page 29 1Hh k3ttUSSJ LS YOST ST1 ANG Z• �r �- A THRILLING STORY OF ROMANCE AND ADVFITURR. OeLePTER XXI. I'$ d8'a4ID OP ISYeeLr. "He wbo knows nothing knows enough if be known when to be silent. Unfortunately for his peace of mad, Lord Roestrevor was not able to get a paper at Ipswich. When he heard the news -boys call- ing, 'Orrid all•ing,'Orrid murder of an officer in The Flats,' he thrust his bead out of the window and shouted to one of them to bring him a paper- But the boy nearest to him was kept waiting by a deliberate old lady whose fingers were 'apparently all thumbs and her mind somewhat of a blank, who having bought a 'Lady's Pictorial' succeeded with more or less waste of time to ex• tract five pennies from various re• ceptacles about her ample person. `Dear—dear-I'm sure I've got another penny somewhere,' she panted. 'Haven't you a sixpence or a ehilliog, Muni ?' asked the boy who had signalled to our friend that be bad heard his summons and would come to him as soon as he could. 'Dear nee, yes, I think I have, Dried the old lady in the tone of one to wbum a startling new idea has just come—and • then she fumbled. for her purse again and with nerv- ous fingers manegpd to get the six- pence out end to take back thee coppers just as the train began toi reeve forward. The news -boy made a gallant run for it ; but I need hardly say' that the engine won the race and went majestically on bearing with her an angry man and leaving on the platform a breathless newsboy, who when the power of speech re- turned gave vent to his injured feelings by a string of remarks about 'old cats that cant count, be• ing let out by theirselves.' But our poor friend had to endure his suspense as best be could and get on to Oolchester without being able to get a paper. And when at last he did succeed in getting one, his hands were trembling so that he could not hold the paper still enough to eee't4e;lettere. He was alone in the carriage and stamped his foot hard on the floor in anger at his own weaknese, and at last he managed to tale in the details of the news which the boys were cry- ing 'Orrid rying:'Orrid murder of an officer 'in The-Fiats.!—Yes, it was•juet what be bad feared—Major Dennis bad been found just outside the entrance to his own suite of rooms, stone dead, with a knife sticking .nn his body ! I. hardly know how to describe the rest of Lord liossbrevor's journ- ey to Town that winter evening 1 He felt confused, stunned by the news --he asked himself over and over again whether it was possible that it could be true, that the man from whom he bad parted only a few days before in the fullness of health and strength, could be lying now dead and cold done to death by the hand of an assassin who had stabbed him from beLiud ? He had never liked Major Dennis —he tad despised him from the first moment that lie had set eyes on him, he had been filled with a fierce and deadly hatred and loath• ing for him when be had seen the Mordaunt or anyone else, and when marke of his brutal fingers upon he exchanged to the fifteenth, he ' ed—'0h 1 my poor little girl.' Ethel's little delicate wrist. At all gob me exehaoged too ; aud then 'Jack,is it you ? Is it really yon 2 times he had stood an au implies- he brought me out as 1 daresay you Li it true or is it only a dream ? able barrier between him and the know, Sir. He's dead and gone 'True enough, my poor ,darling,' woman he loved, and now he was now, poor gentleman, and what's he answered. gone, gone, and Ethel was it widow worse, he's gone in a 'urried way 'I went bo bed early last night, and free to go where she liked and and with no kind of preparation because 1 was so tired of being So marry whom she chose ! But it either for'iseelf or for them as was alone. And we had quarrelled, be was dreadful, dreadful, and Lord neareet to him ; but he wasn't the and I—at least he did—he was Roestrevor found himself shivering 'uaband he might have been to a angry, beoause—well, ben mei was at the picture of the awful tragedy. young thing like she was, and dull and 1 wanted him to take me It id not a very longjourney from manys the 'ard word he flung at to a theatre. I told him that I did Colchester to London, and when her, and many's the time he's been not often ask him to take me any Rosetrevor got to Liverpool street, fit to murder her as she stood ; but where and he said no, that I never he sent off Vickers to his rooms all the same, aggravation and try asked him except when you were with his luggage and Himself wont 'agues is one thing aud murder to not at baud to go instead of him, to The Flats as fait as the first another, so it's u't wonder the and then he said that ho was going Circle train he could get into would young mistress is upset, to say to a theatre with someone who was take 1 im. Ho found everything at nothing at all of---' always glad of his company and he the huge pile of buildings where the 'Judge,' said a voice at that went away in a rage—moll a rage, murder had taken piece looking moment. Jack --but you know. And, Jack, -very mach as usual, though there 'Yee, Mum,' said Judge with s I never saw him again till—till— were a couple of policemen stand- jump. Oh ! n is too horrible, too horrtble 1' sing at the entrance and the two or 'Now where have I heard that She shuddered violently and her three men who were always to be voice before 2' said Trevor to him• fees vette so ghastly white that she seem anent the hall, looked scared, self. seemed as if ehe would fall at every Ono of them—the offiee•elerk—loop- 'Mr. Trevor, Mum—to see the moment. Jack took her hands td up at him when he entered and mistress,' be heard Judge say. again in his strong warm grasp and, seemed a little em>riesd. 'I will see Mr. Trevor,' said the hold then fast. 'My poor darling,' 'You've bad a dreadful piece of voice. and then Rosetrevor found he murmured eoobhingly,'you must bustuese here,' sajd Rosstrevor ad. himeelf in the presence of a iniddle try not to think about tbat-you dressing tinned( to hint. aged lady and memory suddenly must indeed, Poor Dennis wasn't • Ole !horrible, Sir,' he answered. etlppiied him with a name to fit always himself --and, of auurne, `tCo--'I enppoae I can see Mrs. with a voice—it was Ethol's mother neither he ,nor yon bad any idea of iSiiux3g�2' Mrs. M.ordaunt. what was going to happen. .Pray '1 dept knew, kir at Of the at all, Yon She inlet him with a subdued don't think about that, mere than wars Mile and a whtt,e hand outstretchn .h • , ou caelp, dear, r mewber how , ,lnlinaato family, Sir 2ed. oaten before he,satd t i}ugs that he 'Oh :1 see, very intimate. But 'How do you do, bar. Trevor—..—or did not techs mean or was'sorry for Brit been down the country. I only 1 I should say Lard Rossteevor now, afterwards' heard of it when I tact the paper i Should 1 not 2' 'Yee—bet—but C was! so angry,' halfway to'j`owr,' 11netteevor alas!• 'I am quite Well thank yoti, re• she answered wretchedly, 'so angry DEO. 12, 1890, plie4 just toucltauq hp; pttnd but retpdntrg peones ' t.te p "inters nor`' a cynic. ' 1 demo to enquire for nal' daughter—' Mrs. Mordaunt began; when 'Trevor interrupted her. 'I eame to see her,' he said blunt. wered. 'lion dont know how Mrs: 1 —Ifni -he'd no 'intention 'whatever Dennis is, I suppose.' 'Oh ! poor lady, they say, she has not spoken a word hardly since, and no wonder,' the olerk replied, 'Who drd it ? Have they got a clue yet ?' '1 cant say—the police are very close about tt. Tbey set Oa 'watch on the house and they asked a good many questions of everyone they came across, but they've let slip nothing at all themselves.' ''Have you had anyone that was at all likely --2' 'Not a bit of it,' answered the clerk promptly—'it was a very bad night, pouring with rain, and we bad very few people indeed, and Major Dennis went out in his even- ing clothes about half past seven, and we never saw or heard sign of anything wrong .until one of the servants found Lim at six o'clock this morning.' 'But what time did he Dome in 2' 'Oh -not late -a little after twelve. I was here and saw him come through—he epoke to mein fact and said I' needn't bother about the li(b, he Would walk up; he often did w,gl up—aa often all pot 'mem—very stranger And you. think' he was' murdered only a fety minutes after that.' "'lei. I 'shouldthink so—the doctors said he'd been dead for Goure when they got here a bit be fore seven.' Lord " Resstrevor shivered. •I never beard of anything so horrible in all my life,' be said. ' WelI—I will eo up and make enquiries for Mr',. Dennis.' The clerk, who had given him so muob:iefgrmetion, and the man in charge of the lift made no objection, and a few minutes later he was softly knocking at the door of the Deanisee' suite of rooms. Judge opened the door, stepping back and making way for the visitor to enter, when he saw who it was. 'Come in, Sir,' he said eagerly — 'I think the mietress'll bi glad to see you—this way, Sir.' 'Dreadful business, Ju1Qe,' said Roestrevor, in an undertone. "Urrible, Sir, 'orrible,' answered Judge scarce above a whisper—'and the worst of all was to think that him and the mistress parted in, anger and that he should be stabbed in the bank while we was Bleeping.' Rosetrevor "tu rned sharply beak etariog at Judge's impassive face— 'Parted manger, Judge—Why what of letting blrs.Mordant become a go•between with Ethel and himself. 'Ah I yes, naturally. 13u1 I dont think Ethel will be equal to seeing you, she has seen no one at .all— and she has scarcely spoken to mo gum I came, which 1 did immedi• ately upon receiving her telegram.' 'Then she ,aired to you 2' remark. ed Jack, wondering why she had not also at once apprised him of what had taken place. 'Site telegraphed to me, yea,' lire. Mordaunt replied—' 'and I set off without an instant's delay, in fact leaving my maid to bring my things after me, I found her iu a dreadful state, wildly excited and ill with grief—iudeed I bad no idea that Ethel wise so devoted to the poor Major, who between ourselves, dear Lord Eoestrevor, was the last man in the world likely to take a young girl's fancy.' It was ou the tip of Rosetrevor''s tougue to say that Major Dennis never had taken Ethel'. fancy. However he managed to stop himself in•time•and also to re- ply to Mrs. itfordaunt' in' a fairly civil manner. 'Ethel is naturally very much up. set,' he said, coldly, 'any one in her position would be se. But will you let her know that I am liere, Mrs. Mordaunt, 'please 7' '1 really dont'tliink that Ethel- -. pers. Mordnunt began,' when .Jack calmly went on. 'I think else will like to see me,' lie said oal'mly. ' ''At all events it can do no harm td let he'r' know that I am :here. ' You see. I have been so very intimate with them since they first cams to my regi meat. You won't mind my ring- ing for, Judge, will you. ?' for rang the bell before the lady could do or say anything to atop him and he sat down again with a polite expression of thanks such as made Mrs. Mordaunt realize, all at pulse, that she had at last met a man who was not the least afraid of her and who meant to go his way and not hers' in spite of everything she could or would do to prevent it. Then the door opened and Judge appeared on the threshold. 'Oh ! Judge,' said Jack before Mrs. Mor - daunt oould speak, 'will you let your mistress know that I am here and ask if she feels equal to seeing ma?' 'The mistress knows that you are do ou mean ?' here, my lord,' ' answered Judge— ' 'andshe •would like to see you if ',Just what I Bay, Sir. The Major and Mrs. Dennis had 'ard words yesterday evening and the Major went out, in a rage, banging the door At to break all the glass in it to shivers. Not that I've mention- ed the fact, Sir, to anyone °lee, nor mean to ; them police,' with a knowing look, 'are such fools, there is no knowing what they might take into their wooden 'eads if we was only to give 'em the chance. As it is, they'll never find anything out at all, never.' 'And Mrs. Dennis—she-2' 'Took 1 terrible bad, Sir,' replied face as colorless ae her gown and you will step into the boudoir. 'I will. Then. shall I say good• bye to you Mrs. Mordaunt 2' turn- ing to the lady. 'Ob ! certainly. Good nicht, Lord Rosetrevor,' she said with swine asperity ; Mrs. lolordauut did not like any man, woman or child to get the beet of her. Roestrevor, however, without seeming to notice it followed Jack out of the room to the boudoir, where Ethel was awaiting him. She,was standing up by the fire- place, a tail figure in white, with a Judge sympathetioally. 'The Major with dark stags around her eyes, was aggravating at times, there is no denying ib. I was with him as batman for many a long year before ever he thought of marrying Miss He hastened towards her and took her cold nerveless hands in his. She turned her sad eyes upon him. 'My poor little girl,' he murmur. could not step. All'I •eeuii thinks was t'e'at ,ott were oor'in* to•d(ty and that—that—Oh 1 Jesuit, poiteI am 10'whietoh,ed, s0 wretoh" ed now. 'It will all pass by—it will wear' off iu time,' he told her in soothing tonoe.. 'I had no cause to love' him, poor chap, but I give you my word, Ethel, I would give everything I am worth at thie moment if it would bring him back again alive and well.' She looked round fearfully as if she was afraid of the sound of her own voice. 'Jack,' she said in a whisper, or what was scarcely above a whisper—'if I could only feel like that, too, but I ain't, I can't. That's wby I'rn so wretched—I'm afraid of myself.' In spite of the gravity of the situ• cation and that dreadful something lying in the next room, Jack almoet laughed, but he choked down the desire and drew her very near to him. 'Dear child,' he said tenderly— 'try not to let yourself get thiukiug such thinge as these. Remember rather how good you were to 'tire and' bnvw often you bore with his faults and how you resisted temp• tatioa like a saint or like what you are, a good woman.' She shivered again and looked round in the ,same frightened way as ehe had done before: 'Don't call' me that;' she said piteously—'i wish I was good, but I'm not. I'm Afraid of myself, Jaolt—I'm afraid of myself 1' OHAPTE,R XXII. "trunnae-'i "Don't jump at results. The further you jump the 'leas ,certain can yon•be of. the exact epoton which you will alight." When the words, 'I'm afraidof myself,' left Ethel Dennis'a lips for the third time, Lord 'Rosetrevor be- gan to feel that something muet be done to bring her to a senseof the seriousness of the situation and that he would have to be the one to do it. "Ethel, my dear,' he said in a sharp, clear voice, and giving! ''her hands a'little shake as he spelt°, 'do pull yourself together and try to realize that it won't do for you to be talking like this. Remember the situation is a very grave one and that it is. our business to find out who committed the dastardly crime. I mean to find out who did it and yon' must help me. But for God's sake, my child, don't let ' yourself get into a way of talking such non- sense as you have just let slip, to 'anyone but me. 0f course I know. ,that you are unnerved and unplug-. 'ed but you must be reasonable and, collected in spite of that.' 'Jack, I cant be reaeonable,' she criedpiteously, 'it's ell so horrible, such an end,to such life aud— and—my mother 'Your mother had no business to come at all,' said 4e sharply-'ehe has brought enough misery into your life already, far too mach for her to be of any real nee to you now that you are in trquble. But, my dear, you must pull yourself to. getter sufficiently to talk things over with me belore your mother comes to disturb us. First of all, you know that Judge is aware that you and the Major had words 'last night 7' 'No, I did not know it,' she an• swered, evidently trying hard to col- lect her senses. 'But he does know it. He told me of it as soon as I name in ; told me too that he had not epoksn of it to a liviug soul, and the question is, must it be told at the inquest, ,which T euppose will be to morrow.' 'Yes, to -morrow afternoon at three o'clock,' ehe said. '1 thought so. Then Ethel, is there any need for you to say any- thing nything about that 2 Isn't it bad enough without retailing alt that and the fact that he went off to a theatre with another woman 2 Can- not you possibly suppress all that 2 Only we must arrange with Judge and probably with your maid also.' 'bio, she was cut. She did not come hi till ten o'clock,' Ethel re• plied, 'and, of entree, there aro no other servants of ours aud just at that hour never any of the house - servants about, only Judge,' with a long -drawn Bobbing breath, 'was at all likely to hear it and Judge--' 'Will never say a word if he is told not to do so,' Roestrevor broke in decidedly. `So I shall tell lint that an all accounts we think it will be butter if ho remembers nothing I about the oiroumstance, And now, tell me, dear, what about Valerie ? 'Valerie l' She started as if she had been shot. '0h I Jack, do you think that it was---' 'Valerie 2 Certainly I do !' he said promptly. 'Don't, ,you think that Valerie meant doing for him the firet chance she got 2 Don't you think that the Major knew perfectly well what a detormibod chgraoter he had to deal with ? Mee wotihl he have been in soh mortal terror (Continued on ?ego 8,) CMIsTril —'►.�.7�iO�RE�—' �THE POST —FOR,J— Balance of 1890. 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