The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-03-20

3 tAGns liz I64 FNDAcAA lis lAL4c-kut
name Of the first Frenchmsn with whom he
had ever been on anything ike familiar
terms, and here as II by miracle. was the
legitimate bearer OF it carrying 10 has
/ very presence an unconscious challenge
| and reprOach.
! Mons Dom dropped in at the Black Bull,
I the flavor Of whose excellent cup Of cognao
/ he was already acquai ted with, aud there
/ awaited Hetheridge's arrival.
/ The landlord Of the Bull was always
ready for a cnat, and DOM after the man
ner Of bis nation, was inclined TO be loqun-
cious about things which we're Of no special
moment, though-still like his natIon-he
/ could be seoretive enough, when be chose.
81 have met your Meestare Hetheridge, !"
/ said Dom He IS as guessed be would
be. the gentleman l knew. IL was to me he
spoke his last word before riding away to
get lost in the bush. Life is a curious thing,
that brings us two again together after 50
long time sad so far away"
"Yes,n the landlord assented. Its
bit queer altogether, Mr.. Dom.
It's very odd thing that
two Frenchmen bearing the same name
should come into a little place like this
One right on top one Of another. | wonder
where that bloodthirsty old party is! You
never saw anybody as looked less likely to
commit a murder A mild-spoken, quiet
hammered, queer old chap "a ever you'd
pretty Nigh with his old fists a quavering
on his walkin' stick. He Looked as If be
couldn't a hurt a child. even il he'd a wanted
TO. Couldn't hardly speak a word Of En-
glish. There was iardly anybody, save Mr..
Redwood, as could understand him when he
talked. l suppose the thing will stop
mystery now since it's gone so far. But the
thing asll alias puzzle me is what the old
boy done it far. The two was always
friendly Ia sort o. way. There was no
notion about robbery. Poor Mr.. Red
woods watch and chain, and his pocket
book. with five and thirty pounds in 1t, In
Bank of England notes, and the money in
his pockets-why. they was all there TO q
halfpenny."
Mons Dom slipped his oognac and pulled
refiectively at his pipe of sweet caporal
"Yes," he said. 1T is strange. 1t is very
strange"
He had fallen into an odd mool !, and be
sat with a curious expectation, a sense he
could not have defined, though il had been
TO gave his life. 1t was as if a man should
sit in a twilight chamber with almost a
surety that by and by a door would open
and show him some unheard-of thing.
The landlord, pleased with listener, went
on.
There's the murder-that's a queer
thing. There's thai old Frenohman comm
from nobody knows where. to do 1t, and
goin' nobody knows where, when it's done
and that's q queer thing. There's you, as
different from the man as light from dark,
comm In among US. and bringing his name
back again. And then as queer as any of
'em, here's Mr.. Redwoods old friend, reck-
oned to be dead this two years, turning up
two days after the murder like a ghost. I'm
-" said the landlord, 'if ever l heard of
such a lot Of queer things together In ali my
life."
Mr.. Hetheridge." asked Dom, was the
friend of the man who was killedp
Brought up together" the landlord an
swered. Pretty much like brothers, till
they was or AMI 20. They had bit of
tiff later on about the young lady poor
MIR. Redwood married. They both wanted
her. and Mr.. Redwood got her. The other
man, he went out to Australia
And was lost for two years." said Dom.
THAT is long time to be lost for"
YES" said the landlord, frothing out a
mug of beer for himself. tits a Iongish
time; but when you come to think about it
it's natural enough. The poor man seems
to have got sunstroke In the wilds out
there. I've heard him say he didn't remem-
Der even his own name when he got into his
right mind again"
There was the open doorl But standing
in the light it gave or seemed to give was an
imagination 80 monstrous, SO unfoundsd, so
gratuitously impossible and absurd, that
Mons. Dom waved it imperatively on one
side and declined to look at it.
Gould not remember his own name"
said the landlord
'And so took miner
The words sprang into Dom's mind, and
were almost at his lips before he saw how
wild they would have sounded if spoken,
how mad they seemed even to his own
fancy.
This Hetheridge had known him; Andre
Dom had vanished for two years from the
sight of the world, had had reason to hate
Redwood had come to the scene of the
murder within two days of its preparation.
Well, what was there in all that9 The root
of the ridiculous fancy, of which it would
be wise to breathe no word.
For the next ten minutes the landlord had
the talk entirely to himself. Mons. Dom
smoked assiduously, stroking his huge mus
tache, and gruntinR yes or no at random.
AT the end of that time Hetheridge entered,
and the FrenchmAn awaking from his rev.
erie plunged into talk with him.
Our good friend the patron, "has been
telling me that you suffered from a sun
stroke from your wanderinGs in the bush"
Yes" said Hetheridge with avertei face.
YOU'D have thought it too late in the year
for that, wouldn't you? But 1 remember
one or two blazing days"
Was that fancy. the little Vigneron asked
himself, or was it humbuga
He remembered the long and painful
search for the missing man, and he recalled
it infinitely, detail by detail Hot weather
for the season OF the year undoubtedly, but
hot enough for sunstroke! Possibly he
thought at last. There was no knowing
precisely what might happen to a man
weakened by want and ex po3ure.
He decided that he suspected nothing.
That as an honorable and clean minded
hn hnd Nrwht 10 49,
The fancy which had attacked him, was no
better than an intrusive madness. He would
let it go.
But all the same 1t chung.
CHAPTER XVI.
Sam Potter was domiciled in London in
the highly respectable boarding house off
the Gray's Inn Road. The little Matilda
was in Wellsted in care of her infant charge
there until such time as the Rev. Jordan
Farrell should secure a successor for her
Sam had been formally introduced to the
lawyers who had charge of his affairs, and
they were taking out letters Of administra-
ton for him.
Nothing but the routine business had to
be gone through, and Sam in the
hands of the lawyers, was docile and did as
he was commanded SO that things went
smoothly. and in fortnight he was in full
possession Of his own.
In the meantime he had afforded dread
full exercise to Matilda's maiden aunt. He
was perfectly quiet, and so far as the good
LADY knew, was strictly virtuous and sober
D h had L. Il.