HER OWN FOLK

Evening Star, Issue 20688, 10 January 1931, Page 17

HER OWN FOLK

By MADGE AMBROSE [Author of ‘ Too Proud To Love,’- ‘ Trespassers will be Prosecuted,’ etc.]

[Ann Rights Reserved.]

CHAPTER XII. Hazel’s gaze turned with a new interest to the man in the dock as her aunt made the startling announcement that he was her brother. So that was her Uncle Jasper, the mere mention ot whose name on that day when she had discovered it in the family Bible had had the power to so seriously disturb Miss Jarrow. Her uncle! A tew weeks ao'o the discovery of such a relation would have filled her with shame and disgust. It had been bad enough to learn that her aunt ran a small draper’s shop in a country town, but that her uncle was a tramp would have filled her cup of humiliation to the brim. Yet now she was curiously indifferent, far more indifferent than her aunt, who clearly found this public confession of her relationship with the prisoner an almost insupportable ordeal. “His real name is, 1 believe, Jasper Jarrow.”

Mr Powell put the question in an almost conversational tone, as if he were discussing the weather at a Coleton tea table. “ Yes.” “You have not seen him for some years, I believe?” “No, not for some years.” “And he arrived _ unexpectedly at your house on the night in question? Will you tell the Bench, Miss Jarrow, the hour at which he called?” “It was shortly after B—just after Sir Arthur had left.” “He was with you, how long? • “Nearly two hours. It was 10 when he left the house.” “You gave him some money, Miss Jarrow?” “I gave him a hundred pounds in notes.” “Those were the notes found upon him, I believe, Miss Jarrow? When you were questioned by tlm inspector as to what you had done with these notes, you made a certain statement which you now agree was inaccurate?” Miss Jarrow acquiesced in an almost in audible voice in this very delicate description of the piece of pure fiction in which she had acquiesced. “Was anybody else present at the interview with your brother?” “No. My niece, who lives with me, kept to her own room at my request.” “Thank you, Miss Jarrow. Unless the inspector has any questions to ask you, I don’t think we need trouble The solicitor, waved her blandly out of the box, and the next moment Hazel, rather bewildered at being called upon to take a part in the proceedings, found herself occupying her aunt s Will you please tell the bench, Miss Keane, what you kuow about the movements of the accused on that night. “ Shortly after Sir Arthur Morton left the house I heard a knock at the door. It was then just after 8. 1 was standing at the toj) of the stairs, and I heard my aunt go down the passage and open the door. When I would have joined her she begged me to remain m my own room', and 1 complied with her request.” , “ Did you see the accused ? “ No. I remained in my room ior nearly two hours. My room is just above the parlour, where my aunt was, and I knew her visitor was a man from his voice. They remained together until close on tea. irqv aunt showed her visitor out of the house, pnd came up to me.” 0„ “ You are certain about the hour. “ Yes. It struck 10 almost immediately afterwards.” " That, it appearedj was all the evidence that was required of her, and as she stepped from the box Mr Powell addressed the bench. “ Your Worships will realise that u you accept the evidence you luivo just heard the case of the police against the accused breaks down. Ho was seen outside Miss Jarrow’s house by Sir Arthur Morton shortly after 8 o clock. Immediately after Sir Arthur had gone ho knocked at the door,, was admitted by his sister, and remamed with her until close upon 10. It was therefore impossible for him to have been in Thraxton Wood, a good two miles away, anywhere near the time of the murder. The chairman and the magistrates consulted together for a moment, and finally the chairman addressed Mr appears to have been a certain amount of mystery connected wita the movements of your client about which, before we come to a uecision, we shall fiavo to be satisfied. _ He calls to see his sister who receives him in secret, carefully excluding her niece from the interview. Miss Keane nove r saw him, and her evidence, therefore, that it was he who visited the house and left at 10 o’clock is not very conclusive, Mr Powell.” . The solicitor, who had remained standing, polishu. 0 his glasses the while, carefully replaced them on the bridge of his nose, and turned to the man in the dock. , „ , . , , “I was hoping that it. might have been possible, your Worships, to spare the feelings of one of the most respected inhabitants of Coleton; but as you deem it necessary iu the interests oi justice to probe further into the matter 1 am prepared to put my client m the Hazel saw her uncle shuffle from the dock into the witness box and stand there with a solemn, dogged look upon his weatherbeaten face. He repeated the oath in a gruff voice. “ You’ve heard the questions that the bench have put to me.” Mr Powell remarked in bis bland voice. “ They wish to be enlightened on the point as to why you visited your sister, and as to why that interview was surrounded by so many precautions and so much mystery.” “ Well, that’s easily answered,” the witness retorted. “You’ve only got to look at rao to know that I’m not the sort of brother a woman that’s been brought up respectable would care to have much truck with. I’ve kept out of her way these many yours, for I didn’t want to spoil her life the same as I’d spoiled mine. But I was out of luck—couldn’t get any work anywhere JVI I'—n-on the tramp for weeks, and, being in this neighbourhood, and being desperate, I determined to see her and ask her to help me.” “Toll the bench exactly what were your movements.” “When I got to the house I saw there were lights in one of the windows, and, peeping through the window, I saw a lot of people there seated round the tea table. I waited until they’d all gone—the last was the gentleman who ran into mo as ho stated in his evidence. And then I knocked at the door. I wouldn’t have done it only 1 was half-starved. My sister took me into the parlour and she gave mo the food I wanted and a hundred pounds. It was shortlv before 30 when J. loll.”

f He paused a moment, and . then ' looked challengingly at the chairman of the bench. “If I’d known ! was going to drag her into this business I’d sooner have cut off my right hand,” ho muttered, i “ She’s always been good and generous to me, aud I’ve kept out of her way on purpose. If I’d known this was going to happen I’d have gladly died of starvation on the road.” Hazel felt the tears gather in her eyes as she listened to her uncle’s announcement, the sincerity of which it was impossible not to recognise. AVhat,,over he had been—whatever he had done—he had struggled against adverse circumstances to keep even the shadow of this disgrace from touching his sister’s life. Though ho could have probably cleared himself at once from all suspicion of the crime of which ho was suspected, he had preferred to give a false name, and keep silent, rather than involve Martha Jarrow.

While she was still brooding over this curious example of courage and self-sacrifice, the proceedings came to an abrupt end. The accused man was discharged, and the court began to empty. By her side Aunt Martha was weeping. ~ , . “Stay by me, my dear,” she whispered. “I don’t feel as if I could ever lift up my head again in Coleton after this. All these years I’ve kept my secret, and now—now nobody will know me—nobody will want to speak to me.” Even as she uttered the words a tall figure leaned over the railings of the place whore she was sitting and held out his hand.

“I want to bo tho first person in Coleton to congratulate you, Miss Jarrow.” Hazel looked up with a start to seo Raymond Travers standing there, a kindly smile upon his lips. Miss Jarkindly stared at him through her tears as if she could hardly' credit her senses. “It’s very' good of yon, Mr Travers, after all this disgrace, to come and speak to mo.” Travers turned with a smile to Hazel. “ Miss Keane, Ido hope you will persuade your aunt that she is talking nonsense. Nothing could have given my fellow-magistrates and myself more satisfaction than this complete vindication of her brother ” Hazel was quick to tnko her cue. “I don’t know what’s got you, really, auntie, you ought to be as pleased as anything. I’vo never seen Uncle Jasper before, and I’m awfully glad that I have seen him now and that between us wo’vc got him out of this mess.” Aunt Martha was heard io mutter something under her breath about the disgrace and never being able to lilt her head up again, but it was with less conviction in her tone than before. „ “Look hero, Miss Jarrow,” Travers interrupted, “ there’s your brother waiting for you. If you don’t think I’d bo intruding I’d like very much to stop over to your house and have a take with him. It’s quite on tho cards that I might find him something to do if he’s looking for work.” It was quite clear that Miss Jarrow believed she was living in a dream. For years her brother Jasper had been the tragedy of her life, a dark, sinister mystery that had to bo kept hidden and shielded from the eyes of a prying and respectable world. And now she was walking up the High street on the arm of her nieco with tho principal citizen of Coleton striding along in friendly conversation with the man whoso existence she bad struggled to keep a secret from her neighbours. Later on, when she closed the parlour door upon them, she sank down on tho stairs and gasped. , “ My dear, I should never have believedit,” she exclaimed, brokenly, to Hazel. “All my life it’s been a terror that this blow should fall—that it should bo known I had such a brother! And now Mr Travers is in there treating him almost as a friend.” As she spoke there was a knock at tho door. Instantly she held up her hands with a gesture of terror. “ Don’t let anybody in/ Hazel, my dear. I couldn’t bear it. I must have time to live down this disgrace.” Laying a comforting hand on her aunt’s head a minute, Hazel hurried to tho door. John Clode was standing there in his old, rusty black clothes, an expression of irritation and exasperation on his normally kindly face. “My dear, where is your aunt? ’ he said peremptorily. “Auntie’s not very well, and sorry to say she can’t see anybody.” “ Then l r ll come in and wait. You might tell her that I’m hero and. that I wish to seo her.” Hazel hesitated a moment. “ Is it very important, Mr Clode? “Important? Good God, ray dear, it’s the most important thing that ever happened. Bo good enough to tell her, my dear, that I am here, and that I intend to wait until I’ve seen her.” As he spoke ho pushed tho door wider open, and stepped into tho passage. In doing so Miss Jarrow’s plump figure, seated on the bottom step, became visible to him. Instantly pushing past Hazel, ho walked quickly towards her. “Martha, .you’ve treated mo very, very badly,” he said. “I couldn’t have believed it of you.” Aunt Martha’s reply was to bury her faco in her hands. “ Oh, I knew how you’d feel about it, John,” she cried. “It was tho thought of what you would think how you would turn from me——that’s been tho torture to me all along.” . „ _ Sho was sobbing unrestrainedly. For a moment John Clodo stood stock still; then, dropping tho heavy oak stick ho always carried, ho stretched out his arms and drew her hands away, “Martha,” ho said gravely, “I’ve asked you twice a year to marry mo for tho last twenty years. Was tins the reason why you always said No? Sho looked at him with quivering lips. “ You’d have never forgiven me, John, if you'd found out about Jasper afterwards. You’d have felt the disgrace as lunch as 1 do, and .you’d have blamed mo. I couldn’t toll you, and as I couldn’t tell you ” “You couldn’t marry mo? It that it, Martha?” “Yes.”

“Thou you ought to bo ashamed of yourself, Martha. If you think my lovo is the kind of lovo that troubles about such things . . I’m sorry for your brother’s misfortunes, however thoy may have been caused, but how those misfortunes could affect by ono jot or one tittle the lovo I bear you, my dear, I absolutely fail to sec.” “There’s tho disgrace, John. What would people say of you. marrying a woman with a dreadful family secret like that?” “That I was (he luckiest man alive, my dear,”

Hazel, tip-toeing quietly across the hall towards the only room which she was now free to enter, saw 7 an unforgettable picture. The old schoolmaster, in his rusted, black clothes, with his dreamy ascetic face, seated side by side on the bottom step of tho stairs with his arms about tho plump, middle-aged figure -pf the woman lie had loved so romantically for all these years, covering her faco with kisses, remonstrating with her one moment for her severe respectability which had made such a bugbear of her brother Jasper’s unfortunate career, and the next moment exhausting tho vocabulary of endearments.

They were still seated there when some ten minutes later Hazel, glancing through the open door of tho room in which she had taken refuge, saw Raymond Travers came out of the parlour. John Clodo and Aunt Martini were quite unconscious of his appearance. Ho glanced at them for a moment in astonishment, and then, catching sight of Hazel, tip-toed softly across tho hall.

“ I wanted to speak to your aunt, Miss Keane, but it doesn’t seem quite an opportune moment, does it?” Hazel laughed joyously. “The two old dears!” she exclaimed. “ Oh, Mr Travers, if you’d only seen them! All these years she’s been refusing him and refusing him, because siic had thought that Uncle Jasper’s existence was a fatal bar to their marriage. She thought he’d never forgive her if ho found out afterwards, and so she’s been going on making both of them unhappy till to-day.” “And so they've settled it. have thoy?” he inquired, regarding her cnriosnly.

“I you’d like to open tho door and have another peep, Mr Travers, I think you’ll agree with mo that it’s what they call a self-evident proposition. I’m afraid there won’t ho any Jarrow and Co. before long, unless they keep the old name over the shop.” Up to now her manner had been natural and unrestrained, but of a sudden she caught sight of that strange look in his eyes, and an expression of reserve crept into her face. “Did you want to speak to me about my uncle?” she questioned. Raymond Travers turned, and looked out of tho window. “Yes. I was going to talk io your aunt, but you’ll do in her stead. I’m afraid your uncle’s Jed what they call a vagabond existence—but wo needn’t go into that. I think, however, that if ho could bo got out of England, into a land of bettor opportunities, ho would have a chance to ptill up and make good. It happens that I’ve just bought a controlling interest in some pulping mills iu Canada, and I suggest that I should find him employment there, and he has agreed to go. Unless you or Miss Jarrow seo that there’s any insurmountable objection, he could leave for Liverpool to-night, and catch the bout that, fortunately, starts to-morrow morning.” For a moment Hozel was silent. “ Why are you doing all this, Mr Travers?” she inquired. For answer, lie turned, and looked her full in tho faco. (To ho concluded.)