Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-03-13

is posted outside directly under the win
dow, and he has instructions from me-"
~Ahl the odd lad By whom you COM
municatsd with me this morningf Where /
did you pick him up?"
Several years ago on the other side of |
the world, where suppose they would
call him an embryo hoodlum, for lack OF
q better name. He has been my COM
panion ever since, though would gladly |
dispense with his services now-inValua-
BILE as they ara in a certain way"
Boncourt looked at his visitor thought
fully for some moments without speak
ing:
last--more than should have sup
posed"
And you seem to have changed scarce
ly at ALL" said Jasper. However, some
; If my own fading must be attributed to
this"
As he spoke, he raised his hand to his
head, which the removal of his hat had
shown to have recently sustained heavy
blow. A portion of the scalp had been
shaven completely bare, and over the
space this made were tightly laid several
strips of adhesive plaster; while his face
| vet betrayed the traces Of severe suffer-
ing through its bronze c.ld beard.
Hal but that was murderous stroke
| you received, exclaimed Boncourt. No
wonder that your cousin thought you
dead when he hurled you into the vault,
from which you were SO strangely res
cued. But you have had competent
surgeon. What did he say about itP"
Simply that the skull had escaped
being fractured That is enough for me,
though am still suffering pain. Per-
haps it is more from the standardization
/ underwent in the vault than from this
crack on my crown. How astonished that
! villain must have been at finding the
vault empty this morningl"
"You may we'll believe it. Why he
chose this mornings church hours. when
the house was deserted by all save him
self, for the disposition of your precious
body-he even had your grave already
madei"
And here Boncourt gave his visitor q
rapid account Of the developments Of the
day, SO far as they had come to his
knowledge.
@Oh, the villainl the deep, designing,
treacherous, murderous villainl" muttered
; Jasper. But his game is nearly up.
With his written confession yet in my
! possession, / can, almost at my option,
cause his downfall, get back my own. re-
| BDOr6 DOUE Olu alWOTDu w AAb Oh1ss SoA-
found the schemes of both my cousin
Gilbert and that villain Croak, and at the
! same time bring justice and vengeance
on their heads.
1t was only Boncourt's perfect self-con-
} | troll that prevented him from moving un-
: easily in his seat.
; He rather liked the man before him
his recollections were agreeably associ-
3 ated with him-and, in the abstract, he
: was perhaps disposed to sympathize witt
his misfOrtunes, his weaknesses, the
: wrongs he had done. But that was all
Never for an instant did Boncourt dream
of permitting an unselfsh sentiment tx
Q step in between him and his own inter
f ests. And now, in view Of his prospects
q through Adele's contemplated marriag
d with the bankers son and heir, he, as
g matter of course, was desirous OF any
d thing rather than Gilbert Marlowe's tinan
I, cial ruin and social disgrace, though
y was a matter Of vital moment to him tina
the latter should feel himself wholly i
!, his power.
) and you have that written and signe
Il confession still in your possession, JAS
: peri" said he.
le @To be sure"
D. -Strange that you should have still re
If tanned what he risked so much-even al
Ie tempted to murder-to snatch from you
le keepingi"
at is strange. I can hardly think
ls less than providentiall / can only az
T. count for it in this way By the wa,
O. that boy-my messenger of this mornin
9: did he recount fully to you the mannt
10 of nv escape, as instructed him?"
4 Il suppose so; but he said no mol
about the paper than merely to mentio
N your still having it.
lg well, account for my singular goc
luck something in this way: Gilbert
y murderous assault upon me with Il
iy ebony ruler was wholly unexpected
Sc fell upon me like thunderbolt. Bl
sd there was single feeting instant, q me-
ne atom of time, between my receiving Il
blow and falling to the floor, duril
u, which preserved INV consciousness.
On 1T comes back to me now like the vel
~ est flash, but in which !, nevertheless, 7
u call his snatching at the paper ST
clutched in my hand, mingled with Il
le, hurrying sound of approaching footstep
Is Then all was oblivion.
ds Il now think that, in snatching at t
ne paper, he had just time to seize and pc
aE haps scan it, when the noise OF approac
ls- ing footsteps caused him terror OF d
OF lection in murder, which, for the instar
banished every other thought.
lis what more likely than he should tn
e. have cast aside the paper, in order to pi
ng up my supposed corpse, and bear it Q
OF sight? What more likely, too, tn
OF the accidental falling of the paper ba
ne ne on my body to be included in the terfi6
I'm clutch with which he bore me out Of sig
NJ ~. Of the coming intruder, whoever he m
Ie, have been?~
t.. This theory Of Jasper's was, by
"a singular coincidence, such thorou
~ reflection Of the one that Wormer b
laA ventilated, that that ingenious a
asa analytic individual would have be
=. vi vastly delectated to have overheard
- elucidation in terms so nearly corr
~ @ ponding with his own.
~ aThe intruder at that critical junctl
'Iao could have been no one else than N
~ ~ Marlowe, the bankers own son, 81
tha Boncourt, thoughtfuily.
aHe was in the garden with my sist
~, friend of mine and myself, and, at ab
I. the time your messenger has told me
N assault was made, he returned to
-, house in search of q newspaper which
|, ~ said he had left on the Office table,
-. =. from which he wished to read someth
~ n, to Adele. Yes; the intruder must b
! - been he. However. Jasper, your the
,.aa Of accounting for the retention OF
~ paper seems to me simply absurd.
-. 1T seems so, at the first glance.
s"A ho,v else could YOU account for my Z