Evening star., 1918-06-23
THE DIVIDED HOUSE

wish you to understand and Will, as
have already said. bring you a CO.
Your pardon. Mr.. Narkom," inter-
tected Cleek. screwing around on his
heel and beginning to search for
railway guide among the litter OF
papers and pamphlets jammed into
saaen q but
sir-at least, for the present. l am
called to Devonshire and must start
at once. What's that? No. there is
pHss,ns psaa s to be mSi1sr wan not
"But. Cieekl God bless my soul,
man, this is madness. You are simply
chucking away enough money to keep
1T wouldn't make any difference II
1t were enough to keep me for the
next twenty. Mr.. Narkom. You can't
buy entrance to paradise for all the
money in the world, my friend, and
I'm I'm getting y = Day In 1t TOR , nothing!
trains run. et-Darsham-Dalby
-Devonshire. Good! Here you are.
Um-m-m. Too late for that Can't
possibly catch that one either: All:
here's the one-1:5s-that will do"
to the door and, leaning over the ban
lister. shouted down the staircase,
are you? Dol Oh. there you are
at last. eh? Pack my portmanteau.
Best clothes. best boots. best every
1t. I'm off to Devonshire by the 1856"
And, do all that he might, Narkom
could not persuade him to alter his
determination. The 1855 he said he
would take; the 1:56 he did take, and
night coming down over the peaceful
Maths and the 1oQfv 1nva1inaSS or
Devon found him putting up at the
inn Of the Three Desires, hours and
hours ahead Of the appointed time, to
make sure Of being at the trysting
place at IL next morning.
He was. On the very tick of the
minute he was there at the old moss
grown lych- gate, and there Miss
Lorne found him when she drove up
in Lady Drood's pony phaeton little
time afterward. She was not alone,
however. She had spoken of friend.
and sharp twitch disturbed Cleek's
heart when he saw that a young man
sat beside her. a handsome young man
of two or three and twenty, with
fair mustache. pair of straight-look-
ing blue eyes and that squareness of
shoulder and uprightness of bearing
which tell the tale Of a soldier.
In another moment she had alighted,
her fingers were laying in the close
grasp of Cleek's, and the color was
coming and going in rosy gusts over
her smiling countenance.
How good Of you to come!" she
said. But, there! I knew that you
would, If it were within the range Of
possibility; said so to Mr.. Bridewell
as we came along. Mr.. Cleek, let me
have the pleasure of making you ac-
quainted with Lieut. Bridewell. His
friend of whom I wrote you. Lieut..
Bridewell is home on leave after. three
years service in India, Mr.. Cleek; but
in those three years strange and hor-
rible things have happened, are still
happening, in his family circle. But
shall get at the bottom Of the mys-
terry now, lieutenant: I feel certain
that we shall. Mr.. Cleek will find it
out, be sure of that"
''At least will endeeavor to do so,
Mr.. Bridewell." said Cleek himself, as
decided that he liked him a great
deal better than he had thought he
was going to do. What is the diff
Guilty? Miss Lornes letter mentioned
the fact that not only was there a
mystery to be probed but human
ask? Yours?"
NO" he made reply. with sort Of
groan. II wish to heaven it were no
more than that. I'd soon clear out
from the uduBeF Aole anu put All eHu
to the trouble, get rid Of that lot
at the house and put miles of sea be-
tween them and me. 1 can tell you.
It's my dad they are killing-my
dear old dad, bless his heart-and
killing him in the most mysteri-
'ous and subtle manner imaginable.
1 don't know how, I don't know
why, that's the mystery of 1T, for he
hasn't any money nor any expecta-
tions, just the annuity he bought
when he got too old to follow his
calling Che used to be a sea cap
tain, Mr. Cleek), and thered be no
sense in getting rid Of him for that,
because, of course, the annuity dies
with him. But somebody's got some
kind of a motive and somebody's do
ing it, that's ,ns;s eertaiR for rssrh when
he was hale and hearty old chap,
fit as a fiddle and lively as a cricket,
! and now. when I come back on leave
/ find him a wasted wreck, a peev-
ish, wasted old man, hardly able to
help himself and afflicted with some
horrible incurable disease which
sesRs Esting io 0e sim shs " repeated n ave cleek
What do you mean by eating him.
MIR. Bridewell? The expression is
peculiar"
We'll, it exactly explains the cir
cumstances, Mr.. Cleek. If din't know
better I should think It a case of
leprosy. But it isn't. I've seen cases
of leprosy, and this isn't one Of them.
There's none Of the peculiar odor. for
one thing, and. for another. 1t isn't
contagious. You can touch the spots
without suffering by doing 80. al,
suffers horribly. It's just living de-
cav Mr. Cleek-just that Fordyce