The Pomfret Mystery

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume V, Issue 1467, 27 October 1905, Page 4

The Pomfret Mystery

. . BY . . Arthur Dodley Vinton ■■ . CHAPTER V . bI a A GAMBIKR j, , v The scene shifts to the City of New g ; York ant) the time is two years after Hhat a solemn burial of the stranger in tho foreign l land of Spain, ' . ■ It was the night of the last day of the , year—New Year's Eve. A man, closely muffled up iu a hoavy fur-lined cloak, with warm gloves upon his hands, came down the steps of a house iu ono of tha.sido streets betweonMadisonSquaroendCentrall'a'k, Tho street door ns it opened for his egress let out a flcod of light, then ( closed after him and the ho'ise was dark j igain. The man reached tho side walk , and stood a moment, as if irresolute whcro ■ to direct his steps. A cold b'.ast of the . west wind blow up against h;ui, and ho shivered boneath bis furs and pulled up the collar of his cca*. Then with a muttered improcatiou ho turned and walked ; down Fifth Avenue, The street was marly , deserted, and his footfalls rang out clear and dtatiact„in ths sharp air. The fljjjht was still and cold, Tho moon, nearly lull, was in the ssoniih, and shone with icy splendor on the baro slteots and dull brown walls of the houses, Iu its palo light everything seemed to toko a strangely unfamiliar look, but the man scarcely liecded the appearance of the night, for mind was ' intent with its inward thoughts and negotiations, arid with that grim visitor—Remorse. Woe to the man who is haunted by liev morsel Human foos he canhido or 1100 : l from—death be can battlo with aud defrat ,■ —misfortuue, poverty and woe he con '' laugh at—but remorse is stronger and moroimplacable tbau them all. tfe may seek the haunts of vico, tho osll of the hermit, tho laboratory of science, the ■-• classic shades of literature-do what he may-Bemorse is over with him, It will banish hope; it will wither love; it will scourge hin as only it can scourge; it will ' curse him as only it can curse; it will rob\ the daylight of its brightness and make the dark night darker yet. And since the day when A'xbib'ild I ' Morrow had laid his dead friend under ; . the citrons and palms of Southern Spun, Eemorse had dwelt with him. It had driven him to wander rostlessly over the ,'■! world. It had oursod tho dead man's ' money. It had made the dead man's , memory a sad, biiter and reproachful ' thing, which he sought in vain to forget, It drove him to deeds of reckless dissipation and noon iho fortune which he had risked ao much to gain, Wfti gnno, It drove him to aots of crime which mido him rioh again; and, then, if throve on deeds of its own making. And now, in one of those moods of reek- •" ' less dissipation which remorse had brought '* uponbim, he had onco more gamblod away bis hoaltb,. and reduced him almost to poverty. Almost not quite, for tbore were cemio houses in New"York which had belonged to the dead man, and these Arohio had as yet refrained from selling, As he thought of thorn an evil, frown darkened his face and ho sworo al.most audibly. At this moment a strain of music broke upon his oar and aroused him; and looking around he saw that ho stood before a ' church. The stainod-glass windows threw glaams of coloured light out into the darkness, and the moonbeams brought 'out '-■'• more distinctly the gothio linos of tho building, The music rose again, low aud ' indeterminate, like the strain-of a far-off choir reaching him through the weird night gulfs of the uppor air. He stood upon the pavoment, half listening, half in reverie, The memories of his childhood's days, of his mother's prayers by his bedside when she laid him lo res;, of bis father's wise words of admonition, come upon him like an avalanche. A oab rattled noisily by over the r'ougli i stones and broke the spell and he moveo forward as if to enter. Up tho steps ink tho courtyard he strode and then haltec ' as his eye fell on a strange sight, Within a corner formed by a projeetinf buttress, almost hidden in deep shadow : was a girl six or seven ypars of ago clothed in a ragged gown and with i tattered shawl, thrown over her head ' \ By her side was a basket of matches, ant he knew that she was waii.ng until tin New Year Bhould dawn and send forth (hi watchers from tho church. But it wai ■■ ■ weary waiting and she had fallon' asloop and now lay in the biiter cob' Irvldlod ir the anglo of the stone, Impelled by an instinct of' pity Archil

stepped forward to arouse her hithaliod abruptly, for ho saw a shining object in j her lip He bow woll what it win—a a golden double eagle which some elmritüblo person sreing tho child asleep had | dropped into her lap. 'i A golden double cat'le I That was a for- V tune tothelitilo girl; Ah, if In-only had ! a» uiuoh 1 Ho bU- ted at the thought wh ch entered his mind. A fortune for her I DH not it mean a fortnno for hiuitoo? J All tho evening he had si nod at tho roulclto-tiiblo and Jos-t, lmt now—l Mid- ; night was a Inckv timo 10 hot—ho couldjbor'row—yes it was only borrowing -this piece-go back 10, iho Rambling house and return beforo.tlio ehild wal.ened. He glanced around lo see if be was unobserved and thou with trembling lingers he clutched tho gold coin. In an instant it had dropped into hie pocket. To lie continued j