The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-24

his duties. [ made no allusion to what
had passed, and waited with some curl
osity to see how he would cover his dis
grace, On the third morning, however,
ne did not appear, as was his custom,
after breakfast to receive my instruc-
room | happe4ed to meet Rachel How
ellis, the maid. L have told you that
she had only, recently recovered from
an illness, and was looking SO wretched-
~ pale and wan that / demonstrated
with her for being at work.
= 80 You should be in bed" said.
= Come back to your duties when you
are stronger
She looked at me with so strange
that her brain was affected.
~ am strong enough, Mr.. Mus
grave, = said she. :
"s"We will see what the doctor
says, = I answered. HYou must STOP
work now, and when you 60 downstairs
just say that | wish to see Brunton.'
1.-The butler is gone, - said she.
Gone! Gone where?'
He is gone. No one has seen
he is gone, he is gone!'' She fell back
against the wall with shrek after
shrek of laughter, while I, Mortified at
this sudden hystericaI attack, rushed to
the bell to summon help. The girl was
taken to her room, still screaming and
sobblng, while l. made inquiries about
Brunton: There was no doubt about
1t that ne had disappeared. His bed
had not been slept in, he had been seen
by no one since he had retired to his
room the night before and yet it was
difficult to see how he could have left
the house, as both windows and doors
were found to be fastened in the morn
| ing. His clothes, his watch, and even
his money were in his room, but the
| black suit which he usually wore was
| missing. His slippers, too, were gone,
| then could butler Brunton have gone in
the night, and what could have become
| OF him now? ~
| OF course we searched the house
; from cellar to garnet, but there was no
! trace OF him. 1t is, as [ have said
a labyrinth Of an old house, especially
the original wing, which is now practi
cally uninhabited; but we ransacked
every, room and cellar without discover
ing the least sign of the missing man
1t was incredible to me that he coul6
have gone away leaving all his property
behind him, and yet where could he
be?, called in the local police, but
/ without success. Rain had fallen or
the night before and we examined the
lawn and the paths all round the house
out In vain. Matters were in this
state when a new development quite
drew our attention away from the
original mystery. -.
For two days Rachel Howells hal
been SO Ill, sometimes delirious, some
times hysterical that nurse had beer
employed to sit up with her at night
On the third night after Brunton IS dis
appearance, the. nurse finding her pa
tlent sleeping nicely, had dropped int
nap IN the armchair, when she wok,
IN the early morning to find the bee
empty, the window open and no sign
OF the invalid. L was instantly aroused
and, with the two footmen, started of
at once in search Of the missing girl
1t was not difficult to tell the direction
which she had taken, for, starting from
under her window, we could follow he
footmarks easily across the the lawn t.
the edge Of the mere where they van
leads out Of the grounds. The lax,
there is eight feet deep, and you Cal
imagine our feelings when we saw tina
the trail of the poor demented cir
came to an end at the edge of it.
=. OF course we had the drags a
once. and set to work to recover tn
, remains, but no trace of the bod,
: could we find; On the other hand, W
a most unexpected kind. It was
; linen bag, which contained within it
) mass of old rusted and discolored meta
and several dull-colored pieces Of pei
BILE or glass. This strange find was al
r that we could get from the mere, ant
} altho. we. made every possible scare
and inquiry yesterday, we know moth
3 ing of the, fate of Rachel Howells or
Richard Brunton. The county polio
, are at their wits end, and have com
, to you as a last resource .'~
I You can imagine, Watson, wit
= what eagerness I listened to this e.
traordinary sequence of events, and er
! deavored to piece them together, an
which they might all hang. The butte
: was gone. The maid was gone. TIL
maid had loved the butler but ha
was Of Welsh blood, fiery and passion
. ate. She had been terribly excite
y Immediately after, his disappearance,
She had flung into the lake a bag COZ
e tanning some curious contents. Thes
= were all factors which had to be take
. into consideration, and yet none G
e them got quite to the heart of tn
! Of this chain of events7 There lay tn
I end Of this tangled line.
| must see that paper, Musgrave
said |, (which this butler Of youl
: thought it worth while to consult, eve
. at the risk Of the loss Of his place.
!. It is rather an absurd business
e this ritual of ours he answered
But it has at least the saving grac
!: Of antiquity to excuse it. I have
copy of the questions and answers her
4 if you care to run your eye over them
He handed me the very paper whic
n / have here, Watson, and this is tn
strange catechism to which each Mu
grave had to submit when he came t
u mans estate. I will read you til
n questions and answers as they stand.
Whose was it?
n g His who is gone -.....,
I Who shall have it?'
Y He who will come
Where was the sum-
n 's'Over the oak
o HsWhere was the shadow?'