THE NOVELIST

Observer, Volume 2, Issue 27, 19 March 1881, Page 7

THE NOVELIST

HUNTED DOWN.

A NOVEL. By Adolphe Belot.

CHAPTER XIX

Cooke wanted Brownpath to betray and nnmask himself, and lie imagined that in putting in his hands the instrument which had been employed in the commission of his crime he had found the means to bring about that end. It was the crowning situation, to be. awaited with impatience, and on it would follow the denouement. At half -past six Cooke entered the hotel, and was at once shown into a room engaged by him on the previous evening. Whilst awaiting the arrival of his guests he made some important preparations. By his orders, bouquets of flowers, bought by him on account of their exhaling the most powerful perfumes, were placed on the table. Cooke, who had studied everything, was a thorough believer in the action of flowers on the nervous system. He also was very particular in ordering the wines, asking for heady but not exciting kinds. Finally, he directed that double the usual number of candles should be lighte, and took especial care that the seat to be occupied by Brownpath should be in full glare of all this illumination. At seven o'clock the trio met and sat down to dinner. The conversation languished at first, and Cooke, in order to rise to the level of the occasion, had .summoned to his assistance his own reminiscences. "You cannot imagine," he said, turning to his guests with an open-hearted manner, "how curious I have always been on these subjects. I have read the greater part of the celebrated trials in various countries, and every book regarding the police system I could get hold of." Then, suddenly addressing Brownpath, he added, "Do you know why I have always been drawn towards you ?" "I have not the least idea. " i "It is fantastic, ridiculous, I admit, and you j will not bear me any good-will for it." "At all events, I promise you I will bear you ! no ill-will." "Well, my dear fellow, your name was familiar to me and seemed to come pleasantly to my lips. lam an original, but what of that ? People please me by the most trilling good qualities." "So much the better for me, since I have no good qnalities that are not of the most frivolous description." " Indeed you have, and I have discovered them later on ; but in the first instance it was your name that won me over." Cooke bowed, and continued, with his usual volubility — "Ah ! the police, trials, murders — they are my forte. So I went this morning, before breakfast, and paid a round of visits of this description." " Of what description ?" "To Newgate and the House of Correction. I couldnot contain myself any longer, my Avorthy guide, and I followed my bent without you." " Well, what did you see ?" "Everything, absolutely everything." I was examining Newgate Avlien all at once I came upon a half-open door. ' ' ' Where does this door lead to ?' I asked. " ' To a room belonging to the registry.' " ' And what is in it ?' ' ' ' Heaps of paper, and particularly all the miscellaneous articles that are produced on the various trials ; the weapon used by a criminal, the hat he lost in his flight, the blood-stained handkerchief found upon, him ; in several instances the clothes of the victim, the watch, which was stolen — in a word, all the different objects which have assisted judges and juries in bringing a case home. " ' But,' I asked, still impelled by my desire for knowledge, * when the case is over and the matter at an end, what becomes of all these things ?' ' ' ' Some, under the authority of the public prosecutor, are restored to the owners or their friends, others are sold.' " ' And when do the sales of which you speak take place ?' I asked, with interest. "' At certain dates fixed in advance. There is one going on now. ' "'Where?' " ' Close to this place.' " ' Indeed ! I should like to see that. I shall buy something, perhaps, which has belonged to a great criminal.' "' Nothing easier, sir, if you will have the goodness to follow me.' "I did not say a word more, but followed my guide, and a quarter-of-an-hour later I was possessor of a most curious relic, I assure you." "A stolen jewel?" asked Brownpath, between the whiffs of his cigarette. "Oh! better than that." "An article of clothing which belonged to some wretched man who has found his way to the hulks, or the scaftold ?" "Not a bit of it. I Avorship curiosities, but at the same time I like them to be of some use, or, at all events, to be free from anything repulsive or disgusting." And abruptly, without further preparation he handed to Brownpath the knife which until then he had kept under the table, and which he had opened, whilst he was speaking, without any one having noticed him. Eleanor, pale and trembling, leaning half over the table, looked on. Cooke, in handing the knife, had risen. His two hands rested on the back of a chair, and from behind his blue glasses he looked on, too. But he looked on coolly, ready to seize on the least change of countenance on the part of his adversary. For the moment he forbade hit heart to beat, and it stopped. The waiter had cleared the table, and left the room. No sound was heard but the dull rumbling of the carriages. At last, then, the truth woxild perhaps come out. If Brownpath were the murderer, it appeared impossible, considering the surroundings of the scene, cleverly prepared as they were, that he could avoid betraying himself by a start, an exclamation, or a shudder, at the sight of the weapon, which would recall his crime to

his rememberance in the most vivid and matter-of-fact manner. Brownpath, at first, showed a certain unwillingness to touch the knife held out to him, but, after having at length taken and carefully examined it, he replaced it on the table, with the remark—" I should not advise you, if you are ever attacked, to make use of this weapon. It is in a shocking had state." Cooke was confounded. All his calculations were upset, his plans destroyed. The expense of the dinner was thrown away. For three months he had been wasting his time and working at a dead loss ; he had been hunting on a false scent. Truly it was enough to drive him to despair. Whilst giving way to these reflections, it occurred to him to discover the impression made upon Eleanor. He went hack to her side, whilst Brownpath, without troubling himself any more about the knife on the table, had risen and was lighting a second cigarette at one of the candles placed on the piano. Eleanor had not changed her attitude ; only she was not quite so pale, and a sad smile passed over her lips. One would have said that she was indifferent to the futile result which had been obtained. This was too much for the irascible Cook. What ! whilst he was in despair, his companion, his accomplice, she who was even more interested than he in the success of the experiment did not despair with him ! He was defeated, and, to look at her, one might believe that instead of lamenting his failure, she was rejoicing over it. Such a piece of injustice revolted him, but far from disheartening him, inspired him with a sudden desire for revenge. "The game is not lost yet," he said to himself; " the experiment that I have just tried was incomplete. It is possible that in a moment of fury and exasperation, a murderer would make use of the first weapon he could lay his hands on, without even looking at it, and that consequently he would have no recollection of it. I must complete the experiment." He rejoined Brownpath, talked to him for a few moments on different subjects, took his pi, and walked up and down the room, bringing him nearer and nearer, by degrees, to the table and the place he had previously left. > ." So," he said at length, sitting down at his side, and pointing to the knife on the table, "this weapon, which I Avas fortunate enough to buy, will not, according to you, be of any use." "I do not think so ; the point is blunted. Look at it yourself." "So it is, " said Cooke, appearing to scrutinise it closely. " 'Tis easy to understand how that comes about. The point must have struck a rib-bone on entering the victim's body." "What !" asked Brownpath, quickly. "Was somebody actually struck by this weapon ?" " Yes, and the blow was mortal." " Who told you that ?" "My guide, of course. Do you think I buy things of this sort without collecting every particle of information as to their origin and history ? This knife has a history, and I have it at my finger's end. It was the property of a young man, who was murdered in the month of October last, in St. John's Wood. Brownpath started. Cooke continued — " This young man was called — wait a moment — I shall remember the name directly — he was called — " "Maurice Hardcastle, " said Brownpath. " It Avas Cooke's turn now to start in surprise. "You know the case ?" he asked. "I was directly mixed up in it," said Brownpath. "How?" " I was charged with Maurice Hardcastle's murder." "You!" ' ' Yes, I ! So when you spoke to me so abruptly of this crime, my emotion was extreme. The very memory of it distresses me, and I have every reason to turn as pale as death. Have the kindness to pass me the water bottle." Cooke complied. Brownpath drank a mouthful of water, and resumed — " If only you knew the misery and annoyance I suffered from that affair ! Would you believe that I was arrested, thrown into prison — ?" " Impossible," said Cooke. "Alas ! It is only too true. I had to appear before a magistrate; I Avas in solitary confinement. I even had the handcuffs on. Yes, it is of no use being calm and going Avhere you are told ; the handcuffs are put on all the same. It is a precautionary measure." Then, turning toAvards Eleanor, he continued — "Pardon my emotion. I knoAV it is not jjuite the tiling at the end of a dinner party, and in the presence of a lady, but Avhen I think of all my sufferings, I am no longer master of myself." "If I had suspected for a moment," said Cooke, " believe me, my dear sir — " He stopped in the full SAvmg of his excuses, and aftenvards said Avith a perfectly natural air — "May AA r e knoAV hoAV you got out of all this difficulty ?" "By proving in the clearest manner possible that I could not have been the culprit." "But lioav came the idea of suspecting you into any magistrate's head ?" "Simply because I had been in constant communication with Hardcastle up to tAVo days before his death." "By Heaven, this is too dreadful," cried Cooke, "I suppose that if you Avere to be murdered to-night, I should be suspected of the crime because I had spent the evening with you." - "Certainly, you would stand a good chance of being arrested if nobody had discovered the real culprit I advise you to be on your guard," added BroAvnpath, Avhose colour Avas returning. "Justice is rather eccentric," remarked the detective. "Not so much as you might imagine ; after all, she does her duty, and you see that she loses no time in releasing those avlio are innocent. But, all the same, I have suffered terribly, and you have this evening re-opened a wound Avhich Avas barely healed." For the last few minutes he had been speaking calmly, and in a measured tone. A sort of melancholy appeared to be diffused over him

and there Avere tears in his voice. All at once he reached across the table, took the knife in his hands, and submitted it to a long and silent examination. "And it Avas Avith this that you Ay ere killed, poor Maurice Hardcastle !" he said. "You were no friend of mine, and I had with you some unpleasant discussions in my own interest. BroAvnpath hesitated for a moment, and then, without looking at the other tAvo, resumed— "Ah! if the man Avho killed you had been aware of certain details of your life, as I knew them after this lamentable event had taken place, if he had known that you loved and were beloved, and that you Avere expecting on the morrow the companion of your heart, then perhaps his hand avoulc! have trembled, and the fatal Woav would not have been struck. Poor felloAV ! Poor Avoman ?" BroAvnpath Avas silent, and heavy tears coursed cloavii his cheeks. At the same moment, Eleanor, Avhose courage up to this time sustained her, but avlio Avas shaken by all that she had gone through during the day, broke into a passion of sobs just as the last words fell from the lips of BroAvnpath. Cooke's first impulse was to rush to her, but, remembering that this outburst of grief required explanation, he turned toAvards BroAvnpath, and said Avith an air of annoyance — " This, too, is all our fault; Aye have been too dramatic. For the last hour Aye have done nothing but talk of murder and assassination. You have been groAving sentimental over the story, I Avas stupid enough to be engrossed by it, and she — she has a nervous attack, and I* must say Avith some exctise too !" Brownpath did not utter a syllable, but Avatched Julia's tears Avithout going near her. "Come," said Cooke, desirous of putting an end to this scene, " Avhat Aye had better do iioav is to separate, and come to a mutual understanding to be more lively in future. He rang, ordered a cab and took Eleanor home, BroAvnpath, meanwhile, going his oavii way. Cook made his Avay to his rooms, and there found the folloAving letter : — "My dear Cook — During the time yoxi Avere employed in my office, you had under your consideration, in my absence, the case of an escaped convict, called Burritt, and a tall redhaired girl, knoAvn by the nick-name of Carrotty Sal. "Information, Avhich you alone can give, is required at the Office in connection with these tAvo persons, and I should be obliged if you Avould come and see me as soon as possible in my office, so that I may be enabled, in concert with you, to draAV \ip the required memorandum.—X." "I Avill go to-morroAv morning," said Cooke to himself, as he put the letter in his pocket and Avent upstairs.

CHAPTER XX. After having passed the night folloAving the dinner in his room, and, after haA'ing, on the morroAV given the required information Avith regard to the tAvo persons named in the letter, Cooke returned to his rooms. He had been debating seriously within himself as to whether he had not better give up the game, Avrite and tell the magistrate that BroAvnpath Avas either innocent or too cleA'er to furnish weapons against himself, pay a last visit to Eleanor and express his regret that he Avas unable to serve her further, and, in short, resign his post. Simultaneously with all this, his temper became unequal, his manner abrupt and hasty, and his mode of life decidedly irregular. ' ' I Avant to live, to live well, and indulge in every kind of folly. Folly, indeed — I'll have enough of it. I avill live in one year sufficiently to make up for all the time during Avhich I haA r e been only existing." One cannot change one's habits in a day. At thirty-five one cannot burn for pleasures yet untasted. Then, passing rapidly to a different train of thought, he said, "Let me reflect ; Ayhat am I doing here ? Why am I not at the office ? lam a government servant, after all; I draAV my salary, but lam only playing at Avork — I have a mission to fulfil, and lam not fulfilling it. It is not lost— the devil take it, it shall not be lost, and I Avill pick my cards up again." [To he continued.]]

—The foreign habitues of the gambling saloon at Monaco are disgusted Avith the conduct of an Englishman. He Avon 220,000 francs and Avas still cool, so cool that he languidly said to the applauding crowd. : "I must make it 250,000, a round English sum of £10,000. you knoAV, for £8,750 is a mere matter of detail." After taking breath, he returned to the table, and amidst intense interest he flung doAvn another 5,000 francs. He lost ! The croAvd expected to see him fling doAvn another 5,000 francs. He folded up his remaining notes, and Avith a long gape exclaimed : " 5,000 ! that Avill do," put the notes into his pocket, and did not play any more, in fact, left the place the next day. * ' Disgusting levity !" exclaims the crowd. —The folloAving morsel of French Avit is pretty, if ghastly : A man comes to the morgue to inquire after a lost relative. " Has he any peculiarity by which he can be recognised?" inquires the official. "Yes, Monsieur, he is dumb. " More characteristic still is the amusing hiatus Avhich Parisians pretend to have discovered in the statistics of marriage. There are, it seems, 7,587,259 married men in France, and only 7,567,080 married women. What has become of the balance ? — A tragedy has been enacted at Stuttgart. A student in love Avith a young girl had repeatedly Avritten to her parents for their consent to a marriage. Receiving no reply, he poisoned himself at the girl's lodgings. Next day came a letter Avith the parents' consent. At the funeral the girl SAvalloAved poison, and fell lifeless into the arms of one of the choristers [ singing over the grave.

NOTICE is hereby given that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between us, the undersigned John Lambert Walker, of No. 39, Lombard-street, in the City of London, and William Henry Lyon, of Fortstreet, of Auckland, in the Colony of New Zealand, under the style or firm of WALKER & CO., trading in Auckland aforesaid as Gum Merchants and Commission Agents, will be Dissolved as from the first day of March, 1881. Dated the 29th day of December, 1860.— J. L. WALKER. (Witness to the signature of the said John Lambert Walker : James Edell, 33, King-street, Cheapside, London, England, Solicitor.)— W. H. LYON. (Witness to the signature of the said William Henry liyon : William Thobnb, 81, Queen-street, Auckland, JNew Zealand, Solicitor.