Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-01-24
CHAPTER TX. (Continued.,

NCN-Se
CHAPTER IX. (Continued.)
At o'clock the next evening I Gale,
Graves into the study.
Il want you to take charge of, thi
packet" I said, "andx in fhs eItVelop,
you will find directions as to what yo,
are to do with it. If T. am not home b,
6.o'clock tomorrow morning, open tn,
envelope and do whatsthe enclosed let
ter tells you. If l am sbackabefore tina
hour, you can return the packet ant
envelope unopened. Do: syeu==:ander
stand?"
Yes, sir,' said he, somewhat aston
ished, and handling the papers deli
catay. eff ydnre not here, sir at 4
O'Clock tomorrow n.of,ans, q HhtS oper
thiAenyelope ahd thS RReE iasidKhyiI
elismefwhatks do VIII theS picket! Il
yousare here, I am to return them tc
youeSasesas:sSsssssdsx sS3ss'sss
That's it. exactly. aG.rsa14ss4-ssI=shani
be in to dinner, so tell Mr. TraVers not
to wait for me, taildssSA, by the way
you needn't tell him that I may; be out
late ,.to-night-and you'retnot to say. a
word-sof what I've. asseaeyous to do,
even TO your Wife 49,,
"VeEyt good, SIR and. carrying off
the packet he left me to prepare my
self for an adventure upon the like of
which I had never embarked.
1 had already written to Nora, and
Anclosed> the letter in the packet, and
when, presently, I had donned the old
est suit could CONE by, I slipped out
of the house and started for Come
mara Cottage. e. '''F'' |i'5'' '' ~
The night was exactly suited to the
undertaking, for it was SO. dark that I
could not see a yard before me. The
wind rose at intervals to well-nigh half
a gale, to sob itself away in a whisper
among the bare tree-tops, and over
head the driving scud had. shut out the
stars, while every now and then few
big drops of rain battered down, as
earnest. of the storm that was brewing.
q The Connemara kennels were empty,
so that had no need to beware of the
dog" and without much difficulty 1
CROPPED my way to the water butt, and
80 on to the roof, and, counting the
tiles, found the third one, whice came
away with little manipulation. TAX
Ang advantage of the hubbub raised by
the wind when it was .howling its loud
est, I removed some others, and
squeezed i,myself'in between the raft
ers. The,sfoor upon. which trod was
sufficiently firm for e.lto. stand upon
It, or to move quietly without it giving
or creaking, and when I had fixed the
tiles as securely as! possible, ;crept
forward on hands and knees until:I felt
the partition. T., ..,t..ae,, ;4d.,... an.
And I lay there in the black darkness
waiting for the hour Of meeting.
seemed to have lain there for hours.
and to have gone over at least a hun
dred methods of Keeping! Nora's father
out of the trouble, when' 7 heard some
came the: sound. Of a., match. being
struck, and presently a light. fickered
up, and few rays fell through the
marrow Sits in the. partition, and one
of these tiny apertures, was 50, close
10 my eye that, without moving, 1
could see'4the greater baft Of the room
below. rs: + 49, re- ,iosa 4.,s''sl' -. f.:
Two men. had. ,s senterfd
dOrville and Courtney.
Now" said the former, ''you are sure
chat matters are safely sarranged in
elde! tstf 4: ~: :siti.sHE Ej:nH
Yes; 4ssy everything; IKE frept upstairs
and the cooks snoring fit to shake; the
rafters. "hf 81 Z 80 s'a'. ''f'5s ~
"Ah! she's queer body" said Dor
vile. Seems to have a deuce of
temper, though I've never come across
her equal at white sauee. Nov, do you
stay here. land I'llFgo and look these.
men up, + think we may safely bring
them in all at once. &c.
When lie was left alorhies '' Courtney
began to'walk slowly UP and down the
room, in.thet CENTER Of whichl;were five
chairs and a table with writing. ma
terials upon it, and as he paced to and
fro he gave utterance to his thoughts
in tones tshlat, low, as they were, easily
reached ne, ,,s,.r,zs .;4...... ,,,.
he muttafed. s"'1tt vas !5s'lhhf IFS wedding,
tongue that led ME ofhf,sshntfl FIN SO
deep in itznowr that 4Isuant oget out of
It with .m9Ni; life.si Rnt, s.sa<3 help yme
s asaysn H9 e.; R ~ 81 sYRs a7 tSs{
this very night aye,f eiven}ff Number
One is himself sahd' isnthey 'fkfll
newell. rkd be Mefelhiout sofe4t, siflit
%asa aaa el5ssed PR SehGa a
little goodathe likes of Inc 'taasnr do With
praying, and 'IFcohsortialgs With these
aye, it's an ugly MosdinJaMes Court
ney, even t.. whisper to yourself rthese
murderers: And Maurice IS. scheming
to get this young sTremasS5iMhhe8 into the
net, and ATS 'easy tofssee;s Though It's
hard to kaaow why thatait's, more, than
his money he wants; and. If the LAD
isn't on his guard he'll, work, his will
on him, and standing ByGI. that have
broken bread with hf11ld II I'aould only
warn hinrason1e way! 5Yhs,~ III do It'll
IN be fst-qff .againatf-'Sbbhisstl, here
He sat down at the table and l3ia
nervouslysMfth one II efstt the Il pens. IT. ''i
The dooHopened.'ia nd tour si1iien en-
tered quietly, the three strangerstshaka
ing hands. with ,GourtpeXs,and. could
no ordinarily one: ~ 'I6rds' 1Wia efez spd6K-
en- while s4ey Nvestedn themselves Of
their heavy coats, eandsfas, bheNgtook
their plaeM, ss ths,it table 4y8et a g9qd;
seated hmseif With Zig back Is me, 'yo
that all np'to,1ld seee6f hiiAsaWas his