The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-04-29
copyright 1893 BY The Author, ]
CHAPTER XIV,
WHAT PAuL pIscoYEREp

forth in the last chapter, He was
alone, and was evidently In the brown
est OF brown studies, for one hand was
pressed against his brow, which was
puckered into thoughtful lines, while
his eyes were bent on long and closely
written communication lying on tho
small table before him.
It was letter from his ward, Paul
Meredith, and had reached him an hour
ago. The epistle had been placed in
his hands at the breakfast table, but
after hasty glance at the hand.writ-
ing, he had thrust it into his pocket
unopened. He had recognized the
hand OF his ward in the address, and q
foreboding that something OF an un-
pleasant nature was pending had pre-
Guided him from reading Paul'a letter
with the eyes Of his wife and daughter
upon him.
SO, after poor and hurried meal, he
had excused himself to Lady Carsland
and Cordelia, and sought the privacy OF
his private Banctum. There he had
torn OFF the envelope with eager fingers
to find the following amazing state
ment:-
"MY DEAR sIR:-You will probably
remember that when | last saw you in
London left your house in temper,
had come home expecting TO find
Miss Birmingham waiting to welcome
me back again, and instead OF that |
found that you and Lady Oarsland had
taken advantage Of my absence, and
other matters which had arisen, to
drive Salome away.
"You may recollect also that / left
you both with q yelled threat on my
lips. Itold you then that | was going
TO find Salome, il could do so, and
that / might also discover something
else. What that something else meant
you will learn by reading on to the end.
An idea had Just struck me, and l in
stantly resolved to set to work and
prove to my own satisfaction whether
the thought was we'll founded or COM
pletely baseless.
~ will tell you, Sir Sydney, what that
idea was. It was this. That you were
really the father Of salome Birmingham.
Once such a thought got fixed in my
mind, had no difficulty in recollecting
certain matters which all tended to
show that my supposition was right.
First Of all you had shown dislike to
the engagement between Salome and
myself. and / we'll remember how inter-
ested-even startled--you were that
night when made you acquainted with
the history Of Salome and her mother,
as she had told it to me.
Besides these things, there was the
singular fact that the name OF the man
who married Salome Velazo was identi-
cally that OF yours-with the exception
OF your surname-and his age was APP
parently what yours would be at that
time. Again, l had been told that for
some months before the sudden death
OF your father and brother, you We're
away from homo in disgrace. Where
you were hiding then, my informant
an old friend OF yours-could not say,
but it struck me that you must have
been at Marlcombe.
Reasoning thus, l resolved to set to
work at once, and did so. My first step
was to proceed to Carsland Hall, where
remembered there was an excellent
portraitin miniature OF yourself, painted
by someone shortly after you succeeded
to the title and estates.
"The servants will have told you,
daresay. that / visited the hall and
stayed there a few hours, but they
would not notice that your portrait,
which stood on the mantle piece Of the
west drawing room, was missing. Prob
ably, they never missed it, but II you
care to look you will find that 1t is gone.
OF course took 1t, and you will guess
why.
IiAf,, ,.n,,L okan ,ya, "a ,onlyo M, x,o1,
to the Yorkshire village, where Salome,
her mother, grandfather, and grand
mother had lived. On arriving at Marl-
combe / had no difficulty in discovering
quite q number OF people who remem.
bered old Pedro Velazo, his daughter
Saiome YeiaEo, and the man calling
himself Sydney Birmingham, who had
married the old gamekeeper's child,
aud who had disappeared so mysteri-
ously few months afterwards.
mot few OF these people seemed to
possess vivid recollection OF Salome
Velazo's husband. He had come to set
tie among them In such remarkable
fashion that they had taken more than
passing interest in his appearance and
personality, as you can we'll understand;
and the majority of these folks when l
showed them your portrait identified it
Immediately rs that OF tho man whom
they had all known as Sydney Barring
ham.
Among those whom interviewed
was the Rev. Martin Robinson, the
present vicar OF st. Chad's church, at
Marlcombe. He was the clergyman
who united Sydney Birmingham and
Ea1aVs.a Natnwa al Ia L. It
who are most certain that your portrait
lie that Of salome BarringhRm's father.
"But came across another thing
which furnishes even moro conclusive
proof in support OF my theory that Sid.
ney Birmingham and Sir sydney Bar.
bingham Carsland arc simply the same
men. Among tho Marlcombe wotnen
who remembered Saome's mother
there Is one, farmers wife, who was
formerly on terms OF intimacy with "a.
lomo Velazo. After being deserted by
her husband, Mrs. Birmingham went to
live with this woman, Mrs. Williams,
who was then newly.marrled, and
stayed with her for considerable time.
Before leaving the neighborhood,
Mrs Birmingham, being In very poor
circumstances, disposed OF ring to
Mrs. Williams, This ring, It seems, had
belonged 10 Sydney Birmingham, and
after his disappearance II was found
among his things. bought the ring
from tho woman, and II is now In my
possession. IL is a signot ring zone Of
tho kind that worO invogue mNny yenrs
ago--and probably belonged, originally,
TO your father, Sir Nicholas Carsland,
40 tho anal consists OF his crost aud mi.
tails When you see \, am in hopes