Oakes Republican., 1902-02-21
CHAPTER WI. (ContinucdD

the ear and up the dark stairs Which
led tc the upper rooms. AS MI. Tag
gctt always talked at the top of his
voice and he was in the present in
stance. Very anxious to be joNial and
friendly With This most unwelcome Wis
itor, their progress was not silent or
Secret one: and the noise Mr. Taggett
made attracted the attention of q
watcher in Il certain dark passage be-
meath them.
That watcher was Mr. Nugent Leath
wood. For something more than an
hour he had fretted and fumed about
the yard at the rear of the premises,
waiting, as arranged, for signal from
CorneliHs; but that gentleman had, as
has been mentioned, fallen halfasleep
and forgotten all about it. Gradually,
Nugent had ventured into the house,
cursing the darkness and Cornelius,
and everything and everyone that had
anything to do with mis- discomfort. At
last, just when he had made up his
mind to walk in boldly aud ask for Mr..
Veevers he heard the voce OF that gen.
tleman and the louder tones of An
thony Taggett.
SUSPICIOUS OF everyone With whom he
had to deal, 1t flashed upon him that
over to the othe: side, probably to save
himself He tried to di:miss the sus-
picion the next moment; but it clung TO
him, and he determined to play the spy
and to hear, if possible. what was said.
Very silently, he crept up the dark
stairs in the wake of the two men, and
watched them enter room together
the door of which was carefully closed
cf;er them.
Nugent Leathwood, went past that
door, fumbled along the we'll until he
touched another handle, e-idently at
tached to the doc- of an adjoining
room. Opening this very cautiously he
found himself in complete darkness,
save for little streak Of light coming
through the crack of a door at the side
nf the room. Creeping up to this, he
found that it vas one of G pair Of fold
ing doors, giving on to the room into
which Cornelius had gone with Anthony
Taggett. Nugent softly struck a light,
and found that he was in a very small
room, Uttered with old packing cases
and decrepit furniture, and evidently
used merely as a lumber room.
NO one will come here" he whis-
pered to himself. "Now, Cornelius, if
you are playing me false, Heaven have
mercy on you!'
Meanwhile. in the lighted loom An
thony Taggett had set out a bottle and
glasses, and was urging his newly-found
friend to drink whether with the object
of reducing him again to that condition
in which he had found him in the lit
tie bar down stairs OR not, it is impossi-
bic to say. Perhaps he had a faint
hope that, if Cornelius had really come
there in search of Olive, he might be in
duced to forget his purpose, if he were
made drunk enough.
The better to beguile the time, Mr..
Taggett plunged into an account OF
some of lis adventures. on the boards
and off, and further enlivened the time
by discoursing about that Wonderful
drama, which was ever in mind, and
which was probaol destined never to
be finished.
Now, the brain of Mr.. Taggett was a
fertile one, and the mere presence of
Cornelius had brought hack to his mind
the remembrance of that CHASTITY buri-
al in the garden of Riclleby's Folly at
what time Mr.. Taagett himself had
been wrapped in a sheet. OF course. he
dared not refer to that, for obvious rea-
sons; But it set his mind at work, and
QlulBtu MIN at once ltllO 1lGW lUedS 1OI
his wonderful drama.
'I cannot, of course, truthfully say
that this drama exists on paper" he
said, after a long preamble concerning
it. 'No; but it is absolutely formed in
my mind. Already, in fact, tread the
stage and utter the words which were
given to the chief character to speak:
already I slide down precipices or
MI &c
last idea if I remember rightly. in re-
gard to the first act was that the hero
Should come in on q, patechnicon. with
real horses, but am inclined to change
that. / intend to begin with a mysteri
GUS murder
Cornelius had been fast dropping into
sIarnber again: but Mr.. Taggett uttered
tho last word with such startling effect
t!at he jumped Up and sat upright
very wde-twake indeed.
"ies-with mysterious murder" re-
reatcd Anthony Taggett. "It has been
done. l admit: but not as 1 should do
IT. should. ! think. use something
cut Of the comnloll-such, for instance
as a mCn,ny-case."
az what?'' asked Cornelius, staring at
him.
u repeat-a nummv-case: in that the
body would be hidden" said Mr. Tag
ectt. speaking with great earnestness.
'Oh. you would hide the body. would
you?" said Cornelius. He picked up
his glass and sIlped down some of it's
contents. staring. wide-eycd, at Tag
gett all the while. "Ha. ha.-please go
on. This is really very interesting
Yes. though you would find it So
responded Mr.. Taegett, much gratifled.
and warming to his subject SIN fact,
now come to consider the matter more
carefully, why should use such an out
of-the-Way thing as mummy-case?"
"Ah. why. indeed?" exclaimed MI