The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-01
(Continued.)

Dexter Reeeee had been fighting for his very existence, had struggled from sheer poverty--f1e had spent his boyhood in a charitable institution, an orphanage-into his present position, an exceedingly pfeearioas one, and one in which he gained bare livins- The man was ambitious, and always on the watch for some opportunity of improving his condition; he was pos sessed of extraordinary mental acute ness. was capable of a dogged persist ence in gaining his own ends, and was absolutely interruptions in ssizing on anything which would turn to his advantage. Not a villain yet, but simply a man with a capacity for v;ilainy lying dormant within him.
 Tonight his mind was stirred and excited by the tragic story which ths old lawyer had related; he seeemea to have plunged into a region of mys- tery; the. house seemed throbbing with it. 4 problem had been pre- ! sented to his acute mind, and he was literally aching and fretting with the desire to solve 1t. And now, here was the daughter of the house steai- ing out evidently to keep an ap- pointmenf. 1t was just possible that her action was connected with the ,nystery, the murder, the abduction of Sir Mortimer's child, the theft of the great ruby. Tie temptation to fol- low her and gain some clue would have been strong to most men; Dex- ter Reeece, after a moments hesita' tion, found 1t irresistible.
 He opened the door noiseIessly. paused a moment to look up and down the corridor and listen. then stole down n the stairs. He had his ex- cuse ready if he were met by one of the household; he would say that he was going down for something he left in the smoking-room. But, is Mir. Lexham he'd said. they kept early hours at Thorden, and he reached the hall unseen; his sharp eyes. which nothing, however trivial, escaped, had noticed a small door at the gar- den end of the hall ieading to the terrace. It was locked and heavily bolted but slowly and carefully 7el unfastened it, and. stepping out as carefully, closed it behind him.
 He found himself at the end of the terrace. which was if the shadow; he dropped over the stone rail into some shrubs. and. completely protectsd from observation by them, he follow ed their course round the lawn and gained the park. Here he paused to listen. but there was no sound of an opening window or door; he had not been seen. He made his way through the treees in the direction of the spot in which Evelyn Desborough had disappeafed from his view; and, though he went cautiously through the underwood, he did not slink; for he knew that he might be met or seen ing to meet, and that he would have to account for his presence by as- sertfng that he could not sleep, and had come out for stroll in the cool air.
 Every now and then he stopped to listen, but he could hear nothing, no7 sound of footsteps or voices, and his conscience-perhaps his fear of dis covery-made itself felt, and he was actually about to return to the house when the scent of cigarette was waited towards him. He was all keenness again in a moment; crouch ing low. he made a circular progress towards the spot from which the cig arctic smoke came, and suddenly found himself face to face with au old rustic summerhouse. Forum ately for him. he had arrived at the lack of it, and so was not seen by a young man who was pacing up and down the front.
 Dexter Reece lowered himself fo the ground until he was in a lying position. and scanned the young man keenly. He was splendid specimen of manhood.-tall, broad -shouldered. and graceful. AS he turned, Reece saw the young fellows face plainly. and noticed it was a sinsularly l1aiid- some one; but it was the expression more than the masculine beauty of the features and outline which ih- s.antly impressed Dexter ReeeeAan expression at once reckless, devil 1s1ay-care, and good-fitimeufed.
 The eyes were a dark grey, bold. courageous even to audacity, yet they were neither hard nor stern; the lips clean-shaven, spoke of courage and audacity as plainly as did the eyes; but an easy, good-tempered smile seemed to Turk about their corners, and they were pleasantly curved at this moment, as their owner hum- med an air from one of the latest of the musical comedies. He wore a long. very loose ovefcoat and a soft- brimmed hat, which, though the brirn was turned down all round, was -I-ie--y set on the back of his head and revealed the handsome face.
 At the first moment of his scrutiny Dexter Reece knew who the young man was, for he noted the likeness