The Indianapolis journal., 1904-05-05
Chapter ". Continued from Yesterday

flashed like polished steel Il know il TO
be in your possession. Do you deny IL: u,
deny it? Goodi- Tne ring being here, oe-
mand it
why do you want it?'
IL decline TO DE catechised. Give me the
ring a.,
cation. if not by birth. The stranger gave
a start at this. And yet you seek TO act
the part of a common thief, part you
would not dare act" she cried with spirit,
were a man and not defenseless
woman.
The man shrugged his shoulders impa-
Il did not come to listen to moral vapor-
ings, but to receive the ring.
"And what If l refuse to comply with
your demand?"
You are alone. let me repeat, and abb
solutely at my mercy"
With a cry Mrs. Breakspear clasped ldrls
in her arms TO shield him from a possible
attack. Yet even amid her fear 1t did not
escape her notice that the hand which hello
the weapon was small, white, and decorated
with diamond ring
Listen TO the voice of prduence con-
tinued the stranger. lit is within my power
TO dispatch you both, and 10 search these
apartments for the ring which you admit
is somewhere here. L am quite prepared
TO so to the extreme rather than return
without it. You WILL therefore, see the
wisdom of surrendering the ring: you thus
save your life and that of your child: L save
ly advantageous"
Something in his tone convinced Mrs:
Breakspear that he quite capable OF
carrying out his threat.
You will find the ring in an ebony case
in the top drawer of that cabinet. Take
1t; and if it should bring upon you the
mine, you will live to rue this day.
The man smiled, put up his weapon,
walked towards the oak press, and III a
moment more the casket was in his hands.
Ia
ing the relic upon his person. how you
came to deny all knowledge of it at the trial
of your husband?"
81 spoke truly" she answered, being
unaware at the time that my husband
had secretly entrusted it to the care of
his friend. Captain Rochefort."
| After stealing IL from the body of his
victim added the stranger.
His victim? There you err" cried Mrs.
Breakspear with flashing eyes, loathing TO
answer the stranger, yet eager to vindi-
cate her husband. when my husband
| left the Armorique Club that fatal even
| ing he overlook NJ. Duchesne on his way
regret for his violence of the preceding
| night reconciliation took place. As a
| pledge of amity NJ. Duchesne, remember
| ing the interest my husband had shown in
turn my husband Insisted that Duchesne
| should accept the antique poniard pur-
chased by him that morning. Thus they
parted the one with the ring. the other
with the dagger. The assassin, whoever
! he was, that attacked Duchesne, must,
during the struggle, have become possessed
of the dagger, and with il he inflicted the
fatal wound. Next morning, my husband,
| foreseeing that he might be accused of the
murder, and aware tnat his possession of
| the ring would seem suspicious circum-
| stance. handed it to Captain Rochefort,
enjoining him. very unwisely as 1 now per-
celve, to keep silent on the matter"
''Ano So" commented the stranger,
| Captain Rochefort conspired TO defeat the
ends OF justice"
1.-The word justice comes with an i'll
| grace from the lips of a coward and a
thief, retorted Mrs Breakspear. her spirit
| rising, as it always rose whenever her hus-
bands innocence was put to doubt Say,
| rather, that in conceaiing the ring Captain
| Rochetort was seeking TO prevent the law
from drawing an erroneous conclusion.
He failed, however sreered the
| stranger. for the law pronounced your
husband guilty-greatly to my interests
| A pity they didn't gullotine him, Still he
is In prison: there let him rot! and All!
he muttered in a hoarse voice breaking
of abruptly. In the name of hell. what's
that?"
He could not have been a very brave
man, Idris thought, for he seemed unable
to keep his hand which rested on the table
from shaking.
All three were silent listening for a re-
newal of the sound. 1t soon came-a dull
boom slowly rolling through the air like
distant thunder.
With the air of one mad the stranger
dashed to the window and flinging wide
the easement looked out into the night. {
night of glory and beauty, such as is sci
dom seen in misty Brittany The air from
horizon to zenith was alive with countless
stars that seemed to fiot like silver dus
In the blue depth. Their faint light fallinl
over wide expanse of ripping sea- anC
on long arc of yellow sand Terminated
at each end Of the dark cliffs, formed pic
ture that would have charmed the eye O
an artist.
Idris, his curiosity getting the better o
MS fear, slipped from his mothers EN-
brace. and, stealing TO a second easement
looked through it's lattaiced panes.
On the water was the boat he ha,
| noticed earlier in the evening the boa
that had been put out from the yacht. /
its occupants had gone ashore for tn
purpose of taking some one aboard they ha,
failed in their object, since the boat con
tanned the same seven sailors. They wer
evidently In a state of perplexity: for, with
out any APPARENT motive, they were rowin
with the shore, the steersman now and the
! standing up and sweeping the coast with
, nightglass.
Turning his eyes upon the yacht Idri
saw jets Of black smoke issuing from tn
, funnel. The engineer was evidently get
ting up steam
) Here, thought Idris, was the explanatio
or the booming sound. The yacht wa
about TO weigh anchor, and had fired
| gun as a signal of departure
The masked man, however, did not seer
TO think that the sound came from th
, yacht. With his body half out of the win
dow he was staring at the plateau Of brow
moorland with. it's faint silvery crown
staring as If behind that white mist som
exciting event was happening that he woul
fain witness.
Once more came the dull, rolling rever
beratiOn, and at that sound the man reele
from the window as if buffeted by a gian
hand
, "Damnation! he has escaped" he hisse
between his set teeth. us this their Wig
' lance. after being warned of the plot? Bu
f my enemy shall not escape. I'll ioin i'm th
: chase myself. That gun invites pursui
1t is lawful. ana here a sinister smile al
peared beneath the fringe of his mask g
: | is lawful to shoot a fugitive convict
l With that he darted from the room an
dashed down the staircase: the slammin
| of door followed, and the next momer
l his tread could be heard going up tf
| street in the direction of the moorlan
| prison.
The indignations felt by Mrs. Breaksnes
| at the theft of the ring became lost in
new emotion. A convict had escaped. ar
| the strangers words seemed almost
imply that the fugitive washer husband
She strove to Danish this idea as a wi
fancy, as too daring hope on her par
but II would persist In forcing itself llnc
her. With her hand pressed to her sic
she sat, powerless to speak trembling ;
the thought that at that very moment Er
Melville might be fleeing over the mis-
moorland with armed warders In close pu
suit eager TO bring him down with a ca
bine shot.
''Hark! there goes another gun" cri,
Idris. WHO is II that is firing. and wi
are they doing it?''
Something else besides the gun was no
heard. Along the lonely and usually siIe
road that led down from the moorland
Quilaix came sound, which. at first faf
and undistinguishable in character. b
came gradually more distinct and final
developed into the thud-thud of horse -hoot