The Cotton Factory Times. — 1905-11-03 (Manchester, Greater Manchester, England)

WHITE.  CHAPTERS I. AND 11. THE FIRST PERILS OF NETTA.  'ln Nett & Sherlock -formerly Nellie Landou—made up her mind to succeed, she would succeed, so said Amy Burke, her maid. But it was a hard task that Netta had set herself. She had done much already. Daughter of an caner and a gentleman who had come to ruin and died in poverty, she had struggled to live by fiddling in the streets..  _ Then Reggie Masters had found her out. Reggie was a friend of her family in the better days that were gone. They had learnt to love—and then the bolt had fallen. A cloud of disgrace had burst over Reggie's head, exposure, humiliation, and flight had followed, and Netta was alone again. Reggie had sent her papers to read, and she knew that he was innocent—but how to prove it! Now the recognition of her genius had come. Society could give her nothing too good. She was worshipped for her music's sake. And she had made up her mind to clear her lover, at all hazards. So she had schemed and plotted and intrigued until she had beeh invited to Loudwater Priory, for she knew that somehow Lady Langworthy, Sir John's young and beautiful wife, was bound up in the secret of her lover's disgrace. At Loudwater, somewhere, were the proofs of Reggie's innocence, and she had come to ferret them out,  Here, then. was danger; but there was more to come. Two people were in the house who must know her errand if they recognised in Netta Sherlock the Nellie Landon who had played in the streets. They were Lucille Canton and Niel Jackman, both at one time servants in Captain Landon's household. Lucille had been tried (and acquitted) on a charge of murdering her husband; and Jackman was recognised as her partner in the unproved crime. Jackman had fastened himself upon Reggie Masters as a confidential servant shortly before Reggie's troubles began; and now Netta had to fight with the rest. Had they recognised her? Netta feared they had. Lucille had, in fact; and hurrying off to Jackman, who W4lB servant to Gordon Falmer, a guest in the house, arranged that when Netta rode off on a motor-car at night to catch the last train to town, he should be outside the door to identify her. The first thing that Netts noticed was that certainly Sir John had no pert in the secret that centred round his lady. The second, that when Gordon Falmer entered the room Lady Langworthy grew silent and almost rigid. Her face grew wax-like and set as she felt the force of the strange man by Netta's side. It was at Gordon Falmer's invitation that Netta passed from a musical selection that was merely brilliant to something more melodious—something that began with a queer little quivering note that had a teuCtt of fear in it. At the first chords Gordon Falmer started. He grasped a chair rigidly; his face grew whiter and still more set; great beads glistened on his forehead. _  "Where did you get that from?" he asked Netta. "That I cannot tell you," she said firmly; and Falmer said something that sounded like a curse. In a thunderstorm Netts wished to start for the station, but before she left the house the motor-car standing at the door was wrecked by lightning; and Jackman, standing by to watch Netts leave and identify her with the little girl who played the violin in the streets, waa blinded.