The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-09

London house, muffled In dark cloak. and visited the old lawyers chambers to
 plead with him. Next morning all London
 inghorn had been found dead in his
 rooms, shot through the heart.
 No one was more shocked than Sir
 Leicester Dedlock. That a man who hal
 been his confidential lawyer should be
 murdered seems to him the most au-
 dacious crime that ever was committed.
 He announced that he would spare no ex-
 pense or effort to hunt down his slayer
 and he deigned to receive the redoubtable
 Inspector Bucket personally and follow all
 his reasoning and explorations into the
 distasteful mysteries of crime.
 My Lady Dedlock, more beautiful than
 ever. but a little pale. listened with her
 naughty expression, her bored, proud
 features, her impassive elegance. But her
 eyes never left those of Inspector Bucket.
 Day after day Inspector Bucket came to
 report His forefinger marked each step
 in his Investigations. Every day that fore finger seemed to become more impressive. more-accusing.
 Bleak House seemed far enough with
 drawn from the great fashionable world that was stirred by MT. Tulldnghorn' 8 death. Yet it was to Bleak House that Mr. Bucket posted very suddenly.
 Mot moment to lose," said he to John ,, Jarndyce. Lady Dedlock has fled, fear
 ing that she is suspected of having mur- dered MT. Tulkinghorn. She is desperate, and, so far as we know, penniless. Sir Leicestor Dedlock has charged me to find her and bring her back to him assured of
 his forgiveness I have found which way
 she went; but if follow. she will think I am pursuing her to arrest her. There
 is only one person whom she will not fear. That is Miss Summerson. Every
 minute is worth thousand pounds.
 John Jarndyce hurried to call Esther and
 she was ready before even the anxious
 Inspector Bucket had been waiting long
 enough to grow impatient In a jiffy they
 were dashing in a coach. In another jiffy
 they were dashing madly along the high
 way.
 Quickly shortly, clearly, Inspector Bucket told her what had happened. MT. Tulkinghorn, said he, had suspected long ago that Lady Dedlock had a secret He had watched her in vain till her agitation
 at the sight of the handwriting threw her 1 off her guard. He found that the writer
 had been a Captain Hawdon; and he found letters in his room that proved that
 he and she had been in love and that a daughter had been born to them some 1 years before she met and married Sir
 Leicester Dedocll. | Inspector Bucket had come into the case when Mr. Tulkinghorn desired him to find the woman who had paid Jo to show her
 the scene of Captain Hawdon's miserable I life and death. Jos description of her gown and bonnet had led him to Lady Dedlock's s discharged maid. Mile. Hor- 1 tense They paid her to pose for Jo in the lawyers S chambers and there assured themselves that it had not been she but Lady Dedlock, disguised in her maids gar ments, who had been guided by Jo
 l And now" said Inspector Bucket, lay | ing his hand on Esther, don't you fear l that Lady Dedlock had anything to dc ! with this crime. True enough, I found /, out that she went to see the lawyer on the night of his death, and she found out, be- ing most amazingly clever woman, that i, knew So she ran away. If she had only | waited a day, all her anxiety would have l been over Her secret would have been | safe For found, my dear, who com | mitted the murder, and the lady Is now 1 locked up snug and close. It was Mile. ] Hortense, who is little tigress. She had suspected something of our game and she
 dropped in to levy a little blackmail on