The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-08-20 00:00:00

traces of the fray are too eirident;
attacked and thrown into the old shaft in the
_wood
yonder, is pretty clearly proved. A piece of his coat
was sticking on the hoarding to tell the tale. He is
there, poor lad.'
And the hole never gives back anything it
swallows,' Barney Grubb said, quietly. Every one
in Milford knows that, sir. If the gentleman is there
he'll stay there till the end of all things. It will all be
known then.'
'lt must be known before, Barney, and if you can
tell anything—if you are shielding anyone—'
I a,m not, sir. God knows I know nothing about
it. I wish I did. I wouldn't be here, like a rat in a
trap. It's good of you to come to me. You heard
how the people howled at me just now. I wonder
you can breathe the same air with me.'
I couldn't if you were guilty. I believe, as Miss
Ramsay does, that you are innocent—that the man
Donovan was mistaken.'
Phil Donovan must have gone wrong in his head.
He has no spite against me that I know of; he has no
need to. I have been a good friend to him more than
once. I shouldn't have thought so much about the
clothes, if he hadn't said he spoke to me and that I
answered him.'
'Has any one a grudge against you, Barney? Has
any one stolen your clothes to personate you?'
Copied them, sir. They couldn't have stolen
them, because I had them on. That's about it, if
Donovan didn't see a ghost. I'm almost inclined to
think he did. They say he was sober all the time I
was away.'
And he is not a sober man?'
Never, when he can help it. Do you think you
could get me speech of the boy, Mr. Jarvis; he's got
into a scrape through me,. and I should like to see
him.'
'I suspect he will give Hillford a wide berth,' the
lawyer said. 'He was gone like a flash of lightning
from the office when they set him free.'
'Yes, Jack can run. If the worst happens to me,
and they send me to prison, will you do that much
for me, Mr. Jarvis?'
Yes, I promise, if it can be done. If the boy is to
be found, I will see to it myself. But it must not
come to that, Barney. You must bring forward your
proofs and cicar yourself.'
Barney's conduct was puzzling, and Mr. Jarvis
pondered over it as he walked away from the station.
Ho was determined to leave no stone unturned to
penetrate the mystery, and be sought an interview
with Phil Donovan, who was on duty at the ferry, and
for a wonder sober and quiet. Mr. Jarvis was at once
convinced that he was speaking the truth, and firmly
believed that he had seen Barney in the woods.
I've no call to tell lies about it that I know of,' he
said. I don't owe Barney any grudge, but it was
him I saw. How could I tell that he was about my-
thing that he wanted kept dark. He had that very
stick in his hand that they found afterwards '—(and
Phil Donovan turned white at the thought how it had
been found. He had been present at the discovery of
that and the scrap of cloth)---' and he was dressed as
he always was; his cap was a bit down over his eyes,
but he was stroking his face as he often did. It's a
habit of Barney's is that. I noticed that as soon as I
saw anything, for I wasn't thinking of him at all just
then, I was looking about me like.'

But you spoke
'I just said, " Hullo! What brings you back so
soon?' And he growled out something about mind-
ing my own business, and I lost him. It made me feel
as if I had seen a ghost till I heard all about this
business; then of course I knew it must have been
Barney.'
There was no prevarication in all this. Phil Donovan
looked Mr. Jarvis straight in the face and never
flinched at his questions; indeed, he seemed rather
proud of being in a state to be questioned, and of
sufficient importance to give evidence. Mr. Jarvis
intimated that be should like to have a talk to Jack,
but Mr. Donovan replied that so should he, he had a
crow to pluck with that young gentleman that would
prove a tough bird when it was tackled. He didn't
know where Jack was nor what he was doing. He
might be in the moon for aught he knew. Asked
what Jack had done, Mr. Donovan replied that he had
been humbugging his father, and should have a jolly
good thrashing when he was caught.
Mr. Jarvis returned to Fern Bank rather dispirited.
The mystery was as much a mystery as ever. Barney
Grubb seemed to have made up his mind that the
accusation of murder should stick to him whether or
no, and Phil Donovan stuck to his story with such
pertinacity that it was impossible to disbelieve. Mr.
Jarvis was a thorough reader of mankind in general,
and he ltnew perfectly well that both the men had
spoken what they believed to be the truth, and yet
the one story negatived the other. Nothing seemed
certain but the fact that Frank was gone and doubtless
dead. Even the lawyer could see no other solution of
his absence now.
He called at the house where Mr. GayfOrd lodged,
on his way to Fern Bank, and was told that the
reverend gentleman was very ill indeed. The doctor
who had been called in prescribed perfect quiet
and the absence of all exciting topics. They were not
to speak to him of his cousin at all: he had re-
covered from his first fainting fit, or whatever it was,
but it might return, and he was to be kept from all
excitement, or the doctor would not answer for the
consequences. He had been very much overworked
, lately, and, a good deal worried, and the shock of his
cousin's disappearance had been too much for him.
There was no want of sympathy or offers of
assistance, the good lady said, with ever so little of a
curl of her lip. Mr. Gayford had not been ill many
hours, and half his female congregation had been there
already with offers of help and presents of flowers and

•
fruit.
As if I hadn't enough to do waiting on the poor
gentleman myself,' the landlady said, but they must
drag me downstairs to the door every minute. Young
ladies did not run after single men in that fashion
when I was a girl. If you would like to see him, sir,
I daresay there would be no harm.'
I may have to ask to see him,' Mr. Jarvis replied.
I need not disturb him now. If he is any worse I
shall be glad if you will let know.'
He put his card into her hand, and went away
thinking
I wonder if I see daylight,' he said to himself; 'or
whether it is only a will o' the wisp. I must make
sure before I go floundering after it.'

CHAPTER XX.
DEEPER AND DARKER.

'Oh. yet we trust that somehow good
Will be the final goal of in.—TENNYSON.
THERE was wild excitement in Hillford for a day or
two after the arrest of Barney Grubb for the
murder of Frank Hatherleigh, the announcement that
the dreaded Girton's Hole was to be explored, if pos.
sible, took hundreds of idlers to the wood, and brought
down special reportets and artists from London, to
sketch and write fancy sensational paragraphs for the
paper in which the story was told in a dozen different
ways, and &shed up with all sorts of impertinent bits
of gossip about the missing man and his betrothal to
Hel( n Ramsay.
The family at Fern Bank were in too much trouble
to be annoyed by these bits of scandal. Helen kept
very much to her own room, except when she was
with poor Madge, whose illness was rapidly assuming
a serious character. Mrs. Churchill and Norah knew
the truth now—Mr. Jarvis thought it best that they
should. There was no need to enlighten the outside
worid about the state of affairs, but the lawyer though
A poseible that Madge might be able to tell something
that would throw some light on the matter of Frank's
disappearance. The slightest straw will some imes
show which way the wind blows, and some trifling
werd might have been dropped that might give a
clue.
Mr. Churchill was astonished, and at first mennee
think that her daughter must have been very much to
blame in the matter, but both the lawyer and Helen
assured her that Madge had only suffered, poor chid,
till Frank was free,:and that Helenherself bad brought
them together. It was very sweet. to Madge to have
her mother's sympathy, and to be able to cry her heart
out in her sister's arms—and she had the truest end
most loviug compassion from them both—but she had
nothing to tell; and she had hardly seen Frank alone
for a moment after he had declared his love for het:.
lie had spoken to going to the person from whom he
as going to receive the money, and across the river
to 1.,0k at the dog, but nothing more; he would be
back again in a day or two—he had told her so.
Just what he had told everybody else. Madge held
no clue. It seemed as if none would be found till the
terrible hole in the wood was drained and explored.
It had been full of water when Frank Hatherleigh
first went a-missing, but now the water had sunk to
about half the height it was at first, showing that
there was an internal outlet, and making the
probability of finding out anything extremely remote.
More evidence of Barney Grubb's presence in the wood
that evening was forthcoming presently. ; A woman
who knew him well by sight, and who lived on the
outs, ir f the wooden the other side, furthest away
from Hileford, declared that she had seen Barney
Grubb, whom she knew very wed as the ferryman,
creeping round under the trees close by her house, as
if he did not want to be seen.
She, too, had spoken to him, and had been gruffly,
an,wered. She did not know what the man bad
said, but she knew it was him and no other person.
She described his dress with the same exactness that
Phil Donovan had done, and added another link t 3 the
terrible chain of evidence that seemed to be lengthen-
ing and strengthening every hour—and Frank. had
bliiethnesreetonthteoroe, hgaodi nbgeiennt on
ot heevwi
doeonde e tthoa
show
h ofatal
thatn night.
hhte.
was over there at all except the fact that he
was missing, and the testimony of the scrap
of cloth. Now, two gentlemen—father and son—came
forward and testified that they had spoken to Frank
Hatherleigh on that same evening, almost at the same
spot where the woman had seen Barney Grubb.
If circumstantial evidence could hang poor Barney,
surely his neck was in the hangman's noose already.
In spite of all, I do not believe it,' Helen Ramsay
said to Mr. Jarvis, when he told her all there was to
tell. It was not Barney Grubb who killed our poor
boy—if he is dead.'
am afraid there is no if," my dear,' the lawyer
said. I don't think we must hope any more on that
score. We must find the murderer, Helen—aye, it is
an ugly word, isn't it—and we must free Barney.
That be is speaking the truth I am certair —all but
one thing.'
And what is that?'
'ln saying that he gave the boy the money. The
lad either got it from Frank
,12blieete re. t,h„ m„, who