The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1915-09-09
CHAPTER I.
rAs hssss q Mysesry.

4 high and narrow gate Of carefully
Soane1 boards. standing ajar In fence
a the same construction! What 70
tAsrs IN this to rouse . whole neigh
borhood and collect before II . group
q eager. anxious. hesitating people!
This u Judge Ostrander's place. and
anyone who kpOws Shelby or the gos-
sip OF its suburbs knows that this
house Of his has not opened its DOOR
10 any outsider. man or woman. for
over . dozen years; nor have his gates
been seen In all that time to cape At
anyone's instance or to stand unclosed
to public intrusion. The secluston
sought was absolute. The men and
women who passed and repassed this
corner many times day were as igno-
rant az the townspeople in general Of
what lay behind the gray. monOtOnous
exterior Of the weatherbeaten boards
they 30 frequently brushed against.
The house was there. Of course-they
all knew the house. or did once-but
there were rumors of another fence. .
second barrier. standing . few feet in
side the hrst and similar to II In all
respects. even to the gates which cor
responded exactly with these outer
and visible ones and probably were
Just - fully provided with bolts and
bars.
And now! IN the freshness Of this
summer morning. without warning or
any seeming reason for the change.
the strict habit Of years has been
broken into and this gate of gates 10
mot only standing unlocked before
their eyes. but woman-a stranger
to the town - her very act Shove
has been seen to enter thereto en-.
ter. but not come out: which means
that she must still bs inside. and pos
sibly In ths vsEy presence Of the
Judge.
! Where Il Bella! Why does he allow
his erands-But It was Bella, or 20
they have been told. who left this
gate atar he, the awe and
terror Of the town, the enormous. re-
doubtable. close.m6uthed negro, trust
ed a. man 10 seldom trusted, and
faithful to his trust. yes, up to this
vsry hour. ~ all must acknowledge,
ia spite Of every temptation (aAd they
had been many and alluring) to dis
caoss the secret Of this home OF which
As was not the least interesting fao-
tor. What has made him thus sud
denly careless. he who has never been
careless beforei Money! A bribs
from the woman who haA entered
thsee?
What else was there to believe?
There stood the gate with the pebble
holding It away from the post: and
here stood half the neishborhood. in
. fascination which had for its motif
the knowledge that they. themselves,
II they had courage enough. might 70
in. Just ~ this woman had gone in,
and see-why. what she 10 seeing
now-the unknown. unguessed reason
for all these mysteries-the hidden
treasure or the hidden sorrow which
would explain why he. their first citi.
ssn. the respected. even revered Judge
Of their highest court, should make use
Of such precautions and show such un.
varying determination to bar out all
wmeTs frQR the place he called bis
home.
1t he'd not always been 80. Within
the memory Of many there 1t had been
In abode Of cheer and good fellowship.
Not q few of the men and women now
hesitating before its portals could
boast Of meals taken at the judges
ample board. and of evenings spent in
animated conversation in the great
room where he kept his books and did
his writing.
Bat that was before his son left him
IN 70 unaccountable q manner: be
fore-yes. all were agreed on this
point-before that other bitter ordeal
OF his middle age, the trial and con
demnation Of the man who had way
laid and murdered his best friend.
Though the effect Of these combined
sorrows had not seemed to be immedi
ate Zone month had seen both)
though . half-year had elapsed befor,
al socisbility was lost In extreme self
absorption. and q full one before h,
took down the picket fence which has
hitherto been considered . sufiicien
protection to his simple grounds, ant
put up these boards which had so com
pletely isolated him from the rest O
the world. 1t was evident enough t,
the friends who recalled his look an,
step a. he walked the streets with Al
gernon Etheridge on one side and hi
brilliant. eversuccessful son on tn,
other. that the change now Observable
in him was due to the violent sunder
ing Of these two ties. Grief slowl,
settled into confirmed melancholy. an,
melancholy into eccentricities.
Judge Ostrander was a recluse q
the most uncompromising type; but h
was such for only half his time. Fror
ten in the morning till five in the afte,
noon. he came and went like any othe
citizen. fulfilling his judicial dutie
with the same scrdpulous care as fol
.lAa