THE SILENT ACCUSER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20175, 8 February 1929, Page 5

THE SILENT ACCUSER.

A SHORT STORY.

By GLEN EVANS

"So you don't believe in spirits, eh?" said Johnson, looking over the five of us who sat with him before the fire in the club smokeroom. *' Well, I believe in 'em. I've had cause to. Perhaps you'll ridicule this one, Griffiths." This remark was addressed to one of the members who had laughed derisively when John Owen had concluded a ghost story and said it was quite true. "Another one?" laughed Griffiths, cheerfully tolerant. " Righto go ahead; but I'll take some convincing."

Twenty years ago (began Johnson) Eli and Jake Da-vies, twin brothers from my native town, and myself skipped a barque in the Southern States of America and began work in a factory in Alabama. We went there with the intention of making good, and our rise was rapid; for in seven years Eli and Jake each had charge of their respective departments, and I was manager of the factory. At that time life in Alabama was rather slow, so it was not surprising that the twins fell in love with a pretty American girl, Hanna Neilsen, who had then lately arrived home from school to reside permanently with her father. She, however, would listen to neither of their pleadings for her hand. Rather foolishly she told them that she loved both, but because they were so much alike she did not know which of them she loved enough to marry.

Their rivalry hrough about a remarkable change in the twins, and from tho affectionate brothers they once were .they became as coldly and distantly disposed to one another as two deadly enemies. They opposed each other in every way and in a sort of silent conflict, often with the challenge of flashing eyes. But never a word would be wasted. They even found it utterly impossible to live beneath the same roof. But while Eli retained much of his better self the effect of ihe disappointment on Jake turned him from a comparatively mild mannered man, to one of morose and coldly brutal disposition. He drove and abused the men under him, and Eli had often to interfere to save some negro or other from a brutal thrashing which. I heard, was invariably ministered for even the slightest offence. The negroes walked in fear of him. Most men feared him. Not so Eli, however, for the latter had thrased him severely for his methods of management. Yet, strangely enough, all this was kept somehow from the ears of the fair Hanna. which was proved by the fact that the twins and myself were invited to a, party which was to be held at the Neilsen's home, The Elms, in honour of Hanna's coming of age.

I -was sitting down at the side of a shrub-bordered path absorbed in a contemplation of the Neilsen grounds and tho not far-distant cotton plantation, which all seemed so peaceful beneath a flood of moonlight and a clear, starry sky. Now and again the strains of a waltz floated out upon the still night air. It lent charm to the scene, and I was beginning to forget tho drama that had come to my friends, when suddenly the subdued but angry voices of two people in altercation cam© within my hearing and, drifted gradually nearer. I recognised them immediately as those of Eli and Jake, though I could not distinguish one voice from the other. Apparently they were walking on the grass behind the bushes at the rear of my seat, for their steps were silent, and in another moment I heard one of them exclaim, the voice coming directly from the rear of the bushes:—

" For goodnoss sake don't persist in bringing Hanna's name into a vulgar argument! "* " Confound you for a sneak! " came the reply in lew, passionate tones. -"You monopolise the girl all yon can, and then ask me not to remonstrate with you! Of course, you know perfectly well that I won't go near her while you are there!" " You are going too far. Be careful —" The brothers passed out of my hearing, leaving mo in complete silence. Presently, however, T was rather startled to hear the voices of two of the guests approaching from the direction the brothers had taken, and from their remarks I gathered that they had passed the twins and heard them quarrelling. Sorrowfully I cot up from my seat and made my way slowly toward tho house, hoping that the two guests would not say anvthing of what thev had heard and that no one el&e was in the grounds. ■ At about twelve o'clock I was sitting out a dance with Hanna. Eli was sitting at the further end of the room, silent and moodily watching the hnppv throng of dancers gliding by him in a prettv waltz. T shall never forget the look on his face Mhen the news of tho catastrophe fell with bomb-like effect upon the assembly. A terrified negro servant rushed into the ballroom, breathless, and with eye balls starting, and cried out: " Massa Neilsen! Mass a Neilsen! Law sakes, Massa Jake has been murdered down by de plantation ! "

The whirling throng stopped, confounded. and horrified exclamations were heard on every side. The music went out with n crash and a dying wail. All eyes were turned upon Eli. significantly if not accusingly; for the brothers' quarrel in the grounds had been whispered about among the guests. But many turned away their eyes from the rigid figure clutching the chair-arm; for the expression of horror ou Eli's face, a ghastly white face with dilated eyes staring at nothing, or something unseen by us, was in itself i-ather terrifying.

Neilsen strode through the crowd and shook tho negro roughly by the arm. " What, has happened ? " he asked, angry with the man for blundering into the ballroom with the news. " Jake murdered, you say ? What nonsense is this ? Where .is he ? "

Obviously the man had received a bad fright. He was trembling in every limb. His eyes were rolling and showing their whites.

" For do Lor' sake, Massa! " he cried. "Massa Jake am lying down by do plantation ! He'm staring at de sky an' dere's blood on him shirt-front! He'm murdered, sho' miff!"

" Murdered you say! My brother murdered ? " Eli was standing with the group of people round the negro. "Come," ho said with surprising calm, " show us where."

" Send for tho police." Neilsen gavo the order curtly to the servant and accompanied Eli and a few of the men, including myself, out to the grounds. At tho fringe of the plantation we found Jake, lying on his back, his hat near him. cloak partly open, revealing a patch of red on the left of his shirt-front. His eyes were staving glassily up at the starlit heavens. Ho was quite dead.

The police arrived and consequent to questions being asked, Eli was placed under arrest. It appeared that ho was the last person seen with Jake. There was a poignant incident when ho was being led away by the police inspector and another officer. Hanna broke from among the guests and clung to him. It seemed that in that moment with Jake in eternity and two lives jeopardised, she found herself. " I know you didn't do it," she cried brokenly; " and to provo my belief in you I'll answer now the question.you asked me to-night; it is yes, dear—as soon as you like." "When mv innocence has been be replied, deeply moved ; " not before And for a moment he held her as though he fain would cling to this remnant of happiness; then, very gently, he put her from him and turned to the waiting men. " I am ready," he said.

T was coming from The Elms onn night when Eli was in prison awaiting his trial. The weather was very hot, the Neilsen grounds and plantations sleeping peacefully beneath a bright moon and a myriad stars. Something made me shiver, despite trio heat, and it was then I realised that for ■ome inexplicable reason I had taken the

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path leading to the gate at the lower . end of the grounds, a very unusual procedure, which would bring me nearer than I cared to the spot at tho fringe of the plantation where poor Jake had been so foully murdered. As I neared the place I became conscious, with a twinge of fear, that I >vas not alone; for the becloaked and hailess form of a man stood not more than a few yards from me. So sudden had been his appearance that I halted. Indeed it appeared to me that he had risen from the ground though I did not recollect having looked that way before, so I could not be sure as ,to the manner of his coming. At that moment he turned, and the moonlight fell fully upon him. „ _ "Eli!" I gasped. But even as I uttered the name I realised that Eli was behind prison bars. I' tried to convince myself that he had broken out; but at that instant a movement of the form before me loosened the cloak; it fell apart, and upon the white shirt-front I saw a large red stain. I turned cold. - A sweat- broke out upon my brow. .. I stood, as one petrified. And the spirit of the murdered Jake raised an arm and pointed to the ground a few yards away, . beckoned me, and proceeded slowly toward the spot indicated. But I could not move; and, perceiving that I did nob follow, it stopped and stood with bowed head in an attitude of dejection. lor a moment it remained thus, and then turned and walked slowly through the plantation into the night. I pressed a hand to my bewildered head, wiped my perspiring brow, and, breaking from the spell that held me, hurried away. I was thoroughly frightened.

But seated in the sanctuary offered by my well-lighted room I began to think. "What," I asked myself, hardly able to repress a shudder at the recollection, " had the spirit of poor Jake pointed at?" So convinced was I that there was something to be found that I resolved to visit the scene of .the crime as soon as morning came. And in the, daylight, behind some bushes bordering a path near the plantation, I found that something—a knife, long-bladed and stained with blood. I interviewed the counsel engaged for Eli's defence, a Mr, Danvers, who afterward became one of the. most prominent counsel in America, and together we interviewed Eli in his cell. He was pale and worn, but confident.

"Do you know this, Eli?" I asked, producing the knife after a warm and' sympathetic hand-shake. ~ " Yes," he replied, after gazifig intently upon it for some moments. "It is the type of knife used by the men on the packing floor of the factory. But I could not say to whom it belongs. .But why did—" " Say nothing just now, Sir. Davies," warned the lawyer, quickly. " And you, Mr. Johnson, would be well advised to say nothing further. Com", wo will interview the chief of police." "Of course," said the chief at the interview, " you cannot jump to the conclusion that the knife belongs to one of the negroes or was taken by one of them for the purpose of committing a crime. The knife might just as easily beioug to Davies or, if it belongs to the factory, it would be quite .as easy for Davies to , appropriate it as it would be lor the. negro." 4'; " Quite," assented Mr. Danvers. " But if you are agreeable to my proposal we shall stand a very good chance of finding out. Do you agree, sir ?'* " Well, I want to give Davies every chance; so if Mr. Johnson here will have things arranged as soon, as possible then I'm ready, subject, of course, to the precautionary measures for the security of my prisoner that I have already mentioned." " That will be all right, sir," I hastened to reply for Mr. Danvers. "As manager of the factory I can guarantee that every door wHI be locked. Besides, sir, you yourself and a picked mar, are going to be escort." " When can you arrange it, then ?" " To-night, if you like. Night work isn't usual, but I can fix up a rush job." " That will do very well," replied the chief; and we took our departure. That night, on the pretext of having to get out a certain number of bales to complete the cargo of a ship in a hurry to sail, I had all the men on the packing floor working until twelve o'clock. Eli, the chief of police, a detective and Mr. Danvers I had left sitting at the table in Jake's private room. The police were armed and poor Eli was dressed/'in evening clothes covered by a cloak left sufficiently open to reveal a blood-soaked shirt-front. He was hatless and his face ' was a ghastly white, though the poor fellow hadn't needed much painting to produce that effect. Just before twelve o'clock I stopped the pressing machines and told, the men to take a spell. "Go down to the far end and have a smoke," I directed, indicating the end further from the private office. I stopped only long enough to see them gather at the end of the room and then I went into the office, closing the door a fter me; turned and walked to the table.

" All is rea—" I began, bub the words froze on my lips. I gripped the table edge and stared at—the twins! They sat opposite Danvers and the two officers, all three of whom were staring fascinatedly, eyes bulging, iingers stiffened and clutching at the table or each other. One of the twins seemed to be/unconscious of his surroundings. The other watched him, even as we watched—seeming paralysed. incapable of either speech or action. But for the terror of the one and the unconcern of the other we four who watched them would not havo known the spectre; from the living man. Both were in evening dress, becloaked and hatless; both revealed, through a partly, open cloak, a blood-soaked shirt-front; both had the ghastly look of death. Then the spectre rose from the table, walked slowly to the door, opened it, and passed out. A murmur of conversation proceeding from tlje packing room ceased abruptly. A deathly quiet reigned, broken' only by such footfalls as living man never made. Chaos commenced, and such an appalling screaming and moaning of negroes stricken with fear fell upon our ears never want to hoar again. Then a cry, a terrified wail rising above the tumult, brought us to ourselves. We rushed outside. Eli's appearance added to the indescribable confusion. . Men wore rushing hither and thither, hurling themselves at locked doors and vainly trying to tear the very bars from (he windows.

The spectre had almost reached the end of the room, making for a nejro \* cowered in a corner and whose lips were working as though he were mumbliihysterically, eyes roaming, hands flung out as though to keep th© apa.rition off. The men were quieter now and were hiding behind machinery and in any corner where they could crouch out of sight.

Pulling myself together I caught hold of Danvers and the inspector, and together we hurried down the room, stopping a little way from whero the spirit of Jake stood regarding the cowering negro. " No, no, Massa Jake," the frightened black was saying. "Go 'way! Why hab yo come* back from de dead ? Go 'wav, I say! I din mean to kill you—" With the passing of the spectre got our man. Eli was free. I opened the packing room doors. Wo five who sat round the club-room fire, realising that Johnson had. concluded his story, breathed freely again; for the climax had held us in a thrall. I, who have passed this story on to you, am Griffiths, and I say son's story be tree or not, can teU what powers are hidden in death.