Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-02-05
The Curse Of the More
lands.
By LEON LEWIS.
CHAPTER n-6Continasd.l

with that curious sort of interest she
would have taken in tWo-headed calf. 4"
"You are inclined to be bitter, see,
Mr.. HillingtOn," commented Radd.
~But the facts are still bitterer, Mr..
MOrcland," assured the East Indian.
"To sum up the whole situation in a
breath, my advent here has proved a
complete failure"
because of some enemy who is oper-
ating secretly against you? Is not that
your idea?n
Exactly"
%Then who is hep"
Il can't even imagine"
@But who do you think he is?"
Il can't SO much as offer q rational
cOnjecturel"
%Have you thought OF Robinett?H
"Yes; but what can RObinett have
against me, and what can he have heard
to my detriment?"
@Then you do not accuse him?"
@No-nor. any one else. All know is
that my presence here and my reYela-
lions have been discounted by the mother
and daughter, and that I have no foot
Ing with them-not the slightestiS
~But what do you think Of my niece,
now that you have seen her?"
The East Indian moved as uneasily
as If a reptile had crawled over HIS
limbs.
am unable to answerl" he declared.
slow unable?"
"My whole soul is afame, Mr.. More
landl Pm literally mad, and all the more
infatuated with her because realize that
there is not the slightest chance for fair
means to win her!"
@Indeed!" commented Radd. "a curl
GUS situationi"
a brief silence succeeded, and then
Radd resumed:
@In which room are you lodged?"
an the one called the old dining
ROOM It's the corner room nearest to
the road"
Radd smiled grimly, and a strange,
nervous excitement suddenly became ap-
parent in his demeanOr.
allow have you passed the afternoon?"
he asked. with attentive eye and ear to
all his surroundings; "with the ladies?"
"Only the two first hours after my ar
rival" replied Hillington. "Then went
out for walk in the grounds; but did
not go far, for the reason that I did
not wish to take any risks about my bag
gage"
ado you know whether any letters
came down from Doctor RObinett or the
WyeVilles'?"
al do not. The ladies are very re-
served, and seemed to be agreed to give
"You have seen nothing of those three
gentlemen, or any one of them?"
"No, sir"
upon the whole, then, you have been
decidedly uncomfortable, and have every
reason TO think that your stay here will
not be a long One?"
Hillington assented, and Radd grew
more excited, while he fumbled in one of
his pockets.
aThe ladies do not know where you
are at this moment, I suppose?" he
questioned.
aNo, sir. They think I'm abed. The
truth is, was so Internally disguised
and uncomfortable that pretended to be
worn out with my travels and asked them
to excuse me-"
"You came out the side door, did you?"
Hillington po"d"d.
"And have the Key in your pocket?"
Certainly. I wouldn't leave my bag
gage unguarded a single moment for
anything"
@Who have you seen here?"
"Only the mother and daughter and
their two servants, Lottie and Mrs. Bar
nett-the former a sprightly, good
natured, rosy-cheeked maid, and the
latter model housekeeper, although as
prim and stiff as a ramrod."
"And you've seen nothing Of any men
folks?"
sNo, with the exception of a half
witted lad called Sammy. I understood
that he lives in a hut at no great dis
lance, which was once occupied by his
mother"
The CLEAN in Radios eyes deepened.
He looked searchingly around again,
with the air of man watching and lis
tening.
%Did you hear anything2" he asked.
~No; did You?"
Instead of answering, Radd suddenly
arose, and caught the East Indian
around the neck with a desperate grip,
pressing upon his face couple Of hand
kerchiefs which had been saturated with
all the chloroform they would hold.
Vain and short was the struggle, so
terribly had HillingtOn been taken at a
disadvantage, and he soon lay like one
dead in the hands of his assailant.
Depositing the helpless figure on the
ground, Radd searched for the keys he
wanted, and in another moment was on
his way to the MOreland cottage.
Favored alike by the light which
cleaned out from it and by the rapidly
gathering darkness, he at length stood
looking into one of the windows of the
room which had been assigned the East
Indian, and in which lamp had been
left burning.
What his eyes sought so earnestly was
the visitors baggage.
There it is, escaped him
Agained he looked around and lis
tened.
The mother and daughter had evident
" Just returned from the parlor to their
sitting-room, for light had vanished
from the former room only to appear in
the latter.
Pausing in the concealment Of a group
of bushes barely long enough to assure
himself that his sister-in-laW and niece
were in the latter apartment, Radd
glided around the corner Of the house
and gained the private door leading to
Hillington's apartment.
To enter unheard was task requiring
time and patience, but Radd was ade-
quate to it, and by the end of another
minute he had accomplished it in ST.
lence.
And what wild joy flowed from his
eyes and features, as he knelt beside the
trunk which had so long fixed his atten-
ton and sought for the key to unlock it.
The search was a brief one, and the
trunk was soon opened.
Then began a search of its contents.
a little solid, sole leather trunk did not
long escape his attention, and he drew
It out upon the floor with a wild, thrilling
Joy which requires no description.
aOf course It is the one in which
Colonel Ridley placed his two millions
before sailing from India" he thought,
his eyes glowing like live Goals at
responds In every way TO the little solid,
sole leather trunk described in the
Colonel's last letter from India AhiD
The current Of his thoughts suddenly
ceased flowing, and he gasped for breath.
He noticed that the seals Of the trunk
were broken, and an awful fear con-