Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-05-21
!, The Pauper of Park Lane
III a@ BY WILLIAM LIE ouEux.
IN Copyright, 1908, by lie Queux.
r. Entered at statoners Hall rights reserved
BY WILLIAM LIE ouEux.

S61>aAlH.>>-A>>>A>%A>4'
Es Three days lateR
@Fhe coroner's jury had returned a
tpsud1cssof "sutctne while Of unsound
tnaiDd, and the body of Jean Adam
had with The undertaker's assistance.
bean buried IN Hghgate cemetery in
HE actual coffin which had been so
LONG prepared for him.
| r %as surely a weird revenge Of
DID S4ua,
/ But the whole occurrence was q
grim and sterrfbls repayment Of an
old debt
In Sbs nadfng twiHght Of the wet
aud sloomy dsy on which the dead
mans body was, without single fol
lower, committed to the grave, Rolfe
and Barclay were seated with the mil
lSoaire in the familiar library IN Park
Lane,
Old Sam had been making explana-
tons similar to those made by the
Doctor dpwn,at Arundel Suddenly he
sstd, looking from one to the other;
And now I haze 10 apologize to you
both. In arranging the disappearance
Of my dear friend the Doctor, con-
trtved to masiead you, in order to add
mystery to the occurrence. knew
Rolfe, you lost your train at Char1ng
Cross that night; that you did not
wish to be seen of by your sister
Marion because you had-in my in
terests-quarrelled with Adam and
had made murderous threats against
hin1-perhaps unwisely. These threats,
however, you believed Adam had told
to Barclay, hence your fear of the
last named later on. l arranged that
man should be present at Cromwell
Road in clothes resembling your own,
that garment should be placed in
the house with bloodstain upon It,,
and that the Doctors safe should be
blown open as though thieves had WIS.,
tied the place after the removal Of
the furniture. knew from the Doctor
that you, Barclay, would go there that
evening, and my object was to puzzle
and mislead you, at the same time
believing that having suspicious Of
your friend Rolfe, you would not go
to the police. Again, in order to test
Rolfe's devotion to myself, I suggested
that the honour of the woman he loved
If sacrificed, could save me. I made
this suggestion in order to put Rolfe
off the scent"
"Then 1t was all your own doing?"
Max cried, in surprise.
Entirely" was the old mans re-
Spouse. "In the interests of myself,
as well as both of you. Adam be-
neved that you were aware of his
secret intentions, therefore he was
plotting to entice you to Turkey-a
country where you might have disap-
peared with east. That was undoubt-
edly his object"
For few moments he paused:
then, clearing his throat, the old man
said, in distinct voice:
"The other night you were no doubt
10th surprised to find my drawing
room transposed into the interior of a
Russian house. Well, it was done with
distinct purpose-to defeat my en-
envy. He, with his friend and accom-
piice Lyle, has made false charge
against me-a charge supported by the
perjured evidence of the hunchback-
charge of having in the old days,
years ago, murdered woman-the
woman who was my wife"
A shadow of pain crossed the old
mans brow at what seemed a bitter
remembrance. Then, after a mo-
ment's pause, he went on:
"She was worthless! All! yes, l
admit that But l swear am limo
cent Of the charge they brought
against me. She was killed in Caracas
In brutal manner, but by whom l
could never discover. After her death
left South America. Adam and his
friend dropped their foul charge
against me, and lost sight of them
for years. Later on, l was prospect
ing in the Timan Mountains, in North
ern Russia, within the Attic Circle, a
wild snow-covered country outside the
edge of civilisation. Both gold and
emeralds had been discovered along
the Ishma Valley, and there had been
rush there. Among the many ad-
venturous spirits attracted thither
was Jean Adam, with his attendant
alter ego Lyle. We met again. 1t
was in winter, and we were in a
state of semi-starvation, all three OF
us. Not a word was said regarding
the charge they had made against me.
Both were without means, and both
down on their luck. For a fortnight
we remained together, then, finding
things HOPELESS resolved to struggle
back to civilization at the nearest lit,
tie Russian village, miserable little
place called Ust Ussa four hundred
and fifty versts south. On the way
we all three nearly succumbed to the
intense cold and want Of food. At
last, however, late one night we came
across lonely house in clearing In
the pine forest on the uotskirts of the
village which was our goal. Sinking