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. 
perial  Librar 


WfrM^ 

University  of  California  •  Berkeley 
PAULINE  FORE  MOFFITT  LIBRARY 


//?< 


ANOTHER'S  CRIME 


ANOTHER'S  CRIME 


FROM    THE    DIARY    OF 

INSPECTOR    BYRNES 


BY 

JULIAN    HAWTHORNE 

AUTHOR  OF   "A  TRAGIC   MYSTERY,"  "THE  GREAT  BANK 
ROBBERY,"       "AN      AMERICAN      PENMAN, ""  SEC- 
TION 558  J  OR,  THE  FATAL  LETTER,"   ETC. 


CASSELL     &     COMPANY,      LIMITED 
104  &  106  FOURTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT, 

1888, 
By  O.  M.  DUNHAM. 


Press  W.  L.   Mershon  &  Co. 
Rahway,  N.  J. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  NOLENS,  i 

CHAPTER  II. 

SUITORS,       -  12 

CHAPTER  III. 

MRS.    CUTHBERT   TUNSTALL,         -  -  -  -        21 

CHAPTER  IV. 
NEEDS  MUST,  -      31 

.CHAPTER  V. 
A  FATAL  MEETING,  41 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  END  OF  AN  INTRIGUE,       -  51 

CHAPTER  VII. 
VAL  MARTIN,      -  63 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
A  REVELATION,  -       -  71 

CHAPTER  IX. 
BAIL,  -        -      80 

CHAPTER  X. 
PAULINE,      --------      89 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
AT  SEA,       -  -    100 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  SHADOW  OF  DEATH,   -  -    no 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
To  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION,  -    123 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
A  POWERFUL  ALLY,    -  -    133 

CHAPTER  XV. 
A  MESSAGE  FROM  THE  SEA,  -       -    143 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
A  STRANGE  WOOING, 153 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
A  HUNTER'S  YARN,     ------    164 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
A  DILEMMA,  174 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
IN  A  CARRIAGE,  -  184 

CHAPTER  XX. 
A  CHECK,     -  -  195 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
AT  HEADQUARTERS,    -  -    207 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
JOHN  CRUSH,       .......    217 

CHAPTFR  XXIII. 
THE  SHADOW  LIFTED,        _____    226 


ANOTHER'S  CRIME. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    NOLENS. 

IF  you  could  put  on  the  cap  of  invisibility  and  sit 
for  twenty-four  hours  in  the  private  room  of 
Inspector  Byrnes  at  police  headquarters,  you  would 
see  many  strange  sights.  Representatives  of  every 
grade  of  the  community  pass  through  those  mys- 
terious portals  during  the  day.  All  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  from  the  depraved  pickpocket  to 
the  cultured  millionaire  ;  all  varieties  of  the 
daughters  of  Eve,  from  the  poor  vulgar  trull  to 
the  refined  and  lovely  queen  of  society.  Here  meet 
youth  and  age,  virtue  and  vice,  industry  and  idle- 
ness, wise  and  foolish,  good  and  evil.  Strange 
events  are  there  brought  to  light  ;  life-histories, 
fantastic,  tragic,  comic,  pathetic,  romantic  ;  crimes 
startling  or  sordid  ;  human  passions  are  there 
unfolded  of  every  species — love,  hate,  revenge, 
avarice,  self-abnegation,  ambition,  and  despair, 
which  is  the  death  of  all  passion,  good  or  bad. 


2  THE  NOLENS. 

And  what  a  gallery  of  faces  follow  one  another,  in 
endless  succession,  across  the  threshold — beautiful, 
hideous,  sorrowful,  joyful,  contented,  wretched,  cul- 
tivated, degraded,  spiritual,  bestial.  And  all  who 
come  have  some  story  to  tell,  some  accusation  to 
bring,  some  defense  to  oppose,  some  end  to  gain. 
Having  said  their  say  they  disperse  again — some 
to  liberty,  some  to  trial  ;  some  to  death,  some  to 
victory  ;  some  to  prisons,  some  to  palaces.  All  the 
contrasts  of  human  existence,  all  its  lights  and 
shadows,  appear  in  the  Inspector's  room,  and  dis- 
appear again,  while  you  look  on  in  your  cap  of 
invisibility. 

And  there,  at  his  desk,  sits  the  Inspector,  exam- 
ining, weighing,  deciding,  investigating,  advising, 
reproving,  encouraging ;  cheerful  or  grave,  as 
the  case  may  be,  even-tempered,  firm,  suave,  stern, 
penetratimg,  impenetrable  ;  the  depository  of  all 
secrets,  the  revealer  of  none ;  the  man  who  is 
never  hurried,  yet  never  behind-hand  ;  never  idle, 
yet  never  weary ;  always  patient,  and  always 
prompt.  No  position  under  the  municipal  govern- 
ment requires  more  tact  than  his,  more  energy, 
more  courage,  more  experience.  He  must  be  pli- 
ant, yet  immovable  ;  subtle,  yet  straightforward  ; 
keen,  yet  blunt.  He  must  know  all  the  frailties  of 
human  nature,  and  yet  be  not  too  cynical  to  com- 
prehend its  goodness  ;  he  must  be  an  advocate, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  judge.  In  short,  he  must 
be  a  chief  of  New  York  detectives  ;  and,  whatever 
else  his  office  may  be,  it  is  certainly  no  sinecure. 


THE  NOLENS.  3 

Of  the  countless  dramas  and  episodes  that  come 
to  his  knowledge,  many  can  not  be  told  again  ;  and 
many,  if  told,  would  not  be  credited,  so  different 
from  the  strangeness  of  fiction  is  the  strangeness 
of  real  life.  On  the  other  hand,  not  a  few  of  these 
tales  can  be  repeated  without  indiscretion,  and,  in 
all  substantial  respects,  precisely  as  they  actually 
came  to  pass.  Such  narratives  have  one  advan- 
tage over  the  conceptions  of  the  imagination,  that 
they  are  a  record  of  facts,  not  fancies,  and  carry 
the  authority  and  impressiveness  of  fact.  But 
they  also  labor  under  a  disadvantage  which,  per- 
haps, more  than  balances  the  gain  of  reality  ;  for 
facts  are  stubborn,  and  accommodate  themselves  but 
awkwardly  to  the  rules  of  artistic  construction  and 
symmetry.  Like  rocks  in  a  New  England  farm, 
they  are  continually  cropping  up  where  they  are 
least  wanted.  And  yet,  it  will  sometimes  happen 
that  nature  so  nearly  accommodates  herself  to  art 
that  the  story  assumes  a  tolerable  grace  and  pro- 
portion ;  and  such  a  one  is  contained'  in  the  pages 
that  follow.  But,  although  the  sequence  and  char- 
acter of  the  events  has  been  adhered  to,  the  names 
of  the  persons  are  changed  ;  for  the  affair  took 
place  but  a  short  while  since,  and  nearly  all  the 
actors  in  it  are  still  alive,  and  several  of  them  moving 
in  the  best  society  in  New  York. 


Mr.  Bartemus  Nolen  was  a  representative  of  a 
good  New  York  family,  and  was  possessed  of  com- 


4  THE  NOLENS. 

fortable  means  ;  by  profession  he  was  a  lawyer. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopalian  Church,  and 
he  married,  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  a  lady  of 
the  same  persuasion,  a  woman  of  excellent  educa- 
tion and  gentle  and  benevolent  disposition.  The 
first  twenty  years  of  their  married  life  passed  hap- 
pily and  prosperously;  two  sons  were  born  to  them  ; 
and  a  few  years  later  a  daughter,  Pauline.  Mr. 
Nolen  achieved  honor  and  eminence  in  his  profes- 
sion ;  the  boys  did  well  in  school  and  afterward 
at  college,  and  the  daughter  gave  promise  of  sin- 
gular intelligence  and  beauty — a  promise  which  was 
afterward  fulfilled. 

But  at  length  the  current  of  luck  took  a  turn, 
and  began  to  set  against  the  honest  lawyer.  He 
was  affected  with  a  cataract  in  one  of  his  eyes, 
which  had  not  proceeded  far  when  the  other  also 
showed  signs  of  being  affected  ;  this  misfortune 
was  a  serious  drawback  to  his  practice,  and  finally 
compelled  him  to  abandon  it  almost  entirely.  Of 
course,  practice  meant  money,  and  the  cessation 
from  it  diminution  of  income.  There  was  still 
enough  left,  however,  to  live  upon  with  comfort,  if 
not  luxuriously  ;  but  unfortunately  Mr.  Nolen, 
being  deprived  of  his  customary  mental  employ- 
ment, took  to  thinking  of  other  things  ;  and  one  of 
the  subjects  of  his  meditation  was  the  feasibility  of 
getting  larger  returns  from  his  invested  property. 
Among  his  acquaintance  were  many  men  whose 
trade  was  finance,  and  Bartemus  got  in  the  habit  of 
counselling  with  them  upon  financial  matters.  No 


THE  NOLENS,  5 

doubt  they  gave  him  the  best  advice  at  their  dis- 
posal ;  but  when  one  begins  to  buy  stocks  advice 
is  of  little  use  ;  and  Mr.  Nolen,  after  several  ups 
and  downs,  came  down  with  somewhat  of  a  thump, 
to  the  extent  of  about  a  third  part  of  his  total  pos- 
sessions. At  this  juncture  he  proved  his  excep- 
tional good  sense  and  self-control  ;  for  he  never 
risked  another  dollar  in  speculation.  Neither  did 
he  reveal  the  fact  of  his  losses,  which  was  at  least 
prudent.  But  these  virtues  could  not  save  him 
from  being  and  feeling  a  good  deal  poorer  than 
he  was  before.  He  owned  the  house  lived  in, 
and  continued  to  live  in  it  ;  but  he  curtailed  his 
expenses,  and  by  strict  economy  contrived  to  ren- 
der them  less  than  his  income.  His  sons  would 
soon  be  through  college,  and  would  then,  it  was  to 
be  supposed,  take  care  of  themselves.  It  was 
for  his  daughter  that  he  was  saving,  and  he 
hoped  to  leave  her  at  least  a  decent  fortune  after 
his  death. 

But  other  misfortunes  were  in  store  for  him. 
His  oldest  son,  Jerrold  Nolen,  had  graduated  from 
college,  and  came  to  New  York  to  study  medicine, 
living,  meanwhile,  at  his  father's  house.  He  was 
a  young  fellow  of  ability  and  agreeable  manners, 
and  was  popular  among  his  fellows.  His  father 
was  proud  of  him,  and  treated  him  with  partiality. 
It  soon  became  apparent  that  Jerrold  was  rather 
inclined  to  dissipation  ;  his  sociable  nature  had  its 
detrimental  side.  This  was  the  more  unfortunate, 
inasmuch  as  he  had  a  tendency  to  heart  disease,  and 


THE   NOLENS. 

was  of  an  excitable  temperament.  As  this  matter 
will  be  dwelt  on  hereafter,  it  is  enough  to  say  here 
that  Jerrold  died  under  tragic  circumstances  in 
the  second  year  of  his  medical  studies.  His  death, 
besides  bringing  bitter  grief  to  his  father  and 
mother,  led  to  legal  proceedings  against  a  person 
supposed  to  have  been  instrumental  in  compassing 
his  destruction—proceedings  which  led  to  no  good 
results,  and  involved  a  large  expense.  Mr.  Nolen 
never  recovered  from  the  shock  and  disappoint- 
ment of  his  eldest  son's  sudden  end  ;  and  in  little 
more  than  a  year  afterwards  the  morning  papers 
contained  respectful  but  brief  notices  of  his 
decease. 

His  will  was  admitted  to  probate  ;  it  devised 
twenty  thousand  dollars  to  his  son  Percy  Nolen 
when  the  latter  should  come  of  age;  the  remainder 
was  settled  upon  Mrs.  Nolen,  with  certain  provisos 
in  the  event  of  Pauline's  marrying  with  her 
mother's  approval.  Percy's  bequest  was  intended 
to  start  him  in  business,  he  having  shown  a  ten- 
dency to  take  up  mining  engineering  as  a  pursuit. 
He  too  was  an  intelligent  boy,  and  left  college  in 
good  standing  as  to  scholarship,  but  his  character 
resembled  Jerrold's  in  its  lack  of  firmness  and  per- 
sistent energy  ;  while,  unlike  Jerrold,  he  was  of  a 
selfish  disposition.  After  graduating  and  coming 
into  possession  of  his  patrimony,  he  announced  his 
intention  of  postponing  for  awhile  his  professional 
studies  and  seeing  a  little  of  metropolitan  life. 
This  made  his  mother  anxious,  remembering 


THE  NOLENS.  7 

the  unhappy  career  of  her  older  son,  but  she  in- 
terpreted Percy's  design  in  the  manner  most 
favorable  to  him,  as  simply  a  wish  to  become  prac- 
tically familiar  with  the  ways  and  manners  of  good 
society. 

Percy's  original  purposes  may,  indeed,  have  con- 
templated no  more  than  that ;  but  that  was  far  from 
being  the  limit  of  what  he  actually  did.  His  ad- 
vances towards  the  best  society  were  neither  con- 
siderable nor  prolonged.  For  a  few  months  he 
went  to  dinners  and  receptions  and  danced  at 
balls  ;  but  it  soon  became  evident  that  he  was  get- 
ting intimate  with  a  class  of  people  who,  by  no 
stretch  of  courtesy,  could  be  counted  among  the 
upper  ten.  These  were  chiefly  young  men  who 
dressed  well,  had  dash  and  assurance  of  manner, 
and,  were  commonly  to  be  met  with  on  fashionable 
thoroughfares,  in  the  corridors  and  billiard-rooms 
of  the  best  hotels,  on  base-ball  grounds  and  race- 
tracks, and,  towards  the  small  hours  of  the  night, 
at  certain  restaurants  and  other  places  of  resort 
more  remarkable  for  brilliance  and  liveliness  than 
for  respectability,  in  which  the  company  ceased 
to  be  exclusively  masculine,  and  was  yet  not  im- 
proved by  the  alteration.  Percy  had  his  choice,  and 
this  was  the  class  with  which  he  chose  more  and 
more  to  associate.  They  were,  as  a  class,  not 
wealthy  ;  nevertheless  to  be  with  them  was  not 
necessarily  to  be  economical;  neither  did  it  involve 
regular  habits  or  early  hours.  Before  long  Percy 
was  convinced  that  the  sort  of  life  he  was  leading 


8  THE  NOLENS. 

was  not  compatible  with  making  a  home  under  his 
mother's  roof  ;  so  he  took  bachelor  rooms  on  the 
west  side  of  the  city,  and  went  to  bed  and  got  up 
at  what  o'clock  it  best  pleased  him.  He  did  not 
keep  away  from  home  altogether  ;  he  would  drop  in 
now  and  then,  when  nothing  else  was  going  on, 
sometimes  to  lunch,  sometimes  to  dinner,  sometimes 
to  accompany  his  sister  to  the  opera  or  theatre;  but 
he  had  cut  loose  from  his  mother's  apron-strings, 
and  showed  no  present  signs  of  meaning  to  come 
back  to  them.  He  was  living  a  fast  life,  and  not 
the  best  kind  of  fast  life  either. 

One  of  the  executors  of  Mr.  Bartemus  Nolen's 
will  was  Judge  Odin  Ketelle,  a  gentleman  who  had 
at  one  period  been  a  partner  of  Nolen's,  and  had 
always  remained  on  intimate  and  friendly  terms 
with  the  family.  He  was  a  man  of  position  and 
influence,  and  was  quietly  and  steadily  amassing  a 
large  fortune.  Mrs.  Nolen,  in  her  anxiety  about 
Percy,  naturally  turned  to  this  friend  for  counsel ; 
and  probably  she  could  not  have  done  better,  if  she 
were  to  do  anything.  The  judge  heard  her  timid 
and  fond  complaints,  in  which  she  tried  to  shield 
the  son  whose  misdeeds  she  was  forced  to  expose. 
When  she  had  finished,  he  sat  with  his  hands 
folded  on  the  table,  and  his  eyes  under  their  thick 
eyebrows  fixed  in  thoughtful  contemplation,  as  he 
had  been  wont  to  sit  on  the  bench,  when  consider- 
ing some  point  of  law  advanced  by  counsel. 

"  If  a  boy  wants  to  be  a  fool,  he  mostly  succeeds 
in  his  wish,"  he  remarked  after  awhile,  "Percy 


THE  NOLENS.  9 

has  a  good  deal  of  untamed  blood  in  his  composi- 
tion, and  he  will  probably  work  it  off  in  his  own 
fashion.  His  father  gave  him  his  money  without 
conditions  or  restrictions,  hoping  that  the  sense  of 
responsibility  would  sober  him  ;  but  it  will  need 
more  than  that.  He  will  spend  it— that  is,  throw 
it  into  the  gutter — and  then  we  may  look  for  the 
dawning  of  reason  in  him." 

"  I  am  sure  he  is  a  good  boy,"  said  his  mother. 
"  He  is  only  full  of  life,  and  thoughtless." 

"  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  him  actually 
vicious,"  the  judge  replied,  "  and,  that  being  the 
case,  we  may  expect  that  the  want  of  money  will 
bring  him  to  terms.  I  do  not  look  to  see  his  father's 
son  commit  any  act  that  will  bring  him  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  law  ;  he  is,  I  take  it,  incapable  of 
any  dishonesty  ;  consequently,  when  he  becomes 
bankrupt,  he  must  do  one  of  three  things  :  either 
he  will  sit  down  and  starve  like  a  gentleman,  or  he 
will  find  some  employment  that  will  give  him  a 
living,  or  he  will  comeback  to  you,  like  his  prodigal 
prototype  in  Holy  Writ." 

"  Percy  starve  !  Oh,  Judge !"  faltered  Mrs. 
Nolen. 

"  Do  not  be  uneasy  ;  Percy  will  not  starve,"  re- 
turned he  with  a  slight  flavor  of  irony  in  his  tone. 
"  He  is  not  naturally  disposed  to  asceticism,  nor  has 
he  the  kind  of  pride  that  would  prompt  him  rather  to 
die  than  to  betray  signs  of  human  weakness.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  is  clever  and  quick,  and  could  easily 
pick  up  an  honest  livelihood  in  other  ways  than  by 


10  THE  NOLENS. 

pursuing  his  project  of  mining,  should  he  find  it 
necessary  to  forego  that.  But  my  own  anticipation 
is,  my  dear  Mary,  that  he  is  too  lazy,  and  that  his 
habits  of  application,  such  as  they  were,  have 
become  too  much  broken  up  to  make  that  course 
likely.  What  I  do  expect  is  that  he  will  come 
back  to  you  and  ask  you  to  provide  for  him." 

"  That  is  all  I  ask  !  "  Mrs.  Nolen  exclaimed. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  my  dear,"  answered  the 
Judge  with  a  smile.  "  But  in  this  connection  there 
is  something  that  I  wish  to  impress  upon  you  very 
strongly.  Do  not,  as  you  value  his  ultimate  wel- 
fare, not  to  speak  of  your  own,  give  him  any  money 
without  first  consulting  me.  If  you  fail  to  observe 
this  precaution,  depend  upon  it  you  will  get  into 
trouble.  I  know  what  young  men  are,  and 
how  they  regard  their  mothers — as  just  so 
much  indulgent  soft-heartedness  to  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of  !  No,  it  isn't  cynicism  ;  it's  the  truth  ; 
and  so  you  will  find  it.  Now,  what  Percy  needs  is 
the  conviction  that  there  is  no  choice  for  him  but 
to  work.  So  long  as  he  thinks  that  he  can  be  sup- 
ported without  working  he  will  remain  idle.  It 
may  be  hard  for  you  to  refuse  him,  but  unless  you 
do  you  will  only  work  him  an  ill  turn.  You  are 
not  a  rich  woman  by  any  means.  Bartemus — it  is 
as  well  you  should  know  it  now — lost  a  large  part 
of  his  fortune  by  injudicious  investments  ;  and 
when  you  take  out  of  that  the  sum  secured  to 
Pauline  as  her  dower — a  sum  which,  fortunately, 
neither  you  nor  she  can  touch  for  three  years  to 


THE  NOLENS.  n 

come — you  will  have  left  barely  enough  to  live 
comfortably  on.  As  for  Percy's  twenty  thousand, 
we  may  look  upon  that  as  being  as  good 
as  gone  ;  it  is  only  a  question  of  time,  and  no  very 
long  time.  Until  it  is  gone  it  is  no  use  attempting 
to  influence  him.  So  much  for  that !  But  now, 
my  dear  Mary,"  continued  the  Judge,  changing  his 
tone,  "  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  on  another  matter 
of  no  small  moment  to  you,  to  myself — and  to 
Pauline !  " 


CHAPTER  II. 

SUITORS. 

MRS.  NOLEN'S  face,  which  had  assumed  an 
expression  of  pensive  and  brooding  sadness, 
brightened  at  her  daughter's  name,  and  she  looked 
up  at  the  judge  with  an  expectant  air. 

"  Pauline  is  now  eighteen  years  old,"  the  latter 
observed.  "  As  I  look  back,  it  seems  impossible, 
but  so  it  is.  I  remember  her  as  an  infant  lying  in 
your  arms  ;  and  it  does  not  seem  to  me  that  I  have 
changed  much  since  then.  And  yet,  Pauline  is  a 
woman,  and  has  more  character  and  substance,  too, 
than  many  a  woman  of  twice  her  age.  What  mir- 
acles time  works  !  " 

"  She  is  the  best  girl  in  the  world  !  "  said  the 
mother  tenderly. 

"  I  am  much  inclined  to  agree  with  you,"  re- 
sponded the  judge. 

"  She  is  so  strong,  so  clear-sighted,  so  faithful 
and  upright,"  pursued  Mrs.  Nolen.  "  And  yet 
there  is  nothing  cold  or  unsympathetic  about  her. 
When  her  emotions  are  touched,  she  seems  all  fire 
and  spirit.  I  am  sure  no  sister  ever  loved  her 
brother,  nor  any  daughter  her  mother,  as  Pauline 
loves  Percy  and  me." 

"  I  can  well  believe  it.     And  have  you  ever  seen 


SUITORS.  13 

signs  in  her  of  another  sort  of  love — not  that  of 
the  daughter  or  the  sister  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  am  afraid  to  think  of  that !  "  returned 
Mrs.  Nolen,  pressing  her  white  hands  nervously 
together.  "  It  is  so  easy  for  a  girl  to  make  a  mis- 
take ;  and  for  her  a  mistake  would  be  fatal  !  " 

"  I  think  she  has  good  sense  enough  not  to  fall 
into  any  serious  error,"  said  the  judge,  "  though  I 
am  no  less  persuaded  that,  if  she  loved  a  man  who 
in  himself  was  worthy  of  her,  she  would  allow  no 
considerations  of  merely  selfish  prudence  to  pre- 
vent her  union  with  him.  But  I  was  going  to  ask 
you,"  he  added,  with  a  certain  subdued  anxiety  in 
his  deep-toned  voice,  "  whether  it  has  come  to  your 
knowledge — whether  you  have  any  reason  to  think 
that  she  has  already  met  any  one  who — whom  she 
would  be  likely  to  prefer  to  any  one  else  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  thought  of  it — it  has  not  occurred 
to  me  !  "  said  Mrs.  Nolen,  with  an  accent  of  appre- 
hension, looking  at  the  judge  with  wide-open  eyes. 

"  It  is  hardly  too  soon  to  take  such  a  possibility 
into  consideration,"  he  returned.  "  Pauline  is 
mature  for  her  age  ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  she  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  young  women 
in  New  York.  You  take  her  a  good  deal  into 
society  :  she  can  hardly  fail  to  meet  with  admira- 
tion." 

"  Yes,  yes,  you  are  right,"  said  the  mother. 
**  Now  that  you  speak  of  it,  I  see  that  such  a  thing 
may  happen.  But  she  has  spoken  to  me  of  no  one  ; 
and  I  am  sure  she  would  have  spoken,  if — " 


14  SUITORS. 

"  Do  not  trust  too  much  to  that,"  he  interposed. 
"  A  young  girl,  with  a  mind  as  healthy  and  pure  as 
hers,  does  not  readily  ask  herself  if  she  be  in  love  ; 
she  may  become  so  before  she  is  aware  of  it,  and 
only  the  avowal  of  her  lover  will  open  her  eyes. 
Till  then,  you  cannot  expect  her  to  speak  of  it  to 
you.  And  then,  if  she  have  made  up  her  mind,  it 
would  be  too  late  to  speak." 

"  But  would  you  advise  me  to  question  her  ? 
Might  it  not  suggest  to  her  something  which  she 
otherwise  would  not  have  thought  of  ?  " 

"  That  is  not  improbable.  But  why  not  approach 
the  matter  from  the  other  side  ?  Is  there  no  one 
among  the  young  men  who  know  her  who  have 
shown  signs  of  any  particular  interest  in  her  ?  " 

"  They  all  seem  to  admire  her,"  said  Mrs.  Nolen. 
"  But  I  can  think  of  no  one  in  particular — unless 
it  be  Percy's  friend,  Mr.  Martin." 

"  Valentin^   Martin — the  young  Englishman  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Percy  sometimes  brings  him  here.  But 
his  being  a  friend  of  Percy  makes  a  difference 
between  him  and  the  others." 

"How  so?" 

"  In  the  fact  of  his  being  here  oftener.  I  mean, 
if  it  were  not  for  that  I  should  think  his  visits  had 
some  further  significance." 

"  I  am  not  altogether  convinced  that  his  being  a 
friend  of  Percy  would  deprive  his  visits  of  signifi- 
cance," said  the  judge.  "  It  is  conceivable,  at  any 
rate,  that  he  might  have  made  a  friend  of  Percy  in 
orrder  to  facilitate  his  access  to  Pauline." 


SUITORS.  15 

"He  seemed  a  frank,  straightforward  young 
man,  not  one  you  would  suspect  of  doing  any  thing 
underhand." 

The  judge  laughed  ;  a  very  low,  pleasant  laugh 
he  had,  which  made  those  who  heard  it  disposed  at 
once  to  like  him.  "  You  are  more  like  a  nun,  in 
your  unsuspiciousness  and  unworldliness,  than  like 
a  married  woman  who  goes  in  New  York  society," 
said  he.  "  Let  me  assure  you,  my  dear,  that  a  man 
in  love  is  not  to  be  held  a  criminal,  or  even  a  hypo- 
crite, if  he  uses  some  strategy  to  get  near  the  object 
of  his  affection.  I  should  forgive  Mr.  Martin  even 
if  he  went  so  far  as  to  pretend  a  cordiality  for 
Percy  that  he  did  not  really  feel,  if  so  he  might 
induce  Percy  to  admit  him  to  the  intimacy  of  your 
household.  No,  if  we  are  to  take  exceptions  to  him, 
it  must  be  from  another  standpoint.  What  do  you 
know  about  his  personal  history  and  his  social 
standing  in  his  own  country  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  it  must  be  good,"  said  Mrs.  Nolen. 
"  I  think  he  said  that  his  family  owned  a  large 
estate  in  Cumberland." 

"  Is  he  the  eldest  son  ?  " 

"  The  next  to  the  eldest,  I  believe." 

"  And  what  is  his  business  in  America  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  But  a  great  many  English  peo- 
ple come  here  nowadays,  you  know.  It  is  a  part  of 
their  education." 

"  Yes  ;  but  some  of  them  are  pretty  well  educated 
before  they  get  here,"  remarked  the  judge  drily, 
"  and  occasionally  they  manage  to  teach  us  some- 


1 6  SUITOXS. 

thing  before  they  leave.  There  is,  in  England,  the 
same  difference  between  an  eldest  son  and  the 
other  sons  that  there  is  between  a  rich  man  and  a 
pauper.  By  the  law  of  primogeniture  the  estates, 
and  generally  the  bulk  of  the  money,  goes  to  the 
first-born  ;  the  other  boys  get  positions,  if  they  can, 
in  the  army,  the  civil  service,  or  the  church.  They, 
are  seldom  fitted  to  enter  the  learned  professions ; 
and  it  is  not  considered  good  form  for  a  gentleman's 
son  to  go  into  trade.  Of  course  the  army  and  the 
church  don't  afford  accommodation  for  all  appli- 
cants ;  and  the  consequence  is  that  every  year  a  num- 
ber of  young  Englishmen  are  thrown  on  the  world, 
who  by  training  and  inclination  are  good  for  nothing 
but  to  be  idle  and  ornamental,  and  who  neverthe- 
less have  no  means  for  honestly  leading  such  a 
life.  They  form  a  class  of  gentleman  adventurers. 
They  are  men  of  agreeable  manners  and  culture, 
talk  well,  look  well,  are  excellent  at  cards  and 
billiards,  and  live  no  one  knows  how.  Some  of 
them  come  over  here,  for  reasons  known  only  to 
themselves  ;  they  are  very  pleasant  acquaintances  ; 
but  it  is  well  not  to  trust  them  too  far.  They  have 
no  fixed  place  in  the  world,  and  no  responsibility." 

"You  don't  mean  that  Mr.  Martin  is — an  adven- 
turer ? "  demanded  Mrs.  Nolen,  in  a  voice  of  faint 
consternation. 

"  So  far  as  I  know,  he  may  be  the  best  fellow  in 
England.  But  I  know  nothing  about  him,  one  way 
or  the  other.  How  did  Percy  become  acquainted 
with  him  ? " 


SUITORS.  17 

"  He  met  him  somewhere, — at  some  club,  I 
imagine." 

"  That  may  be  all  right,  or  it  may  not.  At  all 
events,  you  will  see  that  you  should  proceed  with 
some  circumspection.  The  rules  that  apply  to  our 
young  men  do  not  necessarily  apply  to  foreigners. 
Mr.  Martin  may  be  much  better  educated,  and  have 
more  polished  and  quiet  manners,  than  nine  out  of 
ten  of  your  American  acquaintances  ;  and  yet  it 
might  be  better  that  Pauline  should  marry  the 
least  attractive  of  the  latter  than  Mr.  Mar- 
tin." 

"  I  wish  you  would  see  him,  and  find  out  whether 
he  is  nice,"  said  Mrs.  Nolen,  with  anxious  earnest- 
ness. 

"  I  would  willingly  do  so,  but  for  one  reason," 
the  judge  replied,  "  and  that  is  that  the  peculiar 
circumstances  might  disqualify  me  from  forming 
an  unbiassed  opinion." 

"  Oh,  I  am  not  afraid  of  that.  My  husband  used 
to  say  that  there  could  be  no  one  more  impartial 
and  just  than  you." 

"  Even  assuming  that  judgment  of  his  to  have 
been  impartial,  I  should  nevertheless  be  disquali- 
fied from  presiding  at  a  trial  where,  for  instance, 
the  prisoner  was  charged  with  the  murder  of  some 
friend  of  my  own." 

"  I  do  not  understand.  Mr.  Martin  has  surely 
not  murdered  any  one  ?  " 

"  Bless  me,  no  !  I  was  only  using  an  extreme 
illustration.  But  Mr.  Martin  might  wish  to  obtain 


1 8  SUITORS. 

something  which  I  had  set  my  own  heart  on  pos- 
sessing." 

There  was  a  manifest  embarrassment  in  the 
judge's  manner.  Mrs.  Nolen  looked  puzzled.  She 
began  to  suspect  there  was  something  behind  all 
this,  but  she  could  not  divine  what  it  was. 

"  I  began  life  pretty  early,  as  you  know,"  con- 
tinued he,  after  a  pause.  "  Since  the  age  of  four- 
teen, I  believe,  I  have  supported  myself.  Measur- 
ing my  existence  by  that  standard,  I  might  be 
called  an  old  man.  But  though,  in  the  matter  of 
years,  I  am  not  exactly  a  boy,  yet  I  am  but  forty- 
three  years  old,  and  you  will  admit,  my  dear,  that 
men  have  been  known  to  live  a  good  deal  longer 
than  that." 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  live  to  be  twice  forty-three," 
put  in  Mrs.  Nolen  kindly. 

"  Half  that  is  all  I  would  ask,  if  I  might  real- 
ize the  happiness  that  I  hope  for,"  returned  the 
judge,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  And  is  this  happiness  any  thing  that  I  can  help 
to  insure  you  ?  " 

'•  I  can  hardly  say  that.  In  fact,  it  is  essential, 
in  one  way,  that  it  should  come,  if  it  come  at  all,  as 
freely  and  spontaneously  as  the  sunshine  from 
heaven.  Nevertheless,  I  am  under  obligation  to 
speak  to  you  of  my  hopes,  that  you  may  appreciate 
my  position  and  understand  my  conduct."  He 
stopped,  and  the  color  mounted  to  his  face.  "  I 
love  Pauline,"  he  said,  a  strong  emotion  vibrating 


SUITORS.  19 

in  his  voice.  "  I  hope  to  make  her  love  me  and 
to  accept  me  for  her  husband." 

"  Oh,  Judge  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Nolen,  taken 
wholly  by  surprise.  She  looked  at  him  intently  for 
a  few  moments,  and  then  the  startled  look  in  her 
face  softened,  and  she  began  to  smile.  She  left  her 
chair,  and,  coming  to  where  he  sat,  put  a  hand  upon 
his  shoulder  ;  and  as  he  looked  up  at  her  she  bent 
down  and  kissed  him  upon  the  forehead.  She  was 
still  smiling,  but  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes. 

"  Do  you  think  me  absurd  ?  "  said  the  judge. 

"  I  think  you  are  right,"  was  her  reply.  "  At 
first  I  could  not  believe — I  had  always  looked  up 
to  you  as  to  a  sort  of  elder  brother — I  could  not 
imagine  you  as  the  husband  of  my  little  daughter 
— my  own  son-in-law.  But  I  think  you  are  right. 
Pauline  is  a  little  girl  no  longer  ;  in  almost  every 
thing  but  years  she  is  older  than  I  ;  she  is  fitted  to 
be  the  wife  of  a  man  even  so  much  older  than  her- 
self as  you  are.  No  one  of  her  own  age  would 
suit  her  as  well." 

"  Then  you  will  not  be  against  me  ?  "  he  said, 
starting  up. 

"  Indeed,  I  will  not.  All  that  I  do  shall  be  done 
for  you."  SJk^f  put  her  hands  in  his,  and  he 
grasped  them  warmly.  "  It  is  more  than  half  self- 
ishness in  me,"  she  added.  "  It  would  give  me 
some  right  to  rely  on  you.  I  should  not  feel  so 
lonely." 

"  However  this  may  turn  out,  always  know  that 
you  may  rely  on  me,"  the  judge  returned,  with 


20  SUITORS. 

deep  feeling.  "  Our  friendship  began  long  ago, 
Mary,  and  doesn't  need  any  other  tie  to  bind  it.  If 
Pauline,  when  the  question  is  put  before  her,  decides 
against  me — and  I  am  fully  aware  how  easily  that 
may  be  her  verdict — I  shall  accept  it  like  a  man, 
and  you  will  remember  that,  so  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, it  will  involve  not  the  slightest  change  in 
my  devotion  to  you  and  yours.  I  shall  leave  no 
honorable  means  untried  to  win  her  ;  but,  above 
all  things,  I  desire  to  avoid  forcing  her  inclination, 
either  by  any  act  of  my  own,  or  through  you. 
That  you  should  approve  of  my  purpose  is  all 
I  ask.  Leave  the  rest  to  Providence,  and  to  her." 

"  I  understand,"  said  Mrs.  Nolen,  "  and,  indeed, 
if  I  wished  to  help  you,  I  should  not  do  it  by  sing- 
ing your  praises  to  her.  You  being  what  you  are, 
the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  leave  her  to  find  you  out 
for  herself." 

"  If  Mr.  Martin  be  my  rival,"  resumed  the  judge, 
let  him  have  his  chance,  and  defeat  me  if  he  can. 
If  he  be  the  better  man,  it  will  appear  ;  and  God 
forbid  that  I  should  make  her  my  wife,  knowing 
that  she  would  have  been  happier  with  another. 
But  if  love  go  for  any  thing,  I  love  her  well,  and  in 
all  my  life  she  is  the  first  and  only  woman  I  have 
loved." 

"  You  might  have  rivals  more  dangerous  than 
Mr.  Martin,"  returned  the  mother,  with  another 
smile  ;  and  so  the  interview  came  to  a  close. 


CHAPTER    III. 

MRS.    CUTHBERT    TUNSTALL. 

"T7  VENTS  were  shaping  themselves  for  disaster  ; 
JH/  but,  for  the  time  being,  they  seemed  to  go 
smoothly  enough. 

Percy  Nolen  maintained  his  brilliant  career,  and 
attained  a  certain  distinction  among  the  persons 
with  whom  he  associated.  He  was  a  big,  hand- 
some youth,  with  broad  shoulders  and  sturdy  limbs, 
a  clever  boxer,  a  good  whip,  a  fair  billiard  player  ; 
his  spirits  were  exuberant,  and  he  had  more  mental 
resources  and  ideas  than  are  vouchsafed  to  the 
generality  of  young  gentlemen  of  his  kind.  Thus  he 
assumed,  to  some  extent,  the  position  of  a  leader 
among  them  ;  and,  as  he  was  uniformly  good- 
natured  and  yet  not  to  be  imposed  upon,  he  was 
liked  and  not  laughed  at. 

But  his  favorite  companion  and  friend  was  Val- 
entine Martin.  The  two  men  were  nearly  the  same 
age,  Martin  being  a  little  the  elder,  and  were  a 
good  deal  alike  in  size  and  personal  appearance. 
Martin,  being  English,  wore  side-whiskers,  and 
Percy,  being  American,  wore  a  mustache.  tMar- 
tin  was  inclined  to  be  fair,  and  Percy  to  be  dark  ; 
but  they  might  have  been  taken  to  be  brothers. 


22  MRS.    CUTHBERT   TUNSTALL. 

The  Englishman,  however,  was  of  a  somewhat 
gloomier  temperament  than  the  American  ;  more 
reticent,  and  more  given  to  moods  and  ine- 
qualities of  temper.  He  had  brought  with  him 
several  good  letters  of  introduction,  and  had 
duly  delivered  them  ;  but  he  had  availed  himself 
but  sparingly  of  the  social  courtesies  extended  to 
him,  seeming  to  prefer  a  less  formal  and  regular 
life.  He  made  no  pretense  of  large  wealth,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  never  seemed  to  be  cramped 
for  means,  and  no  one  could  be  found  from  whom 
he  had  borrowed  money.  If  he  were  a  trifle  mys- 
terious, nobody  was  concerned  to  fathom  his  mys- 
tery, for  it  was  no  one's  interest  to  do  so.  Valen- 
tine Martin  had  not  come  to  America  to  speculate, 
to  organize  a  company,  to  raise  capital,  or  to  do  any 
of  those  things  that  are  apt  to  render  engaging 
foreigners  suspicious  in  our  eyes.  He  had  appa- 
rently come  to  amuse  himself,  and  mind  his  own 
affairs  ;  and  after  a  time  he  was  permitted  to  fol- 
low this  innocent  inclination.  The  upper  ten, 
whom  he  neglected,  ceased  to  take  an  active  interest 
in  him,  and  those  with  whom  he  associated  relin- 
quished the  vain  effort  to  persuade  him  to  reveal 
his  secret,  and  came  to  the  sensible  conclusion 
that  there  was  probably  no  secret  to  reveal. 

The  acquaintance  and  subsequent  friendship 
between  Martin  and  Percy  Nolen  had  sprung  up 
spontaneously,  without  any  formal  introduction. 
They  had  tastes  and  ideas  in  common,  and  they 
mutually  pleased  one  another.  Martin's  was  per- 


MRS.    CUTHBERT   TUN  STALL.  23 

haps  the  stronger  character,  but  Percy's  was  the 
more  enterprising  and  lively  ;  so  that  they  were 
upon  fairly  even  terms.  One  day  the  Englishman 
accepted  an  invitation  to  come  and  take  afternoon 
tea  at  the  Nolens'  ;  he  met  Pauline  on  that 
occasion,  and  it  was  not  afterwards  necessary  to 
urge  him  to  repeat  his  visit.  Pauline  was  inter- 
ested in  him  as  an  Englishman,  and  after  discuss- 
ing his  native  country  with  him  admitted  him  to  a 
certain  degree  of  friendship,  partly  on  her  brother's 
recommendation,  partly  on  his  own  account.  He 
seemed  gloomy  at  times,  and  she  was  sorry  for 
him,  without  knowing,  or  even  caring  to  inquire, 
what  made  her  so.  At  other  times  he  conversed 
in  a  manner  that  interested  her  and  stimulated  her 
to  talk  in  return;  and,  though  Pauline  was  but  a 
girl,  she  had  a  mind  that  was  worth  coming  in 
contact  with.  The  Englishman  never  made  any 
direct  demand  upon  her  sympathies  or  emotions, 
and  probably  he  gained  rather  than  lost  by  this 
forbearance.  When  a  woman  has  insight,  she 
would  rather  exercise  her  intuitions  than  have 
things  explained  to  her. 

Matters  went  on  in  this  manner  for  several 
months,  and  the  year's  vacation  which  Percy  had 
allowed  himself  was  more  than  up.  He  had  as  yet 
shown  no  sign  of  being  bankrupt,  unless  a  certain 
abstraction  of  manner  at  times,  accompanied  by  a 
biting  of  his  nails,  and  a  drumming  with  his  foot, 
might  be  construed  as  symptoms  of  approaching 
impecuniosity.  But  another  affair,  not  connected 


24  MRS.    CUTHBEKT  TUN  STALL. 

with  finance,  was  going  on  at  this  period  which, 
unless  put  an  end  to  betimes,  might  result  in  trouble. 

There  was  a  young  married  woman  in  New 
York  society  named  Mrs.  Cuthbert  Tunstall. 
Her  husband,  also  young,  had  inherited  from  his 
father  an  immense  business  in  coal.  Cuthbert 
Tunstall  was  fond  of  activity,  and  he  plunged  into 
his  coal  with  hearty  good-will,  intent  upon  creating 
a  fortune  twice  as  large  as  that  which  his  father 
had  left  him.  As  a  matter  of  course,  and  of  neces- 
sity, he  was  absent  all  day  at  his  office,  and  was 
often  obliged  to  run  down  to  the  mines  to  oversee 
things  there  in  person. 

His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  an  aristocratic 
Knickerbocker  family  ;  she  had  been  a  reigning 
belle  in  her  coming-out  year,  and  the  year  follow- 
ing the  match  between  her  and  Tunstall  had  been 
made.  She  liked  her  husband,  because  he  was  a 
good  fellow,  because  he  was  in  love  with  her,  and 
because  he  was  considered  a  big  catch  ;  but  she 
cared  nothing  for  coal,  and  was  jealous  of  his 
devotion  to  it.  She  wanted  him  to  be  devoted  to 
her  and  to  nobody  else.  She  hated  to  think  of  him 
working — actually  working — all  day  long.  He 
came  home  to  dinner,  it  was  true  ;  but  he  was  not 
fond  of  dining  out,  and  when  dinner  was  over,  he 
was  tired,  and  liked  to  stay  quietly  at  home  and 
go  to  bed  at  half-past  ten.  Such  an  existence  as 
this  was  the  next  thing  to  unendurable  to  a  woman 
like  Sylvia  Tunstall.  Forty  years  hence,  perhaps, 
this  Darby-and-Joan  kind  of  life  might  be  practi- 


MAS.    CUTHBERT    TUN  STALL.  25 

cable  ;  but  not  now,  in  the  flush  of  youth,  variety, 
and  curiosity  !  She  absolutely  would  not  stand  it ! 

Tunstall  was  a  manly,  straightforward,  single- 
hearted  fellow,  and  at  first  he  did  not  comprehend 
his  wife's  attitude.  He  had  homely  ideas  of  mar- 
ried life,  and  the  routine  of  social  dissipation.was 
without  attractions  for  him.  When  at  last  he 
learnt  how  matters  stood,  he  thought  it  over,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  his  wife  had  much 
reason  on  her  side.  She  was  young,  good  look- 
ing, and  full  of  the  wine  of  life,  and  it  was  only  nat- 
ural and  proper  in  her  to  wish  to  see  and  to  be  seen. 
So  he  began  by  attempting  to  "  go  out  "  with  her  ; 
but  he  presently  discovered  that  going  to  bed  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  was  not  compatible  with 
having  breakfast  at  half-past  seven.  He  then 
tried  giving  dinners  twice  a  week  and  a  reception 
once  a  month  ;  but  Sylvia  pointed  out  to  him  that 
the  customs  of  good  society  demanded  that  they 
should  accept  invitations  as  well  as  give  them  :  so 
that  his  second  state  bade  fair  to  be  even  worse 
than  his  first.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  He  would 
not  consent  to  give  up  his  business  ;  on  that  point 
he  was  firm.  Sylvia  was  equally  convinced  that  it 
was  impossible  to  give  up  society.  For  a  time 
there  threatened  to  be  a  deadlock. 

Finally  a  compromise  was  effected.  Sylvia  had 
relations,  and  particular  friends,  who  were  in  so- 
ciety, and  of  whose  escort  and  countenance  she 
could  avail  herself.  Her  husband  could  take  her 
to  places,  and  her  relatives  or  friends  could  bring 


26  MRS.    CUTHBERT   TUNST&LL. 

her  home  again.  By  degrees  it  was  found  unneces- 
sary to  have  him  take  her,  and  she  both  went 
and  returned  without  him.  His  anticipations  of 
domestic  felicity  were  disappointed  ;  but  Sylvia 
was  enjoying  herself,  and  he  always  looked  forward 
to  a,time  when  she  would  weary  of  gayety  and  return 
to  him.  He  loved  her  as  much  as  ever,  and  was 
proud  of  her  social  popularity  ;  he  had  perfect 
faith  in  her  truth  and  honor.  He  ate  his  dinner 
and  went  to  bed  alone,  and  when  he  rose  in  the 
morning  he  was  careful  not  to  awaken  his  wife. 
That  was  the  style  of  the  menage. 

But  Cuthbert  Tunstall  was  not  a  fool— a  fact 
which  his  wife  perhaps  failed  to  fully  appreciate. 
As  long  as  her  conduct  was  above  reproach,  accord- 
ing to  the  somewhat  vague  standards  of  society,  he 
would  not  interfere  with  her  pleasures  ;  but  he 
was  not  the  man  to  permit  the  least  step  beyond 
this.  And  though  he  was  naturally  unsuspicious, 
and  slow  to  wrath,  any  one  who  understood  men 
would  have  known  that  it  would  be  uncomfortable 
to  arouse  him.  But  Sylvia  got  the  idea  that  she 
could  do  exactly  as  she  pleased  ;  and  she  did  it. 

One  day,  Tunstall  got  a  hint  from  some  precious 
friend  of  his — a  very  distant,  indirect,  ambiguous, 
and  innocent  hint,  but  a  hint  all  the  same.  He 
appeared  not  to  understand  it,  and  passed  it  over 
without  comment ;  but  the  repressed  emotion  which 
it  aroused  was  so  strong  that  he  came  near  faint- 
ing where  he  stood. 

He  attended  to  his  business  the  same  as  usual, 


MRS.    CUTHBERT   TUN  STALL.  27 

returned  home  at  his  customary  hour,  and  sat 
clown  to  his  solitary  dinner.  His  wife  was  upstairs, 
dressing.  By  and  by  she  came  down  to  say  good- 
by  to  him  for  the  evening,  She  was  beautifully 
dressed,  and  was  lovely  to  look  upon.  Cuthbert 
looked  at  her  in  silence. 

"  Good-night,  dear,"  she  said,  drawing  on  her 
gloves.  "  I  suppose  you  won't  be  up  when  I  come 
home." 

"  Not  if  you  come  at  your  usual  time." 

u  I  wish  you'd  drop  your  horrid  business,  and 
come  with  me." 

"  I  am  more  useful  as  I  am.  Do  you  know  a 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Percy  Nolen  ?  " 

"  Percy  Nolen  ?     No — yes —  I  believe  I  do." 

These  were  her  words  ;  but  her  face,  and  the 
tone  of  her  voice,  betrayed  her  ;  and  they  both 
knew  it. 

"  He  is  an  agreeable  fellow,  isn't  he  ?  "  pursued 
the  husband,  quietly. 

"  I  suppose  he  is  like  the  rest  ;  all  men  are  alike 
to  me — except  you,  of  course,  dear  !  But  why  do 
you  ask  ? " 

'•  Some  one  who  knows  him  happened  to  mention 
him  to-day.  Well,  and  what  is  going  on  to-night  ?  " 

"  Dine  at  Mrs.  Murray's,  and  then  the  theatre." 

"  Won't  you  want  something  to  eat  when  you  get 
home  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no.     Don't  bother.     I  shan't  be  hungry." 

"  It  might  be  better  to  order  something  to  be 
ready  for  you  here  than  to  take  supper  at  Del- 


^  MRS.    CUTHBERT    TUN  STALL. 

monico's,"  he  said  slowly,  looking  her  in  the 
eyes. 

She  turned  away  her  eyes  after  a  moment,  ostensi- 
bly to  pull  up  her  cloak.  "  I  had  no  idea  of  going  to 
Delmonico's,"  she  said,  in  a  slightly  strained  voice. 

"  Of  course  not  !  "  he  repeated  ;  and  then  he 
turned  to  his  evening  paper,  and  she  went  out, 
with  a  smile  on  her  lips,  and  fear  in  her  heart. 

Her  husband  had  given  her  warning,  and  he 
hoped  against  hope  that  it  would  be  sufficient.  He 
would  not  take  the  next  step  unless  she  compelled 
him  to  it;  but  he  was  resolved  (and  she  partly  felt 
it)  that  the  next  step  would  be  final.  How  much 
he  actually  knew  of  her  .flirtation  with  Percy  she 
could  of  course  only  conjecture.  She  had  taken  sup- 
per with  him  in. a  private  room  of  a  fashionable  res- 
taurant the  night  before.  They  had  not  been  alone  : 
there  had  also  been  present  another  young  married 
woman ;  and  a  young  man  not  married.  But  the 
two  couples  had  not  been  in  each  other's  way,  they 
had  rather  helped  each  other  out.  It  was  certainly 
not  an  affair  which  Sylvia  would  have  wished  to 
have  generally  known — least  of  all  to  be  suspected 
by  her  husband.  Did  he  know  about  it  ?  or  had  his 
questions  been  only  the  result  of  chance  ?  She 
wished  to  believe  the  latter,  but  she  could  not. 
There  had  been  something  in  the  very  quietness  of 
his  tone  and  manner  that  had  appalled  her.  She  had 
not  thought  that  he  had  it  in  him  to  frighten  her. 
Evidently  she  had  been  too  careless — too  thought- 
less. After  all,  she  did  not  seriously  care  for 


MRS.    CUTHBERT   TUtfSTALL.  29 

Percy  Nolen.  It  had  been  a  mere  flirtation  for 
pastime.  She  had  not  supposed  that  her  husband 
would  care  much,  even  if  he  knew.  He  had  not,  of 
late,  betrayed  any  very  passionate  affection  for  her, 
If  he  loved  her,  why  did  he  not  accompany  her  on 
her  social  rounds  ?  It  was  ridiculous  to  say  that  he 
was  obliged  to  attend  to  his  business.  They  had 
plenty  of  money  without  any  business.  There  was 
nothing,  except  his  own  obstinacy,  to  prevent  him 
from  retiring-  to-morrow  and  never  going  near  his 
office  again.  But  if  he  preferred  his  business  to  his 
wife,  why  could  he  not  allow  his  wife  her  prefer- 
ences ?  It  was  unjust  and  tyrannical. 

Nevertheless,  if  he  was  determined  to  be  ugly 
about  it  of  course  there  must  be  no  scandal.  She 
would  tell  Percy,  the  next  time  she  saw  him,  that 
the  acquaintance  must  cease.  It  was  not  worth 
while  to  run  any  risks  on  his  account.  Having 
made  up  her  mind  to  this,  she  was  more  at 
ease. 

After  the  second  act  at  the  theatre,  Percy  Nolen 
came  into  her  box.  She  greeted  him  coldly,  but  he 
sat  down  beside  her,  and  began  to  make  various 
propositions.  She  repulsed  him,  but  not  very 
vigorously.  At  last  she  whispered,  "  You  must 
really  be  more  careful  !  People  are  beginning  to 
observe  us.  If  any  thing  should  happen,  I  would 
never  forgive  you  !  " 

"  I  will  take  every  precaution,  but — I  love  you  !  " 
he  replied  in  her  ear.  He  had  never  said  so  much 
before,  and  she  turned  pale  and  gave  him  a  look. 


.30  MXS.    CUTHBERT  TUNSTALL. 

The  curtain  went  up  on  the  next  act,  show- 
ing how  the  hero,  by  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances, was  arrested  and  taken  to  Police  Head- 
quarters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NEEDS    MUST. 

JUDGE  KETELLE'S  prophecy  was  delayed; 
but  it  came  true  at  last  ;  and  Mrs.  Nolen  did 
not  keep  her  promise  to  him. 

One  morning  Percy  came  to  the  house,  and 
came  up  to  his  mother's  boudoir,  where  she  was 
sitting  reading  Mr.  Shorthouse's  romance  of  "  John 
Inglesant."  Mrs.  Nolen  was  not  given  to  reading 
fiction  as  a  rule  ;  but  Mr.  Shorthouse  was  under- 
stood to  be  a  religious  writer,  and  she  enjoyed  his 
book  very  much  without  entirely  understanding  it. 
Percy  kissed  her,  and  sat  down  in  a  chair  opposite. 
After  a  little  desultory  conversation  he  said 
"  Mother,  I'm  in  a  scrape  !  " 

Her  heart  sank  ;  she  closed  her  book,  and  folded 
her  hands  upon  it.  "  Oh,  my  son  !  "  she  said, 
falteringly. 

"  Well,  it's  nothing  so  very  dreadful,"  he  returned, 
forcing  a  smile.  "  I  was  up  at  Monmouth  Park 
the  other  day,  and  lost  a  little  money — well,  it  was 
a  pretty  good  sum,  for  me.  I'm  not  a  Croesus,  you 
know,  and  a  few  thousand  dollars  makes  a  dif- 
ference." 


32  NEEDS  MUST. 

"  Monmouth  Park  ?     What  is  that  ?  " 
"  It's  a  track  ;  they  race  horses  there,  you  know." 
"  Percy,  have  you  been  betting  on  horse-races  ?  " 
"  Mercy,  mother,  it's  no  crime  !     All  the  fellows 
do  it.     I  should  look  queer  if  I  didn't  chip  in  with 
the   rest  !     Only  this  time  I    happened    to  get  in 
pretty  deep  ;  and  as  all  the  favorites  were  beaten 
I  got  badly  left." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  lost  all  the  money  you 
wagered  ?" 

"  Every  cent  of  it  ;  you  never  saw  such  a  run  of 
bad  luck  in  your  life.  The  trouble  was,  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  win  anyhow  ;  so  each  time  I  lost  I  put 
it  all  on  the  next  race,  so  as  to  get  back  what  was 
gone,  and  more  into  the  bargain.  It  was  as  good 
as  certain  that  I  wouldn't  lose  every  race,  you  see. 
So  when  it  came  to  the  last  I  had  a  big  pile  on  ; 
and  it  was  voted  a  sure  thing.  I  believe  it  was 
the  jockey's  fault,  after  all.  Anyhow,  he  lost  the 
race  by  a  short  head  ;  and  if  I  hadn't  had  a  return 
ticket  I'd  have  been  obliged  to  walk  home." 

"  All  your  money  gone  !  Why,  my  son,  if  you  had 

invested  it,  you   might  have  lived  comfortably  on 

the  interest  of  it  !     And  your  father  gave  it  to  you 

to  start  you  in  your  profession.     What  can  you  do  ?  " 

"  Well,  mother,  I  must  do  the  best  I  can.     I  know 

it's  all   wrong,   and   I'm  very  sorry,   and  all  that. 

But  it's  no  use  crying  for  spilt  milk.     I'm  in  a  hole, 

and  I've  got  to  be  helped  out  of  it,  somehow  !  " 

"  I  will  speak   to  Judge  Ketelle,  and  see  what — " 

"  Whatever  you  do,  don't  speak  to  Judge  Ketelle  ! 


NEEDS  MUST.  33 

He  can  do  no  good,  and  would  be  certain  to  do  a 
lot  of  mischief.  What  business  is  it  of  Judge 
Ketelle's,  anyway  ?  " 

"  He  was  appointed  executor  under  the  will, 
and — " 

"  That  is  no  concern  of  mine,  mother.  My 
interest  in  the  will  ceased  when  I  got  my  patrimony. 
I  have  no  further  relations  with  the  judge,  nor  he 
with  me.  He  has  no  right  to  help  me,  even  if  he 
wanted  to,  which  he  doesn't." 

"  My  son,  he  is  the  best  friend  I  have,  and  what- 
ever is  for  our  good— 

"  My  dear  mother,  I  tell  you  it  won't  do  !  I 
know  what  the  judge  would  say,  and  after  he  had 
said  it  I  would  be  no  better  off  than  I  am  now.  I 
have  some  pride,  and  I  don't  want  all  the  world  to 
know  that  I'm  a  beggar.  I  shouldn't  think  you 
would,  either." 

"  Percy,  you  know  I  wish  nothing  but  your  good, 
but — " 

"  The  long  and  short  of  the  matter  is  that  unless 
I  am  to  be  disgraced.  I  must  have  some  money, 
and  without  any  delay,  too.  I  owe  a  few  bills — 
they  don't  amount  to  much — and  I  must  Jiave  a 
little  to  go  on  with.  A  thousand  dollars  would 
cover  the  whole  thing.  You  can  let  me  have  it, 
can't  you  ?" 

"  A  thousand  dollars  !  But  after  that,  Percy  ? 
You  will  be  wanting  money  all  the  time,  and  this 
cannot  go  on  forever." 

"  It  isn't  going  on  forever.     This  is  the  first  time 


34  iVEEDS  MUST. 

I  have  ever  asked  you  for  a  cent,  mother,  and  it 
shall  be  the  last.  Heaven  knows,  it  was  hard 
enough  to  have  to  come  to  you  at  any  rate  ;  but  I 
didn't  expect  you  would  make  it  harder  by  arguing 
about  it  !  " 

"  My  dearest  boy,  you  might  have  all  1  possess, 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned — " 

"  Who  else  is  concerned  except  you  ?  a  thousand 
dollars  isn't  going  to  ruin  you,  mother,  but.  it  is 
ruin  to  me  if  I  don't  get  it.  And  don't  fear  I  shall 
be  coming  to  you  again.  I  am  going  to  stop  the 
kind  of  life  I  have  been  living  the  last  year,  and 
turn  over  a  new  leaf.  I  have  several  opportunities 
to  get  positions  in  the  city,  and  I  am  going  to  set 
to  work  at  once  and  find  out  what  will  be  the  best 
thing.  As  soon  as  I  am  in  a  place  where  I  can 
turn  around,  I  shall  put  in  my  spare  time  study- 
ing up  my  mining,  and  before  another  year  is  out, 
I  shall  be  ready  to  accept  an  engagement.  I  can 
support  myself  as  well  as  the  next  man — and  make 
a  fortune,  too  !  But  I  don't  suppose  you  want  to 
see  me  miss  all  that  for  the  sake  of  a  paltry  thou- 
sand dollars  ? " 

The  grid  of  it  was  that  Mrs.  Nolen  gave  him  a 
thousand  dollars.  She  tried  to  make  him  promise 
that  he  would  come  and  live  under  her  own  roof  ; 
but  he  put  her  off  with  a  temporizing  reply,  alleg- 
ing, in  no  very  logical  vein,  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
make  himself  a  burden  to  her  ;  but  when  he  got 
"  fixed  "  so  that  he  could  pa)^  her  for  his  board 
and  lodging  he  would  come  with  pleasure. 


NEEDS  MUST.  35- 

The  request  indicated  that  getting  fixed  was  an 
operation  that  required  time.  The  fact  was  that 
Percy  paid  sums  on  account  to  his  most  pressing 
creditors,  including  the  proprietor  of  his  lodgings, 
and  went  on  living  much  as  before  ;  to  salve  his 
conscience  he  did  make  some  inquiries  about 
work,  but  not  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  prac- 
ticable answers.  One  subject  possessed  his  mind, 
and  that  was  Mrs.  Tunstall.  It  was  impossible 
for  him  to  live  with  his  mother  while  that  affair 
was  going  on.  His  infatuation  was  intensified  by 
Sylvia's  timidity  and  reluctance.  A  man's  brains 
count  for  nothing  in  such  a  matter.  Percy  lived 
in  the  desire  of  the  moment  ;  he  gave  no  thought 
to  the  inevitable  consequences.  If  he  might  see 
her  to-day,  or  to-morrow,  no  matter  about  the  day 
after,  and  no  matter  that  the  meeting  was  fraught 
with  danger  both  to  her  and  to  him.  The  differ- 
ence between  a  good  desire  and  an  evil  one  gener- 
ally is  that  the  former  is  sane  and  the  latter  has 
more  or  less  of  insanity. 

Sylvia's  heart  was  not  engaged — if  she  could  be 
said  to  have  a  heart — and  it  was  clear  in  her  mind 
that  she  must  run  no  risk  of  compromising  herself. 
At  the  same,  had  it  been  in  her  power  to  banish 
Percy  forever  by  the  utterance  of  a  single  word, 
it  is  doubtful  if  she  would  have  done  it.  She  knew 
that,  were  her  husband  to  discover  any  further 
correspondence  between  them,  he  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  act  decisively  and  finally,  and  the  first 
result  of  that  action  would  be  that  she  would  find 


36  NEEDS  MUST. 

herself  cast  upon  the  world  with  a  damaged  repu- 
tation. Such  a  thing  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
But  the  very  peril  of  her  position  was  an  allure- 
ment to  linger  in  it  ;  and  then  there  was  the  excite- 
ment of  knowing  that  a  man  was  in  love  with  her 
who  had  no  business  to  be  so,  and  who  was  willing 
to  go  all  lengths  for  her.  Moreover,  she  was 
angry  as  well  as  dismayed  because  her  husband  had 
spoken  to  her  as  he  did  (like  all  women,  she  inter- 
preted what  was  said  by  what  was  meant),  and 
found  a  pleasure  in  defying  him  in  thought  if  not 
in  deed.  So,  although  she  did  not  openly  and 
explicitly  encourage  Percy,  she  allowed  him  to 
believe  that  he  was  not  indifferent  to  her. 

Neither  he  nor  she  had  committed  any  actual 
sin,  but  they  were  on  the  road  to  do  so.  People 
always  believe  that  they  can  pull  up  at  the  last 
moment,  and  are  therefore  willing  to  go  on  until 
the  last  moment  is  reached.  But  by  that  time 
events  combine  in  an  unforeseen  manner  and  push 
them  over  the  edge.  Then  they  are  astonished  to 
find  themselves  linked  with  the  brotherhood  of 
crime.  And,  once  that  link  is  forged,  it  defies  all 
attempts  to  break  it. 

It  happened  before  long  that  Percy  needed  more 
money.  He  had  less  than  two  hundred  dollars  left, 
and  he  owed  more  than  that.  He  did  not  wish  to 
go  to  his  mother  again,  partly  from  shame,  partly 
because  he  knew  that,  in  order  to  raise  the  sum  he 
needed,  she  would  be  obliged  to  sell  some  stock, 
and  that  would  involve  applying  to  Judge  Ketelle. 


NEEDS  MUST.  37 

One  night,  at  a  club,  he  was  asked  to  take  a  hand 
at  a  game  of  poker  with  three  others.  He  sat 
down  and  played  with  varying  success  for  an  hour 
or  two.  Then  two  of  the  quartette  withdrew,  and 
he  and  the  other  kept  on. 

Percy  had  faith  in  his  luck,  and  had  fortified 
himself  with  several  whiskey  cocktails.  His  op- 
ponent was  a  quiet  man,  and  seemed  to  be  in  a 
dejected  and  timid  frame  of  mind.  The  chips  on 
the  table  represented  a  good  deal  of  money,  how 
much  exactly  Percy  did  not  know  ;  he  meant  to 
win  it  all.  Some  good  cards  were  dealt  to  him  ; 
he  drew,  and  found  himself  in  possession  of  a 
superb  hand.  He  was  quite  certain  that  his  adver- 
sary held  no  such  cards,  and  he  began  to  bet.  His 
adversary  was  drawn  into  raising  him  ;  they  con- 
tinued to  raise  each  other.  Percy  swallowed  an- 
other cocktail,  and  felt  that  he  could  not  lose.  He 
acted  upon  this  conviction,  and  lost.  Upon  in- 
vestigation, it  appeared  that  the  quiet  man  had 
won  not  only  Percy's  original  stakes  but  some 
nine  hundred  dollars  into  the  bargain. 

Percy  preserved  a  calm  exterior,  and  wrote  his 
I.  O.  U.  for  the  amount,  to  be  redeemed  within 
twenty-four  hours.  Meanwhile,  he  was  in  a  cold 
sweat  of  consternation,  for  he  did  not  know  how  he 
was  to  get  the  money.  It  was  too  large  a  sum  to 
borrow  from  any  of  his  acquaintances  :  those 
whom  he  knew  well  enough  to  approach  on  such  a 
matter  were  aware  of  his  financial  standing,  and 
would  not  lend  any  thing.  There  was  nothing  for 


38  XEEDS  MUST. 

it  but  to  go  to  his  mother.  The  money  must  be 
forthcoming.  If  he  failed  to  pay,  he  would  be  dis- 
honored ;  Sylvia  would  hear  of  it.  ...  No  ! 
he  must  have  the  money  at  any  cost. 

He  went  to  bed,  passed  a  very  bad  night,  and 
after  attempting  to  eat  some  breakfast  he  betook 
himself  to  his  mother's  house.  The  nature  of  his 
errand  was  so  apparent  in  his  manner  and  appear- 
ance that  she  divined  it  at  once.  The  interview 
that  ensued  was  a  very  painful  one  to  both  parties. 

Mrs.  Nolen  had  not  got  the  money,  and  could 
not  get  it  for  a  week  at  least.  She  convinced  her 
son  by  documentary  evidence  that  such  was  the 
case.  It  might  be  possible  to  borrow  from  Judge 
Ketelle  ;  there  was  no  other  way.  These  were 
facts  which  no  arguments  or  entreaties  could  alter. 
Mrs.  Nolen  was  terribly  agitated  by  the  revelation 
of  her  son's  incorrigible  perversity,  and  her  tears 
and  anguish  put  him  in  almost  a  suicidal  frame  of 
mind.  It  seemed  to  him  that  if  he  could  only  es- 
cape from  this  predicament  he  would  never  allow 
himself  to  get  caught  again.  But  there  was  no  es- 
cape, except  through  the  judge,  and  that  was  al- 
most as  bad  as  no  escape  at  all.  The  judge,  even 
if  he  agreed  to  the  loan,  was  not  the  man  to  spare 
Percy  a  plain  and  severe  statement  of  the  repre- 
hensibility  of  his  behavior.  The  young  man 
writhed  in  anticipation  of  this  rebuke.  He  knew 
he  deserved  it,  but  it  would  not  be  easier  to  endure 
on  that  account.  Under  ordinary  circumstances 
he  might  rebel  and  answer  back  ;  but  it  would  not 


NEEDS  MUST,  39 

do  to  fight  with  a  man  whom  he  was  begging 
money  of.  He  had  always  been  proud  of  his  pride  ; 
now  that  pride  was  going  to  suffer  a  fatal  humilia- 
tion. Only  one  thing  could  be  worse,  and  that  was 
to  inform  his  opponent  of  the  night  before  that  he 
could  not  pay  him.  Percy  wished  that  he  had 
never  been  born,  and  then  he  wished  that  he  were 
dead. 

The  first  wish  being  impracticable,  and  the 
second  one  that  he  did  not  care  to  put  into  practice, 
he  left  his  mother's  house  in  an  unenviable  frame  of 
mind,  and  turned  his  steps  in  the  direction  of  Judge 
Ketelle's  office.  He  felt  gloomy  and  desperate. 
He  could  understand  how  men,  heretofore  respec- 
table, were  induced  to  become  thieves  or  robbers. 
Had  he  been  a  bank-cashier,  he  felt  that  he  was  in 
a  mood  to  rob  the  safe  and  depart  for  Canada  :  or 
if  he  had  been  alone  on  a  dark  road  with  a  wealthy 
old  gentleman,  he  could  have  taken  him  by  the 
throat  and  gone  through  his  pockets.  But  he  was 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  in  broad  daylight,  and  these 
short  methods  of  reimbursing  himself  were  not 
available. 

He  struck  into  Broadway,  and  presently,  about  a 
block  in  advance,  he  caught  sight  of  a  graceful 
female  figure  that  he  knew,  walking  in  the  same 
direction  with  himself.  It  was  Sylvia  Tunstall. 
He  hastened  his  steps  :  but  just  before  he  came  up 
with  her  she  turned  into  a  large  jewelry  shop  on 
the  right. 

It  was  as  good  a  place  as  another  for   an  inter- 


4°  XEEDS  MUST. 

view,  and  he  felt  a  feverish  desire  to  speak  to  her. 
He  followed  her  into  the  shop,  and,  as  she  came  to 
a  pause  at  one  of  the  counters,  he  stood  beside  her 
and  uttered  her  name. 


CHAPTER    V. 

A    FATAL    MEETING. 

rHE  shop  was  a  very  large  one,  and  was  full  of 
customers,  for  the  holiday  season  was  at  hand, 
and  the  wealthier  portion  of  the  community  was 
presenting  itself  with  precious  gifts.  The  custom- 
ers were  chiefly  ladies,  though  there  was  also  a  fair 
sprinkling  of  the  other  sex.  There  were  also  the 
salesmen  and  the  walkers,  and  perhaps  a  few 
other  persons  whose  office  was  not  to  promote  sales 
but  to  prevent  appropriations  of  stock  by  individ- 
uals who  had  not  gone  through  the  formality  of 
paying  for  it.  Yet  it  seemed  impossible  that, 
among  such  a  multitude,  the  eyes  of  a  detective 
should  be  able  to  fix  upon  the  malefactors,  and 
nevertheless  a  successful  theft  was  a  very  uncom- 
mon occurrence  in  the  great  jewelry  shop. 

When  Mrs.  Tunstall  heard  her  name,  she  turned 
with  a  start,  and  her  vivid  but  pretty  face  paled. 
"  Don't  stay,"  she  said  in  a  low  voice  ;  "  do  go  ! 
what  is  the  use  of  running  any  risks  ?  " 

"  I  have  as  good  a  right  as  anybody  to  be  here," 
Percy  replied.  "If  we  both  happen  to  be  here  at 
the  same  time,  what  of  that  ?  " 


42  A    FATAL   MEETING. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  You  look  quite  ill  !  "  she 
said. 

At  this  moment  a  salesman,  having  despatched 
an  adjoining  customer,  presented  himself  before 
her  with  a  "  What  can  I  do  for  you,  madam?" 
She  handed  him  a  card  and  said,  "  I  have  called 
about  that  necklace  ;  it  was  to  have  been  ready 
this  morning."  The  man  took  the  card,  bowed, 
and  hurried  off.  She  turned  again  to  Percy.  Her 
muff  was  in  her  left  hand  ;  and  as  she  turned  she 
laid  it  upon  the  glass  counter,  on  the  side  furthest 
away  from  him.  His  sudden  appearance  had  evi- 
dently disconcerted  her. 

He  met  her  look,  and  thought  how  charming  she 
was.  She  was  dressed  in  fine  black  velvet,  trimmed 
with  soft  furs,  and  wore  a  wonderful  bonnet, 
adorned  with  birds'  feathers  and  sparkling  points  ; 
a  delicate  silken  veil  was  bound  around  it.  Her 
oval  face,  with  its  bright  eyes,  small  straight  nose 
and  rather  full  lips,  was  perfectly  pretty  ;  and  now 
the  blood,  which  had  been  driven  from  her  cheeks 
for  a  moment,  came  ebbing  back  beneath  the  trans- 
parent skin.  She  was  lovely,  luxurious,  and  rich; 
those  diamonds  in  her  ears  would  have  paid  all  his 
debts,  and  he  believed  that  she  would  relieve  his 
necessities  in  a  moment  had  she  known  of  them. 
But  how  impossible  it  was  to  tell  her  !  How 
inaccessible  she  was,  though  he  could  have  thrown 
his  arms  around  her  as  she  stood  there  !  He  felt 
a  helpless  rage — an  impulse  to  seize  upon  her  and 
make  off  with  her  bodily.  If  he  only  had  had 


A    FATAL   MEETING.  43 

money — money,  and  plenty  of  it — there  was  nothing 
so  wild  that  he  would  not  have  ventured  to  propose 
it  to  her.  What  a  power  money  was  in  this  world  ! 

All  this  time  he  stood  gazing  at  her,  and  saying 
not  a  word. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you,  Percy  ? "  she 
repeated.  "  What  makes  you  look  so  ?  you  are 
making  every  body  notice  us.  Are  you — "  she 
hesitated. 

"  I  am  sober,  if  that's  what  you  mean,"  he  said. 
"  If  we  were  alone,  I  would  show  you  what  is  the 
matter  with  me  !  Good  God  !  is  there  no  place  in 
the  world  where  we  can  be  alone  together  for  half 
an  hour  !  " 

Some  one  touched  him  on  the  arm.  He  turned 
savagely.  It  was  only  a  gentleman  who  begged 
his  pardon  ;  he  had  left  a  cane  standing  against  the 
counter.  It  was  not  there  ;  he  apologised  and 
went  off.  Percy  came  round  to  the  other  side  of 
Sylvia,  and  leaned  on  the  counter,  taking  her  muff 
in  his  hands. 

"  I  can't  stand  this,"  he  resumed.  "  I  never  see 
you  at  all  now.  I  have  as  much  right  to  see  you 
as  any  of  your  acquaintances.  You  keep  out  of 
my  way  !  " 

"  If  you  would  be  content  to  see  me  as  my  other 
acquaintances  do — but  you  know  perfectly  well  how 
dangerous  it  is.  And  you  could  not  have  chosen 
a  worse  place  than  this."  She  bent  forward  and 
added  in  a  whisper,  "  I  expect  Mr.  Tunstall  may 
come  in  at  any  moment.  He  knew  I  was  coming 


44  A   FATAL  MEETING. 

here  this  morning  about  the  necklace,  and  said 
something  about  intending  to  try  and  meet  me. 
Do  go  !  It  will  only  make  it  more  difficult  here- 
after." 

"  It  cannot  be  more  difficult  than  it  is  already," 
replied  Percy  sullenly.  "  I  should  like  to  meet 
him  and  have  it  out  with  him,  if  he  wants  to  say 
anything  !  What  is  there  he  can  say,  for  that  mat- 
ter? He  has  no  business  to  interfere." 

"  You  don't  know  him  !  " 

"  He  doesn't  know  me,  if  he  thinks  I  care  for 
him  !  Why  should  we  mind  ?  If  the  worst  comes 
to  the  worst,  it  would  only  throw  us  together.  I 
am  ready  for  it — are  you  ?  " 

"  Percy,  you  are  crazy  !  How  can  you  talk  so  ! 
You  will  make  me  wish  never  to  see  you  again. 
Nothing  of  that  sort  is  possible.  I  never  thought 
of  such  a  thing." 

"  Such  things  have  been  thought  of,  and  they  are 
possible.  You  are  not  happy  as  you  are  now, 
Sylvia,  and  you  know  it.  Why  not  let  society  and 
respectability  go  to  the  devil,  where  they  belong, 
and  enjoy  life  in  our  own  way?  There  are  other 
places  in  the  world  besides  New  York,  or  America  ?  " 

"  Here  is  the  necklace,  Mrs.  Tunstall,"  said  the 
voice  of  the  salesman.  He  was  standing  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  counter,  with  the  box  in  his 
hands. 

She  was  thankful  for  the  interruption,  for  she  was 
becoming  seriously  alarmed  at  Percy's  manner  ; 
and,  drawing  the  box  towards  her,  she  opened  it. 


A   FATAL   MEETING.  45 

It  contained  a  necklace  of  fine  diamonds,  which 
had  been  selected  some  time  before,  and  set  accord- 
ing to  Mrs.  Tunstall's  directions.  She  examined 
them,  and  expressed  her  approval.  "  It  is  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars,  is  it  not  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Twenty-five  hundred  dollars,"  repeated  the 
salesman,  softly. 

She  looked  around  for  her  muff,  which  Percy  had 
just  replaced  on  the  counter.  She  slipped  her  hand 
in  it  and  uttered  an  exclamation.  Then  she  sent  a 
quick  glance  over  the  counter  and  on  the  floor. 

"  Have  you  seen  it  ? "  she  said,  in  a  startled 
tone. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon  !  "  said  the  salesman,  blandly. 
Percy  maintained  a  gloomy  silence  and  an  abstracted 
gaze. 

"  My  pocket-book — and  some  money  in  bank 
notes.  I  had  them  in  my  muff,"  she  exclaimed. 
"  Have  you — "  she  went  on,  turning  to  Percy. 

He  looked  at  her  uncomprehendingly.  "  What 
is  it  ?"  he  demanded. 

"  My  purse — and  the  money.  Why,  you  had  my 
muff  just  now.  Didn't  you — " 

"  Did  I  have  your  muff  ?  I  wasn't  aware  of  it.  I 
know  nothing  about  it,"  said  he,  unconcernedly. 

"  But  I  can't  lose  it — it  must  be  found — it  was 
right  there  !  "  she  exclaimed  again.  "  It  can't  have 
disappeared  into  nothing  !  " 

"  May  I  inquire  if  the  sum  was  a  large  one  ?  " 
put  in  the  salesman,  softly. 

"  Why,  yes  !  there  were  twenty-five  hundred  dol- 


4  A    FATAL  MEETING. 

lars  and  some  smaller  notes  in  the  purse.  I  had 
brought  it  to  pay  for  the  necklace." 

By  this  time  several  persons  had  collected,  drawn 
by  the  evident  agitation  of  the  handsome  young 
lady  ;  among  them  was  a  small,  bright-looking  man, 
with  an  alert  and  confident  manner.  He  subjected 
Mrs.  Tunstall  and  Percy  to  a  keen  but  unobtrusive 
scrutiny. 

"  Perhaps  you  put  it  in  your  pocket,"  Percy 
suggested,  who,  on  hearing  so  large  a  sum  men- 
tioned, had  begun  to  arouse  himself  from  his  curi- 
ous apathy. 

She  put  her  hand  in  the  pocket  of  her  dress  and 
felt  in  it  anxiously,  then  shook  her  head. 

"  No,"  she  said,  "  and,  besides,  I  recollect  it  all 
now  distinctly.  I  put  the  money  in  my  purse  when 
I  went  out  this  morning,  and  put  the  purse  in  my 
muff,  as  I  always  do.  When  I  got  here  I  took  out 
the  purse  and  took  the  notes  from  it  —  " 

"  Pardon  me,  madam,"  interposed  the  bright- 
looking  man  at  this  point ;  "  I  am  connected  with 
this  establishment,  and  it  is  my  duty  to  investigate 
cases  of  missing  articles.  Can  you  state  what  was 
the  denomination  of  the  bills  representing  the  sum 
of  money — twenty-five  hundred  dollars  I  think  you 
said  ?  " 

"  There  were  four  bank-notes,"  Mrs.  Tunstall  re- 
plied ;  "  one  of  a  thousand  dollars,  and  three  of  five 
hundred  each." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  the  man,  making  a  note 
on  some  tablets  in  his  hand.  "  Do  you  recollect 


A   FATAL   MEETING.  47 

the  numbers  of  the  notes,  or  the  banks  they  be- 
longed to  ? " 

She  shook  her  head.     "  I  didn't  look,"  she  said. 

"  You  took  these  notes  out  of  your  purse,  you 
say — " 

"  I  took  them  out  so  as  to  have  them  ready.  I 
was  a  little  nervous  about  carrying  so  much  money, 
and  I  thought,  if  I  should  lose  the  purse,  I  would 
have  the  money  separate.  But  now  it  is  all 
gone  !  " 

"  After  taking  the  notes  out  of  your  purse,  what 
did  you  do  with  them  ? "  pursued  the  bright-looking 
man. 

"  I  held  them  in  my  hand  in  my  muff ;  in  this 
hand,"  indicating  her  left.  "  Then,  just  as  I  came 
up  to  the  counter,  this  gentleman  spoke  to  me." 

"  This  gentleman  is  a  friend  of  yours  ?  " 

Mrs.  Tunstall  hesitated  and  colored.  "  I  am 
acquainted  with  him — slightly  acquainted  with  him," 
she  said  at  length. 

"  Will  you  oblige  me  with  your  name,  sir,"  said 
the  other,  turning  to  Percy. 

"  I  don't  know  what  my  name  has  got  to  do  with 
it  !  "  returned  Percy,  rather  brusquely.  "  Who  are 
you  ? " 

The  man  turned  back  the  lapel  of  his  coat  and 
showed  the  badge  of  the  Central  Detective  Bureau. 

"I  am  attending  to  my  business,  sir,"  he  said, 
"  and  as  you  were  in  this  lady's  company  at  the  time 
the  loss  occurred  you  will  be  needed  as  a  witness,  if 
for  no  other  purpose  !  "  He  pronounced  the  last 


48  A   FATAL   MEETING. 

words  in  a  peculiar  tone,  which  caused  Percy  to 
turn  upon  him  sharply. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?"  he  demanded. 

"  I  mean,  sir,  that  it  is  proper  for  me  to  make  a 
note  of  your  name,"  the  detective  replied.  "  I 
have  no  power,  at  present,  to  make  you  give  it, 
however." 

"'Oh,  I  have  no  objection,"  Percy  returned,  care- 
lessly. "  Here  is  my  card,"  and  he  handed  it  to  the 
other,  who  read  it,  nodded,  and  slipped  it  into  his 
pocket. 

"  Now,  madam,  what  did  you  do  after  this 
gentleman  spoke  to  you  ?  " 

"Tanswered  him." 

"  Did  you  still  hold  the  money  in  your  hand  ?  " 

"  No,"  she  said,  after  a  moment's  thought.  "  I 
took  my  hand  out  of  the  muff,  and  left  it  lying  there 
on  the  counter." 

"  Were  the  purse  and  the  money  still  in  it  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"Where  was  he  standing  ?  " 

"  He  was  facing  me,  on  this  side." 

"  So  your  back  was  turned  on  your  muff  ? " 

"  For  a  minute  or  two — yes." 

"  Did  any  one  approach  you  during  that  time  !  " 

"  Not  that  I  remember.  Of  course,  some  one 
might  have  come  up  behind  without  my  knowing 
of  it." 

"  What  did  you  do  next  ?  " 

"  I  think  the  salesman  came  up  then,  and  I  spoke 
to  him  about  the  necklace.  He  went  off  to. get  it." 


A   FATAL  MEETING.  49 

"  And  you  continued  your  conversation  with  this 
gentleman  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Was  he  in  the  same  position  as  before  ?  " 

"  No — yes — I  don't  remember  !  "  She  had  sud- 
denly became  embarrassed,  and  the  color  flew  into 
her  cheeks  again.  She  glanced  at  Percy  with  a 
frightened  look.  There  was  a  short  pause. 

"  Does  your  memory  serve  you  on  that  point, 
sir,"  inquired  the  detective,  turning  to  Percy. 

"  I  have  no  particular  recollection,"  lie  replied  ; 
"  but  I  know  that  when  the  salesman  came  back 
with  the  necklace  this  lady  was  between  me  and 
the  door,  and  I  had  her  muff  in  my  hands." 

"  That  agrees  with  my  own  impression,"  said  the 
detective  drily.  "  I  happened  to  be  looking  at  you 
at  the  time.  Did  you  notice  whether  there  was 
any  thing  in  the  muff  at  the  time  you  were  hold- 
ing it  ? " 

"  There  was  nothing  in  it.  I  put  my  hands  inside, 
and  if  there  had  been  any  thing  there  I  would  have 
felt  it." 

"  When  you  first  spoke  to  the  lady,  you  were 
between  her  and  the  door.  Afterwards,  you  went 
round  to  the  other  side  of  her.  I  want  to  be  sure 
I  have  the  details  all  right,  you  know.  What  was 
the  occasion  of  your  changing  'round  ? " 

"  I  don't  know.  I  wasn't  thinking  of  what  I  was 
doing.  While  she  was  talking  with  the  salesman  I 
had  nothing  to  occupy  me  ;  I  didn't  even  remem- 
ber that  I  touched  the  muff  until  you  asked  me." 


50  A   FATAL  MEETING. 

The  detective  glanced  over  his  tablets,  and  said, 
slowly  :."  The  question  is,  how  to  reconcile  the  two 
facts  :  that  the  muff  had  the  purse  and  money  in  it 
when  you  first  spoke  to  the  lady,  and  a  few 
moments  afterwards,  when  you  had  hold  of  it,  it 
was  empty." 

"  I  don't  pretend  to  account  for  it ;  that  is  your 
business,  I  suppose,"  Percy  replied.  "  Of  course, 
if  the  money  was  there,  somebody  must  have 
taken  it  out." 

"  Yes,  sir,  somebody  must  have  taken  it  out," 
the  detective  repeated,  fixing  his  eyes  upon  the 
young  man. 

"  Well,  you  don't  mean  to  accuse  me  of  it,  I  sup- 
pose," rejoined  Percy,  with  a  laugh. 

"  I  am  not  accusing  any  body,  at  present,  sir. 
What  does  the  lady  think  ?  " 

"  Oh,  of  course,  that  is  impossible  !  "  said  Mrs. 
Tunstall,  looking  much  distressed. 

At  this  moment  a  gentleman  entered  the  shop, 
glanced  this  way  and  that  until  he  saw  Mrs.  Tun- 
stall,  and  then  came  straight  toward  her.  As  he 
approached,  Percy  recognized  him  ;  it  was  Cuth- 
bert  Tunstall.  The  two  men  bowed  politely  and 
coldly. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    END    OF    AN    INTRIGUE. 

WELL,  Sylvia,"  said  her  husband,  "  have  you 
transacted  your  business  ?" 

She  had  been  standing  with  her  back  toward 
him  as  he  approached  ;  at  the  sound  of  his  voice 
she  gave  a  start,  and  faced  him.  Her  face 
expressed  alarm,  agitation,  and  something  of  defi- 
ance. Tunstall,  on  the  contrary,  was  quiet,  cold, 
and  slightly  contemptuous  in  his  bearing.  It  was 
certainly  unfortunate  that  he  should  have  come 
upon  her  and  Percy  together.  For  months  past 
she  had  taken  every  precaution  to  avoid  such  a 
mishap,  and  now  it  had  occurred,  nor  had  any 
advantage  accrued  as  between  her  and  Percy,  but 
quite  the  reverse. 

"  I  came  in  here  to  pay  for  the  necklace,  you 
know,"  she  said. 

"  I  know.  If  you  have  paid  for  it,  I  am  ready 
to  escort  you  home — unless  you  have  some  engage- 
ment with  this  gentleman." 

"  Oh,  I  have  no  engagement.  Mr.  Nolen  hap- 
pened to  come  in  and  find  me  here.  But — " 

"  Then  perhaps  Mr.  Nolen  will  excuse  us." 


52  THE  END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE. 

"  But,  I  have  just  found — I  have  mislaid  my 
pocket-book." 

"Left  it  at  home?" 

"  No,  I  have  lost  it  since  I  came  in  here." 

"  Do  you  mean  it  has  been  stolen  from  you  ?  " 

"  It  seems  to  have  been.     I  can't  account  for  it." 

"  If  you  will  step  this  way,  madam,  and  gentle- 
men," put  in  the  detective,  "we  can  talk  over  the 
matter  in  private.  There  is  a  parlor  at  the  back, 
where  we  shall  not  be  disturbed.  You  understand, 
sir,"  he  added,  addressing  Tunstall,  "  that  time  is 
of  importance  in  such  things,  and  the  sooner  we 
can  take  measures  to  capture  the  thief,  the  bet- 
ter chance  there  is  to  recover  the  bank-notes." 

"  Let  us  go  in,  by  all  means."  said  Tunstall.  "  But 
in  what  manner  is  Mr.  Nolen  concerned." 

"  I  was  here  when  the  robbery  was  committed — 
if  there  was  a  robbery,"  said  Percy,  "and,  accord- 
ing to  this  detective,  my  assistance  is  neces- 
sary." 

The  detective  pushed  a  way  through  the  crowd 
that  had  collected,  and  led  the  others  to  the  rear 
part  of  the  building,  where  there  was  a  small  room 
with  chairs  and  a  table.  Into  this  room  were  ad- 
mitted Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tunstall,  Percy,  and  the  sales- 
man. 

"  Now,  then,"  said  the  detective,  shutting  the 
door,  and  taking  up  a  position  with  his  back  toward 
it,  "  plain  words  don't  break  any  bones,  and  the 
best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  clear  away  whatever  may 
look  puzzling.  Here's  the  way  the  case  stands  : 


THE   END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE.  53 

Mrs.  Tunstall  comes  into  the  shop  with  her  hands 
in  her  muff,  and  four  bank-notes  to  the  amount 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  were  inside, 
together  with  the  purse.  She  comes  up  to  the 
counter,  and  this  gentleman,"  pointing  to  Nolen, 
"  comes  in  right  after  her,  and  speaks  to  her. 
While  she  is  talking  with  him,  she  lays  her  muff, 
with  the  money  and  the  purse  in  it,  on  the  counter, 
and  turns  her  back  on  it.  After  a  while,  along 
comes  the  salesman,  and  while  she  is  speaking  to 
him  this  gentleman  goes  round  the  other  side  and 
takes  up  her  muff,  and  turns  it  in  his  hands,  as  it 
were.  A  minute  afterwards  she  takes  the  muff 
from  him,  and  finds  that  the  money  and  the  purse 
are  gone.  The  gentleman  says  he  had  his  hands 
in  the  muff,  and  that  it  was  empty.  That's  how 
the  case  stands.  Now,  I  want  to  know  if  the  gen- 
tleman has  any  thing  more  to  say."  And  he  Iqpked 
at  Nolen. 

"  I  have  told  all  I  know  about  it,"  replied  Percy 
steadily.  "  I  found  the  muff  empty,  and  if  Mrs. 
Tunstall  had  not  been  so  positive  that  the  purse 
and  the  money  were  in  it  I  should  say  she  must 
have  been  mistaken.  The  bank-notes  might  have 
fallen  on  the  ground  and  not  been  noticed,  but  the 
purse  would  have  been  heard  to  drop." 

"  May  I  ask,  then,  what  your  theory  is  ?  "  in- 
quired Tunstall,  courteously. 

"  I  have  none,"  he  answered  shortly. 

"  And  what  is  yours,  Sylvia  ?  "  her  husband  con- 
tinued. 


54  THE   END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  to  think,"  she 
said  in  a  faltering  voice. 

The  eyes  of  Tunstall  and  the  detective  fixed 
themselves  upon  Percy  in  silence.  He  reddened  as 
he  returned  the  gaze,  but  whether  with  anger  or  with 
some  other  emotion  it  was  impossible  to  determine. 

"  Well,"  he  broke  out  at  length,  "  it  seems  to  me 
that  I  stand  in  the  position  of  a  suspected  person. 
I  can  hardly  believe, >v  he  added,  in  a  hoarser  voice, 
"  that  I  can  be  seriously  charged  with  picking  a 
lady's  pocket — especially  a  lady  with  whom  I  am 
acquainted."  He  paused  ;  no  one  spoke.  "  Well, 
then,"  he  went  on,  angrily,  •'  I  will  say  that  I  repu- 
diate the  charge,  and  I  will  hold  to  account  who- 
ever has  the  face  to  make  it.  I  mean  you,  sir  !  " 
he  said,  with  a  fierce  look  at  Tunstall.  "  Have  you 
any  thing  to  say  to  it  ? " 

"  So  far  as  I  am  aware,"  said  Tunstall,  coolly, 
"  the  only  person  who  has  spoken  of  charging  you 
with  the  theft  is  yourself.  I  was  not  present,  and 
can  only  judge  from  hearsay.  But  I  will  say  this, 
Mr.  Nolen  ;  if  I  were  in  your  place,  I  should  wish 
to  vindicate  my  innocence  in  some  other  way  than 
by  asserting  it.  I  should  begin  by  asking  this  de- 
tective to  search  my  pockets." 

"  Do  you  dare  to  say  you  want  me  to  be 
searched  ? "  cried  Nolen,  his  face  flushing  red,  while 
he  advanced  a  step  toward  the  other,  with  a  threat- 
ening gesture. 

"  That  is  what  an  honest  man  would  wish  to  have 
done,"  replied  the  other,  not  flinching. 


THE   END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE.  55 

u  Come,  come,"  said  the  detective,  stepping 
between  them,  "  we  don't  want  any  hard  words 
here,  gentlemen.  But  I'm  bound  to  tell  you,  Mr. 
Nolen,  that  Mr.  Tunstall  is  right.  There's  no  dis- 
grace in  being  searched,  that  I  know  of  ;  and  it 
would  be  worth  more  than  a  lot  of  loud  talking." 

Percy  stood  uncertain  for  a  moment  ;  then  he 
stripped  off  his  overcoat,  and  tossed  it  to  the  detec- 
tive. "  Do  as  you  like,"  said  he.  "  You  have  your 
duty  to  perform,  I  suppose.  I  will  settle  with  Mr. 
Tunstall  afterwards." 

The  detective  put  his  hand  into  one  of  the  side- 
pockets  of  the  overcoat,  then  into  the  other. 
"  Here's  something,  at  any  rate,"  he  remarked  ;  and 
with  the  words  he  drew  out  a  lady's  purse. 

Percy  uttered  a  cry,  as  of  utter  astonishment  and 
dismay,  and  stared  at  the  pocket-book  like  a  man 
bewildered. 

"  Is  that  yours,  Sylvia?"  inquired  her  husband 
quietly,  taking  the  purse  and  handing  it  to  her. 

She  took  it  mechanically  and  opened  it.  "  It  is 
mine,"  she  said,  under  her  breath. 

"  Are  the  notes  in  it  ? "  demanded  the  detective. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  They  are  not  in  the  overcoat,"  the  detective 
added.  "  We  shall  have  to  pursue  our  examination 
a  little  further,  Mr.  Nolen,"  he  said,  in  a  grave 
tone. 

"  I  don't  understand — I  have  nothing  to  say — 
there  seems  to  have  been  some  plot  against  me," 
said  Percy,  in  a  dazed  manner.  "  I  desire  to  have 


56  THE  END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE. 

the  thing  cleared  up  more  than  any  one  else  can. 
I  wish  to  be  taken  to  the  station  and  examined." 

"  That's  the  best  sense  you've  talked  yet," 
answered  the  other,  approvingly.  "  Call  a  couple 
of  hacks,  Ferris,"  he  said  to  the  salesman,  "  and 
we'll  start  at  once.  You  charge  this  man  on  sus- 
picion of  the  robbery  ?  "  he  added,  turning  to  Mrs. 
Tunstall. 

She  was  standing  with  her  eyes  cast  down,  and 
her  hands  hanging  folded  before  her,  leaning 
against  the  table.  She  was  in  a  delicate  position, 
and  she  knew  it.  If  she  sided  with  Percy,  it  would 
be  tantamount  to  a  defiance  of  her  husband — a 
defiance  which  he  would  never  forgive,  and  would 
fight  out  to  the  bitter  end.  It  would  mean,  for  her, 
loss  of  social  position,  and  consequent  exile  and 
obscurity,  or,  if  not  obscurity,  a  kind  of  promi- 
nence that  no  one  would  envy  her.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  she  took  sides  with  her  husband,  it 
would  afford  the  strongest  possible  indication,  in 
his  eyes,  of  her  virtuous  and  wifely  conduct  and 
rebuke  of  the  suspicions  he  had  entertained  against 
her.  Moreover,  the  evidence  against  Percy  was 
very  strong  and  plausible.  It  might  be  misleading 
— and,  in  the  bottom  of  her  heart,  she  did  not 
believe  him  guilty — but,  in  case  it  should  turn  out 
that  he  had  yielded  to  some  sudden  temptation,  it 
would  be  awkward,  to  say  the  least,  to  have  com- 
promised herself  for  a  felon.  Had  she  loved  him, 
indeed,  there  might  have  been  a  tragic  pleasure  in 
sacrificing  herself  ;  but  it  was  now  revealed  to  her 


THE  END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE.  57 

that  the  only  love  in  the  matter  was  a  love,  not  of 
Percy,  but  of  excitement.  The  excitement  had  run 
itself  out,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  desire  to  get  out 
of  the  scrape  by  the  shortest  route.  But  did  she 
feel  no  remorse  at  abandoning  her  lover  at  the 
moment  of  his  greatest  need  ?  No  ;  the  feminine 
conscience  is  not  so  easily  caught.  It  was  with  a 
glow  of  conscious  virtue  and  connubial  rectitude 
that  she  lifted  her  pretty  face,  and  addressing  her 
husband,  said. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  he  must  have  done  it.  I  don't 
see  who  else  could  have.  Yes,  I  will  make  the 
complaint,  though  it  will  be  very  disagreeable  to 
appear  in  a  court,  among  a  lot  of  criminals  !  " 

She  just  glanced  at  Percy  as  she  turned  away, 
perhaps  to  see  how  he  would  take  it.  His  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  her  with  an  expression  of  half- 
incredulous  curiosity  ;  but  the  next  moment  he 
threw  back  his  head  and  burst  into  a  loud  laugh. 
She  shrank  a  little  at  that  sound,  and  edged  toward 
the  door  ;  and  this  was  the  lovers'  parting  scene. 

Such  was  the  train  of  events  that  brought  a 
young  gentleman  who  might  have  made  a  good 
and  respectable  figure  in  the  world  to  the  office  of 
Inspector  Byrnes  at  Police  Headquarters.  The 
Inspector  listened  to  the  story,  contemplating  the 
prisoner  and  his  accusers  dreamily  in  the  mean- 
while ;  and  after  it  was  told,  he  sat  for  a  while  ab- 
sently making  lines  on  the  blotting-pad  in  front  of 
him  with  the  point  of  a  paper-knife. 

Finally  he  looked  up  and  briefly  requested  that 


5 8  THE  END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE. 

every  one  should  withdraw  except  Mrs.  Tunstall 
and  Percy  Nolen.  When  the  three  were  alone 
together,  he  regarded  Mrs.  Tunstall  pensively  and 
said, 

"  How  long  have  you  known  the  prisoner  ?  " 

"  Oh,  a  year  or  more." 

"  Has  your  husband  approved  of  the  acquaint- 
ance ?  " 

"  How  do  you  mean,  sir  ?  "  inquired  the  lady 
with  a  blush. 

"  You  know  what  I  mean,  I  think." 

"  I  don't  think  my  husband  has  ever  liked  Mr. 
Nolen,"  she  replied  uneasily. 

"  Considered  him  rather  detrimental,  I  sup- 
pose ?  " 

<l  Well,  I  suppose  so." 

"  Were  the  prisoner  and  your  husband  at  any 
time  intimately  known  to  each  other  ?  " 

"  They  knew  each  other  scarcely  at  all." 

"  And  yet  your  husband  considered  him  a  detri- 
mental ?  There  ought  to  have  been  some  reason 
for  that  !  Are  you  prepared  to  state  to  me,  Mrs. 
Tunstall,  in  Percy  Nolen's  presence,  that  your  hus- 
band's ill  opinion  of  him  was  in  no  way  connected 
with  what  he  knew  or  suspected  of  Percy  Nolen's 
relations  with  you  ?  " 

The  question  was  put  so  sternly  and  gravely 
that  Mrs.  Tunstall  was  unable  to  maintain  the  com- 
posure of  her  countenance.  She  stammered  and 
hesitated,  and  looked  first  one  way  and  then  an- 
other. Was  it  possible  that  the  Inspector,  in  some 


THE  END  OF  AN  INTRIGUE.  59 

incomprehensible  manner,  had  become  acquainted 
with  the  truth  ? 

"  He — I — never  asked  him  the  reason  of  his 
opinion,"  she  faltered  at  length. 

"  There  are  many  ways  of  getting  rid  of  a  man 
when  he  ceases  to  be  convenient  and  becomes  ob- 
jectionable," continued  the  Inspector.  "  Are  you 
ready  to  stand  before  me  and  take  your  oath  that 
you  honestly  and  truly  believe  this  man  guilty  of 
stealing  your  pocket-book  ?  Remember,  Mrs. 
Tunstall,  your  answer  may  be  the  means  of  con- 
demning an  innocent  man  to  irrevocable  ruin  !  " 

But  she  had  gone  too  far  to  withdraw  ;  selfish- 
ness and  cowardice  alike  forbade  it.  Yet  it  was 
not  without  an  inward  struggle  that  left  her  pale 
and  trembling  that  she  said  desperately,  "  Yes,  I 
believe  he  stole  it!"  and  then,  "  The  evidence 
shows  it — it  is  not  I  !  " 

"  That  is  for  neither  you  nor  me  to  determine,  Mrs. 
Tunstall,"  returned  the  inspector,  rising.  "  I  will 
not  detain  you  any  longer  now  ;  you  will  be  in- 
formed when  your  sworn  testimony  will  be  required 
hereafter."  And  Mrs.  Tunstall  went  out. 

The  Inspector  resumed  his  seat,  and  addressed 
himself  to  the  prisoner. 

"  I  was  willing,"  he  said,  "for  the  sake  of  your 
family  and  friends,  to  give  you  every  chance  to 
which  you  were  entitled.  You  had  every  advan- 
tage of  training  and  education  ;  but  you  have  lived 
a  foolish  and  useless  life,  and  this  is  the  result  of  it. 
You  were  in  need  of  money — in  immediate  and 


60  THE  END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE. 

and  pressing  need  of  it  ;  you  had  tried  every  way 
you  knew  to  get  it  ;  you  found  those  bank-notes 
in  your  hand  this  morning,  and  you  were  unable  to 
resist  the  temptation  to  take  them.  From  a  gen- 
tleman you  became — what  you  are  now  !  " 

"  Inspector  Byrnes,"  said  Percy,  firmly  but 
apathetically,  "  I  did  not  commit  that  crime.  I 
have  lived  a  bad  and  useless  life,  and  no  doubt  I 
deserve  to  suffer  for  it  ;  but  I  honestly  believe 
that  no  temptation  would  have  induced  me  to  do 
such  a  thing  as  that.  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  sug- 
gesting to  Mrs.  Tunstall  that  she  would  reconsider 
her  accusation  ;  but  it  will  be  no  satisfaction  to  me 
to  escape  in  any  such  way.  If  I  cannot  prove  my 
innocence,  I  may  as  well  be  in  gaol  as  anywhere 
else." 

"  Innocent  men  are  very  seldom  convicted," 
said  the  Inspector  impassively.  "  The  facts  are 
against  you.  No  one  but  you  is  known  to  have 
been  near  the  muff  after  Mrs.  Tunstall  laid  it  down. 
You  admit  having  had  it  in  your  hands  ;  the  pocket- 
book  was  found  in  your  pocket.  It  is  true  that 
the  bank-notes  were  not  found  ;  but  the  presence 
of  a  confederate  would  account  for  that.  It  is  for 
you  to  judge  whether  or  not  your  plea  should  be 
guilty." 

"  I  am  innocent,  and  that's  the  end  of  it,"  said 
Percy.  "  I  don't  expect  to  prove  it.  The  evidence 
is  all  the  other  way.  Somebody  must  have  taken 
the  purse  out  of  the  muff  and  put  it  in  my  pocket  ; 
as  for  the  notes,  I  know  nothing.  You  say  I  may 


THE  END   OF  AN  INTRIGUE.  61 

have  had  a  confederate.  If  he  was  near  enough  to 
take  the  notes  from  me,  he  was  near  enough  to  rob 
the  muff  ;  and  if  he  could  do  that,  it  would  remain 
to  be  proved  that  he  was  my  confederate,  or  that  I 
knew  any  thing  about  him.  But  all  that  would  be 
in  my  favor  is  guess-work,  and  all  that's  against 
me  is  fact  ;  so  it's  a  bad  look-out !  " 

"  Undoubtedly  it  is,"  assented  the  Inspector 
quietly.  "  There  was  only  one  minute  when  a 
thief  could  have  taken  the  money  and  left  the 
purse  in  your  pocket  ;  and  that  was  when  you  were 
talking  to  Mrs.  Tunstall,  and  her  back  was  turned 
towards  the  muff.  If  any  one  had  been  near 
enough  to  put  the  purse  in  your  pocket,  you  could 
hardly  expect  a  jury  to  believe  that  you  would  not 
have  noticed  him." 

Percy  maintained  a  gloomy  silence  for  a  mo- 
ment ;  then  his  expression  suddenly  lightened,  and 
he  exclaimed,  "  Now  that  I  think  of  it,  some  one 
did  touch  me  on  the  arm,  and  when  I  turned  round 
he  asked  me  if  his  cane  was  standing  against  the 
counter.  Perhaps  he  was  the  man  !  " 

"  Can  you  describe  him  ? "  asked  the  Inspector 
indifferently. 

Percy  shook  his  head.  "  He  had  a  dark  mus- 
tache, I  believe  ;  he  might  have  been  under  thirty  ; 
but  I  hardly  looked  at  him.  I  doubt  if  I  should 
know  him  again." 

The  Inspector  stroked  his  moustache.  "That 
will  hardly  do,"  said  he.  "  You  have  no  defence 
at  all,  The  best  advice  I  can  give  you  is  to  make 


62  THE  END  OF  AN  INTRIGUE 

a  clean  breast  of  it.     Such  a  defence  as  that  is 
worse  than  nothing." 

"  Probably  you  are  right  ;  but  I  am  innocent, 
and  I  will  never  say  the  contrary,"  replied  the 
prisoner  with  a  sigh.  "  So  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, I  don't  care  much  what  becomes  of  me.  I 
owe  money  I  can't  pay,  and — there  are  other 
things.  I  am  sorry  for  my  mother  and  sister  ;  but 
I  never  was  much  good  to  them  ;  and  Judge  Ke- 
telle  will  look  after  them,  I  hope." 

"  Is  Judge  Ketelle  a  friend  of  yours  ?  " 

"  He  was  my  father's  partner,  and  is  the  executor 
of  his  will." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  send  for  him  ?  There  will  be  the 
question  of  bail  to  consider,as  well  as  other  matters.' 

"  I  suppose  that  will  be  the  best  thing  I  can  do  ; 
I  thank  you  for  suggesting  it,  Inspector." 

u  Don't  trouble  yourself  to  thank  me  until  you 
find  out  whether  there  is  occasion  for  it,"  returned 
the  chief  detective  coldly.  He  touched  a  bell, 
made  a  sign  to  the  officer  who  entered,  and  Percy 
was  led  out. 

"  That  boy  never  took  that  money,"  he  said  to 
himself,  when  he  was  alone.  "  Such  fellows  as  he 
don't  steal,  least  of  all  from  the  woman  they're  in 
love  with.  As  for  her — !  "  the  Inspector's  face  grew 
very  stern,  and  he  brought  his  hand  down  heavily 
on  the  table.  "  She  is  sacrificing  him  to  pull  wool 
over  her  husband's  eyes.  Either  Nolen's  sugges- 
tion is  the  true  one,  or  else  she  invented  the  story 
to  get  rid  of  him.  It's  a  bad  lookout  ;  but  let's 
see  if  we  can't  straighten  it  out !  " 


CHAPTER  VII. 

VAL    MARTIN. 

WHILE  these  untoward  events  were  occurring 
at  the  jewelry  shop  and  the  police  office, 
an  affair  of  a  different  nature  was  being  transacted 
at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Nolen. 

A  couple  of  weeks  had  passed  since  Valentine 
Martin  had  called  on  Mrs.  Nolen  and  her  daughter, 
so  that  his  appearance  there  that  day  had  some- 
thing of  the  charm  of  novelty.  Mrs.  Nolen,  how- 
ever, was  too  much  upset  by  her  interview  with 
Percy  to  be  able  to  extend  the  visitor  a  welcome, 
and  that  duty  therefore  devolved  upon  Pauline. 
The  latter,  it  may  be  observed,  had  not  been 
informed  of  her  brother's  pecuniary  troubles,  and 
only  knew  that  her  mother  was  for  some  reason 
greatly  distressed.  She  came  down-stairs  and 
found  Valentine  in  the  library. 

Judge  Ketelle  had  pronounced  Pauline  a  beauti- 
ful girl  ;  and  beauty  was  her  most  noticeable  ex- 
ternal quality  ;  but  it  was  not  her  chief  claim  to 
distinction  among  those  who  knew  her.  She  was 
finely  organized  and  trained  in  mind  as  well  as 
body,  and  possessed  a  charm  separate  from  any 
physical  attraction,  It  was  not  that  she  was  a 


64  VAL  MARTIN. 

learned  young  woman  ;  she  never  embarrassed  any 
one  by  revealing  the  presence  of  more  information 
than  might  reasonably  be  supposed  to  belong  to 
her  ;  but  there  was  in  her  expression  a  spirit  and 
understanding  that  promised  whatever  was  delight- 
ful in  mental  scenery  and  tone.  Her  temperament 
was  calm  and  equable  because  it  was  deep  and 
healthy  ;  it  could  not  be  aroused  save  for  adequate 
cause,  but  when  aroused  it  would  clothe  itself  in 
power.  This  wide  and  vigorous  nature  would  go 
on  ripening  and  enriching  itself  long  after  ordinary 
people  dry  up  and  dwindle  away.  Pauline  could 
not  be  measured  or  assignee  her  definite  and  fixed 
place  in  human  nature.  Her  sympathies  were 
broad,  and  what  she  might  do  or  be  depended 
rather  upon  the  demands  made  upon  her  than  upon 
any  limitations  in  herself. 

The  young  Englishman,  after  the  first  conven- 
tional things  were  said,  did  not  appear  to  be  in  a 
loquacious  mood.  He  replied  in  monosyllables  to 
Pauline's  observations,  but  his  eyes  kept  re- 
turning to  fix  themselves  upon  her  with  an 
expression  of  sombre  thoughtfulness. 

"  Are  you  getting  tired  of  America  ?  "  she  asked 
him,  at  length. 

"I  have  enjoyed  some  of    it,  very  much,"  he 
replied.     "I  wish  I  had  known,  years  ago,  what  I* 
should  find  when  I  came  here." 

"  Would  you  have  come  sooner  ?  " 
.     "  It  isn't  that ;  but  I  should   have  left  undone 
some  things  that  I  have  done  in  the  past,     A  fel- 


VAL  MARTIN:  65 

low  is  generally  a  fool  in  the  beginning.  He  gets 
sense  after  a  while,  but  the  things  the  fool  did 
remain — worse  luck  !  " 

"  If  they  did  not,  you  would   never  grow  wise." 

"  What  is  the  use  of  wisdom,  if  it  only  makes 
a  man  curse  himself  for  having  been  not  wise  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  expect  wisdom  to  bring  you  ? " 

"  It  ought  to  bring  fortune  and  happiness  ;  but 
it  doesn't." 

"  No,  wise  people  don't  seem  to  be  happy  or  for- 
tunate. But  they  are  wise  ;  they  should  expect  to 
pay  for  that." 

"  Very  true,  Miss  Nolen  ;  we  can't  eat  our  cake 
and  have  it,  too.  But  I  might  have  been  content 
to  have  eaten  my  cake,  if  only  it  hadn't  turned  out 
to  be  made  of  bran  and  shavings.  How  would 
you  like  to  hear  my  strange,  eventful  history  ?  It 
has  never  been  published." 

"  I  would  like  to  hear  the  real  life  of  a  man — 
what  he  thought  and  felt.  But  that  is  the  part  the 
stories  leave  out." 

"  Well,  the  whole  truth  is  a  vulgar  and  sordid 
affair  ;  a  good  deal  of  it  is.  And  there's  a  reason 
for  it,  too.  For  it  is  chiefly  the  analysis  of  a  lie." 

"  That  is  not  the  truth's  fault." 

"  Oh,  of  course  not ;  the  children  of  light  always 
have  the  best  of  the  argument  !  There  has  been 
plenty  of  muck  in  my  career,  but  plenty  of  variety 
and  adventure,  too.  Younger  sons  have  that 
advantage,  at  least,  over  the  elders." 

"  According  to  our  American  way  of  thinking, 


66  VAL   MARTIN. 

it  is  no  advantage  to  inherit  a  great  estate.  It 
can  only  tempt  a  man  to  be  like  his  ancestors.  I 
would  choose  to  be  a  younger  son,  myself." 

"  If  it  were  a  matter  of  choice,  perhaps  those 
most  concerned  might  more  often  agree  with  you. 
But,  if  you  are  born  a  younger  son,  your  prefer- 
ences are  not  consulted  ;  and  it  is  not  in  human 
nature  to  enjoy  having  even  a  good  thing  crammed 
down  your  throat.  However,  I  will  say  for  my 
governor — he  was  Sir  Henniker  Martin,  of  Derwent 
Hall,  near  Kiswick,  Cumberland — that  he  did  very 
fairly  by  me,  as  a  whole.  To  begin  with,  he  laid 
the  foundation  of  my  future  discontent  by  giving 
me  what  is  called  a  liberal  education — the  Eton  and 
Oxford  business,  you  know.  I  distinguished  myself 
in  both  places." 

"  Not  for  scholarship  ?  " 

"  Since  you  will  have  it,  no  ;  but  for  running  up 
debts.  The  trouble  with  me  was,  I  was  too  good 
a  fellow.  I  was  the  most  popular  fellow  in  Eton, 
at  the  time  I  left  it ;  I  had  documentary  evidence 
of  that." 

"  Documentary  ?  " 

"  Yes.  When  a  boy  leaves  Eton,  the  fellows  who 
liked  him  each  give  him  a  book — something  swell, 
you  know,  bound  in  calf,  and  all  that,  such  as  he 
will  be  sure  not  to  spoil  by  reading  it  too  much. 
Well,  I  got  a  hundred  and  eighty  of  those  'leaving- 
books,'  as  they  call  'em." 

"  A  popular  library  !  " 

(<  Yes;  and  all  gone  now?  like  the  popularity,     It 


VAL    MARTIN.  67 

was  the  same  way  at  Oxford,  only  bigger  bills  and 
fess  innocence.  But  the  governor  paid  up  like  a 
man,  and  then  got  me  a  clerkship  in  the  Foreign 
Office.  If  he  had  made  me  Chief  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  I  might  have  buckled  down  to 
business  ;  but  the  clerkship  only  made  bad  worse. 
Easy  hours,  light  work.  Of  course  I  went  into 
society,  head  over  ears.  No  end  of  friends — lots  of 
popularity  !  You  never  saw  such  a  clever,  good- 
looking,  good-humored  chap  as  I  was.  I  had  no 
time  to  waste  in  my  office  ;  my  chiefs  began  to 
growl  ;  at  last  father  called  me  up,  told  me  I  was 
no  good,  and  that  he  was  tired  paying  for  it  :  gave 
me  two  thousand  pounds  and  an  outfit,  and  packed 
me  off  to  New  Zealand.  It  was  to  be  sink  or 
swim,  as  luck  might  have  it,  but  no  more  life-pre- 
servers from  the  old  gentleman  !  " 

"  Were  you  popular  there  too  ? " 

"  It's  every  man  for  himself  there.  I  went  to 
Napier — Hawke's  Bay — the  best  sheep-farming 
country  in  the  colony.  There  I  ran  across  a  chap 
I  had  known  at  Eton,  Cartwright  Brown  his  name 
was  ;  he  had  a  station  (that's  what  they  call  a 
ranch  out  there),  Matapiro,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ngararoro  River.  Well,  Cartwright  initiated  me 
into  the  mysteries  of  sheep-farming,  docking,  tail- 
ing, and  all  the  rest  of  it.  Very  different  front 
Mayfair  and  Piccadilly,  I  can  tell  you  !  " 

"  Was  there  no  society  out  there  ?  " 

"  Very  entertaining  society  in  Napier,  and  plenty 
of  it,  Oh,  yes,  there  are  women  everywhere,"  saicj 


68  VAL   MARTI  A?. 

Valentine ;  and  he  was  silent  for  a  time,  and 
seemed  to  lose  himself  in  revery.  "There  was  a 
neighbor  of  Brown's,  Hector  Pope,  between  us  and 
Napier  ;  I  invested  my  money  in  his  ranch,  and 
got  to  spending  a  good  deal  of  my  time  there  and 
at  the  club  in  town.  I  didn't  scrimp  myself  much  ; 
I  kept  a  couple  of  race-horses,  and  played  un- 
limited loo  at  the  club  ;  my  sheep  and  my  other 
investments  had  to  take  care  of  themselves.  You 
can  imagine  what  the  end  would  be,  without  my 
telling  you." 

"Mr.  Martin,"  said  Pauline,  "  you  have  left  out 
something  !  You  would  not  have  gone  on  in  that 
way  if  you  had  not  had  some  experience  that  in- 
fluenced you."  He  raised  his  head  and  looked  at 
her ;  after  a  moment  she  added,  "  I  don't  mean 
that  you  should  tell  it.  You  lost  your  money,  you 
were  saying  ? " 

"  All  but  fifty  pounds,  and  a  heap  of  clothes.  I 
packed  the  clothes  in  my  trunks  ;  forty  of  the  fifty 
pounds  I  handed  to  Brown  to  employ  as  events 
might  require  ;  and  I  was  just  on  the  point  of 
shipping  for  Australia  when  a  Maori  outbreak  in 
the  Taupo  district  was  reported.  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  I  was  probably  born  to  be  shot ;  so 
I  entered  the  service  as  full  private  in  the  Armed 
Constabulary.  You  have  heard  of  the  Irish  Con- 
stabulary. This  was  something  of  the  same  sort. 

"  I  enjoyed  that  campaign  more  than  any  thing  in 
New  Zealand.  The  Maoris  are  splendid  chaps  for 
a  fight.  You  have  your  Indian  wars  here  ;  but  you 


VAL  MARTIN.  69 

should  see  those  fellows  !  Well,  one  day  we  had 
to  attack  a  hill  on  which  the  Maoris  were  posted  ; 
it  was  about  the  shape  of  a  bee-hive,  and  covered 
with  trees  ;  it  was  called  Niho  o  te  Kiore,  which 
means  Rat's  Tooth.  That  tooth  gnawed  a  big  hole 
in  our  regiment.  The  Maoris  had  posted  them- 
selves in  the  trees — up  in  the  branches — and  had 
made  a  sort  of  glacis  round  the  trunks  ;  it  was 
capital  cover  ;  they  could  see  our  fellows  coming, 
and  pot  them  at  their  leisure  ;  but  our  fire  was 
wasted  on  the  trees.  If  we  got  too  near,  they 
would  slip  down  from  one  tree  and  run  to  another. 
Our  men  kept  dropping  and  dropping,  but  there 
was  no  sign  that  we  were  producing  any  effect  on 
them  at  all.  By  and  by  the  men  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  fun  was  too  expensive  ;  and  they 
began  to  fall  back.  Of  course  the  Maoris  fol- 
lowed us — pretty  fast,  too.  I  hated  the  idea  of 
getting  shot  in  the  back  ;  I  had  a  few  rounds  of 
cartridges  left,  and  I  kept  drawing  up  and  popping 
at  'em.  Brown  was  near  me  at  that  time.  It  was 
bad  going  underfoot — rocks,  bushes,  gullies  :  all  of 
a  sudden  I  felt  something  hot  just  beneath  my 
collar-bone — a  bullet  through  the  left  lung.  I  re- 
member feeling  pleased  that  I  hadn't  been  hit  in 
the  back  after  all  ;  then  I  stumbled  over  a  root 
and  went  down.  Brown  saw  me — he  was  a  lieu- 
tenant— he  hailed  three  of  our  men,  and  they  lifted 
me  and  carried  me.  I  was  pretty  heavy  and  very 
bloody,  and  I  had  fainted,  and  the  men  thought  I 
was  dead,  and  began  to  grumble,  for  the  Maoris 


70  VAL  MARTIN. 

were  closing  up.  They  wanted  to  drop  me  ;  but 
Brown  pulled  out  his  revolver  and  vowed  he'd 
shoot  the  first  man  who  let  go.  As  that  was  a  cer- 
tainty, whereas  there  was  a  chance  of  dodging  the 
Maoris,  they  held  on,  and  brought  me  off.  I  got 
well,  and  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy — what  for 
I  never  discovered.  Before  I  could  be  about  again 
the  war  was  over.  I  went  back  to  Napier,  and 
there  I  heard  that  Miss  Dorrien  Taylor,  my 
mother's  sister,  was  dead,  and  had  left  me  eight 
thousand  pounds.  I  took  a  part  of  it  and  sailed 
for  Aspinwall,  and  came  up  to  New  York." 

"  Did  you  leave  the  rest  of  your  legacy  with  Mr. 
Brown  ? " 

"  Yes  ;  and  you  were  quite  right.  It  was  on  the 
voyage  out  from  London.  There  was  a  woman 
on  board.  When  we  reached  Napier  I  married 
her  secretly.  Brown  was  the  only  man  who 
ever  knew  it.  It  was  not  a  wise  affair,  Miss 
Nolen.  She  is  living  ;  she  will  outlive  me.  I 
knew  I  should  have  to  tell  you  ;  and  I've  done, 
it!" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A    REVELATION. 

**  TF  you  have  a  wife  why  do  you  not  live  with 

1  her  ?  "  Pauline  asked,  her  calm  black  eyes 
dilating  a  little  as  she  turned  them  on  Valentine. 

"  I'm  not  entirely  a  free  agent  in  the  matter.  We 
were  mistaken  in  each  other — that's  the  long  and 
short  of  it.  She  captivated  me  as  women  will  some- 
times captivate  men  when  circumstances  are  favor- 
able, and  a  long  sea  voyage  is  a  very  favorable 
circumstance.  Then,  for  her  part,  she  expected 
certain  advantages  from  the  marriage  which  it  was 
not  in  my  power  to  provide  for  her.  It  was  a 
mutual  misunderstanding.  After  the  explanation, 
she  went  her  way  and  left  me  to  go  mine.  She  did 
not  ask  my  consent,  and  I  did  not  enforce  my  au- 
thority. But  whatever  I  have  she  has  a  right  to 
share  ;  and  whatever  cannot  be  shared  I  have  no 
right  to  have." 

"  I  am  sorry  for  you,"  said  Pauline,  in  a  tone 
that  conveyed  more  than  many  assurances. 

"  There's  no  help  for  it,"  returned  Valentine, 
with  an  assumption  of  indifference,  "  not  even  in 
the  law." 

"  You  mean  you  cannot  be  divorced  ? " 


72  A   REVELATION. 

"  She  will  not  consent  to  it." 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

•'  Because  she  happens  to  know  that  my  eldest 
brother  is  in  delicate  health,  and  that  nothing  stands 
between  me  and  a  fortune  except  his  life.  But  let 
us  talk  of  something  else.  I  am  thinking  of  leaving 
town." 

"  In  the  midst  of  the  season  ?  " 

"  The  seasons  are  pretty  much  alike  to  me. 
Besides,  New  York  will  not  be  a  pleasant  residence 
for  me  any  longer." 

"  Has  New  York  changed,  or  have  you  ?  " 

"  The  change  is  in  my  relations  with  you,  Miss 
Nolen,"  said  Valentine,  leaning  forward  with  his 
elbows  on  his  knees.  "I  can't  come  here  any 
more.  As  long  as  I  could  keep  up  my  false  pre- 
tences— as  long  as  you  did  not  know  me  to  be  a 
married  man — I  could  take  advantage  of  your  ig- 
norance. But  I  have  committed  hari-kiri,  so  far 
as  that  is  concerned,  and  it's  time  I  disappeared." 

"  It  is  not  keeping  any  false  pretences  merely  to 
be  silent  about  your  past  life." 

"  Not  in  the  abstract,  perhaps  ;  but  in  this  case 
it  is." 

"  Why,  Mr.  Martin  ?  " 

"  May  I  tell  you  ?  You  won't  be  offended  ? " 
But  without  waiting  for  her  answer,  and  as  if  fear- 
ing that  it  might  be  unfavorable,  he  added,  hur- 
riedly, "  I  have  no  right,  being  a  married  man,  to 
feel  towards  you  as  I  do.  At  first  I  didn't  care. 
When  I  first  saw  you  I  knew  it  would  be  better  for 


A   REVELATION.  73 

myself  to  keep  out  of  your  way  ;  but  then  I  thought 
that  it  could  make  no  difference  to  you — you  would 
never  know  what  I  felt  for  you — and  that  I  might 
as  well  endure  the  pain  for  the  sake  of  enjoying  the 
pleasure.  But  since  then  my  feeling  has  changed. 
You  are  not  the  kind  of  woman  who  ought  to  be 
the  object  of  the  love  of  a  man  in  my  position, 
even  though  you  were  not  aware  of  it,  and  though 
— as  I  am  able  honestly  to  say — I  would  rather 
have  died  than  attempt  any  act  of  deception  to- 
wards you.  I  had  never  known  before  what  love 
was  ;  there  is  a  sort  of  sacrilege  in  my  hanging 
around  you,  as  I  have  been  doing,  not  daring  to 
show  myself  to  you  as  I  am.  Two  weeks  ago  I 
made  up  my  mind  never  to  see  you  again.  But  I 
couldn't  stand  going  off  without  letting  you  know 
all  about  it.  So  here  I  am,  Miss  Nolen,  for  the 
last  time.  I  can  look  you  in  the  face  now,  and  say 
good-by.  And  it  wont  hurt  you  to  shake  hands 
with  me." 

The  changing  tones,  the  passion,  the  restraint 
and  simple  pathos  with  which  all  this  was  said 
touched  Pauline's  virgin  soul  more  deeply  than 
it  had  ever  been  touched  before.  She  divined  all 
that  was  not  spoken,  and  recognized  the  gallant 
spirit  of  the  man  who  loved  her  too  well  to  stay 
where  she  was:  and  whether  or  not  she  had  hitherto 
been  conscious  of  it,  her  mind  now  contrasted  the 
man,  fatally  encumbered  as  he  was,  with  the  free 
man  that  she  had  supposed  him  to  be  ;  and  invol- 
untarily the  question  presented  itself — Had  he  been 


74  A   REVELATION. 

free,  would  she  have  yielded  what  he  desired  ?  It 
was  a  perilous  question,  but  she  contemplated  it 
steadily  before  dismissing  it.  She  had  an  intellect 
capable  of  discriminating  between  merely  conven- 
tional morality  and  the  deeper  distinctions  between 
good  and  evil.  Her  respect  was  as  small  for  the 
former  as  for  the  latter  it  was  profound. 

"  If  you  had  not  cared  for  me  as  you  do,  you 
might  have  stayed,  and  we  have  been  friends,"  she 
said  finally  :  "  but  as  it  is  you  are  right  to  go.  I 
am  only  a  girl — and  I  feel  more  than  sorry  for  you  ; 
I  don't  know  what  I  might  feel  if  you  were  always 
here.  No  :  I  do  not  love  you  !  don't  think  it,  Mr. 
Martin.  It  is  only  that — if  I  wanted  to  love  you — 
I  should  not  send  you  away  !  " 

Valentine  sat  silent  ;  and  whether  he  were  hap- 
pier or  unhappier  than  at  any  previous  period  of 
his  life  he  could  not  have  told.  So  far  as  the 
significant  part  of  his  life  was  concerned,  he  felt 
that  it  was  over  with  him  ;  he  would  never  hence- 
forth be  the  victim  of  any  strong  desires,  hopes,  or 
fears.  Only  one  passible  event  could  give  him 
liberty,  the  opportunity  to  live  a  real  life.  It  was 
on  the  tip  of  his  tongue  to  ask  Pauline  whether,  in 
case  this  event  occurred,  she  would  let  him  return 
to  her  ;  but  an  accident  postponed  the  question, 
and  it  was  never  put.  The  two  had  been  so  taken  up 
with  what  was  passing  between  them  that  they  had 
not  noticed  the  sound  of  the  door-bell  or  the  tread 
of  a  heavy  foot  upon  the  hall  floor.  But  at  the 
moment  Valentine  was  about  to  speak,  perhaps 


A   REVELATION.  75 

with  the  effect  of  changing  all  their  lives,  the  door 
was  thrown  open,  and  Judge  Ketelle  abruptly 
walked  into  the  room. 

He  stopped  short  on  seeing  the  two,  and  there 
was  an  instant  of  silent  embarrassment  ;  but  the 
judge  evidently  had  something  on  his  mind  too 
serious  to  be  postponed  for  conventional  formal- 
ities. "  My  dear  girl,"  he  said  to  Pauline,  "  you 
will  excuse  my  blundering  in  here,  for  it  is  probably 
better  that  I  should  have  met  you  before  seeing 
your  mother.  You  will  know  better  than  I  how  to 
carry  my  message." 

"  Have  you  bad  news,  Judge  Ketelle  ?  " 

u  Painful — no,  no,  not  the  worst  !  your  brother 
is  perfectly  well  ;  he  has  suffered  no  physical 
injury  whatever."  He  paused  and  turned  to  Val- 
entine. "  I  think  this  is  Mr.  Martin  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Yes  ;  can  I  be  of  any  use  ?  " 

"  I  believe  you  are  a  friend  of  Percy's  ?  Well,  I 
dare  say  you  could  be  of  some  consolation  to  him. 
He  has  got  into  a  scrape — a  matter  in  which  he  is 
not  in  the  least  to  blame,  however — that  is,  at  all 
events  regarding  the  main  point  at  issue.  It  is  a 
misfortune,  but  it  will  be  set  right  ;  but  meanwhile 
Mrs.  Nolen  must  be  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  it 
with  all  the  tact  possible.  Indeed,  if  it  were  not 
one  of  those  things  that  are  certain  to  get  into  the 
papers,  and  perhaps  to  become  for  a  time  the 
subject  of  idle  gossip,  it  would  be  best  to  say 
nothing  to  her  at  all." 

"  I  am  waiting  to  hear  what  the  trouble  is."  said 


76  A    REVELATION. 

Pauline,  in  a  voice  entirely  calm,  though  her  great 
black  eyes  shone  with  unusual  brilliance.  "  You 
needn't  hesitate  to  tell  me  any  thing." 

"It  is  annoying — that  is  the  most  and  the  least 
that  can  be  said  of  it.  Percy  is  now  at  Police 
Headquarters,  my  dear.  He  will  be  bailed  out  as 
soon  as  a  magistrate  can  be  got  to  hear  the  case  ; 
and  I  came  up  here  in  the  interval." 

"  Oh !  been  punching  somebody's  head,  has 
he?"  said  the  Englishman,  in  a  tone  of  relief. 
"  Where  was  he  last  night  ?  " 

"  Why,  he  was  here  this  morning,  a  few  hours 
ago,"  said  Pauline.  "  He  had  a  private  talk  with 
mother.  He  was  not — " 

"  He  was  entirely  himself,"  put  in  the  judge. 
"  This  is  one  of  those  pieces  of  bad  luck  which 
may  occur  to  any  man.  The  circumstances  were 
such  as  to  suggest  the  hypothesis — though  upon 
entirely  inadequate  grounds,  in  my  opinion — that 
Percy  had  been  guilty  of  an  infringement  of  the 
law.  You  will  smile  when  you  hear  it ;  but  the 
absurdity  of  the  thing  does  not  render  it  less  an- 
noying for  the  moment.  He  happened  to  be  in  a 
jewelry  store  when  a  lady  missed  her  pocket-book. 
It  was  supposed  that  it  had  been  stolen — " 

"  And  Percy  was  accused  of  taking  it  !  "  said 
Pauline,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  In  default  of  any  other  plausible  object  of  sus- 
picion, the  detective  pitched  upon  him,  and  he  was 
taken  to  the  station." 

"  That  is  too  preposterous  to  do  him  any  harm," 


A   REVELATION.  77 

Martin  remarked.     "  If  it  had  not  been  so  bad,  it 
would  have  been  a  great  deal  worse." 

"  When  the  lady  knows  who  he  is,  she  will  refuse 
to  prosecute  him,"  said  Pauline. 

"  So  I  should  have  supposed,"  returned  the 
judge.  "But  it  appears  that  there  was  already 
some  acquaintance  between  them  ;  and  Percy  was 
in  conversation  with  her  at  the  time  the  loss  was 
discovered." 

"  Who  is  she  ?  "  demanded  Pauline,  turning  very 
pale. 

"  Her  name  is  Tunstall,  I  believe — the  wife  of 
one  of  our  coal  barons." 

"  Tunstall— Mrs.  Cuthbert  Tunstall,"  repeated 
Pauline.  "  I  think  I  have  met  her — yes,  I  have 
met  her.  She  is  a  pretty  woman — fashionable. 
And  she  accuses  Percy  of  having  robbed  her  ? " 

The  judge  moved  his  head  silently.  Martin,  at, 
the  mention  of  the  lady's  name,  had  changed  coun- 
tenance slightly. 

"  She  must  be  his  enemy,"  said  Pauline,  setting 
her  grave  lips  together.  "  No  woman  who  knew 
Percy  would  have  done  that  except  from  a  wish  to 
ruin  him.  She  knows  he  is  not  guilty." 

"Was  Mr.  Tunstall  with  his  wife?"  inquired 
Martin  of  the  judge. 

"  He  came  in  in  the  midst  of  the  affair.  I  may  as 
well  give  you  an  account  of  the  affair."  And  the 
judge  went  on  to  to  tell  the  story  that  is  already 
known  to  the  reader.  Both  his  listeners  listened 
intently. 


78  A   REVELATION. 

"  My  opinion  is,"  said  Martin,  when  the  narra- 
tive was  finished,  "that  the  job  was  put  up  on 
Percy.  The  woman  did  not  have  any  money  to 
lose." 

"  You  forget  that  her  pocket-book  was  found  in 
his  pocket,"  said  Pauline. 

"  She  may  have  put  it  there  herself.  But  at  all 
events  that  does  not  account  for  the  bank-notes. 
New  York  women  are  not  in  the  habit  of  traveling 
about  town  with  two  or  three  thousand  dollars  in 
bills  in  their  muffs.  She  would  have  had  a  check, 
if  she  had  had  any  thing." 

"  The  same  objection  occurred  to  me,"  said  the 
judge,  "and  I  spoke  of  it  to  Inspector  Byrnes. 
But  it  appeared,  upon  investigation,  that  Mr.  Tun- 
stall,  knowing  his  wife  had  several  bills  to  pay 
to-day,  including  this  at  the  jeweler's,  had  drawn  a 
check  for  five  thousand  dollars  in  the  morning,  and 
•given  it  to  her  before  going  down  to  his  business. 
She  has  a  private  account  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Bank  ;  she  cashed  the  check  there,  and  received, 
among  other  notes,  the  thousand  dollar  and  the 
five  hundred  dollar  ones  specified  in  the  complaint." 

"  No  ;  it  was  not  done  in  that  way,"  said  Pauline. 
"  A  woman  like  her  would  not  dare  to  run  such  a 
risk.  She  must  have  lost  the  money.  She  may 
have  lost  it  before  she  entered  the  shop,  or  some 
one  may  have  stolen  it  from  her  there.  But  1  am 
sure  she  did  not  accuse  Percy  because  she  thought 
he  was  guilty.  There  was  some  other  reason,  and 
when  she  missed  her  money  she  took  advantage  of 


A    REVELATION-.  79 

that  pretext  for  attacking  him.  But  she  forgot  he 
has  a  sister  !  " 

"  It  may  have  been  her  husband  who  put  her  up 
to  it,  you  know,"  said  Martin  to  the  judge,  in  an 
undertone,  and  he  gave  that  gentleman  a  look,  the 
significance  of  which  he  understood.  He  drew  out 
his  watch. 

"The  court  will  sit  within  an  hour,"  he  re- 
marked. "  I  must  go  back  to  Police  Headquarters 
to  be  on  hand  with  bail.  If  you  care  to  accom- 
pany me,  Mr.  Martin,  I  should  be  glad  of  your 
society.  Pauline,  I  will  leave  the  task  of  opening 
the  matter  to  your  mother  to  you.  You  will  know 
how  best  to  manage  it  ;  I  should  avoid  appearing 
to  attach  very  serious  weight  to  it,  and  yet  it  won't 
do  to  altogether  make  light  of  it,  either.  You  may 
expect  to  see  Percy  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of 
hours  or  so." 

"  Good-by  till  then,"  said  Pauline,  rising  and 
giving  him  her  hand.  Then  she  turned  to  Martin 
and  added  in  a  lower  tone,  while  the  judge  walked 
towards  the  door,  "  I  should  not  feel  so  safe  if  it 
were  not  for  you." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BAIL. 

*  *  T  T  AVE  you  any  knowledge  about  this  Mrs. 
11  Tunstall  ?"  inquired  the  judge,  when  he 
and  Martin  were  in  the  street  together. 

"  It's  a  nasty  complication,"  replied  the  English- 
man. "  I  fancy  Percy  has  been  making  a  fool  of 
himself  about  her.  There  was  no  actual  harm 
done,  you  understand  ;  but  there  was  some  non- 
sense and  imprudence,  and  Tunstall,  somehow  or 
other,  got  wind  of  it.  Percy  has  been  in  a  state  of 
mind  lately,  but  I  didn't  expect  the  woman  would 
behave  in  this  way.  I  suppose  she  had  the  alter- 
native of  turning  against  her  husband  or  against 
Percy,  and  fmdingthat  the  strongest  battalions  were 
on  her  husband's  side,  she  very  prudently  and  with 
much  propriety  sided  with  him.  But  what  is 
Percy's  defence  ?  " 

"  He  denies  the  charge,"  the  judge  answered ; 
"  but  he  has  no  theory  as  to  how  the  thing  hap- 
pened." 

"  What  is  the  theory  of  the  prosecution  as  to  the 
disappearance  of  the  bank-notes  ?  " 

"  They  assume  that  Percy  must  have  passed 
them  to  a  confederate." 


BAIL.  1 

"  Was  any  body  resembling  a  confederate  seen 
hanging  about  ? " 

"  The  shop  was  full  of  people  coming  and  going  ; 
but  no  one  in  particular  was  noticed." 

"  It's  a  lame  theory,"  remarked  Martin,  after  a 
little  consideration.  "  If  Percy  had  passed  a  con- 
federate the  money,  he  would  have  passed  him  the 
purse  too.  It  is  more  likely  that  whoever  did  the 
stealing  kept  the  notes,  which  could  not  be  identi- 
fied, and  got  rid  of  the  purse,  which  could  be  iden- 
tified, by  dropping  it  into  Percy's  pocket  as  he 
passed  by." 

"  I  think  that  view  is  a  sound  one,"  said  the 
judge ;  "  but  the  thief  has  got  off,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  apprehending  him  is  very  small.  Percy 
may  not  be  convicted  :  I  hardly  think  he  could  be  : 
but  there  is,  nevertheless,  evidence  enough  against 
him  to  produce  a  disagreeable  effect  upon  persons 
not  acquainted  with  him.  And,  of  course,  when  it 
is  known  that  Mrs.  Tunstall  was  acquainted  with 
him,  and  yet  did  not  hesitate  to  accuse  him,  his 
position — even  after  he  has  been  legally  exonerated 
— will  be  a  painful  and  embarrassing  one.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  the  best  thing  for  him  will  be 
to  leave  New  York  and  remain  away  for  some 
years.  Meantime  the  affair  will  be  forgotten,  and 
possibly  the  true  culprit  may  be  discovered." 

"  I  agree  with  you,"  said  Martin,  thoughifully. 
"  Percy  can  be  of  no  use  here,  no  matter  how  the 
affair  turns  out.  I  have  a  mind  to  propose  to  him 
to  go  with  me." 


82  BAIL. 

"  To  go  with  you  !  "  repeated  the  judge,  with  an 
involuntary  accent  of  surprise.  "  I  infer,  then, 
that  you  contemplate  leaving  New  York  ? " 

"  I  shall  leave  New  York  very  shortly.  My  idea 
is  to  go  to  Australia  by  way  of  San  Francisco.  In 
Australia  Percy  would  have  a  fair  field  to  start  out 
and  do  something.  I  might  be  able  to  give  him 
some  help." 

"  His  family  should  feel  much  indebted  to  you," 
observed  the  judge,  cordially. 

"  There's  no  obligation,"  returned  Martin.  "lam 
fond  of  Percy — not  on  his  own  account  only.  If  I 
can  be  of  any  good  to  him,  I  shall  consider  myself 
lucky." 

The  two  gentlemen  now  entered  a  horse-car,  and 
the  conversation  ceased.  Martin  lapsed  into  a 
gloomy  revery  ;  but  the  judge's  spirits  seemed, 
for  some  reason,  to  have  visibly  improved.  He 
had  received  a  severe  shock  at  the  moment  when  he 
entered  the  room  and  found  Pauline  and  Martin 
together.  The  latter's  announcement  of  his  in- 
tended departure  brought  an  immense  relief.  He 
had  already  begun  to  like  the  young  Englishman,but 
he  now  began  to  regard  him  with  sincere  affection. 

They  left  the  car  at  Bleecker  Street  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Police  Headquarters.  There  was  still 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  the  formality  of  getting 
bail  could  be  arranged.  They  were  admitted 
to  the  inspector's  room,  and  at  the  judge's  request 
he  courteously  gave  permission  to  them  to  have  an 
interview  with  the  prisoner. 


BAIL.  83 

"  How  is  he  standing  it,  Inspector?"  asked 
Martin. 

"  He  doesn't  find  it  amusing,  I  suppose  ;  but  he 
is  as  comfortable  as  could  be  expected,"  replied 
that  impenetrable  officer. 

"  There  will  be  no  difficulty  about  getting  bail, 
will  there  ?  " 

"  I  presume  there  will  be  nothing  unusual.  But 
the  case  is  not  a  simple  one.  There  are  some 
awkward  features  to  it." 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  demanded  the  judge. 

"  Well,  as  regards  motive,  for  one  thing." 

"  It  would  need  a  strong  motive  to  give  weight 
to  such  an  accusation,"  Martin  remarked. 

"  That  may  be  true  for  those  who  have  made  up 
their  minds  beforehand  not  to  believe  him  guilty. 
But  the  jury  will  not  be  composed  of  such  persons." 

"  What  is  the  evidence  you  speak  of  ?  "  asked 
Martin. 

"  He  has  been  short  of  money  for  some  time 
past,"  said  the  Inspector.  "  There  is  reason  to 
think  that  he  borrowed  a  sum  of  money  several 
weeks  ago.  But  within  the  last  two  days  his  needs 
became  very  pressing.  He  incurred  a  debt  of 
nearly  a  thousand  dollars  at  play  last  night.  The 
money  has  to  be  repaid  this  evening,  under  pain  of 
social  exposure.  He  was  unable  to  borrow  again, 
and  it  made  his  situation  very  trying.  When  a  man 
in  that  condition  suddenly,  finds  two  or  three 
thousand  dollars  in  his  hands,  and  remembers  that 
they  belong  to  a  woman  whom  he  has  every  reason 


84  BAIL. 

to  think  will  not  betray  him — well,  when  a  skillful 
lawyer  tells  that  story  to  a  jury,  it  would  not  be  sur- 
prising if  it  makes  some  impression  on  them." 

"  You  don't  take  any  stock  in  such  rubbish  your- 
self, Inspector,"  observed  Martin,  with  a  laugh. 

The  Inspector  lifted  his  eyebrows.  "  I  should  be 
very  apt  to  take  the  same  view  of  the  case  that  the 
judge  and  jury  do — after  I  know  what  it  is,"  he  re- 
turned, quietly  ;  and  that  was  all  that  could  be  got 
out  of  him. 

They  now  descended  to  the  basement  and  were 
conducted  to  the  imprisoned  Percy.  He  was  much 
more  composed  than  they  had  expected  to  find  him. 
In  fact,  he  had  experienced  such  intense  and  varied 
emotion  during  the  last  few  hours  that  no  matter  for 
discomposure  was  left  in  him.  Martin's  presence 
seemed  to  gratify  him.  He  asked  the  judge  about 
his  mother  and  sister,  and  received  his  somewhat 
rose-colored  account  of  their  condition  with  appa- 
rent indifference. 

"  But  you  will  be  able  to  judge  of  them  for  your- 
self at  dinner,"  the  judge  added,  kindly. 

*'  You  mean  when  I  am  out  on  bail  ?  " 

"  Certainly  ;  that  will  be  in  a  couple  of  hours 
from  now." 

"  Are  you  going  to  furnish  bail,  Judge  Ketelle  ?  " 

"  Undoubtedly  I  am.  Who  has  a  better  claim  to 
stand  by  your  father's  son  ?  " 

Percy  was  silent  a  moment.  "  Have  you  ever  be- 
lieved that  I  might  possibly  have  committed  this 
crime  ?  "  he  asked  at  length. 


BAIL.  85 

"  No  such  idea  has  ever  entered  my  head.  I  am 
surprised  you  should  ask  me  such  a  question,"  said 
the  judge,  with  an  emphasis  that  indicated  that  he 
was  a  little  hurt  by  the  insinuation. 

Percy  took  a  long  breath,  and  as  he  looked  up 
his  face  betrayed  signs  of  a  feeling  that  he  had  not 
hitherto  betrayed.  "  You  are  a  good  man,"  he  said 
in  a  husky  voice.  "  I  wish  I  had  had  the  sense  to 
trust  you  long  ago.  I  was  afraid  you  would  pitch 
into  me,  and  the  fact  that  I  deserved  it  made  it  all 
the  more  difficult  to  face  it.  I  don't  know  whether 
you  have  heard  that  I  borrowed  a  thousand  dollars 
from  my  mother  two  months  ago.  She  wanted  to 
consult  you,  but  I  wouldn't  let  her.  This  morning 
I  went  to  her  again  ;  but  she  didn't  have  anything, 
and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  apply  to  you.  I 
was  on  my  way  to  your  office  when  this  thing  oc- 
curred. If  I  had  not  happened  to  see  her  —  He 
broke  off  and  altered  his  phrase — "  if  things  had 
not  taken  the  turn  they  did  I  should  long  since  have 
received  your  blowing-up  and  the  money,  paid  my 
debt,  and — but  it  turned  out  otherwise." 

"  Who  is  the  man  to  whom  you  lost  the  money  ?" 
inquired  Martin. 

"  His  name  is  Henry  Cotton,"  answered  Percy. 
"  You  know  him." 

"  To  be  sure  ;  and  he  is  a  friend  of  Tunstall's,"  re- 
turned Martin,  thoughtfully.  "  Upon  my  word,  the 
luck  is  against  you.  Will  you  answer  me  one  ques- 
tion ? " 

"  If  I  can." 


86  BAIL. 

"  You  can,  and  we  are  among  friends.  Are  you 
cured  of  a  certain  lady?" 

Percy  laughed,  and  that  laugh  of  bitter  resent- 
ment and  humiliation  was  a  more  convincing  an- 
swer than  any  words  could  have  framed.  It  put  all 
doubts  to  rest. 

"  Ah  !  "  ejaculated  Martin,  with  an  expression  of 
satisfaction,  "then  it  will  be  all  right  !  " 

At  that  moment  an  officer  came  with  the  informa- 
tion that  the  court  was  ready  to  decide  the  question 
of  bail,  and  the  whole  party  proceeded  to  the  court 
room.  The  transactions  there  were  brief  and  not 
particularly  complicated.  Mrs.  Tunstall's  lawyers 
professed  to  consider  the  case  an  especially  grave 
one,  and  requested  that  bail  be  fixed  at  the  full 
amount  permitted  by  law.  Counsel  on  the  other 
side  maintained  that  the  charge  against  Mr.  Nolen 
was  a  preposterous  one,  and  demanded  that  he  be 
allowed  to  go  on  his  own  recognizance.  The  Court, 
after  due  deliberation,  declared  that  the  facts  against 
the  prisoner,  though  not  conclusive,  were  sufficient 
to  warrant  a  prima  facie  evidence  of  guilt,  and  re- 
quired bail  to  be  furnished  to  the  amount  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  Judge  Ketelle  immediately  qual- 
ified for  that  sum,  the  bonds  were  signed,  and  the 
prisoner  left  the  court  with  his  friends. 

"And  now,"  said  the  judge  cheerfully,  "the 
worst  is  over.  Let  us  get  into  a  hack,  Percy,  and 
drive  up  to  the  house.  Your  mother  and  sister  will 
be  anxious  to  see  you." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  judge,  for  all  you 


BAIL.  87 

have  done  for  me,"  replied  the  young  man  ;  I  wish 
I  had  known  you  sooner  and  better.  But  this 
affair  is  not  over  yet,  and  it  may  end  differently 
from  what  we  hope.  Until  the  trial,  at  all  events, 
I  must  remain  a  suspected  man,  and  I  can't  go  to 
my  mother's  house  with  that  suspicion  hanging 
over  me.  When  I  have  been  publicly  acknowl- 
edged to  be  an  honest  man,  I  will  go  to  my 
mother  and  sister,  but  not  till  then." 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  the  judge  kindly,  "  you 
are  a  little  off  your  balance  after  all  this  trouble, 
and  you  naturally  take  a  morbid  view.  I  assure 
you  you  have  no  need  to  feel  sore  about  the  mat- 
ter. I  need  not  tell  you  that  you  will  find  nothing 
but  love  and  confidence  awaiting  you  at  home  ; 
and  that  there  can  be  no  other  place  in  the  world 
where  you  can  hope  to  find  them  to  any  thing 
like  the  same  degree.  On  the  other  hand,  your 
mother  and  Pauline  couid  not  fail  to  feel  hurt  if 
you  did  not  appear." 

"  That  is  all  very  true,  judge,"  Percy  answered, 
"  but  there's  something  else  that  you  haven't  con- 
sidered, and  which  will  be  certain  to  come  out,  now 
that  the  thing  is  going  into  the  newspapers." 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  My  relations  with  Mrs  Tunstall.  My  mother 
will  hear  of  that,  and  that  is  a  thing  I  can't  deny. 
I  love  my  mother,  and  I  kuow  she  loves  me  ;  but 
she  could  never  make  any  allowance  on  such  a 
subject.  It  would  be  a  useless  pain  to  both  of  us 
to  attempt  to  discuss  it,  and  I  am  not  going  to  put 


88  BAIL. 

myself  in  the  way  of  it.  No,  I  can't  agree  with  you, 
judge,"  he  added,  as  the  judge  seemed  about  to 
make  a  rejoinder  ;  "  I  have  been  through  as  much 
as  I  can  stand  for  the  present,  and  any  thing  more 
would  break  me  down  Say  to  mother  that  I  will 
see  her  by  and  by,  but  not  now." 

The  judge  saw  that  the  young  man  was  obsti- 
nate, and  felt  that  his  sensitiveness  was,  under  the 
circumstances,  not  discreditable.  He  further  re- 
flected that,  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two.  he  would 
probably  be  more  disposed  to  modify  his  resolu- 
tion. Accordingly,  he  relinquished  for  the  present 
the  attempt  to  persuade  him,  and  having  ascer- 
tained that  he  would  take  up  his  quarters  with 
Martin  pending  further  movements,  he  bade  him 
farewell,  little  thinking  how  long  a  time  would 
elapse  before  they  met  again. 

Percy  and  Valentine  betook  themselves  to  the 
latter's  rooms  at  once,  and,  having  ensconced  them- 
selves there,  Martin  poured  out  some  whiskey,  of- 
fered his  friend  a  cigar,  and  after  they  had  smoked 
for  a  while,  said, 

"  How  much  do  you  owe  here,  outside  of  your 
gambling  debt  ?  " 

"  Not  more  than  three  hundred  dollars." 

"  Thirteen  hundred  dollars  debts,  and  your  bail 
fifteen  hundred.  Two  thousand  eight  hundred 
altogether.  I  have  over  seven  thousand  dollars. 
What  do  you  say  to  my  settling  all  your  liabilities 
to-morrow,  and  taking  you  with  me  to  Australia  ? " 


CHAPTER  X. 

PAULINE. 

THE  question  staggered  Percy  for  a  moment. 
"  I  didn't  know  you  were  going  to  Australia," 
he  said. 

"  To  Australia,  or  Mexico,  or  South  America,  or 
the  North  Pole  ;  it  don't  make  much  difference 
where.  But  I  am  going,  and  I'm  going  to-morrow. 
And  I  want  you  to  come  with  me,  Percy." 

"  And  jump  my  bail  ?  " 

"And  jump  your  bail." 

"  I  can't  do  that.     Judge  Ketelle  is  liable." 

"  Haven't  I  told  you  that  I  will  settle  all  your 
liabilities  ?  Half  an  hour  before  we  leave  New 
York,  I  will  post  a  check  to  him  for  the  amount. 
Your  friend  Henry  Cotton  will  receive  his  dues 
this  evening  ;  every  thing  shall  be  paid.  And  we 
will  be  off  together  and  make  a  fortune,  if  you 
like." 

"  If  I  went  off  in  that  way,"  said  Percy,  after  a 
little  thought,  "  everybody  would  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  I  was  guilty  and  feared  conviction." 

"  You  are  not  guilty,  are  you  ?  " 

"  No." 


9°  PA  UL1NE. 

"  But  you  do  fear  conviction,  and  all  the  more  if 
you're  not  guilty  than  if  you  are.  That  stands  to 
reason." 

"  Of  course  I  hope  not  to  be  convicted,  but— 

"  Exactly  ;  and  now  do  you  know  what  Ithink  ? 
I  think  there  is  a  strong  probability — a  deuced 
strong  one— that  you  will  be  convicted.  You 
can  see  for  yourself  that  your  defence  doesn't 
amount  to  a  row  of  pins.  And  if  once  you  get  into 
gaol,  my  boy,  you  are  done  for.  Innocent  or  guilty 
makes  no  difference  ;  you  will  have  a  stigma  on 
you  that  all  the  years  of  your  life  will  never  oblit- 
erate. If  I  were  in  your  place,  I  wouldn't  risk  it. 
You  have  an  opportunity  to  escape  now,  and  you 
had  better  take  advantage  of  it." 

"  But  if  I  escape  judgment  will  go  against  me 
by  default,  and  I  shall  have  the  stigma  just  the 
same." 

"Listen. to  reason,  Percy.  To  have  the  stigma 
of  being  adjudged  guilty  is  bad  enough  ;  but  what 
is  it  compared  to  being  adjudged  guilty  and  sent 
to  gaol  into  the  bargain  ?  If  you  were  actually 
guilty,  or  if  I  thought  you  were,  the  situation  would 
be  different  ;  but  you  are  innocent,  though  you 
can't  prove  it  ;  and,  being  innocent,  why  should 
you  spend  two  or  three  years  in  Sing  Sing  just  to 
gratify  the  spite  of  Cuthbert  Tunstall  and  his  wife  ? 
It  would  be  more  sensible  to  take  that  razor  and 
cut  your  throat.  You  are  innocent,  and  you  have 
a  perfect  right  to  avoid  being  imprisoned  if  you 
can.  No  one  will  suffer  by  it,  and  there  is  no  tell- 


PA  UL2NE.  91 

ing  how  much  you  may  gain.  The  robbery  of 
which  you  are  accused  was  committed  by  some- 
body, and  probably  by  a  professional  thief.  Pro- 
fessional thieves — pickpockets  especially — are  al- 
ways practicing  their  trade  ;  and  sooner  or  later 
they  are  certain  to  get  caught.  When  the  thief 
who  stole  Mrs.  Tunstall's  money  is  caught  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  the  truth  about  the  robbery 
may  come  out  ;  you  will  be  vindicated,  and  then 
you  may  come  home  with  flying  colors.  But  if 
your  vindication  came  after  you  had  served  your 
time  in  gaol  it  wouldn't  do  you  much  good — not 
to  mention  the  positive  harm  that  gaol  life  might 
have  done  you  in  the  meanwhile ;  people  would 
never  forget  that  you  had  worn  the  stripes,  though 
they  might  easily  forget  whether  or  not  you  had 
deserved  to  wear  them.  But  come  back  with  a 
fortune — come  back  after  having  made  a  respect- 
able name  for  yourself  in  another  part  of  the  world 
— or  after  having  simply  lived  in  freedom,  instead 
of  in  bondage  and  in  the  society  of  thieves — and, 
trust  me,  you  will  never  regret  it  !  This  is  not  a 
matter  to  be  treated  on  sentimental  grounds  ;  it  is 
a  serious  thing — quite  as  serious  as  a  question  of 
life  and  death  to  you.  You  are  innocent,  and  you 
have  a  right  to  your  freedom ;  that's  the  case  in  a 
nutshell.  Don't  throw  away  your  whole  career  for 
a  figure  of  speech  !  " 

This  was  a  powerful  appeal,  and  it  lost  nothing 
by  Martin's  delivery.  It  produced  an  evident 
impression  on  Percy. 


92  PAULINE. 

"  If  I  were  certain  that  I  should  be  convicted," 
he  muttered,  half  to  himself. 

"  You  may  fairly  take  that  for  granted,"  said 
Martin.  "  When  there  has  been  a  crime,  there 
must  be  provided  a  criminal  ;  that  is  the  legal 
maxim,  and  in  default  of  a  better  you  will  have  to 
bear  the  brunt." 

"  It  is  not  myself,  only,  that  is  to  be  considered, 
Val.;  my  mother  and  sister  are  quite  as  impor- 
tant." 

"  I  don't  deny  it  ;  it's  a  part  of  my  argument. 
You  said  this  afternoon  that  you  did  not  intend  to 
see  them  again  until  after  you  were  vindicated.  Did 
you  mean  what  you  said  ?  " 

"  Certainty  I  did." 

"  I  think  you  were  right  in  your  decision,  for 
more  reasons  than  one.  But,  if  you  remain  in 
New  York,  you  will  not  be  able  to  keep  your  reso- 
lution. If  you  don't  go  to  them,  they  will  come  to 
you.  But  if  you  are  a  thousand  or  two  thousand 
miles  away,  you  will  have  no  such  embarrassment. 
And  that  isn't  all,  my  boy.  If  you  were  put  in 
gaol  it  would  be  a  bad  thing  for  you,  but  it  would 
simply  kill  your  mother  outright,  and  ruin  your 
sister's  prospects  as  effectually  as  your  own. 
Whereas,  if  you  go  off  with  me,  you  and  I  can 
keep  up  a  correspondence  with  them,  and  explain 
exactly  how  the  case  stands.  They  can  watch  your 
career  step  by  step,  and  the  knowledge  that  they  are 
doing  so  will  give  you  the  strongest  stimulus  to 
succeed  that  you  could  have.  Meanwhile,  they  will 

\ 


PA  ULINE.  93 

be  watching  the  progress  of  affairs  here,  and  as 
soon  as  any  thing  turns  up  in  your  favor  they  can 
let  you  know,  and  you  can  act  accordingly.  If 
there  were  no  other  reason  for  jumping  your  bail, 
consideration  for  your  mother  and  sister  would  be 
enough." 

.  This  suggestion  practically  decided  Percy.  "  I 
believe  you  are  right,"  said  he;  "but  I  don't  see 
what  right  I  have  to  let  you  pay  all  my  liabilities. 
You  and  I  have  been  friends,  Val.,  but  I  have 
never  done  any  thing  for  you,  and  I  have  no  pros- 
pect of  repaying  you  for  what  you  propose  to  do 
for  me." 

"  You  will  owe  me  less  than  you  suppose,"  Val- 
entine replied.  "In  the  first  place,  my  money  is 
no  use  to  me  ;  if  I  didn't  spend  it  for  you,  it  would 
go  into  the  pockets  of  the  tradesmen  and  bummers 
of  New  York.  In  the  second  place,  I  want  your 
company  ;  we  suit  each  other,  and  that  is  not  a 
thing  that  happens  every  day.  But  the  real  truth 
is — I  have  never  spoken  to  you  about  it,  although 
you  may  have  guessed  something  for  aught  I 
know — the  truth  is  that  I  am  a  good  deal  influ- 
enced in  what  I  am  doing  by  the  fact  that  you  are 
Pauline  Nolen's  brother." 

"  Ah  !     You  care  for  her,  then  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  care  for  her.  She  is  the  dearest  friend 
I  have  in  the  world,  and  for  her  sake  I  would  do 
most  things.  But  she  can  never  be  more  than  my 
friend,  and  I  can  do  very  little." 

"  If  you  want  to  marry  her,  I  am  sure  she — " 


94  PA  U LINE. 

Valentine  interrupted  him  with  a  gesture.  "  It 
can  never  come  to  a  question  of  that,  said  he  ;  "I 
am  married  already." 

"  You  are  a  married  man  !  Does  Pauline  know 
it?" 

"  I  told  her  this  morning.  It's  a  long  story,  and 
you  shall  hear  it  another  time  if  you  want  to.  I 
married  in  haste,  and  I  am  likely  to  have  plenty  of 
leisure  to  repent.  Well,  you  can  imagine  that 
nothing  could  please  me  so  much  as  serving  her  in 
any  way  I  can  ;  and  I  know  that  no  better  way  is 
open  to  me  than  to  give  a  helping  hand  to  you. 
So,  if  you  agree  to  join  me,  you  will  be  doing  me 
the  best  kindness  that  one  man  can  do  another — it 
is  not  to  be  measured  in  time,  or  money,  or  any 
thing  else.  My  prospects,  as  you  may  suppose, 
are  not  especially  cheerful  at  the  best ;  but  what- 
ever good  comes  to  me  will  be  from  the  thought 
that  I  am  of  some  good  to  Pauline's  brother.  I 
can't  live  with  her,  or  see  her  any  longer  ;  but  I 
can  live  with  you,  and  that's  the  next  best  thing, 
not  to  mention  that  you  are  tolerably  good  company 
on  your  own  account."  He  ended  with  a  laugh. 

"  It's  very  kind  of  you  to  put  in  that  .way,  old 
fellow,"  said  Percy,  in  a  somewhat  unsteady  tone. 
"  Well,  I'll  go  with  you.  I  have  been  a  drug  in 
the  market  so  far,  and  I  won't  make  any  promises  ; 
but  I  don't  think  you'll  find  me  a  voluntary  drag 
on  you,  at  all  events.  Have  you  any  definite 
plans  ? " 

"  I  have  a  thousand  ;  we  have  only  to  pick  and 


PA  ULINE.  95 

choose,"  Valentine  replied.  "  My  intention  this 
morning  was  to  go  direct  to  Australia  by  way  of 
San  Francisco,  but  I  think  I  shall  change  that,  for 
one  reason,  because  I  mentioned  it  to  Judge  Ketelle, 
and,  in  any  case,  it  will  be  well  to  get  outside  the 
country  as  soon  as  possible.  We  might  go  to 
Mexico  by  steamer,  to  begin  with.  I  have  some 
good  letters  to  people  there,  so  that  we  shan't  be 
strangers.  If  any  thing  good  turns  up  we  can  stay 
there  ;  if  not  we  can  go  to  Colon  and  Panama, 
and  get  aboard  some  vessel  bound  westward.  You 
may  find  an  opportunity  to  make  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  mining  before  you  are  done." 

It  was  then  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
On  consulting  a  newspaper  they  learned  that  one 
of  the  United  States  and  Brazil  Mail  Steamship 
Company's  vessels  sailed  on  the  following  day, 
Wednesday,  at  two  o'clock.  This  vessel  stopped 
at  St.  Thomas,  where,  if  they  saw  fit,  they  might 
disembark  and  take  passage  to  Havana,  and  thence 
to  Vera  Cruz  and  Mexico,  thus  throwing  possible 
pursuers  off  the  scent.  This  seemed  to  be  the  best 
route  open  to  them  ;  and,  as  there  was  no  time  to 
be  lost,  Martin  left  at  once  for  Broad  Street  to 
secure  their  passage.  Percy  was  left  alone  to 
meditate  on  his  position. 

Martin's  rooms  were  in  a  bachelor  apartment 
house,  not  far  from  the  junction  of  Fifth  Avenue 
and  Broadway.  The  roar  of  the  streets  was  audible 
as  a  continuous  sound  ;  and  to  Percy,  sitting  in  an 
easy-chair  before  the  fire,  and  wearied  with*  the 


96  PA  ULINE. 

emotions  an.d  vicissitudes  of  the  day,  it  had  the  so- 
porific influence  of  the  wind  among  pines,  or  the  noise 
of  surf  on  a  shore.  The  sun  had  set,  and  the  room 
became  dusky.  Percy's  eyes  closed,  and  he  was 
just  on  the  point  of  falling  asleep. 

The  sharp  sound  of  the  electric  bell  aroused  him. 
Had  Martin  returned  already  ?  He  must  have  left 
his  pass-key,  to  be  obliged  to  ring.  Still  partly 
asleep,  Percy  arose  and  went  to  the  door  and  opened 
it.  A  lady  stood  on  the  threshold,  and  as  the  door 
swung  back  she  stepped  quickly  inside. 

Percy  recoiled  a  pace  or  two  with  a  disagreeable 
sensation.  He  thought  that  the  visitor  was  Mrs. 
Tunstall.  But  the  next  moment  she  spoke,  and  the 
voice  was  that  of  his  sister.  "  I  am  so  glad  you  are 
here!  "  she  said  breathlessly.  "  I  feared  I  should 
miss  you." 

"  Are  you  alone  ?  How  did  you  come  here  ?  " 
returned  he.  He  closed  the  door  and  led  her  into 
the  sitting-room. 

"  Judge  Ketelle  told  us  that  you  were  staying 
with  Mr.  Martin.  Is  he — "  she  glanced  about  the 
room  and  hesitated. 

"  He  has  gone  out,"  said  Percy.  "  Did  you 
come  to  see  him  ?  " 

"  I  came  to  see  you,  Percy.  I  can  understand 
why  you  kept  away  from  us,  but  I  wanted  to  tell 
you  that  I  am  your  sister.  I  love  you  and  believe 
in  you,  and  whatever  happens  you  can  trust  me. 
Let  me  do  something  for  you  !  "  She  spoke  with 
great  emotion,  though  in  a  controlled  voice,  and  he 


PA  ULINE.  97 

could  perceive  that  a  tremor  passed  through  her 
now  and  then  as  she  stood  before  him. 

A  feeling  of  strong  brotherly  tenderness  and 
gratitude  came  over  the  young  man  ;  he  put  his 
arms  round  Pauline  and  kissed  her.  "I  couldn't 
do  that  if  I  wasn't  innocent,  my  dear,"  he  said. 

"  Of  course  I  know  you  are  innocent  !  "  she 
exclaimed  indignantly.  "  What  made  that  woman 
accuse  you  ?  She  knows  it  is  false.  Why  is  she 
your  enemy  ?  " 

Percy  hesitated.  "  Appearances  were  against 
me,"  he  muttered. 

"  What  are  appearances  to  any  one  who  knows 
you  ?  "  broke  out  Pauline  impatiently.  "  She  must 
have  hated  you.  Why  did  she  hate  you  ?  Women 
do  not  hate  unless  .  .  .  has  she  ever  loved  you, 
Percy  ?  "  she  demanded,  with  a  changed  voice. 

"She — why,  she's  a  married  woman!"  he  re- 
turned, uneasily. 

There  was  a  pause.  "  Yes,  I  understand  now  !  " 
continued  the  girl,  with  a  sad  laugh.  "  Oh,  my 
poor  brother  !  "  She  caught  her  breath  and  sobbed 
once  or  twice.  "  I  am  so  sorry  it  is  that,"  she  said 
tremulously. 

"  I  have  been  a  fool,  but  nothing  worse  than  that, 
said  the  young  man.  "  There  is  no  actual  sin  on 
my  conscience,  Pauline.  It  is  no  thanks  to  me, 
but  it  is  the  truth.  It  is  all  over  now,  and  I  thank 
Heaven  it  is  over  !  " 

"  I  thank  heaven  too,  Percy  ;  for,  whatever  you 
had  done,  I  should  support  you  and  defend  you  ; 


98  PA  ULINE. 

and  if  you  were  wicked  I  should  be  wicked  too.  I 
am  your  sister" — it  seemed  to  give  her  satisfaction 
to  repeat  this — "  we  are  the  same  flesh  and  blood  ; 
if  we  do  not  stand  by  each  other,  who  else  will  ? 
But  what  shall  you  do,  Percy  ?  You  can  not  tell 
that  in  court." 

He  took  a  quick  resolution.  "  I  shall  never 
appear  in  court,"  he  said. 

"  Has  the  case  been  put  aside  ?  "  she  exclaimed 
eagerly. 

"  No  ;  I  am  going  away.  I  am  going  with  Mar- 
tin. He  has  gone  to  take  our  passages  to  the  West 
Indies  by  to-morrow's  steamer." 

"  Well,  perhaps  it  is  best,"  she  returned,  with  a 
composure  that  surprised  him.  "  Your  bail  has  to 
be  paid,  has  it  not  ?  I  will  do  that — I  have  money." 

"  Martin  has  done  it  already.  He  will  pay  every 
thing.  I  shall  leave  no  debts,  thanks  to  him.  I 
thank  you  just  the  same,  my  darling  sister." 

"  He  is  a  good  friend — he  is  a  good  man,"  she 
said  thoughtfully.  "  I  can  afford  to  let  him  do  it, 
for  I  know  he  does  it  willingly.  So  you  are  going 
away  together  !  "  She  gave  a  long  sigh.  "  Well,  I 
will  take  care  of  mother." 

"  Poor  mother  !  "  said  Percy,  a  great  wave  of 
grief  and  remorse  coming  over  him.  "  Tell  her 
the  best  you  can  of  me,  Pauline." 

"  I  can  manage  her — don't  fear  !  It  will  come 
right  at  last,  I  know.  I  will  go  now,  brother." 
She  threw  her  arms  around  him.  "  Be  good,"  she 
said  ;  "  do  the  best  you  can.  Oh,  Percy,  Percy  !  " 


PA  ULINE.  99 

she  suddenly  cried  out,  with  a  heart-breaking  sob, 
pressing  him  to  her  with  passionate  energy.  "  I 
must  go  now,  or  never/'  she  said,  controlling  her- 
self by  an  immense  effort  ;  and  the  next  moment 
he  was  alone.  But  the  ardor  of  her  last  embrace 
had  something  more  than  sisterly  ;  it  conveyed  a 
message  to  one  who  was  absent. 


CHAPTER    XI, 

AT     SEA. 

MARTIN  came  back  about  seven  o'clock.  He 
had  secured  a  stateroom  with  two  good 
berths  ;  he  had  paid  Percy's  bills  at  the  trades- 
men's and  at  his  lodging-house,  and  from  the 
latter  place  he  had  brought  the  trunk  containing 
the  young  man's  worldly  possessions,  which  were 
fortunately  not  numerous,  and  consisted  chiefly  of 
suits  of  clothes  and  underwear.  They  went  to  a 
quiet  restaurant  and  had  dinner,  and  then  returned 
to  Martin's,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  evening  in 
packing  up  his  effects. 

Percy  said  nothing  to  his  friend  about  Pauline's 
unexpected  and  hurried  visit  that  evening,  not  on 
account  of  any  pre-determined  purpose,  but  be- 
cause the  interview  had  affected  him  too  deeply 
to  make  it  an  easy  topic  of  conversation  ;  because, 
knowing  Martin's  feeling  towards  her,  he  was  un- 
certain whether  it  would  be  expedient  to  mention 
her  at  present ;  and,  further,  because  he  doubted 
whether  Martin  would  approve  of  his  course  in 
admitting  Pauline  to  a  knowledge  of  their  plans. 
In  revealing. the  secret  to  her,  Percy  had  acted  on 


AT  SEA.  101 

the  spur  of  the  moment ;  but  he  felt  that  the  im- 
pulse was  a  wise  one,  and  subsequent  reflection 
had  not  caused  him  to  regret  it. 

They  went  to  bed  at  midnight  thoroughly  tired 
out  ;  but  were  up  again  by  eight  in  the  morning, 
and  had  some  coffee  and  eggs  brought  to  them  by 
the  janitor. 

"  The  chances  are,"  observed  Martin,  as  he 
cracked  his  egg  in  the  English  style,  and  put  some 
salt  in  it,  "that  the  authorities,  who  are  pretty  wide 
awake  in  this  country,  may  have  conceived  the 
idea  that  you  contemplate  giving  them  the  slip. 
When  I  went  out  yesterday  afternoon,  I  noticed  a 
man  smoking  a  pipe  on  the  opposite  corner  of  the 
street ;  and  when  I  returned  in  the  evening  I 
passed  the  same  man  under  the  gas-lamp  just 
below.  That  may  have  been  a  coincidence  ;  but 
then  it  may  have  been— 

"  A  detective  ?  "  said  Percy. 

"  Something  of  that  sort.  At  all  events,  it  is 
well  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  Now  what  I  propose 
is  this.  We  are  of  the  same  height  and  build,  and 
look  not  unlike.  If  we  were  dressed  alike,  the 
chief  point  of  distinction  between  us,  to  one  who 
did  not  know  us  well,  would  be  the  fact  that  you 
wear  a  moustache  and  I  whiskers.  What  do  you 
say  to  a  bit  of  a  disguise  ?  You  will  find  a  razor 
in  the  dressing-case  ;  shave  off  your  moustache 
and  then  put  on  these."  As  he  spoke,  he  pro- 
duced from  his  pocket  a  small  pair  of  false  whis- 
kers. "  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  heat  this  inside 


102  AT  SEA. 

surface  at  the  gas-jet,  and  they  will  cling  to  you 
as  if  they  had  grown.  Then  put  on  my  cap  and 
overcoat,  and  our  detective  will  be  a  clever  fellow 
if  he  recognizes  you." 

"  But  what  will  you  do  ?  " 

"  I  shall  remain  what  I  am.  You  will  start  an 
hour  before  I  do  ;  and,  by  the  way,  you  had  better 
turn  up  town  when  you  leave  here,  so  as  to  give 
the  impression  that  you  are  bound  anywhere 
rather  than  to  the  United  States  and  Brazil  Steam- 
ship Company's  wharf.  Afterwards  you  can  cross 
over  to  Sixth  Avenue  and  take  the  elevated  down. 
I  will  meet  you  on  board  the  steamer  ;  the  trunks 
will  go  by  express  in  my  name." 

"  All  right,"  said  Percy,  with  a  sigh  ;  for  he  was 
a  good-looking  fellow,  and  his  moustache  was  not 
wholly  indifferent  to  him.  "  And  when  we  are  safe 
at  sea,  we  can  resume  our  natural  selves." 

"  As  soon  as  you  like,"  returned  Martin, 
"  though  perhaps  it  would  do  no  harm  if  we  ex- 
changed names  for  a  while  longer.  There  is  no 
telling  what  may  happen,  or  where  some  spy  may 
turn  up  who  might  find  it  for  his  interest  or  amuse- 
ment to  gossip  about  us  in  the  wrong  quarter." 

Breakfast  being  over,  nothing  remained  but  to 
label  the  trunks,  which  Martin  did  by  writing  his 
name  and  that  of  the  steamer  on  tags,  and  attach- 
ing them  to  the  handles  ;  an  expressman  was  then 
called,  and  the  trunks  were  removed.  Percy  sac- 
rificed his  moustache  and  affixed  the  whiskers  ;  and 
finally,  attired  in  his  friend's  outer  garments,  left 


AT  SEA.  103 

the  house  without  interference,  and  strolled  up  to 
the  Thirty-third  Street  elevated  station.  From 
there  it  was  a  twenty  minutes'  ride  to  his  destina- 
tion ;  and  then  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  go  on 
board  and  wait  for  Martin.  The  latter  arrived  in 
due  course ;  and  at  two  o'clock  the  steamer 
moved  out  into  the  river  and  pointed  her  nose 
toward  the  Narrows,  much  to  the  relief  of  two  at 
least  of  her  passengers.  And  yet  both  of  them 
were  leaving  behind  what  was  dearer  than  any 
thing  they  could  expect  to  encounter.  But  those 
thoughts  lay  deep  ;  the  more  trifling  ones  only 
appeared  on  the  surface. 

There  were  but  few  other  passengers  on  the 
steamer,  and  those  not  being  people  whose  society 
was  especially  attractive,  Percy  and  Valentine  passed 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  in  each  other's  company. 
Valentine  had  an  almost  inexhaustible  fund  of 
anecdotes  concerning  his  past  life  and  adventures 
on  hand,  and  many  hours  were  spent  in  narrating 
those  experiences  to  Percy,  until  the  American  had 
become  almost  as  conversant  with  the  Englishman's 
past  career  as  if  it  had  been  his  own.  The  episode 
of  his  marriage  interested  him  more  than  any  thing 
else. 

Valentine  had  met  the  girl  upon  the  outward- 
bound  steamer  from  England  to  New  Zealand.  He 
had  previously  known  nothing  of  her  nor  heard 
her  name  ;  but  it  afterwards  transpired  that  she 
was  well  acquainted  with  his  family  history,  a 
cousin  of  hers,  with  whom  she  corresponded,  hav- 


104  AT  SEA. 

ing  been  engaged  as  companion  to  Lady  Martin 
during  several  years.  She  had  thus  learned  a  fact 
that  was  supposed  to  be  known  by  few  or  none 
outside  the  family  circle — that  Valentine's  elder 
brother,  who  inherited  the  estate,  was  subject  to  a 
species  of-  fits,  which,  though  not  always  incom- 
patible with  long  life,  might  bring  his  career  to  a 
close  at  any  moment.  In  such  an  event,  the  prop- 
erty would  descend  to  Valentine.  Meanwhile, 
Valentine's  London  extravagances  were  not  sus- 
pected by  the  girl,  and  she  believed  him  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  a  comfortable  fortune  of  something  like 
twenty  thousand  pounds — a  sum  not  much  in 
excess,  to  be  sure,  of  what  he  would  have  had,  had 
he  invested  his  money  to  advantage  and  lived 
within  his  income. 

She  was  a  handsome  girl,  of  about  the  same  age 
as  Valentine,  and  with  a  manner  and  temperament 
exceedingly  alluring  to  a  young  fellow  whose  blood 
flows  warmly  in  his  veins,  and  who  finds  the  inter- 
minable leisure  of  a  voyage  to  the  antipodes  hang 
very  heavy  on  his  hands.  She  permitted  him  to 
acquire  the  conviction  that  he  was  any  thing  but  in- 
different to  her;  in  fact,  to  use  the  colloquial  phrase, 
she  set  her  cap  at  him  ;  and  Valentine,  who  spoke 
of  himself  without  reserve  as  a  poor  man,  and  who 
was  not  aware  that  she  disbelieved  all  his  assertions 
on  that  head,  and  interpreted  them  as  politic 
attempts  to  conceal  his  real  wealth  and  prospects 
— Valentine  was  completely  fascinated  by  the  charm 
of  her  person  and  conversation,  and  so  far  com- 


AT  SEA.  105 

mitted  himself  with  her,  that  by  the  time  the  voy- 
age was  ended  he  felt  that  he  could  not  do  less 
than  offer  her  marriage. 

She  consented,  and  the  ceremony  was  performed 
on  their  reaching  New  Zealand.  But  she  stipulated 
that  the  marriage  was  to  remain  for  the  time  being 
a  secret  ;  for  she  had  come  on  to  visit  some  relatives 
of  hers  and  was  unwilling,  for  reasons  satisfactory  to 
herself,  that  they  should  know  any  thing  of  the  hope 
she  privately  entertained  of  becoming  Lady  Martin. 
Valentine,  on  his  side,  offered  no  objection  to  this  ar- 
rangement; he  had  his  place  to  make  in  the  colony, 
and  the  necessity  of  providing  a  suitable  home  for 
his  wife  at  the  outset  would  have  seriously  hampered 
him.  She  went  to  her  relatives  in  Napier,  and  he, 
as  has  been  already  related,  cast  in  his  lot  with  his 
friend  Brown,  and  visited  her  in  town  whenever 
opportunity  served. 

Now  that  she  was  his  wife,  however,  she  no 
longer  felt  any  necessity  of  concealing  from  him 
her  real  belief  as  to  the  extent  of  his  means  ;  she 
proceeded  from  veiled  intimations  to  plain  speech, 
and  he  became  aware  for  the  first  time  that  she 
had  married  him,  not  for  himself,  but  for  some- 
thing that  he  did  not  possess.  Her  plain  speech  led 
to  explanations  on  his  part  equally  plain,  and  thus 
they  speedily  arrived  at  a  perfectly  clear  under- 
standing of  their  mutual  attitude.  The  conse- 
quence was  a  bitter  quarrel  and  recriminations. 
The  woman  appeared  in  her  true  colors,  which 
were  not  engaging  ;  she  called  him  a  variety  of 


lo6  AT  SEA. 

hard  names,  and  if  he  refrained  from  retorting  in 
kind  it  was  not  because  there  was  any  lack  of 
suitable  expressions  waiting  behind  his  lips.  But 
they  were  still  husband  and  wife,  and  the  bond 
between  them  could  not  be  severed.  As  their 
marriage  was  a  secret,  however,  there  was  no  dif- 
ficulty about  a  separation  ;  and  Valentine  agreed 
to  whatever  pecuniary  conditions  she  chose  to  dic- 
tate. In  case  of  his  brother's  death  she  would 
come  in  for  her  share  of  the  inheritance  ;  but  here 
he  stipulated  that  she  should  receive  the  money 
only  on  condition  that  she  forbore  to  assume  the 
title,  or  allow  her  relation  to  him  to  be  known. 
She  at  first  demurred  to  this  ;  but  on  his  offering 
to  hand  over  every  thing  except  the  real  estate  and 
lands — an  offer  extremely  advantageous  to  her 
from  a  pecuniary  point  of  view — she  finally  con- 
sented, probably  reflecting  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult or  impossible  to  make  such  a  contract  legally 
binding,  and  that  when  the  time  came — if  it  ever 
should  come— she  would  be  able  to  repudiate  it 
with  impunity. 

This  affair  produced  a  bad  effect  on  Valentine  ; 
he  became  reckless,  and  indifferent  to  his  business 
interests,  and  ill-fortune  attended  him.  He  wel- 
comed the  Maori  revolt  as  an  opportunity  of  rid- 
ding himself  of  his  troubles  by  stopping  a  bullet ;  but 
though  he  stopped  the  bullet,  the  bullet  failed  to 
stop  him,  and  the  legacy  that  he  received  changed 
considerably  the  complexion  of  affairs.  He  placed 
half  the  sum  in  the  bank  at  Napier  for  the  benefit 


AT  SEA.  107 

of  his  wife,  and  sailed  for  San  Francisco  with  the 
rest.  He  had  had  no  settled  plan  in  leaving  New 
Zealand,  except  to  appease  his  restless  desire  for 
change  and  excitement.  The  future  could  hold 
nothing  good  for  him,  because,  however  good  in 
itself  it  might  be,  it  would  be  denied  by  the  chronic 
and  inevitable  necessity  of  sharing  it  with  that  wife 
of  his — for  what  is  the  greatest  blessing,  stimulus, 
and  joy,  to  a  man  happily  married,  is  the  drear- 
iest of  miseries  to  the  man  mismated. 

One  misfortune,  however,  he  did  not  look  for  ; 
one  danger  he  did  not  fear  ;  one  emotion  of  all 
others  he  was  confident  he  could  not  feel.  And 
yet  this  emotion,  this  danger,  this  misfortune  were 
precisely  those  to  which  he  was  destined  to  fall  a 
victim.  He  could  not  foresee  the  meeting  with  Pau- 
line Nolen,  nor  the  effect  that  she  would  produce  on 
him.  Up  to  that  time  his  unhappiness  had  been 
chiefly  negative — the  ordinary  disappointment  and 
disillusion  ;  now  he  had  to  deal  with  a  positive 
pain — the  impossibility  of  being  united  to  the  only 
woman  he  had  ever  loved.  It  was  like  tantaliz- 
ing a  prisoner-for-life  with  scenes  of  freedom  and 
felicity. 

"  I  am  talking  a  lot  about  myself,"  he  remarked 
one  day  to  Percy,  as  they  were  sitting  smoking  to- 
gether on  the  deck,  "  but  it  isn't  entirely  egotism, 
either.  I  have  a  motive  in  it,  connected  with 
you." 

"  What  have  I  to  do  with  it  ? " 

"  You  and  Brown  are  about  the  only  friends  I 


Io8  AT  SEA. 

have  in  the  world.  I  want  you  to  know  what  my 
life  has  been,  and  what  my  situation  is,  in  order 
that  you  may  be  able  to  act  intelligently  in  case 
any  thing  happens  to  me." 

"Come,  Val,  you're  not  contemplating  a  prema- 
ture end,  are  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  my  health  is  good,  and  I  am  in  good  shape 
generally — never  better.  I  am  speaking  of  acci- 
dents, which  are  liable  to  happen  to  the  best  regu- 
lated gentlemen.  In  case  of  my  sudden  taking  off 
occurring  while  I  am  in  your  company,  I  want  you 
to  be  competent  to  act  as  my  agent,  representative, 
or  executor  ;  I  want  to  give  you  my  unrestricted 
power  of  attorney,  in  short.  And  to  that  end,"  he 
added,  taking  a  wallet  from  his  pocket,  "  I  have 
written  out  a  paper  which  empowers  you  to  use  the 
requisite  authority,  and  also  indicates  what  I  would 
like  to  have  done  in  case  certain  other  things  hap- 
pen. Here's  the  document  ;  put  it  in  your  pocket, 
and  don't  bother  yourself  to  look  at  it  unless  cir- 
cumstances should  make  it  necessary.'' 

"  If  I  had  any  thing  to  leave  or  to  manage," 
said  Percy,  taking  the  paper  which  Valentine 
handed  him,  "  I  would  retaliate  by  appointing  you 
my  sole  legatee  and  executor  ;  but  all  I  possess  are 
my  clothes  and  the  receipted  bills  you  paid  for  me. 
However,  if  I  die,  you  must  say  to  those  whom  it 
may  concern  that  I  maintained  to  the  last  that  I 
did  not  steal  Mrs.  Tunstall's  money.  Send  my 
love  to  my  mother  and  Pauline,  and,  if  I  die  on 
shore,  get  me  buried  if  possible.  I  can't  be  seri- 


AT  SEA.  109 

ous  about  it,"  he  went  on,  with  a  laugh,  "and  yet 
I  have  had  a  presentiment  ever  since  we  started, 
that  I  shall  never  see  the  end  of  this  voyage.  Of 
course,  presentiments  are  all  nonsense,  and  I  don't 
in  the  least  believe  in  this  one  ;  but  it  is  there  all 
the  same.  So,  if  it  comes  out  true,  I  shall  say,  *  I 
told  you  so  ! '  At  least,  you  will  know  I  would 
have  said  it  if  I  could  !  " 

"  I'll  remember,"  replied  Valentine.  "  As  for 
presentiments,  I  believe  they  do  come  out  true, 
though  my  theory  of  existence  assures  me  they 
must  be  coincidences.  I  have  no  presentiment  re- 
garding myself,  only  a  business-like  solicitude 
that,  when  I  am  gone,  my  dregs  shall  not  occasion 
any  avoidable  inconvenience. 

Just  then  the  second  officer  sauntered  up  and 
nodded  to  windward.  "  Looks  pretty  nasty  up 
there,"  said  he.  u  Shouldn't  wonder  if  we  had  a 
blow  before  night." 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE    SHADOW    OF    DEATH. 

MARTIN  and  Percy  looked  in  the  direction  in- 
dicated by  the  officer.  It  was  then  about 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  sky  clear  over- 
head, the  sea  calm,  the  sun  sinking  red  toward  the 
west,  over  Cuba  and  Hayti,  which  were  below  the 
horizon,  some  hundreds  of  miles  away.  The  tem- 
perature during  the  last  few  days  had  been  grow- 
ing warmer  and  warmer,  and  they  were  now  near 
the  twentieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  about 
on  the  sixty-sixth  meridian  west  from  Greenwich. 
Since  passing  between  Hatteras  and  the  Bermudas 
they  had  had  fair  weather,  with  light  airs  from  the 
south  and  east.  But  to-day  there  had  been  no 
breeze  whatever,  and  the  heat  had  been  oppressive. 
The  surface  of  the  sea  looked  oily,  and  lay  quite 
flat,  without  any  perceptible  heave  or  swell.  Masses 
of  drift-weed  were  passed  occasionally,  strung  out 
in  long  lengths,  as  if  drawn  by  invisible  currents. 
Sometimes  a  cocoanut  or  an  orange  would  float 
past,  silent  heralds  of  the  islands  near  at  hand. 
The  course  the  steamer  was  steering  was  taking 
her  toward  the  group  of  little  islands  between  the 


THE   SHADOW'OF  DEATH.  HI 

greater  and  lesser  Antilles,  of  which  St.  Thomas  is 
one.  It  was  there  that  they  were  to  make  their 
first  landing. 

The  officer  had  pointed  toward  the  southwest, 
or  a  few  points  off  the  starboard  bow.  Percy  could 
see  nothing  remarkable  there  ;  but  Valentine,  who 
was  familiar  with  the  sea,  at  once  fixed  his  eyes 
upon  a  small  dark  cloud,  low  down  on  the  water, 
the  peculiarity  of  which  was  that  it  changed  its 
shape  with  great  rapidity,  and  without  any  appar- 
ent cause.  One  moment  it  looked  like  a  hand, 
with  the  fingers  extended  ;  then  it  was  like  a  hat, 
the  crown  of  which  grew  larger  and  larger  until  it 
presented  the  aspect  of  a  pointed  foolscap.  Then 
the  cap  suddenly  inverted  itself,  and  stood  on  its 
apex  ;  then  the  foolscap  divided  down  the  centre, 
and  took  the  form  of  a  huge  bird  with  wings  point- 
ing  upwards. 

"  That  is  rather  odd,"  muttered  Valentine,  intent- 
ly watching  the  protean  little  cloud.  "I  have  seen 
a  hurricane  begin  that  way.  I  hope  it  will  give  us 
a  wide  berth.  This  is  a  bad  place  to  be  caught 
by  a  tornado,  with  that  string  of  islands  right  ahead 
of  us." 

"  It  must  be  a  couple  of  hundred  miles  to  the 
nearest  of  them,"  said  Percy.  "  We  are  safe 
enough.  This  steamer  can  stand  any  thing." 

"  There  comes  the  captain,"  observed  Valentine, 
without  noticing  Percy's  remark. 

In  fact,  the  captain  emerged  from  his  cabin, 
and  mounted  the  bridge  ;  he  cast  a  glance  at  the 


112  THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 

cloud  and  then  gave  some  orders  in  a  low  tone. 
They  were  followed  by  an  immediate  activity  on 
the  part  of  the  watch  on  deck.  The  sailors  moved 
rapidly  about,  and  seemed  to  be  occupied  in  stow- 
ing under  hatches,  or  otherwise  making  fast,  vari- 
ous barrels,  cases,  and  other  loose  objects  that  had 
hitherto  been  kept  on  deck.  Meanwhile,  the  cap- 
tain had  got  out  a  telescope,  and  was  contemplating 
the  cloud  through  it  with  great  earnestness.  Pres- 
ently he  passed  the  glass  to  the  officer  who  stood 
by  him  on  the  bridge,  and  who  also  took  a  careful 
observation  ;  then  they  conversed  together  in  an 
undertone,  and  occasionally  issued  a  new  order  to 
the  crew.  There  were  no  sails  set  on  the 
steamer  ;  but  the  sheets  and  halliards  were  hauled 
taut  and  securely  belayed,  and  every  thing  was 
made  fast  and  battened  down  in  such  a  way  that 
nothing  short  of  a  hurricane  could  dislodge  it. 

"  The  old  man  understands  his  business," 
remarked  Valentine  ;  "  and  I  fancy  he  thinks  that 
it  may  need  all  he  knows  to  pull  us  through.  Look 
at  the  cloud  now  !  " 

Valentine  again  turned  his  eyes  toward  the  south- 
west. The  small  cloud  had  suddenly  become  very 
much  larger,  and  was  now  seen  to  be  connected 
with  a  mass  of  dark  vapor  that  was  rapidly  crowd- 
ing upon  that  section  of  the  horizon,  and  of  which 
it  was  the  pioneer.  This  vapor  was  of  an  extraor- 
dinary darkness,  or  rather  blackness  ;  it  had  not 
the  blue  shade  that  is  often  seen  in  storm  clouds, 
but  was  of  the  hue  of  the  densest  factory  smoke, 


THE   SffADO  W  'OF  DEA  Tff.  1 13 

with  yellow  and  greenish  streaks  upon  it  here  and 
there.  The  rim  or  upper  margin  of  the  on-coming 
blackness  continued  to  advance  with  such  astonish- 
ing rapidity  that  after  only  a  few  moments  it  had 
blotted  itself  upon  all  that  quarter  of  the  horizon, 
and  now  seemed  to  have  embodied  the  fore-running 
cloud,  or  to  have  incorporated  itself  with  it.  Look- 
ing more  closely  at  it,  its  edges  and  surface 
appeared  wildly  commoted,  flakes  and  shreds  of 
vapor,  like  black  fleece,  being  torn  off  from  the 
general  mass,  and  whirled  around,  or  snatched 
in  various  directions,  so  swiftly  that  the  eye 
could  scarcely  follow  their  movements.  The 
green  and  yellow  streaks  were  multiplied  and 
other  colors  were  represented  until  the  inky 
surface  assumed  an  aspect  of  hideous  iridescence. 
Meanwhile  the  northern  and  eastern  portions  of 
the  sky  and  sea  remained  unchanged  in  their  sultry 
calm,  except  that,  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  being 
cut  off,  their  aspect  had  a  strange  feverish  ghast- 
liness,  unlike  the  tints  of  nature.  A  hot,  faint  air 
drew  past  the  vessel  in  the  direction  of  the  black 
canopy,  as  if  it  were  sucked  thither  by  some  malign 
attraction.  Presently  the  ears  of  the  observers 
began  to  be  conscious  of  a  singular  minor  sound, 
somewhat  resembling  that  produced  by  the  wind  on 
a  telegraph  wire,  only  infinitely  more  hollow,  deep, 
and  reverberating.  It  resounded  all  over  the  level 
surface  of  the  pallid  sea,  and  appeared  to  be  echoed 
back  from  the  horizon  and  the  vault  above,  as  if 
the  heavens  were  a  metallic  enclosing  dome.  It 


H4  THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 

sang  and  resounded  and  roared,  but  still  with  an 
inner  sound,  as  if  that  which  uttered  it  were  still 
afar,  or  walled  off  by  some  obstacle  that  it  had  not 
yet  overcome.  Every  thing  else  was  deathly  still  ; 
the  plash  of  the  foam  against  the  vessel's  bows  and 
under  her  stern  was  the  only  other  sound,  but  that 
seemed  abnormally  loud. 

Tne  captain's  voice  on  the  bridge  broke  out  with 
startling  distinctness,  though  he  spoke  not  above 
his  customary  pitch.  He  gave  the  order  to  put  the 
vessel  about.  Immediately  she  began  to  swing 
round  on  her  course,  describing  a  semicircular 
sweep  with  her  stern  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  she 
lay  with  the  cloud  at  her  back,  and  her  bows  pointed 
towards  the  unclouded  regions  of  the  northeast. 
Her  propeller  still  moved,  but  slowly  ;  she  was  like 
a  champion  awaiting  the  onset  of  an  enemy  and 
gathering  himself  up  for  the  struggle. 

The  enemy  was  now  at  hand.  By  this  time  the 
central  advance  had  thrown  out  two  long  black 
arms  that  crept  along  the  horizon  to  the  right  and 
left,  enclosing  the  vessel  in  a  deadly  embrace. 
Darkness  fell  over  them  as  from  an  eclipse  ;  the 
unshadowed  east,  ere  it  vanished  altogether  from 
sight,  looked  like  a  scene  viewed  through  a  tunnel. 
The  moment  was  one  of  awful  suspense  ;  no  human 
creature  could  long  have  endured  it  without  giving 
way  to  some  outbreak  of  intolerable  emotion.  The 
blood  flowed  thick  in  the  veins  ;  the  brain  throbbed 
confusedly ;  the  breath  came  in  difficult  sighs. 
With  a  sudden  but  majestic  upward  gradation,  the 


THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH.  115 

minor  roar  swelled  to  deafening  shrieks  of  noise  ; 
there  was  a  vision  of  a  white  fury  of  waters  astern; 
a  blast  as  cold  as  winter  swept  from  the  taffrail  to 
the  bowsprit ;  the  darkness  shut  down  and  became 
absolute,  so  that  the  observer  seemed  plunged  into 
impalpable  pitch  ;  and  then  with  a  paralyzing 
shock  the  hurricane  smote  the  vessel,  beating  her 
down  into  the  sea  as  by  the  sheer  weight  of  a  giant 
hand.  The  next  instant,  with  a  shudder  and  a 
spring,  she  leaped  forward,  staggered,  and  leaped 
again.  Fragments  of  boiling  surge  hurtled  along 
her  decks,  striking  what  they  encountered  with  the 
force  of  grapeshot.  The  mizzen-mast  broke  off 
within  a  yard  of  the  deck,  and,  lashing  forward, 
struck  the  main-mast  and  brought  it  down  in  ruin, 
though  the  noise  of  the  crash  was  inaudible  in  the 
yell  of  the  frenzied  gale.  The  steamer  was  rushing 
onward  at  headlong  speed,  yet  she  seemed  to  be 
standing  still,  so  fast  did  wind  and  sea  fly  past 
her.  She  reeled,  staggered,  leaped,  was  buried, 
and  rose  again,  again  to  be  overwhelmed.  It 
seemed  another  world,  another  age,  compared  with 
the  sunlight  and  calm  of  a  few  minutes  previous. 
Blind,  whirling,  weltering  chaos  had  engulfed  all 
things  ;  nothing  could  be  seen,  nothing  heard, 
nothing  done  nor  directed  ;  only  awful  plungings 
and  strainings  could  be  felt,  and  thunderous  blows 
and  shocks.  Only  by  these  signs  could  it  be  known 
that  the  vessel  was  still  above  the  water,  still  being 
swept  onward.  Whither,  and  to  what  fate,  none 
could  foretell. 


Ii6  THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 

The  sea  was  at  first  beaten  flat  by  the  wind, 
though  great  pieces  of  water  were  stripped  from 
the  surface  and  dashed  through  the  air  ;  by  and  by, 
however,  waves  began  to  form,  but  irregularly, 
some  rolling  low,  some  reaching  aloft  and  stalking 
gigantic.  One  of  these,  hurrying  through  the  black- 
ness, mounted  the  steamer's  stern  and  traversed  her 
deck  to  the  bows,  carrying  with  it  the  funnel,  the 
remaining  mast,  and  every  thing  on  board  that 
offered  resistance.  That  wave  struck  the  forecastle 
with  a  report  like  the  bursting  of  a  siege-gun,  stove 
through  the  oaken  planks,  and  dashed  a  hundred 
tons  of  water  through  the  opening.  All  therein 
were  drowned  and  crushed  to  pieces,  and  the 
bodies  of  several  were  whirled  out  again  and  carried 
like  rags  off  into  the  waste  of  the  tornado. 
Heavily  the  ship  rose  from  the  blow  ;  it  seemed  as  if 
she  could  never  rise  again.  But  up  she  came,  and 
the  weight  of  water  went  booming  aft,  breaking 
down  partitions  and  deluging  cabins  and  state- 
rooms. More  than  fifty  men  were  killed  or  dis- 
abled by  that  single  buffet  ;  and  the  survivors 
believed  that  the  end  of  all  of  them  could  be  not 
many  minutes  distant. 

But  it  so  happened  that  no  catastrophe  of  equal 
terror  followed.  The  ship  drove  on,  sometimes 
threatening  to  broach  to,  yet  maintaining  her  steer- 
age way  beyond  all  expectation,  on  the  whole  ;  and 
when  some  time  had  passed — how  long,  no  one 
ever  knew — the  hurricane  fell  faint,  and  in  a  breath 
or  two,  as  it  seemed,  died  quite  away.  The  dark- 


THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH.  n? 

ness  lightened,  and  straight  overhead  appeared  a 
patch  of  sky  half-veiled  by  wheeling  shreds  of 
mist.  They  were  in  the  center  of  the  tornado  : 
and  now  the  waves  leaped  up  with  a  rebound  so 
breakneck  and  astounding  that  all  sense  of  vertical 
and  horizontal  was  lost,  and  the  vessel  reared  and 
pitched  like  a  maddened  broncho.  This  phase  of 
the  battle  between  ship  and  storm  bade  fair 
to  be  more  dangerous  than  the  opening  experience  ; 
but,  however  that  might  be,  it  did  not  last  long. 
The  inky  cloud  shut  down  again  ;  again  rose  the 
shriek  of  rushing  winds,  coming  now  from  the  op- 
posite point  of  the  compass,  and  once  more  the  dis- 
mantled and  bruised  hulk  sprang  forward  on  her 
fearful  race,  galvanized,  as  it  were,  into  preter- 
natural activity  by  a  force  not  her  own.  Stripped 
bare  as  she  was,  and  weighted  by  the  water  she 
had  taken  on  board,  she  moved  more  steadily  than 
at  first.  Nor  could  the  nerves  of  those  who  still 
manned  her  continue  to  respond  as  before  to  the 
call  of  horror.  The  worst  was  past  for  them,  even 
should  death  itself  be  in  store.  None  knew  at  that 
time  who  were  living  and  who  were  dead  ;  each 
held  on  to  whatever  support  was  nearest  him  and 
waited  in  darkness  and  uncertainty  for  what  might 
come.  The  engine  fires  had  been  put  out,  and  all 
the  men  available  were  taking  -turns  at  the  wheel, 
in  a  desperate  and  unequal  struggle  to  keep  her 
before  the  wind.  Some  felt  that  it  would  be  a  re- 
lief if  the  ship  would  founder  and  go  down.  But 
she  swept  on,  outstripping  death  itself.  Suddenly 


Il8  THE   SHADOW   OF  DEATH. 

one  of  the  passengers,  who  had  been  alternately 
praying  and  blaspheming  in  the  cabin,  broke  out 
in  a  yell  of  mad  laughter,  and  rushed  up  the  com- 
panion-way and  out  on  the  deck.  The  hurricane 
caught  him  and  hurled  him  forward  ;  he  was 
jammed  between  the  stump  of  the  mainmast  and 
the  shaft  of  one  of  the  anchors,  which  had  some- 
how been  carried  there  ;  the  wind  turned  his  coat 
over  his  head  and  whipped  it  into  ribbons  in  a  mo- 
ment ;  in  another  moment  he  was  naked  to  the 
waist ;  then  he  was  twisted  and  beaten  and  lashed 
about  until  he  was  a  shapeless  mass  of  bloody 
flesh  and  shattered  bones.  At  length  a  sudden 
pitch  of  the  vessel  loosened  the  anchor,  and  it  and 
the  corpse  went  overboard  together,  and  the  ship 
swept  on. 

It  was  perhaps  an  hour  after  this,  and  long  after 
the  most  sanguine  had  yielded  dumbly  to  despair, 
that  the  steamer  rose  on  a  monstrous  wave,  which 
mounted  and  mounted  beneath  her  until  it  seemed 
as  if  it  would  end  by  carrying  her  through  the  sky  ; 
then,  with  a  last  furious  effort,  flung  her  forward, 
and  slipped  back  under  her  keel.  The  great  ves- 
sel was  carried  on  by  the  impetus  of  the  onset,  and 
fell  with  an  appalling  crash,  not  on  the  sea  again, 
but  on  the  solid  earth.  Her  voyage  was  over,  and 
she  was  in  port  at  last. 

Her  iron  ribs  were  crushed  by  the  fall,  but  her 
frame  still  held  together,  and  all  motion  ceased. 
The  wind  still  shrieked  and  the  sea  bellowed  and 
thundered,  but  no  waves  struck  the  ship.  She 


THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH.  119 

seemed  to  have  been  lifted  beyond  their  reach  ;  but 
where  they  were  no  one  knew,  nor  could  have 
guessed  within  a  hundred  miles.  After  an  interval, 
the  quartermaster,  who  had  been  the  last  man  at 
the  wheel,  crept  to  the  companion-way,  and,  secur- 
ing himself  by  a  rope  passed  round  his  waist  and 
made  fast  to  the  railing  below,  looked  out. 

At  first  he  could  distinguish  nothing,  and  the 
rush  of  the  wind  stifled  him  ;  he  dragged  himself 
back  and  waited.  He  had  not  waited  long  before 
it  appeared  to  him  that  the  noise  of  the  hurricane 
was  abating,  and  the  darkness  was  less  intense. 
At  length  he  ventured  forth  again.  Moment  by 
moment  the  wind  was  decreasing  ;  the  change  was 
not  so  sudden  as  it  had  been  when  the  center  of  the 
tornado  passed  over  them,  and  occasionally  there 
was  a  return  of  rage  and  fury.  But  these  became 
less  and  less  frequent,  and  there  were  great  cleav- 
ages upwards  through  the  clouds,  revealing  the 
remote  sparkle  of  stars,  for  the  sun  had  gone  down 
long  since.  One  by  one,  those  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany and  passengers  who  remained  came  on  deck 
and  stared  about  them.  Were  they  on  a  desert 
island  ? 

A  number  of  square  otyjects,  curiously  symmetri- 
cal in  shape,  and  distributed  with  an  appearance  of 
regularity,  became  visible  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  the  steamer.  They  were  all  of  nearly 
the  same  height,  though  in  their  other  dimensions 
they  varied  considerably  ;  their  sides  were  whitish, 
the  tops  darker.  In  front  of  the  vessel,  as  she  lay, 


120  THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 

the  land  rose  upwards  in  a  gentle  slope,  and  these 
rectangular  objects  showed  themselves  thickly  in 
that  direction. 

"  They  don't  look  unlike  houses,"  remarked  the 
quartermaster,  peering  earnestly  through  the  gloom. 
"  I  don't  know  any  coast  hereabouts  that  has 
rocks  like  that." 

"  If  they  were  houses,"  said  the  second  officer, 
who  stood  near,  with  his  arm  broken,  "we  should 
be  in  the  midst  of  a  town,  and  no  small  town 
either." 

«  Hark  !  what's  that  ? " 

All  listened.  There  was  the  soui.d  of  a  halloo, 
clearly  repeated,  and  in  a  moment  it  was  answered 
from  a  further  distance.  Then  in  several  direc- 
tions, near  and  far,  were  heard  calls,  cries,  and 
lamentations.  The  listeners  uttered  murmurs  of 
surprise  and  perplexity. 

Just  then  a  great  mass  of  cloud  in  the  east  broke 
away,  and  the  full  moon  shone  forth  with  surpass- 
ing brilliance,  shedding  over  the  scene  a  light 
which,  in  comparison  with  the  previous  darkness, 
seemed  as  bright  as  day.  It  revealed  an  extraor- 
dinary spectacle. 

Beyond  the  stem  of  the  steamer  extended  the 
tossing  waters  of  a  large  bay,  strewn  with  wreck- 
age and  an  indescribable  medley  of  floating 
objects.  In  front  and  on  either  side  were  the 
streets  and  houses  of  a  half-destroyed  town.  The 
steamer  had  been  carried  over  the  sea-wall,  and 
lay  beyond  the  wharves,  between  the  ruins  of  a 


THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH.  121 

hotel  and  a  large  warehouse.  A  little  way  off 
was  what  had  been  a  public  pleasure-garden  or 
casino  ;  it  looked  as  if  a  gigantic  roller  had  been 
passed  over  it.  In  a  terrace  higher  up  a  heavy 
iron  gun  stuck  out  like  a  half-driven  bolt ;  it  had 
been  whipped  out  of  a  vessel  in  the  bay  and  borne 
nearly  half  a  mile,  passing  completely  through  a 
house  on  the  way.  Nearly  every  house  left  stand- 
ing was  unroofed  ;  many  were  torn  from  their 
foundations  and  thrown  topsy-turvy.  The  iron 
shaft  of  a  street  lamp  was  bent  over  and  twisted 
like  a  corkscrew.  In  the  center  of  a  small  fort  to 
the  west  of  the  town  was  a  brig,  with  one  mast  still 
standing.  A  floating  wharf  just  outside  the  sea- 
wall was  sunk  ;  a  steamer  was  on  top  of  it,  and  on 
top  of  the  steamer,lying  crosswise,  were  the  remains 
of  a  three-masted  merchant-ship.  A  large  provis- 
ion-store had  been  blown  to  pieces,  and  the  stores 
whirled  about  in  all  directions  over  the  town  and 
adjacent  lands.  In  the  bay,  now  rapidly  becoming 
calmer,  appeared  the  masts  of  a  score  of  sunken 
vessels,  sticking  up  like  reeds  in  a  swamp.  Among 
them  floated  casks,  blocks,  spars,  boxes,  quantities 
of  oranges  and  cocoanuts,  fragments  of  trees,  the 
rafters  and  beams  of  houses  ;  and  bobbing  about 
everywhere  were  the  drowned  and  mutilated  corpses 
of  hundreds  of  men  and  women.  But  these  were 
not  to  remain  long  visible.  Ever  and  anon  there 
would  be  a  swirl  in  the  water,  a  jerk  and  a  splash, 
and  a  shark  would  glide  away  with  a  human  arm 
or  leg  in  his  jaws.  The  banquet  was  an  unusually 


122  THE   SHADOW  OF  DEATH. 

rich  one,  and  the  banqueters  were  assembling  in 
thousands. 

"  Well,"  said  the  quartermaster,  as  his  eyes  rap- 
idly traversed  this  scene.  "  I've  heard  of  miracles, 
but  this  is  the  nearest  to  one  that  ever  I  saw.  Of 
all  the  things  that  might  have  happened,  this  is 
the  unlikeliest  ;  we  get  caught  in  a  hurricane,  and 
blown  north  and  south,  we  don't  know  where,  nor 
whether  we  were  under  water  or  above  it  ;  and 
here  at  last  we  find  ourselves  high  and  dry,  in  the 
port  we  were  bound  for,  and  within  a  dozen  rods 
of  the  very  wharf  we  should  have  lain  up  to  !  This 
is  a  queer  world  !  " 

"  What  place  do  you  say  this  is  ?  "  inquired  one 
of  the  passengers,  drawing  near. 

"  This  is  St.  Thomas,  sir — what  there  is  left  of 
it — and  no  other  place  in  the  world.  Oh,  is  that 
you,  Mr.  Martin  ?  I'm  glad  to  see  you  safe  and 
sound  ;  I  expect  a  good  half  of  us  will  never  speak 
again.  Where  is  your  friend,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  the  other ;  "  I  have 
been  looking  for  him.  I  haven't  seen  him  since 
the  time  the  wind  first  stopped  blowing  out  at  sea." 

"  It  was  that  big  wave  that  came  aboard  us,  most 
likely,"  said  the  quartermaster,  gloomily.  "  That 
carried  off  the  captain,  and  many  a  good  man 
with  him.  You  may  sail  the  seas  till  you're  an  old 
man,  sir,  and  never  see  the  like  of  that  storm  again." 

But  his  interlocutor  had  moved  away,  and  was 
beginning  a  search  through  the  ship,  in  the  forlorn 
hope  of  finding  at  least  the  body  of  his  friend. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TO  AWAIT    CONFIRMATION. 

THE  day  appointed  for  Percy's  trial  was  a  week 
after  he  left  New  York.  During  this  period, 
his  mother  and  sister  and  Judge  Ketelle  were  the 
only  persons  who  knew  of  his  escape.  On  the 
morning  of  the  trial,  the  judge  dropped  into  In- 
spector Byrnes's  office,  with  a  newspaper  in  his 
hand  and  a  very  grave  face. 

"  I  want  to  call  something  to  your  recollection, 
Inspector,"  said  he  ;  "  something  of  importance  to 
me,  though  you  may  have  forgotten  it." 

"  Oh,  you  mean  young  Percy  Nolen's  case,  don't 
you  ? "  returned  the  Chief  of  Detectives.  "  I 
remember  ;  he  was  accused  of  a  robbery  in  a  jew- 
elry store,  and  you  went  bail  for  him  in  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  Yes,  the  trial  comes  on  to-day." 

"  You  have  a  good  memory.  Well,  you  are  per- 
haps not  aware  that  Percy  left  New  York  on  the 
day  following  the  examination,  and  never  returned." 

"  Yes,  judge,  I  happen  to  be  aware  of  that,  too. 
You  see,  we  anticipated  there  might  be  some  diffi- 
culty of  the  kind,  and  so  we  put  a  man  on  to  watch 
him.  Mr.  Nolen  spent  that  night  at  Mr.  Martin's 


124  TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION. 

rooms  on  Fifth  Avenue.  The  next  morning,  some 
one  whom  our  man  took  to  be  Martin  walked  out  and 
went  up  town.  An  hour  or  two  later,  Martin  him- 
self came  out.  Instead  of  following  him,  our  man 
made  the  mistake  of  going  upstairs  to  see  whether 
Nolen  was  in  the  rooms.  In  that  way  they  both 
got  off.  We  did  every  thing  in  our  power  to  stop 
them,  but  it  was  too  late.  I  sincerely  hoped  he 
would  think  better  of  it,  and  come  back.  I  am 
sorry  for  you,  but  there  it  is  !  " 

"  As  regards  myself,  I'm  not  a  loser.  I  don't 
mind  telling  you  that,  a  few  hours  after  his  escape, 
I  received  by  letter  the  amount  of  the  bail  ;  it 
came,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  from  Martin.  All 
Percy's  outstanding  bills  were  also  paid,  probably 
by  the  same  hand.  Of  course,  Percy  should  have 
stood  his  trial,  and  had  I  had  any  inkling  of  what 
he  intended  I  should  have  used  every  means  to 
prevent  his  departure.  But  at  any  rate  he  left  no 
debts  behind  him." 

"  He  made  the  mistake  of  his  life,"  said  the  In- 
spector emphatically.  "  As  the  reason  why  will  be 
known  in  a  few  hours,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  now. 
In  the  first  place,  the  evidence  againt  him  was  not 
conclusive,  and,  taking  every  thing  into  consider- 
ation, the  chances  are  that  he  would  have  been 
acquitted.  His  looks  and  manner  and  his  previous 
record  and  social  standing  were  in  his  favor,  though 
it  is  true  that  he  had  been  making  a  fool  of  himself 
here  and  there,  as  boys  sometimes  will.  But  a 
fellow  like  that  is  not  likely  to  steal  a  lady's  pocket- 


TO   AWAIT  CONFIRMATION.  125 

book,  in  face  of  the  absolute  certainty  of  being 
suspected  of  it.  The  game  wasn't  worth  the 
candle." 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,"  replied  the  judge  ; 
"  still,  there  was  a  possibility  that  the  verdict 
might  go  against  him  ;  and  you  can  understand 
that  a  conviction  would  be  as  good  as  death  to 
him." 

"  Even  then,  if  he  were  innocent,  the  guilty  party 
would  be  sure  to  turn  up  sooner  or  later,  and  he 
would  be  vindicated.  I  could  make  a  guess,  even 
now,  as  to  who  the  thief  really  is  ;  but  he  has  not 
committed  himself  yet,  and  as  the  money  stolen  was 
in  bank  notes  of  course  it  is  more  difficult  to  trace 
than  jewels  or  any  kind  of  personal  property  would 
be.  But  that  is  not  the  point  I  was  going  to  make. 
If  he  had  appeared  in  court  to-day,  he  would  have 
been  a  free  man  ever  after." 

"  How  can  you  know  that  ?  " 

u  In  this  way.  You  have  heard  all  about  that 
affair  of  his  with  the  wife  of  the  plaintiff.  No  actual 
harm  had  been  done,  but  she  was  compromised  and 
her  husband  had  heard  of  it  ;  they  had  had  some 
words  about  it  probably  ;  and  when  he  found 
Nolen  in  such  an  awkward  predicament,  he  natur- 
ally was  not  going  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  jump- 
ing on  him.  So  he  pressed  the  charge,  as  we  saw. 
But  his  wife  did  what  he  had  not  anticipated — she 
joined  him  in  the  accusation,  and  thereby  ranged 
herself  definitely  on  his  side.  Of  course  that  took 
the  wind  out  of  his  sails  ;  it  proved  that  she  hated 


126  TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION. 

Percy  as  much  as  he  did,  and  therefore  removed 
his  own  chief  reason  for  hating  him." 

"  I  understand  ;  but — " 

"  Very  well.  Having  no  longer  any  especial 
reason  for  revenging  himself  upon  Percy,  and  prob- 
ably not  believing,  on  sober  second  thought,  that 
he  had  committed  the  crime,  he  would  begin  to  ask 
himself  how  the  public  trial  would  affect  his  wife 
and  himself.  And  the  first  thing  he  would  see  would 
be  that  it  would  involve  letting  out  the  whole  story 
of  the  flirtation.  Now,  if  his  wife  had  persisted  in 
her  folly,  instead  of  acting  the  part  of  a  virtuous 
cur,  as  she  did,  he  might  have  been  willing  to  have 
her  shown  up  ;  but  as  it  was,  he  would  desire  to 
hush  it  up  as  securely  as  possible.  There  was  only 
one  way  to  do  that,  and  that  was — " 

"  Ah !  I  see.  The  plaintiff  would  decline  to 
prosecute  ? " 

"  Exactly  ;  and  that  (as  I  have  the  best  reason 
for  knowing)  is  just  what  he  has  done.  His  coun- 
sel are  instructed  to  withdraw  the  charge;  and  of 
course,  under  the  circumstances  the  judge  would 
allow  him  to  do  so.  But  when  they  see  that  the 
prisoner  is  not  on  hand,  it  may  cause  them  to 
modify  this  course.  They  might  profess  themselves 
ready  to  go  on  with  the  case,  and  as  the  prisoner  is 
absent  judgment  would  issue  against  him." 

"  It  is  that  result  that  I  hoped  to  avoid.  It  would 
be  a  sad  thing  for  an  honorable  family  to  be 
dragged  through  the  dust  in  this  way  for  a  crime 
for  which  the  accused  is  not  responsible," 


TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION.  127 

"  He  should  have  had  the  manliness  to  face  his 
accusers,"  repeated  the  Inspector.  "  No  one  knows 
better  than  you,  judge,  that  in  this  world  a  man 
must  defend  himself.  He  can  not  expect  other 
people  to  find  excuses  for  him.  But,  as  I  say,  he 
may  live  it  down  ;  he  is  a  young  fellow  yet,  and — " 

"  Have  you  seen  this  morning's  paper  ? "  inter- 
posed the  judge. 

"  I  have  looked  through  it.  Is  there  any  thing 
particular  ?" 

The  judge  held  out  the  paper,  with  his  finger  on 
a  certain  paragraph.  The  Inspector  took  it  and 
read  as  follows  : 

"A  terrible  hurricane  is  reported  as  having 
occurred  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Thomas,  W.  I., 
on  the  i3th  ult.  It  is  described  as  the  severest 
ever  known  in  those  latitudes.  It  was  preceded  in 
the  morning  by  a  dead  calm  and  excessive  heat. 
Early  in  the  afternoon  weatherwise  persons  pre- 
dicted a  heavy  blow.  The  prophecy  was  soon 
verified.  Clouds  were  observed  collecting  in  the 
southwest ;  they  rapidly  increased  in  size  and 
darkness,  and  advanced  toward  the  northeast, 
from  which  quarter  a  gentle  breeze  was  blowing. 
The  storm  burst  with  terrific  fury.  The  harbor  of 
St.  Thomas  is  a  large  basin,  the  entrance  to  which 
is  a  comparatively  narrow  pssage  between  two 
headlands.  The  harbor  was  at  the  time  filled  with 
shipping,  including  several  steamers  and  large 
vessels.  One  of  the  steamers  was  at  the  time  tak- 
ing on  passengers;  the  captain  gave  orders  that 


128  TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION. 

this  should  be  stopped,  and  steamed  out  of  the 
harbor  in  the  hope  of  weathering  the  gale.  The 
steamer  has  not  since  been  heard  of,  but  fragments 
of  it  have  been  picked  up  at  sea,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  she  perished  with  all  on  board.  The 
storm  was  accompanied  by  intense  darkness,  greater 
than  that  of  an  ordinary  midnight  without  moon  or 
stars.  The  wind's  velocity  was  estimated  to  reach 
no  less  than  two  hundred  miles  an  hour,  and  the 
destruction  it  caused  was  terrible.  After  blowing 
for  a  couple  of  hours  from  the  southwest  it  hauled 
about  and  blew  with  equal  violence  from  the  north- 
east. All  the  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  destroyed, 
and  several  vessels  were  lifted  out  of  the  water  and 
carried  inland.  One  large  merchant  ship  was  taken 
up  bodily  and  planted  in  the  midst  of  a  warehouse 
near  the  shore.  The  houses  of  the  town  were  un- 
roofed and  in  most  cases  annihilated.  Upwards  of 
four  hundred  lives  were  reported  lost,  and  the 
harbor  was  full  of  corpses,  which  were  devoured  by 
the  sharks.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  episodes 
of  this  disastrous  storm  was  that  of  the  U.  S.  and 
B.  Co.'s  steamship  Amazon.  She  was  due  at  St. 
Thomas  on  the  day  after  that  on  which  the  hur- 
ricane occurred.  She  had  cleared  from  New  York 
with  six  passengers  and  a  full  cargo.  She  had  fair 
weather  up  to  within  two  hundred  miles  of  St. 
Thomas,  and  was  somewhat  ahead  of  her  schedule 
time.  According  to  the  narration  of  the  survivors, 
she  met  the  hurricane  about  three  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  i3th.  She  was  put  about  so  as  to 


TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION.  129 

run  before  the  gale.  The  wind  and  waves  almost 
immediately  dismasted  her,  and  it  was  found  im- 
possible to  do  more  than  keep  her  before  the  wind, 
even  this  taxing  all  the  powers  of  those  on  board. 
At  one  time  she  was  pooped  by  a  heavy  sea  which 
broke  into  the  forecastle  and  swept  many  over- 
board. When  the  wind  veered  about  the  steamer 
became  virtually  unmanageable  ;  she  drove  before 
the  gale,  and  it  was  expected  that  she  must  founder. 
But  after  several  hours  she  was  suddenly  beached  ; 
and  on  the  storm  breaking  it  was  discovered  that 
she  was  lying  in  the  main  street  of  St.  Thomas, 
close  to  her  own  dock.  In  the  darkness  she  must 
have  been  driven  through  the  narrow  entrance  of 
the  harbor,  and  so  across  to  the  town,  avoiding  by 
a  miracle  numberless  obstacles.  She  is,  however, 
a  complete  wreck,  and  half  her  ship's  company  were 
swept  overboard  and  drowned,  while  many  of  the 
others  have  received  severe  injuries.  Of  the  six 
passengers  who  were  on  board  the  following  are 
killed  :  Alfred  Harper,  went  insane  and  washed 
overboard  ;  Charles  Tupper,  neck  broken  ;  James 
Blair,  washed  overboard ;  Percy  Nolen,  washed 
overboard.  The  surviving  passengers  are  Herbert 
Simpson  and  Valentine  Martin.  Mr.  Martin  occu- 
pied the  same  stateroom  with  Mr.  Nolen,  and  is 
much  affected  by  his  death.  He  says  he  saw  him 
shortly  before  the  time  when  the  steamer  was 
pooped  ;  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  forecastle,  under 
the  impression,  it  is  supposed,  that  there  was  greater 
security  there  than  in  the  stern.  Mr.  Martin  left 


130  TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION. 

for  Vera  Cruz  yesterday.  It  is  his  intention  to 
return  by  way  of  Aspinwall  to  his  sheep-farm  in 
New  Zealand,  near  Napier." 

Having  read  thus  far,  the  inspector  laid  down 
the  paper,  and  stroked  his  chin  awhile  with  a  med- 
itative air.  "  So  the  young  man  is  drowned,  is 
he  ?  "  he  said,  at  length.  "  The  account  seems  to 
look  that  way." 

"  Do  you  mean  there  can  be  any  doubt  about 
it?"  exclaimed  the  judge. 

"  I  don't  say  there  is  ;  and  as  a  matter  of  course, 
judge,  I  recognize  the  sincerity  of  your  attitude. 
Still,  if  I  were  interested  in  the  boy,  I  should  think 
twice  before  I  accepted  this  news  as  conclusive. 
Have  you  heard  any  thing  personally  ? " 

"  Nothing.     This  is  all  we  know,  so  far." 

"  Well,  you  are  aware  that  people  reported 
drowned  at  sea  sometimes  have  a  way  of  coming  to 
life  again.  The  sea  is  a  big  place,  and  it's  diffi- 
cult to  be  sure  what  becomes  of  a  man  in  a  heavy 
storm,  when  every  thing's  as  black  as  pitch.  Then 
again  young  Nolen,  you  must  admit,  might  find  it 
convenient  to  have  it  supposed  he  was  permanently 
out  of  the  way.  He  could  start  in  under  a  new 
name,  with  very  little  fear  of  ever  being  interfered 
with.  When  this  affair  has  blown  over  or  been 
cleared  up,  he  might  come  back,  and  all  would  be 
right  again.  I  don't  say  that  i$  what  has  hap- 
pened ;  I  only  say  it  might  be  so.  And,  consider- 
ing that  Mr.  Martin  was  a  friend  of  the  family,  it 
seems  a  little  odd  that  he  shouldn't  have  sent  a 


TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION.  131 

letter  giving  a  full  account  of  the  affair.  He  must 
have  known  what  a  value  the  mother  and  sister 
would  have  put  upon  it." 

"  I  hope  with  all  my  heart  your  theory  may  be 
the  true  one  !  "  said  the  judge.  "  But  I  fear  the 
report  is  correct,"  he  added,  after  a  pause.  "  There 
can  be  no  doubt  about  the  hurricane,  nor  that 
Percy  was  on  the  steamer.  There  was  no  necessity 
of  inventing  a  report  of  his  death  ;  he  would  be  as 
safe  in  Mexico  or  New  Zealand  as  at  the  bottom  of 
the  Atlantic.  No,  I'm  afraid  the  poor  boy  is  gone. 
And,  I  was  saying  just  now,  I  trust  that  no  steps 
will  be  taken  to-day  to  blacken  his  memory.  The 
cause  of  justice  would  not  be  vindicated,  and  it 
would  add  a  terrible  pang  to  his  mother's  and  sis- 
ter's grief.  Some  consideration  should  be  shown 
to  them." 

"  Well,  let  us  go  down  to  the  court-room,"  said 
the  Inspector,  rising  and  taking  his  hat.  "  I  don't 
suppose  any  one  wants  to  trample  on  a  dead  man 
— not  even  the  woman  he  was  in  love  with." 

This  surmise  proved  partly  correct.  On  the 
case  being  called,  counsel  for  the  plaintiff  sub- 
mitted that  their  client  was  disposed  to  abandon 
the  prosecution.  The  court  asked  where  the  pris- 
oner was,  and  the  report  of  his  death  was  put  in. 
The  court  observed  that  the  prisoner  appeared  to 
have  intended  forfeiting  his  bail,  and  was  of  the 
opinion  that  the  evidence  of  death  was  insufficient. 
But  as  the  plaintiff  wished  to  withdraw,  and  there 


132  TO  AWAIT  CONFIRMATION. 

was  only  a  moderate  presumption  of  guilt,  the 
case  would  be  adjourned  pending  confirmation  of 
the  report  of  death,  when  the  question  of  estreat- 
ing the  bail  would  be  decided. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

A    POWERFUL    ALLY. 

QEVERAL  days  after  this  event,  the  Inspector 
O  was  informed  that  a  lady  desired  to  see  him. 
He  gave  orders  that  she  be  admitted,  and  a  young 
woman  dressed  in  mourning  entered  the  room.  She 
was  pale  and  handsome,  with  powerful  dark  eyes. 
The  Inspector  rose  and  placed  a  chair  for  her. 
She  sat  down,  regarding  him  with  great  intentness, 
as  if  endeavoring  to  satisfy  herself  what  manner  of 
man  he  was. 

"  Can  I  be  of  any  assistance  to  you,  madam  ?" 
the  detective  inquired. 

"  I  hope  you  may,"  was  her  reply,  "  for  I  don't 
know  where  to  look  for  help,  unless  to  you.  You 
were  officially  cognizant,  were  you  not,  of  the  case 
of  Mr.  Percy  Nolen,  who  was  accused  of  a  robbery 
a  few  weeks  ago  ?  " 

The  Inspector  inclined  his  head.  "  It  came  to 
my  knowledge,  in  the  ordinary  routine,"  he  said. 
"  It  has  been  adjourned,  as  you  are  probably  aware, 
and  the  chances  are  that  it  will  not  soon  be  heard 
of  again." 

"  Percy  Nolen  was  my  brother,"  she  resumed. 


134  A   POWERFUL  ALLY. 

"  He  was  lost  at  sea."  Her  lips  trembled,  but  she 
recovered  herself — the  Inspector  noted  that  she 
seemed  to  possess  unusual  self-command — and 
went  on.  My  mother  and  I  are  the  only  ones  of 
the  family  left  alive  ;  and  my  mother  is  an  invalid. 
My  brother  died  with  a  shadow  upon  his  name,  and 
I  consider  it  my  duty  to  remove  it.  I  am  sure  that 
it  can  be  done  ;  and  I  am  ready  to  make  any  effort 
or  sacrifice  to  do  it.  Nothing  would  be  a  sacrifice 
that  would  accomplish  that  result." 

"  I'm  afraid  you  will  find  it  no  easy  matter,  Miss 
Nolen.  Speaking  as  a  professional  man,  I  must 
say  that  the  prospect  is  not  a  hopeful  one." 

"  I  don't  expect  it  to  be  easy  ;  but  I  am  deter- 
mined to  succeed,  and  I  mean  to  give  all  my  life 
and  energy  to  it,"  said  she,  in  the  same  quiet  tone 
which  she  had  used  from  the  first,  but  with  immense 
underlying  earnestness.  "  Of  course,  I  know 
nothing  about  the  ways  of  finding  out  criminals,  and  I 
don't  think  that,  in  an  ordinary  matter,  I  should  make 
a  good  detective  ;  but  this  is  a  thing  I  care  so  much 
about  that  it's  different.  I  believe  that  if  the  man 
who  stole  that  money  was  to  pass  me  on  the  street 
I  should  feel  that  it  was  he." 

The  Inspector  dropped  his  pencil,  and  stooped 
to  pick  it  up.  The  notion  of  identifying  criminals 
by  emotional  intuition  was  not  without  its  humorous 
side  ;  but  he  did  not  wish  his  smile  to  be  seen  ; 
and  by  the  time  he  had  recovered  his  pencil  he  had 
recovered  his  gravity  likewise.  "  Even  if  you  were 
able  to  recognize  him  in  that  way,  Miss  Nolen,"  he 


A   POWERFUL   ALLY.  135 

remarked,  "  there  would  be  no  evidence  in  that  to 
fasten  the  crime  upon  him.  The  jury  might  think  you 
were  mistaken,  and  would  refuse  to  convict ;  in  fact, 
I  don't  think  you  could  persuade  any  judge  on  the 
bench  to  grant  you  a  warrant." 

"  I  wasn't  thinking  of  putting  it  on  that  ground," 
Pauline  replied,  coloring  a  little.  "  But  when  I 
have  convinced  myself  that  I  know  the  man,  I 
would  find  evidence  against  him  that  would  con- 
vince the  world  too.  Only  let  me  know  him  first, 
and  the  rest  would  be  easy." 

"Well,  all  I  can  say  is,  I  hope  you'll  find  him." 

"  I  should  not  have  corne  here  to  waste  your 
time  merely  by  telling  you  this,"  she  continued, 
looking  up  at  him  firmly.  "  I  wish  to  tell  you 
something  that  may  indicate  who  he  is,  and  then 
you  will  be  able,  perhaps,  to  help  me  find  out 
where  he  is  and  what  his  record  is.  I  don't  suppose 
you  know  that  Percy  was  not  my  only  brother  ?  " 

The  detective  intimated  that  he  did  not. 

"  My  other  brother's  name  was  Jerrold.  He  died 
a  few  years  ago.  They  had  reason  to  think  that 
his  death  was  hastened  by  foul  means.  The  man 
whom  he  accused  of  it  was  tried  ;  the  case  was 
appealed  several  times,  but  at  last,  after  having 
been  confined  for  over  a  year,  the  accused  was 
acquitted.  He  said  that  he  would  be  revenged  upon 
us.  Why  may  he  not  have  taken  this  way  to  be 
revenged  ? " 

The  Inspector  began  to  be  interested.  "  What 
was  his  name  ?  "  he  asked. 


136  A   POWERFUL  ALLY. 

"  His  name  was  Horace  Dupee.  He  was  a 
medical  student." 

"  Tell  me  the  circumstances.  I  may  recollect 
something  of  it." 

"  When  my  brother  Jerrold  left  college  he  decided 
to  be  a  physician,  and  he  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine here  in  New  York.  He  attended  lectures  and 
went  to  the  hospitals.  He  was  fond  of  fun,  and  a 
favorite  with  his  fellow-students,  and,  I  suppose,  he 
was  rather  imprudent  in  his  habits.  He  was  good- 
natured  and  excitable,  and  the  others  led  him  on. 

"  The  way  the  end  came  was  this.  There  was  a 
supper  given  to  one  of  the  students  who  had  got 
through  his  course.  He  was  the  Horace  Dupee  I 
spoke  of.  He  was  a  clever  man,  I  believe.  I  never 
saw  him  ;  and  he  and  Jerrold  were  great  friends. 
There  were  ten  or  twelve  other  young  men  at  the 
supper.  They  drank  a  good  deal  of  wine,  and 
became  noisy  and  excited.  They  began  to  play 
practical  jokes  on  one  another.  At  last  Horace 
Dupee  got  up  to  make  a  speech.  My  brother,  who 
sat  near  him,  kept  interrupting  him  with  jokes  and 
laughing.  He  got  angry  finally — Dupee  did — and 
made  some  threat  or  said  some  insulting  thing.  My 
brother  instantly  threw  a  glass  of  wine  in  his  face, 
glass  and  all. 

"  Dupee  rushed  at  him  and  struck  him  with  his 
fist.  They  began  to  fight ;  but  my  brother  was  the 
stronger,  and  he  struck  Dupee  in  the  face,  so  that 
he  fell  over  a  chair.  Then  the  others  separated 
them  ;  and  my  brother,  after  a  moment,  forgot  his 


A   POWERFUL  ALLY.  137 

anger,  and  wanted  to  make  friends  with  Dupee 
again,  but  Dupee  would  not  for  a  while,  but  the 
others  urged  him,  until  at  last  he  laughed  and  came 
and  shook  hands  with  my  brother,  and  pretended 
that  he  was  quite  reconciled  ;  but  he  said  after- 
wards to  one  of  the  young  men  that  he  *  would  be 
even  with  Nolen  yet.' 

"  They  had  been  on  the  point  of  breaking  up 
before,  but  after  this  they  got  to  drinking  and 
talking  again  ;  and  Dupee  came  and  sat  down  by  my 
brother,  and  kept  filling  his  glass  for  him,  but  only 
pretending  to  drink  himself,  until  my  brother 
got  quite  intoxicated  and  acted  foolishly.  It  was 
then  after  midnight,  and  the  young  men  began  to 
go  home,  and  Dupee  said  he  would  see  my  brother 
to  his  lodgings.  My  father  and  mother  and  my- 
self were  not  in  New  York  just  then  ;  we  had  gone 
down  to  a  Southern  watering-place  on  account  of 
my  mother  being  delicate,  and  Jerrold  was  staying 
in  furnished  rooms  in  a  boarding-house. 

"  He  and  Dupee  started  off  together  after  leaving 
the  others.  My  brother  could  walk,  but  he  was  not 
fit  to  take  care  of  himself.  The  boarding-house 
was  on  West  Twenty-third  Street,  some  way  down. 
The  door  had  a  covered  porch  to  it,  and  was  nearly 
on  a  level  with  the  sidewalk.  It  was  a  winter  night, 
but  there  was  no  snow  on  the  ground. 

"  It  was  not  quite  one  o'clock  in  the  morning 
when  they  left  the  restaurant  together.  At  two 
o'clock  the  policeman  whose  beat  was  on  that  part 
of  Twenty-third  Street  saw  some  one  lying  in  the 


13  A   POWERFUL  ALLY. 

porch  of  the  boarding-house.  He  examined  him, 
and  found  that  he  was  in  evening  dress,  with  an 
overcoat  on  ;  he  was  insensible,  and  his  pockets 
were  empty.  There  did  not  seem  to  be  any  mark 
of  violence  on  him.  The  policeman  thought  he 
was  insensible  from  drink  ;  he  knocked  up  the 
people  in  the  house,  and  when  he  found  that  my 
brother  lived  there  helped  to  take  him  up  to  his 
room.  But  there  was  a  physician  living  in  the 
house,  and  he  came  and  looked  at  my  brother,  and 
saw  there  was  something  wrong ;  at  last  he  found  a 
bruise  on  his  head,  behind  the  ear,  made  with  some 
blunt  instrument,  for  the  skin  was  not  cut,  but  it 
had  produced  concussion  of  the  brain.  Towards 
dawn  he  partly  recovered  consciousness,  and  when 
he  was  asked  about  his  injuries  he  mumbled  some- 
thing about  Dupee  ;  but  they  could  not  get  any- 
thing definite  from  him.  A  telegram  was  sent  to 
us  at  Old  Point  Comfort,  where  we  were  stopping. 
My  mother  was  too  ill  to  move  ;  I  stayed  with  her, 
and  my  father  went  on  at  once,  but  he  arrived  too 
late.  My  brother — " 

Her  voice  faltered,  and  she  broke  off.  The 
story  had  been  told  with  entire  simplicity,  but  with 
intense  vividness  and  earnestness.  The  scenes 
which  she  described  seemed  to  be  before  her  as 
she  spoke,  and  the  emotion  which  she  had  striven 
to  repress  broke  forth  at  last  in  a  few  quick  sobs. 
She  soon  controlled  herself  and  added,  "  My  father 
had  an  inquest  held  ;  the  young  men  who  had  been 
present  at  the  supper  were  called  upon  to  testify, 


A    POWERFUL  ALLY.  139 

and  they  told  of  the  quarrel,  and  the  apparent 
reconciliation  ;  and  it  was  shown  that  Horace 
Dupee  was  the  last  person  seen  with  my  brother. 
In  his  examination  Dupee  said  that  he  had  taken 
him  home  and  left  him  in  his  doorway,  bidding  him 
good-night :  and  that,  though  my  brother  had 
seemed  not  quite  himself,  yet  he  was  able  to  take 
care  of  himself.  He  denied  any  knowledge  of  the 
blow.  But  it  was  proved  that  he  had  threatened  my 
brother  ;  and  it  was  thought  that  he  might  have 
emptied  my  brother's  pockets  only  to  make  it 
appear  that  the  murder 'was  the  work  of  some 
common  thief.  So  the  coroner  held  him  for  trial." 

"  I  remember  the  case  now,"  put  in  the  Inspec- 
tor. "  The  case  was  pushed  against  him  vigorously, 
but  it  broke  down  at  last  for  want  of  conclusive 
evidence,  and  Dupee  was  discharged,  as  you  say, 
after  having  been  kept  in  gaol  for  a  year.  Well,  I 
must  say,  Miss  Nolen,  that  the  doubt  as  to  his 
guilt  appears  a  reasonable  one  ;  and,  supposing  him 
to  have  been  innocent,  he  has  certainly  received 
hard  treatment ;  for  such  an  accusation  as  that, 
though  not  proved,  is  enough  to  ruin  a  man's 
career." 

"  I  da  not  believe  he  was  innocent,  Inspector 
Byrnes  !  I  am  sure  that  he  was  guilty,  and,  having 
escaped  punishment  for  that,  he  means  to  do  us 
more  injury  still.  No — an  innocent  man  would  not 
have  been  ruined  by  an  unjust  accusation !  It 
would  have  stimulated  him  to  prove  by  his  after- 
life that  he  had  been  wronged." 


140  A   POWERFUL  ALLY. 

"  Do  you  know  what  his  subsequent  life  has 
been?  "  inquired  the  Inspector. 

"  I  have  heard  enough  to  know  that  it  has  been 
what  I  should  have  expected  it  to  be.  He  has 
associated  with  low  and  dishonest  people  ;  he  has 
gone  under  different  names,  and  it  is  probable 
that  he  may  have  been  arrested  more  than  once 
for  other  crimes.  I  have  always  felt  that  he  was 
our  enemy,  and  have  expected  that  something  like 
this  would  happen.  I  am  the  only  one  of  us  left 
to  fight  him,  Inspector  Byrnes.  He  killed  my 
eldest  brother ;  he  was  the  means  of  bringing 
about  the  disgrace  and  death  of  Percy  ;  my  father 
died  of  disappointment  and  grief  ;  my  mother  is  a 
broken-down  invalid.  But  I  am  strong  and  well, 
and  I  am  determined  to  bring  him  to  justice  !  Will 
you  help  me  ?  " 

Her  eyes  darkened  and  her  cheeks  flushed  as  she 
put  the  question.  The  Inspector,  though  he  could 
not  but  perceive  that  the  chances  were  against  the 
correctness  of  her  theory,  was  touched  by  her 
earnestness. 

"  In  what  way  would  you  expect  me  to  assist 
you  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  You  can  communicate  with  the  police  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,"  she  answered,  "  and  you 
know,  or  can  find  out,  the  history  of  ail  the 
criminals  who  have  been  arrested  in  New  York 
and  in  many  other  places.  What  I  ask  you  to  do 
is  to  trace  the  record  of  Horace  Dupee  from  the 
time  he  left  the  gaol  on  the  termination  of  his  trial 


A   POWERFUL  ALLY.  141 

till  now.  Find  out  his  associates,  and  make  them 
give  evidence  against  him  ;  learn  what  his  aliases 
have  been,  and  whether  he  was  not  in  New  York 
on  the  day  that  Mrs.  Tunstall  lost  her  money.  If 
he  was — and  I  am  sure  it  will  turn  out  so — it  will 
be  found  that  he  had  money  to  spend  soon  after- 
wards, and  perhaps  some  one  of  the  bank-notes 
can  be  traced  to  him.  Oh  !  "  she  exclaimed,  lifting 
one  hand  with  an  irrepressible  gesture,  "  if  I 
can  see  him  stand  before  me  in  the  prisoner's  dock, 
I  shall  have  lived  long  enough  !  " 

"  Upon  my  word,  Miss  Nolen,"  remarked  the 
Inspector  with  a  smile,  "  I  wouldn't  envy  the 
man  who  had  done  you  an  injury,  be  he  who  he 
may  ;  and  if  this  fellow  Dupee,  or  any  one  else, 
has  been  guilty  of  the  crimes  you  charge  him  with 
I  hope  with  all  my  heart  you  may  live  to  see  him 
convicted  of  them — and  a  long  time  afterwards, 
too  !  As  for  my  share  in  the  business,  I  can 
assure  you  that  all  possible  investigations  shall  be 
made  and,  if  Dupee  has  really  joined  the  criminal 
classes  it  will  probably  only  be  a  question  of  time 
before  we  run  across  him.'  It  is  something  to  have 
a  definite  person  suspected  in  connection  with  the 
affair.  I  don't  want  to  give  you  any  hopes  that 
I  can  not  fulfil  ;  but  I  am  willing  to  say  that  it  is 
not  impossible  something  may  come  out  of  this." 

"  I  don't  ask  for  promises — only  let  something 
be  done  !  "  Pauline  replied,  rising  and  giving  her 
hand  to  the  detective.  He  felt  the  strong  clasp  of 
her  little  fingers,  and  smiled  again. 


142  A   POWERFUL  ALLY. 

"  You  may  depend  upon  my  being  at  least  as 
good  as  my  word,"  he  said  kindly.  "  Your  cause 
is  a  good  one,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  connected  with 
it,  you  may  be  certain  that  it  will  not  suffer.  But 
you  must  be  prepared  for  disappointment,  and  you 
must  be  patient." 


CHAPTER   XV. 

A    MESSAGE    FROM    THE    SEA. 

IT  had  been  the  custom  with  the  Nolens,  during 
the  summer  months,  to  go  to  a  seaside  resort 
known  as  Squittig  Point,  on  the  New  England 
coast.  They  owned  a  small  cottage  there,  consist- 
ing of  a  sitting-room,  three  bed-rooms,  and  a 
kitchen,  and  a  verandah  the  area  of  which  was 
larger  than  all  the  rest  of  the  house.  The  house 
stood  upon  a  low  bluff  directly  overlooking  the 
beach.  There  was  a  semi-circular  inlet  at  this 
point,  about  fifty  yards  across  ;  in  this  a  pier  had 
been  constructed,  to  the  end  of  which  a  catboat 
was  moored. 

It  was  a  pretty  place,  but  a  very  quiet  one.  To 
reach  it  it  was  necessary  to  drive  five  or  six  miles 
from  the  railway  station  in  the  neighboring  town. 
Within  a  radius  of  a  mile  there  were  perhaps  a 
dozen  cottages  similar  to  the  Nolens'  and  occupied 
chiefly  by  artists.  Milk,  eggs,  poultry,  and  vege- 
tables were  furnished  by  the  farm-houses  in  the 
vicinity  ;  fish  could  be  caught  by  any  one  with  a 
fishing-line  and  a  boat  ;  meat  and  groceries  must 
be  fetched  from  the  town.  It  was  out  of  the  line 


144  A   MESSAGE  FROM   THE  SEA. 

of  fashionable  travel  ;  and  those  who  knew  of  its 
existence,  and  had  established  themselves  there, 
were  united  in  a  conspiracy  to  keep  fashion  away 
from  it.  If  they  themselves  felt  the  need  of  a  lit- 
tle dissipation,  they  could  be  at  Newport  in  four 
or  five  hours,  or  at  Swampscott  before  night.  But 
here  they  could  always  be  sure  of  rest,  seclusion, 
charming  scenery,  and  as  much  fishing,  sailing,  and 
bathing  as  they  wanted.  Of  course  they  could 
not  hope  to  keep  their  secret  long  ;  sooner  or 
later  somebody  would  appear  and  build  a  hotel  ; 
but  meanwhile  they  enjoyed  it  all  the  more  for 
feeling  that  their  exclusive  possession  of  it  must 
be  limited. 

Opposite  the  Point  was  a  line  of  low  islands, 
seven  or  eight  miles  distant,  which  served  as  a 
natural  breakwater  against  the  violence  of  the 
Atlantic's  waves,  and  gave  to  the  intervening  ex- 
panse of  water  the  advantages  of  a  bay.  They 
were  also  a  charm  and  attraction  in  themselves  ; 
for  they  were  constantly  undergoing  the  most  sur- 
prising changes  under  the  influence  of  the  mirage; 
and,  being  within  an  easy  sail,  were  often  visited  for 
picnicking  purposes  by  the  sojourners  in  the  cot- 
tages. Baskets  of  provisions  were  carried  over, 
and  the  materials  for  a  clam-bake  or  a  chowder 
were  always  obtainable  from  the  sands  and  the  sea. 
The  time  not  occupied  in  cooking  and  eating 
could  be  devoted  to  picking  huckleberries,  practic- 
ing with  rifle  or  shot-gun,  or,  if  the  age  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  members  of  the  party  permitted, 


A   MESSAGE  FROM   THE  SEA.  145 

in  quiet  flirtations  along  the  beaches  or  in  the 
woods.  The  sail  home  was  made  by  the  red  light 
of  sunset  or  by  the  white  lustre  of  the  moon. 

The  winter  and  spring  had  passed  away  without 
any  news  having  been  obtained  concerning  Horace 
Dupee  ;  if  he  had  really  been  in  New  York  at  the 
time  of  the  perpetration  of  the  robbery,  he  had  en- 
tirely disappeared.  The  only  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  wait  patiently  until  he  came  back  again,  keeping 
a  bright  but  undemonstrative  lookout  for  him  in 
the  meanwhile.  As  Inspector  Byrnes  had  the 
matter  in  charge,  it  was  not  necessary  that  Pauline 
should  remain  in  New  York  ;  she  could  be  com- 
municated with  at  any  time,  and  it  might  even 
hasten  the  result  she  desired  if  she  were  known  to 
be  out  of  the  city.  Accordingly,  as  summer  ap- 
proached, and  her  mother's  health  manifestly  de- 
manded a  change,  preparation  were  made  to  go 
down  to  Squittig  Point.  Judge  Ketelle,  for 
reasons  which  the  reader  will  perhaps  comprehend, 
arranged  to  accompany  them.  He  had  not  as  yet 
made  any  avowal  to  Pauline  of  the  nature  of  his 
sentiments  towards  her,  but  he  had  been  assiduous 
in  his  attentions  ;  and  only  the  greatness  of  the 
prize  at  stake  withheld  him  from  putting  his  fate  to 
the  touch  at  once. 

They  arrived  about  the  middle  of  June.  The 
cottage  had  previously  been  put  in  order  for  their 
reception  ;  curtains  unpacked  and  put  up  ;  mat- 
tings spread  on  the  floors  ;  hammocks  swung  in  the 
verandas  ;  Venetian  blinds  fastened  over  the 


146  A    MESSAGE  FROM  THE   SEA. 

windows.  The  catboat  had  been  routed  out  of  her 
winter  quarters  in  the  barn,  a  new  coat  of  paint  had 
been  given  her,  new  sheets  and  halliards  rove,  and 
her  shrunken  seams  had  been  soaked  till  they  were 
water-tight.  There  she  rested  at  her  moorings  as 
gracefully  as  a  sea-gull.  Every  thing  being  ready, 
the  party,  convoyed  by  the  judge,  drove  out  from 
the  town  one  fine  day  and  took  possession.  It  was 
sunset  by  the  time  the  last  trunk  was  moved  in. 
They  had  supper,  and  then  sat  out  on  the  veranda 
enjoying  the  pure  salt  air  and  the  liquid  outlook 
over  the  bay.  There  was  a  faint  breeze  ;  little 
waves  made  a  barely  audible  plash  on  the  shore  of 
the  cove.  The  boat  curtesyed  gently  off  the  end 
of  the  pier,  as  if  welcoming  its  owners  back  to 
nature.  The  moon  rose  late  and  red  ;  it  was  past 
the  full.  To  the  right,  beyond  the  point,  the  light- 
house lamp  flashed  intermittently  ;  a  sloop  drifted 
past  half  a  mile  out,  and  the  sound  of  a  banjo 
tinkled  audibly  across  the  water.  "  It's  delicious  !  " 
murmured  the  judge,  sitting  with  Mrs.  Nolen 
on  one  side  of  him  and  Pauline  on  the  other,  and  a 
cigar  between  his  lips.  "  To-morrow  we'll  go  out 
in  the  boat  and  visit  the  island." 

Mrs.  Nolen  gave  a  sigh.  She  was  thinking  of 
her  son  drowned  at  sea. 

Pauline  understood  what  the  sigh  meant;  but  she 
was  made  of  other  metal  than  her  mother.  "  I 
mean  to  learn  how  to  sail  the  boat  myself  this  sum- 
mer," she  said.  "  I  like  the  sea  ;  I  would  like  to 


A   MESSAGE  FROM  THE   SEA,  147 

live  beside  it,  or  on  it,  always.  How  soft  and  gentle 
it  is  now  !  But  when  the  storms  come — !  " 

"  I  can  give  you  lessons  in  sailing,"  observed 
the  judge.  "  You  know,  when  I  was  a  boy  I  spent 
a  year  before  the  mast." 

"  I  learned  something  last  year  from  Percy," 
Pauline  replied,  "  and,  now  that  he  has  become  a 
part  of  the  sea,  I  shall  feel  more  at  home  on  it  than 
before." 

The  next  day,  accordingly,  the  practice  of  navi- 
gation began,  and  was  continued  day  by  day  there- 
after. Pauline  showed  herself  an  apt  pupil,  and 
was,  indeed,  quicker  in  an  emergency  than  the 
judge  himself.  Mrs.  Nolen  at  first  could  not  be 
prevailed  on  to  accompany  them  ;  but,  one  warm 
day,  they  induced  her  to  venture  out,  and  the  ex- 
perience was  so  pleasant  that  she  repeated  it  from 
time  to  time. 

Meanwhile,  the  judge's  affair  was  manifestly 
approaching  a  crisis.  The  constant  companion- 
ship of  the  girl  he  loved  was  inexpressibly  sweet  to 
him,  and  he  was  unable  to  repress  some  manifesta- 
tion of  it ;  yet  he  could  not  decide  whether  or  not 
Pauline  cared  enough  about  him  to  accept  him  as 
her  husband.  That  she  esteemed  him  highly  was 
evident,  and  that  her  affection  for  him  was  deep 
and  sincere  ;  but  there  are  many  kinds  of  affection, 
and  the  question  was  whether  her  affection  was  of 
a  kind  capable  of  being  developed  into  the  love  of 
a  wife.  The  judge  wished  with  all  his  heart  that 
he  could  do  her  some  immense  service,  or  make 


148  A   MESSAGE  FROM  THE   SEA. 

for  her  sake  some  noble  sacrifice,  which  might 
serve  to  draw  her  nearer  to  him.  But  such  things 
can  not  be  commanded  at  will,  and  seldom  occur 
when  they  are  wanted.  It  seemed  that  he  must 
trust  to  whatever  unaided  merit  he  possessed  to 
win  her  heart. 

Pauline  had  always  been  mature  for  her  age  ; 
but  since  the  calamity  that  had  fallen  upon  her 
she  had  developed  greatly.  She  was  graver  and 
more  taciturn  than  before,  and  her  manner  was 
more  thoughtful  and  controlled.  She  seemed 
already  to  have  outgrown  her  girlhood,  and  to  have 
attained  the  strength  and  experience  of  a  woman. 
All  this  was  in  the  judge's  favor  ;  for  his  age  was 
the  factor  in  the  matter  which  he  feared  most.  If 
they  could  meet  on  more  nearly  equal  terms  in  this 
respect,  he  could  feel  more  confidence  as  to  the 
rest.  She  conversed  with  him  on  his  own  intel- 
lectual level,  and  consulted  him  freely  and  confi- 
dentially on  all  matters  of  interest  to  herself.  No 
friendship  between  a  man  and  woman  could  have 
been  more  intimate  and  genuine  ;  but  it  was  some- 
thing more  than  friendship  that  the  judge  longed 
for  ;  if  he  could  have  detected  a  single  glow  of 
passion  in  her  cheeks,  he  would  have  been  a  much 
happier  man.  On  the  other  hand,  Pauline  was 
quite  able  to  veil  her  feelings ;  and  no  young 
woman  of  healthy  mind  can  be  expected  to  show 
what  emotion  may  be  in  her,  or  even  to  acknowl- 
edge it  to  herself,  until  she  has  been  fairly  challenged. 

At  length,  having  become  quite  accustomed  to 


A   MESSAGE  FROM  THE  SEA.  1 49 

the  management  of  the  boat,  they  decided  to  make 
the  trip  to  the  island.  The  lunch-basket  was 
packed,  and  stowed  amidships  ;  fish-lines  and  hooks 
were  placed  in  the  locker,  in  case  they  should 
come  across  a  school  of  blue-fish  ;  cushions  and 
wraps  were  provided  for  Mrs.  Nolen,  and  extra 
ballast  was  put  into  the  hold,  in  order  to  keep  her 
steady  in  case  the  wind  should  increase.  An  early 
start  was  made,  for  the  breeze  was  so  light  as 
scarcely  to  ruffle  the  water,  and  set  nearly  in  a 
direction  opposite  to  that  which  they  wished  to 
go.  In  order  to  get  out  of  the  little  cove  it  was 
necessary  to  use  the  oars  ;  but  after  that  the  wind 
gently  swelled  the  sail,  and,  proceeding  by  long 
tacks,  they  slowly  made  their  way  toward  the 
island  that  seemed  to  quiver  and  waver  in  the  heat 
on  the  horizon.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  breeze 
freshened  a  little,  and  the  boat  slipped  more  swiftly, 
but  still  with  an  even,  gliding  motion,  through  the 
water.  The  judge,  who  fancied  he  detected  signs 
of  blue-fish,  now  relinquished  the  helm  to  Pauline, 
and  got  out  his  lines.  The  squid  was  thrown  out 
astern,  and  cut  a  tiny  wake  through  the  waves, 
while  the  judge,  with  his  finger  on  the  line, 
watched  it  like  a  hawk.  For  half  an  hour,  in  spite 
of  several  false  alarms,  nothing  was  caught ,  but 
finally  there  was  an  unmistakable  tug,  and,  hauling 
in  with  feverish  rapidity,  the  judge,  in  a  few 
moments,  had  the  pleasure  of  lifting  on  board  a 
fine  large  demijohn,  tightly  corked,  which  had  been 
hooked  by  the  handle. 


150  A  MESSAGE  FROM  THE  SEA. 

After  the  laugh  had  subsided,  the  judge  suggested 
that  the  demijohn  might  contain  something,  and  he 
knocked  off  the  head  against  the  gunwale  of  the 
boat.  About  a  pint  of  salt  water  came  out,  and 
then  a  fragment  of  wood — apparently  part  of  the 
lid  of  a  cigar-box,  on  which  something  had  been 
written  with  a  pencil.  The  writing  was  almost 
obliterated,  but  two  or  three  words,  or  portions  of 
words,  still  remained. 

"  See  if  you  can  make  them  out,  Pauline,"  said 
the  judge,  after  scrutinizing  the  inscription  a  few 
moments.  "  Your  eyes  are  better  than  mine." 

Holding  the  tiller  in  her  left  hand,  Pauline  took 
the  bit  of  wood  in  her  right,  and  looked  at  it.  "  I 
can  make  out  part  of  a  name,"  she  satd  presently, 
"  and  some  figures — a  date,  I  suppose  .  .  .  Ah  !  " 

Her  lips  closed  tightly,  and  her  eyes  dilated. 
The  boat  swung  round  into  the  wind,  and  lay  with 
the  sail  flapping.  She  had  forgotten  the  tiller. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  judge,  in  surprise. 

She  met  his  eyes,  and  then  glanced  stealthily 
toward  her  mother. 

"  Nothing,"  said  she  ;  and  put  the  helm  over 
again.  The  boat  resumed  its  course,  the  water 
bubbling  under  the  stern.  Mrs.  Nolen,  gazing  to- 
ward the  island,  which  was  now  near  at  hand,  had 
noticed  nothing. 

After  a  moment,  she  leaned  toward  him  and 
whispered  in  his  ear  :  "It  is  the  name  of  the  steamer 
in  which  Percy  sailed,  and  the  date  of  the.  hurri- 
cane. Some  one  must  have  thrown  it  overboard  in 


A  MESSAGE  FROM  THE   SEA.  151 

the  storm — perhaps  it  is  his  own  writing.  Say 
nothing  ;  mother  must  not  know." 

She  thrust  the  bit  of  wood  into  the  front  of  her 
dress,  while  the  judge  drew  back  with  a  grave, 
concerned  face,  and  folded  his  arms  in  silence.  It 
was  a  strange  event,  indeed.  That  demijohn  had 
been  drifting  about  on  the  ocean  currents  for 
months,  to  be  brought,  at  last,  to  the  very  hand  for 
which  it  had  been  perhaps  intended.  Pauline  did 
not  doubt  that  Percy  had  thrown  it  overboard  at  the 
moment  when  all  hope  seemed  gone,  and  probably 
just  before  he  himself  was  swept  from  the  deck  ; 
and  if  so  it  must  have  been  to  her  that  he  had  in 
his  heart  addressed  it. 

The  incident  brought  the  picture  of  the  disaster 
vividly  before  her  imagination  ;  she  had  never 
realized  it  so  intensely  before — the  plunging  hull, 
the  reeling  decks,  the  shattered  masts,  the  white 
leaps  and  seething  of  the  maddened  seas,  the 
deafening  shriek  of  the  gale,  the  black  darkness 
around  and  overhead  ;  and  her  brother,  her  own 
beloved  brother,  staggering  forth  into  this  blind 
fury  of  chaos  to  waft  to  her  the  last  message  of 
despair.  She  saw  it  all  ;  and  then,  with  a  long 
indrawing  of  the  breath,  her  eyes  beheld  the  blue 
surface  of  the  summer  sea,  the  warm  and  tender 
sky  bending  over  it,  the  green  shore  of  the  island 
toward  which  they  were  softly  gliding.  Her  heart 
melted,  and  tears  wet  her  cheeks  unawares. 

"  I  ajji  really  glad  I  came,"  said  Mrs.  Nolen, 
turning  round  with  a  smile.  "  It  has  been  a 


152  A  MESSAGE  FROM  THE  SEA. 

delightful  sail,  and    the    island    looks  so  pretty  ! 
I  hope  it  will  be  as  nice  going  back." 

"  Well  begun  is  half  ended,"  said  the  judge, 
raising  the  centerboard  as  the  boat  entered  an 
inlet  and  ran  up  on  the  beach  ;  "  and,  if  the  worst 
comes  to  the  worst,  we  have  provisions  enough  to 
stay  here  over  night." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A    STRANGE    WOOING. 

THE  judge  pulled  off  his  shoes  and  stockings 
and  jumped  into  the  shallow  water,  and,  tug- 
ging manfully,  pulled  the  boat  up  high  enough  to 
render  it  an  easy  matter  to  transport  the  ladies  to 
the  shore.  Mrs.  Nolen  he  took  in  his  arms  and 
set  down  on  the  beach  ;  then  he  turned  to  do  the 
like  service  for  Pauline,  and  his  heart  beat  at  the 
thought  of  having  her  for  a  moment  so  near  him. 
But  as  she  stood  poising  herself  in  the  bows, 
light,  beautiful,  and  agile,  he  perceived  that  she 
meant  to  make  a  leap  of  it,  and  indeed  the  dis- 
tance was  probably  not  beyond  her  powers.  She 
glanced  at  him  at  that  juncture,  and  could  not 
have  failed  to  notice  the  sudden  faltering  of  his  ex- 
pression from  its  previous  joyful  expectation  ;  she 
hesitated,  and  then,  with  a  faint  blush,  held  out  her 
arms,  saying,  "  After  all,  perhaps  you  had  better 
take  me." 

The  judge  could  not  speak  ;  the  revulsion  was 
too  sudden.  She  had  never  before  done  any  thing 
which  seemed  so  significant,  and  as  he  received  her 
on  his  sturdy  shoulder  he  experienced  a  happiness 
more  poignant  than  he  had  ever  known.  The  ac- 


154  A    STRANGE    WOOING. 

tion  lasted  but  for  an  instant,  but  the  effect  was  by 
no  means  so  transient ;  on  the  contrary,  it  kept 
glowing  and  increasing  in  his  soul,  and  quite  illu- 
minated his  whole  aspect.  Pauline,  too,  was  in  an 
unusual  mood  ;  she  seemed  softer  and  more  acces- 
sible than  was  usual  with  her.  The  tears  which  she 
had  lately  shed  had  brought  all  the  woman  in  her 
to  the  surface.  There  were  tones  in  her  voice  that 
thrilled  to  the  judge's  heart  like  exquisite  music. 
The  memory  of  her  brother  had  done  her  lover 
good  service. 

A  spot  was  selected  under  the  shade  of  a  cedar, 
with  clean  white  sand  underneath.  Here  Mrs. 
Nolen  was  established  with  her  cushions,  and  the 
cloth  was  spread  for  lunch.  The  basket  was  un- 
packed, the  plates  and  knives  and  forks  arranged, 
and  the  good  things  set  out.  They  had  brought  a 
jug  of  water,  but  it  had  become  so  warm  as  to  be 
unpalatable ;  so  the  judge  proposed  that  they 
should  go  and  find  a  spring  ;  there  was  sure  to  be 
one  not  far  off.  Pauline  assented  and  they  started, 
leaving  Mrs.  Nolen  beneath  the  cedar. 

"  I  did  not  know  whether  to  be  glad  or  sorry 
that  I  was  the  means  of  bringing  that  strange  mes- 
sage to  you,"  said  the  judge,  when  they  were  out 
of  ear-shot.  "  And  yet  I  could  not  help  thinking 
that  there  must  have  been  some  providential  de- 
sign in  the  matter.  It  was  as  if  Percy  had  ap- 
pointed me  his  messenger  to  you." 

"  Oh,  I  am  glad— I  am  only  glad  !  "  rejoined 
Pauline  musingly,  with  her  eyes  downcast.  "It 


A   STRANGE    WOOING.  155 

puts  my  doubts  at  rest.  All  this  time  I  could  not 
realize  that  he  was  gone.  I  knew  it,  of  course  ; 
but  it  had  not  been  brought  home  to  me.  Now  I 
can  feel  that  all  is  well  with  him.  I  am  glad  it 
came." 

"  It  seems  a  pity  that  so  much  of  the  message 
should  be  illegible,"'  remarked  the  judge.  "  It 
would  have  been  well  to  know  for  a  certainty  that 
it  came  from  Percy's  own  hand." 

"  Perhaps  it  will  become  more  legible  when  the 
wood  is  dried.  But  I  should  not  care  if  it  turned 
out  to  have  been  written  by  some  one  else.  It  is 
from  Percy's  ship — the  Amazon — and  in  that  case 
it  is  from  him." 

"  I  am  a  little  surprised,"  said  the  judge,  after  a 
pause,  "  that  Mr.  Martin  has  not  written  us  some 
of  the  details  of  the  affair.  He  can  hardly  have 
failed  to  understand  that  any  information,  how- 
ever slight,  would  have  been  precious  to  you.  You 
have  not  heard  from  him,  have  you  ?  " 

"No,  and  I  think  you  are  right.  He  should 
Have  written.  But  I  can  imagine  why  he  has  not. 
It  was  his  suggestion  that  Percy  should  leave  New 
York.  He  urged  him  to  go  with  him  ;  he  took 
that  responsibility.  The  least  he  could  do  was  to 
guard  him  from  harm.  When  that  storm  came,  he 
should  not  have  let  him  go  out  of  his  sight.  But, 
instead,  he  let  him  be  drowned.  I  can  understand 
why  he  has  not  written  to  me  —  he  would  not 
dare ! " 

She  said  this  with  a  passionate  emphasis.     The 


156  A   STRANGE    WOOING. 

judge  was  secretly  conscious  of  a  feeling  of  relief, 
but  his  sense  of  rectitude  compelled  him  to  say, 
"  It  would  not  be  just,  I  think,  to  charge  Mr.  Mar- 
tin with  being  accountable  for  Percy's  death." 

"  Perhaps  it  is  not  logically  just  ;  but  that  is  the 
way  I  feel,"  was  her  reply. 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  spring,  which 
trickled  out  of  a  sand-bluff  a  few  feet  above  high- 
water  mark,  and  filled  a  barrel  that  had  been  sunk 
in  the  sand  below.  The  judge  knelt  down  and 
plunged  the  jug  into  the  cool  water,  which  gurgled 
into  it  with  a  refreshing  sound.  Pauline  stood, 
with  her  hands  hanging  folded,  looking  down  on 
him.  The  blue  sea,  the  sunshine,  the  warmth  were 
inexpressibly  soothing. 

"How  pleasant  it  is  here,"  she  said. 

The  judge  rose,  with  the  jug  in  his  hand.  A  mo- 
ment before  he  had  not  meant  to  speak  so  soon  ; 
but  now  the  words  seemed  to  break  from  him  in- 
voluntarily. 

"  Pauline,  will  you  be  my  wife  ?  "  he  said. 

She  took  a  step  backward,  and  their  eyes  met. 
She  was  startled,  and  the  expression  of  her  face  at 
first  seemed  to  indicate  refusal.  But  after  a  few 
moments  the  softer  look  returned  to  it,  mingled 
with  sadness. 

"  Would  that  be  best  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Infinitely  best  for  me.  But  it  is  you  who  must 
decide.  I  have  loved  you  ever  since  you  were  a 
little  girl." 

"  Does  my  mother  know  of  this  ? " 


A    STRANGE    WOOING.  157 

"  Yes,  since  last  year  ;  and  she  has  bidden  me 
Godspeed.  But  I  do  not  wish  you  to  be  influenced 
by  that.  Decide  for  yourself  alone.  I  am  twice 
your  years,  and  more  ;  but  in  my  love  for  you  I 
am  young,  and  shall  always  be." 

She  stood  silent  for  a  while.  She  was  evidently 
touched  by  his  words,  and  by  the  manly  generosity 
of  his  appeal  ;  but  something  was  yet  wanting  to 
give  the  final  conviction  to  her  heart,  and  she  was 
too  true  to  herself  to  commit  herself  without  it. 

"  There  is  no  man  living  for  whom  I  care  so 
much  as  for  you,"  she  said  at  length  ;  "  but  I  have 
never  thought  of  caring  for  you  in  that  way.  I 
have  depended  on  you  and  trusted  in  you,  but  to 
be  your  wife.  .  .  .  Oh,  you  must  give  me  time  ! 
I  do  not  know  what  I  think,  or  feel.  But  I  shall 
not  be  in  doubt — I  will  give  you  an  answer  soon. 
It  seems  to  me  that  if  I  could  love  you  as  you  wish 
it  would  be  a  fortunate  thing  for  me — fortunate 
that  a  man  like  you  should  wish  to  marry  such  a 
girl  as  I  am.  But  give  me  till  to-morrow." 

"  As  long  as  you  need,"  answered  the  judge, 
huskily.  "  It  is  my  duty  and  my  happiness  to  wait 
for  you,  and  upon  you,  as  long  as  I  live." 

The  breeze  fell  again  during  the  afternoon,  and 
they  delayed  their  starting  in  expectation  of  a 
change  later  on.  The  result  justified  their  fore- 
cast ;  for  as  the  moon  appeared  above  the  eastern 
horizon  the  clouds  began  to  gather  in  the  west, 
and  the  tops  of  the  trees  waved  an4  murmured, 


1 58  A    STRANGE    WOOING. 

The  direction  of  the  wind  was  such  that,  after 
leaving  the  island,  they  could  make  a  nearly  straight 
run  for  home,  keeping  the  boom  over  the  port 
quarter.  In  setting  out,  a  long  tongue  of  land, 
extending  on  the  southeast,  broke  the  sweep  of 
the  wind,  and  made  it  seem  much  lighter  than  it 
really  was.  The  water  was  smooth,  and  the  im- 
pulse just  sufficient  to  make  them  glide  along  rap- 
idly. But  the  moment  the  point  of  the  cape  was 
passed  the  sudden  increase  in  the  violence  of  the 
wind  fairly  startled  them.  The  judge,  who  was  at 
the  helm,  made  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  it 
was  a  gust  or  temporary  squall  only,  and  therefore 
did  not  put  back  into  the  smooth  water  and  double- 
reef  his  sail,  as  he  should  have  done.  By  the  time 
he  had  discovered  that  the  wind  had  come  to  stay, 
they  were  too  far  on  their  course  to  make  a  return 
advisable.  To  have  done  so  would  have  involved 
beating  up  almost  in  the  teeth  of  the  gale,  which 
would  not  only  have  been  a  long  job,  but  one 
which  the  height  of  the  waves  would  have  rendered 
dangerous.  To  keep  on,  on  the  other  hand, 
seemed  comparatively  easy,  the  wind  being  nearly 
fair,  yet  not  so  much  so  as  to  involve  the  peril  of 
jibing  ;  the  distance,  moreover,  was  not  very  great, 
and  the  boat,  though  heavily  laden,  was  going  fast. 
Accordingly  the  judge  grasped  the  tiller  firmly, 
and  kept  her  headed  so  as  to  pass  the  lighthouse 
a  couple  of  points  to  the  northwestward. 

The  three  occupants  of  the  little  craft  were  all 
seated,  of  course,  close  up  on  the  weather  side,  the 


A    STRANGE    WOOING.  159 

spread  of  sail  having  a  tendency  to  bear  her  down 
to  leeward.  The  judge  sat  next  the  stern  ;  Paul- 
ine was  close  to  him,  and  Mrs.  Nolen  was  next  to 
Pauline,  her  feet  being  supported  against  the 
sheath  of  the  centreboard.  But  as  they  sped  along 
the  waves  ran  higher  and  higher,  and  began  at 
length  to  dash  over  the  weather  gunwale,  wetting 
Pauline's  back  and  shoulders,  and  running  down 
into  the  well.  The  effect  of  this,  after  it  had  con- 
tinued for  a  while,  was  inevitably  to  make  the  boat 
sit  lower  in  the  water,  and  thus  offer  less  oppo- 
sition to  the  inroads  of  the  seas  ;  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  an  effort  must  be  made  to  bale  her  out. 
There  was  a  tin  dipper  in  the  locker  ;  not  without 
difficulty  the  judge  succeeded  in  getting  this  out, 
and,  stooping  down,  endeavored  to  bail  with  his 
right  hand,  while  handling  the  tiller  with  his  left. 
But  it  was  impossible  to  hold  the  boat  to  her 
course  with  one  hand,  in  such  a  sea  ;  and  after  a 
minute  Pauline  took  the  dipper  and  intimated  that 
she  would  attend  to  that  part  of  the  work.  She 
bailed  rapidly  and  steadily,  and  threw  out  a  large 
amount  of  water  ;  but  the  waves  continued  to  rise 
and  overlap  the  gunwale,  so  that  she  was  unable  to 
keep  pace  with  the  influx,  and  the  boat  settled  so 
low  that  ever  and  anon  a  wave  would  wash  in  to 
leeward.  This  was  a  serious  matter  ;  it  meant 
that  swamping  was  not  far  off  ;  and  with  the  extra 
ballast  on  board  she  would  go  to  the  bottom  like  a 
stone.  And  if  she  did,  nothing  was  more  certain 
than  that  they  would  be  drowned.  It  would  be 


160  A    STRANGE    WOOING. 

impossible  for  even  the  strongest  swimmer  to  reach 
the  shore  on  such  a  night. 

Mrs.  Nolen,  after  expressing,  in  the  subdued 
manner  characteristic  of  her  in  all  circumstances, 
her  horror  and  despair  at  the  situation — the  real 
gravity  of  which  she  was,  however,  probably  far 
from  recognizing — had  relapsed  into  a  sort  of 
lethargic  state,  half  reclining  on  the  narrow  seat, 
motionless,  and  seemingly  unconscious  of  the 
water  that  was  dashing  over  her.  This  passive 
attitude  was  doubtless  the  best  for  all  concerned 
that  she  could  possibly  have  assumed.  The  judge 
perhaps  suffered  more  than  any  of  the  party  ;  for 
he  felt  himself  mainly  responsible  for  the  affair  ; 
and  the  idea  of  death  stepping  between  him  and 
Pauline  at  such  a  juncture  was  almost  more  than 
he  could  bear.  Pauline,  alone;  was  apparently 
perfectly  cheerful  and  composed.  She  even  felt  a 
pleasant  exhilaration  in  the  face  of  the  imminent 
danger.  The  exertion  of  bailing  had  put  her  in  a 
warm  glow  from  head  to  foot  ;  and  though  she 
saw  that  her  labor  was  ineffectual  she  maintained 
it  with  unfaltering  resolution.  They  were  now 
within  a  mile  of  the  light-house,  and  as  soon  as 
they  passed  under  the  lee  of  it  they  would  be 
comparatively  safe.  But  it  was  a  question  whether 
the  boat  would  hold  out  so  long,  and  just  then  an 
unforeseen  catastrophe  occurred. 

As  Pauline  stooped  to  fill  the  bailer,  the  little 
vessel  gave  a  sudden  lurch  to  leeward,  throwing 
the  girl  forward  on  her  knees  in  the  bottom  of  the 


A    STRANGE    WOOING.  161 

boat.  The  judge  reached  out  quickly  to  save  her 
from  going  overboard  ;  in  doing  so,  the  tiller  was 
thrust  over ;  the  boat  came  directly  before  the 
wind,  the  sail  jibed,  and  the  boom,  as  it  swung  to 
starboard,  struck  the  judge  on  the  head,  and 
knocked  him  into  the  water.  At  the  same  moment 
a  wave  came  over  the  stern  and  deluged  the  seat- 
room.  The  end  seemed  to  be  at  hand. 

But  Pauline  was  not  a  woman  to  be  vanquished 
without  a  struggle.  As  she  sprang  up  and  seized 
the  tiller,  her  mind  was  perfectly  clear  as  to  what 
should  be  done.  The  boat  had  already  fallen  off, 
and  was  broadside  to  the  wind  ;  she  put  down  the 
helm,  and  brought  her  up  in  the  wind's  eye,  rapidly 
hauling  in  the  sheet  as  she  did  so,  and  giving  it  a 
turn  round  the  cleat.  Then  she  bent  her  gaze  on 
the  dark  confusion  of  waters  in  which  the  judge 
had  sunk. 

It  was  ten  to  one  that  he  had  been  carried  to 
leeward  and  out  of  reach.  But  one  circumstance, 
of  which  Pauline  was  not  aware,  operated  in  her 
favor.  There  was  a  strong  tide  running  out  against 
the  wind  ;  and  when  the  judge  rose  his  head 
appeared  within  a  foot  of  where  Pauline  sat.  She 
stretched  over  toward  him,  grasped  him  by  the 
sleeve  of  the  coat,  and  drew  him  toward  her. 
Though  half  stunned  by  the  blow  he  had  received, 
he  managed  to  get  his  arm  over  the  gunwale,  and, 
a  wave  coming  to  his  assistance,  he  half  scrambled, 
half  was  thrown  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 
Once  there,  his  remaining  strength  forsook  him, 


1 62  A    STRANGE    WOOING. 

and  he  lay  unconscious.  Pauline  did  not  attempt 
to  relieve  him  ;  she  had  her  hands  full  of  other 
matters.  The  boat  was  almost  in  a  sinking  state, 
and  they  were  still  more  than  half  a  mile  from  port. 

She  watched  her  chance  needfully  to  come  about, 
for  to  ship  another  wave  like  the  last  one  might  be 
fatal.  The  boat  obeyed  her  helm  promptly,  and 
set  off  with  a  plunge  and  a  roll  towards  her  destina- 
tion. During  the  pause  she  had  drifted  some  dis- 
tance to  leeward,  so  that  she  was  now  sailing  with 
the  wind  very  nearly  behind  her  and  the  boom  far 
out  ;  and  although  this  involved  some  danger  of 
jibing  again,  it  diminished  the  risk  of  taking  in 
water  over  the  quarter,  and  was  in  so  far  an  advan- 
tage. Pauline's  utmost  strength  was  required  to 
hold  the  tiller,  which  struggled  with  her  like  a  wild 
creature  fighting  to  get  loose  ;  yet  she  was  com- 
pelled to  keep  one  hand  upon  the  sheet  likewise, 
which  might  at  any  moment  need  hauling  in.  The 
strain  upon  her  nerves  and  muscles  was  terrible, 
but  she  clenched  her  teeth  and  held  on  ;  in  courage 
and  spirit,  at  least,  she  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
Once  in  a  while  she  threw  a  hasty  glance  into  the 
body  of  the  boat.  Mrs.  Nolen  had  slipped  down 
from  her  seat  and  had  managed  to  draw  the  judge's 
head  and  shoulders  on  her  lap. 

"  If  I  save  them,"  said  Pauline  to  herself,  "  I  will 
accept  it  as  a  sign." 

As  she  spoke  the  boat  gave  a  leap  and  was  sud- 
denly in  smooth  water.  The  sail  barely  swelled  to 
the  breeze.  The  change  was  so  sudden  that  it 


A    STRANGE    WOOING.  163 

seemed  miraculous.  They  had  passed  under  the 
lee  of  the  lighthouse,  but  that  appeared  inadequate 
to  account  for  so  abrupt  and  great  an  alteration. 
Indeed,  Pauline  always  believed  and  declared  after- 
wards that  the  gale  had  actually  ceased,  without 
visible  cause,  in  a  moment  of  time.  The  boat 
slipped  sluggishly  through  the  water  on  an  even 
keel.  There  was  scarcely  air  enough  to  carry  her 
to  her  moorings  in  the  little  cove. 

"Well,  then,  I  will  be  his  wife,"  said  Pauline  to 
herself,  as  they  touched  the  pier ;  "  and  I  think  I 
love  him  now  !  " 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A    HUNTER'S    YARN. 

ON  a  warm  evening  in  October  the  steamship 
Pilgrim,  of  the  New  York  and  Fall  River  line, 
had  just  left  her  dock  at  the  former  place,  and  was 
on  her  way  up  the  Sound.  A  rather  stout,  but 
actively  made  man,  with  curly  red  hair  and  side- 
whiskers,  and  rather  prominent  gray  eyes,  mounted 
the  gangway  from  below,  and  stood  near  the  door 
of  the  saloon.  He  had  just  taken  a  cigar  from  his 
waistcoat  pocket,  and  was  in  the  act  of  cutting  off 
the  end  of  it  with  his  penknife  when  a  tall  per- 
sonage with  bony  features  and  a  thin  neck  came  in 
through  the  door  and  confronted  him.  He  was 
about  to  pass  on,  but,  at  a  second  glance,  stopped 
and  said,  as  if  to  himself, 

"  Henry  Clifton." 

The  red-haired  man  turned  sharply.  "  Bob 
Stapleton,  by  jingo  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

They  shook  hands,  evidently  pleased  at  the 
encounter,  eyeing  each  other  all  over  as  if  to  make 
sure  that  no  part  of  either  was  missing. 

"  Well,  and  what  have  you  been  doing  with  your- 
self these  three  years  past  ? "  inquired  he  of  the  red 
hair  who  answered  to  the  name  of  Clifton,  "  Let's 


A   HUNTER'S    YARN.  165 

see  ;  it  was  in  Liverpool  I  saw  you  last,  wasn't  it  ?" 
You  were  after  that  forging  gang." 

"Yes,  and  I  got  'em,"  responded  the  other  who 
had  been  addressed  as  Bob  Stapleton.  "  It  was 
a  good  job  ;  I've  had  nothing  better  since.  But 
what  brings  you  over  here  ? " 

"  Oh,  a  private  affair — something  particularly 
choice,"  replied  Clifton,  sticking  his  cigar  in  his 
mouth.  "  All  expenses  paid  and  twenty  pound  a 
month." 

"  Hullo  !  That's  not  bad.  A  hundred  dollars 
and  expenses.  What  is  it  ?  Is  Scotland  Yard  after 
the  Fenians  again  ?  " 

"  No,  no.  I  don't  belong  to  the  Yard  any  more  ; 
doing  business  now  on  my  own  feet.  I'm  engaged 
on  a  case  involving  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds — seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  your 
money." 

"  Great  Scott  !     A  robbery  ?  " 

"  No ;  no  such  common  business.  A  lost 
heir  ! " 

«'  A  lost  heir  ?  That  sounds  good  !  Come, 
we've  got  the  evening  before  us  ;  suppose  you  spin 
the  yarn." 

"  Humph  !  I'm  not  so  sure  about  that,"  re- 
turned Clifton,  scratching  his  whiskers  thought- 
fully. "  This  isn't  the  sort  of  story  that  one  tells 
to  every  body.  However,"  he  added,  "  you're  not 
every  body,  though  I  suppose  you  consider  your- 
self somebody  ;  at  all  events,  if  you  promise  to  keep 
it  dark,  I  fancy  I  can  trust  you.  But  let's  go  into 


1 66  A   HUNTER'S    YARN. 

some  quiet  corner — as  it's  a  warm  evening,  sup- 
pose we  sit  outside,  where  we  can  smoke.  I  have 
cigars  enough,  and  this  yarn  will  probably  last  out 
more  than  one  of  them." 

As  they  passed  out  of  the  door,  a  gentleman 
who  had  been  sitting  in  a  chair  not  far  off,  with  his 
hat  drawn  down  over  his  nose,  and  who  had  seem- 
ingly been  asleep,  rose  quietly  from  his  seat  and 
proceeded  to  the  door  of  a  state-room  a  little  way 
forward  of  the  paddle-box.  He  entered  the  room 
and  locked  the  door  after  him  ;  then  he  breathed  a 
sigh  of  relief.  He  took  off  his  hat,  and  looked  at 
his  reflection  in  the  mirror.  It  showed  the  coun- 
tenance of  a  man  between  twenty  and  thirty  years 
of  age — perhaps  nearer  the  latter  age  than  the 
former — the  lower  part  of  which  was  thickly  cov- 
ered with  a  brown  beard,  cropped  short  at  the 
sides  and  round  the  throat,  but  allowed  to  grow  to 
a  point  on  the  chin.  The  forehead,  cheeks,  and 
nose  were  deeply  bronzed  by  the  sun,  giving  a 
peculiar  appearance  to  a  pair  of  handsome  blue  eyes. 
The  hair  was  cut  short ;  any  one  would  have  taken 
the  head  for  that  of  a  Frenchman.  This  idea 
would  have  been  confirmed  when  the  gentleman 
put  across  his  nose  a  pair  of  tinted  eyeglasses, 
mounted  in  gold.  He  regarded  himself  critically. 

"Yes,"  he  muttered,  in  the  undertone  which 
people  use  when  conversing  with  themselves,  "  it's 
a  good  get-up,  considering  the  simplicity  of  the 
materials.  No  one  can  say  I  am  disguising  my- 
self ;  and  yet  I  doubt  if  my  own  mother — God 


A   HUNTER'S    YARN.  167 

bless  her  ! — would  recognize  me  at  the  first  glance, 
though  my  sister  might.  I  must  have  been  in- 
tended by  nature  for  an  actor  ;  my  features  lend 
themselves  so  readily  to  a  disguise.  At  one  time 
I  am  an  American  ;  then  an  Englishman  ;  now  a 
Frenchman  ;  to-morrow  I  may  attempt  a  Turk  or 
a  Russian.  But  what  an  extraordinary  piece  of 
bad  luck  that  that  fellow  Clifton  should  be  on  this 
steamer !  Does  he  know  that  I  am  on  board  ? 
Hardly.  And  yet,  what  is  he  here  for  ?  It  must 
be  on  that  same  business  ;  and  in  that  business  I 
am  concerned,  however  unwillingly.  Perhaps  he 
has  come  to  look  up  my  record.  Confound  him, 
why  can't  he  let  me  alone  !  I  shall  have  a  hard 
enough  time  of  it  without  him.  Of  course  he  will 
go  straight  to  Inspector  Byrnes,  and  when  the 
Inspector  finds  out  that  I  am  not — what's 
that  ? " 

In  order  to  answer  this  question,  it  must  be 
observed  that  the  state-room  occupied  by  the 
bearded  gentleman  was  an  "  outside "  one  ;  its 
window  opened  on  the  water,  or  rather  on  a  narrow 
strip  of  deck  which  intervened  between  the  rail 
and  the  wall  of  the  state-room  itself.  This  strip  of 
deck  was  just  wide  enough  to  admit  of  a  person 
sitting  there,  with  his  shoulders  against  the  wall 
and  his  feet  on  the  rail — an  attitude  said  to  be  a 
favorite  one  with  Americans,  and  which  any  per- 
son who  has  studied  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
and  its  action  on  the  brain  will  gladly  put  himself 
into.  The  window,  it  should  be  added,  was  pro- 


1 68  A   HUNTER'S    YARN. 

tected  by  a  wooden  blind  with  fine  slats,  not  notice* 
able  from  without. 

The  noise  which  had  caused  the  bearded  gentle- 
man to  break  off  so  abruptly  in  his  monologue  had 
been  caused  by  the  advent  of  two  persons  with 
camp-stools  to  the  apparently  secure  retreat  which 
the  narrow  strip  of  deck  already  alluded  to 
afforded.  Having  established  themselves  there  to 
their  satisfaction,  and  lit  their  cigars,  they  began  to 
talk  in  a  low  tone.  But  although  the  blind  of  the 
bearded  gentleman's  state-room  was  shut,  the  win- 
dow itself  was  open  ;  and  as  he  had  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  the  conversation  was  going  to  be  of  par- 
ticular importance  to  himself  he  took  care  to  leave 
the  window  as  it  was,  and  even  to  sit  down  beside 
it.  As  the  reader  will  already  have  surmised,  the 
speakers  were  the  two  gentlemen  to  whom  we 
have  already  been  introduced — Henry  Clifton  and 
Bob  Stapleton. 

"  You  went  first  to  New  Zealand,  eh  ?  "  Stapleton 
was  saying.  "  How  happened  your  man — Valen- 
tine, do  you  call  him  ? — to  be  there?  " 

"  He  was  the  second  son,  don't  you  see  ?  and 
consequently,  after  he'd  run  through  the  money 
his  father  gave  him,  he  had  only  himself  to  fall  back 
on.  So  he  started  for  New  Zealand  to  make  his 
fortune  at  sheep-farming.  When  I  got  there  he 
had  been  gone  the  better  part  of  a  year  or  more. 
The  sheep-farming  had  not  turned  out  very  well, 
but  he  had  got  a  sum  of  money  somehow,  and  had 
gone  off  to  enjoy  it  ;  whether  he  would  come  back 


A    HUNTER'S    YARN.  169 

again,  and  where  he  had  gone,  no  one  could  tell 
me.  You  may  be  sure  that  if  he  had  known  that 
his  elder  brother  was  going  to  die,  and  let  him  into 
full  possession  of  an  estate  worth  three-quarters  of 
a  million  of  dollars,  he  would  have  left  his  ad- 
dress." 

"  It's  a  most  curious  thing,"  observed  Mr.  Staple- 
ton,  philosophically,  "  how  some  men  will  run 
after  a  good  thing  all  their  lives  and  never  catch  it, 
and  another  man  will  run  away  from  a  good  thing 
all  his  life,  and  never  let  it  catch  him." 

"  Well,  as  I  was  saying,"  Mr.  Clifton  continued, 
this  Mr.  Valentine — as  I  call  him — had  left  for 
parts  unknown,  and  my  business  was  to  find  out 
where  that  was.  I  thought  it  all  over,  and  made  up 
my  mind  that  America  was  about  the  most  likely 
place,  for  he  wouldn't  be  likely  to  go  back  to  Eng- 
land, and,  being  of  a  roving  disposition,  and  never 
having  visited  the  States,  that  was  naturally  the 
first  place  he'd  think  of.  And  when  a  man  goes  to 
America  he's  pretty  certain  sooner  or  later  to  fetch 
up  in  New  York.  So  it  was  in  New  York  that  I 
figured  I  should  find  him.  But  before  I  started  I 
thought  it  would  be  as  well  to  make  the  thing 
certain  by  sending  on  a  cable  message,  addressed 
to  certain  parties  in  New  York  that  you  may  have 
heard  of,  asking  whether  my  man  was  there. 
Sending  telegrams  half  round  the  earth  costs  money, 
Bob  ;  but  it  doesn't  cost  quite  as  much  as  to  go 
yourself,  let  alone  the  time  and  the  wear  and  tear." 

"  However,  expenses  being  paid — "  said  Bob. 


1 70  A   HUNTER'S    YARN 

"  That's  all  very  well ;  but  parties  employing  one 
like  to  have  a  good  account  of  their  money  ;  and  a 
good  recommendation  is  sometimes  worth  more 
than  cash  in  hand.  Well,  I  didn't  look  for  an 
answer  inside  of  a  week  or  ten  days  ;  but  forty- 
eight  hours  after  I  had  sent  off  the  despatch  the 
landlord  of  my  hotel  came  up  to  me  and  told  me 
that  he  believed  I  was  looking  for  Mr.  Valentine, 
and  that  a  man  had  just  arrived  from  Panama  who 
had  met  a  party  going  by  that  name  in  Mexico  some 
six  weeks  before,  and  he  thought  likely  he'd  be 
there  yet.  I  told  him  to  bring  the  man  around,  and 
he  came  and  I  had  a  talk  with  him. 

"  He  had  seen  Valentine,  sure  enough  ;  I  made 
up  my  mind  as  to  that.  He  described  him  as 
near  as  could  be  ;  for  though  I  had  never  seen  him 
myself  I  had  all  the  points  about  him  from  those 
who  had,  and  a  photograph  taken  four  or  five  years 
before.  The  fellow  said  that  Valentine  had  come 
to  Mexico  from  New  York,  after  being  wrecked  in  a 
big  gale  at  St.  Thomas,  and  a  friend  of  his — I'll  call 
him  Percy — was  drowned  in  the  same  storm." 

"  You  call  him  Percy,  do  you  ? "  interposed  Mr. 
Stapleton,  "  and  he  was  drowned  in  the  St.  Thomas 
hurricane  ?  And  what  might  his  other  name 
be?" 

"  I'm  not  giving  names  ;  I'm  telling  you  a  story," 
returned  Mr.  Clifton  curtly. 

"That's  all  right:  something  occurred  to  my 
mind,  that's  all  ;  and  a  mighty  good  story  it  is 
you're  telling,"  rejoined  the  other  affably.  "  So 


A   HUNTER'S    YARN.  ijl 

Mr.  Valentine  went  over  to  Mexico,  did  he  ?     And 
what  did  he  do  there  ?  " 

"  Well,  he'd  brought  some  letters,  so  it  seems, 
introducing  him  to  the  President  and  some  other 
swells  ;  and  he  handed  'em  in,  and  was  received  in 
good  style.  He  gave  'em  to  understand  that  he'd 
come  to  settle,  and  to  grow  up  with  the  country, 
so  to  speak.  One  thing  led  to  another,  and  at  last 
they  got  talking  about  mines  ;  and  with  that  the 
President  gave  him  a  guide,  and  sent  him  off  up 
to  a  place  called  Pachuca,  about  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  north  of  the  city.  He  moused  about  there — 
he  knew  something  of  mining,  it  appears — and 
examined  the  mines  that  were  working,  and  some 
others  that  had  been  given  up  :  and  at  last  he 
fixed  on  a  bit  of  ground  where  there  wasn't  any 
mine  at  all  ;  but  he  took  a  fancy  to  it  for  all  that, 
and  went  back  to  Mexico  to  see  about  getting  pos- 
session of  it.  He  managed  things  very  cleverly, 
and  got  the  swells  interested,  and  made  out  that  he 
wanted  to  let  them  into  a  good  thing,  and  would 
be  satisfied  with  a  very  small  share  himself,  and 
would  take  all  the  trouble  of  looking  after  the 
business  off  their  hands  into  the  bargain.  So  what 
did  he  do  but  raise  a  company,  and  the  company 
raised  a  capital — you  know  how  those  things  are 
worked — and  they  filed  their  claim  to  the  land,  and 
appointed  him  manager,  and  the  first  tests  he 
made  showed  a  bigger  percentage  of  silver  than 
had  been  known  in  that  neighborhood  for  a  hun- 
dred years.  That  was  the  news  my  informant 


172  A   HUNTER'S    YARN. 

brought  me  ;  he  said  all  Mexico  was  talking  of  it  ; 
and  that  Mr.  Valentine's  pickings,  though  they 
might  be  small,  comparatively  speaking,  were  likely 
to  stand  him  in  a  cool  hundred  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  which  is  enough  to  keep  a  man  off  the  parish." 

"  Yes,  I  should  think  it  might,"  Mr.  Stapleton 
assented.  "  And  that's  the  way  it  is  in  this  world, 
Henry  Clifton  ;  luck  goes  dead  against  a  man  for 
years  and  years,  and  no  let  up ;  and  then,  all  of  a 
sudden,  for  no  reason  that  ever  any  body  can  find 
out,  his  brother  dies  and  leaves  him  a  million  in 
England,  and  he  goes  to  Mexico  and  collars  a  mine 
worth  a  hundred  thousand  a  year.  The  million 
ain't  enough,  and  the  mine  ain't  enough  ;  he  must 
have  'em  both  ;  that's  the  way  of  the  world  every 
time  !  " 

Mr.  Clifton  accepted  this  statement  without 
comment,  and  went  on  with  his  story. 

"  As  you  may  suppose,  I  lost  no  time  in  packing 
my  grip  for  Mexico,  and  I  got  there  in  due  season-, 
and  without  accident.  I  put  up  at  the  best  hotel, 
as  is  always  my  way,  for  it  costs  no  more  in  the  end 
and  gives  a  man  a  good  standing  at  the  first  send- 
off.  I  made  my  inquiries,  in  a  quiet,  off-hand 
way  ;  and  I  had  no  difficulty  at  all  in  hearing  all  I 
wanted.  Mr.  Valentine  was  there  ;  nobody  could 
speak  too  well  of  him  ;  he  was  hand-in-glove  with 
the  President,  and  he  was  at  that  moment  out  in 
Pachuca,  superintending  the  putting  up  of  the 
new  machinery  in  the  new  mine.  If  I  had  any  busi- 
ness with  him,  that  was  where  I  would  find  him. 


A   HUNTER'S    YARN.  173 

So  the  next  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  I  took  the  train 
at  Buena  Vista  station  to  Omeltusco,  and  then  by 
diligence  and  horse-car  to  Pachuca,  which  I  reached 
at  sundown,  dead  tired,  and  chock  full  of  dust, 
and  a  precious  cold,  disagreeable,  shabby  hole 
Pachuca  is,  and  I  don't  care  who  knows  it ! 

"  But  I  was  on  business,  and  when  I  learned  that 
Mr.  Valentine  was  camping  out  about  five  miles 
above  I  hired  a  mule  then  and  there,  and  a  black 
fellow  to  show  me  the  way  ;  and  by  nightfall  I 
had  him  !  " 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A    DILEMMA. 

u   \  ND  so  you  handed  him  over  the  deeds  of  his 
lY     estate,  and  that's  the  end  of  the  story?" 
said  Mr.  Stapleton  interrogatively. 

"You're  going  a  bit  too  fast,"  the  other  replied. 
"  The  story  is  just  going  to  begin  ;  what  I've  told 
you  is  merely  by  way  of  explaining  the  situation. 
After  chasing  a  man  half  round  the  world,  and  a 
little  more,  you  don't  expect  to  get  through  your 
business  with  him  in  five  minutes.  When  I  first  saw 
him  he  was  smoking  a  cigar  by  a  fire  that  was  built 
outside  of  one  of  them  adobe  huts,  and  drinking  a 
stuff  they  call  pulque,  which  is  the  nearest  they  can 
get  to  whiskey  in  that  country,  and  pretty  poor 
stuff  it  is.  Well,  I  stepped  up  to  him  and  says  I, 
'  Good  evening,  Mr.  —  -'  (giving  him  his  name 
you  understand)  '  for  I  am  told  that  you  are  that 
gentleman.'  He  looked  up  at  me,  and  I  said  to 
myself  that  I  had  made  no  mistake.  He  had  on  a 
Mexican  scrape  and  a  wide-brimmed  hat ;  but  his 
figure  and  face  answered  well  enough  to  my  de- 
scription of  him,  though  instead  of  side-whiskers 
he  had  a  mustache  and  a  chin-beard,  as  if  he  meant 
to  be  a  Mexican  through  and  through. 


A    DILEMMA.  175 

"  *  Yes,'  says  he,  looking  up  at  me  ;  '  and  have 
you  any  business  with  me  ? ' 

" '  Well,'  says  I,  '  I  think  I  may  say  I  have,  since 
I've  come  some  fifteen  thousand  miles  to  find  you.' 
He  stopped  a  bit  and  then  said,  *  From  England, 
Oh?'  'You  are  right,  sir,'  said  I  :  'but  before  I 
go  further,  and  to  be  sure  there's  no  mistake,  I 
must  ask  you  to  be  kind  enough  to  give  me  an 
account  of  yourself — your  family  and  so  forth — so 
that  I  may  know  you  are  the  man  I'm  sent  to  see, 
and  no  other.'  '  And  what  if  I  refuse  ? '  said  he. 
'  Then,'  said  I,  '  all  I'll  have  to  do  is  to  go  back 
where  I  came  from  ;  though  I  may  tell  you  that  if 
you  are  the  gentleman  in  question  it  will  be  your 
loss,  and  a  big  loss  too,  not  to  let  me  know  it.' 

"  *  As  to  that,'  he  says,  '  I  don't  know  that  you  can 
give  me  any  thing  I  care  to  have,  whatever  you 
may  have  brought  ;  but  if  you  want  to  know  my 
history  I  always  carry  my  papers  about  with  me, 
and  I've  no  objection  to  your  looking  them  over.' 
And  with  that  he  took  a  wallet  out  of  his 
pocket,  and  handed  it  to  me.  I  opened  it  and 
examined  the  papers  one  after  the  other.  'They 
seem  all  right,  sir,'  I  said,  'and  I  suppose  I  may 
as  well  take  it  that  every  thing  is  correct  and  reg- 
ular ;  '  so  then  I  went  on  and  told  him  what  had 
happened,  how  his  brother  was  dead,  and  he  the 
heir  of  the  property.  He  heard  it  all  with  a  sort 
of  strange  look  on  his  face  ;  and  when  I  got  through 
at  first  he  said  nothing  at  all.  He  got  up  and  took 
a  turn  up  and  down,  smoking  his  cigar  ;  but  at 


1 76  A   DILEMMA. 

last  he  comes  back,  and  says  he,  "  Who's  the  next 
heir  after  me  ? " 

"  I  didn't  see  just  what  that  had  to  do  with  it ; 
but  I  said  I  supposed  it  would  be  his  cousin  or 
whatever  relative  was  nearest  his  own  blood. 
'Well,'  says  he,  chucking  away  his  cigar,  ' who- 
ever he  is,  he  may  have  it.  I'm  very  well  satisfied 
as  I  am,  and  I  won't  have  any  thing  to  do  with  it.' 
Those  were  his  very  words,  and  you  may  suppose 
I  was  a  bit  surprised.  'You  won't  have  any  thing 
to  do  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  ? ' 
says  I.  '  Not  with  that  hundred  and  fifty  thousand, 
at  any  rate,'  said  he.  'But  what  are  you  going  to 
do  about  it  ? '  says  I  ;  '  the  property  is  yours,  and 
it's  entailed,  and  you  can't  get  rid  of  it.'  '  Oh 
don't  trouble  yourself  about  that,'  said  he,  with  a 
laugh.  "  It  won't  be  buried  in  the  ground.  And 
if  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst,  how  do  you  know 
that  I  am  the  right  man  after  all  ?  I  have  got  the 
papers,  and  I  am  called  by  that  name  ;  but  you 
yourself  said  that  you  never  saw  me  before  ;  and 
you  could  not  swear  that  I  am  not  somebody  else. 
I  should  have  to  go  to  England,  in  any  case,  to 
prove  my  identity.  But  I  prefer  to  stay  here  ;  and 
that's  the  end  of  it  !  ' 

"  It  was  the  queerest  case  ever  I  heard  of,  and 
I  didn't  know  what  to  make  of  it.  I  sat  there  and 
talked  and  argued  with  him  for  an  hour  and  more, 
but  nothing  I  could  say  made  a  bit  of  difference. 
He  wouldn't  have  the  property  at  any  price,  and 
he  didn't  care  what  came  of  it.  I  gave  it  over,  at 


A   DILEMMA.  177 

last,  for  the  time  being,  and  passed  the  night  in 
the  hut  ;  the  next  morning  I  tried  him  again,  but 
he  was  as  obstinate  as  ever.  Well,  I  didn't  believe 
yet  that  he  meant  all  he  said,  so  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  give  him  a  bit  more  rope.  I  told  him  I 
was  going  to  stay  in  Mexico  a  week  or  two,  and 
let  him  understand  that  if  he  wanted  to  change  his 
mind,  he'd  have  an  opportunity  ;  and  then  I  said 
good-day  and  rode  off.  I  went  back  to  Mexico, 
and  put  up  at  the  hotel,  and  thought  it  all  over  ; 
but  the  more  I  thought  about  it  the  less  I  could 
make  it  out.  If  he  was  the  right  man  (and  every 
thing  about  him  showed  he  was)  it  didn't  seem  in 
human  nature  to  refuse  the  property  ;  and  if  he 
was  an  impostor,  who  had  somehow  managed  to 
get  hold  of  the  right  man's  papers,  and  to  person- 
ate him — why,  then,  what  on  earth  could  his  object 
be  if  not  to  get  the  property  ?  If  any  thing,  that 
would  be  the  strangest  case  of  the  two. 

"  I  had  been  back  from  Pachuca  just  a  week 
when  I  was  told  that  there  was  a  lady  in  the  house 
— an  English  lady — that  wanted  to  see  me.  Thinks 
I,  '  Now,  what  does  this  mean  ? '  I  brushed  myself 
up  a  bit  and  went  down  to  find  out.  She  was  sit- 
ting at  a  table  in  the  patio,  with  a  cup  of  tea  in 
front  of  her.  She  was  a  good-looking  woman,  and 
as  I  judged  might  be  something  under  thirty  years 
old. 

"  I  made  my  bow,  and  she  asked  me  to  be  seated. 
After  a  little  talk,  says  she,  '  I  hear  you  have  been 
inquiring  after  Mr,  Valentine ' — giving  his  full 


178  A   DILEMMA. 

name,  you  understand.  I  told  her  that  I  had. 
'  Did  you  find  him  ? '  asked  she,  l  I  did,'  said  I. 
She  seemed  a  bit  excited  or  anxious,  and  I  began 
to  have  my  own  ideas  ;  but  I  wasn't  prepared  for 
what  she  said  next.  '  I  wish  you  to  know  that  I 
am  his  wife,'  she  said,  *  and  whatever  is  his  business 
is  mine  also.'  '  I  am  bound  to  inform  you,  madam,' 
I  said  at  last,  *  that  his  family  has  no  knowledge  of 
his  marriage  ;  they  believe  him  to  be  a  bachelor.' 
'  I  am  aware  of  that,'  said  she,  '  but  fortunately  I 
am  in  a  position  to  prove  what  I  say';  and  with 
that  she  took  her  marriage  certificate  out  of  her 
pocket  and  showed  it  to  me  ;  it  was  as  regular  as 
the  multiplication  table  ;  she  was  married  to  him 
three  or  four  years  ago,  in  New  Zealand.  I  hadn't 
a  word  to  say.  '  I  understand  he  has  come  into  his 
property,'  said  she.  *  Well,  as  to  that,  madam/ 
said  I.  '  So  he  has  ;  but  he  has  refused  point- 
blank  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  it.'  She  turned 
white  and  looked  at  me  very  sharp.  '  What  do 
you  mean  ? '  she  cried  out.  *  Just  what  I  tell  you,' 
said  I  ;  and  then  I  went  on  and  gave  her  the  story 
of  my  visit  to  him. 

"  Well,  that  seemed  to  floor  her,  at  first  ;  she  kept 
making  exclamations,  and  saying  things  half  to  her- 
self, and  biting  her  lips  ;  it  was  plain  she  didn't 
know  what  to  make  of  it  any  more  than  I  did.  '  I 
must  see  him  !  '  she  cried  out  at  last,  jumping  up 
from  the  table  ;  '  I  must  see  him,  and—  '  Speak  of 
an  angel,  madam,'  says  I  ;  '  here  he  is  ! '  and  sure 
enough,  by  the  funniest  chance  in  the  world,  in 


A    DILEMMA.  J79 

walked  Mr.  Valentine  into  the  patio  at  that  moment. 
I  don't  think  he  was  overpleased  at  the  meeting ; 
but  it  was  too  late  to  get  out  of  it,  so  he  came  up ; 
and  I  noticed  he  only  glanced  at  the  lady,  as  if  she 
was  some  one  he  had  never  seen  before  ;  then  he 
gave  me  good-day,  and  took  my  hand.  It  was  a 
bit  awkward  ;  I  said,  *  I  suppose  you  will  wish  to 
converse  with  your  wife  alone,  sir  ;  I  will  leave 
you.'  *  My  wife  !'  says  he ;  'I  was  not  aware 
there  was  such  a  person  ! '  'Is  not  this  lady  your 
wife  ? '  cried  I.  He  stared  at  her  like  a  man 
astonished,  and  then  at  me.  '  I  never  saw  her  till 
this  moment,'  said  he.  '  Come,  sir,'  said  I,  *  I  have 
just  seen  the  certificate  of  her  marriage  with  you.' 
'  Oh,  it  is  all  a  mistake,'  put  in  the  lady.  '  I  was 
never  married  to  this  gentleman  ;  I  never  saw  him; 
I  am  the  wife  of  Mr.  Valentine.'  '  Well,  and  this 
gentleman  is  Mr.  Valentine,'  said  I.  *  He  may 
have  the  same  name,  but  he  is  another  person 
altogether,'  said  she.  *  As  to  that,'  said  I,  *  you 
must  settle  it  between  you  ;  Mr.  Valentine's  papers 
are  all  correct,  and  there  is  only  one  estate  in 
England  with  the  name  that  his  bears.  *  But  I 
have  proved,'  cried  the  lady, '  that  I  am  the  wife  of 
the  heir  of  that  estate  ;  and  if  this  gentleman  says 
he  is  the  heir,  I  denounce  him  as  an  impostor  !  " 

"  At  that,  I  looked  at  Mr.  Valentine.  He  had 
kept  his  eyes  on  the  lady  all  the  while,  with  a  sort 
of  perplexed  expression  ;  but  now  he  smiled  very 
quietly,  and  said  he, '  I  think  I  have  heard  of  this 
lady  before.  I  wish  to  say  nothing  against  her. 


l8o  A   DILEMMA. 

She  seems  to  be  in  a  dilemma  from  which  there 
is  no  way  of  extricating  her.  If  she  wishes  to  lay 
a  claim  to  the  estates,  she  can  do  so  only  by 
acknowledging  me  as  her  huband.  But  you  have 
just  heard  us  both  declare  that  we  have  never  seen 
each  other  before.  But  she  also  declares  me  an 
imposter.  Suppose  I  am  ;  she  must  find  the  real 
man  before  she  can  profit  by  the  inheritance.  If  I 
am  not  he,  where  is  he  ?  Grant,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  I  am  he,  and  this  lady  is  my  wife;  I  still  decline 
to  touch  a  penny  of  the  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds  ;  and  what  I  will  not  accept  she  cannot 
share.  That  is  logic  and  law  both,  I  believe  ?'" 

"  Upon  my  word,  Henry  Clifton,"  ejaculated 
Mr.  Bob  Stapleton  at  this  juncture,  "  this  is  about 
as  peculiar  a  yarn  as  ever  I  listened  to!  It's  as 
good  as  a  play,  and  better  too.  When  you  get  to 
New  York,  do  you  go  straight  to  a  manager  and 
offer  to  sell  it  to  him ;  and  if  he  don't  give  you  a 
good  price  for  it  I'm  a  Dutchman  !  " 

"  Good  or  bad,"  returned  Mr.  Clifton,  "  it  hap- 
pened just  as  I  tell  it  you.  When  Mr.  Valentine 
said  that,  the  lady  seemed  staggered  for  a  moment; 
and  then  all  at  once  she  called  out,  *  I  see  how  it 
is!  You  two  have  arranged  this  thing  between  you  ! 
You  are  in  a  conspiracy  to  cheat  me  !  You  have 
plotted  to  get  hold  of  this  property  and  share  it 
between  you,  and  keep  me  out !  But  I  will  have 
my  rights  in  spite  of  you  !  I  will  denounce  both 
of  you  to  the  authorities.  For  all  I  know,  you  may 
have  murdered  my  husband,  and  taken  his  papers 


A   DILEMMA.  ii 

But  you  will  not  succeed;  I  will  expose  you,  and 
you  shall  be  punished  !  ' 

"  Well,  that  made  me  a  little  angry,  and  I  told 
her  that  if  she  wanted  to  charge  me  with  conspir- 
acy she  had  better  set  about  it  at  once,  and  the 
sooner  the  better,  for  I  knew  who  would  get  the 
worst  of  it.  As  for  Mr.  Valentine,  he  didn't  lose 
his  temper,  but  he  said  very  quietly,  *  I  am  not  a 
murderer,  madam,  and  you  will  only  waste  your 
time  in  trying  to  prove  me  such.  But  I  can  assure 
you  that,  if  I  am  not  your  husband — and  I  cer- 
tainly am  not — no  such  person  exists  in  the  world. 
Neither  can  you  sustain  the  charge  that  I  am  aim- 
ing— either  in  combination  with  Mr.  Clifton,  or 
alone — to  keep  you  out  of  this  property.  I  told 
him  a  week  ago,  before  you  arrived  in  Mexico, 
that  I  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  and  to 
that  determination  I  shall  adhere.  The  utmost 
you  can  attempt  to  do  is  to  show  that  I  am  not 
Mr.  Valentine  ;  and  that  you  are  welcome  to  at- 
tempt. But  I  warn  you  beforehand  that  all  the 
evidence  is  on  my  side,  and  that  you  will  fail.  I 
advise  you  to  go  back  whence  you  came,  and  to 
give  up  any  idea  of  ever  becoming  a  great  English 
lady.  Meanwhile,  I  have  the  honor  to  wish  you 
good  morning  ! ' 

"  He  bowed  to  her  as  polite  and  cool  as  you 
please,  and  walked  out  of  the  patio  and  I  fol- 
lowed him.  *  What  in  the  name  of  wonder  does  all 
this  mean  ? '  I  asked  him. 

" '  Really,  Mr.  Clifton,'  said  he,  '  I  can  give  you 


1 82  A   DILEMMA. 

no  explanation.  You  have  heard  the  whole  con- 
versation, and  you  must  draw  your  own  conclusions 
from  it,  as  I  do  mine.  If  you  believe  that  that 
lady  is  the  wife,  or  the  widow,  of  the  Mr.  Valentine 
who  has  inherited  the  estate,  you  are  at  liberty  to 
act  in  accordance  with  your  conviction.  The  most 
difficult  thing  will  probably  be  to  make  other 
people  believe  as  you  do.' 

"  <  That's  all  right,  Mr.  Valentine,'  said  I,  *  but 
there  is  one  thing  you  can  tell  me.  You  said  just 
now  that  you  had  heard  speak  of  that  lady  before, 
and  the  inference  was  that  what  you  had  heard 
was  not  to  her  credit.  Now  what  did  you  mean  by 
that  ? ' 

"  *  Well,  Mr.  Clifton,'  said  he,  '  perhaps  I  may 
have  heard  of  her  before,  or  perhaps  I  may  be  mis- 
taken in  thinking  I  had  ;  but  I  don't  see  why  the 
inference  to  be  drawn  is  necessarily  a  bad  one.  At 
all  events,  she  has  never  done  me  any  harm,  and  I 
don't  believe  she  ever  will,  or  can  ;  and  I  have  no 
present  intention  of  harming  her,  either  by  word 
or  deed.  As  I  said  before,  you  must  follow  your 
own  judgment  ;  as  for  me,  what  I  have  said  I 
stick  to,  and  nothing  will  change  me.'  By  that 
time  we  had  got  to  the  door  of  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who  was  a  friend  of  his, 
and  he  went  in  and  left  me  in  the  street,  to  do  my 
own  thinking." 

"Well,  and  what  was  the  upshot  of  it  all?"  in- 
quired Mr.  Stapleton. 

"  It  isn't  ended  yet,"  Mr.  Clifton  replied  ;  "  but 


A   DILEMMA.  183 

from  facts  that  subsequently  came  to  my  knowl- 
edge I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  might  learn 
something  by  coming  on  to  New  York.  I  don't 
mind  telling  you  that  I  have  formed  a  theory  about 
the  case,  and  I  think  I  have  a  clue  ;  but  what  the 
clue  and  the  theory  are  it  would,  of  course,  be  pre- 
mature to  state.  I  expect  to  be  in  the  city  for  a 
month  or  so,  and  if,  as  is  probable,  I  run  across 
you  again,  why,  there  may  be  something  new  to 
say.  But  that's  all  for  to-night." 

"  Now  that  I  think  of  it,  it's  growing  a  little 
chilly,  too,"  rejoined  Mr.  Stapleton,  "  and  as  the 
Governor  of  South  Carolina  once  remarked  to  the 
Governor  of  North  Carolina,  (  it's  a  long  time  be- 
tween drinks.'  I  have  some  acquaintance  with  the 
head  steward  on  board  this  boat ;  suppose  we  go 
down-stairs  ?" 

Apparently  Mr.  Clifton  accepted  this  suggestion  ; 
for  when,  a  few  minutes  later,  the  bearded  gentle- 
man pushed  open  his  blind,  the  two  camp-stools 
were  vacant. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

IN    A    CARRIAGE. 

JUDGE  KETELLE  and  his  young  wife  took 
up  their  abode  in  a  house  not  far  from  the 
southern  boundary  of  Central  Park,  taking  Mrs. 
Nolen  to  live  with  them.  The  wedding  aroused 
considerable  interest  in  New  York  city,  the  beauty 
and  accomplishments  of  the  bride  being  almost  as 
well  known  as  the  forensic  and  judicial  ability  of 
her  husband.  The  newly  married  couple  did  not 
entertain,  however,  owing  to  the  recent  domestic 
misfortunes  which  had  overtaken  Mrs.  Ketelle's 
family  ;  they  received  a  few  friends  very  quietly 
and  informally,  and  made  scarcely  any  calls.  The 
judge  had  not  been  on  the  bench  for  some  years 
previous  to  his  marriage  ;  but  he  had  a  large  and 
important  practice  as  a  barrister,  and  he  now 
devoted  himself  to  this  with  more  assiduity  than 
ever.  Report  had  it  that  he  and  his  wife  were 
very  happy  together,  and  though  some  people 
admired  the  judge's  intrepidity  in  venturing  to  ap- 
propriate a  lady  so  beautiful  and  so  much  his 
junior,  there  was  nothing  in  their  relations  to  indi- 
cate that  his  choice  had  not  been  as  prudent  as  it 
certainly  was  enviable. 


IN  A    CARRIAGE.  185 

The  wedding  had  taken  place  about  the  first  of 
October^  on  the  return  of  the  Nolens  and  Judge 
Ketelle  from  the  seaside  ;  and  after  a  short  honey- 
moon they  settled  in  their  new  dwelling  early  in 
November.  The  judge  attended  to  business  down 
town  every  day  ;  his  wife  spent  her  mornings  at 
home,  and  in  the  afternoons  was  fond  of  driving 
out  in  the  park  in  her  brougham,  occasionally  ac- 
companied by  her  mother,  but  more  often  alone. 
The  weather  was  cold  but  very  fine,  and  the  hue 
of  the  autumn  leaves  was  unusually  beautiful. 
But  those  who  happened  to  see  the  face  of  the 
young  wife  at  the  window  of  her  brougham  forgot 
all  about  the  autumnal  foliage  and  had  their 
thoughts  filled  with  the  memory  of  another  kind  of 
loveliness. 

One  afternoon,  while  passing  the  children's 
play-ground,  Mrs.  Ketelle  caused  the  coachman  to 
stop  his  horses,  in  order  that  she  might  watch  the 
little  creatures  at  their  games  ;  for  nothing  pleased 
her  more  than  the  spectacle  of  children  having  a 
good  time.  After  remaining  a  few  minutes,  she 
was  about  to  give  the  order  to  move  on,  when  her 
attention  was  attracted  to  a  gentleman  who  was 
standing  with  his  back  partly  turned  towards  her 
in  a  foot-path  that  here  approached  the  car- 
riage-way. He  was  tall  and  well  made  ;  he  wore 
a  thin  cape  ulster  of  dark  tweed,  and  a  black  felt 
hat  with  a  curved  brim — a  sort  of  fashionable 
modification  of  the  picturesque  Tyrolese  head- 
gear. Of  his  face  she  could  see  only  the  outline 


1 86  IN  A    CARRIAGE. 

of  the  cheek  and  brow ;  he  had  a  mustache,  and 
a  short,  closely  cut  beard. 

Why  was  it  that  the  sight  of  this  man  produced 
so  strange  and  powerful  an  impression  upon  her  ? 
She  asked  herself  this  question,  but  could  give  it 
no  satisfactory  answer.  Surely  he  was  not  an  ac- 
quaintance of  hers  !  And  yet  there  was  some- 
thing about  him  that  not  only  arrested  her  gaze? 
but  sent  a  thrill  to  her  heart,  as  if  particles 
of  ice  and  fire  were  being  driven  through  it.  Her 
hands  became  cold  and  her  teeth  chattered,  and 
yet  her  cheeks  were  burning,  and  drops  stood  on 
her  forehead. 

The  gentleman  turned  slowly  to  resume  his 
walk.  As  his  face  came  more  fully  into  view,  Mrs. 
Ketelle  caught  her  breath  with  a  sharp  sound,  and 
her  fingers  grasped  the  frame  of  the  door  convul- 
sively. "She  could  not  cry  out ;  her  lips  were 
parched  and  her  tongue  was  dry.  But  her  whole 
soul  went  out  to  him  through  her  eyes.  Was  it  a 
dream  ?  Was  he  a  phantom  ?  Could  she  be  de- 
ceived by  some  marvellous  resemblance  ?  Oh, 
would  he  pass  on  without  seeing  her,  and  vanish 
forever ! 

He  had,  in  fact,  walked  on  several  paces,  and  in 
another  minute  he  would  he  out  of  reach.  But 
either  accident  or  one  of  those  mysterious  mental 
impressions  which  many  persons  have  experienced 
in  some  epoch  of  their  lives  caused  him  suddenly 
to  pause,  turn  about,  and  look  directly  at  the  face 
in  the  carriage  window.  Their  eyes  met  for  a 


IN  A    CARRIAGE.  187 

moment ;  then  the  woman  covered  her  face  with 
her  hands,  and  sank  back  in  her  seat  with  a  breath- 
less cry  of  terror,  bewilderment,  and  intolerable 
joy. 

The  gentleman,  who  also  seemed  pale  and  agi- 
tated, came  over  to  the  road  and  laid  his  hand  on 
the  carriage  door.  "  Drive  on  !  "  he  said  to  the 
coachman,  and  with  the  words  he  entered  the  car- 
riage and  closed  the  door  after  him.  Then  he 
pulled  down  the  shades  over  the  windows.  The 
coachman  spoke  to  his  horses,  and  they  moved  on. 
.  This  episode  had  taken  place  in  a  short  space  of 
time,and  with  very  little  visible  manifestation  of  feel- 
ing on  either  side.  Nevertheless,  it  had  not  entirely 
escaped  observation.  Two  men  had  been  saunter- 
ing along  the  path  side  by  side,  apparently  whiling 
away  the  hour  or  two  that  separated  them  from 
dinner.  One  of  them  was  a  tall,  slender,  graceful 
fellow,  with  sharp  but  well-molded  features,  black 
hair  and  moustache,  and  a  pair  of  restless  black 
eyes.  He  was  dressed  quietly,  in  dark  colors,  and 
yet  there  was  a  certain  jauntiness  in  his  appearance 
that  suggested  the  sporting  man  or  the  sharper. 
His  companion  was  a  considerably  older  man,  and 
his  face  was  of  a  much  coarser  cast  ;  his  clothes 
were  new,  but  fitted  him  ill,  and  he  wore  a  flashy 
necktie  and  watch-chain.  His  small  gray  eyes  had 
noted  the  little  occurrence  above  described,  and  as 
the  carriage  rolled  away  he  nudged  his  friend 
with  his  elbow. 

"  Well,  what  now  ?"  said  the  latter. 


1 88  IN  A   CARRIAGE. 

"  Drd  you  see  that  ?  " 

"What?" 

"  Well,  your  wits  are  wool-gathering,  it  seems. 
Did  you  see  that  fellow  get  into  that  carriage  ?  " 

"  What  carriage  ?  " 

"  That  carriage  that  was  standing  here  just  now 
with  the  lady  in  it.  Why,  what's  got  into  you, 
Horrie  ?  Don't  you  know  who  she  was  ? " 

"  No  I  don't.     How  should  I  ?  " 

"  Well,  you  might  find  it  money  in  your  pocket 
some  day,  that's  all.  Swell  women  like  that  don't 
drive  out  alone  in  the  Park  for  nothing,  I  reckon  ! 
And  may  be,  rather  than  have  their  husbands 
know  what  they're  after,  they  might  see  their  way 
to  paying  an  obliging  person  a  consideration  to 
keep  his  mouth  shut." 

"  Oh,  stuff  !  That  business  is  played  out.  The 
swells  are  on  to  it,  and  the  first  word  that's  said 
they  ring  the  bell  for  the  police.  I  don't  want  any 
of  that  in  mine,  thank  you  !  And  if  you  want  any 
one  to  believe  you  know  all  the  ladies  that  drive  in 
the  Park  in  their  own  broughans,  you  must  find 
some  greener  hand  than  I  am." 

"I  know  who  she  was,  just  the  same,"  retorted 
the  other.  "  She's  the  girl  that  married  that  fellow 
Ketelle,  a  month  ago." 

"  She  ?  —  the  sister  of  that —  "  he  stopped. 

"  The  sister  of  Jerrold  Nolen  !  You  remember 
him,  if  I  ain't  mistaken,"  said  the  short  man,  with 
a  chuckle. 

"  Yes,  I  remember  him  ;  and  when  the  accounts 


IN  A    CARRIAGE.  189 

are  evened  up  I'll  remember  you  too,  Jack  Grush, 
and  don't  you  forget  it !  "  exclaimed  the  black- 
haired  man,  with  a  sullen  fierceness.  The  fellow 
he  had  called  Grush  laughed  but  made  no  reply. 
"  So  that  was  his  sister,  was  it  ? "  the  other  went 
on,  muttering  to  himself  ;  "  and  she's  married  to 
the  judge  a  month  ago,  and  taking  fellows  to  drive 
in  her  brougham  ! "  He  twisted  the  ends  of  his 
moustache,  and  switched  the  toe  of  his  boot,  as  he 
sauntered  along,  with  the  light  cane  he  carried. 

Let  us  follow  Mrs.  Ketelle's  carriage. 

After  the  first  few  minutes  of  speechless  and 
wild  emotion  were  passed,  Pauline  relinquished 
her  brother's  hand,  and  shrank  away  from  him  to 
her  side  of  the  carriage.  A  reaction  of  feeling  had 
come  over  her.  She  felt  a  sort  of  indignation  that 
she  should  have  been  all  these  months  grieving  for 
a  calamity  that  had  never  happened. 

"  Why  did  you  never  let  us  know  that  you  were 
alive  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"  I  put  it  off  from  day  to  day,"  he  said.  "  I  had 
not  decided,  at  first,  what  to  do.  I  thought  of 
coming  home  ;  then  I  thought,  that  since  I  had 
been  reported  dead  it  was  better  to  let  it  be 
believed  so  for  a  time,  until  the  truth  about  the 
robbery  should  be  discovered.  Besides,  I  knew 
that  detectives  would  be  after  me,  and  I  feared  that 
a  letter  addressed  to  you  or  to  the  judge  might 
betray  me.  At  last  when  I  found  something  to  do 
I  decided  to  wait  until  I  was  certain  of  success 
before  communicating  with  you.  And  finally,  cir- 


190  IN  A    CARRIAGE. 

cumstances  led  to  my  coming  back  here  unexpect- 
edly, myself." 

"  But  Valentine  might  have  written,  if  you  could 
not." 

"  Valentine  !  Why,  Pauline,  don't  you  know — 
don't  you  see — it  was  Valentine  who  was  drowned  !  " 

"  Valentine  !  Oh,  God  forgive  me  !  how  I  have 
wronged  him  !  "  she  turned  aside  and  rested  her 
face  against  the  side  of  the  carriage,  and  sobbed 
for  a  few  moments  passionately.  But  she  was  never 
one  to  be  long  mastered  by  emotion.  She  forced 
back  her  tears,  and  said,  "  Tell  me  !  tell  me  all  !  " 

"  The  whole  affair  came  about  by  an  accident, 
without  any  prearrangement  at  all.  When  I  went 
down  to  the  pier  of  the  steamship,  Val  had  sug- 
gested my  making  one  or  two  alterations  in  my 
dress  and  appearance,  so  that  if  any  one  were  on 
the  lookout  for  me  I  should  pass  for  Valentine. 
Afterwards,  on  the  steamer,  we  found  that  people 
were  giving  us  each  other's  names,  and  we  let  it 
be  so.  We  occupied  the  same  state-room,  and  I 
used  his  things — I  had  brought  very  little  of  my 
own  with  me.  On  the  voyage  he  told  me  all  his 
private  history  :  I  afterwards  thought  that  if  he 
had  been  consciously  training  me  to  personate  him, 
he  could  not  have  done  it  more  effectually.  Then 
came  the  day  of  the  hurricane.  We  were  close 
together  all  the  time  until  within  a  few  minutes  of 
the  time  the  wind  changed.  We  were  in  the  cabin  ; 
there  was  a  lantern  burning,  but  it  was  almost  quite 
dark.  Val  left  me  and  went  to  our  room,  I  could 


IN  A    CARRIAGE.  191 

see  him  there  ;  he  seemed  to  be  writing  on  some- 
thing that  he  held  up  before  him.  Afterwards  he 
went  towards  the  steward's  room,  holding  on  by 
the  iron  pillars  of  the  cabin  as  he  went.  That  was 
the  last  I  saw  of  him.  He  must  have  gone  on  deck 
— for  what,  I  can't  imagine — and  been  swept  over- 
board. No  one  knew  any  thing  of  it  until  the  next 
morning." 

"  Now  I  know — now  I  know  ! "  murmured  Pauline, 
pressing  her  hands  over  her  heart.  "It  was  he — 
he  did  not  forget — I  might  have^  known  it  !  " 

"  What  might  you  have  known  ?  "  asked  her 
brother. 

"  Nothing ;  go  on.  When  you  found  that  he 
was  dead,  what  then  ?  " 

"  We  had  agreed,  before,  to  go  to  Mexico.  He 
had  letters  and  papers.  I  took  them,  and  went, 
travelling  as  Valentine  Martin.  I  saw  that  in  that 
way  I  should  get  a  standing  in  the  place  which  I 
could  not  have  obtained  for  myself,  and  that  the 
report  of  my  death  would  throw  off  the  police.  I 
was  cordially  received  in  Mexico,  and  put  in  the 
way  of  doing  some  valuable  business.  Every  thing 
prospered  with  me,  as  it  had  never  done  before. 
The  story  is  too  long  to  tell  fully  now  ;  but  in  the 
midst  of  my  success  an  extraordinary  thing  occurred  ; 
an  English  agent  of  the  Martin  estate  came 
over  and  told  me — supposing  me  to  be  Valentine 
— that  by  my  brother's  death  I  was  the  heir.  I  did 
not  wish  to  enter  into  explanations,  so  I  simply 
told  him  that  I  did  not  want  the  estate,  and  that  it 


192  IN  A    CARRIAGE. 

might  go  to  the  next  of  kin.  I  had  forgotten  that 
Val  had  a  wife,  though,  of  course,  I  knew  all  about 
her.  She  had  ruined  his  life  in  more  ways  than 
one,  and  was  no  better  than  she  should  be  ;  but  if 
his  death  were  known  she  would  be  entitled  to  a 
share  of  the  estate.  It  seems  she  had  got  wind  of 
the  English  agent's  business,  and  had  followed  him 
from  New  Zealand.  I  had  a  curious  interview  with 
her  ;  she  charged  me  finally  with  having  made 
away  with  her  husband  in  order,  by  personating 
him,  to  get  his  property,  and  treated  my  assertion 
that  I  was  not  going  to  touch  the  property  as  mere 
buncombe.  But  the  next  day  I  got  a  letter 
from  her  in  which  she  actually  offered,  in  case  I 
would  make  common  cause  with  her,  to  go  to 
England,  prove  her  marriage  to  Valentine,  get  the 
estate,  and  then  divide  with  me  !" 

"  Poor  Valentine  !  "  murmured  Pauline,  with  a 
trembling  lip. 

"  When  I  refused,  she  declared  war,  and  said  she 
would  expose  me  as  an  impostor  and  probable 
murderer.  She  learned  that  I  was  manager  and 
part  owner  of  a  valuable  mine  that  I  had  discovered 
near  Pachuca.  The  other  owners  were  two  high 
officers  of  the  government.  She  went  to  them 
with  her  story.  They  told  me  what  she  had  said. 
I  had  already  made  up  my  mind  what  to  do  ;  I 
gave  them  the  whole  history  of  what  had  happened 
since  Valentine  and  I  had  left  New  York  ;  I  told 
them  what  he  had  told  me  about  his  wife  ;  and 
then  I  showed  them  the  letter  she  had  just  written 


IN  A    CARRIAGE.  193 

me.  I  knew  I  was  risking  every  thing  in  making  a 
clean  breast  of  it ;  but  the  fact  was  I  was  tired  of 
living  under  a  name  that  did  not  belong  to  me, 
and  I  wanted  to  put  an  end  to  it  at  all  hazards." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that  !  "  said  Pauline. 

"  They  were  rather  upset  by  the  story,  and  for  a 
while  I  thought  the  affair  would  go  against  me. 
But  I  suspect  they  considered  me  too  useful  a  man 
to  lose  ;  I  was  making  a  great  deal  of  money  for 
them,  and  doing  all  the  work  ;  and  then  the 
woman's  letter  tipped  the  beam.  They  said, 
finally,  that  they  would  accept  me  for  what  I  was, 
if  I  could  give  them  satisfactory  proof  that  I  was 
what  I  declared  myself  to  be.  Let  me  show  letters 
or  vouchers  from  reputable  persons  in  New  York, 
bearing  out  my  account  of  myself,  and  they  would 
accept  me  as  a  full  equivalent  for  what  I  had  pre- 
tended to  be.  I  had  a  power  of  attorney  that  Val 
had  given  me  on  the  steamer,  but  of  course  I  could 
not  tell  them  what  had  led  to  my  leaving  New  York  ; 
I  could  not  ask  any  one  here  for  a  certificate  of  good 
character  until  my  name  has  been  cleared  of  the 
charge  against  it.  But  it  wouldn't  do  to  hesitate;  so 
I  said,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  that  I  would  go 
to  New  York,  get  the  evidence  they  required,  and 
return  to  them  with  it.  So  here  I  am  ;  but  I  over- 
heard some  conversation,  coming  down  on  the  boat, 
between  the  English  agent  and  a  New  York  detec- 
tive, which  made  it  seem  probable  that  my  affairs 
will  be  investigated  whether  I  like  it  or  not,  and 
that  meanwhile  the  true  story  of  how  the  robbery 


194  IN  A    CARRIAGE. 

was  committed  has  not  been  revealed  yet.  How 
is.it?" 

The  answer  to  this  question  led  to  a  long  con- 
versation, in  the  course  of  which  Percy  learned  all 
that  had  happened  during  his  absence,  including 
Pauline's  marriage.  The  search  for  the  thief  for 
whose  crime  he  had  suffered  had  as  yet  met  with 
no  success ;  but  it  was  still  being  carried  on. 
After  discussing  the  matter,  it  v/as  decided  that 
Percy's  presence  in  the  city  should,  for  the  moment, 
be  kept  a  secret  from  every  one,  even  from  his 
mother  and  Judge  Ketelle.  He  should  conceal 
himself  in  lodgings  in  the  upper  part  of  the  town, 
where  Pauline  could  visit  him  from  time  to  time, 
and  report  the  progress  of  affairs,  and  learn,  if 
possible,  from  Inspector  Byrnes,  what  were  the 
object  and  result  of  the  English  agent  Clifton's 
mission  to  New  York.  There  might  be  difficulties 
in  the  way  ;  but  the  brother  and  sister  were  young, 
and  believed  that  the  longest  lane  has  a  turning. 

It  was  late  when  Pauline  drove  up  to  the  door  of 
her  house,  and,  alighting,  walked  up  the  steps  of 
the  porch.  Her  mind  was  full  of  her  brother  ;  and 
she  did  not  notice  the  tall  man  with  the  black 
moustache  who  stood  on  the  corner  of  the  street, 
tapping  his  troot  with  his  cane. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A    CHECK. 

HAVING  seen  the  lady  into  the  house,  the  man 
with  the  black  mustachios  turned  en  his  heel 
and  sauntered  away. 

Black  Horace  (as  he  was  known  to  his  intimates) 
was  not  born  to  a  criminal  career,  and  his  present 
position  and  character  were  the  result  partly  of 
innate  evil  and  partly  of  circumstances.  He  had 
received  an  excellent  education  and  had  graduated 
from  the  New  York  Medical  School  in  good  stand- 
ing. Up  to  that  time,  beyond  a  tendency  to  loose 
company  and  irregular  habits,  he  had  developed 
no  noticeably  bad  tendencies.  The  chances  were 
that  he  would  outgrow  his  youthful  follies  and 
become'a  useful  member  of  society. 

Almost  immediately  upon  his  graduation,  how- 
ever, his  destiny  took  a  sinister  turn.  At  a  parting 
supper  with  his  comrades  he  got  into  a  quarrel  with 
one  of  them,  ending  in  a  scuffle  in  which  blows 
were  exchanged.  The  quarrel  was  patched  up 
and  the  two  antagonists  shook  hands  and  drank 
together,  but  Horace  secretly  bore  a  grudge  and 
was  determined  to  "  get  even,"  At  the  end  of  the 


I96  A    CHECK. 

evening,  his  late  antagonist  being  somewhat  the 
worse  for  liquor,  Horace  volunteered  to  see  him 
home.  They  walked  off  together,  Horace  revolving 
in  his  mind  the  scheme  of  some  practical  joke. 

That  night  Horace's  companion  was  found  insen- 
sible on  his  doorstep  with  the  mark  of  a  blow  from 
a  slung-shot  behind  his  ear.  He  never  entirely 
recovered  consciousness,  and  died  the  next  day 
after  uttering  the  name  of  Horace  Dupee. 

Horace  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  murder,  and 
in  default  of  bail  was  thrown  into  prison.  After  a 
long  series  of  delays,  extending  over  a  year,  he  was 
brought  to  trial  and  acquitted.  The  evidence, 
though  amounting  to  a  strong  probability,  was  not 
conclusive,  and  the  jury  gave  him  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt.  He  went  forth  nominally  a  free  man,  but 
his  social  and  professional  career  were  blasted  ere 
they  had  fairly  begun.  The  shadow  of  the  mark 
of  Cain,  if  not  the  mark  itself,  was  upon  him. 

He  might  have  changed  his  name  and  achieved 
success  in  another  country.  But  half  from  sullen 
obstinacy,  half  from  lack  of  business  energy,  he 
did  not  do  this.  Instead,  he  drifted  into  bad 
society  and  soon  found  himself  in  harmony  with  it. 
The  class  of  society  in  which  he  had  formerly 
moved  ceased  to  know  him.  The  police  began  to 
take  an  interest  in  him,  but  he  was  shrewd  and 
cautious  enough  to  avoid  falling  into  their  hands. 
Some  of  his  escapes  were  very  narrow,  but  up  to 
the  present  time  his  photograph  had  not  appeared 
in  the  Rogue's  Gallery.  In  such  a  case,  however, 


A   CHECK.  197 

detection  is  certain  to  come  sooner  or  later.  Some 
oversight  is  committed,  some  "  pal "  turns  State's 
evidence,  or  some  fatality  occurs. 

Since  the  time  of  his  downfall  Horace  Dupee  had 
wandered  from  place  to  place  and  lived  in  most 
States  of  the  Union.  But  again  and  again  he 
returned  to  New  York,  though  he  knew  that  he  ran 
greater  risks  there  than  elsewhere.  At  the  time  we 
come  up  with  him  he  had  been  absent  from  the 
city  for  nearly  a  year.  It  was  on  the  day  after  his 
arrival  that  his  companion,  Grush,  had  called  his 
attention  to  Mrs.  Retelle. 

She  was  the  sister  of  the  man  of  whose  murder 
he  had  been  accused.  This  fact  was  sufficient  to 
inspire  him  with  animosity  against  her.  He  had 
never  seen  her  before.  The  only  member  of  the 
family  with  whom  he  had  ever  come  in  personal 
contact  was  Jerrold  Nolen.  But  he  owed  them 
all  a  grudge.  If  it  had  not  been  for  them  he  might 
have  had  a  successful  career.  He  was  prepared, 
therefore,  to  do  her  whatever  ill-turn  came  in  his 
way.  It  was  an  additional  motive  that  the  ill-turn 
to  her  could  be  made  of  advantage  to  himself. 
Grush  had  suggested  this,  and  though  he  had 
turned  aside  the  suggestion,  he  considered  it  none 
the  less.  There  was  no  need  of  letting  Grush  into 
the  affair.  In  secret  councils  was  safety.  Besides 
Grush  had  no  claims  upon  him — quite  the  contrary  ; 
he,  too,  was  associated  with  whatever  was  disastrous 
in  his  life.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  carry  out  his 
purpose  without  saying  any  thing  to  Grush  about  it. 


198  A    CHECK. 

Several  days  passed.  One  afternoon  Mrs.  Ketelle 
left  her  house  and  took  a  Fourth  Avenue  car  up- 
town. She  left  it  in  the  neighborhood  of  Harlem, 
walked  across  town  a  couple  of  blocks,  and  entered 
the  door  of  a  small  flat  that  formed  part  of  an  un- 
finished block  on  a  side  street.  She  remained  there 
for  upwards  of  an  hour.  Twilight  was  beginning 
to  fall  when  she  came  out. 

She  had  not  walked  far  when  she  heard  a  step 
behind  her,  and  a  voice  said,  "  Good  evening,  Mrs. 
Ketelle.  How  is  the  judge  to-day  ?  " 

She  turned,  and  saw  at  her  side  a  well-dressed 
man  of  dark  complexion,  who  fixed  his  eyes  upon 
her  in  a  manner  she  did  not  like.  But  his  knowl- 
edge of  her  name  and  of  her  husband  led  her  to 
suppose  that  she  must  have  met  him  somewhere 
and  forgotten  him.  "  You  must  excuse  me,  sir," 
she  said,  "  but  you  have  the  advantage  of  me." 

"  Indeed,  I  believe  you  are  right,"  he  answered, 
with  a  short  laugh.  "  The  advantage  is  all  on  my 
side.  But  tell  me,  Mrs.  Ketelle,  how  does  married 
life  suit  you  ?  Does  the  judge  come  up  to  your  ex- 
pectations ?  For  my  part,  I  should  think  twice 
before  marrying  a  woman  so  much  younger  than 
myself.  By  the  time  you  are  coming  into  full 
bloom  the  judge  will  be  in  the  sere  and  yellow 
leaf.  But  I  suppose  you  know  how  to  manage 
him.  He  hasn't  betrayed  any  symptoms  of  the 
green-eyed  monster  yet,  has  he  ?  " 

This  speech  produced  such  astonishment  in 
Pauline  that  she  could  not  find  words  to  interrupt 


A    CHECK.  199 

it.     But  when  the  speaker  paused  she  stood  still 
and  looked  him  curiously  in  the  face. 

"  You  don't  seem  to  be  intoxicated,"  she  said  at 
length.  "  You  may  be  crazy.  Whatever  you  are, 
I  advise  you  to  go.  I  do  not  want  you." 

"  No,  I  suppose  not,"  he  replied,  returning  her 
glance  insolently.  "  I  am  not  the  lucky  man.  The  • 
judge  has  no  cause  to  be  jealous  of  me.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  I  may  be  of  some  use  to  him.  Of 
course,  it  will  be  a  pity  to  spoil  your  little  game. 
You  have  managed  it  all  so  nicely,  even  to  provid- 
ing him  with  lodgings  ;  and  he  is  such  a  fine  look- 
ing young  fellow,  and  it  is  all  so  lovely  and 
romantic.  But,  you  see,  I  have  a  high  regard  for 
the  judge,  and  I  can't  bear  to  see  him  made  a  fool 
of.  These  billings  and  cooings  in  the  park,  and 
assignations  in  flats  —  they  must  be  stopped. 
Society  won't  stand  it.  And  the  best  way  to  stop 
it  that  I  can  think  of  is  to  tell  Judge  Ketelle." 

Pauline  listened  to  all  this  attentively,  at  first 
with  a  dreadful  fear  that  this  unknown  man  had 
become  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  her  brother 
had  returned  to  New  York.  But  as  he  went  on 
she  perceived  that  he  supposed  Percy  to  be  her 
lover  ;  and  then  his  object  became  clear.  A  deep 
blush  overspread  her  face.  That  she  should  be 
thought  capable,  even  by  a  wretch  who  did  not 
know  her,  of  an  illicit  intrigue,  filled  her  with  hor- 
ror and  anger.  But  underneath  this  feeling  there 
was  another  and  a  more  powerful  one.  It  was  a 
feeling  of  relief  and  joy  that  her  brother  was  safe, 


200  A   CHECK. 

at  least  that  she  could  save  him  by  the  sacrifice 
(so  far  as  this  man  was  concerned)  of  her  reputa- 
tion as  a  pure  woman.  By  letting  him  continue  to 
suppose  that  it  was  an  ordinary  intrigue  in  which 
she  was  engaged,  and  paying  him  for  his  silence — 
for  she  divined  that  it  was  for  that  purpose  he  had 
accosted  her — she  could  keep  Percy's  secret  until 
the  time  arrived  when  it  might  safely  be  divulged. 
The  sacrifice  was  perhaps  as  arduous  a  one  as  an 
honest  woman  could  be  called  upon  to  make  ;  but 
there  was  no  hesitation  in  her  mind  as  to  whether 
or  not  she  should  make  it. 

"  I  have  heard  that  there  were  such  persons  as 
you,  but  I  never  saw  one  before,"  she  said.  "  You 
are  a  blackmailer,  are  you  not?  " 

There  was  something  in  her  tone  that  touched 
a  sore  spot  in  him,  callous  and  degraded  though  he 
had  become.  To  see  her  beautiful  face  and  angry 
eyes  gazing  straight  into  his,  and  to  feel  that  her 
contempt  for  him  was  far  too  great  for  her  to  make 
any  attempt  to  express  it  in  words,  was  an  experi- 
ence that  even  he  found  trying.  He  remembered, 
with  a  pang  of  hopeless  rage,  that  he  might  have 
so  lived  as  to  have  the  right  to  meet  this  lovely 
woman  on  terms  of  social  equality,  and  to  win  her 
respect  and  perhaps  her  regard.  As  it  was,  it  was 
impossible  for  one  human  being  to  despise  another 
more  than  she  despised  him.  And  yet,  what  right 
had  she  to  despise  him  if  she  were  herself  repre- 
hensible before  society  ?  The  thought  hardened 
him  again. 


A    CHECK.  201 

"  I  see  you  are  up  to  business,  as  well  as  to  some 
other  things,"  he  scud.  "  I  have  my  living  to 
make  ;  you  are  paid  for  by  your  husband  and 
amuse  yourself  by  deceiving  him.  If  he  divorces 
you,  you  may  find  out  what  it  is  to  make  your  own 
way  in  the  world  ;  as  long  as  your  good  looks  last 
no  doubt  it  will  be  easy  ;  but  after  that  you  may 
be  ready  to  take  a  few  lessons  from  me.  But 
meantime  I  intend  to  bleed  you  for  what  I  want. 
As  soon  as  you  get  tired  of  paying  me,  I  shall  go 
to  the  judge — and  you  will  go  to  the  devil  !  Is 
that  plain  ? " 

"  Yes,  I  understand  you.  You  will  certainly 
earn  your  money,"  she  remarked,  with  a  smile  that 
made  him  grind  his  teeth.  "  Well,  then,  I  w;ii  pay 
you  for  your  silence.  Now,  as  to  the  ;  mount. 
Have  you  thought  about  that  ? " 

"  You  will  hand  over  five  hundred  ollars  this 
evening.  I  will  let  you  know  when  I  want  any 
more." 

"  No,"  she  said  decisively,  "  I  will  not  give  you 
five  hundred  dollars.  That  is  absurd." 

11  Either  that,  or  your  husband  knows  all  about 
your  performances  before  he  goes  to  bed  to- 
night." 

"  Very  well.  But  recollect  that  by  betraying  me 
to  him  you  will  free  me  from  every  restraint  and 
scruple.  I  suppose  you  don't  need  to  be  told  that 
I  am  not  kindly  disposed  toward  you.  The  pleas- 
ure of  destroying  you  would  compensate  me  for 
the  loss  of  social  position  you  speak  of.  While 


202  A   CHECK. 

you  are  with  my  husband,  I  shall  be  with  Inspector 
Byrnes.  I  promise  you  faithfully  that  you  shall 
suffer  the  utmost  penalty  of  the  law  ;  and  after  the 
law  has  done  with  you,  I  will  take  you  in  hand 
myself.  When  that  time  comes,  you  will  wish  that 
the  law  had  kept  you  longer.  You  will  never  draw 
a  breath  that  is  not  free  from  pain  and  terror  as 
long  as  you  live.  Look  at  me,  sir.  Don't  you 
think  I  mean  what  I  say  ? " 

The  quietness  of  anger  at  white  heat  was  in  her 
eyes  and  voice,  and  it  scared  the  man  somewhat, 
as  it  would  have  scared  a  much  more  doughty  ras- 
cal. He  forced  a  laugh,  and  struck  his  boot  with 
his  cane.  After  a  moment  she  turned  and  resumed 
her  walk  up  the  street. 

He  remained  where  he  was  until  she  was  half  a 
block  distant.  Then  he  hastened  after  her  and 
overtook  her. 

"  Look  here,  Mrs.  Ketelle,"  he  said,  "  business  is 
business.  I'm  not  a  fool.  Tell  me  what  you  can 
do,  and  I'll  give  you  my  answer." 

She  replied  at  once,  continuing  her  walking,  but 
keeping  her  eyes  upon  him  as  she  spoke.  "  I  am 
allowed  by  my  husband  fifty  dollars  a  week  pocket- 
money.  I  will  pay  you  twenty  dollars  a  week, 
until,  in  my  opinion,  you  have  had  enough.  I  will 
pay  you  your  first  month's  wages  in  advance — 
eighty  dollars.  You  must  be  careful  not  to  apply 
for  more  until  the  month  is  out.  Those  are  my 
terms." 

"  They  won't  do  !  "  said  he,  blusteringly.  "  You'll 


A    CHECK.  203 

pay  me  two  hundred  now  and  fifty  a  week,  or  it's 
no  deal !  Come,  now  !  " 

"  If  you  address  me  again,  except  to  accept  my 
proposition,  I  will  have  you  arrested,  come  what 
may  !  "  The  color  rushed  to  her  face  and  her 
eyes  flashed.  She  was  losing  her  temper,  and  she 
was  evidently  in  earnest. 

He  was  silent  a  moment,  and  then  shrugged  his 
shoulders.  "All  right,  I'll  take  it,"  he  said. 
"  Hand  over  the  money." 

"  I  do  not  carry  that  amount  in  my  purse,"  she 
returned  quietly. 

"  How  am  I  to  get  it,  then  ? " 

"  You  will  come  to  my  house  like  any  other  per- 
son to  whom  things  are  paid.  Did  you  think  I 
was  going  to  make  appointments  to  meet  you  at 
the  street  corners,  or  in  liquor  saloons  ?  My  hus- 
band will  pay  you." 

"  Your  husband  !  Look  here,  Mrs.  Ketelle,  you 
are  a  smart  woman  ;  but  if  you  think  you  can  play 
any  game  on  me,  you  are  mistaken.  You  have 
more  at  stake  than  I  have.  Don't  try  to  bluff 
me!" 

"  If  I  have  the  most  at  stake,  why  do  you  feel 
uneasy?  You  will  receive  your  money  in  that  way, 
or  not  at  all.  It  is  just  as  you  choose." 

They  had  now  reached  the  corner  of  the  avenue ; 
Pauline  signalled  the  down-town  car  that  was  ap- 
proaching, and  got  in.  The  man  followed  her. 
She  handed  the  conductor  a  double  fare,  remark- 
ing, "  I  am  paying  for  that  person." 


204  A    CHECK. 

No  conversation  passed  while  they  were  in  the 
car.  Dupee  was  ill 'at  ease,  but  he  could  not  see 
but  that  he  had  the  best  of  the  situation.  She 
could  not  afford  to  betray  him.  On  the  other 
hand,  what  if  Judge  Ketelle  should  happen  to 
know  him  by  sight  ?  No  ;  he  was  certain  they  had 
never  met ;  the  judge  had  taken  no  part  in  his 
trial,  either  as  witness  or  jurist.  Besides,  again, 
was  it  not  her  interest  to  protect  him  ? 

The  car  stopped,  and  they  got  out,  and  walked 
across  to  her  house.  The  door  was  opened  to  her 
ring,  and  they  entered. 

"  Is  Judge  Ketelle  in  ? "  she  asked  the  servant. 

"  Yes,  madam.  He  has  just  gone  into  the 
library." 

"  Sit  down  here,"  she  said  to  Dupee,  addressing 
him  as  if  he  were  a  tradesman's  clerk  who  had 
called  for  his  bill.  "  I  will  let  you  know  when  it 
is  ready." 

She  passed  through  a  door  on  the  right,  leaving 
him  there.  Presently  he  heard  her  voice  and  an- 
other— the  judge's — in  conversation.  Then  she 
opened  another  door  further  up  the  hall  and 
called  to  him,  "  Come  this  way,  please." 

He  went  forward,  and  found  himself  in  the 
library.  The  judge  was  seated  at  a  writing-table  on 
which  stood  a  student's  lamp.  He  was  in  the  act 
of  taking  his  check-book  from  a  drawer. 

"What  amount  did  you  say,  my  dear?"  he  in- 
quired, suspending  his  pen  over  the  inkstand. 

"  Eighty  dollars,"  she  replied. 


A  CHECK.  205 

The  judge  began  to  write.  "What  name?"  he 
inquired,  looking  up  at  Dupee,  who  stood  some- 
what in  the  shadow. 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  "  Mrs.  Ketelle  repeated. 

Dupee  now  fancied  he  knew  why  she  had  brought 
him  to  the  house.  In  the  first  place,  the  check 
could  be  traced  ;  then  the  judge  could  be  called  to 
prove  that  it  had  been  paid  to  him  ;  and,  finally, 
she  had  hoped  to  surprise  him  into  betraying  his 
name.  But  he  had  gone  too  far  to  go  back  ;  and 
as  for  the  name,  that  was  easily  managed.  It  was 
partly  from  a  malicious  motive  that  he  answered  : 

"  My  name  is  John  Crush." 

"  John  Grush,"  echoed  the  judge,  writing  it 
down.  He  signed  the  check,  and  extended  it 
toward  Dupee.  "  Have  you  receipted  the  bill  ?  " 
he  asked. 

Dupee  looked  at  Mrs.  Ketelle.  "  I  did  not  get 
a  bill,"  she  said.  "  The  check  is  itself  a  receipt,  is 
it  not?" 

"  Yes,  yes,  to  be  sure,"  rejoined  her  husband. 
"  Well,  that's  all  right,  then  ;  that's  all  !  " 

"  You  may  go,"  said  Mrs.  Ketelle,  glancing  at 
Dupee  as  if  he  were  a  piece  of  furniture.  When 
she  heard  the  street  door  close,  she  went  round  to 
her  husband  and  kissed  him.  "  You  are  very 
good,"  she  said. 

"  What — to  give  you  eighty  dollars  without  ask- 
ing you  what  you  had  bought  ?  "  he  returned, 
laughing. 

"  Yes  ;  but  you  shall  know  some  time." 


206  A  CHECK:. 

"  My  dearest,  I  am  not  curious  :  I  only  want  you 
to  love  me.  Do  you  know,"  he  added,  "  I  can't 
get  it  out  of  my  head  that  I  have  met  that  fellow — 
that  clerk  who  was  here  just  now — that  I  have 
seen  him  somewhere  before, — and  under  odd  cir- 
cumstances, too." 

"  Where  ?  "  said  she,  startled  and  deeply  inter- 
ested. 

"  Hum  !  I  can't  fix  it  !  Maybe  I  shall  remember 
later.  But  it's  no  consequence,  after  all.  Now  one 
more  kiss,  and  I'll  go  and  get  ready  for  dinner." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

AT    HEADQUARTERS. 

THE  next  morning,  while  the  judge  and  Pauline 
were  sitting  over  their  breakfast,  he  said,  "  By 
the  way,  my  darling,  you  remember  my  saying 
yesterday  that  that  person — the  black-haired  man, 
whom  I  paid  a  check  to — reminded  me  of  some 
one  ?  " 

Pauline,  who  had  been  sitting  in  a  listless  and 
pensive  posture,  instantly  brightened  up,  and 
expectation  sparkled  in  her  eyes. 

"  Yes,  I  remember  !  Have  you  thought  who 
it  is  ?  " 

"  It  occurred  to  me  last  night,  or  early  this 
morning,  while  I  was  lying  awake.  The  name  he 
gave  yesterday  evening — John — something — ' 

"  John  Crush." 

"  John  Grush — yes  ;  that  was  not  the  name  of 
the  person  I  am  thinking  of.  I  don't  mean  to 
imply  that  his  name  may  not  have  been  John 
Grush.  But  he  certainly  bears  a  remarkable  re- 
semblance to  another  man  whom  you,  I  think, 
never  saw,  but  whose  name  will  be  familiar  to  you." 

"  Who  ?  tell  me  !  " 


208  AT  HEADQUARTERS. 

The  judge  was  a  little  surprised  at  her  impa- 
tience. "  Mind  you,  it's  only  a  fancy  of  mine,"  he 
said.  "  Perhaps  I  shouldn't  have  mentioned  it ; 
but  it  had  such  an  odd  relation  to  a  matter  very 
near  to  you.  Of  course,  however,  it  is  impossible 
that  the  person  who  was  here  last  night  can  be  the 
man  I  refer  to." 

"  But  who  is  it?" 

"  He  reminded  me  of  Horace  Dupee,"  said  the 
judge.  "  Of  course  you  know  whom  I  mean.  I 
was  not  personally  engaged  in  the  trial,  but  I 
dropped  into  the  court  one  day,  and  watched  the 
proceedings  for  half  an  hour.  That  was  the  only 
occasion  on  which  I  ever  saw  Dupee.  He  was  a 
striking  looking  fellow,  and  I  retained  an  unusually 
distinct  memory  of  his  features.  This  man  Crush 
looks  a  good  deal  older  than  Dupee  did — though, 
to  be  sure,  it  was  several  years  ago." 

"  Will  you  have  some  more  coffee,  dear  ? "  asked 
Pauline. 

"  No  more,  thank  you.  I'll  go  and  smoke  a 
cigar,  and  then  .  .  .  How  is  your  mother  feeling 
this  morning?" 

"  About  the  same.  I  have  an  idea  it  might  be 
good  for  her  to  get  up  to  breakfast  in  the  morn- 
ings. I  think  she  could,  if  she  tried.  Perhaps  a 
stimulus  of  some  sort  would  benefit  her — some 
great  piece  of  news,  for  instance." 

"  Possibly.  But  I  hardly  think  there  is  any  news 
that  would  be  likely  to  interest  your  mother.  She 
hardly  ever  so  much  as  looks  in  a  newspaper." 


AT  HEADQUARTERS.  209 

"  I  don't  mean  news  of  that  kind.  But  if,  for 
instance,  she  should  hear  that  the  thief  who  com- 
mitted the  robbery  of  which  Percy  was  accused 
was  caught  and  convicted  ;  or  (if  it  were  possible) 
that  Percy  himself  is  not  dead,  but  had  in  some 
strange  way  escaped  !  " 

"  Ah,  yes  ;  such  news  would  give  her  fresh  life, 
no  doubt.  But  we  must  not  let  our  imagination 
take  so  wide  a  range." 

"  It  is  not  impossible.  Why  may  not  Percy  be 
alive  ?  No  one  has  seen  his  dead  body.  Why  may 
he  not  return  some  day?  Men  have  often  returned 
who  were  thought  to  be  lost  for  years  and  years." 

"  Why,  my  dear,  do  not  let  your  mind  run  on  such 
thoughts  !  You  are  excited  already.  We  must 
not  hope  to  see  Percy  again." 

After  a  pause,  Pauline  said,  "  If  he  were  to 
come  back,  do  you  think  he  would  be  arrested  on 
that  old  charge  ?  " 

"  Speaking  from  the  legal  point  of  view,  I  sup- 
pose he  would  be." 

"  But  suppose  he  were  to  come  back — suppose 
he  were  in  New  York  now — would  it  be  unsafe  for 
him  to  be  seen  or  to  have  it  known  ?  Would  he 
have  to  keep  in  hiding  until  his  innocence  could 
be  proven  ? " 

"  My  dearest  wife,"  replied  the  judge,  gently, 
"  the  law  can  not  be  affected  by  sentiment.  If  it 
were  so,  it  would  cease  to  be  the  law.  I  do  not 
say  that,  in  ceasing  to  be  the  law,  it  might  not,  in 
certain  instances,  become  something  better  and 


210  AT  HE  A  DQUAR  TERS. 

higher.  Only  in  certain  instances,  mind  you  !  As 
to  Percy's  case,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
he  would  be  treated  with  any  special  severity. 
Quite  the  contrary.  It  is  almost  certain  that  the 
original  prosecutor  would  not  appear ;  and  the 
government  would  scarcely  take  up  the  matter. 
No  ;  Percy  would  be  arrested,  and  certain  formal- 
ities would  be  gone  through  with,  and — but,  bless 
my  soul,  I  am  talking  as  if  the  poor  boy  were  still 
in  this  world  !  God  bless  him  !  He  is  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  wrorldly  justice  or  injustice  now  !  " 

With  these  words  the  good  judge  got  up,  and 
after  kissing  his  wife's  hand,  in  a  chivalrous  fash- 
ion of  his,  he  went  into  the  library  to  smoke  his 
cigar. 

Pauline  loved  her  husband,  but  she  was  glad  to 
be  alone  at  that  moment.  She  was  wrought  up  to 
a  high  pitch  or  excitement,  and  felt  the  necessity 
of  dealing  with  her  thoughts  and  emotions  in  pri- 
vate. She  went  up  to  her  boudoir  and  locked  her- 
self in. 

Since  the  occurrence  of  the  day  before,  she  had 
more  than  once  been  on  the  point  of  revealing  the 
whole  matter  to  her  husband.  Had  it  concerned 
herself  alone,  she  would  have  done  so  at  the  out- 
set. But  the  secret  was  Percy's  in  the  first  place  ; 
and  she  could  not  tell  how  she  had  been  black- 
mailed without  revealing  his  presence  in  the  city. 
No  doubt  the  judge  would  keep  the  secret,  for  her 
sake  if  for  no  other  reason  ;  but  she  had  reflected 
that  it  could  do  no  good  to  Percy  to  have  him 


AT  HEADQUARTERS.  211 

know  it ;  and  if  Percy's  presence  should  happen  to 
be  discovered  in  any  other  way  it  might  prove 
awkward  for  the  judge  to  have  been  found  in  the 
position  of  sheltering  a  fugitive  from  justice.  .  On 
the  other  hand,  she  could  not  tell  Percy  of  the 
insult  that  had  been  put  upon  her,  because  he 
would  undoubtedly  sacrifice  every  thing  to  inflict 
summary  punishment  upon  the  blackmailer.  She 
had  therefore  decided  to  pay  the  latter  a  sum  of 
money,  giving  him  to  understand  that  no  more 
would  be  forthcoming  for  a  month  ;  and  in  the 
course  of  that  month  she  intended  to  turn  all  her 
energies  to  the  task  of  clearing  Percy,  by  some 
means  or  other,  of  the  old  charge  which  so  ham- 
pered and  obstructed  him.  She  would  then  be 
free  to  deal  with  the  blackmailer  at  her  leisure  ; 
and  she  intended  to  punish  him  to  the  full  extent 
of  the  law. 

But  the  revelation  of  the  blackmailer's  identity 
changed  the  whole  aspect  of  the  case.  To  Pauline 
it  had  been  totally  unexpected  ;  and  yet  in  looking 
back  she  could  fancy  that  she  had  known  him 
intuitively  from  the  first.  Be  that  as  it  might,  it 
was  a  triumph  more  complete  than  she  had  ever 
dared  to  anticipate.  Dupee  was  the  man  who  had 
murdered  her  brother  Jerrold  ;  he  (as  she  believed) 
was  the  man  who  had  cast  a  nearly  fatal  shadow 
over  the  career  of  Percy  ;  and  he,  again,  delivered 
himself,  bound  hand  and  foot,  into  her  power  by 
perpetrating  upon  her  the  crime  of  blackmail.  She 
had  him  securely,  for  though  he  had  given  a  false 


212  AT  HEADQUARTERS. 

name  the  judge  would  be  able  to  identify  him  as 
the  recipient  of  the  check,  and  the  case  against  him 
would  thus  be  proved.  He  would  be  arrested  on 
that  charge,  and  then  it  would  go  hard  but  the  whole 
truth  should  come  out.  She  regarded  Percy  as 
being  as  good  as  free,  and  was  strongly  impelled  to 
go  and  tell  him  the  story  at  once  ;  but,  on  second 
thought,  she  decided  to  wait  until  the  probability 
had  been  made  a  certainty,  and  then  bring  him 
news  in  which  there  should  be  no  element  of  con- 
jecture. She  wished,  moreover,  to  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  managing  the  affair  herself,  without 
either  her  husband's  or  her  brother's  help. 

Having  determined  in  her  own  mind  her  plan  of 
proceedings,  she  waited  until  her  husband  had 
started  on  his  daily  trip  to  his  office,  and  then  she 
put  on  her  cloak  and  bonnet  and  went  out  her- 
self. 

It  was  a  fine,  clear  forenoon.  It  was  not  the 
first  time  she  had  visited  Police  Headquarters,  and 
she  knew  the  way  thither.  The  squalid  denizens 
of  Bleecker  and  Mulberry  streets  stared  at  the 
handsome  lady  as  she  passed  by,  but  she  was  too 
much  preoccupied  by  the  matter  in  hand  to  notice 
their  observation.  She  mounted  the  steps  of  the 
big  white-faced  building  with  a  light  heart,  and 
asked  to  be  admitted  to  see  Inspector  Byrnes. 

She  had  just  put  the  question  to  the  sergeant 
when  the  Inspector  came  out,  in  hat  and  overcoat. 
He  recognized  her  immediately,  and  lifted  his  hat 
with  a  smile. 


AT  HEADQUARTERS.  213 

"  You  are  going  out,"  she  said.  "  When  can  I 
see  you  ? " 

"  I  am  not  going  out,"  was  his  reply.  "  I  am 
going  to  ask  you  to  come  into  my  office  and  have  a 
talk.  If  you  had  not  come  here  i  might  have  called 
on  you  to-day.  Come  in."  And  he  conducted  her 
to  the  inner  room. 

"  Now,  then,"  he  said,  when  they  were  seated, 
"  what  is  the  news  ?  " 

"  It  is  you  who  should  have  news  for  me,"  she 
returned,  smiling.  "  I'm  sure  you  have  had  time 
to  find  out  a  dozen  such  mysteries  as  the  one  I 
asked  you  about." 

The  Inspector  wore  an  amused  look.  "When 
you  want  to  bamboozle  an  old  hand  like  me,"  he 
said,  "you  must  first  of  all  learn  to  command  your 
face.  You  must  not  look  happy  if  you  expect  me 
to  believe  that  you  are  miserable.  If  you  have  lost 
a  brother  you  must  not  look  as  if  you  had  found 
one  !  " 

Pauline  blushed  and  got  a  little  frightened.  "  It 
was  not  my  brother  that  I  asked  you  to  find,  In- 
spector Byrnes,"  she  said. 

"  No  ;  the  brother  was  to  be  thrown  in,  I  sup- 
pose !  This  is  fine  weather  we  are  having  just 
now,  Mrs.  Ketelle,"  he  added  in  another  tone. 
"  Capital  for  exercise  !  " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon." 

He  laughed.  "You  live  up  near  the  Park,"  he 
said.  "Would  it  be  too  far  for  you  to  walk  up  to 
1 25th  Street,  or  that  neighborhood  ?" 


214  AT  HEADQUARTERS. 

"  To  1 25th  Street?" 

"  By  the  way,  that  reminds  me  of  something  ; 
perhaps  you  may  be  able  to  enlighten  me.  There 
is  an  English  friend  of  mine  in  town,  a  gentleman 
by  the  name  of  Clifton.  He  is  over  here  to  look 
after  the  interests  of  a  valuable  English  estate.  It 
seems  that  the  hereditary  owner  of  this  estate  late- 
ly deceased,  and  it  became  necessary  to  find  the 
next  man  in  the  succession.  It  was  known 
that  he  had  gone  to  New  Zealand,  but  upon  inves- 
tigation there  it  appeared  that  he  had  left  on  a 
visit  to  this  country.  Finally  news  of  him  was  re- 
ceived from  Mexico.  Does  the  story  interest  you  ? " 

"  Let  me  hear,"  she  said. 

"  Well,  in  Mexico  a  man  answering  to  his  name 
was  found  ;  but,  on  being  told  of  his  inheritance, 
he  declared  that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  That  seemed  odd  ;  for  people  are  not  in  the 
habit  of  throwing  away  three-quarters  of  a  million 
of  money.  Just  then  a  person  appeared  on  the 
scene  who  affirmed  that  this  man  was  not  the  per- 
son he  represented  himself  to  be  at  all,  but  an  im- 
postor. That  seemed  possible  in  one  way  ;  but  in 
the  other  way,  an  impostor  would  be  the  last  man 
in  the  world  whom  one  would  expect  to  let  a  great 
property  slip  between  his  fingers.  My  English 
friend  was  puzzled  ;  but  he  knew  that  this  myste- 
rious gentleman  had  lately  been  in  New  York,  and 
it  occurred  to  him  that  it  might  be  a  good  plan  to 
come  on  here  and  see  if  he  could  learn  any  thing 
more  about  him. 


AT  HEADQUARTERS.  215 

"  Now,  it  so  happens  that  I  have  an  acquaintance 
in  Mexico  who  makes  a  point  of  knowing  what 
goes  on  there,  and  whenever  he  hears  of  any  thing 
that  he  thinks  might  interest  me  he  drops  me  a 
line,  or  sends  a  telegram,  if  there  is  any  hurry.  He 
had  heard  about  this  affair  I  speak  of,  and  also 
that  the  mysterious  gentleman  had  had  an  inter- 
view with  some  government  officials,  and  immedi- 
ately afterwards  had  left  Mexico,  en  route  for  the 
United  States.  He  telegraphed  this  information, 
together  with  the  alleged  name  of  the  mysterious 
gentleman.  It  was  a  name  I  had  heard  before,  and 
I  had  even  met  the  gentleman  himself.  So,  when 
the  steamer  was  announced,  I  took  half  an  hour, 
and  went  down  to  the  wharf  to  say  good-day  to 
him.  And  then,  Mrs.  Ketelle,  a  curious  thing  hap- 
pened." 

He  paused  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  her.  She  sat 
before  him  with  her  hands  tightly  clasped  in  her 
lap,  her  lips  compressed,  and  her  eyes  dark  with 
emotion. 

"  The  gentleman  whom  I  saw,"  continued  the 
Inspector,  "  was  not  the  one  named  in  the  tele- 
gram, but  it  was  an  intimate  friend  of  his,  whom  I 
had  also  met  before.  He  had,  however,  been  re- 
ported dead.  But  seeing  him  alive  and  well, 
though  somewhat  changed  in  appearance,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  perhaps  a  mistake  had  been 
made,  and  that  it  was  the  friend  who  had  died  — 

But  Pauline  could  restrain  herself  no  longer. 
She  lifted  her  hands  slightly  and  let  them  fall  again. 


2 1 6  AT  HEADQ UA R TERS. 

"  He  was  a  dear  friend  of  mine,"  she  said,  while 
the  tears  came  into  her  eyes  ;  "  he  was  a  good 
friend  to  Percy.  I  see  you  know  all,  Inspector  ; 
you  seem  to  know  every  thing  !  What  are  you 
going  to  do  with  him  ? " 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

JOHN    CRUSH. 

WHAT  am  I  going  to  do  with  him  ?  "  the  In- 
spector repeated.  "  Why,  I  have  been  under 
the  impression  that  he  was  already  in  the  best  of 
hands,  and  would  need  no  attentions  from  me  !  " 

"  Ah,  don't  laugh  at  me  !  If  you  mean  harm  to 
him,  let  me  know  it.  It  was  by  my  advice  that  he 
kept  in  hiding.  If  he  were  arrested  here,  it  would 
ruin  his  position  in  Mexico,  even  if  he  were  released 
again  immediately." 

•'  Now,  Mrs.  Ketelle,  let  us  understand  each 
other,"  said  the  Inspector,  becoming  grave  and 
business-like.  "  You  asked  me,  a  year  ago,  to 
clear  the  memory  of  your  brother,  whom  you 
believed  to  be  dead,  of  the  stain  that  had  been  put 
upon  it,  by  discovering  and  punishing  the  real  per- 
petrator of  the  crime  he  was  accused  of.  I  told 
you  that  I  would  do  what  I  could,  and  I  have  kept 
my  word.  By  and  by  you  discover  that  your  brother 
is  not  dead  after  all,  and  is  in  New  York.  Don't 
you  think  it  would  have  been  a  kind  and  courteous 
act  on  your  part  to  have  come  to  me  and  told  me 
of  it?" 


21  8  JOHN  CRUSH. 

"  He  is  my  brother,"  was  her  reply.  "  I  could 
think  of  nothing  before  his  welfare.  I  have  told 
no  one  that  he  is  here,  or  that  he  is  alive — not 
even  my  mother  nor  my  husband.  I  know  that  you 
are  an  officer  of  the  law,  and  that  when  you  saw 
your  duty  you  would  have  no  choice  but  to  execute 
it.  I  hoped  that  the  real  criminal  would  be  found, 
and  so  all  turn  out  right." 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  ought  to  expect  you  to  care 
more  for  the  law  than  you  do  for  your  brother," 
remarked  the  detective,  stroking  his  chin  ;  "  and 
perhaps  I  should  feel  complimented  that  you 
expected  the  real  criminal,  as  you  call  him,  to  be 
tracked  and  captured  out  of  hand.  But  America 
is  a  large  place,  and  the  police  have  a  number  of 
things  to  look  after  ;  and,  as  you  know,  it  is  one 
thing  to  suspect  a  man,  and  another  to  convict  him. 
As  to  Mr.  Percy  Nolen,  I  will  only  say,  at  present, 
that  I  have  thought  it  sufficient  to  keep  one  eye  on 
him  ;  his  arrest  is  not  necessary  at  this  stage  of  the 
proceedings." 

'•  I  thank  you,  Inspector  Byrnes,"  Pauline  said, 
"  whether  you  considered  me  in  your  action  or  not. 
But  have  you  heard  nothing  of — of  Horace  Dupee  ?" 

The  Inspector  raised  his  head  and  contemplated 
her  gravely. 

"  So  you  continue  to  think  it  was  Horace  Dupee 
who  stole  the  money  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Oh,  I  am  sure  of  it  !  " 

"  But  would  you  go  on  the  stand  to-day  and 
swear  to  it  ?  " 


JOHN   CRUSH.  219 

"  I  could  not  do  that,"  she  replied  reluctantly. 
"  I  have  not  the  evidence  ;  I  only  feel  that  it  was 
he." 

"  Then,  if  you  had  the  evidence,  it  would  be  all 
right  ?  " 

lt  Yes,  indeed.  Have  you  found  any  thing  ?  " 
she  asked  eagerly. 

"  Well,  that  depends  on  what  one  considers  any- 
thing." He  opened  a  drawer  and  took  out  soine 
papers.  "  There  seems  to  be  reason  to  think  that 
Horace  Dupee  was  in  New  York  at  the  time  the 
robbery  was  committed." 

"  Ah  ;   I  knew  it  !  " 

"  It  also  appears  that,  immediately  after  the 
robbery,  he  left  New  York  and  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  knew  it  !   He  fled  to  escape  arrest  !  " 

"  Shortly  after  his  arrival  there,"  continued  the 
Inspector,  impassively,  "  a  thousand-dollar  bank- 
note was  presented  to  be  cashed  at  a  bank  there, 
which  was  issued  by  a  banking  institution  here  in 
New  York,  and,  as  it  happened,  by  the  same  insti- 
tution where  Mrs.  Tunstall  kept  her  account." 

"  Then  it  is  proved  !  He  is  the  man  !  "  exclaimed 
Pauline  triumphantly. 

"  No,  it  is  not  proved,"  returned  the  detective, 
shaking  his  head.  "  It  takes  more  than  that  to 
make  a  conviction.  We  do  not  know  that  the  note 
was  presented  by  Horace  Dupee  ;  and  even  if  we 
did  it  would  still  be  possible  that  he  had  received 
it  from  some  one  else.  No,  Mrs.  Ketelle,  we  can- 


220  JOHN  CRUSH. 

not  arrest  Dupee  on  that  evidence.  If  we  could 
find  any  pretext  for  arresting  him,  either  on  this 
charge  or  on  any  other,  then  it  might  be  possible  to 
complete  our  evidence  as  to  this.  But  the  power 
to  do  that  is  unfortunately  wanting." 

"  Do  I  understand  you  that  if  any  one  brought  a 
charge  against  him  on  another  matter  you  could 
obtain  a  conviction  on  this  ?  " 

"  I  don't  promise  we  would  do  it  ;  I  only  say  it 
might  be  possible.  But  at  any  rate  I  think  it 
would  do  no  harm  if  you  would  tell  me  all  about 
your  interviews  with  Dupee  and  what  came  of  it." 

Pauline  gazed  at  the  Inspector  in  astonishment. 

"  You  know  about  that  too  ?  "  she  exclaimed  at 
length. 

"  Why  not  ?  What  is  there  so  wonderful  in 
that?"  he  returned,  composedly. 

"  I  suppose  nothing  seems  wonderful  to  you," 
replied  she  ;  "  but  I  confess  I  had  expected  to 
surprise  you  in  regard  to  that  !  Well,  then,  if  you 
know  that  I  have  seen  him,  I  suppose  that  you 
know  all  that  passed  between  us,  also?  " 

"  No,  no,"  rejoined  the  Inspector,  laughing, 
"  my  knowledge  stops  at  the  fact  of  the  interview. 
What  you  said  to  each  other  you  will  have  to  tell 
me  if  you  wish  me  to  know  it." 

"  It  was  in  order  to  tell  you  that  I  came  here," 
said  Pauline  ;  and  she  went  on  to  give  an  account 
of  the  whole  affair,  the  Inspector  listening  to  her 
with  close  attention.  Her  narrative  was  clear  and 
precise. 


JOHN  CRUSH.  221 

"  Do  you  think  that  he  was  aware  that  you  were 
the  sister  of  Jerrold  and  Percy  Nolen  ? "  he  asked, 
after  she  had  finished. 

"  He  must  have  known  it.  I  was  married  only  a 
short  time  ago,  and  my  maiden  name  was  in  the 
papers." 

"  Does  it  not  seem  odd  that  he  should  have  made 
this  attempt  upon  a  woman  whose  brother  he  had 
murdered  ?  Murderers  are  usually  more  careful,  if 
nothing  else.  I  think  we  shall  find,  Mrs.  Ketelle, 
that  he  is  innocent  of  that  crime.  As  regards  the 
robbery  I  say  nothing;  but  I  have  never  thought  it 
likely  that  a  fellow  like  Dupee  would  committ  a 
murder  so  peculiarly  cold-blooded  and  compara- 
tively unprovoked  as  that  would  have  been.  But 
if  he  was  wrongly  charged  with  it  it  is  quite  con- 
ceivable that  he  may  have  embraced  this  opportunity 
to  revenge  himself  upon  a  member  of  the  family 
that  brought  him  to  ruin." 

"  You  maybe  right." 

"  I  believe  it  will  turn  out  so.  But  there  is 
another  point  suggested  by  your  story.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  he  did  not  know  your  brother,  for  if  he 
had  he  would  not  have  attempted  to  blackmail  you 
on  his  account — or,  at  any  rate,  not  on  the  ground 
that  he  put  forward." 

"  Yes,  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  that,"  Pauline 
assented. 

"  Then  don't  you  see  it  has  a  bearing  on  the 
robbery  ?  Your  theory  has  been  that  he  committed 
the  robbery  partly,  at  least,  in  order  to  have  your 


222 

brother  arrested  for  it.  But  as  he  did  not  know 
your  brother  by  sight  that  theory  will  not  stand. 
If  we  consider  him  to  have  been  the  thief,  his  in- 
volving your  brother  in  the  scrape  must  have  been 
merely  a  coincidence.  Your  brother  happened  to 
be  talking  to  the  lady,  and  his  overcoat  pocket  hap- 
pened to  be  the  one  in  which  the  purse  could  most 
conveniently  be  dropped.  If  Mrs.  Tunstall's  hus- 
band, instead  of  your  brother,  had  been  in  your 
brother's  place,  the  evidence,  so  far  as  the  purse 
was  concerned,  would  have  pointed  at  him." 

"  That  is  logical — I  cannot  deny  it,"  said  Pauline. 
"  But  it  does  not  show  his  innocence  of  the  rob- 
bery ;  it  only  shows  that  he  had  not  the  motive  for 
committing  it  that  I  supposed  he  had  ;  it  was  not 
revenge — it  was  vulgar  pocket-picking  !  " 

"  Well,  that  is  as  it  may  be.  But  let  me  refer  to 
another  point  in  your  story.  You  said  that  the 
name  he  gave  to  your  husband  was  Crush — John 
Crush?" 

"  Yes,  but  of  course  it  was  an  assumed  name." 

"No  doubt;  but  it  is  curious  that  he  should 
have  assumed  that  particular  name  instead  of  an- 
other." 

"  Why  not  that  as  well  as  any  ?  " 

"  Because  it  is  the  name  of  another  man — a  real 
man,  that  is,  a  fellow  who  has  been  a  companion 
and  intimate  of  Dupee's  for  some  years  past.  John 
Crush  went  with  Dupee  to  California,  and  returned 
with  him.  It  was  he  who  pointed  you  out  to  Du- 
pee in  the  park,  the  day  you  first  saw  your  brother. 


JOHR    CRUSH.  223 

It  was  he  who  suggested  to  Dupee  that  it  might  be 
a  profitable  job  to  blackmail  you." 

"  How  did  you  learn  all  that,  Inspector  Byrnes?" 
"  I  might  tell  you  that  I  learned  it  by  detective 
intuition,  or  some  other  sort    of  witchcraft.     But 
the  simple  truth  is  that  John  Grush  told  me  !  " 
"  He  told  you  ?    He  is  one  of  your  men,  then  ?" 
"  Not  at  all  !     But  he  has  done  me  good   service 
on  this  occasion,  nevertheless." 

"  But  ...  I  don't  think  I  understand  !  " 
"  It  is  such  a  thing  as  happens  every  day.  John 
Grush  was  arrested  last  night  for  attempting  to 
take  a  man's  watch  in  an  elevated  train.  It  is  not 
the  first  time  we  have  had  dealings  with  him,  and 
when  he  was  brought  in  he  realized  that  he  would 
probably  be  sent  up  for  a  long  term.  So  he  re- 
solved to  get  even  with  a  man  who  had  '  gone  back 
on  him,'  as  he  expressed  it.  And  that  man  was 
Horace  Dupee." 

"  They  had  quarreled  ?  " 

"  Precisely.  And  the  quarrel  was  about  you. 
When  Grush  proposed  blackmailing  you,  Dupee 
had  pooh-poohed  it  ;  but  he  did  so  only  in  order 
to  have  all  the  profits  to  himself.  Having  got  rid 
of  Grush,  as  he  supposed,  he  followed  you  about, 
and  traced  you  to  your  brother's  lodgings  in  Har- 
lem. What  he  did  there,  you  know.  But  Grush 
had  distrusted  him,  and  found  out  the  double  game 
he  was  playing.  He  bore  him  a  grudge  for  it ;  and 
early  this  morning  he  sent  word  to  me  that  he  had 
something  to  communicate.  I  went  downstairs  and 


224  JOHN  CRUSH. 

saw  him  in  his  cell.  He  told  me  of  Dupee's  bad 
faith,  and  said  that  I  would  find  that  Dupee  had 
actually  received  money  from  you.  I  acted  as  if  I 
placed  no  credit  in  his  accusation  ;  and  upon  that 
he  went  on  and  declared  that  Dupee  had,  a  year 
ago,  committed  a  robbery  for  which  an  innocent 
man  was  arrested.  Yes,  Mrs.  Ketelle,  it  was  the 
Tunstall  robbery  that  he  mentioned.  I  asked  him 
how  he  knew,  and  he  said  that  he  was  intimate  with 
Dupee  at  the  time,  and  that  when  Percy  Nolen  was 
arrested  Dupee  had  laughed  and  remarked  that  it 
was  a  good  job  ;  he  was  glad  to  have  done  a  Nolen 
an  ill-turn,  and  that  he  hoped  Nolen  might  rot  in 
gaol  while  he  was  spending  the  money  Nolen  was 
imprisoned  for." 

"  Oh,  the  villain  !"  murmured  Pauline,  with  dilat- 
ing eyes. 

"  I  told  Grush,"  continued  the  Inspector,  "  that  I 
believed,  if  Dupee  had  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
robbery,  that  Grush  had  been  equally  guilty.  He 
denied  it  at  first,  but  finally  admitted  that  he  had 
discovered  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Tunstall  was  in  the 
habit  of  going  about  town  with  large  sums  of 
money  in  her  pocket ;  and  upon  my  pushing  him 
still  further  he  added  that  he  had  pointed  her  out 
to  Dupee  on  the  morning  of  the  crime,  and  had 
waited  outside  the  jeweler's  shop  while  Dnpee  was 
doing  the  work  inside.  According  to  his  account, 
Dupee  had  not  acted  squarely  with  him  on  this  occa- 
sion either  ;  he  had  refused  to  give  him  a  fair  share 
of  the  plunder  ;  but  Grush  had  postponed  betray- 


JOHN  CRUSH.  225 

ing  his  dissatisfaction  until  he  could  give  it  some 
practical  effect.  He  gave  a  number  of  details  which 
coincided  with  facts  that  I  had  previously  ascer- 
tained, and  convinced  me  that  his  story  was  sub- 
stantially true." 

"  Thank  heaven  !  "  exclaimed  Pauline.  "  Oh, 
my  dear  brother  !  " 

''Wait  a  moment!"  rejoined  the  detective. 
"  We  are  not  quite  out  of  the  woods  yet  !  On 
making  a  review  of  the  evidence  at  our  disposal,  I 
doubted  whether  it  would  he  safe  to  cause  Dupee's 
arrest  on  the  robbery  charge.  If  we  should  fail  to 
hold  him  we  might  bid  him  good-bye  ;  he  would 
never  be  seen  here  again.  But  if  I  could  get  from 
you  a  confirmation  of  the  blackmail  story,  and 
especially  if  you  could  prove  actual  payment  of 
money,  then  our  course  would  be  much  simpler. 
We  could  arrest  and  hold  him  on  that  ground 
without  any  doubt,  and  the  rest,  unless  I  am 
greatly  mistaken,  will  come  of  itself." 

"  I  can  certainly  prove  the  payment,"  said 
Pauline.  "  My  husband  and  Jhe  check  are  both  in 
evidence." 

"  Very  good  ;  and  now,"  said  the  Inspector, 
lowering  his  voice  and  leaning  forward,  "  let  me 
explain  to  you  a  little  plan  I  have  formed  for 
bringing  this  thing  to  a  head." 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    SHADOW    LIFTED. 

BY  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning  all  Inspector 
Byrne's  preparations  were  complete,  down  to 
the  least  detail  ;  and  there  was  nothing  left  to  do 
but  wait  for  the  fly  to  walk  into  the  web. 

Horace  Dupee,  after  receiving  his  check,  put  it 
in  his  pocket  with  the  intention  of  getting  it  cashed 
at  the  bank  on  the  morrow.  But  in  order  to  do 
this  it  would.be  necessary  that  he  be  identified. 
This  would  not  be  a  particularly  easy  matter  in 
any  case,  and  the  less  so  because  the  name  on  it 
was  not  his  own.  At  length  he  decided  to  get  it 
cashed  through  some  friend.  He  was  reluctant  to 
have  it  known  to  any  one  that  he  had  had  any 
dealings  with  Judge  Ketelle,  and  it  was  partly  on 
this  account  that  he  had  given  Crush's  name. 
But  it  was  an  annoyance  and  a  risk  even  so,  and  he 
promised  himself  that  he  would  not  be  caught  with 
a  check  again  in  a  hurry. 

Late  that  night  he  succeeded  in  cashing  the 
check  over  the  bar  of  an  inn  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city,  where  he  was  lodging.  The  landlord  of 
the  inn  was  a  depositor  at  the  bank  on  which  the 
check  was  drawn.  This  was  on  Wednesday.  The 


THE    SHADOW  LIFTED.  22j 

next  day,  Thursday  (the  day  of  Pauline's  interview 
with  the  Inspector),  the  check  was  sent  to  the  bank 
to  be  turned  in  with  the  other  receipts.  On  Thurs- 
day evening  the  check  came  back,  marked  N.  G. 
Dupee  was  not  in  the  hotel  at  the  time  ;  but  he 
entered  about  eleven  o  'clock.  The  hotel-keeper 
called  his  attention  to  the  dishonored  check,  and 
demanded  from  him  payment  of  the  face  amount. 
Dupee  had  by  that  time  spent  a  good  deal  of  the 
eighty  dollars  ;  but  rather  than  have  any  disturb- 
ance he  deposited  fifty  dollars,  and  promised  to  go 
to  the  bank  the  next  day  and  have  the  thing 
straightened  out. 

But  though  he  carried  it  off  with  a  composed 
face,  he  was  in  reality  filled  with  rage  and  appre- 
hension. 

What  could  be  the  meaning  of  it  ?  A  check 
signed  by  Judge  Ketelle  refused  at  his  own  bank  ! 
Was  it  a  mistake,  an  accident,  or  a  deliberate  plan  ? 
A  mistake  it  could  hardly  be  ;  there  was  nothing 
ambiguous  in  the  wording  of  the  check,  and  Dupee 
had  made  sure  that  the  date  and  all  the  minor 
details  had  been  correctly  entered.  *The  probability, 
was  greater  of  its  being  an  accident.  Judge  Ketelle 
might  have  inadvertently  overdrawn  his  account. 
If  this  were  the  case,  the  matter  could  be  easily 
rectified.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  third  con- 
tingency remained — that  the  check  had  been  stopped 
by  special  direction.  If  that  were  so,  it  meant 
that  Mrs.  Ketelle  had  declared  war.  She  had 
resolved  to  defy  him.  She  fancied,  perhaps,  that 


228  THE   SHADOW  LIFTED. 

he  would  not  have  the  courage  to  carry  out  his 
threat  and  reveal  her  intrigue  to  her  husband. 
Well,  if  that  were  her  idea,  she  would  discover  her 
mistake.  He  would  reveal  her  shame,  whatever 
the  consequences  to  himself.  He  would  blast  her 
life  ;  not  only  her  husband,  but  the  whole  world 
should  know  what  she  had  done  ;  and  if  he  suffered 
imprisonment  for  it,  at  any  rate  the  time  would 
come  when  he  would  again  be  free,  and  then  he 
could  seek  her  out  and  taunt  her  with  her  ignominy. 
For  time  would  bring  no  freedom  to  her. 

This  bitterness  of  malice  on  his  part  was  partly 
characteristic  of  the  nature  of  the  man  ;  but  there 
was  in  it  an  element  of  exceptional  animosity. 
Almost  all  criminals  who  have  fallen  from  a  higher 
social  position  lay  the  responsibility  of  their 
degradation  at  the  door  of  some  person  or  com- 
bination of  circumstances  outside  of  themselves. 
So  it  was  with  Dupee,  who  dated  the  beginning  of 
his  misfortune  from  the  day  when  he  was  arrested 
on  the  charge  of  murder  by  the  father  of  Jerrold 
Nolen.  Pauline  and  her  mother  were  the  only 
living  representatives  (as  he  believed)  of  that  man. 
They  should  suffer  a  vicarious  punishment.  So 
strong  was  his  desire  to  me  this  punishment  inflicted 
that  he  half  hoped  Mrs.  Ketelle  had  really  played 
him  false.  The  longer  he  thought  over  the  matter 
however,  the  less  likely  did  it  seem  that  this  could 
be  the  case.  Whatever  she  might  think  as  to  the 
probability  of  his  failing  to  carry  out  his  threat,  the 
possibility  that  he  would  carry  it  out  was  too  serious 


THE   SHADOW  LIFTED.  229 

a  one  to  invite.  Recognizing  this,  Dupee  prepared 
himself  for  either  contingency.  He  would  go  to 
Judge  Ketelle's  office  and  inform  him  of  the 
refusal  of  the  check,  as  if  he  supposed  it  to  be  an 
ordinary  business  error.  If  the  judge  redeemed 
the  check,  well  and  good  ;  the  matter  might  stop, 
for  the  present  at  any  rate,  where  it  was.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  resistance  should  be  offered  to  his 
claim,  he  would  know  how  to  defend  himself. 

It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  when  he  mounted 
the  steps  of  the  judge's  office  on  Pine  Street.  The 
rooms  were  on  the  first  floor  ;  there  was  an  outer 
office,  and  two  or  three  inner  rooms,  opening  into 
one  another.  Two  or  three  clerks  were  writing  in 
the  outer  room  when  Dupee  entered.  He  asked 
one  of  them  if  Judge  Ketelle  were  within. 

"  I'll  see,  sir,"  replied  the  clerk,  looking  up. 
"  What  name  shall  I  say  ?  " 

"  Say  Mr.  Grush  wants  to  see  him  a  moment — 
Mr.  John  Grush." 

The  clerk  went  into  the  inner  room,  and  soon 
came  back  with  the  request  that  Mr.  Grush  would 
stop  inside.  Dupee  passed  through  the  door, 
which  was  closed  behind  him.  He  found  himself 
in  a  handsomely  furnished  parlor,  beside  the  window 
of  which  Judge  Ketelle  sat  at  his  desk.  The  judge 
turned  in  his  chair,  and  asked  him  to  be  seated. 
"I  think  you  were  up  at  my  house,  the  other 
evening,"  he  remarked.  "  I  recognize  the  name 
and  the  face." 

"  You  are  quite  right,  judge,"  replied   Dupee, 


230  THE   SHADOW  LIFTED. 

assuming  an  easy  air,  "  and  it  is  on  a  matter 
connected  with  my  visit  to  you  on  that  occasion 
that  I  have  ventured  to  trouble  you  now.  There 
was  a  check,  you  remember  ? " 

"  Perfectly.  A  check  for  the  sum  of  eighty  dol- 
lars. Well?" 

"  Well,  there  seems  to  have  been  some  difficulty 
or  misunderstanding — probably  the  cashier  at  the 
bank  made  some  stupid  mistake  ;  but,  anyhow, 
the  check  was  returned  yesterday,  marked  '  no 
good.'  I  thought  you  would  wish  to  know  about  it." 

"  Hum  !  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  having  my  checks 
returned,  certainly,"  said  the  judge.  "  Let  me 
see  ;  on  what  bank  was  the  check  drawn  ? " 

"  The  Battery  Bank,"  replied  Dupee. 

"  I  will  tell  you  how  such  a  mistake  might  occur, 
Mr.  Grush,"  said  the  judge,  after  a  short 
pause.  "  I  keep  accounts  at  several  banks.  Some- 
times one  or  other  of  these  accounts  runs  out  before 
I  am  aware  of  it.  My  wife  has  a  separate  account, 
which  is  at  the  Battery  Bank.  In  writing  the 
check  the  other  evening  I  may  have  inadvertently 
used  her  check-book,  my  own  account  being  ex- 
hausted. The  fact  that  she  had  money  there  would 
of  course  not  warrant  the  cashier  in  paying  my 
check.  I  do  not  assert  that  this  is  the  explana- 
tion ;  but  it  might  be." 

"To  be  sure;  nothing  more  likely,"  rejoined 
Dupee.  "  But,  at  all  events,  the  check  having  been 
returned,  I  suppose  you  will  have  no  objection  to 
writing  another  ?  " 


THE    SHADOW  LIFTED.  231 

"  There  would  be  some  other  considerations  in- 
volved in  that,  Mr.  Crush,"  said  the  judge,  bend- 
ing an  intent  look  on  Dupee.  "  May  I  ask 
you,  in  the  first  place,  what  this  payment  was 
for  ? " 

"  It  was  for  a  purchase  made  by  Mrs.  Ketelle, 
sir,"  said  Dupee,  somewhat  confused  by  this  unex- 
pected question  ;  "  a  purchase  at — at  our  store — I 
am  a  salesman  there,  and — 

"  What  store  is  it  you  speak  of  ? "  demanded  the 
judge. 

"  Castellani's,  on  Broadway,"  replied  Dupee, 
giving  the  first  name  that  occurred  to  him,  and 
feeling  a  little  uneasy  at  the  turn  of  the  conversa- 
tion. 

"Castellani,  the  jeweller  ?  "  said  the  judge.  "  I 
know  the  place  well.  It  was  there  that  the  rob- 
bery of  Mrs.  Tunstall's  pocket-book  took  place, 
last  year." 

Dupee  bit  his  lips.  But  it  was  necessary  to 
carry  out  his  part,  .and  he  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  aim  a  blow  at  the  judge.  "  You  are 
quite  right,  judge,"  he  said,  "  the  robbery  for 
which  young  Percy  Nolen  was  arrested." 

"  Yes ;  he  was  arrested  for  it,"  returned  the 
judge,  gravely  ;  "  but  it  has  been  discovered,  Mr. 
Crush,  that  the  robbery  was  the  work  of  another 
man.  That  man,"  he  added,  fixing  his  eyes  upon 
the  other,  "  is  known  to  the  police,  and  will  un- 
doubtedly expiate  his  crime.  But  to  return  to  this 
check.  How  does  it  happen  that  the  money  was 


232  THE   SHADOW  LIFTED. 

payable  to  you,  instead  of  to  the  company  ?  That 
seems  peculiar." 

"  Well,  you  see,  I — I  have  an  interest  in  the  busi- 
ness, and  am  authorized  to  receive  payments  per- 
sonally." 

"  Ah  !  Still,  as  the  matter,  from  the  pecuniary 
point  of  view,  concerns  the  company,  and  not  you, 
it  can  make  no  difference  if  I  cause  inquiries  to  be 
made  at  Castellani's  before  writing  you  another 
check.  As  I  have  no  personal  acquaintance  with 
you,  you  will  perceive  the  propriety  of  this  precau- 
tion." 

"  I  don't  regard  the  matter  in  that  light,"  an- 
swered Dupee,  who  was  beginning  to  lose  his  nerve. 
"  I  am  not  accountable  to  the  firm.  I  -sold  the 
goods,  and  I  must  request  you  to  pay  me  the 
money." 

There  was  a  book  lying  on  the  judge's  desk,  and 
at  this  moment,  apparently  by  accident,  a  move- 
ment of  his  elbow  caused  this  book  to  fall  heavily 
to  the  floor. 

"  The  affair  concerns  Mrs.  Ketelle  more  directly 
than  it  does  me,"  he  observed.  "  I  will  communi- 
cate with  her  ;  and  if  she  authorizes  the  payment 
I  will  make  it."  At  that  moment  the  door  into  the 
outer  office  opened.  "  And  by  the  way,"  contin- 
ued the  judge,  "  here  is  Mrs.  Ketelle  now.  We 
can  settle  this  thing  here." 

It  was,  in  fact,  Pauline.  Her  face  was  pale  and 
grave,  but  her  eyes  sparkled  like  stars.  Dupee 
knew  not  how  to  interpret  her  abrupt  appearance. 


THE   SHADOW  LIFTED.  233 

The  look  that  she  bestowed  upon  him  did  not  tend 
to  reassure  him.  But  he  summoned  all  his  resolu- 
tion, and  resolved  to  fight  if  brought  to  bay. 

"  My  dear,"  said  the  judge,  as  his  wife  came 
over  to  him  and  stood  by  his  chair.  "  This  person 
tells  me  that  the  check  I  gave  him,  at  your  request, 
has  been  stopped,  and  he  wants  me  to  write  him 
another." 

'  It  was  stopped  by  my  orders,"  said  Pauline, 
turning  her  eyes  again  on  Dupee.  "The  money 
will  not  be  paid." 

"  Why  won't  it  be  paid  ? "  retorted  Dupee. 
"  Do  you  mean  to  deny  that  it  is  due  ? " 

"  I  owe  you  nothing,"  she  replied. 

"  Oh  !  we'll  see  about  that  !  Do  you  wish  me  to 
tell  your  husband  what  it  was  you  bought  of  me, 
and  paid  eighty  dollars  on  account?" 

"  I  owe  you  nothing  and  shall  pay  you  nothing," 
was  her  answer.  "  You  are  an  impostor  and  a 
thief.  Your  name  is  not  John  Grush,  but  Horace 
Dupee.  I  have  waited  for  you  a  long  time." 

"  Never  mind  what  my  name  is,  or  what  I  am  ! 
I  know  what  you  are,  and  what  you  have  done  ! 
And  unless  you  pay  me,  here  and  now,  not  eighty 
dollars  but  eight  hundred,  your  husband  shall  know 
as  much  as  I  do  !  " 

" 'Not, so  loud,  sir,  if  you  please,"  interposed  the 
judge.  "  I  don't  think  you  can  tell  me  any  thing 
about  Mrs.  Ketelle  that  I  do  not  already  know. 
But  if  you  think  otherwise,  I  am  ready  to  hear  you, 
and  I  fancy  Mrs.  Ketelle  will  not  object." 


234  THE    SHADOW  LIFTED. 

Pauline  inclined  her  head  contemptuously.  "  Let 
him  speak  !  "  she  said. 

"  Oh,  I'm  going  to  speak — don't  make  any  mis- 
take about  that !  "  Dupee  exclaimed,  beside  him- 
self with  mingled  fear  and  rage  ;  for  he  was  wholly 
unable  to  account  for  the  security  of  Pauline's  de- 
meanor. "  I'm  going  to  speak,  and  what  I  say 
shall  he  heard  not  only  by  your  husband,  who  im- 
agines you  to  be  a  virtuous  and  respectable  woman, 
but  by  all  New  York,  or  wherever  else  she  may  go. 
I  tell  you,  Judge  Ketelle,  that  the  sooner  you  turn 
that  woman  into  the  street  the  better  it  will  be  for 
your  credit  and  reputation  !  She  has  deceived 
you  ever  since  she  was  married  to  you  !  Let  her 
deny  it  if  she  can  !  Let  her  deny  that  she  visits  a 
fellow — her  lover — in  his  lodgings  in  Harlem,  and 
drives  with  him  in  the  park  !  Let  her  deny  that  if 
she  dares  !  She  meets  him  every  day  ;  he  is  a 
younger  man  than  you  are,  judge,  and  better  look- 
ing, and  they  laugh  at  you  for  an  old  fool  when 
they  are  together.  And  they  are  together  every 
day.  I  say,  the  sooner  you  kick  her  into  the  street 
the  better,  or  you  will  have  all  New  York  laughing 
at  you  !  I've  got  the  facts,  and  I'll  make  'em 
known,  and  prove  'em,  too  !  " 

"  Are  you  prepared  to  maintain,"  said  the  judge, 
in  a  quiet  tone,  "  that  there  is  any  thing  unseemly 
in  the  relations  of  the  gentleman  you  speak  of  and 
Mrs.  Ketelle?" 

Dupee  laughed  harshly.     "  Ask  him  !  "   he   re- 


THE   SHADOW  LIFTED.  235 

turned.  "  Bring  him  and  her  together,  and  ask 
them  what  their  relations  are  !  " 

"  I  am  fortunately  able  to  do  that,"  answered  the 
judge,  "because  the  gentleman  in  question  happens 
to  be  at  hand.  I  will  summon  him."  And  step- 
ping to  the  door  of  the  inner  room,  he  partly  opened 
it  and  said,  "  Come  in  !  " 

The  next  moment  the  figure  of  a  tall  young  man 
appeared  on  the  threshold,  and  advanced  into  the 
apartment.  He  was  the  very  man  whom  Dupee 
had  seen  in  the  park,  and  afterwards  traced  to  the 
Harlem  flat.  But  how  came  he  to  be  in  waiting 
here  ?  What  was  the  meaning  of  it  all  ? 

"  Is  this  the  gentleman  you  speak  of  ?  "  inquired 
the  judge  of  Dupee,  indicating  the  new-comer. 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  they  have  fooled  you  with  some 
clever  lie  or  other,"  said  Dupee  with  a  snarl.  "  All 
the  same,  what  I  tell  you  is  the  truth  ;  and  the 
world  will  believe  it,  if  you  don't  !  " 

*'  You  seem  to  know  so  much,  sir,"  answered  the 
judge,  "  that  you  probably  do  not  need  to  be  in- 
formed that  Mrs.  Ketelfe  was  formerly  Miss  Nolen, 
and  that  she  had  two  brothers.  One  of  them  died 
from  the  effects  of  injuries  received  mysteriously, 
while  in  the  company  of  one  Horace  Dupee,  sev- 
eral years  ago.  The  other  brother,  Percy  by  name, 
was  accused,  a  year  since,  of  a  robbery  at  Castel- 
lani's  jewelery  store.  He  left  New  York  and  was 
reported  drowned  ;  but  the  report  turned  out  to 
have  been  an  error.  He  returned  to  New  York 
about  ten  days  ago  ;  but  his  presence  was  not 


236  THE   SHADOW  LIFTED. 

generally  made  known,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
true  perpetrator  of  the  robbery  had  not  yet  been 
identified.  The  identification  has  now  been  made, 
however,  and  therefore  the  necessity  of  concealing 
Mr.  Percy  Nolen's  presence  no  longer  exists." 

"Well,  and  what  has  all  this  rigmarole  to  do 
with  me?"  demanded  Dupee  defiantly.  "What 
have  I  to  do  with  Percy  Nolen  ?" 

"I  am  Percy^Nolen."  said  the  gentleman  in 
question,  regarding  Dupee  with  a  very  stern  ex- 
pression, "  and  this  lady  is  my  sister." 

Dupee  saw  at  once  that  he  had  been  outwitted 
and  trapped.  The  check  had  been  stopped  in 
order  to  induce  him  to  come  to  Judge  Ketelle's 
office  -,  and  it  had  been  previously  arranged  that 
Mrs.  Ketelle  and  Percy  were  to  meet  him  there  and 
effect  his  discomfiture.  There  was  nothing  left  for 
him  to  do  except  to  retire  like  the  baffled  villain  in 
the  melodrama,  muttering,  "  Foiled  !  but  I  will  yet 
be  avenged  !  "  or  words  to  that  effect.  Dupee, 
however,  failed  to  grasp  the  dramatic  opportunities 
of  the  situation  ;  but  he  said,  as  he  moved  towards 
the  door,  "  You  have  been  known  as  a  pickpocket, 
Percy  Nolen,  and  it  '11  stick  to  you  !  "  With  that 
he  opened  the  door,  and  \vould  have  gone  out  of 
it,  had  he  not  been  confronted  there  by  a  broad- 
shouldered,  athletic  gentleman,  with  a  brown 
mustache  and  piercing  eyes,  who  was  accompanied 
by  a  dejected  personage  wearing  the  familiar  as- 
pect of  Mr.  John  Crush,  the  only  true  and  genuine 
proprietor  of  that  name,  , 


THE    SHADOW   LIFTED.  237 

The  broad-shouldered  man,  after  handing  Crush 
into  the  room,  followed  him  and  closed  the  door. 
"Good  morning,  Mrs.  Ketelle  and  gentlemen,"  he 
said,  cheerfully.  "  Well,  Horace^  you  see  I  have  a 
friend  of  yours  here.  Jack  has  been  complaining 
to  me  of  you.  He  says  you  not  only  stole  his 
name,  but  infringed  his  patent  blackmail  scheme. 
And  so,  by  way  of  retaliation,  he  has  been  telling 
very  bad  tales  of  you.  I'm  afraid  you  are  in  for 
a  good  deal  of  trouble,  Horace." 

"  There's  no  need  of  making  a  fuss  about  this 
affair,  Inspector,"  said  Dupec,  assuming  a  non- 
chalant air.  "  There's  been  no  blackmail  that  I 
know  of.  It  is  true  that  Judge  Ketelle  paid  me  a 
worthless  check  the  other  day  ;  but  there  has  been 
no  pecuniary  transaction,  properly  speaking,  and  I 
don't  know  what  this  man,"  indicating  Crush,  "  is 
grumbling  about.  I  know  very  little  of  him." 

"  He  has  the  advantage  of  you,  then,"  returned 
the  Inspector,  "  for  he  knows  a  great  deal  about 
you.  I  have  been  waiting  for  you  for  a  year.  I 
knew  you'd  be  back  here,  so  I  didn't  bother  to  dis- 
turb you  in  San  Francisco  ;  but  I've  got  that 
thousand-dollar  note  up  at  the  office  ;  and  Crush 
has  filled  up  any  little  gaps  in  the  chain,  though 
we  could  have  done  very  well  without  him.  Hold 
out  your  hands  !  " 

The  last  words  were  spoken  in  a  voice  so  differ- 
ent from  the  good-natured  banter  of  the  fore- 
going sentences  that  Dupee  gave  a  start  and 
mechanically  extended  his  wrists,  and  the  next 


238  THE    SHADOW  LIFTED. 

moment  the  hand-cuffs  were  round  them.  The 
moment  after  that,  however,  he  seemed  to  take  in 
the  significance  of  what  the  Inspector  had  said. 
He  turned  and  cast  a  very  malignant  glance  ai 
Crush. 

u  You  will  find  evidence  against  me,  will  you  !  " 
he  cried,  in  a  grating  tone. 

"  You  did  that  job  on  the  lady  in  the  jewelry 
store,  and  put  it  off  on  him,"  returned  Crush, 
nodded  toward  Percy,  and  speaking  with  a  swag- 
ger. "  You  know  it,  and  I'll  take  my  oath  to  it  any 
day.  You  played  a  low-down  game  on  me,  and 
that's  what  you  get  for  it  ?  " 

"You'll  give  evidence  that  I'm  a  pickpocket, 
will  you  ? "  repeated  Dupee,  staring  at  the  man 
with  a  strange  expression,  half  leer  and  half  scowl. 
"  Well,  you  may  do  it ;  or  you  needn't,  just  as  you 
please  ;  for  I  did  rob  the  v/oman,  and  I  don't  care 
who  knows  it,  now  !  But  yor.  gave  it  away  too 
quick,  Jack  Grush  ;  this  is  the  worst  day's  work 
you  ever  did  ;  it  would  have  been  worth  some- 
thing to  you  to  have  found  out,  first,  whether  I 
had  any  little  stories  to  tell  about  you  !  " 

The  Inspector,  who  had  been  on  the  point  of 
putting  an  abrupt  end  to  their  dialogue,  seemed  to 
change  his  purpose  at  the  last  sentence  ;  and  the 
others  present  involuntarily  listened  for  what 
might  follow. 

"  You  can't  tell  any  thing  to  hurt  me  !  "  retorted 
Grush.  "  I've  got  my  medicine,  and  I'm  going  to 
take  it.  You  can't  change  it." 


THE   SHADOW  LIFTED.  239 

"  We'll  see  if  I  can't.  I  know  something  ;  I've 
known  it  for  years— for  years,  do  you  hear,  Jack 
Grush  !  I  haven't  said  any  thing  about  it ;  it  was 
too  good  a  thing  to  give  away — until  the  time  came  ! 
It  was  a  whip  I  could  drive  you  with  anytime,  and 
I  kept  it  till  I  should  want  it.  Little  you  imagined 
that  I  have  had  the  whole  thing,  pat  by  heart,  ever 
since  the  first  month  I  was  out  of  the  prisoner's 
dock  !  I  knew  better  than  to  let  you  suspect  it. 
But  I've  waited  long  enough,  and  you  might  as 
well  have  it  now  as  later.58 

"  Blessed  if  I  know  what  he's  chattering  about  !  " 
said  Grush,  addressing  the  company  in  general 
with  an  air  of  perplexed  innocence.  "  I  suspect 
he's  gone  off  his  head  a  little." 

"  When  I  left  the  prisoner's  dock,  acquitted  of 
murdering  Jerrold  Nolen,"  Dupee  went  on,  with 
intense  emphasis,  "  you  were  one  of  the  first  to 
make  up  to  me  and  say  that,  since  society  had 
kicked  me  out,  I  was  justified  in  kicking  against 
society,  and  living  by  my  wits.  But,  all  the  time, 
if  I  had  been  convicted,  you  would  have  let  me 
hang,  you  hound, sooner  than  say  a  word  to  save 
me  !  and  yet  you  were  the  scoundrel  who  crept  up 
to  a  drunken  man.  .  .  Hold  him,  Inspector  !  " 

Grush,  in  fact,  had  suddenly  made  a  leap  at 
Dupee  like  a  wild  beast.  But  the  Inspector's  hand 
was  stretched  out  like  a  flash  and  grasped  him  by 
the  back  of  the  collar  with  an  iron  hold.  The 
fellow  made  one  tremendous  but  vain  effort  to 
break  loose,  and  then  stood  still,  shaking  all  over, 


240  THE   SHADOW  LIFTED. 

but  dangerous  no  longer,  The  Inspector  gave  a 
sharp  whistle  ;  a  sergeant  entered  the  room,  and  at 
a  nod  from  his  superior  had  Grush  manacled  in  a 
jiffy  and  stood  up  against  the  wall.  The  Inspector 
straightened  his  shirt-cuff  and  said,  "  Come,  Horace, 
make  an  end  of  this  business;  we  can't  stay  here 
all  the  morning  to  hear  you  two  scoundrels  abuse 
each  other." 

"  I  say,"  said  Dupee,  with  a  sort  of  excited 
shriek  in  his  voice,  "that  after  I  took  Jerrold 
Nolen  to  the  door  of  his  house,  and  left  him,  so 
help  me  God,  alive  in  the  stoop  there,  though  so 
drunk  he  didn't  know  what  he  was  about,  that 
devil  there  came  up  to  him  and  robbed  him,  and 
gave  him  the  blow  behind  the  ear  that  killed  him  ! 
I  say  it,  and  I  can  prove  it  !  And  when  he  feels 
the  rope  about  his  neck,  let  him  remember  that  it 
was  Horace  Dupee  put  it  there  ! " 

"  Take  them  out,  sergeant,"  said  the  Inspector, 
abruptly ;  :*  I  will  be  at  the  office  presently. 
They're  a  pair  of  them,  and,  to  my  thinking,  hang- 
ing is  too  good  for  either  of  them  !  " 

The  little  audience  which  had  been  involuntary 
spectators  of  this  violent  and  ugly  scene  drew  a 
breath  of  relief  when  the  door  closed  behind  the 
two  convicts.  It  was  a  long  time  before  the  night- 
mare impression  wore  off. 

"  That  last  turn  was  unexpected,"  observed  the 
Inspector,  deprecatingly.  "  It  wasn't  on  my  pro- 
gramme. I  think  Dupee  probably  told  the  truth 


THE  SHADOW  LIFTED.  241 

about  it ;  you  remember,  Miss  Nolen,  I  always 
doubted  his  having  committed  the  greater  crime. 
But,  on  the  whole,  I  think  we  may  congratulate 
ourselves  on  having  made  a  very  good  end  of  the 
affair.  You  will  not  have  to  return  to  Harlem,  Mr. 
Nolen,  unless  you  wish  to.  And,  on  the  other 
hand,  when  you  go  back  to  Mexico,  I  fancy  you 
will  find  no  difficulty  in  carrying  with  you  all  the 
guarantees,  social  or  business,  that  you  want." 

"Thanks  to  you,  Inspector,"  said  the  young 
man  with  feeling,  grasping  the  officer  by  the  hand. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  that  is  where  your  thanks  belong," 
the  latter  returned,  bowing  toward  Pauline  with  a 
smile.  "  She  deserves  most  of  the  credit  for  the 
successful  issue  of  this  affair.  No  sister,  I'll  make 
bold  to  say,  ever  stood  by  a  brother  so  faithfully  as 
she  has  by  you.  I  have  done  little  besides  back 
her  up  now  and  then  ;  and,  if  I  hadn't,  I  believe 
she  would  have  done  the  whole  thing  alone  by  her- 
self !  "  and  evading  further  thanks  and  praises,  the 
chief  detective  made  a  comprehensive  salute  to  the 
company,  and  vanished  from  the  room. 

"  He's  what  I  call  a  man  !  "  said  Percy. 

"  And  a  general  !  "  added  the  judge. 

Pauline  said  in  a  whisper,  "  God  bless  him  !  " 

Judge  Ketelle  and  his  beautiful  wife  continue  to 
live  in  New  York,  and  now  that  the  shadow  is 
lifted  from  them  they  are  the  sunny  center  of  a 
charming  society.  Mrs.  Nolen  lives  with  them,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  a  serene  old  age.  Percy  returned 


242  THE    SHADOW  LIFTED. 

to  Mexico,  and  is  still  living  there,  having  become 
quite  wealthy  ;  and  his  betrothal  is  reported  to 
the  daughter  of  one  of  the  chief  men  in  the  govern- 
ment. Mrs.  Valentine  Martin  is  believed  to  be  in 
England,  intriguing,  without  much  prospect  of 
success,  for  the  possession  of  her  late  husband's 
estates.  Dupee  is  behind  the  bars  ;  Crush  con- 
trived to  cheat  the  gallows.  Inspector  Byrnes  is 
hard  at  work  ;  but  hard  work  agrees  with  him. 


THE    END. 


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Landscape  Painting  in  Oils,  A  Course  of  Lessons  in.  By  A.  F. 
GRACE.  With  Nine  Reproductions  in  Colour.  Cheap  Edition,  253. 

Law,  About  Going  to.     By  A.  J.  WILLIAMS,  M.P.    as.  6d. 

Legends  for  Lionel.     By  WALTER  CRANE.    Coloured  Illustrations.    55. 

Letts's  Diaries  and  other  Time-saving  Publications  are  now  pub- 
lished exclusively  by  CASSF.LL  &  COMPANY.  (A  list  free  on  application) 

Local  Dual  Standards.  Gold  and  Silver  Currencies.  ByJ.  H.NORMAN,  is. 

Local  Government  in  England  and  Germany.  By  the  Right  Hon. 
Sir  ROBERT  MORIER,  G.C.B.,  &c.  is. 

London,  Brighton,  and  South  Coast  Railway,  The  Official  Illus- 
trated Guide  to  the.  is.  ;  cloth,  zs. 

London  and  North  Western  Railway,  The  Official  Illustrated 
Guide  to  the.  is. ;  cloth,  as. 

London  and  South  Western  Railway,  The  Official  Illustrated 
Guide  to  the.  is. ;  cloth,  as. 

London,  Greater.  By  EDWARD  WALFORD.  Two  Vols.  With  about 
400  Illustrations,  gs.  each. 

London,  Old  and  New.  Six  Vols.,  each  containing  about  200 
Illustrations  and  Maps.  Cloth,  gs.  each.  [Edition,  i6s. 

Longfellow's  Poetical  Works.    Illustrated  throughout,  £3  33.;  Popular 

Luther,  Martin:  His  Life  and  Times.  By  PETER  BAYNE,  LL.D. 
Two  Vols.,  demy  8vo,  1,040  pages.  Cloth,  345. 

Mechanics,  The  Practical  Dictionary  of.  Containing  15,000  Draw- 
ings. Four  Vols.  ais.  each. 

Medicine,  Manuals  for  Students   of.    (A  List  forwarded  post  free.} 

Midland  Railway,  Official  Illustrated  Guide  to  the.  New  and  Re- 
vised Edition,  is.;  cloth,  as. 

Modern  Europe,  A  History  of.  By  C.  A.  FYFFE,  M.A.  Vol.  I., 
from  1792  to  1814.  ias.  Vol.  II.,  from  1814  to  1848.  las. 

Music,  Illustrated  History  of.  By  EMIL  NAUMANN.  Edited  by  the 
Rev.  Sir  F.  A.  GORE  OUSELEY,  Bart.  Illustrated.  Two  Vols.  315.  6d. 

National  Library,  Cassell's.  In  Weekly  Volumes,  each  containing 
about  192  pages.  Paper  covers,  3d. ;  cloth,  6d.  (A  List  of  the  Volumes 
already  issued  sent  post  free  on  application.) 

Natural  History,  Cassell's  Concise.  By  E.  PERCEVAL;  WRIGHT, 
M.A.,  M.D.,  F.L.S.  With  several  Hundred  Illustrations.  73.  6d. 

Natural  History,  Cassell's  New.  Edited  by  Prof.  P.  MARTIN 
DUNCAN,  M.B.,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.  Complete  in  Six  Vols.  With  about 
2.000  Illustrations.  Cloth,  gs.  each. 

Nimrod  in  the  North  ;  or,  Hunting  and  Fishing  Adventures  in  the 
Arctic  Regions.  By  Lieut.  SCHWATKA.  Illustrated.  75.  6d. 

Nursing  for  the  Home  and  for  the  Hospital,  A  Handbook  of. 
By  CATHERINE  J.  WOOD.  Cheap  Edition,  is.  6d.  ;  cloth,  as. 

Oil  Painting,  A  Manual  of.     By  the  Hon.  JOHN  COLLIER,     as.  6d. 

Orion  the  Gold  Beater.  A  Novel.  By  SYLVANUS  COBB,  Junr.  Cloth,  33. 6d. 

Our  Own  Country.    Six  Vols.    With  1,200  Illustrations.     73.  6d.  each. 

Out-door  Sports  and  In-door  Amusements,  Cassell's  Book  of. 
With  more  than  900  Illustrations.  Cheap  Edition,  992  pages. 
Medium  8vo,  cloth,  33.  6d. 

Painting,  Practical  Guides  to.  With  Coloured  Plates  and  full  in- 
structions : — Marine  Painting,  53. — Animal  Painting,  55. — China  Paint- 
ing, 55. — Figure  Painting,  75.  6d. — Elementary  Flower  Painting,  36. — 
Flower  Painting,  2  Books,  £s.  each. — Tree  Painting,  55. — Water-Colour 
Painting,  55. — Neutral  Tint,  53. — Sepia,  in  2  Vols.,  35.  each ;  or  in 
One  Vol.,  53.— Flowers,  and  How  to  Paint  Them,  58. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 


Paris,  Cassell's  Illustrated  Guide  to.    Cloth,  as. 
Parliaments,  A  Diary  of  Two.     By  H.  W.  LUCY.      The  Disraeli  Par- 
liament, 1874— 1880.   I2S.     The  Gladstone  Parliament,  1881—1886.  I2S. 
Paxton's  Flower  Garden.     By  Sir  JOSEPH  PAXTON  and  Prof.  LINDLEY. 

Three  Vols.     With  100  Coloured  Plates.     £i  is.  each. 
Peoples  of  the  World,  The.     In  Six  Vols.     By  Dr.  ROBERT  BROWN. 

Illustrated.     73.  6d.  each. 

Phantom  City,  The.     By  W.  WESTALL.     Second  Edition.    55. 
Photography  for  Amateurs.     By  T.  C.   HEPWORTH.     Illustrated,     is.; 

or  cloth,  is.  6d. 
Phrase  and  Fable,  Dictionary  of.     By  the  Rev.  Dr.  BREWER.     Cheap 

Edition,  Enlarged,  cloth,  35.  6d.  ;  or  with  leather  back,  45.  6d. 
Picturesque  America.     Complete  in  Four  Vols.,  with  48  Exquisite  Steel 

Plates  and  about  800  Original  Wood  Engravings.     £2  2s.  each. 
Picturesque  Canada.  With  600  Original  Illustrations.  2  Vols.  £3  33. each. 
Picturesque    Europe.        Complete    in     Five    Vols.       Each     containing 

13   Exquisite   Steel   Plates,  from  Original   Drawings,  and   nearly  200 

Original  Illustrations.      £10  los.     The  POPULAR  EDITION  is  published 

in  Five  Vols.,  i8s.  each. 

Pigeon  Keeper,  The  Practical.  By  LEWIS  WRIGHT.  Il'ustrated.  33.  6d. 
Pigeons,  The  Book  of.     By  ROBERT  FULTON.     Edited  and  Arranged  by 

L.  WRIGHT.     With  50  Coloured  Plates,  318.  6d.  ;  half-morocco,  £2  2S. 
Poets,  Cassell's  Miniature  Library  of  the  : — 


BURNS.    Two  Vols.    2s.  6d. 
BYRON.     Two  Vols.    2s.  6d. 
HOOD.    Two  Vols.    2s.  6d. 
LONGFELLOW.  Two  Vols.  2s.  6d. 


MILTON.    Two  Vols.    as.  6d. 
SCOTT.  Two  Vols.   2s.  6d.  [as.  6d. 
SHERIDAN  and  GOLDSMITH.  2  Vols. 
WORDSWORTH.    Two  Vols.    as.  6d. 


SHAKESPEARE.     Illustrated.     In  12  Vols.,  in  Case,  las. 
Police  Code,  and  Manual  of  the  Criminal  Law.     By  C.  E.  HOWARD 

VINCENT,  M.P.    as. 
Popular  Library,  Cassell's.     Cloth,  is.  each. 


The  Russian  Empire. 

The  Relig.ous  Revolution  in  the 

i6th  Century. 
English  Journalism. 


The  Story  of  the  English  Jacobins. 
Domestic  Folk  Lore. 
The  Rev.  Rowland  Hill :  Preacher 
and  Wit. 


Our  Colonial  Empire.  j     Boswell  and  Johnson  :  their  Corn- 

John  Wesley.  panions  and  Contemporaries. 

The  Young    Man   in    the    Battle         History  of  the  Free-Trade  Move- 
of  Life.  ment  in  England. 

Post   Office   of   Fifty  Years    Ago,    The.      Containing   Reprint  of  Sir 
ROWLAND  HILL'S  famous  Pamphlet  proposing  Penny  Posiage.     is. 

Poultry  Keeper,  The  Practical.      By  LEWIS  WRIGHT.     With  Coloured 
Plates  and  Illustrations.     35.  6d. 

Poultry,  The   Illustrated   Book  of.     By  LEWIS  WRIGHT.     With  Fifty 
Coloured  Plates.     Cloth,  313.  6d.  ;  half-morocco,  £a  as. 

Poultry,  The  Book  of.     By  LEWIS  WRIGHT.    Popular  Edition,    ics.  6d. 

Pre-Raphaelites,  The  Italian,  in  the  National  Gallery.    By  COSMO 
MONKHOUSE.     Illustrated,     is. 

Printing  Machinery  and  Letterpress  Printing,  Modern.     By  J.  F. 
WILSON  and  DOUGLAS  GREY.     Illustrated.     2is. 

Queen  Victoria,  The  Life  and  Times  of.    By  ROBERT  WILSON.    Com- 
plete in  Two  Vols.     With  numerous  Illustrations,     gs.  each. 

Queer  Race,  A.     By  W.  WESTALL.    55. 

Quiver,  The.     Yearly  Volume.       Containing  Several    Hundred  Illustra- 
tions.    73.  6d. 

Rabbit-Keeper,  The  Practical.     By  CUNICULUS.     Illustrated.     33.  6d. 

Representative  Poems  of  Living  Poets    American  and  English. 
Selected  by  the  Poets  themselves.     153. 

Republic  of  the  Future,  The.    By  ANNA  BOWMAN  DODD.    as. 

Royal  River,  The  :  The  Thames  from  Source  to  Sea.     With  Descrip- 
tive Text  and  a  Series  of  beautiful  Engravings.     £2  as. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

Red  Library,  Cassell's.     Stiff  covers,  is.  each;  cloth,  as.  each 
People  I  have  Met. 


[•he  Pathfinder. 
Evelina. 
Scott's  Poems. 
Last  of  the  Barons. 
Adventures  of  Mr.  Ledbury. 
Ivanhoe. 
Oliver  Twist. 

Selections  from  Hood's  "Works. 
Longfellow's  Prose  "Works. 
Sense  and  Sensibility. 
Lytton's  Plays.  [Harte. 

Tales,  Poems,  and  Sketches.    Bret 
Martin  Chuzzlewit  (2  Vols.). 
The    Prince    of    the    House    of 
Sheridan's  Plays.  [David. 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. 
Deerslayer. 
Eugene  Aram. 


Jack  Hintou,  the  Guardsman. 
Home  and  the  Early  Christians. 


Poe's  "Works. 
Mortality. 


Old 
The 


_  he  Hour  and  the  Man. 
Handy  Andy. 
Scarlet  Letter. 
Pickwick  (2  Vols.) 
Last  of  the  Mohicans. 
Pride  and  Prejudice. 
Yellowplush  Papers. 
Tales  of  the  Borders. 
Last  Days  of  Palmyra. 
"Washington      Irving's      Sketch- 
Book. 

The  Talisman. 
Byienzi. 

Old  Curiosity  Shop. 
Heart  of  Midlothian. 
Last  Days  of  Pompeii. 
American  Humour. 
Sketches  by  Boz. 
Macaulay's  Lays  and  Essays. 
The  Trials  of  Margaret  Lyndsay.  Harry  Lorrequer. 

Russia.      By  Sir  DONALD  MACKENZIE  WALLACE,  M.A.     With  a  new 

Autobiographical  Chapter.     53. 

Russo-Turkish  War,  Cassell's   History  of.     With   about   500   Illus- 
trations.    Two  Vols.,  gs.  each. 

Saturday  Journal,  Cassell's.    Yearly  Volume,  cloth,  73.  6d. 
Science  for  All.     Edited  by  Dr.  ROBERT   BROWN.      Illustrated.      Five 

Vols.    gs.  each. 
Sea,  The:   Its  Stirring  Story  of  Adventure,   Peril,  and  Heroism. 

By  F.  WHYMPER.     With  400  Illustrations.     Four  Vols.,  73.  6d.  each. 
Section  558,  or  The  Fatal  Letter.    A  Novel.    By  JULIAN  HAWTHORNE. 

Boards,  zs.  ;  cloth,  33.  6d. 

Sent  Back  by  the  Angels.     And  other  Ballads.     By  FREDERICK  LANG- 
BRIDGE,  M.A.     Cloth,  43.  6d.     Popular  Edition,  is. 
Shaftesbury,  The  Seventh  Earl  of,  K.G.,  The  Life  and  Work  of. 

By  EDWIN   HODDER.     With  Portraits.     Three   Vols.,  363.     Popular 

Edition,  in  One  Vol.,  73.  6d. 
Shakspere,      The     International.         Edition     de     Luxe.        "  King 

Henry  IV.,"    Illustrated    by    Herr    EDUARD    GRUTZNER,    £3    IDS.  ; 

"As  You  Like  It,"  Illustrated  by  Mons.  EMILE  BAYARD,  £3  los.  ; 

"  Romeo  and  Juliet,"  Illustrated  by  FRANK  DICKSEE,  A.R.A.,  £5  55. 
Shakspere,  The  Leopold.      With  400  Illustrations.     Cloth,  6s.  ;    cloth 

gilt,  73.  6d.  ;  half-morocco,  IDS.  6d.     Cheap  Edition.    35.  6d. 
Shakspere,    The    Royal.     With   Steel    Plates  and  Wood  Engravings. 

Three  Vols.     155.  each. 
Shakespeare,   Cassell's   Quarto   Edition.     Edited    by   CHARLES  and 

MARY  COWDEN  CLARKE,  and  containing  about   600   Illustrations  by 

H.  C.  SELOUS.     Complete  in  Three  Vols.,  cloth  gilt,  £3  33. 
Shakespeare,  Miniature.     Illustrated.     In  Twelve  Vols.,  in  box,  ias. ; 

or  in  Red  Paste  Grain  (box  to  match),  with  lock  and  key,  2is. 
Shakespearean  Scenes  and  Characters.     With  30  Steel  Plates  and  10 

Wood  Engravings.     The  Text  written  by  AUSTIN  BRERKTON.     zis. 
Ships,  Sailors,  and  the  Sea.  By  R.  J.  CORNEWALL- JONES.  Illustrated.  55. 
Short  Studies  from  Nature.     Illustrated.     Cheap  Edition.     2s.  6d. 
Sketching  from   Nature    in   Water   Colours.      By  AARON   PENLEY. 

With  Illustrations  in  Chromo- Lithography.     155. 

Skin  and  Hair,  The  Management  of  the.  By  M.  MORRIS,  F.R.C.S.  zs. 
Sonnets  and  Quatorzains.     By  CHRYS,  M.A.  Oxon.    55. 
Steam  Engine,  The  Theory  and  Action  of  the  :   for  Practical  Men. 

By  W.  H.  NORTHCOTT,  C.E.     33.  6d. 

Stock  Exchange  Year- Book,  The.     By  THOMAS  SKINNER.     123.  6d. 
Summer  Tide.     "Little  Folks  "  Holiday  Number.     J» 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

Sunlight  and  Shade.    With  numerous  Exquisite  Engravings.     75.  6d. 
Surgery,  Memorials  of  the  Craft  of,  in  England.      With  an  Intro- 
duction by  Sir  JAMES  PAGET.    sis. 
Technical  Education.     By  F.  C.  MONTAGUE.    6d. 

Thackeray,  Character  Sketches  from.     Six  New  and  Original  Draw- 
ings by  FREDERICK  BARNARD,  reproduced  in  Photogravure.     2is. 
Town  Holdings,     is. 
Tragedy  of  Brinkwater.  The.    A  Novel.   By   MARTHA  L.  MOODEY 

Boards,  as. ;  cloth,  35.  6d. 

Tragic  Mystery,  A.     A  Novel.     By  JULIAN  HAWTHORNE.     Boards,  as. 
Treasure  Island.     By  R.  L.  STEVENSON.     Illustrated.    53. 
Treatment,  The  Year-Book  of.    53. 
Trees,  Familiar.     By  G.  S.  BOULGER,   F.L.S.     Two  Series.     With  40 

full-page  Coloured  Plates,  from  Original  Paintings  by  W.  H.  J.  BOOT. 

I2S.  6d.  each. 
Twenty   Photogravures  of  Pictures  in   the  Salon  of  1885,  by  the 

leading  French  Artists. 
"Unicode":   the  Universal  Telegraphic  Phrase  Book.    Desk  and 

Pocket  Editions.     2s.  6d.  each. 
United    States,    Cassell's    History    of  the.      By    the  late  EDMUND 

OLLIER.     With  600  Illustrations.     Three  Vols.    gs.  each. 
United  States,  The  Youth's  History  of  the.    By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS. 

Illustrated.     Four  Volumes.     363. 

Universal  History,  Cassell's  Illustrated.     Four  Vols.     gs.  each. 
Vaccination  Vindicated.    By  JOHN  McVAiL,  M.D.,  D.P.H.  Camb.    5s. 
Veiled  Beyond,  The.     A  Novel.    By  S.  B.  ALEXANDER.     Cloth,  35.  6d. 
Vicar    of    Wakefield    and    other  Works    by    OLIVER     GOLDSMITH. 

Illustrated.     33.  6d. ;  cloth,  gilt  edges,  53. 
What  Girls  Can  Do.     By  PHYLLIS  BROWNE.     2s.  6d. 
Who   is  John   Noman  ?    A  Novel.     By  CHARLES  HENRY   BECKETT. 

Boards,  2s.  ;  cloth,  35.  6d. 
Wild   Birds,  Familiar.     By  W.   SWAYSLAND.     Four   Series.     With  40 

Coloured  Plates  in  each.     123.  6d.  each. 
Wild   Flowers,   Familiar.     By  F.   E.  HULME,    F.L.S.,  F.S.A.      Five 

Series.     With  40  Coloured  Plates  in  each.     I2s.  6d.  each. 
Wise  Woman,  The.     By  GEORGE  MACDONALD.    2s.  6d. 
Woman's  World,  The.     Yearly  Volume.     i8s. 
World  of  Wit  and  Humour,   The.    With  400    Illustrations.      Cloth, 

75.  6d.  ;  cloth  gilt,  gilt  edges,  IDS.  6d. 

World  of  Wonders.     Two  Vols.     With  400  Illustrations.    73.  6d.  each. 
Yoke  of  the  Thorah,  The.     A  Novel.     By  SIDNEY  LUSKA.     Boards, 

2s. ;  cloth,  33,  6d. 
Yule  Tide.     Cassell's  Christmas  Annual,  is. 

ILLUSTRATED  MAGAZINES. 
The  Quiver.    ENLARGED  SERIES.    Monthly,  6d. 
Cassell's  Family  Magazine.    Monthly.  ?d. 
"Little   Folks"'  Magazine.     Monthly,  6d. 
The  Magazine  of  Art.     Monthly,  is. 
The   Woman's  World.    Monthly,  is. 
Cassell's  Saturday  tTortrnal.     Weekly,  id. ;  Monthly,  6d. 

Catalogues  of  CASSELL  &  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS,  which  may  be  had  at  all 
Booksellers',  or  will  be  sent  post  free  on  application  to  the  Publishers  : — 

CASSELL'S  COMPLETE  CATALOGUE,   containing  particulars  of  upwards  of 

One  Thousand  Volumes. 
CASSELL'S  CLASSIFIED  CATALOGUE,  in  which  their  Works  are  arranged 

according  to  price,  from  Threepence  to  Twenty-five  Guineas. 
CASSELL'S  EDUCATIONAL  CATALOGUE,  containing  particulars  of  CASSELL 
&  COMPANY'S  Educational  Works  and  Students'  Manuals. 

CASSELL  &  COMPANY,  LIMITED,  Ludgate  Hill,  London. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

atttr 

Bible,  The  Crown  Illustrated.     With  about  1,000  Original  Illustrations. 
With  References,  &c.     1,248  pages,  crown  410,  cloth,  73.  6d. 

Bible,  Cassell's  Illustrated  Family.    With  900  Illustrations.     Leather, 

gilt  edges,  £2  los. 
Bible  Dictionary,  Cassell's.     With  nearly  600  Illustrations.     75.  6d. 

Bible  Educator,  The.   Edited  by  the  Very  Rev.  Dean  PLUMPTRE,  D.D., 
Wells.     With  Illustrations,  Maps,  &c.      Four  Vols.,  cloth,  6s.  each. 

Bible  Work  at  Home  and  Abroad.     Volume.     Illustrated.     33. 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  (Cassell's  Illustrated).     410.    75.  6d. 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress.     With  Illustrations.     Cloth,  33.  6d. 
Child's  Life  of  Christ,  The.    With  200  Illustrations.     2is'. 
Child's  Bible,  The.     With  200  Illustrations.     143^  Thousand.     73.  6d. 

Dore   Bible.      With  238  Illustrations  by  GUSTAVE  DOR£.      Small  folio, 

cloth,  £8. 

Early  Days  of  Christianity,  The.     By  the  Ven.  Archdeacon  FARRAR, 
D.D.,  F.R.S. 

LIBRARY  EDITION.     Two  Vols.,  243.  ;  morocco,  £2  2s. 
POPULAR  EDITION.     Complete  in  One  Volume,  cloth,  6s. ;  cloth,  gilt 
edges,  73.  6d. ;  Persian  morocco,  los.  6d.  ;  tree-calf,  153. 

Family  Prayer-Book,  The.     Edited  by  Rev.  Canon  GARBETT,  M.A., 

and  Rev.  S.  MARTIN.     Extra  crown  410,  cloth,  53.  ;  morocco,  183. 
Geikie,  Cunningham,  D.D.,  'Works  by: — 

THE  HOLY  LAND  AND  THE  BIBLE.    A  Book  of  Scripture  Illustrations 

gathered  in  Palestine.     Two  Vols.,  demy  8vo,  with  Map.     243. 
HOURS  WITH  THE  BIBLE.     Six  Vols.,  6s.  each. 
ENTERING  ON  LIFE.    33.  6d. 
THE  PRECIOUS  PROMISES.   2s.  6d. 
THE  ENGLISH  REFORMATION.    53. 
OLD  TESTAMENT  CHARACTERS.    6s. 

THE  LIFE  AND  WORDS  OF  CHRIST.  Illustrated  Edition — Two  Vols., 
303.  ;  Library  Edition— Two  Vols.,  305.  ;  Students'  Edition— 
Two  Vols.,  163. ;  Cheap  Edition— One.  Vol.,  73.  6d. 

Glories  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  The.    Sermons  preached  at  St.  James's, 
Piccadilly.  By  Rev.  H.  G.  BONAVIA  HUNT,  Mus.D.,  F.R.S.,  Ed.  2s.  6d. 

Gospel  of  Grace,  The.    By  a  LINDESIE.     Cloth,  33.  6d. 

"  Heart  Chords."    A  Series  of  Works  by  Eminent  Divines.     Bound  in 
cloth,  red  edges,  One  Shilling  each. 


My  Father. 
My  Bible. 
My  Work  for  God. 
My  Object  in  Life. 


My  Aspirations. 

My  Emotional  Life. 

My  Body. 

My  Soul. 

My  Growth  in  Divine  Lite. 


My  Hereafter. 
My  Walk  with  God. 
My  Aids  to  the  Divine  Life. 
My  Sources  of  Strength. 


Helps  to  Belief.  A  Series  of  Helpful  Manuals  on  the  Religious 
Difficulties  of  the  Day.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  TEIGNMOUTH  SHORE,  M.A., 
Chaplain-in-Ordinary  to  the  Queen.  Cloth,  is.  each. 


CREATION.  By  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
Carlisle. 

THE  DIVINITY  OF  OUR  LORD.  By 
the  Lord  Bishop  of  Derry. 

THE  MORALITY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTA- 
MENT. By  the  Rev  Newman 
Smyth,  D.D. 


MIRACLES.      By  the    Rev.    Brownlow 
Maitland,  M.A. 

PRAYER.     By  the  Rev.  T.  Teignmouth 
Shore,  M.A. 

THE  ATONEMENT.  By  he  Lord  Bishop 


of  Peterborough. 


3  B.  7.88 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

I  Must.  Short  Missionary  Bible  Readings.  By  SOPHIA  M.  NUGENT. 
Enamelled  covers,  6d.  ;  cloth,  gilt  edges,  is. 

Life  of  Christ,  The.   -By  the  Yen.  Archdeacon  FARRAR,  D.D.,  F.R.S. 
ILLUSTRATED     EDITION,   with    about    300    Original     Illustrations. 

Extra  crown  410,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  2is.  ;   morocco  antique,  423. 
LIBRARY  EDITION.    Two  Vols.     Cloth,  243. ;  morocco,  425. 
POPULAR  EDITION,  in  One  Vol.     8vo,  cloth,  6s.  ;  cloth,  gilt  edges, 

73.  6d. ;  Persian  morocco,  gilt  edges,  los.  6d.  ;  tree-calf,  153. 

Luther,  Martin :  His  Life  and  Times.  By  PETER  BAYNE,  LL.D. 
Two  Vols.,  demy  8vo,  1,040  pages.  Cloth,  243. 

Marriage  Ring,  The.     By  WILLIAM  LANDELS,  D.D.      Bound  in  white 

leatherette,  gilt  edges,  in  box,  6s.  ;   French  morocco,  8s.  6d. 
Moses  and  peology  ;  or,  The  Harmony  of  the  Bible  with  Science. 

By  the  Rev.  SAMUEL  KINNS,  Ph.D.,  F.R.A.S.     Illustrated.     Cheap 

Edition,  6s. 
New  Testament  Commentary  for  English  Readers,  The.    Edited 

by  the  Rt.  Rev.  C.  J.   ELLICOTT,.  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Gloucester 

and  Bristol.     In  Three  Volumes,  2is.  each. 

Vol.  I.— The  Four  Gospels. 

Vol.  II. — The  Acts,  Romans,  Corinthians,  Galatians. 

Vol.  III. — The  remaining  Books  of  the  New  Testament. 

Old  Testament  Commentary  for  English  Readers,  The.  Edited 
by  the  Right  Rev.  C.  J.  ELLICOTT,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Gloucester 
and  Bristol.  Complete  in  5  Vols.,  2is.  each. 


Vol.  I. — Genesis  to  Numbers. 
Vol.  II. — Deuteronomy  to 
Samuel  II. 


Vol.  III.— Kings  I.  to  Esther. 

Vol.  IV.-Job  to  Isaiah. 

Vol.  V.  —Jeremiah  to  Malachi. 


Protestantism,  The  History  of.      By  the  Rev.  J.  A.  WYLIE,  LL.D. 
Containing  upwards  of  600  Original  Illustrations      Three  Vols. ,  gs.  each. 

Quiver  Yearly  Volume,  The.     250  high-class  Illustrations.     73.  6d. 

Religion,  The  Dictionary  of.     By  the  Rev.  W.  BENHAM,  B.D.    2is. ; 
Roxburgh,  253. 

St.  George  for  England  ;  and  other  Sermons  preached  to  Children.     By 

the  Rev.  T.  TEIGNMOUTH  SHORE,  M.A.    55. 

St.   Paul,  The  Life  and  Work  of.     By  the  Ven.  Archdeacon  FARRAR, 
D.D.,  F.R.S.,  Chaplain-in-Ordinary  to  the  Queen. 

LIBRARY  EDITION.     Two  Vols.,  cloth,  243.  ;  calf,  423. 
ILLUSTRATED  EDITION,  complete  in  One  Volume,  with  about  300 

Illustrations,  £i  is.  ;  morocco,  £2  2s. 
POPULAR  EDITION.    One  Volume,  8vo,  cloth,  6s. ;  cloth,  gilt  edges, 

75.  6d.  ;  Persian  morocco,  los.  6d.  ;  tree-calf,  158. 

Secular  Life,  The  Gospel  of  the.      Sermons  preached  at  Oxford.      By 
the  Hon.  W.  H.  FREMANTLE,  Canon  of  Canterbury.     55. 

Shall  We  Know  One  Another?    By  the  Rt.  Rev.  J.  C  RYLE,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Liverpool.     New  and  Enlarged  Edition.     Cloth  limp,  is. 

Twilight  of  Life,  The.    Words  of  Counsel  and  Comfort  for  the 
Aged.     By  the  Rev.  JOHN  ELLERTON,  M.A.    is.  6d. 

Voice  of  Time,  The.     By  JOHN  STROUD.     Cloth  gilt,  is. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 

(Btmcatiottal  Works  atttr  Jltu&ettts'  Iftamtals. 

Alphabet,  Cassell's  Pictorial.     35.  6d. 

Arithmetics,  The  Modern  School.  By  GEORGE  RICKS,  B.Sc.  Lond. 
With  Test  Cards.  (List  on  application.') 

Book-Keeping.  By  THEODORE  JONES.  For  Schools,  as.  ;  cloth,  35. 
For  the  Million,  2s.  ;  cloth,  33.  Books  for  Jones's  System,  as. 

Chemistry,  The  Public  School.     By  J.  H.  ANDERSON,  M.A.     as.  6d. 

Commentary,  The  New  Testament.  Edited  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
GLOUCESTER  and  BRISTOL.  Handy  Volume  Edition. 
St.  Matthew,  35.  6d.  St.  Mark,  33.  St.  Luke,  33.  6d.  St.  John, 
33.  6d.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  33.  6d.  Romans,  as.  6d.  Corinthians 
I.  and  II. ,33.  Galatians,  Ephesians,  and  Philippians,  33.  Colossians, 
Thessalonians,  and  Timothy,  33.  Titus,  Philemon,  Hebrews,  and 
James,  33.  Peter,  Jude,  and  John,  33.  The  Revelation,  33.  An 
Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  3S.  6d. 

Commentary,  Old  Testament.  Edited  by  Bishop  ELLICOTT.  Handy 
Volume  Edition.  Genesis,  35.  6d.  Exodus,  3S.  Leviticus,  33. 
Numbers,  as.  6d.  Deuteronomy,  as.  6d. 

Copy-Books,  Cassell's  Graduated.     Eighteen  Books,     ad.  each. 

Copy-Books,  The  Modern  School.     Twelve  Books,    ad.  each. 

Drawing  Copies,  Cassell's  "  New  Standard."    Fourteen  Books. 
Books  A  to  F  for  Standards  I.  to  IV.,  ad.  each.     Books  G,  H,  K,  L, 
M,  O,  for  Standards  V.  to  VII.,  3d.  each.    Books  N  and  P,  4d.  each. 

Drawing  Copies,  Cassell's  Modern  School  Freehand.  First  Grade, 
is. ;  Second  Grade,  as. 

Electricity,  Practical.     By  Prof.  W.  E.  AYRTON.    ys.  6d. 

Energy  and  Motion:  A  Text-Book  of  Elementary  Mechanics. 
By  WILLIAM  PAICE,  M.A.  Illustrated,  is.  6d. 

English  Literature,  First  Sketch  of,  New  and  Enlarged  Edition. 
By  Prof.  MORLEY.  73.  6d. 

English  Literature,  The  Story  of.  By  ANNA  BUCKLAND.  Cloth 
boards,  33.  6d. 

Euclid,  Cassell's.     Edited  by  Prof.  WALLACE,  M.A.'    is. 

Euclid,  The  First  Four  Books  of.     In  paper,  6d.  ;  cloth,  gd. 

Experimental  Geometry,  Elements  of.  By  PAUL  BERT.  Fully  Illus- 
trated, is.  6d. 

French  Reader,  Cassell's  Public  School.  By  GUILLAUME  S. 
CONRAD,  as.  6d. 

French,  Cassell's  Lessons  in.  New  and  Re-vised  Edition.  Parts  I. 
and  II.,  each  as.  6d.  ;  complete,  43.  6d.  Key,  is.  6d. 

French-English  and  English-French  Dictionary.  Entirely  New 
and  Enlarged  Edition.  1,150  pages,  8vo,  cloth,  33.  6d. 

Galbraith  and  Haughton's  Scientific  Manuals.  By  the  Rev.  Prof. 
GALBRAITH,  M.A.,  and  the  Rev.  Prof.  HAUGHTON,  M.D.,  D.C.L. 
Arithmetic,  33.  6d. — Plane  Trigonometry,  as.  6d. — Euclid,  Books  I., 
II.,  III.,  as.  6d.TBooks  IV.,  V.,  VI.,  as.  6d.— Mathematical  Tables, 
33.  6d. — Mechanics,  35.  6d.— Natural  Philosophy,  35.  6d. — Optics, 
as.  6d. — Hydrostatics,  33.  6d. — Astronomy,  53.— Steam  Engine,  33. 6d. 
—Algebra,  Part  I.,  cloth,  as.  6d. ;  Complete,  73.  6d.— Tides  and  Tidal 
Currents,  with  Tidal  Cards,  33. 

German-English  and  English-German  Dictionary.    35.  6d. 

German  Reading,  First  Lessons  in.     By  A.  JAGST.     Illustrated,     is. 

German  of  To-Day .     By  Dr.  HEINEMANN.     is.  6d. 

Handbook  of  New  Code  of  Regulations.     By  JOHN  F.  Moss.     is. 

Historical  Cartoons,  Cassell's  Coloured.  Size  45  in.  x  35  in.,  as. 
each.  Mounted  on  canvas  and  varnished,  with  rollers,  53.  each. 

Historical  Course  for  Schools,  Cassell's.     Illustrated  throughout. 
I.— Stories   from   English   History,    is.     II.— The   Simple   Outline  of 
English  History,  is.  3d.     III.— The  Class  History  of  England,  as.  6<L 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Compan^s  Publications. 

Latin-English  Dictionary,  Cassell's.  By  J.  R.  V.  MARCHANT,  M.A. 
35.  6d. 

Latin-English  and  English-Latin  Dictionary.  By  J.  R.  BEARD, 
D.D.,  and  C.  BEARD,  B.A.  Crown  8vo,  914  pp.,  3s.  6d. 

Latin  Primer,  The  New.     By  Prof.  J.  P.  POSTGATE.     Crown  8vo,  2s.  6d. 

Laws  of  Every-Day  Life.     By  H.  O.  ARNOLD-FORSTER.     is.  6d. 

Little  Folks'  History  of  England.  By  ISA  CRAIG-KNOX.  Illustrated. 
is.  6d. 

Making  of  the  Home,  The  :  A  Book  of  Domestic  Economy  for  School 
and  Home  Use.  By  Mrs.  SAMUEL  A.  BARNETT.  is.  6d. 

Marlborough  Books :— Arithmetic  Examples,  33.  Arithmetic  Rules, 
is.  6d.  French  Exercises,  33.  6d.  French  Grammar,  2s.  6d.  German 
Grammar,  33.  6d. 

Mechanics  and  Machine  Design,  Numerical  Examples  in  Practical. 
By  R.  G.  ELAINE,  M.E.  With  Diagrams.  Cloth,  zs.  6d. 

Music,  An  Elementary  Manual  of.    By  HENRY  LESLIE,     is. 

Popular  Educator,  Cassell's.     Complete  in  Six  Vols.,  55.  each. 

Readers,  Cassell's  "Higher  Class."  "The  World's  Lumber-room.' 
Illustrated.  2s.  6d.—"  Short  Studies  from  Nature."  Illustrated.  2S.  6d. 
— "  The  World  in  Pictures."  Ten  in  Series.  Cloth,  23.  each. 

Readers,  Cassell's  Readable.  Carefully  graduated,  extremely  in- 
teresting, and  illustrated  throughout.  (List  on  application.) 

Readers,  Cassell's  Historical.  Illustrated  throughout,  printed  on 
superior  paper,  and  strongly  bound  in  cloth.  (List  on  application.) 

Readers  for  Intant  Schools,  Coloured.  Three  Books.  Each  con- 
taining 48  pages,  including  8  pages  in  colours.  4d.  each. 

Reader,  The  Citizen.     By  H.  O.  ARNOI.D-FORSTER.    Illustrated,  is.  6d. 

Readers,  The  "  Modern  School  "  Geographical.  (List  on  application.) 

Readers,  The  "  Modern   School."    Illustrated.     (List  on  application.) 

Reading  and  Spelling  Book,  Cassell's  Illustrated,     is. 

School  Bank  Manual.     By  AGNES  LAMBERT.     Price  6d. 

Shakspere's  Plays  for  School  Use.     5  Books.     Illustrated,  6d.  each. 

Shakspere  Reading  Book,  The.  By  H.  COURTHOPE  BOWEN,  M.A. 
Illustrated.  33.  6d.  Also  issued  in  Three  Books,  is.  each. 

Slojd  :  as  a  Means  of  Teaching  the  Essential  Elements  of  Education.  By 
EMILY  LORD.  6d. 

Spelling,  A  Complete  Manual  of.    By  J.  D.  MORELL,  LL.D.     is. 

Technical   Manuals,  Cassell's.     Illustrated  throughout : — 

Handrailing  and  Staircasing,  33.  6d. — Bricklayers,  Drawing  for,  33. — 
Building  Construction,  2s.  —  Cabinet-Makers,  Drawing  for,  33. — Car- 
penters and  Joiners,  Drawing  for,  33.  6d. — Gothic  Stonework,  33. 
— Linear  Drawing  and  Practical  Geometry,  2s. — Linear  Drawing  and 
Projection.  The  Two  Vols.  in  One,  33.  6d. — Machinists  and  Engineers, 
Drawing  for,  43.  6d. — Metal-Plate  Workers,  Drawing  for,  33. — Model 
Drawing,  33. — Orthographical  and  Isometrical  Projection,  2s. — Practical 
Persp,  '  ~  ~  '  '  '  "  '  "  '  ' 

by  Sir 


Technical  Educator,  Cassell's.  New  Edition,  in  Four  Vols.,  55 

Technology,  Manuals  of.  Edited  by  Prof.  AYRTON,  F.R.S.,  and 
RICHARD  WORMELL,  D.Sc.,  M.A.  Illustrated  throughout : — 
The  Dyeing  of  Textile  Fabrics,  by  Prof.  Hummel,  55.— Watch  and 
Clock  Making,  by  D.  Glasgow,  43.  6d.— Steel  and  Iron,  by  Prof.  W.  H. 
Greenwood,  F.C.S.,  M.I.C.E.,  &c.,  53.— Spinning  Woollen  and 
Worsted,  by  W.  S.  B.  McLaren,  M.P.,  43.  6d.— Design  in  Textile 
Fabrics,  by  T.  R.  Ashenhurst,  48.  6d. — Practical  Mechanics,  by  Prof. 
Perry,  M.E.,  33.  6d. — Cutting  Tools  Worked  by  Hand  and  Machine, 
by  Prof.  Smith,  33.  6d.  A  Prospectus  on  application. 

Test  Cards,  "  Modern  School,"  Cassell's.      In  Sets,  for  each  Stan 
dard.     is.  each.     With  Mental  Arithmetic  on  reverse  side. 

Test  Cards,  Cassell's  Combination.     In  sets,  is.  each. 

CASSELL  &  COMPANY,  LIMITED,  Ludgate  Hill,  London. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publications. 


j!00ks  for 

"Little     Folks"  Half-Yearly  Volume.      Containing    432    4to    pages 

with  about  200  Illustrations,  and  Pictures  in  Colour.    Boaftis,  33.  6d. ; 

or  cloth  gilt,  55. 
Bo-Peep.     A  Book  for  the  Little  Ones.     With  Original  Stories  and  Verses. 

Illustrated  throughout.     Yearly   Volume.     Boards,   2s.    6d.  ;     cloth 

gilt,  33.  6d. 

Legends  for  Lionel.     New  Picture  Book  by  WALTER  CRANE.     53. 
Flora's  Feast.     A  Masque  of  Flowers.     Penned  and  Pictured  by  WALTER 

CRANE.     With  40  Pages  in  Colours.     53. 

Every-day  Heroes.     By  LAURA  LANE.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  as.  6d. 
The    New    Children's    Album.       Fcap.   410,   320  pages.       Illustrated 

throughout.     33.  6d. 
The  Tales  of  the  Sixty  Mandarins.      By  P.   V.   RAMASWAMI  RAJU. 

With  an  Introduction  by  Prof.  HENRY  MORLEY.     Illustrated.     53. 
The  World's  Lumber  Room.     By  SELINA  GAVE.    as.  6d. 
Books  for  Young  People.     Illustrated.     Cloth  gilt,  53.  each. 


The  Palace  Beautiful.    By  L.  T. 

Meade. 
The  King's  Command :  A  Story 

for  Girls.  By  Maggie  Symington. 
For  Fortune  and  Glory :  A  Story 

of  the  Soudan  War.  By  Lewis 

Hough. 
"  Follow  My  Leader ;"  or,  The 

Boys    of    Templeton. 


Talbot  Baines  Keed. 


By 


Under  Bayard's  Banner.    By  Henry 

Frith. 
The   Romance  of  Invention.     By 

James  Burnley. 
The  Champion  of  Odin ;  or.  Viking 

Life  in  the  Days  of  Old.     By  j! 

Fred.  Hodgetts. 
Bound  by  a  Spell ;  or,  The  Hunted 

"Witch   of  the   Forest.     By  the 

Hon.  Mrs.  Greene. 


Books  for  Young  People.     Illustrated.     Price  35.  6d.  each. 


The  Cost  of  a  Mistake.  By  Sarah 
Pitt. 

A  World  of  Girls :  The  Story  of 
a  School.  By  L.  T.  Meade. 

Lost  among  "White  Africans: 
A  Boy's  Adventures  on  the 
Upper  Congo.  By  David  Ker. 

Freedom's  Sword :  A  Story  of 
the  Days  of  Wallace  and 
Bruce.  By  Annie  S.  Swan. 

The   "Cross  and  Crown"    Series. 

incidents   which   occurred    durin 

Days.    With  Illustrations  in  eac 
Strong  to  Suffer:    A   Story  of 

the  Jews.    By  E.  Wynne. 
Heroes  of  the  Indian  Empire: 

or,   Stories   of  Valour    and 

Victory.     ByErnest  Foster. 
In  Letters  of  Flame :  A  Story 

of  the  Waldenses.     By  C.  L, 

Mateaux. 
Through  Trial  to  Triumph.    By 


On   Board  the   "Esmeralda;"    or, 

Martin  Leigh's  Log.     By  John  C. 

Hutcheson. 
In  Quest  of  Gold;    or,  Under  the 

Whanga    Falls.      By   Alfred    St. 

Johnston. 
For  Queen  and  King;  or.The  Loyal 

'Prentice.    By  Henry  Frith. 
Perils  Afloat  and  Brigands  Ashore. 

By  Alired  Elwes. 

Consisting  of  Stories  founded  on 

g  Religious  Persecutions  of  Past 
:h  Book.  2s.  6d.  each. 

By  Fire  and  Sword:  A  Story  of 
the  Huguenots.  By  Thomas 
Archer. 

Adam  Hepburn's  Vow:  A  Tale  of 
Kirk  and  Covenant.  By  Annie 
S.  Swan. 

No.  XIII.;  or.  The  Story  of  the 
Lost  Vestal.  A  Tale  of  Early 
Christian  Days.  By  Emma  Mar- 
shall. 


"Golden  Mottoes"  Series,  The.    Each  Book  containing  208  pages,  with 

Four  full-page  Origin.il  Illustrations.    Crown  8vo,  cloth  gilt,  2s.  each. 

"  Nil    Desperandum."      By    tl 

Rev.  F.  Langbridge,  M.A. 


"Bear  and  Forbear."    By  Sarah 

Pitt. 
"Foremost  if  I  Can."    By  Helen 

Atteridge. 

The   "Log  Cabin"  Series.     By  EDWARD  S.ELLIS.    With  Four  Full- 

page  Illustrations  in  each.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  2s.  6d.  each. 
The  Lost  Trail.  |  Camp-Fire  and  Wigwam.  |  Footprints  in  the  Forest. 


"  Honour  is  my  Guide."     By  Jeanie 

Hering  (Mrs.  Adams-Acton). 
"Aim  at  a  Sure  End."    By  Emily 

Searchfield. 
"  He  Conquers  who  Endures."    By 

the  Author  of  "  May  Cunningham's 

Trial,  "&c. 


Selections  from  Cassell  $  Company's  Publication*. 


Cassell's    Picture    Story    Books.     Each    containing    Sixty    Pages    of 
Pictures  and  Stories,  &c.     6d.  each. 


Little  Talks. 
Bright  Stars. 
Nursery  Toys. 
Pet's  Posy. 
Tiny  Tales. 


Daisy's  Story  Book. 
Dot's  Story  Book. 
A  Nest  of  Stories. 
Good-Night  Stories. 
Chats  for  Small  Chatterers. 


Auntie's  Stories. 
Birdie's  Story  Book. 
Little  Chimes. 
A  Sheaf  of  Tales. 
Dewdrop  Stories. 


Cassell's    Sixpenny    Story    Books.       All    Illustrated,   and   containing 
Interesting  Stories  by  well-known  writers. 

The  Smuggler's  Cave. 

Little  Lizzie. 

Little  Bird,  Life   and  Adven- 


tures of. 
Luke  Barnicott. 


The  Boat  Club. 
Little  Pickles. 
The  Elchester  College  Boys 
My  First  Cruise. 
The  Little  Peacemaker. 
The  Delft  Jug. 


Surly  Bob. 

The  Giant's  Cradle. 

3hag  and  Doll. 

iunt 


Cassell's  Shilling  Story  Books.     All  Illustrated,  and  containing  Interest- 
ing  Stories. 
Bunty  and  the  Boys. 
The  Heir  of  Elmdale. 
The      Mystery     at     Shoncliff 

School. 
Claimed    at    Last,  and    Boy's 

Reward. 

Thorns  and  Tangles. 
The  Cuckoo  in  the  Robin's  Nest. 
John's  Mistake. 
The    History    of    Five    Little 

Pitchers. 
Diamonds  in  the  Sand. 


Aunt  Lucia's  Locket. 
The  Magic  Mirror. 
The  Cost  of  Revenge. 
Clever  Frank. 
Among  the  Redskins. 
The  Ferryman  of  Brill. 
Harry  Maxwell. 
A  Banished  Monarch. 
Seventeen  Cats. 


Illustrated  Books  for  the  Little  Ones.    Containing  interesting  Stories. 
All  Illustrated,     is.  each. 


Dp  and  Down  the  Garden. 
AH  Sorts  of  Adventures. 
Our  Sunday  Stories. 
Our  Holiday  Hours. 
Indoors  and  Out. 
Some  Farm  Friends. 

The    World's    Workers.      A   Ser 
With  Portraits  printed  on  a  ti 

The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury.     By 

Henry  Frith. 
Sarah  Robinson,    Agnes   Wes- 

ton,  and  Mrs.  Meredith.    By 

E.  M.  Tomkinson. 

Thomas  A.  Edison  and  Samuel 

F.  B.  Morse.     By  Dr.  Denslow 
and  J.  Marsh  Parker. 

Mrs.  Somerville  and  Mary  Car- 
penter.   By  Phyllis  Browne. 

General    Gordon.     By   the    Rev. 
S.  A.  Swaine. 

Charles  Dickens.     By  his  Eldest 
Daughter. 

Sir  Titus  Salt  and  George 
Moore.    By  J.Burnley. 

Florence  Nightingale,   Cather- 
ine Marsh,  Frances  Ridley    j 
Havergal,  Mrs.  Ranyard 
("L.N.R.").  By  Lizzie  Alldridge.     • 


Those  Golden  Sands. 

Little  Mothers  &  their  Children. 

Our  Prett.v  Pets. 

Our  Schoolday  Hours. 

Creatures  Tame. 

Creatures  "Wild. 

es    of  New  and   Original    Volumes, 
it  as  Frontispiece,     is.  each. 

Dr.     Guthrie,      Father     Mat  hew, 

Elihu  Burritt,  George  Livesey. 

Py  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Kirton. 
David     Livingstone.         By    Robert 

Smiles. 
Sir    Henry    Havelock    and    Colin 

Campbell,  Lord  Clyde.    By  E.  C. 

Phillips. 

Abraham  Lincoln.    By  Ernest  Foster. 
George  Miiller  and  Andrew  Reed. 

By  E.  R.  Pitman. 

Richard  Cobden.    By  R.  Cowing. 
Benjamin   Franklin.    By  E.  M. 

Tomkinson. 

Handel.    By  Eliza  Clarke. 
Turner  the  Artist.    By  the  Rev.  S.  A. 

Swaine. 
George   and   Robert    Stephenson. 

By  C.  L.  Mateaux. 


Library   of  Wonders.    Illustrated  Gift-books    for    Boys.     Paper,   is. ; 

cloth,  is.  6d. 
Wonders  of  Acoustics. 
Wonderful  Adventures. 
Wonders  of  Animal  Instinct. 
Wonders  of  Architecture. 
Wonderful  Balloon  Ascents. 


Wonders    of  Bodily   Strength 

and  Skill. 

Wonderful  Escapes. 
Wonders  of  Water. 


Selections  from  Cassell  <f-  Company's  Publications. 


The  "  Proverbs  "  Series.  Original  Stones  by  Popular  Authors,  founded 
on  and  illustrating  well-known  Proverbs.  With  Four  Illustrations 
in  each  Book,  printed  on  a  tint.  is.  6d.  each. 


Fritters.    By  Sarah  Pitt. 

Trixy.     By  Maggie  Symington. 

The  Two  Havdcastles.  By  Made- 
line Bonavia  Hunt. 

Major  Monk's  Motto.  By  the 
Rev.  F.  Langbridge. 


Tim   Thomson's    Trial.     By  Georg- 

Weatherly. 
Ursula's  Stumbling-Block.    By  Julia 

Goddard. 
Ruth's    Life-Work.     By  the  Rev. 

Joseph  Johnson. 


Books  for  Children.     In  Illuminated  boards,  fully  Illustrated. 

I    Cheerful  Clatter.    3s.  6d. 

A  Dozen  and  One.    5s. 
I    Bible  Talks.    5s. 


Happy  Go  Lucky.    2s. 
Daisy  Blue  Eyes.    2s. 
Twilight  Fancies.    2s.  6d. 


Cassell's  Eighteenpenny  Story  Books.     Illustrated. 


Wee  Willie  Winkie. 

Ups  and  Downs  of  a  Donkey's 

Life. 

Three  Wee  Ulster  Lassies. 
Up  the  Ladder. 

Dick's  Hero;  and  other  Stories. 
The  Chip  Boy. 
Raggles,     Baggies,     and     the 

Emperor. 
Roses  from  Thorns. 

Sunday   School    Reward   Books. 
Original  Illustrations  in  each. 

Seeking  a  City. 

Rhoda's    Reward;    or,    "If 

Wishes  were  Horses." 
Jack  Marston's  Anchor. 
Frank's    Life-Battle ;    or,    The 

Three  Friends. 


Faith's  Father. 

By  Land  and  Sea. 

The  Young  Berringtons. 

Jeff  and  Leff. 

Tom  Morris's  Error. 

Worth  more  than  Gold. 

"Through  Flood— Through  Fire; 

and  other  Stories. 
The  Girl  with  the  Golden  Locks. 
Stories  of  the  Olden  Time. 

By  Popular  Authors.      With  Four 
Cloth  gilt,  is.  6d.  each. 

Rags  and  Rainbows:    A  Story  of 

Thanksgiving. 
Uncle  William's  Charges ;  or,  The 


Broken  Trust. 
Pretty  Pink's   Purpose;    or, 
Little  Street  Merchants. 


The 


Cassell's  Two-Shilling  Story  Books.     Illustrated. 


Stories  of  the  Tower. 

Mr.  Burke's  Nieces. 

May  Cunningham's  Trial. 

The  Top  of  the  Ladder:  How  to 

Little  Flotsam.  [Reach  it. 

Madge  and  Her  Friends. 

The  Children  of  the  Court. 

A  Moonbeam  Tangle. 

Maid  Marjory. 

Peggy,  and  other  Tales. 

School 


The  Four  Cats  of  the  Tippertons. 
Marion's  Two  Homes. 
Little  Folks'  Sunday  Book. 
Two  Fourpenny  Bits. 
Poor  Nelly. 
Tom  Heriot. 

Through  Peril  to  Fortune. 
Aunt  Tabitha's  Waifs. 
In  Mischief  Again. 
The  Magio  Flower  Pot. 
Girls. 


The  "Great  River"  Series  (uniform  with  the  "Log  Cabin"  Series). 
By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS.  Illustrated.  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  bevelled 
boards,  25.  6d.  each. 

Down  the  Mississippi.  |  Lost  in  the  Wilds. 

Up  the  Tapajos ;  or,  Adventures  in  Brazil. 

The  "  Boy  Pioneer"  Series.  By  EDWARD  S.  ELLIS.  With  Four  Full- 
page  Illustrations  in  each  Book.  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  2s.  6d.  each. 

A  Tale  of  Indian 


Ned  on  the  River- 
River  Warfare. 


Ned  in  the  Woods.    A  Tale  of    I 
Early  Days  in  the  West.  | 

Ned  in  the  Block  House.    A  Story  of  Pioneer  Life  in  Kentucky. 

The   "World  in   Pictures.' 


A  Ramble  Round  France. 
All  the  Russias. 
Chats  about  Germany. 
The    Land     of    the    Pyramids 
(Egyptj. 


Illustrated  throughout.     2s.  6d.  each. 

The  Eastern  Wonderland  (Japan). 
Glimpses  of  South  America. 
Hound  Alrica. 

The  Land  of  Temples  (India). 
The  Isles  of  the  Pacific. 


Peeps  into  China. 


Selections  from  Cassell  &  Company's  Publications 


Half-Crown  Story  Books. 
Little  Hinges. 
Margaret's  Enemy. 
Pen's  Perplexities. 
Notable  Shipwrecks. 
Golden  Days. 

Wonders  of  Common  Things. 
Truth  will  Out. 
At  the  South  tole. 


Soldier  and  Patriot  (George  "Wash- 
ington). 
Picture  of  School  Life   and   Boy- 


The  Young  Man  in  the  Battle  of 
Life.  By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Landels. 

The  True  Glory  of  Woman.  By  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Landels. 


Three  and  Sixpenny   Library  of  Standard  Tales,  &c.      All  Illus- 
trated and  bound  in  cloth  gilt.     Crown  8vo.     3S.  6d.  each. 
The  Half  Sisters. 
Peggy  Oglivie's  Inheritance. 
The  Family  Honour. 
Esther  West. 
Working  to  Win. 
Krilof  and  his  Fables.    By  W.  R.  S. 


Jane  Austen  and  her  Works. 
Mission    Life    in    Greece    and 

Palestine. 

The  Romance  of  Trade. 
The  Three  Homes. 
Deepdale  Vicarage. 
In  Duty  Bound. 


Ralston,  M.A. 
Fairy  Tales.    By  Prof.  Morley. 


The    Home    Chat    Series.     All    Illustrated    throughout.      Feap.    410. 

Boards,  35.  6d.  each.     Cloth,  gilt  edges,  58.  each. 
Half-Hours    with    Early     Ex-     I    Paws  and  Claws. 

plorers.  Home  Chat. 

Decisive  Events  in  History.          |    Peeps  Abroad  for  Folks  at  Home. 

Around  and  About  Old  England. 
Books  for  the  Little  Ones. 


The  Merry-go-Round.   Poems  for 

Children.  Illustrated.    5s. 
Rhymes  for  the   Young   Folk. 
>          By  William  Allingham.  Beautifully 

Illustrated.    3s.  6d. 
The    Little    Doings    of    some 

Little  Folks.   By  Chatty  Cheer- 
ful.   Illustrated.     5s. 
The  Sunday  Scrap  Book.    With 

One  Thousand  Scripture  Pictures. 

Boards,  5s.;  cloth,  7s.  6d. 
Daisy    Dimple's    Scrap    Book. 

Containing  about  i.ooo  Pictures. 

Boards,  5s.;  cloth  gilt,  7s.  6d. 
The  History  Scrap  Book:    With 

nearly    1,000    Engravings;     5s.; 

cloth,  7s.  6d. 
Little    Folks'   Picture    Album. 

With  168  Large  Pictures.    5s. 
Little  Folks'   Picture   Gallery. 

With  150  Illustrations.    5s. 
Books  for  Boys. 

The  Black  Arrow.     A   Tale  of 

the    Two     Roses.      By    R.     L. 

Stevenson.    5s. 
Commodore  Junk.    By  G.   Man- 

villeFenn.    5s. 
A   Queer  Race.    By  W.  Westall. 

Dead  Man's  Rock.  A  Romance. 
ByQ.  5s. 

The  Phantom  City.  By  W.  Wes- 
tall. 5s. 

Captain  Trafalgar :  A  Story  of  the 
Mexican  Gulf.  By  Westall  and 
Laurie.  Illustrated.  5s. 

Kidnapped.  By  R.  L.  Stevenson. 
Illustrated.  5s. 


The  Old  Fairy  Tales.    With  Original 

Illustrations.      Boards,     Is.;     cloth, 

Is.  6d. 
My  Diary.     With  12  Coloured  Plates 

and  366  Woodcuts.     Is. 
Sandford  and  Merton:    In  Words  of 

One  Syllable.     Illustrated.     2s.  6d. 
The  Story  of  Robin  Hood.     With 

Coloured  Illustrations.    2s.  6d. 
The    Pilgrim's    Progress.         With 

Coloured  Illustrations.    2s.  6d. 
Wee  Little  Rhymes.    Is.  6d. 
Little  One's  Welcome.    Is.  6d. 
Little  Gossips.    Is.  6d. 
Ding  Dong  Bell.    Is.  6d. 
Good  Times.    Is.  6d. 
Jolly  Little  Stories.    Is.  6d. 
Daisy  Dell's  Stories.    Is.  6d. 
Our  Little  Friends.    Is.  6d. 
Little  Toddlers.    Is.  6d. 


King  Solomon's  Mines.  By  H.  Rider 
Haggard.  Illustrated.  5s. 

Treasure  Island.  By  R.  L.  Ste- 
venson. Illustrated.  5s. 

Ships,  Sailors,  and  the  Sea.  By 
R.  J.  Cornewall-Jones.  Illustrated.  5s. 

Modern  Explorers.  By  Thomas  Frost. 
Illustrated.  5s. 

Famous  Sailors  of  Former  Times. 
By  Clements  Markham.  Illustrated. 

Wild'Adventures  in  Wild  Places. 
By  Dr.  Gordon  Stables,  R.N.  Illus- 
trated. 5s. 

Jungle,  Peak,  and  Plain.  By  Dr. 
Gordon  Stables,  R.N.  Illustrated.  5s. 


Cassell  &  Company's  Complete  Catalogue  will  be  sent  post 

free  on  application  to 
CASSELL  &  COMPANY,   LIMITED,  Ludgatc   Hill.  London. 


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