Evening star., 1926-11-14

z
the shadows of the Dartmoor moors.
the sedate beauties Of sheltered home
steads or the purple glories of the en-
circling hills.
The fates, however. had ordained
things differently. Flip and her mas
ter remained in Exeter, the former
frankly and unaffectedly bored, the
latter. as he pieced toge ther the frag
ments of a commonplace story. a little
| wearied, yet all the time in some
measure inspired by that curious
life. On the evening of the fourth day
he felt justified in sending a special
dispatch to his chief at Scotland Yard:
please see home secretary re petit
tion for reprieve of Edward Thorne,
| lying under sentence of death at Exc
ter Jail. Let matter remain in statu
quo until you hear from me tomorrow
or next day. Fresh influence of mo-
tive possible which may affect deci-
SiOn."
On the fifth day Goade knocked at
the inhospitable door of One Ash
Farm. The farmer came to him from
the stack yard. looking mOldier than
ever in a suit of threadbare corduroys
You be here again." he observed
in tone of questioning hostility. BE
there any news of that legacy?"
Goade looked at him coldly.
Il have brought you news of your
| niece" he replied
From Canadie?" the old man
| asked.
Goade shook his head
your niece" he confided, never
went to Canada"
"Eh?''
"She left here, as you told me, to
take the carriers cart to Foulsham.
| She told the carrier she would wait
| for the bus. Shes told the bus she
was going by the carrier. She never
| sailed upon the Arizona. She never
went to Canada. She never went
more than quarter Of a mile away
close together.
who be you what know all that?"
the farmer demanded.
I'm detective from Scotland
Yard" GOade said, land on behalf of
the poor man who lies sentenced to
| death in Exeter Jail, 1 have made it
my business to discover your niece's
whereabouts. The night she left your
house she went no farther than the
pit which you call the Bottomless
Tarn, on the other side of the lane.
She drowned herself there. They are
| bringing the bod here now"
He pointed to the men who We're
coming up the drive, carrying a gate
upon which lay something covered by
a piece of sackcloth. The sun flashed
upon the buttons Of their uniforms
| The farmer shivered.
What passed between you three
the night she left" Goade continued,
| no one. l suppose, will ever know.
You may have understood. or you
may not, but If you refused to re-
| ceive her living, you can scarcely re-
fuse to receive her dead"
| The farmer CROPPED his way toward
the front door and held it wide open.
| The melancholy procession crossed
| the threshold. Goade started up his
| car, and Fau1kener, the chief con
| stable, climbed in with him, taking
| Flip on his knee.
| I've left the inspector in charge -
he said. There's nothing to be done
| there. You've got the letter?"
| I've got 1t in my tin fly case"
Goade replied. "The inks run, of
course. and it's sodden mess; still
1 hope We'll be able to make some
thing of it. The address is clear
enough. anyway"
| For Hawkins?" Faulkener asked
For Hawkins" Goade assented.
| X 4
ATE on the following afternoon,
- there was a little commotion in
the cell where Thorne still sat, like
a man slowly drifting into a state
OF mummification. An outside ward
er had sent in a message. The at
tendant rose to HIS feet He cast a
p1tying glance at his companion.
| THE governor" he announced
Thorne rose a little YEARLY. In
imagination he had so often been
through the hideous anti-climax. The
governor came in, but his express
sion was scarcely what the warders
had expected.
| 'Thorne," he said, "T am happy to
tell you that the petition for your re-
prieve has been accorded a favorable
hearing by the home secretary. Your
sentence has been commuted to penal
servitude for life."
Thorne stood there with twitching
hands and twitching face. Into his
eyes there seemed to have cropt a
wonderful light. He looked through
the governor out Of the walls into the
sunlight. Manton afterward con-
fessed, when he could be induced to
talk of that moment, that he had
never felt so small a being.
"Reprieved" Thorne exclaimed.
"Why?"
The governor took a step forward
He leaned toward the bewildered man.
"Thorne," he continued, "now /
come to bad news. The young wom-
an with whom you once kept company
kitty Fields-has been discovered
drowned in a pit near her uncle s
farm. Upon her was found a letter
to Hawkins, the man you've killed.
Some part of his unnatural strength
seemed to desert the man. He
trembled visibly. The governor made
a sign to the warder by his side. and
they assisted him toward a chair.
"Sit down, Thorne."e the governor
enjoined. 1.-The letter was a terrible
condemnation Of Hawkins. She spoke
Of having sent word to you. Of having
told you the truth, Of having told you
she was about to become a mother
What did you do with that letter."
II swallowed 1t after / had killed
Hawkins" Thorne confessed, after a
moment hesitation. II killed him a
quarter OF an hour after I had read
it,
There was a silence. Never since
he had entered the condemned cell
had the man faltered. Manton saw
the collapse coming and turned away
You can change his cell at once
he said. turning to the chief warder
Look after him we'll
Goade pulled up the car by the
side of the road. They were in
"a very beaut Fl country lane go miles