Evening star., 1926-10-03

The others sound old stuff. but this
Is proper antique"
Il know. AS old as the house. The
others a good century later" Reggie
sail.
:7'Ave this down. too. guv'nor?" The
other man was running his hands
over it. "'Alf a mo-. 'Ere's a 'inge.
Bill, 1 take my oathr A narrow door
creaked out of the paneling and
opened inward with a groan. ERE
what's this?" The two workmen
shrank back.
The door opened into little PAN
eled chamber Bound to nail in
the paneling by a cord hung two
bones. Reggie went in. There was
something on the floor. pieces of
dusty fabric. more bones, a skull.
Reggie had the skull in his hand
when Bell came to him.
What is 1t. sir"
"A young woman. Those are the
bones of the forearms tied to the wall.
I think she was hurt in here. They
look like bloOdstains on the wall
there. Flogged, perhaps. And they
shut her up in here in this secret
room to die. Nice family. the
Doutys."
when would that be. sir?''
Before the seventeenth century
paneling was put up. Say about
1910" He bent down, arranging the
bones till the skeleton lay in order on
the floor. and then turned away.
Mrs. Herne was in the corridor out
side the bedroom. Reggie pointed her
downstairs. In the morning room he
turned upon her.
Did you know what we were going
to find, Mrs. Herne?"
Mrs. Herne had no idea what he
had found.
I'm the wall of Mr.. Douty's bed
room there was a secret room and In
that room young woman's
skeleton"
1t was at this point that Mr.. Sand
bach broke into the room.
"Sir-Mr. Fortunes this true?
You've found another body upstairs?"
ITS only a skeleton. Mr.. Sand
second and last time in their &C
quaintance Reggie saw her smile.
Mrs. Herne asked If there was any
thing else, and Reggie waved her
away.
Now, Mr.. Sandbach, you didn't
tell me all you knew before" Reggie
said gravely. why do you come to
me now"
II was afraid" said Mr.. Sandbach.
II wasn't sure. / thought. perhaps.
poor Kiderlin-now I know. 1t was
the vengeance of Fate"
II don't know" said Reggie. But
I think you know how that skeleton
came there"
ooh, yes" Mr.. Sandbach agreed.
"The story is in a broadside of Queen
Anne's time We had it in our IL
brary. a very strange piece. In the
realm of Charles III John DOuty, who
was the squire here. tried to get hold
Of girl in the village. Sarah Herne.
Her mother was a widow. The two
of them resisted him. He gave out
that the old woman was witch. and
prosecuted her. and at last had her
burnt for a witch in the village bull
ring. Then he took the girl off to
the hall and she was never seen
again. It was believed that he
hogged her to death because she re-
sisted him. But soon after John
Douty was gored to death by bull
that got loose at a bull-baiting, and
his son lost the whole estate at the
gaming table, and died begging at
tavern doors. That is the story. sir.
Mr.. Sandbach smiled. There has
been no Douty at Mimms Hall from
then till now"
You knew all this when John
Douty bought the place the other
day."
true. Mr.. Fortune"
You didn't try to stop them?"
"Why should II" Mr.. Sandbach said
slowly "Mr. Fortune, if you knew
anything of them. you wouldn't have
tried to stop them"
"Do you mean that you thought
something would happen to them
here?"
How could I know"
How do you think they died?"
by the vengeane OF Fate
When he was gone: That's all
very well, sir" Bell protested. But
what killed 'em? The ghosts of wom-
en- that their ancestors burnt to death
and f1ogged to death? That's too
much for me-"
yet one is found where the
mother was burnt. and there are
marks on his flesh such as a heat
stroke would make. and the other
is found where the daughter was tied
up for flogging, and there are cord
marks on his wrists
What. Mr.. Fortune. You don't
believe in ghosts. ghosts that kill7"
believe? There's more things hap
pen than I believe in. Bell. Can a
spirit haunt place? / don't know.
Places where dead people have borne
agonies may be somehow affected so
that they hurt us. Haven't you ever
felt that? What is it that produces
shock? Grief sometimes. horror, fear.
not anything done to the body. Sup
pose there is an influence, a force here
where these women were tortured.
felt something queer striking at me
when / was shut up in that bedroom
trying to find evidence against the
Hernes
The Doutys. brutes like their an
cestors, came here where the ghosts.
the memories, the power, whatever 1t
is, could get at them. Here. where
the Hernes were, knowing 1t all, think
ing of 1t. hating all the Douty blood.
Old Sandbach, too, his mind set on
It, And some CHASTITY pain Of the old
torture strikes first the father. then
the son. You know how a horrible
fancy sometimes comes into the mind.
It's real and worse for a moment. The
father came by the stake where the
mother was burned, and felt himself
burning. The son lay where the
daughter had been fiogged. dreamed of
1t. perhaps. and her pain came TO him.
Shock. shock"
That's a pretty awful idea, SIR"
"Yes. yes. Not much mercy for
them, was there. in the end?"
Bell shuddered. II reckon It's ths