The Mine Master's Heir OR THE REAL JOHN SMITH.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 280, 27 July 1910, Page 4

The Mine Master's Heir OR THE REAL JOHN SMITH.

(All Rights Reserved.)

By HEDLEY RICHARDS,

Author of "Out of Darkness," " A Day of" Reckoning," Etc. PART 19. Ah, there was no mistake this time. John Smith was a bad man, who would not hesitate to take life; and it was this man who had enticed Jessie from her home. Then he remembered the letters. One had been found on the moor, and he hesitated to acquit Jack. Possibly the dead woman, knowing Smith's character, had credited him with a sin of which he was not guilty. It was when she had named the shooting and robbing of a man that he had been willing to come to terms. « • At that moment a voice said : "Can I have a word with you, sir ?"

Turning round, Thwaites saw a shabby-looking man a few yards behind him, and he came to a stand' still.

"What is it ?" he asked as.the man rame hurrying up.

Jake, the tramp, paused, breathing heavily. He was not strong, and the pace had tried him. "I've been ill," he said, and gasped for breath.

" You look it," replied Thwaites, waiting till he was able to speak with comfort.

'"l've been ill, and I didn't hear anything about your girl till the other day, when I made up my mind I'd tell you what I know," said Jake. . -

"What do you know ?" asked Thwaites, looking down at the man's pale, unprepossessing face. "I know that you're blaming the wrong man. The day I ycame to my aunt, Deborah Brady—you may know her by name ?" Thwaites nodded. Deborah Brady's husband had worked at the mine foi many years, and now in her old age she drew a small pension from the master, and with this, in addition to their savings, she was able to live. in comfort.

"Well, I was a bit short of cash, so I got off the train at Pellbridge and came over the moor, and I saw a man and a girl courting. The man was Mr. John Smith."

1 'The girl—what was she like ?' ; demanded Thwaites, sharply. Jake's thoughts went to that afternoon when he had tried to kiss the girl, and her face, as she struggled with him, came back with wonderful distinctness, and he gave a vivid description of Jessie. "Thatls her. You're sure the other man was.Mr, John Smith?" asked Thwaites, in a voice hoarse with emotion.

"Positive. They were kissing and cooing like two turtle-doves, and I thought as it was all square and known to their friends. But I'll tell you there's no one else as the girl would have gone off with ; she loved the man."

"Curie him!" exclaimed Thwaites,, "I'm with yqu there, He's a had 'un, and, between you and me, he's likely to get his deserts," said Jake. Thwaites did not notice, his words., He was thinking of the way John Smith had fooled him, and he sear= cely heard the man's "Good day" ae he left him. The letters had been forged. Mr, Jack had said th« writer , was a clever penman ; it had been such an exact imitation of hi« writing. '''The scoundrel ! Not only had he written the letters, but the one had been placed on the moor at a time when he knew it would be likely to be found by some of the workmen." Thwaites swore under his breath as h 3. thought of what he had told the master, and it was believed in Witton that he had made John Smith his heir, If that villain became became master of the mine and th« quarry, it would be his fault ; ' he would have been the means of giving riches and power to the man whe bad stolen his Jessie. Ih.atcs stood still and swore 8 most awful oath, and as he turned in at lis o.vn gate he vowed he would have his revenge, even if he had tc swing for it. Meanwhile Jake walked leisurely back into the town and made his way to the police-station, where h\ asked to see the inspector, as he had some important information to give. "Yov.r name and address," saic the officer as he sat pen in hand. Jake gave it ; then he went on to sav :

"1.0,5t night I was on my way home from Scalegby's Farm, and } tcok the wrong turning, so it was late when I got on to the moor. As I passed the old quarry, I saw a woman sauntering up and down, as though she was, waiting for some one, She didn't notice me, and I went forward ; further on I sat down under a tree to rest, I'm not very strong, and I was tired with walking, so I must have dozed off, ls when I 1 coked at my watch—l could see it quite plain, the moon was so bright—l saw that I'd been there full half an hour, AH at once '. heart a woman's scream, There wss something awful in it, as though she was in terror of her life ; then another one not so loud, and that was the last. I remembered the woman I had seen by the quarry, and I made up my mind to go and see if anything had happened, I went cautiously forward, and as soon as % came in sight of the quarry I stopped. There was a man trying to see down into the depths, and as he stood up I moved quickly back into the shade of the tree. A moment later he passed me,and I noticed that

his face was white as death and he'd a scared look. When he was a few yards off, I happened to step on to a twig and it snapped. I saw the man had heard it, as he stood still for a moment, then came towards me. I set off at a run, but I was soon beat, and dropped on to the ground hiding behind a big stone boulder, and as he stood quite still, looking round, I saw him as plain as a pikestaff." "Did you know the man ?" asked the inspector. "Ay, that I did," said Jake. '"What is his name ?" Jake rose, and leaning towards the inspector, he said in a low, emphatic tone : ~ " Mr. John Smith, of WittoD House." The inspector looked astounded. '•Mr. John Smith ?" he repeated; then his tone changed as he sai'd ; "There arc two Mr. Smiths."

"'Yes ; but one is called Mr. Jack, and they're as different as chalk is from chefise."

The inspector nodded. "What time was it when you heard the scream ?" he asked.

"When I looked at my watch just tefore, it wanted ten minutes to ten," Jake replied. . '"Ah !" and as the inspector spoke he realised that the man at the quarry could not have been Mr. Jack Smith, as it was about ten o'clock when the latter was shot at in the Pine Wood.

" Very good,; I shall have cuarry searched. Meanwhile, keep a still tongue in your head, Mr. Jake Brady. By the way, why didn't you give information sooner ?" he said, with a keen look at the man.

"Well, you know, I didn't see him push her into the quarry. I only heard a scream, and the woman was gone. But the more I thought of it the more uncomfortable I felt, so I made up my mind to tell the police." "Very well;" and the inspector went towards the door. As Jake went out a constable entered, telling him that Johnson, from the Pig and Whistle wanted to see him. The Pig and Whistle was a wayside pub-lic-house, about a mile and a hall from the old quarry.

The inspector raised his head quickly from the notes he was reading.

"Bring him in," he answered, wondering if the man's visit was in any way connected with the story he had just heard. As the landlord of the Pig and Whistle entered he looked keenly at him. "Good afternoon, inspector. A warm day, this, as I told my missis when I set off —a day one would choose to stay indoors, and not walls over the moor into Witton. But I said, ' Duty is duty,' and as the poor lady said to me, laughing-like, holding up her finger, ' Now look here, Mr. Johnson : I'm going tc meet some que. who is.i't very fond of me, and if I shouldn't turn jip all right I hope you'll look me up," I says back 'Of course I will. But why meet this party as you mistrust ?' and her eyes just twinkled as she answers, ' But I've come a long way on purpose to see him.' Then she says, 'Oh rivers !' which my missus tells me is French, and oil she goes. That was a quarter tq nine last night ;" and I've never set eyes on her since ;" and Mr. Johnson paused for breath. "'What was the lady doing at your house ?" asked the inspector, "She was staying thej-e. About three or four clays ago she walked in and told my missis as she wanted country air, and asked if we could put her up. Her box was at Darton station, so we went for it ; and a nice lady she was—always singing, as though she hadn't a care in th< world." '''What was her name?"

"She said as wo might call hei Madame Lottie, and my missis told me as she was an actress at one oi them places where they dance. But she was a pleasant lady, and I want to know what's become of her." The inspector looked gravely at the landlord of the Pig and Whistle as he said :

"Did she tell you where she was going to meet this person whe wasn't fond of her ?"

"No. My missis said if she was to tell rs where she was going, we should know where to look if she wasn't tack soon ; but she laughed, and said she couldn't. But the missis saw her go in -the direction ol the moor."

"Can you describe her ?" asked the inspector.

"She was little and slight, with black hair and dark eyes that seemed to dance and sparkle, and beautiful white teeth. She was a handsome lady. She told my wife that the theatre people out in America placarded her as the Humming Bird, and it wasn't a bad name." "No !" The inspector was interested. He saw a big sensation ahead in which he would figure prominently. It would mean promotion, and he felt in a good humour with the man, who would be an important witness, "Did you notice what she wore ?" he asked.

" A green dress, with a little coatee, as my missis calls 'em, and a straw hat with rosebuds on it. Poor young thing ! She looked that, dainty as she tripped down the steps, and now"

Then the man paused. The inspector spoke briskly : "Well, Mr. Johnson, I'll do my best to find the lady in whom you are interested." 1675.

"All right, inspector. I'm just going to see a friend the other side Witton, and I'll call in to-night on my way back and see if you've heard anything of the poor lady, Mayhap by then you may have done," said the man as he left the room.

A quarter of an hour later the inspector and four constables left the police-station bound for the old quarry, and shortly afterwards John Smith, who couldn't get the picture

of Lottie lying dead at the bottom of the quarry out of his mind, rode past on the Black King, hoping a long ride would enable him to banish thoughts of her. It was after six o'clock when he returned through Witton, and just as he reached the lane that led from the moor four constables carrying a body on a rough piece of board stepped into the road.

A man's coat had been thrown over the body, but it had fallen off the head, revealing a woman's lovely face and a mass of black hair, that fell over her shoulders and bosom. One foot, daintily shod, peeped out.

John Smith's countenance became ghastly as he recognised the face of the only woman he had ever really loved, and at the same moment the Black King reared and started back in a fright, nearly unseating his rider. Then, with a terrified snort, he set off at a mad gallop, not slackening his pace, going at a breakneck speed up t'.s.. ':'•.'. <~> • hich Witton House stood, until ho stopped suddenly at the stables, where he stood shivering with fright as his master, looking deathly white, dismounted and threw the bridle to the groom. CHAPTER XXV. Betty was keeping watch, in the sick room, one of the nurses had gone for a walk, and the other — who had night duty—was sleeping, and Betty had persuaded the housekeeper to let her help her ; not that there was much to do, but' she wanted to be near Jack. It was the first time Betty had seen him since he had been carried into the house, and now, as she looked at.his flushed face and listened to his incoherent mutterings, her heart was full of dread. Just then he turned his head towards the housekeeper, exclaiming : "The old quarry, a very lovely place ; no one to see what happens, and such a pretty, dark-haired, dark-eyed little woman. But she should have been sure of her man. Tt's very unpleasant to be claimed by a strange woman. Betty might have believed it all, and she won't write any more letters. A pity she chose such a lonely place for the meeting ; and she told the people at the public-house to, inquire if she didn't turn up. The pub in space"— and his voice died away in a whisper.

"Has he been talking like this before ?" asked Betty. "I don't know. The nurses didn't say he was talking," replied the housekeeper.

Ten minutes later the nurse returned, and Betty went downstairs, meeting Jim Gelder in the hall.

"How's Jack ?" he asked. "Oh, he's delirious, and I'm afraid he's in more danger than the doctor admits," she answered as they went into the drawing-room.

"Not he ! Barnes knows what he's talking about, and he's not given to making things look too bright. Anyway, there's quite enough horrors happening in Witton just now, without him pulling a long face. I suppose you haven't heard about the woman ?"

"What woman ?" asked Betty, who couldn't understand why her thoughts flew to the woman whom Jack had gone to meet the preceding night.

"'A woman who's been found at the bottom of the old quarry." Betty'a face looked death-like in its pallor. "Did she fall in?" she asked.

"That they don't know, but 1 gathered that the police think it is a case of murder. The woman is a strauger. The inquest is to be tomorrow afternoon. I expect more will be known then. What makes you look so horrified ?" he asked, sharp* ly. Betty pulled herself together.

"I am horrified at all these dreadful things happening—Jack shot down in the Pine Wood, and a woman found in the.quarry," she said. "Betty, you don't take me in. You've heard of this woman before. Did Jack know her ?"

Betty made up her mind to take him into her confidence, so she told him about the letter, and that Jack was returning from his appointment with the woman when he was shot. "It's deuced queer !" replied Jim. Then he glanced at his cousin's anxious face.

"Look here, Betty : you wore n lot happier before these fellows came. Why not forget them both and marry me ? There's no mystery n'nMit me ; no danger of a hidden wi:V 1 .•!ruing up or anything of that sort," he said as he grasped her hand. Betty turned on him sharply. "You don't know what, love is, or you wouldn't talk about forgetting ; and there's no mystery about Jack. He knew nothing about the woman. I expect it was John Smith she wanted. Then she added, in a gentler tone ; "I'm sorry I cannot care for you, Jim, in the way you want, but I told you before Jack came that we would never be anything but chums ; and now it would be quite impossible, even if I hadn't promised to be his wife." (To bo Continued.)