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THE RECORDER. NO. 1401 CONSHOHOCKEN, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1895. •1.00 FER YEAR BU! i., i>.....>,.. vi-ry wuii, aua wiiuu Francis oama book went to the conti-nent. 'He was unable to bear the right of hi- i iother's ipplni --. " said Aunt So-minster ill detei t the abaenoe of Felix and so gneaa what haa taken place." "If yon go down to Murshminster, you'll find Felix buck again In his old place." "Then Paris:" I queried uneasily. I was beginning to seo I had been duped. "Yon forget Mr. Felix of Paris has gone to Italy and loft no address. It's all safe there, and as he said he was going to the east for six months or so there will be plenty of time for the pre-tended Francis to marry Olivia." "You don't believe that Felix of Paris has gone to Italy or the east?" "Of courso not I believe he arranged all these matters to baffle your prying and then calmly returned to Marshmln-ater." "But the manager of the hotel?" "He is in the pay of Felix. You'll get nothing out of him. Now, I am cer-tain that is the explanation. Are you not surprised ut its simplicity?" "Yes, Iain. It is astonishing I never thought of it before. " "Columbus and his egg onco again," •aid Itorlok grimly. "Woll, what are you going to do next?" "To dr.. i i Marabminitsr and find out the movement! of Felix on the Bight aftK r tin; murder." "Quito BO, but first satisfy yourself on tlio subject of Francis. " "What do you mean?" I asked. "What day of tho mouth wan yon at tho Fen ban?" continued Merrick. "On the 10th of Juna" "Good! Francis there told you that he had just arrived from Chile. Now Ibid out what boat he came by, look up his name in (he passenger list and as-certain tho date on which the truo Fran-cis arrived in England. That point es-tablished, you can prove tho false Francis to be an impostor." "An excellent idea," said I, atarting to my feet. "I'll Hee abont it at once.'' "And mind," said Merriok, raising his forefinger, "I expect to be kept fully •dyked of the case." ' "Never fear, doctor. Yon are excel-lent at solving puzzles. When I find anothor nut, I'll bring It to you to Brack." "Do! I take great interest in this ■ort of cases. I ought to have been a lawyer instead of a doctor. " "I'm thankful for my own sake yon •re the latter," said I, shaking his hand. "Goodby, doctor I am greatly Obliged for the kind interest yon have taken in tbi- c -..' "Pure selfishness, I assure yon, "re-plied Merrick, and so I took my leave. Before searching the shipping lists I Bent two telegrams, one to the manager of the Hotel dea Etrangers, asking if Mr. Felix Briarfield was still there; the Other to my Aunt Jane, inquiring whether Mr. Francis Briarlield was in MarahfflinBtar. This business having been dispatched, I took a hansom to the city and saw a merchant of my ac-quaintance Hu was an old friond and willing to oblige me in every way. "Chambers, " said I when in his offloe. "I want to find out a ship that arrived in London from Chile during the pres-ent month." 'During June," said Chambers. TMC AUTHGgt •".llua puts tno matter beyonfl an uouoi, said 1, making a note of this. "If Francis Briarfield did not arrive in London till tho 6th of this month, ho cannot be tho man now bearing his name at Bellin Hall." I was now perfectly satisfied that Merrick's idea was correct. In order to confuse and throw me off tho scent, Fe-lix had followed me to Paris and ap-peared in propria persona. But for the doctor's suggestion of the shipping list I should not have been able to prove this, but now I hold Incontrovertible evidence in my hands to prove that Fe-lix was trading on the marvelous resem-blance between his brother and himself. Francis had arrived in England on tho 6th of June, he had met me at the Fen inn on the 10th and had there been foully dono to death by his brother through a third party. But I was now on the trail and hoped to run to earth both the unnatural brothor and his vile tool. I felt like the hero of somo wild romance. On returning to my rooms in Duke street I wrote off at onco to Merrick, telling him of my success in proving tho identity Of Francis with (he man who had been slain at the lone inn. It now remained for me to go down to phia sontlmentally, "Poor young Pianl I have no doubt bli heart i>- broken. He actually left Marshminstar before his II ither arrived from America, so as to spare himself the painful right of their happinesa " I saw by this conversation that my surmise waa correct Fells had fallen in lore With Olivia while his brother was in America, and selfishly determined not to givo her up bad devised tho idea of passing himself off as Francis. With this in his mind ho had gone to Paris and pretended to stay there, then reap-peared to Marshminster as Francis, al-leging an earlier return from Chile as an excuso. When Francis really return-ed. Felix asked him to bo ut tho Fen inn so as to rid himself of his brother be-fore he could see Olivia. Whether he intended to kill Francis or to merely explain matters I could not toll, but at all events Francis had been murdered, and I firmly believed that Felix was morally guilty of the crime. The suppression of the letters, the sub-stitution of himself as Francis and the dexterous manner in which he had rid himself of the corpse, according to Mer-rick's theory, all showed me that I had a dangerous and reckless man to deal with. But after the clover way in which he had baffled mo in Paris by resuming his name I was prepared for any vil-lainy at his hands. He had committed himself so far that ho could not draw back and was compelled to follow crime by crime in order to bolster up his po-sition. Ho was going to town with the evident intention of evading me. Donbtli BS ho thought that, deceived by lii,. [■] at tho Hotel dea Etrangi re, I had quite abandoned all, idea of meddling in the Marshminster and there make inquiri. - atr.titi 1Jut for Merriok 1 should cor-ns to the movements of Folix on th night in question. I felt confident that I _ could pur, such a search without hindrance, as hi would be quite satisfied that I would now r. si after the Paris episode. No man in his senses would search for a lead man when that man had been con dusively proved to bo alive. So Felix doubtless thought and rejoiced in his oleverness in thus putting an end to my inquiries. But mark how ironical is fata Felix advised me to consult a doctor about my hallucination, as ho ohose to call it I took that advioe and saw Merrick. Merriok had nullified all his plans by solving the riddle with which Felix was trying to baffle ma It was hard on Felix to thus be the means of pointing the way to his own destruction. But then fate is so ironical. That afternoon I roceived answers to my telegrams. The first, from Paris, stated that Mr. Felix Briarfield had started for Italy; the seoond, from Marshminster, informed me that Fran-cis Briarfield was staying at Bellin Hall. "No," said I, on reading those tele-grams, "Felix Briarfield did not leave Paris for Italy, but for Marshminster, and Francis Briarfield, poor soul, is not at Bellin Hall, but lying in the Essex marshes " That night at 5 o'clock I left for Marshminster. "Well, there's no difficulty about that What is her name?" "That la one of the things I wish to find out; also the names of the passen-gers." "Come with me to the Jerusalem," •aid Chambers, picking up his hat "You'll find there her .name and agents. Go to the agents, and they will supply yon with a list of passengers. What's up now?" "Nothing particular," I answered carelessly. "I have reason to believe m friend of mine returned from South America this month, and I want to make certain." "Well, if he came under his own name, you'll have no difficulty in doing so. Here's the Jerusalem!" This is, it is well known, a shipping Blub for the convenience of merchants. It tells them all about ingoing and out-going vessels, gives information regard-ing cargoes and in fact supplies all kinds Of knowledge useful to those who have argosies afloat Chambers was well ac-qnainted with tb mode of procedure, •o I let him do all th work It was now the ICthoi I ■. , and as Francis had Informed me ho bad arrived during the month ■'. • waa not D nch diffl culty in fludin | what I wanted. "Here you are," said Chambers, beck-oning toma "Only one ship this month from Chili—a steamer, the Copiapo Arrived on the 8th of June. Dane & Paxton, 40 Deven ox lana" I copied this down in my notobook, refused ('handlers' hospitable invitation to lunchi i and went off at onoe to Dever in I had nodifflonltj in seeing the passenger list of theCo-pinpo, of tho first names I sei mv eves on was Francis Briarfield. CHAPTER VIII. Tho drama of "Tho Prodigal Son" was enacted over again when I returned to Marshminster.' My aunts had great-ly resented my sudden departure for Pal-is and announced that they this time intended to keep mo with them for some weeks. I had no objection to this arrangement, as I anticipated a long and laborious task in ferreting out evi-dence against Felix. The first thing to be done was to learn all that had taken plaoo in my absence, and the informa-tion was ably supplied by Aunt Jane, seoonded by her sister. I inquired about Briarfield and his fiancee. "Bellin Hall is to be shut up next week, " said Aunt Jana "Tho Bellins are going to town and with them Mr. Briarfield.'' "I wonder they staid here ao long when the season was on in London," said Aunt Sophia, "but It was all that foolish Mrs. liollin. She ohose to con-sider herself ill and ao insisted upon re-maining hero. Now she can't resist the attractions of town life any longer and goes next week." "She has to arrange abont the wed-ding, Sophia. Yon know it takes place in July. I wonder if Mr. Felix Briar-field will be back in time to be best man. " "That I can safely say is impossible," said I dryly. "But why?" exclaimed both the old ladies, scenting new-. "Well, bo haa gone to Italy and from 'hi roi i to the east," I answered, on-willing to tell the truth. "1 don't see how he can r< . vn in time for tho wed-ding If it takes place in July." My female relatives looked signifi-cantly at one another. "What did I tell you, Sophia?" said Aunt Jane, in a tune of subdued tri-umph. "Yes, sister, you are right," sighed Sophia, shaking her head "Poor young man1 I thought myself he lovod Olivia.'' "Who loved Olivia?" I asked abarply "Felix Briarfield," said Aunt Jane. "When his brother wont to America, Oe was always with her and no doubt loved her dearly. I can scarcely wonder at that as she is so beautiful a trjrl. " I 'have done BO. Now that Merriok saw the matter in the same light as I did I was di termined to go on, but rod to give no hint of this to Felix. When ho left Marshminster, I could pnrsno my inquiries at leisure. All I had been too rash in revealing my in-tentions, for had I not mentioned my journoy to Paris Felix would not have been put on his guard and baffled mo so adroitly. I had at least gained one important piece of information, which in itself was sufficient to break off the match. The passenger list of the Copiapo proved conclusively that Francis had not reach ed England before the 6th of June, and this shown to Olivia would show that Fe-lix was passing himself off as her lover. With such proof I could stop the mar-riage immediately, but preferred to wait until I gained furthor evidence impli-cating him in the murder of his brother. I believed Merrick's theory to be truo and quite expected to find that Felix had ridden out to the Fen inn for the purpose of hiding his brother's body in one of tho bog holes. "By tho way, " I asked Aunt Jane as wo parted for tho night, "how docs Miss Bellin look? Liko a happy bride, eh?" "By no means," replied my aunt sol-emnly. "She looks ill and miserable. But that I know this marriage with Francis is a love match I should say she disliked tho idea of becoming his wife. " "No doubt," thought I, "no doubt Olivia mistrusts Felix already." I said good night to my elderly rela-tive and went off to bed. Instead of turning in, I lighted my pipe and leaned out of the window, thinking deeply. Could it be possible that Olivia had dis-covered the imposture? If so, why did she tamoly submit to marry a man whom she must know was guilty of his brother's and her lover's death? More-over, if she was assured of this, she must also have condemned tho deception at the Hotel des Etrangers. Her con-duct seemed strange, yet I could not bring myself to believe that she knew the truth. If she did, she was as bad as Felix. "She must think that he is really Francis and that Felix is in Paris," I thought "Surely sho would not will-ingly go to tho altar with a i u ll v> u m sho knows to be a villain. \ .! He has thrown dust in her eyes a id made her believe what he pleases I must save tho poor girl from such a fate Perhaps in spite of outward semblance she in-stinctively feels that Felix is not Frau-ds. Women have their in tinets. I know of no other reason why she should look pale and ill." My cogitations were cut short by Aunt Jauo kj.ocklug at the door and telling me MOt to waste the candles. 1 wasr.scdto rlnso little idiosyncrasies nf my aunu, so I uiswerod that I was p;-.t out the light at but t'.: i i . thi night was pass-ed ia II • k rul Rl it . Truly I had a bad ..-■ ■. . |' . . :, . tive I'M r. I' lh ■ IKxl . ■ days 1 kept very aui , as I w •• g io rouae the ■OBpicions of Foli Al length my aunts, who entertain' 1 no H i pit Ion of my de- ■ignu, informed me thai he had gone to London with Mrs. ami Miss Bellin. The coast now being clear, I ventured out and began to work out my carefully laid plans. In the first place, I went to Bob Fun dy to hire a horse It waa my intention to ride out to tho Fen bin and thorough ly examine the rooms, aa I fancied I-Y lix might have hidden the corpse in t! ■ honsa From Fuudy I gained a pieoo of unexpected information. "Want to rido to the Fen Inn. sir." NUU uu, ucruiuuiug nis neao. -wny, whatever'*- come over that old ruinf Every one seems to bo going thera " "What do you mean, Fundy?" "First Mr. Briarlield and D " you,' said Fuudy. "Blest if I can undi rstand it, though, to bo sure, he rode there at night, and you go in the daytime. " "Did Mr. Briurfiold go to tho Fen inn at night:' 1 asked, sc< ing I was on me eve of learning something impor-tant. I had not forgotten Morrick's i theory. "That he did, sir. Ho rode there two I nights over a week ago. " "Curious," said I, with assumed care-lessness. "It is not an attractive place. I daro say ho only rodo a little way out of tho town. " "No, sir," said Fuudy decisively. "He went to tho Pen inn. He told me so himself, as I noticed his horse was done up. Look here,"added Fundy, opening his daybook. "See, on the 10th of June he had a horse and on the 11th. Both at night and did not return till midnight" I mounted my horso and rode away, thinking dec ply. If Felix had gone to the Fen inn on tho 10th, then I felt sure that he had actually murdered his brother. Hitherto 1 believed that Strent was the guilty party, but now, thanks to the evidence of Fundy, I saw that Felix had committed the crime. He had also ridden to the inn on the 11th in order to conceal the body. Merrick's theory was thus proved to be correct. Link by link I was putting the chain together. I had proved that Francis had not arrived in England till the 6th of Juno and so made certain of the identity of Felix. 1 had discovered that Felix was at the inn on the fatal night, and also that he had concealed the body. Now I wished to discover how the mur dcr was commit! d. Tho Fen inn was quite de • rti d and as evil looking aa ever, l; sear. him:. I ih.covered in . dead body of my friend cloth .-. which I bad Been folded i a side the bed, were also go: •. and there was not the slightest thing Ii fl to excite suspicion. "Ho must havo hidden the body in the marshes," I thought after a vain search. "I'll see If he has left a trail. " Struck by the leasibility of this idi a. I went out at the front door and ex. ined tho ground. It was moist and mud dy owing to the incessant percolation of niarsl-v water Thojjillh leading/ri. I To be continufd ntxt week.) Alias Katie llosenyrant Ulster, Penn. The Scrofula Worst Case the tors Ever Saw Doc- Hood's Sarsaparilla Perfectly Cured "C. I. Hood & Co., Lowell, Mass.: "Dear Sirs:—I wish to testify to the great Tftlue of Hood's Sarsaparilla. For some tun* I had been troubled with scrofula, which early but winter assumed a very bad form. Sores Appeared on My Face sad hands and gradually Increased In number until they reached to my shoulder. Th* declare ■aid it waa the worst case of scrofula the y aver saw and also went so far as to ear it was ts> (arable. I tried ointments and other remedies ut to no arall. A Mend recommended Hood's Hood's^'-Cures •arsaparllla, and although I was completely 41a. •ouraged, as a last chance I resolved to giro It a trial. After taking one bottle I noticed the sores had oommenced to heal After tho sixth bottle They Were All Healed. I continued to take It, however, until I bad as«4 Bne bot;'.*, and now I am perfectly wen." iss K . ltos«NORAHT, Ulster, Penn. Moo eMjla Ha are prompt and efficient, re* Bold by all druggUU. ate. R U A SUBSCRIBER TO THE; Becorder? 1-3 of your Life spent in bed. Our Bedding department we have said little about; nevertheless our assortment is always complete. A good Straw Mattress for $2.10. *?*#&is-how can thevbe — A better one for I he Yankee husk,with cotton top for a trifle more,rnakesa very comfortable bed. Our all-husk cotton top, at U.25 m the mattress we like to recommend. Swing Beds, Feathers and Flock always in stock. ROBERTS & MEREDITH, FAYETTE STRFE1. CONShWOCKEN, PA., ° M. J. MAeLLEY, WHOLESALE UtALF.R IN PORTER. ALE, BEER, WINES and LIQUORS YUENLIN6 :-: & :-: SONS :-: BOTTLED :-: PORTER. Elm street, below Harry, ^onsbohookax: i«aaxjx3ox3)uu4jc30EJis;c-groi ^er- R-I-F-A-1T-S ONE GIVES RELIEF. r innnnnasaoxaDannaDnajaiaiaH f HAVE YOU TRIED CROWN OINTUENT the great SKIN CUR4E?; there is * INSTANT RELIEF ;! f" for all afflicted with TORTURING SKIN DISEASES| in a single application of CROWN OINTMENT. CROWN OINTMENT Works Wonders, and its cures of torturing, disfiguring, humiliating hum* ors are the most wonderful ever recorded. >» *- ■
Object Description
Title | The Conshohocken Recorder, February 15, 1895 |
Masthead | The Recorder |
Date | 1895-02-15 |
Year | 1895 |
Month | 2 |
Day | 15 |
Volume | 14 |
Issue | 1 |
Coverage | United States -- Pennsylvania -- Montgomery County -- Conshohocken |
Subject | Conshohocken (Pa.) - Newspapers; Montgomery County (Pa.) - Newspapers |
Type | Text |
Technical Metadata | Digitized from 18x microfilm at 330dpi true optical resolution to 8-bit uncompressed TIFF master files. Searchable PDF derivatives shown here are downscaled to 150 dpi / Medium quality. |
Date Digital | 2011-12-01 |
Digitized by | Creekside Digital |
Rights | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/ |
Contributing Institution | Conshohocken Free Library |
Sponsorship | This Digital Object is provided in a collection that is included in POWER Library: Pennsylvania Photos and Documents, which is funded by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania/Pennsylvania Department of Education. |
Contact | If you have any questions, contact Branch Manager at smason@mclinc.org or call 610-825-1656 |
Description | Conshohocken Recorder Newspaper |
Original Format | Newspapers |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subject | Conshohocken (Pa.) - Newspapers; Montgomery County (Pa.) - Newspapers |
FullText | THE RECORDER. NO. 1401 CONSHOHOCKEN, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1895. •1.00 FER YEAR BU! i., i>.....>,.. vi-ry wuii, aua wiiuu Francis oama book went to the conti-nent. 'He was unable to bear the right of hi- i iother's ipplni --. " said Aunt So-minster ill detei t the abaenoe of Felix and so gneaa what haa taken place." "If yon go down to Murshminster, you'll find Felix buck again In his old place." "Then Paris:" I queried uneasily. I was beginning to seo I had been duped. "Yon forget Mr. Felix of Paris has gone to Italy and loft no address. It's all safe there, and as he said he was going to the east for six months or so there will be plenty of time for the pre-tended Francis to marry Olivia." "You don't believe that Felix of Paris has gone to Italy or the east?" "Of courso not I believe he arranged all these matters to baffle your prying and then calmly returned to Marshmln-ater." "But the manager of the hotel?" "He is in the pay of Felix. You'll get nothing out of him. Now, I am cer-tain that is the explanation. Are you not surprised ut its simplicity?" "Yes, Iain. It is astonishing I never thought of it before. " "Columbus and his egg onco again," •aid Itorlok grimly. "Woll, what are you going to do next?" "To dr.. i i Marabminitsr and find out the movement! of Felix on the Bight aftK r tin; murder." "Quito BO, but first satisfy yourself on tlio subject of Francis. " "What do you mean?" I asked. "What day of tho mouth wan yon at tho Fen ban?" continued Merrick. "On the 10th of Juna" "Good! Francis there told you that he had just arrived from Chile. Now Ibid out what boat he came by, look up his name in (he passenger list and as-certain tho date on which the truo Fran-cis arrived in England. That point es-tablished, you can prove tho false Francis to be an impostor." "An excellent idea," said I, atarting to my feet. "I'll Hee abont it at once.'' "And mind," said Merriok, raising his forefinger, "I expect to be kept fully •dyked of the case." ' "Never fear, doctor. Yon are excel-lent at solving puzzles. When I find anothor nut, I'll bring It to you to Brack." "Do! I take great interest in this ■ort of cases. I ought to have been a lawyer instead of a doctor. " "I'm thankful for my own sake yon •re the latter," said I, shaking his hand. "Goodby, doctor I am greatly Obliged for the kind interest yon have taken in tbi- c -..' "Pure selfishness, I assure yon, "re-plied Merrick, and so I took my leave. Before searching the shipping lists I Bent two telegrams, one to the manager of the Hotel dea Etrangers, asking if Mr. Felix Briarfield was still there; the Other to my Aunt Jane, inquiring whether Mr. Francis Briarlield was in MarahfflinBtar. This business having been dispatched, I took a hansom to the city and saw a merchant of my ac-quaintance Hu was an old friond and willing to oblige me in every way. "Chambers, " said I when in his offloe. "I want to find out a ship that arrived in London from Chile during the pres-ent month." 'During June," said Chambers. TMC AUTHGgt •".llua puts tno matter beyonfl an uouoi, said 1, making a note of this. "If Francis Briarfield did not arrive in London till tho 6th of this month, ho cannot be tho man now bearing his name at Bellin Hall." I was now perfectly satisfied that Merrick's idea was correct. In order to confuse and throw me off tho scent, Fe-lix had followed me to Paris and ap-peared in propria persona. But for the doctor's suggestion of the shipping list I should not have been able to prove this, but now I hold Incontrovertible evidence in my hands to prove that Fe-lix was trading on the marvelous resem-blance between his brother and himself. Francis had arrived in England on tho 6th of June, he had met me at the Fen inn on the 10th and had there been foully dono to death by his brother through a third party. But I was now on the trail and hoped to run to earth both the unnatural brothor and his vile tool. I felt like the hero of somo wild romance. On returning to my rooms in Duke street I wrote off at onco to Merrick, telling him of my success in proving tho identity Of Francis with (he man who had been slain at the lone inn. It now remained for me to go down to phia sontlmentally, "Poor young Pianl I have no doubt bli heart i>- broken. He actually left Marshminstar before his II ither arrived from America, so as to spare himself the painful right of their happinesa " I saw by this conversation that my surmise waa correct Fells had fallen in lore With Olivia while his brother was in America, and selfishly determined not to givo her up bad devised tho idea of passing himself off as Francis. With this in his mind ho had gone to Paris and pretended to stay there, then reap-peared to Marshminster as Francis, al-leging an earlier return from Chile as an excuso. When Francis really return-ed. Felix asked him to bo ut tho Fen inn so as to rid himself of his brother be-fore he could see Olivia. Whether he intended to kill Francis or to merely explain matters I could not toll, but at all events Francis had been murdered, and I firmly believed that Felix was morally guilty of the crime. The suppression of the letters, the sub-stitution of himself as Francis and the dexterous manner in which he had rid himself of the corpse, according to Mer-rick's theory, all showed me that I had a dangerous and reckless man to deal with. But after the clover way in which he had baffled mo in Paris by resuming his name I was prepared for any vil-lainy at his hands. He had committed himself so far that ho could not draw back and was compelled to follow crime by crime in order to bolster up his po-sition. Ho was going to town with the evident intention of evading me. Donbtli BS ho thought that, deceived by lii,. [■] at tho Hotel dea Etrangi re, I had quite abandoned all, idea of meddling in the Marshminster and there make inquiri. - atr.titi 1Jut for Merriok 1 should cor-ns to the movements of Folix on th night in question. I felt confident that I _ could pur, such a search without hindrance, as hi would be quite satisfied that I would now r. si after the Paris episode. No man in his senses would search for a lead man when that man had been con dusively proved to bo alive. So Felix doubtless thought and rejoiced in his oleverness in thus putting an end to my inquiries. But mark how ironical is fata Felix advised me to consult a doctor about my hallucination, as ho ohose to call it I took that advioe and saw Merrick. Merriok had nullified all his plans by solving the riddle with which Felix was trying to baffle ma It was hard on Felix to thus be the means of pointing the way to his own destruction. But then fate is so ironical. That afternoon I roceived answers to my telegrams. The first, from Paris, stated that Mr. Felix Briarfield had started for Italy; the seoond, from Marshminster, informed me that Fran-cis Briarfield was staying at Bellin Hall. "No," said I, on reading those tele-grams, "Felix Briarfield did not leave Paris for Italy, but for Marshminster, and Francis Briarfield, poor soul, is not at Bellin Hall, but lying in the Essex marshes " That night at 5 o'clock I left for Marshminster. "Well, there's no difficulty about that What is her name?" "That la one of the things I wish to find out; also the names of the passen-gers." "Come with me to the Jerusalem," •aid Chambers, picking up his hat "You'll find there her .name and agents. Go to the agents, and they will supply yon with a list of passengers. What's up now?" "Nothing particular," I answered carelessly. "I have reason to believe m friend of mine returned from South America this month, and I want to make certain." "Well, if he came under his own name, you'll have no difficulty in doing so. Here's the Jerusalem!" This is, it is well known, a shipping Blub for the convenience of merchants. It tells them all about ingoing and out-going vessels, gives information regard-ing cargoes and in fact supplies all kinds Of knowledge useful to those who have argosies afloat Chambers was well ac-qnainted with tb mode of procedure, •o I let him do all th work It was now the ICthoi I ■. , and as Francis had Informed me ho bad arrived during the month ■'. • waa not D nch diffl culty in fludin | what I wanted. "Here you are," said Chambers, beck-oning toma "Only one ship this month from Chili—a steamer, the Copiapo Arrived on the 8th of June. Dane & Paxton, 40 Deven ox lana" I copied this down in my notobook, refused ('handlers' hospitable invitation to lunchi i and went off at onoe to Dever in I had nodifflonltj in seeing the passenger list of theCo-pinpo, of tho first names I sei mv eves on was Francis Briarfield. CHAPTER VIII. Tho drama of "Tho Prodigal Son" was enacted over again when I returned to Marshminster.' My aunts had great-ly resented my sudden departure for Pal-is and announced that they this time intended to keep mo with them for some weeks. I had no objection to this arrangement, as I anticipated a long and laborious task in ferreting out evi-dence against Felix. The first thing to be done was to learn all that had taken plaoo in my absence, and the informa-tion was ably supplied by Aunt Jane, seoonded by her sister. I inquired about Briarfield and his fiancee. "Bellin Hall is to be shut up next week, " said Aunt Jana "Tho Bellins are going to town and with them Mr. Briarfield.'' "I wonder they staid here ao long when the season was on in London," said Aunt Sophia, "but It was all that foolish Mrs. liollin. She ohose to con-sider herself ill and ao insisted upon re-maining hero. Now she can't resist the attractions of town life any longer and goes next week." "She has to arrange abont the wed-ding, Sophia. Yon know it takes place in July. I wonder if Mr. Felix Briar-field will be back in time to be best man. " "That I can safely say is impossible," said I dryly. "But why?" exclaimed both the old ladies, scenting new-. "Well, bo haa gone to Italy and from 'hi roi i to the east," I answered, on-willing to tell the truth. "1 don't see how he can r< . vn in time for tho wed-ding If it takes place in July." My female relatives looked signifi-cantly at one another. "What did I tell you, Sophia?" said Aunt Jane, in a tune of subdued tri-umph. "Yes, sister, you are right," sighed Sophia, shaking her head "Poor young man1 I thought myself he lovod Olivia.'' "Who loved Olivia?" I asked abarply "Felix Briarfield," said Aunt Jane. "When his brother wont to America, Oe was always with her and no doubt loved her dearly. I can scarcely wonder at that as she is so beautiful a trjrl. " I 'have done BO. Now that Merriok saw the matter in the same light as I did I was di termined to go on, but rod to give no hint of this to Felix. When ho left Marshminster, I could pnrsno my inquiries at leisure. All I had been too rash in revealing my in-tentions, for had I not mentioned my journoy to Paris Felix would not have been put on his guard and baffled mo so adroitly. I had at least gained one important piece of information, which in itself was sufficient to break off the match. The passenger list of the Copiapo proved conclusively that Francis had not reach ed England before the 6th of June, and this shown to Olivia would show that Fe-lix was passing himself off as her lover. With such proof I could stop the mar-riage immediately, but preferred to wait until I gained furthor evidence impli-cating him in the murder of his brother. I believed Merrick's theory to be truo and quite expected to find that Felix had ridden out to the Fen inn for the purpose of hiding his brother's body in one of tho bog holes. "By tho way, " I asked Aunt Jane as wo parted for tho night, "how docs Miss Bellin look? Liko a happy bride, eh?" "By no means," replied my aunt sol-emnly. "She looks ill and miserable. But that I know this marriage with Francis is a love match I should say she disliked tho idea of becoming his wife. " "No doubt," thought I, "no doubt Olivia mistrusts Felix already." I said good night to my elderly rela-tive and went off to bed. Instead of turning in, I lighted my pipe and leaned out of the window, thinking deeply. Could it be possible that Olivia had dis-covered the imposture? If so, why did she tamoly submit to marry a man whom she must know was guilty of his brother's and her lover's death? More-over, if she was assured of this, she must also have condemned tho deception at the Hotel des Etrangers. Her con-duct seemed strange, yet I could not bring myself to believe that she knew the truth. If she did, she was as bad as Felix. "She must think that he is really Francis and that Felix is in Paris," I thought "Surely sho would not will-ingly go to tho altar with a i u ll v> u m sho knows to be a villain. \ .! He has thrown dust in her eyes a id made her believe what he pleases I must save tho poor girl from such a fate Perhaps in spite of outward semblance she in-stinctively feels that Felix is not Frau-ds. Women have their in tinets. I know of no other reason why she should look pale and ill." My cogitations were cut short by Aunt Jauo kj.ocklug at the door and telling me MOt to waste the candles. 1 wasr.scdto rlnso little idiosyncrasies nf my aunu, so I uiswerod that I was p;-.t out the light at but t'.: i i . thi night was pass-ed ia II • k rul Rl it . Truly I had a bad ..-■ ■. . |' . . :, . tive I'M r. I' lh ■ IKxl . ■ days 1 kept very aui , as I w •• g io rouae the ■OBpicions of Foli Al length my aunts, who entertain' 1 no H i pit Ion of my de- ■ignu, informed me thai he had gone to London with Mrs. ami Miss Bellin. The coast now being clear, I ventured out and began to work out my carefully laid plans. In the first place, I went to Bob Fun dy to hire a horse It waa my intention to ride out to tho Fen bin and thorough ly examine the rooms, aa I fancied I-Y lix might have hidden the corpse in t! ■ honsa From Fuudy I gained a pieoo of unexpected information. "Want to rido to the Fen Inn. sir." NUU uu, ucruiuuiug nis neao. -wny, whatever'*- come over that old ruinf Every one seems to bo going thera " "What do you mean, Fundy?" "First Mr. Briarlield and D " you,' said Fuudy. "Blest if I can undi rstand it, though, to bo sure, he rode there at night, and you go in the daytime. " "Did Mr. Briurfiold go to tho Fen inn at night:' 1 asked, sc< ing I was on me eve of learning something impor-tant. I had not forgotten Morrick's i theory. "That he did, sir. Ho rode there two I nights over a week ago. " "Curious," said I, with assumed care-lessness. "It is not an attractive place. I daro say ho only rodo a little way out of tho town. " "No, sir," said Fuudy decisively. "He went to tho Pen inn. He told me so himself, as I noticed his horse was done up. Look here,"added Fundy, opening his daybook. "See, on the 10th of June he had a horse and on the 11th. Both at night and did not return till midnight" I mounted my horso and rode away, thinking dec ply. If Felix had gone to the Fen inn on tho 10th, then I felt sure that he had actually murdered his brother. Hitherto 1 believed that Strent was the guilty party, but now, thanks to the evidence of Fundy, I saw that Felix had committed the crime. He had also ridden to the inn on the 11th in order to conceal the body. Merrick's theory was thus proved to be correct. Link by link I was putting the chain together. I had proved that Francis had not arrived in England till the 6th of Juno and so made certain of the identity of Felix. 1 had discovered that Felix was at the inn on the fatal night, and also that he had concealed the body. Now I wished to discover how the mur dcr was commit! d. Tho Fen inn was quite de • rti d and as evil looking aa ever, l; sear. him:. I ih.covered in . dead body of my friend cloth .-. which I bad Been folded i a side the bed, were also go: •. and there was not the slightest thing Ii fl to excite suspicion. "Ho must havo hidden the body in the marshes," I thought after a vain search. "I'll see If he has left a trail. " Struck by the leasibility of this idi a. I went out at the front door and ex. ined tho ground. It was moist and mud dy owing to the incessant percolation of niarsl-v water Thojjillh leading/ri. I To be continufd ntxt week.) Alias Katie llosenyrant Ulster, Penn. The Scrofula Worst Case the tors Ever Saw Doc- Hood's Sarsaparilla Perfectly Cured "C. I. Hood & Co., Lowell, Mass.: "Dear Sirs:—I wish to testify to the great Tftlue of Hood's Sarsaparilla. For some tun* I had been troubled with scrofula, which early but winter assumed a very bad form. Sores Appeared on My Face sad hands and gradually Increased In number until they reached to my shoulder. Th* declare ■aid it waa the worst case of scrofula the y aver saw and also went so far as to ear it was ts> (arable. I tried ointments and other remedies ut to no arall. A Mend recommended Hood's Hood's^'-Cures •arsaparllla, and although I was completely 41a. •ouraged, as a last chance I resolved to giro It a trial. After taking one bottle I noticed the sores had oommenced to heal After tho sixth bottle They Were All Healed. I continued to take It, however, until I bad as«4 Bne bot;'.*, and now I am perfectly wen." iss K . ltos«NORAHT, Ulster, Penn. Moo eMjla Ha are prompt and efficient, re* Bold by all druggUU. ate. R U A SUBSCRIBER TO THE; Becorder? 1-3 of your Life spent in bed. Our Bedding department we have said little about; nevertheless our assortment is always complete. A good Straw Mattress for $2.10. *?*#&is-how can thevbe — A better one for I he Yankee husk,with cotton top for a trifle more,rnakesa very comfortable bed. Our all-husk cotton top, at U.25 m the mattress we like to recommend. Swing Beds, Feathers and Flock always in stock. ROBERTS & MEREDITH, FAYETTE STRFE1. CONShWOCKEN, PA., ° M. J. MAeLLEY, WHOLESALE UtALF.R IN PORTER. ALE, BEER, WINES and LIQUORS YUENLIN6 :-: & :-: SONS :-: BOTTLED :-: PORTER. Elm street, below Harry, ^onsbohookax: i«aaxjx3ox3)uu4jc30EJis;c-groi ^er- R-I-F-A-1T-S ONE GIVES RELIEF. r innnnnasaoxaDannaDnajaiaiaH f HAVE YOU TRIED CROWN OINTUENT the great SKIN CUR4E?; there is * INSTANT RELIEF ;! f" for all afflicted with TORTURING SKIN DISEASES| in a single application of CROWN OINTMENT. CROWN OINTMENT Works Wonders, and its cures of torturing, disfiguring, humiliating hum* ors are the most wonderful ever recorded. >» *- ■ |
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Description | Conshohocken Recorder Newspaper |
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Language | English |
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