The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1901-12-28

the picture Of the surprised. pleading,
distorted face; hut It had been 30 hor-
rible that, after the frst9moment, he
had averted his !cwn from it; and, in
removing the body, had been careful to
cover that ugly thing. So that IL ID not
surprising that he should not have rec
ognized the careless description given
Of the man by Reeke-a description
which might, moreover, apply equally
well tota hundred men one meets on the
street every day. He shook his head in
p%erplexity.
mo, that's not the man at an. But I
think I see daylight on this matter, ana
it means black midnight to me, II I'm
not CAREFUL he added. under his
breath. "All that I know IL that q
man, giving your name, picked up
well, picked up Gilbert Rickerby in the
street, and took him to the hospital;
followed him to the grave with me. I
asked his name, and he said George
Reeks.' "A tall, fair man. with attained
skin, al 'though he'd been abroad q lot
lair mustache-and a, deep scar right
across. his cheek bone; not disfgur-
ing scar, but enough to be noticeable"
While he spoke Mr.. George Reeks had
been drawing himself more and, more
upright; had the other man looked at
him, hi would have observed that the
lite man was clutching each side of
the seat of his chair with his hands.
while his eyes seemed almost to be
starting out Of his head. Fortunately
for him, however, Nugent Leathwood
did not look around; still keeping his
eyes on the floor. he asked, quickly:
1 w ~ .,-..n- H. @~.v "a aA
that"
Properly, Mr.. George Reeks ought at
once to have said Yes But he saw
He had heard already that Gilbert
Rickerby was dead; that this man now
talking to him he'd seen him die, and
had followed him to the grave. Yet he
knew, with absolute certainty, that the
description given, of the man who had
declared he was George Reeks was a
very accurate description Of Gilbert
Rickerhy. And that man had followed
some other Gilbert Rickerhy to the
grave! Poor George Reeks felt his
brain Keeling; for the moment he was
ros at all certain who he was or where
H. was or what was happening; or. how
many Gilbert Rickerby's there were,
and how many of them were alive and
how many dead. He decided to get out
! Of the tangle as easily as possible.
'No-not-not exactly" he replied.
''But it's certainly not the seryant-not
| a bit like him."
"well, it's q puzzle, that's all. 1t u.s.,
said the other. After a few moments
thought, he turned abruptly to Reeks.
and spoke with a frankness he could
assume easily enough when he liked:
"Forgive me-" he said-'sI forgot my
self just now; but / shall hope to make
amends in the future. AS a matter Of
fact, I am placed In q great dificulty-
and I think h q you are h man to
help me. Now, I would no ask anyone
to help me without an adequate pay
ment; you shall not suffer on that ac-
count"
"You are very good" began, Mr..
Reeks, mildly.
'You have certain papers belonging
to the late Gilbert Rickerby. As his
cousin, and the next-of-kin as regards
the estates, I could claim these papers;
but that would be a hard and ungentle-
manly thing to do-and I am dealing
with a gentleman" He bowed, with y
flourish Of the arm, towards Reeas. B.
Thank you; you are extremely
good said Mr.. Reeks, again.
"Not at all. In word, I desire to
behave handsomely. I know that you
will not talk about matters which do
not, after all, concern. you; and I am,
therefore, the more disposed to deal
generously with you. I will buy those
papers from you; more than that I
will pay for them with q sum Of money
which was found at the hospital ongthe
person Of the unfortunate Gilbert Rick
erby-a sum Of s600." & ssS
Now, this was, Of course, absolutely
'nutrue; the sum Of money in question
had been found In notes on the person
Of poor James Holden, whom he had
murdered.
"Really, this is very generous"
gasped George Reeks.
mot at all I desire merely tas do
what is right: I4pay for certain papers
belonging to q dead man., with money
left behind In my hands by that dead
man; that is ALL" He might nave add.
the murderer, Of handling money taken
from the dead; more than a superst!-
tious fear-a fear that 1t might lead. Ia
some way. to his undoing.
Five hundred pounds! You shall
a1dVSS CNSEy QdPSI AS ASAS-SVSIy AlAOISdA
thing that wal his" circulated Mr.
Reeks. "And as for silence-never q
word, I swear to you. Five hundred
pounds!'" 80
.Well, that's settled" said Leath-
wood. in q cheerful tone. "Now, bar
gain for bargain; when the papers are
placed in my hands yods shall have the
money. Will that dot"
Nothing could be more fair cried.
Mr.. Reeks.. Indeed, his one desire, at
that time, was to get rid Of the. whole
bewildering business, quite apartsfrola
the fact Of making anything out Of -.
Very good. For the present. we Will
say goodbye. Just let M have your
address; that ID it--write It down
here He motioned towards the WRIT
ing materials. which stood on thestable.l
Then, an Mr.. Reeks was writing. he,.
bent down, to say. IN q lower tome:
"rYou spoke about girl. who waHMenys
toned, by the late Gilbert RickerbystHs
certain papers. let me assure yoS1 that
the girl is well-that she 10 hef49sEsselned
that she q under careful guardian
ship" Ssgyas S.sss
.T'm glad 70 know that replied
George Reeks. carefully SblottlnE ~;
Slip f paper ana handing Tito E6axh-
wood. That's the address. shall +
bring up the papers tomorrow
s'Ifsyou will be sosgoodss. replisasJn-y
gent, sweetly. s5ssGood4night: Issmlass
leave you to dnd your ownSwaySteSSthe
gate I'llS take 4youss,,to the dooFsa6ndi
/ show you. where II 1, ssa S&s.ssa&sSSsss