diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/67735-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/67735-0.txt | 6669 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 6669 deletions
diff --git a/old/67735-0.txt b/old/67735-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b2c0d17..0000000 --- a/old/67735-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6669 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The North Shore Mystery, by Henry Fletcher - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - - - -Title: The North Shore Mystery - - -Author: Henry Fletcher - - - -Release Date: March 29, 2022 [eBook #67735] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NORTH SHORE MYSTERY*** - - -This etext was transcribed by Les Bowler - - [Picture: Graphic cover] - - - - - - THE NORTH SHORE - MYSTERY - - - * * * * * - - BY - HENRY FLETCHER - - * * * * * - - LONDON - SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIMITED - PATERNOSTER SQUARE - - 1899 - - - - -CONTENTS - -CHAP. PAGE - I. THE CRIME 1 - II. THE MISFORTUNES OF A B.A. OF LONDON UNIVERSITY 8 - III. MRS. HOBBS 13 - IV. THE BOARDING-HOUSE AND BOARDERS 18 - V. CONSTABLE HOBBS DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 32 - VI. MRS. BOOTH COMMITTED FOR TRIAL 46 - VII. LOOKING BACKWARD-WINDSOR 64 - VIII. THE TWO LOVERS 71 - IX. HUEY AND ALEC 80 - X. THE GOLDEN BAR 92 - XI. HOW TO START IN BUSINESS 97 - XII. ALEC AND HUEY START BUSINESS 106 - XIII. THE HAWKESBURY HANDICAP 116 - XIV. THE TRIAL 124 - XV. THE PARRAMATTA RIVER 134 - XVI. THE WEIGHTS FOR THE SYDNEY CUP 141 - XVII. THE RELIGIOUS JOCKEY 147 - XVIII. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE RACE 156 - XIX. THE SYDNEY CUP 166 - XX. A PROPOSAL 173 - XXI. THE ABDUCTION 180 - XXII. IN THE GARDENS 197 - XXIII. THE LOVERS 205 - XXIV. THE CONSPIRACY 213 - XXV. THE HEART UNION 225 - XXVI. UP TO DATE AGAIN-DARLINGHURST GAOL 231 - XXVII. MR. HOBBS AT TEA 236 - XXVIII. SOFT SAM 243 - XXIX. HOW MASTER HOBBS GOT HIS BALL FROM A 251 - NEIGHBOUR’S YARD - XXX THE ‘SOUTHERN CROSS’ 259 - -CHAPTER I -THE CRIME - - -ON August 15, 188–, the public of Sydney were aroused to unusual -excitement by the following announcement in the Evening Times of that -date— - - - -“A NORTH SHORE MYSTERY. - - - CRIME OR SUICIDE? - - SUDDEN AND UNEXPLAINED DEATH OF A - WELL-KNOWN SPORTSMAN. - STABBED TO DEATH IN HIS BED. - - HOW WAS IT DONE? - -“The usual quiet of North Shore was this morning rudely dispelled by the -alarming rumour that a crime of an unusual kind had been committed in the -house of Mrs. Delfosse, Lavender Bay. - -“An inquiry proved the report only too well founded. - -“Mrs. Delfosse, it may be stated, is a widow lady of the highest -respectability, who keeps a boarding establishment of the better kind in -a stylish mansion near the Lavender Bay steps. Amongst her boarders was, -till this morning, the well-known sportsman, Alexander Booth, more widely -known under his _nom de guerre_ as ‘Newmarket.’ - -“Mr. Booth was married, and shared with his wife a spacious bedroom on -the second floor, the window of which has a fine harbour view. At seven -o’clock this morning the other inmates of the house were aroused and -startled by a succession of loud shrieks coming from this chamber. In -haste they rushed to the landing, but in response to calls and knocking -on the door there was no reply. The room was as quiet as the grave. - -“The door was locked on the inside. It was decided without hesitation to -burst it open. This being done, the spectators were horrified to find -the senseless form of Mrs. Booth stretched on the floor, and in the bed -itself the lifeless corpse of Mr. Booth. Further examination showed the -death of this gentleman to be no natural event. The body was resting on -the chest and arms, and between the shoulder-blades was buried what -appears to be a thin knife or dagger. The doctor and police were -immediately sent for, and Mrs. Booth removed to another room. Here after -a time she recovered from what proved to be a swoon, but it was only to -return again very quickly to the same state. At the time of writing she -is somewhat recovered. - - - -“MRS. BOOTH’S STATEMENT. - - -“Her statement of the event is very brief, and only adds to the strange -surroundings of the case—Her husband and herself retired to rest on the -Sunday night at their usual hour, she herself locking and bolting the -door, as was her custom. She slept well, and was only awakened by a -feeling of coldness close to her; she turned and looked at her husband, -he was stiff and rigid, the features a waxen pallor and the eyes wide -open, staring at her with a frightful horror in them. She sprang from -the bed, she screamed, she screamed again; she remembers no more. - - - -“THE SCENE OF THE CRIME. - - -“Sergeant Burrel was quickly on the scene, and made a careful inspection -of the premises and the room itself. It did not require the opinions of -a medical expert to convince the ordinary layman that death in this case -was not self-inflicted. Apart from the absence of any motive for -self-destruction, the blow was such as no man could possibly give to -himself. - -“The room, as has been stated, is on the second floor, and its one window -is protected by upright iron bars five inches apart, indicating that some -former tenant had used it as a nursery. There is only the one door to -the room, and the chimney, which was carefully inspected, would not allow -a passage through its registered grate to an animal larger than a cat. -The window itself was found to be shut and fastened inside by the -ordinary catch. - -“The police are very reticent, but so far no arrest has been made. The -inquest will be held to-morrow, when the medical evidence and more -details may be disclosed. In the meantime the house is surrounded by -crowds of the curious, particularly in the right-of-way in the rear of -the premises, from which the window of the room can be seen. - -“Great sympathy was expressed at Tattersall’s this morning by Mr. Booth’s -fellow metallicians on the news of the sad event reaching the club. No -member of the fraternity was more highly respected than the late -Alexander Booth, and his death will be a great loss to Sydney sportsmen.” - - - -“ANOTHER CRIME. - - - THE MYSTERY DEEPENS. - - THE CITY OFFICE OF ALEXANDER BOOTH - BROKEN OPEN AND ROBBED. - -“Before going to press news reaches us that the mystery surrounding the -sudden death of Alexander Booth is heightened by the statement of his -clerk, David Israel, that on going to the office at the usual hour this -morning he found the door ajar, and on further examination in the office, -the safe itself open, and bare of all contents, save the books of the -firm. He states that his first impression was that his master had -arrived before him, and had opened the premises and safe, and was -probably somewhere near at hand; but as minutes passed by and no one -appeared, he became alarmed. He then locked the place up, and went at -once to his master’s private residence, Lavender Bay, only to learn the -sad details of his sudden death. - -“An important statement made by this witness is that only Mr. Booth had a -key to his office safe, which he securely locked on Saturday afternoon. -As the safe does not appear to have been tampered with in any way, its -unlocking adds to the strange peculiarities surrounding this case. - -“David Israel does not know the exact amount of money missing, but -estimates it at two or three hundred pounds only. ‘If,’ said he, ‘this -had occurred a month ago, the loss would have been very different, as up -to that time Mr. Booth made no secret of the fact that he had a large -amount—thirty or forty thousand pounds—in securities, locked up in what -he considered a burglar and fireproof safe. But the late notorious -robberies in the city seemed to have weakened his confidence, for only -three weeks ago he transferred the whole of his valuables to the safe -keeping of the Bank of New South Wales.’” - -The extra special edition of the _Evening Times_ of the same date had the -following additional item— - -“On learning the details of the office robbery we at once dispatched a -reporter to the scene of the crime in Lavender Bay. It will be noted -that, according to the statement of David Israel, there was only one key -to the city safe, and that was in the possession of his master. If this -key was missing, then a motive for what may now be safely called a crime -is forthcoming. - -“The police authorities had already made a careful inventory of the dead -man’s personal effects, and amongst these, taken from the trousers -pocket, was a small flat key, said by Mrs. Booth to be, without doubt, -that of her husband’s safe. - -“So far as the public is concerned, this safety of the key, the -abstraction of which was so naturally anticipated by our reporter, makes -the mystery still deeper, and banishes what would at first appear to be -the motive for at least part of the crime, and the connecting link -between the murder on North Shore and the robbery in town. - -“Despite the reticence of the police, it is plain to all that they are as -puzzled as the public in general to form an acceptable theory as to how -the crime was committed.” - - - - -CHAPTER II -THE MISFORTUNES OF A B.A. OF LONDON UNIVERSITY - - -IT was Sunday night, or rather in the early darkness of the small hours -of Monday morning, that Police-Constable Hobbs wended his slow and -deliberate way down the vista of Walker Street. Why the force are -trained to step with a measured tread, which proclaims their personality -minutes before their arrival, is one of those questions only to be -answered by the benevolent supposition that Authority is anxious to warn -Criminality that it is coming! - -The constable had a dejected air, he put no energy into the trying of -doors and windows, and even the sight of a drunk going by short tacks up -Junction Street did not restore his animation. - -“Never get a chance!” he muttered to himself; “never get a chance. In -the force three years and only a common constable and a B.A. of London -University, too! What’s the use of education, anyway? Now, if I was -only ignorant enough I might be a Member of Parliament, or perhaps a -Minister of the Crown. But to spend years of time and bags of money to -end as a policeman is enough to make a man sick. If I was only a -sergeant now it would not be so bad. But on the Shore ability has no -show, never a burglary worth speaking of, and as for a good murder such a -thing is unheard of. I really don’t know what possesses the people. If -it was not for a few old reliable drunks that I can always run in in case -of need, I should have got the sack for incompetency long ago. Over in -Sydney, how different! Hardly a night but some chap has a turn, and not -a paltry drunk with nothing in his pockets either.” - -By this time the speaker had arrived at the top of that long flight of -steps that runs down the steep hill at the foot of Walker Street to the -wharf at Lavender Bay. Here he paused a while, and his talk to himself -took a new turn. - -“Shall I or shan’t I have a smoke? It is an hour before I have to meet -the Sergeant. Shall I waste it in a profitless round of deserted streets -and lanes, or have a quiet whiff in the bushes there? I will put the -motion to the meeting, as our chairman used to say. Decidedly I think -the ‘ayes’ have it. Then here’s for a smoke.” - -Saying this he drew a short black pipe from some hidden pocket, charged -it with tobacco, and descending the steps a short distance, turned into -the bushes on his left. He was just about to strike a light when the -figure of a man started up before him and rushed forward. - -Without hesitation the policeman took up the chase thus offered. It was -too dark to see very clearly, but the fugitive appeared to be a young -active man carrying a bag. Now such a character does not go tearing -around a quiet suburb like North Shore at four o’clock in the morning -with an honest motive. So at least thought P.-C. Hobbs, and he shouted -“Stop!” and went at his best handicap speed to overtake the fugitive. -But this person, far from stopping or losing in the race, had now turned -some corner of stone or bush, and when the constable came out in the open -ground beyond the bushes he found his prey had fled. - -Not a sound, not a sign. The earth might have closed on him. - -More disconsolate than ever, Hobbs retraced his steps. - -“Just my luck—the same old luck! The only kind of a chance I have had -for a month, and it slips through my fingers.” - -Going not far from the steps he sat concealed in the bushes, and puffed -his pipe. And it seemed to him as he gazed through the fumes of Black -Jack, that his previous view of things had been pessimistic—his turn -would come some day. North Shore could not for ever remain so -ferociously virtuous. A time might come when theft, even, perhaps, a -good murder might occur on his beat. And then people would learn that it -was not for nothing that he had qualified as B.A. at London University. - -The dusky light and cold air of dawn now made our philosopher consider -the time come to proceed on his round. Already fish-buyers and -news-vendors were descending the steps to proceed by the first boat. The -steamer was at the wharf puffing out steam as Hobbs looked down on her -from the steps. - -But stay! Who is that who rushes out from the bushes next the baths and -dives at full speed down the slope? - -It is THE MAN WITH THE BAG! - -Like a flash our policeman again starts in pursuit. This time he says to -himself, “The man is mine!” - -Vain hope! Even as he rushes into the waiting-room the ferry-boat has -cast off and left the wharf. He sees the man with the bag make a -desperate leap over a yawning chasm of green sea and white foam, and land -safely on the deck. And when he arrives it is only to be greeted by the -derisive jeers of the little crowd of passengers. - -Slowly he returns up the steps. Shall he report the matter to the -Sergeant? It might gain him credit, and the information might prove of -use. On the other hand, the Sergeant might want to know what he wanted -at that part of his beat at that particular time. And the question would -be awkward. - -This is how it came about that the police records are bare of any mention -of the vain chase by P.-C. Hobbs of a suspicious character carrying a -bag. - - - - -CHAPTER III -MRS. HOBBS - - -IT was the custom of Mr. Hobbs when he had been on night duty to sleep -till twelve noon on the following day, when he would awaken with a -punctuality at the dinner hour which would shame the fidelity of an alarm -clock. What was his surprise then to have his slumbers rudely disturbed -at ten o’clock by the high-pitched voice of Mrs. Hobbs. - -“What’s the matter, Bell?” - -“Wake up, you! Here’s news! Who’d have thought it! Why half the Shore -might be murdered for all you care!” - -“What’s that about murdering?” - -“Why, the baker boy just told me that at Mrs. Delfosse’s, down on the -Point, three of the boarders, if not more, were murdered in their beds -last night. The whole neighbourhood is there, and there is such a crowd -you can hardly get by. And that is your beat, too—I should just like to -know where you were last night? I’ll be bound packed away in some -corner, smoking. You need not shake your head. I know you. Neither use -nor ornament. Whatever the Government sees in you to pay you wages I -can’t think.” - -“Now, do keep quiet, Bell, and let a fellow have a show. You have got -hold of some cock-and-bull story that will melt down in the end to a -broken window or a drunken man beating his wife, or some such foolery.” - -“No such thing! You just dress and pack off to the station. You may be -wanted, and how can you get a chance to show your ability if you are out -of the way? A clever man like you only a common constable! I say it’s a -disgrace. You should speak up, and put yourself forward.” - - * * * * * - -Two hours later Mr. Hobbs returned. - -“You were partly right for a wonder, Bell. One man has been murdered, -and a very strange case it is, too.” - -And then he told in detail to his wife those events that have been -related. - -“Well, I never!” exclaimed Mrs. Hobbs. “What shall we have next? And -you call that a mystery? Why it is as plain as the nose on your face. -The woman killed him, of course! Who else could have done it? That -fainting or swooning is all moonshine. Why I could faint twenty times a -day if I wanted to. I know that Mrs. Booth—knew her before she was -married. A barmaid in a sixpenny bar. That will tell you what she is. -Why I would not trust the life of a cat to one of those creatures. -Faint, indeed! It wants a fool of a man to be taken in by that sort of -humbug.” - -“That’s just what Detective Dobell says; he’s got the case in hand. Sent -for him to Sydney. As though we were all fools here. Just my luck -again! He seems to think there is no doubt about it, and that all the -trouble will be to hunt up the corroborative evidence against her.” - -“Is that Dobell, the Sydney detective, that took your last chance from -you?” - -“Yes, that’s the man.” - -“Then, in my opinion, he’s a fool! If he said it was the woman did it, -then you can make up your mind he is wrong. Is it likely, now, that a -woman that wanted to kill her husband, would get a dagger and stab him in -his sleep? Suppose I wanted to kill you now, should I go about it like -that? No indeed! I should buy some ‘Rough on Rats,’ or something of -that kind, and put it in your tea. That is our way. It is only women on -the stage that use knives or daggers. You take my advice, and pay no -attention at all to what that Dobell says. That woman no more committed -that deed than I did myself.” - -“But you were positive only five minutes ago that she had!” - -“I said no such thing, and if you were not the most aggravating man in -the world you would not dare to say so. That is always your way. Trying -to make out I contradict myself, when you are too daft to know what to -say. If you would only take my advice for once you would—” - -“What?” - -“Just do a bit of detective work on the quiet. This affair will make a -great noise, and the man who finds out the riddle will not be that -thick-head Dobell, take my word for it. While all these wiseacres are -busy over the woman, you just take another track. Hunt up their history, -hers and his. You say that there was no robbery. If so, what was it -done for? Who would his death benefit? Trust a woman’s judgment. I’d -back her to find more out about a case in five minutes than one of you -tall muddle-heads in a week.” - -“It’s all very well to talk, Bell. If it comes to that I give you best. -But how should a woman who has never been out of Sydney in her life -understand these things? Now, I have had the advantage of a University -education in the metropolis of the world—a B.A. of London.” - -“Well, Mr. B.A., if you are so clever just go into the back yard and chop -some wood for the stove if you expect to have your tea.” - -The B.A. went, and as he chopped he inwardly resolved that the advice of -his wife was good; that much might be gained and nothing lost by -following it. Of a truth, that Dobell did hold his nose a trifle too -high—a man who could not construe a page of Latin to save his life. - -“Are you going to do what I say about that case?” screamed out Mrs. Hobbs -from the kitchen. - -Mr. Hobbs’ only reply as he took in an armful of billets was to mutter— - -“Bell, you’re a fool?” - - * * * * * - -On resuming duty some hours later, Mr. Hobbs found himself detailed for -the special service of watching Mrs. Booth. - - - - -CHAPTER IV -THE BOARDING-HOUSE AND BOARDERS - - -MRS. DELFOSSE had “seen better days.” How it is that the profession of -boarding-house keeping is for ever associated with a vista of past -splendours history recordeth not. Other people hide past grandeur in the -oblivion of silence, or shroud their social degeneracy even from their -nearest friends. But the boarding-house keeper trumpets her past Arabian -opulence from every vantage place her limited surroundings afford. - -The house occupied by Mrs. Delfosse was one of a terrace. Not a mean -lath-and-plaster, run-up-while-you-wait structure, but a fine substantial -building that had, of course, ruined the innocent contractor who erected -it. This house itself had, according to Mrs. Delfosse, been the scene of -her former life of luxurious ease, in fact, until that fatal date when -the late Captain Delfosse sailed on his last trip to America. There were -some brutes who inwardly congratulated the luck of the Captain in never -coming back, but the lady was inconsolable. - -As usual in such cases, in the course of time she advertised for a few -select boarders. What “select” meant was never explained, except it -might mean that the tariff and accommodation were above the average. - -There were five boarders—two city men on the first floor, Mr. and Mrs. -Booth on the second floor back, and Professor Norris (an old friend of -Mrs. Booth) on the second floor front. - -The Booths, by the way, were only counted as temporary lodgers, as they -had a fine house of their own in course of erection at Neutral Bay, and -were merely waiting its completion to move. - -When P.-C. Hobbs came on duty in plain clothes and relieved his brother -officer on watch in front of Mrs. Delfosse’s boarding-house, he was just -in time to overhear that lady recounting her griefs to a little gentleman -whose outward egress she barred with her ample form in the front doorway. - -“What shall I do, doctor? I am ruined, entirely ruined! To think of -people coming and getting murdered in a house of mine, and me been here -these fifteen years! It’s not as though they were permanents! And I who -have always been so respected! Oh, little did my poor dear captain think -I should ever come to this? The first floors have gone, and two better -boarders no one could wish for; not paltry city clerks, but merchants, -real merchants, and paid like the bank. And they left at once, never -thinking of me. No one thinks of me. No one has a thought for a poor -widow, left without resources. I call it shameful. There ought to be a -law to prevent it. And who do you think will come and take rooms in a -house where a man has been murdered? If it was only a suicide now, it -would not be so bad. I have known persons in the best of families make -away with themselves. But I’m ruined, ruined! I shall come to starve on -the streets, I’m sure!” - -The little doctor, who was fidgeting to get away, here interposed— - -“Why not leave this house and take another?” - -“I have thought of that; but look at the expense, and how would I get -other rooms to fit the carpets, and stairs to suit the matting, let alone -all the blinds and rollers? Now, just look at that oilcloth—” - -As Mrs. Delfosse turned to point out the article mentioned, the doctor -saw an opening, darted through, and was yards up the street before the -lady could draw breath. - -“Just like all the others. All for self; all for his own business. Not -a thought for me. No one thinks of me.” - -During this time, in the sitting-room of the same house, another -interview was taking place. A middle-aged gentleman, with a strong -resemblance to Shakespeare, in a nineteenth century coat and trousers, -and long waving hair, was seated. This was Professor Norris. Why -“Professor,” was never very clear, except it might be the long hair. - -A young woman, tall, well-shaped, if you exclude her pinched-in waist, a -complexion of strawberries and cream, blue eyes to match her fair hair, a -nose of no particular merit, lips blood red, and a set of white teeth—if -they were all real—as perfect and regular as the artificial article. -There was the general plumpness and freshness about this young lady that -the French term _Beauty de Diable_, and a sparkle in her eyes at times -that would set on fire, not chips, as other sparks do, but masculine -hearts. - -This was Mrs. Booth—Bertha Booth. - -She was raging up and down the room, her eyes red with crying, and she -moaned and sobbed as she walked— - -“I wish I were dead! I do. Oh, Alec; poor, dear Alec. It is horrible! -horrible! I know I shall go mad. If I sit still even for a minute, I -can feel the cold thing touching me again. Oh, why did I get married? -We were very happy before, Professor! Or why did I not marry you, as you -wanted me to? I am sure no one would have wanted to kill you. And the -way he looked! I’m sure I shall never forget the face—it haunts me. And -we had a few words yesterday, and we never had time even to make it up. -And who did it—and how was it done? Tell me, Professor. I’m sure you -must know—you know so many things. Don’t shake your head. I am certain -you are keeping something back. But I will know! I ought to know! I’m -his wife! And why am I not killed too? I wish I had been; it would have -saved me hours of misery, for I shall die of it. I know I shall die of -it.” - -“Try to be calm, Bertha; be a brave woman. Time will heal all, reveal -all; and remember that to-morrow there will be the inquest, and you will -have to attend.” - -“I can’t go. I’m not fit to go. It is too much. How can they expect -me, who am nearly out of my mind with this horror, to go to their -dreadful inquest?” - -“But try and bear up, my dear. I will be with you. You will not be -alone.” - -“And I have no dress to wear,” Bertha murmured. - -“No dress! Why you have heaps of dresses.” - -“No black dress. But there, you are a man, or you would know at once I -cannot go out in public till I have my weeds.” - -“If that is the trouble, you can easily order all you want from Sydney.” - -“But ready made! You know how I hate the shop costumes. You can always -see what they are. Madame Beaumont shall make it; I really believe she -is the only woman who can make a dress in Sydney. And she takes two -days.” - -“Really, my dear Bertha, you must be mad. Do you think they will adjourn -the inquest two days for you to have a dress made?” - -“I don’t care. They can kill me if they like. I wish I was dead.” - -“I shall go to Farmer’s, and tell them to send over some costumes for you -to choose.” - -“I won’t look at them.” - -He stood up to go. He had half crossed the room when she called him back -softly— - -“Pro?”—and she put her arms round his neck and kissed him. “Tell them I -must have a waistcoat body.” - -At this moment there was a knock on the door. Bertha hastily turned to a -mirror to arrange her hair, before saying “Come in.” - -The new arrival was a young man, well but loudly dressed, clean shaved, -and well groomed. He entered quietly, respectfully. - -“As an old friend, hearing the sad news, I called to see if I could be of -any use in what must be a most trying time.” - -“Oh, Huey, is that you? Sit down, sit down. I’m nearly mad. Thank you -for calling. You can go, Pro, and mind you remember.” - -The Professor nodded to the visitor and left the room. - -“Is it true, Bertha—Mrs. Booth, I should say—all this I read in the -evening paper?” said the visitor as he drew nearer to that lady on the -door closing. - -“What the papers say, I don’t know, but they cannot say what is more -horrible, more dreadful, than the truth!” - -And then Bertha, at great length, with interjected sobs and disjointed -fragments of narrative, related the tragedy of the morning. - -Huey, or, to give him his name in full, Hubert Gosper, listened -sympathetically, wondering perhaps somewhat, how, after such a shock, she -had power to bring her mind to even an inconsequential narrative. - -“What do you think of it?” she asked him. “The Professor will say -nothing, but look awfully wise, like a magpie on a fence. How was it -done—how could it be done? Could Alec have done it himself? He never -told me his affairs. Do you know if he was troubled about them? It’s -the uncertainty that’s so dreadful. People that did not know us might -even think I had something to do with it.” - -“You will pardon me, I hope, what I am going to say, and do not jump at a -conclusion at once. But I, who know you both, am inclined to think you -_had_ something to do with it.” - -“What! I?” - -“Now don’t take fright in that way. According to what you say, the room -is only to be entered by the door, and you locked and bolted that; so -there remains only two possibilities—either that Alec, by some unheard-of -means, stabbed himself, or that you did the deed.” - -“But that is monstrous!” - -“Of course, but the point has to be considered. There is still another -supposition. You might have opened the door to a third person, and -afterwards reclosed it.” - -“Why, that is as bad as the other!” - -“In the ordinary way, yes. But it chanced that I have just been reading -some experiments in hypnotism, by which strange results are sometimes -obtained by one mind unconsciously over another. You, I believe, in -former times were often mesmerized, and, it occurred to me at once, would -readily yield to the evil desires, unknowingly, of some designing -scoundrel. In such a case, I say again, you may have had something to do -with your husband’s death.” - -“But who could do such a thing? Besides, I know no designing scoundrel. -Your guess is worse than nothing at all. It is foolishness.” - -Nevertheless, the face of Mrs. Booth underwent a great change. She was -evidently “put darkly in doubt,” and though she spoke in bold confidence, -her companion clearly saw his shot had told. - -“But what you say is unnatural—horrible! All the mesmerists or -hypnotists in the world cannot make a wife kill her husband and not know -it. And as for what is in the newspapers, they are made up of a pack of -lies, and you ought to know it as well as anybody, for did you not use to -work on one?” - -“It may be so. I may be wrong. Only you wanted to know a possible way -that this thing might have happened, and I gave the only explanation that -occurred to me. Now tell me, what do you think?” - -But poor Bertha could not tell. She had no theory. Her mind was off on -a new chase, weaving all the possibilities out of this new idea which she -had openly scorned. It was with almost a vacant air she bade Mr. Gosper -good-bye, and as the door closed she sank down on the floor, moaning. - -The cup of her affliction was running over. - -“The scoundrel! Yet he would not dare. It cannot be true! Old Pro! I -can never believe it! And yet—and yet!” - - * * * * * - -As Mr. Gosper was crossing Circular Quay on his return journey he met the -Professor, who was coming back from his errand. - -“Have a wine, old man?” - -“Thank you, I seldom take anything, and I am anxious to be back to -Bertha.” - -“Oh, she’s first-rate—‘as well as can be expected,’ as the reports have -it. Come along. It will cheer you up.” - -With evident reluctance the Professor consented, and the two entered the -private bar of the Paragon, Huey leading the way to a quiet corner, and -with glasses before them, started the conversation. - -“This affair looks bad, Professor.” - -“How so?” - -“I mean for our mutual friend, Mrs. Booth.” - -“Yes; her husband’s death will be a sad loss to her.” - -“Oh, that is not what I am thinking of. Husbands are plenty enough for a -woman with her money and beauty. It’s her connection with the affair -that troubles me.” - -“In what way?” - -“Why, don’t you see, man? The law will demand an explanation, and -perhaps a victim, and the law that can only see as far as the end of its -nose will reason, ‘Here is a room securely locked up with two persons in -it. One of these persons is found dead by a wound not self-inflicted. -Inference, the other person must have done it.’” - -“Good God! You don’t think they will dare to accuse her?” - -“Think! It is no thinking matter. Sydney is saying nothing else. On -the ferry-boat, as elsewhere, they were talking of nothing but that, and -the wonder was why Mrs. Booth was not already arrested.” - -“But this is monstrous! You know it’s monstrous, Mr. Gosper. The very -shock of such a charge might endanger Bertha’s reason, or even her life!” - -“That may be true; but how will you prevent it? What is your own private -opinion on the mystery? Surely you have formed one?” - -“No, I have not. What you term the popular verdict is, of course, out of -the question with me, who know her so well; but I have thought out no -theory yet that will fit the case. I can recall no incident, in fact or -fiction, of this description. Poe’s _History of the Rue Morgue_ is the -nearest in point I can call to mind. But then there was an open window.” - -“That was the story of an ourang-outang climbing a waterspout to an open -window and throwing one woman out, pushing the other up a chimney, and -then escaping, was it not?” - -“Yes; something of that kind. But even, as is sometimes maintained, if -Fiction is only a prelude to Fact, the barred and fastened window in this -case close that explanation.” - -“Well, if you must go,” said Huey, for the Professor was rising, -“remember to send for me at any time, if I can help either you or Mrs. -Booth.” - -Not admitting it even to himself, a dreadful fear had pricked the heart -of the Professor. That Bertha could do such a deed was impossible, and -yet women were strange creatures. Who could pretend to have sounded to -the innermost depths of even one? And he would stake his life yes, his -life—on her innocence. But even if it was so, and he braced his mind to -face that awful contingency, he would not desert her. “A moment of -passion—who is accountable for it? And, say what you will, that Alec was -little better than a brute. It was in one sense a good riddance.” At all -hazards he would stick to her, and, above all, if she was accused he -would fight her battle. It is not the innocent who want friends; it is -the guilty. And, guilty or innocent, he would stand by her. - -So the thoughts chased through his mind as the ferry-boat crossed Sydney -Harbour in the moonlight of a bright summer’s night. He did not heed the -scene, familiar to him, of the grey indented shore, dotted with white -house fronts and clothed with sombre foliage, or the jutting headlands, -softening their dark outlines till in the distant background South Head -was a soft grey that melted into the sky, and its turning light shone on -the lapping water like a radiance. He did not heed the mirrored lights -of Sydney Cove, or the small craft that, with half-drawn sail, drifted -like shadows on the shining water. He did not heed the talk of the -crowded boat, nor, passing M‘Mahon’s Point wharf, did he hear a scream, -as from a distance, and a rush of eager feet to the stern of the vessel. - - - - -CHAPTER V -CONSTABLE HOBBS DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF - - -CONSTABLE HOBBS, on duty outside Mrs. Delfosse’s, had for a long time -nothing to break the monotony of his watch. He allowed the Professor to -pass, knowing him well. Mr. Gosper puzzled him. He concluded at once he -was not a resident of the Shore; he certainly did not know him as such, -yet he had a kind of inward conviction he had seen him before, but where, -he could not call to mind. But the thought did not trouble him. He met, -every day, people he had met before, without being able, or caring for -that matter, to locate the time and place. - -It had been some time dark when the meditations of a quiet smoke were -interrupted by the opening of the front door, and the coming out of a -lady. - -“It is her; what the dickens is she up to!” - -It was indeed Bertha. Bertha, hysterical, nearly mad. To be in the -house was no longer endurable, she was stifled, choked. The suggestion -of Huey had grown in her mind till her reason seemed to forsake her. A -hundred fancies that she could not brush aside rose up as threatening -witnesses. - -“The Professor had always wanted to marry her, that was certain; so who -but he could desire the death of Alec? Who but he could control her -will, unknown to her? He must have made her open the door.” - -So her mind ran on. She left the house, and walked down the road, -heedless where she went, and the precautions of Mr. Hobbs to be -unobserved in his following was so much skill thrown away. He noted that -she walked unsteadily, and, with his varied experience in “drunks,” the -suggestion of partial intoxication occurred to him. To his credit, he -put the thought aside as only worthy of an ignorant member of the force. - -Evidently, he said to himself, she is going somewhere of importance, or -she would hardly go at night, and by herself such a day as this has been -for her. No doubt I shall now gain a clue. - -“Cheer up, old man,” he said to himself; “‘there is a tide in the affairs -of man,’ etc. Now is your chance; this is the first good case you have -had a hand in. The ladder of promotion is before you. Climb!” - -Bertha by this time had descended the steep path that leads to M‘Mahon’s -Point wharf. - -“The devil!” said Hobbs. “It seems she means to go to Sydney. What if -she is really guilty, and means to give us the slip? I will close up.” - -Once, twice, three times Bertha paced the wharf, her eyes bent on the -water with a hungry longing. - -She made a step forward. - -“Be careful!” sang out the warning voice of the constable. - -But, with a wild cry, Bertha threw up her arms and plunged down. There -was a splash, a few bubbles, and a little whirl in the waves as constable -Hobbs rushed forward. - -“Well, I’m damned! Just my luck!” he exclaimed, as he threw off his coat -and hat, and with a wild sweep of his arms dived into the harbour. - - * * * * * - -The _Evening Times_, of August 16, contained the following double-headed -paragraph in its middle page— - - - -“FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NORTH SHORE MYSTERY. - - - THE PLOT THICKENS. - - ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF MRS. BOOTH, AND - GALLANT RESCUE BY ONE OF THE - POLICE FORCE. - - PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHY OF THE HERO, - POLICE-CONSTABLE HOBBS. - -“Never perhaps in the history of the colony has a crime claimed such -universal interest, and aroused such general curiosity, as the so-called -North Shore mystery. On train, boat, or ’bus, or wherever men are -gathered together, it forms the sole and engrossing topic of -conversation. Nearly every man one meets considers himself a born -detective, and has a solution of the mystery at his fingers’ ends. -Unfortunately, however, hardly two of three solutions agree, either as to -the personality of the criminal or the method of the crime. - -“An unexpected development was added to the already complicated skein by -the attempted suicide last night of Mrs. Booth. It appears, from reports -received, that Police-Constable Hobbs had been stationed on duty by the -authorities to watch the house of Mrs. Delfosse, the scene of the crime, -his orders being to note the doings of the inmates. That this precaution -was a wise one was shown by the sequel. - -“Late in the evening, after a gentleman, a stranger to the constable, had -called at the house and again departed, the constable’s attention was -aroused by the front door opening, and Mrs. Booth, with her outdoor -garments on, leaving the house and walking towards Blue’s Point. -Needless to say, the constable followed in her wake. According to his -statement, her movements struck him as being, to say the least, very -strange. Her walk was unsteady and erratic, and his first impression was -that she was intoxicated; but, being a man of more than average -intelligence, he soon scouted this idea, and came to the more natural -conclusion that the poor lady, as was very natural, was suffering from -strong excitement. - -“After some hesitation Mrs. Booth took the path leading to the ferry at -M‘Mahon’s Point, and Police-Constable Hobbs at once concluded that her -intention was to take the incoming boat with the object of going to -Sydney or Milson’s Point. What was his astonishment to see her step -forward on the wharf, and with what looked like a determined plunge, jump -into the water. Without a moment’s hesitation the constable ran forward, -and, rapidly divesting himself of his hat and heavy tunic, jumped in -after her. So quick was he that Mrs. Booth had barely come to the -surface ere her form was grasped, and fortunately the ferry steamer was -close at hand to provide a rope. By this time, however, Mr. Hobbs had -already landed on the wharf, neither he nor Mrs. Booth being much the -worse for their immersion. Mrs. Booth was promptly removed to her house, -where she remains under surveillance. - -“The numerous witnesses to this act of gallantry were unanimous in their -chorus of praise of the pluck shown by the hero, and we are enabled by -the kindness of Mrs. Hobbs to furnish the following short account of her -husband—Police-Constable Hobbs is a native of Bethnal Green, London, -England. He has always been noted for courage and resolution, this being -the third life he has saved from drowning. He is, moreover, a man of -education, being a B.A. of London University, and qualified by his mental -attainments for a far higher position than that at present held by him. -It is one of the anomalies of Colonial life, that some of our best men -have to commence life in such subordinate positions as that held by -Police-Constable Hobbs. As a swimmer he is no mean exponent, having been -for three years previous to leaving the old country champion and captain -of the Serpentine Swimming Club; as an athlete he had few equals, either -at quoits or the more active game of rounders. We certainly think the -attention of the authorities should be drawn—more particularly the Royal -Humane Society—to the meritorious conduct of this officer. True courage -and ability such as his call for more than the usual perfunctory meed of -thanks. - -“As to the crime itself, we have no further development to make public. -Speculation is rife, and the police, as usual, are said to ‘have a clue.’ -If so, they preserve a most frigid reticence on the point. During the -day the rear and front of the house have been surrounded by the customary -gaping crowd, and it has been found necessary to detail an additional -constable to preserve order in the neighbourhood. The inquest, which was -to have been held to-day, has been postponed until to-morrow to allow of -the more perfect recovery of Mrs. Booth.” - - * * * * * - -In consideration of his immersion in the harbour, P.-C. Hobbs was -allowed a day off from his duties, and he readily seized the opportunity -to pursue his investigations as to the origin of the crime. - -The view of his wife, that the murder was not a woman’s murder, strongly -influenced him. He was further impressed in Mrs. Booth’s favour by the -fact that popular opinion, backed by Detective Dobell, generally -condemned her. Popular opinion, said Mr. Hobbs to himself, is an ass. -It sees no further than the end of its nose. Because the door was locked -and bolted, then, forsooth, the woman must be guilty. But would a guilty -person have so locked and bolted the door? Would they not rather have -left it open so as to admit others to suspicion, and not fastened it, and -suspicion too, on themselves? For the crime was premeditated, the knife -was not a common one, and must have been procured on purpose by some -person versed in anatomy. It was, in fact, more of a skewer than a -knife, such a skewer as is used in ham and beef shops to join together -the pieces of brisket. - -That door unfastened would have meant the inclusion of the whole -household in the range of doubt—a sharing of the burden of suspicion that -would be comparatively light to bear. Of course, it was true that even -the cleverest criminals often committed the greatest blunders, and such -might be the case in the present instance. But was it not more -reasonable to suppose that the criminal had himself refastened the door; -the lock was a common one, and worked easily; a pair of pliers to grasp -it, with the help of a skeleton key, would have both unlocked and locked -it from the outside. Then there was the bolt. Certainly that was a -puzzle, but one that could be solved must be solved. - -At any rate, he would go to Sydney and interview these boarders; and -David Israel, the clerk, his statement required sifting. It was a -curious accident if these two crimes were not in some way connected. He -found the first address in his pocket-book— - - SCHNIDER BROTHERS, - CLARENCE STREET, - - _Wholesale Importers of Jewellery and_ - _Fancy Goods_. - -A few minutes’ walk took him to Clarence Street, and in answer to his -inquiry he was promptly ushered into a back office, where two fair -gentlemen were seated at a huge desk. - -“Are you the Messrs. Schnider?” - -“Ve are,” said the elder, promptly turning round. “Vat can we have ze -pleasure of doing for you?” - -“I am in the Police Department,” replied Mr. Hobbs, handing over his -card, “and I have called for such information as you can give relative to -the crime committed at your lodgings.” - -“Ah! Dat vas vat I say to my brothers. Ve shall have some policemans -round to ask us shoost nothings at all.” - -“Did you know much of Mr. and Mrs. Booth?” - -“No; ve knows very little. Ve sees them zometimes at dinner; ve speak to -them English—ve love the language—but they not speak much to us, and they -speak the English very padly. They do not understand what you call the -idiom, so we get tired. Ve speak not much to them; ve fear to speak like -them. Ah, Sydney is bad for the English language. Not like in Shermany; -there they speak her particularly. I hear no good speaking in zis -country. They learn the English like some parrots, not like in Shermany, -vere ve learn at school. It is much shame to you.” - -“Did you notice if Mr. and Mrs. Booth were friendly together? Did they -have disputes? Was she a good wife? - -“Not so good vife as we have in Shermany. There the frau, she stop home -all ze day, do all ze work of ze home, and ze good man, when he have -dinner, go to the beer garden and drink twenty, thirty bock, and when he -come home a little bit what you call tipsy, the good frau she help him to -bed, and not say one little word. Not like as here, vere the vife goes -out to valk about half ze day. It was bad, very bad!” - -“I am sorry to interrupt you, but what I wish to know is not about -Germany, but about this business of the murder. Have you any reason to -think Mrs. Booth had any ill-feeling towards her husband?” - -“Ve know nothings, shoost nothings at all about zese peoples. They -speak, I tell you, the English very padly, not like as in Shermany.” - -“Damn Shermany,” said P.-C. Hobbs to himself, as he promptly bowed -himself out. “They are either a pair of fools or a pair of rogues, -trying to bluff me with gammon.” - -But he did not escape so quickly as he expected. After a hurried -consultation together, one of the partners stepped forward. - -“Do not go for a little minute. This, I tink, is the first time zat you -see our store. We always like to make some little present to our new -friends. Come zis vay. Come zis vay.” And the German led the way to the -back premises, where on numerous shelves a host of packets and cardboard -boxes were stored, having for the most part fastened on the outside a -sample of the goods within. With much preliminary graciousness the -merchant went to a small box and produced a common wooden pipe, worth, -perhaps, twopence, and, presenting it to Mr. Hobbs, he said— - -“You will keep that, my friend. It is vat you call ze keepsake. That is -vone good pipe—vone very good pipe; same as they smoke in Shermany. If -you will show zat pipe to your friends it shall do us some good in the -pisiness!” - -Pocketing the present, the constable made his way out. - -“Now for the third man, the acknowledged friend of Mrs. Booth—Professor -Norris, Park Street, is the address, I think. Yes, it is Park Street.” - -The shop was easily found, a small narrow-windowed place with this sign -written in large letters across the front— - - PROFESSOR NORRIS, SCIENTIFIC - FOOTIST. - - THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE. - - Characters Delineated by the Marvellous Science—The - Discovery of Professor Norris—The Secret of Life Long - Hidden Under Foot Now First Revealed. Phrenology, - Physiognomy, and Palmistry Entirely Superseded by - the Up-to-date Science, Footology. - - “Man, Know Your Feet.” - - Do not Waste Your Old Boots, but Send One Along - with Five Shillings in Stamps for Full Character Chart. - -The greater part of this window was occupied by a mammoth foot in plaster -of Paris, and P.-C. Hobbs regarded it curiously. A large bump, like a -bunion, on the big toe, was marked, “Mount of Venus.” A zigzag track down -the instep, looking like the plan of the river Murray, as seen on maps, -was designated, “Line of Life.” - -“What humbug will they be up to next?” exclaimed Hobbs, as he regarded -this curiosity. - -In answer to his inquiry the attendant at the counter informed him that -the Professor had not arrived that day, and had sent a message saying he -should not come till the next morning. - -“An important engagement, no doubt,” added the speaker. “The Professor -is often summoned to attend some of the highest families.” - -“To read their feet?” - -“Of course. You see, it’s all the rage now. The foot, unlike the hand, -is not distorted by work and hard wear. Being used solely to tread with, -it retains all Nature’s revelations in their pristine purity. Fortunes -are constantly made by those who are wise enough to consult the future in -their feet, and in love and matrimony none should be without their -guidance. Shall I make an appointment with you to meet the -Professor—your feet appear to be really interesting? The Professor loves -his work, and I am sure he would be pleased to see you.” - -“No, thank you, young man. I called on other matters. Perhaps I can -find your master at his private address. Good-day.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI -MRS. BOOTH COMMITTED FOR TRIAL - - -AFTER his day’s round, Mr. Hobbs returned home to his tea. For this meal -he was glad to see a plate of pink prawns on the table. If he had one -weakness of the epicure, it was in the direction of prawns, and Mrs. -Hobbs, when in a specially good humour, was wont to indulge him. This -happened with her perhaps the more rarely, as her husband was wont on -these occasions, while praising the quality of the prawns, which he rated -as being nearly equal to Gravesend shrimps, to inveigh against Colonial -provisions generally. - -“The meat was not equal to English meat—not the flavour—the vegetables -were tasteless, and the fruit lacking in juice.” - -These remarks on the products of her native land made Mrs. Hobbs mad and -restive. - -“If everything was so good in England, why in the name of fortune did you -leave it?” - -“I wish I had not, and that’s the truth,” Mr. Hobbs would reply. - -“And I wish so too!” would retort his good lady. - -Then would follow a domestic squall, during which Mrs. Hobbs launched -forth in voluble Anglo-Saxon on the worthlessness of men in general, and -this one in particular. - -In the meantime her husband leisurely ate up the prawns. - -This night was an exception. The meal passed without the customary -equinoctial, and Mrs. Hobbs got her fair share of the shrimps. - -“I can tell you what it is, Tom, if you go jumping in the water again -with your uniform clothes on, and expect me to wash them and get them -decent, you are very much mistaken; somebody else may do them, I won’t. -Such a job, with all the nasty salt water in them. If that brazen-faced -hussy wants to drown herself let her. Good riddance, I say, to bad -rubbish. If it had been me, now, you would not have been so quick, I’ll -be bound.” - -“Now, draw it mild, Bell! It was you that were taking her part only last -night.” - -“How dare you say that, you aggravating man! Did I not say at once that -it was she that killed her husband, and now are not my words proved true? -Has not her guilty conscience driven her to try and drown herself? Why, -it’s as plain as the nose on your face.” - -“Don’t be so hasty; it proves nothing of the sort. You will admit that -if she is the criminal, she must be a most daring and cold-blooded one. -Now, daring criminals, particularly women criminals, are hardly ever -known to display remorse of any kind. The mind of an innocent woman is -only too likely to be upset by such a day as that passed by Mrs. Booth, -but a criminal having expected it would remain quite unmoved.” - -“So you still think she is innocent?” - -“I am more convinced than ever.” - -“And what have you done to-day?” - -“To commence at the beginning—I thought the matter well over last night. -You will remember that the doctor said the knife entering the back near -the spine, between the ribs, pierced the heart, and caused instantaneous -death; but violent muscular movements of the limbs and body were likely -to have occurred for some moments afterwards, and the stab could not have -been self-inflicted. I felt by no means sure of that. It seemed -unlikely, certainly; but any solution of this problem must be an unlikely -one, and this appeared at least as feasible and plausible as any. Then I -tried to imagine how Mr. Booth could have carried out his purpose. The -knife, as you know, had no proper handle, but only the thin pointed haft. -Suppose he had stuck it in his bed, raised himself, and fallen backwards -on the point, and then, in his pain, turned over—this would account for -his position?” - -“Why, of course, that’s it, Tom! It’s as plain as possible! Why, you -have got more sense than I gave you credit for!” - -“But that is not it, Bell. I have carefully examined the bed and the -sheet he was lying on, and there is no perforation, such as the haft must -have made. Giving up this idea, I had to find another solution. If Mrs. -Booth was not the criminal, but some third party, who was that criminal -likely to be? Clearly some one resident in the house; this was the more -likely. They would be on the spot, and be acquainted with all the small -details necessary to execute such a deed undetected. At the same time, -it must not be overlooked that a person capable of entering, undisturbed, -one locked room, might, perhaps, just as easily have entered a locked-up -house. - -“I considered the inmates in this order—There was Mrs. Delfosse, the -landlady. She is a respectable lady, and known on the Shore for years. -In regard to her, the crime could bring no conceivable benefit. Mr. -Booth was almost a stranger to her, and his tragic death is likely to -prove a serious loss, so I rule her out of the possibles. Next there is -the servant girl. Here I thought there might be a clue. These betting -men are mostly a fast lot; perhaps Booth had been tampering with her. -But Eliza Smith is a quiet, decent girl, engaged to be married to a -carpenter, and when she assured me Mr. Booth had not spoken half-a-dozen -times to her in his life, I believed her. So I ruled her out. Then -there are the other boarders—the two Germans, the brothers Schnider, on -the first floor. I said to myself, ‘These foreign fellows are often the -kind of men to fancy other men’s wives, and to take strange means to -gratify their fancy.’ - -“Acting on this idea, I called on these gentlemen in town. They seem to -be in a good way of business, fine warehouse, clerks, and all the rest of -it; but the men themselves are a pair of ugly yellow devils, with big fat -noses. Supposing Mrs. Booth to be a party to an intrigue with one of -them, to say the least she has very bad taste. But then I reflected that -women are very capricious.” - -“Not more than men, I’m sure!” - -“And, though the late Mr. Booth was at least in appearance worth -half-a-dozen of these German sauerkrauts, yet we have the memorable -example of Hamlet’s mother, that ugliness itself is sometimes an -attraction to feminine taste.” - -“Who was that Mrs. Hamlet? Did she live on the Shore? I never heard of -her.” - -“No, she is a character in a play.” - -“Written by a man, I suppose?” - -“Yes; William Shakespeare.” - -“That explains it. I knew it would take a man to write foolery like -that! And what did those Germans tell you?” - -“I could get nothing out of them. They talked like two idiots, so I left -them in disgust. But, coming home, and thinking the matter over in my -mind, I began to doubt if they had not been acting a part with me to try -perhaps to throw me off the scent. Is it likely now, that two -dunderheads such as they pretended to be, could successfully carry on a -Sydney wholesale business? They tell me, and I have no doubt it’s true, -that it takes a man to be as sharp as a razor for that kind of work. And -later, when crossing the ferry, I met one of the clerks I had seen in the -office, I took the opportunity to pump him in a quiet way about his -bosses, and he was not slow to talk. - -“‘Are they fond of women!’ said the clerk. ‘Just terrors! I believe -it’s all they think about, and they think no small beer of themselves. -Why, there’s Jacob, that’s the eldest, to hear him you would think all -the girls in Sydney were running after him, and the married women, too. -Even this Mrs. Booth they are talking about so much now, he has often -said she had made a dead set at him, wanted him to spark her about, and I -don’t know what.’ - -“‘And did he?’ I asked. - -“‘Not that I know of. He never told us that. But then he is such a -terrible liar I never believe a word he says.’ - -“Here we arrived at Milson’s Point, and the clerk left me, but what he -had said caused me to think more seriously of these Germans, particularly -the elder one, Jacob. As you said yourself, Bell, the knife is not a -woman’s weapon, and more than that, with the exception of a few sailors -who carry a sheath knife, it is not an Englishman’s weapon. With many -foreigners, on the other hand, it is their common mode of attack. Here -we have a man stabbed in a house, probably by an inmate of that house. -Two of these residents are foreigners, and one of them has an avowed -passion for the wife of the murdered man. What is more likely than that -he should be the criminal?” - -“Of course, Tom, it’s as clear as daylight; it’s that Jacob! That’s the -man!” - -“Not so fast, Bell, not so fast. How did he open and close the locked -and bolted door?” - -“Why? why! she must have done it for him!” - -“Then she is as guilty as he is, and we had decided she was innocent! -Besides, how does this explain the robbery of Mr. Booth’s safe in Sydney? -For, in spite of the newspapers, I am convinced there is some connection -between the two events. Reviewing the evidence carefully, I think with -the Germans it is so far a case of suspicion only. Another boarder was -Professor Norris. He, you will remember, was the first to break open the -door and enter the room. And mark this, he is an old friend of Mrs. -Booth. I went to his shop in Park Street, where he appears to carry on a -fortune-telling or character-reading business. As I expected, he was not -there; but I found him at Mrs. Delfosse’s. He talked very freely, and I -must admit seemed very straightforward in all he said. He may be a bit -eccentric in his opinions, but I am bound to say appears as little like a -murderer as any man I ever met. This is what he said, in answer to my -questions—He had known Mrs. Booth about four years, when he first -employed her to assist him in his lectures on phrenology and -clairvoyance, which he gave in various towns of the colony. He finally -gave up this work, because Mrs. Booth, who was a Miss Summerhayes at that -time, got tired of the business, and preferred a life in Sydney. Here -she took a place as barmaid, and after a time, against his advice, -married the late Mr. Booth. Their married life, he said, was fairly -happy, so far as it had gone; nevertheless, he still believes the match -was an unsuitable one, and that later on it would have led to dissensions -and misery. He is fairly convinced that Mrs. Booth had no hand in her -husband’s death. She was still, he said, very fond of him. He could -think of no enemy who could desire, or would have benefited in any way by -Booth’s death; but he expressed the opinion that all men connected with -horse-racing are more or less rogues, and Mr. Booth’s acquaintances were -all of that class. - -“I asked concerning Mrs. Booth’s relations to the German boarders. He -said they were on no more than just speaking terms. They met sometimes -at meals, but Mrs. Booth had often told him that she did not like their -manners. ‘They ate their food like hogs,’ that was her expression. So -that latterly she had done no more than nod to them. The Professor felt -positive they had had no hand in the crime. - -“‘Who has then?’ I asked. ‘Whom do you suspect?’ He said, ‘I have no -suspicions. I have thought of nothing else for the last two days, day -and night, and I cannot even form a theory, even a stupid theory, as to -either how the crime was done, or who did it. I am pretty well -acquainted, by reading, with the history of mysterious crimes, but this, -so far as I know, is without a parallel. If I did not know Bertha—that -is Mrs. Booth—so well, I should incline to the view that she must have -had a hand in it; but I can assure you positively, that I would rather -believe it was I myself did it say when I was asleep than that she ever -dreamed of such a thing. I know her so well. She would not harm a fly, -and the sight of blood at any time would make her faint right away. No, -decidedly no, it was not Bertha, and who it was I cannot imagine.’ - -“With this I left him. The man may be a skilful liar, but I think not. -It is not the action of a criminal to try and avert suspicion from -others—the Germans, for instance. In Mrs. Booth’s case it might be -understood. It is not the action of the criminal to leave no theory to -explain his crime. So that I am inclined to believe the Professor, and -rule him out, and for that matter, accepting his evidence, rule out Jacob -Schnider.” - -“But who is there left, Tom?” chimed in Mrs. Hobbs. “If the people in -the house are not to be suspected, and the man did not kill himself, it -must have been some one outside.” - -“So I think. This is why I called at Mr. Booth’s Sydney office and -interviewed his clerk. This young man’s story, as published, ran so pat -I did not half like the look of it. In the first place, supposing him to -be guilty, his story is such as a specious scoundrel would invent. The -fact that three weeks ago he knew that thousands of pounds worth of -securities were in the safe, while at the date of the robbery there was -only a few hundreds in cash, looks a plausible enough suggestion till you -come to examine it. - -“What were these securities? Were they inscribed stock, mortgage deeds, -or bonds? If so, however valuable to the owner they might have been, -they would be quite useless to a thief. Cash, on the other hand, is -useful to anybody, and there is nothing to show that the cash in the safe -at this particular time was not as large as it had ever been. On the -other hand, supposing David Israel to be the criminal, or cognisant of -the crime, it is hard to understand why an apparently useless murder of -great danger and difficulty was added to the comparatively easy crime of -theft. Certainly the safe must have been opened by a strange key. Why, -having the key, should the robber trouble himself about the life of Mr. -Booth? Clearly, if there was any connection between the two crimes there -must have been some other motive besides that of robbery. - -“These were the thoughts in my mind when I questioned the clerk. He is a -glib young man, very dapper in his dress, very voluble in talk, and this -is what he said in answer to my questions—He was still carrying on the -business, not opening any fresh accounts, but simply paying and receiving -cash as it became due. In this he was acting according to instructions -from Mrs. Booth, who desired that all her husband’s engagements should be -honourably met. He had been in the employ of the late Mr. Booth for the -past six months, his duty being to keep all the accounts and the books, -Mr. Booth being a poor scholar. The business had been very profitable, -no doubt of that, and, besides, his master had had a great run of luck. -He could not remember such a run of ‘skinners’ as Booth had had lately. -I asked him what a skinner was. - -“He said it was a day that was bad for the public; when they were -skinned, in fact. As he kept all the accounts, I asked him if he could -tell me more exactly by referring to them, how much money had been left -in the safe on Saturday. Israel seemed to me to hesitate a little; -perhaps it was only my fancy, for he very quickly gave me a total—£374 -10s. - -“‘This is larger,’ I suggested, ‘than the amount that you first stated.’ - -“‘Yes, it is,’ he said; ‘but I then spoke hurriedly, without reference to -the accounts.’ - -“‘Was it usual,’ I asked, ‘to have so much loose money?’ - -“‘Oh, yes,’ he answered, very sharply, ‘we often had a couple of hundred; -but Saturday was a busy day, and there might have been a little extra.’ - -“‘As a matter of fact,’ I inquired, ‘is not this the first time in your -experience that such a large sum in cash has been locked up in the safe?’ - -“‘Perhaps it is,’ he said. - -“‘Is it not a fact, Mr. Israel’—and here I made a shot at a venture, an -inspiration of the moment ‘that Mr. Booth was about to dispense with your -services?’ - -“‘No such thing!’ he exclaimed; but his sallow face turned red, then very -pale. ‘No such thing; he might have growled a bit, he did occasionally -when “lively”; but he did not mean what he said.’ - -“‘He did give you notice then?’ - -“‘In a sort of way; but it was not serious, and he was half tight at the -time.’ - -“‘And when would this notice expire?’ - -“‘The end of this week. But it was not serious, I tell you. I took no -notice of it. As a matter of fact, Mr. Booth could not understood his -own books, and knew he could not do without me.’ - -“At this point I turned the conversation, and asked him did he know if -his master had any enemies, or any persons who would benefit by his -death. Israel answered readily enough. - -“No, he did not know any particular person; but a big betting man was -likely enough to have bad blood with some people; and, as regards his -death, that might no doubt lead to the scratching of all his horses in -training by his widow; and of course those who had backed them would -lose, and the chances of other horses in the race be so much the better. - -“This was a new clue to me, and, bidding good-day to Mr. Israel, I came -home. Carefully considering the evidence of this clerk, it appears to me -the most important of all. In the first place, on his own statement -there was ample motive for a robbery of the safe. And not only was there -a motive, but he was the only person likely to know that such a large sum -was locked up. Next, we have his own assertion that there was £374. But -how much more may there have been, unentered by him in those books, over -which he had full control? And this notice of dismissal that he was -under which he now treats so easily—may, very likely, have been of -serious consequence to him. And why was this notice given? Certainly a -man in Booth’s position, ignorant of accounts, much of whose business was -done on ‘the nod,’ and required an expert to recognize all his varied -customers, would be very slow to dismiss a confidential clerk. Probably -the cause was something serious—perhaps criminal? At any rate, it looks -shady. If there was a spirit of revenge in this man we have a motive for -his master’s death; but if we add to this the possibility, as he himself -suggested, of a betting-book being so arranged as to gain largely by Mr. -Booth’s death, we have a second and still stronger motive.” - -“Well, I will say, Tom,” said Mrs. Hobbs, “you have more sense than I -gave you credit for. You should arrest that Jew boy at once. I should -not hesitate a minute.” - -“Easy, my dear, easy. Remember you were equally persistent just now, -first that Booth killed himself, then that Jacob Schnider did it.” - -“I said nothing of the sort. It was you, you thick-headed numbskull! -But there, that’s just like you, trying to put your own mistakes on my -shoulders! Why, no one with a grain of sense could hesitate for a -minute. I had my doubts from the first about that clerk!” - -“Well, old woman, let us suppose it is the clerk, or some one helping -him. How do you account for his passing through two locked and bolted -doors, and re-passing, leaving them fastened behind him? That he should -be able to open the doors is understandable, but that he should have -troubled to relock and rebolt them after himself is incredible. The man -who robbed the shop locked neither safe nor door, though the motive in -that case would have been quite as strong and the job much easier, for in -this case the locking was from the outside.” - -“Then the murderer did not open the doors at all!” - -“So I was inclined to think. But there are only two other possible -entrances to the room—a chimney a cat could hardly crawl down, and a -window fastened inside, barred without, and thirty-three feet from the -ground.” - -“Well, I don’t care what you say! That Israel did it, right enough! I -never saw a man so aggravating as you are. You no sooner find the man -that did it than you try and prove he didn’t!” - - * * * * * - -It was the evening of the next day. Mr. Hobbs had returned to his tea. - -“Well, Tom!” said his wife; “how did the inquest go? Anything fresh?” - -“Nothing fresh, Bell. Nothing I have not told you. Dobell, as I -expected, has found out nothing. He is in a bit of a fix I can see -plainly enough. He expected to find corroborative evidence against Mrs. -Booth, but, so far, he has failed.” - -“Then the jury acquitted her?” - -“On the contrary; they committed her for wilful murder, and by this time -she is in Darlinghurst. But that was only what was to be expected. A -coroner’s jury have not got a judge to direct them. Their verdict is -only tentative. With the evidence before them they did right.” - -“And how did the poor woman take it?” - -“You never saw any one look more astounded. She stared round the room as -though she was looking at a ghost, and then swooned right away, with a -loud shriek. The Professor was there to hold her up, and I could see him -turn pale and tremble like a leaf. He told me himself that the shock of -this affair is likely to send the poor girl out of her mind, and it is -easy to see he is very much attached to her.” - -“Poor dear creature, what she must suffer! You must help her, Tom. Now -set your wits to work. I know you can if you like.” - -“I will do my best, Bell; and if brains and ability, though I say it that -should not, can solve the North Shore mystery, I will solve it!” - - - - -CHAPTER VII -LOOKING BACKWARD-WINDSOR - - -THREE years earlier than the incidents related in the preceding chapters, -the walls and fences of that moribund and derelict country town, Windsor, -were ornamented by a series of posters that proclaimed the early -appearance of the renowned Professor Norris, mesmerist, phrenologist, and -magnetic healer; also the gifted clairvoyant, Bertha Summerhayes, reader -of the past and future. And then followed numerous details of the -wonders and signs common to such entertainments, the bill concluding with -this parting advice—“Man, know thyself!” - -Why men generally are invited to make the acquaintance of the very -second-rate article referred to was not stated. Or, having found what an -unmitigated fool that person generally is, what he was to do in the -matter was also a blank. - -Windsor took the posters very quietly. Nothing but a circus or a -Hawkesbury flood will stimulate the languid circulation of a native of -its mud flats. Professor Norris and his assistant, who had arrived at -Mrs. Brown’s family hotel that morning, had returned from a round of -inspection, and met in their sitting-room to compare notes. - -“What do you think of the town, my dear? Is it not a fine, quaint old -place?” - -“I don’t know about being quaint, it is old enough. Why, half of the -buildings seem to be empty, and the other half public houses? Whatever -do the people do for a living?” - -“Perhaps they drink in each other’s bars,” said the Professor simply. - -“And do you know what Mrs. Brown asked me? She said we must pay each -day’s hotel charges in advance!” - -“It must be her large organ of Caution. This is very unusual.” - -“So I told her, but she explained that shows had so often failed to make -expenses in this ‘quaint’ old town of yours, that continued losses had -forced them to make this stipulation. Nevertheless, she was kind enough -to add that she would give something towards the subscription to pay our -fare to Sydney when the time came.” - -“That was her large organ of Benevolence, and very kind of her.” - -“But what a place! I am sure I thought being a professional was -something nice, that at any rate people would respect me; but it seems we -are looked upon as little better than tramps. For my part I’m sick of -it. Windsor is the last straw. Once catch me in Sydney again, and a -team of bullocks shall not drag me out of it!” - -“You are too impressionable, my dear. Remember our educational mission. -It is not only for our own personal ends we travel, but more especially -to awaken in men a more enlightened interest in those mesmeric and -electric powers that invest them. Think of the cause, my dear, think of -our mission.” - -“Fiddlesticks for your mission! The ‘Cause’ will not clothe us, and feed -us, and pay the Mrs. Browns their bills.” - -“Now, don’t fret; we may have a good house to-night, our bills are really -posted everywhere.” - -“Of course they are; they are on the doors of all the empty houses.” - -“And who can tell how many heads I may have? I have remarked some really -interesting subjects in this place. The temperaments are largely -lymphatic. I saw the largest alimentativeness standing at an hotel door -that I have ever seen.” - -The Professor, having got on his favourite theme, would have gone on -indefinitely, had not a servant come to the door to announce the visit of -a gentleman from the newspaper. - -“Show him up by all means,” said the Professor. “It is always wise to -stand well with the Press, and besides, he may want his character read. -It would be a most excellent advertisement for us, most excellent.” - -The gentleman from the newspaper was coming up the stairs with an -aggressive step. As general utility in the office he had been dispatched -to demand immediate cash payment of the printing bill, and he felt no -hesitation in undertaking the task. He had been told to stand no humbug, -and he meant to act up to instructions. Hubert Gosper was a tall, lank -youth, with the Colonial looseness of limb, like wheels on an old axle -that want screwing up; a narrow face, regular features, the eyes small -and set back, as Australian eyes are wont to be, with the accompanying -lines in the forehead, and contraction of the eyebrows, due to the glare -of light. As he entered the room with careless confidence the Professor -bowed to him, but before he could commence his abrupt demand, his eye -caught the face of Bertha Summerhayes. - -And she smiled at him graciously, and from her eyes came a fire that -flashed through him, seared him in some way, making him, as it were, from -that moment, and instantly, in some sort, another man. For the nonce he -was almost dumb, and stumbled and stammered disconnected words. - -The Professor in pity came to his assistance. “Ah; no doubt you wish to -have your character read? I shall do so with the greatest pleasure. Of -course, members of the Press are on my free list. Take a chair.” - -Hubert, or Huey, as he was commonly called, mechanically obeyed. - -“Really, a most remarkable head!” exclaimed the Professor, after his -fingers had passed once or twice through the hair of the sitter. “Most -remarkable? I find you have intellectual gifts, which, if properly -cultivated, might make a first-class novelist or playwright. A wealth of -language and imagery that promises the eloquence of a great orator. In -the perceptive organs you have that analytical faculty that is required -by the legal mind, and, should inclination lead you to mathematics, or -the exact sciences, you have all the organs required, of the most ample -development. On the side of morals, I find strict integrity and lofty -veneration. The Church would in you gain an ornament and a bright light. -Of what are—perhaps unfairly—termed the selfish organs, your share is a -wise and proper balance, and the animal only such as is required to give -the requisite energy and stimulant to the whole. I say, without -hesitation, that to such an endowment of intelligence as you possess no -path in life, however eminent, is closed. You may be a statesman, a -prelate, a poet, artist, or engineer, and I would even venture so far as -to say you might in time, by diligent study and observation, be a -phrenologist.” - -“Be a what?” exclaimed Huey, as though some insect had stung him. - -“A phrenologist, my dear sir; one of the noblest careers open to our -poor, frail humanity.” - -“How much a week do they get?” - -“If you mean how much in paltry coin is their share, the returns, I -admit, are somewhat scant, but the wealth of gratitude from honest hearts -made happier, and the noble exaltation in the spread of science and truth -are illimitable.” - -“I’m afraid the terms won’t suit!” - -“Reflect, my dear friend. This day a path opens before you. Be my -pupil; such talent as yours lies buried—let it burst forth and bloom.” - -Huey’s eyes by this time had again wandered to Bertha, who sat apart, and -the feeling was strong within him that he must see again and talk with -this girl. This proposal of the Professor’s, though idiotic from his own -point of view, would form an excuse for further visits. - -So when they parted a little later, without one word being said of the -printing account, it was understood that Huey was to think the matter -over and call again. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII -THE TWO LOVERS - - -AN empty wood dray was going up the main street, Windsor, a young man -seated on the side rail, carelessly resting after bringing in a second -load of firewood from Pitt Town Common. - -He was well-proportioned, muscular and hard with work, and black tanned -by the sun. - -Professor Norris, had he given an honest chart of this man’s character, -would have found little for exultant rapture; and, on the other hand, -little to condemn. A mind uncultivated, stunted by hard physical labour, -he sat in his dray with a stolid, bovine content, for he had dined -heartily on his midday meal of damper, corned beef, and a billy of black -tea. - -So he jolted on his road, as happy for the time being as a hungry cow in -a lucerne paddock; but looking up his eye caught sight of a newly-pasted -bill on a wall, and he pulled up his horse to read it. Seeing an -acquaintance and old school-fellow close by, be hailed him— - -“Hullo, Huey! what’s all this about on this bill? Mesmerism and -clairvoyance! What sort of fake is that? Is there any circus in it, or -horses?” - -“No, Alec,” replied Huey; “it’s a man that feels your bumps and tells -you, you are an awfully clever fellow, and a girl that reads you your -fortune, and all kinds of things besides.” - -“Oh, that sort of rot! I thought it might have been something worth -seeing.” - -“The show’s not up to much, but the girl’s a ripper—the prettiest girl in -the world, I do believe! Straight wire, and no joke!” - -“Is it worth a bob now, to go and see her?” - -Little thinking how much hung on his answer, little knowing to how large -a degree that answer would shape his own life and that of others, Huey -answered— - -“Pay a bob! Why, it’s worth a quid, man, and cheap at the price!” - - * * * * * - -On his second visit to the Professor, Huey got on speaking terms with -Bertha, and that young lady, instinctively seeing, or feeling, the -conquest she had made, added more gracious smiles and still more gracious -words to ensnare her victim. And yet there was a certain haughtiness and -reserve about her that repelled familiarity, and perhaps added to her -charm. - -“It must be very nice for you,” said Huey at this interview, “to be -travelling about the country, seeing all the different towns and people; -not confined, a poor creature like myself, to one dull little place.” - -“So I thought,” replied Bertha, “when the Professor persuaded me to make -this journey with him, but I am heartily tired of it. Out of Sydney you -are buried, fairly buried, and what is there to see but the same old bush -and the same old stupid people wherever you go. It is all very well for -the Professor; he finds wonderful ‘subjects,’ as he calls them, -everywhere. I don’t know how many possible Shakespeares and Miltons he -has not discovered. To hear him, you would think the bush was just -running over with talent. He says it is only accident that brings great -men to the front, and that for one that is known, hundreds are lost to -themselves and everybody else. Now what is the good, I want to know, of -being as clever as clever can be, if you have to waste it all on -wallabies and cockatoos?” - -And here it seemed to Huey that Bertha’s words had a personal address, -that she already felt an interest in him, and, in this indirect way, was -summoning him to a new life. - -“But what is a fellow to do—one of those clever men you speak of, I mean? -How is he to get out of the rut? What is the good of being clever, -anyway? Like the Professor, for instance. He is not very rich, I -suppose?” - -“Oh, poor old Pro! Rich?—no! And never will be. His one desire is to -spread what he calls the ‘Light of Modern Research’; but it’s my belief -that people don’t want his ‘Light,’ or anybody else’s. Every one thinks -himself so clever, you know. And when you try and prove to them they are -just ignorant and stupid, they don’t like it.” - -“And what do you think of it all, Miss Summerhayes?” - -“I am afraid I am one of the stupid, ignorant people! I just want to be -like everybody else—no better, no worse. Only let me be where there is -somebody—some life. This is my last appearance on the platform. Once in -Sydney, there I stop. Dear old Sydney! I had no idea what a delightful -place it was till I had spent twelve months amongst gum-trees, -post-and-rail fences, and bark huts.” - -“And where do you live in Sydney?” Huey asked, but before the answer came -the Professor burst into the room. - -“I have found it out, my dear. Really it’s the most simple thing in the -world as plain as the nose on your face, so to speak and no one has ever -seen it before. It’s a scientific discovery of the highest importance, -and will rank with the laws of gravity and natural selection. Really the -law is self-evident.” - -“What law, Pro? What are you excited about?” - -“You know, my dear, I have often told you that, valuable as phrenology is -as a guide to character, it yet only tells a man’s possibilities, not -what a man is. This must be looked for in other directions, and I have -always held that physiognomy was the clue. But although we all -acknowledge that character is shown by the face, no one has yet pointed -out the simple rule by which we are all, even a little child, more or -less guided. Now, that rule I have just thought out, and I venture to -predict it will revolutionize our social organization.” - -“Well, what is the rule? Tell us, Pro, quickly, or you will have found -out something else and forgotten all about it.” - -“The rule, my dear, is this—That where those changes, that take place in -the face of every person to express the varied emotions, are found as a -permanent part of the face when in repose, then that person has that -emotion in a correspondingly high degree, and it follows that as the -character is changeable, so is the face. One is an exact index of the -other. Let me illustrate. You yourself, who have large love of -admiration, an organ becoming and proper of your sex, have the mouth -depressed between the nose and chin. Now, when you smile, as you are now -doing, the corners of the mouth are drawn back, as it were, giving to any -mouth a slight appearance of what, to you, is a permanent feature. And -when a person is resolute or determined, is it not a fact, Mr. Gosper, -that the teeth are clenched and the jaw projected? Are not these also -the signs of resolution and determination? And so on, all through. I -could multiply instances indefinitely, but one has only to stand before a -mirror, and like an actor, express the different sentiments, to learn the -whole key to physiognomy in a few minutes.” - -“But what do you mean to do about it, Pro?” inquired Bertha, smiling -incredulously. - -“When we get back to Sydney I will write a book. I am inclined to think -you are right as to the want of sympathetic appreciation of the public -for lectures. Literature is the teacher of to-day. To literature I will -turn my energies.” - -Huey, who was in no ways interested in the “new law,” here found means to -escape, and with a smile of adieu from Bertha that haunted him for many -days to come, descended the stairs, and as he descended there seemed to -be a light going out of his life. - -She would leave the next morning; how much that meant he commenced to -realize. The flames of a new hope, brightened in her presence, flickered -and dimmed as he left her. With the descending stairs the hope grew -smaller and smaller, and once descended, seemed to go right out. - -What could he, odd man in a country printing office, hope to offer? Even -George Street, that up to this time had appeared a right and proper kind -of thoroughfare for a country town, now looked mean and squalid, and -Windsor itself a grave for youth and energy. He could not stand it. He -felt sure he could not stand it. Better far to starve in a city than -vegetate amidst the Hawkesbury flats, animate and inanimate. - -And joined with this thought was a passionate resolve to see Bertha -Summerhayes again, to strive for her, to fight for her if need be, but to -possess her at any cost. - - * * * * * - -On Pitt Town Common, the following morning, Alexander Booth was having an -inward experience, not unlike that of his chum, Huey. He had been twice -to the lecture, and though not mesmerized by the Professor, he was -affected in a most strange manner by his fair assistant. - -He had not spoken to her, he had only seen her as one of a small -audience, yet she already filled his thoughts in a way that was -engrossing and irresistible, almost painful. It was as though his mind -had been a clean slate and she the first to write on it, not in part, but -over the whole surface. - -So it came about that the logs would not split that day; they might have -been tough or fuzzy, or crossed in the grain. He had never found his -judgment so mistaken as to how a tree would run. Then he took to cursing -the logs, the wedges, and the maul, then by progression to damn the -common, the life he was leading, and himself for a fool for following it. -He who was used to whistle at his work, like a magpie on a stump, never -piped a note, and though the sun glared down through the shadeless forest -of box and ironbark on the brown grass and dusty track, it seemed to him -a dark cloud was in the sky. - -Going into Windsor at last, he flogged the horse in a way unusual to him, -and seeing Huey in George Street, hailed him with a sense of relief. - -“I’m full up, Huey.” - -“Full of what?” - -“Full of this dog’s life, of slogging all day for a mere nothing. I’m -going to give it best and clear.” - -“So am I. I told the boss this morning this would be my last week; I’m -off for Sydney. Windsor may be good enough for old men to die in, but -for a young man who wants to live Sydney’s the place.” - -“Then I’ll go with you, I’m blest if I don’t. I’ll tell the old man -to-night. Young George is big enough now to do my work, and if the old -man does not like it he can just do the other thing.” - -So the bargain was concluded, and the two young men, each turned to -discontent by a pretty face, decided to explore the unknown, and plunge -in the maelstrom of Sydney life. - - - - -CHAPTER IX -HUEY AND ALEC - - -THE two lads had been to Sydney before as holiday visitors, but to -actually live there, to depend for their future on what the city might -offer, was a new, and at first, delightful experience. Huey did not own -to himself that he was following in Bertha’s footsteps. He satisfied his -mind that he was only acting from the wise desire to better his prospects -and enlarge his opportunities. As the time came that saw them at last -alighting on Redfern platform, his ambition had soared into wild dreams -of what the metropolis might hold out. Why should he not be sub-editor -of one of the important dailies? Or editor, perhaps, of some minor -paper? What the Professor had said about his capabilities was, no doubt, -exaggerated; but he felt there was a substratum of truth. Once let him -get his foot on the ladder, as high of course as possible to start with, -and he felt all the power to climb to the top. Parliament and the -Ministerial bench all shone before him in a dim vista of future -greatness. He had perhaps too much common-sense to take those dreams -quite seriously, yet there was pleasure in the nursing of them and Youth -and Hope sat by to fool him. - -Alec, in his own more stolid, matter-of-fact way, had his dreams too. A -well-paid billet, with little to do but drive about in a buggy and have -unlimited drinks at the wayside pubs, was nearly his ideal, if put in -words. He was not brought to Sydney in a hope to renew the sight of -Bertha; he did not know she had gone there; for Huey, with an instinctive -jealousy, had not told him. - -The sight of this girl had acted on him as a species of revelation that -the good things of life were not confined to a timber-getter on Pitt Town -Common. That in fact much that was desirable, this girl, for instance, -was, for a firewood-getter, hopelessly cut off. So he had thrown down -his tools, careless of his father’s displeasure, and taken the train with -Huey. - -To an arrival from the country George Street, Sydney, is an everlasting -wonder and delight. The throng of passengers and vehicles all rushing -along, the multitude of strange faces, and smartly dressed shop-windows, -causes him to wander up and down, with mouth half open and staring eyes, -devouring, as it were, the scene before him. Huey and Alec were not -quite new chums to the city, and passed successfully the numerous door -men on Brickfield Hill, who, perhaps attracted by their tanned faces, or -the country clothes, or some other sign that their dog-like instinct -finds in the Bushman, solicited their patronage on terms the most -pressing. - -It was only after their second day, when they had first made inquiries in -the direction of their hopes, that those hopes became more shadowy and -indistinct. - -Huey found no possible opening for a sub-editor who was not qualified by -previous experience in the same kind of work. - -Alec, who had pitched on the occupation of brewer’s traveller as his -ideal, at least to commence with, found on the most casual inquiry that -not only experience, but influence, was required to secure the billet. -He was, however, consoled for the loss, for a time, by a visit he paid -casually to a horse sale-yard, where the heavy gold watch-chain and -imposing air of the auctioneer took his fancy. He would be a horse -salesman at all costs. He invited an _habitué_ of the yard to take a -drink, hoping to get some useful information. - -He did. - -“You understand horses—perhaps you know a good beast when you see one?” - -“I should think I did; and a bad one, too.” - -“That’s just it; you know the bad points about a horse. Now, an -auctioneer doesn’t; he just sees in every animal ‘The finest beast that -ever came into this yard!’ And you think, I suppose, he just has to -stand there and take bids, and knock it down to the highest bidder?” - -“Well, I should think so.” - -“You are a soft one, and no mistake. Where did you come from? Damper -must be cheap in your part. Why, you mug, the auctioneer just bids -himself, and keeps her going if he sees a mug about, and then runs him as -far as he thinks he will go before he knocks him down. Now, could you -run a mug and not be caught ‘on the rocks’?” - -Alec had to own to himself that at present that prospect was closed to -him. - -On the third day, ambition having cooled, they tried for more humble -posts, Huey as reporter and Alec as ’bus driver, but here also they found -the door closed on them. - -By the end of the week their ardour had so cooled that Huey was hunting -round job offices for a place as printer’s devil, and Alec found the -dignity of driving a tip-dray one to be desired. But they found even in -these humble walks those more qualified than themselves before them. So -they spent a great part of the day walking about the Domain or sitting on -the seats, resting after their tramps for work. They did not tell each -other much of their experience after the first day or so. Their day’s -fortune on a re-meeting was all summed up in the mutual ejaculation— - -“No luck!” - -“No luck!” - -Taken up with their own cares, the two friends had, these last few days, -paid little heed to those about them, yet more than once they had noticed -a rather stout old gentleman, clean-shaved, white-haired, with a babyish, -chubby face, like a cherubim gone to seed, with a pair of big blue eyes -that looked wonderingly about. There was generally a cluster of children -about him, whom he incited to foot races, long jumps, and other sports, -he himself seeming more gay and childish than all the rest. One morning -two of these small boys began fighting, and, to the surprise of the young -men, the old gentleman, far from interfering, was urging them on, with -eager instructions as to how to hold their fists and strike their blows. -Huey went forward to interfere. Alec, for his part, thought the sport -rather interesting than otherwise. But the old gentleman pulled Huey up -by exclaiming— - -“Let the young roosters have it out; it makes them game! Watch the -little fellow—he is trying the La Blanche I taught him yesterday!” - -The bigger boy now retreated, howling, with a bleeding nose, but the old -gentleman sent a threepenny-piece after him by another boy, and in like -manner rewarded the victor. The children then left in a bee-line for the -main entrance gate, probably, as the old gentleman suggested, “To blue -their swag.” - -So it came about that they all fell talking together, and in course of -conversation the old gentleman learned some of the young men’s -experiences. - -“So you have come to Sydney to make your fortunes, my boys? Nothing like -it; I admire pluck. But how are you going about it? Making fortunes -wants understanding, like everything else. You want to know the ropes, -and if you don’t get on the right track soon, you waste all your time, -and perhaps never find it at all.” - -“Well, can you tell us the ropes?” interjected Alec. - -“That is as it may be. I don’t give all my experience away to the first -comer just for the asking. Let us hear what your ideas are of making a -fortune first.” - -“Well,” said Huey, “I believe in getting into some firm, the bigger the -better, and by steady industry and making myself useful, working my way -up to the highest position—early to bed, early to rise, a penny saved is -a penny got, and all that sort of thing.” - -“No good,” was the laconic comment of the old gentleman. “Those -sentiments might have been all right a hundred years ago, but they are -not up to date. Honest Integrity, when he has been in a firm long -enough, say all the best years of his life, gets promoted by getting the -sack, because his salary looks too big, and they can get a younger man to -do his work for half the money. As for the ‘early to bed’ racket, I -never knew any one but labourers and poor devils who could not help it -that stuck to that game. And the ‘penny saved’ is no better; you have -not got the value of that penny till you have eaten it, or spent it in -some other pleasing fashion. A penny saved and put of course, in a bank -that goes bung is a mug’s game. Why, all this kind of foolishness you -are talking is the ruin of hundreds of promising lads; and it’s just -unlearning it all and reading it the other way about that is called -experience.” - -“But you don’t mean to say,” urged Huey, “that honesty is not the best -policy?” - -“Oh, no,” said the old gentleman, “honesty is a good line, particularly -for a cashier or a trustee. Be as honest as the day, you gain -confidence; and then sooner or later you can clear to America with a good -swag. Yes, honesty is a paying game, properly conducted.” - -Hubert smiled aside to Alec. The old gentleman was either wrong in his -head or was trying to take a rise out of them. - -“I don’t suppose you know who I am,” continued the old gentleman. “I am -called Soft Sam, or Old Sam, and I have put more successful men on the -right track than any other man in Sydney. Men as green as you are, some -of them; now owning houses there” (pointing to Macquarie Street) “and -stores there” (pointing to Circular Quay). - -“And do all the chaps you help do well?” inquired Alec. - -“No, they don’t; and I’ll tell you why. After getting along all right -with the start I give them they get so cocky, they think they are too -clever to come to me again, and sooner or later they make a hash of it. -There are several of them over there” (jerking his thumb towards -Darlinghurst); “but it’s all their own foolishness, and thinking they -could run before they could walk. But this is dry work talking; let us -go and have a wet.” - -They went towards the gate, the young men wondering what kind of a man -this Soft Sam might be. Presently the old man spoke again— - -“Bless me!” and he clapped his hands in both his pockets. “I have not -got a copper on me!” - -“Ah, now we are coming to it,” thought Huey; “he will want to borrow -money.” - -But Soft Sam did nothing of the kind. - -“Come along, boys, it’s all right. I’ll meet one of my lads before we -have gone far.” - -Even as he spoke a flash sulky, with a fast-trotting pony, driven by a -superfine young swell, was dashing past. Old Sam put up his hand, and -the vehicle stopped. He stepped forward, and this is what the young men -heard— - -“Give us a quid, Johnny.” - -“A fiver if you like, Sam.” - -“No, a quid will do.” - -A pocket-book was brought out, the paper handed over, and with a mutual -nod the sulky disappeared round the corner. - -“A friend of yours?” inquired Huey. - -“One of my pupils.” - -“Then you are a kind of professor?” - -“Well, I never went in for any fine name like that. I just show the -ropes to young fellows as I think will benefit, and when I want a pound I -just ask the first one handy.” - -“But I suppose you will have a lot of money of your own?” - -“Not a penny in the world. What do I want money for? It is all very -well for young fellows like you, but I would not be bothered with more -than I can put in my waistcoat pocket. I tried it once, but mates were -always borrowing it, or worrying me to give or lend it, so I got clear of -the lot, and a good job too.” - -Soft Sam was now accosted by a man who crossed the street to speak to -him, and Alec heard him whisper— - -“Lend us a quid, Sam; I’ve got a mug!” - -As though it was a matter of course, the hand of the old man went to his -pocket, and the note so recently put there changed hands once more. With -this the stranger hurried away and joined another. - -“Now you see what it is to have money,” said Old Sam. “Now, that Jackson -is no better than a fool, and I will wager he is trying to work the -confidence trick on that new chum he is with. I told him times enough it -is not in his line, but he is one of the clever ones, thinks he knows -everything.” - -The party had turned into George Street. Soft Sam pulled up before a -draper’s window, flaming with posters, announcing “A Great Fire Sale.” - -“My idea,” he said, pointing to the placards. “A month ago, Smallway was -nearly a broker. He came to me. I told him to make a fire in his -back-yard, call out the Brigade, and give a reporter a fiver to make half -a column of it. Since then he has been coining money.” - -“How is that?” said Huey. “I don’t see where the profit comes in.” - -“Damaged goods, of course. The public will pay fifty per cent. more for -smoky, soiled calico than they will for new. Why, he has got one man and -three boys dipping rolls of goods in dirty water in the back-yard all the -time. It is a little gold-mine while it lasts. I may as well go in and -get a quid off him as any one else.” - -So saying, the old man stepped into the shop, which was crammed with -eager buyers, and in a little time sallied forth with a note in his hand. - -“Would not give me less than a fiver. Said he owed me a hundred times as -much. Now, that’s the sort of man I like—a man who knows where his -success comes from, and does not gammon it is all his own cleverness. -Come along, lads, and I’ll show you the finest sight and the finest girl -in Sydney. Here we are; they call it the Golden Bar.” - - - - -CHAPTER X -THE GOLDEN BAR - - -THE door swung behind them, and truly the young men were fairly dazzled. -A spacious room, walled with mirrors, with pillars and panelling, -fretwork and tracery, all of burnished gold—even the frescoed ceiling had -a gilt cornice—the furniture, the ornate bar, and fairy-like shelves, all -were gilt. - -And the light that streamed in from the oriel roof was rose-coloured, and -gave a halo of glory to the whole. - -And behind the bar were three fair maidens, and behind them again the -usual range of bottles and decanters. - -Only for this familiar sight the lads would have taken the place for the -dwelling of some genii or millionaire. - -Soft Sam smiled as he saw their astonishment. It pleased him. - -“Nice little crib to smoke a pipe, eh? What will you take? A bottle of -Foster, my dear, and never believe me again if you are not the prettiest -girl in the town! Yes, I call you the Queen of Sydney.” - -The barmaid tossed her head contemptuously, served the drinks, and was -about to turn away, when her eyes caught those of Huey. - -“An old acquaintance! How are you? Come to stop in Sydney?” - -And Bertha, for it was Bertha, glorified by the latest fashion in dress -and coiffure—Bertha, morocco-bound and gilt-edged—smiled at him, bending -her head on one side and looking slantwise with her eyes. - -Huey drank in her smile like dew from Heaven; drank it in with a species -of intoxication. He answered in words he was ashamed of, so halting and -stumbling. Then the three sat down. - -“Isn’t she a clinker?” said Sam. - -“My word!” added Alec. - -Huey said nothing. - -“I’ll go and have a word with her,” said Alec, and, rising, he went to -the bar, and started a conversation with Bertha. - -Huey watched them, expecting with certainty that Bertha would receive the -clumsy compliments and remarks of Alec with indifference, if not disgust. -What was his surprise to see her answer graciously, and, could he believe -his eyes, smile on Alec, with that same soul-devouring smile that she had -bestowed on himself. He felt in a moment a great hatred for Alec, and he -felt as though this old chum of his had basely robbed him of some dear -treasure, and had any one noted Huey’s eyes at that moment, they would -have seen a flash of hell-fire from them. - -The moment passed,—it was all in a moment, but a bitterness remained, -even though as Huey sat there he saw this smile bestowed not on one only, -but half-a-dozen other favoured customers. - -“Well, boys,” said Soft Sam, “you can stop and see the gals. I’m off. -You know where to find me. So long.” - - * * * * * - -They had had tea at their coffee palace—Huey and Alec. - -Huey said he would go upstairs and read. Alec said he would stroll down -to Paddy’s Market. But no sooner had Alec gone out than Huey put down -his paper, went out in the street, and made a straight line for the -Golden Bar. He turned the corner and was about to enter, when he came -nearly full-butt on Alec. - -There was no explanation. They knew they had lied to each other, and -they felt, not ashamed of themselves, but sore that the other should -know. They entered together and drank together, and played dominoes to -pass the time, while they watched each other and Bertha behind the bar, -and she smiled on both of them when they came for drinks, with a uniform -sweetness. - -And the lads drank love and hate as they sat together, and though they -spoke in the usual friendly tone, they knew the old friendliness and -mutual confidence was buried for ever. - -Where they sat the two young men could hear most of what Bertha said to -the numerous customers that came to her. Amongst these was a small crowd -of flash young men, full of loud talk and coarse jokes. One of them, -leaning on the bar, looked up at Bertha— - -“I tell you what it is, my dear. Say the word, and I’ll marry you.” - -Bertha turned on him contemptuously— - -“Marry you? You must think I want a husband badly. And what have you to -marry on?” - -“A few thousands.” - -“What is that? The man that speaks to me must have twenty thousand to -begin with.” - -The whole conversation was doubtless a thoughtless jest on both sides, -but one pair of ears at least did not take it so. Alec sealed the words -in his memory. And the first question he asked Soft Sam when they met -him next day was— - -“How can I make twenty thousand pounds?” - - - - -CHAPTER XI -HOW TO START IN BUSINESS - - -“THAT’S a pretty tidy sum,” said the old man; “not that the amount makes -much difference while you are about it. It is just as easy to make -twenty thousand pounds as twenty thousand pence, if you are on the right -track. Now, I have been turning you two young chaps over in my mind, and -the question is, what are you fit for that has got money in it? I should -judge you,” turning to Alec, “to have a good loud voice!” - -Without a word Alec stood up and gave a coo-ee like a steam whistle, a -screech that could have been heard across the water at North Shore, and -woke up the Domain sleepers like the sound of the last trump. - -“That will do,” said the old man. “What a pair of bellows you must have! -Now, the first thing you must do is to start in business.” - -“But that will require capital, whatever we choose,” observed Huey. - -“That is where you make the mistake, my lad. When a man starts in -business with capital, the chances are ten to one he loses it. If a -chap’s smart enough for business, he’s smart enough to start without -capital. Now, money is made to be lost by the mug and picked up by the -man of talent.” - -“Then if no money is wanted, how do you start?” - -“On credit, my lad, and the more you owe to the right people the safer -you are. Who will help you when you are hard pushed? Your friend? Not -a bit of it. Your creditors! Who will push your business, bring you -customers, put you in the way of a good deal? Your creditors. No man -ever failed for debt. It was for not owing enough! Why, half Sydney -firms would be wound up to-morrow but for their wise foresight in owing -too much. The creditors dare not face the loss, so they keep them going. -As for the squatters in the country, from what I hear there is not one in -a score could pay ten shillings in the pound, and they are as jolly as -sand-boys and as happy as kings. Does the price of wool trouble them? -Not much!” - -“And is it wise to pay nobody?” - -“No, that is a fool’s game! A small creditor is a small enemy, while a -big creditor is a big friend. It’s the same with appropriating. Never -take a few paltry pounds, you may get seven years. It is just as simple -to start a rotten company and scoop thousands—just as easy and no risk; -only fools can’t see it. And who gets in quod? The little fishes or the -big ones? Why, the little fishes all the time? Why, the law is a net -made so delicate that all the big sharks can break through; the only -question is, will you be a man eaten or a man-eater? - -“It’s all the foolishness and humbug we are taught while we are boys that -spoils life for most men. They start out at a game they don’t -understand, with the certainty they do. Mind you, I’m not saying things -are not pretty well as they are, for if there were no mugs where would -our turn come in?” - -Huey felt at first a certain revolt and repugnance to the doctrines of -Soft Sam, but little by little the feeling wore off. The calm certainty -of the speaker, the evidence he had of the success of his plans, all told -with force. How could he argue against success; he, who so far felt -himself a failure? A thought came into his mind how One was in old time -taken to a pinnacle of the Temple, and the kingdoms of the world shown to -him—“All these will I give you if you will bow down and worship me.” - -But he put the recollection aside as not suited to the affairs of -practical life. - -Alec, on his side, received all these new maxims like new milk. - -To him they were as the keys of Heaven—self-evident propositions that he -wondered had never struck him before. - -“Well, what had we better start?” - -“I think book-making would do to begin with,” said Sam, “you have got a -good voice and plenty of muscle,” turning to Alec. “I think that’s about -your dart.” - -“But I know nothing of the business,” replied Alec, despondingly. - -“There you go again! Did you think I expected you did? That’s another -foolishness folks have got in their head, that you have to understand a -thing before you try it. Does the clever miner know where the gold is -when he sinks a shaft? Not a bit of it. Does the old hand that knows -all the points strike it rich? Not a bit of it. It’s the mug that comes -along and does not know pyrites from peas-pudding that hits the patch! I -suppose you know a horse from a cow?” - -“I should say so!” said Alec. - -“Then that’s all you want to know to be a bookmaker. Directly you begin -to know one horse from another you commence to be too clever; you are -inclined to back your fancy on your own hook, and it’s very soon all up -with you.” - -“But don’t you have to make a book? Is there not some science or skill -in taking the proper bets, or hedging, or something of that kind?” - -“There is nothing in it that a baby can’t learn in five minutes. You -back the field against the public all the time, and the public all finish -by losing their money; you always finish by getting it.” - -“But bow much shall I make? Shall I get £20,000?” - -“No, I don’t say you will. I only said this was to commence with. You -might make a thousand a year. Will that suit till I can put you on a lay -for the other?” - -Would it suit? A lad who had been earning so far a few shillings a week -with the life of a working bullock! Would it suit? Was honey sweet in -the mouth; was pleasure better than pain? Alec just closed with the -offer right away, and had to get up and shake hands with Soft Sam on the -strength of it. - -“But I must warn you,” continued Sam, “that it is not all beer and -skittles. It will be awkward if the favourites win the first few races, -because you will have to cut and run, and your business is as good as -done for in that line for the future. But there is no good meeting -trouble half-way. I’ll see you launched when the game is pretty right. -All the same, it is as well to be prepared for a belting.” - -“I’m ready,” said Alec. “I can stand hard knocks with anybody.” - -Huey had said nothing to all this. The possibility of being hunted as a -blackleg was not tempting to him, so he turned a look on Soft Sam, which -the old gentleman seemed to understand. - -“I suppose now the hard knocks and the clearing racket are hardly in your -line?” - -“I can’t say they are,” answered Huey. - -“So I thought. You want a gentlemanly occupation, without risk, no -trouble to speak of, and bags full of profit?” - -“That’s just about my complaint.” - -“Then here’s the very thing? You must start as a turf prophet. You have -been on a newspaper and can string words together, and that is what is -wanted.” - -“But I know no more about horses or who is likely to win than Cook’s -statue over there.” - -“No more does any other turf prophet. Do you think that even if they -knew one certainty they would not go and pawn their shirts, make their -pile, and retire to private life? Do you think these men are what they -call philanthropists, who sell turf knowledge, equal to bank-notes, to -the first comers, at five bob a head? Of course the public does—that Al -copper-fastened fool, the public. You will have to learn the -‘pitch’—that’s easy. Always refer to the ‘stable,’ what the stable says, -what the stable think. And when your tip loses, as it generally will, -‘Very sorry I could not tell you sooner. But at the last moment the -stable decided to run him stiff. Could not get the money on. Ring was -afraid of him. So they are saving him. Will be a dead bird for sure the -next handicap, and I shall have the straight wire, you make no error.’ -That’s about the total of it; of course you will vary it a bit, just for -variety, ‘The stable has been forestalled; the owner is saving him for -the Cup, and the stable did not know till the last moment. The jockey -was got at.’ Or, supposing it’s a mare, then it was ‘one of her off -days.’ The fact is, the game is too simple for a smart man. To an old -fisherman it is like catching yellowtail.” - -“But five shillings a tip won’t bring in much, I should think, unless the -yellowtail you speak of are very numerous,” objected Huey. - -“The five bobs, as you say, do not amount to much; hardly pay the -advertising. The profit is another branch of the business. It stands to -reason that the mugs who go to turf prophets are about the muggiest of -mugs there are. This is what makes the business such a soft thing. -Suppose a race is coming off with eleven horses entered and five of them -possible winners; then to five different mugs you give five different -‘extra special’ tips, in consideration of which you are to stand in free -for half the winnings. One mug wins and shares, and swears by you ever -after, or at least till you have cleaned him out. As for the others, you -smooth them down as per usual—horse could have done it easy, his time at -private trials was seconds under, but stable was not on the job!” - -“It seems to me that this kind of thing is what is called swindling?” - -“You can call it that if you like,” said Soft Sam, smiling. “Most people -call it business, and very good business too. There is only one thing -you have to get to make a start.” - -“And what is that?” asked Huey, with a tone of misgiving, as he -remembered the diminished state of his finances. - -“A name. The mugs like a good name. Let me think,” and the old -gentleman paused. “Fred Archer was called the ‘Tinman,’ that will do as -well as another, and it sounds ’cute. Now come along, lads, let’s make a -start. We must have a fresh rig-out to begin with.” - -With this the old man led the way, and in a few minutes conducted the -young men to the interior of a tailoring establishment much patronized by -the fancy. At the suggestion of Soft Sam an order was left for a -complete outfit of the latest fashion in sporting garments. No payment -was asked for; the presence of the old gentleman appearing to smooth all -difficulties. - -On leaving the shop Soft Sam said— - -“You can pay them when you are in funds. The price will be pretty stiff, -but after this they will always serve you on the same terms; and remember -this, and paste it in your hat: If you have only one friend in the world -let him be a tailor.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII -ALEC AND HUEY START BUSINESS - - -THE next week saw Alec fairly started on a Randwick tram, with an -assistant recommended as clerk by Old Sam. As his pouch was devoid of -any money but small silver, he had been provided by the provident old -gentleman with a twenty pound note, good enough to look at, but not -readily changeable at any bank. With this he was to bluff inquirers for -their money if the first race went against him. - -“No man,” said Old Sam, “will bustle you for his money if you ask him to -change twenty quid. In the first place, it is not likely he has got -change, and even if he has, he will be extra soft if he would care to do -it on Randwick flat.” - -The note, however, was not wanted, and was duly handed back. The day had -been skilfully chosen. Alec returned to the Coffee Palace as proud as a -hen with a new clutch, with £47 10s. in his pocket. This with childish -pride he displayed to Huey. - -“Better than wood-cutting, sonny!” - -That week all the newspapers that would insert the advertisement on -credit contained the following— - - “THE TINMAN, - -Pronounced by all the prince of turf prophets. The only man in the -Colonies that gave three straight-out winners for the last Caulfield -meeting; five firsts and two seconds for Randwick, and a record for the -year never approached in turf history. We have as good as ever for -future events. - -“Try the Tinman; Tinman, the turf guide. Tinman is not lucky; Tinman -acts on information. Agents all over the Colonies. Tinman is a moral. -Why throw your money away on stiff ’uns when you can get the office for a -crown, straight as a wire, from the Tinman. - - Box ABC, G.P.O.” - -The fruit of this “rot,” as Huey denominated the above par that he had -inserted at the old man’s directions, astounded him. Letters with money -rained on him—in small amounts, it is true; still it rained, and the -shower was received as manna from Heaven. - - * * * * * - -During all these days, and long after prosperity had come to them, the -two young men were nightly frequenters of the Golden Bar—partly to see -the girl they were now both madly in love with, and partly to watch each -other. - -What was maddening to Huey was that he could make no claim to any special -preference shown to himself. Bertha always received him pleasantly, and -seemed to appreciate him and understand his point of view, as no other -girl he had ever met had done; but the mischief of it was, that her -manner to many other persons, Alec, for example, was equally gracious. -Particularly to Alec, who was always full of small talk, arrant nonsense -for the most part, that Huey disdained, even as he watched with jealous -eyes the success of his rival. - -Unfortunately for Huey, he was endowed with an imagination, and he saw -Bertha not only as she was, a pretty, emotional, pleasure-loving girl, -but also as an exalted personage, gifted with all those virtues and -talents that formed his mute ideal. And to see her pandering in a public -bar to the coarse jokes of fools was to him a mental torture. He did not -for a moment doubt that they two were far superior to all about them, and -as he recognized her superiority, so he felt in all justice she should -recognize his. - -Alec, on the contrary, had no imagination at all worth speaking of. To -him Bertha was a fine girl, or, as he had learned to express it, “A -damned fine girl;” and he said it and thought it in the same tone, as -though he were speaking of a horse of great merit or a prize cow. His -talk with her, and, for that matter, with every one else, was always on -what Theosophists term the “material plane.” And if she responded freely -it was perhaps because women of her nature have the art to appear -sympathetic to every one they desire to please. - -Between the two young men the person of Bertha was never mentioned; but -there was a silent acknowledgment of rivalry, a silent determination on -each side to have the prize, and a certainty with each that no hope was -possible without a big bank balance. - -“If I only had twenty thousand pounds I’d marry you to-morrow,” cried out -Alec, in a half-jesting, half-serious tone to Bertha. - -“If!” was all Bertha replied, as she smiled. - -And Huey sat by and listened and ground his teeth, as he also wished that -he had the like sum. But he did not blurt out his wishes in a coarse way -like Alec—“Curse him!” - -The first use Alec made of his freshly acquired income was to buy a rich -bracelet and present it to Bertha. This she declined, but consented to -go for a drive with him on the following Sunday. - -Huey, for his part, put his savings in the bank as a nest-egg towards the -twenty thousand pounds—not that he did not think a few thousands less -than that amount would be sufficient. - -On the following Sunday Huey was seated near to Lady Macquarie’s chair, -talking to Soft Sam, when he was astounded to see amongst the traps and -buggies doing the round Alec and Bertha in a sulky side by side. Alec -gave a wave with his whip hand as he flashed past, but it was only Soft -Sam that responded. - -“That young fellow seems to be making the pace pretty hot,” said Sam. - -“I knew the girl first,” was all Huey could answer. - -“Then why didn’t you stick to her, man? A filly is always such an -uncertain kind of animal. You want to yard and brand them on the jump, -so to speak, when you have made up your mind to run them in. No man -understands women till he has no further use of the information. There -is not one in a hundred of them is any good till they are thoroughly -broken in, and whether they are worth the trouble I very much doubt. Did -you ever tell the girl you wanted her?” - -“No,” said Huey. - -“Then why don’t you if you think that way? Any girl is to be had for the -asking if you go the right way about it. Praise them up; you can’t put -it on too thick. Keep at ’em all the time, and be as deaf as a post to -all they say that does not suit you. And don’t you go away thinking this -girl is different to other girls; that is where I have seen smarter chaps -than you make the mistake. All girls are alike, as alike as two peas. -Of course they vary outside, and have different styles with them, but the -bed-rock, so to speak, is the same all the time. But if you take my -advice, which I know you won’t—young fellows never do—you will just leave -the girls alone for a year or two. They spoil more men for business, and -get more of them into trouble, than anything else.” - -And then the old man launched forth into reminiscences of all the -promising men he had known go to the dogs after petticoats. But Huey did -not attend, his mind was agitating wilds plans of what he should say and -what he should do when he next met Alec and Bertha. - -And the day for him was a horror, the park a desolation, and through the -yellow of his eyes the whole world out of joint. - - * * * * * - -The two barmaids at the Golden Bar were taking things easily. It was a -dull hour of the day for business, and Bertha’s turn off. They were -pretty girls, these two barmaids, Sarah Jones (_nom de guerre_, Ruby), -and Maria Simpson (_nom de guerre_, Florence), and they were well, even -richly dressed, and, for their work, well-mannered. - -For the Golden Bar was no common public-house or speculation in -immorality, but a commercial undertaking for providing the best of -everything in the best way at the best prices. And to choose the three -prettiest barmaids he could find was part of the proprietor’s project. - -Ruby was languidly polishing a glass that did not want it, on the off -chance that the Boss should come in and find her doing nothing. Florence -was similarly occupied. - -“I’m getting about tired of this place,” said Ruby. - -“So am I,” yawned Florence. - -“It was not so bad before Bertha came; one could have a bit of fun and -get a few presents. But she is downright mean. She grabs everybody.” - -“That’s it. She grabs everybody, and what they see in her I can’t think. -With her snub nose and fish eyes, and the airs she gives herself, one -would fancy she was really what some of the chaps call her, ‘the Queen of -Sydney.’ Now, there is that old squatter from Way-back, I had him as -safe as possible till this creature came.” - -“I know you had, dear, and I saw that same man offer her this morning a -diamond ring worth fifty pounds if it was worth a penny. And she would -not even take it.” - -“I wish he would try me, I’d take it fast enough. But that is the way -with that sly minx. She will not take things herself, and prevents -others. Who is she, to put on airs? I suppose she is holding out to -make a big haul.” - -“I tell you what I think,” exclaimed Florence; “we are just wasting -ourselves here, taking my lady’s leavings! We might as well be two old -scarecrows for all the chance we get! And the way she makes up is -something scandalous! Why, I’m sure half her figure comes away when she -strips. A little powder, I don’t say, or a pull-back, but when it comes -to getting inside a dressmaker’s dummy and walking about with that, I say -it’s a fraud!” - -“But men are so stupid. They just run after her because she looks at -them out of her eyes with the look of a dying cat! Look at those two -young sporting fellows that come here every night. Any one can see they -are gone soft on her, and she had the cheek to go out driving with one of -them yesterday.” - -“You don’t say!” - -“As bold as you please—that one they call Alec.” - -“Well, I never!” - -The talk was interrupted by the entrance of Bertha. - -“Good-evening, my dear,” said Ruby; “how nicely your hair is arranged -to-day. I wish you’d show me the way, there’s a love!” - -Florrie came forward, also to inspect, and kissed Bertha as a darling to -make her promise to teach the secret of the new coiffure. - -“You are in luck, Bertha, going out for buggy rides. Not that that young -Alec is much of a catch. I should look for something better if I were -you.” - -“My troubles!” said Bertha. - -Soon the bar began to fill, and Alec came in with his shadow, Huey. -Bertha greeted them both with a friendly nod, but the first opportunity -Huey came to the bar and spoke to her some low angry words. His eyes -fairly blazed. But Bertha merely tossed her head. - -“I can mind my own business, and you had best mind yours. Thank you all -the same, Mr. Gosper!” - -Then Huey retired to a corner and sulked, while Bertha smiled on his -rival and other customers with her uniform blandness. - -If Soft Sam had been at his side he would have urged Huey to start a -desperate flirtation with either Ruby or Florrie, and to have ignored -Bertha for the time as one dead. But Huey had no cunning in maiden wiles -and maiden fence, and was hit, palpably hit, at the first parade. But as -days passed the cloud blew over, blew over so far that later on Huey -himself drove Bertha down to Botany. - -And so, in the mutual rivalry, honours were easy. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII -THE HAWKESBURY HANDICAP - - -THE races at Clarendon caused quite a flutter of excitement in the -adjacent town of Windsor. As many as three men and a dog might be seen -all at one time in its main street, for some of the visitors stop -over-night in the town. - -Old Sam and the two young men were of this number, and as after the day’s -sport was over time hung heavily on their hands, it was natural they -should sally out in quest of amusement—Alec and Huey to see old chums and -gather a harvest of outspoken admiration for their talent and pluck, and -Old Sam to cruise about in what appeared an aimless manner from hotel to -store, to shoeing forge, and to wherever men congregated and he could -hear and listen. - -Some words casually spoken by a blacksmith appeared to interest him, for -he sought out a bill referred to on a neighbouring hoarding, and having -read it carefully, at once crossed over to a livery stable and ordered a -trap to drive him to Dr. Glenlivet’s place. They were not long going to -the house, which had auctioneer’s bills on the outside walls, and Old Sam -briskly entered, and found many others at various parts of the house and -grounds inspecting the place. - -The caretaker inquired if there was anything in particular he wished to -see, but the old gentleman shook his head. - -“Just come to have a look round.” - -A look round he did, from top to bottom of the house, as though he had -thought of buying the lot, and it was only in a casual way that he -strolled out to the stable and glanced at a mare in the stall. - -“A rare fine horse that,” said the coachman. - -“A vicious-looking brute?” replied Soft Sam; but a careful observer might -have noted a look of satisfaction in his eyes as he returned to his trap, -and to town. - -That night when he met the young men his first words were, “I’ve found it -for you at last, lads!” - -“Found what?” they exclaimed together. - -“The twenty thousand apiece you wanted—or have you changed your mind?” - -The young men had not changed their minds, so drawing them into a private -room, and carefully closing the door, he said— - -“You must buy a mare that is to be sold to-morrow; it’s a Dr. Glenlivet’s -horse, and there is a sale at his place. She is a thoroughbred from -Hobartville; the doctor bought her for a sulky, like a fool, for she is a -vicious brute, if ever I saw one, and smashed up his trap the first time -of asking. Anyhow, she will go cheap, I think. She’s got a bad name -hereabouts, and you must buy her.” - -“But what for?” - -“What for? Why, to win the Sydney Cup, or the Melbourne Cup for that -matter. I have seen a worse-looking animal do it. She’s got the blood, -and the cut of a clinker.” - -The two sporting men assented at once, their confidence in Soft Sam’s -judgment being unlimited, and it was agreed and understood that the two -young men should jointly buy the mare, and have her trained and raced as -the old man should direct. - -When they met again the next night Alec gleefully told the old gentleman— - -“I’ve bought the mare—got her for twenty quid; there was only one bid -against me!” - -“And what shall we do with her now?” said Huey. - -“We?” interposed Alec. “Who said it was our horse? Did I not buy her -and pay for her?” - -“But you know it was agreed we should go shares!” - -“Shares be blowed! What’s the good of half a horse to anybody? I bought -her and paid for her. If you want a horse, buy one yourself!” - -“You are a liar and a fraud!” - -The response from Alec was a quick blow from the shoulder that knocked -Huey down. Quickly jumping to his feet again, he rushed at Alec. It was -a short smart fight, the old man sitting quietly by smoking and enjoying -the mill, and no one at hand to interfere. It was finished by a -knock-out blow from Alec that sent Huey dazed and stupid to the ground. - -“Very well done!” said the old man. “With a little science you’d do -inside the ropes. Now, you’d better shake hands and make it up.” - -“I’m willing,” said Alec, holding out his hand with a patronizing smile. - -“I’ll see you damned first!” was all Huey said, as he rose slowly to his -feet with a look of concentrated hatred in his eyes. “It’s your turn -now, but, mark you, mine will come!” - -The old man expressed no surprise at the rupture, perhaps he had foreseen -it. He would take no side in the quarrel. He knew that the struggle for -a woman was at the bottom of the feud, and the dispute about the mare a -mere spark that had lit a hidden train of animosity. - -He advised Alec what to do with the horse. He was to run him at small -meetings, and not to win even then more than he was obliged. To avoid -suspicion he was even to run her in the first Cup Meeting itself as a -stiff ’un unless the weights were lighter than could be hoped for. - -“Get her trained away in the bush where none of the sports will notice -her, and if I am not mistaken she will do the trick for you.” - -Huey also came to Old Sam for sympathy and advice, and while the old man -was not willing to say anything more of Alec than that he was a fool to -fall out with an old pal, he was willing enough to help Huey. - -“I’ll tell you what I’ll do, lad. There are more horses than one in this -district. Windsor and Richmond are the cradle of the Australian turf, -there are more good ones, of the right sort, knocking about here than in -any other place in the Colonies. If your mind’s set on having a flutter -I’ll spend a day or two looking round and see what I can do for you.” - -It was a week later that Huey received a telegram to go to Windsor, and -from there to Wilberforce, to meet Soft Sam. He went at once; and was -taken straight away to see a black horse grazing in a paddock. - -“He’s not as cheap as the other,” said Soft Sam, “and I can’t say I’m -quite so sweet on him; but then he’s a horse, and say what you like, a -horse carries money better than a filly. He has never been raced. I -heard on the quiet that the owner believes he is not sound, and he thinks -I am a softy who knows no better. But take my tip, that horse is as -sound as a bell.” - -So another bargain was made, another horse changed owners, only the -matter was kept quiet, not even Alec hearing that Huey had a horse in -training. - -There was no pretence of outside civility between the two young men now. -Bertha heard part of the story from both parties, but with neither would -she take sides; only from that time forward she declined to drive out -with either of them. - -Alec was fast coming to the front in the business he had chosen, and was -already talking of being proposed for Tattersall’s; but while his income -rose, so did his spending. He had no thought of saving money, bit by -bit, to make his pile. It must be done by some great coup, that was his -only plan. - -Huey also prospered, but his takings were never very great, and of this -the larger part was put aside; for, despite the assurance of Soft Sam -that the number of mugs was unlimited, Huey felt the time would come when -they must run short. - -The first time Alec entered the mare he had to name her, and as Bertha -she ran almost last in a selling race at Rosehill; not quite last though, -for there was a black horse behind her named, a queer name Alec thought, -The Vengeance, and entered in a name new to the turf. - -For it was Huey’s horse, and he had chosen a friend at Richmond as -nominal owner. - -And in the months that went by these two horses often met again, and once -at Warwick Farm in a Birthday Handicap, in which the field was so -moderate or so “stiff” that Bertha’s jockey, in spite of the order that -she was only out for an airing, could not keep her back, she pushed to -the front and made a dead heat of it with The Vengeance, who was being -pulled hard at the post, and nearly got disqualified in consequence. - -On the whole, the two young owners were highly satisfied with their -investments. They knew from repeated trials that their animals were -pounds and pounds better than the cattle they allowed week after week to -beat them. At the same time, Sam warned them that there were several -others, at the same game as themselves, all entered to get the weight -lowered, all waiting for the one event of their lives, when their true -form should be publicly shown—and their value as racers gone for ever. - -Alec already counted his great coup as good as accomplished; if not this -season, then certainly the next. The Sydney Cup should be his, and with -it the hand of Bertha Summerhayes. - -Huey heard him boast so one day to Soft Sam, and glared at him viciously -as he walked away, muttering to himself— - -“No, you traitor and bully! The Cup is not yours yet, nor Bertha either! -The Vengeance is mine, and at any cost he shall be truly named?” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV -THE TRIAL - - -HUEY GOSPER talked bravely to himself, but he was well aware that, -however closely he might have gauged the capabilities of The Vengeance, -he had as yet never seen the mare Bertha in proper form, and ridden with -the order, “Go for it.” - -This uncertainty might upset all his plans. The truth of the matter he -must know, and know he would. - -Then his imagination began to evolve scheme after scheme to accomplish -his object. He knew where the horse was quartered, over at Wigway’s, -near the Pitt Town Common—an old acquaintance of Alec, and well-known to -himself too, for had he not as a boy often gone over there in the season -to pick oranges and play cricket with the young Wigways? - -Clearly he could not go himself, or at any rate in his present -personality, poking about the place. They would know him in a minute, -and be on their guard with the mare. Alec would hear of his visit at -once, and smell a rat. But who could he trust? He knew no one fit, and -to be confided in, and then he remembered one of Soft Sam’s sayings— - -“A man who takes pals in a job takes witnesses against him. What you -can’t do on your own hook don’t do at all.” - -And the possibility of disguising himself occurred to him. Truly, he -knew nothing of that kind of thing, but there were people that did, and -it should not take much skill to deceive the “cockatoos” out at Nelson. - -This was the motive that sent Huey to a theatrical costumier, well-known -in the profession, who readily undertook to make such an entire change in -his customer that he would not even recognize himself. - -And Huey, as he surveyed the result of this promise in the mirror, was -more than satisfied. - - * * * * * - -Near an old slab cottage adjacent to the Pitt Town Common, Farmer Wigway -was drawing rails. His movements were deliberate—deliberate as though he -had an assurance that eternity was before him, and he had to put in time. -He was well seconded in this endeavour by his team of bullocks, who -stopped to ruminate on the vanities of life or some cognate reflection at -every step. - -Farmer Wigway swore at the oxen in a fatherly way to wake them up -occasionally to mundane affairs, and the procession moved on. - -The noise of wheels made by a light trap could be heard coming along the -ridge, and at once Farmer Wigway stopped to listen. Not that he was a -very curious man, but buggies were rare in that part of the Common. None -of the neighbours owned one, and the stopping to speculate as to who it -might be “put in more time,” and so the end of life was served. - -The sound of a trotting horse and light running wheels came nearer and -nearer, along the ridge, through the ironbarks, then turned off down the -spur into the box-tree flat that led to Farmer Wigway’s. On it came, and -before Mr. Wigway had had half the necessary time to study the new -development in all its bearings and possibilities, a buggy, driven by a -middle-aged man with bushy whiskers, who had a lad seated by his side, -pulled up before him. - -“Is this the track to Catti Creek?” - -“That depends,” answered Wigway, after giving the matter due -consideration, “what part of the Creek you want.” - -“I’m trying to hunt up some forfeited selections out that way. They tell -me at the Lands Office there are several of them.” - -“So there are, and much good may they do you! The country is very rough. -I should leave that trap behind if I was you, and if you like, one of my -boys shall go and show you the way.” - -The stranger seemed to fall in with this proposal readily, for, leaving -the lad and trap at the house, he soon set off under the guidance of -young Mick Wigway. But, strange to say, though they had a map of the -parish, and Mick knew every nook and corner of it, it was sundown before -they got back, and the gentleman with the bushy whiskers had not seen -half what he wanted to see. - -He found no difficulty in arranging to stop the night, and that evening -was given up to ’possum shooting, in which the stranger professed an -almost childish delight. - -“It appears to me,” said Farmer Wigway, as they trudged under the moonlit -gum trees, “that I have seen you before, Mr. —?” - -“Amos Clark;” interrupted the stranger. - -“Well, Mr. Clark, somehow your face and voice are kind of familiar, yet I -swear I never heard that name before. Yet, come to think of it, it takes -heaps of people to make a world, and there’s lots of them must be like -lots of others. Now, there’s that old cow of mine; old Jack Higgins, of -Box Hill, has got the very spit of her, and if it wasn’t for the brand -I’d swear the two beasts were the same animal!” - -Mr. Amos Clark was up early the next morning, and seemed in no pressing -hurry to start off on his land quest. Besides, Mick was not ready. He -had to exercise a mare carefully locked up in a loose-box near the stable -before he could start. - -The old man and the bigger boys had gone off to work, so Mr. Clark and -his young companion were alone in the yard with Mick while he saddled up. -Nothing was more natural than that Mr. Clark should fall to criticizing -the animal, and approach to pat it. But he was quickly warned by Mick to -stand clear. - -“She’s got the brute of a temper with strangers,” he said; “kicks all -round. Father and I are the only ones in the place that dare come near -her.” - -“What’s the good of her, then? What do you keep her for—a vicious brute -like that?” - -“Oh, she’s not ours. A sporting cove down in Sydney owns her—Alec Booth, -perhaps you’ve heard of him? He thinks a lot of her, and she can travel, -my word!” - -“Travel!” said Mr. Clark, with apparent contempt. “Travel! Why, my -buggy horse would give her a length and a beating any day.” - -“What will you bet?” cried young Mick, thoughtlessly. - -“I’ll bet you a crown!” said Mr. Clark, who had carefully considered that -that amount would be about the limit of the lad’s purse. - -“Done!” cried Mick, forgetting, in the eagerness of sport and possible -gain, the injunction of his father to secrecy, and, above all, as to -over-riding the mare. - -Quietly, and with dispatch, a fresh saddle was brought out, strapped on -the black horse, and the lad who accompanied Mr. Clark put in the saddle. -The two lads were so nearly of a weight that only a lucky chance or -careful foresight could have paired them so equally. - -The slip-rails were lowered, and at an easy pace the two riders, with Mr. -Clark at their side, took their way to an open stretch of common ground. - -Arrived there, Mick was for a race of once round the imaginary course. -He feared now, even with that, he should sweat the mare and get into -trouble. But the stranger insisted with scornful banter on three times -round, which a critical observer might have noted would be as near as -possible the distance of the Sydney Cup course. - -But Mick knew nothing of this. He was easily over-persuaded. The chance -of making a crown did not come every day, and he was sure of the race, so -the horses stood in line. Mr. Clark was to be starter and judge, and an -old dead stringy-bark the winning-post. - -At the word Go, they went off to a level start, the black horse making -the running. Clearly this was to be no cantering match, with a sprint at -the finish. To the surprise of Mick, he had to send the mare along at a -fast gallop to keep within a length of the black horse. - -Once round, both horses sweating, the riders sitting quietly at their -work, the black horse led by half a length; but Mr. Clark saw that the -mare was only stopped from rushing to the front by the tight rein of -young Mick, who evidently knew something of his business, and was not -going to burst his mount thus early. - -Twice round, the same order. - -The third round was entered on; the pace, fast enough already, warmed up -half-way home, and the lad on the black horse, as though following -instructions, began to draw the whip, and his mount shot to the front -like a bullet from a gun, leaving for a moment the mare by herself, but -it was only for a moment. Mick gave her her head, and she came away like -a bird. No whip for her! Mick knew full well that the only rider that -had ever tried her with it had had his collar-bone broken. - -The mare closed up rapidly. At the distance they were side by side -again, the whip on the black horse going like a flail. - -It was a touch-and-go, both horses were all out, there did not seem to be -a pin to choose between them; and if the mare won by half a length, it -might have been noted by a critical looker-on that the rider of the black -horse had ceased work just as the post was neared. - -Mick was proud of his victory, but overwhelmed with apprehension at the -distressed and sweaty condition of the mare. - -“I shall catch it if the old man sees her again to-day!” he exclaimed, as -he pocketed his two half-crowns. - -“You had best groom her down, and walk her about quietly,” said Amos -Clark. “She’ll be as right as rain in an hour or two.” - -Mr. Clark suddenly remembered that he had an engagement in Sydney that -evening that must be kept, so that really he should not have time that -day to go land-hunting and catch the down train. So retiring to the -house he hastily took his leave of Mrs. Wigway and Mick, and jumping in -the sulky, was quickly lost to sight on the track through the box flat. - - * * * * * - -Mr. Clark, as he drove quietly towards Richmond and the stable of his own -horse, had much matter for reflection, so that he hardly said a word to -his young companion all the way. - -Clearly they were a match-pair for speed as nearly as one could choose. -The mare was not in full training, it was true; neither was the black -horse, and it was a fair inference that what would improve one would -improve the other. His lad said he might have won by a head, and he -believed he might, but what was that to stake fortune and the only girl -in the world on? He might win, of course, always provided they had the -same weight; and then, again, a mare was likely to get a better show with -the handicapper. Still, he might win. - -But then again he might lose; there was no kind of certainty. And he -quite agreed with Soft Sam, that it was only mugs that trusted to chance -at racing. - -No, a chance it should not be. He swore to himself that by hook or by -crook, when the great event arrived, the danger of The Vengeance being -beaten should not come from the mare Bertha. But how to prevent it? - -A dark thought crossed his mind, and not only crossed, but stopped and -dwelt there till it had assumed a definite form and shape, and with an -inward putting away of all the remonstrance of his better feeling, he -resolved— - -“I will do it; all’s fair with a scoundrel like him.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV -THE PARRAMATTA RIVER - - -RUBY and Florence, of the Golden Bar, were as pleased as a dog who has -found a bone when they overheard Bertha promise a middle-aged, -benevolent-looking gentleman, who was a casual frequenter of the house, -to go out with him the next day in a boat on the Parramatta River. The -next day was Bertha’s day off. - -“Well, I never! As though she could not find some one better than that -to spark her about! She has got a funny taste, certainly! Some of the -boys will be surprised to hear of it!” said Ruby. - -“Why, I believe he is only a poor devil of a phrenologist; keeps an -office in a back street near George Street—a sort of crank, that has not -got a pound to bless himself with!” added Florrie. - -“Is that what he is? I thought he was not up to much. Always a small -English beer, and never shouts for a soul. What Bertha can see in him I -can’t tell. Now you mark my words, with all her cleverness and airs and -graces, she will go and make a fool of herself with some poor wretch who -has to work for his living!” - -And so the two went on, licking this little bone of scandal from all -possible points. - -On the next day a small rowing boat was well off Cockatoo Island before -the lug-sail that had so far been hoisted was taken down, and Professor -Norris took up the sculls, Bertha, the old companion of his travels, -steering in the stern. - -“And how is your book getting on, Pro—the book that was to do so much?” - -“I had to send it to London; there is not demand enough out here, they -told me, for that kind of work, to make its publication profitable. I -dare say they are right, so I sent it on to London; but that takes time, -and I have had no answer yet.” - -“I’m afraid you will never be a rich man, Pro.” - -“I’m not afraid, I’m sure of it, unless an unforeseen accident should put -it in my way. I will not pay the price. And he who will not pay cannot -expect to have.” - -“What price do you mean?” - -“I will not sell my soul for the wealth of this life. Hard work will not -get it, industry will not get it—nothing but the subjection of the whole -mind and intelligence to money-grubbing, to besting your competitors, to -out-lying your fellow-liars, to taking every advantage that the credulity -or ignorance of your fellow-creatures may give you, and a remorseless -selfishness—that is the price for the lottery ticket of life, which even -then has more blanks than prizes.” - -“And do you always mean to be poor, then?” said Bertha, not much -surprised at the Professor’s statement, for she had heard him in the same -strain before. - -“Yes, poverty in cash will be mine, and I am coming day by day to think -more and more that it is better so. The truth is not to be learned or -kept in a mind from which the howling wolf of necessity is not present to -sound for ever the cry of anguish, pain, and affliction. Not from a -spring mattress but the hard ground man rises with his eyes widely opened -to the true realities of life. But it is not about myself I wish to -speak, but you, Bertha. You have had your wish. You are in Sydney, -surrounded day after day by a crowd of admirers. Is it what your fancy -painted it?” - -“No, Pro, I can’t say it is. I am getting sick of it, in spite of the -fine dresses and the fine place. I always feel ashamed of myself when -you come in the bar. Other men are not like you. Oh, how I wish I was -rich!” - -“And what then, Bertha?” - -“Why the Golden Bar might take care of itself. I would travel to Europe -and see London and Paris—above all, Paris! It’s all very well for you, a -man who has seen all you care to see, to not mind being poor, but with a -woman it is different. A new suit does not trouble you. If you look an -old fright nobody notices it; and even if you live in a pokey little -house you do not have to clean it, cook the meals in it, and do your own -washing in the dirty little back yard. The world is full of beautiful -things, nice things, and I want to have my share. What is the good of -being so virtuous in a hurry? Why be too good, and better than other -people? It makes you look peculiar and odd, and they don’t like it. If -the world’s all wrong, then I will be wrong too; at any rate, I shall -have plenty of company. Of course there’s a medium in all things. I -don’t say it’s right to do what is wicked to get money. Still money will -do so much, smooth so much, that it seems to me just foolishness to say I -don’t want it.” - -The boat glided on over the rippling water, past the low shores of -Drummoyne, past the terraced hills of Hunter’s Hill, with its houses half -hidden by creepers, its lawns overshadowed by the green foliaged garden -trees, on, till the wide stretch of water came that led to The Brothers. - -An Italian sky overhead, a warm lusciousness in the air, and with it all -only the splash of the green water against the rocky banks, and the -measured beat of the sculls in the rowlocks, as they kept a gentle time. - -The Professor spoke again— - -“I know I cannot make you see as I see, my dear. Perhaps it is best. We -have all to learn the use of our own eyes, and no strange spectacles will -help us. Yet there are things which I think you can see, and one is the -degradation of a great number of the frequenters of the Golden Bar. I -have not been often, or stopped long, for the sight and sound of most of -these men was repulsive to me. Hear what they say, what they talk about, -think about. Is it not betting? or perhaps sharping, for what other name -will describe the effort to obtain what you have not earned? And their -faces, in spite of their fine clothes, show their lives—the puffy cheek -of wrong living, the thick, drooping eyelids of sensuality and cunning, -the projecting faces that look out from their shirt collars like an -animal waiting to spring on its prey. - -“All these and fifty other signs are stamped on the crowd. And it is not -as if they were always so. They were, no doubt, as other men till they -associated themselves together to hunt with the devil. I noticed -particularly that young fellow, Gosper, we first saw in Windsor, and I -had a talk with him yesterday. A few months only have changed the man. -There is a talent fit for the highest work cast in the mud. With no aim -now but self-interest, self-gratification, to get money, to circumvent -fools—that is, his fellow-creatures-to outsharp the sharper. He could -not understand, as I wish you to do, that Innocence itself cannot mix -with muck and remain unspotted. - -“We are, and more particularly a woman, largely formed by those about us. -Every low word and brutal jest in that place makes its record on you, -even though it only dulls your sense of decency. You learn to respect -yourself less. Is it not so, Bertha?” - -Bertha had tears in her eyes. - -“You are right, Pro, you are always right. I will leave the horrid place -at once, or at least very shortly, for I have to give three months’ -notice. I have felt what you said lots of times, though I never thought -out just what it was. They are a low lot, and that’s the truth—the men -that come to the bar. They say things there before me they would not -dare to say to their sisters, and that shows what they really think of me -in spite of all their compliments. Yes, Pro, I’ll give notice to-night, -and if the worst comes to the worst we can go on the road again.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI -THE WEIGHTS FOR THE SYDNEY CUP - - -WHEN the weights were published for the Sydney Cup, Alec Booth rushed -with the paper at full tilt to Soft Sam— - -“What do you think of it? Is it good enough? Look, she’s almost at the -bottom of the list!” - -Soft Sam was in no hurry to answer. He read over the names of the horses -nominated carefully, paused awhile, and then said— - -“It’s as good as you could hope. You must accept, of course, and you may -send her for it when you know better what you have to run against.” - -“Oh, that’s all right, Sam. She’s pounds better than anything on the -list.” - -“Of the horses you know, yes; but you don’t suppose you are the only -owner who has nursed his mount? There may be half-a-dozen in that list -as good as Bertha, and as lightly weighted. She’s no horse of a century, -remember; only a second-rater, and only valuable while she is thought to -be a third or fourth-rater. Take it easy, my lad, and don’t put the -money in your pocket till the cheque is cashed.” - -Alec’s enthusiasm was considerably damped by these reflections; but he -was confident all the same, and anxiously waited to know the acceptances. - -More leisurely in his movements, Huey also called on the old man for his -opinion as to his own prospects, for it was a curious feature of the -quarrel of these two young men, that both confided in Soft Sam, and to -both he was equally impartial—keeping the secrets of each from the other, -and declining to join either party in the feud. - -“The Vengeance is well treated—the same weight as Bertha—and it should, -bar accidents, be a match for the pair of them; and you are a couple of -fools, I say so again, as I said before, to cut each other’s throats. -You’ll end by making a mess of it, the pair of you. Why not save The -Vengeance for another race—there are plenty of them—and not give him away -on the off-chance of being first, when later on you might make a -certainty of it? And I tell you what’s more, if she wasn’t a mare I’d -back Bertha to beat your black horse any three times out of five. He is -a good ’un, I allow; but, mark my words, she’s a fair demon if she takes -the fancy to come in first. Don’t be a fool; think it over. Money’s the -thing; damn sentiment!” - -Huey said he would think it over, but after he had gone the old man shook -his head. - -“A lot of thinking he’ll do; he has made up his mind, I can see, and he -means to run The Vengeance to spite Alec. Fool, fool! I thought he had -a better head. But there, what can you expect when there is a woman in -the case? Another pair of good men gone wrong. Really, there is no -encouragement for a man of experience to teach these chaps; even when -they hold the cards they throw the game away. Oh, if I could only find a -young fellow without sentiment or this conscientious humbug, what I could -make of him!” - - * * * * * - -When the acceptances were out, the problem as to who ought to win the -Sydney Cup was much simplified to Alec. The names of a number of horses -he was doubtful about were missing. The top weights he held safe; what -they could do was well known. It was only amongst outsiders like his own -horse that he feared dangerous opposition. One of these was The -Vengeance, but he held that horse cheap by having seen it often run in -races with Bertha, and never show any form worth speaking of. But there -were two or three others he must inquire about before he gave the word -Go! - -He did inquire, and with pretty satisfactory result, but he could get no -definite encouragement from Soft Sam. The old man had no doubt The -Vengeance in his mind, and while he would not have dreamt of giving Huey -away, he yet urged Alec not to make too sure, and at any rate to back -Bertha for a place. But the young man was now full of confidence, and -once he had got his money on, made no secret amongst his intimates that -Bertha was to be “on the job.” Huey was quick to hear of it, and he -smiled a bitter smile, like a man who tasted in advance his enemies’ -discomfiture. - - * * * * * - -Jack Vandy’s stable at Randwick was not a fashionable stable. It did not -turn out winners by the score, or make an occasional sweep of the board -at a big meeting; but if an impartial critic had examined the material -Old Jack had had to deal with in his time, and the results, the verdict -would not have been unfavourable. - -A small trainer cannot choose his horses, and if a lot of dunderheads -like to buy scrubbers, and send them to him to train, he can hardly -afford to send them away, yet the subsequent failure of these beasts to -do any good for themselves or owners helps to spoil the reputation of the -trainer. Yet, as we have said, when good fortune had given him a good -thing he had made the best of it. - -And no horse could be better wound up to time than when Jack Vandy turned -the key. This was the man recommended by Soft Sam when Alec inquired for -a Sydney trainer, and to him, after due arrangement, Bertha was -transferred. He looked her over critically, had her cantered up and down -to watch her stride, and then turned to Alec, rubbing his hands. - -“She’ll do!” - -“What for?” - -“Anything you like if you give me the time. She’s a clinker, or I am -getting blind. It’s a real pleasure to train a horse like that now, -after the blessed lot of cab hacks I get brought here. You’d hardly -believe it, but I have men come here and want me to train horses you -would be ashamed to put in a hearse at a funeral. And then they wonder -they don’t win, and take the horse away to another trainer till they are -full up, and then say we are all a lot of sharks.” - -“I want her ready for the Cup,” said Alec. “At the weight I think she -may do.” - -“The time is short, but I will do my best.” - -“Do you think she will be fit?” - -“Make your mind easy.” - -This is how it came about that Huey read in the _Referee_ that Alexander -Booth’s filly Bertha was now under the care of the well-known trainer -John Vandy, of Randwick. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII -THE RELIGIOUS JOCKEY - - -ONE afternoon the middle-aged man with bushy whiskers emerged from Huey’s -lodgings, and walking to Elizabeth Street, took the tram to Randwick. -And he was about that horsey suburb that night and several following -nights, frequenting bars and billiard-rooms, listening to the talk, and -being taken down at pool as a new chum. - -The ears of the bushy-whiskered man were always quick to catch any -reference to the Vandy stable, and one night from a groom in a garrulous -state of drunkenness, and at the trumpery cost of supplying him with -beer, he gained a most minute list of all and every particular of that -racing interior. It was a tedious job to a casual listener, this long -rambling statement of the hostler, and he would not answer leading -questions, but dilated at length about horses at the stable who years ago -had lost races they should have won, because his advice was not followed, -and won races they might very well have lost, owing to a quiet tip given -by him to the boss. - -But the bushy-whiskered man was not impatient. He listened to it all, -with an occasional interjection, and when at eleven o’clock the landlord -turned them out, he started to walk back to Sydney, disdaining a -conveyance, for he had much to think about, and the walk helped him. - -“This John Vandy seems to be a straight goer,” said the bushy-whiskered -man to himself, as he strode along, “and as proud as a peacock of his new -charge. He hopes to make a pot out of her himself, so it’s hardly worth -bothering with him. And he is too careful, curse him, to make it worth -while fixing it up with a stable hand. He or his son feed and groom the -mare themselves, and she is always under lock and key when not at -exercise. Added to which, she is a vile-tempered brute for a stranger to -go near at any time, so I must look in another direction. The light -weight will not give them much choice in the way of a jockey. Only a lad -can ride at that, and, of course, it will be a lad that Vandy knows and -has employed before. He would not be likely to trust this great _coup_ -to a stranger if one he knew was to his hand. Proceeding so far, I have -only to refer to the horses racing from this stable at or about this -weight, and if I find one name more often mentioned than another I’ve got -the article sought for.” - -Next morning Huey was busy looking up the racing records in a file of the -_Referee_. The search appeared to give him satisfaction, for he -metaphorically patted himself on the back as he muttered, “Jack Butt’s -the lad, not a doubt of it. Let me only find him and have five minutes’ -plain English on the quiet, and the trick is done.” - -Another interview by the bushy-whiskered man who, needless to say, was -Huey himself with the beer-imbibing groom at Randwick, and he learned all -he sought about Jack Butt. - -“Yes, Jack Butt was in the stable—one of the boss’s apprentices—a -stuck-up prig of a fellow—no good at the work at all, but was the best -light-weight they had, so got a mount now and then—a lad with no spunk in -him, a regular milksop, going to Sunday-school and all that kind of -cat-lap. Why, I heard him ask Old Jack to-day for a day off to-morrow, -so that he could go to one of these religious picnics they hold down the -harbour.” - -“And did the boss let him go?” - -“Let him go? Of course he did. He thinks a lot of that lad, which is -more than I do. Them white-livered chickens don’t agree with me.” - - * * * * * - -The committee of the Sons and Daughters of the Holy Brotherhood had -chartered that commodious ferry steamer the _Lord Nelson_ for an -excursion to Middle Harbour, and the Sons and Daughters were invited to -combine a day’s sea-air and virtue for the modest sum of eighteenpence. - -When Huey stepped on board this craft at Circular Quay, arrayed in his -bushy whiskers, a long black coat and white tie, he found the steamer -crammed. Evidently the Sons and Daughters had rolled up in strong force, -and brought their parents with them. And each and every one was -decorated with a pink rosette, as though, having assumed a virtue, they -wished to put a brand on it, so that the error should not be fallen into -by the unregenerate of classing them with common people. - -Amidst this concourse it took Huey some little time to find what he -sought, but a pale young man, very thin and lanky, met his eye, seated in -the bow. Huey turned his steps thither, and by a little bit of -manoeuvring managed to place himself as though by chance next to the lad. - -Jack Butt was the first to speak— - -“Isn’t this beautiful, sir? To see all these Holy Brothers and Sisters -coming out to enjoy themselves? I think everybody ought to be a Holy -Brother, don’t you?” - -Huey did. He even went so far as to buy a pink rosette of an obliging -female close at hand and pin it on his coat, amidst general approval. - -“I wish I could always be with the Brothers,” continued Butt, when they -were well out in mid-harbour. “I am in a hateful business.” - -“What is that?” asked Huey. - -“My father bound me to a horse-trainer, and I’m a jockey; but my time is -nearly up, and I want to leave it. So does mother want me; but what am I -to do? Even if I tried to stop at my business I am growing too fast, and -shall soon be too heavy, though I starve myself.” - -“That is very sad,” responded Huey. “And what would you like to be?” - -“Oh! I should like to go into the ministry; it’s such a beautiful life! -No work to do, and eat as much as you like! There is nothing like it! I -often wonder, don’t you, sir, that everybody isn’t a parson. So -respectable and comfortable a life. But there’s the expense.” - -“What expense?” said Huey, his eyes sparkling in spite of him. - -“One has to go to college and study, and do nothing for two or three -years but learn out of books, and that wants money, you know, sir.” - -“How much?” - -“Perhaps two or three hundred pounds; I don’t know exactly.” - -“But don’t you earn money at your trade. I thought jockeys were well -paid.” - -“The fees, you mean? They are good enough. Only you see that as I am -still serving my time, Mr. Vandy takes all the fees, and I only get my -wages.” - -“That is a shame,” said Huey. - -“Yes, it’s very wrong; very unchristian, I often think.” - -“Did you not say your master’s name was Vandy?” - -“Yes. - -“Jack Vandy, of Randwick, the trainer?” - -“Yes, that’s his name, and where he lives.” - -“And you have a mare in the stable named Bertha entered for the Sydney -Cup?” - -“Yes, we have; a vicious, bad-tempered brute, and I know, for I have to -ride her every day.” - -“That’s very singular,” mused Huey aloud. “I was only thinking of that -mare this morning, and what a pity it would be if she should win.” - -“Why a pity, sir?” - -“Why, don’t you know her owner is a bookmaker? Alec Booth he is called, -and he is not only that, which is bad enough, but he is an outrageous -Freethinker, and has promised all his winnings in this race to build them -a new hall.” - -“How dreadful! Has he really?” - -Allowing a little time for the full gravity of this statement to duly -soak into the young man, Huey continued— - -“I am not a very rich man myself, but I would rather lose £200 than this -should take place. Think of the hundreds of poor souls who may be lost -for ever!” - -“Two hundred pounds!” repeated Butt slowly, “two hundred pounds! Would -you really?” - -“If I was sure it would serve a good cause, I would do so cheerfully.” - -“Do you think my joining the ministry would be a good cause?” - -“Nothing could be more worthy, and I take such an interest in your pious -wish, that I will go further. If Bertha should happen to lose the Cup, -which, of course, she is likely to, with so many horses running, I shall -be so pleased that I will give you that £200, and, perhaps, a little -more, if required for your studies. For I love to help young men, -Christian young men, of course.” - -Jack Butt surveyed his companion with a certain doubt. Though not a -smart lad, he had not been several years at Randwick for nothing. This -was very much like an offer to pull the horse, and that would be wicked. -But he reflected, would it not be more wicked to aid this Freethinker in -his horrible design? Had he not frequently pulled horses by the order of -his master, and might he not pull one for such a good cause as his own -entrance into the ministry? His mother would be so pleased, and he could -eat what he liked. But a cautious scruple of prudence occurred to him. - -“Would you mind putting that in writing, sir? Of course, as a Holy -Brother, I trust you, but while it’s not in writing I can hardly believe -it.” - -“I will do more than that,” said Huey. “I will give you a post-dated -cheque—that is, a cheque dated for payment after the race, and should the -horse lose you can cash it, and should it win it might be stopped. At -any rate, I could not do so much for you, but depend on me, I shall -always take an interest in you. There are too few young men with your -good sense.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII -THE NIGHT BEFORE THE RACE - - -THE Golden Bar looked brighter, more burnished, more glorified than -usual. The gilt mouldings and inlaid work on the walls shone with added -splendour. The yellow statuettes beamed down from their brackets like -old-time graven images, and on every hand vast mirrors of bevelled glass -reflected and re-reflected the well-dressed _habitués_, the bar and -shelves of sparkling bottles and gleaming decanters, and, above all, the -graceful and trim forms of those twin goddesses of this spiritual fount, -Ruby and Florrie. - -As drinks were for the nonce only casually called for, and Bertha was -away at tea, the moment was a precious one. They could have a nice long -talk. - -“Did you hear the news, Ruby?” - -“No; is it about the Cup?” - -“Oh, bother the Cup! I hear about it till I’m sick. No; Bertha is going -to leave here.” - -“You don’t say?” - -“But she is. I heard the boss say so. This is her last week.” - -“Well, I never! Who’d have thought it? What is she up to? Going to -marry that old squatter, I’ll bet sixpence. Anyhow, it’s a good -riddance.” - -“And so say I, the mean thing! We shall be comfortable again when she -has gone!” - -At this moment if the girls had not been so busy talking they would have -noticed the entrance of Bertha, who stood in a little recess before a -mirror adjusting her hair. What was wrong with her hair no masculine -mind could ever have divined; it looked as neat and trim as a coiffure by -the best artist could look, yet it took Bertha at least ten minutes to -re-arrange certain tresses to her satisfaction. - -“The bar has never been the same since she came,” continued Florrie. “If -the men were not such fools they would see through her airs and her -graces, for I’m sure her looks are no better than other peoples!” And -Florrie tossed her head significantly. - -“And the way she carries on is just scandalous. Old men, young men, it’s -all the same to her, with her simpering look and Chinaman’s eyes! I -would not throw myself at a man like that if he was the only one left in -the world. What I say is, that for a girl that respects herself there is -a limit.” - -“That’s it, Ruby, there’s a limit; and girls that put on the dying duck -style to anybody and everybody ought to be shot.” - -“I wonder who she is off with now; for sure enough she is not going to -leave here for nothing. One of those young sporting fellows she drives -out with I should not wonder.” - -“Or that old squatter who is rolling in money; that is about her dart!” - -“Now I would not be surprised if it was that old shabby Professor she -goes out with sometimes. Although she looks so clever she is no better -than a fool.” - -“Well, I wish the Professor, or whoever it is, joy of his bargain. And -the boss has got no more sense than the others; he pretends her going -will be a big loss to him, and offered to raise her wages; but she would -not stop at any price, she said.” - -“Then it’s the squatter right enough. Of course she would not stop if -she had caught him. Men with ten thousand a year are not picked up in -Sydney every day.” - -Bertha, who had been a silent listener to this conversation, now came -forward, and was received by her two helpmates with sweet smiles of -amiability. - -“How nice you look to-night, dear. Is it true you are leaving us?” asked -Ruby. - -“Yes,” said Bertha, “I’m afraid I must leave you. That old squatter does -bother me so to go and see his station on the Barcoo that I am really -tired of refusing.” - -“So it is the squatter?” inquired Florrie. - -“Oh, I don’t say that. There are those two young sporting men. I think -one of those might be better, don’t you?” - -“It’s a matter of taste, of course,” replied Florrie. “The squatter -would make you a real lady, while those sporting fellows never come to -much.” - -“Well, I don’t know,” said Bertha. “I fancy somehow that money does not -always make a ‘real lady,’ as you call her.” - -“What does then?” inquired Ruby and Florrie, with astonishment. - -“Sugar and spice and all that’s nice—that’s what real ladies are made -of!” said Bertha, laughing. - -“Now do be a love,” whispered Ruby, “and tell me who it is, and I will -not whisper it to a soul.” - -“Well, promise to be as silent as the grave.” - -Ruby nodded. - -“If I don’t change my mind, the shabby old Professor!” - -“What do you choose that old fright for?” - -“Perhaps because he is the only one that did not ask me!” - - * * * * * - -The evening began to wear on, and the bar to fill with an ever-increasing -crowd. The drinks were called for more and more frequently, and a -mingled buzz of conversation and cigar smoke filled the air. The one -subject of conversation was to-morrow’s Cup, and the merits of the -competing horses. The name of Revolver was in every mouth, bookmakers -and backers. A few spoke of Bertha, and a voice here and there -championed an outsider; but the vast majority of the public had gone -solid for Revolver. In the words of one, “He was a moral,” and his -performances were counted up, what he had done, what he had beaten; and -if public form was to be relied on, then without doubt Revolver was one -of the best of good things. - -Books and pencils came out, and wagers were booked, and all the time -drinks, plenty of drinks, and the toast was ever the same, “To Revolver, -good luck to him.” - -If whisky-laden prayer is attended to by the geni that presides over -sport, and the incense of tobacco is grateful to him, then the hopes of -to-morrow were assured. - -As time went on, a species of delirium possessed this crowd. From -talking they had got to shouting; from modest doubt of assertion to -positive assurance. Some were florid and blatant, others jolly and -hilarious, and when news arrived from the stable, Revolver’s stable, of -course, that all was well, a perfect roar of satisfaction went up. - -The news necessitated more drinks, and still more, the cigars were now -puffed by many a happy smoker, oblivious of their being unlit, and all -this time the weary barmaids served and smiled, served and smiled, with a -smile so automatic it might have been worked by a string. - -The hero of the hour, next to Revolver, was his owner, known to Ruby and -Florrie as the “Squatter.” He was in strong evidence in the bar to-night. -Many the questions he answered, many the drinks he shouted, and it was -always champagne, or so the bottle was labelled, and the sparkling liquid -flowed down many a brazen throat in a vain effort to quench the -unappeasable drought. - -Alec Booth was there, beaming with hope and assurance, the centre of a -little coterie that listened with silent contempt to his confident -prediction of Bertha’s winning. But they found their tongues when he -offered to “shout,” and assured him that if any man knew a horse he was -the man. - -“A real sportsman, and no mistake.” - -Amidst this excitement there was one man who said little or nothing, but -watched from the corner of the room all that was going forward with a -derisive smile on his face, Huey Gosper. - -“What fools!” he seemed to be saying to himself, “to talk of public form, -of private trials, and all that kind of rubbish, as though that had -anything to do with who was going to win! Why, if merit counted in -horse-racing, how could a smart man live?” - -The Squatter was getting minute by minute more joyous. The glassy -shining light of alcohol shone from his eyes. He was mellow, unctuous, -benevolent. All men were his brothers, more particularly this crowd of -wolves and lambs; and all women were his sisters, all excepting one fair -maid, and for her he felt more than a brother’s regard. - -“I’ll tell you what it is, my dear,” he said, leaning over the bar and -addressing Bertha, “I’ll tell you what it is. To-morrow night in this -bar you shall drink Revolver’s health out of the Sydney Cup, and what’s -more, I’ll make you a present of it. Now, mark my words, and what I say -I stick to. To-morrow night the Cup shall be yours.” - -Bertha laughed at the offer, but graciously, neither assenting or -dissenting. In any case, it was useless to argue with a man who had -drunk three bottles of champagne. Presently the Squatter subsided. He -wanted to sleep on the floor; “sleep at the feet of beauty,” he murmured, -but his friends hurried him to a cab, and that night he was no more seen. - -With less demonstration Alec approached the bar, and seizing a moment -when Bertha was not busy, said to her— - -“Don’t you mind that old fool, Bertha. I’ve got Revolver’s measure. -Your namesake can make a common hack of him. Don’t you put a penny on -Revolver. Bertha’s as right as rain, and bar accidents she’s bound to -win. But you shall have the Cup to-morrow all the same. As that old -fool says, you shall drink the winner’s health, but the name will not be -Revolver, for Bertha will come in first.” - -Huey had heard some of this talk; heard with an inward chuckle of -derision, and the smile of amused thanks had not passed from Bertha’s -face before he too had edged his way to the front, and speaking very low, -so that only she could hear, he said— - -“Pay no attention, Miss Summerhayes, to all this foolishness. Revolver -and Bertha are very good horses, no doubt, but there are plenty better, -and one of them for certain will be running to-morrow. Neither the -Squatter nor Alec Booth will win the Cup, for there is another who means -to defeat them both, and have the pleasure of presenting you with the -Sydney Cup.” - -“And who is this kind person?” inquired Bertha. - -“Your very humble servant,” replied Huey. - -“Thank you very much, Mr. Gosper, for your kind intentions, but all this -talk is not serious. There is many a slip between the Sydney Cup and the -lip. I hope you may all win, if it be possible; and if you all lose I -shall think of you all just the same.” - -“But I am serious. To-morrow night it is I that will bring you the -Sydney Cup.” - -“We shall see, we shall see,” laughed Bertha, incredulously. “It is -nearly to-morrow now, and closing time. So good-night to you.” - -“Decidedly,” said Bertha, as she hurried, tired, to bed, “to-morrow I bid -fair to own the Sydney Cup. Do I care who wins—the Squatter, Alec, or -Huey Gosper? Do I care?” And she paused as she asked herself the -question again. “No, I don’t care a silver sixpence! What good will the -money do them? It will go as it came. And if some win others lose, and -all the pleasure of the one must be paid by the pains of the many. -Decidedly, old Pro is right; it is a dirty business, this horse-racing, -as bad for a man as a bar is for a woman, and I’m glad I’m going to leave -it all. And to think of Ruby and Florrie talking of me like that! It -shows what they are, and what I should come to, no doubt, if I stopped -here. Oh, why can we not live honestly and comfortably in this world -without having to meet such a lot of horrid people?” - -So she rambled in her thoughts till sleep came to rest her weariness. -And over the silent city no sound could be heard but the hasty rumble of -some night hansom as it sped over wood-blocked roads, laden with midnight -travellers. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX -THE SYDNEY CUP - - -CUP DAY was one of unbroken sunshine and brightness, one of those days, -so frequent in Sydney, when only to breathe and respire is a pleasure and -a joy. - -At an early hour the trams and ’buses were loaded with sightseers bound -for Randwick. A stranger might regret, at the sight of these orderly and -well-dressed groups, the absence of that abandon and camaraderie between -rich and poor that is so distinctive of a great racing carnival in -conservative England. - -For all outward sign to the contrary, this demure throng might be going -to attend a prayer-meeting; not even a “drunk” to relieve their intense -respectability. At Randwick itself, the same decorum. The spieler and -the sharper were there, it is true, but in subdued, unpoetic form—the -fear of the “copman” in their eyes and movements. Law and Order presided -over all. Now, Law and Order, however admirable in themselves as -abstract entities, are, for the being overflowing with pent-up animal -spirits, profoundly dull. - - * * * * * - -In the vast crowd that filled the grandstand it would have been difficult -to detect Huey Gosper; but there he was in a sheltered corner, quiet, -sardonic, and watchful of all. - -His eyes were everywhere, and particularly did their glance follow the -big check suit worn by Alec Booth as this individual, uneasy and excited, -wandered from place to place, from paddock to lawn, from lawn to stand, -in fretful uneasiness. - - * * * * * - -The following account is taken from the _Evening Times_— - -“The preliminary events of the day caused little excitement. All minds -were eager for the big event. The favourite, Revolver, hardened, if -anything, in the betting, as the eventful moment drew nigh, and his name -was buzzed about on every hand; but the second string of the public, the -mare Bertha, was not lacking in friends. Seven to one was readily -snapped up by the backers of the filly, and a whole lot of outsiders had -a small following. But as far as the bulk of public money was concerned, -the race was reduced to a match between Revolver and Bertha. - -“At the very last moment there was a hasty rush on The Vengeance, a colt -never before mentioned prominently in the betting. - -“At last they faced the starter. One, two, three breaks away, and then -the almost perfect silence was dissipated by a great roar from the crowd -as the flag flashed down to a magnificent start. - -“They are off! - -“Up the straight it is hard to separate them. They are a moving mass of -colour and horseflesh. Passing the stand Country Boy, taking advantage -of his light impost, shows the way, but not for long. At the tan -crossing Isabel shot to the front, and already the field is beginning to -spread out. The favourite, going easily, can be seen well in the van, -with Bertha and The Vengeance in close attendance. At Oxenham’s Isabel -came back to her field, and here Bertha shot to the front. She was -pulling hard and fighting for her head with her jockey. In the end he -seemed powerless to restrain her, for she came away like a shot from a -gun, leaving her field standing. There was a great shout from the -ring—‘Bertha’s beat!’ ‘She’s bolted!’ ‘Twenty to one Bertha!’ ‘Forty -to one Bertha!’ But there were no takers. - -“In the meantime the field was creeping up. Opposite the stand fifty -yards separated Isabel (now second in command) from Bertha, Revolver, at -her girths, third, and Country Boy fourth, the rest of the field in a -pack. The pace so far was a cracker, and at the rising ground already -quenched the hopes of the backers of most of the outsiders, who tailed -off like a procession. At the five-furlong post Bertha still led, and at -the half-mile the struggle commenced in earnest. Isabel here melted -away, and was seen no more in the front division. Country Boy once again -flattered his admirers, and led a gallant, stern chase after the errant -Bertha. Here Double Dutchman came out from the ruck, and showed the way -to a whole host so far considered his betters. At the half-furlong the -whip was drawn on Revolver, who, responding gamely, drew up to within a -length of Bertha. A cry went up, ‘The favourite wins!’ but it died away, -as did the horse named, in the next hundred yards. - -“Now the supporters of Bertha found voice, and there were loud cries of -her name. At the home turn Double Dutchman came on like an express, but -Bertha still led, though evidently nearly done. At the half-distance a -new champion appeared on the scene, as though fallen from the clouds. -The black colt, The Vengeance, coming with a wet sail, passed everything -on the course like so many mile-stones. In the straight he fairly caught -the flagging Bertha, and there was a roar from Israel as though they had -just sighted the Promised Land. - -“But the race was not yet over, the sound of a competitor seemed to wake -Bertha up, for with a new fire the plucky filly disputed the way inch by -inch. It was now easy to see that her jockey had no part in her efforts, -and was quite outmastered by her. - -“On The Vengeance the whip was falling like a flail, and from the stand -it was impossible to pick the leader as they passed the post. But a -great shout of relief went up when Bertha’s number appeared on the board, -and it was known she had won by a head. - -“It may be truly said such a Cup race was never run before, for the -winning jockey now admits that early from the start he lost all control -of his mount. She is notoriously bad-tempered, so that whip and spurs -are never used with her; but of her thorough gameness there is now no -question. - -“The surprise of the meeting was the running of The Vengeance. His -display of form is a revelation, and it is to be inferred a most -unwelcome one for somebody’s apple-cart.” - - * * * * * - -The result being known, Alec Booth was fairly delirious with joy. The -whole earth was Heaven to him now and for evermore. All and everybody -must drink his health, and the mare’s health, and in champagne of the -best, and he was surrounded by a throng eager to praise and congratulate -him. - -Never in his life before, never in his life again, would Alec feel the -fierce joy of that moment. He had dared all, tossed up Ruin against -Fortune, and Fortune had come down right side up. And he swelled with -pride as he thought how he, an ignorant country lad, had bested the smart -Australian turfites at their own game. - -No thought at this moment of Soft Sam, not one; it was he, Alec Booth, -who had planned, designed, and carried out all. - -But a far different man was creeping away on the outskirts of that crowd. -Huey Gosper had the face of a suicide. With an execration on his lips he -left the course. So nearly to have won, and yet lost? And he had made -so sure of it. Who could have foreseen that that brute of a Bertha would -have run her own race, despite all the pulling jockeys in the world? And -now the true form of The Vengeance was given away. He might as well be -shot for all the use of him. It was as Soft Sam had said, Bertha was a -bit the best of the pair. Why had he not followed the old man, and not -been a fool? But he must take his gruel like a man, he told himself -that, and there were other means open for a man of brains and resolution. - -Alec had not married Bertha yet, and Alec, curse him, would have to fight -once again to win her. If he had only Soft Sam to help him it could be -managed, but there was no hope there, for Soft Sam, as he knew, would -take no side in the quarrel. Sam, he remembered, had wanted to know that -Sunday on the Domain why he had not asked Bertha to marry him. He would -take the advice. She might say Yes; then all would be well. Alec might -keep his cup, and good luck to him. - -So he schemed and hoped and feared, wandering about, a bitter, blighted -man. - - - - -CHAPTER XX -A PROPOSAL - - -IT was the day following the great race. Huey, who was seeking an -interview with Bertha, had come to the Botanic Gardens. He knew it was -her afternoon of liberty, and that was her favourite walk. So he -strolled about waiting and hoping a good hour before the expected time. - -Perhaps there are no such gardens in the world. A horseshoe bay, perhaps -half-a-mile across; its shore terraced and shut in by slight rising -hills, whose slopes are turfed with verdure, and dotted here and there -with tropical foliage, flower-beds of many patterns, sweet-smelling -shrubs, and bowers of rattans and giant grasses. Paths wind about in -surprising curves, and lead to sequestered summer-houses and lovers’ -seats that invite to wooing, even though the voice of the cooing doves -were hushed that call aloud from every grove. And when the mind wearies -of the green foliage, the bright-hued flowers, and landscape of -ever-varied plants, there is the sea. Farm Cove the bay is called. Trim -yachts are anchored there, the warships of the nations lie at friendly -anchorage, and from time to time over the blue water the music of their -bands is wafted, or the shrill pipe of the boatswain’s whistle. Clean, -dainty ships that bask there in the bright sunshine on the lazy tide, as -though peace on earth and sea was decreed for evermore. And beyond the -men-of-war, and across the wide stretch of harbour, there are the -blue-grey shores of Neutral and Mosman Bays, the rugged heights of -Cremorne and Bradley, all dotted with embowered villas, half-hidden -cottages, and covered with a haze like a bloom. - -And over all a cloudless sky, pale-blue and distant, with an unveiled sun -that shines down its vivid light on land and sea. It is such a view as -fairyland might offer, and the artist with his crude pigments and paints -abandon in despair as hopeless of depiction. - -No wonder that Bertha came there from week to week, arrayed in her best, -all smiling and sweet. She did only as the wild birds do, who find no -safer haven than this oasis of Paradise in the city’s midst. - -Huey Gosper looked again and again at the watch he carried, and at last -his waiting was rewarded. He could see her plainly, all unconscious of -his presence, coming towards him. With a look of unconcern he went to -meet her, and so it came about that presently they were pacing side by -side. - -“I am very sorry,” said Huey, “that it was not I who brought you the Cup -last night. My horse lost it by a head, and I counted on it as a -certainty.” - -“Oh, don’t speak any more of it. I am utterly tired with the Cup and the -talk about it. I am sorry for you that you have lost, and all the others -whose money has gone. Perhaps they will be wiser next time.” - -“I know you value these things very lightly, Miss Summerhayes. You are -not like other girls, taking all that glitters and glares for the real -metal, and, poor as I am, I make bold to speak to you as I have never -spoken to woman before. From my first seeing you at Windsor—do you -remember the time?—I have been mad for love of you. If I came to Sydney -it was to follow you; if I have striven to make money at a detestable -calling it was for you. And if I strove and planned for months and -months to win yesterday’s race, you were the prize always in my thoughts -that the horse was to win. I know I am not worthy of you; no man is. I -am full of faults, yet it maddens me to see you slaving in that golden -hell, with two trollops unworthy to lace your shoes. I would like you to -lead a different life, for I am sure your present place must be hateful -to you. I would do anything, everything if you would only say the word, -and be my wife. Bertha, will you marry me?” - -Bertha had listened silently. His words could not have been quite -unexpected; her woman’s eyes must have learned his secret many a long day -since. Yet she hesitated, perhaps to frame her words, perhaps to frame -her mind. Huey, of all her suitors, had much to commend him to her. He -had great intelligence, and to her judgment he was a clever man. If he -had not wealth, neither was he poor, and he had youth and good looks on -his side. - -But then, on the other hand, she had seen a look glower from his eyes at -times like the glance of a fiend, a hard, merciless gleam that froze all -tenderness or thoughts of tenderness. So she might have reasoned, if -women so placed were apt to take a mental inventory and figure out a -character balance-sheet. But doubtless she did nothing of the kind as -she fidgeted with her sunshade, and stepped tranquilly along. It was not -her reason but her heart that must answer, and instinctively she paused -for its response. At last she spoke; Huey Gosper all silent in hopeful -expectation. - -“What a pretty boat!” pointing to an 18-footer with coloured sails that -skimmed across the bay. - -“Yes, it is pretty,” said Huey absently; “but you have not answered me.” - -“Oh, about getting married!” replied Bertha, as though the question had -slipped her memory. “I don’t want to get married—at least, not yet,” -correcting herself. “It seems to make one so old all at once, this -getting married; don’t you think so?” - -“I do not say now, at once, or next week; but promise me, give me your -word, and let there be a bond between us, and we will marry when you -like; so only that you are mine, all else may be as you wish.” - -“Thank you very much, Mr. Gosper; it is very kind of you to think so -highly of me. I am not worth it, I am sure; but, really and truly, I do -not wish to be engaged. It is so easy to lose your freedom that never -comes again. Don’t think me hard-hearted. I feel more, much more than I -can say; but my freedom is yet dear to me.” - -Had Huey been a patient man, or one versed in feminine ways, he might -have taken this neutral reply as one of good augury, and left the further -pressing of his suit till time and patience had overcome her maiden -wilfulness. But Huey was combustible, suspicious, jealous. The fierce, -bad light shone from his eyes as he answered— - -“You are mocking me. It is because I am poor, because I have no grand -home to offer you; and you are thinking of Alec Booth and his thousands.” - -“That is not fair of you, Mr. Gosper,” retorted Bertha sharply. “You -have no right to say such things. I am my own mistress, to do as I like; -and a jealous, spiteful man shall never be my friend!” - -With that she turned about with the sweep and step of a tragedy queen, -and so left him. Huey was half sorry he had so spoken, and even yet had -he followed her and pleaded pardon, his crime of jealousy might have been -forgiven; for Bertha was one of those who, even while they resent, feel -the covert flattery of jealous accusation. But he did not stir, but -stood there angry and raging, cursing his fate, cursing his fortune; and, -above all, cursing Alec Booth. Without doubt Alec was his happy rival, -that brainless trickster, that vain, boasting bully had scored again; and -he, Huey, was to lose all—money, race, wife, all were taken from him. - -“No! It shall not be!” he declared to himself. “While I live I will -struggle—I will fight! She is rightfully mine. I saw her first, loved -her first, and she is foolish and dazzled by his winnings. But out of -defeat I will learn success, fairly if possible; then, if not, in such a -way as may be necessary,” he added darkly. - -And he turned on his heel and walked moodily away. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI -THE ABDUCTION - - -A DAY later. It was ten o’clock at night. Bertha was busy serving the -crowd of customers with drinks, when a lad came into the bar and asked -for Miss Summerhayes. Bertha spoke to him. He said a gentleman outside -wished to speak to her on a matter of great importance. Without -hesitation Bertha took her hat and went to the door. Here she was -accosted by a bushy-whiskered man, who demanded in a gruff voice if she -was Miss Summerhayes? - -“Yes, to be sure. But what’s the matter?” - -“A Mr. Norris sent me for you. He is very ill, and must see you at once. -Look, I have a cab; there is no time to lose, hurry in!” - -Before she had time to think Bertha was in the vehicle, and it was -plunging off at a rapid rate. Bertha was full of questions, and her -interrogations came so quickly one after the other that for a time her -companion had an excuse for not replying. - -“What is the matter with him? What has happened to dear old Pro? He -seemed all right yesterday. I never remember his being sick before.” - -“It’s what they call a stroke,” the bushy-whiskered man replied gruffly. - -“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” sighed Bertha hysterically. “Tell the man to -drive fast! But where is he going? This is Oxford Street—not the way to -Church Hill. I tell you he has made a mistake! Stop!” And Bertha tried -to lift the little door in the roof of the cab above her head. - -“That’s all right,” said her companion; “we’ll be there in a few minutes. -The Professor was at a friend’s house up at Darlinghurst.” - -For the time Bertha’s suspicions, now aroused, were silenced, but soon -the horse, who was travelling at great speed, arrived at Darlinghurst, -and without turning off the main road, continued his course to -Paddington. - -“We have passed Darlinghurst. You are deceiving me! Stop the cab, or I -will cry out!” - -“It’s all right, I tell you! Just keep quiet for a few minutes.” - -But Bertha, fairly alarmed, and noting some passers-by at hand, stood up -in the cab and sang out— - -“Help! Help! He—” - -The third cry was stifled, for a silk muffler was placed round her head, -an odour, strange and unfamiliar, gradually stupefied her senses, and -caused her to sink unresistingly on the cushions of the vehicle. The -passers-by, alarmed by the cry, had paused a minute, but hearing nothing -more, and the cab speeding on, had resumed their walk. - -A policeman standing apathetically at a street corner was startled into -activity by the furious approach of the hansom. It was clearly a case -for a summons, so he rushed into the roadway waving his arms, and cried— - -“Stop! Stop!” - -But the driver, instead of stopping, cleverly dodged him and his attempt -to seize the rein. The horse dashed by, and the enraged constable, who -was no mean sprinter, started in pursuit. At least he would find the -number. - -But the light from the first lamp they passed lit up the back of the cab -only to show him the number was hidden. - -On sped the cab, with no impediment, for the road at this time of night -was clear and deserted. - -The policeman to his surprise was fast losing ground, for he was ignorant -that the black horse he was pursuing was within a head the winner of the -Sydney Cup. On sped the cab, now unpursued, through Paddington, past -Woollabra, past the Tea Gardens, and on, on into the darkness, where -lamps and houses were few, and scrub lined the road; on till the sound of -the ocean beating the high cliffs of Coogee and Bondi was audible in a -monotonous roar. - -Inside the cab the man with bushy whiskers had removed the muffler, and -gazed with a look of gloating reverence on the pale and corpse-like -features of Bertha. - -“Did I give her too much chloroform?” he said to himself, as he felt her -pulse. His look of anxiety passed away. There was still a feeble beat. - -“Mine at last!” he cried, with an accent almost of worship, as he raised -the lifeless hand to his lips. - -“Mine, now and for ever!” - - * * * * * - -When the night passed and the following morning without bringing news of -Bertha, surprise and astonishment began to trouble her friends and -employer at the Golden Bar. A message was sent to Professor Norris, who -was known to be her friend, but he knew nothing, and he returned with the -messenger, his mind filled with dread and dismay. - -To Ruby and Florrie the mine of speculation and scandal thus opened up -was a veritable God-send. Every caller as he came in was posted up in -all the latest particulars. One of the first to be so informed was Alec -Booth, and it met him like a knock-down blow. He was, however, soon on -his mental feet again, and sifting, by examination, the list of crude -rumours with which the two barmaids inundated him, he learned -successively, first, that it was a lad (a well-known _habitué_ of the -side walk) who had called Bertha out. Next, having found the lad, he -heard from him that on the evening before a bushy-whiskered man had -driven up in a cab, and giving him a shilling, had told him to go in the -Golden Bar and tell a Miss Summerhayes that she was wanted. The lady had -come to the door as requested, and after some words with the -bushy-whiskered man, which the lad did not overhear, they both got in the -cab and drove rapidly away. - -This was all the information Alec could gather. Neither a description of -the cab or cabman, nor the number of the same was to be had. A hansom in -a main Sydney thoroughfare is too common a sight to attract even passing -attention. Doubtless if Alec had been endowed with half the imagination -of a French detective he would have found his clue ample for the -prosecution of an immediate chase. But imagination was distinctly not -his _forte_. He could weave no theory, spin no web of conjecture; only -in a vague and ill-defined way he told himself that Bertha’s -disappearance was not natural, and probably not voluntary. She was -certainly not the sort of girl to elope at a minute’s notice, and even -Alec, slight student as he was of feminine human nature, felt that she -was above all not the girl to thus abandon her wardrobe. - -Mixed with these feelings, that Bertha had met with foul play, were a -host of jealous doubts. Of her own accord she had stepped into this cab. -Why had she done so? Passion boiled up in the man, and he raged -impotently. At last his mind received an inspiration. - -“Why not go to Soft Sam?” - -He acted on the thought at once, and in a few minutes found himself in -the Domain at the old gentleman’s accustomed seat. - -As Alec approached a group of children he heard the familiar voice -calling out amongst them— - -“Now, knuckle down properly; don’t fudge.” - -It was Sam teaching his pupils the mysteries of marbles, and Alec had to -wait some few minutes while a chubby youngster of six was inducted into -the mysteries of holding his blood-alley in the most scientific and -approved method. - -“Well, my lad,” said Soft Sam at last, “what’s the trouble?” - -Then Alec told him all he knew of Bertha’s disappearance; how eager he -was to seek her out, and how helpless he felt himself to do so. - -“More trouble about that girl! Why can’t you leave them alone? Mark my -words, you’ll come a cropper over them before you are done. But there, -what’s the use of talking, the pairing season is death to common-sense.” - -“But where has she gone, Sam? Where shall I find her?” - -“That depends on who has done the job. He may be a tradesman, in which -case you may as well say ‘good-bye’; or only a botch of an amateur, in -which event you have a very good show. Advertise in this evening’s paper -for the cabman. Offer ten pounds reward and no questions asked, and you -will probably get an answer.” - -“But suppose the man has been squared, is it likely he will give himself -for a sum like that?” - -“That depends, as I said at first, who put up the job. Let us suppose it -was a mug’s plant. He would probably give the cabby a fiver for the -night’s work, and he is not the average cabman if he would not tell where -he drove to for a tenner, particularly if you undertake to ask nothing -else, and keep the cops out of the affair.” - -Alec jumped at the suggestion at once, and he was just in time to get the -following notice in the second edition of the _Evening Times_— - - TEN POUNDS REWARD.—If the cabman who drove a lady and gentleman from - the Golden Bar last evening will call on Alexander Booth, King - Street, he will receive the above. No foolish questions asked. - -Alec went to his office and waited there impatiently for further -developments. About six o’clock a seedy-looking man sidled into the -office and asked for Mr. Booth. He was shown into the inner room, and -Alec, at the first glance, felt that something was coming. - -“Are you the cove wot advertised?” - -“That’s me,” said Alec. “Are you the cabman I want?” - -“No, I’m not the bloke; but I think I could find him, or what you want to -know, if it was worth my while.” - -“Do you know where he drove his cab last night?” - -“Perhaps. Is that all you want to know?” - -“That’s all. I’ll give a fiver down, and another fiver when you take me -to the house. And I want no other questions answered.” - -“That’s the kind of talk! You can ante up the blunt, and we will start -right away.” - -Eagerly Alec Booth counted out five notes to the man, and then together -they left the office, and jumping into a cab at the door, drove rapidly -towards the eastern suburb. - -It was a long, silent drive. Alec, as he had promised, asked no -questions, and the man by his side volunteered no remark, except from -time to time to give the requisite notice to the driver. - -Up Oxford Street, along the Old South Head Road, mile after mile, past -Paddington, Woollabra, the Tea Gardens, and then out in the scrub towards -the sea to the open stretch of desolate ground round about Bondi. The -houses were getting fewer, and at last at a signal the cab pulled up. - -“Here we are, boss. That’s the crib there across the paddock,” and the -man pointed to a little cottage a few rods away, and standing back from -the road. “Now you can brass up.” - -A doubt crossed Alec’s mind. It might be “a have.” But he resolved to -chance it. Ten pounds would neither make him nor break him; so paying -the guide, who quickly walked off, he bade the cabman to wait for him, -vaulted over the fence, and strode towards the house that had been -pointed out. - -The place appeared to be unoccupied, yet there was not the usual notice, -“This House to Let,” in the window. The front gate was fastened, but was -easily stepped over. There were blinds to the windows of the front -rooms, but otherwise from an outside view they appeared to be empty. - -Alec knocked at the door, a loud resounding knock. - -There was no answer, no sound of movement within. - -He tried the door. It was a common two-inch, fastened by a common lock. -Without thought of possible consequences, in case his information was -unreliable, Alec put his shoulder to the door, and putting forth his -great strength, was pleased to find the staple give way. - -An empty passage, an empty house, quiet, desolate. Yet stay! One of the -four doors before him was fastened. He turned the handle. It was also -locked. Impatient, eagerly he shouted out— - -“Bertha! are you there?” - - * * * * * - -The day following the abduction was one of nervous excitement to Huey -Gosper. He called in at the Golden Bar, and feigned a very natural -astonishment at the great piece of news Ruby had for him. He quite -supported her opinion that “The Squatter” must be at the bottom of it. -“The Squatter” was evidently “gone” on her; he was the possessor of -untold wealth. What more likely than that he had used the power of his -money to serve his own ends. - -So spoke Ruby, and her tone was neither one of great commiseration for -Bertha, or great condemnation to her supposed abductor. Perhaps the -prospect of being carried off under these conditions did not appear so -terrible to her. - -Huey wandered about the town restlessly. He took an unaccustomed number -of drinks, but they failed to act as a sedative. He answered a large -number of letters addressed to “The Tinman,” but if his correspondents -were pleased with the tips he sent on this occasion they were mortals -easily satisfied. One question was ever uppermost in his mind, “What -should he do next?” His plan, while yet in perspective, had appeared -simple enough. Disguised he would cage her, and later, in his own proper -person, he would come to her rescue with a tale of how he had discovered -that Alec Booth was her abductor. In this way he hoped to gain the -gratitude of Bertha, and the overthrow of his enemy. - -He would go the following morning. It would look suspicious to go too -soon. This was his plan, and he had only to wait quietly; but quiet he -could not be. - -How was Bertha getting on in that lonely house? Could he trust the -cabman? Was there some fault in his plan, some weak point in the tale he -meant to tell? So his mind dwelt and doubted. It was about six o’clock -in the evening that, carelessly turning over the evening paper, he came -to the following— - - TEN POUNDS REWARD.—If the cabman who drove a lady and gentleman from - the Golden Bar last evening will call on Alexander Booth, King - Street, he will receive the above. No foolish questions asked. - -“My God!” cried Huey, “I have no time to lose! That devil will be on my -track. Why did I trust the cabman? Why did I not follow Soft Sam’s -advice, always to work alone? Never mind, there is time yet. To-night -or to-morrow morning, what does it matter, I will take some tools and be -off.” - -In five minutes a bundle already prepared was in his hand, and he was -seated in a cab, speeding rapidly to the eastern suburbs. He was nearly -at his destination when he signalled the driver to stop. Getting out he -bade him wait. Proceeding on foot he came to the solitary cottage. -Avoiding the front entrance, he walked along the side fence, climbed it, -and approached a window covered on the outside with venetian shutters. - -“Are you there, Bertha?” he whispered, poking a stick through the -shutters and tapping the glass. - -No answer. - -“Are you there, Bertha?” he cried, still louder. - -Still no response. With a cloud of anxiety on his face he hastily took a -short crowbar from his bundle, prized open the shutters, prized open the -window, and stepped in. With one glance he had eyed every nook and -corner of the room. - -It was empty. - -“Damnation!” cried Huey, as he passed through the open door into the -hall, where the front entrance itself was open to the world. “The bird -has flown, and the sooner I disappear the better.” - -Three minutes later he was in the cab again, raging with disappointed -hopes, full of doubt as to what had happened. Had the cabman “split”? -Had Alec, with that cursed luck of his, foiled him again? Or had Bertha, -more ingenious than he had thought her, and despising the written warning -he had left, effected her own deliverance. Clearly he had failed, but -while he had life and liberty he would try again, and Bertha should be -his—yes, she should be his, or he would swing for her! - - * * * * * - -When Alec Booth called the name of Bertha at the inner door, he was -gladdened to hear the sound of feet on the floor, and a welcome voice -cry—“Alec! Is that you, Alec? Save me!” - -With one strong drive from his shoulder the door burst in, and there, -standing with tear-stained face and imploring eyes, in the midst of a -daintily-furnished room, was Bertha Summerhayes. - -“At last! Thank God!” exclaimed Alec. “How did you get here?” - -She almost fell into his arms. Her eyes lighted up with joy, and her -bosom heaved with emotion. - -“Oh, take me away from this! Take me away! It feels to me like a tomb!” - -And Alec noted as he looked about that the room must have been in -semi-darkness before the opening of the door, for the lattice shutters of -the window were closed. - -“Have you anything to take?” inquired Alec, as Bertha almost pushed him -forward in her eagerness to hasten away. - -“No, there is nothing. Yet, stay a moment, there is that paper on the -table; take that, it may be of use; it may help to explain. But come, do -come! I shall faint if I stop in this place a minute longer!” - -Alec picked up and placed in his pocket a written paper that lay on the -table, and, careless of further concern about the house, quickly left it -with Bertha on his arm, and it was not till they were seated side by side -in the cab that Miss Summerhayes seemed to draw her breath freely. - -As the cab bowled along, they were too busy with mutual congratulations -to remark, on another road parallel to their own, a second cab hastening -in the direction from which they had just come. Without recognition -these two cabs passed each other not four hundred feet away, the riders -in each having their eyes closed to that which would have interested them -so much. - -It was in disjointed fragments that Bertha related her experience, and, -pieced together, Alec found it came to this— - -She was enticed into the cab by a bushy-whiskered man, who said he had -been sent to take her to Mr. Norris, who was seriously ill. The cab, she -remembered, came up Oxford Street, when she pointed out that they were -going in the wrong direction. The man then told her that Mr. Norris was -at a friend’s house at Darlinghurst, but very soon the cab passed that -place, and then she called out and wanted to stop the cab or summon -assistance. After that she could remember nothing till she came to her -senses, feeling very sick and faint, in the room where Alec had found -her. - -Looking about in the half-darkened room she found a written paper on the -table, the same that Alec had in his pocket. Alec took it out and read -as follows— - -“Miss Summerhayes is warned for her own safety to make no effort to -escape or noise of any kind, as it will only force those who watch her to -do again what was done in the cab. On these conditions no harm shall -happen to you.—A FRIEND.” - -“Reading that made you keep quiet, I suppose,” said Alec. - -“Yes,” said Bertha. “I did not want to be smothered again, and I was -terrified almost to death, sitting there alone all day, not knowing what -was to happen next. Perhaps they were going to murder me, or throw me -over the cliffs, for I could hear the noise of the surf. But noise in -the house I heard none, till you came and broke open the door. How did -you find me out?” - -Then Alec gave his account, how he had gone to Soft Sam, and acting on -his advice, had advertised for the cabman, how a man had replied, and in -spite of his assertion to the contrary, most likely the cabman himself. -The rest Bertha knew. - -“How can I ever thank you enough, Mr. Booth?” said Bertha, as she stepped -once more on the pavement fronting the Golden Bar. “How can I ever thank -you enough for your kindness and courage?” - -“Give me this hand to keep and take care of,” replied Alec with a sudden -burst of emotional fervour, “and no scoundrel in the future shall dare to -touch you!” - -Bertha did not answer him as she stepped lightly to the doorway; then, -half turning her head, she threw him one word as she disappeared. - -“Perhaps!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII -IN THE GARDENS - - -IT was Sunday morning. Bertha, with her old friend the Professor by her -side, was walking in the Botanic Gardens. For the third or fourth time -she had re-told the tale of her abduction, for a third or fourth time -they had speculated as to who the author of the outrage could be, and as -to the identity of the bushy-whiskered man. - -“Has Mr. Booth been to the cottage again?” asked the Professor. - -“Yes, he went back at once, but it was empty, all but the one furnished -room I was in, and no one was there. He inquired of the neighbours, and -found that the place had been empty and to let for some time, and it was -only a few days ago the board was taken down. Then he went to the house -agent. This agent said that a bushy-whiskered man, giving the name of -Brown, had taken the place and paid a month’s rent in advance. The -furniture he happened to know, for it was part of his business to keep -his eyes on new tenants, was obtained on the time-payment system. He -told Alec—or, rather, Mr. Booth—the shop. The furniture man had seen -this Mr. Brown, who had paid him a deposit on one room of furniture. He -could say no more than that he was a middle-aged, bushy-whiskered man.” - -“And has no more been found out?” - -“No, nothing else. Alec wanted to put it in the hands of the police, but -I would not have it. I would rather die than have to go in a -police-court.” - -“And so the villain is to escape?” - -“Well, he did not do me much harm after all, Pro, and he will get his -desserts some day. All bad people do.” - -“That is a very consoling theory for injured people who can obtain no -redress, but I am afraid experience hardly warrants it. The stage -villain may walk to the scaffold during five acts, but the every-day -scoundrel is more often carried to Parliament by a carriage and pair. -Have you no suspicion in your own mind as to who it was?” - -“The girls in the bar think it was an old gentleman we call the Squatter. -He certainly asked me to marry him, and offered me several rich presents -at different times; but I hardly think he was the kind of man to have -planned an outrage of this kind. It is strange, though, that he has not -been seen in Sydney since the day I was taken away. But there, I am -weary to death of talking on the subject! Let us speak of something -else, Pro. I have left that horrible bar for ever, and I have some news -for you. Now guess what it is?” - -“You have found a new and wonderful dressmaker!” - -“You horrid thing, as though I cared twopence about dress!” - -“Then it is a new admirer who has told you that you are the prettiest -girl in Sydney, and you have believed him.” - -“That is really cruel of you, Pro? As though I cared what people said. -You do not deserve to be told anything!” - -“I will give up guessing then. Tell me what it is.” - -“Alec—that is, Mr. Booth—has asked me to marry him.” - -“And you have consented?” - -“Not exactly. I thought I would ask you first. I hardly know what to -do.” - -“Do you love the man?” - -“He is brave, and strong, and kind. And then it was so good of him to -come and rescue me from that horrid place. I really think he loves me, -yet he is not just the sort of man I have fancied in my mind. But -somehow I am afraid this ideal man of mine will never come along; perhaps -he would not have me if he did come. And then Alec loves me, and he is -very nice when he likes—and I don’t know what to do or what to say!” - -“You have not mentioned another of his advantages, Bertha. I hear that -since he won the Cup he is quite a wealthy man.” - -“Now you want to scold me. You think I like him for his money. But I am -sure a man is no worse because he has means of his own. Why, the -Squatter was ten times as rich as Alec, and I never even looked at him. -It is not fair to expect every one to be poor like you, Pro, and I am -sure it is better for those to have it who will enjoy it than rusty old -misers who hoard it up.” - -“And about the horse-racing, Bertha. I thought you hated all connected -with it?” - -“Oh, Alec has promised to give up betting altogether. He says the -consultation, or sweep as they call it, pays better. There is no risk, -and he means to go in for that.” - -“And you find this Mr. Booth a man after your own mind—not the ideal, as -you said, but an every-day representative you will be willing to live -with till death do you part?” - -“I have thought it over, Pro. Of course Alec is not clever. He has read -next to nothing, and can talk of very little outside his business, but -all the same he might be pleasanter to have about a house than some one -who was very clever. I fancy these clever people are not very nice to -live with, particularly if you are not so clever as they are.” - -“But then, Mr. Booth is not like you in any respect, either in taste or -ideas?” - -“That is one of the reasons that makes me think we might do very well -together. Two people who were much alike would soon be tired of one -another, don’t you think so?” - -“I think, my dear Bertha, you first made up your mind, and then found all -these fine reasons to support you afterwards. You ask my advice, but -what you really want is my approval. I give you, instead, my -congratulations. The wife of a poor man you might have been, as you -know, any time these two years, but I saw clearly that in such case you -would always have been regretting that fortune which you might have had. -Now you are marrying a man of money. I hope it will turn out as you -wish, that the gold will gild your future; but, as in a marriage of -poverty I clearly foresaw on your part a life of regrets, so in this -other union I have the same misgiving.” - -“Then what am I to do, Pro? Shall I remain single?” - -“No, my dear, by no means. For a girl above all it is better that she -should marry if she can wisely do so. I cannot give you my wisdom, no -one can. Wisdom can be bought only by experience. There is no other -price. So marry, my dear; be happy while you can, and remember if -troubles and trials come that they are your life lessons, to be met -bravely, not as evils, but as disguised friends.” - -“You ought to have been a parson, Pro,” said Bertha, with tears in her -eyes. “You are always so serious. Now, tell me honestly, don’t you -think Alec is a fine-looking man?” - - * * * * * - -Alec Booth was not the man to hide his good fortune. All his friends, -more particularly those at the Golden Bar, were soon acquainted with the -news of his proposed marriage to Bertha Summerhayes. - -Ruby wished him joy, and hoped very kindly he would not be deceived in -the object of his affections. And when he inquired what she meant, -replied— - -“Oh, nothing! Of course, Bertha is an angel—a little chipped, perhaps. -It’s about time she settled down, and, like a wise girl, she knows it.” - -Florrie was diffuse— - -“How kind of you to marry her! You must be a real good sort, Mr. Booth! -There’s not many men would have your pluck, if what they say is true!” - -“What do they say?” inquired Alec hotly. - -“Oh, you have heard nothing? You dear, simple man! Then I’m sure I -shall not be the one to tell tales out of school. Besides, it may not be -true; people do tell such lies. And Bertha’s not a bad sort, though she -does hold her head up. You just shut your eyes and do as she tells you, -like a good boy!” - -Alec, never fluent of speech, did not know how to reply to his tormentor. -He knew their ways too well to take them altogether seriously; but the -poison of their malice left a sting behind. His only defence was a -hearty “Ha! ha! ha!” - -The unanswerable reply of a small head with a big stomach. - - * * * * * - -In his turn Huey Gosper was not slow to hear the news, and Ruby even gave -him the details of “the lark,” as she called it, they had had with Alec. - -“And he just was mad when we rubbed it into his angelic Bertha! You -should have seen how red he got in the face! Why, the fool is fairly -crazy about her! It would only serve him right to play a trick or two on -him—the conceited fool!” - -A gleam of malicious joy shone in Huey’s eyes as though a sudden unholy -hope had sprung up. He whispered words to Ruby and she to him, and by -their pantomime it might be understood that a plot, mutually agreed on, -was arranged. - -“You’ll keep your word?” interrogated Huey as he left. - -“Like a book, Mr. Gosper! Never you fear! I’m not the girl to back -out!” - -And as he passed into the street Huey’s melancholy face bore the first -smile it had worn for many days. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII -THE LOVERS - - -BERTHA had chosen her favourite Botanic Gardens for the scene of her -courtship, and it was there that her daily meetings with Alec took place. -She found, perhaps, in the surroundings, a little compensation for that -want of poetic feeling that even her partiality had to admit on the part -of her lover. - -On his side, from either the association with Bertha, or that -mind-awakening which not infrequently arises with the amorous sentiment, -he often surprised himself by quite original observations. - -Bertha noted this change in him with the hope of the sanguine woman who -trusts to mould her husband in the way that good husbands should go. If -she could only wean him from those hateful horses, that was her dream. - -They were walking side by side. She would not take the arm he offered. - -“It was too countrified!” she said, and he submitted. - -“How beautiful the lawns look to-day, Alec?” - -“Yes; first-class feed for a cow,” said Alec, gazing about critically. - -“And the trees—do you notice what lovely foliage they have?” - -“I don’t know much about foliage, and that’s a fact, Bertha; but as for -trees, I reckon I know a good one when I see it, and I looked the whole -lot over the other day, and I’ll take my oath there’s not a good free -splitter in the lot! A lot of knotty, cross-grained wretches! They are -only fit for mill-wood, if they are fit for that!” - -Bertha sighed softly to herself. - -“I should so like to travel, would not you, Alec? To go to other -countries and see something of the world?” - -“That’s just my idea. Let’s go to the next Melbourne Cup. We can do the -thing tip-top, and have a grand old time!” - -“Oh, bother the Melbourne Cup, Alec! You are always thinking of races. -They say there is nothing worth noticing in Melbourne after you have seen -Sydney, except it may be the bad smells. And their races are just like -ours, so they won’t be much of a treat.” - -“How you do talk, Bertha. Why, Melbourne is the finest city in -Australia.” - -“I was thinking of other countries—France and England, for instance.” - -“What’s the good of our going to England? Isn’t Australia the finest -country in the world, and the people ahead of all the others? Look at -our fighting men, our rowing men, our cricketers. Why, we can beat them -all, hands down. Australia’s good enough for me, any day.” - -“But think of Paris. You have heard of Paris—wonderful, beautiful -Paris.” - -“You mean the place where the plaster comes from?” - -“Yes, and hundreds of things beside. It is the city of delight, with -miles of wonderful shops, arcades and picture-galleries, and crowds of -the most elegantly dressed people in the world. I believe if I could -only see Paris I should be willing to die.” - -“You had better see Australia and live,” replied Alec, stumbling on an -epigram unconsciously. - -“And there is a wonderful garden there, miles long, called the Bois de -Boulogne; and now I remember that they have a celebrated horse-race there -called the Paris Grand Prize, and all the great people in Europe go to -see it.” - -“That might be worth looking at,” said Alec, doubtfully; “if those -Frenchmen only knew how to ride.” - -“And think of the hundreds of ladies all beautifully dressed; not a -rag-tag and bob-tail like we have here, but real ladies, with real -costumes, every one a study and a delight. Oh, I should like to see it.” - -“I don’t believe it’s better than Randwick.” - -“Alec, don’t talk like that. It is like some one swearing in a church.” - -“That’s all right, Bertha. Don’t you mind me. Of course I know nothing -about all these fine things. Australia is good enough for me, but if you -want to see these dirty Frenchmen and their painted women, why we will -take a trip there some day.” - -“That’s so good of you,” said Bertha, squeezing his hand, and giving him -a look that filtered through his being with a wild deliciousness. “Only -take me to Paris, and then I will come and stay in Australia for ever and -ever.” - -“And when shall we get married, Bertha?” inquired Alec, thinking the -moment a propitious one. “When is the day to be?” - -“What do you want to be in such a hurry for? Are we not very nice as we -are? I am sure it is beautiful to walk in the Gardens every day.” - -“I don’t say no, Bertha; but I am always afraid some one will run off -with you again, and next time I might not be able to find you.” - -“I am very careful, Alec, now. I never go out after dark, and as for -going in a cab, I believe I shall always hate the sight of them.” - -“You had better make sure; marry me and done with it.” - -“There you go again. I never heard of any one so impatient. This is the -best time in our lives, if we only knew it. We are young and free, no -cares, no troubles. Let us live and enjoy as we are for a little while. -And a girl’s youth goes away so quickly. I wonder, Alec, if you will -think as much of me when I am old and ugly?” - -“You ugly?” said Alec derisively. - -“Well, not perhaps quite ugly, but you know well enough that here in -Australia girls fade very quickly. I dread to think what I shall be like -in ten years’ time—all wrinkles and grey hairs, with no more figure than -a post, no doubt. Oh! I want to keep young always, always, and never -get old at all. Don’t you, Alec?” - -“I can’t say I ever thought much about it. If a three-year-old would -always remain a three-year-old it would be a great chuck-in, no -doubt-that is, if they did not raise the weight. But I guess there is -not much show of getting the soft side of the handicapper. We all have -to carry weight-for-age.” - -“I really wish, Alec, you could talk a little time without bringing in -your everlasting horse-racing. There are other things in the world -besides horses.” - -“So there are, Bertha,” said Alec soothingly; “there are cattle and -sheep. But, you see, they are not in my line.” - -“You’re a goose,” replied Bertha, laughing, “and I half believe you are -making fun of me all the time. Where did you go yesterday afternoon?” - -“I have been house-hunting. It seems the proper thing, when I am engaged -to a girl like you, to find a home to please her, and I wanted to give -you a surprise.” - -“You choose a house!” with a tone that made Alec feel two inches shorter. -“What should a man know about a house?” - -“So I concluded, and I decided that you had best please yourself. Where -would you like to live? I was thinking of Randwick—a nice stylish -place.” - -“What, live away from the harbour—the sea—with nothing to look at but -houses and sand-hills? That would be horrible!” - -“Where then, my dear? Choose your own place; it’s all the same to me.” - -“I have always dreamt of one of those cottages with wide verandahs near -the harbour, with a water frontage, a little house for a boat, and green -lawns and gardens right down to the water. That would be lovely!” - -“I never thought of that. But they are very awkward to drive to, -generally, those sort of places. But I was at Bob Simmons’s place the -other day—it’s just the kind of house you would like and we had some fine -sport with the dogs killing rats down on the rocks. One old rat was real -game, and no mistake!” - -“But there are not rats everywhere all round the harbour,” said Bertha, -with much concern. - -“Just swarms with them! That’s the best of it! A fellow could always -find a bit of amusement. It’s as good as bandicooting, any day.” - -“I think I would rather not be quite so close to the water, then. I hate -rats, and I don’t like seeing anything killed. We will go and look for a -house together.” - -“All right, let’s go to-morrow.” - -“Yes, or the next day. To-morrow I have got to have a dress tried on.” - -And then the two lovers talked for half-an-hour as to the relative -importance of the new dress and the new house, and which it was most -important to give the first attention. - -Needless to relate, the dress carried the day. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV -THE CONSPIRACY - - -ALEC BOOTH was at his office looking over his letters that were handed to -him by his clerk. He was not a quick reader, and a still slower writer, -so his clerk was not only a convenience, but a necessity. One of these -letters arrested his attention; it did not refer, like the others, to -horse-racing, it bore no address and no proper signature. He read -slowly— - -“If Mr. Booth is wise he will watch his lady-love more carefully. Like a -fool, he believed her story of being forcibly taken away in a cab. She -was only too willing, if the truth was known, and if the Squatter did not -come to terms it was because he backed out at the last moment. Even now -she is meeting him, and if Mr. Booth only likes to be on the right-hand -side of Circular Quay at half-past eleven to-night, and keep hidden near -the last ship towards the point, he will see her with his own eyes. - - “A WELL-WISHER.” - -His first impulse was to destroy the letter as a venomous thing, but the -doubt in his mind, once aroused by Ruby and Florrie, came to him again. -He did not doubt Bertha—no! Ten thousand times no! But it would be so -easy to put this slander to the test. - -Bertha out at half-past eleven on Circular Quay! Bertha, who never went -out after dark! It was absurd! Yet men, smarter men perhaps than -himself, had been made fools of before to-day. - -Did this explain the reason for Bertha’s hanging back when he asked her -to name the marriage day? Was she only making a convenience of him in -case the other man refused to toe the mark? It was damnable! But it was -a lie—a wicked, cursed lie, and he would pay no attention to it. - -But his mind could not leave the subject all that day, and eleven o’clock -at night found him walking nervously and excitedly towards the -meeting-place mentioned in the letter. - -The last boat moored to the Quay was a sailing vessel, whose decks -appeared deserted. Perhaps the crew were on shore or asleep in their -bunks. Not even a watchman was visible. - -On the wharf a few feet from the edge a pile of casks were stacked. -Across the roadway rose the high façade of prison-like wool warehouses. -The electric light that now makes this quarter of Sydney one of the best -illuminated had not been installed at this date, and the yellow gas-jets -visible here and there did little to lighten the darkness of the night. - -Alec for a time looked about curiously, then paced up and down, assuring -himself the while that he was a fool for his pains, and would have been -far better off at that time of night seated at his club playing nap. -Then he remembered the directions he had received, “to keep hidden.” Now, -the only place convenient for concealment was to stand behind the heap of -casks, close to the edge of the Quay. The simplest observation gave this -assurance, and no doubt the writer of the letter had this place in her -mind. - -This thought did not occur to Alec. He was told to hide, and he hid, -quite unsuspicious that by doing so he was standing in an appointed -place. - -There were no immediate passers-by; a few forms could be heard and seen -at a distance moving about, but that part of the Quay was for the time -deserted. - -Presently he heard the voice of a man singing, and coming towards him, -and the words rang out on the night air with wonderful distinctness— - - “I’m off to Charlestown early in the morning, - I’m off to Charlestown before the break of day; - To give my respects to all the pretty yellow girls, - I’m off to Charlestown before the break of day!” - -“Evidently a sailor half tanked,” thought Alec, as he watched the man -with peaked cap and pilot coat, half reel, half walk up the Quay. The -progress forward of the singer was more like tacking against a head-wind -than a plain, straight-away course. He zig-zagged first over to the wool -warehouses, then across to the water’s edge, and each time Alec expected -him to tumble over, but he always seemed to “wear ship” just in time, -singing the while as though he were the happiest fellow in all the world. - -By accident or design one of these tacks brought the drunken sailor just -to the corner of the heap of casks behind which Alec stood hidden. - -He pulled up short before turning again, and, seeing Alec, called out— - -“Hullo, mate! can you give us a match?” - -Alec, not from meanness, but to get rid of the man’s presence, told him -he had not got one. - -“I say, mate, give us a match, there’s a good fellow”—and the sailor put -his hand on Alec’s shoulder. - -At that moment a woman’s form could be seen approaching from the -distance, clad in a light costume. She might, for all that light -revealed, be Bertha in a walking-dress. - -Instinctively Alec turned away his eyes to look at the newcomer, and then -the drunken sailor, like one who had waited for a signal at the moment -Alec turned his head, pulled out a bag that had been hidden beneath his -coat, clapped it over the face and round the neck of Alec, where a spring -appeared to hold it fast, and then, with a rush and a push, sent his -victim over the Quay into the dark water of the harbour. - -There was no cry, but a half-stifled shout; no noise but the single -splash, for the body sank like a stone. - -The sailor stood calmly gazing down on the water for some minutes. Not a -ripple, not a break in the wavelets to show that the victim had risen -again. - -“I thought that would fix him,” the sailor said to himself. “He never -could swim, and he will find it a little late to learn now.” With that he -started singing his song again, retracing his steps. When he reached the -lady in the light dress he went up to her, and speaking without any -affectation of drunkenness— - -“It’s no good, Ruby; he has not come. I suppose he was too fly to be -taken in by that letter of yours.” - -“Well, I’m glad of it, Huey. It might have got me into a row, and the -pig is not worth it. What shall we do now?” - -“I will take you to the dance, as I promised.” - - * * * * * - -Alec, on falling into the water, went quickly enough to the bottom, and -nearly as quickly rose to the surface. He waved his arms frantically, -nearly stifled and choked as he was by the covering on his head. When he -came to the surface again it was, fortunately for him, not in the open -harbour, but amidst the piles on which the roadway of the Quay was -built—his hands in their wild struggle caught one of the slimy -cross-timbers, and to this he clung in desperation. - -He knew by the feel that his head was out of water, and the bag about his -head was not so tight but it allowed him to take breath. - -Getting firm hold of his support with one hand, he used the other in an -effort to withdraw the bag. He tried and tried again, and, at last, -aided by his strong arm, that had been developed by years of axe-work in -the bush, by a final wrench, and a partial skinning of his ears, he -pulled it off. And then, to his lasting regret, he cast it from him. - -He quickly understood where he was, and it was the work of a few minutes -to draw himself up on the slanting beam and seat himself on its slippery -surface. - -For the moment he felt secure. But what was he to do next? If he -shouted for help that devil above him might be waiting with pistol and -knife to finish his work. - -It was very uncomfortable there, soaking wet in a damp seat, in silent -darkness, with only a glimpse of the harbour through the piles, but he -reflected that he was probably safe from further attack if he kept quiet. -So he decided to sit still and wait for the morning light, if no other -assistance should come. - -His vigil, however, was not so long; not an hour and a half had passed -when a ship’s boat, laden probably with some belated captain, approached -quite close to him. He sang out— - -“Boat ahoy!” - -The rowers stopped. Alec called again, and on his saying he had fallen -in the harbour and wanted to land, they very cheerfully backed their -craft up to the piles, and with some difficulty Alec managed to jump -aboard, and in a few strokes was landed at the steps. - -Alec Booth could see the spot where he had stood behind the casks, but as -he anticipated, no sailor, either drunk or sober, was to be seen there -now. He felt a satisfaction in throwing off the numbness of his limbs by -a smart walk, and his first place of call was the office of the Water -Police. - -The officer in charge took down his statement with provoking calm. One -might have fancied that the throwing of citizens off Circular Quay was a -matter of hourly familiarity to him. - -“And you say this man put a spring bag over your head? Where is it?” - -“I threw it away in the water,” said Alec. - -“Ah! Were you robbed?” - -Alec felt in his pockets. His watch, his purse and pocket-book were all -safe, but of course wet. - -“Ah!” said the policeman again. “You say this sailor who assaulted you -appeared to be drunk?” - -“Yes, he acted like it as he came towards me.” - -“Are you quite sure you were sober yourself?” - -“Sober as a judge!” - -“Did you have anything to drink to-night?” - -“I may have had two or three whiskies-and-sodas.” - -“Ah!” said the constable again, and this time in a tone so provoking that -Alec, in spite of the majesty of his uniform, felt inclined to kick him. - -“We will inquire into the matter, sir, and for the future I should advise -you to keep away from the Circular Quay when you have taken two or three -whiskies.” - -Disgusted as well as wet, Alec left the office. It was clear enough the -officer gave no credence to his story, and thought it merely the -hallucination of a drunken man. So he went home, and to bed, his mind -filled with a darkening fear of this enemy—that mysterious and -unknown—who thus boldly attacked him. - -The letter was only too probably part of a plot to lure him to -destruction. He had no clue to his enemy, who had failed this time, but -was at full liberty to contrive some fresh scheme for his undoing. And -the next time, luck might not be on his side. - -Alec was brave enough in open fight, but this secret fear unmanned him. -And Bertha’s abduction came to his mind—that mystery had never been -explained. Had the drunken sailor and the bushy-whiskered man any -connection? Was there a conspiracy to ruin or murder Bertha and himself? -He feared so. And he turned the question over and over in his mind, and -he could find only one hope for peace. - -He would go in the morning to Soft Sam. - - * * * * * - -Alec found Soft Sam seated as usual in the Domain, with a crowd of -wide-eyed juveniles about him, and apparently listening with breathless -interest to a localized history of Jack the Giant Killer, with -variations. - -“So the young man said to the rich squatter, ‘I can drink as much of that -whisky as you can.’ And the squatter laughed at a little chap like that -swallowing oil of vitriol like the old soaker he was himself. So he -called for glasses, and filled them. The squatter drank his, but Jack, -after taking a sip, poured his all down his neck into his Crimean shirt, -where it was soaked up. - -“And they drank, and drank, and drank—till the squatter was dead on the -floor, and young Jack jumps up, takes all his money, and rides away!” - -This was Soft Sam’s somewhat abrupt conclusion, for he saw that Alec -wished to speak to him. And as the children still hung about, with a -manifest inclination to hear the next chapter, he dismissed them speedily -with the present of sixpence, with which, without more ado, they departed -for the nearest lolly-shop. - -“It’s cheap at the price,” said Sam. - -“What’s cheap?” - -“Why, happiness. I’ve made them there kids as happy as sandboys with -sixpence. It seems to me they have often got a lot more sense that way -than when they grow up.” - -“I’m in a bother again, Sam.” - -“I thought as much. You can most of you find me out when trouble comes -along. What’s the matter this time?” - -And then Alec told the history of the previous night. - -“It’s the girl again,” said Sam, after he had patiently listened to Alec. -“I told you she would breed mischief. You are young and foolish like the -rest of them, and take no notice.” - -“You don’t mean to say that Bertha caused me to be thrown in the -harbour?” - -“Of course I don’t! But some one who is after her did the trick right -enough. And a very nice little job it was, too. He must be a fellow of -talent. And it was only a fluke it did not come off. He must be a real -smart bloke, and no mistake. If he tries it on again I would not care to -insure your life. Very neat, very neat; and not a trace to track him by. -Really, I give him credit. I could not have done better myself!” - -“He’s a clever scoundrel, there’s no doubt; but the question is, ‘What am -I to do?’ Am I to sit quiet till he makes another shot?” - -“Why can’t you leave the girls alone? I tell you they will ruin you -sooner or later. Or, if you must mix yourself up, why not marry this -Bertha right away, and done with it? While she’s single there will -always be strays browsing round after her. Put the hobbles on, man, and -get her broken in to double harness, and if this attentive friend of -yours is only half as smart as he appears to be, he will quit.” - -“Thank you, Sam? That’s just my own idea, and I’ll put the matter to -Bertha straight—that it’s either get married at once or one of us -missing. And she’s not the girl I take her for if she refuses.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV -THE HEART UNION - - -“NOW, Bertha, say the word, and let us be married at once. I have told -you what Soft Sam has said. You know our position. At any moment this -scoundrel may do us a mischief.” - -“And what if he does, I’m not afraid; and I am surprised at you, a strong -man, fearing a coward who is afraid to show himself!” - -“That is just it, Bertha! If he would only show himself. I am afraid of -no man alive; but a crawling wretch who springs on you unawares, I fear -him as I would a death adder in the dark.” - -“What can he do? He has not hurt either of us yet.” - -“I suppose you think your cab drive was a pleasure trip?” - -“Well, after all, Alec, there was not much harm done, was there? I was -awfully frightened and all that kind of thing, but it was all right when -you came.” - -“You will drive me mad, Bertha! I believe you try to provoke me on -purpose! Will you, or won’t you, marry me now?” - -“When is now?” - -“Say to-morrow!” - -“Impossible!” - -“Why impossible?” - -“In the first place, I must get my dress ready, and then there are the -bridesmaids. Who would be bridesmaids at a day’s notice?” - -“Oh, bother the bridesmaids. We don’t want any bridesmaids. Let them -rip!” - -“If I don’t have bridesmaids I won’t be married. A marriage without -bridesmaids! Who ever heard of such a thing! I don’t believe it would -be a proper marriage at all!” - -“Oh, yes, it would—as safe as the bank!” - -“Safe or no safe, I’ll be married properly or not at all.” - -“Perhaps you would rather be carried off in a cab?” - -“Well, your marriage would be nearly as bad! Go and write our name in a -book, the same as you do at a picture-gallery, and a man in a light suit -says, ‘Three-and-sixpence, please. You are married. Next!’ You can -bury me that way if you like to but marry me, never!” - -“Say your own time then; only pray be reasonable, Bertha. I am fearful -for myself, I own, but I am doubly fearful for you. Every time I see you -I fear it may be the last.” - -“I suppose I must give in; you men are so impatient! Let us say this day -month. That is the very, very earliest.” - -“A month, Bertha! Why not say twelve at once?” - -“I will say twelve if you like. That would be much better, only I -thought you were in such a hurry.” - -“I should like to swear to myself for a few minutes, Bertha, if you would -kindly walk on a little way ahead.” - -“What you can see to be so cross about I can’t make out. You have -everything your own way. You ask me to marry you in twelve months, and I -agree to it. What more can you want?” - -“You are trying to take a rise out of me—I can see clear enough. But be -a little reasonable, Bertha. Say three days, four days—in fact, say just -how long it takes these blessed bridesmaids to get themselves groomed and -in proper training for the job!” - -“Now you are more reasonable, Alec. We might—mind, I am not sure—we -might get ready in a fortnight.” - -With this promise Alec had to be satisfied, or make the best of it. He -had succeeded in knocking fifty per cent. off the first estimate, and was -correspondingly elated. Perhaps he would not have been quite so pleased -with himself had he known that for more than a week past Bertha’s bridal -dress had been completed, that the bridesmaids were long ago chosen, and -their arrangements made; that even the church and officiating minister -had been selected, and, as a matter of fact, the marriage could have been -solemnized with all those rights dear to the heart of womankind two days -from date. - -Alec did not know this, and he was contented. - - * * * * * - -A fortnight later the Sydney _Evening Times_ had the following paragraph -in its column of social news— - -“St. Clement’s Church, Church Hill, Sydney, was yesterday the scene of a -very pretty wedding, the occasion being the marriage of Miss Bertha -Summerhayes, a popular Sydney belle, and Mr. Alexander Booth, the -well-known sportsman, and owner of the winner of the last Sydney Cup. -The church had been very prettily decorated by the friends of the bride, -wreaths of waratah and rock lilies being used with great effect. A -miniature avenue of tree ferns led from the gateway to the church -entrance, and wild flowers were not only used in the profuse decoration, -but were also scattered as a carpet for the happy pair. The bride was -married from the residence of her old friend Professor Norris, the -eminent and well-known specialist in character reading. - -“Punctually at half-past two the entrancing sound of the march from -_Tannhäuser_ on the organ announced the arrival of the carriages with the -bridal party. The bride was attired in a lovely gown of green -peau-de-soie, with berthe of old Brussels bone-point lace also cream in -tint, the corsage adorned with orange flowers. - -“She carried an exquisite bouquet of white lilies and maiden-hair ferns, -and over all fell a soft tulle veil in graceful folds to the ground. A -magnificent diamond bracelet, the gift of the bridegroom, was her only -jewel. Miss Ruby Jones, a friend of the bride, was maid of honour, and -wore a toilette of old gold silk, with gloves and shoes to match; she -wore a richly-chased gold bangle, a present from the bridegroom, and also -carried a bouquet of lilies and ferns. Miss Florrie Simpson, the second -bridesmaid, was likewise attired in old gold silk, and she carried a -duplicate bangle and bouquet. The whole effect of colour was a delicious -harmony of cream and gold. - -“Mr. Booth was attended by Mr. Jenkins, the well-known and popular host -of the Golden Bar. After the ceremony, which was performed by the Rev. -A. A. Softword, the bridal party left the church to the strains of the -grand march of Mendelssohn, ably played by that eminent organist, Mr. -Treadfast, and adjourned to the residence of Mr. Norris. Here a -sumptuous breakfast was prepared, and the house made a little fairyland -with palms and tropical foliage. - -“After the health of the bride and bridegroom had been duly honoured, Mr. -and Mrs. Booth left amidst a shower of rice and rose-leaves on their tour -through the Blue Mountain district. The bride wore a fashionable -Newmarket walking gown, tailor made, of a light fawn tint, with sunshade -and hat _en suite_. The presents were costly and too numerous to give in -detail. One exception must be made in favour of a wonderful and rare -piece of art, a stirrup-cup in chased gold and enamel, of Viennese -workmanship, a present to the bridal pair from the members of the A.J.C.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI -UP TO DATE AGAIN-DARLINGHURST GAOL - - -AFTER the magisterial decision Bertha was removed to Darlinghurst Gaol. -Her appearance at the Police Court was merely formal, and she was there -committed to take her trial at the ensuing Quarter Sessions. Bail was -not allowed, and only the daily visit of Professor Norris broke the -monotony of the following days. - -The best legal talent available had been secured on her behalf, and the -most skilled Sydney detective was employed, and money was used -unsparingly to unravel the mystery in her defence; but no progress had -been made. On the other hand, the prosecution, who were no less busy in -seeking for corroborative evidence, were utterly at fault. Her past -history had been raked up, all her acquaintances interrogated for a clue -that would indicate a secret intrigue on her part, or a previous lapse in -her morals; but her record stood the test well. The chatter of her old -companions in the Golden Bar, when sifted by experts, was found to be -mere slander. - -Detective Dobell began to feel uneasy. It was contrary to all his -experience that a murderess, such as Mrs. Booth appeared to be, should, -up to the commission of the crime, have led a blameless life. He had -taken it for granted that inquiry would have shown the hidden motive for -the deed. Motive there must have been. For no one, not a lunatic, would -commit a crime of this nature without reason. And Dobell felt that the -evidence, though strong, was not strong enough. The robbery at the -office was, to say the least, a curious coincidence, but by no possible -means could he connect Mrs. Booth with it; and that left a loophole for -doubt. She had ample funds also at her own disposal, as was proved by -the bank account that Mr. Booth on his marriage had opened for her. - -Dobell was troubled; he felt his reputation in some sense at stake. He -was at fault, and he had felt so sure. - -The Professor was surprised at the comparative calm with which Bertha -endured her imprisonment. After the first shock, the first horror, her -outward demeanour became quiet, almost confident. It is true her lawyer -had bade her be of good heart, that the evidence, so far as known and -unsupported, was, at best, only one of strong suspicion, and what no jury -would convict on. But prisoners’ lawyers are professedly sanguine, and -the Professor hardly expected such consolation to have so influenced -Bertha’s emotional nature. - -“Is there anything new, Pro?” Bertha inquired one morning, when the -Professor made his usual morning visit. - -“No, my dear; nothing. No clue, no trace can be found. What are these -heaps of letters about that you have been looking at?” - -Bertha had nearly the old smile on her face as she replied— - -“Offers of marriage, Pro! The Golden Bar was bad enough. I used to get -some sort of a proposal at least once a week; but here in Darlinghurst I -am fairly deluged. Every man in the colony seems to want to marry me! -Just look at some of their letters. Some of them don’t even pretend they -think me innocent? I suppose if one of these men should be on the jury -it will be ‘Hang or Marry!’ Really it is horrible! What can they take -me for? One husband hardly cold from a dreadful death, and they insult -me with their infamous propositions. Do you know, Pro, if it was not for -the hope that one of these letters might have some reference to the crime -and the author of it I would not open another.” - -“You are hopeful, then, Bertha?” - -“For myself I am not troubled a bit. I am even surprised at myself. I -seem to be a looker-on, as one looks at a play, and the whole thing a -dream. I pinch myself at times; I cannot be sure I am awake. And then I -have a kind of certainty that in some way the truth will come out. I was -thinking only last night that there is a man who could help us if he -would. Will you go to him?” - -“Who is he?” - -“He is an old friend of poor Alec’s, who was always singing his praises, -and said he could do anything, find out anything if he only liked. You -remember when I was carried off in the cab? Well, Alec went to him, and -he told Alec how to find me. He is the man to help us, I feel certain.” - -“What is his name, and where does he live? I will go at once.” - -“He is called Soft Sam. Very likely that is not his real name, and you -will learn where to find him at the Golden Bar. Get Ruby and Florrie to -ask some of the customers. They will know who, and you will soon find -out.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII -MR. HOBBS AT TEA - - -THOSE who had only seen P.-C. Hobbs in his official uniform would hardly -have recognized the spruce and well-dressed gentleman, as he turned into -the side entrance of his house to tea. - -“My word! What a toff!” was his wife’s greeting. - -But Tom smiled amiably, and produced from his tail-pocket a paper bag -with a quart of his favourite prawns, which he proceeded to empty on to a -plate on the table. - -“Just like your extravagance, I’m sure! However I am going to make ends -meet while you are squandering all your money on that rubbish I don’t -know.” - -“Only sixpence, Bell, and he gave me good measure.” - -“That’s just like you! Only sixpence! But where is the money to come -from, I should like to know? Any one would think we had a fortune by the -way you go on.” - -This was the way Mrs. Hobbs relieved her feelings when her pre-emptive -right to be sole Chancellor of the Exchequer was infringed upon. Tom did -not answer; he was already seated, decapitating in a masterly manner the -pink fish. - -“And where have you been?” continued Mrs. Hobbs, pouring out the tea. -“One would think you had been to see some fancy girl.” - -“And so I have, Bell,” said Tom, as calmly as possible. - -“And you dare to come home and tell me to my face, you vagabond!” - -“Take it easy, old girl! All in the way of business. You know my -inquiries about Israel were a frost, so I determined to-day to try a -fresh line. I would look up Mrs. Booth’s antecedents, and with this -object I called at the Golden Bar, and did a bit of a mash with a barmaid -there they call Ruby.” - -“And you had the impudence to go talking to one of those brazen-faced -painted hussies? I thought better of you, Tom.” - -“In the way of business, my dear, I would talk to anybody. And she’s not -half a bad sort,” said Hobbs provokingly, as his wife sniffed. “She as -good as said she would meet me on Sunday if I would take her out for a -drive.” - -“And I suppose you are going to?” - -“Well, I did think of it; but perhaps it is hardly necessary. She has -told me pretty well all she knows about Mrs. Booth’s history.” - -“And what did that amount to?” - -“If you will listen quietly for a minute I will tell you. Mrs. Booth, -while she was serving at the bar, appears to have been a regular rage -amongst the men that frequent it; she had untold offers of marriage—one -from one of the wealthiest men in Australia, a man they call the -Squatter, the owner of Revolver, the favourite for the Cup. There were -also two young fellows who came together from the Hawkesbury district, -and were both sporting men. One of these young men was Alexander Booth, -her future husband, the other Huey, probably Hubert Gosper. They were -both, so Ruby said, mad after this Miss Summerhayes, and for a long time -that young lady did not show any special preference. But after Alec won -the Cup, and made a small fortune, she married him, which seemed to Ruby -very sensible on her part. - -“But before this marriage two strange incidents occurred which were never -made public in the press or the police courts. The first was the -abduction of Miss Summerhayes from the very door of the Golden Bar one -night at ten o’clock, and her forcible taking away in a hansom cab by a -man with bushy whiskers. He appears to have drugged her with chloroform -to keep her quiet, and taken her to a lonely house at Bondi, for it was -there that Mr. Booth found her the following day, locked up, but -unharmed. Inquiries were made by Mr. Booth, but the culprits were never -traced, and Miss Summerhayes opposed all application to the police. This -affair was generally supposed to have been promoted by the man they call -the Squatter, but it is pretty clear there was no proof of any kind -except that he was fond of the girl, and money was no object to him. - -“The next strange event was connected with Mr. Booth. According to his -statement at the time, he was talking to an apparently drunken sailor on -Circular Quay at half-past eleven one night, and was suddenly bonneted -with a bag over his head that closed with a spring opening, and pushed -over into the water, and he would have been most certainly drowned had he -not fortunately risen to the surface amidst the piles of the quay, and -there held himself up till a boat chanced to pass and come to his -assistance. Booth never found the drunken sailor again. He made a -complaint to the police, but they appear to have thought the whole story -the fabrication of the mind of a man who had drunk too much and had -incautiously fallen in the water.” - -“And how do all these histories help you, Tom?” inquired his wife. - -“In this way. I think I have found my clue at last.” - -“It was about time.” - -Constable Hobbs continued his statement to his wife and his prawn-eating -simultaneously— - -“You will notice that now I have found the jealous lover, the man I have -been looking for all this time. And that was the only motive that seemed -to me sufficient to account for the crime. I have, in fact, found two -lovers; but, in spite of Ruby and the rest, I rule out the man they call -the Squatter. He is wealthy and fond, no doubt; but he is a man well -known, he has been a member of Parliament, and is about as dull and -stupid as he is rich. - -“Now the man I am after must be a smart, clever man, and the second -lover, this Huey Gosper, seems to fill the bill very well. It is quite -likely he was the bushy-whiskered man himself, for no disguise is more -simple than to put a lot of false hair on your face. He may also have -been the drunken sailor. If this crime ever occurred as told by Mr. -Booth, it was no ordinary assault by a waterside thief, for, according to -his statement, he was not robbed. - -“You will notice that these two attempts were so cleverly contrived that, -although they failed, their author was never discovered. There was -originality of invention in both attempts, and does not this crime on the -North Shore look to be in the same handwriting, to have originated in the -same mind, to have been executed by the same hand?” - -“You have found it out at last!” cried Mrs. Hobbs, with enthusiasm. - -“On the contrary, Bell, I have found out nothing. So far, I only -suppose. And Suppose never hanged a man yet; or, at least, he should not -have done so. What I have done is to find a man and a motive. Here is a -man who, in the hearing of several, had sworn to marry the girl, and who, -if he was the author of the undiscovered crimes I have told you of, was -quite capable of the third. - -“But I am still in the dark as to how he could have committed it. -Anyhow, it is the first hopeful sign I have got for days of labour, and -on the strength of it, Bell, I bought the prawns. I must pat myself on -the back sometimes.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII -SOFT SAM - - -PROFESSOR NORRIS had not long to wait in the Golden Bar before an -_habitué_ was found who gave him directions how to find Soft Sam. - -“You go in the Domain—now’s just about his time—and on a seat near the -cricket-ground you will find a white-haired old man acting the goat with -a lot of kids. That’s him.” - -The directions impressed the Professor as somewhat singular, but such as -they were he followed them, and, sure enough, he found just the group -that had been described. He paused in astonishment for a few minutes to -watch the old gentleman, who was apparently instructing two juveniles in -knickerbockers the preliminaries in the noble art of self-defence. - -“That is surprising,” said the Professor to himself, “the finest bump of -benevolence I ever saw and teaching boys to fight!” - -“I have come,” said the Professor, introducing himself, “on behalf of -Mrs. Booth, the widow of a late friend of yours. She wishes you to help -her in her present difficulty, that you have no doubt heard of.” - -“Oh, yes, I heard about it,” nodded Sam. - -“She wishes you to help her discover the author of the crime.” - -“Then she has sent to the wrong party. As pretty a job as ever I heard -of! A real artist that man, whoever he was; and I’m not the one to give -him away. Not me! Go to the detectives, the men who are paid for that -kind of work.” - -“I should have told you that with Mrs. Booth money is simply no object in -this case. She would willingly give a thousand pounds to have the truth -discovered. Why, she’s committed for trial for the crime herself!” - -“I don’t want her money—a great deal of good may it do her, or any one -else! If I help her it will be to get her out of a mess, not to get -somebody else in.” - -“Do as you will; only, if you can, come to the help of the poor girl. -She says that her late husband always used to speak of your ability in -the most enthusiastic way.” - -“And it’s a pity for him he had not thought well enough of it to follow -my advice, and he would be alive and well at this moment. I told him -time after time that running after this woman would bring him no luck; -but, like all the young ’uns, he would not listen—would have his own way, -go his own road, and now all my trouble on him is thrown away. It’s -enough to make a man disgusted with human nature. In a couple of years I -would have made him king of the Australian turf. - -“I made him what he was—out of mud, as you may say—but he must go like -all the rest. Thought he was clever enough to hold his own bat. Now, as -to this affair, tell me all you know about it first. But wait a minute, -have you got sixpence on you?” said Soft Sam, after vainly searching all -his pockets. - -The Professor quickly produced a shilling, which Soft Sam, handing to one -of the children who still hung about, said— - -“Now, the first of you that gets to the gate is to spend it.” - -With a shout and a scuffle the whole mob disappeared. - -The Professor then related at length all the particulars of the crime -known to him. - -“And on the strength of that evidence,” said the old man, when Mr. Norris -had finished, “they arrested Mrs. Booth—the Queen of Sydney they used to -call her at the bar. The dunderheads! Why, I would not trust them to -catch a rat for me. You say the room of the crime remains untouched, -just as it was? Let us go over and see it.” - -An hour later, under the guidance of Police-Constable Hobbs, who had the -key and charge of the room, the two gentlemen entered the home of Mrs. -Delfosse. - -Mr. Hobbs eyed the newcomer curiously. Who was he, and why had he come -under the guidance of the Professor? Perhaps some expert detective -brought from Melbourne or one of the other colonies. - -To a casual observer, Soft Sam would have seemed to pass into the house, -up the stairs, and into the fatal room without so much as a glance about -him. But Mr. Hobbs was not deceived in this way. He noted the quick -eyes of the old man, saw, examined, took in everything. Only a moment he -paused at the door of the room, and then passed in as though it was of no -further interest. This surprised the policeman, who had examined and -wondered at that door for hours as the seat of the hidden mystery. - -The old man crossed to the fire-place, gave a pressure with his hand to -the register grate, then stepped to the window, looked out, glanced at -the catch, and said almost impulsively— - -“It’s as plain as kiss your hand.” - -“What is?” interjected P.-C. Hobbs imprudently. - -“That the police force are a lot of mokes,” continued the old man, -turning about; and in another tone, “We may as well go back, Professor.” - -“What, already? You have hardly seen the place!” - -“I’ve seen enough. Come along!” - -Soft Sam would say no more till they were out of the house and seated in -the ferry, on the way to Sydney. - -“You say the bedstead has not been shifted?” - -“No; nothing has been moved.” - -“Then your mystery is so simple, a child could see through it! Any one -but a regular detective or a duffer should be able to find it out in five -minutes. He was only a clever amateur after all who did the job.” - -“How do you know?” - -“Why, he has left his track.” - -“Then how was it done?” - -“That I do not feel at liberty to tell you—at least, just yet. I must -see Mrs. Booth and have an understanding with her. She is a girl of -sense, as far as girls go. For, mind you, as I said at first, I am not -going to be dragged in to give evidence in any police-court proceedings. -None of their tomfoolery for me! If I tell Mrs. Booth how she can clear -herself, I expect her only to act when, and as I tell her.” - - * * * * * - -At Darlinghurst Soft Sam expressed the wish to speak privately with -Bertha, and the Professor had to wait impatiently till the interview was -over. - -Coming out, Soft Sam only nodded to him on his way to the gate, and any -one who had noted the old man’s face as he walked down Oxford Street -would have seen his usual serene smile was gone—he was troubled. - -Crossing Hyde Park he hailed a man on an adjoining footway. - -“Heigh, there, Huey!” - -Huey Gosper, for that was the gentleman called, seeing who it was -addressed him, came forward at once over the turf. - -“Is it a fiver you want, Sam?” he said, putting his hand to his pocket, -and remembering the old gentleman’s peculiar way. - -“No, boy; I wish that was all the trouble. The fact is, I was just going -to hunt you up. I have something of importance to tell you. Now, mind -this, don’t laugh, and think it’s not serious.” - -“Well, what’s the matter?” said Huey, easily. - -“The matter, my boy, is this—that the climate of Sydney for the next year -or two is likely to be very unhealthy for you. You have got a complaint -that nothing can cure but the air of South America, and the medicine must -be taken at once.” - -“But what are you driving at, Sam?” said Huey, turning pale. “Yours is a -big order.” - -“Now, don’t act the goat with me, Huey. You have always found me your -friend, and if you have made a mess it’s because you would not take my -advice. And when I tell you that after breathing the air of North Shore -at three in the morning, it is necessary for your health to try -Valparaiso, you should understand I mean what I say.” - -And, saying no more, the old man moved on, gloomy and thoughtful. - -“Both of them mugs! All the world are mugs. I am a fool to try and -train any of them,” he said to himself. - -When the Professor entered Bertha’s cell after her interview with Soft -Sam he found her quite radiant. - -“I know all about it now, Pro; or rather, I know how it was done; for Sam -will not tell me who it was, though I believe he knows.” - -“And how was it done? I am just dying to know!” - -“You must wait a little bit yet, Pro. Sam made me swear not to tell a -soul till he gave me leave, or he would have told me nothing. So, of -course, I must keep my word. But be assured, Professor, my troubles now -are nearly over. In a few days at most I go out a free woman. Did I not -tell you that Soft Sam was a clever old man?” - -“Clever at villainy, it seems, Bertha! All the same, we must be thankful -to him.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX -HOW MASTER HOBBS GOT HIS BALL FROM A NEIGHBOUR’S YARD - - -WHEN Constable Hobbs had seen his visitors safely out of the house he -returned to the room of the crime full of thought. - -It was apparent to him that this strange old man had read the secret and -method of the murder at a glance. Not two minutes had he been in the -room, and the tone of his involuntary exclamation announced that he had -solved the riddle. - -How had he done it? What magic was there in this old man’s vision that -was lacking in his own? He had marked in his mind every movement, every -glance of Soft Sam—the door that had hardly arrested his slow walk into -the room, the fire-place he had only touched, and finally, the window -where the exclamation had taken place. - -What was there so noticeable about the window to excite the old man? He -went towards it, and looked it over carefully. Four squares of glass, -two in each sash, secured by a common window-fastener, that was now -closed, as Police-Constable Hobbs had always seen it. - -He opened the window, and scrutinized it carefully. - -What were these two small lines that cut the paint of the lower bar of -the upper sash, immediately under the fastener? - -He looked at them carefully. At the edges the cuts were deeper. They -were such marks as are seen on the tops of corks of lemonade bottles. -And the marks were recent. - -“That’s it!” cried Hobbs, joyfully. “That’s what he saw! What a fool I -was never to have opened the window! They are hardly to be seen when it -is closed.” - -But his triumph was only for a moment. These marks may have explained -everything to the old man; they were so far silent to Constable Hobbs. -He had, however, found a clue, and he started to think to put this and -that together. - -The window had, so far, never entered his calculations; there were so -many objections to be overcome in that direction. Nevertheless, putting -them aside, he devoted all his thought to the window and its lock. -Drawing out his pocket-knife, he found it was an easy job to press back -the little brass bar when it was open. He remembered doing the same -trick as a boy, when he happened to be locked out of his own home. But -with the knife he found it quite impossible to shut the lock again from -the outside. - -Descending to the kitchen of the house he procured a piece of very fine -wire, and, having borrowed a ladder, mounted to the window from the -outside. He had previously again closed the window. He now readily -opened it as before, with his knife pushed up between the junction of the -two sashes and pressed sideways. Raising the lower sash and bending his -wire in the form of a loop, he was able with a little dexterity to pass -it over the knob of the catch; holding the two ends of the wire in one -hand he drew down the lower sash, and then by a sideway pull easily -pulled the little brass bar out again. - -The window was shut and locked. He had only to loosen one end of the -wire to withdraw the whole and place it in his pocket. - -Descending the ladder and mounting to the room, he again opened the -window and examined the two marks. Yes, there could be no doubt on the -matter. The two marks were deeper and plainer than ever. His own wire -had fitted the grooves left by a previous one. - -He felt happy and proud of himself. At any rate, he had beaten the -much-vaunted Dobell so far. So pleased was he at that moment, that if -some peripatetic hawker had at that time cried out “prawns” for sale in -the street, he would have lavishly treated himself to a pint, in spite of -Bell and all her lessons in domestic economy. - -But this rash ardour soon cooled, and no demand was made on his tendency -to extravagance. He was not out of the wood yet, not by a long way, he -told himself, as he surveyed the iron bars and the thirty feet fall to -the ground. - -“Supposing a man got to the window, how could he get through?” - -He tried each iron bar. They were all solidly soldered into the stone -window-sill. Look at them as he would, they baffled him. Even a child -could not squeeze through. And then again, a ladder must have been used -to mount to the window. The one he had just used himself he had borrowed -from a painter who was at work on a house close by. But he remembered -that the morning after the murder, with the possible idea in his mind -that the murderer had got into the room from the chimney, he had searched -the neighbourhood for some distance round, and had found no -privately-owned ladder long enough, and no painters using ladders. It -was a common burglar’s trick to enter houses this way, so he had looked, -and carefully looked, but he had found no sign of ladder, or even marks -of where a ladder must have stood if it had been used. - -His mind was in a turmoil. He thought and thought, but could see no way -out. At last, in despair, he went home to tea, and relieved his mind by -telling his discovery and his troubles to his wife. He had another -matter on his mind that worried him also. At the Golden Bar, which he -had visited more than once, he had had pointed out to him the person of -Huey Gosper, and the man’s aspect had struck him as familiar, but for the -life of him he could not bring to mind in what way or under what -conditions he had seen him before. - -Mrs. Hobbs was rejoiced at her husband’s news. - -“Didn’t I say so, Tom, you would find it out? I always had my doubts -about that window, though you were so positive! Why did you not look -before?” - -“Why indeed!” echoed Tom. “Why don’t we do fifty things that are plain -enough to us after we have lost the opportunity?” - -“And you can’t understand how the murderer got through the iron bars on -the window?” - -“No, that’s what puzzles me most of all.” - -“Perhaps he did not get through at all.” - -“Don’t be a fool, Bell!” - -“Drat that boy!” interjected Mrs. Hobbs. “He has got a new ball, and -won’t come in to his tea. Here, Harry! Come here!” - -But Harry did not answer, and did not come. So his mother went to the -back door to call him. But she did not call him, but paused in a kind of -wonderment on the doorstep. Presently she shouted— - -“Come here, Tom!” - -Languidly, and with true official deliberation, Mr. Hobbs came to her -side. - -“Well, what’s the matter, Bell?” - -“Look at that boy, Tom. His ball has fallen in the next yard. He cannot -squeeze through the fence or climb over it, but he is getting the ball -all the same.” - -“So I see. He has got your clothes-prop through the palings and is -dragging the ball towards him. That’s nothing. I used to steal apples -that way when I was a boy.” - -“But does not that explain what you were talking about?” - -“What! You think the murder might have been committed with a -clothes-prop?” - -“No, I don’t say anything of the kind. But it might have been somehow in -the same way.” - -“Bell, you’re mad! Wash up the tea-things, that’s more in your line. -I’ll have a smoke.” - -Hobbs sat and puffed the blue clouds, and so deep was he lost in thought -that his lips puffed mechanically long after his pipe had gone out. - -This idea of Bell’s was filtering into his mind. At first regarding it -as absurd, he gradually came to think it possible, then probable; -finally, he was morally certain there was a basis of truth in it. But -not a word of his revulsion of feeling did he let fall to Mrs. Hobbs. In -fact, he was quite convinced from that time forth that the idea was all -his own. - -“Burning! Burning!” he said to himself, with reference to an old game of -hide-and-seek that he was wont to play in his boyhood, this being the cry -of the fellow players when the seeker was near the object sought. - -Burning! Burning! He felt he was touching the key to the mystery at -last. - -An hour might have passed, when he jumped up with a loud exclamation— - -“I remember! I remember!” - -“What do you remember?” inquired Mrs. Hobbs, coming in hurriedly from the -kitchen. - -“I remember where I have seen this Huey Gosper before! He is the man I -saw on the night of the murder, chased in the scrub, and followed down -Lavender Bay steps to the boat! That’s the man! I will swear to him!” - -“Will you arrest him?” - -“I will apply for a warrant to-morrow! There is no hurry. He thinks -himself quite safe!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXX -THE ‘SOUTHERN CROSS’ - - -WHEN Soft Sam left him in Hyde Park, Huey Gosper stood for a time stock -still, as still and moveless as the monument of Captain Cook close at -hand. - -What should he do? Give up all, and fly like a child in a moment of -panic? Was it not the action of a fool? And his plans so well laid, -too! He was certain nothing could be traced to him. Had he not worked a -lone hand—no accomplice to split on him? No; he would stop and brave it -out. And then he should lose Bertha! Was life worth having without her -after he had risked so much for her sake? Yes, he would stop. - -But then, again, Soft Sam had always been right—right even when he (Huey) -had felt most confident. Was he not right over the Sydney Cup? Had he -not said that of The Vengeance and Bertha, Bertha was a trifle the better -horse? And had not Sam made Alec’s fortune for him, and would he not -have made one equally as good for himself—he, Huey Gosper, if he had only -followed the old man’s advice? - -And now it was no question of money. It was liberty, life, that was at -stake, and Soft Sam said go. Clearly the old man knew all; what was -there he did not know? And perhaps he knew that others knew, or -suspected, and so his warnings. It was good of the old chap, but just -like him. Yes, he had better go. When the old man gave the word it was -no time to linger. He had said “At once.” He would stand not on the -order of his going, but go. - -Hurriedly Huey walked to his lodgings, and packed up his most portable -valuables in a small hand-bag. His money he put in a belt round his -waist. Most of his money was, to his regret, in New South Wales -bank-notes. What would be the good of them in a foreign country? He -went down to the wharves and shipping offices, and inquired as carelessly -as possible what ships were starting. - -There was no boat going from Sydney to South America, but one would leave -in about a week from Newcastle. There was a ship out in the stream that -would sail that night for Batavia, and a schooner the following day for -the South Sea Islands. - -Huey did not half care for going to the Dutch Colony; the South Seas -seemed to him a more inviting spot. Amidst those thousands of islands it -would surely not be difficult for him to hide his trail, as good, or -perhaps better, than South America. - -He decided on the schooner, which he found was called the _Southern -Cross_. This would also give him time in the morning to change his notes -into gold. - - * * * * * - -Together with another officer, and armed with a warrant, Constable Hobbs -proceeded the following morning to the residence of Huey Gosper, but he -was not at home, had not slept there that night, the landlady said. -Nevertheless, Hobbs entered his room, which was all turned over and -littered about. There was every outward sign of a hasty -departure—clothing, books, and toilet articles littered about in a -disorder not even to be excused in a bachelor’s department. - -“The bird has flown?” muttered Hobbs. “Just my luck!” - -Hastily they proceeded to overhaul the various articles left behind. A -small portmanteau attracted the constable’s attention, and on opening it, -was found to contain a bundle of fine rope, which, being unfolded, -revealed itself as a rope ladder with two claw hooks at one end. - -“That’s the trick, was it?” said Mr. Hobbs, contemplatively; “but how the -dickens did he fix it? Those hooks would hang nicely on the iron bars of -the window, but how did he get them there, and getting them there, take -them down?” - -The answer was not long in coming. In the corner of the room stood, what -looked like a Malacca walking-cane. On careful examination it was found -to be an article that is sold at Japanese stores as a telescope -fishing-rod. The last, or weakest, joint had been removed, and two -implements were found in the pocket of an old coat hanging on the door -that fitted in the hole intended for the last joint. One was simply a -T-shaped piece of iron, with its upper points bent upwards. This Hobbs -saw in a moment would readily hook on and unhook the ladder. - -The other tool was not so simple—a lump of lead, weighing perhaps four or -five pounds. It also had a staple to fit the rod top. It was in shape -oblong and round, and in the centre of its smallest end was a -diamond-shaped opening, big enough for a pea to drop in. With a long -needle Hobbs measured the depth of this opening; it was four inches. To -Constable Hobbs it stood revealed as a leaden handle without a blade. - -“Here,” said he, speaking unintelligibly to his companion, “is my boy’s -clothes-prop. With a narrow knife fixed in such a weapon, one could, -with a little practice, easily stab a man ten feet away, particularly if -that man was asleep. But it would be far more difficult to withdraw the -blade; the weight of the lead from a good drop would drive it in, but -there would be little power to withdraw it. - -“So the blade fitted the handle loosely, and came away when it had done -its work. - -“All that is clear to me now—this that the old man saw with a single -glance of his eye from a scratch in the paint! We have the evidence. -Now for the man! Fortunately you cannot leave Australia by express -train, and if he is ashore I will have him.” - -Constable Hobbs’s first care was to go to the quays and shipping offices. -Here he learned that a ship had sailed the previous evening for Batavia, -besides several inter-colonial steamers. - -“If he has had a good scare, as he seems to have had, he will try to go -as far off as possible, likely enough he is on his way to the East Indies -in the ship that sailed last night.” - -And Hobbs felt his spirits sink with disappointment. To have got so far -and to be beaten in the last step of his progress was humiliating, -disgusting. He gained a little more hope, when he was told at the office -that the Batavia ship had taken no passengers. If Gosper had gone by her -it must have been as a stowaway. - -Hobbs did not think this probable. A man with a pocketful of money would -hardly resort to such means of escape. - -At the last moment he learned, in answer to a chance inquiry, that a -schooner had cleared that morning for the South Sea Islands, but they -could not say if she had sailed. - -Full of a fresh-born hope, Hobbs went to the telegraph office and wired -the signalling office at South Head— - -“Has schooner _Southern Cross_ passed outwards?” - -In a few minutes answer came—“Southern Cross anchored in Watson’s Bay, -awaiting change in wind.” - - * * * * * - -Half-an-hour later Hobbs, on board the police steam launch, was -proceeding rapidly down the harbour. - -Would they never get there? The launch seemed to him to crawl. Past -Cremorne, past Bradley’s Head, past the islands that dotted the blue lake -with their olive-green foliage and ruddy sandstone rocks, past Rose Bay -with its long-stretched fringe of silver sand, and then out into full -view of Watson’s Bay, nestled in snug security under the mighty cliffs of -South Head. - -Yes? The _Southern Cross_ was still at anchor, resting like a lifeless -thing upon the water. A pair of anxious eyes watched the approach of the -launch from its deck. And, as the little steamer curved round and drew -alongside, and a policeman from its bows hastily climbed on to the deck -of the schooner, a loud splash was heard on the further side of the boat. - -Hobbs was just in time to see the man he wanted disappear with a dive off -the bulwarks. Without a moment’s hesitation he doffed his coat and -helmet, and with a rush and a spring he too was in the water. - -The constable quickly came to the surface, but the watchers on the -schooner could see no sign of Huey Gosper. Twenty pair of eyes at least -scanned the surface of the sea in every direction, but no re-appearance -was visible. Hobbs vainly called for directions; a lowered boat vainly -rowed to and fro. No sign of the man but his floating hat was to be -found. - -That he had dived a quarter of a mile to the shore and climbed up the -rocks unperceived was hardly credible. - -Hobbs felt sure he was not far off. Perhaps in diving he had struck a -rock and got stunned. Even then he should have floated. - -With the courage of despair, Hobbs dived and dived again where Huey had -disappeared. With the skill of a pearl diver he felt over the bottom, or -as near the bottom as he could reach. Finally he came to the surface -panting, waving his hand for help. - -The boat came, and strong arms soon lifted on to the schooner’s deck the -senseless form of Hubert Gosper. Striking a rock appeared to have -stunned him, and a heavy belt of gold around his waist kept him from -floating. - -“Just my luck!” cried Hobbs, with a melancholy growl, as he shook the -water off himself like a shaggy Newfoundland dog. “Just my luck!” - -“But you’ve got him after all,” said his companion. - -“Got him!” replied Hobbs sarcastically. “What’s the good of a dead -criminal to a live policeman?” - - * * * * * - -The following day Bertha left Darlinghurst triumphantly on the arm of -Professor Norris, who had come to meet her. The Crown abandoned her -prosecution, and Soft Sam, having removed the embargo on his revelations, -Bertha was free to relate those particulars of the crime that had so far -remained a mystery. - -“Soft Sam saw how it was done at once, Pro,” Bertha said. “After getting -to the window and killing my husband in the way Hobbs suggested, he must -have hooked Alec’s trousers off the chair where he had left them, taken -the key out of the pocket, got an impression in wax, replaced the -trousers, closed the window, gone home, filed out a duplicate key, and -then robbed the office safe. Who would ever have thought it of him? He -was passionate, I know, and dreadfully jealous. Do you remember the -wonderful character you gave him, Pro, when you examined his head at -Windsor?” - -“And I stick to my character even now,” said the Professor. “A great -criminal or a great man! What is the difference? The circumstances of -his environment, an accident of life, a disappointed love, or a baulked -ambition. We have all the potential power for the greatest good or the -greatest evil if circumstances so will it, and the greater the brain the -greater the power. The Demon of Avarice destroyed Hubert Gosper as -surely as it is destroying thousands of hopeful lives every day. It -first demoralized, then brutalized him. But he paid the penalty, as -every one must inevitably pay. - -“You cannot rob your brother of silver without at the same time robbing -your own mind of gold. There is no usury like it. Thou shalt not steal -from yourself your honour, your self-respect, your love of your -fellow-man; for in that moment the light of true guidance shall go from -you, and all shall be darkness.” - -“Pro, you ought to have been a parson, with a beautiful long black coat, -a white fence round your neck, and a shovel hat. Then I could have come -and ‘sat under’ you—that is what they call it, I think—and made slippers -and smoking-caps for you.” - -“The truth cannot be sold, my dear, or dispensed day by day like -butcher’s meat. They who hawk salvation for pay are bartering their own -souls. But let that pass. Now you are free, what are you going to do -for Police-Constable Hobbs? I hear he is to be promoted to sergeant.” - -“I will give him five hundred pounds to buy a house of his own. Do you -think that will do?” - -“I thought you would do no less, my dear. Mr. Hobbs, when he hears it, -will be the happiest man in the police force.” - - * * * * * - -Twelve months later Bertha startled the Professor by a resolution she -seemed suddenly to have arrived at. - -“I have been thinking, Pro.” - -“What about, my dear? A new bonnet?” - -“Now don’t be a quiz! It’s not in your line, as the theatrical people -say. You are more suited for the ‘heavy’ business. I have decided to go -to Paris. You know how I love to get you to talk about that place. And -now I mean to see it for myself. I have heaps of money, which, as you -will not help me to spend it, I must try and do myself.” - -“And are you going alone?” - -“That depends. I had thought”—looking slyly at the Professor—“that you -might like the trip yourself.” - -“Then I must marry you,” replied the Professor. - -“Would that be so very dreadful?” - -“You know I am yours, Bertha, to do what you will with. That which a man -may do with honour for the woman he loves, that will I do for you now and -ever more.” - - * * * * * - -Amongst its departing list of passengers by the following Messageries -Maritime mail steamer _Marseilles_, _en route_ for Paris, the _Evening -Times_ announced the names of Professor and Mrs. Norris. - - * * * * * - - THE END - - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NORTH SHORE MYSTERY*** - - -******* This file should be named 67735-0.txt or 67735-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/7/7/3/67735 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |