The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-04-29

Harcourt was bound over till the fall
| term OF court. No count was found
against his wife.
CHAPTER TX
When, two days later, Mr.. Henry d.
Franz, Of Franz, Doubleday & Co..
Bankers. San Francisco, California, ar
| rived, the Wayne murder mystery and
| the unaccountable disappearance of
| Betty Lansey were still in a chaotic
and unsolveable state. Likewise the
Man-Aperilla. His going was like his
coming-unseen by man, unknown and
| all untraceable. Hamley Hackleye. too,
| the strange lessee of "a Briarsweet
place, was not to be found. The milk
| man, who claimed he had been paid for
a months wares in advance continued
to leave daily allowance of milk and
cream on the back stoop, and the accu-
| mutation of bottles on the Flanders
doorstep was waxing large. Cables
from London brought word that Hack
leye was a younger son of the late Sir
Walter Hackleye; that for four years
| past he had been conducting tropical
explorations, and that he was possess
ed Of an immense private fortune. The
immediate family, an aged mother and
| widowed sister, and two brothers, both
! unmarried, lived in England for years,
and had heard nothing Of Hamley that
| bore upon his life with any degree of
dedniteness. He was a bookish sort of
fellow; imaginative and fond of origi-
| nal research, quiet, and of no bad hab-
its so far as they knew, agreed all re-
ports. No photographs of him since
he was plump little codger of six
| were to be had. A copy of one Of these
| so ran the message, was being made in
London, and would be forwarded i'm
| mediately upon completion.
Johnny Johnson felt that he had
| drawn a blank in his sleuthing expedi-
ton through the house at "a Briar-
| sweet Place, where the death chamber
visitor had vanished. The rooms SMELL
ed musty and the house bore the stamp
| of the unoccupied save for several
| suits Of clothes. wearing the imprint
Of Picadilly tailor. hanging in the
closet of one of the bedrooms These
must have fitted a man Of medium
height and build. There were no per-
sonal memoranda around, and to all
intents the house was the same as
| when Attorney Flanders had let 1t,
nearly week previous. The garter
Johnny had found on the threshold
| was woeful aggravation.
IF the owner had only lost one of
Them" soliloquized Johnny, Il might
have traced him by matching the pair
AS it is now, there's no chance at ALL"
Mr.. Franz, who was plump little
German, shade too WELL tailored, a
| whit too urbane, had fetched with him
picture Of Cerisse Wayne that tailed
exactly with the portrait that had
blown from Harcourt's window. That
! the same negative had permitted both
| prints was manifest.
| Then they led him into the presence
| of Mrs. Harcourt. She was sitting in
the shadow of the window wrapped in
wadded gown of poppy red silk She
was very listless and had not spoken a
word for hours. Harcourt declared that
this had been her wont at intervals
since the death Of the baby.
| They sent Franz into the room a lit
tie ahead Of his escort. Mrs. Wayne"
calculated the banker, letting fall his
little black valise. why, they told
me you were dead!"
He advanced a few steps, and reach
| ed forth his hand. but the moment he
glimpsed Mrs. Harcourt's eyes he drop-
ped his outstretched arm and stepped
back.
"It-is-it-is-not-t he
murmured, studying closely the face
and figure before him. Mrs. Harcourt
dropped her eyes in a terrified fash
ion and raised them again to find the
soft, calm gaze of Philip Hartley fixed
steadily upon her. For a full moment
she looked sharply. composedly at
1 Hartley, then from him to her hus-
band, and then again to Franz. SPRING
ing from her chair, with the terror of a
child she flung aside her wrappings
and throwing herself upon Hartley,
chung to him. screaming:
.'Oh, can't you save me from them:
save me. take me away; they kill me
with those awful drugs!"
Franz paled and turned his horri-
fed gaze out of the window.
"The delirium again." cried Har.
| court. Poor girl. poor girl"
Harcourt strove to take his wife
away, but she would not loose her
grasp upon the arm of the reporter.
and there was no gainsaying the clasp
of those cold and faulty interlocked
fingers.
Hartley, the tender. coaxed the
frightened woman into the bedroom.
and despite Harcourt's representations
sent for doctor. Harcourt swore they
would kill her and declared himself q
better man of medicine than half the
practitioners In the town. Every time
he approached his wife. however. she
broke into frightful screams. and kept
her eyes constantly averted from her
husbands gaze. The sight OF Franz
, appeared to have broken some chain.
have forged some link In her mind
. that bore directly upon this mystery
unfolding mystery.
While they anticipated tho doctor
the examination Of Henry Franx went
} on. It was disappointing In it, IN in
definiteness Of result.