The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-08-28

pied and hastily quilted. There was
tiny bronze slipper upon the velvet
hearth rug. Over the back of gilded
chair hung the white fur opera cloak
which Ruby had worn to the theater
that last night upon which she had
known pleasure and the amusementa
of the gay world. Arthur recognized
the cloak. He thought of the slight
form which he had snatched from the
devour1ng flames, and how he had nelo
her in his arms for one brief, blisstul
minute; then he turned his attention
calmly to the task before him.
"See!" he cried, excitedly; "there
are signs of struggle; the hangings
of the bed are torn and the window
curtains! And-good heavens! Lud-
lowe, look!"
The two men were standing near a
window, which was open. The rich
curtains were rumpled and torn, as
though some one had clutched wildly
at them; and there, upon the window
sill, was broad blotch of fresh red
blood!
"She has been murdered" painted
Arthur, at last; "or carried away ~
force. and she has striven to defend
herself!"
The chief shook his head doubtfully.
"Who would carry her way forcibly,
Arthur" he queried, gravely. "No, no!
It is more than likely that it's all a
put up Job, and that she-Miss Law
renee-had friends outside to assisther,
and so has made her escape. My word
for it, Arthur, you will never see her
again"
"Mr. Ludlowep
Arthur Wynne's voice rang out loud
and clear as trumpet call.
eff you dare condemn that innocent
girl unheard, you are worse man than
I can believe you! There is some mys-
terry, some devilish mystery, behind all
this, and it shall be the object of my
life to ferret it out! Henceforth ded-
icate my existence to that end! My
wealth, my time, my every endeavor,
shall be devoted to the clearing up Of
this mystery! Mr.. Ludlowe, do you
withdraw from the case?"
"Nol" said the chief, firmly. 81 IN
tend to stand by you throughit it all. We
must leave no stone unturned in the
way of evidence. Let us examine the
toilet table yonder; in the drawers we
may find something which may prove
useful as q clew."
Feeling very much like thief, Ar.
thur began the search. The very first
object upon which his eyes rested, in Il
small drawer in the toilet table, was a
spray of faded stephanotis.
His heart gave one swift bound, foi
he recognized it as the boutonniere that
he had worn at the thcater that last
happy night. And she had pre-
served it!
He bowed his head over this mute
token of her regard for himself, and his
eyes grew suspiciously moist. He was
startled by low, hasty ejaculation
from the chief.
"See here!" painted Ludlow break
ing in upon his musing; @by Jove! what
does this mean?"
1t was letter. an open letter, writ
ten in a mans bold hand. 1t began,
aMy darling Ruby" and ended, "Yours
forever" but there was no signature at
tached-nothing which might prove rs
o clew to the writer.
Arthur Wynne took the letter in his
trembling hand, and slowly read its
contents aloud, his heart aching madly
all the time. And no wonder.
This is what the letter said:
MY DARLING RUBY: So. you have sue
ceeded in getting hold OF a snug sum, al-
though you are forced to resign Lawrence
Park. You are genius. my dearest! Hold
yourself in readiness together with all the
money and valuables that YOU can gSt) and
I will manage tho rest! You Shall leave
Lawrence Park tonight. I have made all
arrangements. Your part is to be dressed
for light. and ready to leave 1T . moments
notice. Yours forever.
Arthur Wynne stood with his eyes
riveted upon that letter, unable to ut
ter word. At last:
"Itis lie! A foul, false lie!" he
painted, wrathfully.
Chief Ludlowe moved quietly to the
door of the room where the officer sat.
"You are sure that no one could have
access to this room through the door,
at least?" he queried.
The man nodded. "Quite sure, sir !!
Nobody has gone in that door, and I've
not been six feet away from it
So Ludlowe returned to the room
A little further search revealed the
fact that Ruby had taken small hand
bag with necessary garments; had ex-
changed the white wrapper that she
wore for suit of dark cashmere, with
q round hat and thick veil, and that
she had worn o sealskIl sacque.
There could be no doubt that the flight
was voluntary, save for the traces OF q
struggle within the room. Bus was It
possible for this girl to escape from a
second story window without help
from without?
At length, while eagerly searching
the premises, Arthur Wynnee found o
long ladder concealed in the shrub.
berry; ladder, spotted here and there
with patches of fresh blood. And or
the ground beside it, pearl-handled
penknife marked with the initials
"R. L."
CHAPTER XI.
THE NEW MISTRESS OF LAWRENCE PARK.
It was ell over. The funeral of Gil
bert Lawrence had taken place; 8