The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-03-15

sAp"iHs d IlltIe impatient, ne laid his I
hand gently upon her shoulder. As II I
thls touch had been all that was nee /
essary TO disturb it's equilibrium, the
motionless figure slipped sideways, and /
would have fallen to the ground had
he not caught 1t in his arms. AS he
did so his hand came in contact with /
the cheek, which was cold as ice, whilst
the form, which had been a little time
before so full of 1.-THE grace, swayed
helpiessly in his grasp. A horrible
suspicion came over him, and regard
less OF what he did. he placed his hand
upon the girls heart There was no
pulsation. and the terrible conviction
forced itself upon him that the Rance
OF Oranipore was dead
Hardly knowing what he did. Man.
Ters placed the dead girl on the seat.
and hastened to inform some OF the
men. who were still lettering about,
of the terrible occurrence In a few
moments a little group was formed
around the figure which hue He'd up
IN the corner OF the seat presented
a helpless spectacle, which was mex
pressibly piteous to gaze upon. The
pailor of death was distinctly visible
even upon the dark skin. and the eyes
which were wide open, had in them an
expression OF surprised alarm, rather
uhan any look of agony caused by a
sudden Swapping of the silver cord
why, it is the black lady who lives
up Palmyra Square with that old chap
with the long beard" remarked one OF
the men. Where can he be, | wonder
l have never seen them apart before"
BY this time the helmets OF a couple
or policemen who had been apprised
or the terrible occurrence, appeared be-
yond the outer circle of the spectators,
and pushing through 1t, the functional
ries of the law took possession of the
motonless figure on the seat.
DO You know her, sir?" asked one
OF the constables, addressing Manvers.
who was standing gazing with hor-
ror-stricken countenance upon the sad
sight before him
Il can hardly claim acquaintance
with the poor girl" returned the ma
jor. II have seen her several times
in India. She is the daughter of the
late Rajah of Oranipore."
"She lives in one of the large houses
in Palmyra Square. remarked one OF
the bysta nders with her guardian,
DR.. Langton Hesselton."
In comparatively brief time an am
bulance was procured, and the dead
body OF the unfortunate girl removed
! to her guardians residence in Palmyra
Square.
The next morning. all the local pa
| .pers had sensational paragraphs. re-
lating to the strange and fatal occur
renee on the West Pier, and in due
time these were copied into the great
London dailies A coroner's jury was
summoned, and several medical men,
/ who had made a post-mortem eXami-
! nation of the deceased, deposed that
| there was every symptom of snake poi
soning. but as venomous reptiles were
not usually found upon the West Pier,
the jury returned an open verdict, and
the affair soon passed away from the
minds of the Brightonians. DR.. Lang
ton Hesselton appeared to be over
whelmed with grief and after the fun
eral gave up the great house in Pal
myra Square, of which he was only a
monthly tenant, and wended his way
to the great metropolis, where he was
lost among the teeming myriads OF
Modern Babylon"
Major Manvers, however, could not
shake off the unpleasant impression
which the affair had caused him, and
when he closed his eyes, he could see
te dark, deserted pier. Then, out of
the dark deserted pier. Then, out of
would seem to start forth from the
semi-recumbeant position in the seat
i and raise her hands wildly above her
head, as though imploring assistance
! from some unseen danger. Do what
he could the vision still haunted him:
in the midst of pleasant companionship
and joyous voices, the sad face and
appealing eyes of the Rance of Orani-
pore were ever before him, and mys-
terious hand seemed to be making
signs to him which he could not en-
tirely comprehend He had heard
many Ill reports whilst quartered at
Oranipore OF the doctor and his doirgs,
and the remarks he had caught as the
unfortunate girl and her guardian
walked down the pier, filed him with
a vague mistruSt which he could not
account for. At length he could bear
1t no longer, and bidding farewell to
Sir John Copston, and his other
friends, he packed his portmanteau
and was whirled away by the train to
London. He had a long talk with his
solicitor on the subject, but the man OF
law, though listening patiently to his
story, advised him not to meddle In
the affair. as there was not the shad-
ow OF case against DR.. Langton Hes
selton.
But he had a direct interest in her
DEATH" agreed the major II have
been to Somerset House, and have
found that the fellow has taken out
probate of the will, and that the doc
ument in addition to giving to him
all the dead girls personal property,
which is very large, contains clause
by which she has exercised her right
Of adoption, and unless the govern
ment take upon themselves to inter-
fere. and they are very chary of doing
so, Langton Hesselton is at present
the Rajah Of Oranipore."
"And will remain so, for all that you
can do to prevent it," answered the
solicitor. >"If every person who had
a direct interest in the death OF another
we're to be tried at his demise, one
half of the world would be continually
engaged in hanging the other. Take
my advice and let His High less take
possession Of the throne OF Oranipore
in peace"
"He will never venture to do So"
returned Manvers, "the late Rajah's
subjects hated him. and fatal accidents
are very prevalent in native states,
where people are unpopular He will
remain here and lead life OF ease
and luxury, for the poor girls fortune
must nave been considerable over a
crore Of H.. $500"
well, take my advice and drop the
matter" said the solicitor. You will
do no good and II you interfere will
only gain a name for Ouixotism"