Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1911)
TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN,' POBTLAND, MAT 14." 1911. flventure Of TM Devils foot - Ai Reminiscence of cf HerlocK Ilolmecf-No. X&zJirA. Con&nZto N recording from time to Urn I of the curious experiences and Inter- eating recollections which I elate wltwny long and Intimate friend ship with Mr. Sherlock Holme. I bar continually been faced by difficulties caused by hl own aversion to publicity. To his somber and cynical spirit all popular applause was always abhorrent and nothing amused him more at the end of a successful case than to hand over the actual exposure to some ortho dox official and to listen with a mock Ins; smile to the general chorus of misplaced congratulation. It was In deed this attitude upon the part of my friend, and certainly not any lack of interesting material, which has caused me of late years to lay very few of my records before the public My partlcl pation la some of his ad Ten tu re was always a privilege which entailed dis cretion and reticence npon me. It was. then, with considerable sur prise that I received a telegram from Holmes last Tuesday he has never been known to write where a telegram would serve la the following terms "Why not tell them of the Cornish hor ror strangest case I have handled.' I have no Idea what backward sweep of his memory had brought the matter fresh to his mind, or what freak had caused him to desire that I should re count It: but I hasten, before another canceling telegram may arrive, to hunt out the notes which give me the exact details of the case, and to lay the nar rative before my reader. It was. then, la the Spring of the year IS 97 that Holmes' iron constitu tion showed some symptoms of giving way. In the face of constant hard work of a most exacting kind, aggravated, perhaps, by occasional Indiscretions of his own. la Mart-h of that year Dr. Moore Agar, of ilarler street, whose dramatic Introduction to Holmes I may some day recount, gave positive Injunc tions that the famous private agent should lay aside all his cases and sur render himself to complete rest. If he wished to avert an absolute breakdown. The state of his health was not a mat ter In which he himself took the faint est Interest, for his mental detachment was absolute, but he was Induced at last, on the threat of being perma nently disqualified from work, to give himself a complete change of scene and air. Thus It was that In the early Spring of that year we found ourselves together In a small cottage near Poldhu Bay. at the farther extremity of the Cornish peninsula. It was a singular spot, and one pecu liarly well suited to the grim- humor of my patient. From the windows of our little whitewashed house, which stood high upon a grassy headland, ws looked down upon the whole sinister eemlrlrcle of Mounts Bay. that old deathtrap of sailing vessels, with Its fringe of black cliffs and surge-swept 1 reefs, on which Innumerable seamen have met their end. With a northerly breeze It lies placid and sheltered, in viting the storm-tossed craft to tack into it for rest and protection. ' Then comes the sudden swirl round of the wind, the blustering gale from the southwest, the dragging anchor, the lee shore and the last battle In the cream ing breakers. The wise mariner stands far out from that evil place. On the land side our surroundings were as sombre as on the It was a country 01 roiling moors, toneiy via dun-colored, with aa occasional ehnrcb tower to mark the site of some old world vlllsga la every direction upon these moors there were traces of some vanished race which had passed atterly away and left as Its sole record strange monuments of stone. Irregular mounds which contained the burned ashes of the dead, and curious earthworks which hinted at prehistoric strife. The glam our and mystery of the place, with Its sinister atmosphere of forgotten na tlons. appealed to the Imagination of mv friend, and he spent much of ni time In long walks and solitary medi tations upon the moor. The ancient Cornish language had also arrested his attention, and he had. I remember, con ceived the Hee y-hat it was akin to the Chaldean and bad been largely aerivea from the Phoenician traders la tin. He had received a consignment of books uoon philology and was settling down to develop this thesis, when suddenly. to mr sorrow- and to his unfeigned de light, we found ourselves, even In that land of dreams, plunged Into a problem at our verv doors which was more in tense, more engrossing, and Infinitely more mysterious than any of those which had driven us from London. Our slmDle life and peaceful, healthy rou tine were violently Interrupted and we were precipitated Into the midst of a uHm of events which caused the al most excitement, not only In Cornwall but throughout the whole West of Eng land. Many of my readers may retain some recollection of what was railed at the time "The Cornish Horror.1 though a most Imperfect account of the matter reached the London press. Now. after 1 years. I will give the true details of thlei Inconceivable af fair to the public. I have said that scattered towers marked the villages which dotted this tart of Cornwall. The nearest of these was the hamlet of Tredannlck Wollaa, where the cottages of a couple of hun dred Inhabitants clustered around an ancient, mose-grown church. The vicar of the parish. Mr. Roundhay. was some thing of an archaeologist, and aa such Holmes had made bis acquaintance. He was a middle-aged man. portly and af fable, with a considerable fund of local lore. At his Invitation we had taken tea at the vicarage, and had come to know also Mr. Mortimer Tregennls. an Independent gentleman, who Increased the clergyman's scanty resources by taking rooms In his large, straggling bouse. The vicar, being a bachelor, was glad to come to such an arrangement, though he had little In common with his lodger, who was a thin. dark, specta cled man. with a stoop which gave the Impression of actual physical deform ity. I remember that during our short visit we found the vicar garrulous, but bla lodger strangely reticent, a sad faced. Introspective man. sitting with averted eyes, brooding apparently upon his own affairs. These were the two men who entered abruptly Into our little sitting-room on Tuesday. March the ltth. shortly after our breakfast hour, as we were smok ing together, preparatory to our daily excursion uoon the moors. "Mr. Holmes." said the vicar. In an agitated voice, "the most extraordinary and traglo affair has occurred during the night. It Is the most unheard-of business. We can only regard It as a special Providence that you should chance to be here at the time, for In all England you are the one man we need." I glared at the Intrusive vicar with no very friendly eyes; but Holmes took Ms pipe from his lips and sat up la bis cbalr like an old hound who bears the view-hallo. He waved his hand to the sofa, and our palpitating visitor with his agitated companion sat side by side upon 1U Mr. Mortimer Tregen nls was more self -contained thmry the : clergyman, but the twitching of his thin hands and the brightness of his dark eyes showed that they shared a common emotion. "Shall I speak, or you?" he asked of the vicar. "Well, as you seem to have made the discovery, whatever It may be. and the vicar to have had It second-hand, per haps you had better do the speaking." said Holmes. I glanced at the hastlly-clad clergy man, with the formally-dressed lodger seated beside him. and was amused at the surprise which Holmes' simple de duction bad brought to their faces. "Perhaps I had best say a few words first." said the vicar, "and then you can Judge if you will listen to the details arm of the chair. I'll never get the sight of that room out of my mind so long as I live." "The facts, as you state them, are certainly most remarkable." said Holmes. "I take It that you have no theory yourself which can In any way account for them" "It's devllsh, Mr. Holmes; devllshl" cried Mortimer Tregennls. "It Is not of this world. Something has come Into that room which has dashed the light of reason from their minds. What hu man contrivance could do that?" "I fear." said Holmes, "that If the matter Is beyond humanity it Is cer tainly beyond me. Yet we must ex haust all natural explanations before we fall back upon such a theory as wm,., i'jff'r'f: " ,7 A o'f 'A SW BB p.se- . , - - , - , . pw . I Hi I '.', . If '!' " Ss'"'.' , III I i f i i . j i ' i m m w m m - m u ii mii i iiiii hi m i i i i r u - ii if 1 1 1 1 i liiMii in hi i i WW from Mr. Tregennls, or whether , we should not hasten at once to the scene of this mysterious affair. I may ex plain, then, that our friend here spent last evening In the company of his two brothers. Owen and Oeorge. and of hie sister Brenda. at tbetr house of Tredan nlck Wartha, which Is near the old stone cross upon the moor. He lett them shortly after it o'clock, playing cards round the dining-room table, in excellent health and spirits. This morning, being an early riser, be walked In that direction before break fast, and was overtaken by the car riage of Dr. Richards, who explained that be 'had Just been sent for on a moat brgent call to Tredannlck Wartha. Mr. Mortimer Tregennls naturally wsnt with blra. When he arrived at Tredan nlck Wartha he found aa extraordinary state of things. His two brothers and bis sister were seated round the table exactly as he bad left them, the cards still spread In front of them and the randies burned down to their sockets. The sister lay back stone-dead In her chair, while the two brothers sat on sack aids of her laughing, shouting and singing, the sensenses stricken clean out of them. All three of them, the dead woman and the two demented men. retained upon their faces aa ex pression of the utmost horror a con vulsion of terror which was dreadful to look upon. There was no sign of the I - I preserx-e of any one la the bouse, ex cept Mrs. Porter, the old cook and housekeeper, who declared that she had slept deeply and heard no sound during the night. Nothing bad been stolen or disarranged, and there is absolutely no explanation of what the horror can be which has frightened a woman to death and two strong men out of their senses. There Is ths situation. Mr. Holmes, in a nutshell, and If you can help us to clear it up you will have done a great work." I had hoped that in some way I could coax my companion back Into the quiet which had been the object of our Jour ney; but one glance at his Intense face and contracted eyebrows told me bow vain was now the expectation. He sat for some little time In silence, ab sorbed In the strange drama which had broken la npon our peace. I will look Into this matter." he said at last "Oa the face of It. It would appear to be a case of a very exception al nature. Have you been there your self. Mr. Roundhay f No, Mr. Holmes. Mr. Tregennls brought back the account to the vicar age, and I at once hurried over with him to consult you." "How far Is It to ths house where this singular tragedy occurred T" About a mile Inland." Then we shall walk over together. But, before we start, I must aak'you a few questions, Mr. Mortimer Tregennls.- The other had been silent all this time, but I had observed that his more controlled excitement wss even greater than the obtrusive emotion of the clergyman. Hs sat with a pale, drawn face, his anxious gaze fixed uoon Holmes, and his thin hands clasped convulsively together. His pais 11m quivered as he listened to the dreadful experience which had befallen his fam ily, and his dark eyes seemed to reflect somthlng of ths horror of the scene. "Ask what you like. Mr. Holmes." said he. eagerly. "It Is a bad thing to speak of. but I will answer you the truth." "Tellme about last night." "Well. Mr. Holmes, I supped there, aa the vicar has said, and my elder brother George proposed a game of whist aft erwards. We sat down about 9 o'clock. It was a quarter-past 10 when I moved to go. I left them all round the table, as merry as could be." "Who let yon out?" "Mrs. Porter had gone to bed. so I let myself out. I shut the hall door be hind me. The window of the room in which they sat was closed, but the blind was not drawn down. There was no change in door or window this morning, nor any reason to think that any stranger had been to the house. Yet there they sat. driven clean mad with terror, and Brenda lying dead of fright, with her heal bans Ins over the , this. As to yourself, Mr. Tregennls. I take It yon were divided In soms way from your family, since they lived to gether and you had rooms apart?" "That is' so. Mr. Holmes, though the matter Is past D1 dons with. We were a family of tin-miners at Redruth, but we sold out our venture to a company, and so retired with enough to keep us. I won t deny that there was some feel ing about the division of the money and it stood between us for a time, but It was all forgiven and forgotten, and we were the best of friends together." "Looking back at the evening which you spsnt together, does anything stand out In your memory as throwing any possible light upon the tragedy? Think carefully, Mr. Tregennls, for any clue which can help me." "There la nothing at all. sir." "Your people were In their usual spirits?" "Nevsr better." "Were they nervous people? Did they ever show any apprehension of coming fl anger 7 -Nothing of the kind." "Yon have nothing to add. then. which could assist me?" Mortimer Tregennls considered earn estly for a moment. "There la one thing occurs to me. said he at last. "As ws sat at ths table my back was to the window, and my Droiner ueorge, be being my partner at cards, was facing It. I saw him once look hard over my shoulder, so I turned round and looked also. The blind was up and the window shut, but I could Just make out the bushes on the lawn, and It seemed to me for a moment that I saw something moving among them. I couldn't even say If It were man or animal, but I Just thought there was something there. When I asked him what he was looking at, he told me that he bad the same feeling. That Is all that I can. say." . "Did you not Investigate?" "No; the matter passed as unlmport ant." 'You left them, then, without any premonition or eviiy "None at all." I am not clear how you came to near the news so early this morning." "I am an early riser, and generally take a walk before breakfast. This morning I had hardly started when the doctor in his carriage- over took me. He told me that old Mrs. -Porter had sent a boy down with an urgent message. I sprsng la beside him and we drove on. When we got mere we looked Into that dreadful room. The candles and ths lire must bare burned out hours before, and they naa oeen sitting there in the dark until dawn had broken. The doctor aaid Brenda must have been dead at least six nours. There were no signs of viol ence. She Just lay across the arm of tne cnair with that look on her face. Oeorge and Owen -were singing snatches of songs and gibbering like two great apes. Oh. It was awful to see! I eouian t stand it. and the doctor was as white as a sheet. Indeed, be fell Into a chair In a sort of faint, and we nearly had him on our hands as well." "Remarkable most remarkable1!" said Holmes, rising and taking his hat. "I think perhaps we had better go down to Tredannlck Wartha without furthef delay. I confess that I have seldom known a case which at first sight pre aented a more singular problem." ' t Our proceedings of that first morning did little to advance the Investigation. It was marked, however, at the outset by an Incident which left the wjost sin ister Impression upon my mind. The approach to the spot at which the trag edy occurred Is down a narrow, wind ing country lane. While we made our way along It we heard the rattle of a carriage coming towards us. and stood aside to let It pass. As it drove by us I caught a glimpse through the closed window of a horribly-contorted, grin ning face glaring out at us. Those star ing eyes and gnashing teeth flashed past us like a dreadful vision. '.My brothers:" cried Mortimer Tre gennls. white to his lips. "They are taking them to Helston." We looked with horror after the black carriage lumbering upon its way. Then we turned our steps towards this ill-omened house in which they had met their strange fate. It was a large and bright dwelling, rather a villa than a cottage, witn considerable garden, which was already, In that Cornish air. filled with Spring flowers. Towards this garden the win dow of the sitting-room fronted, and from It. according to Mortimer Tregen nls. must have come that thing of evil which had by sheer horror In a single Instant blasted their minds. Holmes walked slowly and thoughtfully among the flower-pots and along the path be fore we entered the porch. So ab sorbed was he In his thoughts, I re member, that he stumbled over the watering-pot. upset Its contents, and deluged both our feet snd the garden path. Inside the house we were met by the elderly Cornish housekeeper. Mrs. Porter, who. with the aid of young girl, looked after the wants of the family. She readily answered all Holmes questions. She had heard nothing in the night. Her employers had all been in excellent spirits lately, and she had never known them mora cheerful and prosperoua She had fainted with horror upon entering the room In the morning and seeing that dreadful company round the table. She had, when ahe recovered, thrown open the window to let the morning air in, and had run down to the lane, whence she sent a farm-lad for the doctor. The lady was on her bed upstairs. If we cared to see her. It took four strong men to get the brothers Into the asylum carriage. She would not herself stay In the house another day. and was starting that very afternoon' to rejoin her family at St. Ives. Ws ascended the stairs and viewed the body. Miss Brenda Tregennls had been a very beautiful girl, though now verging npon middle age. Her dark, clear-out face was handsome, even In death, but there still lingered upon It something of that convulsion of horror which had been her last human emo tion. From her bedroom we descended to the sitting-room, where this strange tragedy had actually occurred. Ths charred ashes of the overnight fire lay In the grate. On the table were the four guttered and burned-out candles. with the cards scatered over its sur face The chairs had been moved back against the walls, but all else was as It had been the night before. Holmes paced with light, swift steps about the room I he sat In the various chairs. drawing them up and reconstructing their positions. He tested how much ef the garden was visible; he examined the floor, the celling, and the nreplace; but never once did I see that sudden brightening of his eyes and tightening of his lips which would have told me that he saw some gleam of light in this uter darkness. "Why a tire?" he asked. "Had they always a fire in this small room on a Spring evening?" Mortimer Tregen nls explained that the night was cold and damp. For that reason, after his rrlval. the Are was lit. "What are you going to do, Mr. Holmes?" he asked. My friend smiled and laid his nana npon my arm. I think, W atson, that I shall resume that course of tobacco- 1 poisoning which you have so often and so justly condemned," said he. "With your permission, gentlemen, we will now return to our cottage, for I . am not aware that any new factor Is likely to come to our notice here. I will turn the facta over In my mind, Mr. Tre gennls, and should anything occur to me I will certainly communicate with you. In the meantime I wish you both good morning." It was not until long after we were I back in Poldhu Cottage that Holmes broke his complete and absorbed si lence. He sat colled In bis arm chair, his haggard and ascetic face hardly visible amid the blue swirl of his tobacco smoke, his black crows drawn down, his forehead contracted, bla eyes vacant and far away. Finally, h. sDrana- to his feet. "It won't do, Watson!" said he, with a laugh. "Let us walk along the cliffs together and search for flint arrows. We are more likely to find them than clues to this problem. To let the brain work without sufficient material Is like racing an engine. It racks Itself to nieces. The sea air, sunshine, and patience, Watson all else will come. "Now. let us calmly define our posl tlon. Watson." be continued, as we skirted the cliffs together. "Let us get a firm grip of the very little whloh we do know, so that when freeh facts arise we may be ready to lit tnem Into their places. I take It. In the first place, that neither of us Is pre pared to admit diabolical inu-usioua Into the affairs of men. Let as begin bv ruling that entirely out of our minds. Very good. There remain three persons who have been grievously stricken by some conscious or uncon scious human agency. That Is firm ground. Mow. when did this oecur? Evidently, 'assuming his narrative to be true. It was Immediately arter mr. Mortimer Tregennls had left the room. That is a very Important point. The presumption Is that It was within a few minutes afterwards. The cards still lay upon the table. It was ai- raadv oast their usual hour lor Dea. Yet they had not changed their posi tion. I repeat, then, that the occur rence was Immediately arter his de parture, and not later than 11 o'clock that among your extensive arcnives, Watson, you may find some which were nearly as obscure. Meanwhile, we shall put the case aside until more accurate data are available, and devote the morning to the pursuit of neolithic man." I may have commented upon my friend's power of mental detachment, but never have I wondered at It more than upon that Spring morning In Cornwall when for two hours he dis coursed upon celts, arrowheads and shards as lightly as if no sinister mys tery, was waiting for his solution. It was not until we had returned in the afternoon to our cottage tMat we found a visitor awaiting us, who soon brought our minds back to the matter in hand. dreamed of doing so to him, as it was well known that it was his love of se clusion which caused him to spend the greater part of the Intervals between his Journeys In a small bungalow burled in the lonely wood of Beauchamp Arr riance. Here, amid his books and his maps, he lived an absolutely lonely life, attending to his own simple wants, and paying little apparent heed to the affairs of his neighbors. It was a sur prise to me, therefore, to hear him asking Holmes, in an eager voice, whether he had made any advance In his construction of this mysterious epi sode. "The county police are utterly at fault," said he, "but perhaps your wider experience has suggested some conceivable explanation. My only claim lot nlrht- "Our next obvious step is io cuici, so far as ws can, the movements of Mortimer Tregennls after he left the room. In this there Is no difficulty, and they seem to be above suspicion. Knowing my methods as yon do, you were, of course, conscious of the some what clumsy water-pot expedient by which I obtained a clearer Impress of his- foot than might otherwise nave K..n naaalfcle. The wet, sandy path took It admirably. Last night was also tiiu will remember, and It not difficult having obtained a sample Tirlnt to -nick out bis traca muu8 nth.n and to follow bis movements. He appears to have walked away swift ly In the direction or tne vicaraao. "If. then. Mortimer Tregennls dls appeared from the scene, an yet some outside person affected ine carnpiay- era, how ean we reconstruct that per son, and how was such an impression of horror conveyed? Mrs. Porter may be eliminated. She Is evidently harm less. Is. there any evidence that some one crept up to the garden window and In some manner produced so ter rific an effect that he drove - those who saw It out of their senses. The only suggestion In this direction comes from Mortimer Tregennls himself, who says that his brother spoke about some movement in the garden. That is cer tainly remarkable, as the night was rainy, cloudy and dark. Any one who had the design to alarm these people would be compelled to place his very face against the glass before he could be seen. There Is a three-foot flower border outside this window, but no in dication of a footmark. It Is difficult to Imagine, then, how an outsider could have made so terrible an Impression upon the company, nor have we found any motive for so strango and elabo rate an attempt. You perceive our dif ficulties, Watson?" They are only too clear, I an swered, with conviction. And yet, with a little more mate rial, we may prove that they are not Insurmountable," said Holmes, "I fancy , Neither of us needed to be told who that visitor was. The huge body, the craggy and deeply seamed face, with the fierce eyes and hawk-like nose, the grizzled hair which nearly brushed our cottage ceiling, the beard golden at the fringes and white near the Hps, save for the nicotine stain from his perpetual cigar all thsse were as well known In London as in Africa, and could qnly be associated with the per sonality of Dr. Leon Sterndale. the great Uonhunter and explorer. We had, heard of his presence In the district, md had once or twice caught sight of his tall figure upon the moor land paths. He made no advances to us, however, nor would we have to being taken Into your confidence Is that during my many residences here I have come to know this family of Tregennls very well indeed, upon my Cornish mother's side I could call them cousins and their strange fate has naturally been a great shock to me. I may tell you that I had got as far as Plymouth upon my way to Africa, but the news reached me this morning, and I came straight back again to help in the- Inquiry." Holmes raised his eyebrows. "Did you ose your boat through It?" "I will take the next." "Dear me! that is friendship Indeed." "I tell you, they were relatives." "Quite so cousins of your mother. Was your baggage aboard the ship?" "Some of It, but the main part at the hotel." "I see. But surely this event could not have found its way into the Ply mouth morning papers?" "No, sir: I had a telegram." "Might I ask from whom?" A shadow passed over the gaunt face of the explorer. "You are very Inquisitive, Mr. Holmes." "It is my business." ' With an effort, Dr. Sterndale recov-. ered his ruffled composure. "I have no objection to telling you. he said. "It was Mr. Roundhay, the vicar, who sent me the telegram which recalled me." "Thank you," said Holmes. "I may say, in answer to your original ques tion, that I have not cleared my mind entirely on the subject of this case, but that I have every hope of reach ing some conclusion. It would be pre mature to say more." "Perhaos you would tell me If your suspicions point in any particular di rection?" "No, I can hardly answer that." "Then I have wasted my time, and need not prolong my visit." The fa mous doctor strode out of our cottage in considerable ill-huraor, and within five minutes Holmes had followed him. I sow him no more until the evening, when he returned with a slow step and haggard face which assured me that he had made no great progress with his Investigation. He glanced at a tele gram which awaited him. and threw it Into the grate. "From the Plymouth Hotel, Watson," he said. "I learned the name of It from the vicar and I wired to make certain that Dr. Leon Sterndale's account was true. It appears that he did Indeed spend last night there, and that he has actually allowed some of his baggage to go on to Africa, while he returned to be present at this Investigation. t What do you make of that, Watson?" "He Is deeply Interested." "Deeply Interested yes. There is a thread here which we have not yet grasped, and which might lead us through the tangle. Cheer up, Watson, for I am very sure that our material has not yet all come to hand. When it does, we may soon leave our difficulties behind us." Little did I think how soon the words -of Holmes would be realized, or how strange and sinister would be that new development which opened up an en tirely fresh line of Investigation. I was shaving at my window in the morning when I heard the rattle of hoofs and. looking up, saw a dogcart coming at a gallop down the road. It pulled up at our door, and our friend the vicar sprang from it and rushed up our gar den path. Holmes was already dressed, and-we hastened down to meet him. Our visitor was so excited that he could hardly articulate, but at last in gasps and bursts his tragic story came ' out of him. -"We are devll-rldden, Mr. Holmes! My poor parish Is devil-ridden!" he cried. "Satan himself Is loose In lt! We are given over Into his hands!" He danced about in his agitation, a ludicrous object if it were not for his ashy face and startled eyes. Finally he shot out his terrible news. "Mr. Mortimer Tregennls has died during the night, and with exactly the same symptoms as the rest of his fam ily." Holmes sprang to his feet, all energy In an Instant. "Can you fit us both into your dog-, cart?" "Yes, I can." "Then, Watson, we will postpone oiu breakfast. Mr. Roundhay, we are en tirely at your disposal. Hurry hurry, before things get disarranged." . (To be concluded.) OUT OF THE DESERT A TALE OF LOVE AND ADVENTURE BY E. S. HQLLOWAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 I ever have known has dared to take such a step with me. You would have' paid dearly for It, but I must own I was puzzled as to your motive, ana neia oacK till I should un derstand. Your reputation saved you i nad heard you highly spoken of a gentleman and yet you acted as oad to me.' She looked me In the eyes and again i saw tne puzzled look cross her coun tenance. My own had told her noth ing. Then your later manner toward me when I Buffered you to continue the acquaintance. At times you were so Kindly, so courteous she laugrhed mockingly 'yes, so tender and then so overbearing as to be offensive, though you tried to carry It off with your easy laugh. (sometimes you tried to flout me. For myself I did not care you only amused me but you made me despise you. not always, I will admit. I did believe you had a better nature, though you manifested very little of It In my sight. And Anally, what did you dor T Jo not know, I Interrupted calm. ly. I was bent on learning it all. and felt sure of hearing it now. You do not know! Then youl say imie ror yourseir as a man, yir. Ordway. After your brusque indepen dence toward women in general and your almost Insulting manner toward me, you court and fall at the feet of perhaps the most desperate flirt you happen to know. You apparently show yourself In earnest at last you com promise her and then, you run awayl " "Your actions are incomprehensible, until' and Bhe made me another court esy you put your theories .into writ ing for public circulation, apparently, for you write to a sieve, who canrot hold them and who, she laughed. 'showed them to the very girl you had forsaken. Charming theories those to browbeat and dominate woman un til they fall at your feet. Have many of them fallen at your feet. Mr. Ord way? "Her scorn was beyond further words. ' " 'Now,' said L hear me. I am a plain man too busy to-Jearn eloquence and I will brush your pretty arraignment away like a cobweb.' "She looked at 'me with open eyes. - " 'Forget,' said I, "your prettily ar ranged standpoint arranged for you by Zabetta Hart and take mine. You speak of my independence toward wo men. You are perfectly right. I' felt that Independence. I did not disturb them. I did not care to have them dis turb me. You speak of brusqueness and an ungentlemanly manner. There you are wrong. Notwithstanding my independence, some of my best friends are women sensible women. They know that they can trust me. They have even, some of them, given me their confidence. They know it is safe. Now, as to yourself. The first time I met you I loved you." 'Oh, she said, you are Insufferable.' Wait said I. T have let you pile upon my bead insults for which I would have killed a man. Now, listen to me. i 'I loved you. and (I know men and women) I saw what you were that you were a strong, self-sustained na ture that you would tolerate no weak man. I am not particularly noted for my weakness, but I would have been as rotten thread In your hands had showed you my interest. "'Your own Interest I had to arouse. at whatever cost. I did what I did, As for my subsequent manner, to win you I saw I must dominate you. If have failed. It simply means that I am not the man for whom you could ever care. No other method would have done me better service. "'Now, as to Miss Hart- If she de serves any consideration at your hands. I pray you give It to her. At mine she deserves none. I enter into no partic ulars, I betray no woman's actions, but I know that when I say I owe her no consideration whatever, yon will be lieve me. " "My letter to Carruthers was writ ten in confidence lay the fault at his door. I may have been foolish to so write him, but I did' it to help him. In his case, at least, the advice was good. " Hiss Hart saw those words and used them. She knows perfectly that the only woman for whom I ever cared is you. She has taken revenge on me through my love for you and she seems to have succeeded admirably. I have said all that I had to say. "She was Inexorable. " 'Mr. Ordway,' she said sweetly. you may have lost It when you think you had not; and, oh, well, there are various methods suicide!' She laughed. And that laugh nearly killed my love for her. I thought it dead Indeed when she added: From the way you have spoken. I credit you with being ignorant of the fact that I accepted Mr. Sutherland last evening. I hope you will come to the wedding.' The blow was heavy. I could not find words. Then I flamed out No! I never want to see your face again.' "Still smilingly and sweetly, she said, 'I shall certainly send cards.' I remained In London a week, and every one congratulated me on the good my trip had done me, as they had never see me so Jolly.' Then I went away again. Three days before the wedding I was In an out-of-the-way part of Spain. . One of those sudden impulses for which no man can account took possession of me. I would see, that wedding. To do it I spent money like water for special conveyances and special connections. When I reached the church the bridal party was at the altar. I dropped into the end of a pew on the center aisle near the foot of the church. It was horrible." The drops stood on Ordway's fore head. The greatest agony a man can suf fer Is to hear the woman he loves give herself to another. As she came down the aisle on Sutherland's arm the church was whirling around me. I gripped the pew before roe to stand steady, and then a calm came over me. "My eyes were fixed upon her face. Sha raised her head and saw me. We , looked Into each other's eyes. She fal tered and almost fell. "She had made a mistake and, for the first time, she knew it. "It seemed as if a million instru ments were dinning a song of triumph into my ears. It was only later that the ghastliness of the situation struck me. She loved me and was Sutherland's wife. "An hour later, I was at the recep tion. She had retired to her rooms to change into travelling costume. I wan dered through the crowded apartments, speaking to one and another of my friends, coolly, laughingly, but with the blood pumping through my body. "It was the hardest work I ever did. I took refuge In the deserted library, where some of the unused wedding in vitations lay on the desk. Her maid passed the door, on an errand. On an other Impulse, I called her in, scored two bold dashes through one of the Invitations, wrote something beneath, and sent it sealed to Mr. Sutherland. This is what I wrote." Ordway took a paper from his pocket and laid it on Denbys knee. It was the defaced invitation, and under it was scrawled: "If 'you live with that man now I shall kill him." Denby stared. "What did she dor' "Turn it over." In a bold, angular hand were the words: "Thanks awfully, but I do not need your courteous suggestion. I am pack ing and not long after you get this I shall be where neither he nor you can find me." - Ordway said nothing more. "Well?" said Denby. "That is all," he replied. "All!" "Certainly." That was two years aso. ' ' came out here," he laughed, "to provide food for tigers, I suppose." And you mean to say you made no effort to find her?" Ordway, looking his friend squarely in the eyes, answered: 'She "was another man's wife." 'But I mean you don't know wheth er she is alive or dead? You have kept no trace of her or him? You have sunk yourself in the wilds of Africa, where no one can communicate with your' Grasping Denby's knee with his heavy hand, Ordway said: You apparently do not know me even yet. Fate, circumstance, took her away from me. When Fate has any thing to say to me, she can follow and say it." It was then that Denby took from his pocket a three-months-old London newspaper, treasured since certain names had been on Ordway's lips again and again in his raving. In it there was a head-line reading, "Young Sutherland's Body Washed Ashore at Last." As he handed It to Ordway and walked off, he said: Fate, like woman, Is apparently weak if the man is strong." But It is doubtful if Ordway heard. (Copyright by The Short Story Pub lishing Company. Copyright secured in Great Britain, 9
