The Incendiary: A Story Of Mystery - free ebook by William Augustine Leahy

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The Incendiary: A Story Of Mystery

William Augustine Leahy

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A Story of Mystery.

A Story of Mystery.

CHICAGO AND NEW YORK: RAND, McNALLY &amp; COMPANY, MDCCCXCVII. A PRIZE STORY In The Chicago Record series of "Stories of Mystery." THE INCENDIARY BY W. A. Leahy. (This story—out of 816 competing—was awarded the fourth prize in the Chicago Record's "$30,000 to Authors" competition.) Copyright, 1896, by W. A. Leahy....

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FANFARE: THE PLAY BEGINS.

FANFARE: THE PLAY BEGINS.

It was about half-past three in the afternoon when Bertha, the housemaid, came running down the steps, with a shrill cry of "Fire!" and fell plump into the arms of the bake-shop girl, who had seen the smoke curling from Prof. Arnold's window and was hastening across to warn the occupants of his house. The deep bark of a dog was heard within and presently Sire, the professor's old St. Bernard, rushed by the two young women and darted hither and thither, accosting the bystanders distractedly, as i

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MIDNIGHT—ALL'S WELL.

MIDNIGHT—ALL'S WELL.

"Accident is out of the question, John Davidson." The hands of the clock were moving toward midnight in Klein's restaurant, but mugs were still clinking, dishes rattling and waiters hurriedly cleansing soiled tables with their towels. The freedom of the saloon had been extended to the victorious fire-fighters, who, after supping with Duke Humphrey, were not at all reluctant to lunch with Commoner Klein. "A health to Carl Klein," shouted one, tossing a tumblerful high in air. "Your health!" the p

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SEQUELAE.

SEQUELAE.

"You don't care for 'The Headless Horseman'?" said Robert to little Elsie Barlow, who was sitting on his knee in Emily's parlor. "Which of the stories do you like best of all?" Elsie shut up her book of fairy tales, trying to think. "You ask mamma which she likes best, Bessie or me?" "Oh, Elsie, that's dodging," laughed Robert. "No, 'tisn't dodging," protested Elsie. "'Cause mamma don't like either of us best; and I like 'The House of Clocks' and 'The Ball of Gold' just the same as each other."

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HE IS TRIED IN THE BALANCE.

HE IS TRIED IN THE BALANCE.

There was a pause in the little court-room when the formal proclamations of the crier and clerk were ended. "Are you guilty or not guilty, Robert Floyd?" He bore the scrutiny of many hundred eyes calmly. Earnestness must have been the usual expression of his face, but today its flashing eyes and curled upper lip controlled the aquiline features and made their dominant aspect one of defiance. He was olive-skinned, as his uncle may have been in his youth. His hair was dark. Spots of dark red were

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AND IS FOUND WANTING.

AND IS FOUND WANTING.

After the noon recess Bertha was called to finish her testimony, with the promise that she would not be detained long. "A description of the study, Miss Lund, when you were dusting." "Everything was left just as it was when the professor fell dead on the threshold Tuesday evening." "Did you notice any foreign substance—any accumulation of what might afford fuel for a fire?" "No, sir." "Any odor?" "Only that the room was close from being shut up." "Describe the contents of the room." "Well, it wa

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THE CLOUDS THICKEN.

THE CLOUDS THICKEN.

"Shagarach is the man to defend him, Miss Barlow," said old John Davidson. She was lying back against the cushions of the cab, with cheeks as white as the handkerchief she held to her lips. For the marshal had kindly offered to accompany her home and she had told him part of her story. She was, as McCausland had said to the district attorney, a photographic retoucher. You must know that a negative when it leaves the camera is no more fit for display than milk fresh from the cow is drinkable. All

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ENTER SHAGARACH.

ENTER SHAGARACH.

"Meyer Shagarach, Attorney-at-Law." The shingle could not have been more commonplace, the office stairs more dingy. A Jewish boy opened the door at Emily's knock and a young man of the same persuasion arose from his desk and bustled forward to inquire her business. "Meester Shagarach is in. Did you wish to see him?" After a moment a second door was opened and Emily was motioned into the inner office. "This way, madam." The man writing at the table barely glanced up at first, but, seeing who his

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THE ROYSTERERS.

THE ROYSTERERS.

"Get the mail, Indigo." The letters made a goodly heap on the salver, but Harry Arnold sifted them over with an air of dissatisfaction. One cream-colored envelope, superscribed in a dainty hand, he laid apart. The rest he tore open and tossed into Indigo's lap, as if they were duns, invitations and other such formal matters. "Drop a line apiece to these bores," he said to his valet, with a yawn. Like the whole tribe of the unoccupied, he was too busy to answer letters. "Where's Aladdin?" "Grazin

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APPEARANCES AND DISAPPEARANCES.

APPEARANCES AND DISAPPEARANCES.

"Now for Sir Galahad in jail!" said Harry, touching the bay with the point of his whip. "He was an awfully virtuous cad!" laughed Kennedy. Sunburst had offered to convey Idler safely home, while Kennedy, the black-eyed, accompanied Harry, himself none the better for his morning bottle-bout, to the clubhouse in town. On the way they would make the visit to Robert. There was evidently a strong dash of the Arnold blood in Harry. He showed more resemblance to his cousin than to the proud, thin-lippe

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A KISS IN THE DARK.

A KISS IN THE DARK.

Bertha Lund's aunt, Mrs. Christenson, kept a boarding house for Swedes, on a street near the water front. By virtue of an intelligence-office license she was also empowered to obtain places in domestic service for newly imported Frederikas and Katherinkas. But the Swedish housemaid is one of those rare commodities in which the demand exceeds the supply. So there had been no crowded gallery of sodden faces around the waiting-room when Emily called Thursday morning before going to work, but only t

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SIMPLE SIMON.

SIMPLE SIMON.

"The appointment you heard them make. I missed the rendezvous." "Harry Arnold said Wednesday was his locky day——" "Lucky day," corrected Shagarach. "His lucky day," said Aronson, "and if the old lady put up he would break the bank." "That I understand. A gambling tryst. The old lady is his mother. Put up means to pay his money. But the place—what was the name of the place?" "When they left each other Arnold said: 'Wednesday at the Tough-Coat,' and Kennedy said: 'All right, Harry.'" "Repeat that

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BROWBEATING EXTRAORDINARY.

BROWBEATING EXTRAORDINARY.

"Will you take in my card? I'm in a deuce of a rush," said Kennedy to Aronson when the latter had dismissed Simon Rabofsky. Shagarach read his name, daintily engraved in the form to which the weather-vane of fashion had at that moment veered and was imperatively pointing. It introduced "Mr. Arthur K. Foxhall." "I will see the gentleman in a few minutes," said he. Shagarach must have transacted an almost incredible amount of business in the interim, for his waiting-room was cleared of clients whe

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GNAWING OF THE RAT'S TOOTH.

GNAWING OF THE RAT'S TOOTH.

"Hello, Bobbs," called the solitary cracksman. "Put your hear to the chink and let's 'ave a palaver." The "chink" was that hollow spot in the rear of the cell, where by pressing his ear against the wall Floyd could hear communications from Dobbs, inaudible to the rest of the prisoners. Robert wondered not a little at the persistent friendliness of the fellow. He felt conscious of lacking the touch of comradeship. He might even be called ascetic, were not the stigma precluded by his passion for m

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A TRIP TO HILLSBOROUGH.

A TRIP TO HILLSBOROUGH.

The life of Emily Barlow during this balmy month of summer might be described as an oscillation in criss-cross between her home and the studio in one direction, and Shagarach's office and the state prison in the other. For in spite of Robert's protest she had returned several times to pour the sunlight of her sympathy into his cell, and the convicts, either because the latent manhood in them went out to a brave girl doing battle for her lover, or because Dobbs had exercised his influence in her

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STAMPEDE AND AVALANCHE.

STAMPEDE AND AVALANCHE.

Is there in all the world a sight more wholesome and comforting to the tired wayfarer than a loaded hay-cart? When Emily spied one ahead of her she felt a little throb of pleasure in her bosom and at once hastened her step to overtake it. The farmer was asleep on the seat, with a sundown over his face. "Perhaps I had better wake him," thought Emily. "Won't your horse run away?" "Run away?" The peaked old face was wide open of a sudden. "Guess not, miss, not with that load on. Dobbin ain't no pon

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REPORTING TO HEADQUARTERS.

REPORTING TO HEADQUARTERS.

"McCausland!" Emily bit off the exclamation just a moment too late. This, then, was the interesting convict who had tried to worm himself into Robert's confidence. This was Shagarach's vaunted opponent, the evil genius arrayed against the good, in mortal combat for her sweetheart's life. With Sire worrying his heels, Bertha holding her side in unchecked laughter, and Emily eying him with an expression of amazement gradually turning to scorn, the detective looked for a moment as if he would have

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INSIDE THE DOVE-COTE.

INSIDE THE DOVE-COTE.

"Here we are!" cried Kennedy. The sudden flood of light dazzled Shagarach's eyes. Glittering chandeliers threw prismatic reflections upon the twenty or thirty occupants of the room, many of them in full evening dress, like his escort, and several adding the sparkle of diamonds to the iridescence of mirrors and cut glass around them. Across one corner stretched an arc-shaped bar, from which two colored waiters served liquors to the patrons, while others at intervals disappeared behind curtains an

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LEX REX.

LEX REX.

Stupefaction is a weak word to express the feelings of Saul Aronson when a messenger awakened him at 1 o'clock Thursday morning with a request from Shagarach that he would come to police station No. 5 at once. The attorney's assistant was never a sluggard, but the celerity with which on this occasion he scrambled into his street clothes would have done credit to a lightning-change artist. The police captain received him courteously, explaining, as he conducted him to Shagarach's cell, his hesita

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TWO STEPS FORWARD AND ONE TO THE REAR.

TWO STEPS FORWARD AND ONE TO THE REAR.

At the afternoon session Mrs. Arnold was found at her place, still unaccompanied by her son. Five lawyers had already outlined their standpoints to the judge, but still there were new complications in store. Lawyer Howell was Shagarach's earliest opponent, the Goliath of his first great duel. He contented himself with stating his intention to attach Floyd's share of the property in behalf of the insurance companies and proprietors who had suffered loss through the crime with which he was charged

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THE BREWING STORM.

THE BREWING STORM.

Friday was to be the last day of Warden Tapp's tenure, and Robert was aware that the convicts had determined to celebrate his removal by some demonstration of their joy. Everybody was dissatisfied with his government—the public, his deputies, his charges, alike. Stalking about with that inveterate preference for his own company which had won him the nickname of "The Pelican," he gnawed his huge mustache in a manner that seemed to betray that he was not oversatisfied with the results himself. The

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A BATTLE IN THE ROTUNDA.

A BATTLE IN THE ROTUNDA.

At 2 o'clock the alarm bell rang out thirteen ominous notes. This was the fire-box of the prison. The flames had broken out in the wicker-workers' shop, where the younger and lighter convicts plaited summer chairs, flower-stands and all kinds of basket articles. On a high throne set against the middle of one wall sat Johann Koerber, the deputy in charge, overseeing everything, pistol in hand. He was a Titan of 300 pounds, who might have proved admirable in his proper work of putting maniacs in s

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THREE OF A KIND.

THREE OF A KIND.

"I've got him! I've got him! Take his other arm, Toot!" "Let go; she's tipping!" "Will I let go and see the bloke drownded? You're a spunky feller, Toot Watts. Anybody'd think you never rocked a dory before yourself. Get up in the stern, Turkey. Now pull her in to the bridge and hold on to the logs. That'll balance her." With one hand the Whistler held the drowning man's arm, while with the other he lifted his chin out of the water. It was a dangerous position, leaning over the bow in this manne

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DEATHBED REVELATIONS.

DEATHBED REVELATIONS.

When Emily Barlow ran down to Shagarach's office at noon this Saturday she was accompanied by her friend, Beulah Ware. Beulah Ware was as dark as Emily was fair. In temperament, as in complexion, the two girls offered a contrast, Beulah's carriage having the recollected dignity of a nun's, while Emily's sensibilities were all as fine as those Japanese swords which are whetted so keenly they divide the light leaves that fall across their edges. "We should like to leave a note with the flowers, Mr

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THE NEST-EGG HATCHES OUT.

THE NEST-EGG HATCHES OUT.

"St! Bobbs!" The sound was at Robert's left ear. He had been dreaming of Emily arrayed in bridal white and kneeling at his side before the altar of joy. Uncle Benjamin in a clergyman's surplice was pronouncing a benediction upon them. The good old custom of a nuptial kiss was about to be observed, when the warning whisper and his prison nickname rudely awakened him to his surroundings. The sweet vision melted into a black reality, the wide arches of the cathedral contracting to narrow cell walls

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ITS CHICK PROVES PECULIAR.

ITS CHICK PROVES PECULIAR.

Have you never lain back at midnight in the bow of a Whitehall, with your hands clasped behind your head and your legs lazily outstretched—no comrades but the oarsman amidships, and the fellow-passenger facing you from the stern, no sound but the gurgle of your own gliding, no sensation but the onward impulse of the boat, as gentle as the swaying of a garden swing, and the scarcely perceptible breeze aerating the surface of the river? Then the moon has never tinted the atmosphere for you with su

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BEHIND THE VEIL.

BEHIND THE VEIL.

"My mother has your flowers," said Shagarach. "She would be delighted if you would come to see her." It was in response to this invitation that Emily had selected an appropriate dress from her modest wardrobe and kissed her mother good-by for the evening. She was at first not a little alarmed when a young man sidled up to her from behind and began uttering incoherent avowals of devotion, which not even her chilling glance and hastened step could check. Kennedy had disappeared for some time,—prob

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AN UNBIDDEN GUEST.

AN UNBIDDEN GUEST.

"What tainted people you have to deal with!" she exclaimed, unconsciously continuing her vein of silent thought. "I should crave another environment, I think." "Your Christ lived with sinners and publicans. And they are not all tainted, my dear," added the mother, smiling so that Emily might know whom she meant to except. "There is so much in common between my son and Mr. Floyd. Both proud, serious, too serious, I tell him, and both true Castilians in honor. But the one looked about wisely and f

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JACOB AND DELILAH.

JACOB AND DELILAH.

"Put your wrists together!" The voice was totally different from Dobbs' whine; a strong, deep register, like a ledge of the basal rock peeping out from a smiling meadow. For the first time Robert felt the veiled strength which resided in the detective's character. There was no option but to obey. "Pull up the curtains, Johnnie." The servant had been attracted by the crash of the lamp. A faint stream of daylight entered the chamber, and the noises of the city could be heard in the distance. McCau

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CUPID TAKES AIM.

CUPID TAKES AIM.

"Mother, my friend, Miss March." Mrs. Arnold came forward on the rose-embroidered veranda. An old look crept into her face. Her brow darkened. Her heart froze. But love conquered jealousy, and for Harry's sake she took both hands of the young woman whom she knew he loved, and smiled. "And Mr. Tristram March." "Welcome to Hillsborough. Will you not come inside?" "Let's sit on the veranda," said Harry, throwing himself on a seat. "It's cooler here." The others became seated and submitted their for

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MATER DOLOROSA.

MATER DOLOROSA.

Honora Riley, who washed for Mrs. Barlow, lived in a ramshackle, desolate district of the city which was appropriately known as "the Barrens." Colliers, sooty to the eyerims, trudging home; ashy dump-pickers; women cowled in drab shawls from beneath whose folds peeped pitchers brimmed with foam like the whipped surface of the milk pail, but the liquor was not milk; such were the sights Emily noticed when she called at Mrs. Riley's to inquire whether it was a spell of illness that had prevented h

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EMILY STRIKES A MATCH.

EMILY STRIKES A MATCH.

Beulah Ware called that evening to talk over their plans for a trip to the provinces, which Dr. Eustis, the Barlows' family physician, had imperatively ordered for the wasting girl. Could he have looked into her brain while she was preparing to retire in her chamber, and seen the velocity of the thoughts which were coursing through it then, he would surely have lengthened the weeks to months. "Would the will be upheld?" she asked herself. Dr. Silsby's oral evidence was strong in its favor and Sh

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McCAUSLAND'S AMMUNITION.

McCAUSLAND'S AMMUNITION.

It is no wonder at all that Emily Barlow should have come to regard Inspector McCausland as the villain of the drama in which she was taking a part. Although whenever she tried to formulate his theory of the case it seemed to her too frail to hang a kitten by, yet she had moments of doubt in which his great reputation and clean record of victories oppressed and appalled her. And these moments were rendered frequent by a quality which McCausland seemed to possess in common with other satanic char

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HONEY, NOT WITHOUT STING

HONEY, NOT WITHOUT STING

She looked so timid and demure, with the blue straw bonnet which framed her sweet face, the red band lettered in gold, "Salvation Army." Eyes, lifted slowly, of deep, dark blue, and the level brows laid over them for a foil. Beautiful eyes, we male observers say in our rough, generic fashion, but the finer perception of our sisters discriminates more closely. Not the iris alone makes the beauty of eyes. Lashes long and thick, lids of bewitching droop, brows penciled in the bow curve, any of thes

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A BACK-STITCH.

A BACK-STITCH.

This was how Aronson made the acquaintance of Serena Lamb. One day there resounded through the Ghetto (where Aronson lived) the pounding of a violent drum. Tum, tum, tum! Tum, tum, tum! Tumtyty, Tumtyty! Tum, tum, tum! And every now and then its bass companion marked the ictuses with a cavernous "Boom!" Then Moses and Samuel ceased their buying and selling for a few moments and the coats, vests and trousers which draped their window-fronts swung idly in the wind. And the little Samuels swarmed f

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A RECANTATION.

A RECANTATION.

Saul Aronson was not the only person who found pleasure in the company of Miss Lamb. There were others, with eyes not glamoured by any golden mist of love, who would have found it hard to select an adjective strong enough to express their approbation of the petite devotee. About a year before she had come down from the country to be a companion to her aunt, Mrs. Wolfe, who had just lost her husband. Mrs. Wolfe (according to neighbors' gossip) had been no more than a moderately loving wife, but s

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THE WRATH OF SHAGARACH.

THE WRATH OF SHAGARACH.

Walter Riley, Thomas J. Fenton and Arthur Watts had a separate trial from the other members of the "club," which resorted to Lanty Lonergan's back kitchen. There was only one charge against them—to wit, the larceny of three bicycles and their sale to one Timothy Bagley, aforesaid, dealer in junk. The government had little difficulty in proving its case. First, one of the owners of the bicycles testified to having recognized his wheel, cunningly repainted, in a stranger's possession, to following

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COUNT L'ALIENADO.

COUNT L'ALIENADO.

"Here is the substitute I promised you, Rosalie. Miss March—Count L'Alienado." There was a vacant seat in the barouche that stood before the Marches' villa. It had been destined for Tristram, but even behind the black glasses he wore the August sunshine dazzled his eyes, so he was compelled at the last moment to excuse himself. "Mme. Violet—his lordship, the Earl of Marmouth." Count L'Alienado was thus informally presented to his other two riding companions. There was just a suggestion of Spanis

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THE PURPLE TEA.

THE PURPLE TEA.

"The Earl of Marmouth sends his regards. He will be unable to join us." Tristram March held a coroneted note in his hands while he made this announcement to the company. There was a faint salvo of regrets, meant for the Violet's ears. Only Miss Milly Mills was heard remarking, sotto voce: "I'm glad the old bear is chained for once." "But the grizzly is grand in its den, dear," chided Dorothea Goodbody, a little louder. "True. We do not fit everywhere," said the Violet, who had overheard them. "I

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THREE TIMES RUNNING.

THREE TIMES RUNNING.

Shagarach's office was a hive of industry the next time Emily Barlow called. Walter Riley, installed in Jacob's place, looked smartly clerical, with a pen over one ear, docketing some papers, and Aronson was knitting his brows over a decision in the digest. But the lawyer himself, she thought, did not appear to have profited greatly by his fortnight's vacation. His cheek was worn and his manner betrayed an unusual aberration at times. He had returned only the evening before. When she entered the

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A HUT IN THE FOREST.

A HUT IN THE FOREST.

"Who's talking of Woodlawn? Just where I came from, and if the fronds of those ferns aren't as fine-cut as petals, then I don't know an oak from a gooseberry bush." "Dr. Silsby—Inspector McCausland." The men clasped hands. "Didn't meet a maniac with a gash in his forehead on the way back, did you?" laughed McCausland. "Maniac—well, no; but I've rooted out a peeping Tom there, that's been frightening the women." "How was that?" asked Shagarach. "It was those ferns did it. Aren't they beauties, th

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THE SECRET OF THE POOL.

THE SECRET OF THE POOL.

Suddenly a shout from the onlookers behind called them back to the breach. "The roof!" they cried. "He is climbing out by the roof!" McCausland and Silsby stepped back to see the top of the hut, while Shagarach rushed in once more and reached at the ceiling with his bough. There on the top of the hut, his body half emerging where the planks had been shoved aside, McCausland for the first time saw the long-missing oaf, and Dr. Silsby his peeping Tom. But Shagarach was groping within, vainly smash

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AN OLD SINGING SOLDIER.

AN OLD SINGING SOLDIER.

"What will remind me of the summer while you are away, dear?" Robert had said to Emily one morning, little thinking that the sweet girl would treasure the saying for a whole day and end with a pitiful accusation to herself of "selfishness" for leaving him. Could she have consulted her own wish she would have put off the excursion then and there, but a stateroom had already been booked in the Yarmouth, Beulah Ware was looking forward joyfully to the trip and Dr. Eustis' orders had been imperative

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THE OCEAN NIGHT.

THE OCEAN NIGHT.

"Tristram!" The artist started at his sister's voice. He had been lounging over the steamer's side watching a full-rigged ship in the offing. Its majestic sails glistened as white as snow, but the heaving motion from bow to stern was apparent even at that distance. For the sea was all hills and hollows, and the Yarmouth herself lay darkened under the shadow of a cloud. "Let me break in on your reverie. This is my brother—Miss Barlow—Miss Ware." "We shall have a storm," said Tristram, after the f

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ON DIGBY SHORE.

ON DIGBY SHORE.

Daylight rose, gray and hollow-eyed, on the Atlantic. The sun was merely a moving brightness in the sky. Ocean, the blind Titan, still heaved and roared, playing his part in some grander drama than ours of flesh and blood—ingulfing sailor or bark as we crush the poor gnat toward whom neither pagan sage nor Christian doctor enjoins mercy—cruel without enmity, indifferent without contempt, divider or uniter of continents according to his chance-born mood. The storm had scarcely begun to die. But w

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TURNPIKE TOLL.

TURNPIKE TOLL.

"So to-morrow is the day of the trial, Miss Barlow?" Mrs. Riley was pinning the bandage on Walter's neck, while Emily buttoned his jacket. She and the quondam Whistler had become fast friends, especially since the day of the struggle in Shagarach's office, and now that his burns were healing and he was able to get out they had arranged a Sunday afternoon excursion to Hemlock grove, with some vague hope of visiting the site of the demolished hut, if Walter's strength could carry him so far. There

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THE HEEL OF ACHILLES.

THE HEEL OF ACHILLES.

"I shall be compelled to alter my theory at one point," said Shagarach. "Yet your general conviction remains unchanged?" "Absolutely. Your cousin is capable of the crime. A powerful motive was present. We have traced him to the door of the room. What factor is wanting?" "I cannot believe it of Harry," said Robert, shaking his head doubtfully. "But what has occurred to cause you to reconstruct your theory?" "My interview with Dr. Whipple, his physician." "Harry was ill at the time, I believe?" "H

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OYEZ! OYEZ!

OYEZ! OYEZ!

"This is the gravest charge known to the law," said the district attorney, "and the man found guilty of it by a jury of his peers is condemned, under the statutes of this commonwealth, to be hanged by the neck until he is dead." Dead! The solemn word reverberated through every listener's heart. The crowded court-room was hushed. The jurymen had just been contemplating their own portraits in the last newspaper which they would see for many days, and now bent forward in the first flush of eager at

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THE BATTERIES OPEN FIRE.

THE BATTERIES OPEN FIRE.

Assistant District Attorney Badger conducted the examination of the first witness for the government, who gave his name as the Rev. St. George Thornton and wore the manner of an Oxford graduate. "You knew the uncle of the accused, Prof. Arnold?" "Excellently. He had been for many years an attendant at my church." "The Church of the Messiah, of the Episcopal denomination?" "The Episcopal church, sir; we do not consider it a denomination." "You officiated at Prof. Arnold's funeral service, I belie

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THE BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES.

THE BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES.

Nearly the same gathering was admitted to the courtroom on the second day as on the first. But, wedged in between Mrs. Arnold and the unknown woman in black, Emily had pointed out to her the famous novelist Ecks, who sat with his head inclined toward the still more famous playwright Wye. Wye was mooting volubly the chain of testimony which had been spun around the accused on the foregoing day, which seemed to possess for him all the circumscribed but inexhaustible interest of the chessboard or a

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GLORY ALLELUIA.

GLORY ALLELUIA.

"Saul Aronson," called the district attorney. Shagarach's assistant had been amazed to find a subpoena thrust into his hands just as he returned to his desk after the noon recess. Of what service could he be to the prosecution? As little as possible, he inwardly determined, while he made his way to the stand. "Do you know a young lady named Miss Serena Lamb?" asked Badger, in his iciest voice. The cruelty of it was exquisite. If he had discharged a revolver at Aronson point blank the witness cou

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THE ROSEBUD MOUTH.

THE ROSEBUD MOUTH.

"What in the world is he smiling for?" asked Emily. Inspector McCausland's smile was a barometer of her own uneasiness, and she could not help remarking his unusual geniality at the opening of the court on Wednesday. The previous day's work had closed with a sturdy wrangle between Shagarach and the district attorney. Whether it was that Shagarach's charge of perjury was not sufficiently supported (it was merely Aronson's word against Serena's) or that Bigelow's inelastic mind characteristically

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A DUMB EYEWITNESS.

A DUMB EYEWITNESS.

"Hodgkins Hodgkins," answered the first witness who testified after the noon recess. "When did you first learn that Prof. Arnold had made a will?" asked the district attorney. "On receipt of a letter from my esteemed friend, dated June 15." "What was the reason of Prof. Arnold's informing you of his action?" "A long-standing, I may say a life-long friendship, had induced him to select me as his executor." "When you heard of his death, what action did you take?" "I was in New York at the time on

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THE FOOL OF THE FAMILY.

THE FOOL OF THE FAMILY.

So McCausland was right, after all. The oaf had just been captured by the local police of Woodlawn, and inquiry had vindicated the inspector's surmise. Far back in our story there was mention of a half-witted brother of the Lacy girls, who jumped from the Harmon building and were killed. Nature had made one of her capriciously unequal divisions of talent in this family, gifting the daughters with all graces and allurements of character, but misshaping their elder brother, Peter, both in body and

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WEATHERVANES VEER.

WEATHERVANES VEER.

"Do you know Ellen Greeley?" "I did know her slightly." "Never corresponded with her?" "Oh, no." "You have a key to your own house, I suppose?" "Certainly." "And can slip out and in unobserved?" "If I choose to." "Which door do you generally use going into your uncle's house?" "The front door always." "And in coming out?" "The same." "You knew, however, that there was a side door opening into the passageway?" "Yes." "How long are you back from Lenox?" "Two weeks." "Do you remember an evening ent

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MARK TIME, MARCH!

MARK TIME, MARCH!

Now that Robert's acquittal was almost assured, Emily's pity began to overflow toward Harry Arnold and Rosalie, whose position was exactly her own of the day before. For the vox populi had generally determined on Harry's guilt, though there were not wanting some who, like the father in the parable, were disposed to welcome the brilliant prodigal with lavish entertainment, freely extending the forgiveness he implored, while slighting the steadfastly loyal son who had never wandered from the path

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A STERN CHASE.

A STERN CHASE.

"At any cost!" The last words of his master tingled in Saul Aronson's ears when he left the court-room with the summons in his hand. Ever since the disclosures of Serena Lamb he had been more than usually abashed in his demeanor. For in some measure he felt that it was he who had brought this threatened catastrophe upon their cause. Here was the opportunity to retrieve his misstep. He would prove his fidelity and serve the writ "at any cost." Mrs. Arnold had secured a few minutes' start, but Aro

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THE MIRACLE.

THE MIRACLE.

It was after two o'clock when, breathless, spiritless, and penniless, Saul Aronson arrived at the court-room again. The examination of Bertha was nearly ended. "Will you take these spectacles, Miss Lund?" said Shagarach, handing Bertha a pair. They looked like the "horns" that used to straddle our grandfathers' noses, being uncommonly large, circular in shape and fitted with curved wires to pass over the ears. "Do they bear any resemblance to Prof. Arnold's?" "I thought they were his at first."

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