The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-31
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY JULY 3D. 18e2rwELvE PAGES

the hue and cry which would be raised
when the heir was missing. He expected
then to be safely out Of England beyond
detection with his child.
The discovery Of her in the person of the
unexpected witness altered everything
The days went by, and he would never
have so much as thought Of the appointed
meeting, but that Royal argued that for a
man 60 disappear when but just come into
such wealth, especially such a man as the
hunchback, would arouse extraordinary
suspicion, and if a search were started,
where else would the detective first turn his
attention but to the house in which he had
last seen the missing man.
In any case, doubt must rest upon Royal,
who was there at the time, to say nothing
OF the evidence which a search might bring
TO light
In this dilemma the fellew suggested the
scheme OF the Rats repeating his imperson-
alton; for even in daylight no one would
believe that any man could distort bis nat
ural body into..a likenesstoIthe hunchback's a
trlcE, indeed, which would have been inn
possible even for the Rat, but for the acct
dent OF his having learned it as a boy. The
Rat, however, resolutely refused, because
In his anxiety for his daughter be had no
ear for mis- partners fears. Royal at hrst
was tsrror-stricken, but all at once, when
ne nrss despaired OF getting safely out of
the scrape, his partner changed his mind.
1t had dawned upon the Rat that the
search might touch the girl, and for her
sake he decided to accede to Royals re-
quest.
He tore himself away from her bedside
20 assume the horrible semblance Of the
dead man once again, aud. strange as it
may seem, completely batfled even Mr.. Fer
rets sharp eyes
The hunchbacks very deformities made
the task all the easier while the accident to
his jaw, which had rendered his voice al
most unintelligible aud easy to initiate, re-
moved the last chance of detection.
But the Rat had scarcely made a new ap-
pointment with Mr.. Ferret for the produc-
ton OF his papers before entering into for
NAL possession than he found himself COLI
fronted by new difficulty.
As Royal had said, the Rat, in spite Of
the large sums he made by the sale of the
property he stole, not however as great as
was supposed, since great care had to be
taken in the disposal-goods often lying by
for years for fear Of mourning suspicion
had never been one to enjoy, like his young
partner, the spending of them on his own
pleasure, much less the boarding OF them
like miser.
What he snatched with one hand he gave
away with the other. Many q starving
wretch owed TO him his support. For him
self he had kept only sufficient for the bare
necessities of life, and for the carrying on
OF his work, the expenses of which were
often very considerable.
He was singularly careless in his bargains
about the stolen DDS, his eagerness for
their possession always ceasing when they
were obtained. Thus Dark. LIS favorite
dealer, had made rich harvest The capt.
ure of this agent on the very morning
after the sacking Of Brandon Hall, only a
few hours after the "swag" had been de-
posted with him, was a seve. Q blow, for
Royal in his style of living made his money
fly as carelessly rs did his partner, hence
bis greed for his victims gold in the fatal
game at cards.
The Rat, however, in his anxiety about
his daughter, had never needed his position
until, in his efforts on her behalf, he found
himself sadly cramped for want OF money.
1t was useless for him to regret having
put all his eggs in one-Dark s-basket, es-
pecially when the remedy was so easy. He
had but to set to his work again to WIN at
once whatever he needed.
But for the first time the Rat sank from
his task. He felt as if he lacked what he
knew to be essential to success, O belief in
his own powers.
Yet money he was in need of. and money
he must have. Ia his perplexity he remem-
bered the wealth winch belonged to the new
baronet, and there flashed across his mind
the wish that 1t was his, for his child's sake.
Bit by bit the idea came TO him to carry on
tie deception as a permanent thing
Certainly he was half beside himself, and
never fully comprehendsd the difficulties
IN his path. In the other and greater ex-
elements he had never needed tho fact that
If he were to assume the distortions If his
cousin it would make MS limbs ache in a
way which, if the practice were continued,
would mean acute pain. The whole scheme
seemed shaped by an unseen hand. One
man must disappear from the world for his
own safety, and the other must take his
place for the safety of the child who, all
unsinning, had been so hardly sinned
against.