The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-11-21

! INTO his club that afternoon and met
| Desmond, writer of some repute, upon
the steps.
"Oh," said Vanbrugh, after greeting
him, what about that man Simmonds
you sent to Mailing
"Simmonds, my dear boy? Capital
fellow, very clever, died a year and a
half ago"
| "Eh?"
ooh | see" said Desmond, falling into
a roar of laughter. I've heard some
thing of this kind before. There's a
man going around begging under that
name, isn't there? And you've been
hit? How much did he get out of you?
Motley gave him five pounds"
Il didn't lose so badly as that" said
Vanbrugh, trying to laugh too, but he
had me, l must confess. Then he didn t
come from Malling?"
"Bless your innocence, no. He's a
swindler, my boy, downright swind-
Ter.
And very clever one. I wish /
could get hold of him again!" said Van
brugh, grudgingly. "A clear case of
the worst kind Of theft"
He had his wish rather sooner than he
anticipated.
A few weeks later in the season he
was taking a short cut to the Strand
through some of the narrower and less
frequented streets near Drury Lane,
when his attention was caught by a
figure on the pavement which seemed
vaguely familiar. Where had he seen
before that shabby, jaunty figure, with
the soft felt hat, the Undesirable air
of poverty-stricken picturesqueness
Eanbrugh had an eye for likenesses; in
another minute he held the man by the
arm. 1t was the swindler, indeed
the so-called Charles Simmonds him
self
But the man was more agile than
Nanbrugh thought. He turned a white,
terror-stricllen glance on his captor,
then wrenched himself free and dived
down a narrow lane on his right hand.
Needless of consequences. Nanbrugh
plunged in pursuit through the crowd,
but the man was evidently well &C
quainted with the mazeS of the streets,
and was speedily lost to view. Van
hrugh, perceiving his pursuit to be
useless, stopped short, and found him
self in a narrow alley, which his in
stinct told him was dangerous" The
sinister folk who lounge about it be-
longed Enthusiastically to the criminal
classes. AS he had no mind to be de-
spoiled of his watch or his purse, he
shrugged his shoulders and prepared to
depart; but at that moment his eye
was caught by a face which peered at
him from an upper window and re-
treated-the very face, with its long,
fair mustache, of the man of whom he
was in search. Vanbrugh, as will be
evident to every reader of these pages,
was not prudent man. In at the
open door of the house, and up the COM
mon stairs he dashed, quite needless of
the probability that he was rushing
headlong into den of thieves. He had
as quick an eye for locality as for like
nesses, and knew at once the exact po-
sition of the room at the window of
which he had seen the pseudo Sim
monds. He went straight to the door,
threw it open, and walked in.
He looked around and stood aghast.
No man was in the room at all. 1t was
tenanted only by tall girl in black,
who sat at table on which stood Il
sewing machine.
AS soon as Vanbrugh looked at her
and met her eyes he felt vaguely
startled and taken aback. Why, this
girl-in spite of her shabby clothes,
her sewing machine, her poor surround
ings-this girl was lady. Her pale
face was eXquisitely refined. Her hair
shone like spun gild above her common
gown. Her eyes were SO proud, so sad,
so calm. that Vanbrughs gaze fell be-
meath them.
''Do you want anything?" she said
and her voice was the voice of lady,
too.
Il beg your pardon" said Vanbrugh,
removing his hat. Il thought | had
tracked a man to this roon.-a swindler,
thief, whom 1 have long been in
StlICll Wl--DuJ L WIS ILLS Sdkeu, per-
haps-"
''There is no thief here" said the
girl, briefly, and began to work her ma
chine as if to put an end to the colloquy.
But her face had crimsoned and then
turned white.
Nanbrugh made one step to her side,
and put his hand on her wrist.
You know where he is" he said,
sternly. "IIe has passed through this
room. All, there is door"
He dropped her wrist, and would
have stridden to the little wooden door
which he had not at first observed, had
not the girl, casting aside her mask of
calm and quiet, thrown herself upon
him and barred the way.
"Oh, stop, stop-if you have any
mercy" sh-, cried, don't follow him
don't go that way. l know what you
have cons for-but it is not altogether
his fault-oh, won't you listen? won't
you be merciful?"
Nanbrugh's position suddenly struck
himself as humiliating and ridiculous.
He had wanted to catch the swindler,
certainly, and had rather thought of
giving him thrashing instead of hand