St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1893-01-07

tween himself and Mr.. Lumsden. Go.
ing forward into his room he took III
the telephone tube with the intention OF
signaling to his friend that he was there
and at his service. The tube was in his
hand, and he was on the point of put
ting it to his lips when a sound which
reached him through it arrested his at
tention and caused him to clap it to his
| ear instead. What he heard sounded to
him like an inarticulate cry, as it might
be, of surprise or fear, followed, the mo-
ment the tube touched his ear, by the
words, ooh, Harry, Harry-this from
| you'll" Close upon which came a groan,
then dull thud as of some heavy body
| falling, and last of all, after a brief
silence, but very family, what seemed
like the clashing of door,
For few moments longer Mr. Orde
stood with the tube glued to his ear like
man stupefed, but no further sound of
any kind reached him. Then his wits
came back to him in some measure. He
of giving before and waited, with sick
ening suspense impossible to describe,
for a response. But none came. Again
he signaled, and again he waited; but
with like result, or rather with no re-
suit at all. The tube dropped from his
fingers and he sank into his chair utterly
dazed and confounded.
What bod 70 hio
Had he been the unwilling auditor of
tragedy in which Lumsden had played
the part Of victim? IF nothing had hap
pened, why had the latter failed to re,
spond to his summons? But the need for
ascertaining, beyond the possibility of
doubt, whether his fears had any foun-
dation in fact was spur to immediate
action. He rang and ordered hanson
to be fetched with all speed. While
waiting for it he signaled again through
the instrument, hoping against hope to
hear his friends CHEEKY ssHallool' in re-
turn, but the silence that ensued was as
the silence of the grave. 1t was with
heart replete with foreboding the most
dire that, q few minutes later, he found
himself on his way to Saint Augustines
alley, in which narrow but important
thoroughfare Lumsden's offices were
situated
But quick as he had been in reaching
the scene, the tragedy which had been
enacted therefor nothing less did it
prove to be-had already become public |
property. The premises were in charge
of the police, while the alley itself was
blocked by a surging crowd of men and
youths, each and all anxious to CLEAN |
the latest particulars of a crime so
startling and mysterious, for it is not
often that a merchant of the city of |
London is murdered in his own Office in |
broad daylight.
On the oblong mahogany table, at
which he had sat for SO many hours
every week day, lay the dead body of
Lumsden, a terrible wound on
his left temple, as if caused by some
blunt instrument, revealing to all pres
snt the nature of the foul play to which
ne had fallen victim.
The particulars of the affair, so far as
hey had yet been ascertained, were as
follows:
1t had been Mr.. Lumsden's practice
20 charge himself with the care of the
during luncheon time,
which was limited to half an hour,
when, as a rule, he and an Office boy
were the sole occupants of the ground
aoor, which comprised a couple of rooms
own Office and much
anger one for the use of the staff. On
his ninth of June, about five minutes
after the half dozen clerks had left in
body, the Office boy, Houghton by name,
vas sent by his master with note to
he head of firm some distance away,
Ind, according to his own account, was
zone just O quarter of an hour, during
which time it must have been that
Iumsden tried to open up a communica-
ion with his friend by telephone. On
he lads return he was Mortified at find
ng his masters body stretched lifeless
N the floor. 1t was evident that Lums-
len had been struck down while seated
lose to the telephone waiting for the
ignal that Orde had returned. Appear
noes led to the conclusion that the safe
lad been hurriedly rihed of whatever
totes and gold it might have contained,
he door being open and the floor Uttered
With documents of various kinds. So
ar all inquiries had failed to elicit the
lightest evidence of any one, either
tranger or otherwise, having been seen
o enter or leave the premises between
he time of Houghton's quitting them
nd his return. And there, for the
resent, the affair rested.
As the dead mans oldest friend it
low became James Orde's unenviable
uty to break the terrible tidings to his
wife and family.
CHAPTER II.