Henderson daily dispatch., 1938-03-07

to prove to the vicar that Sucn
and such a thing was his duty,
and the thing was done. When I
think of it I see the stars turn
a-~rv with nausea. He was an I'M
usual criminal, and I thank God
for it.
"Then, drawing nearer to his
final object, Stall began to sug-
gest to Rider that there was evil
in the relationship between Mrs.
Thurston and young Fellowes.
The vicar, with his mania for
what he called purity but what I
should call puritanism, needed
very little instigation on this
point. His mental disorder took
the form Of an abnormal hatred
for even the happiest and most
innocent love, and when Stall be-
gan to fill him with suggestions
of this scandal, he was quickly
and insanely alert, and doubtless
saw many things which did not
exist.
''Then slowly the butler must
have begun to suggest the horrible
idea that it was Riders duty to
assassinate the woman he had
represented as guilty. He had
found a weapon which had hither-
to been the prerogative Of politi-
cal plottersEa mailman who could
be made to commit an act OF vio-
lence for the sake OF an irnagi-
nary virtue, man who would tin-
dertake a crime as though it were
a crusade. It was here, probably,
that he used that absurd story of
the avenging angel striking at
the old man in the tower. He led
him on with a legend, famed his
anger with a fable, lured him with
a lie. Until at last Mr.. Rider was
ready.
IT wondered at first that he
should have troubled to extort
that last sum of E2OO from Mrs.
Thurston at that point. But un-
derestimated Stalls gift for cal
culation. He had a very vile fault
"a love of scoring off his fellows.
BY manipulating the murder of
Mrs. Thurston, he felt, he would
be scoring off the whole series of
his employers. BY securing this
f200, which should rightly have
been divided with the rest Of the
estate, he would be scoring off his
fellow-servants. How he will have
to wipe off those scores, it is not
for us to say.
when at last the unfortunate
vicar arrived on Friday evening
he knew what he must do, and had
been schooled into the method he
must follow. No wonder he ques-
toned Mr.. Townsend before din
ner, as though he sought some
final confirmation Of the facts to
influence his diseased brain. And
it is possible that even then he
might have escaped the domi-
nation Of Stall, and gone home an
innocent man, if it had not been
for that unlucky conversation
with Mrs. Thurston before he
took his leave. But she ingenu-
ously told him that she was fond
Of the young chauffeur, as indeed,
and inoffensively enough, she was.
He left the room with his crazy
conscience quiet, determined to
set about the dreadful work which
he believed to be his duty.
"Stall, meanwhile, had every
thing ready. There was the rope
hung from the window Of the box
room and caught at the opening
window Of Mrs. Thurston's room,
on which he was to escape, and
the rope hung from the window
Of the apple room to the unopen-
ing window Of Mrs. Thurston's
room, on which he was to return.
If one could have seen them there
they would have appeared to make
a great x on the side of the house.
marking it out for it's doom, a sim
lister parody Of that inkmarl by
which our window is designated
on post cards from the seaside.
But unfortunately no one, die
see them. 1t was a dark night
and you were all indoors. So that
when Mr.. Rider went upstairs tc
wait in Mary Thurston's room fol
his victim, no one suspected that
' ne was not on his way home. ex'