The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1886-09-24
CHAPTER x.
TERRIBLE NEWS.

had BEEN the victim, it wa, not alto gether
pleasant to have my suspicion confirmed.
My thoughts few ms; ant aneously to Daisy,
shut up in the hall with man who was
either despera.e criminal or insane.
Doctor" l said earnestly. "Ihave no wish
to punish Mr.. M uleverer for the cruel trick
he has played upon ma. Even if there were
no other reason for sparing him, the fact
that he is Daisy's uncle would be sufficient
But I am terribly anxious about her. Has
she no friend with her at Great Lorton? Is
1t not dangerous for her to remain alone
with a man in Mauleverer's state of mindl"
"She is not alone" replied Branksome. ar
thought l had told you that her old friend
and companion, Mrs. Cawthorne, who ac-
companied her TO England, tal Joined her
at the hall She was visiting in Dsrbyshire
at the time when Mr.. Mauleverer wa, at
Scarborough"
remembered to have heard Daisy speak
o. this lady in the warmest terms of affec-
ton. and / felt thankful that there was at
least one person near her of her own sex, in
whom she could confide.
ut is a sad business, l fear" pursued
Branksome. al have not told yo1 vet Of all
that happened after you left us so suddenly
Tell me, my friends did Mr.. Mauleverer show
any symptoms of anger o. even suspicion
while he was with you in the smoking room
that night when you stopped at the halll'
Certainly not. He was just as friendly
and as courteous in his manner rs usual
THAT is bad, L fear-very bad. Will you
believe that he had already discovered at
that time what had taken place in the gar
den between you and Daisy"
"How could he discover that?' 1 cried
"Don't you understand! Did you not see
Flinter leave the garden at the same time
that we did, No." he said, raising his hand
to check my impetuous cry of anger, "it
would not be fair to blame F.inter for what
he did then. Remember he is devoted body
and soul to the service of his master. But
what feel is that Mauleverers 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. I am prepared upon my oath
to aver. He would never otherwise have
treated Daisy as he did"
Ishuddered. "Do you mean to say that
there has been positive ill-usagep
"Aye, more than enough of it. OF course,
you understand that the poor child is neither
starved nor beaten. But there are moral
weapons which are still more cruel and
terrible than these"
"a, INV .Soho you ledVe nor 10 DlS
mercys" cried in an agony of pain. ~
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 ex-
pressed. "Do you suppose that if 1 could
have been of any service to the dear child
would have left her as l did? l found how
ever, that my presence, for various reasons,
actually aggravated her sufferings; so l did
what couli. l summoned Mrs. Cawthorne
to her, and in obedience to Mauleverer's
orders came up here to attend to his affairs"
"But you say we are in the Arctic regions;
what can be the affairs of NJ. Mauleverer in
this part of the world.'
"Have you not heard of the discovery OF
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 VIII put me ashore there" l said,
sternly, for was cut to the heart by the
thought of Daisy's situation ~ must return
to England instantly"
II understand your wish; but pray, Mr..
Fenton, do not act rashly. You will get
back to England, l i'm igne, quite rs soon by
sticking to the yacht as by adopting any
other mode Of making the journey"
Thanks" l said, ungraciously; "but you
can hardly be surprised that l should have
no desire to remain the guest of Mr. Maulev-
erer for a single hour after have the power
of leaving his too hospitable ship"
He looked at me gravely.
"Well," he remarked, presently, al 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 ascertainei
that Flinter did not do things by halves.
After you had been brought aboard the
yacht he sent ashore for your baggage, and
have just had it placed in one Of the state
rooms"
upon my word" said, al shall remember
my obligations to Mr.. Fl;nter as long as 1
live, and some day hops l shall be able to
repay them"
Branksome made no reply. l was con-
scious Of the fact that, although very indig-
nant at the treatment TO which / had been
subjected, he was not inclined to take any
active part in my quarrel with FIinter
That being the case, l was resolved not TO
reveal to him those darker suspicious which
entertained against the villain. IL 1 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. l 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 certainly true that l needed before
everything else change of attire. Although
l had been able to indulge in unlimited ablu-
tions in my cell, had been compelled to go
without any change of clothes for the whole
period. Enraged as l was at the daring in
science of Flinter, could hardly find it in
my heart to rebuke this last instance of it
when / found myself comfortably clad in
clean linen, and in a more suitable attire
than that which i had recently been wearing.
heard the engines stop and the anchor
chains go rafting through the hawss hole as
was putting the finishing touches to my
toilet; and Immediately afterward Drank
some appeared at the door of the sumptuous