The record-union., 1896-06-21

/ Then l will leave the mouse the frSt
thing Tomorrow.
Tonight" he said you will go to-
night! VIII you answer me?'
/ No" He pointed to the door. 'Then
go! And if you dare to enter Moor
Hall again, I'll have you kicked out
Ike the ungrateful cur you are, Gil
bert Darley"
For a moment I could not believe that
he meant it. He rang the bell, and
when the old man servant entered he
said 'Open the front door for Mr.
Gilbert Darley Redfold, and remember
he is no longer an inmate of this house
Do you understand" ?"
The door closed upon me with hard
sounding slam. What was l to do?
had hardly any money in my pockets
not enough to take me to Dublin. My
temper was still at boiling heat and
| could not view my position calmly. !
could not blame myself for acting as
/ had done, but / was also certain that
my uncle would relent
| / passed out upon the moor and but
toned my coat up closely. 1t was bit
terly cold, and to find a shelter for the
night was the first thing. / walked on
for some little distance toward the sea.
| Two or three inches of snow had fallen,
and lay white and undisturbed over the
moor [ followed the path which led
towards the cove where the boats were
kept. think had some idea of taking
shelter in one of them for the night.
Somebody had evidently gone this way
not long before; it was the path usually
taken from the shore, and the snow was
| trQ66pn p1y Cfn
body not long since-evidenty since the
snow had stopped falling, for the foot
marks were clear-cut and very plain
had left the beaten track and struck
across the moor. AS far as 1 could see,
| the footsteps continued in direct line
straight to rocky part of the coast.
could conceive no reason for any
one going that way. 1t led to no hab-
itation, and the village people were not
too eond of crossing the moor at night.
Curiosity, perhaps, or the lack of any
| particular object in life just at pres
ent, tempted me to follow. I went for
some little distance, looking ahead, ex-
pecting the track to turn in another
direction, and then looking down I
| stopped suddenly again. 1 could not
| help a startled exclamation Whether
il was that my eyes had become more
accustomed to the rather confusing
light, which there always is over a wide
| eXpanse of snow, or whether the snow
was deeper here and gave better i'm
preston of the steps, 1 do not know.
but L suddenly saw that the footprints
We're not those Of a man at ALL The
sole was broader in front, and the toes
were marked. A naked foot.
! L remembered Pats devil-the ape.
This certainly proved that there was
some foundation for the story, and for
a moment l felt inclined to turn back.
But no; the ape probably had a master.
and the track might lead me on to him.
1t mattered little where I went that
| night or, indeed, what happened to
me- Had been less desperate 1 might
nave turned back, for an ape is not a
pleasant animal to meet, and had not
even a stick with me.
L went on quickly, keeping a sharp
lockout ahead, almost forgetting nv
| trouble in the excitement of the ed-
venture. Presently 1 thought 7 could
discern faint light ahead. 1t was al
most on the edge of the cliffs. as far as
could tell. / hurried forward. and
SlCDe0
gradually to the edge of the cliffs. which
at TINS point shut in a short arm Of the
sea Distances are deceptive across the
Snow ana had approached almost to
the eose OF the precipfce when the light
| siione out again. 1t was the dim light
ol lantern, and proceeded from a.
small nut or cabin, which I did not re-
| member TO have seen before. How
ever, II might have been there for
years, as l had no intimate acouaint-
ahce with this part of the cliffs. I i'm
aglne lew persons ever came there.
there was nothing to come for.
pushed open the door of the cabin
ana went in. A lantern was standing
upon the ground beside a round bole
IKE the mouth of a we'll; but T had NO
| tlme to do or say anything before NV
arms We're seized and pinioned behind
me, and at the same time two NO.,
slrahg from the hole, followed almost
immeditely by an enormous ape.
ne man who first appeared from tba
hoie presented a revolver at my beod
ne was a determined looking sco,p-
area, and l concluded that nv troubles
| had come to full stop. For half .
oozeh seconds l stood looking down the
parrei, then he lowered the revolver
wen, 1t isn't easy 70 look at the b,1si-
| ness ehd OF a six-shooter calmly. You've
sot some pluck. What do Won want
here?" 80 want
Chanee brought me- answered.
1ou nave been watching us?''
NO. L followed the footsteps of vo,,r
| ape" - your
'eWhy?"
Curiosity. I had nothing to do,
It's a bad thing to have notbine 70 do
| on night like this" he said.
You would say So if YOU had i,,st
| been turned out OF home"
We'll, l don't know what TO do with
you. III consult my friend the ape
ne wonderful animal Hold him
ti@ht, mates, while l talk it OVER,
lie retired into the corner of the but
| with the ape. and whispered into his ear
| The animal really seemed to understa nd
| him, and l could not help smiling at his
| comical actions.
Ny mate doesn't seem to think If is
| Necessary to shoot you" said the man
| turning to me. But we've got q de,i-
cate business in hand, so you'll have to
go with US. AS long as you are ouiet
| and keep your mouth shut, you won,t
get hurt
| [ nodded
We're leaving this place by secret
way, he went on, pointing to the hole
ana you'll nave to so blindfolded for
part OF the journey. The way is a bif
awkward until you know it. so we'll first
hitch you on to a rope and lower you. j"
should have thought my word was
enough" | said. not relishing the nros-