Newspaper Page Text
SIXTH <PAGE
•the SUNNY SOUTH
^ T5he Childerbridfi'e Mystery
BY GUY BOOTH BY, author of "Dr. Nikola"The Beautiful White Devil." Etc.
(Copyright, 1902.)
SYNOPSIS OF INSTALLMENTS I TO
VII—William Standerton, a successful
colonist, and his two grown up children,
(have decided to 'leave Australia and sor
tie down in the Old Country. Just before
their start* the son, Jim, is accosted by
a “swagman,” who tells him to inform
(his father that Richard Murbridge will j
meet him in the morning. When Jim j
delivers >;he message, his father se-:im!s
greatly agitated, and although no harm
comes of the meeting with Murbridge,
whom Standerton acknowledges having
known in previous years, both Jim and
ills sister are rendered very uneasy. Chil-
derbridge Manor becomes the English
(home of the Standertons—an historic
mansion with an army of ghotsts. Jim,
out driving, runs over a dog and becomes
fecquadnted with its mistress, Miss Decie,
and her guardian, Abraham Burst!eld.
The two young people in time fall In love
with one anoiner, but Mr. Bursfield re
fuses his consent. Jim encounters Rich
ard Murbridge in the park. He forbids |
him to see his father, but the latter, on j
(hearing of it, sends f-or the man and
they *lave a stormy interview. That even
ing a fainting servant declares she has
Been a ghost and the next morning AN il-
liam Standerton is found dead in bed,
Strangled. Suspicion fastens at once upon
Murbridge, who, it is found, has left I
for London. "The Black Dwarf" again I
appears, frightening the inmates of the j
hall. At the inquest a verdict of “mur- |
der" is returned against a person or |
persons unknown. Jim takes Helen Decie ;
back to the Dower House, and is met by ,
Mr. Bursfield, who angrily forbids any .
more, communication between the two and I
refuses to state his reasons. Helen writes j
Jim that whilst she sorrowfully aequi- j
csces, she. will be true *to him to the end. j
As Scotland Yard fails to unearth Wil- j
liam Standerton's murderer, his son os- I
Bays the task, aided by Terence O'Riley, |
a former servant, who opportunely turns
up from Australia. The two discover sev
eral clews, but these prove fruitless. At
last Scotland Yard reports that Murbridge
(has sailed for Maderia. The same even
ing Jim’s hansom nearly knocks a man
down In Piccadilly—and that man happens
to be. none other than Murbridge!
• > ^ 1
f '
j
CHAPTER EIGHT
| EFORE Jim could recover
from his astonishment at
seeing the mart whom he
had been led to believe was
upon the hi&h seas, stand
ing before him, the cabman
had whipped up his horse
once more, and they were
half across the Circus.
Springing to his feet, he
pushed up the shutter, and
bade the driver pull up as
quickly as possible. Then,
jumping from the vehicle,
(he gave the. man the first coin he took
from hiis pocket.
“Did you see which way that fellow
went?” he inquired.
“Went away toward Regent street, 1
(believe,” answered the cabman. “It isn’t
his fault he ain’t on the way to the ’ospi-
tal now.”
Jim waited to hear no more, but run
ning back, made his way to the policeman
lie had noticed standing beside the foun
tain in the center of the Circus.
"I suppose you saw the man who was
so nearly knocked down by a cab a few
minutes ago?” he inquired, scarcely able
to speak for excitement.
“I did,” the officer answered laconical
ly. "'What about him?”
“Only that you must endeavor to find
him, and arrest him at once,” Jim re
plied. "There is not a moment to be
Oost. He may have got away by this
•time.”
"And he’s precious lucky if h-e has,”
Baid the policeman. "Never saw a closer
thing in my life.”
“But don’t you hear me? You must
find that man. Every second we waste
5s giving him the
away.”
“Come, come, there’s no such hurry!
"What's he. done that yiou should be Vo
anxious to get hold of him?”
By this time Jim was nearly beside him
self with rage at the other’s stupidity.
"ThanJian murdered my father at Chil-
derbridge Manor,” he went on. "I recog
nized him instantly.”
“Come, come, now,” said the policeman,
•with what was plainly kindly intent.
"You go along home, sir, and get to bed
quietly. You’ll tell a different tale in the
morning."
After which, without another word, he
■walked away.
"Well, of all the insane idiots in the
world,” muttered Jim, “that fellow should
4 He held it up to the light <rvith a feeling of triumph. " Yes, it <was the picture he
remembered, and better still, it was the .portrait of Richard Mur
bridge"
once,” said the official. “I suppose you
are quite certain of the identity of the
man you saw in Piccadilly Circus, Mr.
Standerton?”
"As certain as I am of anything,” Jim
replied. "I had a full view of his face,
and I am quite sure that 1 am not making
a mistake. If only the cabman had pull
ed up a few moments sooner, I might
have been able to have stopped him.
”In that caise you should be able to give
us some details icf his present personal
appearance, which would afford us consid
erable assistance in our search for him.”
“He was wearing a black fel't hat. and
a brown overcoat, the collar of which was
turned up.”
The officer made a note of these partic
ulars, and promised that the Information
should be dispersed In ail directions with
out loss of time. Then, feeling that noth
ing more could be done that nigh't, Jim
bade him farewell and drove back to his
hotel. Tn spite of the work he had done
during the day, he was not destined to
obtain a wink of sleep all night, hut
tumbled and tossed, brooding continually
over the chance he. had missed of secur
ing his father’s murderer. If only the
cabman had pulled up a mnmon't sooner,
he might have been able to spring out
and secure, Murbridge. Now his capture
was as remote as ever; further, indeed,
than if he. had been, as Robins supposed,
on board the vessel hound for South Af
rica.
He had just finished his breakfast when
Robins called to see him.
"This is a nice sort of surprise you
_ have been springing on us. sir," said the
chance of getting | detective. r mean about yiou-r seeing
Murbridge last night in Piccadilly Circus.
I don’t know what to think of it.”
‘The only thing you can think of it lis
that he is in London and not on board the
mail boat as you imagined,” Jim replied.
"You must have got upon a wrong scent
again. Is there any further news of him
this morning?”
There was none when I left the Yard,”
the other replied. "They are overhauling
all the doss houses and shelters, and.ft
is possible that we may have something
to chronicle before long. When you think
of the description we have of him—a man
wearing a brown overcoat and a felt hat
—it iis not very much to go upon. There
must be hundreds of men dressed like
that in London. If only be had a photo-
come first. But I am not. going to be j Sraph of him it would make the labor
balked. I’ll search for him myself.”
He thereupon set off along Regent
street, but before he hall gone half the
length of the street, the folly of such a
proceeding became apparent to him. He
knew that Murbridge had seen him and,
for this reason, would most likely betake
Tiimseilf to the quiet of the back streets.
To attempt to find him, therefore, under
cover of darkness, and at such an hour,
would be well nigh an impossibility. Then,
another idea occurred to him. Hailing a
cab he set off for Scotland Yard. On
arrival there he handed in Ills card, and
5n due course wais received most courte
ously by the chief officer on duty. He
explained his errand, and in doing so
ehowed the mistake under which Detective
Sergeant Robins had been and was still
in. coring.
“He shall be communicated with at
GOOD WORK.
Proper Food Makes Marvelous
Changes.
Pro-videnee is sometimes credited with
directing the footsteps by so simple a
way as the reading of a food advertise
ment. r
A lady out in Shelbina, Mo., says.
"About two years ago 1 was compelled to
retire from my school teaching because
I was completely broken down with ner
vous prostration.
"I suffered agony in my back. My
hand3 and feet would swell up nights. I
■was in a dreadfully nervous condition, ir
ritable, with a dull, heavy headache con
tinually, had no appetite and could not
digest anything if i tried. I was unable
to remember what 1 read and was, of
course, unfit for my work.
"Some said I had consumption, others
Bald dropsy. One day, as if by providence,
J read the testimonial of a lady whose
symptoms were much the same as mine,
and she told of how Grape-Nuts Break
fast Food had cured her, so 1 concluded
to try it.
“I left off the old-fashioned breakfast
end began with Grape-Nuts, a little fruit
and a cup of Postum Food Coffee. That
•was 8 months ago and I have steadily im
proved In both body and mind. Grape-
Nuts Breakfast Food has done more for
me than all the medicine 1 have ever
taken, and I am now well again and able
to return once more to my school duties
and able to do anything necessary in my.
mork.
"My mind is clearer and my body
Stronger than ever before. Please do not
publish my name.” Name given by Pos-
tum Co.. Battle Creek, Mich.
a good deal easier.”
This set Jim thinking. In the lumber
room at Child-?rbridge there were, as he
remembered, a number of cases contain
ing books, photograph albums, etc., which
his father had brought with him from
Australia, but which had never yet been
unpacked. He recalled the fact that his
father had told him that he had been on
intimate terms with Murbridge many
years before. Was it not postsible, there
fore, that among his collections there
might be some portrait of the scoundrel
they were so anxious to catch? He felt
inclined to run down and turn the boxes
over. AY hat was more, if he did so, he
might chance to obtain an Interview with
Helen. He explained his hopes with re
gard to the photographs to the detective,
who instantly agreed that it might be
worth his while to make the search.
“In that case I will go down by the 11
o’clock train, and If I discover anything,
I will wire you and post it on to you at
once.”
“I can assure you It wow’d be an Inesti
mable help to use in our search,” the
other answered. "We should have some
thing more definite to go upon then.”
True to this arrangement, Jim, Alice
and Terence returned to Chllderbridge by
the morning train. A carriage met them
at the station, and in they drove through
the village. As they were drawing near
the park gates, a little cry from Aliif- at
tracted Jim's attention. She had caught
a glimpse of Helen who was approaching
the high road from a by lane. In a mo
ment the carriage was stopped, and Jim
alighted, and hastened toward her.
“My darling," he cried, “I never count
ed on having the happinelss of seeing you
so soon.”
“But what brings you back today, Jim?”
she asked. “From your letter I gathered
that I should not see you for at least a
week. Nothing is wnong, I hope?”
She scanned his face with anxious eyes,
and as she did so it seemed to him that
she, herself, wais not looking at all well.
“Nothing is the matter,” he answered.
”AA r e have merely come down to try to
find some photographs that would help us
in our search. But, Helen, you do not
look well. Your face frightens me.”
‘‘I am quite well,” she replied. "I have
been a little worried lately about my
■grandfather, but do not let us talk of that
now. I must say how-do-you-do to Alice.”
She accordingly appr.giched the vehicle,
and held out her hand to her friend. They
conversed together for a few moments,
and then Alice proposed that Helen
should return with them to the hall to
lunch, but this being, for more reasons
than one, impossible, it was arranged that
Jim should see her home across the park,
a proposal which, you may be sure, he
was not slow to take advantage of. They
accordingly watched the carriage pass
through the lodge gates, and then them
selves set out foir the Dower Houise. As
they walked Jim told her of the Hl-suc-
oosis tha't had. attended his mission to
London.
"Hut, Helen,” he said at last, os they
approached 'the house, “you have not told
me what it is that is worrying you about
your grandfather. I hope he has not been
making you unhappy?”
She hung her head but did not answer.
‘‘Ah, I can see that he has,” he con
tinued. “I suppose it has something to
do with me. I wonder whether I should
lie right if I hazarded a guess that Sir.
Bursfield has been trying again to force
you into giving me up? Should I be
right. Helen?”
"I am n.frnid In a measure you would,”
she replied, but with some diffidence.
“A'on may be quite sure, however, that
whatever ho may do it will not influence
me. Y’ou are aware how truly I love
you?”
”A'es, I know that,” he answered, “and
I am quite content to trust you. I know
that nothing Mr. Bursfield can say will
induce you to do as he proposes.”
"\Yo must hope for the heist,” she an
swered. “But. oh, Jim, I wish he were
not so determined in his opposition to
our marriage! Sometimes I feel that I
am acting not only like a traitor to him,
but to you as well.”
“That yiou could never be,” Jim return
ed. "However, keep up a good heart,
dear, and you may be sure all will come
right In the end. In the future we shall
look back upon these little troubles and'
wonder why we made such a fuss about,
them.”
A few minutes later they reached the
gates leading into the ground of the
Dower Houise. Here Jim bade his sweet
heart goodby and, having arranged an
other meeting for the morrow, set off on
his walk to the Manor House. That af
ternoon, accompanied by Alice, he made
his way 'to the lumber room, on the top
story of the house, in which the boxes
he had come down to overhaul had been
placed. How well he could recall the day
in Australia on which his father had
packed them. Xte little imagined then that
the next time they would be opened would
be In an attempt 'to find a portrait of
the same kind father's, murderer. The
first box was found to contain unimpor
tant papers connected with the dead
man's various properties In Australia.
The second contained a variety of ac
count books, and odds and ends of several
kinds, with specimens or ore, wool and
other products of the Island Continent.
It was not until they had opened the
third box that they bagan to think 'they
were on the right track. In this were a
■few engravings, perhaps half a dozen
sketch books filled with pen and ink
drawings by Jim's mother, upward of a
hundred books, between thirty and forty
years old, and at the bottom a large al
bum filled with photographs, each of
which looked out npon a forgetful world
from a floral setting. Jim took it to a
window, where he sat down upon a box
to examine it. To my thinking
there is nothing sadder than an old al
bum. AA'hat memories it recalls of long
forgotten friends; as one liooks upon the
faded pictures, how clearly the old scenes
(some of which one would give anything
to be able to blot out from their recollec
tion) rise before one.
On the first page was a photograph of
William Standerton himself, taken when
he way a young man. His coat was of a
strange cut, his trousers were of the peg
top description, while a magnificent pair
of dundreary whiskers tSerrorated his
manly face. AVith a sigh Jim turned the
page, and came upon a portrait of his
mother, taken in her wedding dress. Then
followed a long succession of relatives
and personal friends, each clad in the
eame fashion, and nearly all taken in the
same constrained attitude. But. examine
each picture as he would, no representa
tion of Murbridge could he discover.
‘‘Well, I'm afraid that's all7* said Jim.
as he replaced the album in his box. “I
am disappointed, though I cannot say
that I hoped to be very successful. I must
write to Robins ai id tell him that I can
find nothing.”
Having relocked the boxes they de
scended to the ha 11 once more. It wais
growing dark, and the dressing gong had
already sounded. 1 They accordingly sep
arated, and wenJ: to their respective
rooms. Jim was] more disappointed by
the failure of hi* search than he cared
to admit. A
“It would be of ^.Inestimable value,” he
said to himself, "to have a portrait of
him just now.” j
He had just finlslf ed his toilet when an
idea struck him, ^and he stopped and
stern and unusual} was it. Then, drawing
closed eyes.
“By Jove," he <;ald. *‘I do believe I’ve
hit it. I think r. know where there is a
portrait of him.”'.
His brain recalled a scene that had
taken place at Gvndawurra one winter’s
evening, when be ‘was a little chap of 12,
and Alice only a, : girl of 10. The lamp
had been lighted,, and to amuse the chil
dren before they -*-ent to bed, their father
•had promised a (>rlze to whichever one
of the pair should) recognize and describe
by name the greater number of the por
traits In the very. - album he had been
looking 'through .hat afternoon. Jim re
membered how on that occasion he had
chanced upon certain carte de vlsite,
showing a tall young man leaning, hat in
hand, against a marble pillar.
"AA'ho iis this, fatihrr?" Jim had in
quired, for he was not able to recognize
the individual portrayed in the picture.
"Do not ask me,” said his father in a
tone chat the children never forgot, so
stern nr, » unusual was It. Then, drawing
| the portrait from the page, he placed It
| in the'locket at the-end of the book. Af
ter 'iihac the game was recommenced, hut
was played with less vigor than before.
| "I wonder if it could have been Muy
bridge,” said Jim. "I cannot remember
my father ever to have expressed such a
dislike for anyone else save that man.
After dinner I’ll go up and endeavor to
find it. It wal* there for many years, for
I can recall how I used to creep into the
drawing room and peep at it on the slv.
wondering what sort of villainy he had
committed that was sufficient to prevent
his nam° being mentioned to us. Poor
father, it is certain that he was not de
ceived in him after all.
Throughout dinner that evening hi.?
mind dwelt on the remembrance of that
scene at Gundawurra, and as soon as they
rose from the table, he begged Alice to
excuse him and went up stairs, candle in
hand, to recommence hils search. He left
his sister in the drawing room, and the
household were at supper in the servants'
hall, so that, so far as the disposition of
the house was concerned, he had all the
upper floors to htmse.lf. Entering the lum
ber room, he knelt down and unlocked the
box which contained the album. To take
the book from the box and to turn to the
pocket in question was the work of a
moment. It had been placed there for the
purpose of holding loose photographs, and
It extended the whole width of the cover.
AVith a half fear 'that it might not be
contained therein, Jim thrust his hand
into the receptacle. He was mot to be
disappointed, however, for a card was cer
tainly there. He withdrew It and held it
up to the light with a feeling of triumph.
Yes, it was the picture he remembered,
and better still it was the portrait of
Richard Murbridge. There could he no
mistake about that; though it was taken
when the latter was a young man, Jim
recognized his enemy at one.?. There was
the same crafty look In hlis eyes, the
same carping expression about the mouth.
The man who had been so nearly knocked
down by the cab on the previous even
ing was the same person, who, in the
picture, posed himself so gracefully be
side the marble pillar.
“This must go to Robins tonight,” said
Jim. “Then copies of it can be distrib
uted broadcast. It will be strange after
that if we do not lay hands upon him.”
So saving he replaced the album in the
box. locked the latter and then put 'tihe
photograph in his pocket, and prepared
to return to Alice once more. As he de
scended the stairs, he blew the candle out,
for the hanging lamp in the hall below
gave sufficient light for him to see his
way. He was only a few "steps from the
bottom when his attention was attracted.
It resembled the creaking of a rulsty
hinge. The sound came from the further
end of the gallery. He had just time
to wonder what had occasioned it, when
to his amazement he became aware of a
little black figure passing swiftly along
the corridor in Vie direction of the fur
ther wing. A moment later it had van
ished, and he was left to place such con
struction as he pleased upon what he had
seen. For a space, during which a man
might have counted twenty, he stood as
if rooted to the ispot, scarcely able to be
lieve the evidence of his senses.
"Good God! The Black Dwarf again,*'
he muttered to himself. “I must find out
what it means."
Then he set off in pursuit.
(To Be Continued.)
Too Much For Reuben.
“Ye3 sir,” said Uncle Reuben, as the
graphophone stopped, “that’s mighty good
—mighty good!”
“Just wait awhile,” said the youth as
he slipped on another record, "and I’ll ex
plain it to you.”
"Oh, I understand it all right,” respond
ed Reuben. "Understand it all except one
thing.”
"What’s that?” asked the youth.
“Well,” answered Reuben, with an
abashed grin, “I understand how these
sleight-o’-hand fellers pull big rabbits and
pigeons out o' little hats, but I'll be
danged if I understand how you git a
full brass band In that box.”
Tragedy at Holmwood
w;
E were a large house party at
- - Holmwood that winter, numbering
eighteen guests, besides the f a mll y> “jjj
the two Anstruther girls-Mary an
Evelyn-were the life and soul of us AVe
had gathered round the big wo “ ,i ’
the old-fashioned hall, and settled down
In the deepest armchairs and most com
fortable cosy corner seats we could find,
to listen to Captain AVilbraham s story.
“Her name," he ‘egan. “was lsobel and
she was the only daughter of old Sir
Fierce, whese portrait hangs over there.
"Sir Pierce, so rumor says, was every
whit as forbidding and as unpleasant an
old gentleman as his picture makes him.
He had lost iis wife after one short year
of mairied life; and there were stories of
injustice to a cousin, a Captain AA ilbra-
bam, who had loved the Lady Isobel, and
told her so, had been turned out of the
house by l is uncle, and who was now
somewhere In the backwoods of America,
trying to forget his lovely cousin, while
she moped at home.
"One evening Sir Pierce called his
daughter to him and told her that he- was
obliged to set out for London.
“ 'Bjfore going, Isobel,' he said to her, T
must tell you that I have heard stories
of the return of that young scoundrel
Ralph’—Ralph was the captain. ‘I hear,
in fact, that he Intends returning here,
and trying to get speech with you, in
: pite of my prohibition. Remember, now,
that, if he should come In my absence,
ycu are to iefuse to see him. If you clo
see him I shall hear of it. and you are
no longer a daughter of mine.’
"And, with a glance at his trembling
daughter from underneath those beetling
gray eyebrows of ins. Sir Pierce stamped
out of this hull in which we are now sit
ting, called for his horse, and went.
"Poor Ladv Isobel had some reason for
in r trembling, for while her father spoke
to her her hand was pressed tightly upon
a tiny letter nest
ling underneath her
broad silk sash, in
which letter her
cousin. Captain
Ralph, told her of
his safe return to
England, and prom
ised that, come
what would, he
would see her that
evening.
“Barely an hoar
after Sir Pierce’s
departure Lady Iso-
Her room was the
staircase, next
rrom at the head of th
to your room, Miss Evelyn.
“Lady Isobel walked up and down the
room nervously, excitedly, pausing every
now and then near the window, listening.
Presently she heard the crunch of a
man’s heel on the gravel underneath it,
and a moment later the head of Captain
Ralph appeared, framed in the ivy. Isobel
opened the window, he sprang into the
room, and tly married lovers were in an
irstant clasped in one another's arms.
For—and this Sir Pierce did not know,
well informed though he had been—Raiph
and his fair cousin had been married
secretly before the young man left his
native shores; so that if anything had
happened to the captain while he was
abroad, his fortune—a considerable one,
far exceeding that of old Sir Pierce him
self—should become Isobars, iind make
her independent of her father.
"The conversation of the cousins last
ed far into the night, and three was
striking from the old clock on the turret
when Captain AA'ilbraham kissed his
young bride one long, last time, and pre
pared to leave by the window, as he had
come.
" 'In three days, dearest,’ he said to the
weeping girl, ‘I will return and claim
you from your harsh, unnatural father.’
“ ‘That you may do now, If you have
the courage!’ said a grating voice from
the doorway, and Sir Pierce—for it was he
—strode lnt6 the room, and slashed his
daughter's husband across the face with
his riding whip.
“In another moment the two men,*young
and old, were engaged in a struggle which
one at least of them would not survive,
for there was bitter hatred in the hearts
of both, and both forgot the presence of
the fair young girl, who, in her white
chamber robe, cowered in the corner of
the room, and watched her father fight
ing for the life blood of her husband.
"The fight did not last long. The cap
tain, a better swordsman than his uncle,
younger and more active, too, tried to
disarm Sir Pierce; but a sudden move
ment of the elder man sealed his own
fate, and the father of the Lady Iso
bel fell with her husband’s sword point
in his side.
“ ’One word—one word, Ralph, before
I dieT' he whispered. And the young man
bent over him. ’Lower!’ gasped the dying
man, ‘lower!’ And as
his son in law
stooped down to him
Sir Pierce struck
upward with a sud
den movement, using
a. dagger which had
lain concealed in his
left sleeve, and Cap
tain "Wilbraham,
stricken traitorously
to the heart, fe}l
upon the body of
his father in law.
' “Poor Lady Isobel,
who until that moment had cowered in
her corner, almost unconscious with fear
and horror, gave one loud shriek, pressed
one long, despairing kiss upon the up
turned face of her dead husband, whose
blood besmeared her bedro'be, and, with
a rush, threw herself headlong from the
window. Her shriek aroused the house,
and two days later three corpses were
carried to the old graveyard of Holm
wood church, where all the AVilbrahams
lie buried. Lady Isobel was burled there
Beside 'her husband; but her spirit can
not re-st, and on every anniversary of the
tragedy—some say, indeed, on other
nights as'well—Lady Isobel visits her old
bed room just as the turret clock strikes
three.
“She goes to the corner from which
she watched the fatal struggle which end
ed in the deaths of her husband and
father; she tries, as she tried on that
night long years ago, to shriek for help,
but no sound comes from her lovely lips.
“Those who have seen the ghost—and
I knew many who ha ( ve done so—have
seen the stains of blood upon her cham
ber robe, and say that, after striving
pitifully to call for hlep, the ghost of
Lady Isobel herself did o-n the night of
her death—glides to the window, throws
herself from it, and disappears. Then
sometimes—not always—a long, loud wall
is heard from the garden, and next morn
ing th? window of the bed room is found
open, although it was securely closed and
bolted the evening before.
“Oh, you may smile, Miss Anstruther”
—for Miss Anstruther was laughing at
the solemnity with which Captain AVil-
bnaham was finishing his story—“but I
can assure you that I would not sleep in
Lady Isobel’s bed room for all the wealth
of the Rothschilds!”
“I would for less than that!” laughed
Mary Anstruther. “And, what is more, I
will!”
TWO
Everybody laughed—excepting Miss
Simpkins, who declared that “those An
struther girls were always trying to
put themselves for
ward and make peo
ple talk about
them”—and most of
us tried to dissuade
Miss Anstruther
from sleeping in the
room. She would
not be persuaded,
though, and at
about 11, after a big
fire had been light
ed, and the old-fash
ioned room had been
made as comforta
ble as possible, we all escorted the ob
stinate young lady to it, and bade her
goodnight.
“Goodnight, and pleasant dreams to all
of you; and you may look for a full, true,
and particular account of Lady Isobel at
breakfast time tomorrow!” cried Mary
Anstruther gayly.
“Nothing ghostly about the room at all
events,” laughed Mary, as she began un
dressing.
Mary Anstruther was not a sentimental
girl, and the story of Lady Isobel had
not particularly impressed her. As she
undressed by the glow of the big wood
fire her thoughts ran far more upon the
probabilities of some of the guests at
Holmwood trying to play ghost than
upon any possibility of an actual ghost
appearing.
"AA'hether they come or not. I shall not
wait for them, at all events,” she said.
And within five minutes after she had I
jumped Into the large, red-curtained bed I
Miss Alary Anstruther was a3leep. J
th
She was awakened by a fumbling
a scratching at the door, und sat up !:
tening. The room was not altogethi
dark, for the fire still threw a dim,
certain light over the room.
“Somebody evidently means to have i
joke with me,” she thought. “Well, It
them come.”
The door opened very slowly, and
white figure glided into the center of fir.
room. Its back was turned from the bed
and it seemed to be gazing into the cor
ner' where the fight between Sir Pier,
and Captain AA'ilbraham had tak
place.
“I'll give my visitor two mlnutr-s mor-
the room,” was Mary Anstru::.
ternal comment. “If she’s a ghost th
and then turn her neck-and-crop
will 'be nothing to lay hold of: but s:
won’t like her reception! and will go.
she’s real flesh and blood, out sh" g.
just the same, and then the laugh v.
be on my side tomorrow.”
The white apparition turned slowly :
ward the bed, and Mary Anstruther s
that the white bed robe was in?,! w
hloffd. There was blood, too, on t!
parition’s face t to which it p >int' I.
its hands were held out to the bed
peallngly, as though It would speak, t
could not voice the words.
"Tf the fire were only a 11
might see the face," said v
seif. "However, ghost or no
you go, my beauty!”
She said these last words aloud, f. r
in spite of herself, she was
feel a little worked upon
| .lute silence of the scene.
Just then the turret-clock - 1
“No, that's a little too
cried Mary. “Come. Mrs. Ghost
who you are, or off with you! I dm '
want to get out of bed into th-?
If you won't answer me I rntist d ■
Again those hands were held it.
peallngly; again the figo
make a wild effort to spe ik—A! try a -
struther even nn-.v
thought she saw : •
blood-stained . ,
form the one v !
T 'JIelp!" but
light was to 1 -
tinct for her to
quite certain. A 1
then the y<. : g :
sprang out of h> 1,
seized her un
come visitor by
shoulders, w . ,
were warm, anl !
, ' If! 1
blood, and, without another word, t:
her out into the passage, and closed 1
I locked the bed room door. Th : 1 -
ghost stumbled and fell as she n is p
ed from the room.
"My Lady Isobel will be a little b- 1
tomorrow morning!" laughed Mary
struther. And in five minutes sd? 3
asleep again.
Next morning, when she woke, i
"Pooh!” she said. "This is carry:
found blood marks on \$ • hands,
joke a bit too far! However, we
see at breakfast time.”
A long, loud shriek for help nr ms 1
all just as the gong for breakfast so !-
ed. AA'ith an uneasy sens? of soni-
horrible, we all rushed down the pa —
to Alary Anstruther’s room—the ha :
room, in the story of which, as a ir:
of fact, hut few of us believed, and w :
we had left the laughing girl the
before.
The door of it was open, and on
knees upon the threshold was Mary .
struther, with the blood-stained,
turned face of a golden-haired girl in 1
white bed robe on her lap.
"Oh, help me, help me!” cried p
Mary. "It's Evelyn—my sister Ev , I
She came in in the night, and tried
speak to me. but could not; aqd I—C
thought of the story about Lady 1 dad-
thought some of you were playing ri
upon me—and I turned her out of ' : ?
room! She won't answer me! And
quite cold and stiff! Evelyn! Evelyn!
help me, somebody—for God’s sake i.
me!”
AA'ilbraham put his arm round r
Alary, and lifted her from the grot
Dr. Furber kneeled down beside her
ter.
"A broken blood vessel,” he said, .\ I
he raised his head again. “The po
has been dead at least four hours.”
(Note—The. breaking of a blood v
frequently destroys the power of sp-
Ping Pong Is Capturing the Heart of Sporting Jimeric
HOSE who Indulge in Indoor
winter sports have added
another game to their al
ready long list. A craze
has suddenly developed for
ping pong. The prominent
golfers and lawn tennis
players are In a great
measure accountable for
the popularity of the new
grime in which the essen
tial features of lawn tennis
are conspicuous. In fact,
there is little difference be
tween the two games, except that one is
played on a table indoors and the other
outdoors on a lawn.
Ping pong, or pom pom, as it will prob
ably be called In this country, owing to
the copyright on the game of ping pong,
may be played on a dining table, though
there are tables especially for the game,
and is placed with a celluloid ball. The
game requires some little practice to
learn with how much power to strike the
ball, but ten minutes or so Is sufficient,
as a rule, to enable the player to keep
the ball within the proper space. The
rackets are made of vellum and the name
of the game is probably derived from the
sound of the ball striking the racket,
which sounds as much like ping pong as
like anything else.
The game sprang into immediate pop
ularity on its Introduction In England, for
it Is really an English game, that played
on this side being a slight variation. Since
the introduction of the game in England
several other variations have been
ran
brought out, each with a different name,
but with little difference in manner and
method of play. So popular did it prove
that a table tennis association was form
ed in London last month, and a month
earlier a big tournament was held there.
When the popularity of the game was
demonstrated on the other side of the
water it was soon brought to this coun
try. As in almost all other English games
the American players made some changes
in it, and pom ppm, or table tennis, is
the result. This game is now being played
in many parts of the country, but to the
Dedham Club belongs the credit of hold
ing the first tournament, although the
game was played at the Brookline Coun
try Club some ironths ago.
Instead of playing on a table without
lines, the American game is played on
a table with the tennis lines drawn in
white, one-quarter of an inch wide, and
two services are allowed In the game in
stead of one. The scoring has also been
revised to correspond to the lawn tennis
method, instead of 20 points up; and some
of the best players have also brought
volleying Into the game.
As a rule the tables are of plain, dark
stained wood, without covering, 3 f^et
by 9 on the surface, and 2 feet 0 inches
high. The net is 6 3-4 inches high, and
any racket may be used, although a regu
lation racket will soon be established.
Then there are tables with a covering
such as is used on billiard tables, but
on these a large covered ball is used
and stringed rackets. The beginner usual
ly prefers the uncovered board, but many
of the better players are taking to the
covered tuble.
Nearly all of the prominent clubs in
this section have introduced the game
Into their club houses, and a tournament
is now going .on at the Brookline River-
dale Casino. Another large tournament
in which the best tennis and ping pong
players of this part of the country will
participate will be held at the Country
Club on the 22d instant. This will be an
Invitation affair, and will probably de
velop into the most important tournament
held up to that time.
Dr. Dwight, the father of American ten
nis, is one of the most enthusiastic ping
gong players in this country, and has a
specially built table in his home on Bea
con street, where a number of games
are played daily. Richard D. Sears, the
first American tennis champion, and Fred
H. Hovey, another former American ten
nis champion, are also enthusiasts, and
the latter may often be seen playing in a
AVashington street store against some
equally promising player. Air. Hovey Is,
perhaps, one of the best players here
abouts, and has already won two of the
tournaments.
Another noted tennis player who has
taken up th* game is Meals C. AA'right,
and the first tournament held here re
solved Itself Into a battle between Wright
and Hovey for the championship.
In New York and some of its suburbs
the craze for the game appears to be
even greater than In this city, and the
Orange Tennis Club has already held
tournaments in which some of the best
tennis players have figured. Holeome
.War_d appears to be one of the best play
ers in New Jersey, and to be err. ■
strong in tennis and pom pom.
AA'ith ground strokes only in the g 1 ?
it is only possible to score a
through an opponent's error, but li
volleying Included many new com!
tions were introduced by Air. Ward. 1
clean aces were frequently scored b
as he is particularly eleyer at killing ■?
ball with quick volleys.
Pom pom has also been taken u;
tensively in AA'ashington. and the
abilities are that it will soon be
established in all of the tennis ■
the country, as an effort will be m.
to have it recognized by. the Na - i -1
Dawn Tennis Association.
The establishment of table tennis t i
Country Club is primarily due to f) : .-
F. Brown, Jr., who, during a \
England a year ago, was captivated
the game. He brought back a
outfit and tin 1 game won instant
with many of the members who ha.I
lighted in t.he more strenuous garni
squash. Among the ni'iri’ td<
at Clyde Park, the following may b
tioned: George F. Brown, Jr., Arthur ?
Stedman, Geoffrey Ai. \v?. ... ,.
Graeme Houghton, Jr., Robert Full? r
_ AA’hile the new game occupies a proa -
nont place in the list of sports at
Country Club, it is not thought it u
rival In popularity squash. The Vlub hat
finely appointed squash courts, which e
of comparatively new construction,
both the men and women have t : .
kindly to this sport.
At the Riverdale Casino the game I
jumped Into great favor. The tournanie
of the past week has developed some \ ■
skilful ping pong at the eost-y Brook:
Casino. This was the first
tournament ever held in Brook” ' a:,
the future of the game is su e ... this
club.
Among the best players at the Ca~ 1
are Sam Lewis, a prominent Han :
athlete a few years ago; Lincoln Gra :,
Chauncey M. Seaver, the lawn t a is
player; Ben Sabine, the old-time I •
call player, and Don AI. Hill. There are
at least twenty-five members of the 1 1-
sino who bid fair to take rank with t.;c
best ping pong players in New England.
Jin Easy Job
A certain member of parliament has
expressed a pronounced disbelief in mo;.
of the wonderful tales told of the pre
cocity of children. He contends that th?
stories are usually manufactured by vdi ;•
persons, with the sole object of making
amusing reading. Once in a while, how
ever, his theory receives a setback y
something in his own experiences, and
he confesses that he has come across
some genuine humor and some uncon
scious witticisms. One such was brought
to his notice recently.
A Sunday school examination was in
progress, and the examining visitor put
this question:
“NA'hat did Aloses do for a living while
he was with Jethro?”
Following a long silence, a little voice
piped up from the back of the room:
“Please, sir, he married one of Jethro's
daughters.”