Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-04-09
FOUNDED ON FACT.

"Mr. Rogers, did you say:'
"Yes, sir; a tall, middle aged gen
tleman. replied my servant.
1 could recollect no acquaintance of
the name.
"Ask him to step in here said at
length.
The man who entered my study was
a complete stranger to me. He was tall,
between 40 and so years Of age, rather
thin and very angular in his move
ments. He wore a short beard, was
slightly bald and had decidedly pleasant
features. When he smiled, his eyes
seemed to sparkle and he exhibited two
excellent rows Of teeth.
II am afraid am quite unknown to
you, he began.
bowed my head and wondered what
was coming next.
but yonr name as a rising young
novelist and writer of short stories is.
of course, familiar to me. ?
Who could he be? | began to have
visions Of publishers and editors clamor-
ing at my door for contributions from
my pen. Was he about to give me a
commission for new serial? Perhaps
he represented some leading magazine
and was prepared to pay sums undream-
ed Of for my tales of love and adven
ture Or was he only some newspaper
interviewer bent on satisfying the curl
osity Of his readers respecting my opin-
ions and manner of life?
Pray be seated said.
We sat facing one another on opposite
sides of the hearth rug. 1t was a cold
dull November day, and the bright fire
that burned in the CRATE was comfort
ing. Mr.. Rogers took from his pocket a
copy of popular magazine and held it
on his knee.
Capital story that of yoursi"
"Which?" l asked.
''That last one in here, +" he said, tap
ping the covers of the book, "the story
called The Mystery of Rowner's Mill. I"
II am glad you like it, but really
IA splendid storyl Rather daring
though. "
"Daring?"
"Yes-to publish story of real life
as mere fiction.
II don't understand what
''But why did You make Maud dark
girl? Of course she was fair, as you
know. Her real name was Mabel, but
that doesn't matter.
"You are QUITE
"still, you have hit off Maltby tc
at"
''The story, assure, you, was
Written under pressure of times
Yes, l have no doubt of it. But your de-
scription Of the old mill is exact. Row
ner's Mill is. Of course, Radford's Mill,
near B"
Allow me to explain =
"Quite unnecessary, l assure you.
You were perfectly justified i'll changing
the name. But that passage in which
you describe the act Of vengeance on
Maltby is remarkably powerful and nc
curate. Ah here it is: Seeing his vic
tim powerless, Jasper Gore, with the
strength of a giant, seized him in his
arms and for one moment held him
above his head in front of the open win
dow. Then he hurled the wretched man
into space Down, down he fell, until,
with a splash that was inaudible amid
the roar and rattle of the mill, Maltby
disappeared in the deep water of the
race, and was instantly battered to a
shapeless mass by the huge revolving
water wheelp
ftRut Snrelv Won knovv,,
"Oh, yes; ! know every inch Of the
place. OF course you are little bit
rough on me. 7
"On you?'i
Eyes; you see, Jasper Gore"-
rose to my feet. So far had hardly
been able to get word in edgeways. l
had not the slightest idea what he was
driving at. He was exhausting my pa
tience
'tLook here, sir, = I shouted warmly,
81 haven't yet the pleasure Of knowing
who you are. What the-will you kind
ly tell me what you are talking about?"
"Why, my dear sir, l am talking
about this story of yours called The
Mystery Of Rowner's s Mill | was Just
saying that you have made me-other-
wise Jasper Gore
"Gore is one of my characters. un-
derstand your name is RogersI"
The man leaned back and roared With
laughter. / sank into my chair in
state of evaporation.
Excuse my laughing, he said, but
when you put on that innocent air it is
irresistibly funny What does it matter
which name use. Gore or Rogers-are
they not one and the same? What was
easier? You took my real name, Rogers,
rejected the last two letters, transposed
the others, and then you had it--Gore r.
was now quite out Of temper
II don't know what your object is, I"
/ said, in coming here and talking this
nonsense. The story is pure tiction-a
simple creation of my own brain-from
beginning to end So far as I know, the
characters never lived, the incidents
never happened, the mill described new
er had any existence-except i'll my own
imagination.
My visitor watched me as | spoke
and grin slowly broadened on his face,
until he again burst into loud laughter
81 should never have believed it'll"
he said
s"Believed what?''
lyon novelists, it would appear, are
SO stepped i'll fiction that you lose all re
gard for truth. 7
"What do yon mean, sirt" | cried in
dignantly.
''Is it necessary to explain? Here, in