The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-12-11

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afterwards to the required depth with pa
per, SO that, on being probed, they might
still appear to be loaded. This done, the
bed was moved back to its place, when the
paneling of itself closed as before We
then left the apartment, the door of which
was, though not without some difficulty, so
fastened as not readily to excite the
woman suspicion that it had been tamper-
ed with
1t was now two hours after noon, and
Mrs. Weevil might return at any moment.
The two men therefore departed, but first
arranging with me that they should return
after dusk, bringing the village constable
along with them, to await with me the
event of the evening; as 1 felt certain
somehow that the 'ghost" would again ap-
pear, with the object of driving me from
the house, as other tenants had been driv.
en- before
Like the namesake in Rob Roy, the old
gardner Andrew was not very good
keeper of secrets; hence it was proposed
that the joiner and blacksmith should take
him along with them to the village, and
keep him under surveillance till the even
ing. 1 was glad when saw them all out
of the place, without, so far as l knew, be-
ing seen by any one; and still more glad
when the ayah shortly after returned with
the children, as 1 could not help feeling tim
orous and alarmed in the house by myself,
considering what we had discovered, and
especially what we had failed to discover,
namely, how the person playing ghost
could obtain access to different parts of the
house so freely as report represented, and
as had myself in one instance painfully
experienced.
CHAPTER. III.
Unlike her usual practice, Mrs Weevil
did not return to the house that day till
far on in the afternoon; and after she had
entered her rooms, I could hear her bust
ling about with an activity and noise quite
unprecedented in my experience of her
habits. This rather alarmed me. / was
afraid she had suspected, from the appear
ance of her rooms, notwithstanding our care
in removing all traces of our presence that
some one had been there in her absence;
and this might be sufficient to defeat my
hopes of bringing to light the trickery that
had been SO long and SO Systematically
practised. But was still more astonished
when, about an hour after her return, she
sent message to me by the ayah that she
wished to speak with me, if would grant
her an interview. At first, l scarcely
knew what answer to make. Were | to
refuse to see her, this might complete the
suspicion which she perhaps entertained;
and if l did see her, l was afraid that 1
might by some word or look betray the
knowledge of which 1 had become pos
sessed. 1 thought upon the whole 1 had
better see her, and answered accordingly.
'Yes, ma'am," she went on, II we're just
i comm, ma am, to say as I would be goih
| from the 'ouse for few days; my son, as
J is steward to Lord, being took very
badly last night, ma am, and as he have no
one to wait upon him, it holds as I, ma am,
as is his mother, must do my dooty-yes,
ma am"
All this she said without once stopping
to take breath, and l could not help OBJ
serving that she was slightly furried in my
presence, and seemed to keep talking as
much to hide her uneasiness as to enlighten
me regarding her errand. I said | was
very sorry to hear that her son was il, and
, that it was very proper she should, in the
circumstances, attend to him. "But." |
asked, "has he no servant in the house pr
"Not presently, ma'am," she answered;
''leastways, the 'ousemaid have gone away
over to Brookford for few days to see her
mother, who stays there, ma'am-yes,
ma am" and she courtesied again in the
excess of her civility:
After 1 had dismissed her, 1 did not
; know what to think. This was an inter-
ference with my plans on which had not
counted. | had no one to advise with me,
and felt much perplexed. As evening ap-
preached, and the gloom of twilight, L bad
strange nervous feeling, such as l had
only once before experienced, and that was
in India, during the terrible days when the
Mutiny was at its height, and every foot
fall made us start, as if next moment were
, to be our last. As the dusk deepened, my
anxiety increased; and when at length the
ayah conducted the joiner, as / had before
instructed her, to my room, was almost
too overpowered to speak. Andrew and
the blacksmith were for the time detained
in the kitchen, as l wished to talk the mat
ter over with the joiner, as the most intel
} ligent of the three.
As he entered the room, 1 was surprised
to find second person behind him, whom
, he introduced to me as Mr.. Burrowes, the
district inspector of police, who had been
on an official visit to the village that day,
and who, when he beard the story, volun-
teered his services in place of the constable.
His presence at once gave me great relief;
and this was enhanced when l found he
had had long experience in the London de-
tective force, and was entering with the
enthusiasm of his profession into our plans.
E He had heard already from the joiner what
| had passed that day; compimented me
t highly on the presence of mind | had dis
played on the previous evening, and ex-
! ,o-aesad b;s ooou;aeanaa in avervthino that