The Unknown Bridegroom OR, THE MYSTERIOUS WEDDING RING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 335, 8 February 1911, Page 7

The Unknown Bridegroom OR, THE MYSTERIOUS WEDDING RING.

(All Lights lieserved.}

. + __ l!y (.he .Author of "Stella," "Two Keys," Etc., Lie.

I'AKT 2H. Tic searched for tin- bolt, found And pulled il o':t. shoved the panel up about a foot and a half, after which he clipped to (he low French wirdow and unfastened that. That was ihe plan he had been maturing in h ; s mind all the evening. "Now Sir Walter will think his own eareh ssness is whoilv to blame," he muiiered : then stepping again to the table, he slipped the paper upon wh'ih he had been writing into a locket, after which he extinguished the light and quietly went upstairs to his own room. It was scarcely six o'clock the next morning when he descended to Miatih a cup of coffee and a roll before leaving for London. The first person he encountered on reaching ihe lower hail was Sir Walter, who was just emerging from the library. The man was white to his lips, and i here was an anxious, frightened look in his eyes. "Ah, good morn'n;'—goo:! morning." said the lawyer, in his genial way : "you are up unusually early, aren't you 7 I hope you .did not sacrifice your morning nap on my account." ••No—yes—l—that is, 1 wanted to be sure that you had your breakfast before \on started." the young man faltered, with some embarrassment. "Thanks ; it was very good of you, Leighton, but not at all necessary. A cup of coffee is all I need." said Mr. Sea v er, in an offhand tone. "But"—observing him more closely —"you don't look at all well this morning. I hope nothing serious is the matter." "No,: oh, no," returned Leighton. trying to smile. "I—l didn't sleep very well, that is ail. Hut. come," he added, turning towards the. break-fast-room, "you'll have to be expeditious, or you'll lose i our train." He s a w him seated, then calling the butler to attend him, he excused himself and disappeared. When at five o'clock he had come down as usual to lake Ihe basket of food to Jamie he was almost paralysed upon sweeping aside the draperies to find the panel open. An angry oath leaped to his lips, and with bated breath and sinking heart he dashed down into the vaults, to discover what he most feared—that his prisoner had escape,l. Ki-">1. He believed, as i lv lawyer intended he should, that his own carelessness was alone at fault, for he feJt sure that no one save himself had ~ suspicion of the secret passage leading to the wine vault. "1 could have sworn that 1 bolted it yesterday morning." hr; repeatedly declared to himself ; "but. of course. I didn't, since it, was opt it this morning."

lie was in a white rage, condemning himself for his carelessness, and it was in. no way assuaged when he discovered that the l'ren h window was a'so t;ni'ast( n"d. thus proving to him that the boy had escaped by the same way that, he had entered the Towers.

I CIIAt'TF.R XXXIII. THE RKAF m.iu. ! As fo"n ils I he ballled baronet \ /otild rally from his first sense of ! defeat and almost of despair, after I discoveries that his hird had flown. 'he dashed out of the house and i spent nearly an hour in searching | the grounds for him. • But. of cotii's,'. h- d'.i\ not I'.nd a i trace of the boy. and linally remembering that Mr. Seaver was goin-; - to town, and must leave (dose 1 on to six o'clock, he retui ntd to the | house just in time to greet him as h c i made his appearance. I After the lawyer's d .'part arc. howj ever, he renewed his sca-eh and spent i j hottrs riding along the coast and inI | quiring of every one he met if they I ! had met such a hoy as lc' described. I I and littl • dreaming that. ail the ! jwhiF damie \\a- cosily ensconced j ! behind a tall screen in Florence's ! room, and being petted and rnterI tain, d by both cousin-, who felt. ! that it (K-vo!\ed upon them 10 make j the time pass as swiftly and plea- ' santh as possible to him until Mr. 1 I CaiT.d should ]>ul in an appearance. r j It v. as a curious slate of affairs — I !a Mud of mockery of fate that this I vonthml heir to a grand estate i ; and a title should be a refugee in ■his m'.ii cattle, hiding from theusur- '. per who was \ ainly scouring the : count r;. for him. I j At. tlv usual hour Anna tapped j '• upon Florence's door. I j It was locked. Lut motioning .laI inie to be quiet, she arose and open--1 , _■(! it. but holding it so that the girl i could not enter. "I told you not to come," she j -aid. curtly, when she saw who was there. "Hut some one must wait on you I —some one must attend to putting ! the rooms in order, and the other j j maids are all Lusy," the girl re--1 ' itiriiid. with sullen determination, \ii(l peering within the room to see I i if iinv paeli'ng was going on. ' j "Yiry well : the rooms can wait i : in: il some on.' else is at liberty. \'oll cannot enter them again while ; ' remain here, anil I wish you to > j list inctl.v understand it," Florence ; : -demiy responded. "Yon have had '< I vour last opportunity to play .spy ! j ipon me. Now go '." she conclud- | ! il. with a look and in a tone the j 4-irl dared n ot disobey, and she j :urned angrily away. Half an hour later, Jamie, having iieen lurked out of sight behind the >ig Saratoga in the closet, another • i maid was admitted to put the rooms j I in order, and after this was dune , { the girls felt that l hey were lolcrI j iblv safe from espionage for the rej ! niainder of the day. I I The', botb took turns, with Mrs i ! Si'ie.'T. remaining to guard and I ■ -uteri .t in .fame.'. and as Hoivnce I , had refused to Ho down to break- ! ! fast. a tempting repast had been j i vtn up to her. and thus the bo;. I ' had ph. nty to eat ' , both Florence and Monica went 1 j down to lunch, and spent a little j j Una. afterwards iji the drawing-ruoia

with tno gursl.T, aV.mTugn they avoitt r eel Sir Walter, and it was evident that he understood the reason, for a peculiar smile wreathed his lips once upon catching Florence's eye. Meantini". Mr. Seaver. on reaching London, proceeded directly to interview a detective who had been in his employ for several weeks, and learned to his greai sat isfaction that he Imd at last been successful in tracing 'Dr. Flint, who. having been driven from his sanatorium a nd nefarious business by the ball which Mr. Sidney had set rolling, was nowliving in retirement in a n obscure suburb of London. He attended at once to having a warrant issued for the man's arrest, and also for the apprehension of Carl King, charging the latter with having conlmed Monica in a lunatic asylum, and afterwards circulated a false report of her death in order lo appropriate her fortune to his own use. These warrants were to be served on the following morning at as early an hour as practicable, and having despatched this important business, Mr. Seaver bent his steps towards Mr. Carrol's lodgings. The young man was not in. greatly to his disappointment, and ho was forced to wail nearly an hour before he appeared. But he was sincerelyglad to meet Mr. Seaver when he did arrive, and greeted him most cordially : and yet. in spite of the momentary lighting up of his face, there was a look of sadtvss and an air of dejection about him ihit appealed strongly lo the sympathies of the lawyer. "What is the matter. Carrol ? You don't, look well." said his friend, alter they had exchanged greetings and he had resumed; his seal. •■! have met with a great loss. Mr. Seaver." the young man gravely replied. "Ah !" observed his companion inquiringly, and thinking it. best to hear his story before revealing his news about Jamie. "You will perhaps remember my telling you about a lad whom Irescued 'from death by starvation last summer ?" "Yes. 1 remember."

"Well, my friend. 1 have lost him," taid Mr. Carrol, unsteadily. •Lost him !" repeated the lawyer. "lie was drowned a fe.w weeks ago on the south coast, whore we were spending a holiday." Mr. Carrol explained. "At, least. I have every reason to thinli so, although the body has not been recovered ; but I found his hat and iish basket wedged bet ween some rocks, where he had been hunting for .starfish. I tell you my friend, 1 miss the little fellow more than I can express." Mr. Seaver could contain himself no longer. " I can tell you better than that, Carrol, if you can pull yourself together sulliciently to hoar some good news." he observed, bluntly, but kindly. .Mr. Carrol sprang to his feet, white as his collar and "quivering with excitement. "What can you mean V" he exclaimed, hoarsely. "Sit down ! Sit down, my young friend, and prepare for a surprise," said his companion, in a fatherly ton.'. "The boy is s a fe, and it was to tell you this that I came here this afternoon." ".Jamie sa''c ! Oh. are you sure?" said Carrol, in a scarcely audible tone. "Positive, my boy; my ward. Miss Richardson, discovered him last night a prisoner in Worthing Towers, where we have been visiting during the last two or three weeks," Mr. Seaver explained. "What is this y n ii are telling me?" demanded Mr. Carrol, again losing ill his colour, men his lips becoming grey and rigid. •'.Jamie a jiri•ioni'r in Worthing Towers ! I was lold that the mansion was closed mid the owner abroad.

'Tin' place was nosed, and the !)aroik'( was abroad until very recently. He was an old acquaintance of ours, ami some four months ago we met. him in Rome, when he gave us a" invitation to spend (lie month !)f .June with him. We accepted it—i fait [ deeply regret at this moment —and, as I said before. 1 have Hen at the Towers bet ween two and I line wi'cks," .Mr. Seaver returned, and t In. n lie ])roceeiled to relate .Jamie's story and how the boy liad been treacherously lured to the Towers and made a prisoner there. Mr. Carrol looked strangely mystified as he iisUmed. "1 cannot, underst and sucli a ■itraim'c shut," hj" sai<l, in a dazed W|\> • "Sir .luli<n l-eiohion an old ■it: [i:air.lTince of yours ! Vim met him in Home, and he now has .Jamie ii. prisoner in the Towers ! It seems the most improbable thing I ever heard of !", "IhV Sir .Julien Leighton ! What an; ,\ou talking about. Cari'ol '.'" exclainied Mr. Seaver. in astonishment. '•Why. th- owner of Worthing Towns, of course." "Sir .Juli'ii Leighton has been dead for nearly three years," Mr. Seaver replied, "ami his wife survived him only a few months. If you knew them it is strange that yon had not heard of their dentil, or that, there being no direct heir, t lie title, and estate have come to a young man by the name of Walter (.'. Leighton"- " What !" thundered Mr. Carrol, confronting his companion with a stern white face and suddenly Darning eyes. "Walter Leighton has succeeded to the title and estate of Sir .Julien lx;igliton ! Impossible!" It was now Mr. Seaver's turn to look perplexed and amazed. "I'o you know Walter Teighton ?" he demanded.

"h" you mean Lho man who calls himself Walter C. I.cighton, and who was recently a clerk in Now York, J Ihiyo good reason to know him, for he is my bitterest enemy. He is a Yillain and rt robber !" "Well, well, this affair seems tube iretiircr more complicated," Mr. Koaver remarked, with a puzzled shake of his head. "I am prepared to agree with vuu that the young man is"" a thorough Yillain. hut. I hadn't an" idea that jou knew amthiuj: about him. However, 1.0 get down to something tangible, I will tell you what I 'know about his coming into possession of th" Towers. A \ear ago he was a clerk in one ol the Ni.w York banks on a rather meagre .-alary : but last fall he came aeross an advertisement in one oi I |v naper-. inserted by H linn ol l,..nd<',n br.'.v-i-s. and inquiring for the ncams! of km t.o Sir Jahct 1 and kaiK I.aura Leighton. lh: bYuried straight for London, pre-

sentcd his ciaim and the proofs oi his kjnship. The lawyers, finding everything correct:. pronounced him the legal heir, and made over all the Leighton property to him. Of course, the title went, with it. and thus he became a baronet. lie immediatelyestablished himself at the Towers, when he began at once to put the place in first-class order, and T assure you it is now an inheritance to lo proud of." Mr. Carrol had listened to the above explanation with downcast eyes and a fact; as set as an iron mask. "Then you knew Walter Leigh lon when he was liviiig in New York ?" he observed, when his companion pan seel. "Yes, 1 have known him for two or three years," Mr. Seaver replied. "You see, his father was a wool merchant in Australia, and hi—the elder Leighton—was in partnership at one time with a former client of mine—Appleton Kichardson by name. and Florence's father. Weil. it seems that these two men had been friends from boyhood, and as Leighton had one son and Kichardson one daughter, they planned to marry the two when they should arrive at a at a suitable age. But Kichardson died when Florence was about fifteen, and left her in my care. and though I had heard something about this marriage compact, I scarcely gave it a second thought until the young man made his appearance in New York some two or three years ago, and. seeMmg me out. told me that his father was dead. and. having died pour. had come to America hoping m better his own fortune. He made a very good appearance at first, and. being sorry for him. I took him home and kept, him for a few days until I got him settled in a position to help himself. Hut I made'a mistake there 1 , for the young man proceeded at once to love to my pretty ward" — "Ha." interposed Mr. Carrol, with a sudden start, "did he presume to address Miss Kichardson '.'" "Yes. they both seemed to take to each other. an<i then Leighton finally proposed for her hand she asserted that her father had desired that she should marry Ihe son of his old friend, and she was ready to become his wife. Hut I had begun to get my eyes open, and to realise that Leighton wasn't at all the Mind of a man I would wish my ward to marry, and I opposed the match by every argument in my power. But Florence has quite a will of her own, and the fellow has acquired a strange influence, aver her. Finally I resorted to stratagem, and planned a trip to F.urope. hoping thus, 'to win her from her infatuation. But"—the lawyer frowned and hesi fated a moment, then resumed —"th child w u s taken violently ill the vei\\ night before we were to sail, and we were obliged to postpone our voyage for several weeks. When she recovered, however, she seemed to have taken an unaccountable dislike to her old lover, and positively refused to resume her old relations with him." "Ah!" ejaculated Mr. Carrol, drawing a long breath.

"Well, I congratulated myself that that affair was settled for all time." Mr. Seaver resumed: "but \on can perhaps imagine our surprise when we recently met l,eiglHo n in Kome, and learned of the wonderful fortune that had come to him. He seemed very different, too—more manly and dignified—and when lie confided to me one day that he still loved Klor?nce to distraction, and begged me to use my influence to help me I" win her."l began to think it might be a lino tiling for the girl, after all. to marry an Knglish baronet and step into such an exalted position, f confess now that we have found out how he ha-; been playing the hypocrite. I am rather ashamed of the way that he has thrown dust in my eyes, for 1 have rather prided myself upon my shrewdness in reading human nature." Ihe lawyer concluded, with a somewhat crestfallen air.

"What, is the name of the firm who advertised for the nearest of kin to Sir .Julien' and Lady Leighton ?" Carrol' inquired. Hefore his companion could reply there came a linock on the door. , Mr. Carrol arose ami opened it, and found two women standing outside. A low exclamation of surprise escaped him, and he went out, closing the door after him. He remained so long that Mr. Seaver began to grow impatient, for he was anxious to get. back to Worthing Towers on " the afternoon train. Hut the voting man finally returned, and his friend was surprised to see the change that had come over him, for his ]'a<"e was radiant witJi an expression of mingled joy and triumph. "You dill not tell me the name of that firm." he observed, as he resumed his seat. "Wellington and Hayes, Lincoln's Inn, 1 believe," responded Mr. Seaver. "Will you come immediately with me to their office ?" questioned the \ ouno- man. •'What for ?" "ISecause I wish 1o inform them that Sir Walter Leighton. the present master at Worthing Towers, is a rank impostor and usurper." sa'd Mr. Carrol, in a tone so deadly calm that the lawyer regarded him with amazement. "Mess my soul, young man. I don't believe you know what, you are talking about !" he exclaimed. with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why, Leighton. has proved his position beyond question !" "Nevertheless, I shall prove him to lc a\n impostor and usurper," steadily \ returned Mr. Carrol, "especially," he went on, with a ring of exultation in his tones, "as I have it iu my power to also pt">ve that the youngest son of Sir .Julien and Lady Laura Leighton is alive and well at this moment, and so. of course, the so-called Sir Walter Leight oil's claim becomes null and void-" "What! Lpoii my soul, 1 believe, that you are losing your head. Carrol !" cried 3fr. Seaver, regarding him with a frown of perplexity. "You certainly are soaring beyond 1113 comprehension^' (To be Continued.)