The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-12-22
THE DAILY STAR
A Drama of Twenty-four Hours.

were hung on nlS1. VIII laoe WAS
upturned to the ashen, pitiless heavens.
White lips uttered something like a
curse, which was heard by the dull-eared
wind only.
Three hundred bells, in as many quar-
tiers Of the great city, changed twelve,
and the three hundred iron tongues were
still for an hour.
The flash of q body in the inky waters
mote on the midnight; tile waters, with
q sudden shock, stirred squeaking ship
and Ieviathanic pier with an ague-like
tremor. The woman's form on the dock
was gone.
Mr.. Banker Jeckyll was a sort of ami
mated exclamation pOint-a kind OF
human interjection, always on the point
of breaking out on explanatory monsyl-
tables. He talked in interjections,
walked in interjeetions, acted interjec-
tionally, did business in inteUectlons.
Mr.. Detective Ferret was tool of his
that is. translated into heightened prose
the st ,nographic memoranda of inter
iections that formed the dialect of his
principal.
At ten o'clock that evening Mr.. Banker
Jeckyll had sent for Mr.. Detective Fer
ret on urgent business
Miss Vancouver is at largeP inter-
ieeted Jeekyll-
"Wellr rejoined Ferret, half in the
way of asking question and half in the
manner of an exclamation.
"Poor thing / think she'll make way
with herself" ventured Jeckyll, with an
Americanism; but you must get some
clew to her whereabouts immediately. /
should never forgive myself if she did
never. MY own sisters daughter, you
are aware, Mr.. Ferret, and heiress of the
estate Of my late brother-in-law, MIR.
Vancouver"
Mr. Jeckyll looked the impersonation
of anxiety-was, for the moment, great
greif expressed in single human inter
lection, at least apparently.
Mr.. Ferret looked up at Mr.. Jeckyll
furtively, with a sort of diagonal inquisi-
tiveness in his small, cunning eyes. Mr.
Ferret. in the course of hM whole profess
sional experience, had never looked at
anybody directly. His gances always
seemed to fly off at tangent from the
side of his head.
"Well," repeated Ferret, still half in
terrogatively, and with an expression that
said, or might have said, if Mr.. Jeckyll
had peered sharply into his face, "Pd
like to know exactly what you mean,
Mr.. Jeckyll."
"A cool thousand, Ferret, if you bring
paws within six hours. | shall be up all
night; Pm so worried, you know, about
Door Ida" replied banker Jeckyll, and
the two understood each other thor
Oughly.
Ida Vancouver was q young lady OF
twenty. For three years she had been a
prisoner in her room, under the care of
her uncle and guardian, and his selected
physician, nurses and attendants.
1T was a mental malady," Mr.. Jeckyll
said, and so said physician and attend
ants. "Her poor mother used to have
turns" went.on Jeckyll; 'but the late
Mr.. Vancouver always took great pains
to conceal it"
Then, too, Mr.. Jcckyll was so consid-
erate-so sympathetic.
II can't have the heart to send her to
an asylum he used to say to the neigh
bors, in his grief-stricken way. "She's
nv own sisters daughter-the only rela-
tive l have in the world; and, if she is
violent sometimes, SO long as have a
dollar she shall be taken care Of at
home"
The neighbors gossiped: "How gener.
erous rs Mr.. JeckylP-though there were
those who whispered suspicious, and were
secuted for doing so.
At seventeen Ida Vancouver had be-
come intimate with William Hamilton, 8
Young specimen Of legal anatomy. The
stern guardian had forbidden Hamilton
to enter the house, and from that date
the young lady had been gradually going
mad. So ran the rumor, and most peo
pie believed, for Banker Jeckyll was in
fluential, as incarnate hard cash is apt t.
be. There is certain divinity in cash
especially in Fifth avenue circles, ant
Mr. Jeckyll was the divinity incarnate.
Mr.. Hamilton was conceited-not NOR
30 than men usually are-but conceitet
enough, nevertheless, to believe that Mis-
Vancouver had gone mad on his account
Ii was so romantic to think so; and, fo
the sake of the romance, Mr.. Hamilton
was able to bear his loss with patheti
resignation. I. 1t was o'clock at nigh
when Ferret pulled the bell at the doc
Of the Fifth avenue palace. Three hur
dred iron tongues in as many quarters 9
the city had almost Simultaneous
changed one, and the million-mouthe
metropolis was sound asleep. Its tw
million eyes, with here and there a pal
Of exceptions, were shut in slumber, an
Mr.. Ferret had not the slightest suspiciO
that Miss Vancouver's two blue ey
were among the exceptions.
Ferret was admitted, with shawl n
der his arm that Jeckyll identified. F
had traced Miss Vancouver to the pie
but had not been in time to prevent II
accident. Here he sent an optical di
patch to Mr.. Jeckyll, which questione
'..Have done right?' Mr.. Jackyll,
optical dispatch, answered, "Yes," al
the conversation went on, the latter d
pensing the promised thousand.
- rr II MI. ~