AURA DURAND

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 80, 6 April 1891, Page 3

AURA DURAND

A DETECTIVE STORY.

CHAPTER XLIV. r.K.UnV.AHDINK AGAIN

What had become of Jason Bradwardine ? Wo must now look after him and gather up a few threads that boLong to our fabric. I When Mrs Harris returned from her fruitless errand to tha two young ladie3 who I only existed in the brain of tho ingenious IMr Bradwardine, sho camo iilieJ with 1 wrath, dcapito tho ' extenuating circumf>t«MC<js" of iiew hat and shawl, and tho carriage. She rant: tho bell furiously, and when, after waiting a litt'e time, no one responded, she gave the door itself a vigorous shake : to her surprise, she found that it opened, and then Mrs Harris bounced in. The lirsb thing to meet, her eye was a letter, which lay upon the Moor, directly at tho foot of the stairs ; a letter which Neil Bathurst had lor. fall, unperceived by Lonoro, when they left the house. The ballet mistress picked if. up ; it was addressed to herself, and she opened it hurriedly, her eves dilating with astonishment as she road theso lines: •Madam: The man who lias cal!o liimrclf Sennr 0t51.r0 i-- , an impostor and a eviiiv.nn.!. Ho lirouTlit youißKir and your j-oims charge horo in order So '.rain Uio opportunity to murder iho latter; this ho will attempt during your absence f. f . whvn you return, you iindboth iiii'sinp; know that ho has accomplished his object. If In; is here, thnn he has tailed. lie wariic:! against in any way i<ii\inn or thol"e'"ns this man. otherwise you will involve yourself in I'iili'jnilifS and dangers. ' A Detective.' .Mrs Harris v,-as thoroughly astonished. She g.'ized about her for a moment, and then started up the stairs, calling as she went, the assumed name of Lenore. From above a voice answered ; it was a man's voice, and she followed the sound, approaching the open door of tha room where lay the bound man. She looked in—her late employer lay there, fettered and helpless. Then her courage rose; she was Mrs Harris once more." She stood in tho doorway and surveyed him cooily. • Aro you talcinara nap, Senor ?' she askod, sarcasfciealiy. ' Where is my bsauty ? How came you in her room V 'Get something and cub theso cursed ropes, quick,'said the man. 'I have been robbed and nearly murdered.' ' flow you talk !'—seating herself composedly near the door. ' Was my pretty girl murdered V 'No; she ran nway. Cut these rope?, Mts Harris, quick.' ' I don't know about fc'iat,' said the ballet mistress, reflectively. ' What made you play me such :i trick? Why do you pass yourself for a Cuban? I have fouud you out.' The man looked startled. Did this woman know the truth, or only a part of it ? ' What do you mean, madamc ?' he asked. ' Will you not free me ':' •Not until you own the truth. Confess that you sent me on a fool's errand, that you are an impostor. . Ho writhed, and gnashed his teeth in im-DOi-ent Tags. 'Own up that you tried to murder that sweet girl, and that you were defeated. Oh, I know you !' ' Then don't ask useless questions. I see you are in tho plot too,' he snarled. ' I paid you for all you did. Set me free, and 1 will give you move money.' M r,* Harris arose and drew her mantle about her like a Spartan. • I'm a theatrical apjenfc, Mr Liar, , she said, grandly. ' I don't accept bribes from assassixis- I believe in striking such men as you when they are down. You wouldn't lii;o to have mo get you some more ballet Indies, would you ? No ! Then, good day. Perhaps I'll send someone to cut you loose, after a whiie ; but I may forget it, my memory is so defective.' And with a cheerful nod and a mocking laugh, Mrs Harris crossed fche hull, gathered together her few eriente. and shook the dust of that house from her feet. ' I flatter myself that was well done,' she said, as she went down the stairs. ' I made tho man think that I knew something, and then ho owned up. I could not atlord to help him. I don't run counter to any dotective —not if I know myself. But I must find out more about this, and about the girl.' And Mrs Harris went back to the friendly roof of Mrs Home, the pyophetose.

Jason Bradwardine, for very shame, had waited to be released by the ballet mistress, fearing her questioning less than an encounter with strange men, or, perhaps, tlie police. For iong bourn he had lain there, growing Btifi and sore, under the pressure of his bonds, to be jeored at, at last, by the cunning ballet mistress, and to ba left still a prisoner. He now tried hia last resort; ho lifted up his vo'co ati'd cried loudly for help; iigain and again hs called, but no help came; and lying thoro the entrapped villain swore a terrible oath, that, once free, ho would hunt down and slay the man who had caught and ca>red him —albeit he did not then know that man's name. At nine o'clock that)evening, an officer lounging about the entrance of a certain West-Side police-etation was approached by a ragged gamin, who slipped into his hand a note, and then ran away ut the top of his speed. The officer eazed aftor him, muttered something under his breath, and went leisurely inside. There, by the gaslight, lie read this scrawl :— ' A man is alone in house No. —, W street, bound hand and foot. Go and release him, and then " spot " him. Hβ is a grand rascal.' Thus it happened that, after ten o'clock at night, the 'grand rascal' was visited by a posse of police, and was sot at liberty, after being a helpless prisoner since ten a. m. —twelve long hours. He was very cautious after that, for he know himself for a marked man. Kβ even made some feeble attempts at a disguise. But he was not quenched yet. In the quietest manner possiDle he set about a new work. For long houre of several days he searched files of city papers, and finally his search was rewarded. He had found the full account of the Arteveldt tragedy. Ho had assured himself of the truth of Lenore's statement;. Then his courage revived, his assurance returned to him. Hβ devised a naw scheme, and sot about its accomplishment;. One day he boldly approached the Arteveldt mansion, rang- the bell, and ai'ked to see Mrs Arteveldt ' upon important private business.' Of course, he obtained a hearing ; not only this, he came the nuxt day, and the next. One day a gentleman rang the bell and a.«ked for Kate Seaton. She came down, expecting, hoping, to sec RobJoccilyn ; but the face that met hers was a strange one. The gentleman arose as she entered the room, and presented to her a letter, saying, courteously : 'Miss Seaton, I bring a letter of introduction froni Mr Joeelyn. It also explains my business here, 1 believe.' Kate took the note, bowed, blushed, and opened it. It was brief, to the point, and altogether characteristic of Rob Joeelyn. Thus ifc read : 'Dear Miss Seaton: TIVs will introduce to you tho Ih-st atirt best o£ .English detectives, Mr Francis Ferrars, who will call upon you in my stead. I being, to my deep retfrot, unable to leave business tor a moment now. Can you contrive to get from Mrs A 'c housekeeper tiie keys of the elosed-up nouse? This by request of Mr Bathurat. Jf they can bo got without the knowledge of Mrs Arteveldt it will be better. Please reply by Fcrror.3. Hy-tlie-bye. he is the present protector and champion of Ij —- 4 , who is (veil, ;ind, I believe, wife, ' Yours, ' Roßl-RT JOC'KI.-ZN'. , Kate Seaton looked up from the perusal of thismisaive, the colour coming and going in her cheeks, her one thought that she might hear good news of Lenore.

'Oh, sir,' she cried, breathlessly, ' Mi? I Jocelyn tells me that you are a friend to Miss Armyn. Tell we, is she safe ?is she well V 'Shois Pafe and well, Miss Seaton, , . re.yplied he, with a smile ; "and she v,ants to ccc you very much. .Some day soon, I heme yon may visit her with safety.' Suddenly a shadow fell upon the girl's face. ' Then—she "' in the city,' she said, ; gravely. 'Mr Ferrars, I have something : to cornraunieate to Mr Bathursfc—something ■ that ha should know. Is he—where I I could see biro V , ' I am sorry that I cannot inform you. Miss Seaton. If you feel that you could trust Mr Jocelyn—or—myself, as our inforest* are one with his, we would endeavour to communicate with him.' Kato hesitated for a moment, and thea j said : ' If you are the present protector of Lenore, you, too, should know this I think. In telling you I must betray the conlidonce , of my patroness ; but she is implacable against Lenois.' 'If it affects Miss Armyn or Mr Bachurst, Miss Seaton, you should not hesitate ; this is not an ordinary case,' said Francis Ferrars. 'Bβ seated, Mr Ferrars, , said Kate, with sudden resolve, at the same i,ime seating herself. 'I will tell you all that I know.' The detective took a seat near her, and she went on hurriedly : 'Several days ago a man called to sea Mt-3 Arteveldt, sending up word that his business was important. She went down all eagerness, of course, and in a littlo moro than ;ui hour returned terribly excited; and, this is the sum of what she tokl ma, in her half hysterical way : The man had introduced himself as a detective from abroad ; ha paid that he had been employed to find tho mother of Lenore Armyn, she, Lenore's mother, having il*d from her home after purloining a will that would enrich certain ones whom she hated, lie had pursued hor in order to regain the will, but finding that) the mother was dead, and being informed that her papers were all in her daughter's possession, lie had turned his attention to Lenore, of course. Three times, so he said, he had found her, and each time she had escaped him—twice through the interference of a young man whom he believed to bo a detective. He had some reason for believing that Mrs Artevoldfc was being trilled with by the detectives in her employ, and came to her private!j', and as a friend, in the interests of justice and right. If Mrs Ai-teveldt would favour him with a description of the man who was operating for her, he could then tell her if his suspicions were correct. As you may guess, he beguiled her into giving him a fuit description of Mr Bathurst, and then he declared that he was not mistaken—that Lenore was in town, and that she had escaped from him, this man, only a week before. Hβ had tracked her to an obscure locality, he said, had obtained access to the house, and was in the act of arrosting her, knowing the charge against her, when a man answering to tho description of Mr Bathurst darted in, knocked him down with some iron weapon and fled with the girl, leaving him lying senseless. All this has disturbed Mrs Arteveldt and pub all manner of absurd ideas in her head. She declared her intention of sending for her lawyer, but the man held her to a promise to hold his communications as confidential, saying that if she would say nothing about the affair, but would inform him when she should receive a visit from. Mr Bathurst, he would be near and trace out the hiding-place of poor Lenore. Hβ has been here two or three time?, and every visit seems more and more to unsettle Mrs Arteveidt's faith in llrßathursfc. His brief reports of late, and hie mysterious absence from the city, she construes against him ; and I believe that she has promised to inform this rnah as soon as she has heard from him, although she lias not told me so.' Mr Ferrars was listening to this very gravely, and when Kate ceased speaking he sat for a few moments in thoughtful silence, then he asked : ' Did you see this man, Miss Seaton ?' ' Yes ; I bolieved him from the first to be an enemy to Mr Bathurst, and I wanted to see him. so that if it seemed right to give warning, 1 would be able to describe him ; the second time he came I waited in the drawing-room—they were in the library —and I came out so as to meet him face to face in the hall. , ' ' Describe him, please.' Kate complied, and the detective instantly recognised the picture she drew. It was Bradwardine. ' Miss Ssaton, , said lie gravely,' you have done a brave and wise thing. The man you describe is an enemy, not only to Mr Bathurst, but to Miss Armyn. Mr Bathursb saved her from death at his hands. I hopo it will not be long before you may know the whole truth, meanwhile you have put us on our guard. I will tell you this much now. Wo hope, not only to clear Miss Armyn's name, but to rind the true criminal, and, you may, nay, you have, aided in this. No*- about tho keys. Can you help us there ?' Kate's 'eyes gleamed with the light of a sudden resolve. ' Ye?,' she said, with decision,' I will. I am a favourite with the housekeeper. J know where she keeps the keye. I will get them, and you shall have them, • When?' 'To-morrow morning. Will that bo id timo f ' Ample. How will I receive them ?' ' I walk every morning ; if you can pro> menade the avenue then, say for two o« three blocks south from here, at nine o'clock, 1 will be there—with the keys.' ' Thanks ! Mr Jocelyn was sure we might depend on you.' Again a rosy blush overspread the girl's face. ' I am ready to do anything to serve Lenore,' she said. 'And you have served her. Have no further uneasiness about this meddler, Miss Seaton ; you have baulked his game, and I will look after him henceforth.' A few more words and then they separated, and as Francis Ferrars walked briskly towards his ' quarters,' once more he muttered, ' So, Mr Bradwardine, we have not done with you yet.' (To be Continued.)