A DANGEROUS CHARGE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 16 March 1891, Page 4

A DANGEROUS CHARGE.

— —♦ (Concluded.) over a f&ncuife, drie wnicn my rairensttge had left behind her. Catching it up I sprang from the carriage. As ?l gained the platform I caught a glimpse of her hurrying along to the other side of the. station, where a long train was stand: n- \ To my surprise, sheglanced back as I c.i ! led out to her, but she did not slacken her speed. The train for which she was making now be an to move ; but springing up the steps with a quickness of motion for which I was Dntirely unprepared, she disappeared from my si<,'ht. As the train thundered past me, moved by a sudden impulse, I thrust my hand into my * breast-pocket. » Horror ! The package was gone I Years have gone since then, but I have never forgotten the sensation that came over me— the dismay, the terror that for a while benumbed every faculty. But it was not long before every nerve of my heart and brain was fully aroused and at work. Like a flash of lightning, by whom and bow I had been robbed— all was clear to me. In the meantime the train which I bad left had goneon,»andl stood in the grey dawn alone on the platform. I ascertained the place was not ,but another junction ; that the train taken by the woman went by a more circuitous route in the same direction in which I had started ; that it was a fast train, its first stoppage being a town r —' y miles back. I immediately resolved to :ake the next train to that place. On learning that it would be two hours before I could do this, I next turned my thoughts to breakfast, contriving, in spite ol anxiety, to make a tolerably substantial meal, and feeling ten per cent, better in consequence. As I arose from the table, I thought ol the little satchel that the woman had left behind her, either in her haste to escape, or because she feared to wake me if she removed it from near my feet. Its contents surprised and puzzled me. Not on account of their extent and value, however. They consisted of a man's shirtfront, or dickey, a pair of socks, a black tie, an odd glove, and a handkerchief. Not an article of woman's apparel was -in ♦it ! There was no name nor initial on anything, with the exception of the handkerchief, en which were the letters F. H. worked in red silk. On shaking the satchel to make_sure there was nothing more, a wad of crumpled paper dropped out. * Unfolding it, I smoothed it upon my knee. II proved td be a letter. The lower right-hand corner was torn oft", leaving the superscription to read thus : — "Frepk. Har " Man " \ The last three letters formed the first syllable of this place. Upon turning the paper I found some pencil memoranda, which ran thus : " Bonnet, veil, cloak, scarf, gloves." As I recalled the face beneath that veil— the short, wavy hair, parted in the middle of the forehead, the arched eyebrows, the intense blackness of the eyes, which never once met my own, there flashed upon me the indefinable resemblance to someone I had seen, which had struck me at the first glance, but made no particular impression on my mind at the time. It was just as clear tome then as twelve hours later; I had been robbed not by a woman, but by a man, and that man Fred Harding ! He was in the habit of often lounging in and out of the office, reading the papers and exchanging the news, and I had a distinct remembrance of his being within hearing distance when Mr. Crofton mentioned the matter of my journey to me, but thought nothing of it at the time. What my thoughts and feelings were during the return journey would be difficult to describe. At one time I was strong in the belief that I should be able to circumvent the* villain who had robbed me of more than life, and then my hopes went down to zero. .. I knew that Harding's eagerness to win Lucy Crofton made him jealous of the favour with which Lucy's father regarded me, and was convinced that the object was not simply money, but to ruin me in my employer's estimation. The result would be the same at all events. Unless I could get back the package, farewell to my bright prospects and the sweetest maiden in the world to me. It was dusk when I reached town, for which I was not sorry. I went directly to where Harding lived. They told me he had been out of town for two days, and had just got back. So I proceeded to his room, and the door being ajar, I went in. Harding was not there, but the bright light indicated that he was not far off, and I sat down and waited. _ I looked scrutinizingly about. On the chair near me lay an old glove, the mate to the one in the satchel, so I found by comparing them— another link in the chain of evidence. «I had scarcely time to secure this and decide upon my course of action when Harding entered. I have no power to describe his astonished and dismayed look as he saw me. Quickly recovering himself, he advanced eagerly toward me.. Ignoring tHe outstretched hand, I said, sternly— - "• *? ,^-^Mr Harding, here is a satchel you left behind you in the little masquerade you played -last night. You acted, your part well, but it is time to lay off the mask now. In this satchel is an odd glove, the mate of which I found upon the chair yonder, and which may be of value to you. You can have it in exchange for the packet you took irom me." ; ! Taken entirely by surprise, and a coward it heart, the villain's tactics failed him. ■ " Will you give me twenty-four hours to leave town in ? As a ruleJ do not carry arms, but this :ime I knew what had to be done ; so, taking i revolver from my pocket, I advanced one step nearer. "Give me that package, and you can nave forty-eight hours ; refuse, and you have not five minutes to live." He" had it on him, as I surmised, and without another word he gave it to me. Only waiting to make sure that it was the same, and had not been tampered with, I sprang down the steps, two steps at a time. Twenty minutes later I was on my journey again, feeling like a suddenly freed * bird as I sped along. By travelling night and day, and taking brief times for rest and refreshment, I. so nearly made up the time I had lost as to bring my business to a satisfactory conclusion within the limits assigned me. On my return I found a good many of my friends and acquaintances considerably excited on the subject of Harding's sudden ana mysterious disappearance^ I kept my -jown counsel, however, being more ashamed , of the successful game that had been played 4Uia me. than proud of the fact that I had been able, by a fortunate combination of circumstances, to checkmate him as I bad. ft wa? not until Lucy had been my wife nearly a*year, and I was junior partner in I i lie firm, that I ventured to tell her father off | his narrow escape from a serious lost. _ „ t" THS'I-ND. }. . i i i