CHAPTER XLV.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 226, 29 October 1887, Page 8

CHAPTER XLV.

THE ACQUITTAL. At ten o'clock tho next morning Walter's case was called. It wag evident, the moment that the witnesses for tho defence entered tho room, that they were all in a very different frame of mind from what thoy had been on the previous day. The harassed, anxious look had all faded from Walter's face, and ho wore an air of quiet confidence and self -possession, which made Edmund Carpenter cast puzzled and malignant glances at him, and caused him to wonder what had come over the accused. Mr Conant and Mr Ruggles were both unusually placid ; there was none of that repressed anxiety in their manner that there had been yesterday ; they sal a little apart from the others, and wore a self-assui-ed look that was very perplexing. Miy (Gordon, who came in rather late and took a seat by herself, after barely recoscnising the other occupants of the room, alone seemed to have lost something of her customary dignity and tranquility of

manner. She* looked! paid* and sad, and there wore' traces o£ agitation and tears apon I her countenance. ' This made Edmund Carpenter a trfffef uneasy. Had' ttue< woman; formed coward! and made' up> her mind to confess the truth, and thus give* his enemy an- oppose trinity to> triumph- over him ?' He, bitterly repentedlever having allowed! himself to reveal what he had disclosed to her ; he ought to have kepfrhis own counsel and he- need have had no. fear of anyone then. ►Still he could not believe that she would ever bring herself to brave the scandal which would ensue upon a- confession of the truth. He wa? sure- that she possesßadl neither the courage nor the principle to do> it unless driven • to it ; and who was thereto* drive her ? Had she- not told him that nothinrj should ever drag it from her ? And yet ho felt strangely disquieted, something had evidently transpired to relieve the minds of the ofchor side-, and fco> make Mrs Gordon desirous- of avoiding her own counsel and hirm; and his keen dark eyes roved' from one face to another with restless- though eagor,, searching glances. But with all his fear ho was wholly unprepared for the thunderbolt when it fell. Mw Gordon was the first witness. called. "Mis Gordon," said the prosecuting attorney, " will you sLato the facts, as you know them, of the robbery which was committed in Mr Carponter'sJiousoonithe night of the twenty-fifth of June ?" Mrs- Gordon turned at once to the judgo, upon this) and said, in a clear and distinct voice • " It will not be necessary for me to do so, your honor, as my property was restored to mo lasfc evening, and it has been ascertained that Mr Richardson was in no way connected with the affair." Tins statement created quite a stir in the 100 m Edmund Carpenter turned deadly white, and his eyes blazed with a dangerous light. The prosecuting attorney burned upon her with astonishment and indignation, and tor a moment appeared wholly unable to uttor a* word. At last he said, sternly : "Ifrsuch is the case, 1 beg to. inquire why* I was not informed of the fact ?" " Because, your honor," replied Mi' 3 Gordon, still addressing the judge, " foil certain reasons, which I am not at liberty to explain, 1 pledged myself not to mention the matter until I could make the statement hero " At this Edmund Carpenter whispered something in the ear of the prosecuting attorney, and the latter remarked, with) sorao cscitcment : "This caso seems to haroe been rather Mimmai ily .taken, out of my hands, your honor, but I sha'l, nevertheless,, demand that the stolen propei ty be produced to prove the assertion to which we have just listened." Mrs Got don immediately took a small case from her pocket and handed it to him. He opened it, and upon- their velvet bed there flashed a pair of magnificent solitaire diamond earrings. The man looked blank. "Have you the money also?." he demanded "1 have, but not iiv the- form: an which ie ws.s taken from, mo," Mrs Gordon answered with a swift glance at Edmund ! Carpenter. "The full amount, however, i has been restored to. me." " By whom ?" "lam. not at liberty to say. lam only allowed to 3tate this much in €wder to establish Mr Richardson's innocence, and secure hi-s honourable acquittal." "Do you swear Mir Richardson knew nothing whatever of the robbery at the j time of it, and that he is not concerned in any way with the restoration of your property ?" acsked the judge. " Yes. I can- swear that ho has never even seen- the diamonds, unless he may have seem them, upon my person months aero, until they were produced here to-day," Mrs Gordon firmly as&erted. "And tho money?'" persisted his honor, in older to be sure thero should be no prevarication. " The money I know he could vcmr have seen, or touched), since- the bill is still in the hands of another person." "Of the real thief?" " Yes*, sir, of tho real thief." And' Edmund Carpenter quaked as helistened to this assertion. " You solemnly declare on oath thafc these statements- aro true V said tho judge,, impressively-. "I do" MrsGordon/smann&r was above suspicion, and his honor appeared satisfied ; but kfteattorney for the prosecution insisted upoa<a fuller explanation. It was. extremely mortifying to have thechief witness against the prisoner turn upon bimj iii this inexplicable way ; to havo triißcase- quashed in so unceremonious and so ignoble a manner, and a warm discussion followed lapon the matter. But Edmund Carpenter was keen enough to understand that those diamonds, which he had believed so cunningly concealed that nx> one could find them without some previous knowledge of them, had been discovered ; that Mrs Gordon's contplicity had in some way leaked out, and thai thewhole plot against Walter was on tfee- verge of being revealed. It was a bitter pill for him to. swallow, when he thought he was just on the point of winning the victory over life enemy, when he had hoped to hear an irrevocable sentence pronounced before that day should close ; but ho was sure that Mrs Gordon was taking this way, by the advice and consent of Walter's friends and! counsel, to shield herself, and him as well, from exposure, and he was in no way anxious that she should be pressed to make further confession. Ho he strove to conciliate tfe& prosecuting attorney, and at longth prevailed upon him to abandon his determination to have a full explanation, and the Court finally ruled that if Mrs Gordon had seen fit to pledge herself to secrecy and drop all further prosecution, in order to secure the return of her property, she should bo allowed to keep her word inviolate. I And so the mysterious case was closed, and Walter was honourably acquitted. | Mr Carpenter placed himself in Mrs Gor* don's path as she was about following Mr Conant from the room. " I must say this is a very singular termination to this affair,' he sneered ; "you were not over anxious for that young upstart's acquittal the la3t time I saw you. It would be something of a satisfaction to me to know what made you hop over the fence so suddenly." " I think you will not be left long in the dark, even if you do not know already,/ Mrs Gordon coldly replied, -and then passed from tho room Edmund Carpenter went back to the still enraged lawyer, with whom ho held a somewhat protracted consultation, and finally he too prepared to leave the courbhouse. As he stepped out into the corridor and was drawing on his gloves, an officer approached him, and, touching him upon the shoulder, said : "Will you please come this way, sir? There is a gentleman waiting to see you." " Who is he ?" demanded Mr Carpenter, giving the man a searching look. " I can'b tell you, sir, 1 but he's a sorb of up-country looking chap, and told me to

inform, y©« Re haxf something to say to you as soon a* you wev&at liberty." " Hu.ra»j#» !— KoegJes," growled Edmund Carpenter vritk su. frown. "I wonder what this meddler is wp to now. It will do no harm to find! cmii at), all events." " All r%&^." no* added to tbo man ; " lead on." Ho followed fihe; officer down the corridor, and was u^Husued infro a small room or office at the end! of i*. The door was immediately closed after him, and. he 1 found himself in the presence of a group thoU bothi surprised and startled him. There were six people- there — Walter and Madam Rowland, Mr Ifcnggles, Mr Conant, Mrs- Gordon),, and*— R ¥ üby I An oath leaped to Edmund Carpenter's lips as his- gjanoe fell upon the young girl who had so lately been Ms captive, and he knew instinctively thafi there was trouble ahead for him. But more than one surprise awaited him. " Mir Cantpentfer," said Mr Conant, rising and approaching him,, "I have been authorised to tall you that all your , treachery,, and! scHeming, and wickedness regarding the caee thac has just closed has been discovered,, and I must say that ifc has. never before been my lot to know of any plot so heartlesisand dishonourable in connection wibh one who calls himxtlj a cjentlemav. The whole matter would have been made public to-day,, but for the desire, on the part of MV Richardson and his friends, to preserve tha- name of the lady whom you forced to become you» accomplice." " Perhaps you' will' be kind enough to explain yourself more- fully, sir," sneered Mr Carpenter, with mock politeness, but with- His blazing eyes fixed upon Mrs Gordon. " I intended to do so/ calmly responded Mr Conant, "but I think yon will understand the whole matter when I tell you that a conversation which you had witli a certain person beneath at tree- in ycur own grounds one evening nob long since led to the revelation of your wretched plot." " Ha^ ! then you have turned traitress after all !" cried Edmund Carpenter, turning fiercely upon Mrs Gordon, who sat beside Ruby, with downcast eyes and Hushed cheeks. "'Estello hafrtiold nothing more than she toldito-dayim tohe court-room," Ruby said, rising; an 6} laying her hand upon her sister's shoulders. "She has been asked no questions ; it was not necessary. Bub I overheard the conversation between you. I was sitting upora fcho other side of that great tree, and I heard you tell how you entered her roomy and took her diamonds and monoy ; you crept up the lattice outside the balcony, you passed in through the French window, oponed her bureau drawer, and secured bhereu And then, from what followed; 1 learned that you had sewed the diamonds somewhere into clothing which Mr Richardson' wo*e that evening he spent at Forestvalfej You said you had ' made suoh a> neat job of your wcrk that he might wear then* arouaad for months and never discover them/ I found thorn myself last evening, in the- presence of several witnesses, and Mr Richardson himself does not know oven yet where they were concealed. Wo have-not aJUawed my sister to tell anything,, for we know how you forced the knowledge of your wicked plot upon her, andi caused fatr to becomo on unwilling accomplice. " " Bub I stoQitfd have told, Ruby," interposed* Mrs Gordon, turning, with streaming eyes, to her young sister. "I made up my mind' yes fcei;da.y, after becoming assured o£ this man's treachery against you, that I would confess the whole plot and suffer the Gonsequences." '* Kteallyv this sudden owtburst of honour is refreshing;/' sneered Ectamnd Carpenter, eyeng Her vengefully. "But," turning again to Rvtby, while a gleam of curiosity lighted tip bis face, "how did you manage to. get out of your cage at this opportune moment, r»y pretty one ?" Ruby drew herself hawqfatily erect, flushing an angry crimson at bis familiar manner oil adi&reesing her, and deigning him no word of reply. " Mr Carpenter," interrupted Mr Conant, in a sevare tone, "I vrili trouble you for tihat bill, numbered 8Q5 > which you have in your possession." " Are you not assuring a good deal, sir, in your request ?" retorted the young man, in a mocking tone. " No, he is not," said Ruby. " Remember that I heard ail that conversation . You told my sister you ' did not have time to conceal it about Mr Richardson's clothing and do it neatly/ and you returned the bill to her. She objected to having it in her possession, and you told her to l send it to you by mail ' and! you would send her a cheque for the amoaint. I know that the exchange was made- the next morning." "The bill, if yom please, Mr Carpenter," reiterated Mr Conanb ; " there is no need to discuss the question ; we know that you have it, and it is reasonable to suppose that you would not — sA present at least — trust it away from your person." " What do yoia take me for f cried the enraged young man. "Do you 1 nagine that I am goisag to stand heie and be bullied like this.?" "You will do as you are requested, peaceably ; fc«r we are bound to prove that that bank-nQiJo is in your possession — or else you will produce it under arrest, which, as yewu doubtless understand, will make mattet-3 rather awkward for you," Mr Conaiyb, responded, wsfch perfect selfpossession.. An expression of wrath, fearful to behold, swept ovci' Edmund Carpenter's face. Ho turned toward the door. " It wall be useless foy you to attempt to leave tfcte room until you have complied with all the terms which we propose to you," Mr Conant continued, "for you will find aa» officer outside only waiting for the word to take you into custody." A bitter oath burst from the baffled man's lips as he heard this, and a gleam of anxJety sprang into his eye. But he was not easily conquered. He threw up his head proudly ; then, folding his arms across his, cfeesfc, stood in sullen, defiant silence, his* attitude expressing, more strongly thani words could have done, his determination* not to yield one inch of ground to frhe> enemy. Mr Conanfc gave him ono look, then himself stepped forward and opened the utoar. He would not parley with the man. " Officer," he said, "I am afraid it> will be necessary for you to do your duty. 1 * The official stepped into the roota, and, addressing Mr Carpenter, said : " It will be my duty to arrest you unless you comply with this gentle-man's demands." " Upon what charge ?" The officer took from his breast-pocket a paper, and, unfolding it, read : " ' First, for tampering with the last will and testament of Ralph Carponter ; second, theft ; third, abduction. ' Rather grave charges, those, Mr Carpenter." (To be continued.)

Mrs Boodle (to salesman in Underwear Department). — "Have you any gauze ladies' vests ?" Salesman (with a smile). — " No, madame, but we have ladies' gauze vests." "Keep 'em, then J" she answered, snappishly, as she bolted for the door, and since his discharge the salesman has decided not to try to sell drygoods and educate, the human race at the same, time*