Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1881-03-26
CHAPTER x.-FATHER BENwELL'st
CORRESPONDENCE. q .-...,

"To Mr.. Bitrake-Private and conf
Dental Sir: I understand that your
connection with the law does not ex-
clude your occasional superintendent
Of confidential inquiries which are not
of nature to injure your professional
position. The inelosed letter of intro
duction will satisfy you that I am in
capable of employing your experience
in manner unbecoming to you or to
myself. - -r
"The inquiry that propose to you
relates to q gentleman named Winter
field. He is now staying in London, oil
Derwent's hotel, and is expected to re.
main there for wetw from the present
date. His place of residence is on the
North Devonshire coast, and is well
known in that locality by the name Of
Beaupark House.
"The range of my proposed inquiry
dates back over the last four or five
years certainly not more. M. object
is to ascertain, as positively as may be,
whether, within this limit of time,
events in Mr.. Winterfeld's life have
connected him with young lady named
Miss Stella Eyrecourt. If this proves
to be the case it is. essential that ]
should be made acquainted with the
whole of the circumstances. i'a -4 ~.
81 have now informed you of all that
want to know. Whatever the informa-
tion may be, it is most important that
it shall be information which / can i'm
plicitly trust. Please address to me,
when you write, under cover to the
friend whose letter / inclose.
"I beg your acceptance-as time is
of Importance -ofa check for prelimin-
ary expenses, ard remain, sir, your
faithful servant,
a., 3sts , 1"AAlBRosFl BENwElnsS
II.
"l0 the Secretary, Society Of Jesus,
AsOUsosf i+Af
"I inclose receipt for the remit
tance which your last letter confdes to
my care. Some of the money has been
already used in prosecuting inquiries,
the result Of which win, as I hope and
believe, enable me to effectually pro-
tect Romayne from the advances Of
the woman who is bent on marrying
him.
"You tell me that our Reverend
Fathers, lately sitting in council on the
Vange Abbey affair, are anxious to hear
if any positive steps have yet been taken
toward the conversion of Romayne. I
am happily able to crafty their wishes,
as you shall now see. r.
Yesterday I called at Romayne's
hotel to pay one of those occasional
visits which help to keep up our ac-
quaintance. He was out, and Penrose
flor whom asked next) was with him.
Most fortunately y, as the event proved,
had not seen Penrose, or heard from
him, for some little time, and thought
it desirable to Judge for myself of the
progress that he was making in the con-
fldence ofhis employer. I said I would
wait. The hotel servant knows me by
sight. I was shown into the waiting
room.
"This room is so small as to be a
mere cupboard. 1t is lit by glass
fanlight over the door which opens
from the passage, and is supplied with
air lin the absence Of a freplace) by a
ventilator in second door, which COM
municates with Romayne's study. Look
ing about me, SO far, l crossed to the
other end of the study and discovered q
dining-room and two bedrooms beyond
the set of apartments being secluded,
by means of door at the end of the
passage, from the other parts of the
hotel. I trouble you with these de-
tails in order that you may understand
the events that followed. w
a"I returned to the waiting room, not
forgetting, of course, to close the door
of communication.
"Nearly an hour must have passed
before / heard footsteps in the passage.
The study door was opened, and the
voices of the persons entering the room
reached me through the ventilator. I
recognized Romayne, Penrose and
Lord Loring.
"The first words exchanged among
them informed me that ,Romayne and
his secretary had overtaken Lord Lor-
ing in the street as he was approaching
the hotel-door. The three had entered