Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-10-18

81 thinl; not, and vet, ON second
thought, l think will"
Fright. Will you have drinkf'
''No, thanks"
"Sure?o
"No, thanks"
"Ifawncy you re right. Poison your
self is no figure of speech if you drink
the stuff they sell in Norcombe.
Herbert Darrent walked with his
strange acquaintance through the vii
lage, anxious to gain what news he
could, if any. of the relatives CT the
late Josiah Marsden, and before they
parted at the door Of the Palace hotel
he had learned that Marsden's remain
ing cousins We're Andrew Marsden, q
farmer, living few miles west of Nor
combe, and Arthur Ridgeway, the man
ager of theater in Barnstaple.
Silas Gosnell was man that Darrent
felt he would very much like to study,
but time would not permit. He could
only label him as harmless idiot and
then forget him, although he did ask
himself once or twice during the day.
as the Thought required to him. why
Gosnell's insanity had taken such q pc
culiar turn.
After bidding goodby to his compan-
ion Darrent walked down to the notice
station, but there was no reply to his
telegram, and it was not until noon next
day that he received lengthy dispatch
from Chicago in answer to his own.
Thanks to his promptitude of action.
the authorities had experienced little
difficulty in tracing Astray Marsdeu.
He had gone by the first train from
Barnstaple to Chicago, as Darrent had
expected he would, had taken cab at
the station and was driven to the ROYAL
hotel, where he was now STAYING under
his own name.
"Humr' muttered Darrent as he read
the message. SCOT a good alibi. sup
pose" He glanced at his watch. He
could drive over and catch the after
noon train from Barnstaple. get To Chi
cago. see younp Marsden and he hack
again the next night, and while at
Barnstaple he might be able to have a
few words with one Of the other cous.
ms. Arthur Ridgeway.
A couple of hours later Darrent was
strolling down High street. Barnstanle
looking for the Gaiety theater, which,
after a lengthy search, he discovered in
not very lively quarter of the town
and from variegated placard on the
wall CLEANED the information that Mr..
Arthur Ridgeway was the actor-man-
ager. Another highly colored poster
representing gentleman in a deep blue
frock coat and pink trousers, with an
unaccountably amiable smile upon his
features, being dropped into an enor-
nous caldron Of some steaming LIQUID
by another and less amiable gentleman.
who, in pleasing contrast to his unfor.
tunate victim, was attired in pink
frock coat and blue trousers, announced
to all and sundry that there would be
played that evening and for the rest of
the week the stirring melodrama, emit
tied "The Factory Mans Revenge, " In
which were introduced a real steam
hammer weighing a hundred tons and
real caldron of real molten metal,
''the most thrilling scene" the poster
asserted, lever seen on any stage"
which Darrent was quite ready to be-
lieve.
Making his way down grimy court
at the entrance Of which a lamp in q
wire cage bore the legend "Stage Door, -
Darrent found yeritable picture gal
lery of posters representing the villain.
always in the same pink coat and the
same blue trousers, putting the gentle
man whose taste in clothes was exactly
vice versa through variety Of original
and excruciating fortunes, at which the
bland gentleman continued to beam and
smile, evidently with an Unborn knowl-
edge that his turn was coming in the
last act.
At last Darrent reached the stage
door of the Gaiety theater and, sending
in his card, asked to see Mr.. Ridgeway
and while waiting whiled away the
time by studying pictorial represen-
tation of the great scene of the last act,
which explained the much put upon
gentleman's extreme forbearance in
the previous scenes.
Darrent's admiration of the triumph
of virtue over villainy was interrupted
by the return Of the stage door keeper.
Mr.. Ridgeway would see him, he was
informed, and, following his guide
along tortuous labyrinth of stairs and
passages he at last found himself upon
the stage of the Gaiety theater, where