Time, The Avenger

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 404, 14 October 1911, Page 2

Time, The Avenger

(All Rights Reserved.)

THE UNRAVELLING OF A STRANGE WILL MYSTERY.

By HEDLEY .RICHARDS, Author of "The Haigbs of Hillcrest," "From Mill to Mansion,," "Diana's Inheritance," Etc., Etc.

FIFTEENTH INSTALMENT

Presently she followed, and rejoiced that the moon was again partially hidden. Before long the man reached the Gelder Inn, and she paused, hidden by a tree, while he crossed the bridge and entered the gate leading into the wood. When he disappeared, madame stole after him and passed into the wood, but she was too late.

For a minute or two she felt baffled, then she remembered that the stranger would probably return perhaps in company with whoever he had gone to meet. At any rate it was worth waiting to see. Now, this man whom madame believed to be the same man she had seen at Housesteads, was in reality Joe, his twin brother, who had resolved to make a little money on his own account by stealing a march on his brother. Having entered the wood, he went leisurely forward, glancing to the right and left vainly trying to explore the darkness by the light of the moon, which could be seen faintly through the trees. " Are you J. Button ? "

The voice came from close to him, but Joe had not seen the speaker, and he started slightly. " That's my name ; but I should like to see the party I'm speaking to," he answered, gruffly. "All right, we will go into the open. Follow me;" and the speaker stepped forward, closely followed by Joe.

On they went, the path winding in and out, first among a dense growth of trees, then clipping to the edge of the water until at last they turned off the path and stood on a piece of smooth greensward. Below them lay a deep pool of water ; it was in reality but a widening and deepening of the river—in fact, it was so deep that it acquired the name of Dead Man's Pool, as never one who had fallen into it had been rescued. At one side there was a steep bank of rocks, on which ferns and all kinds of mosses grew, while in one of the wider crevices a large tree had struck its roots, its overhanging branches almost touching the water.

It was a queer place to choose for an interview at that time of night, but Joe Dalton knew nothing of the water ; he was only conscious that they were standing on a piece of level grass, as the moon, which all night appeared to have been playing a game of hide-and-seek, was then invisible.

" Now, what have you got to tell me ? " said Mr. Hudspith. " First of all, are you the party that got my letter ? " said Joe. " Yes, or what else could have brought me here ? " was the reply. " Then we'll get to business. To begin, you are Mr. Hudspith, of Geltier Hall, and it's not.to your advantage that your cousin, Mr. Lionel Hudspith, should appear. And it might suit you to know where you Could find him," said Joe, in a tone that implied more than he said. " Why should it suit me?" asked the other, trying to speak carelessly.

"Well it doesn't stand to reason ! as you'd want that cousin of yours j to live to prove his innocence, and— j well, sometimes there's accidents, : and you might like his address in j case of one, then you could prove as - he was dead," said Joe, trying to j test his companion. | " You're quite a philosopher," said j the other dryly. " But where does ! this cousin of mine, live ? " j " I'm not a-going to tell—that is, | unless I'm paid for it. The secret's j worth five hundred pounds, and I \ shall not take a penny less." j " Five hundred pounds ! You mean i ive pounds," said Mr. Hudspith, scornfully. " I mean five hundred, and cheap at that. Suppose I was to go to-mor-row morning into Wittonbury and tell a few people that Mr. Lionel j Hudspith was living, I believe there j would be a general move to help him i to prove his innocence. I haven't , been in this place a day or two but j I know the folks here would be glad | to see him in your place," said Joe. For a moment there was silence ; then Mr. Hudspith said : " Very well ; you shall have the five hundred, so go on." " Wait a bit ; how am I to know you'll pay me?" " I give you my promise." " Very well, I'll have to trust you ; but if you don't meet me tomorrow night with that five hundred in gold and notes, I'll tell not only where Mr. Lionel Hudspith is to be found, but the trick you've served me," said Joe. " You shall be paid," was the emphatic answer, spoken quietly ; then Mr. Hudspith added, " And I shall be glad if you will say what you've got to say." " All right, You know Mr. Dalrymple of Houscsteads ? Well, he's your cousin, Lionel Hudspith." " It's a lie ! ";' exclaimed Marcus Hudspith. " It's gospel truth. When Lionel Hudspith was sent to Dartmoor I worked alongside him ; he was No. 649, and I was 645. He. got out aforc ms, but a year or two later I came across him in Australia where a rich sheep farmer—a Mr. Hesketh—had adopted him ; but No. 649 had told him the whole truth and when Mr. Hesketh died his adopted son came to England and married her

ladyship, and here he's been livin;• among you all these years neighbour to Judge Hatton as sentenced him, and not one of you suspecting. Now, don't you think what I've told you is worth the five hundred ? " asked Joe - , 1 A " Why have you kept the knowledge to yourself all these years ? " asked Mr. Hudspith. " I don't mind telling you that I got into trouble ngain in America, and I wasn't just at liberty to pay calls for a few years," he answered, with a laugh. Mr. Hudspith was silent ; this marvellous news required some digesting. Was it possible that Richard Dalrymple was Lionel Richard Hudspith ? And in spite of the improbability the conviction forced itself upon him that it was true. " Does Mr. Dalrymple " he could not bring himself to call him Lionel Hudspith—" know you are in Wittonbury ? " he asked after a little while. " Bless you, no. Mr. Dalrymple wouldn't know me from Adam. The last time he saw me was thirty odd years ago, but I kept trace of him." " Why didn't you go to him instead of me ? Don't you think he would have paid you to hold your tongue ? "

CHAPTER XVI.

DEAD MAN'S POOL

" No. He'd have told me to tell it far and wide. He's an independent chap. Bless you, I tried the frightening game on when I found old Hesseth had adopted him, but he just laughed in my face and defied me. I expect he'd do the same again," said Joe, chuckling to think how well he ivas personating his twin brother. " And that's all you have to tell me ?" said Mr. Hudspith. " All ! I should say it was a big lot for five hundred pounds. And there's another thing ; if he came forward and said as he was Lionel Hudspith, it might take a bit of proving, and as I'm the only chap who could swear to him being Lionel Hudspith, you must see it's worth your while to buy my silence," said Joe, waxing strong in argument. " I see ; and of course you want sxtra for that," said Mr. Hudspith. " I shouldn't be hard on you. A few hundreds now and then, just to keep a fellow out of the workhouse."

" Have you told any of your chums ? " asked Mr. Hudspith. "No ; I knew better than to give them a chance of trading on my secret. So you can make your mind easy, there's nobody but me to pay," said Joe.

" Then I'll pay you;" and as he spoke Marcus Hudspith gave a desperate push, and Joe, who had been standing in a lounging attitude, fell over the bank and into the deep dark pool below.

There was one loud cry and a splash, and all was silent, and as Marcus Hudspith leaned forward lis tening, the moon shone brilliantly out, revealing the pool, which looked still as ever.

" Confound it," he muttered glancing up at the sky. Then he stole silently across the greensward, and was soon on the path going swiftly but cautiously towards the gate. When he had passed through it he pulled up his coat collar and drew well over his forehead the cap he wore and after going a little distance along the Gelder road he struck across the fields in the direction of the Hall, congratulating himself on the fact that he had not met anyone, though he had scarcely feared it, as the farmers and their labourers kept early hours,

But Mr. Hudspith had not been as fortunate as he thought, as madame, hiding behind a tree had seen him pass through the gate, and concluded that his companion had gone through the wood and out at the other gate. It puzzled her that he should have done so, as it was a long distance, but she decided he had some reason for not returning to Wittonbury, and having discovered that he had come to meet Mr. Hudspith, she made the best of her way home, returning by the nearer road, instead of passing Gelder Hall.

There had been a witness of what happened in the wood, of whom neither madame nor Mr. Hudspith knew anything, and that was Jim. When he had rallied from a drinking bout and found that Joe was not to be heard of, he began to think he had been a little too confiding, so he pulled himself together and took the train north, but found on reaching the junction that he was too late for the last train to Wittonbury. So he took one to a branch line which reached Melburn, a little station a mile or so from th<* upper end of the Gelder Woods, about a quarter to =leven, and he decided to go through the woods to Wittonbury, and get a bed at the Vine Inn, though he knew he would have to rouse the landlord. There were two ways from the upper end of the wood to the end near the Gelder Inn, One was a roadpath the other, much narrower, close to the water. At first Jim chose the broader path, then he descended to the bank and took the one just above the bed of the river. It was an irrigular path. First it would ascend, then there was quite a deep descent, and if he hadn't been tolerably surefooted, he might have come to grief in the darkness. But on he went, occasionally stumbling, until finally he came to a steep bank, which he climbed, and found himself in a thickbit of the wood, from which a narrow path diverged on to the main one. He was about to follow it when the sound of voices made him stop abruptly, and in another minute he discovered that the speaker was his twin brother. Listening intently, he could hear that Joe was relating the listener's experience as his own. A minute more and knew that .loe's companion was Mr. Hudspith. s> t'\\ : 5e ;iu«gerod ! : - he- xnni-

tered, and peering through the tree? he could dimly see two figures standing on an open piece of ground. During the whole of the conversation Jim listened intently, and he wa: scarcely able to restrain a chuckle when his brother assured Mr. Hudspith that he alone knew that Mr. Dalrymple was really Lionel Hudspith. " My, won't he be dropped on when I appear ! I'll make Joe gc with me or he won't believe there arc two of us," thought Jim. Then he gave his attention to the conversation.

Scarcely had the words, " I'll pay ! you," been spoken by Mr. Hudspith | when he heard his brother cry aloud j and a splash in the water. At the j same moment the moon shone on the \ figure of Marcus Hudspith as he bent | over, looking into the stream. A strong impulse to rush forward and send him to his doom, as he had done Joe, took hold of Jim, but he restrained himself, thinking it would be better to let him live and suffer the penalty of the law. Then, as Mr. Hudspith turned away disappearing in the wood, Jim stole forward, and, looking into the water, saw that just there the river widened into a triangular-shaped deep pool. On the further bank were great rocks, covered with flowers and moss, down which a little stream trickled, falling into the river below, and above ther rose a steep, densely-wooded hill, The bank on which Jim now stood was formed by a mass of rock, rising perpendicularly out of the water to ; : height of some twelve feet, and on the top of this, stretching a little way into the wood, was the plot of smooth grass on which the two men had stood. A few yards further on was a narrow channel, through which the river flowed, widening out a little lower into a broad stream. As he looked he saw the body rise at the further side of the pool, and as it slowly floated towards the chan nel the coat caught on to a broken branch of a tree that had beer, blown down on the further bank, and was thus held fast, a portion of the body being out of the water. It was a ghastly scene. Joe lay face downward, and as the soft summer breeze moved the branch the body swayed lightly. As he gazed, ! the man though hardened in sin, I shuddered ; then he looked at the | piece of water separating him from \ the swaying body.

" God help him ! I cannot do it. I should be drowned if I tried," he muttered. " And he must be dead. This will be the second time he's come up. I had a look at this pool when I was here before, and you might drown a regiment in it," he thought as he stood upright and pondered what he should do. Joe was past help, and Jim was undecided what course to take—whether to tell what he had seen, or to hold his tongue. If he told onehalf he would have to tell all, and he didn't wish to let all the world know the secret about Mr. Dalrymple's name ; he hoped to make money out of that secret. Finally he decided he would not go into Wittonbury, but would find a lodging for the night, and the next day go to Carlisle. Having made up his mind, he cast one last look at the corpse, then, with a shudder, he turned and retraced his steps, hurrying through the wood, while his mind dwelt on his brother's fate. " If he hadn't put his finger in my pie he'd have been alive now ; and he was green to be led into the wood. If Mr. Hudspith hud been dealing with me he wouldn't have got, me more than a few yards from the gate, When a man's got a secret, there's

more ways of silencing him than witli ] money. Joe should have remembered that. Poor fellow, I'm sorry he's gone though he did try to steal a march on me," thought Jim. Presently lie came to the end of the wood, and after walking some distance along the high road lie saw a shed in a field. It was dry and clean only a few farm implements being kept in it ; and, lying down on the grassy floor, he soon fell asleep, and did not wake till nearly five o'clock, when he got up and made the best of his way to a village some distance ahead, where he hoped to :atch an early train. So it happened that he was in Carlisle by nine o'clock, and partook of a hearty breakfast at the public-house, as not even the memory of the tragedy he had witnessed interfered with Jim's appetite. He was sorry, and lie hnd made up his mind to pay Joe's murderer out ; but a man must live. When the meal was over he sat thinking for a long time, then he went out and bought paper, pen, and ink, after which he returned to the inn and wrote two letters, the one addressed to Miss Hudspith, and the other to her father, When Mr. Hudspith reached home after that fatal interview with poor Joe he entered by the library window which he had left unfastened ; then he saw that it was securely fastened, after which he stole softly upstairs to his own room. Now it happened that Nina's room was over the library and as she felt restless she had not got into lied ; but putting her light out, she had seated herself near the window, thinking of many things. Hugh was a source of anxiety to her, and she felt that she did not understand her father. She had always had this feeling, but it had not troubled her much during her mother's lifetime. Now it was different, and Nina sighed as she thought of her mother. Gazing out of the window as she thought of the happy times that had gone, she was startled by seeing a man crossing the grass at a rapid pace. The moon, which earlier had been under a cloud, was now clear, and as she look.."" .•■!■•' ihouirH • h.-'v was somethins: familiar in !he ;i::ure. ; but as ho <.: nt m ike shad.< : ,-i the 1 trees sin' ■•o'-M '•<'' ■• n ? h'm 'iistirrv-