Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-24
CHAPTER XIV.
Forms a Bewildering Enigma.

death of young Mrs. Courtenay. 1t was the
only conclusion that could be arrived at in
the circumstances, there being no marks of
violence and no evidence to show how the
unfortunate lady got into the Meme.
Amber Jevons, who had seen a brief &C
count of the affair in the papers, arrived
hurriedly in time to attend the inquest;
therefore it was not until the inquiry was
over that we were enabled to chat. His
appearance had changed during the weeks
of his absence his face seemed thinner and
wore a worried anxious expression.
well, Ralph, old fellow, this turns out
to be a curious business, doesn't it?' he
exclaimed, when, after leaving the public
room of the Golden Ball, wherein the in
quiry had been held. we had strolled on
through the long, struggling village of
homely cottages with matched roofs and
out upon the white, level high road
Eyes" 1 admitted. IT'S more than curl
Gus. Frankly, 1 have a distinct suspicion
that Mary was murdered
That's exactly my own opinion" he ex-
claimed quickly. There's been foul play
somewhere. OF that I'm certain"
"And do you agree with me, further, that
1t is the outcome of the tragedy at Kew?'
Most certainly" he said. THAT both
husband and wife should be murdered only
a few months after another points to
motives of revenge You'll remember now
nervous old Courtenay was. He went In
constant fear of his life, it was said That
fact proves cOncluSively that he was aware
of some secret enemy.
Eyes; now that you speak of 1t, recollect
II quite WE'LL l remarked, adding: But
where, in the name of fortune. have you
been keeping yourself during all these
weeks of Silence?'
1--WE been travelling" he responded, rath-
er vaguely. i've been going about a lot
A,I lrnn Nfnp 20 ff1 o
part of the time" 1 laughed.
'She told YOU eh?" he exclaimed rather
apprehensively. Il didn't know that she
ever recognized me. But women are always
much sharper than men. Still, I'm sorry
that she recognized me-.
There's no harm done-providing youV
made some discovery regarding the seven
secrets that compose the mystery. | said.
Seven secrets" he repeated, thoughtful
ly. and then silent few moments as
though counting to himself the various
points that required elucidation. Yes, he
said at last you're right, Ralph, there are
seven of them-Seven of the most extra
ordinarysecrets that have ever been present.
ed to mortal being as part of and the
same mystery"
He did not, of course, enumerate them in
his mind, as 1 had done, for he was not
aware of all the facts. The seven secrets,
as they presented themselves to me, were:
First, the identity of the secret assassin of
Henry Courtenay; second, the secret man
IN which that extraordinary wound mad
been caused; third, the secret of Ethel
wynn, held by Sir Bernard; fourth. the Sc
cret motive of Ethelwynn in remaining I'M
der the roof of the man who had discarded
her In favor of her sister; fifth, the secret
of Courtenay's temperance after burial;
sixth, the secret of the dastardly attempt on
my life by those ruffians of Lisson Grove;
and. seventh, the secret of Mary Courte
nays death. Each and every of the
problems was inscrutable. Others of which
l was unaware, had probably occurred to
my friend. To him, just as to me, the Sc
crets were seven.
Now, be frank with me, Amber I said,
after a long pause. you've gained knowl-
edge of some of them, haven't you?"
By his manner l saw that he in pos
session Of information of no ordinary char
acter.
He paused and slowly twisted his small
dark mustache, at last admitting:
Yes, Ralph, 1 have"
what have you dscovered?" 1 cried In
fierce eagerness. Tell me the result of
your inquiries regarding Ethelwynn. 1t is
her connection with the affair which occu-
pies my chief thoughts
For the present, my dear fellow, we
must leave her entirely out of IT., my
friend said, quietly. ITO tell you the truth.
the affair as a mystery impenetrable | set
to work and slowly formed a theory. Then
drew up deliberate plan of campaign,
which | carried out in it's entirety
And the result?''
Its result" he laughed. We'll, when
I'd spent several anxious weeks in making
the most careful inquiries | found, to my
Chagrin, that was upon an entirely wrong
scent, and that the person l suspected of
being the assassin at Kew was innocent
There was no help for 1t but to begin all
over again, and did My Inquiries then
led me in an entirely opposite direction /
followed my new and somewhat startling
theory and found to my satisfaction that
l had at length struck the right trail,
Through a whole fortnight | worked on,
night and day. often snatchirS few hours
of sleep in railway carriages, and some
times watching through the whole night
for when one pursues inquiries alone 1t is
frequently imperative to keep a watchful
vigil. To Bath. to Hereford. to Edinburgh,
to Birmingham, to Newcastle, and also to
several places far distant in the south of
England, travelled in rapid succession. I'M
til at last l found a clue. but one so extra
ordinary that at first l could not give it
credence. Ter days have passed. and even
now l refuse to believe that such d thing
could be. I'm absolutely bewildered by it,
Then you believe that you've AT last
gained the key to the mystery" ! said
eagerly drinking in his words.
1T seems as though l have Yet my In
formation is so very vague and shadowy
that l can really form no decisive opinion.
1t Is this mysterious death of Mrs. Court
enay that has utterly upset all my theories
Tell me plainly, Ralph. what causes you
to suspect foul play? This is not a time
for prevaricarion. We must be open and
straightforward to each other. Tell me the
absolute truth"
Should l tell him frankly of the amaz-
ing discovery / had made? / feared to do
SO. lest he should laugh me to scorn- The
actual existence of Courtenay seemed too
incredible And yet as he was working to
solve the problem, just as / was, there
seemed every reason why we should be
aware of each others discoveries. We had
both pursued independent inquiries into
the Seven Secrets until that moment, and
hfph inNn erAr NOD,
well, Jevons" / exclaimed hesitatingly
at last, Il have during the week elucidated
one fact-a fact 50 strange that when | tell
you l know you will declare that / was
dreaming. l myself cannot account for 1t
In the least. But that l was witness of it
and that il Is the truth l will vouch. The
mystery is a remarkable one, but what I've
discovered adds to its inscrutabiity."
Tell me-" he urged quickly halting and
turning to me III eagerness. What have
you found out?"
Listen 1 said. Hear me through until
you discredit my story" Then, just as l
have already written down the strange in
cidents in the oregoing chapters, l related
to him everything that had occurred since
the last evening he sat smoking with me in
Harley Place.
He heard me in silence. the movements
of his face at one moment betraying salts
faction and al the next bewlderment. Once
or twice he grunted, as though dissatisfied