Novel.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 411, 24 March 1904, Page 2

Novel.

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL AEBANGEMENT. ’ IN THE" BIGHT, BY Henrv Dunn COPYBIQHT

CHAPTEE XXII.-(Continned) The jeweller's broth came stertcrously, • Hot—the mutder,' he gasped. "The men who robbed me did it—must have done it.' Hia presence of mind left him completely, and he was overcome with tewUderaent ae well aa tenor. 'Has he confessed?' he stammered. 'Has the pear—it is became of the pearl— f 'lmost warn yon,* WHIow said, 'that anything yon say will be used against yon, Bat yes, I will tell yoa that the pearl, which was amongst the things yon eaid had been stolen from yon, has been discovered, and teat ita discovery has led to the discovery of the man who sold it.' ' Then was it—after all—did Philip V 'lt's no use, Mr Binnie,' said the inspector. 'Yon deceived me once before with your acting, bat it won't do again; and to ahow yoa that yoa may as well stop this sort of thing, I will, tell yoa at onca that we have evidence* to Bhow that the man who. disposed of the pearl is the sains* man who got rid of Lady Marsham's emerald; the one,' he added, with n half.smile, 'of which yon showed me such an admirable facsimile.* Bat the jeweller did not notice either the smile or Willow's last words. The preceding sentence had had a marvellous effect upon him. He leapt from his chair,,' ami the blood came in a purple wave to hia face.

had done a foolish thing lately, which might mean that his lucky star would fail him. 'Always yoar star!' the woman had said, and he had answered: 'lt has stood me in aa good stead as any creed, and I will believe in it till * But he had not ended the sentence. He ate his dinner, drank a cap of black coffee, and lighted a cigar, thinking all the time, thinking of his lucky star. Just one night in London, and then— Bat he had not made up his mind yet whither he would go on the morrow. 'I wonder what the old man wants P* he thought, It waa eleven o'clock now. He rose, put a small revolver into the breast pocket of his coat, lighted a fresh cigar, and strolled ont into the street. It was very quiet at number two Aden Bow. The man and his wile who 'cared' the house had gone upstairs to bed at ten o'clock by the inspector's orders j the two policemen were in the little back room which contained the secret recess; Willow sat alone in the dining-room. He had provided himself with pen and paper, and for sometime busied .himßelf in writing; but at eleven o'clock he pat out the lamp, and with the light in his lantern concealed, but ready to flash forth at any moment, waited in the darkness. He felt nervous aa the time wore on. It his plan should fail after all P He had

naked euerything upon hia reading of tho man he had to detl with, for it would be like the man, as he knew him, to obey the summons of the telegram ; the journey to London meant a combination of risk in entering the headquarter 3 of the police, and of safety in coming to a place he would be unlikely to come to, wnioh, in the inepe star's judgment, wonld be sure to appeal to him. But he might be wrong, and then— ■ Yet I am right/ he Baid. ' He will come.' It wag nearly twelve o'clock. The minutes passed slowly in the dark, and doubt made waiting weariebne. The inspestor thought of another silent night when he had watched with iesß good groundß than now for thinking that the watch wonld be rewarded. Bnt he had been right then, and— Hark! Yet,he was right now, for that footstep ringing out down the deserted street had paused, and that sound was the sound of a lifted latch. The man came on up the passage as he had done on tLat night three weeks ago, and he paused as he bad paused then at the sight of a figure in the doorway; but taw time the light was not behind the figure. Bhowing it plainly, but flashed suddenly on to himself, revealing him as he stoid. In an instant his hand went to his left breast, but Willow was too quick for him. * 'No use' he said, and in a twinkling had wrenched the revolver from the otter's grasp, «I arrest yon/ he went on, for receiving and selling stolen gocds, and for the murder of Mrs Bart—you Beuben Bathbone, of the many addresses and the n»sy names.' The two policemen had come forward; the inspector was well supported; the man gave a little laugh. ' You've won, inspector/ he said • It ' waa a good dodge this. Bat tbe you're cleverer than I thought' ' W .^lj oa *° w 'thout the handenffsf was all Willow said. A curious look came over Bathbona's face. The handcuffs won't be necessary,' he answered. Then his manner changed 'Look here/ he said, ' Inspector Willow. I m done for. You've won ih9 game and I cave in. But before we leave thiß house, I want you to do me a favour. Will von JJ»*J lt,B «w laat I Bhall ask of any- ' What is it P* •Coma in here and I'll tell yon, Ob these two can wait at the door, and you've got my revolver.' * ! Im ?£ »f'*id/ said Willow, and he precedsd BUhbone into the room. iJ«L W ." t ., t ? write * letter .' said the itXit. a °u want J oU t0 P'f mise to post it when—oh, we 11, by and by * * I can promise nothing unless—* 'lt s to a woman/-Bithboae broke in, 'and haa nothing to do with the crime. Am you shall see/ he added with a smile, for you shall, of course, read it.* Thtre was something about the man in spite of hie cruelty, his unscrupnloußneas, his many crimes, a certain air of reckless courage, which appealed to the inspector in spite of himself. 'Write it/ he said. Bathbone sat down at the table at which Willow had passed the early part of

'The same man?' he cried. 'Do yon a ear to tell me it tru the same man who Bold both the emerald and the pearl ?' 'Of coarse. The nun who has been your confederate for the last two jeers i who wußoppoeed to be a stranger to yon, bat who knew yon well; who came from time to time to take from the secret recess the itolen jewels which yon deposited there; who had had the bolta and bars removed from the door of his house, so that he could enter it secretly, while he was supposed to be travelling abroad, by means of tha duplicate key which he had made in Paris, while the only one he ostensibly possessed was locked np in the safe in his bedroom; who arrived openly in London two daya after the murder, but who was seen in this very street on the night it was committed.' 'ls it tmef' Mr Binnie persisted, 'is it true, all this that yen eayP Was he hereon that nightP Bid he really sell the pearl r* •Of course it's true,' returned Willow, hagrmting to be impressed by the other's violent emotion. ' Then he has deceived me,' the jeweller cried,' the men I trusted and believed in. He has robbed me; taten f tum me, who bad raised him out of porertj and made a rich man cf him, the whole of the large ■tore that I had told tim wis ready for removal. Oh curse him, curse him, I ssv I Kay the God who * 'Stop, stop. Mr B'.z-j\',' interrupted Willow. ' Carting asd swearing woa't do yon any good. Bat if ibis is trae that yon tell me, it throws light upon one or two points I couldn't quite explain.' 'Truer' Sao here, Inspector, I'll tell yon tU about it; 111 help yon to run him down and to punish him. I'll confess—plead guilty. What do I cite? Hy game's played out, I see, and I'll throw * it np. All I caie for now is to see him hang, and bang he will, won't he P I'll turn Qaeen's evidence, I'Jl ' •Enough/ interrupted Willow again. 'lf we want your evidence, you may be sure we'll ask for it. In the meantime I advise jcu to say as little as possible to incrimiuat* yourself. Whsa it comes to to the dock, you may ns,d that ife nest not to have said too ranch. And now, come! If s time to bs goiag.' j?ive minutes later, the Bond Street jeweller iat out on his way to Bow S-reet, escorted bj tite two police, and Inspector Willow, accompanied by two other efficera who had been stationed outside in the street, catered the house next door, and having lighted a lamp and closed the abutters to prevent the light being seen outside, eat down to wtiL • CHAPTEB XXIIf.—THE LAST LIE OF ALL. At that time a man was eating bis dinner at t>e Oread Hotel. He hid arrived that evening from Firia, and the evening before he tad dised in company with a beautiful woman who called him 'Chios/ and who complained that he always stayed with her too abort a time. Tim man had beta tomewh%t depressed; pat of sorts, he declared himself, when the women eared him why, and added that he

the evening- «Ob, by the way/ he asked, laying down the pen again, ' how did yon find out the signal word Pralaya V 'lt was overheard at the station by the young lady who——' 'Oh, Muriel Fale, yes.' Bathbone turned full round to the inspector. • I ought to have killed her that day, you know. It was weak, but—if she had only been a man!'

. ' You hadn't much pity upon the woman you murdered here/ remarked WUlow. 'True; but I couldn't help myself. And she was old, you see, so it didn't so much matter. But I.was right then, and the other' day I was wrong. I knew I wasn't playing bold enough, and that my star—Well, never mind. You'll .send this letter. Inspector P Or stay-ask Muriel Fale to send it. I think she will; and dont let anybody else see it but you and ■he.'

'You must make haste.' was all Willow replied. Bathbone turned to the table, but as. he took up the pen for the second time he spoke again. 'You'll neither of you get the reward/ he said, with a laugh. Then he wrote steadily for a minute or two, while the inspector stood upright and waited.

' Here/ said Bathbone presently. ' You had better read it at onoe. It's all a lie, of course, but I don't know that it isn't a better kind of goodness to comfort a woman with a lie than to drive her to despair with the truth.' Ihe inspector took the letter, and later on he did as the writer had asked him, and gave it to Muriel Fale, and Muriel sent it to the address which was written at the foot of the paper. ' Don't send it for a day or two/ Bathbone said, and then Willow noticed that it was dated two days ahead. ■Dear] little girl,' it raß. 'I am very ill, dying—can't last another night, the doctor says. You will be all right because of what I settled on you a year ago. Don't ever come to England, and don't fret about me, I'm well looted after, and I've done what you wanted in the end., and I die supported by the rites of the Holy Catholic Church,—Jim.'

The Inspector read the letter, his back turned to the writer, and he did not see that as he read, Bathbone took something from his pocket; bnt as he was about to fold the -paper, he was startled by the sound of a fall.

He turned quickly. Bathbone lay upon the floorj he had fallen on his face, and from his left side came a little spurt of blocd.

Willow gave a cry, and the two waiting policemen rushed in. But the hidingplace the man had chosen wa3 beyond the reach of the cleverest detective ; for the quivering in the prostrate form had ceased now, and Bathbone lay quite still on the spot where, on a night such as this, hardly more than three weeks ago, the old charwoman had met he end. Inspector Willow bent down and drew from the man's heart something which had been firmly planted.there; it was a long thin blade. |Thk Esd]

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