The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-07-15

:. to explore the ruins before going in, he a
IS compaDled me, protesting, however, th'
4 we could Ind nothing in there" !"
It He was wrong, however" said, 'fC
o you found that piece of half burned pap'
which you have in your hand"
l Yes" faltered Captain Clayton. "Yo
n have sharp eyes, sir.''
1T is my profession to have sharp eyes,
g answered. viii you permit me to e1
g anime your paper.''
He gave the scrap up reluctantly. TUrr
ing in such a way that the light OF tn
/ mess-room windows fell upon it, 1 saI
that it was bit of what newspaper peopl
5 call proof" Looking closer. perceive
OF verse or two. l have preserved cop
OF the fragment. Here il is:
OF golden day,
of mOonllt night:
as autumn gay,
| ing on my 2ht.
cease to meet,
break the spell;
on memories sweet,
FAREWELL Farewell!
You will permit me to retain this"
said to Captain Clayton, who now was en-
abied to don his gray coat and cap.
''Of course" he said, but with hesita
tion which l mentally noted.
Having ELECTED as much as possible from
this gentleman, found an opportunity OF
listening TO his companion, Mr. Bromley
but the information received Tailed il
every particular. From him l learned
that Mr.. Beryl was the son of gentleman
who had been nearly ruined by the failure
of bank before his deceaSa. Sydney had
spent much of his time in London, mixing
in good society, and winning the reputa
ton of being something Of a poet. Upon
tne death of his only parent he returned To
his native place and the fragment of prop
erty lef5 him. He still wrote verses and
amused himself by having them printed
! for private circulation among his friends.
| he had long been a suitor for the hand OF
| Miss Brooks, whose uncle lived in the
neighborhood. The lattar. however. OBJ.
jected to him as a husband for his neice
after the loss of his fortune, and he was
| finally rejected upon the circulation OF
! certain rGmorS regarding the diSSipated
nature OF his life in London.
The sergeant of police being on night
duty, requested him to be present at the
| changing of ths guard on the ruins during
/ the night. Tnen, having sent messenger
| for the coroner's attendance, l walked
| howaward with the sergeant and greatly
! to his amaZement procured a constable TO
watch Mr.. Beryrs house all night. Next
| morning at daylight l was at the ruins.
The sergeant had not yet gone off duty,
| and we both began to examine the interior
| OF the old hut together. Tn rain had passed
OF. and the soft mud of the night before
mad become giutinouS. l then demonstrated
clearly to the amazed police sergeant that
four distinct individuals had entered the
place the night before; but while | aston
lshed my companion | was not a little
startled myself, for one of the four indi-
Tlduals had almost certainly been q
woman-a woman with very small foot
and the boots or shoes worn were Of the
most fashionable make, with very high and
pointed heels.
Having procured the boots worn by Cap
tain (laUtDn and NJ. Rt.Nrnla- M MI
before. and verified the imprints made by
these, made inquiries and discovered that
none of the ladies present at the break
fast hal passed beyond the door of the
building until they finally left by the front
door and front gate. As soon as Captain
Clayton made his appearance l asked him
ii any one else had accompanied his friend
and himself into the interior OF the hut.
He answered, No" pointe lily, and when I
said that there were clear and distinct
marks of another pair of masculine boots
or shoes, he cried
You are a most extra ordinary fellow,
and it is it seems to me, impossible to con-
coal anything from You. | suppose it is
my duty to speak OIt," he continued, with
a sigh. ''and yet l feel rs certain as am
that live and breathe that Sidney Beryl
is as innocent as | ann
Sydney Berylr' repeated. What of
him.
Il told you" continued the Captain.
that my friend and l entered the ruined
hut together. Well when We ware about
to leave we saw another man enter by the
outer doorway. l pulled Bromley aside
into the shadow, and saw Beryl pass US
He walked right into the inner room and
paused for a IN Oment to look out of the
very opening from which you said last
night you thought the fatal shot had been
fired. We hurriel out aud got round
toward the gate by the left of the ruin
when we met you. a moment afterward
we heard Bsryl speak. AMI saw that he /
must have come round by the other side"
He very likely returned to see if he had
dropped anV thing on his former visit to
the spot" l murmured. "Did you notice
from what direction he came when YOU
first saw him"
No" was the Captains reply, appar-
emily Mortified at the web | was weaving
around the verse-writing lover of Edith |
Brooks.
do you think" I proceeded to ask.
that suppoSing he were the figure you
saw running away, he could have got back |
to the highway in time - minyie with the
people wno had gathered th ,re!''
Il should think so" returned Captain |
Clayton, ''par5icularly if h hal vehicle !
OF soma kind waiting
Il must send around to his house and !
procure the boots Mr.. Beryl wore last |
night, murmured thoughtfully.
v.
piled. The boots are here"
Looking up, | saw Mr.. Bsryl, pale and !
standing in front of us bs- |
hind the hut.
What do you want with them?" he in |
quired, proudly and with a sneer.
i wished to discover if you hal entered |
this ruin last nigat," 1 replied, somewhat !
taken aback.
You will have no difficulty in that, be- !
cause | tell you l did enter there last |
night"
More than onceH
No; only once"
"Indsedr'
'In1col. Do yol doubt my worIF'
Il do, = | returned.
'Inso!eut," he exclaimed
BIT pr3c3e1e1 with nv examination. |
although was not alto yether at my ease |
the impre esSons of a womar's |
shoes, as well as littls staggered by his |
nanner-which, / must confess, was ex-
tremely like the manner of an innocent
person falsely accused. A. laSs | said:
1T is my duty ID inform You that NAV
arrest You at any moment, without even
he Formally of ma yiStrate'S warrant"
Il shall not run away" he said, fiercely,
urnilg upon his heel
| mentally resolved that he would not
lave the chance.
had him watched all that day In the
Lftern Don one o; the printers he hal been
n the habit of employing discovered q !
proof of a )em clliei Fare
veil" The type had long beea broken up,
)ut one of the verses ran:
"By the light of golden dav.
Rk- nn nfsF,a -F1n, Nf ,f.l,N