Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, November 1, 1902, Page 6

CHAPTER LVI. (Continued.) “Merritt, you are crushing the life out of me.” Merritt ceased his rocking for a mo- ment, and the laughter died out of his gleaming eyes. 4 don’ ~ want to be prematoor,” he aid. “Yes, you'd make a lovely chap- lain’s pet, but I can’t spare you. I'm going to smash that ’ere wily brain of yours, 8o as it won’t be useful any more, [I'll teach you to put the narks on to a poor chap like myself.” “Merritt, I swear to you that I nev- er—” “You can swear till you’re black in the face, and you can keep on swear- ing till you're lily-white again, and then it won’t be any good.You gave me away to Taylor because you were afraid I would do.you harm at Littimer Castile. That Daisy Bell of a girl there told me so.” Henson groaned. It was not the least part of the humiliation that a mere girl got the better of him in this way. And what on earth had she ‘known of Reuben Taylor? But the fact remained that she had known, and that she had warned Merritt of his danger. It was the one unpardonable crime in Henson's decalogue, the one thing Merritt could not forgive. Henson's time was come. He did mot need anyone to tell him that.» Un- tess something in the nature of a mir- acle happened, he was a-dead man ina few moments; and life had never @eemed quite so sweet as it tasted at the present time. “You gave me away for no reason at all,” Merritt went on. I’m a pretty had lot,’but I never rounded on a pal yet, and never shall. More than one of them has served me bad, but I al- ways let them go their own way, and Tve been a good and faithful servant to you—” “It was not you,” Henson gurgled, “that I wrote that letter about, but—” “Chuck it!” Merritt said, furiously. ATeli me any more of your lies and I'll It was me. Wells smash your jaw in for you. i spotted Scotter in More within a day or two. And ¥ had come for me. Aad fT Brorson in Brighton by the teeth. I turned into yo der his very eyes alm time to-morrow I shall be But I’m going to have my ver arst.” The last words came wi deliberatio: There was fng their significance. Hen ft wise to ti AUOHIER ie “T was wrong,” am very, very sorry; I vc and got frightened, Merritt. But there fs time yet. You always make more | money with me than with anybody else. And I’m going abroad present- ty.” “Oh, you're going abroad, are y Merritt said, slowly. “Going io i fn a Pullman car and pat up eat courts of Europe? And I’m cc chief secretary to the Gra drum himself? Sounds un kind of program.” “T'll give you a hun get away with if you w “Got a hundred pov my pocket at the present was the unexpected repl el Il the gave me away, consequ gave you away to his and he planked down the hundred aries, ike the swell that he is. So I don’t want your company or r+ money. And I'm going to finish you right away.” The big stone was poised over Hen- eon's head. He could see the jagged part, and, in imagination, felt it go #mashing into his brain. The time for action had come. he snatched. at | Merritt's right thumb.and drew the knotted fingers down. The next in- stant and he had bitten Merritt’s thum» to the bone. With a cry of rage ‘nd pain the stone was dropped. uson snatched it up and fairly lift- erritt off his chest with a blow under the chin. Merritt rolled over on the grass, and Henson was on his feet in an instant. fhe sreat stone went down perilously mear to Merritt’s head. Still snarling and frothing from the pain, Merritt stumbled to his feet and dashed a Slow blindly ‘at the other. In point of size and strength there was only one in it. Had Henson stood up to his opponent on equal terms, there could only have been one issue. But his nerves were shattered, and he was nothing like the man he had been two months ago. At the first onslaught he turned and fled towards the town, leaving Merritt standing there in blank } amazement. “Frightened of me,” he muttered, “But this ain’t the way it’s going to fin- fsh.” He darted.off in hot pursuit; he faced across a rising shoulder of the hill and cut off Henson's retreat. The latter turned and scurried back in the direction of Longdean Grange, with Merritt hot on his heels. He could not shake the lattér off. Merritt was plodding doggedly oa, pretty sure of his game. He was as hard as nails, whereas, good living and a@ deal of drinking, quite in a gentle- manly way, had told heavily on Hen- son. Unless help came unexpectedly Henson was still in dire peril. There was just a chance that a villager might be about; but Longdean was more or less a primitive place, and most of the houses there had been in darkness for hours. y His foot slipped, he stumbled, and Merritt, with a whoop of triumph, was rmearly upon him. But it was only a -etagger, and he was soon going again. Stil; Merritt was close behind; Hn- on could almost feel his hot breath on this neck. And, as he was breathing eavily and distressfully himself, he could’ bear how steadily Merritt’s fungs were working. “He could see the lights of Longdean Grange below him; but they seemed.a long way off; while that steady pursuit behind had something | relentless and nerve-de- stroying about it. They were pounding through the vil, lage now. Henson gave vent to one ery of distress, but nothing came of it but the mocking echo of his own voice from a distant belt of trees. Merritt shot eut a short, sneering laugh. He had not expected flagrant cowardice like this. He made a sudden spurt forward and caught Henson by the tail of the coat. With a howl of fear, the latter tore himself away, and Merritt reeled back: wards. He came down heavily over a big stone, and at the same moment Henson trod on a hedge stake. He grabbed it up and half-turned on his foe. But the sight of Merritt’s grim face was too much for him, and he turned and resumed his flight once more. He yelled again, as he reached the lodge gates, and the only response was the barking and howling of the dogs in the thick underwood beyond. There was no help for it. Doubtless the deaf old lodgekeeper had been in bed hours ago. Even the dogs were preferable to Merritt. Henson scram- bled, headlong, over the wall and crashed through the thickets beyond. Merritt pulled up, panting with his exertion. “Gone to cover,’ he muttered. “I don’t: fancy I'll follow. The dogs in there might have a weakness for tear- ing my throat out, and Henson will keep. I'll just hang about here until daylight and wait for my gentleman. And I'll follow him to the end of the earth.” Meanwhile Henson blundered on, blindly, fully under the impression that Merritt was still upon his trail. One of the hounds, a puppy, three- parts grown, rose, and playfully pulled at his coat. It was sheer play, but at the same time it was a terrible handi- cap, and in his fear, Henson lost all horror of the dogs. “Loose, you brute,” he panted. go, I say! Very well, take that!” He paused and brought .the heavy stake down full upo. the dog’s muzzle. There was a snarling scream of pain, and the big pup sprang for his as- sailant. An old grey hound came up, ‘Let >| and seemed to take in the situation at a glance. With a deep growl, he bounded at Henson and caught him by the throat. Before the ponderous im- pact of that fine spring Henson went down heavily to the ground. “Help!” he gurgled. “Help ! help! help!” The worrying teeth had been firmly fixed, the ponderous weight pressed all the breath from Henson’s dis: tressed lungs. He gurgled once again, gave a little shudden h, and the world dwindled to a thick sheet of blinding darkness. CHAPTER LYE. Hide and Seek. Bell’s_ professional enthnsiasm got the better of his curiosity for the mo- | ment. It was a nice psychglogical problem. Already Steel w impu ively busy in the conservatory pulli the pots down. It was a regretful thing to do, but everything bad to be sacrificed. David shut his teeth grim- ly and proceeded with his task “What on earth are you doing?” Bell asked with a smile. “Palling the place to pieces,” David responded. “I daresay I shall feel pretty sick about it later on; but the thing has to be done. Cut those wires, please, and let those creepers down as tenderly as possible. We can’t get to the big pots uitil we have moved the little ones.” Bell coolly declined to do anything of the kind. He surveyed the two graceful banks of flowers there, the carefully-trained creepers, trailing so naturally and yet so artistically, from the rof to the ground, and the sight pleased him. “My dear chap,” he said, “I am not going to sit here and allow you to de- stroy the work of so many hours. There is not the slightest reason to disturb anything. Unless I am greatly mistaken, Van Sneck will lay his hand upon the ring for us without so much as the sacrifice of a blossom.” “J don’t fancy so,” Van Sneck re- plied. “I can’t remember.” “Well, you are going to,” Bell said, cheerfully. “Did you ever hear of art- ificial memory?” “The sort of thing you get in law courts and political speeches?” David suggested. “All the same, if you have some patent way of getting at the facts, I shall only be tco glad to spare my poor flowers. Their training has been a labor of love with me.” Bell smoked on, quietly for some, time. He toyed with the red blossoms which had so stimulated Van Sneck’s recoHection, then tossed a spray over to Van Sneck and suggested that the latter should put it in his button-hole. “So as to have the fragrance with you all the time,” he said. Van Sneck obeyed, quietly, remark- ing that the scent was very pungent. The Dutchman was restless and ill at ease; he seemed to be dissatisfied with himselfi—he had the air of a man who has set out with two or three ex- tremely imponiant matters of business, and who has completely forgotten what one of them is. “You needn’t distress yourself,” Da- vid said, kindly. “I beg your pardon,” Bell said, tart- ly. “He is to do that very same thing. Mental exercise never hurts anybody. Van Sneck is going to worry until he puzzles it out. Will you describe the | ring to us?” ‘The Dutchman ‘complied at consid- erable length. He dwelt on the beauty of the workmanship and the exceeding fineness of the black pearls; he talked with the freedom and expression of the expert. Bell permitted him to ramble on about historic rings in general. pe all the same he could sce that Sneck was far from easy in his Ata Now and then a sudden gleam came into his eyes; memory played for the fragment of a second upon a certain elusive chord and was gone. ““Vere you smoking the night you came here?” Bell asked, suddenly. “Yes,” Van Sneck replied, “a cigar- ette. Henson handed it over to me. I don’t deny that I was terribly fright- ened. I smoked the cigarette out of bravado.” ‘ “You went into the conservatory yonder and admired the flowers,” Bell observed. Van Sneck looked up with astonish- ment and admiration. “I did,” he confessed. see how you know that.” “T guessed it. It takes the brain some little time to get level to the im- agination. And as soon as you came face to face with Henson you knew what was going to happen. You were a little dazed and frightened, and a lit- tle overcome by liquor into the bar- gain. But even then, though you were probably unconscious of it your- self, you were seeking some place to hide the ring.” “I rather believe I was,” Van Sneck said, thoughtfully. “You smoked a_ cigarette there. Where did you put the end?” Van Sneck rose and went into the conservatory. He walked directly to a large pot of stephanotis in a distant corner, and picked the stump of a gold- tipped cigarette from thence. “T dropped it in there,” he said. “Strange; if you had asked me that question two minutes ago I should not have been able to answer it. And now I distinctly remémber pitching it there and watching it scorch some of that beautiful, lace-like moss. There is a long trail of it hanging down behind. I recollect how funnily it occurred to me, even in the midst of my danger, that the trail would look better if brought over the front of the pot. Thus.” He lifted the long, graceful spiral and brought it forward. Steel nodded, approvingly. “I came very near to dropping the ring in there,” Van Sneck explained. “T had it in my fingers—took it for the purpose from my waistcoat pocket. Then I saw Henson’s eye'on me and I changed my mind. I wish I had been more sober.” Bell was examining a pot a little lower down.: A piece haf been chip- ped off, leaving a sharp, clean, red edge, with a tiny bit of hair upon it. “You fell here!” he exclaimed. “Your head struck the pot. Here is a fragment of your hair upon it. It is human hair, beyond a doubt, and the shade matches to a nicety. After that—” A sudden ery broke from the Dutch- man. “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed. “You have cleverly led my mind into the right direction. The only marvel is that I did not think of it before. You will find the ring in the pot where the tuberose grows. I am quite certain you will find it among the moss at the base.” David carefully scooped up all. the. Icose moss from the pot and laid it on the study table. Then he shook the stuff out, and something glittering lay on the table—a heavy ring of the most exquisite and e:nning workmanship, with a large gem in the center, flanked “But I don’t by black pearls on either side. Van Sneck took it in his fingers, lovingly. “Here you are!” he said. “Ach, the beauty! Well, you've got it now, end do you take care of it, lest it fall into my hands again. If I got a chance I would steal it once more, and yet again and again. Ah, what mischief those things cause, to be sure!” The speaker hardly knew how much mischief the ring in question had eaused, nor did his companios seek to enlighten him. David wrapped it up carefully and placed it in his pocket. “Tm glad that is settled,” he said. “And I’m glad that I didn't have to in- jure my flowers. Bell, you really are a mest wonderful fellow.” Bell smiled with the air of a man who is well satisfied with himself. At this time a servant came in with a message to the effect that Inspector Marley desired to see Mr. Steel on im- | portant business. “Couldn’t have come at a better time,” David murmured. “Ask Mr. Marley in here.” Marley came smilinly, yet myster- ious. He evinced no surprise at the sight of Van Sneck. He was, doubt- less, aware of the success of the oper- ation on the latter. He particularly desired to know where Mr. Reginald Henson was to be found. “This is a queer place to lcok for him ,” said Steel. “But he was here yesterday,” Marley protested. “He had an accident.” “Bogus,” said Steel. ‘“We> turned him out of the house. Is he wanted?” Marley explained that he was wan- ted on three different charges; in fact, the inspector had the warrants in his pocket at the present moment. “Well, it’s only by good chance that you haven’t got one for me,” David laughed.. “If you have ten mitutes to spare, between Van Sneck and myself we can clear up the mystery of the diamond-mounted cigar-case for you.” Marley had the time to spare, and, indeed, he was keen enough to hear the solution of the mystery. A short explanation from David, followed by a few pithy, pertinent questions to Van Sneck, and he was perfectly satisfied. “And yet I seemed to bave an ideal’ case against you, Mr. Steel,” he said. “Seems almost a pity to cut a carees like Mr. Henson's short, does it not? Which reminds me that | am wasting time here. Any time you and Van Sneck happen to be passing the police- station the cigar-case: is aes ely: at your disposal.” And Marley bustled oft upon’ the errand that meant so much for Regi- nald Henson. He was hordly out of the house before Ruth Gates arrived. She lcoked a little distressed not stay for a moment, she declared. Her machine was outside, and she was | riding over to Longdean without de- lay. A note had just been sent to her from Chris. pec is in Paris,” she said, “so Tam going over to Longdean. a rar Lord Littimer is i eee also. The recouAiltntlas. i. pepplets and absolute. J the n | said, quietly. use is not the same now, and that She didn’t imagine that it could be cheerful. Reginald Henson—” BS dear child, Henson is not there now.” _ “Well, he is. He went therc last night, knowing that he was as his last gasp, with the idea of getting more money from Lady Littimer. To his great surprise he found Littimer there, also. It was' anything but a pleasant interview for Mr. Henson, who was finally turned out of the house. It is supposed that he came back again, for sthey found him this morning in the grounds with one of the dogs spon him. He is most -horribly hurt, and lies at the lodge in a critical condition. I promised Chris that I would bring a message to you from Lord Littimer. He wants you and Dr. Bell to come over, this afterncon and stay to din- ner.’ “We'll come, with pleasure,” David said. “I'll go anywhere to have the chance of a quiet hour with you, Ruth. So far, ours has been rather a prosaic wooing. And, besides, I shall want you to coach me up on my interview with your uncle. You have no idea how nervous Iam.. And at the last he migh*, refuse to accept _me for your husband.” Ruth loked fondly up into her loy- er’s face. “As if he could!” she said, indig- nantly. “As if any man could find fault with you!” David drew the slender figure tb his side and kissed the sweet, shy lips. “When you are my wife,” he said, “and come to take a closer an@ ten- derer interest in my welfare—” “Could I take a deeper interest than I do now, David?” “Well, perhaps not. But you will find that a good many people find fault with me. You have no idea what the critics say sometimes. They declare that I am an imposter, a copyist; they say that I am—” “Let them say what they like,” Ruth laughed. “That is mere jealousy, and anybody can criticise. To me you are the greatest novelist alive.” There was only one answer to this, and Ruth broke away, declaring that she must go at once. “But you will come this afternoon?” she said. “And you will make Lord Littimer like you. Some people say he is queer, but I call him an old dar, ling.” “He will like me, he is bound to. I've got ‘something, a present for him, that will render him my slave for life. Au revoir till this evening.” * * * * * The dew was rising from the grass, the silence of the perfect morning was broken by the uneasy cries of the dogs. From their strange whimper- ing, Williams felt pretty sure that something was wrong. At most times he would have called the dogs to him and laid into them with a whip; for Williams knew no fear, and the hounds respected his firm yet kindly rule, But Williams was in an exceptional- ly geod temper this morning. Every- thing had turned out as he had hoped for and anticipated, and the literal kicking out of Henson the previous evening was still fresh ‘and sweet in his memory. It would be something to boast of in his declining years. “Drat the dogs!” he exclaimed. “Now, what’s the matter? I had bet- ter go and see. Got a fox in a hole, haps. We shall have to tie ’em up in future.” Williams darted into the thicket. Then he came full upon Henson lying on his back, with his white, uncon- scious face and staring eyes turned to the sky, and two great dogs fussing uneasily about him. A big pup close by had a large swelling on her head. By Henson’s side lay the ash stake he had picked pp when pursued by Mer- ritt. Williams bent over the stark, still figure, and shuddered as he saw how his clothing was all torn away from the body; saw the deep wounds in the chest and throat; he could see that Henson still breathed. His loud shout for assistance brought Frank Littimer and the lodgekeeper to the spot. ‘To- gether they carried the body to the lodge and sent for,the doctor. “The case is absolutely hopeless,” Walker said, efter he had made his examination. “The poor fellow may linger till the morning, but I doubt if he will recognize anybody again. Does anybody know how the thing came about?” Nobody but Merritt could have thrown any light upon the mystery, and he was far away. Williams shook his head as he thought of his parting with Williams the previous night. “I let him out and closed the gate behind him,” he said. “He must have come back for something later on and gone for the dogs. He certainly hit one of the pups over the head with a stick, and that probably set the others on him. Nobody will ever know the rights of this business.” And nobody ever did, for Henson lin- gered on through the day and far into the night. At the house Lord Littimer was entertaining a party- at dinner. Everything had been explained; the ring had been produced and generally admired. All was peace and happi- ness. They were all on the terrace in the darkness when Williams came up from the ledge. “Is there any further news?” Lord Littimer asked. “Yes, my lord,” Williams replied. “Dr. Walker has just come, and would like to see you at once. Mr. Reginald Henson died ten minutes ago.” A hush. came over the hitherto noisy group. It was some time before Lord Littimer returned.. He had only to confirm the neWs, Reginald Henson was dead after all. -“Well, I’m not sorry,” Lady Littimer said. “It is a rare disgrace saved to the family. And there has been troa- ble and sorrow enough and to spare.” “But your own good name, my dear?” Lord Littimer said. “And Frank’s?” “We can live all that down, my dear husband. Frank will be too happy with Chris to care what gossips say. And Dr. Bell and-Enid will be as hap- py as the others.” “And Ruth and myself, too,” ” David “Later on I shall tell in a book how three sirens got | me into id perfect sea of mischief.” “What shall you. call the bool ia Littimer asked. _ “What better ‘title could I have,” David ane ere ee amass ca “he had escaped justice, Mrs. Tupman, e) prominent lady of Richmond, Va, a great sufferer with woman's troubles, tells of her cure by Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. “Dear Mrs. Pryxuam: :— For some years I suffered with backache severe bearing-down pains, leucorrheea, and falling of the womb. Tt tried many remedies, but nothing gave any positive relief. “Fcommenced taking Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound in June, 1901. 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