SUSPECTED.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 235, 2 October 1894, Page 6

SUSPECTED.

MY FAT P. RATHBUN.

CHAPTER VI,

AT THE INQtJEST.

Tusfcody found by Cayton and Wincrafb at the oak grove was, on the morning afber its discovery, identified as thab of Marion E-anlee, a resident of Seaboard, an irreproachable maiden, who had left her father's house on the forenoon of her death ,vribh no thought, so far as was known, of t f*oing oat of the city—ibe same Marion Ranlee of whose marriage engagement to Walter Waywood a rumour had come, two -weeksjbafpre, .to disturb the serenity of M and Mrs Millroe.

On the day fused for holding the coroner's inquest on the remains, the little town hall of Brookside ws^ filled to its full capacity ■by an .anxious *crowd % of people who were listeaing to the i&yidence. There were a number of. personstjpresenb from Seaboad; aome who had bQisia subpoenaed by the coroner to testify, land obherswho were there aB friends -of the deceased. Among the latter class .was crae who,'when the relation which he had borne to the dead girl came to be whispered about, became the object) of general observation. This was Herberb Glenmont who\had been the accepted lover of Miss Ranlee, until he was discarded by her to favour the suit of Walter Waywood. He vvas a well-appear-ing, earnest-looking ■ man, apparently thirty-two ■or thirty-three years old, considerably older than Miss Bnnlee, and the ■enior of his rival by a hah'-dozen years. ■He was rather talLand large-boned, with' no superfluous flesh. ,Hia complexion was dark, and his eyes so dark that at a littio distance they looked to-be blacfc. He wa3 an earnest, , thoughtful-looking man and quite the opposite, in appearance, of his rival, who was of light complexion, medium height, had blue eyes, and a tendency to be stout. To increase the diffeivancd between the men, Glenmonb swas sitaewhat careless of his dress, while '■ Waywood was particular ot hi 3. Although they both appeared agreeable gentlemen yeb their dissimilarity was so striking bhacib waa difficult to conceive upon what theory of selection the same-woman, within one year of her lite, could havo loved each of them. Glenmonb seemed much affected by the occasion, and listened to the evidence with Btrained attention, and, either from indifference or unconsciousness, did uot appear to notice that ho, more than another, was, an object of interest;to those about him. The hearing was dragging itself slowly along while tho circumstances already before the reader were being pub in evidence. Cayton* had testified to the facts within his knowledge and returned to his scab, where he was feeling-somewhat boredby listening to the repetition of his own testimony by Wincraft, who was then on the witnessstand, and ab the suggestion of' Erank Lenfair, who had accompanied -him- from Seaboard, and between whom andshimself there existed a close friendshipl of long standing, he and his friend left the crowded and ill-ventilated hall for a short walk in the open air. Lonf.iir, who had very .little of his companion's sedate and dignified appearance, was somewhat younger than Cayton, wae, like him, a bachelor, and also likehim, a merchant, although one of only moderate means, and hence doing a business which, in \olnme, was insignificant when compared with that done by Cay ton's firm. As they walked, they fell,into,a conversation concerning the men who had been lovers of the dead girl, a part of which is given here for what light ib may furnish the readers in forming conclusions touching two persons of tho first importance to this narrative. The subject was introduced by Lenfair, ■who said :

' Will, carefully recall the appearance of bho two lovers, the accepted and the rejected one, and tell me which of them takes this murder tho most to heart.'

' That ia a difficult thing to do,' Cayton returned. 'It is hard to judge of the depth of a mourner's sorrow by his conduct at the funeral—bhe visible evidence of grief is so much a matter of temperament.' «True,' Lonfair rejoined. 'Bub this is not quite a funeral, nor are the motives which may be supposed to control the behaviour of those two persons identical with those influencing a mourner aba funeral. For these lovers might be expected, it seems to me, bo ropross their feelings while in the presence of a miscellaneous crowd who are ,more inclined to criticise thab to sympathise; especially should this be true of the rejected one. So thafe as there ia no apparent reason to suspecb a forced appearance of grief, there seems to be a fair opportunity to judge of their sorrow by the difference with which tho two men are affected by the murder of the woman they loved. What a pity ib ie, Will, that every ■woman who has to decido between two lovers could nob possess a sorb of second sight thab would enable her, before making her decision1, to see the effect which her sudden death, wore ib to occur, would have on them. So many men of twenty-five and upward love for the fun of the thing or for convenience or for almost any insufficient reason or even for no reason at all, jusbloaf along into it, as you might say, w'fch°«b knowing or caring much why or wherefore. Bub what do you say ? Did the dead girl most love the lover who loved her moat?'

• Well, 1 Cayton answered thoughtfully, 'I don't know. It affects them very differently ; that is quite sure. It seems to mo that; the one whom I should expect to feel it tho least—tho discarded one— really is the more deeply grioved.' 'I agree with you,' Lonfair responded, * His appearance here ab all—l understand be is not a witness—involving a willingness to face this crowd in the role of a cast-off suitor, is pretby good evidence that the aentiments he professed actually existed.' •It surely is,' said Cayton. • And now, how about the successful wooer ?' ' Well,' Lenfair began, somewhat doubtfully, 'he seems to feol bad, of course, and wears a lugubrious countenanco, but his sorrow seems perfunctory. There is an entire absence of tho acute interest in fche proceedings 60 conspicuous in the manner of the other. Waywood, in short, acts as though he were hero from necessity instead of- choice and would be glad if it were all aver.'

•Thou,' said Cayton, inquiringly, 'you opinion ia that—' '.The girl made a mistake.' .*& am afraid ao,' Cayton assented. ' Bub, however that may bo, Glenmonb musb need jbe a brave man, morally as well as a sincere one, to pursue tho course he takes, and "I honour him. I shall bo glad if, before he goes away, we may have the opportunity to leb him know that at least two men in the world understand and respect him.' The contrast in the beh.ayiour of the two lovers was,..indeed, striking. While both >vidently wore deeply affected, Waywood leemod the more distressed, aud—unlike Qlenmonb, who, apparently oblivious of himself, keenly watching the legal proceedings >-was passive, and appeared to be conscious jhabhe was unpleasantly conspicuous before ;he people.

Cayton and Lenfair soon returned to the iall and again became a part of thoaudienco. rho hearing consumed nearly the entire iay,iinly to result in general disappointsneti!: for its object—the detection of Marion Katiif c's slayer—was not attained.

It was proved that on the day •of her death she lefb her home in Seaboard at half-past ten o'clock m the morning with

the avowed purpose of spending the remainder of.the day with; a lady-friend of hers, who lived in a distant parb ot the city; but bbab, for some unexplained reason, she never reached her friend's residence. She had. not "been recognised upon the streets of either Seaboard or Brookside; nor couid.it be ascertained by whab means she had reached the place of her dsabb. Inquiries had been made of every known friend of hers. Railroad, trainmen, and street-car conductors who ran between Seaboard and Brookside, as well as every liverystable keeper in each of those places, had been examined —all to no purpose. So far as the evideace showed, she might havo been transported to the scene of her death by magic. No person could be found who had seen her alive after the moment when the door of her home closed behind her in the morning; from thafcinstant Bhe seemed to have become invisible. •

This mystery, howover, was no greater than that in which the motive of her slayer waa involved. ~-

Ib was shown by the evidence of the surgeons, who were sworn as experts, that death had resulted from a stab, or .wound in the hearb, inflicted by a poniard or by some other sharp instrument. As her watch and money and such-other valuables as she had when she left home were, on the body, the theory of robbery as a motive for the crime was disproved; and, as she had not a known enemy in the world, the mystery of her death was as dark when the jury retired to frame bheir verdict that Marion Ranlee had died at the hand of, ', some person or, persons to them unknown, as ib was to Cayton and Wincraft when, lookiog over the fallen tree in the oak grove, they saw the bloody corpse of a woman lying on the leaves.

Ab the close of the hearing, Glenmonb approached Wincrafb and, having introduced himself, and explained thab he had been a friend of Miss Ranlee, said that he would like to be allowsd to ask a question or two about the alarm which led to the finding of the body—a subjecb concerning which the witnesses had nob been pressed on the inquest. Wincrafb, who like Cayton and Lenfair, had heard of Glenmont's relation with the deceased, and, who like them, fejt interested in him, cheerfully offered any information he possessed; and, when, after some little1 conversation, Glenmonb expressed his intention to visit the scene of the tragedy, and asked for directions by which to find the place, he volunteered to serve as a guide. This proposal having been promptly accepted they started* to leave the room.when Wincrafb stopped and suggested thab perhaps Mr Cayfcon would accompany them. Glenmonb answered that as his purpose was to gain*information, he should.be glad of the presence of the other witness to the finding of the body, if he were inclined to take so long a walk to oblige a stranger. Whereupon Wincrafb made hiß way to the place where the two friends were sitting with others who were waiting for the verdict, and, having addressed Cayton on the subject, found him very willing to goas a mark of the consideration he felo and had expressed to Lenfair for Glenmont. Lenfair having accepted an invitation to join them the four walked oub of tho village by the route taken;by two of them on tho day v on which the story opens. Cayton and Wincrafb conducted tho party along the familiar trout-stream, even stopping to explain the manner i» which they had amused themselves on the former occasion by watching the flight of ihe frightened trout; and when they arrived at the poinb ab which they had heard the cry for help they halted and repeated the story. They told of their uncertainty of the place from.which the sound came and of their excitement while fearing thab they should, be too late to render, assistance; then, pointing out tho oakß far upthe hill, they led khe way, as nearly as their recollection permitted, along the same tortuoua paths by which they bad made the aßConb, At lasb the grove was reached. Cayton showed the exact pia:e where the body lay, briefly told how he and Wincrafb had arrived, exhausted by running; where they had stopped for a moment to rest and how they had first seen the dead girl lying on the ground. Although Glenmont had heard at the inquest a detailed account) of tho finding of the body with no exhibition of emotion, now thab it was repeated on the Bppb where Marion's tender form was found, still warm and bleeding, and while he was surrounded by the objects m the presence of which the terrible tragedy was acted, he became painfully agitated. For a time he struggled against the surging current of his feelings, bub ab lasb he sab down on the fallen tree and wept. Bub even then he bore himself as he had done ab tho inquest; that is, without seeming to consider or to care whether his behaviour was the subjecb of ridicule or of sympathy. He was nob disconcerted as the man usually is who is hetrayed into tears in the presence of those not affected by tho subjecb of his grief. Nor did he apologise for his weakness ; bub when be had dried his eyes he simply said: 'Gentlemen, I should not mention ib, did I not suppose thab you had already heard the story, bub ib is true bhat I was once the accepted lover of Marion Ranlee. Ib may surprise you to hear thab I loved her even after she had diecarded mo ; but I did, and now that she is dead, I regard her memory as sacred, and this spot as consecrated ground. I shall do what I can to solve this mystery and bring her murderer to justice. I admit thab the undertaking seems most difficulb, but at least ib mßy be attempted.' Curious to know what his theory of tho crime was, Lenfair enquired what he supposed the motive of the assassin to have been. • I don't know,' he answered. ' All of the usual motives for murder seem to be absent. Ib could nob have been robbery, for no valuables were taken. She had no enemy known to her friends. It is impossible to imagine her as engaged in a quarrel in which her opponent used a knife. Moreover, you say there waa no evidence of a struggle excepting thab furnished by the broken wabclr-chain, and the chain, as you have seen, is a delicate affair which mighb have been broken by accUenb or by her fall after she was stabbed,'

•How do you imagine,' Lenfair again asked, ' that she could have got to this place withoub being seen by many people, some one of whom could have been found to testify to the fact before the coroner?' 1 Why, I suppose she must have come by one of the usual routes—either by train or street-car. At this time of year people are coming and going by every train and car in considerable numbers, singly and in parties. Brookside is full of Btrangere, and a woman with nothing conspicuous in her appearance or behaviour would attract little attention. Ib is simply that, whether alone or not, ehe did nob happen to be noticed.' •Yes,1 Cayton said, • I believe you may be righb. A stranger thing 13 the motive for her murder ; and the strangest of all is thab her murderer should have been so insanely indiscreet as to pin upon her dress his own society emblem, and then, by the mosb powerful means known to language, summoa aid, both acts imperilling his own safety. I earnestly hope that some day the truth may be known. Bub, gentlemen,' he added, 'we musb think of returning ; ib will very Boon be dark.' Ab this they started to leave the grove, with Glenmonb a step or two in the rear of the party and Lenfair next in front of him. They had walked a dozen yards, and wore passing along the path close to the bushes by its side, when Lenfair, having his attention attracted by-a rustling in the leaves behind him, looked back and saw Glenmonb standing a yard.or so inside of the thicket and holding something in his hands.

' What have you there ?' he asked in sur

prise. 'It is a dagger—a poniard !' exclaimed

Wincrafb, who had looked back when Leniair spoke. ' ?^Chab|mußb be the'""weapon,' he added, in someexeitement, ' with which the murder was committed. Where did you find it, Mr Glenmont? Mr Cayton and I-hunted this ground all over but we didn't see it' ~..:. . ~ Glenmont stepped back into bbc path, while they all gathered around him. He held up for their inspection' a small poniard. The blade was diamond-shaped though of,so very flat a pattern that it had but two edges. It was handsomely made, bub the glitter of its steel was dulled by some dark substance which had dried on its surface. They knew ib was the blood of Marion Ranlee.

'I saw ib through an opening in the bushes,' Glenmont explained, 'by the merest accident as I was walking along, and thought I would see what ib was, but I didn't think of its being this.' ~ , Ib was, indeed, the weapon thab had caused thab t unforbunate girl's death. Ib had been overlooked.in..the search made by. Wincraft and" Cayton, to be thiis discovered by Glenmonb. After a little! they resumed their way, discussing the crime with awakened interest, and canvassing the probabilities of the identification of the murderer through the possession of the poniard. When they arrived ab the village, Glenmont left the others before they reached the hotel whore they were to step until train time. His companions shook hands with him cordially,,and wished him success in his self-imposed task of avenging tho dead girl; and as he walked away from them, Cay ton declared : •There goes an honest, manly man !' A sentimenb bo which .the others heartily assented. . . '~

Ib is necessary ab this poinb to return for a few minutes to the inquest, and observe the proceedings of Dan and Sandy, who, before the close of the hearing, believed they had made a discovery of importance. ; The cronies occupied good placeß in the hall, and attended to what was being Baid and done with an interest no les3 intent than that of their more respectable neighbours. They critically examined all those who seemed to havo any connection with the deceased, and compared the results of their observation in cautious tones. All at once Dan became unusually alert. He looked sharply at one of the strangers from Seaboard, and then nudging Sandy with his elbow t said to him, in an excited whisper: ' Look at the rooster by the window thab is watchin' the witnesses so sharp.'

* Bull-fighter ?' Sandy asked, referring to a.gentleman wearing a red necktie. 'N—a—w; next to him.' • All right,' Sandy answered. • I've gob him.'

•It's his Nibs—with Murtis,' Dan whispered. ' Sure's—you—live !' Sandy returned, now equally excited. • He's shaved off his moustache and changed his clothes sonce we see him on the Lake Road,' Dan added, to disguise himself.'

Sandy looked and was satisfied fchab hiß friend was right. His astonishment was too great to .find expression in a whisper, and as he couldn't very well swear where he was he sat staring at the man and nodding his head affirmatively, but uncousoiously, ' Stop that noddin'!' Dan whispered. ' Do you want the whole bloomin' town on to us V A second later he added :' I should have known him at first, if he hadn't boein and gone and disguised himself. I knew I'd seen him somewhere, though I couldn't tell where ; but I spotted him finally. He's the man, sure !'

• Lea ask the dep'by sheriff at noon who he is,' Sandy suggested. cOh, yes, we'll ask the sheriff, Dan, returned, ironically, ' an' have him firm' questions at us. Ivfext thiog'll happen we'll gib s'poen'ed as witnesses, an' !en you'll see our peusion goin' to Hades' (Dan didn't say' Hades,' but that is what he meant) ♦ 'cross lots. I eh'd think your head 'ud ache, Sandy, after gettin' up such a beautiful scheme as that to ruin us j'

Sandy meekly admitted his friend's superior acumen, and withheld any further advice for the time.

At the noon adjournment, Dan followed the crowd along tho street, looking for some one from whom to gob the wished-for information concerning • his Nibs.' Seeing a young man of Brookaide, who was a frequenter of the Sundown, he stepped to his side and asked respectfully :

• Mr Brafee, who's the duck ahead there — him in the black clothes — walkia' alone ?'

'He was one of the dead girl's lovers, Dan,' was the answer, 'and his name is Herbert Glenmonb.'

A moment later Dan was with Sandy

'Sandy,' said he, '-this thing's gittin' interestin'. His Nibb^a name's Herbert Glenmonb. an' bo was the dead girl's lover.'

' Why, what,' Sandy demanded in amazement, • is he killin' her for then f

But Dan didn't know.

By thi3 ib will bo seen thab the opinion of Cayton and his friends concerning Glenmonb would nob have been indorsed by Dan and Sandy. Ib is evident that one party or the other was mistaken. As it is exceedingly easy to be mistaken on a question,of the identity of persons, very likely ib may have been Dan and Sandy ; bub then, too, as ib is nob difficult to misjudge character, ib is jusb aa likely to have been Cayton aud his friends. \> (To he Contimied.} \