Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-10-17

pose your Idea Is that poisoning thl
poor man would naturally fan among
the household duties CT his wife"
well, there never seems to have beer
anyone else here who had any par.
ticuiar connection with him, replieC
Marlborough, as they alighted from ths
train. Eat least there Is one queer ole
cr0ny of his, 8 broken down actor, ap-
parently hanging around, but the DO
lice and the local solicitor seem con-
] WINGED he Is an unbalanced bgsybody
with some i6ee ftxe about quarrel
with an actor who was his enemy, but
i who certainly wasn't haltraverS.
wandering accident, ! should say, and
certainly nothing TO do with the prob
lem Of the poison"
i Father Brown had heard the story
But he knew that he never knew the
story until he knew the characters IN
the story. he spent the next two or
three days in going the rounds, on one
polite excuse OK another, to visit the
/ chief actors Of the drama His first in
terview with the mysterious widow was
brief but bright. He brought away from
1t at least two facts; one that Mrs.
Malkravers sometimes talked In way
which that Victorian village would call
cynical: and, second. that like not q
few actresses, she happened to belong
to his own religious communion. He
was not so Illogical nor so unortho-
doD as to infer from this alone that
she was innocent of the alleged crime.
He was well aware that his old re-
ligi0llS communion could boast of sew
eral distinguished prisoners, from Alex
ander Borg1a to DIR. Cxippen. But he
had no difficulty in understanding its
connection, Ia this sort OF case, with
q certain intellectual liberty which
these Pur1tans would call laxity, and
which would certainly seem to this
parochial patch of an older England
20 be almost cosmopolitan. Anyhow,
he was sure she could account for
great DEAL whether for good or evil.
Her brown eyes were brave to the
point of battle, and her enigmatic
mouth, humorous and rather large,
suggested that her purposes touching
the parsons pOetical son, whatever
they might be, we're planted pretty
deep.
The parsons poetical son himself,
interviewed amid vast village scandal
on bench outside the Blue Lion, gave
a primary and OveTpOwering impress
sion of pure ss1lks. Samuel Horner, son
Of the Rev. Samuel HOrner, was q
square built young man Ia pale gray
suit with g touch of something arty
AAA q k47tkE 81 ECAA tACs QDAAS& Wa1C lAr4&AAAy
notable for name of auburn hair and
a permanent scowl. But Father Brown
had way with him in getting people,
especially young people, to explain at
considerable length why they refused /
to say a single word. About the general |
scandal in the village, the |
young man began TO curse freely. He /
even added little scandal -mongeri /
OF his own. he referred bitterly to al
Legged past flirtations between the Pur-
itan Miss Carskatrs-Ca and MFR |
Carver, the solicitor. But when be came /
to speak of his own father, whether /
out OF an acid decency or paety. or be-
cause bis anger was too deep for /
speech, he snapped out only q few
words.
'.WeIl, there it is. He denounces her
day and night as a painted adventIr-
esS; sort Of barmaid with gilt hair. I
tell him she's not. You've met her your
self. and you know she's not. But he
won't even see her In the street or
look at her out of a window. An actress
would pollute his house and even hts
holy presence. OF course, he thunderS
against my other theatrical tastes as
veil"
he new opening and learned much
hat he wanted to know. The alleged
poetry, which was such blot on the
F0ung mans character, was almost en-
irely dramatic poetry. He had written
tragedies in verse which had been adj
nired by good judges. He was no mere
tagestruck fool; indeed he was no fool
i any kind. He had some really orig .
nal ideas about acting Shakespeare. :
t was easy to understand his having
'een dazzled and delighted by finding
t~z
ven the priests intellectual sympathy
o far meIlowed the rebel of Potter's
'ond that at their parting he actually
miled.
II was that smile which suddenly re-
called to Father Brown that the young
nan was really miserable. So long as
e frowned 1t might well have been
My SulkS, but when he smiled 1t was
omeh0w q more real revelation of sor-
ow. Something continued 70 haunt
ne priest about that interview with
1e poet. An inner instinct certified
lat the sturdy young man was eaten
'om within by some grief greater even
nan the conventional story of con-
sntional parents being obstacles To
he course of true love. It was all the
ore so. because there were not any
Jyious alternative causes. The boy was
ready rather literary and dramatic
lccess. his books might be said to be
1oming. Nor did he drink or dissipate
S well earned wealth.
The conversation of Miss Carstairs-
3rew on whom he called next, was
llculated TO paint the parsons son
the darkest colors. But as IL was de-
ted TO blasting him with all the
ecaal vices which Father Brown was
lite certain the young man did not
hibit. he put 1t down TO q common
mblnation OF PyRritanism and gossip.
His next port OF call was very much
a contrast, for he disappeared down
dark and dirty alley, where Miss
Irstatrs- Carew would have refused
follow him even In thought, and
en- into q narrow tenement made
isier BY high and declamatoxy voice
an attic. From this he re-emerged
til rather daxed expression, pursued
to the pavement by very laxative
d excited man with q blue chin and
black frOckc0at faded to bottle-green.
n.