The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1884-07-11

from Hiq0tCW0 lOlO"Su.
n was not that I did not care for that
opera, though it is scarcely ono OF nay
favorites. hut q certain hardness OF touch,
which struck me at once as peing unlike
+ha ,.icb fail tones Mr.. Rayner generally
dray from his loved violin, grated upon
~ aar ana nnzzled me-. OF course Mr..
Mavnard did not notice any difference, and
m,tterod opproyal from time TO time in
discriminatory. But my, glance sEolo rom
him to Mrs. Rayner; ana l could see that
she also was struck by tho curious change
of style in her husbands playing IL was
MS brilliant rs ever; the execution or one
of the difficult passages III the arrange
ment of Martha was clever, moro perfect
than usual; but the soul was not there, and
no brilliancy of shake or cadenza could re-
nav one for the loss. 1t did not sound like
the playing Of the same man, anu my IN
terest in the music gradually died away;
md after watching Mrs. Rayner curiously
for some minutes and noting the in%tentness
with which. sitting upright in her chair,
sha was listening to the violin, and at the
same time keeping her eyes fixed upon the
slumbering Maynard, l gave myseif up 10
nv own agitated Thoughts.
What was going on at the Hall now?
Had the constables been able in the fog to
find their way safely to the park, and
nvo,ld the thieves come after ala Would
tbev catch Tom Parkes! Would Gordon
,rove to be mixed up in its Above all,
would thev catch the dreaded James Wood.
fau whose influence seemed SO strong and
tha memory of his name so fresh, though
he had not been seen for yearsa 1t was an
owful thing to think that l, by my letter to
Ii oo+ on man to hunt other
men down. | began to hope, ever though
felt # was wrong to do so, that Tom
Parkes would make his escape; he had
never done me any harm, and / had rather
liked him for his g~ood-natured face. AS
for the unknown James Woodfall, the case
was different. From Sarah's words and
tbo eaoerness with which the police had
enatched of the least chance of catching
him. Fl was plain that he must be a very
dosnerate criminal indeed, for whom II
could have no sympathy. ! hoped with all
nv heart they would catch him; and was
,ather anxious to see what such O very
wicked man looked like. Poor Tom Parkes
was nrobably only a tool in the hands OF this
monster. who had made even the terrible
sarah a Submissive instrument of evil.
And then | fell to thinking very sadly
IF ,vbot Laurence had told me that day
ohout the deception practiced upon me Goa
corning the tourney to Monaco, and l re-
memhered Mrs. Rayner's warning. Could
II he tr,1e that Mr.. Rayner, who had always
been so kind, so sweet-tempered, SO patient,
who had always treated me almost as it l
were a child, and who had borne my rude
ness in the drawing-room just now with
enc, mountainous good humor, could really
he such q bypocrite2 There must be some
exclamation of it all which would satisfy
even Laurence, I thought to myself-almost,
al least: for that letter from my mother,
which she had never ~written-could that be
explained away? My tears fell fast as this
terrible proof rose up in my min how
could he explain that aways But ones
trust in a friend as kind as Mr.. Rayner he'd
proved to mo does not die out quickly; and
was driving my eyes and hoping that a
few words from him would make it all
right, when suddenly the silence round the
house was broken by a howl from Nap, Mr..
Rayner's retriever, who was chained TO MS
kennel outside. !,
Mrs. Rayner started. Still Maynard
slumbered. ! looked at the clock; 1t was
seven minutes to nine. Another and an.
other howl from the dog, followed by loud
and furious barking. We two women SAT
staring at each other, without a word. !
would rave spoken; but Mrs. itayner
glanced at the sleeping detective n pun
her finger to her lips. Still the SOUNDS Oh
the violin came to us from tn" ora"u"R'
room without Interruption
When nine o,csoei. struck he Jumped up,
much relieved, opened and shut the door
softly, crossed the hall and turned the ham
die of the d~rawing-room door. 1t was
locked. tapped; but there was no answer:
He was PLAYING a brilliant concerto, ana !
supposed he had not heard me. ! knocked
again and said softly "
~"Mr. Raynsr, it is nine O'Clock GO"
told me to come at nine -, T
Still there was no answer, "nich :
thought strange, for his hearing was gen
orally very sharp indeed. 1t was OF no use
for me to stand there knocking if he would
not hear me, or did not yet wish TO ne a's'
turbed. so. after one more unsuccessful al
temnt TO attract his attention, took a
lamn from the hall table and went into the
schod-roon, 1t was now ten minutes past
nine. Nap was barking more luriously
than ever. I knew by the mist That was
all through the house how dense the log
mus he outside; but / was SO much struck
bv The noise the dog was making that un'
fastened the shutters and opened the WIN
dow about al inch to listen.
The fog was binding. I could not see
ward in front of me. l heard nothing but
Mans barking for a minute; then l saw tn
dim glow of a lantern and heard a mutieo
whisper through the fog
I"Who's that?"
at is Violet Christie. Is that you
Laurence?n
aHushl All righta" he whispered back.
" Let me in"
He got in softly through the window
and. rather to my alarm, a middle-aget
man in plain clothes, also with q lantern
followed him. Laurence himself looked
more alarming than any thief. His fac'
was CHASTITY white with fatigue, and dirtie
than ever through long watching in tn
fog. He listened for a minute to the violin
then said quickly, but still in a low voice
"Who is that playinS:"
"Mr. Rayner," answered.
He turned sharply to the other man, VIII
nodded as il to say it was just what he ha
expected.
elbow long has ne been playings" aske'
Laurence.
ever since half-past seven"
He turned to the other IA again.
"a trick said the latter simply.
sWho is with him" asked Laurenc
again.
Nobody, :" said l, surprised and rattle
frightened by these questions. ''Mrs. Ray
ner and Mr.. Maynard are in the dining
ROOM
"MaynardF
eyes. He is asleep"
The middle-aged man gave a snort
disgust.
aHasn't Mr.. Rayner been in the dining
room at all, dear, this EVENING"" aske
Laurence gently.
"Not since dinner. l left him playin