Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-10

promise. l VIII deal Wltn LOru vent nor. My vengeance has first claim. What! By the jumping Moses, do believe Yes. It is. Anstruther! Your nephew is sitting next to the girlw
 The telescope fell on the stones with a crash. The giants rubicund face suddenly blanched. He leaned on his friend for support.
 "You are not mistaken" he almost whimpered. Look again, for Gods sake, man! Make sure before you speak. Tell mel Tell mev'
 "Calm yourself, Anstruther. It is Robert, as sure as I'm alive. Don't you think I know him, my poor disgraced friend, whom I, like the rest, cast off in his hour of trouble? But had some excuse. There! There I didn't mean that, old fellow. Robert himself will be the last man to blame either of us. Who could have suspected that two people-one of them, God help me, my wife-would concoct such hellish plotr'
 The boat glided gracefully alongside the steps of the quay, and Playdon sprang gracefully ashore to help Iris to alight. What happened immediate ly afterward can best be told in his own words, as he retailed the story to an appreciatiye audience in the ward room.
 "We had just landed" he said, "and some of the crew were pushing the coolies out of the way when two men jumped down the steps, and a most fiendish row sprang up-that is. there was no dispute or wrangling, but one chap, who, it turned out, was Colonel Costobell, grabbed Ventnor by the shirt front and threatened to smash his face in if he didn't listen then and there to what he had to say. I really thought about interfering until heard Colonel Costobells opening words. After that I would gladly have seen the beggar chucked into the harbor. We never liked him, did we?"
 Ask no questions, Pompey, but go ahead with the yarn," growled the first lieutenant.
 "Well, it seems that Mrs. Costobell is dead. She got enteric week after the Orient sailed and was goner in four days. Before she died she owned up."
 He paused, with base eye to effect Not man moved muscle.
 "All right" he cried. T will make no more false starts. Mrs. Costobell begged her husbands forgiveness for her treatment of him and confessed that she and Lord Ventnor planned the affair for which Anstruther was tried by court martial. It must have been beastly business, for Costobell was sweating with rage, though his words were icy enough. And you ought to have seen Ventnor's face when he heard of the dispositions. sworn to and signed by Mrs. Costobell and by sever- al Chinese servants whom he bribed to give false evidence. He promised to marry Mrs. Costobell if her husband died, or, in any event, to bring about a divorce when the Hongkong affair had blown over. Then she learned that he was after Miss Iris, and there is no doubt her fury helped on the fever. Costobell said that. for his wife's sake, he would have kept the wretched thing secret, but he was compelled to clear -Anstruther's name, especially as he came across the other old Johnnie"-
 "Pompey, you are incoherent with ex- citement Who is the other old John- nieT" asked the first Huff severely.
 Didn't tell you? Why, Anstruther's s uncle, of course, a heavy old swell with just a touch of Yorkshire in his tongue. I gathered that he disinherit- ed his nephew when the news of the court martial reached him. Then he relented and cabled to him. Getting no news. he came east to look for him. He met Costobell the day after the lady died. and the two vowed to be re- venged on Ventnor and to clear An struther's character, living or dead. Poor old chap. He cried like baby when he asked the youngster to for give him. It was quite touching.
 "Well. Costobell shook Ventnor of at last, with the final observation that Anstruther's court martial has been quashed. The next batch of general orders will reinstate him in the regi- ment, and it rests with him to decide whether or not a criminal warrant shall be issued against his lordship for conspiracy"
 What did Miss Deane do?"
 "Clung to Anstrnther like a weeping angel and kissed everybody all round when ventnor got away. Well-hands off. I mean her father, Anstruther and the stout uncle. Unfortunately I was not on in that scene But for some req son they all nearly wrung my arm of, and the men were so excited that they gave the party a rousing cheer as their rickshaws went off in bunch"
 The next commouon arose in the ho- tel when Sir Arthur Deane seized the first opportunity to explain the predic- ament in which his company was placed and the blow which Lord Vent nor yet had it in his power to deal.
 Mir. William Anstruther was an in- terested auditor Robert would have spoken. but his uncle restrained him.
 Leave this to me. lad" he ex- claimed. When was coming here in the Siriar there was a lot of talk about Sir Arthur's scheme. and there should not be much difficulty in rais- ing all the brass required if half what I heard be true Sit you down. Sir Ar thur. and tell us all about 1t"