The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-14

heard a. rant Cry AMID the moaning o.
| the wind
Decidedly unpleasant" he nurmured
! to himself. Nos wonder the servants
have no liking for the west wing.
i He listened some 9ime longer, then
| sleep overpowered him, and he did not
wake again until his shaving water was
| brought to the door. 1t was late, but
the letters had arrived. Tt was the Gus
| tom at The Towers to send them round
to The bed rooms, so John Strange found
| one laid upon the stop of his hot water
can. Seeing thelhantiwntIng of his map
4 in THE Temple, The broke open the en-,
| velepe at once, and found an Enclosure OF
smaller size. The mans note ran thus:
into pea bs s aa ey fend b n l9Geas
letter fastened into the hinge of the Id
/ / fear it must have come by an earlier
post hasten to send at once. iour
| obedlent servant. James watson
/ John tore open the inclosure, and read:
Dearest Jack: I received your long
and very precious letter. l. too nave had
an invitation to The Towers, and am
! starting at once. [ will give you your
The note was dated the 23d. Jack read
| 1t over twice and then he fully realized
| the good news that it drought. But with
| the happiness came the thought that i'll
must have befallen her whom he loved.
! IcSlCldoS, WITCH Ills Il iie'o oet0o 49,
ed that harm had come to- the girl, he.
had laughed the idea to scorn. feeling
sure in his own mind: that he knew the
reason of her non-appearance. Now all
things were altered, and there was every
reason why she should have. been at The
| Towers on the evening of the 23d.
What "a fool. I've rbeen,' he mlttered,
wasting all these hours and my darling
| heaven knows whereof
L Ia iJx-sTsi, our Bel
T mont and explaifEdz that he had news
| from town that Miss Graham had started
| and he feared that something serious
must. have happened to prevent her ar
| irving. Mrs Belmont joined them as
4 they were talking and the three discussed
! the matter in all lights.
| A telegram was sent to town asking
] whether.Jean had really left by the tran
she intended Strange considered that his
best plan -was-te-go- to the station and
make all inquiries there. Unfortunately,
| being Christmas day, things were doubly
! difficult The telegraph office. only opened
for hour. and the trains ran as on
Sunday. There 4Mas no time to lose Jack:
had a horse brought refund at once and
/ made off at full speed
! Arriving at the station, he interviewed
1 the station master first, but with little
result. He hadonotSnotieed any lady an
! swerng to the description leave May
bury station, eithef. on the 23d or the 24th.
but" he added. somewhat carelessly,
! fshe may have come when l was away
or in my room. Bdohst take much notice
of lady passengers, as a rule. Jack
wired up the lihe, fblIt could hear no It'd
ings His fears began to, take full pos
4 session Of him now, and he cursed his,
! folly in havingswasbe the long hours of
yesterday He was about to leave the
| station when an ~ofd porter hobbled up
/ to him.
/. ''Was you looking for a ladys luggage.
( sir?" said he, Touching his cap. Because
there's some just been put out Of the up
train. The guard said that it was found
! in first-class carriage and nobody to
own it. Asst was, labeled. sMaybury' he
! has brought it back. 1t should have
come back yesterday, seeing 1t was found
/ the night before, but there's no telling
where things get to at Christmas time. =
/ Jackscrossed the line, looked a t the lug
! gage, which he found labeled @Garaham.
Maybury.'' then. NOT being able ito learn
anything further, he rode~oH- to the june
ton, three miles nearer town. He ques-
Irtioped the ticket collectors there but
could hear nothing. One suggested that
theSlady had failed Foschsnge a the june
I tion, as shefougft TO have done. for May
bury Many peepleSmade that mistake >
he said, s.especialy2in busy time 81
/ JAIN IOQG pdGh-to lie 1OWSIS W report
his unsuccessful efforts, hoping to find
further news awaiting him. In this he
| was disappointed. He snatched hilr-
ried meal, for he thought it wise-to. hus-
! band his strength, then rode to Burton
station, two miles further down the lire
than Maybury. Here the ticket collector
seemed to be a man of some observation.
| He thought quietly for a few moments
| then said:
I Yes, L do remember such lady, now
/ come to think of it. She stepped out
of the train just before it started loak-
| ing q bit Hurried ike Her ticket was
FOR Maybury, and she paid the differences.
| then walked Quito the station and down
! the road
/ Burton consisted Of about fifty houses
some distance apart on both sides of the
main road: Any one coming from the ssa-s
| ton and making for The Towers would
leave the mainroad, after walking abb
| fifty yards, and kturnesoM to TIE right
across several somewhat lonely lanes, aud
so wind into another road which led IL
reetiy to The Towers-the whole distance
| being not more than Two and half m les.
| Strange left the station wonder ng what
| should be the next move. He was fully
i convinced now that JEAN having failed
| to change at the junction, and having
/ passed through Maybury station had
thought it best to walk to The Towers
| from Burton. . She4was good walker
| and would know that the distance. was
| not great.
+ But what hf.1 become of her after
| ward? Jack trembled to think. He walk
| ed back to The Towers, stopping at every
house on the way to make full inqgi5 les.
/ None seemed to have noticed the girl
! after she left the station. There seemed
nothing else to be done. George Belmont
mad already put the police upon the track
/ of the mystery, but they had so far learn
ed nothing, not even so much as Jack
| had himself found cut. He could not rest
! but wandered about until long after dark.
trying to follow up first one clue, and
then another. At length, weary and sad
at heart, he sought his room. Tired
though he was, he felt he could not sleep
in his uncertainty of mid. He piled NOR
| fuel upon his fire. and. slipping on his
dressing gown, sank down in a big chair
| by the fire. He had, spent a strange
! Christmas day, hurrying about from VII
| lage to village. and, often 1retracing his
| steps across the wet fields The whole
household had been in an upset, especially
since the arrival of Jeans brother from
town. He explained how his sister left
home in the best of spirits, making it r
fectly clear that something very serious
| had happened
| All seemed to have been done that was
| possible to trace the girl, but, so far,
| without result Strange sat on going
over in Imagination all the hours of the
| past day., trying to evolve some new
plans for the morning, and wondering, in
an agony of fear, what could have be-
come of the woman he loved.
The clock ine the nlantelshelf struck the.
half hour after midnight and the wind
| sighed in the trees. The west wing SEEM