The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-21
CHAPTER xxx. TreSpaSSerS Beware!

To describe Dexter Reece as a baffled bloodhound would savour of exaggeration. When he heard from Evelyn that Lemuel Raven and the girl had disappeared, he felt almost overcome by hysterical nausea; for 1t seemed to him, after his recognition of the resemblance between the minia- ture and Cara, that he had not only chanced upon a clue, but had struck upon scent which would lead him to the discovery of Sir Mortimer's daughter and the giant ruby-the giant ruby! He needed all his pow CTS as an actor-and they were great ito conceal his agitation from Eve lyn; and he got away by himself as quickly as possible.
 Be sure it was not long before he made his way to the mill. The door was locked, but he forced 1t with the aid of stone, and searched the place thoroughly. To his own mind 1t seem ed wildly improbable that the mur- derer of Sir Mortimer, the man who had stolen the ruby, should have returned to g spot so near to the scene of his crime; but here were two solid facts which seemed to prove that he had done so-the girls re- semblance to the miniature, Lemuel Ravens flight immediately after the solitude of his life was broken into by the outer world. No doubt the man had taken fright at Evelyn's visits to the mill, and the friendship which had sprung up between her and Cara; no doubt, also, that his, Reece's, visit to the mill had confirm ed Ravens apprehensions.
 Dexter Reece went all over the place, even searched the tiny room in which Cara had slept; but he found nothing of any significance until he came upon the dark, triangular cup board on the floor of the mill. He had brought a candle with him, and he went over the nook with minute care. and his sharp eyes detected the disturbance of the dry soil at the bot tom of the cupboard. It was place in which man would conceal the ruby; and Dexter Reece felt as con- vinced that it had lain there and been removed as if he had seen Raven taken it up.
 From the mill he went down to Port Dale, and, in the most casual and indifferent way, lit a cigarette, sauntered up and down the quay. and, after awhile, sank on to a seat near enc on which Sandy was sitting. It was not difficult to get into conver sation with the good-natured young giant; and Dexter Reece delicately led the way to the shipping news of the port; but, to his keen disappoint- ment and disgust, Sandy could give no information which would enable him to pick up the clue.
 els; I think as remember seein' Lemuel Raven and his gel-she's a rare beauty, that her be!-on the quay the other night; but didn't take
 
 CT they bided here or went aboard one of the vessels. Lemuel Raven, he ave been on the quay once or twice lately; on business, most like. Where do the vessels make for2 We'll, mostly for Wales, for coal; or Ireland, may be-"
 Do they. never sail for foreign ports?'' asked Dexter Reece
 why, sartinly,' replied Sandy; they take clay from Shelford to France or Italy; 'tis a peculiar kind O. clay, which the furreigners can't get in their own countries; and they use it in their manufactures Two CT three ketches have left the port of late; but 'tis unknown to me ex- ackly where they'm bound for" Dexter Reeces heart sank. It would be impossible for him to trace two or three vessels, to discover on which one of them Lemuel Raven and the girl had been passengers. They had fled by sea. The man I would be too cunning to go direct to his destination; he would reach it l by a zig-zag route, by which it would ] be almost impossible to track him, | unless the police were laid on the scent. And Dexter Reece could not
 use the police-must work absolute l ly unaided.
 AS he walked back to the Hall he was consumed by the dread that
 some other person might hit upon
 the connection between Lemuel Ra-
 ven and the murder of Sir Mortimer. 1 and identify the girl of the mill as
 Sir Mortimer's daughter, the stolen
 heiress; indeed, it would have have 1 seemed wonderful to him that such
 suspicion had not already arisen if
 he had not known that crimes which
 have remained long undiscovered are
 either forgotten or are consigned to
 the limbo of mysteries which can l never be solved. He himself would
 not have hit upon the clue, but for
 his discovery of the miniature
 When he reached the Hall he went straight to the binet, and, from the long-forgotten drawer in which the portrait had reDosed for so many