The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-16
THU GREAT MILL STREET MYSTERY
By ADEIlINE SRRGEA NIT
Author Jacobs WIFE, oYs REPENTANCE"
FALSE PRErENcEs," ETC.
IALL RIGHTS RESERVED1
PART l.
CHAPTER XVII.

body in the house except Stephen
Eyre and his friends knew of her
presence there. With an astuteness
born partly of love and partly of supersti-
ton, Stephen had for many weeks past
made arrangements for her reception. The
house in Baldwin's court where he now
lived was in such adilapidated and rickety
condition that it was almost deserted even
by the wretched crew who had formerly
made it their abode. In one of the rooms a
cruel murder had been perpetrated, and not
few persons in the court firmly believed
that the dead mans groaus could still be
heard at night when all the houss was still
Owing to these circumstances, Stephen had
had little difficulty in hiring
two rooms at almost nominal prices
on the floor above the apart
ment where the murder had been commit
ted. With his own hands, and little help
from his brother and Alice Drew, he had
cleaned, whitewashed, repaired these rooms
most thoroughly, transported to them such
small articles of furniture as belonged to
him, and then removed old Mrs Flint from
her miserable attic in Mil street to place
which she might well have deemed luxuri-
Gus, but which she, after the manner of her
kind, spent her time in decrying and grumb-
ling al. With Mrs. Flint he persuaded
Alice Drew to establish herself. the girl
did not live IN barracks" although she did
good deal of work for 1.-The Army and
she was glad to combine home for herself
with care for sick and aged person. Ia
the next room Steve and Dick slept and
ate, and III the empty rooms below Stephen
occasionally did some of his cabinet work,
Ata fa.Y RI Of -oc
passed in a workshop not far from White
chapel Road. The ground floor was occu-
pied by very deaf Old cobbler on the one
hand, and couple OF factory girls on the
other: and the cellars and garrets were used
from time to time, but never permanently,
by dodgers OF a veSy low class indeed. 1t
was not the sort of house in which the
Eyres were accustomed to live. They had
usually possessed rooms in a much more re-
spectacle neighborhood, and, as we have
previously said, Stephen had set his heart
on a small house which he and Jess were to
have had all to themselves. For, being a
skilled workman, steady and industrious,
be could easily manage to make from two
to three pounds week; and he had already
saved money with which he had meant 10
buy furniture. During the first months of
his evangelistic fervor he had almost given
up his trade; but of late, and especially
since the Salvation Army people had re-
buked him for the unchristan spirit which
they rightly enough declared to be evil
dencing itself in him, he had resumed his
old occupation. and was again IN the receipt
of good weekly wages.
Ali these circumstances combined to make
his capture of Jess tolerably easy. Very
few people took sufficient interest in his do
ings or in Mrs. Flint's welfare, to inquire
what became of him and his charge when
thew disappeared from Mill street; the
presence of a bedridden old woman in Alice
Drew's room was scarcely known even to
the other jewellers III the house. 1t excited
no interest and no remark, even when it
was known. The population of Baldwin's
court and Mill street was of very floating
kind: and the memory of any man or
woman who did not make himself or her
self conspicuous amongst them soon died
away.
When Jess first realized that she had been
made prisoner, and that Stephen meant
TO keep her there against her will, she was
not at first so much frightened as angry. 1t
seemed to her that she should easily SEE him
at defiance, that she could bend him to her
will as she had bent him in days of old.
She thought that she could elude his vigil
lance. or that Alice Drew could be bribed to
take her part and let her out. 1t would be
matter of few hours at most she told
herself. Fortunately George would not be
and she could explain to Mrs. Fogg and
Miss Vyner that she had been detained.
Thus she spoke to herself with uuabated
courage; nevertheless. she fell into passion
of angry weeping. and would neither touch
food, nor look at Stephen Eyre again. His
words about the nullity of her marriage
and the shame Of her position hardly
touched her as yet. She did not believe
them, and it seemed to her that 1t would be
easy to punish Stephen for his misconduct
to her.
She fell asleep from sheer exhaustion
after a time, with her head upon a chair;
but when Alice Drew spoke TO her, asking
whether she would not take off her clothes,
or have something to eat, she answered
shortly and Indignantly IN the negative
sleeping again, however. as soon as the
words were well out of her mouth. Alice
Drew looked with somewhat puzzled eyes
at the pale, pure face of the sleeping girl.
She saw no trace of guilt or degradation
upon that fair brow. The breath came
peacefully between the gently parted lips.
like the breath of an innocent child. Alice
knitted her brow with wonderment, shook
her head, and betook herself to prayer, for
she was very much in earnest, and was de-
termined to help Stephen to reclaim this
one sinner from the error of her way. But
then Jess looked so little like any sinner
that Alice Drew had ever knownl The
only way out Of the difficulty was TO con-
clude that she was far worse than an ordi-
nary sinner, and was therefore better able
to disguise her wickedness.
Jess awok9 in tho early hours of the cold
January morning aud wondered where she
was. For few moments she fancied her.
self back in Mill street, in the days before
George Eastwood's appearance. she heard
her grandmother groaning fretfully to her
self in bed she felt the old sensations OF
cramp and hunger and cold. Was 1t time TO
go to market for her howers9 and bad she
been beaten over night that she felt so stiff
and sore!
Then she remembered, and started up.
Mrs. Flint lay in the best bed, and in
muca humber pallet. the half Of which had
been offered to Jess the night before, lay
Alice Drew. The fire was still red, though
II had fallen low in the CRATE; and the win
dow was closely shut cred. There we're two
doors IN The room--one leading 10 the room
which jess bad first entered. another opeE-
ing on the lending. The girl stole softly %
the second door and tried 10 open il. she
found IL locked from the outside. Then she
opened The other door ard made q step into
tbs room. But here light was burning.