The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-29
lChanter III. continued

daughter When the wild ecStac1es of the
JOY of their meeting were over, she tried
to get from him some clear account OF
his capture and his release. He could
tell but little at first. He had been taken
to some house where he was told Lord
Frankland was waiting for him, ana
there he was suddenly seized ana sup1ecU-
ed to some chloroforlning process, anu
taken away in q covered carriage-he hau
distinct consciousness of being removed
in oarriage-to some other place WneTe
he.was locked in stone-paved room. de
was sure he had clear recollection o,
men with revolvers whom he did not
know, and he was told he was in the
hands of the "Red Rovers, and that II
he made the slightest resistance, or raised
his voice above the ordinary tone, ne
would be instantly put to death. he gave
out that he had not felt much alarmed,
for he knew that he would be ransomeo,
and he felt sure that the robbers would
not willingly kill him while they were
expecting the ransom. He got some food
and wine; and he supposed the wine must
have been drugged, for he fell fast asleep,
and did not know how long he slept.
He was aroused, and he felt cold and
daZed and sick; but still, as he insisted,
CT stout heart and undaunted mettle.
But, to his surprise, the man who reused
him he said, turned out to be Lawrence
Tryon; and Lawrence had brought him
home; and Lawrence was waiting now
below, and would not come sup until Cla
rissa and her father had seen each other
alone and gladdened over their restora-
ton to each other. The mystery was
deepened more than ever for Clarissa by
the sudden and timely appearance of
Lawrence on the scene of her father s
captivity. She hurriedly told Sir Joseph
her version Of what had occurred SO far
as she knew; she told him Of Lawrence
conviction that Mascall was in the plot,
and she left Lawrence to tell the rest.
And Lawrence came; and Lawrence
told all he knew; and the strange thing
was that it proved to be but little. After
he had seen Mascall for the last time, he
had remained in his hotel expecting, as
morning came, to receive some message
from him. The message came at last,
and was simply a nOUe in Mascall's hand
writing bidding him to go to certain
house in the suburbs and there find Sir
Joseph. Lawrence had no difficulty in
finding the place, although OF course it
was an out-of- theway region. He still
thought it better to manage the business
all alone, and not to appeal to the help of
the police. He found the house-it was
all quiet then-and found the street door
half open. II entered, went from room
to room-there were not many rooms in
the wretched little buiJding-and In one
apparently half-stupefed. They simply
walked out of the house. There was no
one to modest them, to explain to them,
or to detain them. The whole busin ess
had turned out apparently to be common
place and without danger. The myster y
now was to make out whether there was
any mystery at all. Was 1t all practical
joke? No-Sir Joseph utterly refused to
accept any such explanation. Indignant
as he had been at the thought of anyone
believing in the Red Rovers before, he
was ten times more angry now at the
bare idea of any one resu1ning to doubt
their existence and his danger. For the
danger had become my danger now
the Red Rovers had become my enc
tell somebody who is Boosting of his til
ger hunting that the tigers he shot at
we're stuffed-you might as well have
tried to persuade George II. that the
storm at sea which he boosted of having
braved with such undaunted courage
was only half gale of wind-as to try
and convince Sir Joseph Carnaway that
the experience he had gone through was
anything short Of q blood curdling adven-
ture, and desperate danger.
One thing Lawrence felt certain of, and
in this Clarissa agreed with him-either
Mascall was mere mailman, or his part
in the whole affair was profoundly seri-
GUS.
So it proved. Even while the three
were engaged in talk and conjecture a
ring at the door pea]ed through the silent
quarter. A police officer had come with
strange message for Sir Joseph. His
secretary, Mr.. Mascall, had just been
found dead on the doorstep OF his own
lodging. His latch-key was lying near.
A long thin bladed dagger was in his
heart, and round the dagger's htlt was
III, WI Soh
folded, was found to contain the words:
"From the Red Rovers: The punish
ment of betrayal"
Probably Mascall had been stopping to
put his latch key into the door when the
assassin or assassins came up with him,
seized him, and dealt him the blow.
IT told YOU" Sir Joseph said, with an
air of melancholy triumph. You may
all believe in them now. / said to Mas
call himself that l should believe in these
Red Rovers when they killed somebody,
and l we'll remember that his observa
ton was, They may yet "
1t was extraordinary. The police could
find no trace of any band of Red Rovers
anywhere. The London detectives came
down, but could make nothing of the
story The murder itself proved terri
bic puzzle. No one near the place had
heard any sound of an attack or a strug-
gle The landlady of Mascall's lodgings
positively declared that she was up and
stirring about her house when she heard
Mr.. Maseall stop at the door and she heard
him beginning to put in his latch key.
He was some little time about this ap-
parently, and the landlady withdrew to
her own room, not thinking that Mascall
would care to be seen coming in so late.
She added that he did in fact often come
home very late-and sometimes she fan
cied from the sound of his footsteps that
he had been drinking too much wine.
Sometimes he came in early, and If he
saw her he babe her good night and went
to his bedroom, but she had heard him
opening the street door softly later on
and going out. OF course she made no
inquiry.
ut was no business of mine, ''she said.
fHe always paid his rent up to the day.
and was very civil and friendly
This fatal morning she waited some
time, and then thinking she heard a fall
she went down stairs and opened the
street door. Thsre she saw MascalI living
on the threshold. At first she Thought
he had been drinking heavily. Yes, She
had, she confessed, sometimes known
him to drink as heavily as that. She
stopped over him and saw the dagger in
his heart, At the close of her evidance