The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1915-01-01
CHAPTER !.
rhe Hons. Of Mystery.

&4 -
ef6 10 this to rouse whole neigh
III afa0ei and collect before 1t group
<1Eer. anxious. hesitetIng people?
l This y t11<e 0strandeg's place. and
y0ne who knows Shelby or the gos-
lEsip Of its suburbs knows that this
M house of his has not opened Its doors
to any outsider, man CT woman. for
Y NoYer a dozen years; nor have his gates
been seen In all that time to cape at
anyone's instance or to stand Enclosed
TO public intrusion. The seclusion
sou ght> sas absolute. The men and
women Who passed and repassed this
corner many times day were as igno-
rant as the townspeople in general OF
what lay behind the gray. monotonous
exterior 0f the weatherbeaten boards
they 80 frequently brushed against
me house was there, of course-they
AL kneWsthe house, or did once-but
there We're rumors of another fence. a
second barrier. standing few feet in
side the first and similar to It In all
respects even to the gates which cor
responder exactly with these outer
and. visible ones and probably were
Just as fully provided with bolts and
Il bars.
Il And nowl in the freshness OF this
summer morning, without warning or
IL any seeming reason for the change,
sne strict naBrt. Of wears has been
broken Ito and this gsrs - qztes Is
not only standing unlocked e>afore
their eyes, but a woman strange
to the tow as her very act shows
4 mas been seen to enter THERETO en-
y ter. but not come out; which means
that she must still be inside. and pos,
sibly in the very presence OF tbs
Judge.
Where is Bella? Why does he allow
bshia errands-But it was Bella, on so
4 they have been told, who left kthis
II gate ajar -. he, the awe, and
X terror of the town, the enormousA re.
doubtable, close-mouthed negro, trust
Sed as man is seldom trusted, and
faithful to his trust, yes. up to this
very hour, as all must acknowledge,
in spite OF every temptation (and they
y had been many and alluring) to dis
i close the secret Of this home of which
me Vas not the least interesting fac
n tor. What has made him thus sud-
u denly careless, he who has never been
Ycareless before? Money? A bribe
IN the woman who had entered
y there?
W. What else was there to believe?
n There stood the gate with the pebble
holding 1t away from the post; and
hase stood half the neighborhood, in
\ fascination which had for its motif
the knowledge that they, themselves,
II they had courage enough, might 60
in, just as this woman had gone in,
and see-why, what she is seeing
/ now-tthe unknown, unguessed reason
for all these rnysteries-the hidden
treas5ly .Sr the hidden sorrow which
woula explain why he, their first citi-
J gen. 3he respected, even revered Judge
y of their highest court, should make use
4 Of sch precautions and show such un-
varying determination to bar~put all
II comHrs from the place he called his
I hom$
Itthad not always been so. Within
the memory of many there 1t had been
an slbode of cheer and good fellowship.
MI few of the men and women now
l hesiWting before Its portals could
! boasE OF meals taken at the judges
ampN board, and of evenings spent il
animated conversation In the great
roomX where he kept his books and did
his writing.
Nrt that was before his son left him
In . unaccountable manner; be-
81 fore yes all were agreed on this
poi before that other bitter ordeal
S middle age, the trial and con-
alton OF the man who had way
Z ~ Ind murdered his best friend.
Tough the effect of these combined
soN bws had not seemed to be immedi-
OF Zone month had seen hoth):
IL gh half-year had elapsed before
Al reliability was lost In extreme self
al rption, and full one before he
to down the picket fence which had
y Ri erto been considered sufficient
ID ection to his simple grounds. and
pd up these boards which had so com.
pl ely isolated him from the rest of
th1 wcrld. 1t was evident enough to
IN Friends who recalled his look and
stV as he walked the streets with AL
gekpn Etheridge on one side and his
brilliant, eyersuccessful son on the
ot4r. that the change now observable
Ia Inn was due to the violent sunder.
S.Asgaf these two ties. Grief slowly
! Sc led into confirmed melancholy, and
mekncholy into, eccentricities.
Jadge Ostranher was a recluse OF
thefnost uncompromising type; but he
Wa9such for only half his time. From
sengn the morning till five In the after
no4. he came and went like any other
citizen. fulfilling his judicial duties
Wit the same scrupAlous care as for
mepy and with more affability In.
deef, he showed at times, and often
WI1ts, ma 1fao.p& x.,1<ol