, 1884-12-25

jected very much to being hurried. So ii
was that, in spite OF the pressing need for
immediate hight, we were still In London.
The dangerous delay made me nervous,
excitable and nl-tempered. This state Of
mind was not without benefit TO our cause,
e. my manner as well as my looks fully con-
WINGED my mother that my own health was
tho sole object OF the journey. So, like a
good creature, she set to work In thorough
earnest to get everything ready for our dc
parture-
Tomorrow morning .we were to start
1 prayed Heaven that 1t might not DO too
late; that the next twenty-four hours might
pass without what l dreaded taking place.
For l knew that by now thai ghnstly object
on the roadside must be lying with the light
OF day on its pale facel
With an effort l opened the mornings pa
per, and ran hastily up and down the col
umnA What cared j foe politics. foreign
news. or money market intelligencei Here
was the ono paragraph which riveted all my
attsution. The white tomb had given up
Its secretl Rsadi To me those words were
written in letters of firel
"HoRRIBLK DISCOVERY NEAR RoDING.-
The melting of the snow has brought to light
toiall Appearances Is a fearful crime.
Yesterday afternoon a laborer walking on
the highway discovered tho body OF a gem
tleman lying by the roadside His death
had been caused by a pistol shot 1t Is sup
posed that 1t must have occurred on the
night Of the great snow storm. and that the
body has lain ever since under the snow.
which had drifted to tho depth Of some feet.
The facts that death must nave been instan-
taneous, and that no weapon can be found
near the spot, do away with tho theory Of
suicide. Letters and papers found upon the
corpse tend to show it TO be that OF Sir Mer-
vyn Ferrand, Bart. Thu unfortunate gem
tlcmnn's friends have boon communicated
with, and tho inquest will be opened to-
morrow"
For some minutes | sat like one stunned.
Inevitable as 1t was that the discovery
should DO made, the shock seemed scarcely
lightenod by the forekno Wedge; the danger
seemed no less terrible. Oh, that we had
started y~osterday-were even to start to-
dayi What might not happen before to-
morrow morningl My first impulse was to
go to my mother and beg her to hasten our
departure; but reflection showed mo how
un wise this course would be. l should alarm
her-alarm Philippai l could give no rea-
SON. My one longing was to keep the news
from my poor love. Let her read that para
graph, and who could answer for the conse-
%quencesi Looking Us a medical man at he +
case, l knew that there was something about
that night which troubled her; some dream,
or semblance Of dream, to which, fortu-
nately, she could as yet give no Conference.
Let her learn that Sir MervYn Ferrand had
over since that night been lying dead where
she met him, the fearful truth must come
TO her. Mol not a word TO excite her sus-
picion. My task was a twofold one. I had
TO ave her not only from what l suppose l
rnuaf call fuaffca huf aIoo frorn haraosf IL
seemed to me hat the latter was tho hard
est part Of my work; but l would do i'll
Bwore l would do it. I would keep watch
and ward. TO see that nothing reached her
that she heard nothing which could awaken
memories OF those mercifully absent hours
tore the paper to pieces and burned 1t. l
think Of all my dark days that one was the
one / would bs least willing to pass again. l
trembled at every footstep on the stairs.
ANY man who paused for n moment outside
our windows sent a cold chill over me. And
In the midst OF my misery ! had to wear a
cheerful face, and talk to Philippe and my
mother about the pleasures OF our projected
Journey Ahi IL we only reached the end OF
gether imaginary.
Once again l say, II you cannot feel with
me, throw my tale aside. Heaven knows 1t
Is a sombre onei / was breaking tho law;
concealing what the law calls a crime; do
ing all l could to saw the criminal. But the
criminal was Philippa, and l loved herl l
myself would have stood face to face with
Sir Mervyn Ferrand, and have freely given
my own life II l could have assured his dy-
ing like the dog he wa. Why then should !
blame Philippa. who had one in her tenn
porary madness what l would have o. in
cold bloodi Yet why trouble to extenuntci
l loved heri Those words sum up every
thing.
The morning dawned- No fatal messenger
had arrived. 1 glanced hastily at the papers.
which, however, contained 10 more infor-
nation about the tragedy. Shortly after
ten o'clock we started to drive to Charing
Cross. The rattle Of wheels over the stones
seemed to send fresh life through my veins.
We were on the road to safety.