The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-11-16
THE STORY OF
FRANCIS CLUDDE
By STANLEY ]. wEYMAN.
Continued.

only few words. Thon she stopped, |
and looking of the paper shivered. ~ do
not understand this" she murmured. |
what does It mcant'
"No good, I'll be swornl" Master Der
tie replied, gazing at her eagerly. 'Rend |
It aloud, Katherine"
ITO Mistress A B.. am adver- |
tsed by my trusty agent, Master Clarence,
that he hath benefited much by your aid |
in the matter in which i have employed |
him. Such service goeth always for much, |
and never for naught, with me. In which |
belief confirm yourself For the present,
working with him as heretofore, be secret,
and on no account let your true senti-
monts come to light. So you will be the
more valuable to me, oven as It is more
easy to unfasten barred door from within
than from without.
Here the duchess broke off abruptly and
turned on us a face full of wonder. "What
does 1t meanP' she asked
us that alli" her husband said.
mot quite" she answered, returning
to 1t and reading:
"'Those whom you have hitherto served
have too long made a mockery Of sacred
things, but their cup Is full, and the bust
ness Of seeing that they drink 1t lieth with
nltt VIII flOt NOnb w W. eloinlui III
these matters Be faithful and secret,
Good speed and fare you well.
- 'Srr wtNrnN "
lone thing is quite clear" said Master
BERTHE slowly. THAT you and are the
persons whose cup is full. You remember
how you once dressed up dog in a rochet
and handled IL before Gardiner And 1t
is our matter in which Clarence is en-
ployed Then who is it who has been CO.
operating with him, and whose aid is Of
so much value to him5"
Even as II is easier, " l muttered
thouRhtfully, Ito unfasten barred door
from within than from without" What
was it of which that strange sentence re-
minded me2 Hal had it. OF the night
on which we had fed from Master Lind
stroms house, when Mistress Anne had
been seized with that odd fit Of perverse-
ness and had almost opened the door look
ing upon the river in spite of all could
say or do. 1t was of that the sentence re-
minded me ITO whom is 1t Addressed"
asked abruptly.
"ro Mistress Clarence" my lady an
swered.
"No-inside I mean
"Ohl to Mistress A B.. But
that gives us no clew," she added. at is
disguise. You see they are the two first
letters of the alphabet
So they were and the initial letters of
Anne Brandonl l wondered that the
duchess did not see it; that she did not at
once turn her suspicious toward the right
quarter But she was, for a woman, sin
gularly truthful and conf1ding, and she
saw nothing.
looked at Master BERTHE He seemed
puzzled, discerning, fancy, how strange
ly the illusions pointed to Mistress Anne
but not daring at once TO draw the infer
ence. She was his wffe's kinswoman by
marriage albeit distant one, and much
indebted to her. She had been almost as
his own sister. She was young and fair
and to associate treachery and ingratitude
such as this with her seemed almost too
| horrible
Then why was l SO clear sighted as to
read the riddlei Why was l the first to
see the TRUTH Because had felt for days
vague and i'll defined distrust of the girl.
1 had seen more of her odd fits and ca
prices than had the others. Looking back
now, could find confirmation of my
idea in dozen things which had befallen
us / remembered how i'll and stricken
she had looked on the day when / had
first brought out the letter, and how
strangely she had talked to me about It,
i remembered Clarence's interview with
not Dymphna, as had then thought
but, as now guessed, Anne, wearing her
cloak. recalled the manner In which she
had used me to persuade Master BERTHE to
take the Vessel instead of the Santon road.
No doubt she had told Clarence to follow
in that direction, If by any chance we es-
capped him Oh the island. And her despair
when she heard in the church porch that
l had killed Clarence at the fordl And
her utter abandonment to fear-poor gull
ty thingl-when she thought that all her
devices had only led her with us to a
dreadful death! These things, in the light
In which i now viewed them, were cogent
evidences against her.
1T must have been written to some one
about usl'' said the duchess at length.
ITO some one in our confidence. 'On our
side of the door, as he calls it"
/ "Yes; that is certain" l said.
And on the wrapper he styles her Mis-
tress Clarence Now, who"-
"Who could ii have beenP That is the
question we have to answer" Master Der
tie replied dryly. Hearing his voice,
knew he had come at last to the same CON
olusion to which had jumped. Il think
you may dismiss the servants from the in
quiry," he continued. 1.-The bishop Of
Winchester would scarcely write to them
in that style"
Dismiss the servantsS Then who is
left" she protested.
81 think He lost courage, hesitated
and broke off She looked at him won
deringly. He turned to me, and gaining
confirmation from my nod began again
II think should ask A B." hi
said.
r.
ing one whit.
Eyes; Anne Brandon" he answered
sternly.
She repeated his words softly and stood
moment gazing at him. In that mo
ment she saw 1t all. She sat down sudden
ly ON the chair beside her and shuddered
violently, as If she had laid her hand un
Willingly upon a snake. "Oh, Richard, >
she whispered, lit is too borriblel'
II fear 1t is too true" he answered
gloomily.
shrank from looking at them, from
meeting her eyes or his. l felt as IL thi,
shame had come upon us all. The thought
that the culprit might walk into the room
at any moment filed me with terror.
turned away and looked through the win
dow, leaving the husband and wife to-
gether
is it only the name you are thinking
Off" she muttered.
"No, he answered. Before left Eng
land to go to Calais l saw something pass
between them-between her and Clarence
which surprised me. Only in the con-
fusion of those last days 1t slipped from
my memory for the time.
II see," she said quietly. 1.-THE villaini'
Looking back ON the events of the last
week, found many things made plain by
the lurid light now cast upon them. I I'M