The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-01
Countess ualOla.
By wILKIE COLLINS.
CHAPTER XIV.
By wILKIE COLLINS.

nc Quy idu duFu1c'u W csthiiE. Lptu
IontbarTy and tho bridal party had gone to
the opera. Agnes alone. pleading the excuse Of
fatigue, remained at the hotel. Having kept
up appearances by accompanying his friends
to the theatre, Henry Wcstwick slipped away
after the first act and joined Agnes in the
drawing room.
"Have you thought OF what said 70 you
earlier IN the dayf' no asked, taking chair
at her side. do you agree with Inc that one
dreadful doubt which oppressed rs both is at
least set at restF'
Agnes shook her head sadly. II wish !
could agree with you, Henry wish could
honestly say that my mind Is at ease"
The answer would have discouraged most
men. Henrys patience twberc Agnes was
concerned) was equal TO my demands on it
III you will only look back at the events
Of tho day" he said, "you must surely admit
that we nave not been completely bafiied-
Remember how DR.. Bruno disposed OF our
doubts: After thirty years Of medical prac-
tice, do you think | am likely to mistake the
symptoms of death by bronchitisr If ever
there was an u~nanswerable question, there 1t
il Was the consuis testimony doubtful IN
INV part Of it2 lie called at the palace 10
offer his services, after hearingof Lord Mont
barry's death; he arrived at the timo when
tho coffin was in the house; he himself saw
the corpse placed in it, aud the lid screwed
down. The evidence OF the priest ~wasequally
bes ond dispute. He remained in the room
with the coffin, reciting the prayers FOR the
aend. until the funeral left the palace. Bear
all these statements in mind, Agnes; and how
can YOU deny that the question of Montbar-
rvs death and burial is a question st at resti
We have really but one doubt left; we have
still to ask ourselves whether the remains
which I discovered are the remains OF tho
lost couricr OF not. There is the case as | UNI
terstand it. Have ! stated il fairlyf
Agnes could not deny that he had stated j.
fairly
''Then what prevents you from exper1enc-
inc tho Same sense Of relief that ! feelE'
Henry asked.
"What I saw lastnight prevents me-" Agnes
answered. "When you spoke Of this subject,
after our inquiries were over, you reproaclled
mo with taking, what you called, the super
,titious view. ] don't quite admit that but
do acknowledge that / should find the super
,titious view Ineligible ii ! beard it ex-
pressed by some other person. Remembering
what your brother and ! once were to each
other in the bygone time, j can understand
The apparition making itself visible to me, to
claim the mercy Of Christian burial and the
vengeance due TO o crime. ] can even per-
,eivo some faint possibility Of truth in the OK
Dlanation which you described as the mes
neric theory-that what ] saw might be the
result of magnetic influence communicated to
me as lay between the remains of the
murdered husband above me and the guilty
wife suffering the tortures OF remorse at my
bedside. But what | do not understand is,
hat ! should have passed through that dread
full ordeal. having no previous knowledge OF
the murdered man in his lifetime, or only
knowing him If You suppose that / saw the
apnarition OF Ferrari) through the interest
which | took in his wife. / can't dispute
-FOUR reasoning, Henry. But | feel in ny
heart of hearts that YOU are deceived. Moth
ing will shake my belief that we are still as
FAR from having discovered the dreadful truth
rs ever"
Henry made no further attempt TO dispute
with her. She had impressed him with a GER
lain reluctant respect for her own opinion in
spite Of himself.
"Have you thought Of any better way Of
arriving at the TRUTH he asked. "Who is to
helm Us? No doubt there is the countess, who
has the clew TO the mystery in her own
hands. But, in the present state OF her mind,
d her testimony to be trusted-even If she
we're will ny to speaki Judging by my OWE
experience, ! should say decidedly not"
"You don't mean that you have seen her
lgaing' Agnes eagerly interposed.
"Yes, / had half al hour to spare before
iinner. and l disturbed her once more over
her endless writing"
sand you told her what you found when
you opened the hiding placer
sOf course | did" Henry replied. II said,
In SO many words, that ! held her responsible
Tor the discovery, and that l expected her to
reveal the whole truth. She went on with
her writing as il ! had spoken in an unknown
tongue. l was equally obstinate on my side.
told her plainly that the bead had been
placed under the care Of the police, end that
the manager and ! had signed our declara-
tions and given our evidence. She paid not
tho sliehtest heed to me- By way Of tempt
ing her TO speak, j added that the whole in
v~estigation was TO be kept q secret, and that
she might depend on my discretion. For the
moment / thought ! had succeeded. She
looked up from her writing with a passing
Cash Of curiosity, and said: What are they
going to DO with itF-meaning, | suppose, the
bend. ! answered that it was TO
to privately buried, after photographs
Of it had been first taken. even went the
length Of communicating the opinion OF the
surgeon consulted. that some chemical means
Of arrcsting decomposition had been used and
had only partially succeeded-and l aslsd
her point blank if the surgeon was right.
The trap was not u bad one, but it completely
failed. She said in the coolest manner:
Now you are here should like to consult
you about my play; am at a loss for some
new incident Mindl there was nothing
utirical in this. She was really eager to
read her wonderful work to me-evidently
supposing that | took a special interest in
such things because my brother is the man.
aper Of q theatre! l left her, making the
arst excuse that occurred to me. So far as l
am concerned ! can do nothing with her.
But it is possible that your influence may sue
coed with her again, as it has succeeded al
ready. viii you make the attempt to sat
isay your W mindi She is still upstairs;
and | am quite ready to accompany your