Ruby's Reward.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 254, 29 October 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

Ruby's Reward.

1 SHELDON. . l( rphe Forsaken Bride," M^ie's Triumph," "That .;" Dowdy," etc chapter"xliv. jji WLVDOW AND A STARTLING I *-'■; . MESSAGE. ' 11 this time, was leading a, sad, .veary strange house in the aat byher window eagerly v ir for some one whom she knew and "J5 to her aid. Several times she the panes to attract atr-.- ghe wa s so high up that no one Wtloihearher;or,iftheydid,knowething of the character of the occuIwthatfcouso, paid no heod. Chihiscoostant waiobing: and the strain 'f°" jnllp and heavy-eyed ; an anxious, took the place of the -^brSfc and sparkling . lighb tbab ff c ,"dWned upon her lace. • . :W BFi Shin<r to complain of as to tt bbv&eing denied her liberty, *-? eteeS every" needful attention. *'hfS nicely cooked and daintily was kind and respectful; diSy of books and papers to read |b >.i«Jifl would never have known that tee w« a patient in the house, it was so s£du wrW obe lim P r l ifT enfcEdrr d ftSrhadattemptedtohavo an intor- ■ ith her; but she seemed to know !? L-fllv the moment he stood outside fC when she would flee into hor Slock the door, and nofc one word Kirenlv to his threats, commands, itiScome out and tell him what fiS with his father's will Sad been shrewd enough toattaeh the wii a cord, and this she had fastened ndhcrnebk; and thus the servant had S ton able to secure it, as she had been tLj to; so, cursing Her wilfulncss and I rEdmund Carpenter had finally given flmne f» subdue her, and only kept her foaatil he'could settle his affairs and -tonfcof the country. But, as tho time for Walters trial drew Unbv grew very nervous and rebelta Sho was certain of his conviction • L- could get oub to tell her story iim-her sister's diamonds would pon his person, and that would .veprpof of his guilt. She simply 10 cduld not stay thore, she must she would certainly become Inland fib only bo remain there all I bribing the gin who waited upon leinight as well have talked to for she was as immovable as £er; desperation^ she sprang be■as she came into the room, erarins;and tried to take the key "^jffc,thegirl, with one movement ?elf;free, and, catching Ruby up 'jjjeji'h'ptupo'n a chair, saying eon!y,. yet not unkindly : KMtiitfcle pigmy ! You've got iint enough for three such bodies, lip use—you can't go out of here fcepme from headquarters." ill: that Buby could do wes to go tfiMUw and wfitehv |tti}Beiuied day came, and, hour ySO^. $" dafc tiiere and" Ijjifme way might; be opened for sPPdher-testiiQbny' in court and cave Anly a bright idea came into her lidljtind she wondered why she had not fcagbt-of it before. I Sagoti her writing pad, pen, and ink, M "rote rapidly for ten or fifteen rink :. .. 'tagein^io her trunk, she took out a liiaiiosfallliij^psper weight, aboub the size iiisjiif dolaiv She wrapped' the paper, she had written, closely about '\ al'wrand'ai-coarse thread securely wd% iihen she took off her engagement Eg—that glittering diamond which jWlwhad so recently placed upon her fc^-and marked or cut a goodly-sized :«!«open one of tho window panes, and jfeieaWherself once more to watch the jteeii-ljy in the street below. Ww that if she should see anyone 'mwi felt she could trust, she could, TOcnsslight blow of her hand, send that ilwglasj spinning from its place, and tefeiMtant would serve to send her :*WffleßMgeaftorib. wlwwsped oft;still she had seea no Jwmtbe recognised, and she dared not ■mkt mftsg&go tesb it should fill into ■■**» hands, or into the possession of to the houso, and thus ■ «ioutrobject. ■> ';.'■■ .' ■ ; ■ - . Wk Jf^P* nße' was torturing—the strain 1 jLT-^6B fearfnl» ttn«i "he became ll;S.fJ».terioal. ■ Her breast rose and IBuTJWPWssed Bobs.her head grew mllHf- V™ *binßl as Bhe imagined that ■J^jP#essing, and the evidence ■ SMP»* h** lover. She could almost M^ m l< Car Penter sitting there and ■ t,wf ' !crnel faco glowing with SS°t erthe <doWnfall of his enemy; ■Sf T 00 ™ almost seem to hear the ■2™e passed upon Walter bhat Ifi^^* 0 BpendloDg yearS Bkfe^of anguish she pressed her Kg/^close against the window, ISjf «*rte*tbHer ie6t, a wild, il&^^^red lips. ' ■:«jjS^^ with one blow of her ■ S,frf c'^ t(cular Piece of glass was |^4Snlbt eandWentflying W^S^t 1 was' Pacing through a m I t? m one busy thoroughfare MVtLxX^'' when- afca^titien «isi{j rtM to ah<i looked aboub her l^SLntlt I erfed a wild ' Bhrill ■ c her> She coald ■ •fc^^ie'r^came ajain in l^||X an(yowathe streeb-up M Sti l S d4lB^n?uish nothing. ■^fil'^i*' wh^fc l throw you. H • ke%orld." ■I^WS> .^eer-looking pack--1 WfolS? a Per ndtied about mf* **ed 7 dnlmosfc3fc-her feet. l^Cl,! I,^,^ shading her i^N?i agai" B&^S^ four Btori^ above B&0ll%3 tfJY efforfc which "he I&tHS 6 In• Growing l ie r ■SJSM ft her iriend. Ofay's BsSNa* W°u Bhe had thrown ■ nendß; and ju ß b as 9V& it 'her 0bJecb fchat had 9 Il** r»sie an i lWm wondering ■:Q>'ki£lS what *fe contained, »;^"^f, lbolUn^W man came B^e^-'V olne from ' young

that voice calling" you, and I should hay;e known it if I'd heard it ab t'other; side of the world."

Litblo Miss Partridge regarded him with astonishment, then a smile broke over her face.

. ■ YE hy," she said, " this is Mr Ruggles, Jsn bit ? Don'b you remember dancing with mo at Mr Gordon's grand reception last winter ?' *t

es, yes ; but 1 can't stop to think of that jusb yet-ib's a matter of life and death that I m bent on now, and I guess I've got on the right track ab last," Mr Ruggles -returned, excitedly. " I was taking a short cub through this street, and feeling just about as down-hearted as my worsfe enemy v/ould care to have me feel, when I heard some one way up yonder call out c Annie,' and I felt every nerve in my old body begin to beat a regular devil's tattoo, for it put & m.ump *n my hilnd tnafc's going to win. Ihen, when I saw that bhingcome flying at you, I said to myself, 'Owen Ruggles, you're better than a whole battalion of detectives after all, and reckon we'll outwit the biggest rascal In Philadelphia yefc.' " Miss Annie looked bewildered and halfinclined to be frightened at this wild harangue, and Mr Ruggles, observing it, calmed himself and moderated his ardor somewhat.

" Won't you just undo that little package and see what is in it ?'■ he asked, eyeing the tiny parcel with a jealous look.- I'm inclined to think it's something very importanb. We'll walk on so as nob to attract anybody's notice 5 bub first let me spot the number of that house, so that I'll know it again when I want to find it." . ' .„';

He took a good look at it, observed the hole in the window far above him, and then turned and walked down the sbreeb beside his young companion. ~, Miss Partridge unwound the thread from her small parcel, and th'on, unfolding the paper, instantly recognised Ruby Gordon's handwriting. ■ "How strange!" she exclaimed, as she began to realise that the voice she had heard must have belonged to her friend, and that she must be in that room, so far above her, where she had noticed the broken pane of glass. As her glance skimmed over, the paper her eyes began to dilate and her cheek' to blanch at what she learned:

Go to Mr Conant, the arohttect, at No* 42— street, and tell him that Rnl y Gordon is confined against her will in the house from which this is thrown. TeU him to come to my reloase immediatelr, for I have important statements which Trill clear vvaltor Richardson from tho crime-nith which he i« charged, besides startling information rcßardint? other matters. Do not lose a moment in doing ns I request, .for delay inayrcsulf. in .1 cruel wrong and in tho triumph of an evil man's designs. Rubt Gordon." Owen Ruggles could hardly restrain his impatience while Annie Partridge was reading the above, for he saw by her'blank and wondering face bhab somebhing was seriously wrong with the writer of bhe note. " Read ib aloud, miss, read ib aloud," he said, in a voice bhab was thick with exeibement. . The sbarbled girl complied wibh his request, and bhen said : " That musb have been Ruby herself who was calling to me. What can it all mean ? I thought she was spending the summer at a place jusb a little oub of the ciby." . "Of course ib was Miss Ruby. Didn'b I bell you I should have known that voice if I'd heard it t'other side of the world■!" said Mr Ruggles, with pale lips, and.stopping short in bhe streeb te wipo the perspiration from his faes, while he glanced back toward the house in which Rubywas imprisoned, as if He had some notion of going back to storm ib immediately, and release the fair prisoner. But he had wisdom enough to resist bho impulse1, khowifig that he had 00 fcuthdfity bo enter the place,'and would doubtlesSjbo refused, MtxiiUikp^Jlt.. hfi r tried4o4<^ ? i»d thus would perhaps do the yOung .girl's cause more harm than good by £ny'pr&ipitate movement. . ■ 1 . " You just give r.;e that paper, miss, if you please," he continued, "and 111 do what I can. I'll take ib direcbly to Mr Conant, and we'll have her out of fchab nesb before the sun goes down, only I shall have to ask you to keep this discovery to yourself for five or six hours, for if her gaolers get wind bhab we've found her oub, ib will jusb upset everything " "But I—l can'b understand," the.young girl began,, looking more and more perplexed and troubled. "Of course you can'b. Ibs too rascally a piece of business for an innocent girl like you to ace through. But you must hold on a bib until I have done my duty to Miss Ruby, then 111 come and make ib all plain to you. Your name is Miss Pa'rbridge. I remember you, and 111 make ib my business to see bhat you don'b forget this afternoon's adventure. And Snow I guess we'd bebter parb company, for my old temper is rising every minute as I (Shink of the thundering trick thab rascal has played opon us all, and I must go to work.' 1 " Whab ?—whab V ' queried Miss Annie, more mystified than before, and regarding her excited companioa as if she w*« nob quibe sure that he knew whab he was talking about.' "Never mind jnrt now, miss. Owen Ruggles is a man of his word, and he won'b leave you in doubt any longer than he can help. I'll come to-morrow and explain all aboub ib. Now good-bye ; I've gob bo work off some of this steam or it'll be fche worso for somebody." . . f They had reached the corner, and upon receiving Ruby's note, which Miss Annie was only too glad to give to him, Mr Ruggles rushed away to find Mr Conanb ana Walber, tell his good news, and bhen arrange for fche reseuo of fche maiden, whom he had learned to regard wifch fatherly benderness.

CHAPTER XLV. ■ THE AeQUITT.4I»; ■""' At ten o'clock the. nest morning Walter's case was called. Ifc was evident, tin*,moment that the wifmesses for the defence entered the room, that they were all' in a very different frame of mind from what they had been on the previous day. ; . , '?, • The harassed, anxious look had all faded from Walter's face, and he wore an aii-^ of quiet confidence and self-posseasioni which made Edmund Carpenter cast pnzzled and malignant glances at him, and caused him to wonder what had come over the accused. Mr,Conant and Mr Ruggles were both unusually placid; there was none of that repressed anxiety in their manner that there had been yesterday ; they sfifc a little apart from the others* and wore, a self-, assured look that was very perplexing. 'Mrs Gordon, who came in rather late and took a seat by herself, after barely recognising the other occupants of the room, alone seemed to have lost something-of her customary dignity and trancfuiiiby. of manner. She looked i pale and" sad, and I there were traces of agitation and tears upon her countenance. ■ ; - ■ ■ This made Edmund Carpentejr a;trifle uneasy. Had this woman turned coward and made op her mind to confess, the truths and thus give his enemy an Opportunity to triumph ever him ? - ;:* ■ He bitterly repented ever having allowed himself to reveal whet he hod disolosM to her ; he oughfe to have kepb his own counsel and he need hay© had ao fear of anyone then. ■ Still he could not believe that ahe wonld ever bring herself to btftve the t scandal which would ensue ispon a confesßtonlof fche ; truth. He was sure fehot she ppjasessotii neither the courage oor the priheipl^ to dos ifc unless driven to it; and who was there to drive her! Had she nob told him that nothino should ever drag it from her? -;. And' yet ho felt strangely disquiete!*, something had evidently transpired to i-e----lieve the 'minds of Jibe otfyer side, r and ,bo make jMr» Gordoo-^itous oi ayoid;ng her

trwn counsel and him ; and his keen dark eyes roved from one face to another with restless though eager, searching glances.

Bufc with all his fear he was wholly unprepared for the thunderbolt when it foil.

Mrs Gordon was the firsts witness called. "Mrs Gordon," said the prosecuting abtorney, " will you state the facts, as you know them, of the robbery which was committed in Mr Carpenter's house on the night of the twenty-fifth of June ?"

Mrs Gordon turned at once to the judge, upon this, and said, in a clear and distinct voice :

" It will not be necessary for mo to do so, your honor, as my property was restored to me last evening, and it has been ascertained that Mr Richardson was in no way connected with the affair."

This statement created quite a stir in the room.

Edmund Carpenter turned deadly white, and his oyes blazed with a dangerous light. The prosecuting attorney turned upon her with astonishmont and indignation, and for a moment appeared wholly unable to utter a word. At last he said, sternly: "Ifsuch is the case, I beg to inquire why I was not informed of the fact ?"

" Because, your honor," replied Mrs Gordon, still addressing the judge, " for certain reasons, which I am not at liberty to explain, I pledged myself not to mention the matter until I could make the statement here" :

At this1 Edmund Carpenter whispered something in the ear of the prosecuting attorney, and bho latter remarked, with some excitement :

"This oase seems to have been rather summarily takon out of my hands, your honor, but I sha'l, nevertheless, demand that the stolen property be produced to prove the assertion to which we have just listened."

Mis Gordon immediately took a small case from her pocket and handed it to him.

He opened ib, and upon bheir velveb bed there flashed a pair of magnificent solibairo diamond earrings. The man looked blank.

"Have you the money also?" he de manded, .

"I have, but nob in the form in which ib was taken from me," Mrs Gordon answered with a swift glance at Edmund Carpenter. "The full amount, however, has been restored to me."

" By whom ?"

"I am not ab liborby bo say. lam only allowed bo state this much in order to establish Mr Richardson's innocence, and secure his honourable acquittal."

"Do you swear Mr Richardson knew nothing whatever of tho robbery ab the time of ib, and that he is nob concerned in any way wibh the rcsborabion of your property ? asked the judge. " Yes. I can swear bhab he has never even seen the diamonds, unless ho may have seen them upon my person months ago, until they wero produced here to-day," Mrs Gordon firmly assertod. "And the money?" persisted his honor, in order bo be sure there should bo no prevarication.

" The money I know ho could never have seen or touched, since tho bill is still in the hands of another perxon." " Of bho real bhief ?"

" Yes, sir, of bhe real thief." And Edmund Carpenter quaked as he listened to this assertion.

" You solemnly declare on oath that these statements are brue ?" said the judge, impressively. ."I do"

MrsGordon'smanner was above suspicion," and his honor appeared satisfied ; but the attorney for tho prosecution insisted upon a fuller explanation. Ib was extremoly mort,ifyinp bo have the chief witness against the prisoner turn upon him in this inexplicable way ; to have tho gale* qti«sh*cl iH so unceremonious fl.no! so ignoble a- manner, and a warm discussion followed upon the matter. Edmund Carpenter waa keen enough to understand that those diamonds, which he had believed so cunningly concealed that no ono could find them without some previous knowledge of thorn, had been discovered ; that Mrs Gordon's compliciby had in some way leaked oub, and bhab the whole plob againsb Walter was on the verge of being revealed. Ifc was a bitter pill for him to swallow, when he thoughb he was jusb on the poinb of winning the victory over his enemy, when he had hoped to hear an irrevocable sontence pronounced before that day should close; bub he was sure that Mrs Gordon was taking this way, by bhe advice and conpenb of Walber's friends and counsel, to shield herself, and him as well, from exposure, and he was in no way anxious bhat she should be pressed to make further confession. ■ So he sbrove to conciliate bhe prosecubing abborney, and ab lengbh prevailed upon him to abandon his determination to have a full explanation, and the Court finally ruled that if Mrs Gordon had seen fife to pledge herself to secrecy and drop all further prosecution, in order to secure the return of her property, she should bo allowed to keep her word inviolate. And so the mysterious case was closed, and Walter was honourably acquitted. Mr Carpenter placed himself in Mrs Gordon's path as she was about following Mr Conant from the room.

" I must say this is a very singular termination to this affair,' he sneered; "you were not over anxious for that young upstart's acquittal the last time I saw you. It would bt) something of a satisfaction to me to know what made you hop over the fence so suddenly." "I think you will not be left long m the dark, even if you do not know already,/ Mrs Gordon coldly replied, and then passed from the room Edmund Carpenter went back to the still enraged lawyer, with whom.he held, a somewhat protracted consultation, and finally he too prepared to leave the courthouse. 9 ' , . , , ■ As he stepped out into the corridor and was drawing on his gloves, an officer approached him, and, touching him upon the shoulder, said: . „ . ." Will you please come this way, sir ? There is a gentleman waiting to see you." "Who is" he?" demanded Mr Carpenter, giving the man a searching look. ." I ean'fc tell you, sir, bub he's a sort of up-country looking chap, and told me to inform you he had something to say to you as soon as you were at liberty." ~ , ' ■; " Humph !—Ruggles," growled Edmund Carpenter with a frown. "I wonder what this meddler is up to now. It will do no harm to find ont at all events." : " All right," he added to the man; " lead

He followed the officer down the corridor, and Vas ushered into a small room or office at the end of it. . i The door was immediately closed alter him, and he found himself in the presence of a group that both surprised and startled There were six people there—Walter and M&dam Howland, Mr Ruggles, Mr Conant, Mrs Gordon, an,d— Ruby ! '■■ • , .: An oath leaped to Edmund Carpenter s lips as his glance fell upon the young girl who had -so lately been his captive, and he knew instinctively that there was trouble ahead for him. ' ' But more than one surprise awaited mm, " Mr Carpenter," said Mr Conunt, rising and approaching him, " I have been, authorised to tell . you that aU _ypur treachery, and scheming, and wickedness regarding the case fchat has just closed haa bebn discovered, and I roust say that it has never before been my lot to know of 4ny plot so heartless and dishonourable in conmction ivibh one whocallx himaefj « gentleman. The whole matter would havo been made public to-day, but for the desire, on the part of Mr Richardson and his friends, to preserve the name of the lady you ForGsd to become your accomplice,.

" Perhaps you will be kind enough to explain yourself more fully, sir," sneered Mr Carpenter, with mock politeness, but with his blazing eyes fixed upon Mrs Gordon.

" I inbended to do so," calmly responded Mr Conant, "but I think you will understand the whole matter when I tell you that a conversation which you had with a certain person beneath a tree in your own grounds one evening not long since led to the revelation of your wretched plob." "Ha ! then you have turned traitress after all !" cried Edmund Carpenter, turning fiercely upon Mrs Gordon, who sab beside Ruby, with downcast eyes and flushed cheeks.

" Estelle has bold nothing more than she told to-day in the court-room," Ruby said, rising and laying her hand upon her sister's shoulders. " She has been asked no questions ; it was not necessary. ' But I overheard the conversation between you. I was sitting upon the other side of that great tree, and I heard you toll how you entered her room, and took her diamonds and money ; you crept up the lattice outside the balcony, you passed in through the French window, opened hor bureau drawer, and secured them. And then, from what followed, 1 learned that you had sewed tho diamonds somewhere into clothing which Mr Richardson wore.that evening he spent afc-Forest-vale. You said you had ' made such a neat job of your work that he might wear them around for months and never discover them.' I found them myself last evening, in the presence of several witnesses, and Mr Richardson himself does nob know even yet where they were concealed. We have not allowed my sister to bell anybliing, for we know how you forced the knowledge of your wicked plot upon her, and caused her to become an unwilling accomplice." "Bub I should have told, Ruby,", interposed Mrs Gordon, turning, with streaming oyes, to her young sister. " I made up my mind yesterday, after becoming assured of this man's treachery against you, that I would confess the whole plot and suffer the consequences." " Really, this sudden outburst of honour is refreshing," sneered Edmund Carpenter, eyeng her vengefully. "But," turning again to Ruby, while a gleam of' curiosity lighted up his face, " how did you manage to get oub of your cage ab this opportune moment, my pretty one ?" Ruby drew herself haughtily erect, flushing an angry crimson at his familiar manner of addressing her, and deigning him no word of reply. " Mr Carpenter," interrupted Mr Conant, in a sovoro tone, " I will trouble you for that bill, numbered 805, which you have in your possession." " Are you not assuming a good deal, sir, in your request ?" retorbed bhe young man, in a mocking tone. ' " No, he is nob," said Ruby. " Romomber thab I heard all thab conversation. You told my sister you ' did not have time to conceal it about Mr Richardson's clothing and do it neatly,' and you returned the bill to her. Sho objected to having it in hor possession, and you told her to ' send it to you by mail' and you would send her a cheque for tho amount. I know that the oxchango was made the next morning." " The bill, if you please, Mr Carpenter," reiterated Mr Conant; " there is no need to discuss the question ; we know that you have it, and ifc is reasonable to suppose thab you would nob—ab pre'senb dfc leasb—brusb ib away from your person." " What do you bake me for?" cried the enraged young man. "Do you imagine thab I am going bo sband here and/ be bullied like this ?

" You will do as you are requested, peaceably ; for we are fyound to prove that that bank-note is in your posses&on—or else you will produce ib under arteM, which, af; you doubtless understand-,- willmake matberii rather awkward lor you> Mr Conanb. responded, with perfect selfpossession. • .. An expression of wrath, fearful to behold, swept ovor Edmund Carpenter's face. He turned toward the door.

"It,will be useless for you to atfcempb to leave bhe room until you have complied wibh all the terms which we propose to you," Mr Conant continued, " for you will find an officer outside only waiting for the word to take you in bo custody." ' A bitter oath burst from the baffled man's lips as he heard this, and agleam of anxiety sprang into his eye. But ho was nob easily conquered. He threw up his head proudly ; then, folding his arms across his chesb, stood in sullen, defiant silence, his attitude expressing, more strongly than words could have done, his determinabion nob to yield one inch of ground to the enemy. Mr Conant gave him one look, bhen himself sbepped forward and opened the door. He would not parley with the man. " Officer," he said, "I am afraid it will be necessary for you to do your duty." The official stepped into the room, and, addressing Mr Carpenter, said : "Ib will be my duby to arrest you unless you comply with this gentleman's demands."

" Upon whab charge ?" The officer book from his breasb-pocket a paper, and, unfolding ib, read : " ' Firsb, for tampering with the last will and testament of Ralph Carpenter ; second, theft; third, abduction.' Rather grave charges, those, Mr Carpenter."

(To be continued.)