IN FIVE CHAPTERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1343, 25 August 1877, Page 20

IN FIVE CHAPTERS.

; . . , Chapter IV. , Owing to the storm I had.. on the pre.vious evening been able to pay no attention to the -farm's surroundings^, and my bedroom window, as I had this morning found, looked out merely upon an orchard by its side. : But now, scarcely had I opened the wicket of, the little garden, than, with a start ''of surprise, I distinctly recognised the locality in which I stood. There, to my ; right, at not - many yards distant, appeared theidentical, white gate by which our.- conveyance had .waited, yesterday, whilst th& little miniater.aud I paid o.ur .visit .to .the Spike flocks. :ilt 'was down this very road, -we had driven ; and upon looking, back thereat, I even recollected the [farm itself.' I recolle.cted. something ?else too;, which made me, involuntarily quicken -my. steps, and which confirmed ,beyond .doubt -the suspicion which I had Just c£>nceiyed—that Jonathan might be in. collusion with the people at the farm. •I had thought, nothing of it at the time ; but I now- well .remembered;,, upon our return to the dog-dart, observing a man, /who, it struck me, w,as our, .obliging .host himself, walking away from it in the. direction of the house. ',j!. • The longer I. ruminated upon the aspect of- affairs^ the uglier, they now became, .and. the more clearly did I, begin to perceive that the whole thing, had been a. preconcerted plot.-, It was by no mistake, I presently told myself, $hat Jonathan had turned up that lane, and by no accident that the horse 'had lost its shoe. , We had been expected last night at that farmhouse, and we had been taken there deliberately, in order that Mr Morgan might .be robbed o.f his money. , Jonathan had either ; :discoverarl , the. , existence of the .three hundred pounds, or he had been informed of it. But how or by, .whom'/ The answer to this question w.aa • not .far to. seek, and being supplied, it. furnished the, completing link in the, chain, of , evidence., I was mentally working out. The landlord of' the Ship and Anchor waa the dwarf's;* cousin he had seen the minister's money. I recalled- his. covetous glance, his suspicious presence in the ploset, the fact that he had proposed our taking the .dog-cart ; and everything'grewtr'ansparent as daylight. But had. the little Welshman really been murdered ? And was my method of accounting for the noises of last night accurate 11 ■ 1 could not doubt it ; nor. could I dismiss a hideous '• idea as to how his body had been disposed of, which, directly upon learning Jihatl was in' this vicinity, had taken possession of" me. It .was, in fact, wifhan. > implictt belief that my latej companion was lying at the bottom of it, that I now, approached that , hole which on the previous day had affected ; me , so , disagreeably. Leaning over the 'b.rink Sipon gaining it, I experienced that ipeciiliar kind of fascination which attends the horrible, as gazing into its depths, I watched the Avater foaming and whirling, and occasionally rising in great sheets to ,cast itself with angry impatience against the confining barrier. Noting its fury, ,which appeared to have increased since ,my former visit, I saw to a certainty that, even were it possible to reach the bottom without heing dashed to pieces upon the rocks, no life could be retained for an instant in that boiling .pool. To fall or to be thrown down, there would be certain or instantaneousdeath. -There would be no chance of being exhumed for interment in a more hallowed spoi, fo£ what diver , cpuld be found daring enough to descend below -thoae gyrating waters ! , No ! had : my friend been past into' this ' Devil' 3 [ Hole,' there he mus.t remaiu. There could be no tales told by his body as to how he had met with his death,' for that body . would be seen no more by mortal eye. . But to me the manner of that death had now become no longer, a mystery. Shut out from, the supposition that there, had been actual violence, by the total absenc'a of any proof of it, I had lighted upon another hypothesis respecting the crime, which to my mind, however, was no hypothesis, but a well-assured fact. It was, that by means of something mixed with the whiskey of which he had drunk just before retiring to rest, the poor little , minister had either been drugged into .unconsciousness or, actually poisoned, and in that condition conveyed from the house and dispoaed of as I had said. Bat although all this appeared to 1 myself so .lucid and certain, I knew well. that I could bring forward no legal proof of the well-arranged .villainy, and that ,con- j seqiiently, the scoundrels who had per- ! p'etrated it would in all probability escape punishment, and Mr Morgan's disappearance bs attributed to accident. Inwardly raging at this thought, I was about to move away from the place of his entombment — for so I felt confident it was — when something -occurred which arrested my stops, and made my heart leap. What that something was, I will endeavour to relate in as simple' a manner as possible. For some time, during which the reflection's I have recorded had been passing through my brain, my eyes had been resting'quite unconsciously upon an abutting fragment of rock aome twelve or fourteen feet below the level of the ground. The rock sloped' 3harply upwards, forming an

acute angle with the well-nigh perpendicular walls of the ' Eole,' of which it constituted perhaps the chief irregularity. My gaze, I repeat, chanced to be resting upon this inclined abutment, when, with what indescribable amazement 'arid ' awe may be imagined,' I all at once saw a human hand and arm emerge from ' what appeared to be the 'solid granite of the upri'jht'side, and grasping the projecting ahelf, draw after it the head and shoulders of a mta. • During the' first moment' the back of. the liea'd only waa ; presented to my view ; then slowly, and af though with difficulty, a white fade ''was turned upwards! ' Although' pale/ and drawn as" though in intense pain, I rec6gnised {{ perfectly : it was that of the little minister. Bui before my'Kewildered faculties"could" collect themselves, or my paralysed -tpngtfe; articulate a syllable, the" hand' had^ relaxed, and the %ure had slid" back as it were, right into the "rock.''' • ! THe Suddenness and strangeness of th^s, appearance, so upset my nerves,that my kniee's-tremblecl and shook be'neathi me-^-iXet-'not 'fpr,ran instant did I entertain the' idea- that«l had seen an apparition. " That £ fabe I'feltfsure was; the face of a.liyingmari/.and'belonged^ •to rione other ,<,-than" Mr; Morgan/ himself." But notwithstanding- my-^apsurance. upon this, point, I was so startled- by. the, unexpected phenomenon, that until I >could<hit upon some way of accounting ,'fbir' his presence in and disappearance .fr ( pin that singular spot, I could not evea-.rejoice Jn the knowledge that my. friend' was .alive. • I did, however, hit upon a way of accounting for it, directly, the dazing effect pf my' astonishment passed sufficiently "to allow mo to consider at all. A'ndjLn' f 'truth! the explanation. was obvious. enough^ Behind that projecting crag, .and entjrely c'qii? cealed by it, there must b ( e, it js^as plaiiil •a hole or cavern so Jarge'.in siza, as; tq, admit a man's body^ ,t[pori b.eing'lca'atr over the precipice (about .which tfijere qouid now be no further question), jthe \ little,' Welshman, in ,a "state! of '] insenßibility, J had' by a merciful pro videnqe fallen /up/m.thaji, rocky escarpment, and had ei^er,. Qrept into the sheltering, ere vic^upon, coming to himself, or — what .was ,jbhe truth", of- .the case. — had rolled into it' by,'for,ce of ' jt.^e! descent. • . „ "t" t . '.',,' This problem worked out to my satisfaction,.and with the blood now .coursing, through my veins with delight and excitement, I leant forward with' the intention 'of calling ou^.Jo, attract Mr, -Morgan's attention, in br,der $hat I might warn him' to keep carefully, hidden^ n ,^- assura him' that if he did so, I 'would undoubtedly effect hisrescue. . Happily, hpwevery the warning which I was just preparing to utter had not left, my lips before a voice at my elbow inquired : "Is it something in the holej sir, you wass seeing ?" THe shock of this abrupt address almost sent me 'over the ; precipice. But recovering. my self-possession by a suddenly inspired effort, I turned, and seeing tw,o of the,' farmer's sons close behind me, angrily, addressed the , nearer : ; " You qtupid fellow, you. 1" j, exclaimed,' " don' f; you see that you' had nearly besen' the death . 'o£ me? .Why, did yqii' so su'dil'erily, sppaki before , letting me see.yp.u !. You iniglU have known, surely, that I couldtt't'^ear.' the sound of you^ footsteps over tnesoft grass. ' I was listening, to, the iboommg S Qf the waters , down i tliere.,, ,What an J ; unearthly rioise they make I , But' come' away; it's an awful place," lafld^j, mov-' ing a step backwards, and striving not to betray the uneasiness 1 felt. '"'"'."' i - i "Ay inteet sir, it 'is an awfal place — as awful a place as there js,|n, the whole 'orld, ' I ' wass well belief," returned the young^ man to whom. I had spqke'n, .fixing .upon 8 me a .citr'ious searching gaze. „ Then letting ' his ;keen black eye 3" follow, those 'of^' .his brother, lie peered Qagerly into the chasm*, and observed : ''Plessus !jt 'oold'be a bad job, loqk oou^ if a man wass" to fall over here. The prams ot.him 'bpl^. soon" be dashed out f'ooldn't they,' sir].',' ,' ' "' 1 ' There's notmucih doubt, of, th.at, I replied, not daring again to. direct my own glance into, the, h. Ole, and^ praying, .as I had never prayed in' my life before," that the little minister might npt.atpr,esenfc J emerge from , his, hidingj-place'., „, " BuY where can Mr Morgan be i* I siibjoijied, shading my eyes , with my hand, * and affect^Kg to look carafully in all dire'etions. "Do,, pray, Qpme and help mejto lpok'fprj him, like good fellows, for I want* my■breakfast;" : 'and in the, hope ..that^Hey;' would follow, I began to walk slowly away. My .request jvas obeyed, though -not im^ mediately. But as a matter : of ..course, the pretended .search, pro>ed .fruitless; and returning to the farm,,-Ivbreakfasted-alone,, forcing myself to eat, and -expressing the while much displeasure at my f companion's lengthened absence.',. . • . ; The -meal over, I paced -the. Sanded' kitchen for nearly an hour, .looking etfecyfew minutes from the window, i an d ; simul-. ating increasing impatience and 'anger'. My estimable^ ho3t • meantime,', with' hiawife and several of -their hopeful -sons;, remained with 'me, observing -me though stealthily, and- a) fcernat ely making testing suggestions as to whah hud. becomeof the "good gentleman." All these,-how-ever, I pooh-poohed, and' obtinately adhered to the opinion j [ Jprof eased to -have formed myself • respecting . the . matter; namely, thiit in a tit of absent-minded-ness — to which I declared' ho was subject —Mr Morgan had extended his walk. to a" great length,! and not having noticed where, he was going, had ended in losing his way. . My acting I could see completely lulled all suspicion ; and when presently, I in- , formed the company thatT'was engaged' to preach in England upon the following ' clay— which was Sunday— and "affirmed that unless I returned to Lleyrudrigg at once. I would be unable to catch the train

offered to the proposition, that Jonathan"' should forthwith- drive me Hheie, &nd: return again for Mr Morgan. The horse (already re-shod by one of the sons, who had learned" the., trade ,of blacksmith) was accordingly, put into .'the dbgj-cart; and promising, -.as , a 'i urtHer '•'blind, that before setting.off for' England, If-would inform the landlord 1 of the' Ship and' Anchor aboat my friend's disappearance, and leave it to him' r to r t'akyvthe proper step 3 for his discovery,', m^sio; he should not have reached the farm : before Jonathan's return to , $ ' I tendered.^tfie farmer a sovereign, and with an exchange of' civilities, drove off. ••,;... , „ - . _r. t