Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-08
the deceased committed suicide by poison
ing while Of Insound mind"
CHAPTER xxx.
Sir Bernard's Decision.

SIT beEndEuA OeclslOu.
For fully a week l saw nothing Of Am
bier.
Sir Bernard was unwell and remained
down at Hove; therefore 1 was compelled
to attend to his practice. There were sew
eral serious cases, the patients being peo-
pie of note; thus I was kept very busy.
My friends silence was puzzling. 1 wrote
to him, but received no response. A wire
to his ONCE in the city ELECTED the fact
that Mr.. Jevons was out Of town, Probably
he was still pursuing the inquiry he had so
actively taken up. Nevertheless, l was dis
satisfied that he should leave me so entirely
in the dark as to his intentions and dis
coveries.
Ethelwynn came to town for the day and
/ spent several hours shopping with her.
She was strangely nervous and all the old
spontaneous gaiety seemed to have left her.
She had read In the papers OF the curious
connection between the death of the man
Lane and that OF her unfortunate sister,
ana our conversation was mainly upon the
river mystery. Sometimes she seemed III
at ease with me, as though she feared some
discovery. Perhaps, however, 1t was merely
my fancy.
l loved her. She was all the world to
me! and yet in ner eyes seemed to read
some hidden secret which she was endeav-
oring with all the power at her command
to conceal. In such circumstances there
was bound to arise between us a certain
reserve that we had not before known. Her
conversation was carried on in a mechan-
zeal manner, as though distracted by her
inner thoughts; and when, after having tea
together in Bond street. we drove to the
station. and ! saw her on on her return to
Neneford, my mind was full of dark appre-
tensions.
Yes. That interview convinced me more
than ever that she was in some manner
~cognizant Of the truth. The secret exist
ence, OF old Mr.. Courtenay, the man whom
l myself had pronounced dead. was the
browning point of the strange affair; and
yet felt by some inward intuition that this
fact was not unknown to her.
All the remarkable events Of that moon
lit night when I had followed husband and
wife along the river bank came back to me,
and l saw vividly the old mans face, bag
gard and drawn, Just as II had been in life.
Surely there could be no stranger current
Of events than those which formed the
Seven Secrets. They were beyond explana-
tion-all OF them. l knew nothing. / had
seen results, but / knew not their cause.
Nitrate Of amyl was not a drug which a
c-ostermonger would select with a view to
committing suicide. Indeed, l daresay few
OF my readers. unless they are doctors or
chemists, have ever before heard Of 1t,
Therefore my own conclusion. fully en-
dorsed by the erratic Amber, was that the
poor fellow had been secretly poisoned.
Nearly a fortnight passed. and I heard
nothing OF Amber. He was still ''out OF
town" Day by day passed, but nothing OF
note transpired. Sir Bernard was still suf-
fering from a slight touch OF sciatica al
home. and on visiting him one Sunday ]
found him confined to his bed, grumbling
and peevish. He was somewhat eccentric
In his mise-ly habits and his hatred OF So
cistX beyond doubt; and the absurditieE
which his enemies attributed to him were
not altogether unfounded. But he had al
all events the rare quality OF protesting for
his profession . respect nearly akin TO en-.