The Washington herald., 1907-11-10

town late last night. so I stayed at a
hotel"
II was rather a lame explanation, St
| Quintin thought; and he made little or
no attempt to hide his view. Monsieur
Leblanc however. was so cheerful. so
amiable. and so determined TO maintain
an even and courteous demeanor. that.
in spite of himself, the younger man had
20 unbend a little and submit to be en-
tertained by the stories and accounts Of
his adventures which his companion re-
lated 70 beguile the time
Although he felt his doubts and sus-
picions OF his companion grow insensibly
/ less rs the journey proceeded. yet St
| Quintin took care 20 he on his guard.
He knew that his check book was safe
in his pocket, and that as Monsieur Lee
/ blanc scarcely knew his handwriting.
there was comparatively little to fear
from any wish he might have 10 obtain
| possession of il. An expert forger may
indeed 90 a great deal with a check book
and "A thorough knowledge Of his victim 5
signature. But such knowledge Mon
sieuT Leblanc was far from possessing.
and St Quintin wondered vaguely what
evil purpose the scheIner could have had
/
a-tete journey. since he could scarcely
suppose a man would carry 5000 about
with him in hard cash.
However, nothing happened during the
| journey to warrant his fears. for the
train. which. after a run Of five hours
and half, was timed 20 reach Doncaster
at S.2S arrived at the station in due
course without any suspicious or an
canny incident having occurred TO justify
the young mans fears.
There was long and tedious country
drive still before them. so Monsieur Lee
blanc said And he engaged a small
omnibus 20 take them the half dozen
miles which lay between them and Dens-
ley Void.
St Quintin was rather surprised at
the necessity Of engaging such a heavy
vehicle IN preference to fly. but when
he noted the number and weight Of the
articles OF luggage brought by Monsieur
Leblanc he ceased to be surprised In
the first place. there were two smart new
trunks. with a L" In bright
white letters upon them Then there was
an old hat box. with the same initials.
And lastly there We're no less than four
smaller packages two being square
wooden boxes without any initials and
the other two pOrtmanteaus-nO large.
but. to judge froA the effort necessary
10 lift them, extremely heavy.
These things, together with ST. Quin-
tins luggage, which was light. were all
packed inside the omnibus. and St. Quin-
tin and Monsieur Leblanc got up on the
seat beside the driver
The drive was not tedious after all.
The country was. indeed. not overwhelm-
ingly pretty, being rather fat and not
greatly diversified by tree and stream.
But the weather was glorious. warm.
and bright, and st. Quintin, full Of live
/ lest anticipation Of the meeting with
Marie. was in high spirits and ready for
enjoyment.
1t was, however. he felt sure. con-
siderably more than the half dozen miles
! promised from the station they had left
10 the outskirts Of the Withholding moor
they We're approaching, when Monsieur
Leblanc. pointing to a distant fringe of
trees that grew on the other side Of a
high wall, cried 20 his companion
That is the park of Densley Hall, and
this is the void. DesoIate-looking place.
isn't it,"
Its nowt now to what it be in L
winter, sir, said the driver. with a grin.
Ever since [ auld place was shut oOp.
nigh on twenty year ago, it's been main
bleak-looking hereabouts One time twas
all aloive WI { hunting and [ gayety.
But now it's a dreary place. inside and
out"
And with that he drew up at the gates
of the park, by order of Monsieur I,e-
blanc. who jumped down just as a child.
who was playing round the side gate. ran
into the tumble-down lodge that stood
just inside, crying. Mother. mother,
Here's the bus GOMEZ
St Quintin looked about him with a
sense OF desolation. Everything. from the
tumble-dOwn lodge and the ragged child
10 the rusty gates with the grass grow
ing high round them and the walls ont
/ of repair. with the glimpse OF grass
grown drive inside, spoke of long neglect
and decay. The leaves that had ALREADY
begun to fall from the, changing trees
| lay in heaps on grass and gravel. I'M
| touched. unheeded. A glimpse of the
house itself could be obtained from the
box-seat and he could distinguish enough
Of the outline to know that il was "A big
red brick house, stained with damp and
greatly oyerhung with neglected creep
ers.
A woman came curtsying out Of the
lodge. and said. 'GOod-day, sir" to Mon
sieur Leblanc, whom it was plain she
knew.
How do you do. Mrs. Bradshaw? Can
you let US go over the house?" said he.
as he patted the head of the ragged child.
"Oh, yes, sir; for sure can" said she.
do YOU want to bring the bus in. sir?
tn take a good time to open the gates
if you do"
NO; never mind that Wen leave it
/ outside while my friend and I go over
/ the house together. Has Miss Densley
been this way yet? She was 10 have ar
rived here with her aunt this morning. -
No. sir haven't seen the ladies, -