THE MYSTERY OF THORNCLIFFE HALL.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16795, 20 July 1920, Page 8

THE MYSTERY OF THORNCLIFFE HALL.

NEW STORY.

EXCITING STORY OP DOMESTIC INTEREST, o

By EDGAR DICKERING, Author of “The Secret Eoo,” “Murder Will Out,” “Love, the Conqueror,” etc., etc.

CHAPTER 111. MR. HIBBERT ENGAGES A SECRE- ' TARY. Overlooking the North Sea, Thorncliffe Hall had stood for 300 years cr longer, growing rugged as the rocirs themselves, and never had its grey walls and hoary roof looked grimmer or more repellent than the evening when its owner sat brooding over the fire in a room, the oriel window of which projected almost to the verge of the cliff, hearing the blustering wind and the flying sea-spray be it on the glass, yet heeding neither. It was a sturdy old house, as it neeoed to be, to hold its own in that exposed position, but of late years the sea liad taken toll of the land that formerly extended 100 yards seaward, having a carriage-drive bordered with trees, replaced now by a. rotting fence, for the trees had disappeared amid a fall of cliff 20 years ago, the drive to a'narroiM^footpatii. Only a part of the old Hall was in-

habited, tho* eastt wing having been closed when its former owner, Mr. Jasper Hibbert, quitted England. It was ills successor, Mr.' Cornelius Hibbert, who crouched over tho fire, warmmg his thin, whit© hands, and cursing his dulling sight. Blindness was .creeping over him, and the painfully-read letters lying on the table, had tried his eyes’ in perusing them. ‘ A strange old house, too, altered and added to half a dozen times, at the whims of former possessors. Tudor, Queen Anne, and Georgian architecture were mingled incongruously, mellowed by age into pieturesqneness; whilst, for reasons best [mown to the malier'of it, a subterranean descent had been excavated from the house to the beach. This, at the lower part, had shared the fate of the grounds, and the exit yawned several feet up the face of tho cliff. . A mvsterious, desolate old mansion, shunnecl by .Mr. Hibhert’s neighbours, for whom he cared nothing, and neglect and decay were noticeable within and without. " The stables were' ten.

antless, and carriages mouldered in tho coach-houses, all seeming to share in the blight of an unpunished crime. Not that Mr. Cornelius Hibbert was answerable .for that, yet it had given him Thorhcliffe Hall and the broad acres surrounding it. The story was legendary now, for Jasper Hibbert had fled the country 20 years' ago, after a quarrel with one of his com pan ions who had been found shot in the' Lower Wood. Hibbert bad made good his escape before the body was discovered, but only to bo in the founSoring of the ship in which ho was- a passenger, and Mr. Cornelius Hibbert, from being-a struggling man, became owner of the Hall and ten thousand a year by the death of his cousin. The other inmates were Mrs. Joyce, the sour-faced housekeeper, and Samuel Creak, a quiet, secretive. man. who perfonned the office of butler and wither services, for no other servant "was kept. . Mr. Hibbert was verging on seventy, and might bo said.to live the life or a recluse, the only person with whom ho was intimate being bis steward, Janies Carew, and that was of necessity. He was keen and exacting in matters connected with his property, and Carew performed his duty thoroughly.* . The -steward wa& a tall, well-built man of 30, of a coarse animal type, with well-cut features and a manner which could be pleasant enough when he chose. Ho treated .his employer with- scant deference, however, Mr. Hibbort’s occasional outbreaks of anger were disregarded or met by a quiet tolerance. ■ - ' , It was Carew who came into the room, and Mr. Hibbert turned to him scowling. . ' . ‘‘This cursed blindness is worse tnan ever I” he began, without any greeting. “I’ve been trying to-read one of my letters—some cf them need answering and writing is beyond me.” ■ _ Carew shrugged his should.ers indifferently and took up one of the papers. 1 “If you had taken my advice you ! would have had a secretary six mouths ago,” he said, glancing through tho letter. . . , r -. ~ “I have one coming—a Miss Ucau. “A woman 1 Women are infernally inquisitive. There may be trouble.” “Not more than I’ve had already. Not more ingratitude shown me, nor more demands on my purse than have (been made.” „ “The old story!” sneered Carew. “And I’m going to make another demand. I Want your cheque for fifty pounds.” , ■ . “You had a similar sum a week since.” Mr.-Hibbert uttered the words*with a whine. . “And may probably want a further amount. It’s not worth arguing about. Wo’ve exhausted the subject a rear since and need not revive it. I have written the body of the, cheque, and you’ve sight enough to sign it. Ho said this in a quiet; determined tone that increased Mr. Hibbert’s anger as ho held out the cheque.. Taking it, the old man scrawled his almost illegible name and threw it back. Carew went to the do,or. “When is your secretary coming f “It is uncertain; soon, ! hope,” and Mr Hibbert bent over the fire again. As Carew paused at the open door i a curious sound, ending vjith a shrill laugh, was heard, and he stopped back into the room. “How will you explain that? he said. “Your secretary may want to know tho reason for' it.” ■

He waited for an answer, but none ' came. The sound was not repeated, and, quitting the room, ho came into the dim hall, where a black-robed figure was coming towards him, and he stopped suddenly. ITo be Continued.)