AURA DURAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 32, 7 February 1891, Page 6

AURA DURAND.

A DETECTIVE STORY. By E. M. MURDOCH, AUTHOR OF " THE RIVAL DETECTIVES," " THE DETECTIVE'S DAUGHTER," ETC. CHAPTER I. OLD FRIEXDS, WELL MET.

It was the firsb day of September, but it might have been the earliest in August, or the latest in July, so fiercely did the su n shine down upon the city pavements, so sultry was the atmosphere, aud so eage r was the dust to defy sprinklers, and bestow itself, unsolicited, upon ladies' summer bonnets and gents' unmentionables.

It was only ten o'clock in the morning, and yet the pedestrian, walking down tho sunny side of Madison-street, Chicago, on this first day of September, in the year of our Lord, 187—, would have, undoubtedly, exclaimed, had he been a true Chicagoan, that ib was ' hot.'

Ab ten o'clock in the morning, aimless promenadors are but few upon the thoroughfares ; but on this especial occasion, ab least, one very listless individual might have been seen sauntering slowly down from Clark-street, occasionally stopping to gaze at some window with a half careless, half critical, wholly lazy air. The loiterer was a young aad handsome man ; his face, so much of ib as might be seen, under the shadow of a big ' Kossuth,' was much sun-burned ; the eyes were large and dark, having, even in a listless mood, a certain quaint expression, that at once stamped the man as an 'original.' The chin was firm, and the mouth, which might have been handsome, or otherwise, was hidden underneath a heavy moustache of a reddish brown colour, jusb one shade lighter than the thick, straight, closecropped hair. The young man had the look of an American, a genuine Yankee; but any citizon of Chicago could have told you that his clothes were never made by an American tailor ; they had a very foreign look, as if they had been manufactured for some tall English sobersides, and had fallen upon the limbs and shoulders.of bhis big, careless, self-reliant, yet somewhat preoccupied loiterer, by mistake. Evidently the buildings upon which he gazed were new things to him, for he seemed much inclined to criticise some of tho most pretentious, and to find some room for dissatisfaction. Crossing Doarborn-street, with the sublimest disregard for drays and newsboys, he paused before the 'Tribune' building, and scanned the structure wibh considerable interest. Finally he entered ab the great door, through which anxious-looking people are constantly hurrying, and, leaniiag his back against the wall, lost himself for a moment in watching and pondering the evolutions of the famous ' advertisement system. Slaabby looking women, who had advertised for loans, or for sewing, presented a lettered ticket, and walked away with a dole face, and perhaps two or three letters. Flashy-looking men, who had advertised for a 'lady correspondent,'a ' refined housekeeper,'ora pretty 'amanuensis,' and who turned away from the box wibh a big pockeb of letters, and a coarse joke, at the expense of the unknown writers ; sharplooking men, who wrote 'ads.' for 'partners ' and ' business chances,' and handed them to bhe clerk, together with the required change, in an offhand manner, plainly betokening thab they knew what they were about; and thab it was something worth knowing too. All these the stranger surveyed, with an amused twinkle of the shrewd dark eyes, and then turning himself about, was suddenly aware that his self-absorption had caused him to commit a blunder ; he had turned upon a young lady who was jusb entering the building, with such force as to throw her off her feet. While he was offering to. bhe young lady a hurried apology, bhree young: men enbered the office, and he felt rather than saw thab one of bhem had sbopped short and was gazing fixedly ab him. Having made his peace wibh the injured fair one, he turned and confronted the new comer. In another instant two hands were outstretched, and. the latest arrival was saying in quick, cheery tones : « Rob Jocelyn !By the powers ! VV here on earth did you come from, and where have you been ?'—' And where am I going ?' supplemented Jocelyn, whose eyes were now dancing with mirth and glad recognition, and whose big brown hand was shaking the smaller white one of his friend, with unmistakable warmth. f Glad to see you, glad to see you ; don't ask where I've been now it makes me sweat to think of it.' * Well, I won't,' declared the new comer, with a mellow half-laugh. ' And I won't ask where you are going, for, by George, I don'b inbend to lose sight of you jusb yeb.' 'Good enough,' cried Jocelyn, with beaming countenance. 'If that's the case, come along ; I have been prancine up and down these hot streets for two long hours, and I want a cigar and a glass of lager in the shade.' . The new comer laughed again as if well accustomed to the odd expressions of his friend, and then lifting his hat to wipe the perspiration off a forehead thab was white as a girl's, he turned toward the companions who had entered with him. 'Here you are, Bathur.b,' said ono of them turning from the clerk's wihdow with a packet of letters in his hand. ' Lots of missives from fair ladies ; we will see what we ivill see now.' Without replying to this somewhat enigmatical speech, the young man addressed as Babhurst burned toward his new-found friend and performed bhe ceremony of introducbion. ' Jocelyn, this is Mr Arte veldt, motioning toward the young man with the letters, «and this,' turning toward the other, 'is MrNordham.' The gentlemen exchanged salutations; the keen eyes of the big stranger scrutinised Messrs Arteveldb and Fordham very closely, and then he said, in a drawling tone, quite different from bhab in which he had addressed his friend Bathurst, ' Glad to meet you, gentlemen ; after •which he turned to Bathursb and said in the same tone, ' Don't let me come in the way if you are engaged with your friends, Neil ; you can look me up at the Tremont, later, you know. . ~ • Nob a bib of it,' said Bathursb, briskly, '■ we only met by chance, as you and I did, and I must have a long talk with you, off hand, so come along. Arteveldb will exCU « S Oh!' cerbainly,' replied young ArbeT eldb, carelessly ; ■ it's boo deuced hob bo Eve anything special on foot *{£«™»& .a facb. I have nob had my breakfast. You ftll be on hand for the North side bo-nighb, for a moment ftndthen replied, 'No, I think not. No |? Jocelyn is at my disposal. I haven b JUnhim in three years, Arbeveld and I don'b wanb to quit him. He is liable to 1 p ma like an eel. You'll make my ex'Je* to bhe Ruthvens to-nighb. I don b think they will take ib amiss, as I am almost a stranger to theno. . 'Oh of course I can fix ib wibh them, replied Arteveldb. 'Bub I am sorry you Son. be with us. You will miss seeing gome deuced nice girls.'

Neil Bathursb shrugged one shoulder impatiently. ' I leave the girls to you,' he said, half scornfully. 'Come, then, Jocelyn, en avant for somewhere.' He nodded to Arteveldt, lifted his hat to Fordham, and turned away, followed by his friend. ' Which way ?' he aaked, as they stepped out upon tha hob pavement. ' Anywhere,' replied Jocelyn, * provided it's cool, and they keep good beer. I'm as thirsty as a herring.' 'Then whab do you say to the "Gardens?" they aro cool, and the bap is good ; besides, if you want to see anyone, man or woman, that's the place to find them ?' ' Oh, I am not looking for anyone,' replied Jocelyn, indifferently, * at least, not for anyone I am likely to find in that way. It's all one to me where we go, bub let's get somewhere quick.' 'All right,' rejoined Bathurst, with the cheery laugh that seemed habitual to him. ' We will go to the " Tivoli Garden," it's not far. Why, old man, you are a stranger in Chicago; you have nob been here since the fire ?'

' No ; and I'll be blamed if ib don't seem odd to me, after wandering all over Europe for a few years, bo come back to the old city I know so well, and find it as strange to me as was Greece or Home. By the way, how long have you been here, Neil, and when did you quit the New York Agency ?' 'Howdoyou know thab I have "quit" the Agency ?' asked Bathurst, with a side glance at his companion. ' How did I know ? Well, that's a question. Didn't I go to the Agency straight as soon as my feet touched New York bottom, and didn't they tell me that you had lefb them in spite of themselves, and were, or supposed you were, operating in Chicago ?' ' Well, to tell the truth, I quit simply because I wanted a change, and because I had overworked. I have been knocked on the head with a jimmy, stuck in the ribs with a bowie, and perforated in divers places with bullets since you " sailed away in a gallant barque," and neglected your friends for five long years. Eighteen months ago they senb me here to work up a forgery case. Ifc took me three months, and then I senb back my papers and remained here. I have peen figuring, to some extent, as a private gentleman, and that is how you found me in company with that fop Arteveldb and his chum. Bub, here's bhe " Tivoli," Rob. Come in, and we will refresh bhe inner man.'

They passed in ab bhe Clark-street _ entrance, and Jocelyn uttered a half whistle as he dropped into a chair, and looked aboub him.

'Why!' he exclaimed, giving bhe bable an emphatic tap with his forefinger, ' it's a regular German "Bier Garten," and on a grand scale too.' ' Nevertheless, you can buy a Delmomco dinner here, and cab it off this same table.' ' And all the pretty girls come here, don't they V queried Jocelyn, continuing his survey and gazing with considerable interest in the direction of the ladies' salon.

4 A good many pretty ones do, that's a fact,' replied Bathursb indifferonbly, 'and some deuced ugly ones, too.' ' Don't look ab bhem, Neil; don'b look ab them !' said Jocelyn, with great solemnity ; ' here comes the beer. Now then.' "And he drained off his glass in a bwinkling. 'I tell you what, old man,' said he, setting down his glass with emphasis, and letting his eyes rove over the groups of ladies scattered aboub ab bhe tables beyond him. 'Ib won'b do to try and compare notes here ; 1 shan't be able to stick to my bexb at all.'

' Good Lord, man !' exclaimed the other, ' you are nob woman mad bo thab extent.' Jocelyn leaned back in his chair and indulged in an exercise that was something between a laugh and a series of chuckles. ' Well, you know, Neil, I always had a fancy for prebby faces, on my own privabe accounb.' ' No ! did you V sarcasbically inberrupbed Babhursb.

'And,' pursued Jocelyn, without seeming to nobice bhis interruption, and with a nourish of the hand peculiar to himself, ' I like 'em yet! very much ; but lately I have had another reason for studying the faces of pretty women. Do you hold your old theory about faces ?' 'Assuredly.' ' Well, you always, were a queer fish.' • Thanks,' laughed Babhursb, ' same bo you.' ' Oh, I know I have my oddibies, ab least that's the general opinion. Well, let's go round to my quarters ab bhe Tremonb; we'll order up some good wine—l have "broughb over" some prime cigars—and talk things over. By the way, according to your face theory, how do you make out yon chaps we have just lefb ?' ' Who, Arteveldb and Fordham ?'

Jocelyn nodeed. ' Well, you see, I apply my theory bo sbrangers ; bhese fellows I know pretty well; tell us whab you bhoughb of them; you gave bhem a pretty close quiz ?' ' Well,' said Jocelyn, medibabively, * I should say bhat yon Artereldb was bhree parts fool, and bhe other chap tolerably sharp, prebby conceited, and thoroughly knavish. Ergo —if you were anyone else I should wonder whab you were doing in such company.'

Bathurst laughed carelessly. « Well, you have hit bhem off as well as I could have done,'he said. 'Arteveldb belongs to a very old and highly aristocratic family, is the only son of a widowed mother- and all that—widowed mother lives on the avenue, in a palace, and has a regular bonanza fortune—therefore, of course, Arteveldt is accounted a good fellow by the men, and a great catch by the women ; he is too pretty to suit my basbe, and has always a few love affairs on hand. He is fond of drink and fond of cards, too fond of them. He dropped some two thousand, over across the way, only lasb nighb, and don'b seem much phazed, eibher. The obher fellow I don'b know so well. He is a newspaper jockey of some sorb, always has a "scheme" on hand, and ia Arteveldb's righb bower.' ' Jusb so,' dryly. ' Well, leb's drop bhem and sbrike oub for bhe Tremonb.' Babhursb beckoned to bhe waiter, settled their small indebtedness, and the two, passing out through the ladies' entrance, turned their faces towards the elegant hotel known as the Tremonb.

They had been sworn friends and allies, as well as brobher detectives, these two ; friends nnce bhe very day bhey had broughb Neil Bathurst, then a mere lad, in bo favourable nobice among bhe operabives of a cerbain Eastern agency. One of his officers had picked him up, as ib were a runaway gamin, and had found him so quick-wibbed, agile, and altogether useful, bhab he had been rebained in bhe service, and ab the age of fourteen, found himself fully launched as a boy detective.

At bhab time Rob Jocelyn was a tall young man of twenty-four, and a skilful detective, high in favour among New York officials. From the first he had been much ntbracbed bowards bhe brighb youbh, and when three years later, the two were senb bo Chicago, to follow up an almost hopeless clue, they became sworn friends, as their work broughb them, for bhe firsb bime, in close, consbanb companionship. Thab was before bhe greab fire, since which Robert Jocelyn had nob set foot in Chicago, unbil the very morning on which our story opens. So successfully did the two operate together, thab on bheir return bo Gotham bhey were once more senb oub bo work in unison ; bhey spent bwo years in ferrebing oub various ' absconders' bo bhe Pacific slope, and again reburned bo headquarters. A year later Boberb Jocelyn was despabched bo Europe bo ferrob out a case in a foreign porb.leaving bis friend, then a handsome young fellow of twenty, for an indefinite time.

At- twenty, Neil Bathurst had been a slender youno- man, just a little above the medium height, with short-cropped curly hair, black as darkness and soft as silk, with dark blue eyes that were capable of as many expressionsastheorbsoftheveriestcoquette, a complexion fair as any girl's, hands white and slender, a firm, red-lipped mouth, shadowed by a small black moustache, and «trong, even, white teeth thab were somewhat prominent when the lips parted in a smile. This was Neil Bathursb at twenty. Neil Bathursb at twenty-five was a trifle firmer in build, a triflo browner in complexion, and obherwise, outwardly, unchanged. . When they had gained the privacy of Robert Jocelyn's cosy room, the latter turned toward his young friend, and, lebting two firm, brown hands fall upon his handsome shoulders, surveyed him with a world of honest affection shining in his quaint brown eyes. ' You young dog,' he exclaimed, swaying him gently with those powerful hands. • You'villain, I'm gladder to see you than if you were my grandmother, or my Sunday sweetheart. There,' letting him go, suddenly, ' sib down, sib down ; we will see if your face-reading talent can do me any good.'

CHAPTER 11.

A WOMAN'S EYE,

' I don't suppose thab you ever wondered at my nob writing, seeing thab I never did wribe a personal letter, to your knowledge ?' quobh Mr Jocelyn, stretching out his limbs to their utmost, leaning as far back as possible in his chair, and puffing lazily at one of his imported weeds. _ ; * No, I can'fe truthfully, say thab I did, answered Bathurst, who was perched, boy fashion, upon the arm of a big chair, looking very wide awake and eager. My only query was, whebher you were dead or alive, and you may wager bhab bhere was a commotion among the follows when ib was announced thab " Big Jocelyn " had sent back his resignation from some remote coiner of France, and was nob coming back for bhe presenb. After such confounded splendid work as you had just finished too.' ' Well,' said Jocelyn, giving an uncommonly strong pull at his cigar, 'if you will get off that chair arm, and stop looking so deucedly like a big interrogation point, I will try and make things a little clearer. For be it known, I came to New York, just four days ago, fresh from the briny, and I arrived in Chicago this blessed morning for the express purpose of hunting you out.' 'Did you, though?' queried Babhurst, with an expression half-pathetic shining in his blue eyes. ' Bub thab was good of you —and how lucky bhab I meb you at fche ' Tribune.'

' Yes,' laconically ; 'saved me a hunt in strange places, and I bavo had aboub enough of that sort of fun for awhile.' ' Well, here we are at all events,' said Bathurst, flinging himself at full length upon a sofa and turning his face towards his companion. 'I'm all ready to listen, Rob, so blaze away.' 'You see,' began Jocelyn in a more subdued tone than he had yeb used, 'I think the very nature of our business makes anything tame after awhile, and I was ab besb fond of change and new ground bo work over, so when I found my seaporb affair winding up so grandly, I began bo reflect thab I had not bo see Europe yeb, and bo look about mo for an excuse for remaining longer on the other side of the big pond. Owing to the nature of my business I had kepb away from Scotland Yard, but I now began to meditate paying a visit to our English contemporaries.' ' Yes,' put in Neil, eagerly. • And, in fact, I did visit bhem evenbually.' Neil suddenly reared himself upon hi 6 elbow. ' Did you see bhab fine follow, Ferrars?' he asked, eagerly. ' No, I didn'b.' Neil dropped back wibh a regretful sigh. •I'm sorry,' he murmured, plaintively; 'I never heard of a braver Englishman. I wanb to know more of him.' ' You unearthly enthusiast,' said Jocelyn, smiling benignly across ab him. ' No, I did not see Ferrars, for a good reason. Ferrars was not in London,'he was nob in England, and nobody knew jusb where he was • he had been working some private case and had been dealing directly with his employer. They had not had a reporb from Ferrars in month., that was three years ago. Well, I did not need any assistance from English detectives, and I was just Yankee enough to be glad of it. To abbreviate —at aboub the time when I sent home my last reporb and found my occupabion gone, something occurred bhab sbirred up all the police of London, and curdled the blood of the phlegmatic citizens. Of course you heard of it at the time. It was the murder of thab old Jew, and his sbill older sister, by his young wife.'

' Yes, I remember something of the event, and thab bhere was a large reward offered by bhe Crown. Did bhey ever find her?' $ ' I should rather think not. My boy, I have ransacked all England, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Corsica, and bhe übbermosb parts of the earbh ; I have searched bhree years for bhab very woman, and for once in hia life Rob Jocelyn has found his match.'

Neil made no comment, bub bhe intensity of his gaze betokened his eager interest. ' The old man was a member of a very strong and wealthy aecreb order of Jews,' and bhey doubled,the reward offered by the Queen. Well, to make a long story short, I negotiated with them. Of course they wanbed Ferrars, bub as he was oub of the question, and my credentials were good, they finally decided to let me handle the case for them ; I was to have my expenses, in my case, and two thousand pounds if I succeeded ; thab is to say, the Jews would bear my expenses, and if I found bhe woman I would receive one thou from the Crown— you see the murdered man lefb a large estate to the Crown —and one from the Jews. I was satisfied with this, for I wanted to see all these countries, and could afford bo squander a year or bwo in bhis way. So we sbruck a bargain, and I have been a wandering Jew ever since.' ' And your case ?' 'Is still a mystery; I can't find the woman.' • Nor any clue ?' 'Nor any clue.' ' What had you to begin with, Rob ?' ' That's the queerest parb of ib ; I had— only one eye.' ' Only what ?' •Only one eye, Neil, one painted eye,' said Jocelyn, beginning to bake things from his pocket wibh greab rapidity. 'My boy, there was nob one trace of bhab woman af ber she had committed the deed ; she may have ridden away on a broomstick, for aught I or anyone could find out to bhe conbrary. I could nob even get an accurate description of her. As for bhe picture—well, as I said beforo, I got one eye.' He had been searching through a small pocket-book, and now produced something carefully folded away in oil silk, which he removed rapidly, and then leaning forward placed in the hand of the astonished Neil a bib of canvas, evidently cub from a picture—a painted human eye. • Think of ib, Neil!' he said, as.Babhurst gazed inbenbly upon bhab one dismembered organ of vision. ' How can a man hope to oubwib a woman of barely eighteen, vtho, with her hand yeb red with the blood of her vicbims, can think so far bhab she will stop her flight to cub and slash the tell-tale picbure, which if left inbacb, might have broughb her to justice long ago ? Bah lib only abrengbhens my belief in bhe superfine cunning and viciousness of a vicious woman. Men may be good, bad, and indifferent, but woman ! by bhe Lord, they are eibher angels or devils.' Then, with a sudden drop of the voice, ' What do you bhink of thab eye V

«Why, I think as a clue it's vague, replied Neil.withhisown orbs still fixed upon it. ' You can't tell by this if it were black or grey.' . , «True, and no one coidd tell if it .were black or grey.' 'It's a handsome eye,' pursued Bathurst, * the eye of a passionate, fearless woman, 1 should think. Tell me all the points you have, Rob. By George, I feel uncommonly interested!' ' Well, my inquiries only served to convince me thab she is bhe very evil one. Firsb, I gabhered bhis general oubline : tone is bolow the medium height, petite in fact, and slender almost to fragility ; has tiny hands and feet, of course ; eyes as you see, for I assured myself thab they were botn alike ; features oval ; complexion brunette ; mouth small and full-lipped; taebn— and here is a possible poinb—beebh very even, very wkibe, and more prominenb than is exactly in accordance with the rules ot beauty ; nose straight, small, and thin oi nostril; hair black and straight as the hair of a young Indian. Then I went in for details, and here I was puzzled. No one knew her intimately, and no bwo nact formed bhe same opinion of her character, habits, and personal peculiarities. One oict woman vowed bhab she was always scowling, anobher had never seen a frown dn her face ; she seemed a sorb of human chameleon, and bo have persuaded everyone thab Bhe was bheir favourite colour. * Rom a mass of the mosb contradictory statements thab a man ever lisbened to, I sifted oub aboub this : She was a fascinating woman, one of bhose purring, insinuating, softmannered felines. And she had cerbain odd movements of the bead and neck, a mixture of bird-like nodding and serpentine twisting—l should think—peculiar to herself. She had, tdo, a very soft, childlike voice, and could sing like a mavis. She seemed to have an inborn hunger and thirst for masculine admiration and outside adornments, but there was plainly no lover in the case. Madam Elise Schwartz was in love wibh no mortal, save herself, when she killed her husband and ran away with all his rare jewels.' •Ah ! she did take the jewels. ' She did bhat. The old fellow was a miser as well as usurer ; he had hoarded up a fine lot of rare stones, many of them unredeemed pledges, I presume, and she had had nearly twenty-four hours the start when the bodies were discovered.' •And the picture; was there no other fragment, not a single other feature intact ?' 'Intact! well I should say nob; why, man, ib was in chips, little bits of rags, as if chopped with a hash knife.' 'And you have been wandering all over the world with only one painted eye and a turn of bhe head for a clue V ' Exactly.' * And whab brought you back to America, Rob?' ' The belief thab the thing I failed in over the water may turn oub a success on chiß side.' * You think this cunning sorceress may have sought fresh fields ?' •I think ib quite probable.' ' Well,—so do I. Of whab nationality was she, Rob ?' 'Nobody knows; she.talked the most perfect French and purest English. •That makes her coming to America still more probable. Rob, are you working upon any system, or do you intend to pursue every dark-eyed woman with a twisb of the neck, until you find the right ono 1' Jocelyn arose and stretched himself before he answered. ' Nob quibe bo bad as bhab, Neil; I have a system, and it will yeb run down my game. Now leb's balk of yourself.' •All righb, Rob, bub you must let me sbudy bhis eye a little ; ib has one peculiarity.' ' Oh, you have found bhat oub, have you ? my mental vision. I should know it anywhere.' *So should I,' replied Neil Bathursb, thoughbfully ; 'at least I bhink so—if i* still wore bhab peculiar, indefinable expression ; bhe brows are very sbraighb, and bhe lashes very long. Well take your eye, Rob, I will call for it again some day, perhaps.' The two friends remained together all day, and attended one of the popular theatres in the evening. They made no further mention of the case that was baffling astute Rob Jocelyn, bub when alone ab lasb, Nell Bathursb fbund himself thinking busily of the beautiful murderess, and tryingtofancy jusb how the face belonging to that eye would have looked. Bub he never once gave a bhoughb to the sbupid libble social parby given by an unpretending North Side family, nor of the ' pretty girls,' who had been so lauded by young Arteveldb, and yeb—had he but known it—because of that absence from the Ruthven's libble gathering he was soon bo find himself beset wibh difficulties, and groping blindly for a losb link which thab evening ab the Rubhveris could have supplied.

(To be Continued.)