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2 UKMA.V IS NO J*. THE MYSTERY -OF- A HANSOM CAE BY FEWiI S W. lIIMH. CHAPTER XXX But it was too late : Madge had oanght sight ol the names on the pap r—"Marriage —Rosanna Moore —Mark Frettlln"—and the whole awful truth flashed upoh her These were the papers Rosanna Moore had handed to Whyte. Why te had been murdered l>y the man to whom the papers were of value— "God ! My father!" She staggard blindly forward, and then, with one piercing shriek, fell to the ground. In doing so. she r» O struck again?-1 her father, who was still standing beside the table. Awakened suddenly, with that wild cry m his ears, he opened his eyes wide, put out feeble hands, as if to keep something back, and. with a strangled cry feel dead on the floor beside his daughter. Sal, hor ror-struck, did not lose her presence of mind, but snatching the papers, off the tfble, thrust them inio her pocket, and then shrieked aloud for the servants. But they, already at tracted by Madge's wild cry, came hurrying in, to find Mark Frettlby. the millionaire, lying dead, and his daughter lying in a faint beside her father's corpse. CHAPTER XXXI. As soon as Brian received the tel egram which announced the death of Mark Frettlby, he put on his hat, stepped into Calton's trap, and drove along to the St. Kilda station in Flinders Street with that gentleman. There Calton dismissed his trap, sending a note to his clerk with the groom, and went down to St. Kilda with Fitzgerald. On arrival they found the whole house perfectly , quiet and orderly, owing to tho ex cellent managf ment of Sal Rawlins, SI le had taken the command in everything and although tne ser vants. knowing her antecedents, were disposed to resent her doing so. yet such was her administrative powers and strong will, that tluy obeyed her implicit}*. Mark Frettl by s body had been taken up to his j bedroom, Madge had been put to bed, and Dr. Chinston and Brian sent for. When they arrived they could not help expressing their ad-> miration at the capital way in which ( Sal Rawlins had managed things. "She's a clever girl that," whis kered Calton to Fitzgerald. "Curi ous thing she should have taken up her proper position in her father's house. Fate is a deal cleverer than we mortals think her. Brian was about to reply when Dr. Chinston entered the room. His face was very grave, and Fitzgerald looked at him in alarm. "Madge—Miss Frettlby." he fal tcrejd. "Is very ill" replied the doctor ; "has an attack of brain fever. I can t answer for the consequences yet." Brian sat down on the sofa, and ; stared at the doctor in a dazed sort | of way. Madge dangerously ill— perhaps d\iug. What if she did die, and he lobt the true hearted ! woman who stood so nobly by him in his trouble ? "Cheer up," said Chinston, pat ting hirn on the shoulder : "while there's life tit-re's hope, and what ever human aid can do to save her will be done.' Brian grasped the doctor's hand in silence, his heart being too full to ! speak. . ''How did Frettlby die?' asked Calton. '•Heart disrase." said Chinston. "His heart was very much affected, as I discovered a week or so ago. It appears he was walking in his sleep, and entering the drawing room, he alarmed Miss Frettlby, who screamed, and must have j touched him. He awoke suddenly, and the natural consequences fol lowed—he dropped down dead."' '•What alarmed Miss Frettlby?" asked Brian, in a low voice, covering his face with his hand. "The sight of her father walking in his sleep, I suppose," said Chins ton, buttoning his glove ; "and the shock of his death which took place indirectly through her, accounts for the brian fever. "Madge Frettlby is not the wo man to scream and waken a somnam bulist," and Calton, decidedly "know i ing as she did the danger. There There muirt.be some other reason." J "This young woman will tell you all about it,'' said Chinston, nodding I toward Sal, who entered the room !at this moment. ki She was pre^en*,, and since then has managed tl ings admirably ; and now I must go," he j said, shaking hands with Calton and Fitzgerald. "Keep up your heart, my boy ; I'll pull her through vet." | After the doctor had gone, Calton turned sharply to Sal Rawlins, who stood waiting to be addressed. ■ ° "Well," he said briskly, "can you tell us what startled Miss Frettl-! i by?'• "I can, sir," she answered quietly. , Mr. Frettlby died—but—we had J better go up to the study.' "Why?" asked Calton, in surprise, i as he and Fitzgerald followed her . up stairs. ' Because, sir," she said, when j they had entered the study and she had locked the doer, "I don't want ! an\ one but yourselves to know 1 what I tell \ou." i " "More mvsterv, muttered Calton, ; T> • I as he glanced at Brian, and took his seat at the esicrtoire. "Mr. Frettlby went to bed earlv last night." sail Sal, calmlv. "and ( Miss Madge and I were talking to gether in the drawing-room, when he entered, walking in his hleep, and carrying some papers- " Both Calton and Fitzgerald star ted, and the latter grew pale. "He came down to the room, and spread out a paper on the table where the lamp was. Miss Madge bent forward to see what it was. I tried to stop Lcr. but it was too late. She gave a scream, and fell on the i floor. In doing so she happened to touch her faiher. He awoke, and fell down dead." "And the papers?" asked Calton. uneasily. I Sal did not answer, but producing IMi ESS AND CAROLINIAN, FEBRUARY 14. J them from her pocket, laid them in t his hands. Brian bent forward, as Calton 1 opened the envelope in silence, but 1 both gave vent to exclamation of u honor at seeing the certificate of marriage which thev knew Rosanna t -j M oore had given to Whyte. Their ! e | worst suspicion were confirmed, and i " I Brian turned away his head, afraid 1 to meet the barrister's eye The latter folded up the papers thought 1 fully, and put them in his pocket. "Y'ou know what these are?" he asked Sal, eyeing her keenly. she answered; "It proves that Ro sanna Mooie was Mr. Frettlby's wife, , and " she hesitated. • j ' k Go on," said Brian, in a hash tone, looking up. "And they were the papers she » gave Mr, Whyte." 3 "Well!" > i Sal was silent for a moment, and * then looked up with a flush. "You needn't think I'm going to split," she said. indignantly, reeurr > ing to her Bourke-street slang in the excitement cf the moment. "I ' know what you know," but s'elp me . " G—l 11 be as silent us the grave. | "Thank you, said Brian, ferveut . i I ly, taking her hand; "I knew yoU love her too well to betray this ter rible secret." "I would be a nice un 1 , I would," '; said Sal, with scorn, "after her lift ■ ing me out of the gutter, to round on her—a poor girl like me, without : a friend or relative, now Gran's dead." | Calton looked up quickly. It was plaiu Sal was quite ignorant that i j Kosanna Moore her mother, j So much the better: they would keep her in ignorance, perhaps net . i _ I altogether, but K would be foilv to . _ . ' undeceive her at present. i • I "I'm goin' to Miss Madge now, 1 she said, going to the door, "and I won't see vou again ; she's getting I %, r> y O O light-headed, and might let it out ; ! but I'll not let any one in but my ' self," and so saying, she left the room. "Cast thy biead upon the waters," • said Calton oracularly. "The kind- ! ness of Miss Frettlby to that poor ' waif is already bearing fruit—grati- ! tude is the rarest of qualities, rarer even than modesty." Fitzgerald made no answer, but 1 stared out of the window, and : I thought of his darling lying sick , I unto death, and he could do nothing i ' to save her. "Well," said Calton, sharply. "Oh, I beg your pardon" said Fitzgerald, turning in confusion. ! 1 | "I suppose the will must be read, and all that sort of thing." "Ye:s," answered the barrister, "I am oue of the executors." "And the others ?" "Yourself and Chinston," answered Calton ; "so I suppose," turning to the desk, "we can look at his papers, and see that all is straight." 1 "Y'es, I suppose so." replied Bri an, mechanically, his thoughts far away, and then he turned again to •» ' c j the window. Suddenlv Calton gave vent to an exclamation of surprise, j and, turning hastily, Brian saw him 1 holding a thick roll of papers in his . hand, which he had taken out of the drawer. "LOOK here, Fitzgerald," he said, greatly excited, "here is Frettlb^'s ) confession— look! 'and he held it 1 up. Brian sprang forward iu astonish -1 ment. So at last the hausom cab t ajystery was to be cleared up. f These sheets, no doubt, contained f the whole narration of the crime, i and how it was committed, r **We will read it, of course," he 1 said, hesitating, haif hoping that 1 Calton would propose to destroy it i at once. "Yes," answered Calton : "the | three executors must read it, and } ' then we will burn it." "That will be th* j better way," un ' ewered Brian. gloomily. "Frettlby - : is dead, and ihe law can do nothing , in the njatter, so it womd be best to j avo'd the scandal of publicity. But 1 why tell ChinstoL?" '•We must," said Calton, decidedly. i "Me will be sure to gather the truth firm Madge's ravings, and may as well know all. He is quite safe, and I .vill be silent as the grave. But I ! am more sorry to tell Kilsip." > "The detective ! Good God, Cal- I ton you will not do so !" i "I must,' 1 replied the barrister, i quietly. "Kilsip is firmly pursuad i id that Voreland committed the ; crime, and I have the same dread of ■ his pertinacity as you had of me. ! He may find out all." •j "What must be, must be," said ; Fitzgerald, clenching his hands.' CT O i j "But I hope no one else will find! I | out this miserable story. There's | Moreland, for instance."' "Ah, true ! v said Calton, thought fully. "He called and saw Frettlby the other night, you say?" ' Yes. I wonder what for?'' "There is only one answer," said | the barrister, slowly. "He must have seen Frettlby following Whyte when lie left the hotel, and wanted hush-money.' 1 "I wonder if he got it," observed ' Fitzgerald. "Oh. J" 11 soon find that out," an 1 | swered Calton, opening the drawer ' ! again, and taking out the dead man's cheque-book. "Let me see what cheques have been drawn lately." Most of the blocks were tilled up ; ' with small amounts, and one or two ' i ! for a hundred or so. Calton could 1 1 find no large sum such as Moreland ; would have demanded, when, at the ; very end of the book, he found a ' ' # i ; cheque torn off, leaving the block- i slip quite blank. "There you are," he said, tri- j umphantly holding out the book to j Fitzgerald. "He wasn't such a fool ! as to write in the amount on the | . block, but tore the cheque out. and : | wrote in the sum required." "And what's to be done about it V "Let him «keep it of course." an 1 swered Calton, shrugging his shoul-' ders. "It's the onlv wav to secure i I his silence. 'T expect he cashed it yesterday, and is off by this time," said Briar, after a moment's pause. "So much the better for us," said I Calton, grimly. "But I don't think ' A bes off, or Kilsip would have let me, know. \\e must tell him, or he'll get everything out of Moreland. and 1 the consequences would be that all i Melbourne will know the story; whereas, by showing him the con . fession, we get him to leave More land alone, and thus secure silence in both cases."' "I suppose we must see Chins ton V 1 "Yes, of course. I will telegaaph I«. iiiiji und Kilsip to come up to my - oflire this afternoon at three o'clock. » MTI«1 then we will settle the whole . matter.' I "And Sal Rawlins?" "Ob ! I quite forgot about her'" j said Calton. in a perplexed voice. ? "She knows nothing about her t parents, and. of course, Mark Fettl- by died in the belief that she was : deacY' 44 We must tell Madge," said Brian, Roomily. "There is no help for it. : is I>\ rights the heiress to the money of her dead father." "That depends upon the will,'* re r - plied Calton, drylv. "If it specifies that tlie money is left to 4 my daugh ter, Margaret Frettlby,' Sal Rawlins ? can have no claim ; and if such is the case, it will be 110 good telling her who she is.* . | "And what's to be dene?" "Sal Rawlins," went on the bar 'rister, without noticing the interrup tion, 'has evidently never given a thought to her father or mother, a» | the old hajr, no doubt, swoie i they were dead. So I think it will be . best to keep silent— that is. if 110 j money H left to her, and, as her lather thought her d«rad, I don t 'j think there will be any. In that ' J case, it would be best to settle an income on her. You can easily find a pretext, and let the matter reht." i ! "But suppose, 111 aecoi dance witU the wording of the will, she is enti ; tied to all the money ?" : "111 that case," h*iJ Caitoii, grave lly, "there is only one course open— she must be told every thing, am! the dividing of the money left to her generosity. But I dou't think you need be alarmed, I'm pretty sure Madge is the heiress." "It's not the money 1 think about." said Brian, hastily. "I'd take Madge without a penny." "My boy," said the barrister, plac ing his hand kindly ou Brian's shouldei, "when you marry Mudge Frettlby, you will get what is better than money —a heart of gold." (TO DE CONTINUED.) FRIENDS!!! |READ THIS OFFER f To every one of our subscribers who will pay up all back subscrip tion and for ONE YKAR in advance we make the following liberal offer. The offt'i" is to new subscribers also. Send us *l.. r >() and we will mail you, post paid, the premium ; and the I'RESS AND CAROLINIAN for 1 one year. 120 Good Books Free! Br Fpecial arranp«-rnent with the publisher, w* are ; enabled to ort»T tbt) entirw lit-t of Twenty Valuable liookt , enumerated an! de»cr..»ed below, oU'Sohitriy free toererj I subscriber to this paper for tii» enduing year, at th* I regular MibNor.jit.on |n e. 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Hickory Democrat (Hickory, N.C.)
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Feb. 14, 1889, edition 1
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