Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-11-10

,DN ESDA I . i
credit for being not quite so stupid as you
appear to me. Good Lordl The whole
thing has been carried out under your nose,
and now that it is finished you come to me
to tell you what it means"
"Pray take pity, then, on my stupidity,
and tell me all!'
aOh dear, mol" be said with a mocking
laugh. my secret is worth a good deal
more to me than it can be 10 YOU"
"ls it money that you want for telling the
truth7 If So"
"Yes, it is money; but I don't want any
from you. You are very clever fellow,
dare say, in your own opinion, and very
knowing one; but you must not think you
can buy me-"
"Well, kindly say what you are prepared
to tell me without being bought"
"Just this, Mr.. - Mr.. Il declare forget
your name. What told you would happen
when / saw you in the train has all come
true. Mauleverer has been murdered by the
gang who have been plotting against his life
for years, and who are now going to get
clean off with the swag-all but one Of them;
and thanks to some stupid laundering on
their part--or perhaps l ought to say on
your part, mister, for I'm told you have
meddled a good bit in the business-shell be
hanged. That's ALL"
The malice of the man revealed. itself in
thsstones in which he spoke. kept my tenn
per, however, but I saw at the same time
that the moment had arrived when I ought
to use the weapon intrusted to me by the
detective.
Mr.. Greg:on," said, "since that is the
name by which you choose to call yourself,
you are making great mistake in supposing
that am quite so helpless as you imagine.
hare the means Of making you speak, and
by heaven, sir, I'll use them, and quickly,
too, or make you pay dearly for your 81
lence"
He looked up at me with startled air.
The fellow was cur, and at the first straight
blow be appeared to be more than inclined to
succumb. But he recovered himself after q
momentary pause.
II don't know what you are talking about.
First Of all you want to bribe me, and then
you try bullying. I've not come here to be
either bought or sold"
Then, perhaps, as you don't want to be
sold, you will tell me your story without
compelling me to summon the detective who
Is waiting in the next room, in order that
may make a communication 10 him about
yourself and Smith G. Sharp, Gracechurch
street."
The stroke told even more quickly and
completely than I had dared to hopa A
ghastly pallor overspread the fellows face,
and he sat for more than minute speech
less, staring at me with eyes full Of terror
sYou don't mean to bring that up against
me after all these years? Good God! how
have you got to know anything about it9'
After pause he continued: "Well, I'll tell
you as much as can if you'll promise not
to give me up"
"If you tell me everything, you will be
quite safe so far as am concerned II you
do not, then you must take the conse.
quences."
All his assumed ease had vanished, and he
sat before us now as abject craven as Ihave
ever seen. Bielski's secret had worked like
magic. In faltering voice the wretched
creature asked if he might have "a drop OF
brandy" before he began his story, and was
by no means sorry to supply him with 1t.
Then he began and unfolded the marvellous
tale which l shall repeat in his own words,
merely omitting his redundancies of speech.
"They have been plotting against Mau.
leverer ever since I've known him, and that
is seven years Whom do l mean by they
mean Dr. Branksome and his gang; that
is, Flinter and the girl Daisy, and a lot Of
fellows in Australia, and now they have got
this Fosdyke in the business. You see II
has been a regular company, and they have
been working it for years. Talk Of gold
mining; but there is no gold mine in all
Australia that will yield half SO much as
Mr.. Mauleverer. So you need not wonder
that the whole party-there are some Of
them still over there-have been working at
the business for years past At one time
know they meant to make an end of the old
man in his own house at Wangoora. But
YOU see some of them had got bit blown
upon there, and they were afraid that if
anything happened it would not do; so then
the doctor hit upon plan Of bringing him
away to England and getting rid Of him
quietly, at time when the worst members
Of the gang were at the other side Of the
world"
3But how could it profit DR.. Branksome to
kill Mr.. Mauleverera He was not his heir"
mo; that is just it. But the plot began q
great deal sooner than you seem to suppose.
1t began nearly twenty years ago. At that
time Mauleverer had no heir. His only sis
ter had died childless, and there was neither
kith nor kin to come after him"
His sister childless! Why, Miss Stan
cliffe had been born then"
Just so; only In those days sh. was Mis-,
Somebodye,se; Miss Stancliffe, as you call
her, had not been thought Of at that time. II
Harding uttered low cry OF amazement.
found it difficult to put the next question.
"What in heavens name do you meanl'
II mean," he said doggedly, that it was a
plant from the very beginning! DR.. Brank-
some and his party were determined to get
every farthing of the old mans money. He
had no heir. and SO they found one for him,
and planted her on him successfully"
"But why should they have fixed upon
Miss Stancliffes What COOL did they
imagine it would do them, supposing that he
did leave everything to her|
The sneering smile appeared on the fel.
lows face again.
aReally." he said. 'you are not very
bright. They must have found it easy to
make fool of you. Daisy was adopted by
the doctors wife when she was little more
than a baby. She lived in the doctors house
for dozen years or more, and Branksome
got such an influence over her that he knew
he could twist her round his fingers e1.
actly as be pleased. Why, bet you two to
one that she has made her will in his favor
since her arrest"
I could not command my countenance en-
tirely when heard this direct guess at the
truth. 1t brought with it to my mind a
terrible confirmation of the truthfulness OF
this unwilling witness.
aI see you know something about it." he
continued. "Well, it is just as l thought it
would be. They never meant the girl to
share with them She was to have all the
kicks, while they got all the ha'pence. It
would have been different. though, If she
had st ,nel to me-"
II don't want either to throw doubt upon
your story or to seem to accept it without
further inquiry; but must ask you to tell
me who. in your belief, Miss Stancliffs is?"
"Did I not tell you just nowi No. Well
she is the daughter, I am told, of poor old
parson named Sheldon, who died at Mel
bourne twenty years ago. His wife lived
twelve or eighteen months after him, and
then she died, too, and Daisy was lefta little
child, without friend in the world. 1t was
then, as I've said, that Mrs Branksome
took pity on her, and adopted her. She was
a good woman, was the doctors wife, and he
never dared 10 carry out his plot about
Daisy until she was gone. God knows
whether he did not help her off in the end
He was equal to it At all events, as soon