The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-07-28
Che Solutions 81 Radford $bone

| you'd be along, after the pumping Mr..
! Radford Shone gave me- A wonderful
man-read what was in my inmOst
cart but what 1 didn't dare put
speech to till he dragged it out"
At an imperceptible sign from me the
inspector took up the running.
| 1T isn't what you told Mr.. ShOne
but what you didn't tell him, that we
are after" said Kyrle why did you
withhold from him the fact that DIR.
Michael Bardsley was a frequent Wis
itor TO your late mistress at the farm
house?"
Watching Sparshott closely seemed
to detect a curious eagerness, blend
ed with apprehension, at this revel-
alton of Kryle's knowledge. Yet his
answer rang out without hesitation:
Because l saw no such person."
Then you are in rather a tight cor
mel" l Clipped in in front of Kryle.
Because there's been murder done at
Basildon farm, and there must have
/ been man in it. You are the only
man known to have been there dur
ing Miss Nuneham's occupation-if you
deny that DR.. Barsdley was there"
/ The cOachman looked this way and
that, his baggy cheeks quivering with
an emotion that il was difficult to an
alyze 1t was like, and yet unlike, fear
A moment later it was disclosed as
resentment against unkind fate.
Il had better make a clean breast
of it, he said, making a rueful grim
ace. TON SparshOtt is mostly true
to his word, but there's no call for
him to swing instead of his betters.
held my tongue because the mistress
if so be as twas the mistress, gave me
a hundred pound to do so. From first
| to last the doctor was at the farm half
a dozen times during the six months"
Kyrle would have questioned him
! further but desisted at a sign from
me, and we took our departure. At
the entrance of the news, however, I
wheeled around quickly, and there
| stood SparshOtt, regarding us with
/ malevOlent triumph. 1 informed my
colleague of what I had seen, and hav-
ing considerably astonished him with
the reason 1 assigned to the coach
mans mental attitude, set him a task
after his own heart. We then sepa-
| rated, and having returned to nv
! bachelor chambers for a hasty dinner,
L set out to call on my medical friend
Primed with the information he gave
/ me, l was early the next morning at
! the house in Cromwell road. In answer
| to my inquiry for Miss Nuneham, the
foOtman fired off his stereotyped re-
ply that she was not at home, and pre-
pared to be aggressively rude.
I 1tll MISS NuHCIdIl IIdI nv WISH
is official-that l am an assistant COM
missioner of police" said sternly.
The fellows manner changed. and he
left me in the hall while he went away
| to inform his mistress. On his return
| he showed me into the library and
| handed me the newspaper. Five min
| utes passed, and there swept into the
room a woman whose graceful carriage
and superb figure brought back the
To- IL r.-s@. II
years before, it had been my privilege
to dance with Lettice Nuneham at the
Duchess of RoscOe's. A heavy veil en-
| tirely obscured her features.
Miss Nupeham?" I said, rising
Our acquaintance had never been in
| innate, and it was not my cue to re-
vive the personal note
Yes she replied, simply. You
wish to see me on police business?''
! "On very serious business. The body
of a woman has been found buried in
the grounds of Basildon farm, occu-
pied by you some time ago. Can you
throw any light upon it?"
For u moment she seemed over
whelmed, and clutched at a chair for
support.
More trouble?' I heerd her mutter,
and then she spoke aloud:
mo, indeed; l know nothing of it,
sir. If you mean to imply that 1 muir
dered any one az the farm you are
quite wrong, though l really should be
! very glad to be hangedl'
1t is not a matter to be treated in
a spirit of levity," I said, with pur-
poseful severity. can you explain
why you gave your cOachman 91O0 to
conceal DR.. Barsdley's vfsits?"
You are speaking in riddles she
replied. Il never gave Sparshott any
thing beyond his ordinary wages"
1T has been alleged I went on, in
exorably, that you are not Miss Nune-
ham, but some woman who has US
urped her place and her fortune, after
making away with her, aided and
abetted by DR.. Bardsley."
The most shocking thing I had to en-
counter in this case, save one immedi-
ately to follow, was the peal of awful
laughter that greeted my grave words.
Aided and abetted by DR.. Bards-
leyv' she repeated, when the terrible
merriment had abated. Look at that
look at what Michael Bardsley has
done for me! Now will you under
stand?"
And she wrenched the veil from her
face, disclosing, as she had to Petrie,
the indescriba BILE features that were
dimly suggestive of the massive solem-
nifty of the lion. I shuddered away
from her; Jhen, with very real pity
ar my heart, 1 held out my hand.
Yes" 1 said. 81 certainly under
stand that you did not kill Lettice
LNuneham. And, more than that, 1 bid
you not lose hope"
"Ah, if 1 could think THAR she
walled, as the thick. lace dropped
again over the vision Unspeakable.
"You may think it, if you will fully
eenfide in me-" made answer.
On the following Gay at noon Kyrle
and I were standing in the weed-grown
garden of Basildon farm, the gray
gables of the old homestead rising
gaunt behind us. We had come down
by an early train to make a few in
quiries in the village, and were now
waiting for Mr. Radford Shone to come
and formally indicate the grave men,
toned in his report. Disturbed earth
at a spot under a laurel hedge had
already told US the secret, but we
wished the expert to be present at its
closer examination. Also, there was
another reason.
Presently the sound of wheels was
heard from the road, and a station fly
hove in sight. 1t stopped at the gar
den gate to disgorge a tall, lean man.
in a Tapping frock coat and silk hat
/ foII ~ 20 n