Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, June 6, 1896, Page 2

= x Professor’ S Seeret. © LRN IEE OEE © CHAPTER VII. The Doctor's Discovery. eamed loudly as Mr. Phil- ppeared and a small torrent ; shot up from the pool at the a of the ledge. Amelia stepped quickly to the rail ,placed both hands upon it and gazed intently down. Even in the excitement of the moment Dr. Williams was struck by her act and attitude, “Don’t fear, Lou,” eried the doctor, giving her hand a hasty pressure, and running along the piazza to the steps. Mr. Philbrick came to the surface al- most immediately. He saw the faces of the young ladies above him, blew the water out of his mouth and shout- ed: “Please don’t be frightened; there sn’t going to be any tragedy this With that he began.to swim for the rrow strip of rock beneath the piaz- and in spite of the current and the ight of his clothing he made per- ceptible headway. Amelia watched him with straining while Louise, after a_ single ran around the house to call her father. Dr. Williams picked up a loose board under the piazza and ran with it to the water’s edge. ey Doctor Williams Picked Up 2 Loose Board, ‘How are you making it, Philbrick?” he asked, anxiously, as he saw that the swinnrer was struggling hard, and that the board would not reach half way to him. “Oh, I'm afloat,” responded Phil- brick, cheerfully, “and I shall land somewhere before long ,but the current here just sets away from the bouse as if it were a mill race.” “Can’t you keep away from the cur- rent until I get a rope? or will this board be of any use?” “Don’t throw in the board; it would be in my way. If you had a rope, I wouldn’t mind a little help, but I shall get on all the same.” The doctor had not waited to hear all of this. Seeing that he could be of no use at all by standing on the bank, he ran around to the steps, intending to go thence to the stable to find the rofessor. Louise was before him and Prof. Drummond at that moment came running from the stable with the key of the house in his hand. “Stay below, doctor,” he cried. toss him a line from the piazza.” Dr. Williams accordingly returned to the water’s edge. Mr. tuilbrick had given up trying to make headway against the current that ran, between him and the house, and was allowing himself to drift down stream, swim ming just enough to keep from being borne against the rocks, whose pres- ence was made manifest by the larger ripples on the surface of the water. “ll get ashore just below here,” he called. Dr. Williams followed along the bank for a few rods, and just after Prof. Drummond issued from the house with a clothes line Mr. Philbrick caught hold of the doctor’s extended hand and pulled himself upon a rock mear the point where he had begun his day's fishing. He was laughing and panting at the same time. “This wasn’t on the programme,” he said, wringing his coat sleeve. “I hope you're not hurt,’ exclaimed 2@rofessor Drummond, running up. “No, sir; not at all,” replied Mr. Philbrick. “In fact, there was no danger at all, I suppose, unless it was from the hidden rocks. I confess that I thought of them. Young Stark- weather—but I beg pardon, I didn’t mean to refer to that sad occurrence.” “It was in my mind.” returned the professor, “the instant my daughter informed me that a gentleman had fallen into the stream. Starkweather's wounds show that the rocks beneath the surface must be extremely rag- ged.” “Well, no harm’s done,” said Mr. Philbrick, “except that I lost my rod. Perhaps it has floated ashore some- where. sI’ll come up this afternoon and look for it.” “No,” exclaimed Prof. Drummond; “you'll not come up this afternoon. We ere not going to let you go home in such a plight as that. It would be dangerous, wouldn’t it, doctor?” “Undoubtedly there would be risks,” answered the doctor truthfully, much as he regretted the fact that this epi- sode would make it necessary to take Mr. Philbrick into the house. He look- ed at the professor as he spoke, and, interpreting the latter’s glance of in- quiry, added: “This is Mr. Philbrick, Prof. Drummond.” “Don’t shake a wet hand,’ laughed Mr. Philbrick. “I won't stay for further formality, Mr. Philbrick,” said the professor. “I will run up te my room for some dry ‘clothing. Take him to the kitchen, doctor. There’s a fire there, and in- troduce Mr. Philbrick to the girls.” With this he was off at a run. The doctor, chafing at the event, followed more siowly with Mr. Philbrick, who said in a shamefaced manner: “A fellow can’t resist such splendid hospitality, but on my word it seems rather ridiculous to meet ladies in this tondition.” y “T'm afraid you’ve given one of the “py young ladies, at least, a severe shock,” growled the doctor ungraciously. “Oh! I hope not! But if that is even possible it is all the more reason why I should sacrifice any reluctance to meeting them in order to show that the escapade has no serious conse quence.” Dr. Williams doubted the reluctance, but he made no retort. Louise and Amelia came down the steps to meet them, the former with the key to the basement door. “If you will come this way,” she said, “you will get to a fire the quick- er.” Her voice shook with the fright the accident had given her, but Amelia showed no sign of being moved by it unless the small red spot on either cheek and the unusually bright. gleam in her eyes could be so accounted for. “You are more kind than I deserve, ladies,” said Mr. Philbrick. “I assure you I am suffering nothing but the slight annoyance of wet clothes, whose unpresentable appearance troubles me more than their wetness. In my own opinion I could go to the hotel with perfect safety as I am, but Dr. Will- jams so emphatically urged that there was danger in such a course that I could not venture to disregard his ad- vice.” He glanced mischievously out of the corners of his eyes at the doctor, who scowled and inwardly raved at the man’s impertinence. They were en- tering the basement. “And Prof. Drummond was so insist- ently hospitable,” added Mr. Philbrick. “Ah! this is good and no mistake,” and with a shiver he went close to the fire. “Miss Drummond,” said Dr. Will iams, conscious that his face was scar- let, “this is Mr. Philbrick. Miss Willis, Mr. Philbrick.” “I am sincerely delighted to meet you, ladies,” sair Mr. Philbrick, bow- ing with extravagant formality, “al- though I could wish that the circum- stances were more favorable to me.” “Then I won’t say that I am glad to know you,” returned Louise, whose agitation had been quickly dispelled by the stranger's lightness of manner and his evidently sound condition, “but I will give you a hearty welcome, just the same.” She held out her hand. “Wait a minute,” exclaimed Mr. Phil- brick, and he held both hands over the hot kitchen range and rubbed them together until they were dry. “Now, if yous’ ,a,yap,’Eerelfrombh “Now, if you’ please,” and he heid his right hand high in mocking imita- tion of the style of handshake that prevails in fashinoable circles, “look out for me garments.” Louise took his hand in the same manner, laughing hard, and well she might, for in his dripping, bedraggled clothes, Mr. Philbrick, with his lofty manners, presented a ludicrous spec- tacle. “Now,” Miss Willis, may ?I’” he said, turning to Amelia with the same ges- ture. “I am honestly glad to know you,” responded Amelia, with a grave smile, as she extended her hand in the or- dinary way. Mr. Philbrick promptly descended from his comicality and shook hands naturally. Dr. Williams had watched the little scene without a smile. He could see no fun in it; he detested Phibrick cordially, and berated the man’s foolhardy devotion to sport that had made this meeting possible, and had condemned him, the doctor, to perform the ceremony of introduction. Prof. Drummond came in with an armful of clothing. “It will be more comfortable for you to change here, Mr. Philbrick,” he said, “for there’s no other fire in the house. We’re not exactly of the same build, but these clothes will be big enough for you at all events.” “You're awfully kind,” responded Mr. Philbrick. The others went upstairs and strolled into the dining room, which was used more than any other room in the house on account of the view its windows commanded. Dr. Williams then re- membered for the first time how he | had called Louise by her given name in the moment of excitement, when all thought that the angler was in peril. He wondered if she had noticed it, and if so, what she thought of it. The doctor was rather embarrassed, the more so as Louise seemed to avoid him and kept her eyes steadfastly from meeting his. Her diffidence, if such it was, enabled Amelia to speak Caught Hold ef the Dictor’s Out- stretched Hand. briefly to the doctor unheard by Louise or Prof. Drummond. “Did you notice,” she asked, “how easily he kept afloat and avoided dan- gerous rocks?” i “Mr, Philbrick is an expert swimmer evidently,” responded the doctor. “So was Mr. Starkwater.” ‘The words were few, but they were plainly significant of what was in Amelia’s mind. Discarding the theory of suicide she believed that the unfor- tunate young man had been entirely helpless if not dead when he entered the river. Dr. Williams understoed, an@ his brow clouded as the tragedy amé its [mystery were recalled to him. Bis promise was also recalled by the pres- ence of the girl who had exacted it, and in whose thoughts there was ap- parently room for nothing but specu- Jation concerning Starkweather’s death. Prof. Drummond had been talking with Louise about minor household matters, and he concluded by saying: “I have some business to attend to in the village that I didn’t wam i stop for when we were down awhile ago. ‘There’s time enough before luncheon, and as the horse isn’t un- hitched I'll drive down now. You will, of course, have Mr. Philbrick stay to luncheon, and you'll stay, too, won’t you, doctor.” “With pleasure,” replied the doctor with suspicious willingness. “And by the way, doctor. I hadn’t thought of it, but Philbrick may want a stimulant. Take him down some brandy, will you?’ The doctor nodded and went to the sideboard as Prof. Drummond left the room. A little later Dr. Williams knocked at the basement door. There was no response. He knocked again, and, after a pause, tried the door. It was locked. Quick to stir with suspicion in this house of unusual events, he felt his heart beating with apprehensive ex- citement, when Mr. Philbrick’s cheery voice sounded from within: “Who is it?” “Me; Williams; I have some brandy for you.” “Thanks, doctor, but I never drink; not even for medicine.” The doctor waited, irresolute, tor a moment, and then said: “Are you most ready?” “Oh, no!” “[ knocked twice, Mr. Philbrick.” “Did you?” in a tone of amazement, “Why, I didp’t hear you.” “You lie!” thought the doctor. Aloud: “The young ladies are waiting for you. Come up as soon as you can.” “All right,” came the contented, un- concerned reply, and the doctor with- drew. “That will bring him up quickly, if anythnig will,” he reflected, “but I'd like to burst open the door and see what he’s up to.” Dr. Williams returned to the dining room. Amelia was seated by a wind- ow, gazing somberly out upon the Mi- niski. Louise had taken some sewing, and was busy over it, a workbasket on her lap. The doctor took a chair near her ,and he thought her face flushed slightly as she bent her head further over the work. “That’s an_ original device,” re- marked the doctor, looking up at a lamp suspended from the ceiling over the table. It was evidnetly arranged to be raised or lowered at will. “I gant see just how it works,” he add- e “T’ll show you,” said Louise, rising, and as she did so her thimble dropped to the floor. At the moment she did not notice it. “It’s papa’s invention. He's a wonderful mechanic, doctor. I’ve heard lots of men say that there’s nobody like him for applying mechan- ical principles. The lamp is worked by this button on the table,’ ’and she raised the cloth, revealing a button like an_ electric annunciator. She pressed it and the lamp began to de- scend. “Is it electricity?’ asked the doctor, feeling his heart quake, for Prof. Drummond had said his electrical ap- paratus was wholly in his shop. “Oh, no, pure mechanics. The table is attached to the floor. This button is Prof. Diammond Came in With an Armful of Clothing. over a hollow leg, in which is a coil or something, and it is connected with the lamp by wires that run over wheels beneath the floor and within the wall to the ceiling.” The doctor breathed more freely. It him to catch the professor in a lie, or discover any evidence pointing to his probable guilt. He longed now, with the utmost earnestness, to establish the professor’s innocence ,and he deter- mined boldly to approach the profess- or, tell him how suspicion was rife in the neighborhood, and beg him to take every step possible to clear himself. “Dear me!” exclaimed Louise, “I’ve dropped my thimble.” She began to look around on the floor. “Perhaps it’s under the table,” said the doctor ,and he promptly got down on all fours and crawled part way un- der. He did not see the thimble at once; but he did see something that more than interested him. While pre- tending to look for the thimble he kept his eyes on this object and tried to quell the beating of his heart ,so that when he should arise his face would be perfectly composed. On the leg of the table, at the side where Prof. Drummond always sat, was a little brass lever. There was no mistaking it. It was not part of the mechanism by which the leaves of the table were joined together. The lever was an electric swithch, as surely as the doctor was that moment in Fair- view. Here, then , was the proof of a lie! No wonder the professor calmly de- nied the presence of electrical appara- tus outside his “shop,” if he had rea- son to wish that nobody should know | of its existence; for no man could have dreamed of the trivial accident that would reveai its presence to the one man who might guess its significance in relation to Starkweather’s death. “The one man?’ Hardly. Mr. Phil- brick stalked into the room, intent up- on making the most fun possible out of the roomy garments of the professor, and, catching a glimpse of the doctor, beneath the table, exclaimed: “Something lost? What is it? Let me hs}p.” “No, nothing; I’ve found it,” stam- | mere the doctor; “no, I haven't. It's would have been terribly repugnant to | and he arose with flushed face, deter- mined to prevent Mr. Philbrick, by main strength, if necessary, from look- ing under the table. “Never mind,” said Louise; “I'll use Amelia’s; it’s here in the basket some- where.” CHAPTER VII. Unmaking Evidence. “What was it that made the doctor thus unbend” ‘inquired Mr. Philbrick, striking an attidude and declaiming dramatically; “a thimble? Oh, happy prison house that guard’s thé beauty’s finger! Thrice happy he—bah! me rai- ment ill becomes me muse,” and he tried to tuck the professor’s long sleeves into a better semblance of a fit. “I can’t improvise rythm when my attention isso distracted by my garb,” he added. Louise screamed with laugther, Amelia smiled, and even the doctor looked amused. He was well pleased, at all events, that Mr. Philbrick had not insisted on looking under the table, and could therefore afford to recognize the man’s success as a mimic. “You ought to have been an actor, Mr. Philbrick,” he said. “You Ought to Have Been an Actor, Mr, Philbrick.” “How do you know that I am not a Thespian on a vacation?” returned Mr. Philbrick. “T don’t.” “Oh?” cried Louise, laying her hands upon her lap, and looking with evi- dent admiration at the grotesque fig- ure before her, “are you an actor, real- ly and truly?” Mr. Philbrick smiled enigmatically. “In private, perhaps,” he responded, “but not on the stage.” “The truest thing he’s said yet,” thought the doctor. “I wish you were an actor,” said Louise, taking up her work; “I’ve been to the theater ever so many times, but I never saw an actor in rea life—that is, to speak to. I saw Booth on the street once when I was a little girl.” “Awfully sorry, Miss Drummond, but I must tell the truth. I never was on the stage.” She smiled again when he sat down. “Do excuse me,” she said, “but it’s just killing to see yous’ “You don’t find me so dreadfully funny, do you, Miss Willis?’ asked Mr. Philbrick, turning to Amelia in mock distress. “No,” she answered, forcing a smile. “IT can’t help thinking of the danger you were in.” “Oh, but that’s all past now. Hello! there’s the missing thimble,” and he stooped down by the table beside the leg to which the electric switch was attached. Dr. Williams rose nervously, but sat down again when Mr. Philbrick stood up with the thimble in his hand. He passed it to Louise with a significant side glance at the doctor. “What does that mean?” thought the latter. “Has he, too, seen the lever, and understood what it means? Of course, he would understand——” A new thought, more distressing than the first, flashed upon him as he observed the coquettish smile with which Louise received the thimble. She promptly laid down. Amelia’s thimble and put on her own. and there could be no doubt that her cheeks took on a rosier hue as her eyes caught Mr. Philbrick’s admiring glance. Could it be that Louise was attracted by this suave, witty stranger? Could it be that he was taking advantage of the situation to make an impression? What more natural? He had had opportunity enough to see Louise as she walked with Amelia to and from the village; with the doctor to see she had been to worship; why not the same with Mr. Philbrick? Was it not probable tkat his fishing excursion had been undertaken with a view to some chance that should enable him to make her acquaintance? The doctor was distinctly jealous. He was not aware of it; he knew simply ‘that he was miserably un- happy, that every glance Louise gave Mr. Philbrick cut his own heart, that every comical remark of Philbrick’s that brought laughter rippling to her lips was the most offensive utterance he had heard. When a man is an acknowledged if not an accepted lover, jealousy is bad enough—for him, I mean; but when it makes its hateful presence known in his heart before his love has been confessed, well, I can think of no mental torment that is worse unless it be the guilty conscious- ness of a foul crime. The great trouble, then, is that the sufferer has no one up- on whom he can unload his misery. If his love has been declared he can address himself to the loved one in fine terms of bitterness and reproach, or, at least, he can scowl at her and mayhap she will know what he means and be thrown into equal unhappiness. But love unconfessed that yields to jealousy must either smoulder in the heart until it turns to coals of living hate or ashes of indifference, or it will find its vent in deeds of spite, since relief cannot come through words. Sometimes incipent jealousy may be crushed by a manly effort, and no ex- pedient can be better than a frank avowal to the fair one with a sturdy determination to abide by her reply. Vaguely conscious of the nature of his present distress, Dr. Williams deter- mined to seize the first opportunity to declare himself to Louise. If none were offered, he would make one that very day, within the hour, if possible. Meantime Mr. Philbrick was making himself vastly agreeable, and the doc- tor sat moodily silent. “Dear me!” cried Louise, suddenly; “it is already luncheon time and not a thing done to get it ready. You are to lunch with us, Mr. Philbrick; papa said so.” “Prof. Drummond could hardly find , ® more obedient guest,” responded Mr. much betfer about it if the command came from you.” “I command it then,’ and she laid down her work and started toward the «oor to the basement stairway. ie I help you, Lou?’ asked Ame- “Not yet, dear. There is very little to do. I'll let you know when I want you.” “Let me do something, please,” cried Mr. Philbrick. “Come, I must work my passage or I ghall be unhappy. ‘There must be something to do—split something. Let me go and see if I can’t make myself useful.” “You'd break everything you touch- | ed,” said Louise scornfully. “Not I. I’ve been camping out, and I was cook of the party. Never broke a dish. To be sure, they were tin, but I learned all about how to handle ’em.” “Well, come along, then, and we'll see what you can do.” Louise stood by the opened door as she said this. The doctor, choking with jealousy, tried to offer his own services in the same jocose way that Mr. Philbrick affected. Of course he failed utterly. at a time is enough for any kitchen. Besides, you’re too fearfully solemn,” and laughing as if this sally were a triumph to wit, she disappeared down the stairs, followed by Mr. Philbrick. “I was afraid she’d ask you to go,” remarked" Amelia. “Afraid? Why?’ returned the doc- tor, trying valiantly to overcome the discomfort that oppressed him. “Because you might lose an oppor tunity.” “I don’t think I quite understand you, Miss Willis.” “Dr. Williams,” she said earnestly, “you mean to keep faith with me, do you not?” “I certainly mean to keep the prom- ise I made you this morning.” “Forgive me if I appeared to doubt you, but I can think of nothing else, and I grudge every minute that is lost. you were coming back here to make some kind of investigation?” “I did come back, as you see.” “Yes, and I suppose that man was about, wasn’t he?” “Yes, he was fishing off the piazza.” “What impertinence! But one would expect some such thing of him.’ “It seems to make no difference with tor bitterly. glance. and her face fell. “Tm afraid I did very wrong in making you promise,” she said in a low tone. “No, Miss Willis,” answered the doc- tor hastily. He saw that he had be- trayed himself. “No, I am determined for my own sake to find the truth with reference to young Starkweather’s death.” She turned pale, and the doctor was almost startled. He took a step nearer Dr. Williams Examined the Switch. and she put out her hand to signify that he need not approach. “In that case,’ she suid with some difficulty, “I do not need to apologize for leaving you alone. I have no doubt that my presence would embar- rass rather than assist your investiga- tion. It is a rare opportunity. Prof. | Drummond is not likely to return for half an hour yet.” She rose and walked slowly toward the hall. “One moment, Miss Willis,” exclaim- ed the doctor. “Shall we not work to- | gether in this?” “Together?” she repeated doubtfully. “Yes; we have the same end in view—" “I doubt that,” she interrupted. The doctor looked at her sharply, hardly knowing what to make of her words. She volunteered no explana- tion, and he continued: “We both wish to find the facts, at all events. There was no opportunity this morning to ask what you thought. You may know things that would aid me immeasureably.” Amelia shook her head. “I know nothing that you do not know. I feel as if I should go mad when I try to think how it was done. You heard Lou declare that the pro- fessor is a great mechanician. I could have told you that, but no more.” Dr. Williams felt his blood chill at this calm, unmistakable, if not direct, accusation of Prof. Drummond by a member of his own household. If any- body else—Mr. Philbrick, for example —had said: “The professor is a mur- derer and here is the proof,” he could not have been more shocked. In his own thoughts he had _ instinctively evaded the putting of his suspicions into a form of words whose meaning was as clear as this. Amelig noticed his look of astonishment and under- stood it. “Why should it seem strange?” she asked, “that I think of Prof. Drum- mond? It hadn’t occurred to me that anybody who had come as near to the case as you have could think of any- body or anything else.” & “One cannot help a little shock,” re- sponded the doctor, “when he hears a terrible thought expressed in words.” “And those words from a woman, That makes it worse, doesn’t it?” “Perhaps it brings the villainy into sharper contrast, Miss Willis. But tris thought of Prof. Drummond, but I earnestly hoped to establish his inno- cence.” “Yes,” said Amelia, slowly, “I would be glad if you could.” Her manner showed that she regard- ed the result of the investigation as highly improbable. “Tell me,” urged the doctor, “what are the grqunds of your suspicion?” “Your own.” “Mine?” t a ae mR ea A ETE SEE not under there, Miss Drummond,” | Philbrick; “but I should feel ever so wood, fetch water, peel potatoes or | “No, doctor,” said Louise, “one tyro | Do you know, I couldn’t help hoping | when we all went to the church that | his attractiveness,” remarked the doc- | Amelia gave him a quick, surprised | is wasting time. I had, of course, |” if We have not Cars sb Only he and Betsey were ne The circumstances admit of ne other person doing what he did, unles: you are extravagant enough to accuse Hepes uld clear up a great deal “Betsey col if she ssi here,” mused the doctor. “Aas 1 understand it, then, your suspi | cions are based wholly upon the cir cumstaxces with which I am as famil jar as you. You are sure that there is nothing in the past? Was there never “Undoubtedly. j them?” “Absolutely nothing of the sort. | They were apparently fast friends.’ “Well, I imay ask you about this again. Try to recall all you can of their relations, their conduct, Mr. Starkweathei’s history, and so on Heavens! if this should be brought te a public investigation, how such mat ters would be laid bare!” “It may coiue to a public investiga tion, I suppos>?” “I sincerely hope not.” The doctor tirned aside, and Amelia, who had show2 no. disposition to pro- | long the convei sation, left the room. From below stirs came the sound of Louise’s laughte:, as she listened ta Mr .Philbrick’s comical remarks. Out side was the constant rustling of the Miniski. Here, an atmosphere heavy with mystery, and just beneath the ta- blesprend a tiny strip of brass that seemed to wait some magic touch to tell—what? Dr. Williams once more stooped down and examined the lever. He eyen* ventured to turn it through @ quarter of a circle. It would go no fur ther, but he could not infer one thing or another from the ease with which it was pushed thus far. He turned it back, for he dared not risk the possi- biflty of having made a connection by | which a dangerous current of electric: ity had been set in motion. re was nothing whatever on the outside of this table leg or of any oth- er to suggest mechanical appliances save this switch. He lit a match and held it close to the surface of the leg. | By this means he discovered the all but invisible crack that marked a pan- el in the leg, in the center of which the | Switch was set. “That panel can be removed, of course,” he thought. He stood up and listened. Nothing but the rumbling noise of Mr. Phik brick’s tireless voice and the low mun mur of the Miniski. The doctor wae irresolute. He walked out into the hall, and so to the corridor where weather had fallen. There he lit ch and made a cursory examina He n ;an tion of the floor and the walls. saw nothing suggestive. Again he heard a peal of feminine | laughter from below ,and while his heart flamed with rage that shamed him, it was wholly against the man who interested Louise, and not against | herself. “She shall be saved from the pangs of an exposure,” the doctor said to himself, “and he shall be checkmated iv his investigations.” He still believed that Mr. Philbrick, wih tall his fancy for Louise, had set out to solve the Fairview mystery. Perhaps ke had discovered the electric switch. If he had not ,the time might come when he would. Dr. Williams returned to the dining room. Ina drawer in the sideboard he found a strong case knife with a thin blade. He inserted it in the crack at one side of the panel in the table leg. To his surprise and satisfaction the panel yielded readily to the little pry- ing, and in half a miante it was off. Without stopping to examine the mech- anism inside, by which it was plain at a glance that the switch established an electric connection ,the doctor un- screwed two nuts and the brass lever fell to the floor. As he was about to replace the panel he saw a wooden pin on a tiny shelf within the aperture. Its purpose and application flashed upon him. He took it out, replaced the pan- | el, pushed the pin in the hole through which the switch had been connected with the interior mechanism, and the table leg showed no sign of what it contained. Only by the closest svruti- ny and by knowing where to look could he distinguish the pin from the rest of the wood. He placed the brass lever in his pock- et and withdrew to the hall, hot and excited. Louise presently came up stairs, and j at the same -soment Amelia came down. Together they laid the table, while Mr. Philbrick brought up various articles from the kitchen. “Here's the professor,” said the doc- tor, who stood at the front door and saw the carriage coming over the hill. A moment later he saw that Prof. Drummond was not in the carriage. It.was driven by a small boy, who took the horse to the stable before reporting at the house. The doctor was disturbed, but he said nothing ae ekg Drofeasens Letter. Ww irew u paket e further end of Amelia went to the door when the boy rang. “A note for you, Lou,” she called. Louise came out from the dining J spain, Mr. Philbrick faithfully tagging a 2 She read the note, and a look of consternation came upon her features. “Papa’s gone away,” she said in a frightened voice. (To Be Continued.) “You have a fine horse there, Single ton. Must have cost a pretty penny?” but_he has one great fault.” “Anat is it?" He ‘ ‘He won't take water,”—Detroit Free Press. i a sign cf eumity or friction between “4 re! or “Yes; he’s a Kentucky thoroughbred, oI j Ss | | ee es ses eee: 00...