The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-11-23
THE RIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, By T. H. Hanshe,o

Ferdinand Lovetsk, who had been killed for
refusing to give up to the apaches his little
fortune. Anatole annexed it without the
permission of Margot, and hence brought
. down on him her wrath. Paul had earned
the vengeance of Margot and his fellow
apaches by betraying some Of their secrets
to the Paris police.
"Paul managed to slip away with his mas
ter, and whether he killed him in Argentine
heaven alone knows. He decided to return
to England as Lord st. Timer. Both you
and your wife had seen but little of st. VI
mer in later years, so that it was not diff
cult Had it not been for the chance meet
ing with Anatole de Villon, who was himself
masouerading here as the Count de Louvi-
san, all would have gone we'll AS 1t was
one rogue threatened the other, and De Lou
visan held the trump cards. 1t was his plan
to marry Lady Katherine, and st. Ulmer
had to submit, for fear not only that he
should be betrayed to the police, but that
he should give him up to Margot. At the
last minute de Louvisan quarreled with st.
Ulmer: he had some other plans, he said,
connected with letters
"Good heavens! l see now" grasped the
general. "De Louvisan played d>uble
game Those letters were mine. He had
contrived to steal them from me in Malta
There is really no harm in them, but Marlse
Lady Clavering-and I had fancied our
selves in love many years ago, and she was
afraid. 1t was an unutterable shock to find
that this wretch had threatened to inform
Sir Phillip. or else had over the letters to
Margot. l nearly went mad when Marlse
telephoned me that she was going to meet
him. 1 think went off my head; at any
rate, did one of those unaccountable things
for which people who have mental Iapses
are noted.
81 remember hanging up the receiver and
turning to the door, but from that moment
there is blank until found myself stand
ing before the dressing mirror in my bed
room with my hair freshly combed and IN
the very act of applying cosmetic to my
mustache. l don't know how l got into the
room or when-everything is blank to me-
"A not unusual thing under the clrcum-
stances, general. When you came to think
of going to the cottage you ran out with the
stick of cosmetic still in your hand, did you
not?"
eyes, although was not aware of it un-
til / arrived at the place"
"And the A-string? How did you come
to take that" e..
eyes, the bit Of catgut. Shall be out Of
my reckoning, general, If say that as you
crept out of the house something Tell TO
your hand, long, thick piece of catgut, and
you carried that, too"
"Good heavens, how do you know these
things? But that is exactly what did hap
pen. When got into the cottage and found
"With pink gauze petticoat under pale
green satin dress"
Eyes. When got there and found her IN
conversation with that wretch, the cosmetic
and the catgut were still in my hand. AS
soon as l realized that was holding them
threw them aside. We pleaded with that
scoundrel, but in vain, and Lady Clavering
and went away together"
"Why, may L ask, did you go back to
Gleer cottage after you had left 1t with
Lady Clavering?"
Il went back to make one last effort TO
move the man to pity. AS approached the
house l caught the sound of hammer ana
he was savagely out of temper when ne saw
me. Springing at me like wild animal ne
cried out: "Spying, were your ducked the
blow he aimed at me, came at him Win an
uppercut that landed squarely on the peak
Of his jaw. His head landed against the
mantelpiece. He dropped like log. -
thought l had killed him, but a momeots
examination convinced me that ne was only
stunned. l heard somebody moving In the
garden, so, as quickly as could, got out
I saw nobody and l heard nobody all the
wav hack to this house."