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PROFESSIONAL
BRETHREN
BY GEORGE E. WALSH
Copuright, loot, l.y F. M. Buckle * <t Cos., AVuj York
For the first tin.- UodCard turned
his eyes toward her. Feeling that she
was attracting attention, her over
wrought nerves could stand the strain
00 longer. She had been thinking as
1 had—that the brown spots were the
first and earliest symptoms of leprosy.
We both knew just enough to be car
ried away by any symptoms that re
sembled these which indicate the be
ginning of the dread disease.
“Belie, wlmt is the matter? Are you
uir
Mr. Goddard had hardly spoken these
words before she dropped her hands
atid fainted. She would have fallen
to the floor had 1 not caught her in
time.
They deposited her on a couch and
rubbed her bands and moistened her
brow with water. KLe slowly recov
ered consvh s: ess.
“You should rot have mentioned be
ing poisoned to her," the doctor said
admonish botfly to my master. "To one
tf her sens. - ' it ■ disposition the mere
mention of a tbiog like that might
earn ■> Ira to faint."
""blow carehes and brutal of me."
my innate: si •' in tones ;>i ; I'pentanee.
Then a- ah: 1 pened bar < yes lie knelt
dove: 1l y 1 rs: and. drawing one of
her k • i:u !:.> aid: 1
“[’id 1 fri.. !.r. :y< : V i was a I rate
to do it I:■ 1.. e, It.bio. and tell
me that you 1
For r' pi; sh rn: ml her l.caJ away
ft'un him \ .!• > n.'.dder and with
drew her ioiiM! t. it* itis clasp
""What D it. dear'.'" he continued
“I*o not draw away so Tell me what
It a eti have VMie. I will do any
thing to rt p:;ii ft -fvak. Belle.’’
“Leave me. p.asa; leave me." she
gasped. "I’m nervous and excited.
Let me alone for a few minutes, and
then i’ll be better But 1 must go
home. Doctor, will you help me to get
on my tilings?"
“Belle, you’re not going to leave me
Hke this.” pleaded my master, np-
Sroaehing her again.
But she moved aside and said in a
wavering voice:
“Let me go now, Charles. Maybe I
an explain some day. I’m not myself
■ow. Goodbyi"
She did not extend her hand or offer
to take his. but walked quickly out of
the room.
Mr. Goddard stood quite still for
some time, puzzled, perplexed, discour
aged.
CHAPTER XII.
AS probably as much
/ troubled as my master
over this sad state of
affairs. Miss Stetson’s
treatment hurt him
more than he eared to
J confess. lie seemed so
perplexed and worried over the matter
that 1 was several times on the point
of telling him tlie reason for her sud
den aversion for him.
There was but little doubt that he
had noticed her dislike for him, but he
was too proud and sensitive to men
tion the matter to any one. He was
not a kind to speak of such personal
questions even to Dr. Squires. For
several days he remained away from
the Stetson mansion, sending me over
twice a day to inquire after Miss Stet
son’s health. I never saw her myself
in any of these visits except the last.
Then, instead of sending the message
down to me by one of the servants, she
called me up to her library.
The first thing I noticed about her
was a peculiar careworn, suffering ex
pression on her face. Under the dark
eyes and around the lips there were
delicate lines and tints which revealed
more than words. She had suffered
and was doomed to suffer more. Pa
thetic acceptance of her lot was ap
parent on every lineament of her face.
She had evidently battled successfully
with herself and had become resigned
to her fate.
The room in which she ushered me
was an old fashioned library where
her father, the doctor, had gathered
together many rare books and curios.
The heavy woodwork, the dark paper
and furnishings of the library cast a
gloomy aspect over the sole occupant,
and her white face gleamed out of the
darkness like an old fashioned picture
in a somber setting. In spite of her
surroundings she was still beautiful
more beautiful it seemed to me than
when fully exposed to broad daylight.
Hers was a beauty that did not fade
in light or shade.
“You come from Mr. Goddard with
a message for me?” she said interroga
tively as I entered the room.
“Yes, ma’am. He sent to Inquire
after your health,” I replied, bowing
aespectfully.
“And he trusts you without a writ
len message?” she continued.
“In this matter he does, for he con
sidered you ill to write, and he did
not wish to put you to any unneces
sary trouble.”
“That is the true reason,” she said
quietly. “He is always very cousider
ite to me.”
“He is to every one.” I added, wish
tog to show my devotion to him.
“Yes, yes; he is kind to aIL tie is a
good man.”
“I have never met a better, ma’am.
If you will permit me to say it, and
I’ve seen many kinds of men in the
world. He is always thinking of other
people, and if he does wrong ! believe
tie has some good reason for it.’’
She looked at me as if she liked to
hear me praise him, and when I stop
ped her expression seemed to say. "Go
on. go on: it’s music to me.” lint 1
knew my position and would say no
more.
”ls Mr. Goddard well himself?” she
asked when she found that 1 was
unite.
"Yes. Except for an attack of i>oisou,
whieli lias now go..e away entirely,
he lias been very well."
Mile turned a shade paler and then
flushed a little as she remembered that
1 had been present on the day when
she fainted.
“Oh. yes: 1 remember be spoke of the
poison the last time 1 saw him,” she
said in a moment, recovering her men
tal poise. "Have the spots or eruption
entirely disappeared?”
“Entirely, ma’am. There are no
signs of any left.”
”1 suppose Dr. Squires gave him
something to cure them.”
I knew that she was thinking of the
1 doctor’s cure for leprosy and that she
imagined he had given my master
something which would drive away
the first symptoms of the disease, at
least temporarily. But 1 knew differ
ently. and I courted the opportunity to
disabuse her mind of the mistake.
"No, ma’am: the doctor did nothing
for my master.” 1 answered. "I gave
him something which cured the erup
tion.”
"You? What did you know about the
matter?”
“Not very much, ma’am, except that
I had been poisoned once, and I re
membered wlmt helped me. 1 asked
my master to let me get him a bottle.”
“A bottle of what?”
“Witch hazel. It was one of my
mother’s cures for poison from ivy, or
suinae.”
“And that cured him?”
Her face brightened wonderfully.
She began to realize that she had been
a victim of her imagination.
“Completely,” I answered.
“Then it was not—nothing more seri
ous than ordinary poison,” she added,
with a sigli of relief.
“Nothing, ma’am.”
She gave expression to her relieved
feelings in a short laugh. The sweet
"You come from Mr. Goddard?”
ness of it made me turn my head to
look at her. The beautiful face had
suddenly lighted up so that it seemed
almost divine in its expression. Here.
I thought, was true love, and I willing
ly adored her for jt.
“Pardon me,” she said after a mo
ment of silence. "I was thinking of
something else which amused me.
You must take a message to your mas
ter.”
She walked toward the library table
and drew pen and paper from a draw
er. She hesitated a moment and then
added:
“No; I won’t write. I will send a
verbal message by you. Charles has
trusted you to bring one, and I will
return it in tbe same way.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I shall endeav
or to prove worthy of the trust.”
“Well, tell Mr. Goddard that I am
quite recovered and that I expect to
have him call on me today. Be sure
to tell him that I must see him at
once, lie must give up every other
engagement to come to me. Now, do
you understand? Can you put it so
he can’t say no?”
“I can, ma’am, and I’ll venture to
give you mv word of honor that he
will be here before tiie sun sets.”
"Go, then, and prove your words.”
As I left her presence 1 felt that my
mission had been one of mercy that
morning, for I had, apparently uncon
sciously, been the means of lifting a
burden temporarily from one heavy
heart. I knew also that I carried a
message tliut would bring a ray of
sunlight into the life of another.
I might have stretched the impor
tance of this interview to my master
or I might have given him the literal
truth. 1 know not which now. How
ever, I delivered the message. It was
sufficient to make him obey it.
The result of their meeting was man
ifest at once. Both of them appeared
happy and normal again, and the old
relationship seemed to be re-estab
lished. How much Miss Stetson ex
plained to him about her fears and
knowledge of his case I never knew,
but for a time at least she was de
termined to put down all feelings of
.version for my master because of her
Kuowieuge that" "ne was a uoomeu
leper. Or perhaps—like another self
sacrificing virgin that I have read
about—she had decided to consecrate
her life to him, to live by him and
nurse him through the coming years of
pain and suffering and mental agony
which must ever be the lot of a leper.
CHAPTER XIII.
■\ HAD now been in my
.position about six
months. The interest
ing events which I
have recorded had
kept me from any
J longing to return to
the exciting experiences of my profes
sion. During this time I had grown
somewhat stouter, and my counte
nance had begun to assume a kindly,
benevolent, well fed appearance. Nec
essarily I had grown a trifle lazier.
Several times I bad almost decided to
return to my old methods of life, but
a certain inertia, undoubtedly bred and
nourished by my new existence of ease,
always prevented. I would keep de
ferring the time until a more conven
ient period.
A genuine fear that I would lose my
skill through lack of practice occasion
ally tormented me, but each time I
put it aside with the thought that my
profession was no longer an absolute
necessity. It did not mean bread and
butter to me as it did at one time. I
was a full fledged butler, and I could
secure a good recommendation from
my master any time I chose to leave.
Warned by my own experiences, 1
never let an opportunity pass to help
a young man just starting on tiie
downward road to get back to the
main highway. I never entertained
any serious thoughts of getting back
there myself, but I hate to see others
straying from it.
Nevertheless I now found myself
slowly drifting back to an honest life.
This had been accomplished through
no choosing of my own. Circumstances
again were responsible for this change.
I did not make any resolves to remain
thus for any length of time—in fact, I
rather expected that the time would be
brief.
As I just remarked, 1 never liked to
see another, especially a young man.
taking the downward read, and it was
this strange feeling that gave me a
>little worry and anxiety in my idle life
as butler for Mr. Goddard. I realized
that my master was leading a double
life; that Ik* was pursuing his burglary
tendencies systematically and that he
was committing crime even while he
was making love to Miss Stetson. This
circumstance at first puzzled me; then
it worried and irritated and finally dis
gusted me. I could not fathom its
meaning. I saw my own crime, illus
trated in. him. in its true light, and it
positively made me ashamed of my
record. I longed to speak of the mat
ter to him, but our peculiar relation
ship prevented it.
While 1 sympathized with him for
the incurable disease which had al
ways cast a blight oyer his young life,
I soon learned to condemn him for his
rash folly. No man of his position, in
telligence and opportunities in the
world had any business to stoop to
crime. In some cases necessity may
drive a man to the commission of a
theft and habit may later deaden his
conscience, but no such excuse could
be held out for my master.
He was either bad at heart, a crim
inal by instinct, or he had a weak will
that had been perverted by others
when young and unformed. In every
thing else he seemed a model of
strength, self command and intelli
gence. Why should he be so helpless
in tliis respect?
Since that first memorable meeting
at the dead of night in the Stetson
mansion no word or sign had ever
passed between 11s which indicated
that we knew anything of the otheFs
criminal tendencies. Out of a sense of
honor I kept my part of the agreement,
and for some reason lie remained un
communicative about the subject. Nev
ertheless I longed to break tiie ice be
tween us. If I could once more meet
him when robbing a house, I would
have the liberty to speak, and I would
not again bind myself to silence.
Admiration for his skill, love for
him as a man when not engaged in his
professional work and a certain dis
gust at his deceptive, double existence
produced strangely conflicting emo
tions in me. At times I felt tliut Ills
crime should be atoned for and that if
he should ever attempt to marry Miss
Stetson I would reveal all I knew to
her. Gradually his moral disease
seemed more terrible to me than his
physical. Asa leper he was suffering
for the sins of another, but as a crimi
nal he was pursuing dangers and
pleasures of his own free will which
in time would entail suffering upon
others.
A wave of moral reform swept over
me for a time and possessed me so
completely that 1 decided to make
amertds for my past deeds by trying
to convert my master' from his evil
ways. If I could accomplish this, I
should feel that my life had not been
sj>ent in vain.
Meanwhile I lived in the fear that he
would be discovered. I knew from the
reports that somebody was conducting
a systematic series of burglaries in the
neighborhood, and I did not hesitate
to attach the blame to my master. De
tectives were constantly prowling
around at night to capture the rob
bers, but all their skill seemed to be
without avail. A better testimony to
the ability of my master could not be
given.
CHAPTER XIV.
N HEX I reached thecon
elusion that some
■ / thing ought to be
. done to save Mr.
W\ W.Goddard from him
self, I began planning
J the best course to
nursue. First I would
have to meet him at ulgtit uuaer cir
cumstances similar to our first meet
ing. and then 1 would have the liberty
to speak to him. To accomplish this I
watched him every night, often sitting
; up until nearly daybreak to see if be
left the bouse. For nearly a week I
followed this course, and I could swear
that he had not left his bed after inld-
I night.
On the seventh night he had an
agreement to meet Dr. Squires at his
office, and, feeling worn out with my
unsuccessful vigils, I retired early and
enjoyed a sound night’s sleep.
That night a big robbery was com
mitted not five miles from the house,
and the following morning everybody
was talking about it. When I heard
the news, a terrible suspicion seized
me. My master was using his alleged
appointments with the doctor as a
means to throw me off the track. I
tried to trace back the dates of the
various robberies, and I imagined that
] could establish a coincidence be
tween them and Mr. Goddard’s visits
to Dr. Squires.
All that day my master was indo
lent and worn out, as usual, and I in
stantly attributed it now to his work
of the preceding night and not to any
poison which the doctor was adminis
tei'ing to him.
When this light dawned clearly upon
my mind. I knew exactly what to do.
I slept soundly and peacefully during
the next few nights, but about ten
days later when my master announced
that he had another appointment with
Dr. Squires I prepared to spend tiie
night following him.
He left tiie house about 8 o’clock.
To my surprise, he did not take his
horse, but walked leisurely down the
road toward the old haunted mansion
that the doctor had so long occupied.
I followed him at a respectful dis
tance, but he did not seem nervous or
at all suspicious. He walked careless
ly along, without once looking behind
him.
He reached his destination affiout
half past 8 and walked lightly up to
ward tiie house and entered. This did
not astonish me, for I supposed that
he really did go to the doctor’s and
probably submitted to some sort of
treatment. His midnight marauding
would begin after he left to go home.
I cautiously approached the house
and tried to get a glimpse cf the in
terior, but the blinds and shades were
so closely drawn that 1 failed to get
a glimpse of even the light. I con
tented myself with examining the bur
glar alarm, for at some future time I
might find it useful to unfasten it from
a window without giving an alarm.
The minutes passed slowly. Not a
sound or movement from inside could
be heard. Accustomed to waiting in
patience for a long time, I did not find
my vigil so difficult. 1 entertained my
self in various ways to keep from fall
ing asleep. A few moments of sleep
might spoil everything for me.
It must have been shortly after mid
night when 1 heard the front door
creak on its hinges. I was concealed
behind some shrubbery at the time,
where I could command a good view
of the entrance to the house. The door,
I knew, was opening, but no ray of
light streamed through the crack. The
whole house was, In fact, wrapped in
darkness.
I saw the shadows of two men on the
front porch, and by their general out
lines 1 knew that one was my master
and the other Dr. Squires. Neither
spoke for some time. Then I heard the
doctor say in a low, muffled voice:
“Now, Charles, the house is three
miles below, and you ought to reach it
in half an hour.”
“Yes; I’ll reach it in half an hour.”
“Y’ou must be extra cautious, for
there are many detectives around,” the
doctor continued.
“I shall be very careful.”
“Then go and return as soon as pos
sible.”
They separated. The doctor stole
noiselessly back into the house and
my master walked stealthily down the
gravelly drive toward the main high
way.
His manner had completely changed.
Every movement he made indicated
suspicion and alertness. He was not
nervous, but every faculty was strained.
He was now the professional burglar
on the scent. The slight breaking of a
twig or the clinking of a pebble, I
knew, would arouse and alarm him.
My prey was not an easy one to fol
low. He would stop and turn upon his
tracks in the most unexpected way.
His ears and eyes appeared gifted
with wonderful powers of sensation. I
had to increase the distance between
us to avoid detection.
I managed to keep him in sight for
about a mile, and then he suddenly
gave me the slip. In some inexplica
ble manner he had dodged away from
me and disappeared as completely as
if the earth had swallowed him. Cha
grined at thus being thrown off the
track, I put all my energies at work to
regain the lost trail. For two hours I
wandered around, vainly trying to
catch a glimpse of the man. I became
so reckless that I would have exposed
my person to him if it would have dis
covered his whereabouts to me.
Finally I gave it up in disgust. I
seated myself under a tree near the
highway and reflected. Certainly I
was baflled for the night. I was on
the point of returning home when the
words of Dr. Squires recurred to me.
The two were evidently engaged in
the same criminal practices, and they
would probably meet again that night
somewhere.
With this thought uppermost in my
mind I cautiously retraced my steps‘to
the doctor’s house. Once I thought
that I had discovered my master again
by accident, but upon closer observa
tion I found that I was on the very
point of accosting a detective. An ar
rest at such a time of the night might
lead to unpleasant complications, and
so 1 remained half an hour hidden ii
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the bushes until tue man nau uisap
peared.
When I reached the old mansion, .ev
erything was as dark and gloomy as
when I left it to follow my master.
There was not the sign of -a living be
ing around. I cautiously started to
walk up the gravelly drive, and the
crunching noise of my* boots sounded
clear and distinct on the night air. 1
just had time to drop down behind
some shrubbery before the front, door
of the house opened, and the dark
shadow of a man seemed to flit out of
it. I remained perfectly quiet, not
daring to move or scarcely breathe.
Undoubtedly the noise made by iny
boots had attracted the attention of
somebody in the mansion.
I remained in this reclining position
for a full half hour. The shadow' on
the porch remained so perfectly stii.
that I half imagined that it was an
illusion or the reflection of some inter
vening object. But my policy has ever
been to make sure of a thing before
deciding what course to pursue, and so
I accepted the benefit of the doubt and
waited patiently. Once or twice 1
thought of the tales of spirits and
ghosts related about the old mansion
and of how they walked through the
empty rooms after midnight and made
free with all earthly occupants. This
did not disturb me, however, for 1
knew that somebody besides spirits
Was awake around the house that
night.
I was getting tired of watching that
immovable figure on the porch, and my
eyelids were winking and blinking
spasmodically when my ears caught a
sound directly back of me. I did not
dare move my head an inch, but the
thought of the bloodthirsty Danes sud
denly made me cold and clammy. I
imagined I detected the patter of their
- * -•
“There are many detectives around.”
feet on the drive, and I gripped my re
volver tightly, determined to make a
desperate stand for my life.
A moment later my feelings were
considerably relieved. The steps ap
proached nearer and nearer soft,
stealthy, delicate steps that might have
been made by a child. Then the figure
of a man loomed up within three yards
of me and moved swiftly toward the
house.
But in that momentary glimpse I
caught the features of my master. In
his hands he carried a clumsy bundle
or article, which I failed to make out.
Then for the first time the shadow on
the porch moved. The two met at the
top of the steps and quickly disap
peared in the house, the door closing
noittoiosKlv llohlnC
I would have given much just ttien
to have had the pewer to penetrate
behind those wooden walls or to lave
raised the shades and looked into the
doctor’s office, where I knew that a
light must be burning. But I felt that
my quest was ended for the night and
that further work would be useless.
After waiting around another half
hour I quietly stole out of the yard
and hurried home to reflect over the
strange occurrences of the night.
[continued.]
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