The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-10-22 00:00:00

CHAPTER XXXVII.

BACK AGAIN.

'And dar'st thou, then,
To beard the lion in his den,
The Douglas in his hall ?'—Scorr.
AnE my old rooms vacant, Mrs. Brown?'
Mrs. Brown stared at the speaker, like a woman in
a dream; she had come to fancy that she would neva
see her late lodger any more. Hillford had grown
accustomed to the absence of the Rev. Horace, and
had learned to swear by the less dramatic and spas-
modic preacher who had succeeded him, and to feel
that thf re was more comfort, if not so much excite-
ment, in the quieter services at the pretty church.
It was very pretty still, though not so much adorned.
There were flowers now and then at festivaltimes, and
so forth, but the lace and the candlesticks and the
wonderful bouquet: had been abolished, and the clergy-
man told his hearers plain truths from the pulpit,
instead of romantic stories and appealed to their hearts
inst-ad of their imaginations.
There was a very general idea that Mr. Gayford had
suffercd more mentally and bodily from the shock of
Ifs own cousin's death than bad leaked out at first,
and that he was mentally incapable of continuing his
duties; but the news of the legacy that had fallen to
him altered the opinion of the gossips. A rich man
as he was now would not need to keep on with his
church work; and people wondered where he was, and
what he was doing with all that money, which gossip
magnified by three and twenty times three, according
to Its liking.
Gossip was right in asserting that it was enough
to give the position of a gentleman and to make any-
thing like work unnecessary, but it was decidedly
wrong in asserting that he would never come back to
H illford. Here he was on Mrs. Brown's doorstep,
asking for his old rooms, somethi; g altered from the
fastidious gentleman of the old pulpit days, older.
looking decidedly, and thinner, and with something in
his air and voice that Mrs. Brown had never seen
there before, a glitter in the one, and &nervous tremor
in the other; that she noticed at once.
He was hardly so faultlessly dressed as he used to
be, for the less clerical cut of his garments did not
become him so well as the severe straight coat and
white tie. He was as handsome as ever, but altered,
and not for the better.
Law, Mr. Grayford, sir, how you frightened me 1'
was Mrs. Brown's salutation when she had recovered
her breath. Many's the time I've thought of you,
sir, and talked about you, and wondered whether you
would ever come back again. Come in, sir; the
rooms are empty, and I am glad thy are, if you want
them again. I might have let them over and over
again, but I never could see anybody that it would
suit me to take. I like to have a gentleman in them;
I'd sooner have them vacant than take some folks.'
This was a little bit of a fib on Mrs. Brown's part!
she had striven with all her might to let her apart-
menti since her lodger left her, but her price was too
high, and she had 'too many crotchets,' as her less
fortunate neighbours declared.
I hope you are coming back to me, sir,' she said,
is she bustled about, pulling up the blinds and sett'ag
thir gs straight in the snug parlour. It will seem like
Did times to have you about Hillford again; and the
church '

'The church will do without me,' Horace Gayford
said. shall never go into the pulpit again.'
Never preach again, sir?'
'No; do not speak of it. Since that dreadful time
—since my poor young cousin's loss, I have had no
heart to study, or try to teach my fellow-men. Tell
me —I have been travelling and have not heard much
—has arythiug been discovered? Has any clue been
found?'
'Not a shadow of one, sir. Folks seems to have
pretty much forgotten about it, There's bad news
about the poor young lady that was to have been
married to h m.'
Bad news! What news?'
'She's dead, sir.'

'Dead?'
The word came harshly and hoarsely from Horace
Gay ford's lips, and he turned pale, till Mrs. Brown
began to fear he would f tint.
•I oughtn't to have blurted it out like that, maybe,'
she said. 'I had almcst forgotten how well you
know her. Haven't you heard anything about it,
sir.'
have heard just this much: that there was some-
thing—that she had left Mrs. Churchill's house some-
where abroad, and was supposed to have eloped; but
it was only a bit of gossip in a railway carriage, and
the persons who were talking were strangers to me,
and I could not well discuss Miss Ramsay's name with
them.'
That was it, sir; it was just so. Mr. Jarvis was
here the other day. He had been in France ever so
long looking for her, and he came to see after Mrs.
Churchill's house; she is staying at Norwood with the
two young ladies.'
And he told you the.t Miss Ramsay was—was
dead!'
'He said so, sir; there was no reason to doubt it.
She did go away from the place where the ladies were
staying; no one quite knew why. But Mr. Jarvis
found out where she had gone, and when he got there
she had gone across the sea with some fishermen, and
the boat was lost and they were all drowned.'
They are sure of it?'
',He said so, sir.'
• And did Miss Ramsay go away alone?'
'Yes; and that's the queerest part of it, sir. Quite
alone, and no ore can find out the reason why, poor
young thing! She was a beautiful creature! She
must have gone off h( r head, I should think, before
she did such a thing as that.'
I am very sorry to hear it,' Hcrace Gayford said,
with as much calmness as he could assume. I will
take the rooms, at any rate for a month, Mrs. Brown.
I have some matters to at,end to that I want:quiet for.
So see that I am attended to as -usual please, and
leave me alone for a little while, I have some writing
to do.'
To put a match to the fire and make a cheerful blaze
was the work of a minute, and Mrs. Brown went away
rejoicing, to be recalled by a word before she reached
her own dominions.
I want to be quiet for a day or two,' Horace Gay
ford said. Be good enough to say nothing about my
being hero for a while; I've business to attend to and
want to be undisturbed.'
There was something in his tone that told Mrs.
Brown that if she gossipped she would lose her
lodger, and she reluctantly put off flying round to her
neighbours with the intelligence that he had come
back, and busied herself with preparations for making
him comfortable, and a good deal of wonderment as to
what had brought him back to Hillford again.
When she was quite out of sight and hearing,
Horace Gayford locked the door to make sure he
should not be disturbed, and sat down in front of the
fire.
Dead !' he said to himself. My darling dead! It
can't be true—l will not believe it—l should have
known it. She is not dead! She could not:have gone
out of life without giving me some sign. If she were
dead, should I not feel cold and chill, desolate, beyond
measure? She is alive, or I should be losing my
strength. Helen—Helen, my darling! where are you?
How can I find you? But for that cursed stumble
among the rocks yonder, you would have been with
me here. Ah, no, not here, but somewhere—all my
own ! in some bright land of liberty and rest that
should make up for the old slavery. Dead! No; I
will not, I cannot believe it.'
He clasped his hands and sat still, concentrating his
thoughts on the woman he so passionately loved. It
was a fiery headstrong passion that would have borne
dovn anything that stood in his way, and he intended
to overcome all obstacles now. If Helen were alive,
anywhere in the world, she should be his, no matter
how she fought against the spell. She should come
to him; he had but to will it and she would cbey.
She had struggled at Biarritz, but she was yielding.
Another minute, and but for the mishap that bele
him she would have turned and come to him. She
should do it now. He had the power, and he laughed
grimly as he thought of how he had used it.
The boatman hates me,' he said to himself. He
would like to take me by the throat and strangle me;
and yet he would come like a child at my bidding. I
saw it in the boat that day. I shall see it again if
ever he tries to thwart me. And that little fool at
Campsie House! Ah, well; if the lawyer interferes
too much with me, I al-all know how to pay him.'
Barney Grubb hsd stated his conviction that Mr.
Gayford was the devil; he would have endorsed
that opinion could he have seen that gentleman just
at this moment, and read aright the evil smile that was
playing about the corners of his mouth—a smile that
faded into something quite different as his thoughts
went into another channel.

• Helen!' he murmured, 'Helen, my darling.
Where are you? Answer me. Let me have somt
sign.'
He waited for some minutes, looking as if he were
in a trance, and than roused with a shiver and s
F i h
• Sot dead,' he said. lam sure of it; alive &nd in
the flesh somewhere, but separated from me by some
influence I cannot understand. It is not the lawyer,
he has not found her; there is no other man. I must
keep calm; it will come to me again, and I shall only
have to say, 'My darling, come !' and she will come at
my bidding, and go with me far away beyond all
thraldom, to freedom and love for ever.'
He rang his bell presently and gave some orders,
and, a 3 Mrs. Brown said, seemed more like his forma
self, and quite chatty in asking what had been going
on in Hillford since his departure. He was told how
wonderfully Berney Grubb had been getting on since
the trial, and how he was looLed upon as quite a
respectable person since his old mother had come to
live with him. Be was alwHys called Barney still,
thoußh his nao'ller was known as Mrs Mordaunt.
People did not swein to get into the way of calling
him anything 1 ut what they had been accustomed
to; the gentry had quite taken them up, Mrs. Brown
said, and the Ferry was used more than ever. Folk.
had come from all parts to see Girt^n's Hole, and the
propri(tor of the wood had to put up a board
threatening that if any more was carried away from
the place he would shut up the wood altogether, and
not allow any pleasure parties there at all.
You see people used to chip away the brli

tear up the ferns, and all that sort of thing; some
fancied they were finding out something, and others
that they were getting mementoes of the place. Any
way, they were spoiling the wood; and it's a good
thing it was put a stop to'
••
And nothing ever was found, I suppose?'
' Lord, no, sir; there was nothing left to find out.
The police had routed every corner of the place, and
found everything but the body. They'd have had that
if they could have got down into the hole, but you
know they couldn't for the bad air.'
No it was foolish to attempt it. Did the boy ever
come back, Mrs. Brown?'
What boy, sr?'
'The lad that run away, the one who was the means
of the affair coming to light in tie first pace.'
Bagged Jack, sir! oh, yes, he's back.'
_ _

'Here, in Hillford?'
'He was, yesterday, for I saw him; he's been in luck
has Jack.'

'Ho used to look as if he wanted it. What has hap-
pened to him?' . .

He's got a place with a real gentleman, though a
bit odd, Mrs. Brown said, delighted to air her know-
ledge. He was starving in London streets, so
they say, and the gentleman found him and took pity
on him. It isn't many as would have done it.
And the boy has left him and come home?'
Dear no, sir. Mr. Stone's here; Mr. Jarvis brought
him or sent him, or something; anyway, he's been
lodging here for some time, and Jack's with him.'
Who is he?' asked Mr. Gayford, who seemed to be
very inquisitive about Hillford matters.

'No one knows, sir; he's an elderly man with gray
hair, and a great scar on his face. He was in a rail-
way accident, he said, and was not quite well when
he came here at first; he's brisk enough now, and
goes about like any youngster. He's dressed Jack up
like a gentleman almost, and he's to go to school.'
'Who, the gentleman?'
'No, sir, the boy. They do say that Mr. Stone
declares that he almost owes his life to Jack; Jack
tended him when he was very bad; be won't have
any women folks about him.'
You know him, then?'

Well, sir, n't to say know him; he came here
asking for rooms, and was a long time in yours rest-
ing himself, and I hoped he was going to take them; but
he mid they were too exr, en bive, and perhaps it was not
quite lively enough. I see him go by sometimes; Iva
like 3 to hear all the gossip of the place, and there's
something about him ilk a man always on the watch;
I suppose it's his way, being a bachelor and having no
home to care for.'
A bachElor, is he?'

Well, they say so,' said Mrs. Brown, with a shrug
and a smile as she remembered how little she really
knew about Mr. Stone. No one has every heard of
any wife. I fancy he has come from foreign parts,
and he may have left half a dozen wives behind him
for aught I know. He's an inquisitive sort of gentle-
man, they say; he's never tired of talking abut the
murder—l mean about poor Mr. Hatherleigh's deaih,'
she added, seeing her listener wince and shiver at the
mention of the tragedy, 'and he has a queer dislike to
Barney Grubb.'
'Oh, he knows that gentleman, does her
Well, no, sir; that's the oddest part of It; it's
because Barney had something to do with it, was tried
for it, you see. Mr. Stone won't meet him. If Barney
comes into any place where he is, and it has happened
so more than once, he always goes out, and hell cross
the street to avoid meeting him.'
'Eccentric, I should say,' Mr. Gayford remarked.
He was not very much interested in Mr. Stone, but
he was keenly anxious for any news of Hillford doings
for reasons of his own.'
Yes, sir; either that., or, maybe, what some folks
say, that he's a detective. They do go about in all /torts
of ways and dresses; they may think to find out
something that way. Maybe, he's some one that
Barney Grubb would know, and that's the reason that
he won't see him.'

'Ah, very likely. Send me up some hot water, if
you please,' said Horace Gayford. He wanted to get
rid of her now and think. Nothing had come to light
about Frank's death. Would a private detective be of
any use in such a case? He shivered and set his
teeth as he crouched over the fire after the door had
closed on Mrs. Brown and her stories.

lam nervous,' he said to himself, 'and hipped.
What can any man do now? The hole has kep it's
secret safe, and will keep it still, in spite of all
Scotland Yard. No detective will ever get at the
truth. Why did I let that woman talk to me? Who
is this man that they make such a mystery about? An
agent of Jarvis's, is he? Is it the lawyer that is
pulling the strings that make all these puppets dance?
Have a care, Mr. Jarvis; my turd may come some
day, and if it does I will pay you all I ewe you in
full.'

He shivered again as if with an ague fit, and his
face paled till it looked like lead.
'Like a corpse,' he said as he looked at himself in
the glass on the mantelpiece; 'like a man who has
died in fear and—bah! What a fool I am! What a
weak, insensate, feeble fool! 'Ah, here's the hot
water. Now for something to put a little life into
me.'

Mrs. Brown heard him laughing presently, and
shook her head.

13e isn't cured of that,' she said gravely. What
work I used to have to hide it all in the old times to
be sure. It won't matter so much now, I suppose ;he
isn't going to be a parson any more; but it's a pity, a
cruel pity, he's such a nice young gentleman.'

er-ay. ford was wrong- about Mr. Stone; be had
nothing to do with Scotland Yard; the authorities
there were not as yet aware of his existence. If he
was engaged in any detective business, it was purely
on his own account. Mrs. Brown's story was correlt
in one item, he was oddly averse to meeting Barney
Grubb, and Barney was aware of it.
'l'm hangedt if I don't think Jack's master's afraid
of me,' he said one night to his mother, when they
were gossiping over all sorts of things that had
happened and were happening. '.l never can get a
sight of him.'
Have you never seen him yet?' the old woman
asked.
Seen him, yes; in the street once or twice, and he
came into the hotel this morning while I was there.
They had sent for me—something about some fishing,
and they thought I could tell the gentleman about the
best places, and so on, and Mr. Stone was there. I
know it was him ; he's an odd-looking fellow, rather,
and when he saw me he made some excuse and was off
In a minute by the side door. I never can get a good
look at him.'