The Washington herald., 1915-09-26


terious visitant who, unseen and un
depredations in the neighborhood
without other ann OF purpose SO fai
as any human intellect can fathom
than the torture and persecution oi
the vanished mans family and con-
nections. At one time visiting the
humble home of his poor old mother
and ruthlessly Staying the poultry by
which she gains her living, and slay-
ing it not to satisfy hunger or for any
justihable reason, Mr.. Cleek, but
from sheer, wanton cruelty and spite.
fulness, for they all were hacked
| open, disemboweled and their manglel
bodies left lying on the ground, and
at another time travelling distance
OF more than mile for the malicious
, purpose of visiting the home of the
vanished man himself, committing
other depredations there and leaving
behind little stone cubes painted a
brilliant scarlet and wrapped up in
fragments of cloth which the dis
tracted wife is able to identify as
| being cut from the clothing of her
! missing husband"
HIN, l see. A peculiar case and
! interesting. Suppose you begin at the
beginning, Mr.. Mollison, and tell me
all about it."
well. to speak the truth, Mr.
| Cleek, there is very little more than
you have heard to tell save that the
mans rame is David Lasswade, he is
about thirty years of age and up to
the time of his marriage. three years
ago this coming September, he lived,
when not at sea. with his aged
mother, whose sole surviving son he
was, her other having died and left
her with an orphan son of his own.
a boy of about nine years old and
named. like his father, Owen. As l
have said, three years ago this COM
ing September, this David was mar
ried to a girl he had long loved, one
Maggie Emplcy, an orphan who own
ed little cottage and an acre or so
OF ground about a mile distant from
his mothers modest little establish
ment Maggie had never liked the idea
of his calling; had, indeed, always
hated the sea and the dangers of it,
and after marriage this hatred so grew
that she instilled little of it into him
and he finally promised her that he
would make his next voyage his last
one and would do his best to get
something to do ashore in future
though Heaven knows what it would
be or how they would get along.
However, David gave his promise
and sailed away on that last long voy-
age (Which was to last upward Of fif-
teen months and ended in keeping
them apart for twenty-four, as you
shall presently hear, Mr. Cleek) and
in these he told her that he was saw
ing all his money so as to have some
thing to set himself up with when he
came back; and she, on her part,
wrote and told him when their little
son was born and what bonny lit
tie chap ne was, and spoke lovingly
Of what happy times they all would
have when daddy came back to them
both never to go away again. Well.
things went on in that way for long,
long time, Mr.. Cleek; then all of a
sudden came the news Of the utter
loss of the Albatross, David's ship,
off the Chinese coast, and for months
after that she heard no word from
nor of him and didn't know if she
was a widow or not. Then a letter /
came to her to tell her that he was
living and to explain to her the rea-
son for his long silence Not only
ings in the wreck, but he had been SO
badly injured on the head that his
brain was affected and he had been
out of his mind for many many
months, and the doctors had hesi-
tated to operate until his bodily |
strength was sufficient to warrant it.
Now they had operated and he was
coming on all right. and hoped in a
month or so to be discharged from |
the hospital and to be up and about
looking for a ship in which he could
find a berth to work his way back to
England and her.
at is now over six months since
that letter was written, Mr.. Cleek, and !
1t was the last she heard from him
until Thursday of week ago. In
the meantime, all her new-found joy
was scattered to the winds by hav-
ing the letter which she had written
in reply to his returned from the hos
pital in China with word that the pa
tent had long since been discharged
as cured and had gone they did not
know where. and she was all but in
sane with grief and terror when that
other Letter of which I have spoken
the letter of last Thursday week
arrived and sent her nearly daft with
Joy. AS we'll it might, Mr.. Cleek, for
It was written and posted in England.
and in it he told her that not only
was he in his native land again, but
luck had turned for him and he had
'ound something that would set them
up in the world for good and all-so
hat we won't ever have TO worry or
70 be parted again as long as we live,
vas the way he phrased it-and end
ng by telling her to keep close
watch out for him as he would surely
pc home that evening and he hoped
she'd have a steak-and-kidney pud-
ling for supper. for she knew how
ond he was of it and he hadn't tasted
,ne since the day he left her, nigh
wo. years ago. !
"You may guess what followed the
'eceipt of thar letter, Mr.. Cleek. She
lew with the news to his mother, she
sent his little nephew, Owen, down
nto the village to get the meat and
he kidney for that pudding, but-the
nan never came to eat it. That was
he last she ever heard from him. He
from that moment, and be-
,ond the declaration of little Owen
hat aS he ment on bis s,raod he