The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-07-11
I'll, House On thD Marsh.
CHAPTER XVII,

CHAPTER Nxv,,,
Mr.. Rnyncr slept that night in the dress
leading out of the large front
room which his wife now occupied. ! met
him coming out of it, as | ven down
stairs to breakfast the next morning. l
spent the hours until dinncr-tim IN MY
w room, packing and preparing FOR the
Journey the next day.
1t was curious, I thought, that had NOT
heard again from my mother, who would
naturally be Overlooking with excitement
about such a great event. had written q
long lettar to her on Monday, And put it
into the post-bag, with no misgivings as to
its safety, now that my enemy Sarah was
i'll. 1t was n very pleasant thing to think
that I should soon DO with my mother
again, anil that in a few days l should see
Laurence; but there was a less bright view
to he taken of the expedition, and from
time to time, in the midst Of my happy an
ticipation, it troubled me. +.
Tt seemed an unkind thing, In spite Of
her obstinate refusal to quit tho Alders, 10
leave delicate Mrs. Rayner alone in this
dreary place, the gloom and dampo OF which
had evidently had much to do with the
morbid state of mind she was in, with no
companions, and no other inmate OF the
house. except a weird child who was not
fond of her, two servants. n n
a deJirious invalid. | had noticed faint
SIGNS of nervous agitation in her manner
lately when the coming journey was anu.
ded to, and I had caught her eyes liked
,non mine sometimes as if she had some
thing to say to me which she could not
bring herself to the point of nttering; and
the strange perversity of the poor lady,
who seemed now mad, now sane, puzzled
me moro and more.
The doctor. for whose verdict Mr.. May
nard was waiting, did not come that day
until Just before dinner; and then his re-
port was as gloomy as possible, He did
not think it probable that Sarah would
ever recover her reason, and the only
change she was likely to get from her sick
room was to the country luuatic asylum.
On hearing this, the detective, who had
spent the morning in making inquiries, in
searching Sarah's boxes, and wen her
room, at Mr.. Rayner's suggestion, IN exam
lining every corner of the housekeepers
room in which she generally sat, n OF the
st~ore-cupboard under the stairs, which was
also under her charge-but l do not think
he went into the left wing, where the large
storeroom was-having failed to make any
discovery, wished to return to town ina
afternoon; out Mr.. Rayner pressed him &c
stay, saying that he would drive MN over
to Denham village thai afternoon, ana, IL
the character of a friend OF his, come doWI
from town for a few days, he could exam
inc the scene of the robbery and make IN
auiries without any ones suspectlng VINO
he was, and perhaps pick up some scraps OF
information which would save him from
the reproacli of having made a journey In
vain.
"Do YOU know enough about railways to
pass for an engineer or inspector, or any
thing of that sorta" asked MI. Rayner'
"You know, of course, that suspicion ha'
fallen upon a gang of navvies who are al
work upon the line near there; but
although there have been detectives among
them since, not one has been sharp enough
to discover anything yet"
The man seemed a little shy at first Of
interfering in q branch OF the work OF
watching which had been put into other
hands. But he was rather put upon bis
mettle by allusion to the fact that his jour
new had been so far a failure. And Mr.
Rayner whispered to me in the hail., WIFE
his eyes ~twinkling, when the detective was
already seated in the dog-cart at the door,
that he had put that fellow up to discover
ing something--it did not matter WHAT.
wrong or right. He said that they should
be back early, as the for was rising al,
ready, and, in order to repay Mr.. Maynard
for OBTAINING him, there was to be a dinner
at half-past six, instead of the usual tea at
half-past five. And, in the very highest
spirits, Mr.. Rayner patted my shoulder
told me to save myself up for next day
and tina he had a present to give me on tn
Journey, and jumped into the dog-cart.
went back into the dining-room where
the cook was clearing away the luncheon
Jane, as she had predicted, not havini
come back yet. Mrs. Rayner was slttln'
by the fre, with Haidee on her lap.
care you unhappy at tho thought OF los
ing her so sooni" said I softly, leaving m.
seat and kneeling by her side, as soon as tn
cook had left the room
Mrs. Rayner looked at me earnestly, an
then whispered
"No, 1 am not unhappy about her, bu
about you"
"About me, Mn Raynert" I eKclaime
in establishment.
"Hushl" she whispered softly. She too
her arms from her child's neck, n tol
her to 60 and play; and Haidee obedientl
walked to tho window. where her doll wa
lying on the floor.
at is as much as my wretched life
worth to warn you" whispered she, takln
the hand / had laid on her lap, and claspini
and u~nclasplng her own about 1T n~ervously
"You are kind-hearted and innocent as
child see that now" she continued, he
eyes wandering restlessly about the room
I began to be afraid of a fit OF hystel
les, or worse; and I begged her not to tai
If it fatigued her. and asked her If l shout
fetch some eau-de-cologne. She shook he
head.
am not hysterical-don't be afraid
that said she, turning her great eyes upo
me. as if in reproach. IT only want t
tell you this-when you arrive in Londo
tomorrow, if your mother is not waltln
at the station, insist upon going to he
house before you go further. Do not Q
any account enter another train withot
her. Call the g~uard-make a disturbant
at the station-do anything rather"
"But how can II" said l gently. .
cannot insist against Mr.. Rayner. 1
would not listen. You know that when !
tells one to do a thing, there is such
strong authority about him, one must {
it.n
"Try, try!'' said she earnestly, u ?
lieye YOU have the power, if you lave u
courage. You AVE thwarted his wish
as nobody else has ever dared to do.
sending for Doctor Lowe, in taking Haia
up stairs. Try once more. 1t is not .
rah's safety that is concerned this tlm
nor Haidee's but your own. For HEAVIER
sake, tryr
She lay back in the chair, her face nee
and hands all wet with the violence OF D
feeling and her unaccustomed vehemen'
Vet her voice had never risen above
whisper that could not have been heara
the other end of the room. she fals
L.ufooo ,oain and read with unexpect