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 WHO IS GUILTY
 
 WHO IS GUILTY 
 
 BY • 
 
 PHILIP WOOLF, M.D. 
 
 CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited 
 739 & 741 Broadway, New York
 
 Copyright, 
 1886, 
 By O. M. DUNHAM. 
 
 Press of W. L. Mershon Si Co., 
 Rahway, N . J.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 THE STORM 9 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY, 21 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 A WARNING, 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 A BEGINNING, 4I 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON THE TRAIL 50 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION 66 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 WISDOM AND BEAUTY, 78 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 
 WEAVING HEMP, 86
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 A LEGAL OPINION, lOO 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL Il8 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE, .... I34 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL, . . . I48 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CUNNING MATCHES CUNNING, .... 162 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES A WARNING, . . \^\ 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE, . . . I95 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS, 207 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DISCOVERED AT LAST 230
 
 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE STORM. 
 
 LESBIA VILLA, where the mutilated body- 
 was found, is in Cypressville, and Cypress- 
 ville is a fashionable summer retreat within a few 
 miles of a great city. 
 
 It was a pleasant morning in early autumn ; a 
 gray, gusty morning with filmy clouds speeding 
 across the gloomy sky. The distant hills and the 
 ocean were enveloped in a trail of mist which, in 
 the hollows of the woods, was changed to a thick 
 fog. The invigorating, blustering wind, blowing 
 inward from the ocean, was plowing furrows 
 through the mist, tearing it into shreds, and tossing 
 it in the air as invisible vapor. The trees quivered 
 in wild ecstasy, regardless of the fact that their 
 leaves were changing color, and that each wind- 
 puff whirled about their dead companions in a 
 wild, Macabre dance. A pleasant morning ; not- 
 withstanding its threats of rain and its premature
 
 10 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 chilliness, especially pleasant to two persons who 
 stood on the lawn before the large and quaint 
 Queen Anne house, known throughout Cypressville 
 as " Woodbine Cottage ". It was in the days 
 before lawn-tennis had become a fashion, and the 
 man and the woman were concealing their deeper 
 feelings under the mask of the useful but unex- 
 citing croquet. 
 
 The woman was young and pretty, with unusually 
 bright eyes, and with a certain wildness in her 
 gayety suggesting an intensely nervous disposition. 
 She was, seemingly, indifferent to the game, or she 
 had not full control of her arms, for she struck her 
 ball recklessly and always sent it wide of the 
 mark. 
 
 The man was tall and strongly built. His eyes 
 were blue with a mild, amiable light in them. An 
 elaborate blonde mustache and side whiskers orna- 
 mented his face, and his manners and actions sug- 
 gested those of a soldier. He was, in fact. Captain 
 Travers of the British army, on a furlough for the 
 purpose of restoring the health that he had lost in 
 India. He had been introduced to the inmates of 
 the cottage several weeks before by his friend 
 Doctor Dubois, and in the cottage he had remained 
 an honored guest ever since. The covert, tender 
 glances that he cast at his companion indicated 
 that the athletic warrior was in love. 
 
 An unusually bad shot of the young lady 
 loosened his tongue. 
 
 •* Really, Miss Gower, you are not well this
 
 THE STORM. 11 
 
 morning," he said with great solicitude. " You 
 are awfully nervous and your face has lost all its 
 smiles. I hope that the letter you received a while 
 ago didn't contain bad news ! " 
 
 " It was a common-place enough letter, Captain 
 Travers," she answered with a forced smile. " But 
 I am not well this morning, and I fear I shall not 
 be able to accompany you in the visit to our friends 
 as I intended." 
 
 " Then I won't go either ! " 
 
 " But you must," she said firmly. " We have 
 been accused of selfishly keeping you and Doctor 
 Dubois to ourselves. The open-air party was given 
 on your account." 
 
 ** It's a beastly day. Miss Gower, and the end of 
 the season, and I prefer to remain here." 
 
 " You must obey me, sir," she answered with a 
 light laugh that ended in a sigh. " I will retire to 
 my own room and try to forget my headache in 
 sleep." 
 
 " You do look awfully pale," said the sympa- 
 thetic captain. " Hadn't you better see the 
 doctor ? " 
 
 She started and shivered. 
 
 " Any thing but that ! " she said wildly. " I 
 mean," she explained with a forced smile, " I have 
 a horror of being regarded as an invalid." 
 
 "But if I must go, I should like to hear the 
 doctor's opinion. See, he is coming down the 
 steps now ! " 
 
 " And I refuse his prescription in advance," she
 
 1 2 tVHO IS G UIL TV? 
 
 said hastily, throwing down her mallet. " Good 
 morning, Captain Travers, and I hope you will 
 have a very pleasant time." 
 
 With the words she waved him a farewell, and 
 with a whispered " God bless you ", disappeared in 
 a direction opposite that in which the doctor was 
 coming. 
 
 The doctor was small as to height, hardly touch- 
 ing the rule at five feet three inches. He was 
 forty-five years of age, but was prematurely bald, 
 and the coarse, gray hair that fringed his skull was 
 as rigid as steel wire. His cheeks were closely 
 shaven, but a wiry, gray mustache curved upward 
 under his eagle nose and overshadowed a large 
 mouth ornamented with the whitest and strongest of 
 teeth. Shaggy, coarse eyebrows projected over a 
 pair of bright, penetrating gray eyes, and marked 
 the base of a high, narrow forehead. It was a 
 ruddy, smiling, intelligent face, indented with the 
 furrows of thought, and winning the admiration it 
 deserved. For Doctor Dubois was a world-famous 
 man, an honored member of all the important 
 scientific societies foreign and native, with a multi- 
 tude of distinguished friends, hosts of grateful 
 patients ; vain, tender-hearted ; a great admirer of 
 women, and fully appreciating his own talents. He 
 was dressed in a suit of formal black, and his one 
 eccentricity was revealed in a narrow, blood-red 
 necktie that encircled his neck. 
 
 He approached the captain, watch in hand. " It's 
 ten o'clock, Travers, and time to be off."
 
 THE STORM. 13 
 
 " Miss Gower has refused to come ! " 
 
 " That is no excuse for you ! Mr. Morris has 
 refused to come ; that is no excuse for me. You 
 are going and I am going," he said authoritatively, 
 " and we intend to smoke a cigar on the way. 
 Light up and cheer up." 
 
 " She has changed awfully of late," sighed the dis- 
 consolate captain. " I once thought I had a chance, 
 but I'm afraid I must give it up. The bloom has 
 faded from her cheeks, and all her energy has 
 changed into nervousness." 
 
 " I will listen to you as we walk, Travers. 
 We must not lose time. Come ! " 
 
 They walked over the sloping lawn, and emerged 
 into a quiet little lane overarched by trees. 
 
 " What was her excuse for not coming ? " asked 
 the doctor, after a pause. 
 
 " A headache." 
 
 " Morris was more honest. The truth is, that 
 the people we are going to see are unexpectedly 
 honored with the visit of a man whom Morris and 
 his niece dislike. Why, I don't know or care. 
 This man is a Mr. Hugo Addison, who returned 
 from a long pleasure voyage in his yacht, after he 
 and his yacht were supposed to have been swallowed 
 up in the waves. This individual is to be a guest 
 of our friends ; I believe he has even the intention 
 of giving us all a little trip in his yacht. Be this so 
 or not, he is the real cause why Morris and his 
 niece do not accompany us, although I am ordered 
 to give a more diplomatic excuse for their absence."
 
 14 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " But she is really ill, doctor." 
 
 " She will recover ! " was the dry answer. 
 
 " Poor little thing ; it worries me awfully ! " 
 
 " You will recover, too ! See here, Travers, I can 
 only spare myself a few days' vacation. Let me beg 
 of you not to overwhelm me with your confidence 
 until we return to the city." 
 
 The captain accepted the hint and remained 
 silent ; but he thought only the more. He walked 
 onward with a shadow on his face and gloom in 
 his heart. 
 
 They both received a very hearty welcome at 
 their journey's end from the jovial Mr. Tenterden 
 and his guests, who, despite the theatening weather, 
 were also engaged in the unstimulating game of 
 croquet, and gay words and gayer laughter defied 
 clouds and piping winds. 
 
 The women of the party had thrown shawls or 
 wraps over their shoulders on emergmg from the 
 house ; but as their blood became warmed by 
 exercise these were carelessly thrown aside or sen- 
 timentally carried by happy cavaliers. 
 
 The natural joy of hearty youth was increased 
 by the knowledge that the season was nearly at 
 an end, and that in a few days, the great dusty 
 city would absorb these pilgrims of summer and 
 fashion, and the little village be surrendered to 
 dust, desolation and the vulgar aborigines who 
 were neither rich nor fashionable. 
 
 The doctor avoided the tempting snares that were 
 set for him, but the helpless captain was appropri-
 
 THE STORM. IS 
 
 ated by a vivacious blonde with an elaborate head 
 of red hair, and a pretty but insipid face. Miss 
 Selina Carlyle was doubtless very attractive ; but 
 she only wearied the moody captain. 
 
 " I really didn't expect to see you, Captain 
 Travers. Your friends have kept you so cruelly 
 secluded that I thought I should never see you." 
 
 " I came over here with the Indian malaria in my 
 blood, and seclusion was what I needed." 
 
 " Yes, but they might have amused you with some 
 company," continued the very pert young lady, 
 " though I suppose, under the circumstances, they 
 would find it difficult ? " 
 
 " May I ask why ? " 
 
 " Don't you really know ? " she asked, with 
 an affectation of great surprise. " Forgive me, 
 then ! your seclusion has been very complete. But 
 I really fear we shall not be able to enjoy the yacht 
 voyage after all, it does so look like rain. But I 
 suppose you don't care ? " 
 
 " I fear, not greatly." 
 
 " But they say that Mr. Addison's yacht is such a 
 great curiosity. He has been away a year, and he 
 gathered odd things from all parts of the world, till 
 I am told it is a perfect little palace. And how 
 strange it was ; all his friends really mourned his 
 death, supposing the newspaper report was true, and 
 that he had been drowned, and none of us knew 
 that he was in the land of the living, until he himself 
 appeared with the happy news. I suppose you don't 
 know him, Captain Travers ? "
 
 l6 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " I have not that honor." 
 
 " Of course not. How absurd to ask ! But I 
 know you will like him ; he is such a perfect gentle- 
 man ! And so chivalrous ! Always doing some 
 charity or delighting his friends with some delicious 
 little surprises. I am so glad you have come ! " 
 
 " Miss Gower is ill, and at first I had no intention 
 of coming without her." 
 
 " I didn't know she was invited! " said Miss Selina, 
 with a little spiteful, cattish purr. " One can see 
 that you are not curious. But do tell me about 
 India and tigers ! I perfectly dote on both ! " 
 
 While the captain was suffering this martyrdom, 
 the doctor was quietly walking about, exchanging a 
 few pleasant words with all the pretty women, and 
 honoring the men with an abrupt nod of the head. 
 But his was a social, not gregarious nature; and 
 where one or two would have amused, a greater 
 number of chattering people only bored him ; and 
 he crept away to enjoy a cigar in solitude. 
 
 Leaving the lawn, he entered a quiet little path 
 that led downward to the gate, where he was sud- 
 denly confronted by a gentlemanly man who had 
 seemingly been running, for he was out of breath. A 
 tall man, with russet-colored side whiskers and 
 mustache ornamenting a pale, excited face. 
 
 " Pardon me," he gasped, " but can you tell me 
 if Miss Gower is here ? " 
 
 " She is at her home — Woodbine Villa ! " 
 
 " I have been there ; but was told that she had 
 gone out."
 
 THE STORM. 17 
 
 " She is not here ! " said the doctor, with a shrug 
 of the shoulders. 
 
 The man paused irresolutely, then murmured, with 
 a frown : 
 
 " It will be too late, too late ! " and, turning on his 
 heel, disappeared. 
 
 " A madman ! " said the doctor quietly, puffing 
 away the incident in a cloud of smoke. 
 
 As the morning wore away, the expected pleasure- 
 trip became the topic of general conversation, and 
 its liberal, agreeable owner, of general commenda- 
 tion. When, in the afternoon, the women retired to 
 prepare for what promised to be a boisterous voyage* 
 a few of the more active men descended the bluff 
 leading to the shore, and walked out on the private 
 dock to smoke their cigars and to watch for the 
 expected yacht. 
 
 Among'the idlers on the dock were Doctor Dubois 
 and the wearied captain, who would have faced a 
 score of tigers rather than again submit himself to 
 the society of the vivacious but spiteful Miss Selina 
 Carlyle, whose wearisome conversation had made 
 him disgusted with the world in general and himself 
 in particular. 
 
 There had been several light showers in the after- 
 noon, of a few minutes' duration each, but now a 
 heavy storm, was threatening. The doctor glanced 
 up at the sky and while holding his hat on his head 
 puffed vigorously at his cigar. 
 
 " A breezy day, doctor ! " said the stout man 
 standing beside him.
 
 l8 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 "■ Too breezy for a trip on the water, Mr. Ascham; 
 at least for me. I shall lie in the veranda on the 
 least windy side of the house, and leave sea-sickness 
 to my friends." 
 
 " It would be a shame to desert us when we most 
 need you, doctor. But, I say," he added, suddenly, 
 turning to his friends, " look yonder, and tell me 
 if you recognize the figure pulling away so lustily 
 in yonder row-boat. If it isn't Tom Merton I'll eat 
 my head ! What do you say, Ascham ? " 
 
 " I say it is Tom Merton, and it looks as if he 
 were pulling away from some of his creditors." 
 
 " Yes ; and I am hanged if he isn't going aboard 
 the sail-boat yonder, that has been hovering around 
 here the entire morning. Look ! it is sailing down 
 toward the city, and will have somc^of its sails 
 ripped in its hurry to get along ! Doctor, if a body 
 is fished up and lands at the morgue, look in its 
 pockets, and if you discover bad cigars and lots of 
 unpaid bills, call it Tom Merton. But, I say, isn't 
 it a little late for Hugo ? He was to be here with 
 his yacht at one, and it's nearly four." 
 
 " The threatening weather is holding him back, 
 and Tom Merton is a fool to brave it. But come, 
 doctor, let us beat a retreat before the squall reaches 
 us." 
 
 They had hardly reached the veranda, where the 
 women had already gathered, than a vivid flash of 
 lightning cut a flaming zig-zag path through the 
 black clouds, and was almost immediately followed 
 by a loud, reverberating peal of thunder. The entire
 
 THE STORM. 1 9 
 
 landscape was concealed under a ghastly, greenish 
 fog, through which the forked lightning cut its way. 
 The wind had died away, but now suddenly rose 
 with a shriek from a new quarter, bringing with 
 it a rain that poured down in sheeted masses to the 
 earth. 
 
 The storm passed as suddenly as it had appeared. 
 A bright blue sky was overhead, and a warm sun- 
 light shone down on the soaked earth. There was 
 a sudden cry of '* Max ! " " Max ! " as a tall figure, 
 with strongly-marked and strongly-lined features, 
 walked up the gravel pathway and ascended the 
 steps leading to the veranda. 
 
 The new-comer was unknown to Captain Travers, 
 who was attracted by the characteristically firm, 
 handsome face. 
 
 "A good leonine head that," he said, turning to 
 the young woman near him, *' with its gray mane 
 and honest eyes. Pray, who is it ? " 
 
 " That is Mr. Hugo Addison's servant and 
 devoted friend." 
 
 " You didn't come up through the storm. Max, 
 surely ? " 
 
 " I obeyed orders ; which were that the yacht ' 
 should reach here by a certain time. I have lost 
 three hours from the storm." 
 
 " Is your master aboard ? " 
 
 •" No, he had an appointment in the village. Last 
 night he sent me down to the city for the yacht — it 
 has just been scraped — he said he would meet me 
 here."
 
 20 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " But we haven't caught a ghmpse of hhii all 
 day." 
 
 " He said he would come," repeated the old man 
 firmly, " and come he will. Please inform him that 
 I am waiting his orders in the yacht." 
 
 But the afternoon passed away, and still the man 
 for whom all waited did not appear. 
 
 " This is very strange ! " said the burly Mr. 
 Ascham, consulting his watch for the twentieth time. 
 " I think I'll drop over to Lesbia Villa to see what 
 the matter is. Doctor, would you like a little 
 walk ? " 
 
 " I do not object ! " 
 
 " May I also come ? " asked Captain Travers, anx- 
 ious to escape from his sad thoughts. 
 
 " By all means," nodded the doctor. " Come, we 
 shall have a pleasant little promenade at least. 
 They tell me that Mr. Addison's house is delight- 
 fully quaint."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 
 
 IT was a large, quaint house of many gables, 
 built on a terrace, and surrounded by many acres 
 of rich cultivated ground. Facing the street the 
 ground was laid out in lawns and flower-beds ; 
 facing the narrow lane at the back was an extensive 
 orchard and kitchen-garden. To the right, from 
 the street, was a glass house of large dimensions, 
 coQtaining not only tropical plants, but fruit trees 
 of full height, and rare shrubs that would not bear 
 exposure to the changeable climate. 
 
 Unfortunately, evidences of neglect were every- 
 where : grass was growing in the pathways ; the 
 statues on the lawn were overgrown with moss ; 
 the basin of the marble-fountain was filled with 
 dust and dead leaves ; windows were broken in the 
 hot-house ; boring-beetles had eaten to the hearts 
 of many trees, and the canker-worms were busy in 
 defoliating many more. 
 
 The house itself defied all regularity ; numerous 
 miniature roofs shot in all directions from the main 
 roof ; angles and gables were everywhere, with 
 quaint windows peeping through the woodbine and 
 ivy ; with chimneys in impossible positions ; with
 
 2 2 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 roof edges running almost to the ground, when 
 they should have been high in the air ; with 
 abruptly-ending balconies, seemingly having no 
 supports ; a veranda that twisted and contorted 
 itself like an ungraceful snake ; possibility defied, 
 impossibility converted into fact with the result — a 
 building that satisfied the utilitarian and the artist 
 at the same time, even if it had been planned by an 
 inspired madman ! 
 
 " He must have employed a great many work- 
 men to keep the place in order," said the doctor, 
 pausing at the gate to admire the picturesque scene. 
 
 " He did employ a great many before he went 
 away. But he has been absent a year and, as you 
 see, the place has suffered from a year's neglect." 
 
 " It looks lonely enough despite its attractions." 
 
 " It will soon look busy, as I am told he intends 
 to alter the house and improve the grounds. At 
 present it is cheerless." 
 
 They pushed open the rusty iron gate, ascended 
 the broad grass-grown path, and finally paused 
 before a massive oak door, the rich carvings of 
 which had gathered additional beauties from age. 
 
 " Old ocean approaches pretty close," said the 
 doctor, gazing downward on a broad stretch of 
 water that, toward the left, was only separated 
 from the boundary of the estate by a narrow belt 
 of sand. 
 
 " He has a poet's love for the ocean," answered 
 Mr. Ascham, " and for books. The entire floor, 
 on both sides of the door, he has devoted to his
 
 THE DISCO VER Y. 23 
 
 library ; and in the library we shall find him 
 absorbed in some old book, after his long absence 
 from them, and perfectly oblivious of the passage 
 of time." 
 
 Mr. Ascham spoke with a surety he did not feel ; 
 and the hand that raised the heavy knocker was 
 slightly tremulous. The blows fell slowly and sol- 
 emnly, and were heard reverberating from the many 
 angles of the hall within. They were repeated 
 again and again but they brought no human 
 response. 
 
 " None but the dead would fail to hear that clat- 
 ter," said the captain impatiently. 
 
 " Have a little patience, Travers," answered the 
 doctor. '* And while waiting, admire the sunset in 
 the ocean yonder. I'll wager you never saw a 
 prettier sight in all your travels ! " 
 
 " It is beautiful," said the captain, after facing 
 the dazzling west for a few moments in silence. 
 " By Jove ! you can see the twilight conquering 
 the light." 
 
 Mr. Ascham was growing alarmed as well as im- 
 patient. 
 
 They left the veranda, and now stood in the path- 
 way, looking up at the house. 
 
 " All the windows are closed, on this side at 
 least," said the doctor. " We have had our walk 
 for nothing ! " 
 
 The captain had left his companions and dis- 
 appeared around an angle of the house. In a 
 moment he returned, with a startled face, and the
 
 24 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 words : " There is a window open on this side, and, 
 by Jove ! I don't like the appearance of things." 
 
 A narrow flower-bed skirted the side of the 
 house, to which the captain drew his companions' 
 attention. There was an open window some ten 
 feet from the ground, and beneath this window the 
 flowers were crushed down as if by some heavy 
 iDody falling on them. 
 
 " Look there ! " exclaimed the now thoroughly 
 excited captain, pointing to a mass of ivy that had 
 been pulled from the wall. *' What do you call that 
 stuff on the bruised leaves, doctor ? " 
 
 " Blood ! " was the calm answer. " I am not a 
 detective, gentlemen ; but the hand that grasped 
 that ivy was covered with blood. It would be 
 wiser to summon the authorities ! " 
 
 " Hang the authorities ! " said the impetuous 
 captain. " While we are waiting for red-tape to 
 arrive some poor fellow may die. At any rate I 
 am going to run the risk and enter the house. I 
 won't sneak away, fearing for the consequences, 
 when my friend's friend may need my aid ! " 
 
 This gallant speech was gratefully acknowledged 
 by Mr. Ascham, to whose natural feebleness of age 
 were now added excitement and terror. 
 
 " It's easy to climb in at the open window," con- 
 tinued the captain, "and in I'm going." 
 
 " Don't disturb any thing within or without," 
 whispered the cautious doctor. " If a crime has 
 been committed, what seem trifles to us will prove 
 of the greatest importance to others. Climb in
 
 THE DISCO VER V. 25 
 
 from the other side — on the side opposite the 
 blood marks, captain." 
 
 " All right, doctor, and here goes ! " 
 
 The captain was tall of figure and strong of 
 limb, and the window was almost within reach of 
 his outstretched hands. He grasped the ivy with 
 one hand, made a leap, and easily caught hold of 
 the window sill with the other hand. In a moment 
 he had pulled himself up and disappeared from his 
 friends' view. In a brief space he reappeared at 
 the window with pale, perspiring and horrified 
 face. 
 
 " A dead body, doctor ! " he gasped. *' Dead 
 and covered with blood ! " 
 
 Mr. Ascham staggered at the words and caught 
 hold of a tree trunk for support. The doctor was 
 calm and undisturbed. 
 
 " Open the door, captain," he said quietly ; 
 " perhaps I may be of some use. The door is to 
 your right as you are facing us ; around the angle." 
 
 The doctor, drawing his trembling friend after 
 him, passed around to the front of the house, and 
 after much hesitancy from the inside, the oak door 
 was finally opened. 
 
 The sun had set, and the interior of the house 
 was dark and gloomy. 
 
 " Wait where you are, Ascham," said the doctor 
 with authority. " You are not in a condition to 
 come with us, and you will be of use afterward. 
 Show me the way, captain ! " 
 
 " It's right here," said the captain, pointing into
 
 26 WHO IS GUILTY ? 
 
 the large, dark room on the right side of the hall. 
 " Near the window ! " 
 
 Yes ; near the window the body of a man, with 
 its pale, blood-dabbled face turned upward to the 
 ceiling ! 
 
 The doctor stooped down beside it, raised the 
 stiff head for a moment, gently dropped it, and then 
 rose to his feet. 
 
 " We are too late, captain," he said quietly. 
 " He has been dead some six hours, and died from 
 a pistol bullet in his brain ! " 
 
 " Suicide, perhaps," said the captain, conquering 
 his own fear in the presence of the calm doctor. 
 
 " Suicide ? Impossible ! The wound is from 
 behind and above. He was murdered, captain, 
 brutally murdered ! " 
 
 " What is to be done ? " 
 
 " We are trespassers, and must wait for the law. 
 Nothing can be done until the law, personified by 
 an intellectual coroner or deputy, puts in its ap- 
 pearance. We have gone so far and must now 
 continue to the end. Escort our helpless friend 
 home, and then as quickly as possible notify the 
 authorities. My punishment shall be to wait here 
 until you return." 
 
 "Your place is not here, doctor; when the 
 wretched news is told them at the house, who can 
 say what may happen ? Besides, sir," continued 
 the captain, with frank cordiality, " the trouble may 
 not be all over, and in that case the world can 
 spare me better than you — "
 
 THE DISCO VER Y. 27 
 
 " I thought " 
 
 " I have been on too many battle fields to fear 
 t/iat, doctor ; for the rest, I can walk up and down 
 here smoking my cigar." 
 
 " Perhaps your way is best." 
 
 " I know it is," he added firmly ; '* but relieve 
 me as soon as possible." 
 
 The doctor nodded, and supporting the de- 
 pressed Mr. Ascham, who had not opened his lips 
 since the fatal discovery, disappeared in the ever- 
 deepening twilight. 
 
 Alone, Captain Travers carefully closed the 
 oak door between him and the silent object in the 
 library, and then slowly paced up and down the 
 veranda, puffing out clouds of smoke, gazing out- 
 ward toward the east, where a serene full moon was 
 rising and filling earth and heaven with its soft 
 silver light ; yet the air was damp and, in the cool 
 night-breeze, was condensing into mist. Beyond 
 was the village, with here and there a dot of cheer- 
 ful light shining through the trees, which the ever- 
 thickening mist was surrounding with a ghostly 
 halo. 
 
 Under other circumstances it might have been 
 interesting to watch what promised to be the clear- 
 est of nights resolved into a blanket of fog, through 
 which the moonlight quivered and was shorn of its 
 brightness before it touched the earth. The change 
 from full light to gloom was startling in its rapidity. 
 Seemingly but a moment before, he had seen the 
 outlines of the very ropes that hung from the masts
 
 28 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 of the sleeping vessels moved up and down in the 
 throbbing waters. Now the vessels were invisible 
 and the ocean was undistinguishable from the fog 
 that rested on it. 
 
 It was doubtless very interesting, if other thoughts 
 would not obtrude themselves — especially the 
 thought of a warm, cozy house that was awaiting 
 him. He had come to it a lonely stranger but a 
 few weeks ago, yet it now seemed like a home to 
 him, and it held the one only woman whom he had 
 ever loved. His half-frozen blood warmed as he 
 busied himself with the memory, and built his air- 
 castles. A serious, thoughtful, shrinking woman, 
 who rarely smiled, whose happiness was suggestive 
 of tears rather than laughter ; resolute yet timid ; 
 with large, flashing, yet pathetic eyes that seemed 
 to claim the sympathy that the small lips were too 
 timid to ask. He loved her, and he was vain enough 
 to believe that the love was not all on one side ; yet 
 he had not ventured on open confession, for even 
 the slightest hint as to his feelings had stirred her 
 into unaccountable emotion. It seemed as if she 
 yearned to know what she was forbidden to hear : 
 as if fate had arranged that the world of her imagina- 
 tion were never to be converted into the world of 
 reality. The wave of destiny maliciously floated 
 her toward the shore that she was never to reach, 
 raising for her a gorgeous palace that was to be her 
 tomb ! 
 
 The dead man and the living woman ! The one 
 was lying with a pistol-bullet in his brain, the other
 
 THE DISCO VER Y. 29 
 
 was probably awaiting a living man's return in the 
 drawing-room of a well-known house. Two days 
 ago she was at the piano, soul and fingers engaged 
 in a Beethoven sonata, when the dead man's name 
 was pronounced, with the news that he had returned 
 from a long journey. Soul and fingers ceased from 
 their labors ; the rosy flushes died away from the 
 soft, rounded cheeks, and a pale, haggard face was 
 turned from the music to the bearer of the news. 
 Again, that very morning, before the storm, the 
 living woman had refused to meet the man that 
 was now removed from the world and its troubles. 
 
 Remembering this — why had the memory lain 
 latent to this very moment, and v/hy did it start so 
 suddenly into prominence ? — remembering this, how 
 would she be affected when she heard that the man 
 was dead ? Was he an old friend ; was he ? — 
 
 His reflections and promenade were both suddenly 
 interrupted by a strange sound that seemed to come 
 from the library. With hushed breath and cautious 
 step, he retired into a shadowy angle near the 
 doorway, and listened with a certain superstitious 
 fear pervading the more dominant belief that the 
 murderer had returned to the scene of his crime ; 
 and yet with the stern resolution to bring him to 
 account. 
 
 He listened ; but although all his energies were 
 concentrated in the act — and, as a successful hunter, 
 he had a practiced ear — he could not hear the sound 
 repeated. " It was mere fancy ! " he muttered, 
 " but for a moment I could have sworn it was a foot-
 
 so WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 step. Bah ! I am worse than a fool to expect that 
 they would return so long after the crime was 
 committed ! " 
 
 Instinctively following the hunter's habit of con- 
 cealment, he remained within the shadowy angle. 
 His thoughts again wandered to the old subject 
 which now troubled his heart and aroused his jeal- 
 ousy — the relationship between the living woman 
 and the dead man. 
 
 " Poor fellow ! " he murmured, " he is powerless 
 now ; but for her sake and my sake I hope she 
 didn't love him. It will ruin both our lives, for I will 
 never consent to be a second lover to my wife I " 
 He paused, listened, and then exclaimed, in wild 
 excitement : 
 
 " I am not mistaken this time. Somebody is 
 cautiously walking in the dead man's room ! " 
 
 There could be no doubt of it — somebody was 
 walking over the waxed and uncarpeted floor ; the 
 footsteps were light, but they could be plainly 
 heard. 
 
 " His shoes creak like patent leather ! " said the 
 captain, growing more resolute as the danger 
 seemed lifted out of the region of supernaturalism. 
 " Now he is stopping ; now he is walking again ; 
 now he is opening a drawer ! He must have learned 
 the situation of things by heart, for he is working 
 in darkness. I wonder if I couldn't creep around 
 and get a peep at him if he comes out the back 
 way ? " 
 
 To reach the ground it was necessary to cross a
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 31 
 
 broad band of watery moonlight, and the captain 
 wisely hesitated. 
 
 " He isn't a fool, and he has posted companions 
 to warn him of approaching danger. I knew it ! " 
 he exclaimed, as a soft, shrill whistle sounded in 
 the distance. " There are two of them, at least ! 
 Shall I venture in the dark, unknown house, or 
 remain here ? " Then he added, after a pause, " I 
 will take advantage of the light first. I'd give a 
 good deal if I could only peep around yonder 
 angle. I'll stalk the devil ! " 
 
 He dropped on his hands and knees, and, keeping 
 as much as possible within the shadow, crept slowly 
 forward. On the side toward which he was going, 
 the veranda abruptly ended at an angle made by 
 the projecting wall of the house, and it was fairly 
 well protected by a climbing wistaria vine. Reach- 
 ing this useful screen, the captain arose, and peeped 
 through the leaves. From his position the side of 
 the house was outside the line of his vision, but 
 the narrow, curving pathway was in full view. 
 
 Standing out in bold relief was a human figure, 
 with upturned, intent face — the face of a handsome 
 man, with a large, russet-colored mustache and 
 beard. The man stood in earnest expectation. 
 Suddenly he faced about, bent his head in the atti- 
 tude of Listening, and then disappeared over the 
 grass, in the direction of the conservatory. A few 
 minutes later there was a muffled report, like that 
 of a pistol ; but whether it came from the land or 
 the water it was impossible to judge.
 
 32 WHO /S GUILTY? 
 
 " A handsome face and manly figure for a mur- 
 derer," thought the captain, " but I shall know it 
 again ! " 
 
 He turned to his old post by the door and again 
 listened. For a few minutes all was silent ; then 
 the sound of light footsteps was again plainly 
 heard. 
 
 " I wonder if I could throw myself unawares on 
 the other as he comes out of the room. I have 
 grappled with the more dangerous Hindu thief; why 
 not with a native ? It's a pity I have no weapon ! " 
 His instincts were stronger than his reason, and 
 he cautiously opened the front door and crept 
 into the black hall-way. He had made the same 
 journey once before on that very evening, and he 
 knew that he had only to creep into the angle on 
 his right to be within reach of the doorway leading 
 into the library. He walked forward on tip-toe, 
 and had the satisfaction of reaching the angle made 
 by the walls, without producing any suspicious 
 sounds. His satisfaction was greater as he heard 
 the sounds- of the footsteps still within the room. 
 
 What surprised him was the boldness and indif- 
 ference of the intruder. To commit a crime is one 
 thing ; to visit the scene of a crime a few hours 
 after committing it, another. The wretch must 
 have been strongly assured that his guilt would 
 not be discovered, to venture so boldly on the 
 scene ! And yet, there must have been some urgent 
 necessity to return ; but what could be accomplished 
 in the dark ? and how could he venture in the same
 
 THE DISCOVERY. ^-i^ 
 
 room, with blackness and his victim as com- 
 panions ? 
 
 The captain employed his hands and his brain 
 at the same time ; he felt along the wall until he 
 came to the opening of the doorway, across which he 
 stretched his arms as a bar to any one coming out. 
 
 It was a bold maneuver ; but it was not pleasant, 
 even to a brave man, to stand in utter darkness, 
 with the expectation that any minute he was likely 
 to come in contact with an armed murderer. Very 
 unpleasant to imagine that his oresence was sus- 
 pected, and that in the room beiore him a pair of 
 villainous eyes were glaring in his direction, and 
 that the muzzle of a pistol was pointed the same 
 way. The atmosphere around him was chill, moist 
 and heavy, a charnal atmosphere suggesting decay ; 
 the walls were damp, and unaccountable puffs of 
 cold wind swept down on him from some invisible 
 region above. Every sense was at its fullest ten- 
 sion ; his strained eyes saw whirling figures of 
 their own invention, imaginary odors nauseated 
 him, and in the intense silence his brain invented 
 sounds for his ears to hear. But the pattering of light 
 footsteps came nearer and nearer ; the cause passed 
 so close to him that he could feel its warm breath 
 stirring his beard. Evidently pausing to listen. 
 Now they sound again, and he can hear the rustling 
 
 of garments. Now ! A yielding mass of 
 
 some material is in his arms, the forehead of a warm 
 face is pressed by the contact against his own ; 
 there is a light exclamation of alarm uttered by a
 
 34 ^^^O IS G UIL TV? 
 
 soft voice, and he is so startled by the difference 
 of the reality from the expectation that his arms 
 unconsciously relax and the soft burden escapes 
 from them. Recalled to himself, he stretches out 
 his hand and grasps the fleeting thing. There is 
 a slight struggle, the warm flesh again escapes him, 
 and he finds himself alone in the darkness with a 
 gauzy material in his hand. 
 
 To follow the vanishing footsteps in the darkness 
 which they thread with such certainty, is an im- 
 possibility, and, with the beaded perspiration on his 
 forehead, he returns to the veranda and the mist. 
 What he has so strangely grasped is a woman's 
 silken scarf. He gazed at it a moment with horri- 
 fied eyes, then wrapped it up and thrust it in the 
 breast-pocket of his coat. 
 
 During his short absence the mist had turned to 
 fog, completely filling the hollows and spreading 
 out in curious spectral streaks over the water. As 
 far as he could gaze he saw nothing but this 
 monotonous sea of mist, which blotted out the 
 earth and dulled the cold, blue serenity of the 
 heavens. Horizontally he could barely distinguish 
 the outlines of objects a few feet away ; the limit 
 of the veranda from which he had gazed a short 
 time ago had vanished from sight ; the rails of the 
 balcony before him had also vanished, and for a 
 short time, in his exalted state of feelings, he felt 
 like the sole survivor of a shipwreck drifting aim- 
 lessly in a desert of waters. 
 
 " A nasty business ! " he murmured, turning his
 
 THE DISCO VER Y. 35 
 
 eyes from the desolate earth to the cold heavens. 
 " I wish I was out of it, and would give a great 
 deal if I never had been in it. Poor devil ! " he 
 continued, referring to the figure that had escaped 
 from his grasp. " Perhaps she had nothing to do 
 with the crime, antl perhaps my testimony will put 
 a rope around her innocent neck. Thank heavens, 
 I did not see her face ! But she was dressed in some 
 soft material that no poor person ever wore ; her 
 skin was soft and velvety, and by the faintest sug- 
 gestion of violet perfume in her silky hair she was 
 no vulgar servant. If she is innocent, I hope she 
 has received sufficient warning to vanish into 
 space ; if guilty ! " 
 
 Captain Travers did not formulate the wish even 
 in thought, but stared impatiently at the mist and 
 prayed for relief. He had not long to wait now ; 
 in a few minutes he heard the sound of carriage- 
 wheels in the distance, and soon after four specks 
 of moving light appeared in the mist, each light 
 surrounded by a curious halo. The lights ap- 
 proached closer and closer, and in a short time 
 resolved themselves into bull's-eye lanterns, each 
 one held in the hand of a policeman. 
 
 The guardians of order ascended the steps and 
 came to rest on the veranda. 
 
 " I suppose I may go now ! " exclaimed the cap- 
 tain eagerly. 
 
 " A carriage is at the gate and it will take you 
 back," was the answer given by the leader of the 
 relief party.
 
 36 WHO JS GUILTY? 
 •' Thank you, Mr. " 
 
 " Sergeant Oakum," was the reply, delivered 
 with great dignity. 
 
 The captain did not wait to hear the answer, 
 but plunged into the mist and soon reached the 
 carriage, that received him and then sped away in 
 the darkness. But quickly as it sped, the captain's 
 thoughts traveled faster, adjusting themselves to 
 the rhythmic rattle of the wheels. 
 
 " How will she receive it ? How will she receive 
 it ? How will she receive the news of his death ? " 
 
 As the carriage stumbled over a length of stony 
 road his thoughts drifted into other subjects ; but 
 when it speeded along the level ground with its 
 old rhythm, his thoughts rushed back into their old 
 channel. 
 
 " How will she receive it ? How will she 
 
 RECEIVE IT ? "
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A WARNING. 
 
 CAPTAIN TRAVERS reached Woodbine Cot- 
 tage at the moment when the church-bell was 
 striking the hour of ten. He was cordially wel- 
 comed by his amiable host, Mr. Morris, the uncle 
 of the gentle Miss Gower ; and by his friend, the 
 doctor. 
 
 Mr. Morris was a stout, florid-faced man of sixty, 
 who inherited a very large fortune at a very early 
 age and who, in consequence, enjoyed life to the. 
 full bent of his capacities. He was hospitable, 
 charitable and obstinate ; a bon vivant and a self- 
 lover. He had sailed quietly through life, carefully 
 avoiding the disagreeable, and carefully clinging to 
 the agreeable. He feared anxiety more than he 
 feared gray hairs, and had a greater interest in his 
 stomach than in the fall of dynasties. He was a 
 comparative new-comer in*Cypressville, wherein he 
 had built himself a most luxurious house, which was 
 at the service of his friends, and especially of the 
 doctor, for whom he had a warm friendship and 
 admiration. He had never married, and, until he 
 received his niece in his house, had maintained 
 an uncompromising bachelor's hall, from which
 
 3S PFHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 every species of womankind had been sternly 
 excluded. 
 
 He warmly greeted the captain on his return, 
 but Travers was not in the mood to enjoy his live- 
 liness. The claims of courtesy satisfied, he retired 
 to his own room. He was tired and wretched, but 
 when the doctor entered, in accordance with his 
 custom, to indulge in a little friendly chat 
 before he went to bed, his presence was a welcome 
 relief. 
 
 " I sent you lielp as soon as possible, Travers," 
 said the doctor, sinking into an easy chair. " And I 
 have notified the authorities. The village is con- 
 sidered a part of the city and a city coroner attends 
 to it. So we were compelled to telegraph to the 
 city, and received an answer that a coroner and a 
 detective would both be forthcoming early on the 
 morrow." 
 
 " I do not care for this ; rather talk to me about 
 Miss Gower ! " 
 
 The doctor became grave. 
 
 ** Are you in love with her ? " he asked. 
 
 " Deeply, irrevocably," was the frank answer, 
 " although I have never told her so — in words ! " 
 
 " So much the better, Travers ! You regard me 
 as a friend ? " 
 
 " You have saved my life ! " said the captain 
 gratefully. 
 
 " Then, Travers, as a friend, I should advise you 
 to pack your trunk and vanish into space ! " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " gasped the captain.
 
 A WARNING. 39 
 
 " I mean your love is not of the malleable kind. 
 According to my belief, it is only fair-weather love. 
 Of course you will not take my advice ; but having 
 relieved my conscience, I will relieve your anxiety. 
 Question me ? " 
 
 " Is Miss Gower really ill ? " 
 
 ** You shall hear. After the interrupted game of 
 croquet this morning, Miss Gower locked herself 
 in her room, refusing admittance even to her maid. 
 From ten in the morning to three in the afternoon 
 she was invisible to human sight. At the latter 
 hour she opened her door, asked for a glass of wine 
 and a biscuit, and again retired. I returned here, 
 after leaving you and telegraphing to the city, and 
 found the household in confusion. It seems that 
 Miss Gower maintained such resolute silence that 
 her maid became anxious, and, with Mr. Morris's 
 permission, forced her way into the room, only to 
 find her mistress lying senseless on the floor, 
 dressed and with bonnet on her head, as if she 
 intended to take a walk. Like the most sensible of 
 maids, she undressed her mistress and lifted her 
 into bed. I entered about this time. The exact 
 cause of the insensibility I could not discover, but 
 I learned that our fair friend was accustomed to 
 taking bromide of potassium for her very frequent 
 nervous spells ; and in the present instance I knoiv 
 she was under the influence of opium. I roused 
 her from her stupor — it was not dangerous ! — and 
 waited until she fell into a more natural condition. 
 She was too weak to be subjected to a long cross-
 
 40 PV//0 IS G VIL TV? 
 
 examination, and too nervous to answer my few 
 questions with clearness." 
 
 " Are you sure — " began the excited captain. 
 
 " I am sure of nothing," said the doctor, rising. 
 ** I've given you my advice, and answered your 
 question to the best of my knowledge." 
 
 " As a true friend, what would you advise me 
 to do ? " 
 
 " Have I not already told you ! Get rid of your 
 malaria and love at the same time." 
 
 " But—" 
 
 The doctor walked toward the door, then turned 
 to say : 
 
 " The pythoness has spoken and the fire is extin- 
 guished. Good-night, Captain Travers ! "
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A BEGINNING. 
 
 SLEEP that night was an enemy that Captain 
 Travers could not conquer ; he tossed about 
 in his bed, occasionally falling into a condition of 
 momentary unconsciousness, only to return to the 
 real world with a wildly-beating heart, a perspiring 
 body, and a vague but painful feeling of impending 
 horror ; of a whirlpool of evil that was to attract him 
 within its dangerous circle, toss him around as a 
 toy, and then swallow him forever. 
 
 It was a relief when the night passed away. He 
 rose, dressed himself in the early dawn, and pulling 
 back the window curtains, inhaled the fresh morn- 
 ing air in an ecstasy of delight. With equal pleas- 
 ure he welcomed, later, Doctor Dubois, who had 
 passed an excellent night, and entered his friend's 
 room with a beaming face. 
 
 "You look haggard and pale, Travers; evidently 
 you have not passed a pleasant night ! " 
 
 " A beastly night, doctor. I've been thinking 
 over your words, and they have been piercing me 
 like burning arrows ! " 
 
 " They were not spoken lightly ! "
 
 42 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " That's what upsets me, doctor. I have long 
 since learned to honor your true manhood, severe 
 love of truth and noble principles. Only I wish 
 you would be more explicit." 
 
 " My dear fellow, if you were in my position you 
 would appreciate my friendship for you in speaking 
 even as I have dared to speak. However, I have 
 determined to put you in a way of thinking for 
 yourself. I am to meet the coroner by the first 
 train this morning and superintend \he post mortem. 
 You shall go along with me, and if what you learn 
 adds to your sleepless nights, blame your own fool- 
 ishness, and not my anxiety for your welfare." 
 
 "At least it will distract me from my horrible 
 thoughts ? " 
 
 " You will find it more exciting and less laborious 
 than pig-sticking, and you will be able to compare 
 our police system with that of your own country 
 and France. One of our best detectives has been 
 sent up to unravel the crime. So we will drink a 
 cup of coffee and eat a roll without disturbing our 
 host, and then rush off to business before the vil- 
 lage is awake." 
 
 " Have you any news of Miss Gower ? " 
 
 " Her maid, Percy, has kindly prepared a break- 
 fast for us, and we will receive her report at our 
 ease." 
 
 They descended to the dining-room, where a most 
 temptmg breakfast awaited them. A very attract- 
 ive young woman, dressed in simple but becoming 
 attire, greeted the captain with a respectful cour-
 
 A BEGINiYING. 43 
 
 tesy, and welcomed the doctor with a smile that 
 showed the tips of her small white teeth. 
 
 " You are the good genius of the house ! " 
 exclaimed the doctor, seating himself and casting 
 an approving glance over the table. " I see you 
 have not even forgotten my chicken croquettes. 
 You are thoughtful, even though at the cook's 
 expense." 
 
 " I did not wake her, doctor, it was so early," 
 answered the young woman, in a soft, musical 
 voice, and with a modest blush in her cheeks. *' I 
 made them myself, and you must excuse me if they 
 are bad ! " 
 
 " They are perfect ! " said the doctor with enthu- 
 siasm, after having tested them, " and the coffee has 
 an aroma that would tempt an angel." 
 
 Miss Percy filled the doctor's cup with the tempt- 
 ing beverage, and then waited on the captain. 
 During her graceful services, while not neglecting 
 the stranger, she was particularly attentive to the 
 doctor, anticipating his wants and meeting his 
 hearty commendations with a grateful yet blushing 
 face. When her services were not required, she 
 discreetly withdrew to a distant part of the room ; 
 yet her large, soft, black eyes still rested on the 
 doctor, and before he had time to formulate a wish 
 she had tripped forward in anticipation of it. 
 
 A dignified, lady-like maid, as even the indifferent 
 Captain Travers was compelled to admit, undoubt- 
 edly born to a station above that which fate had 
 thrust on her ; but if this were true, she raised the
 
 44 ^^0 IS GUILTY? 
 
 humble situation to her height, rather than sunk to 
 its level. Her hands were small, narrow and white, 
 and would not have disgraced the heaven-protected 
 aristocracy of his own land ; her tall figure was 
 plump and graceful, and her small lips were full 
 and of a delicate color that would have shamed a 
 pink rose. Miss Gower must have been strongly 
 assured of her own charms to place them in con- 
 trast with those of her dainty maid. 
 
 The doctor was too intent on attacking the deli- 
 cious food to waste his time in conversation, but 
 when stomach was nearly satisfied, conscience 
 returned to its throne, and with an amiai^le glance 
 at the young woman, he asked : 
 
 " How is Miss Gower ? " 
 
 " She passed a quiet night, and was slumber- 
 ing very peacefully when I left her." 
 
 " There was no return of the nervousness ? " 
 
 " None, sir, since you left her." 
 
 " I forgot to ask you yesterday ; is Miss Gower 
 in the habit of falling insensible to the ground at 
 odd intervals ? " 
 
 " Since I have been with her, she has had three 
 or four attacks like the one you saw." 
 
 " May I ask how long you have been with her ? " 
 
 "'About three months." 
 
 " Did she ever speak about their cause ? " 
 
 *' She was very kind, friendly and considerate to 
 me," answered the girl, warmly, " and she trusted 
 in me as a friend. I can not betray her confidences 
 even to you, sir."
 
 A BEGINNING. 45 
 
 " I have no wish that you should do so. At 
 least you may tell me whether she suspected the 
 cause to be organic disease." 
 
 " She knew, doctor, that she was not troubled 
 with any ailment, but great nervousness. At 
 times it drives her almost insane, and if she tries 
 to escape from the horror she only does what any 
 body would do under the circumstances. She is a 
 kind, noble and self-respecting lady ! " 
 
 " I suppose, then, there is no need of my seeing 
 her before I leave ? " 
 
 " She sleeps peacefully ; she is in no pain, and 
 nervousness is not so rare with woman ! " Her 
 attractive seriousness ended in a more attractive 
 smile. 
 
 " It is unnecessary to disturb her. If you have 
 finished, Travers, we will light a cigar and then 
 there will be time enough to take a leisurely stroll 
 over to the station." 
 
 ** I must change this sack for a coat first," said 
 the captain, rising. " I will be with you in a 
 minute." 
 
 When he had retired the doctor glanced sadly at 
 the fragments remaining on the table, as if regret- 
 ting that anticipation had been greater than per- 
 formance. 
 
 " May I pour out for you another cup of coffee ? " 
 
 The maid was beside him, glancing down on 
 him with questioning brows. 
 
 " I regret to say, that I can not answer your ques- 
 tion with a ' yes ' ; but I thank you just the same."
 
 46 WHO IS G UIL TV? 
 
 The doctor was fond of the fair sex, and was a 
 favorite with them ; and this continued attention 
 from a pretty woman flattered the vanity which 
 even the wisest scientist can not suMue. 
 
 " Shall you be late ? Pardon my question, but 
 if you shall be detained beyond the dinner hour, I 
 should be honored if you would allow me to have 
 something ready on your return," 
 
 " I do not know at what hour I shall be allowed 
 to return." 
 
 " It is more difficult," she returned, with a smile, 
 and little shrug of the shoulders, " but I am ob- 
 stinate, and the supper shall be ready whenever 
 you are ready for it." 
 
 The return of Captain Travers recalled the doc- 
 tor to the business before him, and in a few min- 
 utes the two men were walking briskly through the 
 cool morning air. 
 
 It was but a short distance to the little wooden 
 structure that was dignified with the title of 
 " station ", and it was reached in advance of the 
 train. To kill time they walked up and down the 
 wooden platform that was showered with the 
 pleasant rays of the rising sun. But few words 
 had been interchanged during the journey ; and it 
 was not until the doctor had lighted his second cigar 
 that he worked himself into a conversational mood. 
 
 " The croquettes were a work of art, Travers," 
 he said, simply putting into words the idea that had 
 occupied his thoughts since breakfast. " It requires 
 brains, and education even, to cook properly."
 
 A BEGINNING. 47 
 
 " Miss Percy has undoubted talents in that 
 direction." 
 
 " If I were a little younger," said the doctor, 
 with a laugh, " I should imagine that I had made 
 a very favorable impression on that young lady's 
 heart ! Since I have been here she has been as 
 
 thoughtfully attentive to me as if . You must 
 
 supply the omitted comparison, Travers." 
 
 " She is very attractive." 
 
 " And very good," said the doctor gravely. " I 
 am wrong even to jest on such a serious subject. 
 She is young and unprotected, and it is unworthy 
 of an honest man to make light of her thoughtful 
 attentions. She is fond of reading, and I lent her a 
 few books. She is fond of study, and I showed 
 her the way to gain the most profit from her un- 
 employed time. Her gratitude takes the form of 
 warming my slippers, and preparing little delicacies 
 for me. But I suppose you are puzzled by my 
 seeming indifference to the poor fellow in the 
 deserted house. I have promised the coroner my 
 assistance — his deputy is sick — and when business 
 comes, business will receive all my attention. While 
 waiting — it won't be long, judging from yonder 
 smoke — I am in the mood to forget my profession 
 and its anxieties. And, alas ! my work will soon 
 begin again." 
 
 A black spot in the distance, a defiant shriek of 
 escaping steam, a metallic rattle, and in a moment 
 a train at rest in the hollow below. 
 
 It disgorged two passengers, and had sped away
 
 48 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 before they had reached the top of the wooden 
 stairs that led to the station above. One of the 
 new-comers was a stout man dressed in rusty, baggy 
 clothes, who slowly puffed his way upward ; the 
 other, who carried a small black case in his hand, 
 was a tall man, dressed in a well-made but sober 
 suit of gray, and who leaped rather than walked up 
 the stairs. Both greeted the doctor with friendly 
 warmth. 
 
 " Captain Travers, allow me to introduce to you 
 Coroner Crabbe and Detective Sharpe, our future 
 collaborators in the cause of justice and morality." 
 
 The fat coroner nodded his hea.d, half in deference 
 to courtesy, half in the utilitarian act of inhaling a 
 huge pinch of snuff. 
 
 The detective raised his hat and acknowledged 
 the introduction with a pleasant smile. 
 
 Captain Travers glanced, in surprised perplexity, 
 at the detective, whose profession was not indicated 
 by his appearance or manners. He had a vague 
 consciousness of having seen the face before, but 
 was unable to recall under what circumstances, and 
 finally dismissed the idea as one of his many unre- 
 liable fancies. 
 
 It was a handsome face, the eyes intelligent, the 
 mouth sensitive, yet resolute, and the shaven lower 
 jaw firm and square. The hair was black, and a 
 thick black mustache ornamented the upper lip. 
 He was tall in figure, well-made, and with a sug- 
 gestion of latent strength in the somewhat delicate 
 looking limbs.
 
 A BEGINNING. 49 
 
 " I have brought your instrument-case with me, 
 doctor, as you ordered." 
 
 " I never doubted your memory ! Now you must 
 do me another favor ; I want you to take charge of 
 my friend. He is a benighted foreigner, and I am 
 an.xious to convince him that oicr detectives are 
 superior to the fossil products of effete monarchies." 
 
 " I am at the captain's service ! " 
 
 They left the station, the doctor and coroner 
 leading, the other two walking more slowly behind. 
 
 " May I be critical at the start, Mr. Sharpe ?" 
 
 " At the start and always. Captain Travers." 
 
 "Was it, then, wise to leave the tragedy so long 
 in the hands of local incompetency ? Much maybe 
 done in a long night, especially in way of escape ! " 
 
 " You are right in theory, but wrong in fact. ]\tore 
 has been done than you imagine. The vital point 
 just now is //d^/ the murderer's escape, but to discover 
 who the murderer is. But please inform me what 
 you know of the case. It may be of some help." 
 
 The captain explained his connection with the 
 murder, but refrained from even hinting at his per- 
 sonal experiences in the old house ; and although 
 the gauzy shawl was in his pocket, he made no 
 mention of it. 
 
 By the time his narrative was ended they had 
 reached the scene of the tragedy, and the detective 
 paused to gaze at the old house that was bathed in 
 the morning sunlight. 
 
 " A fine old building ! " he muttered. " It looks 
 as if it had concealed many secrets in its time ! "
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON THE TRAIL. 
 
 A PICTURESQUE building surely; but even 
 in the glow of the sun and with a warm sky 
 above it, sad, chilling and desolate. The coroner, 
 engaged in a warm political discussion with the 
 doctor, had already disappeared. The detective 
 followed more slowly. As he pushed open the gate 
 and entered the grounds, a man emerged from the 
 bushes, and raised his hand to his hat. 
 
 "Any news?" 
 
 *' Nothing, except we caught a man in the 
 grounds last night." 
 
 " He wouldn't have been there if he was con- 
 cerned in the business. I'll examine him by and 
 by. Come, captain ! " 
 
 To his companion's surprise, the detective seemed 
 acquainted with the grounds. Without a moment's 
 hesitation he passed around to the side of the house, 
 and paused beneath the window through which the 
 entrance had been made on the evening before. 
 After a thoughtful silence, devoted to a critical 
 examination of the ground, he said : 
 
 " Let us seek for facts. I think I've already dis-
 
 ON THE TRAIL. 5 1 
 
 covered a few. Please stoop down here beside me, 
 and see if I state them correctly." 
 
 The detective was already on his knees before 
 the narrow bed in which flowering plants were 
 struggling for existence in the midst of a flourish- 
 ing army of grasses and weeds. 
 
 " Listen, Captain Travers ; I measure this flower- 
 bed — I suppose that was once its object — and I 
 find it to be just four feet six inches broad. On the 
 outer edge is a line of old-fashioned box — I believe 
 fashion uses tiles for bordering purposes now. In 
 the center here, is a hydrangea that was once a fine 
 shrub, but is now dwarfed into insignificance ; 
 beyond, against the wall, is a flourishing colony of 
 chickweed. The hydrangea, as you see, is crushed 
 to the ground, as if a heavy weight had fallen on it ; 
 and to the front here, to the extent of about three 
 feet, the box edging is dragged forward, over into the 
 pathway. These are undoubted facts, are they not ?" 
 
 " I dare not controvert them," said the captain, 
 with a smile. 
 
 ** Good ! Now look ; to the right and to the left 
 of the hydrangea are comparatively open spaces, 
 where plants and weeds have died for lack of mois- 
 ture, and light, probably ; and in these spaces are 
 the undeniable marks of footprints ; here, here, and 
 here are the outlines of boot or shoe heels indented 
 deeply in the still moist earth. Now, if you please, 
 we will go over some old ground, with you in the 
 witness stand. When did you and the doctor start 
 out to hunt up the dead man ? "
 
 5 2 WHO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 The captain had been busied with the problem 
 all night, and having a short time ago told the 
 story, had no need to search for his facts. 
 
 " The yacht was expected at one o'clock, and I 
 remember the servant saying that the storm had 
 detained him some three hours." 
 
 *' That makes it four o'clock. Shortly afterward 
 you started off ? " 
 
 ** Yes ; and I knoiu that we did not reach our 
 journey's end until after six o'clock." 
 
 " Let us give our enemies the advantage by 
 calling it six. Now, when the doctor examined 
 the body how long did he say he had been 
 dead ? " 
 
 ** Some six hours." 
 
 " A more detailed examination may alter this ; 
 that is, make the time longer not shorter. But 
 accepting it as an approximation, we are brought to 
 the conclusion that the murder was committed 
 about twelve o'clock noon. Now listen ; these 
 heel marks in the dirt were made after or during 
 the storm ; they could not have entered so deeply 
 into the hard dry soil, or if they had, the rain would 
 have at least effaced their sharpness. If you look, 
 carefully, you will see that the nail heads in the 
 heel are still sharply outlined ; am I right?" 
 
 " There is no question of it ! " 
 
 " Therefore these marks were made in the soil 
 after the rain had ceased. Preparing for such an 
 emergency, I instituted inquiries in the city last 
 night, and I learn that it began to rain here — that
 
 ON THE TRAIL. 53 
 
 is, the heavy shower you described began at ten 
 minutes after four and ended at about five o'clock. 
 Therefore these footsteps were made some four or 
 five hours after the murder. Am I indulging in 
 dangerous theory, Captain Travers ? " 
 
 " In very excellent reasoning, and I suppose we 
 may conclude " 
 
 " Please hear me to the end," interrupted the 
 detective. " The flower bed has something more 
 to tell. The hydrangea, as I have said, is crushed 
 down to earth as if a heavy weight had fallen on 
 it ; but if you look you will discover that the 
 crushed-down portions are covered with mud ; mud 
 in heavy masses ; suggesting very plainly mad-cov- 
 ered shoes as the cause of the disaster. I therefore 
 conclude that the plant was also thrust down in the 
 soil, not before, but after the rainstorm. Now look 
 at the ivy that runs up the house near the window. 
 \\\ one place it is torn away from the wall as if 
 yielding to a heavy weight. Tell me, what do you 
 see on those exposed leaves ?" 
 
 " Blood ! " said the captain. " Some one with a 
 bleeding hand has grasped it. Doubtless the mur- 
 derer himself." 
 
 " That would be the hasty conclusion of ninety- 
 nine sensible persons in a hundred. But consider 
 for a minute ; the blood-stained leaves are fully 
 exposed ; the blood lies thickly on them. If it had 
 been there at twelve o'clock, don't you think the 
 rain would have washed it away ? My reputation 
 on it, Captain Travers, that blood was deliberately
 
 54 ^^O JS GUILTY? 
 
 placed there after the storm, and consequently long 
 after the murder. " 
 
 " But with what object ? " asked the puzzled cap- 
 tain. 
 
 " With what object but that of leading justice 
 astray ! of distracting attention from the guilty 
 party to the innocent ! But before coming to a 
 conclusion on this point, we will re-enforce our 
 argument. How tall are you ? " 
 
 " Five feet ten inches." 
 
 " Good ! now come here toward the ivy and 
 stretch out your hand. You see it just overreaches 
 the blood-stained leaves, by about an inch. The 
 bleeding hand, then, you might say, belonged to a 
 man of about your own height." 
 
 " It at least seems probable ! " 
 
 " Let us accept the conclusion for a moment, 
 and say that the murderer was a man five feet ten 
 inches high. Now look at the foot-prints. Could ' 
 you walk in boots that gave such a small impres- 
 sion ? Let us test it by measurement. Please lift 
 up your foot. Lo ! The broadest part of your heel 
 measures two and a quarter inches ; the broadest 
 part of the sole of your boot measures three and a 
 quarter inches. Now, look ! " with the words, the 
 detective, measure in hand, was on his knees again 
 before the flower-bed. " The widest part of this heel 
 impression in the mud measures one and three-quar- 
 ter inches ; the widest part of this sole impression 
 measures two and a half inches. The length of your 
 foot is ten and a half inches ; the length of the
 
 ON THE TRAIL. 55 
 
 footmark here eight and a half inches. If these 
 impressions were made by the murderer, he had a 
 foot that would cause even your aristocracy to 
 envy him." 
 
 The captain did not answer, but he thought of 
 his adventure in the deserted house, and of the tell- 
 tale evidence that still remained hidden in the 
 breast pocket of his coat. 
 
 " We have still one further bit of evidence, Cap- 
 tain Travers, in this box edging. In its neglect it 
 has grown twelve inches high, and a man could 
 step over it. But supposing he pushed his way 
 through it, would he have thrust it forward in an unin- 
 terrupted line to the extent of three feet ? I leave 
 you to your own conclusions and return to the ivy 
 to see if there are the same footsteps at its base, 
 although I do not expect to discover any thing 
 definite, as the grass grows very thickly there." 
 
 The detective carefully studied the grass, and 
 then gently parted its waving plumes with his hands. 
 He suddenly uttered an exclamation of pleasure, 
 as from the base of the ivy, deep down in the grass, 
 he extracted a handkerchief matted together with 
 blood. 
 
 " Our murderer is excessively idiotic," he mut- 
 tered, carefully unfolding the handkerchief and 
 studying it with an amused but puzzled expression in 
 his face. He handed it to his companion, with the 
 words : " Look in the corner, captain, and tell me 
 what you see ? " 
 
 " The letters G. D."
 
 5 6 IV HO IS G UIL T Y ? 
 
 " The letters G. D. and no mistake. The owner 
 of the handkerchief, if not of the blood, has for the 
 initials of his name the letters G. D., and if he com- 
 mitted the crime his idiocy deserves the punish- 
 ment it will get." 
 
 " The end is nearer than you imagined, is it 
 not ? " 
 
 " It is different from what you imagine ; but this 
 handkerchief will prove an excellent clew. We 
 have only to discover its owner, find out who is his 
 enemy, and the murder will explain itself. But it 
 is time to enter the house now, for they are wait- 
 ing for us, before they enter on their side to befog 
 testimony." 
 
 They ascended the steps, passed into the house, 
 and immediately proceeded to the library, wherein 
 they discovered the coroner and the doctor quietly 
 seated, and still engaged in their political discus- 
 sion. 
 
 " You are taking it easy, as usual, coroner," said 
 the detective. 
 
 " Yes, I always have plenty of time when you 
 fellows are with me ! But I'll go now and rake up 
 a jury, and look around for witnesses." 
 
 " It will eat into your week's holiday, coroner." 
 
 " Yes, if I allow it ! But I think I'll form a jury 
 and then adjourn for a week, to gather evidence, 
 you know ! " 
 
 The coroner winked, while inhaling a pinch of 
 snuff, and then waddled out into the hall-way. 
 
 In the meantime the detective was examining the
 
 ON THE TRAIL, 57 
 
 room, which was long and broad, occupying the 
 entire angle of the house. It had but one door 
 leading from the hall, but as a recompense, the 
 three sides of the square were pierced with numer- 
 ous windows, between which were tall bookcases 
 filled with books. The floor was uncarpeted and 
 of polished oak. Under a brass chandelier hanging 
 from the center of the painted ceiling, was a desk 
 covered with papers, and near it, resting on a 
 Persian rug, a curious carved revolving chair. 
 Heavy curtains were drawn before all the windows, 
 except the one which was open, and from before 
 which the curtain had been drawn back. Thick 
 du.st was everywhere ; it lay on the polished 
 floor ; it whitened the bookcases and the books, 
 it encumbered the rich curtains in which the moths 
 had eaten holes ; it lay on sofas, chairs and foot- 
 stools. The walls were stained and streaked, and 
 the frescoes on the ceilings had lost their color and 
 had crumbled away in patches. 
 
 Lying on the ground, in front of but a few feet 
 away from the window, was the dead body, 
 dressed in sober black. The face was handsome 
 and refined even in death ; undisturbed by suffer- 
 ing and with a frozen smile on its pale lips. The 
 massive, curling brown hair was matted together by 
 the same fluid that formed a pool just under the 
 head. 
 
 Detective Sharpe, having finished his superficial 
 survey of the room, kneeled down beside the rigid, 
 supine figure.
 
 58 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 "You have examined it again, doctor?" 
 
 " Not thoroughly ; that will come when you are 
 through with it. But I can answer general ques- 
 tions." 
 
 " What, then, if you please, is the direction of 
 the wound ?" 
 
 " From above, running backward. My present 
 opinion is, that he was stooping down in front of 
 the window, let us say, picking something from the 
 floor, when the unsuspected murderer, facing him, 
 and just as he was rising, fired the pistol, killing 
 him almost instantly. I slrall find the ball some- 
 what near the occipital foramen." 
 
 ** Probably hiding behind the curtain yonder. I 
 find nothing in the pockets but this case of cigars ; 
 and these three letters, which I will read in a min- 
 ute. His valuable hunting-case watch is untouched, 
 but there is not even a penny of money in his 
 pockets ; nothing indicating a struggle. As you 
 say, doctor, the death must have been instantan- 
 eous. You can have it now as soon as you wish." 
 
 " The sooner the better." 
 
 When assistance had been called and the 
 body removed to another room. Captain Travers 
 addressed the detective with the words : 
 
 " Facts are less abundant here than outside ! " 
 
 " No ; but they are, perhaps, more perplexing," 
 answered the detective, without raising his eyes 
 from the letters he was reading. " The coroner now 
 can run his useless course as soon as he wishes. 
 When he reaches the verdict of " died at the hands
 
 Oy THE TRAIL. 59 
 
 of some person or persons unknown to the jury," 
 justice will be less trammeled in its actions. In the 
 meantime look here ! " The detective had drawn 
 forward the curtain covering the open window, and 
 pointed to a brass-curtain hook on which was a 
 small blue-silk bow, such as at that time orna- 
 mented the skirts of a woman's dress. 
 
 •' If our murderer was a man, captain, he was 
 hiding behind the curtain and wore a woman's dress ; 
 and in coming out of his hiding place left this tell- 
 tale ribbon on the hook ! A woman was surely 
 in the room. Do you see the marks of her 
 footsteps in the dust yonder ? We have pretty 
 well destroyed all traces here ; but look toward 
 the upper part of the room, where we have not 
 walked. Here the impression of toe-point and 
 heel-point are so plain that they will give me the 
 opportunity of measuring the length of the intruder's 
 dainty foot. It measures eight and a half inches, 
 the same length as the tell-tale imprints in the soil 
 without." 
 
 " But I think your reasoning is wrong on this 
 point, detective. As a woman stands, the point of 
 her shoe is raised above the level of the ground." 
 
 " But my conclusion is still the same. You will 
 notice that the impression I measured is closer to 
 the book-case, the toe pointing toward it. The 
 toe impression is very strong, and it suggests 
 that the party who made it raised herself 
 on her tip-toes to reach one of the books in the 
 case. And if you will look, you will see that on a
 
 6o WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 certain shelf the books are displaced ; if you will 
 raise yourself beside me on this chair, you will find 
 that there are impressions of finger-tips on the dusty 
 shelves. If you are curious, captain, here is the 
 very book that was consulted. Don't disturb the 
 finger-marks on the top." 
 
 The detective had withdrawn from the case a 
 compact duodecimo volume, bound in crimson 
 cloth. It bore no title on the outside, and on open- 
 ing it he discovered that it had once been a blank- 
 book ; but the pages were now filled with a close, 
 but bold, legible writing. 
 
 " It is a memorandum-book, and here, where it so 
 suspiciously gapes open without an exploring finger 
 turning the leaves, a large number of pages have 
 been torn out. Were they compromising to our 
 intruder ? And if they were so, was that the only 
 reason why she paid a visit to this deserted 
 library ? I will confiscate the book and .study it at 
 my leisure." 
 
 The detective thrust the volume into his pocket, 
 and then stood gazing thoughtfully out the window. 
 
 " Were the letters that you discovered on the 
 dead man of any importance, Detective Sharpe ? " 
 
 " One of them adds the complicating element of 
 which I spoke a little while ago. It is from the 
 Tom Merton whom you saw in the row-boat, and it 
 is, seemingly, in answer to one written by the dead 
 man. You shall judge for yourself." 
 
 The detective unfolded one of the letters that he 
 held in his hand and read :
 
 ON THE TRAIL. 6 1 
 
 " My Dear Hugo : — 
 
 " Your foreign trip has puffed you up ! If I 
 borrowed money of you I intended to repay it. 
 I'm hard up and will meet you at the appointed 
 hour at Lesbia Villa. Don't keep me waiting and 
 don't disappoint me. Tom Merton." 
 
 " The envelope shows that the letter was posted 
 in the city on the 12th — the day before yesterday. 
 Tom Merton will need looking up. Just now we 
 will interview the interloper found in the orchard." 
 
 The detective gave his order, and in a few min- 
 utes a disreputable, ragged tramp was thrust into 
 the room by an unsympathetic policeman. Detect- 
 ive Sharpe eyed the wretch for a few moments in 
 silence, then said : 
 
 "Answer my questions, if you can, without lying. 
 Your name ? " 
 
 " Ralph Price." 
 
 " What were you doing in the orchard ? " 
 • " Eatin' the apples wot nobody claimed." 
 
 " At what time ? " 
 
 " Maybe 'tween four and six." 
 
 " What did you see ? Tell me all." 
 
 " I see a woman pass out on the balcony, and 
 popped in agin' like a jack-in-the-box. She was 
 dressed in a whitey yaller dress, and a white thing 
 was wrapped around her head so I couldn't see her 
 face. I went ter work on the apples, forgettin' all 
 'bout her, and the next 1 saw of her, she was jist 
 outside the walls of the place, runuin' quick, scared 
 like. She'd left her shawl behind her. Leastways
 
 62 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 it wasn't on her shoulders, but her face was still 
 covered." 
 
 " You couldn't see the front of the house from 
 the tree ? " 
 
 " No ! " 
 
 " What else did you see ? " 
 
 " Nothin', and I didn't know nothin' till the 
 ' cops ' catched me as I was comin' out the 
 gate." 
 
 ** You didn't go in the house yourself?" 
 
 " What fur ? I ain't reached hookin' gas-pipes 
 yet." 
 
 " Take him away and keep him in charge till 
 I'm ready to dispose of him," said the detective, 
 turning to his subordinate. " I shall want to 
 question him more closely by and by." 
 
 " Do you imagine he invented the story of the 
 woman?" asked the captain, when the tramp was 
 removed, and with a certain tinge of remorse at 
 his own silence. 
 
 "There is an undoubted element of truth in the 
 statement, and when I explore the house I shall 
 probably discover the shawl of which he speaks. 
 But it is necessary, before I go further, that we 
 should learn the result of the post mortem. The 
 evidence will complete what I call the circum- 
 ference of the circle. It is my habit to accumulate 
 a mass of facts, before I work on the inner history 
 of a crime. It saves time and prevents premature 
 conclusions." 
 
 The smiling face of Doctor Dubois appeared in
 
 ON THE TRAIL. 63 
 
 the door, and, a moment after, the doctor's little 
 figure entered the room. 
 
 " Have you finished ? " 
 
 " The important business is over, detective, and 
 I'm very much of the opinion that the criminals 
 depended for their safety on the stupidity of a 
 deputy-coroner. They never thought an old gray 
 rat who knows his P's from his Q's would be in 
 the business ! " 
 
 " Have you discovered any thing new ? " 
 
 " Nothing except the victim is dead ! But while 
 I amuse myself examining a specimen of the blood 
 yonder under a microscope, do you amuse yourself 
 by looking around the room for a stray bullet. 
 You will most probably find it embedded in the 
 wall or woodwork." 
 
 The disciplined detective asked no questions, but 
 immediately began his search, while the doctor 
 placed the little microscope he carried in his hand 
 on the desk, drew back the curtain opposite, placed 
 a drop of blood on a glass slide, examined it for a 
 brief moment under the microscope, and then, with 
 hands in pocket, sauntered to one of the bookcases 
 and amused himself by reading the titles on the 
 backs of the books. After a brief interval, he 
 turned and said : 
 
 ** You have discovered it ? " 
 
 " No ; but I will have the room explored inch 
 by inch." 
 
 " I am not particular, as I only suggested the 
 search to put your mind in a proper condition to
 
 64 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 appreciate my discovery. Now, please step here 
 beside me. Here is a pistol which one of your men 
 discovered in the bucket of the well, and which I 
 took from him as he was sneaking along to give it 
 to you ! " With the words, he drew a pistol 
 from his pocket and placed it in the detective's 
 hand. 
 
 " You will observe, detective, that one of the 
 barrels of the revolver is discharged," 
 
 " No doubt of it, doctor ! " 
 
 " Very well. Now here is the bullet that I 
 extracted from the brain of the dead man. Com- 
 pare it with the intact bullets in the chambers." 
 
 " It is smaller in every way, doctor, and belongs 
 to a different weapon." 
 
 " Exactly ; and thereby demonstrating that the 
 pistol with which the murder was committed is still 
 to be found." 
 
 " The criminal was not wise," said the detective, 
 with his eyes resting on the weapon in his hand. 
 " You'll be interested to hear, Captain Travers, that 
 on the handle of this revolver is a silver plate on 
 which are engraved the initials G. D. It's curious 
 how very anxious this G. D. is to get himself hung. 
 But tell me, doctor, does your microscope say any 
 thing." 
 
 " It has a very strong objection to speak just 
 now. By and by it may say something valuable. 
 But I strongly advise you to look for the other 
 pistol." 
 
 " If it is to be found, I will find it. In the mean-
 
 Oy THE TRAIL. 65 
 
 time the captain and I are going on a little explor- 
 ing expedition." 
 
 " Good. I shall remain here till five o'clock ; 
 but, I warn you, I will not miss my dinner, even for 
 my friend Travers."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 
 
 •* WOU think the criminal is a woman?" asked 
 1 the captain, when the detective, after giving 
 a few orders, passed down the veranda steps and 
 was walking briskly toward the village. 
 
 " That is my present opinion, and if I am com- 
 pelled to change it hereafter, I shall feel as if I am 
 not fit for my business." 
 
 " Is it not possible that you may be mistaken 
 and hasty ? " 
 
 " They say that every thing is possible, and I 
 may be mistaken, but if every fact we discover 
 does not strengthen my belief, why, my vanity is 
 greater than my prophetic vision. If I could only 
 interview the mysterious G. D., at this moment, a 
 large amount of valuable time might be spared. 
 And yet, if the mysterious /le is the enemy of the 
 mysterious s/ie, we shall be landed in a maze." 
 
 " You are speaking as mysteriously as a prophet, 
 detective." 
 
 " I am trying to solve the one puzzle that per- 
 plexes me. We must either suppose that our G. D, 
 is the most foolish of fools, anxious to throw a 
 noose around his neck, or we must suppose that he
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 67 
 
 is innocent, and the real guilty party is endeavor- 
 ing to throw the blame on him. Accepting the lat- 
 ter alternative as the more probable, I boldly assert 
 that no one but an impulsive, rash woman would 
 have the audacity to so boldly prepare a trap 
 for an enemy. She has committed a murder ; but 
 even the crime has not brought her discretion. 
 She does not here show ordinary cunning ; she 
 forces under the eyes of the law what a male crim- 
 inal, with the same object in view, would force the 
 law to look for. No one could miss finding the 
 handkerchief ; nor the pistol. And here is another 
 point ; she had the pistol in her possession and 
 discharges one of its chambers, and then uses 
 another pistol with which to commit the murder ! 
 We have to do with a passionate woman. Captain 
 Travers, who cares more to accomplish her object 
 than to plot for her own safety." 
 
 " May not both man and woman be guilty ? " 
 " I have thought of that theory and rejected it. 
 The initials so boldly displayed are enough to con- 
 demn it in my eyes, though, of course, I shall not 
 neglect it in my investigations. If both are con- 
 cerned, the man is deeply in love or deeply indebted 
 to the woman. But we need more light on the 
 antecedents of the dead man. One of the letters 
 found in his pocket is seemingly from his lawyer, a 
 Mr. Thomas Terms, whose office is at 40 Myrtle 
 Avenue, and to Mr. Terms we are now going." 
 
 The lawyer's office was easily found ; it was on 
 the main street of the village. An upright post
 
 68 WHO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 upheld a large square of wood bearing, in gigantic 
 letters, the worthj^ man's name. Unfortunately, 
 Mr. Terms was absent, busied with some matters 
 connected with the murder, and would not return 
 to the village until late in the evening. A sallow- 
 faced young man, with faint indications of a red 
 mustache, gave the information with cheerful 
 alacrity. This young man was Mr. Abe Clayton, 
 the lawyer's clerk, and under the skillful question- 
 ing of Detective Sharpe he was readily induced to 
 tell all he knew of the past history of some of the 
 people involved in the tragedy. In Mr. Clayton's 
 opinion the object of the murder was robbery. It 
 seems that, two days before, Mr. Addison had 
 drawn ten thousand dollars from the bank, or 
 rather Mr. Terms drew it for him, on one of 
 his checks. In requesting the lawyer to obtain 
 the money for him, Mr. Addison explained 
 that he intended to use it in renovating the old 
 house. Mr. Clayton expressed the confident 
 opinion that the murder was committed on account 
 of this money. Questioned as to whom he sus- 
 pected as the murderer, Mr. Clayton displayed a 
 wily reticence, and refused to be " caught ". He 
 insinuated, however, that Mr. Addison was a 
 " softy " who, when in the village, was always fol- 
 lowed by a lot of " beats " intent on borrowing 
 money, and that it was one of these " beats " who 
 had committed the murder. On being asked if 
 he knew any body whose name would fit the initials 
 G. D., Mr. Clayton winked vigorously, and ex-
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. (>() 
 
 pressed the opinion that " Geoffrey Draper was the 
 chap to toe the mark ! " Mr. Clayton believed 
 that Geoffrey Draper had " left the village for the 
 season ". Further questioning drew out the facts 
 that Mr. Draper put on the " airs " of a gentleman, 
 but that he was a fraud. He had once been the 
 friend of the dead man, following him everywhere, 
 but that finally the disgusted Mr. Addison had 
 publicly insulted him, "kicked him down-stairs 
 and given him the dead shake ! " According to 
 Mr. Abe Clayton, Draper accepted the insult and 
 appeared among his friends as quietly as ever. Mr. 
 Clayton concluded his rambling account by brand- 
 ing Geoffrey Draper as " a calf's liver with diluted 
 water instead of blood in his veins. However," 
 he added, forgetting his pride in his officiousness, 
 " if he hasn't left the village, and you'd like to see 
 him, I can give you a lift. Most of his valuable 
 correspondence is directed to the care of our P. O. 
 bo.x, and here are a couple of letters for him which 
 you can take up to his house. Its number is 27 on 
 this street, a little distance below here. If he's 
 gone, you can send 'em back." 
 
 Detective Sharpe gratefully accepted the mis- 
 sion, and retired from the presence of the young 
 man, after expressing the intention of calling on 
 Mr. Terms. 
 
 He had no difficulty in finding Mr. Draper's 
 house, which was an ugly little brick structure, vul- 
 garly pretentious and repelling. The detective, 
 followed by the captain, unhesitatingly walked
 
 70 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 to the veranda, where a surly-faced servant was 
 lounghig on an arm-chair, smokhig a pipe. In 
 answer to the question, he condescended to give the 
 information that Mr. Draper was not at home, and 
 that he did not know when he would be at home, 
 " But," he added, with a satirical smile, " you kin 
 wait and try your luck. May be he'll be back next 
 minute, may be next year ! " 
 
 He lazily rose, pushed open the front door, and 
 ushered the visitors into a small but tastefully fur- 
 nished room. 
 
 " That's a good portrait," said the smiling 
 detective, pointing to an oil painting that had 
 attracted the attention of Captain Travers the 
 moment he entered the room, and from which he 
 could not withdraw his eyes. It was the ** three- 
 quarter " portrait of a handsome man with large 
 russet-colored beard and mustache — the portrait of 
 a face he had seen alive in tlie muunlight in his 
 lonely watch of last night. 
 
 "That's Mr. Draper," said the servant. "If 
 you've got any thing to say you might say it to the 
 pictur' and save time ! " 
 
 Detective Sharpe preferred the surly servant as 
 a companion, and he speedily converted him into a 
 very communicative witness, especially when he 
 announced that he was the bearer of a sum of 
 money for his master. The arrival of visitors had 
 attracted a comely woman to the doorway, and the 
 announcement of money stimulated her into 
 saying :
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 71 
 
 " Then we'll git what's been owed us for the last 
 three months ; and the grocer and butcher and 
 baker '11 git paid, too." 
 
 The surly man and the comely woman had now 
 to be restrained in their volubility ; but from 
 their diffuse statements the following facts were 
 gained : Mr. Draper was deeply in debt, even to 
 his servants. On the morning before, the servants 
 had demanded their money,' and Mr. Draper said 
 that he expected, on that same morning, to receive 
 the money for a piece of property he had sold, 
 and that on his return from the city all his debts 
 would be paid. He had gone out after breakfast 
 on the day before, and they had not seen him since, 
 though he had promised to return in a few hours. 
 Concerning his habits, the cook had much to say ; 
 a veiled woman or women were coming to the 
 house at all hours in the day or night, and Mr. 
 Draper himself opened the door. He had no other 
 friends in the village but this woman or these 
 women, " for they may a bin many, for their faces 
 was always veiled, and all cats is gray in the 
 dark." Three evenings ago " he had a awful 
 quarrel with the woman what visited him." Cook, 
 who was not listening, " heard the woman say, 
 ' You must not risk it ! I love you, and you've 
 run enough danger for me.' Then I hear a kiss, 
 and he says, * I'd risk any thing to bring you 
 happiness, my dear.' Then they whisper, and by 
 and by he says, ' When I get the money we'll start 
 out on a new plan.' Then she says, ' Any thing
 
 7 2 WHO IS G UIL TV? 
 
 but this life ; it's killing me.' And then he kisses 
 and hugs her." 
 
 Cook had no idea who the veiled woman was, 
 but she had rings on her fingers and came in her 
 carriage. In cook's opinion, her master had got a 
 large sum of money, and then run away with it to 
 escape his creditors, for " he was a wild bad 'un ! " 
 
 " A woman came last night ! " said the surly 
 man. " I didn't see her face, and I didn't open the 
 door ; but I looked out the window to tell her 
 master wasn't home, and I see she was dressed in a 
 white dress with di'monds flashing in her ears. If 
 he''d\i\n home he'd a let her in." 
 
 " Of course he would ! " exclaimed the cook, in- 
 dignantly. ** Such goings on, and honest helps 
 can't get their honest earnings. It's a shame, and 
 I ain't afraid to say so ! " 
 
 The detective had risen and approached a little 
 round table, on which were several unopened let- 
 ters. While speaking his right hand toyed idly 
 with the envelopes. 
 
 " It's hardly worth while waiting here any 
 longer," he said, with a quick glance at the letters. 
 " I will come again to-morrow, and I sincerely hope 
 that Mr. Draper will be at home to receive the 
 money I bring him ! " 
 
 When he left the house one of the letters that 
 was on the round table reposed snugly in the side 
 pocket of his coat. 
 
 " Your theory is stretching to a dangerously 
 thin condition, is it not, Detective Sharpe ? "
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 73 
 
 asked Captain Travers when they had turned 
 their backs on the Uttle brick house. 
 
 " It seems so ! " was the good-natured answer. 
 " But I still think it is strong enough to hold 
 the guilty party — or parties ! If our G. D. is a fool, 
 so much the worse for him. He disappeared at a 
 very unfortunate moment, if he is innocent." 
 
 " And if he is innocent he did a very foolish thing ; 
 for I saw him gazing anxiously up toward the 
 house in which the murdered man's body lay ! " 
 
 Without further comment Captain Travers de- 
 scribed his experience of the night before ; that is, 
 the portion that related to the man with the russet 
 whiskers. Through a feeling which he could not 
 account for himself, he still refrained from men- 
 tioning the more startling adventure with the mys- 
 terious woman. 
 
 " So our friend did not run away, after all ! " was 
 the detective's criticism. " That is, we can now be 
 certain that he remained in the village till six or 
 seven o'clock last night. That is something gained, 
 something to lean on. According to the testimony 
 of our tramp, a woman was in the house at the 
 same time. Was it a coincidence, or were both 
 working with one object ? Did they return for 
 something they had forgotten ; or were they seek- 
 ing for something that they could not find ? Was 
 money the only object of the murder, or was it 
 money and something else ? W'hether he shares 
 the guilt, or is innocent, the solution of the mystery 
 lies with the very foolish G. D ! "
 
 74 tV//0 /S GUILTY? 
 
 " You still hold to the woman theory ? " 
 
 " Always," answered the detective with assur- 
 ance. " She is the heroine and he only a helpless 
 aid, even if he shares the crime. He may have 
 fired the pistol-shot for money, which she clamored 
 for, but her object was not money. Her safety 
 depended on the murdered man's silence ; he held 
 some secret that would ruin her. To silence one 
 tool, she used another, and I should not be 
 astonished that to her is due the mysterious disap- 
 pearance that puzzles us." 
 
 " You believe there is another murder ? " 
 
 " It would not astonish me ? " 
 
 " You have converted a woman into a fiend ! " 
 said the captain with disgust. 
 
 " Nature has done so before me ! There is 
 nothing more out-and-out wicked than a con- 
 scienceless woman struggling for her own safety. 
 Think over all the facts of the case which we have 
 thus far discovered, and then tell me what you 
 think ; not of my new, but of my reconstructed 
 theory, which, as facts accumulate, I may have to 
 reconstruct and reconstruct again. I make it larger 
 to embrace all the facts ; but from first to last, 
 the nucleus of our snowball remains the same." 
 
 " I listen to you with interest and admiration, 
 and if I venture to differ, I use only the privilege 
 you have given me." 
 
 " I court your criticism, Captain Travers ! Now 
 listen to the reconstructed hypothesis : Suppose 
 there is a woman moving in the upper circles of
 
 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 75 
 
 life, respected, honored and admired. Suppose 
 that, in former days, she has done something 
 which would degrade her. Suppose that, in some 
 way, the murdered man was acquainted with the 
 fact. But he has gone away on a pleasure voyage 
 without making the fact public. In a little while 
 news is received that the man and his yacht were 
 swallowed up in the ocean. Such a fact was 
 reported in the newspapers of Mr. Addison and his 
 yacht. The woman feels perfectly safe, and 
 rejoices. Let us suppose, now, that she met with a 
 man like our G. D. is reported to be, a handsome, 
 dressy fellow. That he is not her equal, in intellect 
 or otherwise, makes no difference. Some of your own 
 aristocratic fedies have run away with coachmen. 
 We will say that she is smitten with him ; but for 
 some reason, which I hope to discover, dares not 
 openly show her infatuation. Perhaps she has par- 
 ents who know how unworthy G. D. is, and would 
 sternly forbid any association with him. In any 
 case she dares not openly marry him ; and neither 
 possesses enough money to suggest an elopement. 
 While the annoyances naturally incident to such a 
 state of affairs are accumulating, the supposed 
 dead man returns to life. He threatens the woman; 
 — if he loves her he will surely do so ! At least we 
 will, temporarily, suppose that his reappearance 
 places her in a dangerous position. On a certain 
 day he withdraws ten thousand dollars from the 
 bank for his own use. The woman hears of this and 
 uses it as a means of stimulating G. D. to robbery
 
 J 6 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 and murder. The fool falls into the trap, and when 
 he has served the purpose of doing what she alone 
 could not do, she quietly gets rid of him ; in what 
 way I am not yet prepared to say. When she has 
 made him vanish, she has so arranged it that sus- 
 picion shall all point to him, even his disappearance 
 adding a finishing touch to the clumsy but not in- 
 artistic work ! If you ask me why she visited the 
 house after the crime, I will answer that it was in 
 connection with the secret. She tore the leaves out 
 of the memorandum-book, and did other things 
 which I will discover when I go carefully over the 
 house this evening. At least that is my rough theory 
 which I give you in accordance with the promise 
 that you should see and hear all I do ^nd think in 
 the working up of this case. Ponder it in bed to- 
 night, and the weakness that you discover I may 
 be able to strengthen when we meet again to- 
 morrow." 
 
 They had reached the old house by this time. 
 Dr. Dubois was pacing slowly up and down the 
 veranda, enjoyingly puffing at a cigar ; and with 
 hands clasped behind his back. He had plucked a 
 small bouquet of choice flowers, and thrust them in 
 the lapel button-hole of his black frock-coat, and 
 every now and then he bent his head and inhaled 
 their perfume. He greeted his friend with a pleas- 
 ant smile, and glanced at the detective with an 
 amused expression on his face, and in his bright 
 gray eyes. 
 
 " Is the coroner within, doctor ? "
 
 A N EX PL ORING EXP EDI TION. 7 7 
 
 " No ; he has gone to the city. The inquest is 
 adjourned for a week ! " 
 
 " Was nothing done ? " 
 
 " Yes, a jury empaneled, and the dead body 
 looked at." 
 
 " No evidence taken at all ? " 
 
 " None ! " 
 
 " That is remarkably stupid even for a coroner." 
 
 " Judgments are as various as tastes," said the 
 doctor gayly, " and talking of tastes suggests that 
 it is almost time to go home to dinner. It's five 
 o'clock, Travers, and if you are going back with me 
 it s time to move ! I suppose, detective, you 
 remain all night here ? " 
 
 " 1 shall not sleep until I have thoroughly 
 examined the house." 
 
 " Well, you won't die of loneliness or of lack of 
 stimulation to work." He turned to a tall, gray- 
 haired man, who at the moment came out on the 
 veranda, and said, " Max, this 's Detective Sharpe, 
 who has staked his reputation on bringing your 
 master's murderer to justice. Detective, this is 
 Max Newton, who has sworn to devote his life to 
 revenging his master's murder ! "
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WISDOM AND BEAUTY. 
 
 " T AM not sorry to escape to more congenial 
 
 1 company," said the doctor, thrusting his arm 
 through that of his friend. " Sharpe is just a trifle 
 of a bore ! " 
 
 " I hope Miss Gower is better ! " said the captam, 
 somewhat irrelevantly, yet unable longer to sup- 
 press the anxiety that had haunted him all day. 
 
 " Keep your common-sense, Travers. She is 
 probably out of her narcotized state, and will look 
 very interesting with her pale face and elaborate 
 dress. But don't make a fool of yourself. Listen 
 to the birds, and think your romance." 
 
 " I will not trouble you now ; but I must have 
 your advice ! " 
 
 " Keep it till I come into your room to-night. I 
 am in a mood todreamof the luxuries that the little 
 treasure, Percy, has prepared for my special delight. 
 I surrender the nightingale to you ; leave me, then, 
 to the memory of chicken croquettes." 
 
 The homeward journey was made in silence, both 
 men becoming absorbed in their thoughts. No news 
 waited for them at their journey's end. Miss Gower 
 had remained all day in her room, but, according to
 
 WISD OM AND BEAUTY. 79 
 
 her maid, was more comfortable, though still under 
 the influence of the drug. 
 
 The doctor heartily enjoyed the excellent dinner, 
 but Captain Travers sat at the table merely out of 
 ceremony, every moment seeming an hour, and 
 every word irritating his sense of hearing like loud 
 peals from a funeral bell. The doctor and his host 
 spoke of the condition of Miss Gower ; Mr. Morris 
 uttered the belief that she was a confirmed opium- 
 eater and expressed the intention of placing her in 
 an asylum for the cure of the disease, to which 
 the doctor nodded vigorous assent. 
 
 Captain Travers retired to his room at the first 
 opportunity, and passed several very weary hours 
 in restlessly pacing up and down. The rustling of 
 a dress in the hall seemed to stimulate him to a 
 certain resolution. He approached the door, and 
 as Miss Percy passed by it, on her way to the hall, 
 he said : 
 
 " Pardon me ; but I found this little thing near 
 the house to-day. Perhaps it belongs to you." 
 
 With the words he withdrew a small shawl from 
 his pocket and placed it in her hands. 
 
 " It belongs to Miss Gower," said the maid, pos- 
 itively, " and disappeared mysteriously yesterday. 
 With your permission I will take possession of it in 
 my mistress's name." 
 
 " Of course," laughed the captain, nervously. 
 *' If it is hers !" 
 
 " It is hers, and there is not another like it in the 
 country."
 
 8o WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " Then keep it, by all means. Can you kindly 
 inform me where the doctor is ? " 
 
 " He expressed the determination to write out his 
 report before he retired. Do you wish to see him ? " 
 
 '' No ! no ! " groaned the captain. ** If I could 
 forget myself I would be happy." 
 
 The doctor was in the library, where every thing 
 had been arranged for his comfort. On a little side- 
 table near the desk were cigars, a plate of dainty 
 biscuits, and a bottle of his favorite wine. 
 
 " She is a treasure ! Her unconventional sim- 
 plicity is charming ! She deserves a better fate 
 than destiny metes out to her ! " The worthy 
 doctor yawned ; the wine he had drunk at dinner 
 made him sleepy, and he was not in a mood for the 
 serious work before him. But, scorning ease when 
 duty claimed him, he seated himself at the desk, 
 and soon became absorbed in his work, his pen 
 racing furiously over the paper, scrawling hiero- 
 glyphics rather than words. 
 
 He was in the midst of an intricate subject, when 
 there was a discreet tap on the door, and in answer 
 to his permission, Miss Percy entered the room. 
 She had doffed her formal attire, and her slender 
 figure was draped in a loose robe. Her hair "had 
 also been released from the restraint of its classical 
 Greek band, and fell in uncontrolled freedom over 
 neck and bosom, a simple blue ribbon partially 
 restraining its rippling wantonness. 
 
 " I came to see if you needed any thing before I 
 retired," she said, standing near the doorway.
 
 PVISD OM A ND BEA U TV. 8 1 
 
 "You have anticipated all my wants, Miss Percy, 
 and I shall feel reproached if you dim your pretty 
 eyes by keeping awake on my account." 
 
 " I never sleep more than four hours ; I have 
 learned French and Italian in the time that I have 
 stolen from sleep ; and when I was a child 1 always 
 studied my lessons in bed — that is, after my maid 
 was asleep. All my energies are most active in the 
 night." 
 
 " I wish mine were at the present moment. I am 
 compelled to send a long business document away 
 early in the morning, and in my eagerness I write 
 so illegibly that I shall be compelled to correct my 
 spots of ink into readable English." 
 
 " Would you allow me to play the part of aman- 
 uensis ? " asked the young woman, timidly. " I 
 do not write badly for a woman, and it would 
 be a great happiness to assist you, even as a 
 copyist." 
 
 ** You could not read a word of my scrawl," said 
 the doctor, eying the manuscript before him. 
 
 " May I make the attempt? " 
 
 He handed he a sheet of paper with a smile, and 
 to his astonishment she read it with unhesitating 
 facility. 
 
 " Listen, please : * You must be particular in every 
 detail. I shall feel disappointed if we do not 
 demonstrate my theory of the case without the 
 chance of an objection. It will not be the firsl 
 time that science has vindicated justice, and re- 
 proved blundering self-assurance. Murder is bad
 
 82 WHO IS GUILTY ? 
 
 enough ! ' " Miss Percy looked up from the page 
 with a smile of triumph. 
 
 " You read without hesitation where I myself 
 would have stumbled ! " said the doctor, with 
 unconcealed admiration. 
 
 " Before you decide you must see my hand-writ- 
 ing." 
 
 She leaned over the desk so close to him that a 
 stray lock of her perfumed hair fell on his shoulder, 
 and wrote, with a bold, free hand : 
 
 " * You say, not always wisely, know thyself ! 
 Know others, ofttimes is the better maxim.* 
 
 " To Professor Dubois from his ignorant, yet 
 devoted friend, May Percy." 
 
 *' You write superbly, and are very heroic in your 
 desire to help, but the subject is hardly fitted for 
 you to read." 
 
 With a glance of gay defiance, she seized the 
 pages of manuscript from the table and read them 
 to the end. " There is nothing here, sir, that a 
 school-girl dare not read." 
 
 " I had not reached the real subject, when you 
 appeared. But you have given me the excuse for 
 idleness." 
 
 " I am sorry for disturbing you, and for reading 
 your manuscript, for it recalls my father's death, 
 and though the doctors said otherwise, I still believe 
 he was poisoned by his cruel second wife. I have 
 been told — am I wrong? — that there are some 
 agents that may destroy life without leaving any 
 traces behind ? "
 
 WISDOM A ND BE A UTY. 83 
 
 " In the present state of science that is almost an 
 impossibility. Science is not infallible," said the 
 doctor, admiring the graceful pose of his young 
 friend, and the child-like interest revealed in her 
 pretty face, " but / have never seen the poison that 
 I could not discover. I know a case " — the doctor 
 suddenly paused, then said with dry dogmatism : 
 " No, I have never been deceived ! I have made 
 mistakes," he added, speedily recovering his good 
 humor, " but I have found them out before they 
 caused any trouble. Criminals, even when most 
 clever and attractive, do some little thing or leave 
 something undone, which reveals the cloven hoof. 
 Take the case of Mr. Addison, for example ! " 
 
 In her interest in the conversation she had placed 
 her little clasped hands on the doctor's knee, and 
 there was an expression of absorbed attention in 
 her face. In a fatherly way, he gently patted her 
 on the head. 
 
 " This horrible talk will give you the nightmare, 
 my child." 
 
 " I am very much interested. You were say- 
 ing ? " 
 
 " You have very pretty hair. If I were 
 younger " 
 
 " Please do not descend to common flattery," she 
 pleaded, somewhat impatiently. '* Interest me with 
 your conversation," she said, with a fine smile, " and 
 I shall not remember the boldness of your hand. 
 You were speaking of the stupidity of crim- 
 inals,"
 
 84 IV HO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 " I was taking the case of Mr. Addison as an ex- 
 ample of it," he said, toying with a strand of her hair. 
 " The criminal shoots his victim in the skull and 
 then leaves his pistol to reveal his crime. Here 
 you find / will not hesitate. You shall copy my 
 report of the case to-morrow, and you will see that 
 I boldly stake my reputation on the pistol bullet 
 being the cause of death." 
 
 Miss Percy sighed, as if a weight were lifted 
 from her mind, then smiled gayly, glancing sideways 
 at his bold hand. 
 
 " I am tired of seriousness, and my recollection 
 of the proprieties is coming back. As you are so 
 very good, I will weave you a watch-chain out of 
 the hair your wisdom so much admires." 
 
 " I will wear it all my life, and it shall be buried 
 with me ! " 
 
 She glanced at him with doubtful, then with 
 pleased surprise, and a subtile smile curled her 
 ripe lips. 
 
 " You teach me I am still human ! " she said 
 softly. He had risen, and she now rose and stood 
 beside him. 
 
 " You regret your promise ? " 
 
 " It has not been sealed." 
 
 With a gay smile, not without its element of sad- 
 ness, he pressed his lips to her soft cheeks. She 
 started back with a flush and frown which speedily 
 dissolved into a troubled smile. 
 
 " We know each other now ! " she said, in a 
 forced voice. " Farewell till to-morrow ! "
 
 WISDOM AND BE A UTY. 85 
 
 With a mocking courtesy and a light laugh, she 
 turned and quitted the room. 
 
 " Little Judas ! She is young to indulge in that 
 kind of treachery. But she is an expert and very 
 attractive, even though her soft hair become a 
 noose that will choke her ! "
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WEAVING HEMP. 
 
 ON this same night Detective Sharpe is weaving a 
 noose in which hemp takes the place of hair. 
 The evening is still young, and he is sitting in the 
 library with the venerable servant, Max, as a com- 
 panion. He has discovered that the old man's 
 frank face is a true index of his heart ; and Detect- 
 ive Sharpe is noted for his thorough knowledge of 
 human nature. 
 
 With praiseworthy self-repression, Max Newton 
 does not allow his personal feelings to lead him into 
 exaggeration or morbid sentiment. He answers 
 the questions addressed to him with grave unhes- 
 itancy, yet with a calm deliberation, as if his rever- 
 ence of truth were even greater than his agony at 
 the death of a beloved master. He carefully dis- 
 tinguishes between suspicions and facts, and has 
 deliberately delivered the statement, that he would 
 rather prefer the guilty wretch should escape 
 than that his soul should be blackened by even the 
 shadow of a false charge. A solitary candle is 
 burning on the desk, and ca^s a dim light on his 
 pale and seriously sorrowful face. 
 
 Lying before the detective is the crimson-bound
 
 IV£A VING HEMP. 87 
 
 memorandum book which he had abstracted from 
 the bookcase earUer in the day, and the conversa- 
 tion revolves around it as a center. 
 
 According to Mr. Newton, his master had no 
 vices. Mr. Addison was " a large-hearted noble 
 gentleman ". As a child he was sad and self- 
 repressed, and inherited some of the eccentricities 
 of his grandfather " who was haunted with the idea 
 that his enemies were bent on murdering him". 
 Under this fear he built Lesbia Villa, planning 
 " hiding-places in case of surprise, and with 
 mysterious doors of exit for the purposes of escape". 
 The boy Hugo loved solitude and developed such 
 strange fancies that his parents became alarmed, 
 and finally determined that he must have a com- 
 panion who, when he grew to man's estate, was to 
 become his wife. They wrote to one of their dis- 
 tant friends who was poor and burdened with a 
 large family ; and a wearisome correspondence 
 ended by the friends sending one of their daughters 
 to the house. The boy became the slave of the girl, 
 and her presence produced the effects that the 
 fond parents had hoped for. A number of tranquil, 
 happy years passed by, but as the girl advanced to 
 womanhood she became, in Mr. Newton's language, 
 a " thoughtless, heartless coquette ". Fortunately, 
 her adopted parents did not live to witness her 
 complete transformation. 
 
 " They died," said Mr. Newton, solemnly, " in 
 ignorance of the storm that was gathering over the 
 head of their beloved son, and he inherited their
 
 88 WHO JS G UIL TY ? 
 
 wealth. The girl, who had been a flirt, now became 
 a prude, and refused to hve under the same roof 
 with her intended husband." 
 
 The patient Mr. Addison secured for her a 
 little cottage which " he furnished with elegance ". 
 The girl and her maid removed to her new quarters 
 after the funeral of her adopted parents, and Mr. 
 Addison, havmg " a horror of the house in which his 
 parents died ", leased another little cottage for 
 himself at the other end of the village. The girl, 
 according to Mr. Newton, now threw aside all 
 restraint. Mr. Geoffrey Draper had come to the 
 village, and he became her especial favorite. Mr. 
 Addison angrily expostulated with her, but she 
 defied him. In Max Newton's language, " she had 
 developed into a fiend ". In her malice she wrote 
 letter after letter to Mr. Addison, charging him with 
 all kinds of cruelties and absurdities. She refused 
 to see him ; she refused to marry him. Mr. 
 Addison was plunged into the deepest grief by 
 these actions. 
 
 " His heart was broken," said Mr. Newton, with 
 the tears welling up to his eyes. " He tried to 
 escape from his troubles ; he speculated in stocks, 
 he bought a yacht, and he sailed for a year any- 
 where, everywhere, and I believe he is happier now 
 than when he was alive. As to the woman, she 
 left the house he had provided for her and went 
 elsewhere, and for a year, as I am informed, has 
 been living to please herself." 
 
 " Where are the letters she wrote to him ? "
 
 WE A VING HEMP. 89 
 
 " I do not know. But, surely, somewhere in this 
 house." 
 
 " You can give me no other information on this 
 point ?" 
 
 The old man hesitated ; a spasm passed over his 
 face, and his eyes filled with tears. 
 
 " Mine is a sad position, Detective Sharpe ! " he 
 said in a trembling voice. " To revenge my dear 
 master's death I would willingly lay down my own 
 life ; but in avenging it I am compelled to act con- 
 trary to my master's orders. Time and time again 
 he has said to me, ' Spare her, Max, at whatever 
 cost ! If she outlives me, and I have a presenti- 
 ment she will, she must live honored and respected 
 by the world.' If I ever dared to speak harshly of 
 her — I held him in my arms when he was a child, 
 and he tolerated me ! — he would place his hands 
 over my lips and, with a sad smile, repeat : 
 * Spare her now and always ! I love her, Max ! 
 The ideal is grown into my life, and the reality 
 has no power to destroy it. She will repent one 
 day ! ' " 
 
 " I appreciate your loyal affection to a kind 
 master ; but, at the same time, you have a duty to 
 perform to the world and to morality. I hope you 
 do not wish the criminal to escape." 
 
 "Not if it were my own sister!" said the old 
 man, impetuously. 
 
 The detective felt a pleasant glow of satisfaction, 
 and secretly congratulated himself on his own cun- 
 ning and his companion's simplicity.
 
 90 WHO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 " Let us now return to the letters, Mr. Newton, 
 and please tell me all you know." 
 
 The old man took a crumpled piece of paper 
 from his pocket and said : 
 
 " A few days after our return here from a year's 
 absence, I received orders to take the yacht down 
 to the city to have it cleaned. Before surrendering 
 it at the ship-yard, I looked around to see that 
 nothing of value had been left aboard. In the 
 waste-basket in my master's cabin I discovered this 
 unfinished draught of a letter." 
 
 The detective hastily seized the paper and 
 read : 
 " My life and love : 
 
 " Your letter reached me after my long absence, 
 but its cruelty had no power to prevent the thrill of 
 delight its receipt gave me. I can not, I dare not, 
 accede to your request, which would rob me of my 
 vindication in the eyes of the world. But more — I 
 still love you, even if you hate me in return, and in 
 my love I must have some hold over you. You are 
 free to do all you wish, and with my life and my 
 fortune I will assist you to what jw/ believe is your 
 future happiness, /, your misery. You have been 
 reckless, cruel and unjust ; but I forgive you, and 
 love you, or rather, the ideal which has been knitted 
 into my very soul. But I must keep those letters, 
 not for the world's eyes, but for my own happiness. 
 They have blasted my life, but they are part of my 
 past. To part with them would be to part with my 
 soul. No eyes but my own will ever see them. Even
 
 WEAVING HEMP. 91 
 
 should your words come true and I meet an unex- 
 pected death — I wish, with you, that the report of 
 my disaster had proved true ! — they are so safely 
 concealed in the secret drawer of my dear mother's 
 cabinet that they will never be found. Threats are 
 useless ; I do not love life enough to fear them. 
 You have ruined it ; but I will not reproach you. 
 What my love can not surrender, your covert 
 threats can not wrest from me. I may die sud- 
 denly — " 
 
 The fragment abruptly ended with these omin- 
 ous words. 
 
 " This is very suggestive, Mr. Newton, and very 
 valuable. Do you know where the cabinet is to 
 which it refers ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the old man, sadly. 
 
 "We will pay it a visit; but first let me clearly 
 understand a few points. As I understand it, the 
 woman's conduct was so shameless after the death 
 of the people who had adopted her, that your mas- 
 ter refused to marry her." 
 
 " She refused to marry him ; refused his repeated 
 offers ; and he finally tacitly accepted the inevita- 
 ble as the best. I fear he was so much infatuated 
 that had she, at any time, wished to entrap him into 
 wedlock, he would have yielded even with his eyes 
 opened, as they were. Fearing this, and to escape 
 from her and himself, he forced himself to undergo 
 a year's aimless wanderings in his yacht." 
 
 " Was he paying for her support all this time ? " 
 
 " She owed every thing to him till she left the
 
 92 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 house he had provided for her, and then he was 
 compelled to withdraw his support." 
 
 " Did she ever visit Mr. Geoffrey Draper at his 
 house on Myrtle Avenue ? " 
 
 " Personally, I know nothing ; but I have heard 
 — you can easily find people who will verify the 
 statement — I have heard that she frequently vis- 
 ited the man, and that letters, which she was par- 
 ticularly anxious to receive secretly, were directed 
 to her in the care of Mr. Draper." 
 
 " She was evidently very fond of him." 
 
 " It may have been love, or something else. At 
 least, he was very attentive to her and she to him." 
 
 " Do you know any thing of his antecedents ? " 
 
 " I only know him as he appeared here. He was 
 introduced to my master by a common friend, and 
 he was received as a friend until he revealed his 
 true nature. He is without conscience ; and yet, 
 if he was the best of men, what can be said of a 
 young woman who, alone, entered his house 
 at night, as report said she did ? A vulgar 
 gambler ! " 
 
 " Ten thousand dollars would be a temptation 
 there, surely ! " said the detective musingly. " You 
 tell me that when you went down to the city, on 
 the evening preceding the day of the murder, he 
 had the money ? " 
 
 " I saw him lock it in the drawer of the desk in 
 the library ; and, at my request, he slept in this 
 house over night to guard it, instead of going else- 
 where. It was to have been personally carried by
 
 WE A VING HEMP. 93 
 
 me, on my return next day, to the people for whom 
 it was drawn." 
 
 " And not a cent of it can be discovered ! " said 
 the detective, staring at the pictures opposite. 
 " He was not her enemy, and, as I thought, she 
 had taken advantage of his bHnd trust in her. 
 Did the woman know he was staying at the house ? " 
 
 " She knew he was in the village, and he had 
 written to her that he would meet her at the law- 
 yer's office on the next day ; that is, the day of his 
 death. But Mr. Terms, the lawyer, can give you 
 more information on this point than I can. He 
 was one of my master's trusted friends." 
 
 '* What became of the maid that waited on the 
 woman ? " 
 
 " Her mistress unceremoniously discharged her 
 when she left the cottage ; and, as she had no 
 friends in the country, my master paid her passage 
 back over the ocean, that she might return to her 
 relatives. He was thoughtful and noble in every 
 thing." 
 
 The detective consulted his note-book, then 
 asked : 
 
 " Do you know any thing of a young woman 
 called May Percy ?" 
 
 " Nothing, sir ! " 
 
 " Have you ever heard of the name ? " 
 
 " I have heard that a very excellent young woman 
 of that name lived in the village ; but I never saw 
 her. Mr. Terms has lived here all his life, and he 
 can give you information on that point, as well
 
 94 W^O IS G UIL TY? 
 
 as on every thing else connected with local 
 history." 
 
 " Will you show me now where the cabinet is ? " 
 
 " It is in a bed-room that has not been opened 
 since its angel occupant died. The door was kept 
 locked, and my master trusted no one but himself 
 with the key. I fear we shall not be able to get 
 in." 
 
 " Show me the room and I will have the door 
 forced open to-morrow." 
 
 The old man seized the light, and, followed by 
 the detective, passed along a dreary hall that dis- 
 mally echoed back their footsteps. They then 
 descended a broad flight of stairs. 
 
 " The room is at the end of this passage-way. 
 The door is too heavy for us to force without tools." 
 
 " Let me see it, at least." 
 
 They paused before a massive oak-door hidden 
 in a gloomy angle. 
 
 "We shall require no key, Mr. Newton," said 
 the detective, with an oath. " Some one has 
 been here before us, and forced an entrance into 
 the room. See ! the lock is broken, and the door 
 yields to the slightest push ! " 
 
 " I am dazed, sir ! " 
 
 " We have been anticipated, and I fear our best 
 card is stolen from us. You must reserve your dis- 
 may and surprise for another occasion. Please 
 show me the way." 
 
 They entered a huge room whose atmosphere 
 chilled the blood. Nothing was visible in the dim
 
 WE A VI NG HEMP. 95 
 
 light but the salient points of pieces of furniture. 
 The detective stumbled against a chair, which was 
 massive enough to bear the contact without mov- 
 ing an inch from its place. 
 
 " The cabmet is in yonder corner, detective, 
 between the two windows." 
 
 It was a large cabinet, built of heavy, black 
 wood and richly carved with figures and flowers ; 
 a solid, artistic, serviceable piece of work, the 
 art of making which our century seems to 
 have lost. Unfortunately, a vandal hand had 
 marred its beauty ; a panel had been brutally 
 smashed in one of the doors, and an ax, 
 or some other sharp instrument, had chopped 
 away the floor of the little closet on which it 
 opened. 
 
 " Was the secret drawer beneath this closet, Mr. 
 Newton ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ! " 
 
 " Then I was right," said the detective, after 
 passing his hand into the cavity beneath. " The 
 letters have been stolen ! " 
 
 " But it was a secret drawer only known to my 
 master," retorted the old man, with superstitious 
 horror. 
 
 " Your memory is weak. Is it not possible that 
 his adopted sister should know as much of this 
 cabinet as the little boy? She must have seen it a 
 great many times." 
 
 " You are right," said the old man, in a whisper. 
 " As children, both have played with the figures on
 
 g6 WHO IS G UIL TV ? 
 
 the cabinet and hidden their toys in the secret 
 drawer ! " 
 
 " The same hand that tore the tell-tale leaves 
 from the memorandum-book stole the letters ; and 
 its owner was thoroughly acquainted with the house 
 and the habits of its master. The robbery is more 
 convincing than the letters would have been. 
 Please hand me the candle a moment, Mr. New- 
 ton." 
 
 He passed the light into the little closet and 
 studied the wood-work with deep interest. 
 
 " There is blood on this projecting piece of 
 jagged wood ! " he exclaimed, with smiling satis- 
 faction. " The thief, in her haste to reach the let- 
 ters, has scraped her hand or arm against the sharp 
 point. She has given us some evidence in return 
 for what she has stolen, and I shall make full use 
 of it. We have no further business in this room 
 to-night, Mr. Newton. Let us return to the 
 library." 
 
 Once more sitting before the desk in the room 
 where the crime was committed, the detective 
 studied the candle-flame for some time in silence, 
 his thoughts busied piecing together the fragments 
 of evidence he had gathered. The servant sat on 
 the lounge a short distance away, outside the dim 
 circle of light. 
 
 " The robbery is a bad stroke of luck for me, 
 Mr. Newton," said the detective, suddenly break- 
 ing the silence. " Out of those letters I should 
 have been able to weave the rope that would hang
 
 fV£A VING HEMP. 97 
 
 your master's murderer. We do not even know 
 the nature of their contents." 
 
 " The wretch has been bolder than I beUeved 
 possible," sighed the old man, in turn rousing him- 
 self from his reverie ; " and all scruples have van- 
 ished. I read those letters, Detective Sharpe, 
 unknown to my master, but in his interest." 
 
 " I am not a moralist," said the detective, eagerly, 
 " and I am so grateful to your curiosity that I for- 
 give your former reticence. What was their 
 nature ? " 
 
 "They degraded the hand that wrote them. 
 Openly confessed her shame." 
 
 " The woman had fallen ? " 
 
 " Yes ; the first letter was a confession of her 
 degradation, and plea for assistance. The woman 
 humbled herself in repentance when repentance 
 was too late to save her honor. I know my master 
 did not write any answers to these letters, and when 
 I read them I understood the agony, shame and 
 grief into which they had thrown him. Receiving 
 no answer, the woman wrote again, and again ; her 
 cries for mercy gradually changed into threats that, 
 unless her demands for money and other assistance 
 were complied with, she would accuse her noble, 
 innocent protector of being the cause of her ruin, 
 and publicly disgrace him. Fortunately, the first let- 
 ter completely disproved the last, and I suppose this 
 is one reason why my master refused to surrender 
 them. Any other man than Mr. Addison would 
 have allowed the vile woman to rot in her degrada-
 
 98 WHO IS GUILTY ? 
 
 tion ; he did nothing more cruel than to send her 
 money anonymously. She went to the city for a 
 short time, and when she returned she was all 
 meekness and self-reproach. She wrote a number 
 of letters asking for pardon and mercy, and, at the 
 time, my master was so touched by them, that I 
 was compelled to use force to prevent him rushing 
 to her with the guilty letters, for the return of 
 which she earnestly pleaded. He yielded to my 
 arguments, and it is now my greatest sorrow that 1 
 ever uttered them." 
 
 " You have a theory at last, Mr. Newton ? " said 
 the detective, with a triumphant smile. 
 
 " He was dealing with a fiend ! " answered the 
 old man excitedly, and nervously clutchmg at his 
 white hair. " She was winning her way into respect- 
 ability again, and her past was a menace to her. 
 She needed the letters, and a murder was com- 
 mitted that she might obtain them. Curse her ! " 
 
 The sudden change to wild passion aston- 
 ished the detective, and he dismissed the heart- 
 broken servant for the night. 
 
 *' Poor devil, it has used him up ! " he reflected as 
 he stretched himself on the lounge. " That breed 
 of servants has long since died out." 
 
 He suddenly remembered that he had in his 
 pocket three letters — two given him by Mr. Terms's 
 clerk and one which he had purloined from Mr. 
 Draper's house. He had determined to read them, 
 but he was drowsy, and deferred this piece of ille- 
 gality to a more favorable opportunity. He sank
 
 tP'EA r/.VG HEMP. 99 
 
 into a condition which was neither sleep nor wake- 
 fulness ; consciousness remained, while his body lost 
 its power of moving. At the same time he seemed 
 to hear the pattering of light footsteps and the 
 rustling of a woman's dress. Was he dreaming ? 
 A strange, yet familiar odor now assailed his 
 nostrils ; yet before it had completely conquered his 
 senses, he saw through his drooping eyelids the 
 outline of a human form. The face was above and 
 outside the line of vision, and he had not the power 
 to adjust himself so as to catch a glimpse of it ; but 
 he saw the attire ; a creamy mull, ornamented with 
 knots of pale-blue ribbon ; he felt a warm breath on 
 his forehead, and hands busied with the pockets of 
 his coat — and then he sank into unconsciousness.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A LEGAL OPINION. 
 
 WHEN Detective Sharpe opened his eyes in the 
 morning, he felt unaccountably drowsy, and 
 when he rose from the lounge his legs were 
 strangely weak in the joints. He stared about him 
 in a vague, perplexed manner ; then, remembering 
 his vision, hastily thrust his hand in the breast 
 pocket of his coat. The mutilated memorandum- 
 book and the three unopened letters which it held 
 had disappeared. Continuing his search, he dis- 
 covered that his own note-book, in which he had 
 jotted down his ideas, suspicions and intentions 
 concerning the murder, had also vanished ! His 
 humiliation was greater than his anger ; he, the 
 great Detective Sharpe, had been openly robbed by 
 the very people whom he was hunting down. They 
 had boldly defied him, boldly chloroformed him, and 
 plunged their blood-stained hands into his pockets. 
 Yes ! and the tell-tale blue ribbon, which he had 
 found on the hook behind the curtain, had also been 
 stolen ! He turned his pockets inside out, and 
 the fact was undoubted. 
 
 " You shall swing for it just the same, my dear," 
 he murmured, with a vicious grinding of the teeth.
 
 A LEGAL PLY I OAT. lOI 
 
 " Detective Sharpe is not to be despised with 
 impunity ! " 
 
 Performing a hasty toilet, for the hour was late, 
 he gave some orders to his assistants and then left 
 the house, and in the open air came face to face 
 with Dr. Dubois. 
 
 " Where are you going, Sharpe ? " 
 
 " To pay a visit to Mr. Terms." 
 
 " T'U go with you, in place of Captain Travers, 
 whose experiences of yesterday have sickened him 
 of the entire business. But you are looking pale, 
 Sharpe." 
 
 " I'm feeling in excellent health, and I know 
 I'm in excellent spirits." 
 
 " Every thing going on all right ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I'm in hopes of speedily bringing the 
 business to a happy conclusion. I mean happy 
 for me." 
 
 " It will add immeasurably to your brilliant repu- 
 tation, " said the doctor, seriously as to face, yet 
 with a secret enjoyment of his own wit. 
 
 " I will do my best," answered the detective, with 
 much humility. " But I hope the illustrious Mr. 
 Terms is at home this time." 
 
 Mr. Terms was in his office, and he cordially 
 welcomed his guests; but with a certain distinction. 
 He bowed respectfully when the great doctor's 
 name was mentioned, but greeted the detective with 
 a dignified nod of the head, only accepting him as an 
 object whom he could use as lay figure — to talk 
 to, poke at with a long, bony finger, and otherwise
 
 102 IVHO IS GUILTY ? 
 
 for his own exaltation. He leaned back in his 
 chair, raised his spectacles from his eyes to his 
 forehead, placed the fingers of his hands together 
 over his shrunken abdomen, slowly twirled his 
 thumbs around, and, in answer to a question, rushed 
 at once into conversation that threatened to be a 
 monologue. 
 
 " Did I know the lamented deceased ? Who 
 knew him better ? who longer ? who more inti- 
 mately ? I was at one and the same time his 
 legal adviser and his friend. For twenty 
 long years I have known him, shared his 
 joys and sorrows, and guided his youthful 
 inexperience with such stores of wisdom as I 
 possess ! " 
 
 " And his disposition ? " 
 
 " Plastic, sir, and amiable. Ready to profit by 
 advice and to respond to the words of affect- 
 ion." 
 
 " Gay ? " 
 
 " Gay, sir ; but only in a moral sense," said Mr. 
 Terms, with dignified asperity. " He was young, 
 sir, without the sins of youth ; human clay, if you 
 wish it, but spotless even under the micros- 
 cope." 
 
 " Then his love for his adopted sister " 
 
 " Was his first and only love, sir. All his affec- 
 tion centered in her, and when she left him she 
 took all his affection with her. He was rich, and 
 many young women aimed the shafts of love at 
 him ; but, if you will pardon the metaphor, they
 
 A LEGAL OPIXIOy. 1 03 
 
 never hit the bull's eye. He loved once, and never 
 loved again." 
 
 " Are you acquainted with the cause which 
 drove the lady from him ? " 
 
 " I a/?i, sir, " answered Mr. Terms, severely ; 
 " and it is not to her credit. You shall hear, Detect- 
 ive Sharpe, and you shall judge ! She was taken 
 from very poor people when she was a mere child, 
 and became more than a daughter to our dead 
 friend's parents. She received the best education 
 and the best care. She was thus cultivated and 
 thus reared with the especial understanding that, 
 ultimately, she was to become the wife of our dead 
 client. But, sir, when she had budded into woman- 
 hood, and her adopted mother had been added to 
 the silent majority, and she presided at the head 
 of the table as the only surviving specimen 
 of womanhood, she developed traits that had 
 hitherto been latent. She always had a violent 
 temper, flying into spasms of rage for any reason 
 or no reason at all ; but now, sir, she grew obsti- 
 nate, spiteful, self-willed, vindictive. In place of 
 preserving the sweet isolation in which she was 
 brought up, she insisted on mingling with the giddy 
 throng ; she insisted on flirting and, as / think, 
 helped to drive her adopted father to his grave. Until 
 two years ago she seemed to have a certain respect 
 for the proprieties ; but then, sir, she threw off all 
 restraint, and this, sir, in the very cottage our 
 revered martyr provided for her. She refused to 
 see him, and, sir," said Mr. Terms, meaningly, and
 
 104 ^VHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 with terrible emphasis, " she saw others ; and the 
 others was a man ! " 
 
 " I am carried away by the vivid style of your 
 narrative," said the detective; " but before I forget, 
 you will allow me to ask a few questions ?" 
 
 " I am at your service. Detective Sharpe." 
 
 " When the woman's adopted parents were alive 
 I presume she acted with propriety ? " 
 
 " Not in the way I would have my daughter act ; 
 but at that time, if she were guilty of indiscretions 
 the world was not allowed to see them." 
 
 *' According to the best of your knowledge, she 
 was content with the conditions imposed on her? " 
 
 " She was cunning, sir ; for it was an especial 
 clause in the will of her adopted father that, unless 
 she married his son, she was to go out into the 
 world with only enough money to supply her abso- 
 lute necessities." 
 
 " You saw the will ? " 
 
 " I held it in my possession four long years, and 
 I opened it. The son inherited all ; the woman 
 nothing ! " 
 
 ** While the parents were alive what was the 
 relation of the two young people to each other ? " 
 
 " Ife was all warmth and affection ; she all cold- 
 ness. I have seen him place his arm around her 
 waist and kiss her, and I have seen her struggle 
 against this very natural affection with signs of 
 horror and disgust in her face. Once, sir, I unwit- 
 tingly entered a room wherein the young couple 
 were, and I heard her threaten to kill herself if he
 
 A LEGAL OPINLOM. 105 
 
 continued to honor her with his love ! The word 
 honor, sir, is mine, not hers. No, sir, she never 
 loved him ; she wanted to be a rich man's wife, 
 that was all ! " 
 
 ** Now, Mr. Terms, discarding all gossip, I would 
 ask you what you personally knoiv of the woman's 
 conduct after she left the house of her adopted 
 parents ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, I know that a man named Geoffrey 
 Draper visited her at all hours, and I knoio that she 
 visited Geoffrey Draper at all hours. It was vile, 
 unpardonable, wicked!" said Mr. Terms, indignantly. 
 
 " Who is this Mr. Draper ? " 
 
 " A nonentity who appeared here some years ago 
 — I think it was the same year in which our hero's 
 parents died. Where he came from, except the 
 slums of the great city, I don't know ; but, for a 
 time, he was very intimate with our distinguished 
 martyr. He is a plausible, well-dressed fellow, and 
 has hired a house here ; but all the money he owns 
 he earned at the gaming table or borrowed from 
 his friends ! " 
 
 " Are there gambling houses here, Air. Terms ? " 
 asked the doctor, speaking for the first time. 
 
 " No, sir ! " answered Mr. Terms proudly. 
 " Cypressville is above such immorality ! " 
 
 " Then," continued the doctor, "this man Dra- 
 per did 7iot indulge in his evil propensities here ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; he played an evil game in a city of 
 evils." 
 
 *' Then," persisted the doctor, "you have no per-
 
 Io6 WHO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 sonal knowledge that this man Draper was a gam- 
 bler?" 
 
 " It is not likely ! " said Mr. Terms, somewhat 
 disconcerted. " But every body knows he is a gam- 
 bler, and / know that his being a gambler is one of 
 the causes which led to a rupture between him and 
 my murdered friend ; for this fact I had from Mr. 
 Addison's own lips ! " 
 
 " It is very strong evidence," answered the doc- 
 tor. " Forgive my questions." 
 
 " They honor me ! " 
 
 " Once more, Mr. Terms," said the detective. 
 " Was the final rupture due to the woman or the man 
 now dead ? " 
 
 " You shall hear, gentlemen, and what I now 
 repeat I had from the lips of Mr. Addison himself, 
 and he was above exaggeration, as he was above all 
 other faults ! In this very room he told me of the 
 shameful actions of the woman with strange men." 
 
 " With strange men, or a strange man ? " again 
 asked the doctor. 
 
 " I see I must be rigidly scientific in my language 
 in presence of a scientist," said Mr. Terms. " To 
 be accurate, then, Mr. Addison, with tears in his 
 eyes, complained of the woman's conduct with this 
 Geoffrey Draper. He told me he had spoken to 
 her and she had boldly defied him. Later, after 
 she had closed her door against him, he came to 
 me asking my advice. The woman, sir, had the 
 audacity to charge him with being the cause of 
 what resulted from her own shameless conduct ;
 
 A LEGAL OPINIO JV. 107 
 
 in other words she was using her own disgrace to 
 levy black-mail against an innocent man. On my 
 advice he kept all the letters, while refusing to 
 answer any." 
 
 " Did you see these letters, Mr. Terms ? " 
 
 " No, but my friend told me of their contents ; 
 and if immorality and black-mail were hanging 
 matters, the letters would have supplied the rope." 
 
 " Did Mr. Addison ever make a will ? " 
 
 " You are coming to the vital point ! Some 
 years ago he did make a will, which I drew up for 
 him. That will is now in my possession, unopened, 
 as when he delivered it to me." 
 
 " What was its nature ? " 
 
 " He left every thing he possessed, and without a 
 restricting clause, to the woman whom he expected 
 to become his wife." 
 
 " Did he never alter it ? " 
 
 " I am coming to that, sir, and I beg all your 
 attention. Time and time again I begged him, in 
 the cause of justice and morality, to alter the will ; 
 but with a sad smile he always put it off, saying, 
 that if he should die his kindness would be the 
 woman's greatest punishment. He was infatuated 
 with her to the end ! Before he went away on his 
 long yacht-voyage, I again argued with him, and he 
 laughingly said he would discuss the subject when 
 he returned. I indignantly urged : ' But if you 
 die, sir, the heartless woman will inherit every 
 thing, and go on her way rejoicing.' ' It will be 
 a test of heaven's desire,' he answered. *If I die,
 
 lo8 IV/IO IS GUILTY? 
 
 I am satisfied that it is heaven's intention to save 
 her in that way. If I live, I will take it as a sign 
 that heaven wishes to punish her, and I will alter 
 the will ! ' " 
 
 " He was a crank, like his grandfather ! " was the 
 detective's irreverent comment. 
 
 " He v/as weak when he should have been strong. 
 But let me finish. He returned, and two days before 
 he was murdered he came to me, and I drew up a 
 new will at his request, in which he gave to his 
 'adopted sister', as he called her, only enough 
 money to bring her in a modest income ; the rest 
 was given to a number of worthy charities. This 
 new will was to have been signed and sealed on the 
 very day he was murdered ! " 
 
 " Of course the woman was not acquainted with 
 this new phase in her destiny ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, she was !" said Mr. Terms, impressively. 
 " He was too honorable to keep her in ignorance. 
 As she was aware of the provisions of the first will, 
 he deemed it his duty to notify her of the change 
 in his intentions, or rather, to be accurate, he 
 deputed me to write to her. Here is a copy of my 
 letter." 
 
 Without pausing in his speech, Mr. Terms had 
 opened a book, and was ready at the proper time 
 to read the following letter: 
 
 " Madam : 
 
 " I am requested by my client, Mr. Hugo Addison, 
 to notify you, that it is his intention to modify his
 
 A LEGAL OPIXION. 109 
 
 will. He sacrifices his own feelings to what he con- 
 ceives to be his duty. He intends to sign this new 
 will on the morning of the 13th September, and he 
 would be pleased to see you or your deputy on, or 
 before, the morning of the said day at the office of 
 the undersigned, that no injustice may be done." 
 
 " That was the letter, but the new will was never 
 signed, for foul murder swept him into the grave, 
 and the woman still inherits all his wealth and pos- 
 sessions. The value will be enormous, too, for he 
 speculated lavishly." 
 
 " This woman is Tsliss Gower, the niece of your 
 friend ]\Iorris," said the detective, gravely, to the 
 doctor. 
 
 " I hope, detective, that you appreciate the value 
 of my communication," added Mr. Terms, impres- 
 sively, " and if I have been the means of helping 
 justice and moralit)-, gentlemen, I shall feel more 
 than repaid ! " 
 
 *' He is an impressive piece of parchment !" said 
 the doctor, when they had emerged into the open 
 air. " I suppose you mean to arrest Miss Gower, 
 now ? " 
 
 " What else cati I do ? " 
 
 ** You have reached your conclusion quicker than 
 I have. But, if you please, let me ask you a ques- 
 tion, Sharpe. Of what do you suppose the lamented 
 hero died ! " 
 
 " Of a pistol-bullet in the brain ! " 
 
 " As our friend Parchment would say, if a false
 
 I lO IVHO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 conclusion were a crime, you would be hung, Sharpe. 
 Your supposition is entirely wrong ! Let me inform 
 you the bullet was fired in the man's brain after he 
 was dead ! " 
 
 " Are you sure ? " asked the detective, with uncon- 
 cealed surprise. 
 
 " You forget who is delivering a judgment 
 now ! " 
 
 " Pardon me ; but the announcement is so unex- 
 pected that it dazes me ! " 
 
 " It is nevertheless true, and what is more, 
 Sharpe, is, that the blood which was under the dead 
 man's head was not human blood ! The parties who 
 committed the crime were very anxious to have it 
 believed that he died from a pistol-shot — why, I 
 don't pretend to know ! — but they bungled their 
 work outrageously." 
 
 " Of what then ^/V the victim die." 
 
 " I can not answer, and that is why I have not 
 mentioned the subject to you before, although I 
 took the coroner into my confidence. I believe he 
 was poisoned, and acting under this belief I have sent 
 portions of the body to the city to have them prop- 
 erly analyzed." 
 
 " What poison do you suspect ? " 
 
 " I can not say, as I am not acquainted with the 
 symptoms in life, and there are no characteristic 
 symptoms after death. Probably a narcotic, from 
 the absence of inflammation or erosions. But a 
 poison of some kind surely. If Miss Gower is 
 guilty, she must have forced the poison down her
 
 A LEGAL OPIXIO.V. Ill 
 
 victim's throat, and then killed a number of chickens 
 and used their blood, after shooting her victim in 
 the head, after he died of poison. She wanted to 
 make sure that she would be found out ! " 
 
 " But the same objections may be urged by the 
 murderer, whoever he or she maybe." 
 
 *' You are not clear-witted this morning, Sharpe. 
 Go back a few steps ; recall the blood on the ivy, the 
 blood on the handkerchief, and, especially, the pistol 
 with the initials on it, and the chamber discharged of 
 a bullet, which was not the bullet discovered in the 
 dead man's bra '.n. What is the conclusion of common 
 sense ? " 
 
 " What I have always maintained ; that is, that 
 the guilty party is trying to force the crime on 
 another, with whom she was once intimate." 
 
 ** That is clumsy. Suppose, how, that there was a 
 third party, who knowing the past history of the 
 dead man and living woman thoroughly, committed 
 the crime. Suppose, also, that our G. D. was 
 deliberately seized on as a pointer to fasten the 
 crime on a woman who was innocent of it. Suppose 
 the third party argued somewhat in this way: * I will 
 throw G. D's. blood-stained handkerchief in the 
 ivy ; his pistol in the well. The clever detectives 
 will discover these objects, and they will imme- 
 diately know that a man committing a crime will 
 not leave such evidence behind him. The detectives 
 will say, some one is trying to fasten the crime on 
 an innocent man, and they will infallibly be guided 
 to the woman. She will receive all the attention,
 
 1 1 2 IVIIO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 while I dance in security in the background. She is 
 innocent ; but her past history, related by the 
 exaggerated tongue of scandal, will condemn her 
 past all hope of saving ! ' It is not my 
 business to find out who this third party is. I 
 only wish to show you that your theory is not 
 necessarily the right one, and to ask you to be 
 careful before you affix an indelible brand on a 
 woman who, in my belief, is more sinned against 
 than sinning ! " 
 
 ** Your theory comes in most opportunely," said 
 the detective, after a thoughtful pause, " and I 
 promise yoii that I will not be hasty in arresting the 
 suspected party." 
 
 " If I am right, Detective Sharpe, all the evidence 
 that may be hastily gathered will point toward the 
 woman whom you suspect. If she is guilty, she 
 deserves her fate ; but sweep the ground 
 thoroughly before you strike. In the meantime, 
 I give you my personal guarantee that the woman 
 shall remain in her present abode until such 
 time as you are fully satisfied of her guilt or 
 innocence." 
 
 " Your assurance relieves me of a great anxiety, 
 and I will spare until the last moment. Only I must 
 do my duty ; I must examine her room " 
 
 *' I will help you by taking you to her house. She 
 is probably absent, for I have given orders that 
 she pass the day in the open air. I will not intro- 
 duce you as a detective, for the reason that she must 
 not be degraded at the present time ; but I will give
 
 A LEGAL OPINIOy. 113 
 
 you ample opportunity to make a thorough 
 search." 
 
 " I can ask nothing more ! " 
 
 " But my liberality will not end there. Keep 
 your eyes and ears open and you will discover the 
 beginning of the path I have cut out for myself. 
 When you have reached the end after me, I shall 
 expect your thanks for having prevented you from 
 adding fresh griefs to the grief-burdened life of a 
 misjudged woman." 
 
 " You speak positively ! " 
 
 " And you know that I never speak lightly. All 
 I ask is, that you will exercise your cunning, 
 skill and experience. A false step on your part 
 would probably make me a companion victim to 
 the murdered man. You look incredulous ? Wait 
 to the end before you deliver your judgment. I 
 give you my word, Sharpe, that if it were not that 
 I feel my honor engaged in the business, I would 
 leave you here and rush off to the city never to 
 return to this place again ! " 
 
 " I meekly admit, doctor, that you surprise me. 
 But notwithstanding your doubts, I am proud to 
 believe that you will find in me a valuable aid. I 
 must satisfy myself as to the suspected woman, 
 whom, I frankly confess, you have not entirely 
 cleared in my eyes ; but I assure you that no 
 wrong shall come to her through me, until 
 I have first given you my reasons and my intention." 
 
 " I repeat your words in saying that I ask nothing 
 better ! This is the house ; you are a friend of
 
 1 1 4 U'JIO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 mine from the city. That is all that is necessary ; 
 the rest you may leave to me." 
 
 The doctor had whispered this caution before 
 the front door of Woodbine Villa, the bell of which 
 he now rang. As he expected, the smiling Miss 
 Percy appeared in answer to the summons. 
 
 " Is Mr. Morris in ? I have met an old friend 
 from the city whom I am anxious to introduce to 
 him." 
 
 " He is not at home, doctor. He is out with 
 Miss Gower in the carriage." 
 
 " Has she recovered her senses yet ? " 
 
 " I fear not ! " was the sad answer. 
 
 " If he should return please notify me. Come, 
 Frank," he said, turning to the detective, " I am at 
 home in the house of my old friend, and we will 
 have a smoke and a lounge in my own room." 
 He loitered behind his friend to whisper to Miss 
 Percy. 
 
 " I will meet you, my dear, in a few minutes on 
 the veranda." 
 
 She nodded and covertly squeezed the doctor's 
 hand, then vanished into a neighboring room. 
 
 The doctor rejoined his friend and both ascended 
 the stairs. At the top of the first flight, the doctor 
 pointed significantly with his finger toward a cer- 
 tain door, and continuing his journey, entered a 
 room on the floor above. 
 
 " Stand at this window, Sharpe, and when you 
 see me conversing with the woman who opened 
 the door, commence your investigations in the
 
 A LEGAL OFIJVION. 115 
 
 room indicated. No one is home, and you will not be 
 interrupted. When you have finished, meet me on 
 the veranda." 
 
 Miss Percy was waiting for the doctor, and on 
 his appearance rushed to him with a pout. 
 
 " I thought you would never come ! " 
 
 " You are impatient, my dear ; I have not been 
 in my room above ten minutes. I decoyed my 
 friend into taking oflf his boots, I forced him into 
 an easy chair, gave him a cigar and unceremoni- 
 ously left him ? " 
 
 '' Who is he ?" she asked, boldly. 
 
 " A good enough fellow in his way ; but with an 
 unfortunate habit of saving hotel expenses by 
 thrusting himself on his friends. He has been 
 here a week, and discovering that I was in the same 
 village, seized me as a means of extending his 
 acquaintance. I would not have brought him here 
 if I knew Mr. Morris were at home, and I intend 
 to get rid of him before Mr. Morris returns. Have 
 you copied my report ?" 
 
 " In my best hand ! " 
 
 " You are an angel. But can we not take a little 
 walk under the trees?" 
 
 Miss Percy consented, and having put on her 
 hat the cunning doctor led her away from the 
 house. Under the shadow of the trees the cunning 
 doctor became very communicative. He saddened 
 the woman by informing her that he must soon 
 return to the city to attend to his professional 
 duties and then to his domestic affairs. He was
 
 1 1 6 WHO IS G UlL TY? 
 
 an old bachelor, and his house was at the mercy of 
 careless servants. He was very rich, and it was a 
 temptation. Ah ! if he only had a young, energetic 
 and trustworthy housekeeper ! If he could obtain 
 the right one, she should receive a large salary and 
 a future of ease and comfort be assured her. 
 
 After a certain hesitation, the blushing Miss 
 Percy delicately hinted that she would not be 
 averse to accept the position herself. She had no 
 friends and no claims on her, and her obligations 
 to Miss Gower would end in two weeks and she be 
 free. 
 
 The cunning doctor, having stimulated the 
 woman's ambition, now cooled it by announcing 
 that he would think over the matter, and at the 
 earliest opportunity give her the result of his 
 matured thoughts. Miss Percy acquiesced in the 
 inevitable with a sigh, and there was a short silence 
 broken by the woman saying : 
 
 " The happy future opened to me makes me for- 
 get my present duties. You told me that in her 
 narcotic condition, Miss Gower might do some 
 mischief. Consequently, I have been unusually 
 watchful, and I discovered this pistol under the 
 mattr^s of her bed." 
 
 She handed him a small revolver mounted in silver. 
 
 " You ^re a treasure in every way ! " was his 
 enthusiastic comment, as he took the pistol, " and 
 if I can only persuade myself that it will be for your 
 good — But, see, I have forgotten my friend, and he 
 has grown impatient and come for me. Slip into the
 
 A LEGAL OP IX 10. V. IT7 
 
 house, get me your copy of the report, and I will 
 post it, get rid of the bore, and return here as quickly 
 as possible." 
 
 Miss Percy smiled, entered the house, but soon 
 reappeared with a long, sealed envelope, which she 
 delivered to the doctor. She watched the t.wo men 
 disappear in the distance with a thoughtful, resolute 
 expression on her handsome face. 
 
 " If I could only believe him ! He is vain and 
 foolish, and the thought is a horror ! From house- 
 keeper to wife ! I have conquered greater difficul- 
 ties, and he is my slave already. If I could only 
 believe him, the bad, evil-minded man ! "
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 
 
 'I'^HE doctor and the detective, in the meanwhile, 
 1 were engaged in an animated conversation 
 
 " Did you discover any thing in the room, 
 Sharpe ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I found the mull dress, and from the 
 ashes in the grate I raked out a few scraps of the 
 papers that were stolen from me." 
 
 '' She was foolish not to burn them to the last 
 fragment ! " said the doctor, meaningly, " But I 
 suppose she left those scraps to make sure that 
 you would find them ! " 
 
 " I guess this is the weapon, at last ! " said the 
 detective, taking the silver-mounted revolver which 
 the doctor had drawn from his pocket. 
 
 " Yes ; and you will notice that one of the 
 chambers is discharged. It is another piece of 
 foolishness on the part of the woman you suspect." 
 
 " Miss Percy found it ? " 
 
 " Yes ; under the mattress, and innocently 
 brought it to me to take care of." 
 
 " She is a tall, graceful woman, doctor ! " 
 
 "About the same height and build as her mis-
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 119 
 
 tress," answered the doctor, carelessly, but with a 
 malicious sparkle in his gray eyes. 
 
 "A resolute woman," said the detective, thought- 
 fully. 
 
 " My prize, Sharpe ! She has consented to 
 become my housekeeper, and I'll wager she is 
 dreaming at this moment of an infatuated old dotard, 
 and the ease with which she can make him her 
 husband, or eat into his fortune by the noble trick 
 of black-mail ! The darling ! She is greatly 
 interested in poisons, and I allowed her to copy a 
 make-believe report ! " 
 
 " I will pay her my attentions by and by. Just 
 now I am going to Geoffrey Draper's house. Will 
 you come ? " 
 
 " No, thank you, I must leave you here and 
 return home." 
 
 The doctor parted from the detective with a 
 perplexed, troubled countenance ; his shaggy brows 
 were knitted, his lips compressed. Even his analytic 
 intellect was troubled. 
 
 He lighted a cigar, and with the first puff of 
 smoke his face brightened. 
 
 " It is worth while to give these over-praised 
 detectives a lesson. Sharpe is an average specimen 
 of the best, and a pretty muddle I prevented him 
 from producing. I could give them all points ! " 
 he thought, warmed by the stimulating glow of 
 egoism. " I suppose the woman-detective for whom 
 I have written is equally stupid. She ought to be 
 here to-day, and at a glance I can read her quali-
 
 120 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 ties. It was lucky for them all that Doctor Dubois 
 was enjoying a vacation in Cypressville ! " 
 
 These and similar thoughts removed the last 
 shadow from the doctor's face, and he reached 
 Woodbine Villa in excellent spirits. 
 
 Mr. Morris had returned ; but Miss Gower had 
 remained drowsy and silent during the journey. 
 
 She was now in her room, reclining on a couch, 
 attended by the devoted Miss Percy. The maid 
 was bright, smiling and attractive ; the mistress 
 dull, passive, preternaturally pale. She lay with 
 her bright, glassy, staring eyes directed to the ceil- 
 ing ; her lips were dry ; but a clammy perspiration 
 oozed from her forehead, and moistened the soft 
 hair that clung to it. Notwithstanding his brave 
 assurances, the doctor was anxious, and he sat down 
 beside the half-conscious woman with a heavy 
 heart, although he had forced a smile to his face. 
 
 '' She is wearied by the long ride, doctor," said 
 Miss Percy, with a pitying glance toward the invalid. 
 
 " I fear so, my dear," he answered, absently, " and 
 I also fear that she has been too cunning for us, 
 and taken another dose of the vile drug." 
 
 " She has not been out of my sight since she 
 returned." 
 
 " Even under your Argus-eyes, my dear, it was 
 easy enough for her to swallow a pill or two, and 
 you not be the wiser." 
 
 " Can they make laudanum up in pills ? " she 
 asked, in mild surprise. 
 
 "You are not wise in these matters, ]\Iiss Percy,
 
 J NEll^ A RRl VAL. 1 2 1 
 
 and it is not to be expected you should be. Laud- 
 anum is opium in a liquid condition, dissolved in 
 alcohol ; in its solid form it can be readily made into 
 pills. Then, again, as morphine, it can be injected 
 under the skin." 
 
 " But it must hurt one terribly to use it in that 
 way, doctor ! The very idea sets my teeth on edge ! " 
 
 " The pain is trifling, and when people are infat- 
 uated, like this wretched woman, they do not con- 
 sider It. But we can easily learn if she has changed 
 the mode of taking it." While speaking he had 
 rolled back the loose sleeve of his patient's robe, 
 and he now gazed at the white, faultless arm with a 
 sad expression on his face. 
 
 " The mark is here, my dear, to condemn her ! 
 To gain speedy forgetfulness, she has used the 
 hypodermic syringe, and this little puffed up spot 
 indicates the point where the syringe was pushed 
 under the skin ! " 
 
 Miss Percy studied the spot with much interest. 
 " She is incorrigible, doctor ; but how was I to 
 know in my ignorance ? I never heard of the thing 
 before." 
 
 " Of course not ! " said the doctor, kindly. " But 
 her cunning is only foolishness this time. In her 
 haste she has forgotten me ! Another day of this 
 work will kill her ! " 
 
 The doctor gazed down at the pale, sunken face, 
 and was so deeply absorbed in his thoughts that, 
 for the first time in his life, he paid no attention to 
 the dinner-bell.
 
 1 2 2 WHO IS G uiL T yy 
 
 " Dinner is ready," suggested the thoughtful 
 Miss Percy. 
 
 " And I am not dressed. But wasn't it the door- 
 bell ? There, listen, it is ringing again." 
 
 There could be no doubt of it. The door-bell 
 was rung vigorously, and then there were the 
 sounds of voices in the hall ; especially the loud, 
 laughing voice of a woman. 
 
 *' It is some visitor, doctor ! " 
 
 This was the undoubted truth, and a few minutes 
 later, Mr. Morris himself appeared to announce 
 the fact. 
 
 ** Doctor, one of Miss Gower's friends has, unan- 
 nounced, come here to see her." 
 
 " She can not be seen," said the doctor, with 
 affected anger. " Send her about her business ! " 
 
 " But she has brought her trunk," answered Mr. 
 Morris, helplessly, " and she means to stay." 
 
 '* And you needn't put yourself out the least bit 
 on my account ! " said a voice in the hall. " I 
 couldn't resist calling on my dear Oriana ! " 
 
 A very stylish young lady unceremoniously 
 entered the room, with much rustling of silks, and 
 elaborate sparkle of jewelry. A handsome young 
 lady, self-possessed and graceful, with remarkably 
 bright, piercing black eyes. Mr. Morris introduced 
 the intruder with dismal formality. 
 
 " Doctor Dubois, allow me to introduce you to 
 Miss Churchill ; Miss Churchill, Doctor Dubois." 
 
 " And is this the dear man whom I have heard so 
 much about," she exclaimed, with shrill volubility.
 
 A XEIV ARRIVAL. 123 
 
 " Doctor, I am delighted to become acquainted with 
 you. My friend, Mrs. Pope, is never done speak- 
 ing about you, and I have been really dying to see 
 you ! And this young lady ? " she continued, turn- 
 ing to Miss Percy with a smile. " A relation of 
 yours, Mr. Morris ? " 
 
 " No ; Miss Percy, the maid of Miss Gower." 
 
 " How very stupid I am, to be sure ! Quite ridic- 
 ulous ! I am ashamed of myself ! Excuse me. 
 But really, you mustn't put on ceremonies with me. 
 I saw, as I came by, that the dinner was on the 
 table. I have dined, and I couldn't touch another 
 mouthful ! I shall feel perfectly at home here, 
 and I hope you won't let the soup get cold on my 
 account ? when dear Oriana wakes she will show me 
 my room, and we shall get on lovely ! " 
 
 Mr. Morris shrugged his shoulders, and, as he 
 turned to leave with the doctor, beckoned to Miss 
 Percy. 
 
 " She acts already as if she owns the house," 
 said the doctor, ** and if she does not talk us all 
 to death we are lucky ! " 
 
 " What can I do, Dubois ? She is an old friend. 
 I told her Miss Gower was ill, but I could not send 
 her back to her home three hundred miles away ! 
 May I ask you, Miss Percy, to have the blue-room 
 made ready for the bold invader ? I am sorry to 
 trouble you ; but she came so unexpectedly that 
 she has put me at my wit's end." 
 
 " There is no trouble, Mr. Morris," answered 
 Miss Percy, graciously ; " a little dusting and a
 
 124 iVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 little arranging and all is ready. Pardon me if I 
 suggest that the dinner is getting cold, while the 
 young lady seems fully able to take care of her- 
 self." 
 
 " Miss Percy speaks like an angel ! " said the 
 doctor. " I am hungry, Morris, too hungry to change 
 my attire ; and the wordy young lady is fully able 
 to take care of herself." 
 
 The young lady in question vindicated these 
 encomiums ; for when Mr. Morris visited her after 
 dinner he discovered that she had changed her 
 traveling attire for a gorgeous full evening dress, 
 and she was sitting in her friend's room in smiling 
 content, amusing herself by turning over the pages 
 of a fashion-book. 
 
 The doctor had gone in search of Miss Percy, 
 who, he discovered, had betaken herself to her own 
 apartment. He sent a message, which brought her 
 to the library, with a frown on her fair face. 
 
 " You are out of humor, my dear ? " 
 
 " Miss Churchill would provoke a saint ! She 
 takes me for a servant, and amused herself with 
 ordering me about, until I gave her to understand 
 my true position." 
 
 " Mr. Morris tells me that she is the daughter of 
 a farmer who suddenly became rich. She is anxious 
 to dazzle an old friend with her gorgeous attire, and 
 her knowledge of the world picked up in a few 
 months' travel in Europe. I gave you credit for 
 more discernment, my dear. She is only one of the 
 vulgar rich, not worth a sensible woman's anger ! "
 
 A NE W A RKI VAL. 125 
 
 " She is very aggravating ! " 
 
 " She is very rich, and that, in the eyes of 
 most people, would excuse her." 
 
 " She asked me if my mistress had not taken just 
 a little too much champagne, as it always affected 
 her in that way ! " 
 
 " And most of her life she has drank nothing but 
 cider and weak elderberry wine ! She will become 
 tired of this quiet little place before the week is 
 out." 
 
 " Not more tired than I am. It is a dull, tire- 
 some hole ! " 
 
 " The shoddy woman has put you out of humor 
 with it." 
 
 " I hated it from the first. I shall leave it when 
 my quarter's services are ended," she said, de- 
 terminedly. 
 
 *' You have positively decided ? " 
 
 " Positively, sir ! I have made up my mind to 
 follow you, even if you change yours." 
 
 "Am I so fickle ?" 
 
 *' You are a man, and you will forget me when 
 you have turned your back on the village." 
 
 " Never ! " he answered seriously. 
 
 " You only look on me as a higher species of 
 servant," she persisted. 
 
 " Ah, my dear, and can you read my heart ? " 
 
 " I know my own ! " she said, sadly, " and I 
 know that having sunk to the degradation of a 
 servant, I can never again rise to the station in 
 which I was born ! "
 
 126 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " If I did not know better, my dear, I should 
 say that you are in love ? " 
 
 " Is it a crime ?" 
 
 " No ; a merit in a pretty young woman like you! 
 An old man like me can only look on and sigh with 
 envy." 
 
 " You are no^ old," she said, impetuously, " and 
 if you were, what has love to do with such matters? 
 You are wise and you are good, while the young of 
 your sex are foolish and wicked." 
 
 " You flatter me, my dear ! " 
 
 " If you knew me better you would not say so." 
 
 " You are very amiable, child ! " 
 
 " Child ! " she repeated hotly, " I am a woman ; 
 free to do as I like ; to love where I will ; to offer 
 my life, my soul, to him I love. Oh, if you were 
 less wise and more human ! You can never have 
 loved ! " 
 
 The situation was becoming dangerous and yet 
 very attractive ! The doctor was exercising his 
 diplomacy, and his gallantry at the same time. 
 Unfortunately he did not hear the approaching 
 footsteps in the hall, while Miss Percy's .senses were 
 sharper than his own. 
 
 " You will teach me, my dear ! " he said, 
 while putting a fatherly arm around her 
 waist. 
 
 He drew her toward him, and, intensely amused 
 by his own cunning, kissed her on the forehead. 
 It was fine gallantry, and the tableau was charm- 
 ing ; but it surprised Mr. Morris, who stood at the
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 1 27 
 
 doorway, and announced his presence with a dis- 
 creet little cough. 
 
 At the sound Miss Percy flushed a deep crimson, 
 rose, put her hands to her face, and rushed out of 
 the room ; the doctor, a picture of confusion, rest- 
 ing motionless on the lounge. 
 
 " You are coming it strong in your old age, 
 Dubois ! " said Mr. Morris, with a chuckle. 
 
 " She is a little fiend ! " answered the doctor, 
 drawing a long breath. '■'■ Willing to compromise 
 herself to get me in her power ! " 
 
 " She is a mighty pretty maiden, Dubois ; may I 
 congratulate you on your conquest ? " 
 
 " If you knew all, Morris, you would be more 
 serious ; and if Miss Churchill does not relieve me 
 soon, I will strangle the little devil with my own 
 hands." 
 
 Miss Churchill was seemingly more intent on 
 making herself at home than in troubling herself 
 with the doctor's affairs. She insolently ordered 
 Miss Percy from the sick woman's room, express- 
 ing the intention of attending herself on her friend. 
 She closed the door after the indignant maid and 
 locked it, shrieking through the key-hole that she 
 " didn't want any poke-noses around ! " 
 
 This done, she seated herself near the table, 
 reading from a book of poetry. From time to 
 time she consulted her watch ; at a certain hour 
 she rose and approached the bed on which her 
 wretched friend tossed and moaned in a semi- 
 conscious state. She opened a little hand-bag,
 
 128 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 took from it a bottle and a spoon, and poured a 
 spoonful of the bottle's contents down her friend's 
 throat. Pausing a moment, and with her intelli- 
 gent eyes carefully watching the result, she re- 
 peated the dose. The restlessness of the patient 
 was stilled, and she sunk into a placid sleep. A 
 condition of things that had not obtained for many 
 days. 
 
 Miss Churchill again returned to her book of 
 poetry. Near midnight she dropped into what 
 seemed to be a deep sleep, and snored with a vigor 
 that told well for her health. Before plunging 
 into unconsciousness she had, with rustic caution, 
 turned off the gas, and the room was in shadow, 
 save for a few arrows of moonlight that struggled 
 through the half-closed blinds. 
 
 Had she been awake, she would have heard the 
 rustling of a woman's dress in the hall without, and 
 a light hand turning the handle of the door. But 
 Miss Churchill slept like a farmer's daughter, and 
 her unromantic snoring maintained its rhythm with 
 the regularity of a piece of classic poetry. 
 
 A hand, or an instrument, was now busied with the 
 key outside ; there was a sharp, metallic click, and 
 the door itself was softly opened, and a pair of 
 bright eyes glanced into the room. The bed was 
 in shadow, but a ray of moonlight fell on the 
 lounge and revealed a woman's form stretched out 
 at full length. 
 
 The door opened wider, and a figure glided 
 silently into the room, paused a moment near
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 1 29 
 
 the lounge, and then, with noiseless feet, ap- 
 proached the bed and leaned over it. At the same 
 instant there was a flash of brilliant light as from 
 an electric arc, a dazzling light that blazed in the 
 intruder's face, and caused her to start back with a 
 little shriek. She turned instinctively toward the 
 lounge, but the figure on it still lay motionless, 
 snoring with classic regularity. The light-flash 
 was only momentary ; it blazed up and then ex- 
 pired, leaving the room in its original gloom. 
 
 The intruder stood for a moment the victim of 
 fear and perplexity ; her heart beat violently, and 
 there was a tremor in the usually firm lips and 
 hands. She did not again approach the bed, but 
 retired from the room with the same noiselessness 
 with which she entered it. When the door closed 
 behind her, Miss Churchill ceased snoring and 
 quickly rose from the lounge. In an incredibly 
 short space of time she had cast aside her outer 
 silken garment, beneath which was a simple dress 
 of an inconspicuous color and fashion. She now 
 seized a bonnet, to which a wig was attached, and 
 pulled it down over her soft black hair, arranging 
 her toilet in the dark as skillfully as if she were 
 standing before a mirror in a full blaze of light. 
 She then opened the door and peered anxiously out 
 into the hall. As if in answer to some mysterious 
 summons, the doctor, in shoeless feet, entered the 
 room. 
 
 " I have given her the medicine, doctor," said 
 Miss Churchill, in a whisper, " and she is sleeping
 
 I30 WHO IS GUILTY ? 
 
 well. Your electric light was also a success ; in 
 all probability it saved a life. Wait my return 
 here ! " 
 
 She left the room, glided down the stairs, passed 
 through a window that she opened in the library, 
 and crouched in the shadow of the veranda, near 
 the front door. Strange as the house must have 
 been to her, she never hesitated in her actions, but 
 moved about as if she had lived in the building 
 since childhood and knew every one of its angles. 
 But even her haste indicated deliberation and fore- 
 thought ; astonishing qualities in a farmer's 
 daughter and a woman of fashion ! She crouched 
 in the darkness as if the part of spy were the busi- 
 ness of her life. Her patience was as remarkable 
 as her calmness ; she remained for a long time as 
 motionless as a statue, and when the door opened 
 not even a sigh of relief escaped her. After an 
 interval, she followed the figure that had cautiously 
 made its exit from the house, and which was now 
 speeding along in the shadow of the bushes ; the 
 figure of a woman, running, rather than walking, as 
 if goaded onward by her own troubled thoughts. 
 Her road led her in the direction of the old house 
 in which the murder was committed, and she never 
 paused in her journey until she reached its bound- 
 ary walls. Here her footsteps stopped, and she 
 glanced up at the gloomy building that seemed 
 floating in an ocean of mist ! The pursuing Miss 
 Churchill also paused, with eyes directed toward 
 the cupola, from which issued a light, the only
 
 A NEW ARRIVAL. 131 
 
 evidence of life in the dreary building. The light 
 flashed, disappeared, flashed again and then myster- 
 iously vanished. The figure standing in the moon- 
 light paused irresolutely, and uttered an exclama- 
 tion of disappointment. It then turned its back on 
 the house and for a short distance retraced its 
 steps. It rested for a moment beneath a huge tree 
 that overhung the roadside, and its hands seemed 
 gliding over the gnarled, scaly trunk. It came out 
 into the light again bearing a paper in its hand, 
 which it opened and read in the moon's rays. It 
 tore a fragment from the paper, seemingly wrote 
 on it with a pencil, after which it returned to the 
 tree. When it again reappeared, it continued its 
 journey uninterruptedly to the house from which it 
 had emerged. Miss Churchill followed until 
 the door of Woodbine Villa closed behind it, when 
 she retraced her steps in the direction of the mys- 
 terious old tree. The distance she had to walk was 
 over a half-mile, and the object she sought was 
 surrounded by hundreds of similar companions, but 
 she walked toward it in a bee-line, never hesitat- 
 ing, never pausing, never swerving from the straight 
 line. Reaching the tree, she, in turn, ran her hands 
 lightly over the trunk ; but she discovered nothing ; 
 no suggestive projection, no cavity, nothing indicat- 
 ing the trysting place of lovers, or of knaves. Per- 
 plexed, yet with energy unabated, she renewed her 
 search. Higher up the trunk, just within reach of 
 her outstretched arm, the branches diverged, and in 
 the angle thus formed there was an old bird's-nest
 
 132 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 of the last year. Miss Churchill was interested in 
 this object, and in the midst of the dry grass, and 
 mud and feathers, her exploring hand discovered a 
 scrap of paper. This she eagerly seized, and, thanks 
 to the bright moonlight, mastered a portion of its 
 contents. On one side, written in a woman's hand- 
 writing, were the words : " -Danger ! Spies ! 
 Must see you ! To-morro7v noon ! " On the other 
 were a few disjointed words written by a man. It was 
 the fragment of a short note, and was meaningless 
 in its present condition. Miss Churchill's sharp 
 
 eyes deciphered the words : " /<? i/ie end ivith 
 
 my life ! — double the price ! — desert and hang ! " 
 
 After much hesitation. Miss Churchill restored 
 the paper to the strange retreat from which she 
 had abstracted it. Before retiring she again glanced 
 toward the old house. To her astonishment, the 
 light was flashing from the cupola with steady, 
 uninterrupted brightness. No ! it appeared and 
 vanished in the old way ! Three flashes, then dark- 
 ness ! five flashes, then darkness ; one flash, then 
 darkness, and so on, with a certain regularity in 
 its irregularity. It was evidently a series of sig- 
 nals or of words ; but to whom ? Was the cupola 
 of Woodbine Villa within sight of the cupola yonder ? 
 Miss Churchill could ask, but she could not ans\\»cr, 
 the question. From her position on the ground 
 she saw nothing but the tree-tops tossed about m 
 the chill night wind. But even while speculating, 
 the light vanished and did not reappear. She 
 waited with praiseworthy patience, but an hour
 
 A NEIV ARRIVAL. I33 
 
 passed and the mysterious signals were not repeated. 
 For the present, at least, patience was not to bring 
 its reward. Miss Churchill, however, bore her dis- 
 appointment with uncomplaining philosophy, and 
 retraced her steps toward the house in which she 
 was a temporary guest. Reaching the grounds 
 which surrounded the villa, she instinctively glanced 
 upward toward the roof of the house. There was 
 no light in the cupola that rested in shadowy 
 darkness against the moonlighted sky.
 
 A 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE, 
 
 MOONLIGHT night had dissolved into a 
 cheerless morning ; a cold, drizzling rain 
 poured down from a gray mist above into a brown 
 mist below. The view even from the windows of 
 Woodbine Villa was not cheerful ; it gave Miss 
 Percy the blues, and, ordinarily, she was a young 
 woman of great elasticity of nature, and with an 
 abundance of happy, animal vitality. In the early 
 dawn she had drawn aside the curtain from before 
 one of her bed-room windows, expecting to find 
 cheerfulness in a flood of warm sunlight, only to dis- 
 cover the clouds weeping grimy tears on the windows, 
 with a wearisome rhythm that suggested a funeral 
 march. The trunks of the fruit-trees had turned 
 from a silver gray to a flaring brown, and the 
 shrill wind tore off their spotted leaves and spotted 
 fruit with deserved contempt. The lawns were 
 converted into little lakes, and the roadways into 
 bogs. Over yonder, a diseased branch of a pear 
 tree had been twisted from the healthier living 
 tissue, and it hung by the bark only, swaying to 
 and fro like a human body held in a hempen rope ! 
 The flower-beds had lost their attractiveness, sug-
 
 A LECTURE AND A SUKFUISE. 135 
 
 gesting a grave-yard rather than a pleasure ground. 
 A most wretched day, surely ; the soaked ground 
 littered with withered leaves, the rain drearily 
 pattering against the window-panes, and the wind 
 shrieking its mockery in unexpected spasms. 
 
 And the looking-glass brought no better conso- 
 lation. The Miss Percy reflected in it had no color 
 in her usually rosy cheeks ; her eyes were heavy and 
 dull, and her general appearance listless and 
 moody. A little dab of rouge on either cheek, a 
 judicious touch of chalk here and there, improved 
 matters ; but it could not be denied that Miss 
 Percy was under the influence of the weather, and, 
 in addition, looked as if she had passed a sleep- 
 less and wretched night. 
 
 She devoted unusual time and care to her toilet ; 
 her hair was arranged in its most becoming manner, 
 and the white rose with a faint flush of red was a 
 charming contrast to its raven blackness. As if to 
 defy the chill, damp weather, she wore a white dress 
 of some thin material, through which the warm flesh 
 of her arms and shoulders could be faintly seen. 
 A white rose nestled at her throat, held in its place 
 by a curiously-carved silver breast-pin. 
 
 This labor of love finished, she studied herself in 
 the mirror with critical severity. She admitted 
 that the costume was somewhat unseasonable ; but, 
 at the same time, conscientiously granted that it 
 was very attractive. 
 
 As neither vanity nor criticism could suggest any 
 thing further, she again approached the window.
 
 136 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 and wearied herself with the dull landscape. To 
 her left, a recently added extension of the house 
 interfered with her view ; but she seemed to find 
 more interest in the work of the builder than in the 
 works of nature, especially in a window that was 
 almost diagonally opposite, and on a lower level 
 than her own. She watched this window with great 
 interest, and when its curtain was withdrawn, and 
 a ruddy-faced man in a dressing-gown stared out 
 into the rain, she tapped on the window-pane and 
 kissed her hand. The ruddy-faced man nodded, 
 smiled, and opened his window. 
 
 Miss Percy left her room, passed through the 
 narrow hallway, and, descending a few steps, 
 traversed another hall, and finally stopped before a 
 door, on which she lightly tapped. The door was 
 opened, and the ruddy face and little figure of the 
 doctor were revealed. 
 
 " I want to speak with you very seriously, doctor ! 
 May I come in ? " 
 
 " Let us go down to the sitting-room." 
 " I do not wish to be seen or interrupted." 
 " It is still early, my child, and we have a full 
 hour before the indolent people here make their 
 appearance." 
 
 " We were disturbed yesterday," she said, hesitat- 
 ingly, and with shrinking modesty, " and I have felt 
 humiliated ever since. Not for myself," she 
 added, with a happy, retrospective smile, " but for 
 you. It shall not happen again. I am very sorry — 
 also for you ! "
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE. 137 
 
 Despite his embarrassed resistance, she had 
 entered the room, leaving the door open, and she 
 now approached him and placed a pleading hand 
 on his arm. 
 
 Unfortunately, a sleepy eyed maid-servant passed 
 along the hall at this moment, and, after staring 
 into the room, tripped hastily down the stairs, with 
 a look of horror and amazement on her face. 
 
 Fortunately, the affectionate Miss Percy was 
 ignorant of this little incident, her back being turned 
 to the door ; but the doctor was less lucky, and 
 what he saw brought the perspiration to his fore- 
 head. 
 
 " You should be more discreet," he said, sup- 
 pressing his anger with an effort. " One of the serv- 
 ants has seen you in my room,- and this little busi- 
 ness will be the talk of the house ! " 
 
 " If I am satisfied, sir, have you any right to 
 complain ? " she asked, with charming audacity. 
 " I wish to tell you, my good adviser, something 
 about that horrible Miss Churchill. I believe she 
 drinks ! " 
 
 " I hope not." 
 
 " You shall hear. She ordered me out of the 
 room ; played the part of maid to Miss Gower in a 
 very bungling manner, and, if you will forgive my 
 boldness, acted in a very coarse, unladylike way. 
 I was worried and could not sleep until I had 
 assured myself of your patient's comfort. About 
 twelve o'clock I tapped on the door. No one 
 answered me, and all I heard was a very vigorous
 
 13^ IVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 snore from Miss Churchill, and moans from the 
 neglected Miss Gower. I forced my way into 
 the room ; the gas was turned off, but Miss Gower 
 was groaning as if in great pain, and her friend 
 was sleeping on the lounge. The foolish woman 
 believes that all the people here are bent on 
 ruining her friend, physically and morally, and 
 before going to sleep had surrounded her with 
 electric wires. At any rate, when I touched her 
 an electric light flared up at the head of the bed, 
 and sent my heart into my throat. I was never 
 before so startled in my life ! " 
 
 " It's a wonder our rustic friend did not sur- 
 round herself with the same safeguard ! " 
 
 " I am not concerned with the foolishness, sir ; 
 but I will not share the responsibility with that 
 woman. If you wish to engage me I am content ; 
 but in any case I will not remain here." 
 
 " Are you serious ? " asked the doctor, with unaf- 
 fected surprise. 
 
 " Make the offer to take me to the city by the 
 next train, and test me. I am utterly indifferent 
 to the opinions of the world. Take me away from 
 this place and its degradations." 
 
 There could be no doubt of Miss Percy's earn- 
 estness, and it took away the doctor's breath and 
 robbed his scientific theory of the crime of the 
 larger amount of its value. 
 
 *' I cannot leave Miss Gower in her illness," he 
 said, after a pause, " and I shall not 7-un away from 
 you and your trust. You must have patience.
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE. 139 
 
 Keep away from Miss Gower, and leave her in the 
 charge of her ridiculous friend. I will think what 
 is best to be done." 
 
 " Is it )'Our wish that I should remain ? " 
 
 " Yes, my child, for the present, at least." 
 
 " 1 will db^y you," she said, restraining a strong 
 inclination to laugh in his face. " I will try and be 
 patient and obedient for your sake. Forgive me 
 for taking up so much of your valuable time, and 
 think of me as a wretched woman, who would accept 
 torture if it would add to your happiness." 
 
 She smiled at him — a sad, wan smile — waved 
 her hand, and left him to his perplexities. 
 
 He was unusually quiet at breakfast, and unusu- 
 ally surprised after breakfast. Captain Travers 
 had retired to smoke his cigar in the open air, in 
 defiance of the rain, and the doctor was about to 
 follow his example, when Mr. Morris said : 
 
 " One moment, Dubois ; I am in the mood to 
 give you a lecture." 
 
 " That will be original, Morris, and amusing." 
 
 ** It seems to me, Dubois, that we are all a party 
 of originals. But let us come to the point : what 
 are you doing to Miss Percy ?" 
 
 " Doing ? " asked the doctor, in surprise. 
 
 " Yes, doing ! I heard the servants talking about 
 seeing her in your bed-room this morning. I ain't 
 a grim moralist, as you know; but isn't it coming it 
 just a trifle strong ? It isn't fair, Dubois, because 
 you think that the young lady is a guilty wretch, 
 that you should take advantage of her trust
 
 14<^ WHO /S GUILTVP 
 
 in you, by robbing her of her character. Hang 
 me, if you are even discreet in the business ! " 
 
 " You are surely joking ! " gasped the doctor. 
 
 " It is confoundedly funny, and when I first 
 heard of it I laughed myself into a species of apo- 
 plectic fit. But coming down to sober facts, it isn't a 
 thing to be proud of. If science has these privi- 
 leges, I intend to become a doctor at the earliest 
 opportunity." 
 
 *' You are perversely ignorant," said the doctor, 
 angrily. " Do you know what I have saved your 
 niece from ? " 
 
 " Poison ? " 
 
 " No, jail ! She is suspected of having murdered 
 the man Addison. Sharpe would have arrested her 
 but for me." 
 
 " And Sharpe is an idiot ! " retorted Mr. Morris, 
 indignantly. " I'm not prejudiced in Oriana's favor, 
 but I'd sooner believe /perpetrated the crime than 
 she. You're a theorist, Dubois, and recently you have 
 honored me with some very profound disquisitions 
 on hypodermic injections, guilty maids, and your 
 own virtues. I've got a theory, too, and that is, the 
 young woman Percy is deeply smitten with your 
 beauty, and that if she drugged my niece she 
 drugged her out of jealousy. She has shown a 
 great deal of attention to you, you must admit." 
 
 " I can not deny it, but " 
 
 " Put it to the test. If, as you suspect, the little 
 maid is connected with the murder, and if her 
 safety depends, as you again suspect, on narcotizing
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE. \^\ 
 
 or killing my niece, she will cling to her place here 
 with a desperation proportionate to her danger. If 
 she is only acting from jealousy, she will willingly 
 leave, provided you bear her company. Make her 
 the offer and test her." 
 
 " It is needless," said the doctor, with a troubled 
 face. " She has already consented to go with me." 
 
 " Poor little thing ! And you play with her the 
 part of Zoilus and Sardanapalus at the same time ; 
 and at your age, too ! " 
 
 " I deny your insinuation," said the doctor, hotly. 
 " I am guiltless of even the intention of wrong. 
 You would do better to defend the relation rather 
 than the stranger." 
 
 ** I have greater respect for the stranger ! " 
 answered Mr. Morris, with unruffled calmness. " I 
 have the honor of being related to Oriana's family; 
 I keep up with them an occasional correspondence, 
 though I have not seen any of them since I left 
 England a boy, now some thirty years ago. I 
 receive a letter, within comparatively recent times, 
 in which I am begged to look after a young lady 
 who was born after I left the country of my birth, 
 and whom, consequently, I have never seen. I am 
 told that the people who have adopted her are dead. 
 Honored with these meager facts, I am directed to 
 go to Cypressville and look her up. I purchase a 
 house in the village at the same time, and I deter- 
 mine, quietly, to examine matters on my own 
 account. I find the young lady has quarreled with 
 the young man to whom she was engaged — I don't
 
 142 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 admire her, but killing him is out of the question ! 
 — I find that she is in very questionable relations 
 with another man. Is she guilty? It is none of 
 my business to inquire; in fact, I prefer to remain in 
 ignorance on that point. I go to her, tell her I am 
 her relation, and invite her to live in my house. I 
 tell her that, if she accepts my offer, she must break 
 off all her village friendships ; that she will be well 
 cared for, receive somethmg on my death, but must 
 not expect a gushing devotion which I do not feel. 
 I tell her I am willing to bury her past life, whatever 
 it may have been, and ask no questions. I tell 
 her she must begin a new life, and that I will remain 
 a placid uncle as long as she behaves herself. She 
 flashes up indignantly ; I turn on my heel, and tell 
 her I will call for the answer on the morrow. I 
 call, and she becomes a member of my household. 
 Had I been more curious, or less eccentric — " 
 
 "Say indifferent ! " interrupted the doctor. 
 
 " I accept the amendment ! Had I been less 
 indifferent, Miss Gower might have had a less 
 pleasant home. But I have received her without 
 comment, and if she has not kept to the strict letter 
 of her promise, she has again to thank my indiffer- 
 ence that she has not been turned into the streets. 
 That is my relationship with my very charming rel- 
 ative. If she is innocent of all wrong, so much the 
 better for her ; if she has forgotten herself, so much 
 the worse ; but, in either case, I am profoundly 
 ignorant. That she would commit a murder under 
 any circumstances, I would not believe if the entire
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE. 143 
 
 world swore to it ; and to defend her from the vile 
 charge I would spend my money to the last copper. 
 As to the rest, I am silent ! " 
 
 " And yet you allow Captain Travers to fall in 
 love with her, and perhaps marry her ! " 
 
 " I am not Captain Travers's guardian ! If he is 
 foolish enough to marry, he must take the jump 
 blindly, like the rest of his sex. I know nothing, 
 and I do not intend to play the part of spy for the 
 very amiable captain. If he wants my niece, he is 
 welcome to her ; if he is in a critical mood, he must 
 use the microscope himself. If he does not marry 
 her, she remains here, and the world goes on just 
 the same." 
 
 *' But surely you do not think — " began the doc- 
 tor. 
 
 " Pardon me, Dubois, I don't think any thing, 
 except the one thing you are trying to sneak away 
 from. You have cunningly dragged me away from 
 the subject, and it is like your scientific hypocrisy. 
 My nerves are not high-strung, but, even looking at 
 the worst side, / could not treacherously win the 
 affections and receive the kisses of a woman whom 
 I meant to fling on the gallows." 
 
 " You describe the case too coarsely." 
 
 " That's the gist of it, and fine words won't alter 
 it. The girl Percy has no reason, except love, for 
 humbling herself before you. She warms your 
 slippers ; she goes in the kitchen to cook you deli- 
 cacies ; she places little bouquets in your room. 
 You are a wretch, Dubois ! But the sermon's
 
 144 IVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 ended, and I leave you to digest it at your leis- 
 ure ! " 
 
 Like all good sermons, only a portion of it was 
 digested — that portion which agreed with the hear- 
 er's prejudices and vanity. The doctor admitted 
 to himself that the maid might do worse than fall 
 in love with him ; but that his theory was wrong ! 
 
 The appearance of Miss Churchill, in a wonder- 
 ful morning-robe, recalled him to the hard, prosaic 
 world again. He exchanged a formal bow with 
 her ; but it was not until her late breakfast had 
 been served, and the servant dismissed, that he ven- 
 tured to speak to her. 
 
 " How is our patient ? " 
 
 " Weak, but, 1 think, rational." 
 
 "■ Has she spoken yet ? " 
 
 " A few words ; but before the morning is over I 
 think she will be able to tell all you wish to know — 
 that is, if you do not wish to know too much. 
 Tonics and change of scene will do the rest." 
 
 '* Is she aware of the nature of her illness ? " 
 
 " I think she has lost all idea of time. She talks 
 of croquet, and of a Captain Travers, whom she is 
 very anxious to see." 
 
 " Did you leave her alone ? " 
 
 " No ; a servant is with her, arranging the room. 
 I have left orders that she shall remain there until 
 my return. Now, in turn, doctor, let me ask, do 
 you think that opium was the only drug used ? " 
 
 " I am strongly of the belief. Miss Churchill, that 
 it was used only as a mask for something more
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE. US 
 
 hurtful, if that is possible. The attempt was on the 
 brain, to fill it with fancies that would help the 
 plotters in their diabolical scheme. She was to have 
 seen frightful visions, and her wild horror at the fan- 
 cies was to have impressed others as remorse for a 
 murderous crime." 
 
 " Diabolical, doctor, surely ; but she is saved 
 from that wretchedness, at least ! " 
 
 " My task has not been easy. Miss Churchill, to 
 conceal my own suspicions and to do justice to our 
 patient at the same time. Her nervous system is 
 at a very low point of vitality, and I hope you will 
 remember this. Any sudden shock may not only 
 interfere with the course of justice, but hopelessly 
 ruin our patient's constitution. For the present, 
 news from the outside world must be carefully kept 
 away from her. At least, until we can offer surety 
 instead of doubt." 
 
 " I am persuaded, doctor, that in a few days 
 surety will be reached. I have no doubt — what is 
 that ? " she asked, suddenly starting to her feet. 
 
 A wild, shrill shriek, repeated again and again — a 
 shriek that drove the color from the doctor's face, 
 and thrilled the nerves of even the unimpressionable 
 Miss Churchill 1 
 
 The doctor expressed the idea of both in his 
 startled exclamation : 
 
 " Miss Gower ! " 
 
 He rushed up-stairs closely followed by the woman. 
 
 There could be no doubt as to the cause of the 
 wild cry ; it was repeated in their presence by the
 
 146 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 figure tossing about on the bed, with its hands 
 clutching at its hair. Wild, piercing shrieks ! A 
 servant stood staring in amazement, a shattered 
 goblet at her feet. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ? " asked Miss 
 Churchill, imperiously. 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know ! " answered the servant, 
 grasping, unconsciously, at her own throat as if 
 from it the cries were coming. 
 
 " Did you leave the room ? " 
 
 ** She asked me for a glass of cold water, a kind o' 
 wild like ! I went to git it, and when I came back 
 she was a screaming and tearing herself ! " 
 
 At these words the doctor, with an oath, rushed 
 from the room, speeded up a flight of stairs and 
 impetuously pushed open a door. 
 
 Miss Percy was in dishabille, her perfect 
 shoulders and arms were uncovered, and she was 
 busied in arranging her loose, flowing hair. She 
 started at the intrusion, flushed from brow to 
 bosom, stared angrily — and then smiled ! 
 
 " You are welcome, doctor," she said gayly ; 
 " only, before you come in, please remember that I 
 have not suggested this indiscretion ! " 
 
 " Pardon me," he stammered. 
 
 " I am glad you have come," she said, with a fine 
 seriousness. " I was puzzled, and your advice will 
 be welcome. Resolve my doubts by answering this 
 very important question : in what way shall I 
 arrange my hair ? " 
 
 The handsome face was still turned toward him.
 
 A LECTURE AND A SURPRISE. 147 
 
 with smiling lips, but with an angry glow in the dark 
 eyes. He reproached himself more for his unjust 
 suspicion than for his unpardonable indiscretion. 
 
 '* I heard a shriek of pain," he said, excusing him- 
 self with a weak falsehood, *' and I thought it came 
 from this room. Pardon me ! " 
 
 He closed the door, and descended the stairs, 
 angrily cursing his own impetuosity. 
 
 The shrieks had ceased when he entered his 
 patient's room ; but she was still tossing about on 
 the bed, uttering low, convulsive moans. Once she 
 started to a sitting position, stared wildly yet plead- 
 ingly around, groaning : 
 
 " I am innocent ! I am innocent ! " Then the 
 voice was raised to a shriek, " Save me ! Save me ! " 
 and then sank into a dreary moan. 
 
 Miss Churchill had turned a questioning face 
 toward the doctor as he entered, and he replied to 
 it in words : 
 
 " Not possible ! She was not in a condition to 
 leave her room ! " To hide his blushes he ap- 
 proached the bed. 
 
 " Then, doctor, we can only suppose, that on 
 returning to her senses, she recalls a fact which 
 she must have known before." 
 
 " Or," said a calm voice at the door, '* remem- 
 bers an act which she committed in a passion, and 
 to drive which from her mind she indulged in an 
 overdose of poison ! " 
 
 The doctor turned, to meet the half smiling, half 
 mocking face of Detective Sharpe !
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL, 
 
 THE detective stood quietly at the door while 
 the doctor attended to his patient, amusing 
 himself with noting the contents of the room, 
 especially the one object that he had not before 
 seen, the busy, yet calm, Miss Churchill. In a short 
 time, thanks to the doctor's skill, the restlessness of 
 the patient was subdued, and she sunk into silence, 
 and an unconsciousness that simulated sleep. 
 
 At this favorable moment the detective asked : 
 " Can I have a short conversation with you, doctor, 
 down-stairs ? " 
 
 " We will converse here, Sharpe ! " said the doc- 
 tor ; then, in answer to the cautioning glance, he 
 added : " Allow me, Detective Sharpe, to intro- 
 duce to you Miss Churchill, an old friend of Miss 
 Gower, to whom I have given all my confidence, 
 and on whom I depend as on myself ! " 
 
 The detective bowed and shrugged his shoulders ; 
 he had no confidence in young women ; but that 
 was the doctor's look-out. 
 
 " As you like, doctor. I came, in the first place, 
 to tell you of some little items I have picked up, 
 and then to ask for your company. Miss Churchill
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL. I49 
 
 will pardon me if my words tell hard against her 
 friend." 
 
 " She won't believe them, nevertheless," said that 
 young lady, pertly. " I never did have much belief 
 in you detectives, even in novels. If the authors 
 didn't go out of their way to make you right at the last 
 moment, you'd go on the wrong track even there ! " 
 
 " I hope you are right. Miss Churchill ! But, 
 doctor, the facts are these : one of the results of 
 my labors yesterday was to discover that Miss 
 Gower was the woman who so frequently visited 
 Mr. Draper's house ; I have witnesses to prove 
 this, and also to prove that Miss Gower was seen in 
 conversation with Mr. Draper at eleven o'clock on 
 the morning of the murder ; and they acted toward 
 each other as if they were engaged in a violent 
 quarrel. I have traced Mr. Draper, up to that hour, 
 in this village, when he is suddenly lost. These are 
 facts, doctor." 
 
 ** I will accept them as such, Sharpe ! " 
 
 " Well, then, I will go to another matter. Do you 
 remember the tramp who was caught plundering 
 the fruit trees in the dead man's grounds ? I mean 
 Ralph Price, who saw the mysterious woman enter 
 and come out of the house ? " 
 
 " I remember the excellent man ! " 
 
 " Well, he has been in charge of one of my men 
 ever since. Yesterday I again put his nose to the 
 grindstone, with the determination to find out all 
 he knows. He finally admitted that Miss Gower 
 was the woman whom he had seen."
 
 I50 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " Did he name her ? " 
 
 " Yes ; it seems that several times he had visited 
 Mr. Morris's house on begging missions ; and that 
 once he had gone on an errand for the young lady 
 herself. He mentioned her by name as the original 
 of the lady he had previously described." 
 
 " Why did he not give her name at first ? " 
 
 " Well, she had been kind to him ; and seeing 
 me, a public officer, very interested in the matter, 
 he thought I meant her harm, and so pretended 
 ignorance of her name. However, threats of long 
 imprisonment loosened his tongue, and restored 
 his memory ! " 
 
 " Where is he now ? " 
 
 " Where he has always been, in charge of one of 
 my men." 
 
 " Where is he confined ? " 
 
 " In the jail here." 
 
 " I suppose, then, I can see him ? " 
 
 " Not without an order from me. That is, not 
 to speak to him. I gave the people the order, so 
 that he might not be tampered with." 
 
 " Will you write me an order." 
 
 "Willingly," said the detective, with a smile, and 
 writing in his pocket-book. " Here is the order, 
 doctor, and I am anxious to hear what science will 
 make out of this very troublesome admission." 
 
 " Are there any other facts ? " 
 
 " One more. I have discovered that Mr. Tom 
 Merton has taken a steamer for Europe. He 
 spoke freely to his friends before going, with this
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL. 151 
 
 result : the rich relative from whom he has so 
 many expectations largely invested his money in 
 the African diamond fields and other shaky specu- 
 lations. These have collapsed ; Mr. Merton finds 
 that he is ruined, with many other foolish specu- 
 lators, and rushes away, in hopes that something 
 may be saved. I am satisfied that he may be 
 excluded, henceforth, from the line of our investi- 
 gations. If you still doubt, I will surrender to your 
 criticism the large number of details that my agents 
 have gathered together on this point." 
 
 " I may take advantage of your kindness later. 
 What else ? " 
 
 " Nothing, except Mr. Newton intends to bury 
 his master to-day. Strangely enough, none of the 
 people here have shown much interest in following 
 the murdered man to his last home. Mr. Terms is 
 going, and to exhaust that's man's information I 
 have consented to accompany him. Thinking you 
 might like to share my pleasure, I have come to 
 invite you." 
 
 " I can not leave the house to-day," said the 
 doctor, after glancing at Miss Churchill. 
 
 " And I can not spare more time to this pleasant 
 company," said the detective, rising. " And let me 
 say. Doctor Dubois, if you do not very quickly give 
 me some positive reason to the contrary, I shall be 
 compelled to follow my original intention and end 
 my duties by arresting Miss Gower. I am sorry to 
 say it, but I think I am in possession of enough 
 facts to justify me in my line of conduct."
 
 152 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " She is in no danger of escaping," answered the 
 doctor, with a glance at the bed. " But I am still 
 in hopes of convincing you of your error." 
 
 " Before retiring, allow me to explain to Miss 
 Churchill that my strange appearance here is due 
 to Mr. Morris. He opened the door for me, or, 
 rather, he was going out as I was coming in, and 
 he sent me here. I say so much," he added, with 
 a smile, " that Miss Churchill may not confound 
 me with those wonderful detectives who appear and 
 disappear with such supernatural mystery." 
 
 Miss Churchill listened to the explanation in 
 languid indifference ; but when he disappeared she 
 started into sudden activity. 
 
 " He is tiresome as well as foolish," she said, 
 rising, and with a reassuring nod to the depressed 
 doctor. " Please give me the order he has written, 
 and while I am away, personally attend to the case 
 of your patient." 
 
 "You are not then discouraged ? " 
 
 "I have successfully emerged from greater diffi- 
 culties. You all have tried your hands, and it is 
 time now for me to try mine ! " 
 
 " And what is your real opinion ? " 
 
 " I have none, doctor, until I reach the end of 
 my journey. The people who talk discover noth- 
 ing but paradoxes. Let me then act and keep 
 silent." 
 
 She retired to her own room, changed her showy 
 robe for a sedate walking-dress and bonnet, and 
 then sat down and patiently waited. After a short
 
 MISS CHURCHILL OX THE TRAIL. 153 
 
 time passed in this idleness, she rose, seized an 
 umbrella, and passing down the stairs left the house. 
 The direction in which she first walked was toward 
 the railway station, and reaching this cheerless little 
 place, she became a part of the dozen or more peo- 
 ple who were waiting for the expected train. The 
 rain fell heavily, and, as she had no water-proof, 
 and her dress was lavender-colored and of light 
 material, she retired into the moldy, deserted room 
 that was reserved for the use of her sex. She re- 
 appeared as the train was thundering toward the 
 station and the passengers were rushing down the 
 steps to meet it. But in the interval her black hair 
 had turned to reddish brown ; the greater portion 
 of her body was protected by a water-proof gar- 
 ment, and the line of dress that was visible had 
 faded from lavender into black. Her face had un. 
 dergone a more remarkable change ; and even her 
 delicate little umbrella had become converted into 
 an unwieldy blue anomaly that defied classification. 
 She did not enter the train ; but, when it had 
 passed on, she struck across the fields in a direc- 
 tion directly opposite to her former course. So 
 long as she was in the inhabited region, she main- 
 tained a steady, sedate walk ; but when she reached 
 the woodlands, she drew the cap of her water-proof 
 over her head and face, closed her umbrella, and 
 passed onward with light and rapid steps. 
 
 It was a dreary, uncomfortable journey, over 
 soaked fields, boggy roads, and under dripping 
 trees ; with the wind shrieking angrily and flinging
 
 154 PVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 rain that was as cold as ice directly in her face- 
 But there was no rest in the determined steps, no 
 relaxation in the tireless energy, until the old house 
 loomed through the gloom and rain, like a black 
 blot against the less black sky. At this point of 
 her journey, she paused, and became deeply inter- 
 ested in studying the situation of the mansion. 
 Its picturesqueness was charming ; the grounds 
 must have been, at one time, very attractive ; the 
 ocean view was grand; the stonewalls and iron 
 gratings surrounding the extensive domain must 
 have cost large sums of money, for the stone was 
 of rare quality, carefully polished and cut, and as 
 accurately laid as the walls of a house. But these 
 items did not interest Miss Churchill ; she was 
 deeply absorbed in studying a dense mass of trees 
 that were some feet distant from the boundary line 
 of the property ; and which suggested mystery and 
 doubt to her fine instinct. Much might be accom- 
 plished in the gloom of these trees, and they so 
 faced an angle of the house that they could not be 
 seen from its windows. She studied these natural 
 objects with the eye of an educated critic, and was 
 not greatly surprised when she saw something mov- 
 ing in the midst of them. She glanced toward the 
 house ; not a sign of life was visible-atthe windows 
 or in the grounds surrounding it. Nothing but 
 desolation and a monotonous downpour of rain. 
 She again glanced toward the trees ; the moving 
 object had vanished ; but on one of the tree- 
 branches a narrow strip of gray cloth fluttered
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL. 155 
 
 wildly in the wind. And now from the woods above 
 her there glided a human figure draped from head 
 to foot in a water- proof cloak. The figure sped 
 over the ground, entered the clump of trees, grad- 
 ually diminished in height, and then vanished. 
 After a moment of thought. Miss Churchill fol- 
 lowed in the wake of the vanished figure, and, in 
 turn, entered the mysterious little grove, which 
 consisted of trees so closely planted that their 
 branches touched and intermingled overhead. 
 The ground beneath was bare of grass, and in its 
 midst was a large stone that was strangely sugges- 
 tive of druidical rites and ceremonies. A decep- 
 tive stone as to weight, for, with an effort, even the 
 slight Miss Churchill could raise it backward on 
 its large steel hinges. Without stopping to take 
 note of this fact, or to bless a long-dead old man 
 Tor his eccentricities, she boldly descended the 
 flight of rugged steps, that seemed built in the 
 ground, and as she descended allowed the decep- 
 tive stone to close over her. She found herself in 
 a dark, damp, narrow passage-way, hardly broader 
 than her own shoulders. The air was heavy, but, 
 to her surprise, it was not stifling ; and, with her 
 hands touching the walls on either side, she walked 
 forward cautiously, but unhesitatingly. She soon 
 found herself in a broad, gloomy vault, lighted by 
 one narrow, barred window in the wall above. To 
 her left was a flight of narrow, winding steps, and 
 these she ascended till the sound of voices and an 
 increase of light indicated that, for the present,
 
 156 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 she had ventured far enough. She seated herself 
 on the steps, glanced upward to the half-opened 
 door on a line with the top of her head, and lis- 
 tened to the conversation that reached her as if it 
 were being delivered through an imperfect speak- 
 ing tube. The voices revealed that a man and a 
 woman were speaking ; the man in deep, angry 
 tones ; the woman in the most musical of voices. 
 
 " You are always making mountains out of mole- 
 hills ! " were the first words that reached her ears 
 " If that is all you have to tell, I knew it already 
 and a pretty waste of time when I most need it 
 Is that all ?" 
 
 " No, it is not all, and I order you. Max Newton 
 to take a lower tone with me or you'll repent it ! ' 
 
 " Curse you for an idiot ! What do you want?' 
 
 " To bid you farewell ; I'm going away." 
 
 " Is this a time for jest ? " asked the man's voice 
 sternly. 
 
 "I'm in sober earnest. I'm going away, to-day, 
 to-morrow, or next day; but I go just the same." 
 
 " If I allow you ! " 
 
 " You can't help yourself." 
 
 " Move a step without my permission and take 
 the consequences ! " 
 
 " I am not afraid. To hang me would be to 
 hang yourself, and I am very easy so far as you are 
 concerned ! " 
 
 " If I thought you were in earnest," came the 
 somber answer, " I would dash out your worthless 
 brains against the stone wall on which you are
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL. 157 
 
 leaning. Speak plainly. Are you dissatisfied ? 
 If your miserly soul craves for money, tell me how 
 much would stifle your complaints?" 
 
 " I am dissatisfied with every thing. You took 
 advantage of my necessities to drag me into the 
 vile business " 
 
 " I knew your soul almost as well as you knew it 
 yourself ! " 
 
 " You dog ! My hands and soul were clean until 
 you tempted me ! Starvation and degradation on 
 one side ; comparative wealth and crime on the 
 other. I was starving, I saw only the food and 
 grasped it. I am less wicked than I hoped to be. 
 You have sunk me to hell with your temptations, 
 but you shall not rob me of all happiness in this 
 world too ! " 
 
 " You know what I have already done and ven- 
 tured ! Do you imagine that I will hesitate at 
 another crime to reach the goal for which I have 
 struggled. You little idiot ! with your greed turned 
 into love spasms. Leave me in doubt to-day, allow 
 me to doubt in the future, and your egotistic abor- 
 tion of a doctor shall suffer for it. I have spared 
 him so far on your account — it was part of the 
 agreement — and I kept it despite the trouble and 
 anxiety it has caused me. Forget your oath, and I 
 swear that his life shall be a part payment for the 
 treachery. You know me ! " 
 
 There was a silence of a few minutes, broken at 
 last by the woman's voice, which had lost its musi- 
 cal sweetness, and was now forced and harsh.
 
 158 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 "Order! What am I to do ? " 
 
 " Keep on as you have been doing. In a few 
 days you are free. I will personally see to your 
 future happiness ; or you are free to go where you 
 will. It is now necessary that she should be ruined 
 for the safety of both. If necessary, next time tap 
 her on the head ! I should prefer her to face her 
 degradation in full consciousness, but if you fear 
 ' spies ', mutilate her — curse her ! — do any thing 
 but kill her. That will come later, in the form of a 
 rope ! " 
 
 ** I can not do that ! " 
 
 *' Keep in your place, then ; preserve your old 
 attitude, and when I have ended the business here, 
 I will come to your help and do what you fear to do." 
 
 " It is impossible." 
 
 " Nothing is impossible to me and my hatred, as 
 you know ! I will venture in their midst, and 
 escape from it unharmed, after I have paid my 
 devotions to your lady ! Curse her, and trebly 
 curse her ! You stare. Doubt as much as you 
 like, only heed and obey me. Stay where you are, 
 her present state will last until I am ready for her. 
 Play the saint, the fiend or the angel, any thing but 
 the traitor, and I am content." 
 
 "I can not help myself." 
 
 " I am glad you have reached that wise conclu- 
 sion. Now let me show your idiocy out ! I have 
 already wasted the time I can not spare, and I must 
 bury him to-day. Come ! end your snivel until you 
 are safe at home."
 
 AfISS CHURCHILL OX THE TRAIL. 159 
 
 At this point Miss Churchill hastily withdrew, 
 and hid herself in the black shadows of the vault 
 below. The conversation continued some time 
 longer in the room above ; but she heard only a 
 confused sound, instead of words. The murmur 
 died away ; and there was the echo of footsteps 
 descending the stone stairs. Two figures entered 
 the vault, crossed and passed into the dark tunnel 
 on the other side- 
 When they had disappeared, Miss Churchill 
 emerged from her retreat, noiselessly ascended the 
 steps and entered the room above. She glanced 
 at the door and discovered it was of massive stone, 
 like the walls of the room itself. A tall, curiously- 
 shaped room, with a single narrow window in the 
 thick wall ; built in an angle of the house, with 
 stone ceiling, stone walls and stone floor ; empty, 
 save for a small bench just beneath the window. 
 A narrow, winding stone stairway crossed it at its 
 center ; this Miss Churchill ascended, and found 
 herself in another room similar to the one below, 
 but of double its height, and with a ceiling con- 
 verging on all sides to a central point. The stair- 
 way abruptly ceased in this room ; but a heavy 
 stone door was on the side opposite the window. 
 A huge bolt was in this door ; but it was drawn 
 back, and pulling on the ring which served in place 
 of a handle, Miss Churchill opened it ; passed 
 through, while the door slowly swung to and closed 
 with a metallic " click ". She was now in a hallway 
 of what was once the inhabited part of the house ;
 
 l6o WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 she had entered at its center, and it ran in curving 
 Hne from north to south. Before venturing further, 
 she turned to look at the door ; but though she had 
 just passed through she could not discover it. 
 Its surface was covered with the came paper that 
 lined the hall walls, and its lines of junction were 
 undiscovered by her sharp eyes or practiced fingers. 
 
 Fearing discovery, she glided onward, and had 
 hardly hidden herself behind the tapestry that was 
 half drawn back from before the entrance to a 
 dark room, when the door again opened, and an old, 
 gray-haired man appeared in the hallway. He 
 went in the direction opposite that she had taken, 
 and descended a broad flight of stairs at the other 
 side of the hall, passing a window that extended 
 from roof to floor of the hall, and through which 
 the light streamed on his sedate figure and vener- 
 able face. His footsteps still sounded, descending 
 lower and lower the flights of uncarpeted stairs. 
 
 Miss Churchill now left her place of conceal- 
 ment, crossed the hall, and glanced out the high, 
 narrow window. Gazing downward, the land that 
 connected the house with the village was in the 
 line of her vision ; and, after a brief interval, she 
 saw a sober, sedate figure cross this piece of land 
 and disappear. She now descended the stairs, 
 anxious to get safely out of the trap into which she 
 had knowingly entered. Flight after flight she 
 descended, meeting with no one, and caring to 
 meet with no one. 
 
 She reached the hallway of the lowest story, and
 
 MISS CHURCHILL ON THE TRAIL. lOi 
 
 the door of exit was before her ; but she could not 
 resist glancing in the open doorway into the large 
 somber room which was fitted up as a library. 
 
 A desk littered with papers was temptingly near 
 the door. She approached it, selected one of the 
 papers — the detective's memoranda of the case — 
 and placed it in her pocket. She then seized a sheet 
 of blank paper, and, with a smile on her lips, wrote 
 the words : " To the most vigilant of detectives, 
 from his admirer. Miss O. G." 
 
 She now opened the front door, tripped to the 
 veranda only to face a local police-officer, who 
 stared at her in ludicrous amazement. 
 
 ** Who are you, ma'am ? " he asked, fiercely, con- 
 quering his fear. She gracefully handed him the 
 order that the detective had written at the doctor's 
 request. 
 
 The policeman received it superciliously, and 
 read : ^'■Please treat the bearer of this ivith the 
 utmost courtesy, and give the same liberty of action as 
 if you were dealing with the undersigned. — /. Sharpe, 
 Detective." 
 
 The policeman handed it back to the woman 
 with a shrug of the shoulders, which he converted 
 into an : " Excuse me, ma'am, I didn't know ! " 
 
 "I excuse and thank you." 
 
 She smiled, opened her umbrella and passed out 
 into the storm.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CUNNING MATCHES CUNNING. 
 
 WHEN Miss Churchill returned to Woodbine 
 Villa she retired first to her room to change 
 her rain-soaked garments ; then descended to the 
 invalid's room. At her appearance, the doctor, who 
 was playing the part of nurse, cast aside his book, 
 and advanced to meet her with a smiling face. 
 
 " She sleeps quietly, doctor," she said, glancing 
 critically toward the pale yet tranquil face on the 
 pillow. 
 
 " More quietly than I hoped. Are you satisfied 
 with the results of your journey ? " 
 
 " They have been fairly satisfactory. I have paid 
 a visit to Ralph Price, and by threats and cunning 
 and promises discovered that he has never seen 
 Miss Gower in his life. What he said to the detect- 
 ive he has been taught to say, and it's my belief his 
 teacher was Max Newton." 
 
 " This conclusion is in entire harmony with my 
 scientific deductions," said the doctor, approv- 
 ingly. 
 
 " I always had the greatest respect for science, 
 but I have not time now to indulge in its praises. 
 It is my desire that Miss Percy return to her old
 
 CUAWING MATCHES CUXNIiVG. 163 
 
 position near the patient. You will please tell her 
 that the volatile Miss Churchill has grown tired of 
 playing the part of nurse and prefers to sleep in her 
 own room." 
 
 " But — " began the astonished doctor. 
 
 '* Miss Percy is reinstated here as maid," insisted 
 the other, " and you are to tell her, in a diplomatic 
 way, of course, that professionally you are deeply 
 interested in the recovery of your patient. You 
 will detain Miss Percy here for a couple 
 of hours this evening, as I intend to search her 
 room." 
 
 " Oh ! I begin to understand you ! Is there any 
 thing else ? " 
 
 " One more item, doctor. Before I went away 
 this morning, I scribbled a note to Captain Travers. 
 Can you tell me if he received it ? " 
 
 " All my information is contained in the state- 
 ment that he left the house in a very hurried man- 
 ner, without informing me of his intentions or 
 destination. He took a hand-satchel with him, and 
 in parting with me told me he did not know when 
 he should return." 
 
 " He has then received my note," said Miss 
 Churchill, sinking into an arm-chair with a sigh of 
 relief. " Your watch is over for the present, doc- 
 tor. Perhaps, however, it may be well to inform 
 Miss Percy that I have been deposed. Tell her 
 that in your indignation you have brought me to a 
 sense of my duty. It will cause her to regard you 
 more favorably."
 
 164 WHO IS GUILl^Y? 
 
 " But I do not wish her regards ! " growled the 
 doctor, irritably. 
 
 " It will help us — and she is pretty ! " 
 
 The doctor gazed suspiciously at his friend to 
 •detect the incipient symptoms of mockery or 
 satire, but the sphinx-face defied his scrutiny, and 
 he left the room the victim of suppressed irrita- 
 tion. 
 
 Miss Churchill solaced her loneliness by reading 
 the manuscript that she had stolen from the library 
 in the old house. It was dull reading for a woman, 
 as it consisted of nothing but detached names, 
 and long columns of figures. Yet it absorbed all 
 her attention, and the rustle of Miss Percy's dress 
 startled her as if she had heard the report of a 
 cannon. She had been engaged a long hour in her 
 study of the manuscript, and even then it had not 
 revealed its secret. 
 
 There was no weariness in Miss Percy's face ; a 
 natural bloom was on her cheeks ; her eyes were 
 bright, although they were unusually serious ; but 
 that added to, rather than detracted from, her 
 dainty beauty. 
 
 " Can I serve you with any refreshments, Miss 
 Churchill?" she asked, seriously hospitable, 
 " Dinner is still an hour away ! " 
 
 "I ain't hungry, Miss Percy, but I'm glad you've 
 got over your airs. I'm good-natured when I see 
 people in their places, but I never could stand see- 
 ing servants acting like their mistresses." 
 
 "Is it not equally bad for the mistress to assume
 
 CUNNING MATCHES CUNNING. 165 
 
 the part of the servant ? " asked Miss Percy, with a 
 smile. 
 
 " It is very tiresome, at least ; and I've no objec- 
 tion for you to take that labor off my shoulders. 
 Though how even you can pass your life at beck 
 and call of another I can't understand. Where 
 were you born ? " she asked, indulging in the liberty 
 which one woman boldly assumes toward the other 
 when she is higher in the social scale. 
 
 " I was born in Manchester, England. My 
 father was a manufacturer of cotton ; rich and 
 good, and my real name is Perceval and not Percy." 
 
 The explanation was given with a quiet unaffect- 
 edness that favorably imp"ressed the suspicious 
 Miss Churchill. 
 
 " Rich ? And you in service ? " 
 
 " His second wife was a widow with five children 
 of her own. She did not love me, or I her. I was 
 scratched from the will. When _my father died, I 
 ran away from home to this country, trusting for 
 protection to an uncle, who closed his door in my 
 face. He was rich, too, but he left me to starva- 
 tion, or worse, without a care ! " 
 
 " What is your uncle's business ?" 
 
 "I suppose jtw^ would call him a servant. He 
 was major domo, half servant, half friend. Per- 
 haps he is master himself now, who knows ? " 
 
 "Are you friendly with him ? " 
 
 " As friendly as you would be with a man who 
 held a pistol to your head ! He needs me ! But 
 there is the first bell for dinner ringing ! "
 
 1 66 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 Miss Churchill hastily retired, and Miss Percy 
 sank into an arm-chair, and, in imagination, filled 
 the fingers of her pretty but unadorned hands with 
 a number of rings. But she was not in an amiable 
 mood ; having passed through the bitter experience 
 that had taught her to suspect everybody else, she 
 had reached a less satisfying stage of thought, and 
 began to suspect herself. With strange perversity, 
 she thought less of the dangers of the present, 
 than of the hopes of the future. 
 
 She was sad and discouraged, although the road 
 to fortune and social position was open before her. 
 Glancing backward, it seemed to her that the 
 labor was hardly worth the pains. She was troubled 
 with hesitations and doubts. It was a gloomy life, 
 after all ; and even if she succeeded, there was very 
 little to live for. There are worse things in the 
 world than starvation ; and diamond rings, in them- 
 selves, are not necessarily nobler ornaments than 
 iron rings. There was less difficulty in saving 
 herself than in respecting herself ! The pendulum 
 of her thoughts swung with monotonous regularity 
 between Max Newton and Doctor Dubois. The 
 former had her hate and the latter her contempt ; 
 yet her safety depended on the one, and her hap- 
 piness or misery on the other, and the choice was 
 very difficult to make. 
 
 " Better stake all to win all, than lead this 
 wretched life ! " was her thought. " If I can hang 
 him before he kills me, I shall be lucky ! He forced 
 me to enter the path, and let him take the con-
 
 CUNNING MATCHES CUNNING. 167 
 
 sequences. A poor price for years of honesty, 
 suffering, and misery," she thought with dismal 
 regret. " In a moment I have become every thing 
 I feared to be, and suffered starvation that I might 
 not be ! But they are all the same ! " she thought, 
 yielding to the solace of sweeping generalization ; 
 " all the same, only I still detest what they are 
 taught to worship as a necessary evil. A ball- 
 room is worse," she thought, with a frown on her 
 face. " Only the difference is, that I am struggling 
 for life, and they to show their shamelessness. My 
 one only honest pride," she thought, her regret 
 merged into a painful humiliation. " Even death 
 to that ! " she thought, with her eyes turned 
 moodily toward the bed. " I will become deadened 
 to it, like to all the rest, and the sooner the better ! 
 The devil has left that to me as an anticipation of 
 the future ! The doctor would call it a mania," she 
 thought, her face hardening into sternness. " An 
 anomaly ! Shame in a shameless one ! Prudery in 
 a poisoner ! " This with another glance at the bed. 
 " He, too, would let me starve, if it were not for my 
 pretty shoulders and my boldness. The doctor ! 
 the doctor ! I am selling myself like a decent 
 woman, without a decent woman's love of the 
 transaction ! " 
 
 She again glanced down at her white, dimpled 
 hands, and her eyes wandered from her fingers to 
 her wrists. 
 
 " Many have sold their souls for less," she 
 thought, removing the plain gold bangle from her
 
 l68 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 wrist with a shudder. " And I will become 
 deadened to it ! deadened to it ! The doctor ! 
 the doctor ! What is left me to love but gold and 
 dress ! They blast me with the evil in their eyes 
 that their tongues dare not speak ! Fools they, and 
 fool I ; only I will use them to exalt myself ! " 
 
 Miss Percy continued her meditations ; but she 
 no longer thought of the one humiliation that she 
 submitted to, yet which caused her the sharpest 
 agony — the insult to her maidenly modesty ! She 
 defied it ; would perhaps defy it again and again, 
 but it was there, and every act of defiance was fol- 
 lowed by a flood of bitter tears ! An anomaly in 
 such a being? But in the muddiest pools there is 
 some distorted reflection of heaven ; in every mire- 
 stained, wind-tossed leaf some suggestion of a dead 
 summer of which it was a part. An anomaly ! The 
 doctor ! the doctor ! 
 
 But Miss Percy resolutely subdued her pain, and 
 again directed her attention to the real danger that 
 menaced her. Here she could summon her energy 
 and her pride ; her scorn and her cynicism ; and 
 here work on more congenial subjects. 
 
 The early twilight settled heavily around her, 
 and blotted her out of sight. From the drawing- 
 room below came the faint sounds of music. Miss 
 Churchill was evidently amusing her host and her 
 host's friends with songs. It was a part of the 
 farce ! 
 
 Miss Percy rose, lighted the gas, and then gazed 
 at herself in the mirror.
 
 CUNNING MATCHES CUNNING. 169 
 
 " He is dangerous ! " she said mockingly, " and I 
 do not Jook badly ! Perhaps he will ask me to 
 copy another lying report. The poor, silly man ! " 
 
 She turned from the glass to bathe the face of 
 the sleeping woman ; adjust the disheveled hair, 
 and smooth down the pillows. This labor done, 
 she stood for a moment by the bedside, contem- 
 plating her work. 
 
 " I shall never indulge in opium. She was pretty 
 before she took it ; but in a few days she has grown 
 ten years olden." 
 
 The unconscious woman feebly murmured in her 
 sleep. 
 
 "She is dreaming of the gallant captain ! If I 
 hated her, I should rejoice at her recovery ; if she 
 were my sister and I loved her, I would let her die. 
 And she has been kind to me ! I might cry, if I 
 had time to think of it ! " 
 
 She gently lifted the heavy arms and arranged 
 them in a more comfortable position, and then 
 turned away from the bed. 
 
 She welcomed the doctor, who now entered, with 
 a joyous little laugh. 
 
 " I am anxious to see the condition of my patient 
 when she wakes. I hope it will be favorable, for I have 
 staked my reputation on her complete recovery." 
 
 " Then she must and shall get well ! " exclaimed 
 the young woman determinedly. " Only you must 
 not allow Miss Churchill to interfere with me 
 again ! " 
 
 " I think I have convinced her rustic mind that
 
 17° WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 good manners require her to attend to her own 
 business ! " 
 
 Miss Percy became silently thoughtful for a 
 moment, then said, with a certain anxiety : 
 
 " You are very much interested in Miss Gower, 
 and she is very pretty ! " 
 
 " You foolish child ! A doctor is not a man ! If 
 Miss Gower were the most hideous of women, my 
 interest in her would be exactly the same. After I 
 have cured her, I am indifferent — I never was fond 
 of her ! But I am vain of my skill, my dear, and 
 rather than have it fail here, I would submit to 
 almost any other humiliation ! " 
 
 The cloud vanished from Miss Percy's face. 
 
 " Your skill will conquer ; I'm sure of it ! " she 
 said gayly ; "and since you are so very much inter- 
 ested, I would give my life rather than you should 
 fail ! "
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES A WARNING, 
 
 WHILE the doctor is employed in entertaining 
 Miss Percy, Miss Churchill is employed in 
 examining Miss Percy's room. She goes about her 
 work in a calm, systematic manner, neglecting 
 nothing, forgetting nothing. She did not expect 
 to find much of a compromising nature, for, 
 although Miss Percy was foolish, it was not prob- 
 able that she would keep possession of any thing 
 that would place a rope around her neck. Never- 
 theless, the experienced Miss Churchill thought it 
 very probable that articles or manuscript that com- 
 promised her might be found. 
 
 Her expectation might be interpreted in these 
 words : 
 
 " The woman shares in the crime, but, in addition 
 to the danger that menaces all, there is an indi- 
 vidual danger as well. Criminals are suspicious of 
 each other, and to prevent an anticipated treach- 
 ery, they will keep something which, in case of 
 danger, they can hold as a Damocles' sword over 
 their faint-hearted companions. Now, it is very 
 probable that Miss Percy has held back something 
 that she may use against the old man who plays
 
 172 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 the part of tyrannical master to her. She fears 
 him and wishes to escape from him, and if he has 
 written to her any thing of a compromising nature, I 
 shall find it here ! " 
 
 Miss Churchill proceeded to submit this theory 
 to the strain of facts. A large trunk stood in the 
 corner of the room, and was the first object that 
 naturally attracted Miss Churchill's attention. It 
 was an ordinary canvas- covered trunk, but of more 
 than ordinary strength ; and it was fastened by a 
 large, complicated-looking steel lock. It might 
 have resisted a bungler's attempt at opening it ; 
 but it readily yielded to the slender twisted instru- 
 ment that Miss Churchill applied to it. Having 
 opened the lock and unfastened the strap, she lifted 
 the lid. It was, apparently, filled with dresses, 
 and other articles of woman's attire. These Miss 
 Churchill carefully removed, and was unrewarded 
 for her pains ; for she reached the bottom of the 
 trunk without discovering any thing that even 
 faintly supported her theory. She glanced at the 
 empty trunk, and then, taking a tape measure from 
 her pocket, measured it from the outside and then 
 from the inside. She was not in the least surprised 
 that the contrasted measurements indicated a false 
 bottom. 
 
 Kneeling before the trunk, she carefully exam- 
 ined it, and solved the secret. She pressed against 
 a small projection to her right on the side of the 
 trunk, and the false bottom was lifted several 
 inches by concealed springs. She raised it still
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARNING. 173 
 
 further, and discovered, as she expected to discover, 
 several small bundles of letters ; each package 
 carefully tied in a ribbon. A few loose papers, one 
 or two small books, and a lock of hair, completed 
 the list of the contents of this hiding-place. She 
 glanced at the front pages of the books, and then 
 returned them to their place. One was a small 
 volume of fairy tales, and bore on one of its fly- 
 leaves the words : " To May Perceval, from her 
 affectionate father. Manchester, 18 — " Another 
 bulkier volume was a manual on Comparative Physi- 
 ology and Zoology, and bore as inscription : " To 
 Miss Percy, from her friend, A. Dubois, M.D. 
 
 Cypressville. August 30, 18 " There was a 
 
 pamphlet with the title of " How to live on six- 
 pence a day ! " There was no dedication ; but 
 across the title was written, in a woman's hand. 
 " How shall we live without a sixpence ? " 
 
 Miss Churchill was not interested in this question. 
 She carried the letters to a table, seated herself 
 before it, and carefully examined her prizes. 
 
 One package contained a number of letters dated 
 years back ; letters addressed by a loving father 
 and mother to their child. Their only interest to 
 Miss Churchill was, that as far as they went, they 
 verified the account Miss Percy had given of 
 herself. 
 
 Another small package contained letters that 
 were also of a domestic nature. They ranged 
 through several years, and were mostly stern, cruel 
 answers to some one who had requested something.
 
 174 ly^^O IS GUILTY? 
 
 Miss Churchill read these letters carefully, and 
 made mental notes of several significant para- 
 graphs. One letter she boldly appropriated, after 
 reading it through with strong symptoms of disgust 
 and horror. This bundle more than vindicated 
 another portion of Miss Percy's account of her- 
 self. 
 
 Here is a paragraph from a letter with a date 
 that indicated it was nearly two years old : 
 
 " Why repeat and repeat that you are starving ? 
 Starve, and don't bother me about it ! I made you 
 an offer once, and you refused it. As you prize 
 what you call your ' innocence ' so much, cling to 
 it and starve ! If you want my assistance, you can 
 only get it by accepting the conditions I impose. 
 Your ideas are too lofty. When they come lower 
 down, write to me ; but not till then ! " 
 
 The letters all indicated harsh, unrelenting 
 cruelty on one side ; pitiful pleadirigs on the other. 
 
 Miss Churchill tied up this bundle, minus one let- 
 ter, and thrust it from her with disgust. 
 
 Among the remaining letters there was one that 
 particularly interested her ; it was addressed to 
 Miss Gower, and had, probably, been stolen from 
 her with other similar matter by the treacherous 
 maid. The letter was written in July of the 
 previous year, '• On board the steam yacht Oriana" 
 and was to the following effect : 
 
 " My Dear Sister : Your persistent obstinacy 
 pains me to the heart ! This is the twelfth letter I 
 have v/ritten to you and received no answer. If I
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARiYING. I 75 
 
 am willing to forget the past, why will you show so 
 much unwillingness ? The troubles you have 
 brought on yourself are of your own making. 
 Years ago I bowed down in adoration, and I feel 
 the same unquenchable passion for you now ! Had 
 you heeded me, I would have devoted my life to 
 making you happy. But you had provincial ideas 
 then, and you have them now. I have tried to for- 
 get you, but you remain to me what you always 
 were. My poor Oriana ! If you- only had my ex- 
 perience, you would discover how foolish and 
 isolated you are in your prejudices. I intend, 
 shortly, to go away on a long pleasure excursion. 
 Come and share it with me, and if, after the experi- 
 ment, you still retain your old ideas, you can return 
 to the life you so much prize. If you consent, you 
 may persuade me to any thing, even to believe in 
 your sermons ; if you do not, I shall continue in 
 my old way, only the vise will squeeze harder. I 
 love you, and I am determined to have my way ; 
 your obstinacy only increases my ardor. What I 
 can not gain you will lose. Remember your past 
 experience, and learn from it the depth of my 
 passion and of my determination. If you do not 
 answer this, you will feel the energy of the wretched 
 man whose love you have so long scorned. For- 
 give and forget, as I do, and come to the loving 
 arms of your slave and worshipper, 
 
 " Hugo." 
 
 This was the only letter that seemed even re- 
 motely related to the murdered man.
 
 176 11 'HO JS G UIL TY? 
 
 " She has surrendered the others — if others there 
 were — to her taskmaster," was IMiss Churchill's men- 
 tal comment. " Her taskmaster and his devoted 
 friend ! " 
 
 She took the liberty of appropriating this letter, 
 also, and carefully deposited it in her pocket. • 
 
 Among the loose letters was the following, with- 
 out address or date : 
 
 " Come to me immediately, and you shall not 
 starve, if you have courage and firmness. You 
 are welcome to your virtuous determinations, but if 
 you come to me and obey my instructions to the 
 letter, you will be the better off by many hundreds 
 of dollars, and I will promise you my unfailing pro- 
 tection. Come, then, show your spirit and escape 
 starvation and the gutter ! I will pay 
 your wretched debts and be a liberal uncle to 
 you." 
 
 This was the last prize that Miss Churchill won 
 and deposited in her capacious pocket. She re- 
 turned the letters to their hiding-place, closed the 
 concealing top, carefully restored the dresses and 
 other articles to their places in the trunk, shut 
 down the lid, and with the slender, twisted little 
 instrument locked it. 
 
 She now continued her examination of the 
 room ; but after the most thorough search discov- 
 ered nothing that repaid her for the trouble, 
 except one mysterious object which was found in 
 the desk near the window. This object was a 
 small rectangular piece of Bristol board with a line
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES IVARNIXG. \11 
 
 of figures and a line of words. The upper quarter 
 is reproduced as a specimen : 
 
 I. Here. 
 I — 2. Peace. 
 2 — I. Trouble. 
 2 — 2. Danger. 
 2 — 3. Must see you. 
 3 — 2. Will meet you. 
 2 — 4. Spies. 
 4 — 2. You are watched. 
 " Count five between each number. Once every 
 nighty 
 
 It was suggestive of a child's game or something 
 else. Miss Churchill copied it in her note-book 
 and returned it to its place in the desk. A quaint 
 old bull's-eye lantern was standing on the mantle, 
 claiming admiration among other curious ornaments. 
 Its owner would have truly asserted that it was over 
 two hundred years old, but a piece of very modern 
 wax-candle was contained within it, indicating that 
 its practical utility was still unimpaired. 
 
 The results of the examination were not disap- 
 pointing ; they fully supported Miss Churchill's 
 theory, even to the extent of demonstrating the 
 foolishness of my lady's maid, who had, evidently, 
 never expected that her room would be searched ; 
 or suspicion attach to her as being one of the 
 instruments in the great crime. Her simplicity 
 was deserving of contempt, and also of pity ! She 
 was only an amateur criminal after all ; compelled
 
 178 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 to enter the path of crime, not from incUnation, 
 but from necessity. Properly managed, she might 
 prove of great assistance in the further work of 
 examination, as Miss Churchill argued ; even to 
 the extent of running her own vain head in the 
 noose, if such a result could not be avoided ! 
 
 Miss Churchill cast one last glance around the 
 neat, tasty little room, and then retired to enjoy a 
 breath of fresh air in the cupola. 
 
 She had no difficulty in reaching it. It was a 
 fair-sized room, carpeted and furnished, and heavy 
 with the rich perfume of the flowers that rested on 
 brackets between the windows. An octagonal 
 room, perched high above the tree tops, and thus, 
 from its numerous windows, presenting charming 
 views of the surrounding country. 
 
 Unfortunately, the night was dark, and Miss 
 Churchill had no opportunity for indulging her 
 artistic tastes. But, at least, she could satisfy her 
 curiosity by gazing in the direction of the house 
 in which the murder was committed. Nothing was 
 visible ; but an universal blackness. This dis- 
 appointment did not disturb Miss Churchill, even 
 though she had assisted her eyes with a powerful 
 field-glass. She quietly seated herself in a rustic 
 chair, and watched with an obstinate patience. 
 
 The rain had ceased ; but the sky was still 
 cloudy. The wind had increased to a gale, and its 
 icy breath was converting the moisture on the 
 windows into incipient frost. Under a clearer sky, 
 the orchards might have suffered ; but, at least,
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARNING. 179 
 
 winter was giving its warning of a very early 
 approach this year. 
 
 Miss Churchill amused her leisure by thinking of 
 trivial subjects ; but with her face turned always in 
 one direction. A flash of light, high up, in the 
 distance, startled her ! One flash, and then dark- 
 ness. She had brought the old bull's-eye lantern 
 in the cupola, and she now lighted the candle in it 
 and waved it once near the window, and then 
 lowered it. There was an answering flash, and 
 thus another one of her surmises was proved ; an 
 occupant of Woodbine Villa could communicate 
 by signals with an occupant of the old house. 
 Again the light flashed in the distance : one, two ; 
 then a pause, then one ! This signified " trouble ", 
 according to the strange code of signals she had 
 discovered. With admirable presence of mind she 
 flashed the signals indicating " peace ", Again 
 the light appeared, one, tivo — one ! tivo ! — one — two ! 
 A long pause. Then one, two, three — one, tivo, three; 
 and darkness. Consulting the code, she discovered 
 that she had been thus warned : Prepare for flight 
 — The tree ! 
 
 Telegraphy in its infancy ; but none the less 
 efi"ectual on that account ! 
 
 She waited for further information ; but the 
 signaling was seemingly over for the night. 
 Detailed information was, probably, concealed in 
 the tree, whose secret she had already solved. 
 With characteristic energy, she determined to finish 
 her night's work by paying a visit to the robin's-
 
 l8o WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 nest letter box. It might contain important matter 
 which v;ould be lost if she waited till the next day, 
 as her visit might be anticipated by the foolish 
 lady's maid. 
 
 Thus far she had been unexpectedly successful, 
 and she was almost at the heart of the mystery. 
 
 She retired to her room to dress herself in 
 warmer attire. For this purpose she opened her 
 trunk, which had only arrived in the morning, and 
 which she had not had time to unpack. It had 
 been especially made on a plan of her own, and the 
 lock was so ingeniously constructed that she would 
 have defied the most expert burglar to pick it, or 
 open the trunk at all without mutilating it. Think- 
 ing of the trunk she had recently examined, she 
 smiled as she busied herself with the lock of her 
 own. 
 
 To change her attire was the work of a few 
 minutes ; and in less time, she had cautiously made 
 her exit from the house, and was sturdily battling 
 with the wind out in the open air. But time was 
 precious ; she had to give the doctor notice that 
 her work was ended, and he at liberty to leave the 
 presence of the fascinating Miss Percy ; and she 
 had, also, to prepare for the labors of the morrow. 
 The icy wind could not deter her ; let it shriek ever 
 so much in the branches overhead ; she was used 
 to this species of work. A September night, with 
 the chilled breath issuing from her lips like smoke ! 
 But it was fortunate ; for it only incited her to 
 walk the quicker. Yes ; to her left was the old
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES IVARNIXG. i8l 
 
 house rising grim and black ; no lights in its win- 
 dow, and a deep fog rising about its base. Were the 
 criminals as foolish as are most criminals, or was 
 she unusually clever ? There was the tree just in 
 front of her ; she could have selected it out of 
 thousands ; with its rough moss-grown trunk and its 
 huge overhanging branches, tossing and writhing 
 under the tortures of the wind ! The robin's-nest 
 was in the fork formed by two branches ; and to 
 reach it, one had to stand on tip-toe, and assist 
 one's self by clinging to one of the down-hanging 
 boughs. There was no need to tell Miss Churchill 
 this ; she grasped the branch with her left 
 hand, raised herself on tip-toe, and reached out 
 toward the nest, but did not touch it ; for she 
 received a heavy blow from some weapon that 
 struck her on the side of the head and then glanced 
 off to her shoulder ! She fell to the ground without 
 uttering a sound, and a heavy branch of the tree 
 fell with her. For a moment she was stunned ; 
 had she received the blow fairly on the top of her 
 head she would have been killed ! She lay passive 
 in the wet grass for a time, and then with an 
 effort rose to her feet, the world swimming around 
 her, and the pain in her shoulder more unbearable 
 than the pain in her head. The wind had evi- 
 dently partially twisted off from the parent tree 
 the overhanging branch, and the additional weight 
 had brought it down on her head ! That was the 
 probable explanation of the humiliating accident. 
 But the brave Miss Churchill would not acknowl-
 
 iSa WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 edge defeat. She bit her lips to repress her 
 groans, and again stretched out her arm toward 
 the robin's-nest. With an effort she reached it, but 
 the expected letter was not in it ! In her eager- 
 ness she had come too soon, and in her dazed con- 
 dition she forgot to examine the strange weapon that 
 had struck her. 
 
 Her head was tied up in a handkerchief when 
 she entered the room to bid the doctor good even- 
 ing ; but later in the night she submitted herself to 
 his care, and explained to him the cause of her 
 accident. He congratulated her on her wonderful 
 escape. 
 
 " Had the blow been direct, Miss Churchill, it is 
 probable it would have fractured the base of 
 your skull ! You will recover long before our 
 patient ! " 
 
 " You are disappointed ? " she asked, resolutely- 
 interesting herself in,the fate of another, while the 
 doctor was dressing her own wounds. 
 
 " She waked up conscious enough ; but what 
 with her tears, shrieks and pleadings, the other con- 
 dition was less, dangerous. If the business is not 
 cleared up in a few days, I fear the result. She is 
 in some way mixed up with it, and unless we can 
 positively reassure her, she will worry herself into a 
 brain-fever. To tell you the truth, I am discour- 
 aged." 
 
 " Repeat that in two days from now, doctor, 
 and I will answer, that you are hard to please ! 
 You have eased my pains, and in gratitude I will
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARNING. 1 83 
 
 ease your anxieties ; and the foolish Miss Percy- 
 shall unconsciously help me to do so." 
 
 At that moment the foolish Miss Percy was in 
 her own room gazing smilingly down on her 
 trunk. 
 
 " She will question me to-morrow, and I must 
 answer — as much as I dare ! It is safe on that side 
 — to-morrow I will make it safe on the other ! And 
 the doctor is a bore after all ! What a pity it is 
 that the good old times are gone when a lover 
 could be changed into a shower of gold ! And I 
 am to pass the night in my lady's room ; they are 
 so sure of me that they cease to fear me. Heigh- 
 ho ! I wonder how long it will be before I can 
 sleep in a bed of my own ! I wish I could pitch 
 away the hand he squeezed ! Fortunately I can 
 sleep on a lounge as well as in a bed, and if he 
 must be summoned he will not surprise me in a 
 hideous night-gown ! " 
 
 Another morning dawned, announcing a day that 
 was to be filled with surprises. Miss Percy rose 
 before the sun, bright and refreshed ; Miss 
 Churchill rose with the sun, with an acute head- 
 ache and a painful shoulder, but also with undi- 
 minished energy. She entered the patient's room 
 while the doctor was still peacefully snoring in his 
 bed, and displayed an unwonted friendliness 
 toward Miss Percy, which that young lady appreci- 
 ated. 
 
 " I almost envy you. Miss Percy. Here I have 
 been sleeping on a comfortable bed and wake up
 
 184 IVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 looking a fright, while you sleep on a sofa and get 
 up as bright as the sun." 
 
 " I'm used to sleeping anywhere. I have slept 
 on an uncarpeted floor and very comfortably 
 too ! " 
 
 " While your uncle enjoyed himself at his ease, 
 the brute. Did you know his master ? " 
 
 " My sweet uncle wished to force an acquaintance- 
 ship on me, but I objected, and that angered him." 
 
 " Why did you object ? was not the master a 
 gentleman ? " 
 
 " A hypocrite and a fiend, Miss Churchill. Had 
 I been less obstinate, I might at the present moment 
 have owned a little milliner's store in this village, 
 instead of being a lady's-maid." 
 
 " Where is he now ? " 
 
 " My uncle could tell you better than I ! " said 
 Miss Percy with a smile. 
 
 " What is his name ? " 
 
 " Pardon me if I like my life too well to utter it," 
 
 " You are not frank with me," said Miss Churchill, 
 careless now of disguise. " Suppose I could name 
 your uncle and his master. Suppose I am bold 
 enough to venture into Max Newton's presence, 
 and ask him what he has done with his master 
 Hugo Addison? " 
 
 Miss Churchill enjoyed her triumph ; the sur- 
 prise and dismay of the maid flattered her profes- 
 sional vanity. 
 
 ** You are a witch ! " 
 
 "And you a coward to allow your uncle to
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARNING. 185 
 
 endanger your young life. I will be your friend, if 
 you tvill meet me half way. Think over it, and when 
 I see you again, your profit or disadvantage depends 
 on the words you then speak to me ! " 
 
 There was a sternness in Miss Churchill's voice, 
 and unusual dignity in her manners, as she swept 
 from the room. 
 
 Miss Percy's gravity followed the woman ; she 
 laughed gayly. 
 
 " She is walking into my trap, instead of me walk- 
 ing into hers. It is sometimes good to be thought 
 a fool ! " 
 
 She blithely continued her labors of dusting and 
 arranging the furniture, glancing now and then 
 toward the door ; and now and then toward the 
 looking-glass ; a laughing type of amiable malice. 
 Miss Churchill's condescension had conquered even 
 her anxieties, and, with her destiny trembling in the 
 balance, she recklessly surrendered herself to the 
 enjoyment of the minute ; her suppressed mirth 
 accumulating until she dissipated it in a burst of 
 of light, ringing, musical laughter. 
 
 When the doctor came to pay his morning visit to 
 the room, her face had assumed its seriousness ; but 
 bright points of mischief were still dancing m her 
 eyes. A servant followed the doctor, carrying 
 a salver on which was food for the sick 
 woman. 
 
 With an anxious face, the doctor gently roused the 
 sleeper, who started into a sitting position at his 
 slight touch, and stared wildly around her. Miss
 
 1 86 IVBO IS G UIL TV? 
 
 Percy now waved him aside, and took his place near 
 her mistress. 
 
 " You must have had frightful dreams last night, 
 Miss Gower. And you made me so nervous that I 
 sat up with you, and now have called the doctor to 
 my aid ! " 
 
 The calm, smiling face of the maid reassured the 
 mistress ; she sighed, but the wild expression faded 
 from her eyes. 
 
 '* Have I been here long ? " 
 
 " Only since I put you into bed last night. I 
 think you must have caught cold playing croquet 
 yesterday morning." 
 
 " Is /le here ? " 
 
 With fine instinct, the maid divined the mistress's 
 thoughts, and, to the doctor's admiration, soothed 
 them. 
 
 " It was a false rumor. It was not his yacht at 
 all ; and it is now supposed that the first rumor 
 was correct, and that it was lost in the waves." 
 
 The mistress sighed heavily, and sank back on 
 the pillow, relieved in heart and mind, and too 
 weary to analyze the comforting statement. 
 
 " It was a strange dream ! " 
 
 " A bad night-mare ! But you must take a little 
 nourishment, and then try and sleep again ; for 
 Captain Travers is anxious to have his revenge." 
 
 The mistress flushed at the name, quietly 
 accepted nourishment from the hands of the maid, 
 and then, like a tired child, fell into a peaceful 
 sleep, with a spoonful of untasted food at her lips.
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES IVARXIMG. 187 
 
 The doctor's admiration was unbounded. 
 
 " It was a stroke of genius ! " he exclaimed, 
 enthusiastically, " the one only remedy applied at the 
 one proper instant of time." 
 
 " I am working for my new position ! " she said, 
 demurely. 
 
 " And you shall have it, I pledge you my word. 
 But you must first have full confidence in me and I 
 in you." 
 
 " Must we exchange references, sir ? " 
 
 ** Rather we must be frank. I am your friend. 
 Tell me, then, all you know." 
 
 " I know I am very wretched and of a very 
 jealous nature. I am a foolish woman ; I was born 
 independent, and I have the ugly trick of imagin- 
 ing that by birth and education I am the equal of 
 any one. There are certain rumors in the village 
 which connect my name with one whom the world 
 honors ; my anger was stilled in remembering that 
 my reputation was blasted by a great genius whom 
 I — I — really cared for ! For the first time in my life 
 I saw my ideal of a hero realized in him — and — and 
 I was foolishly happy," she said, with a deep flush, 
 that extended even to her pretty ears. 
 
 Barring that he felt that the colored pattern on his 
 dressing gown did not match his complexion, and 
 that a hero lost some of his dignity in slippers, the 
 doctor received the statement in calm satisfaction. 
 
 " You are a foolish, impetuous child ! " he said, 
 good naturedly. " But I like your frankness." 
 
 " Foolish to the extent of becoming insanely
 
 1 8 8 IV HO IS G UIL TV? 
 
 jealous ; of drugging the woman whom I stupidly 
 regarded as my rival." 
 
 Ah ! how complex is woman's nature. Here was 
 a young creature, a decidedly pretty young woman, 
 who had allowed herself to commit a crime out of 
 her love for a man of his sedate age. Not that he 
 was old ! At fifty a man is in the prime of vigorous 
 life ! Age was not in the question. But it was sur- 
 prising that a young creature of her gayety should 
 fall in love with a person of his gravity of character. 
 For once Mr. Morris was right ! 
 
 " As I understand you, my child, your evil treat- 
 ment of your mistress was due to jealousy, and 
 nothing else ?" 
 
 " To jealousy alone. I thought the opium would 
 make her look ugly, and that my hero " 
 
 The reappearance of Miss Churchill interrupted 
 what promised to be a very intimate conversation, 
 and gave the abashed maid an opportunity to retire. 
 But before leaving the room, she asked : 
 
 " Could I in safety leave my mistress for a couple 
 of hours ? " 
 
 ** I shall be here for that length of time," said 
 the doctor, after receiving an approving nod from 
 the new-comer. 
 
 '* And please do not forget what I have said," 
 added ]\Iiss Churchill. " To-day you must decide 
 whether I am to be your friend or enemy." 
 
 " I am not likely to forget. My absence is con- 
 nected with the subject about which you intend to 
 speak. Let her follow me ! " thought Miss Percy,
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARNING. 189 
 
 as she ascended to her room. " She will only rub 
 her nose against a rock this time. If / had prepared 
 the tree-branch she wouldn't have escaped with a 
 scratch. But men are born fools ! " 
 
 " She is going to see the man Newton," said 
 Miss Churchill to the doctor. '^'^He is the murderer, 
 and she is trying to escape from his claws. We 
 have evidence to show that he is deeply interested 
 in the crime ; but none to prove that he was 
 directly concerned in it. While free, he may com- 
 promise himself by some hasty act ; in jail, we are 
 hopeless." 
 
 " But if Miss Percy " 
 
 " She can tell us nothing bearing on this one 
 vital point. The man is too cunning to trust the 
 secret, even with her. He has managed to blind 
 the very detective who is always beside him. He 
 is a criminal of brains, and they are the worst of 
 all ! " 
 
 " Yet you made a very definite promise, and 
 seemed to have great hope." 
 
 " I have it still ; but the more I think over the 
 subject, the more perplexed I grow. If I could 
 only discover the reason of the man's hatred to 
 Miss Gower ; or if I could find the man Draper, I 
 should solve the one doubt that confuses me. I 
 wrote some instructions for the use of Captain 
 Travers, and I sent him to the city ; partly to help 
 us, and partly to keep him in ignorance of the 
 danger hovering over his friend." 
 
 ** Have you heard from him ? "
 
 I go IVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " One of his directions was to make inquiries 
 concerning the murdered man's yacht, the Oriana. 
 He was to visit the dockyard in which it was 
 repaired, and also find out where it is now. 1 have 
 just received his telegram on this subject. Here it 
 is." Miss Churchill read from the paper in her 
 hand : " ' Yacht nowhere. Not been seen since 
 repaired. Not in harbor. Will write.' That is 
 the captain's message." 
 
 " Might I ask why you are interested in the 
 yacht ?" 
 
 " I am not accustomed to anticipate my actions 
 by describing them ; but for once I will break 
 through my custom. From the start, I have 
 believed Max Newton to be the murderer ! " 
 
 " Science irrefragably pointed to the same con- 
 clusion," said the doctor, pompously. 
 
 Miss Churchill continued, without heeding the 
 interruption : 
 
 " Max Newton is the murderer ! Why then 
 should Mr. Draper so mysteriously disappear ? He 
 has no reason of his own ; no reason to desert the 
 woman with whom he has been intimate ; whether 
 innocently or guiltily, I can not say ! But if we 
 suppose he possessed some knowledge, the publica- 
 tion of which would compromise Max Newton, we 
 have an explanation. The murderer removed him 
 from his path, either by committing another blood- 
 crime, or by secreting his victim. Reaching this 
 point, my mind naturally reverted to the yacht, 
 and to find it was a part of the captain's instruc-
 
 MTSS CHURCHILL RECEIVES WARNING. 191 
 
 tions. If it were readily found, I was willing to 
 dismiss it from my mind ; as it was not readily 
 found, I have sent telegrams to the city ordering 
 skilled agents to discover its whereabouts." 
 
 " Your argument is weighty, and I am surprised 
 that I did not think of it," said the doctor, thought- 
 fully. 
 
 " As to the will business that so troubles Detect- 
 ive Sharpe, it is easily solved. As the confidant of 
 his master, Max Newton knew that a fresh will, 
 disinheriting Miss Gower, was to be signed. In 
 his inexplicable hatred of our patient, he killed his 
 master at the very moment when the circumstantial 
 evidence would tell against Miss Gower ! " 
 
 " But why was the crime committed at all ? " 
 
 " I will give you the sum of my information. 
 Master and man were both creatures of strong 
 passions ; despite his local reputation, Mr. Addison 
 was a strong sensualist — I have read one of his 
 letters, and it supports what I have elsewhere 
 learned ; the servant gained power over him by 
 consenting to be his vile agent ; even attempting 
 to lure his own niece into sin. Master and man 
 quarreled, as was inevitable under the circum- 
 stances. And, further, the servant is avaricious ; 
 the desire to sell his own niece proves this. They 
 quarrel ; the master is anxious to cast off the serv- 
 ant, who has become a burden on him ; he wants 
 to make his selections himself ; he refuses to pay 
 his servant his price ; these reasons are amply suf- 
 ficient to account for the murder, especially when
 
 192 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 we remember the ten thousand dollars, which we 
 know, and the many thousand dollars of which we 
 do not know, that fell into the murderer's hands. 
 The master was a careless spendthrift, caring only 
 for his pleasures ; the servant had passed that 
 stage, and cared only for his self-interest. Money 
 was the principal cause of the murder, whatever 
 may have been the secondary causes ; and Max 
 Newton is the only one that profited by it ! To- 
 day I intend to devote to studying and investigating 
 this aspect of the subject." 
 
 " Can I be of any help ? " 
 
 " Yes ; you would oblige me if you would call 
 on Detective Sharpe and quietly discover if he has 
 blundered on any truths. I expected to see him 
 in triumph here before sunrise with an order of 
 arrest. His absence demonstrates that he is losing 
 his faith in his theory. I shall pay my first visit to 
 Mr. Terms ; you had better wait the return of the 
 foolish maid." 
 
 " You do not think she is guilty ? " asked the 
 doctor, with an anxiety that was stronger than the 
 attempt made to conceal it. 
 
 " I think we are acquainted with the worst crime 
 of that wretched young woman ; and if she is not 
 compliant to my wishes sne shall suffer for it ! She 
 shall find that an attempt at poison is not a slight 
 thing ! " 
 
 The doctor saw, in a flash, the young lady on the 
 witness stand explaining the reason for her actions, 
 and, in her simplicity, relating the scandals that he
 
 MISS CHURCHILL RECEIVES IV ARMING. 193 
 
 had unwittingly brought upon her. He saw his 
 name gracing the head-lines of all the morning 
 papers, and anticipated the editorials, wherein 
 would be discussed how " a distinguished citizen, a 
 man of universal reputation in his profession, de- 
 liberately forgot his noble calling ; tampered with 
 the affections of a young maiden, blasted her 
 character, and then, in his Don Juan indifference, 
 goaded her into crime ! " He had been seen with 
 his arm around her waist ; she had been seen in 
 his bed-room. The day was cold, but the doctor 
 mopped the perspiration from his forehead with 
 his handkerchief and concealed his face at the same 
 time. 
 
 " I think. Miss Churchill, that the young lady 
 will tell all she knows." 
 
 " A taste of jail will cure her obstinacy ! She 
 is too dainty to suffer that disgrace long." 
 
 " She is impetuous. Miss Churchill, but not 
 chronically bad. In such cases, a little toleration is 
 the wisest course." 
 
 " But an attempt at poison, doctor ! " 
 
 " Hardly that. She was, perhaps, ordered by 
 her cruel taskmaster to keep his victim uncon- 
 scious, so that she could not interfere with his 
 plans !" said the doctor, with a flash of inspiration. 
 
 " It is very probable," answered Miss Churchill, 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " It is certain ! " retorted the doctor, persuasively. 
 " I have thought the matter over, but until now 
 have not ventured to interrupt your investigations
 
 194 ^liO IS GUILTY? 
 
 with my conclusions. You will find, Miss Churchill, 
 that science is right here as elsewhere, and that 
 from Miss Gower's own lips you will hear the 
 justification of my deduction. And we shall 
 speedily know," he added, turning to the bed 
 where the sleeper was smiling in her sleep and 
 softly murmuring to herself. " Thanks to the fore- 
 thought of Miss Percy, the patient has taken the 
 most favorable turn." 
 
 " Her dreams are happy." 
 
 " She is evidently thinking of our friend, the 
 captain." 
 
 " Is his name Geoffrey ? " asked Miss Churchill, 
 dryly. "She is babbling < Geoffrey ', ' dear Geof- 
 frey,' while his name is Frank."
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE. 
 
 AS if guided by a conscience that was free from 
 reproach, Miss Percy dehberately made her 
 exit from the front-door of Woodbine Villa, and 
 quietly stood on the veranda steps to pull on her 
 gloves, although she was aware that her actions 
 were observed by a pair of shrewd eyes from the 
 window above. 
 
 " I wish she would follow me," she thought, 
 smiling down on her gloves. " It would be a relax- 
 ation to trot her around the village before I faced 
 the ogre. Daring to dictate to me, who could 
 crush her life out by lifting a linger ! But I sup- 
 pose it pays in the long run to be as foolish as they 
 all are, especially since the wise ones are in the 
 minority." 
 
 Pausing for a moment to pluck some wild flowers, 
 of which she was passionately fond, she resumed 
 her quiet walk, never once glancing behind to see 
 if she were followed, or even caring to see. She 
 was as calm as if no danger could, by any possi- 
 bility, overwhelm her ; self-assured, self-satisfied 
 and self-respecting. Passing near a certain tree, 
 she glanced at it for a moment with an amused ex-
 
 196 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 pression on her face. A massive branch had fallen 
 from the parent tree, and now lay cumbering the 
 ground. 
 
 " Her head was hard ! " was Miss Percy's com- 
 ment as she passed on her way. 
 
 She entered the secret tunnel, but this time, 
 when she closed the shell of stone over her, she 
 fastened it with a massive staple and bar. Mr. 
 Newton was impatiently awaiting her in the room 
 above the vault, and the sight of the fresh flowers 
 in her hand did not add to his good humor. 
 
 " Do you know you have kept me waiting 
 again ? " 
 
 " Do you know that you are losing your senses, by 
 speaking of such a trifle ? I was followed, or at 
 least imagined so, and I acted to throw the spy off 
 her guard ! " 
 
 " Is she still active ? " he asked with a frown. 
 
 " I warned you, and you laughed at my warning, 
 my uncle ! " 
 
 " Because you are always warning. But I de- 
 tected her meddling fingers last night, in flashing the 
 wrong signal. I gave her a lesson." 
 
 " It missed its aim ; but she ought to be obliged to 
 you for giving her an excuse for explaining why 
 one of her shoulders is higher than the other ! A 
 bruise on the head, a bruise on the shoulder, and 
 you have one crime less to answer for." 
 
 " One crime more if she does not keep out of 
 my way ! Why were you not in the place to see my 
 signals ? "
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE. 1 97 
 
 " Because I am not allowed. I am suspected 
 and watched. They have a strong suspicion that 
 I have tampered with your friend, Miss Gower ! " 
 
 " Curse her ! " interrupted the old man, fiercely. 
 " I wish that it were possible to drag her still 
 lower. I would have killed her but for that hope." 
 
 " You are amiable ! " answered Miss Percy 
 calmly. " But to continue : they also suspect, that in 
 some mysterious way I am connected with you. 
 They opened my trunk ! " 
 
 "You had nothing there, I hope?" he asked, 
 sternly. 
 
 " It was very likely ! Nothing but the wretched 
 dresses which you avariciously allow me to wear." 
 
 " We will speak of that in a moment." 
 
 " If I live one of your hours, then, I shall see the 
 end of the world ! " she said, dryly. " But, in 
 sober earnest, I am beginning to be afraid. Even 
 the doctor peeps through the keyhole of my door, 
 and plays the spy to my snores. I have lost my 
 chance with him as with every thing else. It isn't 
 likely he would have a poisoner in his house, 
 especially when he is so rich ! And so I must 
 give up the idea of being Mrs. Dr. Dubois and of 
 riding in my carriage ! " 
 
 " So much the better, as you will find it safer to 
 go with me." 
 
 " But when are you going. The delay makes 
 me as nervous as a woman ! " 
 " You spoke differently when you were last here ! " 
 
 " Because I hoped differently. My one only
 
 1 98 WHO IS GUIL T V? 
 
 absorbing idea now is to get away as soon as 
 possible." 
 
 " Wliile I protect you, you idiot, you may defy 
 the world. But my work is done," he said, with a 
 malicious grin, " and I shall probably vanish to- 
 night." 
 
 "But how ? " 
 
 He did not immediately answer her question, 
 but spoke rather as if communing with him- 
 self. 
 
 " I have forgotten nothing. S/ie is brought down 
 from pride to degradation, more dishonored and 
 vile than she feared to be. A public by-word, a 
 blot, an ulcer, a scab, every thing that she deserves 
 to be ! To-morrow, despite the efforts of her 
 friends, the newspapers will receive her name, and 
 the next day the immoral woman of local fame will 
 be known through the country as a murderess. Let 
 them help it if they can ! " 
 
 " But if she disproves this ? " 
 
 ** She is welcome, if she can ! But the stigma is 
 attached to her ; she is degraded in her own proud 
 eyes ; she will writhe and shrink under the torment, 
 whether she is doomed to hang, or whether she 
 lives to infinity. That is all I care. Her fame, 
 for which she so foolishly fought, is besmirched, 
 blasted irrevocably ; I h-ave made her life a hell, 
 and she is welcome to live in it or die in it, even 
 though I have blasted my own soul in conquering 
 her ! " 
 
 The handsome face was contorted with vindictive
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE. 199 
 
 passion till it might have served as the portrait of 
 a fiend. 
 
 " Having done so much, you mean to remain 
 here ? " 
 
 " Having done so much, I am exulting In it ; 
 exulting in the knowledge that, even if she escapes 
 the rope, she will be penniless in her isolation. What 
 money remains I take with me ; the branded 
 harlot and murderess will starve ! " 
 
 " Yoii are wasting the time now," said Miss Percy, 
 impatiently. " The point that most concerns me 
 is, how am I going to save my own neck ? " 
 
 " You have decided to go with me ? " 
 
 " The prospect is not attractive, but I can't help 
 myself," she answered, with a shrug of the 
 shoulders. 
 
 " The yacht will come here to-night." 
 
 " I thought you had sent it away." 
 
 " You idiot ! " he hissed. " I tell you the yacht 
 will be here to-night. It will anchor out in the 
 river ; but at a signal it will send a boat to shore to 
 take us away." 
 
 " But how am I to bring my trunk ? " 
 
 ** Worse than idiot ! it is not a time to think of 
 such matters. Take a few necessary articles, 
 meet me here, and leave the rest to me." 
 
 " I hope we are not going to have ///;;/ as a com- 
 panion," said Miss Percy, significantly. 
 
 " He leaves as we enter ! " answered the old man, 
 with a harsh laugh. " With a weight at his heels, I 
 send him to his friends."
 
 2O0 IVHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " After your promise ? " she asked, with a frown. 
 
 " My promise was not to harm a hair of his 
 head. I will keep the promise. I surrender him 
 to the fishes unhurt ! Do you object, my lady 
 Innocaice ? " 
 
 " Again I am powerless." 
 
 " And again I warn you to cast aside your stupid 
 prejudices. You had a taste once of my opinion 
 on that score. I will not tolerate a weakness on 
 your part ; but I will assist you in a revenge. If 
 you feel like giving the doctor a lesson, invite him 
 here, or lure him here, and I will blow him up 
 with the rest of the building ! " 
 
 " Why do this ? " 
 
 " As a display of fireworks at my departure ! I 
 should have brought the cursed woman here, did I 
 not prefer that she should live ! " 
 
 " What is that strange noise ? " asked Miss 
 Percy, nervously. 
 
 The noise sounded like faint, muffled cries for 
 help ; as of a person struggling with suffocation. 
 
 " That is an obstinate friend of mine saying his 
 prayers ! He knows more than is good for him, 
 and he is a part of the fireworks." 
 
 " Your humor is grimmer than usual to-day ! 
 You must be happy ! " 
 
 " I am ! Bring your doctor here and try me. Or 
 the spy who escaped from my clutches ! And take 
 a warning for yourself ; remain firm to the last, 
 and I am your friend ; and by the blood that stains 
 my hand 1 promise to take you with me at any cost,
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE. 20 i 
 
 and let you live in luxury ! Utter one word of 
 treachery, or lead me to believe you intend to utter 
 it, and I will dash out your brains, even though it 
 costs me my life ! You know what I have done ; 
 you know what I can do ! " 
 
 " It isn't likely that I should play the traitor at 
 the last moment, with nothing to gain but a jail or 
 worse ! " she answered, contemptuously. 
 
 " I fear your moods of sentimental innocence ! " 
 
 " They died the moment you took me in hand ! 
 What hopes has a poisoner, even when playing 
 the part of traitor ? They knozu me to be such, and 
 what mercy can I expect from them ? Less even 
 than from you." 
 
 " I will keep my word to you." 
 
 " It is amusing to think so, since you are all on 
 whom I am to depend ! At what time to-night am 
 I to meet you here ? " 
 
 ** Between eleven and twelve. The yacht will be 
 here at the latter hour ; or, perhaps, a little later ; 
 but here it will be ! " 
 
 " But if we should be surprised." 
 
 '' We will be all blown up with the tower, my 
 sweet ; remember that ! " he said, with a 
 malicious grin. " Remember that ! Remember 
 that ! " 
 
 " You are still harping on the old subject," she 
 answered wearily. " I did not blame you before, 
 but at this late hour it is ridiculous ! How shall 
 we go out ? " 
 
 " By the secret tunnel to the shore. What I wish
 
 20 2 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 to take away is already there, what I leave behind — 
 my curses — the woman is welcome to." 
 
 The old man repeated his directions, carefully, 
 elaborately ; and the changes that might be 
 necessary in change of circumstances. His final 
 directions and intentions he whispered in a low 
 voice, as if fearing even the stone walls might 
 hear. She listened with earnest, intelligent face, 
 and, at times, her wit anticipated his words. At 
 the end of a half hour she left him, and emerged 
 from the gloom into the open air. 
 
 " I suppose this is called seeing life ! " she 
 exclaimed, after bidding the old man farewell, and 
 while inhaling the fresh, exhilarating air. " Cain 
 was the first murderer ; I wonder who will have the 
 credit of being the last ! And I could treat my 
 good doctor to a dose of gunpowder ! Let him 
 pursue my shrinking coyness to the secret tower, 
 and when the foolish beast dreamed of his triumph 
 spring the mine, and let his soul loose ! It is 
 tempting, but I fear a trifle out of my line ! " 
 
 She laughed nervously, and after walking a little 
 distance, seated herself by the wayside and pressed 
 her hands to her head. She was the one living 
 figure in the autumn landscape ; an insignificant 
 spot of color against the huge tree under which 
 she was sitting. 
 
 Mechanically she gathered a few of the brightly 
 colored fallen leaves, and held them idly in her 
 hand. 
 
 " This is my sentimental innocence," she mur-
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE. 203 
 
 mured bitterly. " Always alone, always without 
 love, always without sympathy. I wish I were 
 somebody else. I suppose the doctor would call 
 this remorse. The doctor ! The doctor ! Even 
 that is hateful to me now ! " 
 
 She tossed the leaves to the ground and stared 
 abstractedly down on them. Suddenly she smiled : 
 " I will keep away the tears by thinking of the gun- 
 powder ! " 
 
 She rose, but before going homeward, she walked 
 to the railway station and sent a telegraphic mes- 
 sage. 
 
 "It is still remorse!" she murmured, while 
 filling out the blank. " Always remorse, with deso- 
 lation as my reward ! " 
 
 The message was directed to " Captain Frank 
 Travers, 53 X Avenue, N City ! " 
 
 Miss Churchill, in the meantime, was enjoying an 
 interesting conversation with Mr. Terms. 
 
 The old lawyer had received her with great affa- 
 bility ; and when she disclosed her profession and 
 her desires, expressed himself as willing to share his 
 knowledge with her to the utmost. 
 
 " As I told Detective Sharpe yesterday. Miss 
 Churchill, I started with the idea that Mr. Addison 
 was the victim of a heartless crime, and I still 
 cling to the belief, though I have modified my 
 opinion. I rejoice that, for the honor of your 
 sex, events have demonstrated that the party whose 
 hands are stained with blood is not a female. I'm 
 now persuaded that my client was murdered for his
 
 204 ^VHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 money, and that a certain dependent is the mur- 
 derer. It is also demonstrated beyond doubt that 
 my client was a sensualist, and that a reckless indul- 
 gence in wine, women and speculation knocked the 
 foundation from under a very noble fortune. The 
 fortune is dissippated, but notwithstanding this 
 fact, there is still a good sum of money and 
 some very valuable articles of convertible property, 
 which would pay an evil-hearted man for a crime, 
 still to be accounted for. Without waste of words, 
 Miss Churchill, these are the conclusions I have 
 reached after investigation and study: I believe 
 master and man were bound together by the closest 
 ties, but whereas the master's tie was that of love, 
 the man's tie was that of self-interest. Detective 
 Sharpe told me yesterday that in the doctor's opinion 
 Addison was poisoned, and that in addition he had 
 not only found the drug-store where the poison was 
 purchased, but he has also identified the man who 
 purchased it, and that man, Miss Churchill, was Max 
 Newton. Max Newton is the guilty party, and he 
 intends to arrest him at the earliest opportunity." 
 
 " Then we are all agreed at last ? " said Miss 
 Churchill, with a sigh of relief. 
 
 " Should the scoundrel vanish " 
 
 " You may be sure that the wretch will not 
 escape. Detective Sharpe, with all his faults, is not 
 a man to suffer that ; neither is he unwise enough to 
 strike before he is sure of his game. I am so satis- 
 fied of that, that I intend to leave the arrest to my 
 confrere and busy myself with another matter.
 
 A VISIT AND A DISAPPEARANCE. 205 
 
 every thing is now satisfactory, except a link in the 
 chain of evidence. This I will supply by going to 
 the city myself. My presence will be more valu- 
 able there than here. May I ask for the liberty of 
 writing a note here ? " 
 
 "Certainly, madam, certainly," said Mr. Terms, 
 with great gallantry. " My desk is at your dis- 
 posal." 
 
 Miss Churchill wrote the following letter : 
 
 " Dear Dr. Dubois : 
 
 " Every thing is so satisfactoryhere that I intend 
 to run down to the city, to personally look after the 
 yacht Oriana. Detective Sharpe is on the right 
 track at last, and I leave the arrest of the criminal 
 to him — out of courtesy to his sex ! There is noth- 
 ing for you to do in my absence, but keep a sharp 
 look-out on Miss Percy, and get your patient in a 
 speaking condition as soon as possible. I would 
 see you for a moment, but time is valuable. I go 
 immediately to the city, and shall not return until 
 to-morrow noon at earliest. In an emergency, 
 which is hardly probable, consult with Detective 
 Sharpe." 
 
 Miss Churchill signed and sealed the letter. 
 
 " Is it possible to send this note to Dr. Dubois at 
 Woodbine Villa right away ? It is important ! " 
 
 " I will attend to it. My office-boy will take it 
 immediately to its destination." 
 
 With her usual forethought. Miss Churchill
 
 206 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 waited until she saw the messenger depart on his 
 mission, and then, with a light heart, boarded the 
 train at the little station, and was whirled toward 
 the great city.
 
 M 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 
 
 ISS CHURCHILL'S letter increased, instead 
 of diminishing, the doctor's perplexity ; its 
 reference to Detective Sharpe was a worry and a 
 puzzle at the same time; for in obedience to orders 
 he had called at Lesbia Villa and had been told 
 that the detective had also gone to the city for fresh 
 evidence. 
 
 " And she is said to be an acute reasoner and 
 crime-detecter !" exclaimed the doctor, gazing con- 
 temptuously at the letter. " She goes away believ- 
 ing every thing is right, while to me, every thing is 
 in confusion. And /, / am to do nothing ! She 
 scorns tny assistance. So be it ! But I will not 
 hold myself responsible for the results. When she 
 fails, in her foolish impetuosity, she will remember 
 me and science ! " 
 
 In the invalid's room a curious scene was being 
 acted. 
 
 Miss Percy had approached the bed to discover 
 that Miss Gower was awake and tranquil. She 
 greeted her maid with a smile. 
 
 " You feel better ? " 
 
 " Better and stronger, but very much perplexed.
 
 2o8 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 Was it the old horror, or have I been dream- 
 ing ? " 
 
 " Wait until you are stronger." 
 
 " Help me to think, my dear, as you have helped 
 me to live." 
 
 It would have surprised the wise doctor had he 
 witnessed the scene from some secret retreat. If 
 there were any humiliation, it was on the side of the 
 mistress; she clasped the maid's hand, glanced up to 
 her face with an affection and admiration that were 
 unaccountable, considering the difference in her 
 social position. Stranger still, there was an air of 
 quiet protection in Miss Percy's affectionate man- 
 ner, such as a mother would have displayed in 
 humoring a wayward child. Remorse would not 
 have explained the puzzle, even when backed by 
 scientific syllogism. 
 
 " I should have died without your tenderness, 
 my dear, and it is so strange ! I can look into your 
 face without any shame." 
 
 " Your inferiors can do it also ! " said Miss Percy, 
 with a little grimace. 
 
 " Do they know ? " asked the invalid, with a flush 
 on her pale face. 
 
 " They know nothing ; they are too clever for 
 that ! They do every thing according to quadratic 
 equations and evolution, and they are as wise as 
 they deserve to be ! But you must not speak any 
 more now ; in a little while you will know every 
 thing. Yet if you mist have a punishment, I will 
 inform you that Captain Travers is as dangerously
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 209 
 
 , in love as ever ! As to the rest, the clouds have all 
 vanished, and I think we shall see the sun at last. 
 You shall have a glimpse of it now." 
 
 Miss Percy drew back the curtains, and the mild, 
 golden, autumn sunlight flooded the room. Miss 
 Percy, standing near the window, was surrounded 
 by it as by an extravagant glory. 
 
 "The wise men intend to question you to-day," 
 she said, again approaching the bed, " and you will 
 need all your strength to resist weariness. You 
 must speak of the old life for your own vindication, 
 and then you can forget it forever ! " 
 
 " You are in no danger, my dear ? " 
 
 " Only such as it amuses me to face. When it 
 suits me, I shall get out of it. It is curious how 
 foolish wise people are ! " she concluded, reflect- 
 ively. 
 
 " If I do not speak it, dear, I am none the less 
 grateful." 
 
 " I only want your unspoken gratitude. Words 
 are very wicked things. If I were only rich enough, 
 I would found a kingdom of dumb people, and it 
 should be all men ! Sleep now, that I may prepare 
 you when you wake for the grand reception of 
 philosophers ! " 
 
 " I prefer to hear your voice." 
 
 " Fortunately, you will not hear Miss Churchill's 
 just at present, and that is a consolation. I wish I 
 had been all they thought me for her sake ! As to 
 my voice, I am dumb until you again wake 
 up ! "
 
 2IO WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 " Remember while waiting, dear, that I have 
 entered a new life," said the invalid, sadly. 
 
 " Marriage ! " thought Miss Percy. " If she has 
 done any thing wrong, she will be more than 
 punished. If I were a cruel law-maker, instead of 
 punishing a woman with imprisonment, I would 
 give her a husband ! " 
 
 She quietly busied herself about the room until 
 her mistress had fallen asleep. 
 
 Glancing down at the unconscious figure, she 
 continued her criticisms. 
 
 " For her sake I think it would have been better 
 the other way. And she is the only one who has 
 been disinterestedly kind to me ; the only one who 
 would feel real regret if disaster overwhelmed me. 
 How I can escape it I can't see just now. But it 
 must be done ! " 
 
 She sighed drearily. 
 
 " Fortunately, life isn't so very attractive ; I have 
 seen enough of it. If a fairy would grant me one 
 favor now, I should ask for forgetfulness ! " 
 
 She retiredto her room and burned all her papers, 
 as if she were presiding at her own funeral ; then 
 sat near the window, and fell into a deep reverie. 
 
 Later in the afternoon she again entered her 
 mistress's room, brought her food, and prepared 
 her to receive company. 
 
 " When the doctor comes, make him your con- 
 fidant, and let him tell it to the others if he pleases. 
 But say nothing of me, or of any thing but your 
 wretched experiences in that wretched house. It
 
 LIGH T AND DARKNESS. 2 1 1 
 
 is necessary to tell that, and that only. But flatter 
 the hero's vanity by allowing him to believe that he 
 is drawing you out. Men require to be treated in 
 that way. Appeal to their vanity, and they will 
 bray in any key you select ! You will understand 
 my reason later." 
 
 " I require nothing but your advice. You are 
 strong ; I am weak. But you will desert me ? " 
 
 " I would not miss the doctor's science-primer 
 deductions for all the world. I deserve that luxury, 
 at least ! " 
 
 And yet she welcomed him in a manner that was 
 almost affectionate, and flushed when his eagle eyes 
 were cast in her direction. 
 
 " I am rejoiced to see that you are better. Miss 
 Gower," he said, seating himself near the bed. 
 
 " I am better, sir, thanks to your skill. I feel so 
 strong that I think I could leave my bed." 
 
 " We will try that expedient to-morrow. In the 
 meantime allow me to say a few words. There is 
 a subject which it is necessary to discuss. That is, 
 certain information which you could give would 
 throw light on a matter that now perplexes us. I 
 believe I have your confidence?" 
 
 " And my gratitude, doctor." 
 
 " Very good ! Now I should like to test this 
 confidence, for your own welfare. What you tell 
 me in your impulsive womanly way, I could arrange 
 with the cold precision of science, and deliver it in 
 a manner that would be least jarring on your feel- 
 ings. But at the start, let me assure you there is
 
 212 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 nothing to fear. Your enemy is out of the way 
 of doing any further harm. He is dead ! " 
 
 Miss Gower sighed heavily, but from the expres- 
 sion of her face the news was not displeasing. 
 
 " When you are stronger you shall hear all the 
 details ; at present, you must suppress your curios- 
 ity, and be content to answer me blindly." 
 
 " Question me, then ! " 
 
 "You were an adopted child. How were you 
 treated in your new home ? " 
 
 " By my adopted father and mother with unfail- 
 ing love and tenderness. In all the long years I 
 lived with them they acted toward me as the angels 
 they W'cre ! " 
 
 " And their son ? " 
 
 " Their son was a fiend ! " said Miss Gower, 
 flashing into anger at the remembrance. *' The 
 devil must have stolen the real child, and placed 
 a fiend in its cradle ! He was a hypocrite as a child ; 
 pinching me, tearing out my hair, and plunging 
 pins into me in the nursery, and showing the most 
 sanctimonious face out of it ! He was assisted in all 
 his fiendishness, and taught new fiendishness, by a 
 servant friend of his, one Max Newton ! " 
 
 '* I already have my eyes on that gentleman ! " 
 said the doctor, severely. 
 
 " My childish life was one long torture, and had 
 it not been for my love for my adopted parents, I 
 would have broken away from it ! But even as a 
 child I saw that their lives were centered in their 
 son ; he was their idol, and remained so, I hope, to
 
 LIGHT A ND DARKNESS. 2 1 3 
 
 the end. At least, if they ever had a glimpse of the 
 truth it was not from me ; for as a child I vowed 
 that they should never suffer a pang on my account, 
 and what I vowed as a child I kept as a woman. 
 My lips were closed until they rested quietly in 
 their graves." 
 
 " And as man and woman ?" 
 
 " His vices increased with age. I had been adopted 
 with the intention of ultimately becoming his wife ; 
 but when we were old enough to speak on such 
 subjects, he amused himself by insulting an innocent 
 shrinking girl with the announcement that he never 
 intended to marry, which was an old-fashioned 
 invention of stupidity ; but had made up his mind 
 to lead a life of liberty. He repeated this again 
 and again ; forcing me to listen to his plans for 
 the future. He endeavored to make me read vile 
 books, which his friend Max Newton supplied him 
 with. In fact, his one unfailing delight was to bring 
 the blush of shame to my cheeks, and the tears 
 of humiliation to my eyes. I think that even his 
 blindly loving parents suspected him at last ; for 
 they changed my room to one near their own, and 
 my kind adopted mother kept me near her protect- 
 ing presence. But at every opportunity the wretch 
 persecuted me, vowing, at the same time, if I revealed 
 one word of what he said, that he would rob me of 
 the love that sheltered me. I feared him, for his 
 energy in carrying out a wicked plot was only 
 equal to his cunning in inventing it. Even as a 
 boy, in some fancied spite against him, he would
 
 214 ^HO IS GUILTY? 
 
 deliberately bruise himself with a hammer or other 
 weapon, and then complain to his parents that I 
 had done it ! That he did not cut and mutilate him- 
 self was only due to the fact that he had an insane 
 horror of blood. Conceive many years passed in 
 these tortures, and you may guess at my life ; but 
 not at my sufferings ! " 
 
 " He was undoubtedly insane," said the doctor, 
 " and had he not died, would have ended his days 
 in an asylum." 
 
 " I was comparatively safe until his parents 
 died, but on the very day they were buried he cast 
 aside the last remnant of manhood, and suggested 
 to me a mode of life which to think of even now 
 fills me with horror and shame. On that very day 
 I left his house, never to enter it again. Before 
 their death, his parents had personally delivered to 
 me a little sum of money, ample for all my wants. 
 I hired a cottage, placed it in charge of a kind 
 old lady, and lived in it. But he persecuted 
 me even here. When I ordered him away, he 
 swore he would be revenged, and rushed off only 
 to return again. As he lost hope, he gained in 
 fiendishness, and the last time I saw him he vowed 
 that he would not die, till he had degraded me in 
 the eyes of the world, even if he devoted his entire 
 fortune to it. I would say that his servant Max 
 Newton was equally vindictive. This man was paid 
 for humoring his master's vices, and he had been 
 promised a large sum if he could persuade me to 
 accept his master's proposals. Failing in this, he
 
 UGH T A ND DARKNESS. 2 1 5 
 
 also swore to degrade me ; and I feared the evil 
 servant more than I feared the evil master ! That 
 I am strong, doctor, is proved by the fact that I 
 can tell you these things without shrieks or tears ! 
 The horror has weighed on me like a nightmare ; 
 for a long year the fear of this revenge has robbed 
 me of sleep, of happiness, of hope ! What I suffered 
 in the house with him, is nothing compared with 
 the agonies I have suffered since I left it. With hor- 
 rors accumulating around me, innocent as I was, 
 with no hopes of escaping from them, I should per- 
 haps have become as reckless and as degraded as he 
 wished me — " 
 
 " Had it not been that you were too sensible to 
 allow an idiot to rob you of your pride and common- 
 sense," interrupted Miss Percy. Then turning to 
 the doctor, she added : 
 
 " He was a bad man, doctor ! " 
 
 " A wretch ! " nodded the doctor, with an expres- 
 sion of disgust on his face. 
 
 " No chivalry there, sir, toward a weak, helpless 
 sex. No offers of protection ; no high ideas of 
 morality ; no anxiety as to the present condition 
 of the church ! Yes, doctor, _y^/^ have the right to 
 call him a wretch ! " 
 
 The doctor was a novice in this species of hero- 
 worship ; and he eyed Miss Percy with marked per- 
 plexity. 
 
 " Men are sometimes born demons," he said, first 
 coughing to clear his throat. " You have told me. 
 Miss Gower, all that I have a right to know "
 
 2l6 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 "And she is tired out by the labor," again inter- 
 rupted Miss Percy, with strange authoritativeness in 
 the presence of her mistress and her hero. " Has 
 she not said enough for to-day ? To-morrow she 
 may be able to give in detail the facts, which you, 
 in the cause of science, are so anxious to hear. 
 Better still, sir, she may whisper them to me, and / 
 will retail them to you in the library to-night." 
 
 The doctor did not admire Miss Percy in her new 
 mood. She was already presuming on the protection 
 that she had not yet received. It is certain that she 
 was lacking in delicac}'. He presented a frowning 
 profile to her, and honored Miss Gower with his 
 attentions. 
 
 " My interest in this matter, Miss Gower, is of an 
 impersonal nature. I am working in the cause of 
 justice, and what you have told me was necessary 
 to a clear understanding of a subject in which I 
 am interested. In the cause of friendship, I may 
 have something else to ask ; but in the absence of 
 my colleague, and also considering your weak con- 
 dition, I will defer it, with other matters, until to- 
 morrow ! " 
 
 Twilight passes rapidly into night in September, 
 and the sunlight had long since faded out of the 
 room. When the doctor departed, it was still light 
 enough to see the figure on the bed. In the 
 increasing darkness, the figure was invisible, and 
 silent in sleep. The moonlight was visible through 
 the openings in the curtains, but here there were no
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 2 1 7 
 
 eyes to appreciate its mellow softness. Mr. Morris 
 and doctor Dubois are socially chatting over a glass 
 of wine in the library. Through the quiet autumn 
 evening the church bell is pealing the hour of ten. 
 
 Miss Percy in traveling attire, and small valise 
 in hand, pauses in the open air to count the strokes 
 of the bell, and then continues on her journey. 
 She deserts her trunk without a sigh, but before 
 leaving the house she has softly kissed her sleeping 
 mistress on the forehead. 
 
 It is a beautiful star-light night, without a breath 
 of wind ; the crickets are still recalling summer as 
 they chirrup from the trees and bushes ; and the 
 dead leaves suggesting winter are invisible, but 
 she hears them crackle under her feet. 
 
 The quietness of the night quiets her nervousness 
 and the warmth returns to her cold cheeks. She 
 is unusually interested in the things around her ; a 
 criminal doomed to life-long imprisonment would 
 have felt the same interest. In front of her, in the 
 distance, is a spread of waters with a line of quiv- 
 ering moonlight moving with the ripples. Half in 
 idleness, half in wonder, she walks onward, from 
 right to left, from left to right, changing her point 
 of view ; but the line of quivering light changes 
 with her. The doctor would have solved the mys- 
 tery for her. She does not think of him ; but of 
 the far-back days when she and the world were 
 younger, and the moonlighted waters offered the 
 same puzzle to her childish eyes. It was only a 
 momentary glimpse of a long-dead world ; but it
 
 2 1 8 WHO IS G UIL T Y? 
 
 quickened her breath, tingled her nerves, and 
 brought the moisture to her eyes. 
 
 A quiet night, with all the familiar objects bathed 
 in a tender .light, assuming their most attractive 
 appearance, as if anxious to appear at their best in 
 bidding a companion farewell. She had nearly 
 reached her journey's end ; yet she hesitated before 
 completing it, turning from the narrow, black tun- 
 nel, to enjoy one last look at the clear blue sky and 
 the motionless trees. Her face was thoughtful and 
 sad ; and the moonlight repeated its old mystery in 
 the two tears that welled uj) from her eyes and 
 rolled down her cheeks. When she turned from 
 the light above to the darkness beneath her, 
 her face changed, and what was yearning tender- 
 ness became stern resolution. 
 
 Ifi her absence the stone room in the tower had 
 undergone a change. A rare Persian rug partially 
 covered the floor, and on this was standing a rarer 
 table, that had formerly ornamented the drawing- 
 room. Two richly- covered arm-chairs stood beside 
 the table, and seated in the largest was Mr. Max 
 Newton, with a grim smile of satisfaction on his 
 face. 
 
 " You are earlier than I expected, ma belle ! " 
 
 " I was fearful, and dreaded some trouble. I 
 could not wait longer." 
 
 " You are welcome ; for I was a little lonely my- 
 self. I prepared this room for your reception." 
 
 " You are very kind, but it is a waste of time. 
 If you had only provided a little supper and a
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 2 1 9 
 
 little wine to make the time pass pleasantly, I 
 could better have appreciated your thoughtful- 
 ness." 
 
 " You shall have all the wine you can drink, ma 
 belle, and all the food you can eat ! We will drink 
 to the health of the old house before we send it to 
 the skies ! The clockwork is already set, and 
 started in the cavern, and after we have left the 
 house will vanish ! " 
 
 " That is very comfortable ! I hope you have 
 not made any mistake with your clockwork, to 
 treat us to a premature explosion ! " 
 
 " By the color not flying from your cheeks, I see 
 that you have not lost confidence in me ! Ah, ma 
 belle, if human life were only longer, I would 
 conquer the world." 
 
 " Is your friend still saying his prayers, uncle ? 
 I don't hear him move." 
 
 " Probably he is absorbed in making his will ! " 
 answered Mr. Newton, with a diabolical grin. 
 " What shall we drink his health in ? Make your 
 choice, for I am sorry to say, even the wine-cellar 
 will not be saved." 
 
 " I leave it to you, uncle. But I wish you could 
 give me something to eat. I haven't touched 
 any thing since morning, and 1 am chilled too ! " 
 
 " Place these dishes and glasses on the table and 
 wait for me," said the old man, pointing to the 
 corner of the room, and then disappearing down 
 the staircase. 
 
 Before obeying, Miss Percy took a small bottle
 
 220 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 from her valise and placed it in the bosom of her 
 dress. 
 
 The old man returned with a salver, on which 
 were several articles of food and three black 
 bottles. 
 
 " We must be satisfied with cold fare to-night, 
 ma belle, but before we leave, we will heat some 
 water and thaw our blood with brandy. Drink, 
 drink even to intoxication, if you like. I will take 
 care of you for the amusement it will cause me. 
 Serve yourself to the food, and if you are in the 
 mood, empty the bottle of madeira ! " 
 
 Mr. Newton carefully wiped his plate and washed 
 out his wine glass, and then drank more than he 
 ate. 
 
 " Is every thing ready, uncle ? " 
 
 " Everything, my lady light-head ! Satisfy your 
 senses and leave thinking to me. Amuse me with 
 the tattle of our friends." 
 
 " I am to be arrested to-morrow, uncle," said 
 Miss Percy, with a smile; " arrested as a poisoner 
 of my dear mistress ; and, when he is caught, 
 Geoffrey Draper is to be tried for murder. Isn't 
 it curious that they never once suspected you ? " 
 
 " One fool did begin to suspect me, and for that 
 act of superhuman wisdom his body will give 
 ^clat to the explosion in our honor. But what of 
 the woman ? " 
 
 " She is regarded as a partner, in more senses 
 than one, of her lover, Mr. Draper ! " 
 
 " She shall live after this, live if she outlasts
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 22 1 
 
 the world ! If I am forgotten elsewhere, I shall sur- 
 vive in her memory ! And that is a species of fame 
 I hunger for. Her virtue ! If she had been less 
 of a fool, he would have grown tired of her in a 
 week, and she might have gone her way and 
 married whom she pleased, and no one cared about 
 it or her ! Fool ! she deserves to suffer. Drink, 
 ma belle, drink yourself into liveliness ! Take the 
 check off your tongue, and speak to me as if I 
 were a young man ! " 
 
 "It is difificult, uncle, with chattering teeth. 
 Warm my blood, and I promise to be amusing ! " 
 
 " You have the family failing, and prefer some- 
 thing stronger than wine. I am prepared even for 
 this emergency ! " 
 
 He lighted a small oil-stove, over which he 
 placed a pan of water. 
 
 " When he was away, I lived in this little room for 
 weeks together, and yonder little stove supplied all 
 my wants. Light the other candles, ma belle, we 
 will have a feast ! " 
 
 He half filled two goblets with the hot water, 
 and placed one of them on the table in front of Miss 
 Percy. While he was busied with the stove, she 
 drew the bottle from the bosom of her dress 
 and poured a portion of its clear contents into her 
 oii'ii glass, and then hastily secreted the bottle. 
 She then stretched her arm across the table ; but 
 hastily withdrew it as the old man turned round. 
 A wicked smile came to his lips. 
 
 " Squeeze a little lemon in your glass, ma belle,
 
 222 WHO IS GUILTY ? 
 
 and I will squeeze a little lemon into mine. Now 
 pour this dose of brandy into your glass and I 
 will pour this whisky into mine. Are you ready, 
 ma belle ? " he asked with fierce joviality. 
 
 " I am ready, uncle, even to the sugar." 
 
 " Then, ma belle, we will change glasses in loving 
 confidence ! Hand me your goblet, sweetheart." 
 He laughed harshly as the exchange was made ; 
 duped by his own suspicions, as the wise Miss Percy 
 had foreseen and prepared for ! She submitted to 
 the change of glasses with so much innocent direct- 
 ness, that he felt ashamed of his doubts. 
 
 " Your health, ma belle," he said gayly, drinking 
 from the prepared glass. " I hope this will melt 
 your icy blood and free your tongue. Drink ! drink ! 
 And talk to me as if I were a woman and your friend. 
 Tell me about the doctor, and how much money 
 you squeezed out of him." 
 
 "I owe him nothing, uncle," she answered 
 dryly. 
 
 " Then tell me how much he owes you ! " con- 
 tinued Mr. Newton with a short laugh. 
 
 " He owes me nothing, uncle ! " 
 
 " It was, then, love after all ? " 
 
 " You are making the mistake you made once 
 before. You are blind on the side of decency, 
 uncle." 
 
 " Be careful, ma belle, be careful. I am a free 
 man again. I have plenty of time at my disposal 
 now, and if it becomes my humor to again hammer 
 down your will and obstinacy, I won't fail this
 
 LIGH T A ND DA RKNESS. 223 
 
 time. Drink, you little devil," he continued, empty- 
 ing his own glass and refilling it. " Loose your 
 wits ; I will keep mine ! I could empty a wine- 
 cellar without losing my senses ! " 
 
 In truth, alcohol, instead of rendering Mr. New- 
 ton helpless, only intensified his eccentricities. His 
 brain remained clear ; but the muddy pool of his 
 emotional nature was stirred, and its sediment 
 universally diffused. Miss Percy's opinion of her 
 venerable relative may be inferred from the fact 
 that she kept her hand in the pocket of her dress ; 
 the slender fingers clutching the handle of a 
 pistol. 
 
 " How are we to know when the yacht arrives, 
 uncle ? " 
 
 " We leave this place at twelve, and wait for it 
 hidden near the shore — I have a prettier niece 
 than I imagined ! Your health, ma belle." The 
 hand holding out the glass had lost its steadiness, 
 and the liquid in the glass spattered the table. 
 " Come — come — come and kiss me ! " He stam- 
 mered in his speech ; paused, and over his face 
 there passed a wave of malignant hatred. 
 
 " You " he hissed fiercely, yet feebly. 
 
 For the first time in the interview Miss Percy 
 felt at ease ; she withdrew her hand from her pocket 
 and calmly consulted her watch. " It was time ! " 
 she murmured, glancing at the old man who was 
 sinking into passiveness in his chair, yet even in 
 his impotency grinding his teeth and feebly clench- 
 ing his hand.
 
 2 24 WHO IS G UIL T V ? 
 
 " If I had time I would box his ears for his insults; 
 but wanting time I shall surrender him to a friend 
 who will be only too anxious to pay him his 
 respects ! " 
 
 She opened his coat and extracted from its inner 
 pocket a sealed envelope ; and with a contempt- 
 uous shrug of the shoulders left the room. 
 
 '^ Another victim of too much cleverness," she 
 muttered. " And still another is waiting my fool- 
 ishness for assistance." 
 
 She pushed open the heavy door and entered the 
 large vaulted chamber. Securely tied, hands and 
 feet, and with a gag in his mouth, lay the redoubt- 
 able Detective Sharpe. 
 
 Miss Percy was too much disturbed by her own 
 thoughts to enjoy the humorous spectacle. She 
 removed the gag ; loosened the bonds, and the 
 disconsolate and numbed detective rose slowly and 
 painfully to his feet. 
 
 " I'm much obliged to you. Miss Percy," he said, 
 humbly. " But if I once get hold " 
 
 " Excuse me, Mr. Sharpe, but neither of us has 
 time to pay or to receive compliments. The man 
 you seek is in the room below this ; but the tower 
 is undermined and will be blown in the air after 
 midnight. There is no time to explain. Listen, 
 and obey. There are still fifteen minutes of 
 safety ! Have you any men around ? " 
 
 " There is, or was, one in the veranda." 
 
 " Well summon him, return here with him, and 
 then remove the senseless man. Get him out of
 
 LIGHT A. YD DARKNESS. 225 
 
 the house, and yourself out of the house, all within 
 fifteen minutes ! Do you hear ? " 
 
 " Yes, but I don't understand." 
 
 " If you understood you would again make a fool 
 of yourself," she said, dryly. '* Listen and obey. 
 The man is in the room below, and you have less 
 than fifteen minutes to act. Go ! This way ; and 
 return this way ! " 
 
 She pulled back the door opening on the hall, 
 and secured it from springing forward. 
 
 " Go, now, for help, and receive the merited 
 honor of capturing the murderer ! Remember that 
 every moment is precious." 
 
 " I understand," said the detective, rushing into 
 the hall, " and if I'm caught this time, I deserve to 
 be blown up ! " 
 
 She listened for a moment to his retreating foot- 
 steps, and then returned to the room below, but not 
 to wait. After casting one contemptuous glance at 
 the sleeping man, she pushed against a projection 
 in the wall. One of the stones slipped aside, 
 thereby revealing a high but narrow opening. 
 
 " If I only knew where the explosive is I would 
 remove it. My mistake ; but it can not be reme- 
 died now, and there is time even for a fool to act !" 
 
 She entered the narrow passage-way, and the 
 stone closed behind her. A narrow passage-way, 
 darker than the night outside it, with a flight of 
 steps and a perceptible slope, with mysterious 
 puffs of air blowing into it from secret openings. A 
 long, carefully-constructed passage-way, costing
 
 226 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 years to build and the work of a madman ! 
 Miss Percy sped through the darkness as if 
 she were well acquainted with the ground. 
 Having passed straight forward for a certain 
 distance, with her hand touching the walls, she 
 turned to the right, and, in a moment, entered 
 the aneurism of a cave into which the artery 
 dilated. Touching a spring, she entered a 
 broader cave, and the sea, glittering in the moon- 
 light, was before her. 
 
 She glanced anxiously about ; but no yacht 
 was in sight. Ships were at rest on the water with 
 furled sails ; but not the yacht she sought. She 
 glanced at her watch in the moonlight. Two min- 
 utes to twelve ! 
 
 Suppose she had been suspected ! Suppose she 
 should reach the yacht too late ! Suppose a thou- 
 sand possibilities ! a thousand impossibilities ! a 
 thousand horrors ! every thing ! any thing ! The 
 passiveness frenzied her. She could have con- 
 trolled her feelings to the end if she had plunged 
 from activity into activity. But to stand idle with 
 the goal in view, to 
 
 There was a strange tremor of the earth ! She felt 
 before she heard. She covered her ears with her 
 hands and shrieked. It was coming ! Yes, with the 
 faint sound of the midnight bell, it came ! A flash 
 of fire, and a loud explosion, causing the very rocks 
 to shiver ! 
 
 That was over ! She panted with terror, yet 
 smiled in her relief. Again she glanced over the
 
 LIGH T A ND DA RKNESS. 227 
 
 water and saw her yacht, as if it had dropped from 
 the clouds. 
 
 A small boat had emerged from its shadow, and 
 was speeding in her direction. It touched the sand 
 and she leaped into it. 
 
 " Take me first to the yacht, and then return with 
 all your men ! " she said to the man in the stern. 
 ^^ He is in the cave, and he needs- you all. 
 Quick ! " 
 
 She spoke commandingly, and they obeyed with 
 energy. 
 
 " What was the explosion, Miss Percy ? " 
 
 " The house has vanished. It blew up before 
 he expected ; and he fears the report will bring 
 the enemies on him ! You must be quick, and take 
 your guns with you. There is a world of riches to 
 share among you ! " 
 
 Pulled by the sturdy arms, the boat flew through 
 the water. It reached the yacht, and Miss Percy 
 was the first to climb to its deck. 
 
 A whispered conversation, a slight pause, and 
 then two boats emerged from the shadow of the 
 yacht, and hastened toward the shore. 
 
 Miss Percy was in action again ; it was the one 
 stimulation she needed ! She passed through the 
 cabin of the yacht, unfastened a door at the 
 other end, and entered a small, dark room ; too 
 dark for its interior to be seen. Not a sound was to 
 be heard. 
 
 " Geoffrey ! " she called, with a nervous tremor 
 in her voice. '* Geoffrey ! "
 
 228 WHO IS G UIL TV? 
 
 All was silent. More activity, or she would fall 
 into unconsciousness ! 
 
 '' Geoffrey ! Geoffrey ! " 
 
 " Eh ? what ? " asked a voice from the darkness. 
 
 " Thank God ! " she murmured, with her hand 
 clasped to her heart. " Geoffrey, where are you ? 
 I dare not light a lamp, or they will see it from the 
 outside. ' Where are you ? " 
 
 " Tied, neck and heels, on the bed, ready for the 
 fishes ! " answered a cheery voice. " But not a bit 
 afraid, having faith in a good angel." 
 #- She entered the darkness, and with extended 
 hands, groped her way. It was a small room, and 
 she easily reached the bed. 
 
 " If I hurt, tell me. I must sever your bonds in 
 the dark." 
 
 *' Cut away, angel ; I will stand it ! " 
 
 With intelligence at the ends of her fingers, she 
 cautiously severed the ropes that were twisted 
 around a human form ; then emerged from the 
 darkness into the light, followed by a handsome 
 young man, who had evidently endured much suf- 
 fering. 
 
 " I hoped that friends would have met us, as I 
 warned them. But they are all idiots, and we 
 must depend on ourselves. Are you strong enough 
 to swim? " 
 
 " Ready to risk it, or any thing, to smell the air 
 of freedom again ! " 
 
 " Well, creep through the window and swim to the 
 shore. It is not far."
 
 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 229 
 
 " And you ? " 
 
 " I will remain ; I do not fear ! " 
 
 " But I do ! I will not leave you at this moment, 
 weak as I am, and strong as you are ! They will 
 have to step over my body first ! " 
 
 " Escape ! They are already returning, frenzied 
 by my falsehood. Escape ! It is a fitting end ! " 
 
 " Too romantic, by half. Miss Percy ! I am not 
 hero enough to let you suffer." 
 
 " But listen, they are on the deck." 
 
 " Evidently cracking each other's skulls. Miss 
 Percy. Do you hear the groans and curses ? " 
 
 " It is Captain Travers," she said, joyfully. 
 " He has come in time ! " 
 
 The tension had proved too great, even for her, 
 and as Captain Travers rushed into the cabin she 
 uttered a sigh, and fell unconscious to the ground.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DISCOVERED AT LAST ! 
 
 THE principal morning paper in the city thus 
 commented on the events of the evening 
 before in Cypressville : 
 
 " As the finger of time pointed to midnight, 
 Cypressville was treated to another sensation ; an 
 attempt was made to blow up Lesbia Villa, the 
 scene of the late tragedy. Fortunately, it was 
 unsuccessful ; the house is undamaged save for a 
 few broken windows and cracked ceilings. The 
 reason for the attempt was a villain's desire to 
 destroy Mr. Sharpe, the pride of our detectives, 
 who escaped from a vile attempt to ruin him, that 
 another laurel leaf may ornament his modest brow ! 
 Just before the explosion, he was in the house 
 maturing his plans for the capture of the criminal 
 who had murdered the ill-fated Mr. Addison. 
 From the very start his subtile brain, which far 
 excels in cunning those of the fam.ed detectives 
 of fiction, had pierced through the maze of mystery, 
 and reached its nucleus ! Like a sleuth-hound, he 
 steadily pursued the trail, and had finally planted 
 his fangs in the throat of the quarry. In the cause 
 of justice, we have hitherto refrained from com-
 
 DISCOVERED A T LAST ! 231 
 
 menting on the case ; but the reasons for silence 
 are removed, and we can now freely state, that 
 Max Newton is the man who has stained his hands 
 with a noble master's blood. To Detective Sharpe, 
 and to him alone, is due the credit of this discovery ; 
 and that the prisoner is not now in jail is owing 
 to the fact that he mysteriously disappeared at the 
 very moment the detective intended to arrest him. 
 Detective Sharpe escaped by a miracle ; he was 
 grappling with the frenzied criminal a few minutes 
 before the explosion, and had bound him. The 
 wretch refused to move and the detective rushed 
 out to obtain assistance. At that moment the 
 explosion occurred, fortunately, as we have said, 
 doing little harm. The detective, followed by the 
 devoted Mr. Tomlins, rushed back into the build- 
 ing ; but the murderer had escaped. He had cut 
 his bonds and by means of a secret passage reached 
 the sea-shore, where, doubtless, a boat was waiting 
 for him. We venture this statement from the fact 
 that three police officers were picked up out of the 
 water. They had been placed over-night, by Cap- 
 tain Travers, in charge of the yacht Oriatia, which 
 they had bravely captured and rescued a prisoner 
 from it. Trusting in the majesty of their shields 
 and batons, they were quietly walking on deck when 
 they were seized by the crew whom they were 
 guarding, and were unceremoniously pitched over- 
 board. The yacht has disappeared with the 
 murderer, but Sharpe is on the trail ! 
 
 " The details of Sharpe's heroic act, and of the
 
 232 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 secret passages in the house, will be found in another 
 column. We erect public monuments to our war- 
 riors, poets and statesmen ; we patronize our liter- 
 ary men and our artists ; can nothing be done for 
 our brave detectives ? We have opened a subscrip- 
 tion bureau that Detective Sharpe may receive the 
 public approbation that he merits. Every thing 
 will be received, from the artisans' penny to the 
 millionaire's check for thousands. We head the 
 list with our own mite. Let the ball roll ! " 
 
 Miss Percy read this enthusiastic narrative in 
 her own room ; read it and read it again, and 
 nearly laughed herself into convulsions. 
 
 " It isn't every tragedy that ends as a farce," 
 was her amusing comment. " Detective Sharpe 
 ran away to escape our laughter, and not on account 
 of the criminals. As for my good relative, the 
 devil has agam helped him — the devil and Mr. 
 Sharpe ! He is too cunning to be caught now, and 
 I was a fool to tru.st any body but myself. They 
 all went wrong but me, wise as they are ! But I'm 
 abnormal, as the doctor would say. The beast 
 doctor ! We are still to hear his wise comments." 
 
 Miss Percy descended to the drawing-room, 
 where were her mistress, looking very pale but not 
 unhappy ; Doctor Dubois, Mr. Morris, Geoffrey 
 Draper, and the good-natured, smiling Captain 
 Travers. At the moment the maid entered the 
 room, the doctor had finished reading aloud the 
 newspaper item that had so amused her. 
 
 *' This is the value of fame ! " he exclaimed,
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST! 233 
 
 throwing the newspaper aside. " I am not vain, 
 and the thing is a trifle in itself ; but if truth must 
 be told, what success Sharpe met with is due to 
 me. He was on the wrong track, until science 
 demonstrated to him that Max Newton was the 
 guilty man ! " 
 
 The doctor paused to turn toward Geoffrey 
 Draper, who was in danger of suffocation in his 
 attempt to suppress his laughter. 
 
 " Excuse me, doctor," he said, unable longer to 
 restrain himself, and laughing until he was purple in 
 the face. " The whole business is sad ; but hang 
 me it is so funny ! " 
 
 Again he gave way to his mirth, and the sympa- 
 thetic Miss Percy kept him company, to the indig- 
 nation of the grave doctor. 
 
 Mr. Draper again apologized, and when he had 
 conquered his sense of the humorous, he said : 
 
 " May I ask, doctor, if you were convinced that 
 Max Newton was the murderer from the very 
 start ? " 
 
 " I was, sir, and I am ; and I stake my reputation 
 on the truth of this conclusion ! " 
 
 " I am glad we have got a definite statement at 
 last ! " he said, glancing demurely toward the 
 now demure Miss Percy. The doctor retorted with 
 fine sarcasm : 
 
 " I hope, sir, 3'ou will be able to demonstrate your 
 case as clearly as I could demonstrate mine ! But 
 we are waiting ! " 
 
 " I will start the ball," said Miss Percy, taking
 
 234 tV^O IS GUILTY? 
 
 her mistress's hand in her own. " I suppose even 
 the stupidest among you is beginning to see that 
 Miss Gower was the victim of a diabohcal plot. 
 Two wicked men pursued her, tortured her until I 
 wonder she did not kill herself, /would. To gain 
 forgetfulness — " 
 
 " I, Oriana Gower, indulged in the vile habit of 
 taking opium, and the habit grew on me till I was 
 a slave ! " 
 
 " She took opium," said Miss Percy, quietly, " to 
 escape from her agonies. Once, doctor, she waked 
 up in the greatest pain, and at her request I gave 
 her a hypodermic injection of morphine. You saw 
 the mark on her arm and, no doubt, drew some 
 rigid scientific deduction from it ! " 
 
 The doctor blushed, but made no reply. 
 
 " Now, in all that follows, you will always remem- 
 ber that my object was to deceive Max Newton 
 and serve Miss Gower at the same time. If this 
 man once suspected me, disaster would have fallen 
 on myself and on others." 
 
 " Poor little thing ! " murmured Mr. Draper. 
 
 " Before I was a lady's maid, I was enjoying the 
 luxury of starvation. I was desperate, and Mr. 
 Newton took me in hand. He promised me a 
 fabulous sum if I got engaged in Miss Gower's 
 service, and prevented her from speaking until a 
 certain plot was matured. To help myself, and an 
 innocent woman at the same time, I consented to 
 Mr. Newton's proposal, and became a lady's 
 maid."
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST! 235 
 
 She paused to softly pat the hand that clasped 
 her own. 
 
 " About that time, I think, the very wise Doctor 
 Dubois suspected the truth and spoke to a friend 
 on the subject, to the prejudice of my mistress. 
 To save Miss Gower from the criticism of imbe- 
 ciles, and also to deceive Mr. Newton, I so acted 
 that every body imagined I was poisoning my mis- 
 tress. So I allowed her to take opium, thinking, 
 that for a little time at least, oblivion was the best 
 thing for her. On the evening of the day of the 
 murder, I visited the old house, and if Captain 
 Travers had minded his own business, I would have 
 been in possession of a paper that would have 
 destroyed the wicked plot then and there. I knew 
 where this paper was hidden, and could have secured 
 it even in the dark, had not Mr. Draper, who was 
 to have assisted me, whistled a warning, and had 
 not Captain Travers entered the house, opposed 
 my egress, and robbed me of a shawl which did 
 belong to Miss Gower. Once again I visited the 
 house, and chloroformed Detective Sharpe, to take 
 from him some letters that Mr. Newton had written, 
 under an anonymous name, to further damage Miss 
 Gower's character. I was fortunate here, for had the 
 detective spoken of his experience to Mr. Newton, 
 my treachery would have been apparent. Mr. 
 Sharpe was a man, and consequently an egoist, 
 and, as the result proved, I wisely trusted to his 
 vanity to conceal his stupidity. When Miss 
 Churchill was summoned, I endeavored to put her
 
 236 PV//0 IS GUILTY? 
 
 on the right path ; had she invaded my room on 
 her first appearance, she would have found the 
 same suggestive letters that she found after a long 
 delay. I entered the room where she was watching 
 to supply Miss Gower with an opium pill, which I 
 did despite the electric light. I was anxious to 
 copy the doctor's report, to see if he were on the 
 right track, and to emphasize some of his statements 
 in case of need. But his science was wiser than 
 my ignorance, and by fooling me with a false report, 
 he also fooled justice and himself. Mr. Draper's 
 mysterious disappearance at first alarmed me, but 
 I soon learned from Max Newton that he had been 
 carried off in the yacht, and so I was compelled to 
 await his return." 
 
 " Do you know anything of the old cabinet ? and 
 the letters written by Miss Gower to Mr. Addison ? " 
 asked the doctor. 
 
 " I never wrote him any ! " said Miss Gower, 
 indignantly. 
 
 " She never wrote him any," nodded Miss Percy. 
 " It was one of the many lies invented to ruin 
 her ! " 
 
 " But the cabinet was mutilated." 
 
 " Did not Mr. Newton possess an ax ! And 
 to advance his plot would he hesitate at spoiling 
 furniture ? " 
 
 " And the woman's foot-prints impressed in the 
 mud ? " 
 
 " They were mine ! " said Miss Percy. " I feared 
 that the wicked man, with the desire of fixing the
 
 DISCO VERED A T LA ST! 237 
 
 crime past doubt on Miss Govver, would throw about, 
 here and there, some object or objects belonging 
 to her. I went, after the storm, and found a brace- 
 let of hers, which, of course, I picked up and kept. 
 I made the imprints, but I never thought of the tell- 
 tale marks at the time." 
 
 " But why conceal the matter at all ? " persisted 
 the doctor. " Why not inform justice at once ? " 
 
 " The flickering candle of your wisdom is blown 
 out ! " answered JNIiss Percy, with a shrug of the 
 shoulders. " The crime had been committed, at 
 least in part, to convict Miss Gower as a murderess. 
 Every thing pointed to her, and to warn the 
 authorities would have been to play into the wretch's 
 hands. For Miss Gower's sake, whose reputation 
 was in the greatest danger, and for Mr. Draper's 
 sake, who at any false step of mine was in danger 
 of death, I had to act with extreme caution. Calling 
 on the law would have ruined all ; for, Mr. Draper 
 away, my evidence amounted to nothing. I had to 
 wait, and I waited. The paper — which had been 
 removed from its hiding-place — came into my 
 possession only within a comparatively few hours." 
 
 " A little genius ! " murmured Mr. Draper to. 
 himself. 
 
 " One trifle more," continued Miss Percy, with 
 a smile. " Let me freely confess, to my shame, that 
 in one matter, I was guilty. I had the ambition of 
 becoming the housekeeper and ultimately the wife, 
 of a very wise man. Dr. Dubois, in his nobility of 
 soul, will understand me when I say that the ambi-
 
 238 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 tion no longer exists, and that, in my opinion, a 
 wise fool is the foolishest fool of all ! " 
 
 " We will enjoy this phase of the subject later," 
 said Mr. Morris, shaking a reproving finger at the 
 doctor. " At present we are in need of more light." 
 
 " I think I can help you to it ! " said Mr. Draper, 
 with a brisk nod of the head. " I was honored 
 with Miss Percy's confidence from the first ; but 
 even before that, another lady wrote to me of her 
 troubles, and summoned me from the other side of 
 the water to her aid. Let me also say that I am 
 not a rich man. To assist Miss Gower, I was com- 
 pelled to leave my business, and the money I used 
 comes from the sale of some little property I was 
 compelled to dispose of in pieces ; and that at the 
 present moment I am still waiting for the money 
 that was to have been sent me months ago. I never 
 entered a gambling house in my life. I mention 
 these trifles to account for several little unhap- 
 pinesses in my Cypressville history. Let me add, 
 that I have crossed and recrossed the ocean several 
 times in this little business ; neglecting my affairs, 
 to return and set them right, and so on ! " 
 
 He nodded gayly to Miss Gower, then continued : 
 
 " Originally, it was my belief that Miss Gower 
 was being cheated out of money that rightly 
 belonged to her. In my endeavors to discover the 
 truth of the report, I gained some knowledge of the 
 inner life of Mr. Addison, and for a while used it to 
 some purpose in restraining his malice. I visited 
 him again and again, and let me confess that, des-
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST! 239 
 
 pite his wickedness, I felt more pity than anger, 
 for it was not long before I discovered that he was 
 insane, hopelessly insane ! — a helpless automaton, 
 in the hands of a cunning servant. On certain 
 sides he was unusually bright, almost brilliant ; on 
 others a wreck ! A madhouse was his proper place, 
 and I once urged this fact on his servant, but I 
 was laughed at for my pains, and gained the repu- 
 tation of being a cunning plotter. My belief as to 
 the money turned out to be wrong, and under the 
 circumstances nothing was to be done. I did not 
 know of the plot that was being hatched against 
 Miss Gower, and so I advised patience and cheer- 
 fulness." 
 
 " Did she not visit you very much ? " asked the 
 doctor, severely. 
 
 " She visited me and I visited her whenever we 
 felt like it ! " answered Geoffrey cheerfully. *' Just 
 before the wretched business, she visited me at my 
 house, and had a very interesting conversation on 
 money matters, which fact, I am told, has 
 very much puzzled the brain of the cunning 
 Detective Sharpe. Thanks to Miss Percy, I finally 
 heard something of the plot, and also, thanks to 
 her, I was made acquainted with a secret entrance 
 into the old house ; which I frequently made use 
 of. From this use I learned that Mr. Addison's long 
 yacht voyage was only a pretense to throw his 
 creditors off their guard. For a year he knew that 
 he had exhausted most of his resources, and for a 
 year he endeavored to save himself by gambling
 
 240 WHO IS G UIL TY? 
 
 and by speculation. In his leisure moments he 
 visited his house, coming at night by boat and 
 entering it by a secret passage near the water. 
 Let me say it was a year of evil and excesses, and 
 that Mr. Addison's insanity was not improved by it. 
 By playing the part of spy, I was punished by wit- 
 nessing a scene that filled me with horror, and 
 which I can not even now think of without my blood 
 turning into ice. On a certam morning, hidden in 
 the library, I witnessed what you call the ' mur- 
 der ', and I there grappled with the man whom 
 you call the ' murderer ' ! I had listened to a 
 long conversation wherein a certain paper was 
 mentioned, and the damnation of Miss Gower 
 finally completed, and then I witnessed the * mur- 
 der ' ! In my horror, I revealed my presence. 
 Max Newton rushed at me with a knife, and in 
 defending myself, I was wounded in the palm of 
 the hand, and, as the doctor shall see by and by, 
 the wound has not yet healed ! I was still under 
 the influence of the horror, and made discretion the 
 better part of valor. I leaped through the open 
 library window, caught hold of the ivy with my 
 wounded hand, and reached the ground. The 
 blood flowed from the wound in a stream, and I 
 used my handkerchief to wipe it away. Having no 
 reason for concealment, I cast the blood-soaked 
 handkerchief away, and thus gave rigid science an 
 opportunity to draw its infallible conclusions, and 
 assist the noble cause of justice ! Fearing pursuit, 
 and unmanned by what I had seen, I crept into the
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST! 241 
 
 bushes and there became unconscious. When my 
 senses returned, the horror returned with them, and 
 a curiosity was born that was greater than the 
 horror. Indifferent to my wound, I had a mania 
 to again glance in the room. My teeth chattered 
 and my limbs trembled, but I could not resist the 
 craving. I grasped the ivy, drew myself up to the 
 window sill, and peeped in. I loosened my grasp, 
 and fell half paralyzed, as a pistol shot blazed close 
 to my eyes. I had fallen to the ground, but I picked 
 myself up and ran away as quickly as I could. 
 When I was comparatively calm I sought Miss Per- 
 cy, and we discussed the matter. It was my wild 
 opinion that we should inform ju.stice at once ; it 
 was her more sensible conclusion that we should 
 wait until we had Miss Gower's defense in our 
 hands. It was finally decided that I should con- 
 ceal myself till evening in Miss Gower's room, and 
 then boldly invade the house in the night in 
 search of a certain paper ; that is. Miss Percy was 
 to enter the house by the secret passage, and I was 
 to wait outside to give assistance in case of need. 
 It was not difficult to get into Miss Gower's room ; 
 the doctor and Captain Travers were away ; Mr, 
 Morris was sleeping in his own room. The diffi- 
 culty was to keep Miss Gower quiet ; she insisted 
 on accompanying us, and even put on her bonnet, 
 fearing that we might give her the slip. She was 
 very nervous, very hysterical, and we agreed that 
 she should go with us. This conclusion reached 
 Miss Percy retired."
 
 242 WHO IS GUILTY? 
 
 The doctor coughed, and shook his head ; Cap- 
 tain Travers frowned, and even Mr. Morris looked 
 surprised. 
 
 Geoffrey Draper, however, paid no attention to 
 these symptoms, but calmly continued his narrative: 
 
 " At the time agreed on, Miss Percy returned, 
 and before setting out, we all took a glass of wine 
 to cheer us. We had put opium in Miss Gower's 
 glass to free ourselves from her, and when she was 
 helpless, we set out and reached the house without 
 trouble. Miss Percy disappeared, and I kept guard 
 outside. Unfortunately, the enemy was bolder 
 than I imagined. In the gathering gloom I saw 
 several suspicious-looking objects stealthily ap- 
 proaching me. As I afterward learned, they were 
 some of the crew from the yacht ; people who had 
 been bought heart and soul by their master. I 
 gave the warning whistle agreed on, and then 
 attempted to escape ; but it was too late ! On all 
 sides they rushed toward me. I fired my pistol at 
 them, threw it away, and took to my heels. It was 
 foggy, and I nearly fell into the well. I escaped 
 this only to rush into the arms of the enemy. I 
 was knocked down, in silence on their part, gagged, 
 tied, and carried to the yacht, where I remained a 
 prisoner until Miss Percy rescued me ! " 
 
 " To ?ny way of thinking," said Mr. Morris, " it 
 was a foolish expedition. It was not likely you 
 would find the paper you were looking for. The 
 murderer would have removed it from its hiding 
 place ! "
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST ! 243 
 
 " You are wrong," answered Mr. Draper, " and it 
 was surely there on the evening when we looked for 
 it ; for, immediately after the shot, it was necessary 
 for Max Newton to leap on the yacht that touched at 
 his place, and pretend that he had come up in it 
 from the city." 
 
 "I had just found the door of the trap," said 
 Miss Percy, " when I saw a ray of moonlight fall- 
 ing on a figure in the doorway. I thought it was 
 Max Netwon, and, losing my wits, rushed into Cap- 
 tain Travers's arms." 
 
 "Had /been in your place," said the doctor, 
 severely. " I should have fired at the murderer." 
 
 " But there was no murder ! " said Mr. Draper 
 quietly. 
 
 These words caused the greatest excitement. 
 
 '' Come, come, this is carrying it too far," said 
 the doctor, frowning. " Perhaps," he said, with fine 
 scorn, " the dead man is alive L " 
 
 " I have not said so, doctor. He had squan- 
 dered a fortune, he was deeply in debt, he was in- 
 sane, and he hated the one woman who had resisted 
 him ! With diabolical malice, he saved himself from 
 exposure and revenged himself at the same time 
 by taking poison, and with his own lips directing 
 that a certain time after death — he had a horror of 
 blood ! — he should be shot in the head with a pistol 
 he had formerly given to Miss Gower, but which 
 was still in his possession ! " 
 
 " And which I delivered to Dr. Dubois," inter- 
 rupted Miss Percy. " My fidelity was strongly
 
 244 ^1^0 IS GUILTY? 
 
 suspected at the time by Max Newton, and it was 
 he who gave me the pistol and the order to sur- 
 render it. I obeyed, knowing that the doctor would 
 speak of it to his good friend Mr. Salors, otherwise 
 Detective Sharpe, and that the wise detective would 
 speak of it to Max Newton, and in this way save 
 the bad man's suspicion from deepening against 
 me ! " 
 
 " I heard all the details of the intended suicide 
 discussed by master and man as if it were the most 
 ordinary affair in life. I heard the insane man 
 give his orders as calmly as if he were only going 
 on a short journey ; and I saw the madman's pas- 
 sion in his eyes as he spoke of the evils that he was 
 bringing on an innocent woman ! " 
 
 The doctor indulged in a significant cough ; but 
 observing Miss Percy's contemptuous smile, he 
 cunningly pretended that he was struggling with a 
 temporary obstruction in his throat. 
 
 Mr. Draper continued : 
 
 " I saw the madman drink the poison as if it were 
 the most luxurious wine ; and when, after my senses 
 returned, and I peeped in the window, I saw Max 
 Newton fire the pistol bullet into the dead man's 
 head, holding the head on his knee, having pre- 
 viously poured blood on the floor, in obedience to 
 his master's orders that none of his own blood 
 should be spilled ! " 
 
 " If this is not enough," said Miss Percy, " I have 
 the honor of presenting for the doctor's considera- 
 tion a letter written by Mr. Addison just before his
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST ! 245 
 
 death, and which was to have been delivered only- 
 after his victim's character was hopelessly ruined. 
 He wished her to live and suffer, and it was to have 
 reached her after she had been tried and condemned 
 to the gallows. Will you read it, Mr. Draper ? " 
 
 With the words she held out the paper that she 
 had taken from the drugged Max Newton. 
 
 Mr. Draper tore open the sealed envelope, ex- 
 tracted a paper, and read : 
 
 " My sweetest love, Oriana : 
 
 " I am tired of the world and intend to leave it ; 
 but I am still determined you shall not forget me. 
 I am going to kill myself, and allow the world to 
 believe you are my murderer. But you must not 
 hang ; you must live and think of me ! So, m.y love, 
 I write this letter, which you will receive when the 
 hangman's fingers are on your throat. It will save 
 your life, and give you an opportunity to gauge my 
 love by my hate ! You are penniless, blasted in 
 name, a jail-bird ! I now free you. Cleanse the 
 foulness I have thrown on you, if you can ! I hate 
 the world and I hate you, my love ! Tell the hang- 
 man I die by my own hand, by poison. Farewell, 
 my sweet, and remember, in your degradation, 
 
 " Hugo Addison." 
 "September 13, 18 — ." 
 
 " The scoundrel ! " hissed Captain Travers. Then 
 he said, somewhat nervously, " I would like to ask 
 who you are, Mr. Draper ? You see — that is — "
 
 246 IV//0 IS GUILTY? 
 
 "Yes, who are you?" repeated the doctor, irrita- 
 bly. 
 
 " I am Oriana's brother, Geoffrey Draper Gower! " 
 
 " Ah, Dubois," said Mr. Morris, enjoying his 
 friend's discomfiture, " it's a shame you can't share 
 the laurels with the sleuth-hound Sharpe ! Long 
 live science ! " 
 
 " I wish Miss Churchill were here to enjoy these 
 developments," said Miss Percy, with a sigh. 
 
 " I received a telegram from her this morning," 
 answered the humbled doctor. " Allow me to read 
 it, that she may receive a portion of the attention 
 now showered on me." 
 
 The doctor took a paper from his pocket and, 
 with quiet malice, read as follows : 
 
 " Dr. Dubois : I have left the city ; but be easy. 
 The mystery will be solved soon. / am on the 
 track of the yacht Oriana ! " 
 
 When Captain Travers departed for Europe he 
 was accompanied by the wife whom he had recently 
 married — a charming young lady, who has forsworn 
 the use of laudanum even in sickness, and who 
 bears a strong resemblance to Miss Gower. 
 
 Miss Percy traveled in the same vessel, and a 
 certain " Geoffrey Draper " is very fond of sitting 
 beside her and admiring the stars. Perhaps one 
 day she may forget her objections to marriage, and 
 become a very excellent and loving wife. 
 
 From a newspaper of a later date we extract the 
 following item ;
 
 DISCO VERED AT LAST ! 247 
 
 " In a recent storm a great many vessels were 
 wrecked, and among them a once-famous yacht 
 called the Oriana. A returned vessel reports hav- 
 ing seen the ill-starred yacht founder in mid-ocean, 
 carrying down with it, in one fell swoop, all its occu- 
 pants. On account of the high seas, assistance was 
 impossible, and so both vessel and crew were swal- 
 lowed up by the devastating elements. On the fol- 
 lowing morning a man was seen, clutching a spar. 
 He was rescued, but died soon after. The body 
 was recognized as that of Max Newton, who was 
 connected with a tragedy which is already a med- 
 ico-legal classic, and which future moralists will 
 extensively use to point a moral and adorn a tale ! " 
 
 THfi END.
 
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