The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-02-25 00:00:00

THE
tARRIER BETWEEN;

OR. Pi
REPENTED UNTO DEATH.

CHAPTER X.—(Continued.)
di„n was a brief pause, and the voice assumed a
erent tone—it defiantly said—
No—you shall not get it. It is my last hope—re-
ito to you and lam lost. I know your craft.
the know where it is, indeed; ha! ha! Do you know
old summer-house overlooking the river—the
Za.anted arbour in which I used to sit with pretty
unie Lyle P"
ofk,t, this name a strange shiver ran through the frame
s, inn clairvoyant, and so deadly a paleness over-
her naturally fair complexion that the looker-
ought she was about to sink back insensible. But
"IY spoke in a faint, far-off voice, which seemed
echo sent from the measureless depths of
"Ace.

:Annie Lisle! where did you know her?"
2ter own voice again made the response to the
westion she had asked.
41" la her mother's home in the woodland by the
1:74837 spring, where we met almost daily. Sweet
! your image is the only pure thing left in my
▪ heart. Oh! I have sinned—sinned fearfully.
14 not punished sufficiently, Annie ?"
The listener was afraid his mind would wander
brectu the subject of such vital interest to himself, and
ttalaid his hand upon the arm of Madame Latude.
fi;ercely whispered—
he \vill—the box—quit this drivelling, and make
• reveal what I wish to know."
h convulsion passed over her face, and she threw
beF eyes wide open, but there was in them the cold
11;light glare of unconsciousness; but the touch which
" Wired through her frame seemed to thrill the
tillses of the sleeper, and communicate to them an
tirlPulse from the iron will of the speaker. His own
'Ts moved and he uttered:
b " The will—aye—aye, the will which can give me
tZk nly own. But I dare not trust you—l dare not
s, The summer-house in the old garden keeps its
14114 well—ha, that seat up on the left—it was there
Weet Aunie Lyle sat with me long ago."
ie voiee sunk away in an inaudible whisper, and
thf3 clairvoyant arose from her kneeling posture with
13he air of a person lost in a vague dreamy trance.
:6 Pressed her hands upon her eyes, and turned to-
wards her employer.
" }lave you gained what you sought ?" asked the
airvoyant of her employer, when she had recovered
'er natural state of mind and feeling.
s:Are you not aware of what has passed ?" he
--trchingly asked.
l•
iow should I know when I myself am placed be.
Pee my natural sphere? I only have a vague im-
"slou that he called a name I have not heard for
Years
it —a name with which I was once familiar. Was
riot to
lle spe•ke of his first love, Annie Lyle. He often
'll,ttles of her when he is delirious."
t Again that chill paleness swept over her features,
pLitl she turned toward the insensible man. Her eyes
41sed the worn and weather-beaten lineaments, with
ad power of reading in their grim repose the
h. 'urY of that reckless past which had brought him to
tl.B present condition of helpless suffering: She lifted
Bher lifeless hand, held it clasped gently within both
-
ge and gazed pityingly upon the wasted features.
r companion recalled her to the scene before her, by
laYing
flThe revelation affords a clue to what I wish to
a vague and unsatisfactory one, but it may
ce• Are you sure you do not remember what was
said p )9

e. "Why should I deceive you? I have told you the
ple truth," she calmly replied. "If the revelation
?ves insufficient, another interview may produce a
v7ter result. This poor man seems to suffer here for
tetari,t of attention. I have a vacant room in my home;
nim be removed there, and if the clue you speak of
4°17e5 useless, perhaps I can uso my power with more
ti„rta, In results when he has fallen more completely
„,,uer my influence."
kb:ue glanced suspiciously toward her, but she seemed
e sorbed in a dreamy sort of half-unconsciousness, and
'e hastily replied—
," Ile does well enough here. Should his worlds
ry've insufficient to guide me in my search, I will ask
assistance again. In that event we can think of
expediency of removing him."
Icti'2o.nly spoke of it because he reminds me of one I
t.Zw in past days. It was a passing wish, for now I
b"? see the trouble and anxiety such an inmate would
into my quiet home. Adieu, sir; should you
"ed me again, you know where to find me."
orC nodded, placed in her hand another note, and
leer making a few rapid passes over the head of the
isePer, she glided from the room; in a few moments
1.0 was proceeding toward her own home in a
'rangely bewildered state of feeling.
e Sthe clairvoyant passed from the apartment, the
r'ell.she had cast over the sick man was removed, and
:j1 lifted his heavy eyelids, and looked around him as
I just aroused from an oppressive dream. He
Ive,arllY asked—
'Who was here just now? I thought I saw a fair
.4" bending over me—felt a cool, dewy influence
.ftealing over my feverish brow. Was it you Alfred,
ZllO tried to alleviate my sufferings? or have I
drreanled something more pleasant than my usual
eary visions ?"
You did not dream; I brought a wise woman, as
Tye used to call them in our boyhood, to examine your
rndition, and see if anything can be done to help you.
'lt You rudely repelled her kind office."
o"A Wise woman! What do you mean P You have
e°t brought a clairvoyant or a spiritual medium to
me ?" asked the sick man, with great excitement.
t comprehend your intention; those people can dive
it"to the depths of the most reserved soul, tear from
boarded secret of a life, and lay it bare to the
u,gar gar,.-make it common property to all the
orld. You have not—you dared not do this !"
to" riove can you suppose such a thing? Would it be
may interest to proclaim our secret till everything is
iiPe for action? Pooh! don't lose the little sense you
Lave left. I only sent for Madame Latude to see you
In her medical capacity; I wished her to judge of your
ndition, and inform me if you will ever recover suffi-
:lent soundness of mind and body to prosecute your
tthn to the estate you have so long permitted others
" And what did she say P.'
,She thinks your restowatiotf fo health doubtful.
kindly proposed to remove you to her own
a use, where you could be better attended to, but I
meelined.
" Why decline without consulting me ?"
. My reasons Ido not choose to explain. They are
latisfactory to my own mind."
'But if she is really a healing medium, perhaps she
ght benefit me. I wish you had not refused, for I
raould at least have some one to look to my comfort
tin long, long hours of your absence. Oh, itis very
re-ary to be here, helpless and hopeless."
" Do you believe in the pretensions of these peop,
uerisively asked his companion.
h "I cannot say that I have any absolute belief, for .
aye given very little thought of them; but I need
sttention, I yearn for kindness, 'and this woman may
give it to me. Seek her again, good Alfred, and,let
go to her, I entreat.", fief ."'4llO 111
.A bitter, taunting expression gleamed in thizi eyese
tit the listener, and lie sternly said—
" Never shall you leave this garret till you comply'
Vith the demand I have so often made. Tell me
vbore I shall find the will, and everything that can
t"mote your comfort shall be done. Refuse, and I
Will find means to discover it without your assistance,
" you may then die like a crushed worm.
"If I tell you, that will be my"; inevitable fate. I
„a're not trust you, Alfred Trevor. We bear nearly
"le same name—we are, or were, before my terrible 11
reident, enough alike to have been sons of the same 1
ather. I comprehend the game you would play;
You would assume my identity, gain my wealth, and
;Ind' my wretched life by violence; but so long as you
cint`e to gain the secret, you will use your best en-
'Ours to keep Mai me; therefore I-guard it from
raw . •
•
" And because you -fear mellybuhe away the
112,1gerable remnant of your lifeln_this wretched hole,
'nen a few words would• bring to you wealth beyond
Your dreams. Albert, that„knock upon your head
tdLestroyed all that was-m„anrally in you, as well as all
'tie sense that nature-giv6you. See, you ere living
" my resources, yet you refuse to claim what you
heed only put forth your hand to grasp; for the
women who enjoy your fortune will not insist on
n'Ping it, when once satisfied that the true heir
"Bring me a lawyer, then, and let me make my
.%evelation to him. I have offered again and again to
? this, and your refusal convinces me that you in.,
"Id to deal unfairly by rife."
" You are not in a condition to give a statement
that would be relied on. You can speak rationally
;11°Ugh at intervals, but you oftener fly off like a
Mf-crazed lunatic. The pressure on your brain un-
you to give such evidence as would be listened
2. I can see that there is method in your madness,
'lough a stranger would probably regard your story
,s 1 the ravings of delirium, and it is only through me
Lhat you can hope to succeed in establishing your
tlahn."

lc ?"

;. You could easily verify the'truth of my assertions
it suited your interest to do so; but I see
rurough your motives; you have some scheme in
_Bserve for cheating me out of the property, and if I
t4tll not to enjoy it, let my father's god-daughter re-
n it. Ilers is the nextbest right."
Even against the claim of blood? Am I not
P)ur cousin and after you, my uncle's natural
heir '
_

„ "And his son's unnatural persecutor. Oh, evil was
he hour in which I first fell into your power! My
lead! my head! it will be rent in twain with this
lalgczy ! Call back that woman; let her pass her cool
ands over my brow, and alleviate this pain.”
Its features grew livid, and he tossed from side to
cle as if frantic with suffering. The black eyes of
revor gleamed coldly upon him, and he seemed to
ue calculating in his own mind the amount of physical
etldurance left in the writhing form before him.
At length he sloWly asked—
" Have you forgotten that he who ilAtlided the blow

Set 1. vatragiel or

which reduced you to your present state, is of the
same blood as the possessor of your fortune ?"
"Ha ! yes—l remember now; but he was repaid
for it—he thinks now—that--a------"

Ilis,.voice sunk away to a faintjvhisper, and he fell
into the state of lethargfwilclalways succeeded any
violent burst of emotion.
Trevor bent over him, and felt his pula.-e; as he
muttered—
"Miserable, besotted fool! If this woman has
told me the truth, and I find the box named in the
memoranda I filched from you long ago, your story
is soon told. A hindrance upon my path you shall
not long be. Sue in your name, indeed! Only in my
own,
.as the true heir, will I move to claim this fortune.
Then that fair rosebud who holds it will come within
my reach. Let me lay my grasp upon her fortune, and
she will struggle in vain to loose its tenacious hold.
Once in my coils, for ever mine !"
"Sleep on, cousin mine! Soon may the sleep be
eternal that leaves me the unquestioned claimant of
your wealth."
As he thus muttered he took from a table a bottle
containing a pungent aromatic liquid, and saturating
a sponge with it, he held it near the lips of the sick
man. lie kept it there until he saw that his victim
was quite insensible. Then placing it upon the
pillow, near enough to diffuse its subtle influence
around him, Trevor went out, locked his door, and
dropped the key into his pocket.
He had business for the night which would keep
him away, and it was best to make everything safe
before he left. In the house it was known that a
sick man Occupied the garret-room, but the other
lodgers had been informed that he was partially de-
ranged, and it was necessary to keep his door locked
to prevent him from attempting to wander away,
though in other respects he was perfectly harmless.
Thus he was left entirely to the mercy of his
unscrupulous kinsman, who took care to impress the
truth of his statements on the servant who attended
to the room, by admitting him only when the un-
fortunate man was in a paroxysm of delirium, brought
on by excessive pain.

a,You are mistake, iir. Prove your right to it,
and my niece would disdain to keep any portion of
it. Pray, how have you recovered these long-buried
documents ?"

"Simply by looking for them where they were
deposited," sneered Trevor. "They lie before you,
examine for yourselves. Their genuineness is indis-
putable. ,
Mr. Spring put forth his hand slowly and com-
posedly, for he did not choose to betray the eager-
ness he really felt to examine the contents of the box.
The first paper he drew forth was the will; he opened
it, glanced down the page, and saw that it was fac-
simile of the one in favour of Rose Chard, with two
very important exceptions. This was one of later date,
and the revenue arising from the property was to
belong to his son; a bequest of two thousand pounds
being left to his god-daughter.

Then came a package of. letters written by Thomas
Trevor and his wife before their marriage, a lock of
black lustrous hair, and a bunch of faded flowers now
crumbling into dust. There were also a few articles
of jewellery; a massive wedding ring, with the
initials of Mr. and Mrs. Trevor on the inside; an old-
fashioned breast-pin and a landscape worked in hair
on a white ground, and the family seal—a crest of
heron's plumes sharply cut on the face of a Scotch
pebble set in gold._ _
_ _

In the bottom of the box was a strip of paper, on
which was written in the hand of the elder Trevor:

" These family relics were deposited by My own
hand in this box on the 7th of April, 1834, for the
benefit of my beloved and only son, Albert Trevor,
who, by the will I shall hereafter deposit with them,
will be declared sole heir to all the property I may
die possessed of; and may evil come to him who seeks
to keep him out of the saum " THOMAS TREVOR."

On the other side of the paper was a second memo-
randum:
"This to be sealed in the box with the letters that
passed between myself and my deceased wife before
our marriage, together with a few farnily relies of
interest to my son; the box itself to be placed under
the floor of the summer-house in the garden of my
place near Blandford, known as Roselands. Of this
deposit Albert Trevor alone will know, and if
Providence should cast him on unknown shores, and
detain him from his home for many years, his
knowledge of the spot in which these family papers
are to be found will enable him to establish his
identity and claim his own, "T. TREVO ."
The two lawyers read over these words with great
eare, and the glance that passed between them showed
that their belief in the falsity of the claim set up was
at least staggered ; but Mr. Spring was too ex-
perienced in his craft to permit his antagonist to sus-
pect this. He drily said—
"It seems a great pity, Mr. Trevor, that you had
not permitted this case to remain where your
father placed it for safe keeping, until you had stated
the fact of its concealment before respectable wit-
nesses, and had it removed from the iron safe before
them. It is a misfortune for the success of your
cause that doubts can be thrown on the manner in
which these things came into your possession."
"If I am no the son of Thomas Trevor, how should
I have known where to find these papers? There
are proofs that I feel assured will be convincing to
any jury, yet you dare to express a doubt as to my
right to their possession. I won't stand this, sir,"
said Trevor, fiercely.
"My dear sir, how can you help yourself? La suers
do not fight about their clients' claims with any other
weapons than those furnished by their profession. We
are a peaceful race, though we profit by the lack of
peace among others. Keep cool, Mr. Trevor, you will
gain nothing by getting in a passion here."
This quiet admonition exasperated Trevor into a
blind fury. He jumped up, kicked away the chair on
which ho had been sitting, and clenched his hands in
a violent manner. .

"You brown mummy, I won't keep cool when I am
insulted. How dare you attempt to exasperate me to
this degree when your client is so entirely in my
power? How should I have come into possession of
the proofs before you, if I am not really the son of
Thomas Trevor? Answer me that if you can."
"Certainly," replied the imperturbable lawyer. "I
am ready to reply to any reasonable question. There
are several ways by which this case may have found
Its way into your hands. You may have been a uhip-
mate of Albert Trevor; may have seen him die, and
possessed yourself of such information as could
enable you to set up a claim to this estate, which
would give you the power to extort money, by way
of compromise, from its lawful possessor."
As Mr. Spring thus spoke, he fixed his penetrating
glance upon the face of Trevor, and 'watched every
change in it with the astute shrewdness which formed
the basis of his character. As he proceeded he de,
detected a slight paleness creeping over the angrj
face that confronted him; a sudden twitching of th(
eye-lids and compression of the lips, which went fal
towards establishing in his own mind that the mar
was an impostor.
His words had the effect of restoring calmnpss
Irevor, who courteously said:
"All these objections can be answered in tio
proper time and place. I came hither in the hops
that this investigation would be conducted in the
spirit of fairness, but I find that such is not y 074
intention. War to the knife is, I suppose, your sin-
alterable determination ?'
"If by that you mean that I will defend the intererts
of my client to the utmost, you are right. It res'Ae
with you to prove the validity of your claim, and die-
possess Miss Chard of the estate. It is clearly my
duty to act as if you were not the person you assert
yourself to be, until you have proved to the satis-
faction of a jury that you are the veritable Albert
Trevor."
Trevor again eat down, looking much disturbed.
Ile leaned his head forward and reflected a few moments
before speaking; then he asked—
"Ace you really in earnest in your intention to carry
so plain a case as this into court ?"
"I never was more in earnest in my life."
"And you, Mr. Chard, have you no voice in this
matter. As the representative of your niece, you
surely will not subject her to the odium of defending
a claim like this against the rightful heir."
Mr. Chard frigidly replied—
,' I hive placed Miss Chard's interests in the hands
of her friend and lawyer, Mr. Spring. What he con-
siders hbnourable and just, can reflect no stain upon
his client."
"But is this acting fairly? Is it just for Miss
Chard to withhold from me what is really my own,
because the quibbles of the law may enable her to do
so? lam persuaded that neither the young lady nor
her mother would consent to defend the suit, if they
could examine the contents of this box."

" Perhaps not," replied the lawyer. "They are
women and their sympathies are easily wrought on;
but I have fortunately obtained from Mrs. Chard a
positive pledge that I may act for my client as I
shall think best. I shall defend her cause to the

best of my ability, and save her from utter ruin. If
this will were established, it would take everything
Miss Chard possesses to pay up the arrears, and still
'leave her burdened with a heavy debt, for it bears a
later date than the one which bequeaths the estate to
her."
A bright flash of triumph passed over Trevor's
features, as he hurriedly examined the document.
"I had not noticed that--I took it for granted it
was the same will I had seen. This gives me a double
advantage, for it is of later date than the one which
bequeaths the estate to Miss Chard." .•
"And the discrepancy between the date Of deposit,
and that of the will may prove that it is worthless,'
drily responded the lawyer.
Trevor mused a few moments and then asked:
"Is it really your purpose, with these papers be-
fore you, to push this thing to a law-suit ?"
"Undoubtedly. I have already stated such to be
my intention."
"If I had supposed you would do so, I should have
employed a lawyer; but I came to you myself, in
the hope of an amicable settlement. 'Half a loaf is
better than no bread."
- .

"Do you apply that proverb to yourself, or to my
client ?" asked Mr. Spring, looking keenly at him.
Trevor changed colour, but he carelessly replied:
"To Miss Chard, of course. It will be better for
her to retain undisputed possession of half the estate
than to litigate a claim which every honourable per-
son will pronounce an odious assumption of a right, to
the prejudice of the real heir."
"But if her uncle and guardian, and I, her lawyer,
dc not consider it an assumption on her part, what
then ?"
"But 3
is her re;

"You
guard fa
I declin(

way."
"1 wa:
decision,'
ing to st
" If you
. . _

•ou are both too keen-sighted not to see what
11 interest in this affair."
are right, sir. Her real interests I shall
ithfully. They are opposed to yours, and
all attempts to compromise them in any

you that you had better re-consider this
said Trevor, growing very pale, and seem-
uggle against another outbreak of passion.
we the well-being of this young lady at
.iestly advise you to accept my offer to re-
o her an undisputed title to half the estate,
the remainder."
me, sir; the very offer of a compromise
igthens my conviction that you are not the
Ai assume to be. What is your opinion Mr.

heart, I

linquish

earm

~akc

while I I
"Exck
only stre:

person y(
Chard ?"
"I coil
Trevor
exclahnel
"You

money to
fairly ivi

[cide with you in every respect."
regarded them defiantly, as he passionately

neither of you know what you are doing,
)uld grasp at my proposal. It is more than
ss Chard, for it gives her a large sum of
which she has no legal claim; and you un-
sh to take advantage of the difficulty I may
roving my identity, to defraud me of my

have in ,
heritance.
"There need be no diffi mlty about that. You have
shipmates who have sailed with you; they Can be
summoned as witnesses. You must have friends in
the various ports to which you have sailed, who can
be brought forward in your behalf."
"But those persons must be sought for thousands
of miles from here."
"You can take your own time.. It is you who
bring the suit. You can postpone it until the evidence
is ready by which it is to be sustained."
"And in the meantime Mrs. Chard and her daughter
are in the enjoyment of my fortune."
"In its possession, but no longer in its enjoyment,
for Mrs. Chard has notified me that until her daught rs
right to the property is confirmed. they will draw

0117.noti Elz-zvi

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