Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-04-04
CHAPTER XIII.
ALL DOUBTS ARE SETTLED.

tain it, and yet it settled one doubt in his
mind, and that was the doubt he had enter
tanned of Maud Ovingtons real hand in the
destruction of his friend Clarence, for if
| Maud and her servant were so much inter
ested in this letter, that fact settled all
doubts. 1t was written in a large, Informed
and scrawling hand, which was evidently
that of an uneducated person, and it con-
tanned these words:
"S1R: Miss Clarice Suydam left my lodg-
ings upon the twenty-first of October taking
with her all the property of her cousin, the
missing gentleman. I do not know where
she went after leaving my house. She was
accompanied by a young gentleman whose
name do not know. have made the in
quiries you desire, but can get no informa-
ton as to her present residence. I have
searched the apartments as you desired, but
can find nothing belonging to my late ten
ants-1aot so much as scrap Of paper. beg
to thank you for your generous present, and
am sorry / can be of no further use 10 you.
[ am, sir,
''Yours obediently,
edward ELLIS"
The envelope containing this letter was
addressed to "W. G., Post Office, New York
| City"
$50, Mr.. William Gorton,' muttered
James Dalton, ''you are employed by Miss
Maud Ovington to communicate with the
landlord of the house in which your victim,
Clarence Suydam, lived. The landlord is
bribed to search the premises occupied by
him. He searches and finds nothing not
so much as a scrap of paperr Those words
Lon r1i fho or ho
fore, told to search for papers. What could
those papers be but Ietters-letters written
to Clarence by Miss Maud Ovington-l letters
the existence of which is fatal to her, and
which she still believes to be in existence.
Beware, murderess, thread by thread the
net is weaving which shall enmesh you, for
destroyed you shall be, who could so cruelty
deprive of life an innocent man, who madly
loved you, and whose only fault was too
true love for so vile wretch! He was
brother to me-my only brother-and his
blood cries up from the ground Vengeance
l willhave. will never give over the fight
till life is exacted for life" He lifted his
clenched hand above his head, and looked
up. ''Never! so help me Heaven"
He refolded the letter, concealed it in the
breast of his coat, and then bent down, with
| the lantern in his hand, to examine the pros
| trate coachman.
''He is not injured" muttered Mr.. Dali
ton, after contemplating the face of the
man for O moment; ga dash of cold water
and q little camphor under his nostrils will
! bring him to. This nights work has not
| been wastedp'
James Dalton left the room and descended
the narrow staircase. At the bottom he
found the man who had conducted him to
William Gorton's room. He had been with
Gorton not more than ten minutes.
The servant took the lantern from the
hand of the young man, and waited respect
fully to conduct him to the front hall from
whence he had come.
"You have not been very long, sir" he
said.
''No," replied James Dalton, carelessly.
"My business with your fellow-servant was
not of much importance, and 1 must defer
it till some better opportunity offers. The
man hurried up the staircase at such a rate
that he tripped himself upon the threshold
| of the door and fell headlong into the room.
think he must have knocked his head
against the angle of the bureau, for he seems
to have stunned himself. l have done all I
can to bring him round, but could not find
any water in the room. You had better
send some one to him."
Mr.. Dalton's manner was so thoroughly
natural as to deceive any person, and the
servant was quite satisfed-more especially
as, while speaking, Mr. Dalton took, out his
pocket-book and looked for the bank note
he had promised him.
"Here is what 1 promised for your
trouble" he said, handing the crisp new
note to the servant. ''And now be so kind
as to show me the way back to the main
stairway"
The man bowed and led the way to the
foot of the broad staircase.
''Will you return to the drawing-room,
sir, or shall 1 call your carriage?" he asked.
''No," answered James Dalton; 81 walked
here, and shall walk back. Be so good as
to fetch my coat from the ante-room"
The servant obeyed, and assisted him to
put on the loose coat which covered his even
ing costume.
As Mr.. Dalton descended the steps before
the mansion, he stopped. to listen to the
sound of silvery peal of laughter which
fioated through a partly-opened window in
the drawing-room.
'Laugh on, murderess" he muttered;
''laugh while you can. The day may come
when it will not be easy to assume the mirth
which you do not feel All, wonder if she
too is so false. So BAIL What am talk
ing about thinking of her in the same
breath with that woman?"
When William Gorton awoke from the
Swoon into which he had been thrown by
the blow from James Dalton's clenched fist,
he found himself lying on the bed in his
bedchamber, with Jones. the servant who
had received the ten-dollar note from Mr..
Dalton, at his side.
William Gorton's hair was dripping with
the water which had been thrown over him
by his fellow-servant.
He opened his eyes and looked wonder
ingly about him. A lamp was burning
dimly on the little table, shedding q faint
glimmer upon the face of Jones, and leaving
the corners of the apartment in obscurity
"Where am I?' asked Gorton, putting his
hand to his head, which still ached from the
blow that had stunned him.
In your own room, Bill, to be sure" an
swered Jones. ''Why, where should you
be-"
One of the effects of such blow as VIII
liam Gorton had received is the total oblit-
Grafton from the memory of all events
which have occurred Immediately before the
| loss of CONSCIOUSNESS. The coachman had
quite forgotten the fact that the gentleman
had desired to see him in his own room and
he had also forgotten the striking of the
blow.
! It must be remembered that the lantern