The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-11-29 00:00:00

CHAPTER XXIX. I

ON THE TRAIL.
To-morrow, And to-morrow, and to-morroll,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last ullable of recorded time.
M. DESPAILD was very much disappointed at being
baulked of the revenge he had promised himself
upon the impostor who had so nearly suceeded in
robbing him of the rich inheritance that would
place him amongst the foremost ranks of the richest
proprietaires in his native province and reviled
the police commissary in no measured terms for not
having taken better precautions. During the scene
of confusion and excitement which followed upon
the audacious stratagem by which the false heiress
-escaped the danger that threatened her, while M.
De,spard himself was too busily occupied in venting
Ris passion upon the impeturbable official, and
foaming with rage at being baulked by is prey,
Carrie availed herself of the opportunity that offered
itself to slip unnoticed through the curious throng
that had assembled to witness the arrest, and con-
trived to make her way back without attracting
-attention to the hotel where she was stopping, the
same—by an odd coincidence- -at which George
Sartoris put up when the accident occurred which
cut short h s journey.
Here she remained quietly for nearly a fortnight,
.wait;ng expectantly for news from the man who
had doubly wronged her, but whose safety was
still her foremost object It was weary work, but
she had no dread of his playing her false a
second time, at least, so far as concerned the rival
from whom she had separated him, and at last a
letter came. _ _ .

In it Clarence Woodville warned her against
making any attempt at joining him for the present,
giving such reasons for observing caution in
this respect as—if they did not serve altogether
to satisfy Carrie of their necessity—at least pre-
vented her from openly disregarding the request he
made.

Of his former companion nothing more was
heard in Rouen. She had vanished as completely
as though she had never been—had accomplished
her disappearance so effectually that not a clue was
to be discovered by which her flight might be traced,
and M. Despard gradually cooled down and solaced
himself with the reflection that after all he had lost
nothing except the satisfaction of seeing her placed
in the felon's dock. The chief sufferers, indeed, had
been the lawyers, who had allowed themselves to be
hoodwinked and made some considerable advances on
the strength of a fictitious claim but for them- the
heir felt little pity, rather chuckled, indeed, over
the misfortune brought upon them by their own
'gullibility, and as the first heat of his rage died
away congratulated himself on being spared all
.further trouble in the matter.

There were others, indeed, besides tbanawyers,
who were not at all inclined to regard th,ags with
.quite so much of placid contentment as M. Despird
•at last arrived at. Sundry worthy tradespeople
who had pressed their wares upon the supposed
•heiress, disdaining the idea of such caution as
insisting upon cash payments in their anxiety to
• secure the patronage of so wealthy a customer, now
bewailed their blindness and credulity, and wept
and tore their hair in wild despair, but to no good
purpose. The adventuress was beyond their
Ireach.

_
Once, indeed, it was rumoured that her capture
linight. yet come to pass. A certain jeweller who
had supplied the lady with various articles of adorn-
ment, in her selection of which she had shown
- herself possessed of very good taste, made the
discovery that the greater part of the property
he had so confidingly parted with had been pledged
•at various intervals, and a watch was set upon the
• establishment Laura Desmond had selected for her
• purpose.
But she never appeared there again. Whether
it was that she had discovered the danger, or that
-she had made good her escape altogether, the dupes
whom she and her colleague had contrived to swindle
eo successfully failed to find out, and the "afraire
Despard,' after serving its purpose as a nine days'
wonder, died a natural death.
While the excitement lasted, however, the papers
every day contained some fresh paragraphs furnish-
•ftng extraordinary and wonderfully concocted details
• respecting the antecedents of Laura Desmond and
her accomplice. None of these, indeed, bore the
'remotest connection with the truth, but that made
no difference to the lovers of sensational criminal
literatere ; and although Mr. Sartoris seldom
glanced at such items, the frequency with which they
• occurred had served to attract a vague attention
from; him now and then, and caused a feeling of
familiarity when he read the name of the woman
: mentioned in his father's letter as Eve's companion.
HOW or when he had heard it before did not occur
to him for some time, not indeed until the knowledge
• seemed to be useless. _
Meanwhile, there were other matters to engage
his attention—the unexpected meeting with his
• old friend, in the first place, and another specimen
of his servant's remissness. He had told Edwards
so emphatically that he depended upon him for
that evening to wait at dinner, and now, when it
was close upon the time that Lord Lynwood might
—be expected to make his appearance, there was no
Edwaras—only a note signed by that worthy to the
effect that he was unable to attend, but had pre-
sumed upon his master's forbearance to excuse him,
• and accept the services of a deputy whom he had
Sent in his place.
" Cool ! Very cool, upon my word !" muttered
Mr. Sartoris. "It would serve the scoundrel right
'lf I sent him about his business for playing me such
R trick." _ _ _

But his anger did not last long. Edwards was
too useful to him to be parted with, except upon
Provocation of the strongest kind; and although
!ais present escapade was both ultimely and annoy-
ing, a different light was put upon it when Lord
Ly?iwood arrived, and mentioned the incident of
'which he had been an involuntary witness.
I don't know that it's any business of mine,"
'he remarked, "but perhaps it is as well that you
- should know. Perhaps it would be advisable to
keep an eye upon a fellow with such expensive
• tastes."
Mr. Sartoris, htwever, though quite aware of the
form his friend's suspicions respecting Edwards's
• conduct had assumed, by no means shared them.
What he had been told threw a fresh aspect on the
„man's absence, and went far to convince him that
there was some strong cause for it.
•" I fancy I see light," he muttered. "The fellow
will;have to make a clean breast of it sooner than he
=intended."
But at present all was mere conjecture, and for
the rest of the evening Mr. Sartoris took care not
to revert to the subject, but led the conversation
in another direction, engaging his friend in such
• discourse as came most naturally after so long a
separation—of bygone days and mutual acquaint-
Imees who had drifted out of sight and almost
memory.

Who had "turned over a new leaf," married,
and settled down into respectable citizenship. Who
Was "gone to pot," come into a heap of tin, entered
Parliament, risen to the bench, or fallen upon evil
- days. Who, alas! was gone to join the maority.
These, and kindred matters, all in such loose, dis-
jointed sentences as have no interest when set forth
in black and white, but are all engrossing and full
-cif charm when two old comrades meet after long
years, and compare notes of their several ex-
periences, made the time slip by so imperceptibly
that it was not till the deep boom of the church
,clocks sounded the hour of midnight that Lord
Lynwood rose to depart.
"I had no idea it was so late !" he said.
k. "Nor I. But I shall see you in the morning ?"
"Without doubt," returned his lordship, with a
hearty, almost affectionate grasp of his old friend's
band. "I had purposed going straight on, but as
there is not a single individual in England to whom
my presence or absence is a matter of the smallest
-consequence, lam quite at your service for as long
-as you like. Besides, I am anxious to know the
result of your enquiries about that fellow—what did
you call him—Wood ?"
, "Yes. I fancy that your anxiety will not last
4.0ng."
" Indeed !"
"Mind, it is only fancy at present. Merely an
idea that has struck me, you know."
"You make me curious, George. What is it ?"
"Ah ! Curb your curiosity for awhile," laughed
Sartoris. can hardly explain myself at
Present. So be Off with you now, and—look here,
is your eyesight good ?"
" Fairly so, I believe. Why ?"
"Because I want you to make use of it—at least
while I am -unable to get about for myself."
In what way ?"
"Only to keep a sharp watch on the person you
-suspect of baying been smitten with my man, that's
all. I should like to know something more about
her. Now, good-night once more; I positively must
be off to bed."
Which sage intention he carried out, waking early
next morning to find Edwards standing by his bed-
side with as quiet and unconcerned an air as though
his escapade of the previous day needed no apology
or explanation. .
" Oh, you're there, are you ?" said Mr. Sartoris.
"Yes, sir."
"Well. What excuse have you Tte.-make for
yourself
Edwards attempted none, neither did lie show by
his manner that he felt it necessary._ --Quietly,
methodically as usual, he assisted his master_to rise
and make his toilet; and then, while lvtlif
him at breakfast, related to him the sequel of his
mecting with Carrie.
Mr. Sartoris listened with grave attention to hia
story before offering any remark of his own.
"Came here after her husband, did she ?" he said,
Nvhen Edwards had finished. "And pray what
brought him t- u`Jll, al

to Renal. ?'•
But this question Edwards declined to answer
"Nothing of any good, I'll be sworn," muttered
Mr. Sartori& Perhaps you won't mind telling me
'Why he has left her here alone What has he gone
to England for ?"
"She did net tell me. sir."

"Shows rather a lack of sisterly confidence.
However, you need not trouble yourself about that.
You can keep a still tongue, I know. Don't let it
run too fast to her about my interest in her hus-
band's movements..
,By the by, you are sure
.she is
his wife F"
"Mr. Sartoris !”

"Well, well, don't be huffed at my asking the
question. lam quite satisfied to take it for
granted that there is no doubt about the matter.
And now, listen to me' Edwards. I don't want to
pry into anything that does not concern me' but at
the same time I expect you to observe a strict silence
with respect to my affairs; and, as I said before,
don't tell Mrs. Woodville—that is what she_tis
called, you say ?"
"Yes, sir."
" Very well; don't tell Mrs. Woodville anything
that may induce her to warn her husband against
me:
_Do you understand F"

" PerfeCtly, sir. Only-"
"Only what I' asked Mr. Sartoris, as his valet
hesitated.

"Well, you see, sir, she is my sister, after all."
"I have no reason to doubt it. But what fol-
lows ?".
"And he is her husband."

"So you before informed me. Well, what of
that ?"

"Only this, Mr. Sartoris," sturdily exclaimed
the man; "before I knew that she cared for him
so much I was ready enough, but now—for her
sake—l'd rather not have any hand in bringing
him to harm."

"And yet only yesterday you were wishing for an
opportunity to do so."
"And I meant it then. But you see that
she-" Chap 29
"I quite comprehend," broke in Mr. Sartoris.
"You have been induced to make all sorts of
promises, I suppose. Well, your feeling is natural
enough, and as I have no animus in the matter
if we can only contrive to circtmvent your very
clever relative's schemes without recourse to
harsher measures, I shall be willing enough to let
him go free. At any rate, you may make your
mind easy on that point. I shall not be more
severe on the fellow than is necessary to'gain my
object?'
With which assurance Edwards was satisfied, and
went about his duties, Lord Lynwood coming in at
the moment, and to him Mr. Sartoris explained now
more fully the position of affairs, and the conclusion
he had arrived at of Clarence Woodville's in-
tentions with respect to the documents he had
possessed himself of.
"But why not let your father know all this ?'?
asked Lord Lynwood. "He would be better able to
deal with the fellow then."

"Very likely, but I have a fancy to manage the
affair in my own fashion. Settle it right out of •
hand, and so convince him that I am not quite the
useless, idle vagabond he considers me. I'll make
use of what help you choose to give me, of course—
you have a right to share what troubles are to be
en-ountered ; and when VT3 have brought them to a
successful issue—as I am convinced we shall—we'll
go to him together. He will be rejoiced to see you
again, under any circumstances."
"I am afraid not, George," gravely replied Lord
Lynwood. "Your father liked me once, I know,
but that was before—"
Tush, man !" said Mr. Sartoris. "You were
not so much to blame. Let the dead past bury its
dead,' and do not recall bygones that can have no
remedy."
"No remedy! You are right, George, and there
is the bitterest Fain. But as you say, there can be
no good in brooding over the irrevocable. All that
remains is to make what atonement is possible for
that poor woman's misery to her child."
"And that may come to pass,' returned the
other. "Always supposing that we are not upon
a false scent, and that this Leonard Grant is indeed
poor Gertie's missing son. However, I don't imagine
there is much room for doubt upon that point. My
fa her would scarcely speak so decidedly as he has
without good grounds. At any rate, we shall soon
be able to judge."
Not so soon however, as they anticipated, for the
foe it was their object to overcome was both cunnins,
and unscrupulous.