Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-04-15

faith. Even if he had, it struck me
as being highly improbable that he
would have been the possessor of
such princely treasure, and, even sup
posing that to be true, that he
would, at his death, leave it to such
a man as Kitwater. No, / fancied if
we could only get at the truth of the
story, we should find that it was a
good deal more picturesque, not to
use a harsher term, than we imap
ined. For a moment | had almost
been tempted to believe that the
stones were Hayle's property. and
that these two men were conducting
their crusade with the intention of
robbing him of them Yet, on
maturer reflection, this did not fit in.
There was the fact that they had GER
tainly been mutiliated as they de-
scribed, and also their hatred of
Hayle to be weighed in one balance,
while Hayle's manifest fear of them
could be set in the other.
eff l am not mistaken that is your
step, Mr.. Fairfax" said the blind
man, stopping suddenly in his walk,
and turning his sightless face in my
direction. Its wonderful how the
loss of ones sight sharpens ones
ears. l suppose you met Margaret
on the road?"
81 met Miss Kitwater in the.
churchyard,' l replied.
"A very good meeting place." he
chuckled, sarconically. Its where
most of us meet each other sooner
or later. Upon my word, / think the
dead are luckier than the living. In
any case they are more fortunate
than poor devils like Codd and nv
self. But l am keeping you stand
ing, won't you sit down somewhere
and tell me your news? / have been
almost counting the minutes for your
arrival. | know you would not be
here to-day unless you had some
thing important to communicate to
me. You have found Hayle?"
He asked the question with fever
ish eagerness, as if he hoped within
few hours to be clutching at the
others throat. / could see that his
niece noticed it too, and that she re-
coiled little from him in conse-
quence. I thereupon set to work and
told them of all that had happened
since l had last seen them, described
my lucky meeting with Hayle at
Charing Cross, my chase after him
across London, the trick he had
played me at Foxwell's hotel, and my
consequent fruitless journey to
Southampton.
"And he managed to escape you
after ALL" said Kitwater. THAT man
would outwit the master of all liars
himself. He is out of England by
this time, and we shall lose him"
"He has not escaped me-" I re-
piled, quietly. 81 know where he is,
and I have got man on his track"
"Then where is he?" asked Kit
water. eff you know where he is,
you ought to be with him yourself
instead of down here. You are paid
know that your man may not bungle
it, and that we may not lose him
again?"
His tone was SO rude and his man
ner so aggressive, that his niece was
about to protest. I made a sign to
her, however, not to do so.
81 don't think you need be afraid,
Mr.. Kitwater," said more soothing
ly than felt. 'My man is a very
clever and reliable fellow, and you
may be sure that, having once set
eyes on Mr.. Hayle, he will not lose
sight of him again. l shall leave for
Paris tomorrow morning, and shall
Immediately let you know the result
of my search. Will that suit you?"
"It will suit me when I get hold of
Hayle," he replied. until then I
shall know no peace. Surely you
must understand that?"
Then, imagining, perhaps, that he
had gone too far, he began to fawn
upon me, and what was worse
praised my methods of calculating
mystery. I cannot say which 1 dis
liked the more. Indeed, had it not
been that l had promised Miss Kit
water to take up the case, and that
l did not want to disappoint her, I
believe I should have abandoned it
there and then, out of sheer disgust.
A little later our hostess proposed
that we should adjourn to the house,
as it was nearly luneh-time. We did
SO, and I was shown to pretty bed
room to wash my hands. 1t was
charming apartment, redolent of the
country, smelling of lavender, and,
after London, as fresh as a glimpse
of a new life. looked about me,
took in the cleanliness of everything,
and contrasted it with my own dingy
apartments at Rickford's hotel,
where the view from the window was
not of meadows and breezy uplands,
but of red roofs, chimney-pots, and
constantly revolving cowls. + could
picture the view from this window in
the early morning, with the dew
upon the grass, and the blackbirds
whistling in the shrubbery, i am not
vain man, I think, but at this
juncture I stood before the looking
glass and surveyed myself. For the
first time in my life 1 could have