Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-11-20
CHAPTER ~.

1t will be q truism to declare that
human nature is about as complicat-
ed piece of machinery az could be
found in the human world. And YET
] do not know why Il should be con-
sidered so. All things and all men
do not run in grooves. man to be
q criminal need not be hopelessly
bad in every other sense. have met
murderers who did not possess sufi-
Gent nerve to kill rabbit, burglars
who would rob poor man OF all bis,
possessions in tho world, and vet
would not despoil a little child of a
half-penny. The fact of the matter
Is we all have our better points, our
own innate knowledge Of good and
evil. Hayle had betrayed Kitwater
and Codd in the cruelest fashion
possible, and by so doing had con-
demned them to the most fendish
torture the mind Of man could con-
ceive. Yet 1t was through his one
good point, his weakness, if might
go describe it, that ! was ena bled to
come to my first grip with him.
1t was between the hours Of two
and three that entered the gates Of
Brompton cemetery and commenced
my examination Of the various graves
therein contained. Up one path
wandered and down another In
search of the resting-place of the
poor crippled sister of whom Gideon
Hayle had been so fond. It WAS a
long time before I found It, but at
last | was successful. To my aston
ich Ia. IL
one, and the grave was tastefully
decorated with flowers. As matter
of fact it was one of the prsttiest in
its neighborhood, and TO me this told
its own tale. went in search of The
necessary official and put the case to
him. He informed me that / was cor
rect in my supposition, and that tho
stone had only lately been erected,
and, what was more TO the point. he
informed me that the Gentleman who
had given the order for II had only
the week before paid the necessary
sum for insuring the decoration of
the grave for many years to come.
II gather from your words that
the gentleman, who must be reia-
tive of the deceased, has been here
lately" said.
"He vas here last Sunday alter
noon" the man replied. He "a
most kindly and generous gentleman.
and must have been ve'y fond Of his
sister. The way he stood ard looked
at that stone the last time he was
here was touching to see. He'd been
in foreign parts, sir, aud is likely to
go out there again, so I gathered
from what he said. 1t Is pity
there are not more like him"
This was news, indeed. and
pricked up my ears on hearing It.
Having learnt all l was likely to
discover. | thanked the man for his
kindness and left the cemetery If
had done nothing else, I had at least
satisfied myself upon one point, and
this was the fact that Gideon Hayle
had been in London within the week
Under such circumstances it should
not be very difficult to obtain his adj
dress. But | knew from experience
that when things seemed to be run
ming most smoothly they are as
much liable to breakdown as at
any other time-sometimes even
more so. I accordingly hailed cab
and drove back to my Office Once
there l entered up my diary accord
ing to custom. wrote a note to Kit
water, informing him that l had dis
covered that Gideon Havle had not
left London on the previous Sunday,
and also that l believed him to have
negotiated certain of the stones in
London, after which l returned to
nv hotel to dine.
Most people who know me would
tell you that it might be considered
consistent with my character that I
still occupied the same apartments
in the private aotel, off the Strand,
in which | had domiciled myself
when | first arrived in Engla nd. II
l am made comfortable l prefer to
stick to my quarters, and the hotel
in question was a quiet one; the
cooking and the service were excel
lent. and, s every enc d his, or
her. best for me. ! saw no sort OF
reason for moving elsewhere. II is
something in such matters to know
the people with whom one has to
deal, and in my case could not have
| L N
crowned head. 7 suppose 7 am a bit
OF a faddist in these things. Except
when business compels me to break
through my rule, I rise at the zane
hour every morning breakfast, lunch,
and dine at the same time, and an
far as possible retire TO rest pune
tually at the usual moment After
dinner in those days, things have
changed since then somewhat, I in
variably smoked a cigar, and when
the evening was fine went for
stroll, returning between nine and
ten and retiring to rest, unless I had
anything to attend to, punctually at
II. On this particular occasion, the
night being fine, though rather close,
] lit my cigar in the hall and stepped
out into the street exactly as the
clock was striking eight. l had Q lot
to think of, and felt just in the
humor for a walk. London at all
hours is a fascinating study to me.
and however much ! see of her, I
never tire Of watching her moods.
After left my hotel sTolled along
the embankment so far as the houses
| Of liap