CHAPTER XXII. SERGEANT USHER AT FAULT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2233, 30 October 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHAPTER XXII. SERGEANT USHER AT FAULT.

Sergeant Usher did not commit himself much before Mr Sturtoii. but when he i»ot back to his own fireside he sat down and smoked a pet feet t«ucces=ion of meditative pipos over this new feature in the C.I-.P. What on earth had Foxborough wanted so large a sum of money as that for ? Was it that having 1 raided all the money he could command he then went in to wivalc his vengeance on the mun with whom ho had an implacable feud and, his victim done t') deith, made his way precipitately to the nearest seaport, and from thence to foTeiirn parts ? No, Mr Usher was not inclined to accept that solution of the case, and another thing puzzled the Sergeant not a little was the curious fact that except at the Syring.i Mr Foxborough seemed unknown in the.it rical circles, and the Serjeant had been very diligent in his inquiries on that point. Mr Usher was puzzled as to what direction he should now make research. At last it flashed across him that some further evidence as to Forxborough's personality was to be come by in B nunborough ; there must b9 somebody else besides Mr Totterdell who had noticed the stranger at the theatre. In country places, where everybody is well-known by sight, a stranger would invariably attract attention. Hejhas been unlucky before in not getting hold of the right people. Moreover, the sergeant reflected that he bad not as yet, to use his own expression, 'turned Mr Totterdoll inside out.' and ho had a hazy idea that there was something to get out of that garrulous old gentleman, if one could but get at it. That Mr Totterdell would maunder away a whole afternoon before blurting out the one fact worth knowing which he had to tell the sergeant though was lively, but ho had experienced that sort of witness before, and knew that there was nothing for it but patience, and — yes, he had one other receipt which he had found efficacious in simitar cases — namely, to affect incredulity. It was apt to make a weariful witness protest to much that you did at last get at the one grain of evidence he had to give worth anything, There was another important fact in the case now, according to Sergeant Usher's judgment; he had como to the conclusion that Foxborough had a confederate, and it was possible that it was the confederate and not Foxborough who had sat next to Mr Totterdell at the theatre. At all events, Foxborough had got somebody to write th it note, and it was singular that the reward offered for the mutderer's apprehension had not induced this person to come forward. The baud writing was unmistakeably a man's, and yet people conversant with James Foxl,orough's lvind- writing Avere quite positive it was not his. The sergeant, with theso ideas, once more ran down to Baumborou^rh, and commenced his enquiries. He talked as before with every body that came across in easy and affable fashion, invariably turning the conversation before long ou the great Bunbury mystery, but indefatigably as he gobsipped for two days be failed to pick up one particle of information that might be turned to account. Ho had, it is true, got hold of one or two people who had positively noticed the stranger, but vaguely thinking that they caw him, but described him definitely as a dark gentleman of medium height, attired in evening costume. Still, this amounted to nothing. Foxborough was a dark cotnplexioned man by all accounts, and therefore there was no reason to dispute the original theory that ho was the man who had been present at the theatre. Oa the third day the sergeant proceeded to call upon Mr Totterdell, and prepared himself for a tolerably long conversation. That gentleman, upon receiving his card, was only too delighted to admit him. Mr Totterdell, in good truth, had boon very much depressed about the turn things had taken latoly. He had pressed for any enquiry into the financial affairs of the town, and this had turned out perfectly groundless. The Town CW'k was rumoured to have left but little behind him, still his books were in regular order, and there was no Wrirrant for '•uppoßing that whatever he miy;ht h.ive done wit.h his own, he had over rnado ducks and drakes of the pub ie mom-y. It was customary to speak ti'iidetly of the dead, and when a man makes *o tragic an end of it as John Fosdyke, pity maices folks recall his good qualities only. Biumboroiitfh forgot the Town Clerk* aggressive and domineeriug manner and remembered only the many improvements that ho had promoted in the.r nudst. Ruimborr.uarh further called o mind that it was Mr Totterdell, who in pitiful fashion had moved for an enquiry into its finimoi d condition, and that his

o')Ject in so doing had been principally to annoy John Fossdyke, who had very properly turned him out of his house as a meddlesome mißchief- maker. Mr Totterdell had suooeeded in miking 1 him9elf by dint of his insatiable curio.-ky and strong propensity to babble, exceedingly unpopular, aud this last move had placed him in very bad odour with his fellow citizens. It was true he would gladly hive withdrawn his motion, but some of John Fos-dyke'n enemies — and he was much too self-assertive a man not to h.ive made several — took oare the iratter should not be allowed to drop. His untimely death it hud been of course impossible to foresee, and the motion made in Mr Totterdell'a name bora, if loosely looked at, the aspect of a malignant attempt to blacken a dead man's fame. People declined to hear Mr Totterdell'a explanation, aud that he had moved for the enquiry oxt of mere malice and consequent with his quarrel with the luckless Town Clerk he was unable to deny. Mr Totterdell had an idea that if he could appear as a prominent witness against Foxborough and contribute not h little to his conviction that Baumborough would condone his offending and take him once more into favour. That his present unpopularity was due to his inquisitive and meddleso no disposition, and not to the uufortunatc circumstance of his having moved for that enquiry, never occurred to him. We are seldom conscious of our begetting pin*, and, as a rule, men npver plead guilty to tattling and curiosity ; rather deppibing those vices, we aro little likely to acknowledge to a weakness concerning them. Sergeant Usher determined to go back to Baumborough. Nothing had come of his lust discovery there, but it was possible diligent discovery might lead to something yet, and no chess player was ! ever so absorbed in an intricate problem than Sergeant Usher in the elucidation of the Bnnbury mystery. Should anything suggest that crucial question to which he believed Miss Lightcomb possessed the answer, she was always to be found with difficultyNothing in theso high pressure days attains the dignity of more than a nine days' wonder, and it could not be supposed that Baumborough could sustain its interest in John Fos3dyke's untimely end any longer. His assassin had apparently beaten the police, and the tragedy seemed destined to be one of those semi-revealed crimes of which we have only too many. But there were some few people in the town who still had strong interest in the solution of the riddle. Mr Totterdell, for reasons already stated, deemed that it would put him straight with divers of his fellow citizens, who now most unmistikably pave him the cold shoulder, should the criminal but be apprehended. Philip Soame3 had a strong idea that if ever the story of the Bunbury mystery should be unfolded he should arrive at Bessie's secret, and Dr. Ingleby held a similar view. Soames had called often at Dyke of late, and had always been leceived with the greatest cordiality by Mrs Fossdyke. The widow had returned from her excursion to the seaside, and Dr. Ingleby had made known to her the alteration in her circumstances. Curiosly enough she was by no means distressed at the idea of leaving Dyte. On the contrary she said she should never like the place again, and remarked that she should have left under any circumstances. She talked mittero over freely with the young man, and told him she should take a small house in Baumborough. Even had her means permitted it, what did she want with a place like Dyke. She should live a good deal in retirement henceforth ; glad to see her old friends of course, but after such a blow has hid befallen her it was not likely a woman would ever mix much with the world again. As for Miss Hyde, she always welcomed Philip with a sweet smile and frank clasp of the hand, but she never suffered herself to be alone with him. She had decidedly refused to accompany him either for a turn round the garden or as far as the gate upon the one or two occasions that he had begged that favour of her, giving him to understand distinctly that all was over between them, and Philip began to get despondent about ever carrying his point. _ There is no winning a girl's confidence if you can never secure a tvtc-a-tete with her. Folk dou't, as a rule, unbosom themselves in public, albeit that unsufferable bore who always will inflict his domestic economy, from the price of his wife's last dress to what he pays for his washing, is ever manifest in the land. Still these are hardly to be called confidences {distasteful revelations is I fancy what many of the victims would describe them. Philip Soames at last decided to have a quiet talk over his love affair with Dr. Ingleby. He cannot help thinking the doctor can force Bessie's hand if he will but try, aud Philip is tain to confess he can make nothing of it himself, hard as he had striven. Were Foxborough only arrested ho thinks the trial might throw some side light that would reveal to him the cause of Bessie's scruples ; for that they were mere scruples Philip was convinced. Full of this design he took his road to the doctor's one morning and made his way into the study. • Well, Philip, what brings you here so early ? Glad to see you at any time, as you know, but you don't often honour me so soon as this.' I Well, I have come to ask your help as an old friend. I told you how I stand with Miss Hyde, and I'm in real earnest about marrying that girl ; but I'm at a dead lock. If she simply said me nay, well I should be bound to take my answer with the best grace I could muster ; but she owns she loves me, yet declares there are insurmountable obstacles to our marrying. Now if I could arrive at the obstacles I should probably not think much of them, but I can't. I want you to try if you cannot extort a confession.' ' This is rather an awkward task you seek to impose upon me, Phil. Miss Hyde has always been a special favourite of mine, and I flatter myself I stand pretty high in her good graces, but I don't know how she would take such interference on my part. She's a girl that, mark me, can hold her own, and knows how to check what she may deem an unjustifiable liberty.' ' I acknowledge all you say, my dear doctor, and I wouldn't urge you to do this save for two things. Bessie has owned she loves me, and I am sure she is acting, though most conscientiously, ' ior my sake," to use her own words, yet under a misconception. I know, my dear old friend, I am to some extent exposing you to a rebuff ; but you know Bessie, and must feel assured that if she will not make confession to you her refusal will be courteously touched.' I 1 know all that, Phil, still I have a strong dislike to seeking a confidence. If people bring you their troubles, well, one must do the best one can for them ; but when they prefer to suffer in silence it seems gratuitous impertinence to endeavour to discover what they so obviously wish to conceal." 1 1 admit all that, but lam asking you to run some nrschance of that nature for my sake,' cried Phil. 'My life's happiness is at stake, an 1 though it may appear presumption to say so, I think perhaps Bessie's also. lam bound to leave no stone unturned, nor any friend who I think may aid me unsolicited, for help under such circumstances. I think you rin aid me, and I know you will when you have thought it over.*

1 I fancy I shall be so rash,' replied the <loct >r. ' Give me a minute to think abant it ' • You shall have ten, if you liko,' replied Phil, smiling, ' because I know you mean saying ' yes ' at the end of them.' The Doctor thought it over and then said — # I'll do my best for you. I'll see Miss Hyde, and if I can induce her to tell me herstory ' ♦ Gentleman to see you, sir," exclaimed the voice of a Doctor's servant, and as the man spoke Dr. Ingleby became aware of the presence of Sergeant Usher. 1 Beg pardon, sir, but your young man gave me to understand you "were disengaged, or else I wouldn't have entered. Can't say I reget it, as I just arrived in time to hear you say you would try to make Miss Hyde tell you her stor}\ That's just where it is, if we could only induce people to speak out at once what a lot of things would be put straight, and what an amount of miscartiage of justice would be prevented. I don't say it's wilful perversity, because it ain't ; it's human infirmity, that's what it is ; it's people's utter incapacity to tell all they know about anything. Here's Mr Totterdell, for instance, tells me the day before yesterday a little circumstance that if I'd known a month ago would have been worth any money in the case. Well, off I go to see the party alludpd to, and of course they've forgot the very thing they were wanted to remember. It's aggravating, very ; it's as if we were engaged in a regular game of hunt the slipper with the British public, only the British public are not hiding the slipper intentionally.' Philip Soimes had started with amazement and no slight indignation at this little grey, voluble man, as he delivered the above tirade, and Dr. Ingleby saw that explanation was imperative. •Mr dear Phil,' he exclaimed, • allow me to make yon know to Sergeant Usher of tho Criminal Investigation Department, Scotland Yard. As for making you known to him, that I fancy is superfluous. I have little doubt there are few of the leading townspeople here with whom the sergeant is unacquainted by this.' The Sergeant made a respectful bow and admitted he had the pleasure of knowing Mr Sonnies by sight. But the young man was by no means J mollified. ' I don't understand the unnecessary dragging of Miss Hyde's name into the case,' he exclaimed haughtily. ' You must be aware she can know nothing about it. You catch a fragment of of the conversation between Dr. Ingleby and myself and immediately jump to the conclusion that the story I allude to has something to do with the death of John Fossdyke.' * Excuse me, sir,' replied the sergeant quietly ; " the little I overheard was the result of the purest accident, but Dr. Ingleby will tell you I have been of opinion almost from the first that Miss Hyde has some previous knowledge of James Foxborough, and that if she could be persuaded to tell that to, say, Dr. Inglebv, it might prove of considerable value in getting at the rights of the Bunbury murder.' 4 It is true, Phil,' observed the doctor, 'The sergeant is so far right that Mhs Hyde has admitted to some knowledge of Foxborough, although she declares she never saw him, and that the little she knows about him could throw no light whatever on this affair.' • Now, look here, Mr Soames, you cannot think that I want to annoy or occasion pain or any young lady,' interposed the sergeant, 'but I know from experience it is just the merest trifle that constantly affords us the clue we seek. I don't say Miss Hyde is in posaesssion of it ; she no doubt honestly believes the little she kno\V3 is of no consequence, but I do wish phe would let me be judge of that. If she could be induced to confide it to Dr. Ingleby, and the doctor then submitted it to me, Miss Hyde would be saved pretty well all unpleasantness, and forgive me, sir, but in the interests of justice I am compelled to gather every scrap of information I can about one of the mo3t mysterioug murders it was ever my lot to iuvestigate.' Phil Soames was still indignant at the idea of the lady of his love being mixed up in the affair in any way, but then he reflected she must be slightly so nnder any circumstances, and then it occurred to him that what the sergeant had first said was very probable true, and that Miss Hyde's story would quite likely include the account of the slight knowledge of Foxborough. He had just been urging his old friend to obtain this confession in his own behalf, anil there would be glaring inconsistency in opposing his doing so now just because a detective officer though a clue to the Bunbury mystery might turn up in the narration ; moreover his own love chase depended on the result, and he did not think that Bessie need fear to confide in so trusty a friend as Dr. Ingleby. Love is essentially a selfish pashion say the philosophers, more especially a young man's love, and finally Philip gave his assent once more to his own scheme. * You rely on me, Mr Soames, Don't you be afraid of my not considering Miss Hyde's feelings. The chances are there won't be the slightest necessity for even making public the young lady's information, but it will quite likely just throw a glimmer of light upon what I don't mind telling you, gentlemen, is about as dark a business so far as ever I went into. By the way, doctor, I suppose you never made anything out about that letter?' 'No ; I should think there is little doubt it was destroyed. By the way, I saw in the papers some letter had been discovered at the Hopbine.' •Bless you, sir, the papei'3 will say anything in cases of this kind,' replied the candid sergeant. ' Goodnight gentlemen !' (To be continued.)