Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1890-02-26
the boys who would swarm over when

they got chance. "iust to have look
at the place" had been attracted that
morning by the shrill cries of Mona,
who. now more neglected than ever,
spent all day in the garden in spite of
the fog. He ran to the pond. where
she was nearly always to be found, and
whence her cries came, fe airing She had
ia len in. But he found her standing
in the mud on the edge of it, screaming:
with stick at an object in the water.
1t was the body of her father entangled
among the reeds.
The down-trodden grass and rushes at
that corner of the pond nearest to the
stilc which joined the path through the
plantation to the path through the field
beyond told the story of how he must
have missed his way coming through
| the plantation in the dense fog of
Wednesday night, on his way back
from the hall to the Alders, slipped
into the pond, and been drowned out
| there in the fog and darkness, while his
dog Nap, hearing his cry for help, had
tried in vain by bowling and barking,
to draw attention to his masters need.
1t was an awful thing that night to
lie awake in my strange room at the
| Vicarage, and picture to myself the
dead Mr.. Rayner lying at the Alders,
the sole occupant, with the exception
of the woman hired to watch by him,
of the big, dreary house where he, with
his love of fun and laughter, had
seemed to me to be the one ray OF
brightness.
heard next day that two passages,
booked in the name of ''Mr. and Mrs.
on board ship which left Liverpool
for New York on the very Thursday
when we were to have started on our
journey Ito Monaco The tickets
were found upon him, and also the
necklace. which proved to be val
liable ornament of rubies that had be-
longed to Mrs. Cunningham, which he
had clasped round my neck on the
night of his death. but which 1 had
flung upon the floor. These were the
only ones, of all the stolen jewels
which were ever recovered, with the
exception of the diamond pendant,
Dalston. Upon the house being
searched, the candle which had fallen
from my hand when l first went into
the cellar under the store-room was
found under the stagnant water there,
and also the brown portm anteau, W hich
was identified as one belonging to Sir
Jonas Mills; but the Jewels, with the eX-
ception of a stray drop from an ear
ring, had disappeared
Gordon wrote from America to his
former master, Mr.. Carruthers, apollo
giving for his hasty departure. Moth
ing more was heard of him under that
name, but some time afterward a rep
resentative of the United States Con-
gress, who was described as a rich
West India merchant, made a great
NV al,
upon some financial question; a rough
, sketch of him in New York illus
trated paper fell into the hands of Mr..
) Carruthers, who sent it to Laurence,
5 and under the trinity cut mustache and
hair parted very much on one side we
, fancicd we recognized something like
the clear cut features and bland ex
, preston of our old friend Gordon.
, I was married to Laurence before the
trial of poor Tom Parkes and of the
!? subordinate WI Id oEeh caught re
= to give evidence, and l was so mucl
distressed at having TO do so, tina
l Tom, good-natured to the last, ca!let
4 out:
Don't take on so, miss. Lor' blcs
). you, you can't say any worse thai
r they know! It's only a matter O
G form"
q He took stolid sort Of glory in hi
r iniquitirs, pleaded Guilty" to tn
h charges brought against him OF takin
Q an active part in all three robbcries
v and cNulted especially in the neatnes
J. NJ the execution of the robbery at Den
/ ham Court, where the various article
\ stolen were being quietly ahstracte
,e one by one at different times, by Coz
v don for Two or three days before tn
Tuesday. when they We're finally cal
r ried off by Mr.. Rayner, and taken b
- him and Tom to the Alders whel
p Sarah had received them, as l ha
~ | seen.
d. to what had become of the jewe
,e afterward Tom protested himself ;
of innocent as child; but whether tn
ct was true or not, nobody believed hin
er He was sentenced to fourteen year
to penal 'servitude, and he did not he'
ed the sentence with half SO much conce1
ne as I.
cir Poor Mrs. Rayner never entire
shook off the gloomy reserve 'whi'
ut had grown round her during tho
,r, long years of her miserable marriag
ay Kind-heartcd SIR Jonas Mills w
m among the very first to come forw a
be to help her; and, by his generous {
rs sistance and that of other friends. S
er- went to live abroad, taking Haid
n with her, and Jane, who proved
ok | most devoted servant and friend.
de Laurence and l, who were MARI
W, before she left England, underto
lal the care of poor little savage MOI
ors who has grown into almost as nice
of child as her sister, And now l hs
zen one of my own, too.
IVY THE END.
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