THREE MEN AND A MAID.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13664, 1 April 1908, Page 16

THREE MEN AND A MAID.

BY ROBERT FRASER.

[coptbight.]

Published by Special Arrangement.

CHAPTER X.— Continued.

Marjorie hardly met Hannah again that day, exeunt at table. She spent the afternoon writing to friends in London to distract the impatient pressure of her , thoughts, and, alter posting them, went to bed early with a weary "brain. At once .she fell asleep, and it v r as perhaps because of her utter exhaustion that, at some time in the small hours of the morning she found herselt awake Her last waking thoughts had been about Inspector \Vinter and the ting, about the likelihood of a letter from the detective in the morning, and its probable contents. Hence, she dreamed of nothing but-.rings and inspectors, until the inspector turned into the Squire., and the Squire, a dead man with power of movement, seemed to be tendering the ring to her with pitying looks. The dream was terrifying, nor did its effect cease when sho opened her eyes, for she had the unnerving consciousness of another presoice with her in the room, and in the darkness within and without her she thoTight that this was ltobert Courthopo, who was trying his utmost to giVe her the ring, but for some reason or other lacked the power to do so. Awake, but with her mind and senses still dominated by the dim emotions of the,, world of visions^ 'there she lay, afraid of tho impalpable, admitting the impossible, until on a sudden sho heard a sound, something that seemed to strike against, some other object, very faintly — a thing that tho car would !not iiave detected in the day -time, but in r^at kingdom of tlie night was distinct. " . .

She. sat, ;up »in bed electrified, and shtu;ply cfiel m;t: "Is any one there?" There was no answer. For a long time she 'sat listening, but withqut hearing, any otfcer noise than the beating of, her heart. Then she blamed herself for being fanciful, and tried to steep again, but in vain, and she lay there wide-eyed until the light of dawn invaded the room. Her first hap in the morning was a letter from Inspector Winter, who had written : "A ' "Dear Miss Neyland, — "I was very pleased to receive your note, with its news about the finding 'of the ring, which, of course, is of no great importance in the case in which we are both concerned, and yet is an interesting little discovery in its way, making me feel disposed to agree with you that it was 'rather a mercy' you did not go away to London^ when I suggested, though if you will now go, take my word for it, you are likely to find Londoji a more suitable place than '. Hudsfcoiij But, with regard to * this' ring, I may confess to you

that I am- sufficiently interested in it to wish to examine it at ' once, if you will let me have it , for % day ror so, and as I have .reasons for not wishing to leave Nutworth just at presenjt, and as I do not care' that you should send the ring through the post, P.C. Bates of Hudston will call upon you' at 11 a.m. You may give 1 it %o him with confidence, and he will bring it over here to me. Meantime, you are no doubt keeping it in a perfectly safe place, since you are aware, probably, that this is advisable. One other point. You like being bnsy, and there is something which you can do better than I or. any of the police. I want you ,to take that soft fellow, Felix, to Lancault with you, and see ff you can wake up in ,him, by asociation of ide,as on the spot,' a memory of the very place in which he picked up tho ring. I wish to' know, at once, and PKX Bates would fail in it by frightening the TOfcn out of what little w^t he has. Felix ■^questionably found the » ring? on * the morning after the - tragedy; . before any one else had seen- the body, and if you take him there, .and question him gently/ reminding him of what he saw that rkorajjag? perhaps his memory will *wake and furnish, details. I have to request of, you the further favour to destroy this letter by fire, and ty consider its contents confidential t>.etween f you and me. With my best respects, "I am* yours faithfully, "C. E. WINTER."

Marjorie thoroughly enjoyed the letter with its' sly meanings and half ooiifid&nces, ah<2 duly burned it. Then she sent out a stableman to secure Felix for her, eager to do quickly what lay in her /power to help on the good cause. /But the messenger could not easily set eyes on Felix, and, when he did bring him, Marjorio saw that she would not ' have time to go with him to ■ Lancault and be back to •4ive P.C. Baton the ring at eleven. She therefore -ran down and told Felix to return to her later,, since she would have some money io givn. him then, 1 Very shortly .after this P.C. Bates arrived on a bicycle! and Marjorie, who from a window had seen him coming, ran to get the ring. In her room she took her keys from hor pocket, unlocked her work-box, and took out from its under-chamber the ?crin in which she had placed the ring, stuck in a alit of velvet side by side, with another ring of her own, for good company.

But now, when she pressed the spring of the ecrin, and the lid flew back, there was her own ring quite safe, hut the Warren ring whs gone. Her eyes took in the fact, the ,truth gradually bit its torment into her brain, the tiny case dropped from her hand, ami she, trtood in stone.

Sometipw she made hor way down to tlio constable. Sho told him what had happened. , He spoka some words to heivhnt she hardly umlorstood him. Several times she said wildly, to him, '"The ring is gone!" giving him the news afresh. She wjas conscious that whon he could got n/>, answers to the point from her. he'leappcj on to his bicycle and rode off in tho direction of Nutworth. Some time aftorwarda, she found herself sitting like.' a child at her aunt's knees, staring and sobbing. Her sister entered the room, and «h# sprang to her foot with something of animal quickness ami ferocity. "Hannah," slip almost screamed, "have you taken the ringp"

"What ring are you talking about f" was tho flippant answer. , •Hannah," cried tho half-rrantic jriil ay;ain, "have you stolen my ring.'' 1 'You liad better mind what you are saying, hadn't you?" came the bitter retort. "You must think lam the same as you, going to other people s pot-koto in the dead of the mght. Not another word passed between tliem. Breaking into a tre=*h outburst of tears, Marjorie was so overcome, so sunk in dejection, that she could hardly speak or lift her head. lJut she had work to do for Inspector \\ inter ''at once," and, toward evening, she roused herself, and asked if Felix had come back in the afternoon to her, as she had bid him. Felix, howerer. had not come, and she tent out some one to seek him in the village. It was getting dark when her scout came back with the tidings thai Felix could not be found, having apparently gone to a sale of farm stock at St. Brevels. Hearing this, sho forced herself to rise from, the sofa whom lay, and started out wearily on the road to St. Brevels, resolved not to put off to to-morrow the. duty that lay near her. Sho walked two miles, half-way to St. Brevels, and then had to sit down to rest on a seat near a rock which the country people called the Devil s ■Chair. The high wind which swept over the moor had been blowing straight against her,- and had udded to her weariness. And there was no sign of the returning Felix. She was n lons* while sitting there, expecting the appearance of the ltrot on the road. Like a deranged mechanism, her braiu kept on repeating to hor a sentence which sho seemed to have been hearing i'or a century : "The ring is ftono-*-for ever tins tim-3; and you wlKn.Over get it again." Thole was no uioo'n as yet, but there was home light. Tho stars which thronged the vault' of heaven seemed to grow ever brighter as the wind moaned more dismally. In heaven was peace, but earth was rough to her. \ In this way oyoran hour went by, and it was well pnst nine o'clock when at last a little troop" of foet came sauntering along 'the road, and there was Felix towering among a cohort of boys. She rose -and announced to Felix that he had to come with her. He drew back, but v when she insisted, and the boys told him tha*t he- must obey, he consented. Marjorio walked with them half a mile toward Hudston ; then, at the . iron . gate across the bj Tpath which led clown to Lancault, she and Felix went on alone. To be continued.