A FOOL AND HIS FOLLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12860, 8 May 1905, Page 3

A FOOL AND HIS FOLLY.

[PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT]

' BY G. W. APPLETON, Author of "A Forgotten Past," "A Tragedy of Error," " Doubles and Quits," etc., etc. CHAPTER Vlll.—(Continued.) Now I had never observed any little green mole on Reginald's forehead, and I at once said: "You certainly must be mistaken, Mr. Harris." "Oh, no, I'm not." said he. "I have noticed it no cud of times. It was just here," and he put his finger upon a. certain Spot (ill his own forehead. I turned at once to the inspector. "You hear what he says? Let us bo sure about this thing. Come on, Mr. Harris.'' With thai we all approached the coffin once more. "Now. Mr. Harris, be good enough to point out the exact place where that mole ought to be found." Mr. Harris adjusted his glasses to the 'bridge of his nose and took & second and longer look. "Well, of course," said he at last, "I can scarcely form an opinion on account of that nasty gash in his forehead. It was just about there, and I daresay it was clean cut away." "Very well," said I, "now look at this," and 1 held up Reginald's photograph for his inspection. "Can you see any mole there? Some trace of it ought to be visi'ble —if your statement be correct." Mr. Harris took a small magnifying glass from his pocket, and through it scrutinised the photograph very carefully. At last he returned the glass to his pocket. "I can't see it here," said he, "but,dash it. all, how could I be mistaken about such a simple thing as that?" Nothing easier." interposed Inspector Walter. "Lord, man, we all get these fancies into our heads at times. Come on. The minutes are running away. Don't for goodness', sake, begin to argue the matter. Is that the body of Reginald Bracebridge or is it not?" Mr. Harris was an obstinate man, who, as a rule, stuck to his opinion like wax, but after a second examination of the photograph at last said: "Well, it's dashed strange. I could almost have sworn that I was right about the mole, and that is what caused me to hesitate for a moment. Oh, yes! That is the body of Reginald Bract-bridge right enough." "And you will swear to that at the adjourned inquest';" "Oh, certainly; I am bound to do so, for that now is really my honest opinion." "Very well,'' sai# ] ; "that simplifies matters. Now let us get out of this place and into the sunlight again. My nerves are all fiddlestriugs, and' 1 can't stand any more of it."

And so, after a brief final interview with the courteous directorwhom I reimbursed to the extent he would permit me for the trouble and expense ho had been put to— we three at last found ourselves iu the open and drove straightway to the hotel again, where-1 left the personal effects of Reginald in charge of the office clerk.

This done we proceeded to the chief bureau of the Pompes Funcbras, where I arranged to have llie body sent on to the family undertaker in Suffolk. Then to the latter I forwarded a telegram announcing Reginald's death, and the coming of the body, together with certain instructions to be followed pending my arrival at Twyford. Hall.

''And now." said J. at last, "our business is done in Brussels. What do you two gentlemen propose to do?" Mr. Harris looked at his watch.

"In half an hour," said lie, "1 am off to Ostend. While I am in the neighbourhood 1 may as well stop a day or two and try my luck at the 'little' horses' and tilings." "I will join you," said the inspector. "I can do with a few hours at the seaside myself. And you, Mr. Bracebridge:'' No," I answered. "1 shall return by way to Paris, collect my cousin's luggage at the Hotel .Scribe; make a. few inquiries at the Grand Hotel, and then to London, twenty-four hours later. That will give me ample leisure to run down to Suffolk and make all the arrangements fur my cousin's funeral. I shall .see you, of course, at Bowstreet, next Tuesday." " Certainly, sir. certainly," said lie. Then we three shook hands and parted. I settled all the bills at the hotel, including Reginald's, and was requesting the. clerk to .send for a cab. when a postman crossed the courtyard and handed him a letter.

"This is a bit odd, sir," he said, and pushed the letter over to me. I glanced lit the envelope, and' saw that it bore the Paris postmark, and was addressed to M. Bracebridge, Grand Hotel,, Bruxclles." Full of astonishment J. looked up at the clerk inquiringly.

"Better open it," said he. I did so at once, and with trembling fingers, and this it the astounding thing I read : —-

" Dear Bibi, —There is trouble. The baroness never went to London. All discovered. I am frightened. Look out for yourself. Write to old address, and tell me what I am to do. With fond embraces, thy ever loving.—Suzanne.'' CHAPTER IX. By this lime 1 had had a surfeit of surprises. They had become monotonous. But I candidly admit that this letter knocked my mental balance for the moment quite out of gear. Who on earth was Suzanne? and who else could Bibi be but Reginald, to whom the letter was addressed? What did it all mean? Wasn't it enough to turn any man's brain? I looked up and saw that the clerk was bursting with curiosity, and I got a grip upon myself at once. It is nothing of any consequence," I said, thrusting the precious missive into my pocket. "And, oh! here is the cab. Don't forget to send on that telegram should it arrive."

"It shall be attended to, Mr. Bracebridge." " Well, then, good-day." " Good-day, sir, and a pleasant journey." Within half an hour I was on my way to Paris. I had selected a, smoking carriage, and, as my sole travelling companions were two Germans who smoked long-stem-med china, pipes and conversed in a language of which I had but a very perfunctory knowledge, I snuggled into a further corner, and with nothing to distract me except the evil fumes of some, to me, unknown form of tobacco, 1 had the compartment practically to myself, and at once put unthinking cap on.

Now, in the attempt to formulate some kind of tenable theory as to all these strange happenings, I soon lost myself in a maze of wild conjecture, for thin letter of Suzanne's had introduced an unknown quantity into the bewildering business and tilled me with an indefinable feeling of alarm.

What positive bearing did it have upon the mystery? I vainly asked myself. That she, this mysterious Suzanne, was in some way connected with the strange affair had now become painfully obvious. It was equally evident that Reginald, too, was privy to the whole affair.

Presupposing that he had written to me in all good faith, then something very unexpected must have subsequently happened the nature of which I could as yet but dimly guess.

I could not bring myself to believe that the baroness had had a hand in the commission of this ghastly crime. Yet, upon thinking the matter ovei in cold blood, what would have been easier than for her to have arranged through the medium of a confederate, the mysterious Suzanne, for instance, to have the Calais telegram forwarded at a certain predetermined hour, for the sole purpose of foisting that infernal Saratoga trunk, with its ghastly occupant, upon some unsuspecting fellow traveller? Her seeming agitation upon reading the telegram might readily have been assumed, and in view of her mysterious disappearance from Calais nothing seemed more probable. Whither had she fled, and did not the very fact of her flight of itself postulate a guilty knowledge of what was in that accursed trunk? I

This led to another reflection. Suzanne s letter, clearly intended for no'other eyes but Reginald's, pointed unmistakably to ma having an absolute knowledge of the baroness' movements. Then, too, why was He called "Bibi" by the writer, whose every word was suggestive of there being something more than mere friendly feelings between the pair? ~ Was it credible that Reginald had sought 1.0 hoodwink me in writing that letter so full of apparent contrition? It was a hateful thought, Rut, after all, what was one to believe? Were it true it were equally possible that in a lit of repentance ho had refrained from posting it ; and, if so, butfor his sudden death, I. might never have seen it at all. . This was a new reflection, and opened up fresh conjectures of;a, very startling nature. Suddenly Suzanne's letter became intelligible to me. She was undoubtedly a confederate and go-between, to whom, Hi the furtherance of his purpose, Reginald had made certain amorous advances. A crime had been committed of which both were cognisant. Had he any hand in its commission? Above all, who was the victim? Could Inspector Walter's theory have been right after all? It was a sickening thought, that his, after all, may have been the superior wisdom, and that the beautiful woman, whose image was always in my mind, had lied to me in saying that the bearded man at Baden-Baden was her husband. In his letter Reginald had spoken of the strong resemblance reported to exist between the baron and himself. wood heavens! I thought. Could that be "the solution of the mystery? Had the. two men met by some mischance, and was my cousin a murderer? Here, at last, was food for very serious and sombre reflection; and the*more I turned the awful thought oyer in my mind the stronger the conviction grew that I was on the right track at last. I booij began to draw a mental picture of the tragedy. One more rash attempt by Reginald to visit the baroness, possibly —nay, probably—-with her consent, A surprise on the "part of the husband, high words, a scuffle— Suzanne a witness ; the baroness (haling her husband, if she could be believed) an accessory to the crime. Yes, it was all plain enough to me now. The baroness, who had carried .out her part of the heinous business with consummate skill, was doubtless now in Berlin or on her way. thither, hence Reginalds feverish anxiety about a telegram he expected from that quarter. Oh, yes—every piece of the puzzle iitted perfectly into its proper place. To this hateful conviction 1 arrived long before I reached Paris. . However, by this time I,had begun to feel the detective spirit ripening fast within me. ; With or without—-preferably without —the assistance of Inspector Walter, I now meant to clear up every doubtful point in the terrible business. ' Reginald dead—l had suddenly become a millionaire, or very near it. I would rid myself at once of business anxieties by selling my practice outright, and then devote, all my energies to the quest of the lovely woman who, from the very first, had exerted upon me such a deadly fascination. She might be guilty, but find her I must and would.

Curiously enough, just before reaching Paris I had occasion to curse my imperfect knowledge of German. Hitherto 1 had not paid the slightest attention to my fellowtravellers, but I was startled at last by hearing the name Slaviusky mentioned villi great emphasis, and repeated again and again. Then, by listening intently I was able to piece this word and that together, and to vaguely gather that the man under discussion had just returned from America, that, lie ran a great risk in coming to Paris, and; his wife a still greater one, if they should chance to meet. Was it possible that they were alluding to the baroness'.' and 1 was just thinking that I would give mv head to be assured of that when we entered the Paris terminus.

1 was gathering up my smaller luggage when the two men left the carriage. Following their movements with my eyes J. saw them joined on the platform by a third, who was none other than the bearded man I. had smitten down in the Kumal Gardens at Baden-Baden.

Was it possible that the baroness had spoken the truth after all, and my heart leaped with joy, at the thought, though in such an event over went all my fine-spun theories like a house of cards,'and the mystery became more incomprehensible than ever. , -

All (his went like an electric flash through my mind as I grasped my luggage, and sprang out upon the platform, determined to follow the three men. But, to my dismay, they had disappeared, This was not so very startling, lor the train, with the exception of the first-class carriages, had been a very crowded one. and on the platform now was all hustle and confusion.

"Perhaps they have gone out to the cabrank," I said in myself, and quickly bent my steps in that direction. With no result,' however, and it was with a feeling of disgust for my want of alertness that 1 leaped into a. cab and ordered the man to drive me to the Hotel Scribe.

As 1 stepped up to the bureau to order a, room the clerk recognised me at once. "Ah!'' said he,* "we rather expected to see or hear from you, M. Bracebridge, with regard to your cousin's luggage. What a sad affair - . We read about it in the papers, and knew by the name there could be no mistake. There was a telegram, too." "Oh, quite so." I replied. "I have just returned from Brussels, and the body is now on its way to England. Yes, it is a very sad affair, indeed." "By the way," he said, "a few days since a gentleman was here making certain inquiries about him and yourself." "A Mr. Walter?" 1 asked.

"That is the name lie gave." " Precisely. Me accompanied me to Brussels. 'J parted with him there this afternoon. He is by this time on his way to London. lam returning by way of Paris in order, as you suggest, 'to collect my cousin's luggage." Will you kindly have it placed in my room? I purpose staying here to-night."

The clerk was all civility, and at once gave the necessary directions. A few minutes later I was shown into room number 27, where 1 made a hasty toilet.

"Now." I .said, "for a. bit of dinner first, and afterwards to the Grand Hotel. What startling discovery shall I make there, I wonder? Nothing can very much surprise me now, at all events."

(To be continued daily.)