Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-08-29
LOST NAN $ LANE.
Bv ANNA KATHARINE GREEN.
tfop;rsht, 1897, by Anna X. Rohlfs.l
CHAPTER MIX.
rNry-t,Lyr,, .nraN-
INVESTIGATION.

ro.t horrible; If true, still more horri
tIs-thrsw Us all aback and made evel
Mr. 4gyee's features assume an aspec
anti, uncommon to them,
oYane mothers grave?" said he
,sosir. from her TO Loreen with yer,
syia4 doubt, II thought your mothe,
lid ,lyeu or more years ago, and thi
c,oy, aas been dug within three days ;
ii u1w, she whispered ITO tn,
word v mother has been dead many
wonv 81, lrs, but not TO US. We CLOSED
her .ys night before last, and it was tc
mr.. .va this secret, which involves 9th.
a.. Mt. ting our family honor, that we
re.5rfed to aXpedients which have per.
hans Il. ,racted the notice of the police
api drawn this humiliation down upon
Ms IN conceive no other reason for
hi, visit, ushered in as it was by Mr..
Trohn.
Nj, Lucetta, Mr.. Gryce spoke up
oujt auickly-if he had not | certainly
noull MT have restrained some expires
snot the emotions awakened in my own
brea,t by this astounding revelation
. "Ni.. Lucetta, ii is not necessary to
brjug Nr. Trohm name into this mat.
fer or that Of any other person than my
sell. | saw the coffin lowered here,
which YOU say contained the body of
your mother. Thinking this a strange
| rlace Of burial and not knowing it was
your mother, Miss kuollys, to whom
You were paying these last dutiful rites,
| took advantage Of my position as de-
tectiye to satisfy myself that nothing
wrong lay behind so mysterious a death
AMI burial, Can You blame me, Miss
Ku5lys: Would | have been a man to
un,t if had let such an event 90 by
uuchallguged III this lane?"
She did not answer. She had heard
but one sentence of all this long speech.
Y6u saw my mothers coffin lower
ed Where were you that you should
ST Jhat. In some Of these dark passages,
let in by know not what traitor to our
peace Of mind " And her eyes, which
seemed TO have grown almost supernat.
1raly large and bright under her emo
tiols turned slowly in their sockets till
they rested with something like doubt.
mi accusation upon nine but not II
g5main there, for Mr., Gryce recalled
them almost instantly back by this
short, sharp negative.
No | was nearer than that. lent
nv strength to this burial. If you had
thought to look under Mother James
aa0l. You would have seen what wouid
rave forced these explanations then and
there
And vou'-
And | was Mother Jane for that
night Not from choice, miss, but from
necessity, 1t was l your brother saw in
the cottage. l could not give away my
plans by refusing the task your brother
offered ne. "
1t is WE'LL" Lucetta had risen and
was now standing by the side of Loreen.
such a secret as ours defies secrecy.
Even Providence takes part against us.
What Won want TO know we must tell,
but assure you it has nothing to do
with the business you profess to be
7liehy interested in-nothing at all. e"
Then perhaps you and your sister
will retire" said he. Distracted as
~ are by family griefs, l would not
wish TO add one iota to your distress.
This lady, whom you seem TO regard
With more or less favor as friend or
t.arlva. will stay TO see that no dishon-
u is paid to your mothers remains.
5ut her face we must see, Miss Knoll
y, if only to Tighten the explanations
On will doubtless feel called upon to
lalt
Il wa, Loreen who answered this.
II it must be, - said she, remember
u nwn mother and deal reverently
nth ou> Which word and the way
was uttered gave me my first dis
met Q nviction that it was truth these
lis hal been telling and that the girl
hid WE had come to unearth was the
-tAea # my early friendship, whose
,lry-Ee form l had for so long a time
.iev.l to have mingled with foreign
lst. The thought was almost too much
rMr >elf possession, and | advanced
pom LoIeen with a dozen burning ques-
9ns On my lips when the voice OF Mr..
r7co stopped me.
Explanations later" said he. "For
e PRESENT we want you here. y
1t was not an easy task for me to lin
r there with all my doubts unsolved,
atM- tGr the decisive moment when
r Gyyre should say: Come! Look
1t she:" But the will that had al
adr sustained me through so much
d not iail me now. and, grievous as
as The ordeal, passed steadily through
being able to say, though not with
t some emotion, l own: 1T is she
l2nged almost beyond conception, but !
II She which was a happier end to
Is adventure than that we had first
ired, mysterious as the fact was, not
y t. myself, but, as l could see, to the
ute detective as well.
The girls had withdrawn long before
Is, ju>r as Mr.. Gryce had desired, and L
low thought l might be allowed to G
n them, but Mr.. Gryce detained me G
! tie grave was refilled and made de- l
ut again, when he turned and to my L
-'nSe a,tonishment-for / had thought t
+ matter was all over and the exoner- I
vn 4 this household complete-sald q
lily and with telling emphasis IN my L
!. a
'purwork is not done yet. They who L
'Ar graves so readily in cellars must L
We teen more or less accustomed &c 1
work. We have still some digging y
d. - Z