The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1902-06-05
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no further questions at present. All
that he wanted to know would come in
time The next move. of course, was
, to visit the agent of the property.
smart, dap2er little man, looking
absurdly out OF place In an exceedingly
spacious office. was quite ready to give
every information. 1t was certainly
true that 2lS Brunswick Square was
to be let a. an exceedingly low rent on
"A repairing lease, and that the owner
had a lot more property in Brighton, TO
be let on the same terms. The lady
was exceedingly rich and eccentric; in
deed. by asking such low rents, she was
doing her best to seriously diminish
her income.
so far as can tell. the property came
do you know the lady at all?" Ben
asked.
Not personally" the agent admitted.
into the present owners hands some
years ago, by inheritance. The proper
~ also included a very old house,
called Longdean Grange, not far from
| Rockingham where the lady, Mrs. Hen
son. lives at present Nobody ever goes
there, nobody ever visits there, and TO
keep the place free from prying visitors
a large number of savage dogs are al
lowed to prowl about the grounds"
Bell listened eagerly. Watching him,
! Steel could see that his eyes glinted like
points OF steel. There was something
subtle behind all this commonplace that
touched the imagination of the novelist.
Has 2lS been let during the occupa-
ton of the present owner?" Bell asked.
No" the agent replied. "But the
present owner--as feir to the property
/ am told, Mas interested in both 2ls
and PIG, which Used to be a kind of
high-class convalescent home for poor
clergy and the widows and daughters
of poor clergy in want of holiday. The
one house was for the men and the 9TH
er for the women, and both were fur
nished exactly alike; in fact, Mr.. Gates
landlord, the tenant of 219, bought the
furniture, exactly as it stands, when
the scheme fell through"
Steel looked up swiftly. A sudden in
| spiration came to him.
I'm that case what became OF the
| precisely similar furniture in 21S?" he
asked
THAT I cannot tell you" the agent
said. THAT house was let as 1t stood,
TO some sham philanthroplst whose
name l forget. The whole thing was a
fraud and the swindler only avoided
arrest by leaving the country. Prob
ably the goods were stored somewhere.
or, perhaps, seized by some creditor.
But really can't say definitely without
| looking the matter up. There are some
books and prints now left in the house
out of the wreck. We shall probably
put them in a sale, only they have been
overlooked. The whole lot would not
fetch e5."
Would you take e5 for them?" Bed
asked.
Gladly Even II only to get them
carted away"
"Bell gravely produced e5 note for
which he asked and received e receipt.
Then he and Steel repaired to 21S once
more, whence they recovered the Rem
brandt, and subsequently returned the
keys OF the house to the agent. There
was an air OF repressad excitement
about Bell which was not without its
| effect upon his companion. The cold,
hard lines seemed to have faded from
Bells face; there was a brightness
about him that added TO his already
fine physical beauty.
"And now, perhaps, you will be good
enough to explain" David suggested.
'My dear fellow, Il would take too
long" Bell cried. presently l am go
ing to tell you the story of the tragedy
of my life. You have doubtless won
dered, as others have wondered, why I
dropped out of the road when the goal
was in sight. Well, your curiosity is
about TO be gratificd. ! am going to
help you, and you, in turn, are going TO
help me to come back into the race
again. BY way of a start. you are
going TO ask me to come and dine with
you tonight"
AT half-past seven, then. Nothing
win give me greater pleasure"
Spoken like a man and a brother.
we will dine, and 1 will tell you my
story after the house is quiet And IL
ask you TO accompany me on a mid
night adventure, you will not say me
nay?"
"Not In my present mood, at any
rate. Adventure, with a dash Of danger
in it, suits my present mood exactly.
And IL there is 20 be physical violence,
so much the better. My diplomacy may
be weak but physically. / am not to be
despised in row."
''well. wen try and avoid the latter,
IL possible" Bell laughed. "Still. for
your satisfaction. I m say there is
| just the OhaDce OF SCTlHmdSe- Anu
now / really must GO because I have
any amount of work to 90 for Gates.
Till half-past seven, au revoir."
Steel lighted cigarette and strolled
thoughtfully homeward along the front
The more he thought over the mystery
the more tangled 1t became. And yet
he felt perfectly sure that he was on the
right track. The discovery that both
those houses had been furnished exact
ly alike at one time was most import
ant one. And David no longer believed
that he had been to 2l9 on the night of
the great adventure. Then ne FOUND
himself thinking about Ruth Gates
gentle face and lovely eyes, until he
looked up and saw the girl before him.
"You--you wanted to speak TO me?"
he stammered.
II followed you on purpose" the girl
said, quietly. 81 can't tell you every
thing, because II is not my secret TO
tell. But, believe me, everything will
come out right in the end. Don't think
badly Of me. don't be hard and bitter
because"
Because / am nothing of the kind"
David smiled. 1T Is impossible to look
into a face like yours and doubt you.