From the Mill TO the Mansion, OR The Moorland Mystery.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 18, Issue 12, 8 February 1907, Page 7

From the Mill TO the Mansion, OR The Moorland Mystery.

.(Copyright.)'

By HEDLEY RICHARDS, 'Author of "The Fatal Blue Diamonds," "Time, the Avenger," &c, &c.

PART 12. CHAPTER XXIII, TOO LATE. >"A quarter to five o'clock, it's too late to go to the office," thought ,Mr. Shallcross, as he got into a hansom and told the man to drive at onco to his private residence. Ho had been out of town to see an important client, and as ho had been to the office in the morning, he decided it was not necessary to go at that late hour, therefore he was somewhat surprised when ho entered his house to be told that a clerk .from the office was waiting to see him. "Where have you put him, Potter?" ho asked. "He's in the library, sir;" and Mr. Shallcross proceeded there at once, whero he found one of the junior clerks, who rose and gave him a letter. "Mr. Johnson thought I'd better bring you this letter, sir. It came by the afternoon post, and besides looking a curious sort of letter, it's marked 'urgent.' " "All right. Johnson did right to send you," said Mr. Shallcross, thinking that his ■ head clerk was a most reliable man. He looked at the seal and smiled as he tore the envelope open, but as he read the epistle that had cost Nancy and Jim so much thought, the expression of his faco changed. Surprise, absorbing interest, and alarm were written there. Finally he folded the letter up and put it in his pocket, then ho turned to the young.clerk saying : "It's lucky Johnson sent that letter. Can you spare a few hours ? I want you to go somewhere with me ?" "Yes, sir ; I'm quite at your service." "That's right ;" and Mr. Shallcross rang the bell, and told the butler to send for a cab at once. When he and the clerk were seated in it he said to the cabby : "Drive to Scotland Yard;" then lie relapsed into silence, and did not speak until they had reached their destination, when, as he stepped out of the cab, ho uttered a loud exclamation that caused two men in front to turn round and pause as they recognized the lawyer. "The very man wo wanted. W r e wore coming round to see you when we'd finished our business here," said Parry, the detective. "And you are the man I wanted, but I hadn't time to go to your office, I've had news of Rachel, Lady Glynno." "So have we," exclaimed Charley. "Then I propose to go with you'to see the Chief Commissioner of Police, and we can each tell him what wn know," said Mr. Shallcross. A quarter of an hour later the chief was in possession of the letter and the informal ion that Charley had received from Jane Townscnd. "I will send eight officers in charge of Inspector Wnyman, to The Cedars, with a warrant 'to search it. If they aro refused admittance they must force their way in. Shall you accompany them ?" he asked, looking at Detective Parry. "Of course I shall. I supposo you will come, Mr. Tlargreaves ?" Charley nodded. "I hope to be the first to tell them they are free," ho said. "I shall be of the party," said Mr Shallcross. "All right ; you'll be a formidable party, and while you aro at Hie Cedars T shall send two detectives in plainclothes, accompanied by a couple of constables, to arrest Mr. Middleton Arkwright and Lister Rail ton. I think you said you knew his address, Mr. Parry ?" The detective drew out his pocketbook, and the address was quieklv copied, then the chief of the Criminal Investigation Department telephoned certain orders, with the result that in a very short time three cabs left 'Scotland Yard, the two first containing the officers of the law, and in |tho last were the lawyer, the detective.and Charley Tlargreaves, who would like to have been in the first but had been told it would nob be prudent. . "By Jove, what's that ?" exclaimed Charley, pointing to a red glow in the sky. "It looks like a fire, and a pretty big one, too," replied the detective. Mr. Shallcross looked out of the window in the direction of the light. "The Cedars lies over there," ho said and his tone showed that he was uneasy. "Ciood heavens, you don't think ■ the villain hns sot tiro to the house" exclaimed Charley. The other man did not reply, but . kept his eyes fixed on the red glow, which every moment seemed to grow more distinct. "Wo arc getting nearer to it," said Detective Parry. A few minutes later they turned off the high road into a narrow lane. "There is no mistake, The Cedars is on fire," said Mr. Shallcross. As he spoke the cabs camo to a standstill, and one of the officers from tho cab in front camo to tell them it was impossible to proceed, as the lane was packed with people, "Wt> shall have to force our way through," he said. Almost before he had spoken CharI ley was out of the cab, and the drivers having been told to put up at the nearest inn, the whole party formed into a compact body, and despite tho resistance of the crowd, they forced their way through, saying : "Make .way for the police/*

and finally reached tne entrance. gates, which were flung wide open, They saw that the house was one mass of flames, and several line old trees around were burning furiously, while the sparks fell at a considerable distance, and the intense heat i made it almost impossible to breathe. "Is any one in the house ?" Char-., ley asked, almost frantic with terror addressing a man who was standing near. "The only person who knows anything about it is the gatekeeper's little boy, and he says the whole lot of 'em is burned in the house, and it stands to sense it must bo so, as the roof fell in as soon as I came. It was no use trying to help any one then ; the house was one mass of fire. You see it's an old house, and would go sharp," said the man. Charley rushed frantically forward, but a couple of constables held him back. "You could do no good, sir. Anyone in the house is past help now.*' Just then a cry arose, "The fireengines !"and in another minute they came galloping down the lane, but the firemen soon saw that it was useless to attempt to save the house, and they turned their attention to some of tho big trees in the grounds. Meanwhile Mr. Shallcross had told one of tho policemen to bring the gatekeeper's boy to him, assuring Charley that it was likely the lad would be able to throw some light on the matter. "Where are your father and mother ?" asked Detective Parry, as the lad was brought to them looking scared and frightened. "Oh, lord, I wish I knew. They went to help the Carters to put out the fire, an' I haven't seen them since." "Who was in the house ?" Charley asked quickly. "There were two ladies—oh, dear, I hadn't to talk about them, but it doesn't matter now—and the Carters besides my father and mother. They sent me to give tho alarm, and I went to a place two miles off, and they're blaming me for not going to the post-office and letting them telegraph ; but I am sure clad said, 'Go to the fire-office,' an' I did," said tho lad rubbing his coat sleeve over his face. "Didn't you.see any one leave tho house?" asked Charley in a tone of agony. "No, I did not ; nobody's gone out of them gates this night." "That's a lie !" The words were spoken in a lad's clear, treble voice, and all eyes turned in the direction from which it came. "It's a lie !" repeated a tall, slender boy, who appeared to be about, fourteen, pushing forward until lie was quite close to Charley and Mr. Shallcross. "He knows well enough that he opened the gates for a carriage and pair to go through about half-past four this afternoon," said the newcomer. "Did you see who was in tho carriage V" demanded Charley i n a tone of excitement. "I saw two women just before a man drew the blind down." "Two women !" Charley drew a breath of thankfulness at this vista of hope, and Detective Parry exclaimed : "Did you see what they were like" "No ; I'd only just a minute's look as they turned out of the gate," and I caught a glimpse of twd women with their heads lying on the back of the carriage, and their eyes tight shut." "Which way did the carriage go?" asked Charley, whoso face now expressed hope. "Straight along that lane ; it merges on to the high road two miles further on." "Where's that other boy, the son of the man who lived at tho lodge here 7" asked Mr. Shallcross, looking round ; but the boy had disappeared. Neither to the right, or to tho left could he be found. He had disappeared as surely as though the earth had opened and swallowed him up. "lie's been tolling you lies, that's why he made off," said the boy, whose words had been a signal for the other's departure. The detective spoke a few words to Mr. Shallcross and Charley ; then he turned to the boy, saying : "Do you mind coming with me to the Rose and Thistle—it's on the road just above this lane ? Wo want to have a littlo talk with you." The boy laughed. "That's where I livo. I'm Jack Winter, the son of tho landlord," he said. "Then we'll go to your house;" and Parry spoke to the officer in command of tho men from Scotland Yard, with the result that four men were left to watch the burning house. The fire was burning down somewhat, as the building was all consumed but the outer walls, and tho engines were going their utmost to save the burning trees. The rest of the police accompanied Mr. Shallcross, Charley, and Detective Parry to the inn, and very soon they were seated in a parlour, where they were joined by the landlord. "I thought it was queer when Jack told me he'd seen two Women who were fast asleep driven away from The Cedars ; but, then, the house had always a bad name, and many a time I told Jack he'd better walk the extra mile than cross the fields to school. You see, there's a field path about a quarter of a mile from the house, but it's a lonely way. He is the only boy about here who goes to that school," said the master of the Rose and Thistle. "Did you ever see or hear anything before to-night ?" asked Mr. Thaller oss. "No, sir, and it was the strangeness of hearing wheels come down the drive and so late in the afternoon, that made me hide behind that tree near the gate, and I saw the boy both open and shut the gate. He didn't shut it until the carriage had got a bit down the lane. Detective Parry looked at the officers from Scotland Yard. "I think the ladies who left the houso were Mrs. Arkwright and Lady Glynno. They had evidently been drugged. I expect Middleton Arkwright had got to know that Jane Townsend was helping the ladies, and he acted promptly. « "But ho was at Bromley when I left," said Charley,. Parry smiled. "You think so, but that fellow would outwit the devil, and now it seems to me our course is to trace

mat carriage. Wo must try to discover which way it was driven when it, emerged on to the high road. If we cannot find out, we must divide into parties," ho said. Ten minutes later three cabs drove away from the-Rose and Thistle, and hope beat high in Charley's heart. There might be a little delay before the poor girls were found, but it was quite certain they were in no danger of their lives, or Arnwright would have made away with them long ago. The opportunity had been there. "I'm pretty sure that the house has been set on fire, and the boy left to tell the tale that no one had left the place. Then you would have believed that the ladies had lost their lives, and given up all attempt to rescue them," said Parry. A quarter of an hour later they reached the spot where the inquiries had to begin, and, dismissing the cabs, they went in different directions. But when morning came they had none of them found a clue to the missing girls. At The Cedars only a few walls, blackened and burned and a heap of drbris showed where the house had stood. Furniture and everything was gone, and the policemen who had remained with some of the firemen through the long night, welcomed the grey dawn with satisfaction while they wandered if the inmates of the house had escaped, or did that blackened heap represent all that remained of the men and women who less than twenty-four hours before, had been full of energy a ntl life ? * # * * Half an hour after Middleton Arkwright left the wharf Nancy returned ■ home. Since her grannie's illness she had taken the key with her when she went out, fearing the old woman might have another fit, and be unable to open the door, so now sho put the key in ! tho lock and having let herself in, she went quickly up the stairs, calling out : "It's me, grannie;" but there was no response, and feeling slightly uneasy, she quickened her steps and entered the kitchen. There, lying on her back on the floor, was the old woman, with her eyes closed, her face deadly white. Nancy knelt, beside her and saw she was unconscious. Moreover she discovered there was a bruise at the back of her head, where it had struck the corner of the dresser, and the blood had congealed on it. Nancy ran to a cupboard and got some brandy, to which she added water ; then raising her grandmother's head she put the glass to her lips, and in a few minutes the old woman's eyes opened and wandered round the room. "Has he gone ?" she asked. "Who do you mean, Grannie ?" "Harvey. He wouldn't listen to me and he struck me. Have I been ill?" "Yes ; but you'll bo better if you go to bed' Do you think you could get up with my help ?" said Nancy. Her grandmother nodded, and with the girl's assistance she got up, and managed to reach her bedroom ; then Nancy helped her to undress, the old woman talking all the time in an incoherent fashion. When she was in bed Nancy told her she was going to fetch the doctor. The words soeme'd to penetrate the clouded brain, as she called out: "You musn't bring him here. Harvey will kill me if anyone comes." "All right then. Lie still ; I'm going to be busy," replied Nancy as sho t shut the door. Then, putting on her ' hat and jacket she ran lightly downstairs and opening the door passed out on to the wharf and set off at a run for the doctor's. Arriving at his house she was told that he had just been called out, and they did not know whero he was, but promised to tell him he was wanted at the wharf as soon as he came in. Nancy had to be satisfied with this promise, and returned home quickly, but as she went upstairs she was surprised to hear her grandmother talking in a loud tone ; so removing her outdoor things she entered the room. The old woman lay back on her pillow with wide open eyes that lookeh unnaturally bright, and talking quickly. : So you've come," she said, looking at Nancy. "You needn't say anything to me, I was obliged to bring her here. It was handier to have the child in my own home, and I'll leave her money. Of course, it's blood money. I never said it wasn't. Ha, ha ! If you only knew what I'd done to get it ! But I'm going to reform. I told Harvey so. Ah, ah ! he called me a fool.'-' Nancy listened shiveringly. She had known for a long time that her grannie was a wicked old woman, but sho could not help a feeling of terror coming over her as she listened to her words, knowing that her grannie had taken her for her mother who had been dead many years. "Lie still, grannie," sho said. Then going into the kitchen she made some lemonade and took it to the sufferer, thinking it would allay the feverishness, and after drinking it her grandmother became less feverish and fell into a dose. Now Nancy had been out all afternoon and was tired'; so as she sat in an easy chair by the fire she fell asleep, and must have slept several hours, undisturbed by the mutterings of the' old woman, who had awakened and was talking in an incoherent manner, until a shrill scream made the girl open her eyes and look around in amazement ; then she saw that her grannie was sitting up in bed and working her hands frantically, as she called out : "I won't ; I won't turn the handle. I'm always thinking of that wife of yours. I cannot forget her face. She was a bonnie girl at one time, and you made me send her to her death. I tell you I'll have nothing to do with these other two, and you shan't keep them in the cellar. I won't have it. Can't you shoot them ? It would be mercy to the death you intend thom to die. Good Lord" I can never get the creaking of that thing out of my mind ! Take them away, Harvey. Poison them. Do with them what you will, but not here." Her voice died away, and she lay back on the pillow, Nancy watching her with horror. "Hark !" and the old woman sat up, holding up her finger to enjoin quiet. "Hark 1 He's turning the wheel ! Don't you hear the door lifting? Ah, they are floating down the river. Don't you see them ?" she asked, with her_ eyes fixed on

I Nancy. "All, who's thill in tlic corner ? H<> is coming for me ; Harvey .said I .shouldn't escape him. I'm going—going into the everlasting darkness." There was a wild Hinging up of her arms, and the old woman Tell back in a fit. Not knowing what to do, and shivering with terror, Nancy watched the struggles grow fainter and fainter ; then there was a long, sobbing breath, and she know that her grandmother was dead. CHAPTER XXIV. With another look at the dead face, Nancy crept out of the room to the kitchen'; there she stood in front of the fire, and tried to collect her ,thoughts. One thing she knew she must do—to discover if the girl, Harvey Middleton had been deluded into a marriage, and Rachel Holdsworth were in the cellar. From what her grandmother had said she believed it was so. Well, she would release them ; and, to brace hcrseli up for the task, she mixed herself a glass of brandy and water, then returned to the chamber of death to get the keys that fastened the doors leading to the cellar out of the dead woman's pocket • but they were not I here, so she searched every place, both in that room and the kitchen, where she thought they might be hidden, but failed to line! them. ';! shall have to tell Mr. Glynne, and lie must bring the police to search. Now that grannie is dead I can tell all I know," she declared. ; and, putting on her hat and jacket, she went out, locking the door. She almost flew, so anxious was she to discover if Amy and Rachel wore imprisoned in the cellar, and liberate them. Just a s she pulled the bell nt the Rev. John Glynne's house, a church clock struck five ; and as tho last stroke died away, she rang the bell with redoubled energy. Almost at the same moment a window on the first storey was thrown open, and the young clergyman put his head out. ' "Who i-s there?" he asked. "It's me, Nancy—from the wharfsir. I wouldn't have come at this hour if it hadn't been a matter of life and death. I've something J must tell you." "All right. I'll be down in a minute ;" and the head was withdrawn. Then the window was shut> and Nancy waited in a fever of impatience. A very few minutes elapsed before the door was opened, and the Rev. John Glynne appeared. "Come in. I'm sorry you've had to wait in the cold," he said as he drew her into the hall, where he had lighted the gas. "Now, sit down and tell me what I can do for you," he continued, is he put her in a chair, and looked with compassion at her tired face. "If you please, sir, grannie's dead. Yes, it's been awful sudden," she said, seeing him start. "This afternoon she sent me to a shop for something she wanted. It was a terrible way off, and I could only get it at that shop ; but I didn't believe grannie wanted it. She'd a way of sending me for things at a distance, when I wasn't wanted at tho wharf, and she wouldn't give me any money for a 'bus. She said I must walk. I didn't want to go, but I guessed the man you know as Middleton Arkwright was going to be about, so I knew I'd better go. Mr. Glynne, when I got back, grannie was lying on her back unconscious, with a wound in her head ; and when she came round a bit, she said Harvey struck her because she wouldn't do what he wanted. Harvey is her son and my uncle—the man you know as Mr. Arkwright." An exclamation of surprise escaped the clergyman. "Yes, I don't wonder you're surprised ; but you'll soon know what an awful bad man ho is. Well, I went for the doctor after we'd got grannie to bed, but he was out, and hasn't been near, so I did my best, and it was little I could do to ease her. She suffered terribly in her mind, and all the night long she kept saying she wouldn't help to send the two girls to their death ; then sho fell back in a fit and died. But it's about what she said, I've come to you," said. Nancy. "Do you mean about tho girls ?" Glynne asked, fixing his keen, dark eyes on her. "Yes, you thought I knew something about Rachel Holdsworth— Lady Glynne ; but all I knew was that the man you call Arkwright had got her in his clutches, and that unless she married his friend, Lister Railton, she'd be kept a prisoner for the rest of her life. I didn't know where she was until the other day, then I found out ; and at the same time I discovered that she and poor Mrs. Arkwright—as she believed sho was until lately—were in great peril, .so me and Jim—you don't know him but he's a good little chap—sent a note to Mr. Shallcross, and he ought to have got it yesterday. I expect ho did, and in some way Middleton Arkwright's got wind of it, and moved the girls to the wharf, while I was out of the wa3* and that meant moving them to their death" said Nancy in a low impressive voice, looking at the clergyman. "Do you mean that man will murder them at the wharf ?" he asked in horror. "He'll drown them. Didn't I.tell you there were horrible things done there ? I only knew lately, an d j' ve suffered torment, knowing that I ought to tell, and not daring, because it meant poor, old grannie being hanged ; and you see, I hadn't proof. It was more what I suspected, and something my poor boy said. But I've heard enough to know there is a cellar just above the river, and there's a big door just at one side. If this door is opened when the tide is high, it floods the cellar, and any one in it is carried down the river, and drowned. There's a way of opening the door by machinery from the upper rooms of the warehouse, then, when the tide ebbs, the door can be closed again by the same means. What time is the tide hi-°-h this morning ?" she asked, fixing her eyes on his face. Jack Glynne took a little book out of his pocket, and looked at ft. "Half-past six," he replied. 'A look of horror came into the girl's face. "And it's after five now ! You must not wait a minute. Go to Scotland ,Yard and tell them to «jand

the police, lie may come and open the door before then, and there'll be ho saving the poor creatures ; and grannie wouldn't have talked as sho did if she hadn't known they were in the cellar," said Nancy wringing her hands. "Cannot wc open the doors and liberate them?" asked Glynne. "No, grannie's keys are gone. She had keys that led into the warehouse and there's a trap-door. One of the men, who was sorry for what they'd done to Ned helped m.e to lift "it, when I sent him down the river and this man opened the door for mc. Ho knew how to work tho machinery But I couldn't find the keys, so Arkwright must have taken them, and he'll come back to finish the job. The police will have to come, so be quick," she said, laying her hand on his arm. Without a word Glynne put on his overcoat, and hat, then he wrote a lew lines addressed to his mother, which he laid on the table in the hall, then, lowering the gas, ho opened the door, and as they passed out, tho church clock chimod the half-hour. "Just an hour to high-tide. ! For the love of the God you tell people about, be quick !" said Nancy, as they passed out of tho, garden into the street. "You're coming with me ?" said Glynne. * "No, I must go back. The doctor might come, or he, the man you call Arkwright, and if I'm not there he'll suspect something ; but if I was thero I could tell him grannie was dead, and keep him from opening that door just yet, so as to give you time." "But he might discover you had been out, or think you knew too much, and your life may be in danger,'-' said Glynne. "That don't count. I must take my chance. Go;" and she pushed him slightly forward, then, tuThing in the other direction, she fled through the dark street, only pausing now and then to gain breath, until she reached the wharf, whan letting herself into that portion of the warehouse, in which her grannie's rooms were situated, sho went upstairs. The fire was low, in the grate and everything was as she had left it Perhaps, after all, Harvey had no intention of coming that morning. If so, the girls could t>o saved, and Nancy drew a breath of relief as the clock struck six. Then sho wondered if the doctor had been while she was out, and she wished he would come. Ho would be sure to send some woman to stay with her until after the funeral. She did not know what would become of herself afterwards. Sho was quite sure she'would not touch a.penny of tho money her grannie said she would leave her. There was blood on it and Nancy decided sho would rather starve than use the money. At last a noise, that seemed to come from her grandmother's room, made her ..get up and go timidly to the door, then open it. Then she stood quite still, clasping v her hands together to keep from screaming, as she heard the heavy, grinding noise of a wheel going slowly round in tho warehouse, beyond tho bedroom. She had hoard it before, and sho knew that tho door into tho cellar was being wound up, and the waters would flow in, and the two prisoners find a watery grave. "Could she do anything?" she asked herself ; but it was out of her power. If Harvey know she had heard that noise, and had an idea what it meant, her fate was sealed. As the creaking, grinding noise ceased, she'turned and loft the chamber and sank into a chair in the kitchen. Then, looking at the clock she saw that it was still ten minutes to" seven, and sho know that tho mur- j derer had resolved not to run any risks. Sitting there beside the empty grate, she shivered as she pictured the two girls floating down the stream. Sho had seen Amy Arkwright when she was a happy bride, though Amy had not seen her, and now, as she thought of the fragile form being knocked about and carried hither and thither, she groaned. Rachel Holdsworth she had not seen, but she had heard that she was vary beautiful, and it was all too horrible to think of. A moment later a slight noise made her look up, and she saw Harvet Middleton Arkwright step into the room. | He had come very quietly up the staircase, and was looking at her intently. "What's tho matter 1". he asked, as ho came forward. "Don't—don't !" she exclaimed, beating the air with her hands, as though to keep him away. "Don't what ?" ho askod; and there was something so menacing in his tone that it warned her. "Don't blame me ; I cannot help it that she's dead," she said, pointing over her shoulder to the room. "Is that why you look like a ghost I suppose tho old woman's had another fit ? Ah, well, you need not trouble. I'll take care you don't starve, and I'M look through her things before any one comes," he said, opening the door of the room. Nancy rose quietly, and ran softly downstairs, but not too softly for him to hear, and as sho opened the door she heard hie footsteps crossing tho kitchen. Another moment and' she was' outside, then, banging the door after her, she flew along the wharf, and just as she reached the other end she fell into the arms of Dr. Power, who was on his way to see her grandmother. "Oh, doctor, save me, save me ! Don't let him kill me !" she cried, clinging to the doctor, who, looking beyond her, saw the.dim outline of a man's form in the further doorway. Then the sound of many feet around him made him look round, and at the same time he heard the door shut, while poor Nancy lay unconscious in his arms. CHAPTER XXV. IS THERE HOPE ? Through the long, wearj' night Rachel kept the rata at bay. Excitement and dread of what might happen if she became the least drowsy kept her wide awake, though Amy dozed now and then, waking with a ■tart to the. horrors of their position. Just as Rachel had told herself it must be nearly morning,. she h«ard a grinding noise t and the

wooden door began to move slowly upwards, The noise roused Amy, and a loud shriek burst from her as she realized what it meant ; but Rachel was still. A few words of prayer for herself and her companion wore quietly uttered. "He beave, Amy," she said, as the grinding noise ceased ; and the water rose higher and higher as it poured in at the open space. ' "Oh, Rachel, it is hard to die," she said, grasping her friend's hand. Another moment, and they were washed off the steps, and. borne on the water through the open doorway into the river, and after being carried a little way, they sank, rising to the surface again near a small barge on which a couple of men were standing. "Good Lord, Tom ! that's Mrs. Arkwright. We must save her. It means money," said one of them, as he leaned over the barge and looked at the body floating in tho water. "All right, Luke," was tho answer as the man who had spoken flung off his jacket and waistcoat, then sprang overboard, and in a minute or two he had got Amy in his arms, and with the aid ®f tho other man she was transferred to tho barge, and Luke was about to follow her, whan Rachel rose at a little distance from him, and he at once seized her, and very soon she, too, was safely on board. "I reckon they'll take some bringing round," said Tom, as his friend, having dm ok off a good stiff glass of brandy, knelt down and moistened the two girls' lips ; then as he looked at Rachel he uttered an oxclamation of surprise. "This here's the girl they've advertising for-Ifechol, I have seen a picture of her. There's five hundred pounds for any one as gives information about her." "Then we're in luck's way. You may bet Mrs. Arkwright will give a jolly lot for getting away from him," said the, other man. "I wish we'd known she was in his clutches sooner," replied his companion. "It wouldn't have been safe to meddle then ; but now the police are after him it's different, and it's lucky we saw those girls, as it won't be safe to go near the warehouse after what Bill said about the coppers being on tho lookout." "Well we'd best try to bring them round;" and the two men worked with such a will, that in a short time Rachel opened her eyes and looked languidly round. "You're all right, miss, if yoy have a pull at this," said Tom ; and Rachel took a good drink of "brandy, reviving sufficiently to ask about Amy who was laid beside her on tho deck. "She's coming round, miss, and very soon we'll have you, safe with my missus. I've a house near the other wharf, over there, and you'll be quite safe till we let your friends know," replied Luke, as he put an extra rug over the two girls. A short time elapsed. Then they reached the other wharf, and the girls were carried by turns on a door that belonged to the cabin, and transferred to the cottage, whore Luke and his wife lived, Tom, who was the wife's brother, sharing the home. It was a very humble place ; but. when Luke's wife, Mary, had removed the girls' . wet clothes, and clothed them in some dry ones of her own, and helped them into the only bod they 'possessed, the girls felt happier than they had done for some time, in spite of their weakness "Lord, bless 'em, there isn't nothing I wouldn't do for you," said Mary, who was really sorry for them and was also aware that any kindness she might show the strangers, would be well recompensed, A little while later when the two girls were sleeping soundly after the awful night through which they had passed, and their subsequent experiences the woman had a consultation with her husband and brother regarding them. "You'll make a fortune out of this," she said, looking at tho two men. "Yes ; but the question is as to where we shall go with the news. There's that lawyer, Shallcross, who advertised for Rachel, Lady Glynno, and there's the lawyer as managed Mrs. Arkwright's affairs, but I don't know his blooming name. Still, that doesn't matter. She'll pay us handsomely," said Luke. Well, my advice is to wait until to-morrow. They'll sleep the day and night through. Maybe they'll wako for a bit of food but they'll bo too drowsy to talk. Now, in tho morning they'll bo spry, and can tell you whero you'd best take tho news," said Mary. "There's sense in what you say, my girl ; and as they wouldn't be fit to stir a peg from here before tomorrow, there's no need to hurry, and the longer we give 'em house room and protection, the more grateful they'll be. which means extra quids," replied her husband. "How came it that you happened to be near tho warehouse and found them ?" the woman asked. "Well, we went out to get to know what had become of the captain, Harvey Middleton. We knew they'd all got clear from The Cedars, and we didn't think Mrs. Arkwright had. We knew, of course, that she was a prisoner there, but we didn't know the other girl was with her, and it caps me why they had taken her there. If Middleton was shielding her from the law, he'd got reasons for doing it; but I'm inclined to think there's more than we know. But in spite of all our questions we couldn't hear anything of Middleton; but we learned that the police were hot after him, and as \?e guessed they'd soon find out all about the wharf, and the stuff that was warehoused there, we made up our minds to try and get a few of the valuables out, so we got the barge and went down the river, and near the warehouse I saw Mrs. Arkwright in the water, and that told us what Harvey Middleton was about, so wo rescued the girls, and turned the barge homewards. But we'll have another try to get some of the stuff. We will go out to-night, and try to learn what has become of the captain," said Luk*. To be Continued.