Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1900-12-06
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I should probably never have thought OF
him again had / not seen such a curl
u likeness in you to Morton. Dear
me, how ones mind travels back when
once it starts" and he went on with
his recollections until / was tired of
listening to him.
1 had a good many questions to put
to myself when / got to my room.
WAS this Morton my father? Was
Rupert Starlight the Kendall crammer?
was hat row in someone's rooms the
origin of all the trouble? And what
was the nature of that trouble?"
To three OF these questions I an
swered Yes" To the last l could, of
course, give 10 answer at all. But Mr..
Travers probably could, and some day
the necessity of asking him might
arise.
1t is wonderful what results may
follow one little slip.
If those newspaper cuttings had new
er fallen into my hands l should have
a no clues whatever, should never
have identified Willie Ruddoc.., nor
dreamed of connecting Mr.. Travers
with the mysteries I was now, more
than ever bent upon unraveling.
/ stayed some time with the
O'Briens, and towards the end OF my
visit the uncle left us, and the morn
ing after his departure the papers
were full of an affair that had hap
pened at Manchester. A man who had
been a prominent politician was found
dead in his bed; and perhaps this
would have occasioned no surprise, for
he was known to be suffering from
Cnnnn form Of hnarf dicoa "a httt fhat
in his right hand were found five cards,
exactly h same as those ] a in my
possession, and that there were certain
marks about his throat and upon his
face. that aroused suspicious OF foul
play. Two or three days later came
the news that an eminent medical au-
thority had given it as his emphatic
opinion that the unfortunate man had
been suffocated, and with his opinion
all the other doctors that had been
called in had agreed.
One man could not possibly have
committed the crime, If crime it were,
for the gentleman's wife was sleeping
beside him. and nothing occurred to
awaken her, as she must assuredly
have awakened had her husband
struggled. Moreover, there was a large
staff Of servants, and none Of them
had heard any sounds during the
night.
Someone must nave placed the cards
In the dead mans hand. The wife and
servants were above suspicion. The
unfortunate gentleman never had an
enemy so far as could be ascertained,
and 1t was not for a moment supposed
that any of those who had fallen under
the lash of his political satire would
have proceeded to such lengths as to
deprive him Of what, at most, could
not have been more than a few years
of life.
/ had arranged to spend the latter
part of my vacation with Mr.. Travers,
and when I read the particulars of the
Manchester outrage I became so curl
Gus to see whether he had noticed 1t,
that / left my friends and started for
kendall two or three days before I was
expected there. / arrived late at night,
u my old latch-key was still hang
ing to my bunch, and I let myself in
without disturbing the servants.
] found Hugh In the dining room,
and when he had got over his aston
ishment at seeing me he told me that
his uncle had been taken iii some little
while before / arrived, and, on max.
, ing further inquiries, I ascertained
that his attack dated from the very
day upon which the papers with the
particulars of the Manchester affair
had appeared.
He would not allow his nephew, as I
shall still call Willie Ruddock, to SEND
for a medical man, and though he tried
4 fn male liuhf nf hiS aiIpnA 80
tributed 1t to overwork, Ii was evident
to those who were nursing him that
something weighed heavily on his
mind.
Hugh Travers had sat up with him,
but, strange to say, he (Hugh) had not
read the papers for some time back, as
I discovered on speaking with him. I
purposely put certain questions to him
as we sat smoking, questions that
We're CO burning interest on account
of the crisis through which the coun-
try was then Neutrality-suspicious., more
over. that were being discussed in
nearly every journal of the day: but
he confessed at once that he knew
nothing OF the matters to which I al
luded, for he had been working even
as he sat in his uncle's room.
1 a the papers with me contain
ing an account of the outrage at Man
chester, and / watched him closely to
see What effect their perusal would
have upon him. When he came to the
paragraphs in which the cards were
mentioned every vestige of colour left
his face. He dropped the paper and
sat staring at me, and I'm that mo-
ment l knew that he had read the ac-
counts of the Oldburgh affair in which
he had taken so prominent a part, and
the cards mentioned as having been
found then connected 1t In his mind,
as they had done In mine, with this
latest outrage.
"Can you guess now" I said, what
caused Mr.. Travers's illness?"
He tried to answer me, but his voice
was no more than a whisper, and I
gathered that he was saying Eyes"
from h movement of his lips, rather
than from any sound / could near.
II have something to tell you," I said
when you feel stronger-something
that, I think. will touch you most
nearly, for 1t has to do with Mr.. Tray
ers' safety. You go and have a good
nights rest. I'll sit up with your un-
Gle. n tomorrow morning you can