THE LAW OF THE LAND

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13557, 7 November 1907, Page 6

THE LAW OF THE LAND

BY FRED. M. WHITE.

Author of "The Ends of Justice," etc. (Copyright. Ward, Lock and Co., Ltd., London.) «fc 1 , CHAPTER IV.— Continued. All Ralph's nervous petulant anger against Joicey had vanished. It was? practically daylight now, but he had no wish to be alone — afiything rather- than that. At the same time his nerves could not stand the strain of conversation with Joicey: Still, the butler's stammering pronunciation and halting reading grated on the fastidious ears of the listener. And all the time the discovery of the tragedy was being delayed. " That will do," Ralph said- presently. " You need not stay any longer', Joicey." It was broad daylight, but the household would not be down for some time. Outside the birds were singing, here and there was the bleat of a lamb. The dre^id discovery must be hastened. " One thing before you go," Ralph muttered. " There is another book you can get for me. It is on the couch in the dining-room between the windows. A little red book with gilt lettering on the back. * Please to fetch me that and 1 won't trouble you any more." The business Would be discovered this time, Ralph thought, for the dread thing lay just in front of the couch. There were only thin blinds to the din-, ing-room windows, thin blinds with a lot of lace about them. If old Joicey l had eyes at all he could not misß the discovery this time. " Very good, sir," he said. " A little red book with gold. I saw it there just now when I was getting you the soda water, 9=nd— — " "Xou^saw it then?" Ralph gasped. "When you were' getting me the soda? And you mean to say you didn't notice at the same time. . My good Joi6ey, I feel the old sensation comjaig. over me again. If you will wait here f or \me I will get up and we will go and- fina the body. „. . I mean that—*what are you staring at mo for?"- • Joicey stammered out something. Ho was wondering, perhaps, whence came the ghtistly expression on Ralph's wet face. Ajid Ralph realised the need of caution. "I wouldn't get up if I were you, sir," Joicey said. "What yon want is a sleeping draught, if I know anything about it. Just stay where you are, sir, and I'll get the book." ♦ Ralph murmured that perhaps the eld man was right. Once more he passed .through the. old terrors and emotions. He could hear the old man in the diningroom; he could 'hear the sharp click of the springs as the blinds were pulled up. . ■• ' j And yet no, cry from Joicey ! Perhaps, j it was all- a dream; perhaps there had-, been no murder. And when, Joicey caniq again with,- the little rod volume in his hand, he said never a word. ltalph.Jiad- been, torn to , his soul for three noiirs now'and was getting played out a^od, exhausted. The letters of. the book't&ncdd before his 6yfes; he lay back with the lids closed, praying desperately? for the sleep that he 'never expected to come to him again. And a moment later he was in a deep slumber. He did not dream at all ; no ugly visions disturbed his rest. It seemed as if existence itself had been blotted out co far as he was concerned.* When* he came to himself again, the sun wns shining 'high in the heavens and the I world was' full of noise and life -and gaiety. He could hear a servant laughing- in the. corridor $ down in the stables there was a clattering of hoofs ; a groom . whistled first one tune and then another wijth maddening persistency! Surely, -by this time the tragedy must have reached from one side of the county W the other, ,and yet> if it had, why this joyousness of life outside? Ralph 1 rang. his bell and Joicey came in. He hoped -his master was better, and proceeded to pour out Ralph's bath water. " Isr-is Dr. Barca down yet?" Ralph asksd. s t'Notfyet, sir. And it's past ten o'clock. .Breakfast has been waiting for, a long .time.. Shal) I say that you will bje dow>n soon, sir?" Ralph; nodded, for he had no words to reply. _The feeling that it was all a d,reatn- 4 was^-very strong on him once more. And j T et here by his bedside w.u tb» pa_per-c. utter, the weapon with which he had committed the crime — the blood all, red and sticky and sot. And there was just one spot of red on the cuff of his evening shirt. -No, it was no dream, then whaF diabolical thing had happened downstairs ? Ralph hardly waited to finish his bath. He tumbled into clean linen and a flannel suit, and was breathlessly eager to be down in the dining-room and see for himself what had happened-. He felt m.ore than ever that he was thte sport of Fate,,<the toy of dirpuipstarice. . He was down at last. Here was the dining-rooin-itartistic, orderly, wellappointed, with the things on the table ready for breakfast. And there Stephen Holt had lain in a pool of blood as large as the dining^table* — thick life's blood that should have left an indelible stain on /that priceless carpet. Ralph' rubbed his eyes with trembling fingers. The carpet was intact j there was not so much as a crumb on it. The beautiful cream and gold and blue smiled at him as they had smiled ever since they left the loom. There was no evidence of the crime at all — only the red flecks on the heart of one of the tea roses on the table. Ralph had seen those flecks just as they had spurted from the throat of the dead man. They looked like insect marks now and did not suggest the tragedy of the night. "You have not breakfasted yet?" Barca said as he came in. " You are as late, as I- am. It is a good^ medicine that, keeps me in bed. Bxit you look as if you had found a ghost," Ralph smiled unsteadily. With an effort he pulled himself together. He winced under the close scrutiny of those dark . eyes. " I have not found a ghost," he said. "On the contrary, I have lost one." CHAPTER V. " And That Way Madness Lies." Barca appeared to take no heed. As to Ralph, he could only stand there

looking at the carpet as if he expected to see those tell-tale stains break out once more and help make his cri unknown to all the world. He tried to think that it was all a dream, that he was the victim of some terrible hallucination. He had heard of such things before;- they had happened to highlystrung individuals cursed with the artistic temperament. But the vision had been too real for that. f Besides, there was the weapon upstairs in Ralph's room, the blade of which he had carefully cleaned befoio he came down to breakfast. He cpuld see the very place where Holt stood when the blade entered his throat. Had ho been mistaken? Had the blow been merely a flesh wound? Had Holt come to himself and vanished, hoping for some more complete vengeance later r 1 - Perhaps he had crawled away to die somewhere in the grounds. But that, seemed equally Impossible. In such caso the injured man must have left, a red track behind hiuf. There wen* none of the damning spots leading to the window, not a sign on the flagged terrace outside, for Ralph crossed over to the -window to see, nothing but the dread speckV oif the tea roses in the bowl on the table. On the whole, this engrqssiug mystery was a greater trk* to. Ralphs nerve*,' than tho knowledge of. his crime. He wondered how long his nerves would stand the' strain. He wondered, too, what Barca must bo thinking of him. He felt his face was pale and ghastly, he was coimscious of twitching lips and haggard eyes. And usually Bag£a was a man of the keenest observation. But this morning Barea was hovering over the breakfasttable with the hit of a connoisseur. '- Nothing like hard woiCv to give one an appetite," he said cheerfully. '• 1 could have done witn* another meal after midnight. What are you waiting for, Kingsmill P" , "I beg your pardon," Ralph stammered. " I was thinking of something efse. . Glad to hear that you feel so hungry. Let us sit down at once. 7 ' Barca chattered as he ato. No dish came amiss to him. Strango that he should not noticd anything wrong, Ralph thought. As for himself, he toyed with his food, the mere idea of eating filling him with a sense of nausea. He made wild and spasmodic efforts to reply to Barca's flow of conversation. 'To sit there and hear the other chatter was almost insufferable. Ralph felt that lie could have rried aloud. He must get away without delay and solve the mystery. He must know what had become oi tho body of Stephen Holt. Every time anybody came into the room he' started guiltily. Wheu were the police coming tor himP Could Holt but know it, ht i was already raai^ipg a terrible revenue. (To be continued.)