Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1886-09-25

sana ,nlles from the spot wneie the evl oeeu
had been done. Even it 1 could have been
told by n revelation from heaven that
Flinter had slain Mauleverer, ] should have
had to acknowledge that the thing was i'm
possible. TIE arm of the assassin may be
long; but it cannot reach across hundreds
of leagues of stormy sea in order TO strike
its towards blow. Yet while ! reflected on
all the perplexing contradictory facts, my
conviction that Flinter was guilty grew and
grew, until it took possession of my whole
frame. and quite suddenly the explanation
Of the difficulty which had troubled me
became clear to my mind. He had an
accomplishments one whom he had left be-
hind him at Great Iorton and through
whom he had slain the man he protested to
love with so dog-like a fidelity.
@Ah Mr.. Fintcr," I said to myself, with
a bitter smile on my lips, "you little thought
what a pitfall you were digging for yourself
when you lured ne on board the Golden
Hawk. If I had never been your prisoner,
l should never have been able to confound
you as am about to do"
took up one of the blank telegraph forms
on the table of the little office. and wrote
hurriedly as follows:
Chief Constable, Barton, Yorkshire:
II Mauleverer's symptoms apparently those
of epilepsy, strongly urge post-mortem
examination. Have grave reason to suspect
foul play. Return to England Immediately.
FENToN, yacht Golden Hawk.
When in the dark after days l recalled the
moment when l pcnned the lines which were
IoefSrofJ To i,H,,o,1,1 So ro <o,,o;I1o - .~..u-
not only my W life, but the lives of so
many other persons, and when in my agony
/ cried aloud to God for forgiveness for the
evil I had wrought unwittingly, 1 mover
failed to remember ono fact. That was.
that I seemed to havo written that fatal
message under the inspiration of some will
outside my own. 1t was done in an instant,
before l had even attempted to weigh the
act itself or its possible consequences; and 1
was once moro under the roof of the Hotel
d'Angleterre before l fully realized the step
which ! had taken.
There is no need to dwell upon our hurried
departure from Trondhjem. Branksome had
recovered his calmness and elf-po<session
before We sailed that evening, but it was evil
dent that the terrible event of which we had
heard so unexpectedly filled him both with
sorrow and anxiety. He was very friendly
in his manner to me; but neither he nor Eos.
dyke was now disposed to tighten the pass
ing hours with the gay sallies of talk and
story which had been so frequent before.
They spent tho greater part of every day
deep in consultation with each other in
Branksome's private state room, and l soon
found that Flintcr was not unfre uuently adj
mittcd to their confidence.
We had been three days ut sea. In
another four-and-twenty hours we ought to
be ut Hull, and in a few hours more / would
gee Daisy. was counting those hours as l
paced tho deck after dinner under the frosty
starlit sky, when ! was told by one Of the
stewards that DIR. Brunlisome wished to
speak to me at once.
I found him in the handsome cabin which
was nominally set apart for the private use
of the owner of the ship. To my surprise
Flinter was with him as we'll us Fosdyke. I
was struck by tho extreme gravity Of Brank-
some's face when l entered tho room. Eos
dyke seemed to he Worried and nervous:
while US for Flinter, he received me with a
scowl Of hatred that he made not the
slightest attempt to conceal.
MI. Fenton, said Branksomc, who was
standing and whose stately figure seemed to
fill the whole cabin, "it has just come to my
hAAo AoASes "AIAAA II AdSt uOuI, Auu Nv INC
purest accident, that you dispatched a mes
sage by telegraph from Trondhjem, after
hearing the terrible new of Mr.. Mauleverer's
death. an very sorry to take what you
may possibly regard as u liberty; but | have
to ask you if you will kindly inform me con-
cerning tho nature OF that message and the
person to whom it was addressed"
l colored up and looked around in some
embarrassment. B~ranksome's dark ewes
we're bent upon me in a gaze which, to say
the least, was singularly grave and almost
stern, while Fosdyke, impatiently biting his
finger nails, seemed bursting with anxiety
to hear my answer. 1 did not look at
Flinter; but I knew well enough the spirit
Of which he was possessed.
For a moment l hcsitated, and thought of
declining to reply to the question. But l
telt that l had no right, after the way in
which had been treated by Branksome, to
deal with him otherwise than frankly,
II telegraphed, DR.. Branl1somc, to Miss
Stancliffe. 1t was n simple message Of SYM
pathy and an intimation that | hopcd to see
her before long"
Fosdyke continued to gnaw his finger nails
restlessly. DR.. Branksome's face did not
change by a single hairs breadth.
"And that was tho only message you scnt"
no said, gravely.
mo, sir, it was not tho only message" l
answered, annoyed and embarrassed. yet
feeling that my best plan was to tell every
thing. Il sent another message to TIL, chief
constable at Barton to tell him that l sus.
pected that Mr.. Mauleverer had been poi
soned."
CHAPTER XI.