The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-10-11
The Split Button

" % ~0OOS0~O
! had shaad9l; it to- the fest.nanI His
master, ssc; added, had seemed perfect
| ly composed and calm when he hand
| Ell him tho bottle, and lie was quite
at loss to account for the extraordi-
nary incident.
1t was sd obvious to both m. Fowls
and myself that ibis man could have
mad no earthly reason for desiring the
life. of the departed baronet that we
did not trouble to question him very
closely, for after all he was but
messenger, and could not be expected
to give us much vital Information.
Having thanked him for his words.
lsI told him he could withdraw, and he
went away as silently as he had en-
tered. rs. s.-.-4-a a.-
He seems right enough" I said.
when the door had closed upon mis-
retreating form.
What about the servants at the
Hall?" ~=-
t'tA1I of them are absolutely trust
worthy, and all of them loved poor Sir
William as a father. He lived in the
house quite alone save for the ser
wants, and was bachelor, his only
surviving relative being a brother.
who however, has not been beard Of
for long time
"And the brother succeeds him, l
presume?' | asked quickly.
Yes. There is no other heir, and
thouh the gentleman has not been in
evidence for some years, | expect he
will turn up now that a large estate
and 100000 per annum await him."
mo doubt" l replied drily; and then
having asked DR.. Fowls a great many
more questions. all of which he an
swered most satisfactorily, l took my
leave, promising to go on to the Hall
and see if l could elicit anything
there.
Let me know" l said, as I shook
hands in parting; ''let me know by
wire the exact hour of the inquest and
| will come down, so as to back you up
if you need any assistance. And let
me advise you, DR.. Fowls, to agitate
yourself as little as possible. for |
hope and believe that this mystery
will be traced to it's fountain head be
fore you and l are much older"
Heaven grant it So" he said wear
lily, and then taking my hat and stick
| set out for the Hall.
Every information that l desired was
given me at that place, but it helped
me but little. l journeyed back to
town at p. m, telling myself that the
affair was a black mystery and that
the doctors position was, indeed,
sad one. The jury would, Of course.
take the view that he had blundered
in preparing the physic, and he would
be ruined man.
Next morning received note from
the doctor that ran thus:
Dear Mr.. Harding-The inquest is
fixed for next Friday at II noon, at
the Hall itself l would have wired
you the Information, but as l have
some other news to communicate
write instead.
the news in question is that my
messengers, Travers. has suddenly dis
appeared He went out at o'clock
this evening and has not returned.
Following so closely on the terrible
tragedy at the Hall, the disappearance
seems suspicious. and l presume you
will use all your influence at Scotland
Yard 10 have him traced.
Yours faithfully.
CLAUDE POWIS"
Nov, what does this mean?" l
asked myself, as read and reread the
letter. "Why on earth should the mes
senger vanish at this point? Assam
ing even that he was responsible for
the crime. what possible motive could
he have possessed for committing it?'
However, it was Of little use to ques-
ton myself thus, and l went to work
Immediately to have the man traced.
All our efforts in this direction proved
useless, and when went down to Mar
grave to attend the inquest on Friday,
the man was still beyond our reach.
DR.. Fowls, who looked exceedingly
haggard was very pleased to see me.
but his face fell when told him that
Travers was not to be discovered.
The jury will say that l have got
him out of the country for some rel-
son of my own" he mumbled help
lessly; but perceiving that the coroner
was at this moment entering the IL
brary where the inquest was to be
held, he checked his speech and fol-
lowed the official silently into the
apartment.
The jury were called in, sworn, and
seats were allotted to them. The usual
formalities followed, and then the Elk
animation of the witnesses took place.
These included DR.. Fowls, two of the
Hall servants, and the present baronet,
Arthur Margrave, who had read of his
relatives shocking end in the papers.
and who had come down to the Hall
Immediately to take up his residence
there and to give the lawyers any aid
that might be required.
The evidence of the servants was
disposed of very quickly. and was of
small service. The doctors turn fol-
lowed. and it was evident from the