Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-10-20
CHAPTER K

be the true account Of the outrage Of which
I had besn the victim, it wa, not altogether
pleasant to have my suspicion confirmed.
My thoughts flew instantaneously to Daisy,
shut up in the hall with a man who was
either a desperate criminal or insane.
"Doctor," said earnestly. II have no wish
to punish Mr.. NJ uleverer for the cruel trich
he has played upon me. Even if there vert
no other reason for sparing him, the fact
that he Is Daisy's uncle would be sufficient
But am terribly anxious about her. Ha!
she no friend with her at Great Lorton7 I.
1t not dangerous for her to remain alone
with man in Mauleverer's state Of mindl"
"She is not alone" replied Branksome ~
thought I had told you that her old friend
and companion. Mrs Cawthorne. who &C
companied her to England, tai Joined he,
at the hall Shs was visiting in Derbyshire
at the time when Mr.. Mauleverer wa al
Scarborough"
I remembered to have heard Daisy speal
of this lady in the warmest terms Of affec
tion, and felt thankful that there was al
least one person near her of her own se1, II
whom she could confide.
at is sad business, I fear" pursued
Branksome u have not told you yet Of al
that happened after you left US so suddenly
Tell me, my friend: did Mr.. Mauleverer show
any symptoms Of anger or even suspicion
while he was with you in the smoking room
that night when you stopped at the hallr'
Certainly not. He was just as friendly
and as courteous in his manner as usual"
"That is bad, fear-very bad Will yor
believe that he had already discovered al
that time what had taken place in the gar
den between you and Daisy"
<How could he discover that7" I cried.
@Dont you understand! Did you not see
Flinter leave the garden at the same time
that We did! No, )" he said, raising his hant
to check my impetuous cry of anger, u,
would not be fair to blame FIinter for what
he did then. Remember he Is devoted body
and soul to the service Of his master But
what feel is that Mauleverer's concealment
Of his anger while he sat with you in the
smoking room is very bad, because it looks
so much like the cunning Of insanity. AND
that he was mad-really mad-when you
left the hall. am prepared upon my oatt
treated Daisy as be did"
Ishuddered. "Do you mean to say thai
there has been positive ill-usagep
@Aye, more than enough oft OF course
you understand that the poor child is neither
starved nor beaten. But there are mora
weapons which are still more cruel and
terrible than these"
3Oh, how could you leave her to hi
mercy~ cried in an agony Of pain. u
cannot understand how any one could have
deserted her in such circumstances Let us
60 back to her at once.
my good fellow, keep calm" replied the
doctor, on whose face sympathy rather than
indignation at my fiery language was e1
pressed "Do you suppose that If I could
have been Of any service to the dear child
would have left her as didl / found, how.
ever, that my presence, for various reasons
actually aggravated her sufferings; SO I did
what couli- summoned Mrs Cawthorne
to her, and in obedience to Mauleverer's
orders came up here to attend to his affairs.
aBut you say we are in the Arctic regions
what can be the affairs of Mr. Mauleverer in
this part of the worldF'
Have you not heard Of the discovery oil
gold in Norwayl Our friend has a very
large interest in what may turn out to be
one Of the most important properties Of its
kind in the world"
"Where are we at this moment." asked.
"Within half an hour Of Bodo, the place
where am to see the agent of the mines"
"You will PIT me ashore there" said,
sternly, for was cut to the heart by the
thought Of Daisy's situation. II must return
to England instantly"
II understand your wish; but pray, Mr..
Fenton, do not act rashly. You will get
back to England, imagine quite as soon by
sticking to the yacht as by adopting any
other mode Of making the journey"
"Thanks," said, ungraciously; "but you
can hardly be surprised that should have
no desire to remain the guest of Mr. Maulev-
erer for single hour after have the power
Of leaving his too hospitable ship"
He looked at ME gravely.
SWELL" he remarked, presently, u shall
not attempt to prevent the carrying out Of
what / feel is natural impulse. But now,
If you will excuse ME, would suggest that
you change your attire. have ascsrtainei
that Flinter did not do things by halves.
After you had been brought aboard the
yacht be sent ashore for your baggage, and
have just had it placed in one of the state
rooms"
"Upon my ucrd,' said, u shall remember
my obligations u Mr.. Fl.nter as long as
live, and some day hop, shall be able to
repay them"
Branksome made no reply was con-
scious of the fact that, although very indig-
nant at the treatment 10 which l had been
subjected, he was not inclined 10 take any
active part in my quarrel with F.inter.
That being the case, was resolved not to
reveal to him those darker suspicious which
entertained against the villain. If did
so it was just possible that the doctor might
let drop some incautious word which would
put Flinter on his guard That the latter
meditated murder-either my murder, or
Daisy's, or perchance Mauleverer's-and that
he had thought of using poison for the pur-
pose, was almost certain. had not spent
ten long days in studying that sinister chap
ter in the medical work without having
formed theory of my own regarding it
1t was csrta My trus that needed before
everything else change Of attire. Although
had been able to indulge in unlimited ablu-
tions in my cell, l had been compelled to 60
without any change of clothes for the whole
period. Enraged as I was at the daring in
science of F.inter, could hardly find it in
my heart to rebuke this last instance Of it
when I found myself comfortably clad in
clean linen, and in a more suitable attire
than that which had recently been wearing.
heard the engines stop and the anchor
chains 60 rattling through the haws, hole as
l was putting the finishing touches to my
some appeared at the door Of the sumptuous
little cabin where I had found my property,
and invited me to 60 on deck.
was altogether unprepared for the scene
that now presented itself. All around, as it
appeared to me at the first glance, were
great snow clad noun aims. glit,ering under
the cold sunshine in a dazzling robe OF white.
We were in landlocke harbor, within half
a mile Of little town, the roo:s OF which
were heavily laden with the silvery snow.
1t was only the water in the harbor, and the
winding channel which seemed to lead to
the outer sea, that afforded any re ief to the
glitterirg white which covered the whole
landscape. 1t was in very truth an Arctic
scene which l beheld. No wind was bow
ing, and I was surprised to find that the
temperature was by no means painfully
cold. 1t was delightful once mora to be-
hold the outer world. Strange and barren
as was that land, longed for the moment
when should set foot upon it, and find my
self free from the accursed vessel which
had been my prison.
~ am sending ashore for our letters. said
Branksome. "If you are really determined
to leave the yacht at once you may 60 with
the boat; but if you will allow me to advise
you, I should certainly recommend you to
stay on board till the letters have been re-
ceived. Who knows what news they may
give us of affairs at Great Lorton! Do not
Let your natural and iustihable anger carry