Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-07-11
THE PERIL OF
RICHARD PARDON.
BY B. L. FARJEON,
Author of "Great Porter Square, CRIT"
"Bldde-o'- Grass" The Nine Of
Hearts," "DeUIin the
Barber" Etc.

llls dcettu lily HdlI-yedrly allowance was
due, and his London lawyers had sent it
to my bank on the previous night. Thus
there was to my credit considerable sum-
But was also largely in debt The ex-
penses attendant upon my uncle's visit,
certain of my own regular expenses, and
the charges for the funeral, which, not
out OF ostentation but of respect, / had
made imposing, remained undefrayed.
The accounts for all these had come in,
and resolved to discharge them on Fri
day. 1t had ever been habit of mine to
pay what [ owed in cash instead of by
cheque. The bills amounted to a sum of
between five and six hundred pounds, and
on the Thursday l refer to l drew out of
the bank, by cheque one thousand pounds.
Part of the extra money l intended to
give my wife towards Eunice's wedding
trousseau, the preparation of which would
assist to BEAUTIFULLY divert her mind.
Since the day of my uncle's death had
not been outside the boundary of my
grounds except to attend the inquest and
the funeral, and had, therefore, not mixed
as usual with the townspeople. On my
way exchanged salutations with one and
another, and it struck me that there was
lack of cordiality in their greetings; in
some of my acquaintance, indeed, there
seemed to be certain avoidance. This
impression followed me to the bank, with
the manager of which generally spent
few moments when | transacted business
there. | wrote out my cheque for one
thousand pounds, and passed it across the
counter to the cashier, who took it into
the managers room. l was not surprised
at this deviation from ordinary custom,
the cheque being the largest L had ever
drawn. The cashier returned asked how
/ would take the money, and paid it to
me. / inquired if the manager was in,
and was informed that he was. AS he did
not come out to shake hands, l concluded
that he was too busy to see me; but when
left the bank | was not quite pleased. l
may mention that | elected to receive pay
ment for my cheque in sovereigns. The
reason for this was that thoughtit would
please my wife if / gave ner the money
for Eunice's trousseau in gold. / did not
intend to give it to her on this day, but
on Friday or Saturday. At the first
blush, the mention of these small matters
may appear trivial, but it will be present.
ly seen that they are of great Importance.
On my road home, with the money in
my pocket, met Mr.. Mortlock; he scowled
at me and passed on. This did not sur
prise me, but before reaching my house
to which did not go direct, having some
thing to say to tradcsman-I saw him
again. and this time in the company of the
detective who had come, with other Off
GERS, to my house on the morning of the
murder. Turning when I had gone few
steps further, I saw both of these men
looking after me. My fears awoke; the
ring and the fatal cord were in my pocket;
they had never left my possession. 1 en-
tered my house in an uncomfortable frame
of mind. What did this earnest confer
ence of Mr.. Mortlock and the detective
bode? Was there any connection between
that and the lack of cordiality / had OBJ
served in the greetings of the townspeo-
pleP
My wife noticed that I was mentally
disturbed, and she made tender reference
to it. / felt that my manner was con-
strained as | replied to her affectionate in
quiries.
All that / have described took place on
the morning of this Thursday. l was
home before noon. As the day waned my
perturbation increased; could not shake
off presage of coming evil. Locking the
door of my study, l endeavored to cheat
<, =
ing the accounts to be paid on the follow
ing day, and counting out the money /
had received for my cheque. l did not
succeed; throughout my task dread posi-
bilities presented themselves in threaten
ing shape; my nerves were strung to
high pitch of tension; with the torturing
fear that it needed an extraordinary effort
to meet with calmness a hidden danger,
oil oil L
and it was due to this condition of mind
that was enabled to detect what other
wise would have escaped my attention
the presence of some person outside the
door of my study With catlike motion
l slid noiselessly to the door, swiftly UNI
locked it, and threw it suddenly open. l
saw no one but Mdlle. Rosalie. who must
have just passed. She turned her head,
and slightly bowed. l nodded, and locked
myself again in my room. There 1 re-
manned till evening, when my wife knock
ed at the door, and called to me in a voice
of extreme agitation. cit is coming" 1
thought, with set teeth, as l admitted her.
Her face was white, her hands trembled,
her voice shook as she spoke.
1.-THE detective wishes to see you, Rich
ard'
"Good Godr'
"Richardr' cried my wife, laying her
hand upon my arm. What is the mat
ter?''
Nothing - nothingl" I stammered.
"What should be the matters Let the of
ficer come in.n
In point of fact he was already in the
passage: heard his footsteps there In
voluntarily my hand wandered towards
the pocket which contained the ring and
the cord
II took the liberty of following your
wife, sir" said the detective, pushing open
the door, ''the business being pressing
Leave u.s." l said to my wife, She
obeyed, with long, solicitous look at me.
/ turned to the detective-"Weu?'
AN important matter, SIR" said the de-
tective. Samuel Fleetwood is caughtl''
CHAPTER XII.
"Caughtr' echoed, my voice scarcely
rising above a whisper At that moment
felt that my fate was hanging in the bal
ance.
Not exactly caught, sir" said the de-
tective, in a tone of vexation, as though
not the matter but the manner of the in
cident displeased him. He has given
himself up"
''How did it happen?"
81 was in the police station with the in
spector when a man came in, or rather
staggered in. We had to catch him, to
prevent him from falling, and we thought,
of course, that he was drunk. Not bit
of it. Nearer dead than drunk. With a
face like the face of a ghost, and worn to
skeleton. When he could speak, he said
in voice we could hardly hear, it was so
faint, My name is Samuel Fleetwood. 1