New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-12-13

You shall decide for yourself Years aso i,''t
the chance OF setting wrong 10 Iish'S an"
shrkcd it, Now here / am crippled ana ihcap
able. given into the hands OF tnose VINO are
resolved that the secret shall never De 'Viu y!
me: tied hand and foot: watched night ana uaH
brought here to die. away from all my l'tnus nus;
from any one VINO speaks my language. zen
you could have shouted for JOY when heafu d"
English voice in the courtyard this afternoon.
| have no doubt that he did hear II; nnt ne
wasn't paying much Of compliment u NY
French. was he? ~
What do you went me TO do for YOU?
Il want YOU To write down and witness whal l
have TO say It's death-bed confession: Ihere
is man in England who must have IT, You ma!
run some risk in takih, it. there are one or Two
who would kill you rather than il should ever
fail into his hands-if they know. But decide
man. In Heavens name. decide the t1Ihe Is bo
inS-my strength may go. TOO az any WO""c"''
Are YOU afraid
'I'n take it," cried reckcssly. any fellow
would who had seen the pteous look in those
great fierce eyes whipped out my mein"rah-
dun book and pen. eco on. sir.
! can't well be expected TO tell what he con
fided to me. The family history that followed
was so amazing that a mere mint OF II Would
scatter confusion from one end Of the country
to the other 1t began with hideOus bit Of
wrongdOng two generations ago. in hushins up
which some Of the highest In the land We're con
cnrned. and. the consequences spreading WIDER
with each wear that passed, now affected direct
ly or indirectly many Of our noblest families.
With this Sir Stretton had nothing to DO; his
share in the evil was simply that Of inheriting the
secret and keeping 1t.
When the knowledge came to him he was
young man. low down In the Service. and madly
in love To reveal it would have meant utter
ruin socially and professionally. He was not
strong enough to face 1t. and so reluctantly
Joined the conspiracy Of silence. to his reverend
ing shame and regret. Now that he was dying.
chldess and wealthy. his wife fairly provided
for he saw a chance of making partial restitu-
ton in two cases while his statement
would enable his old friend TO enforce righteous
dealing on some Of the others implicated
Larry will see justice done. he gasped but
the proofs-he' will want the proofs. You shall
take them to him..
voice that alarmed me; now and then IT failed
and broke and the words came tumbling out
unintelligibly. but he forced himself to continue.
| had a flask of whskey with me. ana. with
some msgivings. poured him out a few drops.
which he swallowed greedily. Fetch me that.
he said. pointing to a great Bible which stood on
a stand at his elbow. thought he was going 10
swear or to make ME swear something but he
only opened of the covers. They were the
thickest and heaviest | have ever seen. Leather
thick the sole of your boot. with a big
brass clasp. lined inside with watered SILK
stamped in gold
Can YOU get me some boiling water"'
4 wood fire smouldering on the hearth.
and a little earthenware pipkin stood near ii.
blew the embers to blaze and set the pot on To
boil Meanwhile, read over what had written
to him. and held II up for him to sign He seized
the pen and traced waverngly but distinctly his
signature In full with curious flourish at the
end. Larry will know that" he said trium-.
The water boiled furiousy' before we had done
and he made me hold one Of the covers Of the
great Bible in the steam. The silk lining curled
at the edge and ! gently loosened IL further with
my knife. Underneath it. in the thickness Of the
board hiding place had been followed out for
several sheets of paper yellow and discoored as
If they had lain there for many years.
There should be three letters-two certificates
OF marriage and one of birth-and a small! folded
paper with few lines Of writing and several
signatures attached
7 oh HON, off no named
fastened the silk down again and left the book
to dry. He was speaking with difficulty now, ana
/ followed his directions more by guess than by
words. was getting horribly afraid Of the land
lords return. and still, more afraid Of what might
happen first.
gave him more whiske,. At any cost must
have the name and address Of his friend 10 whom
l was 10 convey this perilous stuff.
Maor,Gsnernl aHrh Tn L Law enc n T@
cannot find him there-if he hasn't got back from
India, ask at Cox's. they'll know. The spirit
began to burn in his cheeks, and once more his
voice grew strong and clear. Tell Larry how
you found me It's no use his coming he would
be too late. I've had my warnings-ths return
of strength is one God knows how have prayed
for it-for strength and friend 10 help me. and
now both have been granted me and the chance
OF using them. You will tell Larry about my Will
1t was made many years ago. and Is safe az my
lawyers-you have the address there. II ne
hears nothing about IT, II he finds II has been
suppressed ne will know what to do. Eve left
him my collection Of arms and armor There Is
a jewelled dirk that | should like him 10 give
you
Never mind that interrupted. for his voice
dropping into feeble murmur and ms face
had queer. streaky look that did not Ike
must put these up safely. ! want some paper
He looked toward writing desk on a table
near. a ladys. evidently.
/ helped myself to some scented paper with the
address of a country house stamped on II. There
there too. so when mad tied UP me
parcel sealed it w S,r Win great sIfmf"s
There that's safe" | said and II doesn't
leave me TIL give il into General Herbert Law
rence's own hands
Tell Larry to stand by me dead as he has
stood by me living. Tell him shall not rest in
my grave till justice is done" His voice sank
again into a meaningless mutter and sat down
and wished with all my soul for the return OF the
landlord.
He was not long. quite in time for the dose to
be administered / took upon myself TO recon-
mend that he should not mention the accident
to any one. TO which he joyfully asscnted; then
bade Sir Sretton adieu. All the light had fadei
out OF his great fierce eyes. and his hand hung
lifeless only when tapped the pocket that held
the papers he gave glance Of intelligence
and his limp fingers essayed TO tighten on mine.
caught the mailcart and the macart caught
the train 1t was satisfactory TO feel that the
miles were lengthening between me and st. Hy-
acnthe with every few minutes. ! wondered how
long my visit there would remain a secret so
long and no longer had the chance or getting
off safely to England with my deposit. The more
thought the story over the stronger grew my
conviction of the certainty that every crort
would be made to suppress it-and me. That yell
low haired Lady Augusta-Sir Strettons direc-
tons would deprive her Of the great mass Of the
wealth she expected to inherit. while her ad
mirer that black -vised Frenchman- was. as
Sir Stretton had said cynically only waiting for
his death 10 decide between her and her niece
an heiress Of sorts. They were both accomplices
of Alexandra. his man. an agent OF somebody in
England set over him ii watch to see that he
died with the story untold. 1t was truly nest or
vipers that ] had stirred up. it would be a
chance If | got off scot-free | would buy a belt
directly | got to Paris. and strap the parcel
safely round my waist | would carry revolver
Above all I would rush my business as much as
was consistent with duty and get back To Eng
land and General Lawrence. ! did think Of reg
istering and posting the parcel to him. but felt
that every attempt would he made 10 intercept
L. Il otnIc