The Washington herald., 1907-09-29

was more beautiful with her eyes closed
even than she was with them open.
/ 'Wcll, Mrs Mortimer is the lady at
/ whose school / was when my parents
/ died out In India. ten years ago. Ny
mother had 10 near relations. and my
/ fathers pciple were no; particularly
/ kind and only seemed 10 be eager not
| 10 have the WOTIy Of looking altys ne.
/ So I was left with Mrs. Mortimer. and
/ when she gave up her school, two years
! ago, she Kept me with her as companion,
/ because she and I had grown fond of
I each sOther, since cross olG Sir William
/ Lane. my great-uncle, practically washed
( his hands Of me"
Sir William Lane" echoed St Quin-
/ tin
! 'Yess DO you know him
| only by name. He's rather eccen-
/ tric. isn't he2 And he used 20 be vel.
I known in the hunting field down in the
/ Midlauds o."
Yes, yes. that's right Well I believe
/ he had quarreled with my father. for he
/ was never kind and ] know next 10
\ nothing about him. and don't want TO
| know any morc-especilIly now added
she with "a smile of satisfaction Well,
! I was living quietly with Mrs. Morti-
mer. when we both began 20 notice a
stout well-dressed lady, who didn't look
/ Ike All Englshwoman, looking at me
| and even following me. when / went
/ ont. And at last one day Mrs Mortimer
went up % her and spoke % her. and
| then We found that the lady. who was
my aunt. Nine Leblanc, whom YOU know.
/ had found out all about me- and was only
| waiting TO make quite sure that I was
/ the girl she was looking for when Mrs
/ Mortimer spoke"
! The girl she was looking for"' re-
peated 81 Quintln. curiously
Yes. She told Mrs Mortimer the
/ whole story. u seems that / was not
really the daughter OF the father and
mother I had just known. but that they
! had adopted me when I was scarcely
more than baby. They had called me-
/ by their name. and / have never known
any other, uIl my Aunt Sophie told me
/ the whole story. Ny real father was
/ dear friend Of my supposed fathers. but
/ Dee had wrecked his life by displeaslng
/ his people. the DenslCys when he mar
/ ricd my mother who was o French girl
/ Il was my likeness 10 my mother that
/ first attracted Mime. Lebianc's attention
one day when she passed me with Mrs
( Mortimer in PiccadiIly'
/ Strange said ST Quintin. Very
/ strange
/ There's more that's strange for you 10
hear cried Miss Deuslev, joy0usly My
! aunt made the fullest inquiries OF Mrs
/ Mortimer. and found out all about me-
| and then she wrote 70 the man whom
/ had always supposed TO be my great
/ uncle. Sir William Lane who confirmed
/ all that she wanted to know And SO
/ my claim TO my fathers property was
! established, and my aunt took me to her
/ own lawyer, who undertook all the bUsi-
! ness of it,"
! II don't quite understand" said St
| Quintin. slowly. What property was
/ that2"
/ "The property which belonged 20 the
! Donsleys which had come TO me after
my fathers death. You see. I had never
/ heard of it, but my Aunt Sophie. Nine
/ Leblanc, Of course knew all about It. be
/ cause my real mother, Mrs. Densley,
was her sister
How came you. beiress to a large
! property. TO be lost sight Of like that
/ by your relatons?' asked the mere duh,
unimaginative man.
'Well, ! was thought of no impor-
! tance till my grandfatheT's death. and
/ then, sas he died without male heirs,
| became Of Importance. as he hadn't made
any viii Do you see?'
! "Oh-yes-but ii seems very extraor-
binary"
1T is extraordinary, but it's very nice
/ for me- 7 can scarcely describe to you
! the change it has made in my life. to go
! straight from tiny, little semi-de-
/ tached villa TO Aunt Sophie and Uncle
! Alphonse, and the beautiful house they
/ live in. I wasn't unhappy before, with
/ old Mrs. Mortimer but still, it was a
/ narrow, dull little life, and it seemed to
| have no opening anywhere. Can't you
! forgive my being pleased to get away
"Oh. yes. indeed And I could forgive
| you anything" said St Quintin.
| And then they both grew red and look
/ ed down., and Miss Stanley, perceiving
| that there was a sudden drop I'm the con-
versation. looked round pretended she
had not been dSzing. and rose to go.
| st. Quintin saw them as far as the sta
/ ton, and then went back 10 his rooms
in state of considerable vague uneasi-
ness about Miss Densley and what she
had told him.
/ He felt dimly that he would do better
to consult James Ince before visiting the
/ Leblancs again, but on the other hand, he
/ knew that. if he were to Go so, he should
1 nave ~ near lllASS lLal lie uiU not Wdll
to hear.
= So he stayed away from his friend.
And on the following morning the first
! paragraph that caught his eve when he
/ opened his Telegraph was the following:
| MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF
| A LONDON SOLICITOR.
The friends of a London solicitor
named Harold Burdock are much puz-
zled by his abrupt and mysterious dis
appearance. On Thursday last he left
| Waterloo station by an evening train
! for Wimbledon, saying to friend who
met him there, that he was going TO see
a man on business which might mean
! great deal TO him.
! He is known TO have entered the train
with a return ticket for Wimbledon, but
from that point no trace of his doings
| has been hitherto obtained
"He is a short, slight man, about thity-
FIVE years of age. with a bad complexion
| and small, somewhat insignificant feat
ures. He was wearing a dark suit and
light Oyercoat when last seen"
There were a few lines more, but at
/ first ST. Qulntin could not read them.
| lie was overwhelmed by the remem-
brance that Monsieur Marbeau, the