Was He the Man?

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10229, 4 May 1911, Page 2

Was He the Man?

OUR SER4AL.

BY F. I- DACRfc, _ ;— oAuthor of "A Phantom of the Past," "Tronholme's Trust," "The Doctor's Secret," "A Loveless Marriage," "Sir John's Heiress," etc.

CHAPTER XXV.—Continued

"Then, here goes," said Fenton "The story is not very long, but it is well filled with facts. Here it is: 'London, November 12th, 188 —" 'To George Grey, Esq., "Sir,—l cannot face'the ordeal I had set myself this morning. I have determined to leave this country at once, and find, if possible, a happier .lot beyond the seas. This letter contains all the information that I could havo given on the witness stand, and I hopo it will enablo'you<to prove the identity of tho murderer of your friend without difficulty. I have no time for explanations, and must con- ] fino myself to bare faets. 'My real name is Frank Harcourt. I am the illegitimate son of Alice Harcourt, an-elder sister of Mrs Mayhew. My father was the father- of Major Denver and Henry Fitzgerald. These men were twins, and their mother died in giving thorn birth. They were born in Palermo, in Sicily. My mother had left England to prevent her shame liecoming known by the friends of her family. In Paris she engaged the affections of a wealthy stockbroker, who lavished large amounts of money upon her, moat of which she saved for me.

history of my past. Miss Moore is in total ignorance of everything but my relationship to that lady. I can rely upon your discretion. As, after what I have disclosed in this letter, I dare not claim even acquaintanceship with an honest man, I simply sign my confession with my real name, in the presence of tivo witnesses. FRANK HARCOURT."

"One day she met Captain Denver and his wife on the Bois de Boulogne. The father of her son passed her without recognition. My mother was a passionate woman, who had been deeply wronged.. She swore to punish her betrayer, at any cost to herself, and she did so. "She followed Captain and Mrs Denver from place to place, until they stopped at Palermo. The twin boys were born, and Mrs Denver died. Three months later one of the children disappeared, and was never more heard of. My mother had bribed one of the female agents of the brigands in the city to steal it, and have it taken to the mountains. That boy became Henry Fitzgerald, and the one who was left became your friend, Major Denver, who- died from a wound received by his brother's hand. A.year after; the loss of one of his infant sons Captain Denver was killed in action. Tho history of one of his sons you know. That of the other I will tell you. On his father's death my mother took him under her charge until he i was ten years, of age, and I was near}ly fourteen. During this time my ! mother had become the associate of thieves and card sharpers, .until death; closed her miserable story, and Fitz™ to whom my mother had given the names of his brother—and myself were left adrift on the world, "There was only one trade to whicli we could take, and that was thieving. ] When I was thirty-one and Fitz about I twenty-eight, we were concerned in a burglary at Lyons. We were captured, and sentenced to five years in the I'alk.. at Toulon. After «t y^ar'*.'servitude we escaped b.< swimming, aic Fitz, vm shot in the thigh by the m.vitry. After terrible dan;-;.« :\-»\ sufferings we got clear away to Engiiin I My year of the hulk had sick<mel me of crime and its As a last hope I sought my motnar's sister, Mrs Mayhew, and besought her to help me to lead an honest life. She did so, and from that day to this I have been an honest man. Under the' name of Burton I became .successful as, a private detective, thanks chiefly to my early education in crime. 'ln the course of my work I came in contact with Morel, and had the good fortune to save his life in a struggle with armed burglars. I believe be recognised me as an escaped convict, but he never gave any sign that he did so. For this I now thank him, through you, most sincerely. "When you came to mo with Majbr case I was horrified beyond measure, for, to my certain knowledge, Fitzgerald knew that Major Denver was his brother. This decided me to risk anything to bring such an unnatural fiend to his. just doom. What T have told you hcrf-> will enable you to do that. Fitzgerald has the mark of a bullet wound in the fleshy part of his right thigh, about eight inches above the knee. The doctor who made the post mortem examination of Major Denver's body would be able to say whether or not he had such a wound. Further, the warders and the doctors who examined and measured Fitzgerald at the St. Lazare prison will recognise the mark, at once. "In conclusion I must tell you, sir, that Mrs Mayhew alono knows the

When Fen ton had finished reading it, l.e folded up the manuscript, ana handed it to me. As I took it, I looked a,t Morel, and said : "May I ask whether you really did recognise Burton, the detective, as the escaped oo vict?" The Frenchman cast down his eyes, and shrugged his shoulders. After a moment's silence, he said: "Yes, I must plead guilty. It was the one dereliction from duty of which I can accuse myself. Ah! poor Burton." . Sis months have passed since my interview with Morel and Fenton, in Paris. I started for Egypt the next morning, and two months ago I returned to England in the same steamer with Mrs Mayhew and Kathleen. To-morrow I take poor Denver's place beside the woman whom he wooed and won, and lost, in such tragic circumstances. Acting under her aunt's advice, I have acquainted her with the true details of the terrible story which, sooner or later, she must have hard from less kindly lips and less accurate sources. The narration occupied many an hour of the voyage between Alexandria and Southampton. I used all the arts that love had taught me to temper the shock of re-awakening her dormant memory. She naturally suffered keenly, but before we reached England, the happiness of the present, and the bright prospect of the future had taken the sting out of the bitterness of the past, t A few days more, and Kathleen and I will be on the way to the sunny land of the South, where the dark mantle of the Australian bush is fringed by the foam of the Pacific. There we have decided to make our home ,far away from the scenes which memory makes &© sad for us.

THE END