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feaO: THE fflTSEURG DISPATCR mm Jf
&L '" : " " PITTSBURG, SATUHDAT, MAX U, 1889. : -;'. '
- . i :
ERIESOFSHOET-STORIES
By J. Marsden Sutcliffe,
ENTITLED
m ' ROMANCE OF M IN SUBAffOE- OFFICE,
IBetsto
Passages iit the Expedience op Mb. AUGUSTUS WILLIAM WEB
BEE, Formerly General Manager of the Universal Insurance Company.
ALL RIGBTS
An Did Man's Darling.
CONCLUDED,
m.
On a bright spring morning in the year
following the fall of Sebastopol, Mr. "Web
ber was seated in his room in the offices of
the Universal Insurance Company, in Can
non street, buried in deep thought His
face wore an anxious,puzzledlook,asthough
his mind -was occupied in an abortive at
tempt to thread a way through the complex
ities of a difficult question as indeed was
the case.
"There may he more in this than meets
the eye," he murmured to himself, after
sitting for some time in apparent abstrac
tion from his surroundings. "It mayprove
f- . amatter for our enquiry agent. I will have
' Doggett here, and see what he thinks
Vaboutit"
-., "I have just heard a singular story,"
.; Mr. Webber said, when the detective ap
t - peared in answer to his summons. "A gen
tleman named Osborne a medical man, I
"Understand who has just returned from
' Scutari, where he has -been for many months
ill in the hospital, has been making a tour
of the insurance offices, as he tells me, to in
quire whether insurances have been effected
at any time on the life of Mr. Christopher
Engleficld, formerly a banker at Great
Cbelderton. Here is his card," handing
the bit of pasteboard to Doggett.
The card was neatly engraved with the
name of Mr. Webber's visitor, and, pen
cilled in the left hand corner, was the name
of the hotel he was stopping at.
This is what Doggett read:
j GEORGE OSBORNE, M. D., P. R. C. &
z
: Wood's Hotel,
: Holbom. :
"It is now nearly three years since we
paid some very heavy claims on Mr. Engle
field's lire to his executors," Mr. Webber
continued, "but of course I declined to sat
isfy Dr. Osborne's curiosity in any way
until he had informed me his reasons for
making inquiry. The story he had to tell
me was so extraordinary that my reserve
melted away, and I felt it my duty to satisfy
him, en the main point at any rate.
"It appears that Dr. Osbourne went to
the East at the outbreak of the Russian
war, leaving behind him his father, verging
upon his dotage, and a little child, a
motherless girl, I believe. They resided at
.' some village down in Berkshire, the name
of which has escaped me it is not very ma
terial to the story. Before setting out, Dr.
Osborne made his will, appointing a friend
a man named Leyton-practicing as a
veterinary surgeon at Great Chelderton, his
executor, who promised to keep a watchful
cure over their interests until his return.
.:shsipjcame back in the early part of the
year, andB4j;oy!g.to the Berkshire village
'-could discover no trac'e""of bis father or
child. He declares that he was not sur
prised at that, since he hardly expected to
find old Mr. Osborne alive, and it was un
derstood that in the event of the old gentle
man's death the child would be taken care
of by Leyton."
''Had the friends not corresponded?" Dog
gett asked, his keen, glittering eye denoting
intense interest in what promised to be
from the detective's point of view an inter
esting case.
- "There had been some correspondence,but
it was broken off. The reason for this was
not assigned by Dr. Osborne. To come to
the crux of the story, Osborne goes down to
Chelderton, where instead of finding his
friend practicing as a veterinary surgeon, he
discovers him in full feather as a wealthy
landed proprietor. Xeyton, it turns out,bas
married the widow of Englefield, the bank-
, ,er. Sow for the point. When Osborne
called at Chelderton Manor, where Leyton
I is living in grand style, bis whilom friend,
'professed not to know him in fact, avowed
total ignorance of Osborne, his father and
his child."
".This gets very interesting," said Dog-
gett, as Mr. Webber made a pause In his
narrative.
" VBut this is not all," replied Mr. Web-
ber, continuing his story. "It so happened
that at this moment Osborne's little girl
"rame Into the room where the two men were
sitting. He recognized her at -once, from
j her likeness to her dead mother. Even, as
he says, if his memory had proved unable to
retain the child's lineaments, the likeness
was too unmistakable to admit of a doubt.
Unhappily, the child's memory was not
f equally retentive, and she ran away, fright
ened, from a strange visitor. Xeyton
- (.stoutly denied that the child was Osborne's,
. and finally put an end to further discussion
1. by threatening to have him turned away
'J5t from, his door."
"J- "What a snlendid villain " rriod Tint.
gett, in an crathurst of admiration.
- "Before Osborne left," resumed Mr.
Webber, "he made mention of his will, in
which he had appointed Leyton trustee and
guardian to the' child, but Ley ton stoutly
declared his entire ignorance, and affected
to think Osborne mad. On inquiry at
' Doctor' Commons Osborne can find no trace
. -of his will having been proved. He then
.;?,paid another visit to Sonning, in Berkshire
ahl that is the name of the place, I had
forgotten it bnt njinnnfc find hita fnlhpr'fl
' name in the burial register; nor can he ob
tain any lniormation when the old man
died, or when his child was removed. He
is, ' thereore, in this curious position of
Wanting to claim his rhild. trtinm T.pvtnn
, absolutely refuses to recognize as his and,
"except himself, there is no witness to her
identity. And he is anxious to learn where
his fstuer is living, if alive still, and where
he lies buried if he is dead. He has em-
- ployed detectives without result"
"Quite too intricate a case for Scotland
Yard," said Doggett, with a grim .smile.
- ' : "So it seems," said Mr. Webber, "for.
while they buoy the poor man up with all
kinds of hopes, the solution of the mysteri
ous proceedings of this man ieyton "is no
rfliearer than when the case was put into their
"lfcji'ands. Osborne, very naturally, argues
Lf ''that Xeyton can only have the most dis
' graceful reasons for repudiating an ancient
friendship. He suvs he cannot account for
the effrontery of the whole proceedings ex
cent out of anxiety on Xeyton's part to con
ceal some gigantic fraud; and he even goes
"so far as roundly to hint at murder. After
turning the matter over in his own mind he
, comes to the conclusion that a gentleman in
Mr. Englefield's position might in all proba
bility turn out to- have insured his life
. heavily, and, imagining that to be the case.
ne jumps to the conclusion inai u ne could
, discover any office in which Mr. Englefield
was insured the insurance company might
be induced to share his suspicions and make
common cause with him; lor, though not
-aexactly a poor man, he hat -no money to
spare. Now tell me what you think, Dog-
&" .. . .- ' .
j. ; a am quite ready to do your Bidding,"
earn me detective.
tThen you think we should take up- the I asked kiawlf titete queMioa only to. 4i's
aeT asked Mr. Webber. .- A aiHHB tee i-Bjro!Me tejw trots
RESERVED.
"I do, most emphatically."
"Well, you have Dr. Osborne's card with
his address; perhaps vou had better see him
and question him further. If, after that,
you still think that you should go on with
the case vou.can do so. If we are the vic
tims of fraud it is worth fighting about, for
Mr. Englefield took out several policies
with us, and it is a good big sum that is at
stake."
Doggett lost no time in seeking an inter
view with Dr. Osborne at Wood's Hotel,
whom he found gaunt and haggard and pre
maturely aged, but with traces of great
Ehysical beauty still remaining from the
avoc which long-continued sickness had
wrought He had been twice wounded, he
explained to the detective, while engaged
on his mission of charity to the wounded,
once smitten with cholera, and finally-
struck down with enteric fever, from which
he had emerged more dead than alive.
"Have you ever to your knowledge been
reported for dead?" inquired Doggett, after
he had heard from Dr. Osborne's own lips
the story which in its outlines Mr. Webber
had already told him.
"It may be so. I have not inquired."
"Ah!" said Doggett, with a significant
sniff, penciling down a note in the little
book he carried with him. ,l We-must have
the newspaper files searched." Then, after
a brief consideration he asked again, "You
say that Mr. Ley ton preserved a perfectly
calm manner throughout your interview
with him?"
"Perfectly. He was evidently discom
posed at first when I announced my name
I had to do that, you understand; for this
last illness b.as made me look so like an
ourang-outang that my mother would not
know me. He turned white to the very
lips when I told him who I was, and I
thought he made a movement as though to
take me by the hand; and then suddenly
arrested it But he quickly recovered him
self and soon showed that with a face of
brass he possessed nerves of steeL We got
angry at last, and then he threatened to
call "his grooms and evict me from the
premises."
"Have you consulted any solicitor?"
"I have two. They told me that I could
proceed against him by a writ of habeas
corpus to .recover the child, but I was op
posed to that for the same reason that they
recommended it They thought he would
get frightened. So did X -They thought
that in his fright he would surrender the
child rather than fieht the .matter out in a
court of law. I didn't I thought he would
be more likelvto take to his heels and carry
the child with him. It can make no differ
ence to him whether he lives in England or
on the continent, and I am physically too
weak to enter upon a chase of that kind.
No doubt he sees death written in my face
which is true and thinks he can wear me
out, and win by waiting,.in an attitude of
defiance."
"Your policy is perfectly sound, in my
humble judgment," said Doggett "Itis
like deer-stalking, in a case lite this. We
must lie Jew until our quarry is well within
range and a single shot can bring Him
down."
"I think so," said Dr. Osborne, "so I
have been going quietly tq"Work with the
assistance of detectives. Too quietly," he
added with a sardonic smile; "the science or
art of detection which do you call it?
seems to rank among the lost arts in En
gland here. Your detectives discover noth
ing unless it is right under their noses."
"The remark is generally true," said
Doggett, "but there are exceptions."
"I meant no offense," said Dr. Osborne,
apologetically.
"And none is taken," the detective re
plied, promptly.
The conversation between Doggett and
Dr. Osborne lasted till far into thejiight,
by which time Doggett thought he saw his
way to a path that would lead him in sight
of his quarry.; Reluctantly enough, he
had been brought to consent "to share his
counsels with Dr. Osborne,and to make him
his' companion in his journeys. The de
tective felt that the presence of the doctor
might occasionally prove embarrassing, but
he could not resist the pleading of the Sick
man and the pitiful, learning look in the
eyes, as he implored the detective to treat
him as a comrade, in commiseration for his
feelings as a father, and the fever which
consumed hiin while sitting still, doing
nothing.
If ever Doggett saw death written on a
man's face he though t he saw it in Osborne's,
and fearing that enforced inactivity might
only hasten the catastrophe, he yielded,
stipulating, however, that when they went
down to Chelderton next-day Dr. Osborne
should submit to go there disguised, lest
his presence in the little town should get
wind, and, reaching Mr. Xeyton's ears,
startle the game.
IT.
What was Mr. Xeyton's motive for repu
diating his former friendship with Osborne
and disputing claim to the possession of his
little daughter, whom he had intrusted to
his care before setting out for the East?
This was the question which occupied
Doggett'a mind as he journeyed to Chelder
ton Magna the following day in company
with the doctor, who, after a troubled
night's rest, looked more wan and cadaver
ous than before. The detective felt that
nothing short of being driven by the pres
sure of some overmastering sense of danger
could have impelled Levton to enter upon a
step so desperate, and" one involving so
many risks. Nothing but some.inexpra
ble necessity born of danger, from which It
was necessary to protect himself, could
account for a proceeding so heartless and
cruel. Prom Osborne's narrative of the re
ception he encountered at the hands of his
friend, it was evident that his reappearance
was as undesiied as it was unexpected.
Some scheme of Xeyton's affecting his lib
erty, if not his very life, must have been put
looked-for return, and that scheme must
have reference to the past and not the pres
ent or the future. Jt was impossible to
place any other interpretation on Leyton's
emotion when Osborne announced his name
on finding himself unrecognized by his
friend, and declared hisjerrand. The
manenver he had adopted"of professing
ignorance of Osborne, his father, and his
child, must have been a device seized upon
the instant to guard some secret which, if
brought to light, would probably land Mr.
Xeyton within the four alls of a prison
cell.
But what could be the nature of Leyton's
crime? Here the detective, with all his
-M BV..VU JW.. J .MW HHUW4 O UU'
i trained instinct, was at fault He could
not conceive what that crime could be
which depended for its secrecy on turning
George Osborne away from his door and re
taining possession of another man's child.
Had he. neglected the old man, "whose inter
ests he had promised to take care of and
watch over during Osborne's absence in the
East? Or had he from mercenary greed dis
posed of his corpse to the body-snatcher for
filthy lucre's sake, and unable to point to
the. place where the old man lay buried was
be afraid that his incredible meanness would
be brought to light now? Or was his motive
alter all a aaore innocent one? Had he
grown fond of the child and adopted ' this.
device to. retain possession of her? Dozirett
insufficient to explain Leyton's heartless
proceedings.
The more he turned over, the problem in
his mind the more tangle? and inexplicable
it became. Osborne, who knew nothing of
Leyton's history since, he had parted from
him four years belore, except the bare fact
that he bad married a rich young widow
and set up for a country, gentlemen, could
lend no assistance, and Doggett, utterly at
fault to find a clue, was compelled to con
tent himself with hoping that their visit to
Chelderton might tend to throw some light
on the matter.
He had decided as a first step to visit
Chelderton from a conviction that there, if
anywhere, something in the nature of a clue
might be found, since Dr. Osborne had vis
ited Sonning without discovering anything
that could shed light on his father's fate
and the removal of his daughter from the
home in which he had placed the old man
and the little child.
On the arrival of the two travelers at
Chelderton Magna they made their way to
the Golden Lion, where also they made the
acquaintance old of John Lovatt
Talkative old fellow that,'' said Doggett
to his companion when they had been shown
to a private sitting room. "When the bar
is closed to-night I must have a chat with
'mine host,' and see what can be made of
him."
But It so happened that there was very
little necessity to puf John Lovatt's con
versational powers into requisition. For,
on arriving at the inn, Dr. Osborne pleaded
to be allowed to rest lor an hour orJso before
beginning on the business which had
brought them down. Doggett availed him
self of the opportunity to make a prelim
inary acquaintance with the town, and,
crossing the market place, in which the
Golden Lion was situated, he threaded Jiis
way through a long, winding street, flanked
on both sides with half-timbered houses and
shops, and presently found his feet turned
in the direction of the parish churchyard.
Here he stumbled upon the sexton, who was
busily employed in turning over the rich
red soil in preparation for a grave.
"You have a fine old church here," said
Doggett
"So I have heard said before," replied
the sexton, pausing in his task and leaning
on his spade. "There beant a finer old
church in the county. Perhaps you would
like to see it, he,added, with-an eye to the
customary shilling.
"I don't mind if I do," Doggett replied.
The sexton carefully scraped "the red earth"
from his shoes, and having donned his coat
produced a. large bunch of keys and led the
way up the path to the church door, which
swung back heavily upon its hinges as he
shot back the ponderous lock.
The sexton proved to be an unusnallv in
telligent man for his class, though suSering
from the vice of excessive garrulity, which
commonly afflicts the guide tribe, go where
you will. But the old man had a fund of
information at his disposal, and was well
read in the history ot the conntv families,
who for generations past had worshipped
within the time-worn sanctuary until their
turn came to be laid at rest in the vaults
beneath the long broad nave, leaving no
trace behind them, beyond what was to be
found in sculptured effigy and marble bust
"What have we here?" said Doggett,
pausing before a massive piece of work in
white marble, let into the wall, whose new
ness contrasted with the hoary walls of the
venerable building and the dun colored effi
gies around.
"That is a monument erected to the mem
ory of the late Mr. Christopher Engelfield,
who was a banker in this .town, and who
owned, the Manor House, where he resided
until the day of his death. He "
" 'Erected by his sorrowing widow,' I per
ceive," remarked Doggett, interrupting the
old man in his Bow of talk and quoting
from the inscription which commemorated
the late Mr. Engelfield's virtues.
"So it says," said the sexton; "though
some people do say that there is a good deal
trtn ttinrh marble for un lirtla riAf :'
Doggett was too keenly alive to the inter- I
ests ot his mission to uuelderton to inter
rupt the old man further, and, enconraging
him to proceed with his story, the sexton
went on to tell of Madeline Eobson's en
gagement to Tom Leyton and how she sub
sequently .threw him over to marry Mr.
Engelfield.
"Poor old gentleman, he did not live long
after that!" the sexton continued. "He
was called home to Chelderton while on his
honeymoon in consequence of a run on the
bank. Nobody knew who set the rumor
about at the time, and nobody knows to
this day. There was no sense or reason in
it, for the Englefields were 'as safe as the
Bank of England,' as the saying is. But
what can you expect when a story like that
fets abroad. People heard that Engle
eld's were going to smash, and one morn
ing when the bank opened the whole town
was at the doors, and as the day went on
they came from far and wide to get their
money out They never stopped to reason
about it; not they. . The bank held out until
long past the usual hour of closing, and at
last they managed to get the doors closed.
But those doors were never opened again.
The bank was compelled to call on its re
servesthat is the word that was used and
in Mr. Englefield's absence the reserves
could not be got at They were obliged to
telegraph for him, and he came in hot haste
from Home, traveling night and day to save
the bank's credit But it was all no good.
He reached the bank parlor only to-drop
down in a fit Apoplexy, the doctors called
it: bntit turned to softening of the brain.
What with the shock and hurry of his jour
ney he nevir rallied, bat died six months to
the very day he was married to Miss Bob-
son."
"Dear me, how sad!" Doggett softly.mur-
mured. "Does that end the story?"
"Not quite. Just 12 months after Miss
Bobson became Mrs. Englefield 12 months
to the very day she married her old flame,
'Tom Leyton, the vet,' as everybody about
here called him. It made a lot of talk, as
you' may imagine her marrying again so
soon after her husband's death. There were
some folks who said that Tom Xeyton or
'Squire Leyton, as they call him now did
not look a very happy man on his wedding
day, but more triumphant like, as if he had
won -a sort of victory over the dead man ly
ing in his grave. There was something like
a gleam of inalade in his eyes that had an
ill-look about it I noticed that myself
and there were folks who even went so far
as to say that it was he and US' other that set
about the rumor that killed poorMr. Engle
field." "Did he Mr. Englefield I mean die
here?" asked Doggett
"He diedxlose by at the Manor House,
where Jie was born and -where he had lived
all his life. You may see the tops of the
chimneys tenind the trees from the church-.
yard."
"And yoa say thfl bank never opened its'
ieors again?" pursued Doggett ., , A
agjiaTMr.&xaere were some proceedings i;
bankruptcy, but when Mr. Englefield
affairs were looked into after his death there
was enough to pay everybody in full and
leave his widow a rich woman besides,"
"I suppose now there were no children of
the marriage," said Doggett
"No, and there has been none by the sec
ond. They have a little child living with
them, a bonnie little lass." . ,
"Indeed, and who may she be?" said
Doggett, pricking up his ears.
"She's an adopted child of Mrs. Ley
tons." "And "by what name may this child be
known?" asked the detective, beginning to
think that the end' of his quest was near at
hand.
"They call her Madeline Eobson. That
was Mrs. Leyton's name before she became
Mrs, Englefield."
The answer- was so unexpected that the
detective, though usually of most imper
turbable manner, was thrown off bis guard.
For the moment he was fairly non-plussed,
and if the sexton had been an observant
man, his suspicions must have been aroused
by the detective's manner.
"What a singular thing to dol" be cried,
in an outburst of astonishment Then, after
a moment's consideration, during which he
let the old sexton talk on unheeded, he
asked again:
"Is it long since Mrs. Englefield adopted
thelittlaone?"
"It was very soon after her first marriage
perhaps about three months before her
husband died."
"What a queer thing for a young married
woman to do," said the detective, craftily
subjecting the garrulous old man to an .un
conscious vivisection.
"Yes, some would call it strange," ob
served thfl.man, ''but itis not so odd as it
looks. You see when Mr. Englefield began
to recover a bit from his stroke, it was
thought a change of scene might do him
good. Mrs. Englefield went with him and
took up the little one just to brighten her
self up a bit It was very dull for her,
waiting on asick man half ont ot his mind,
and slje was but a young thing herself, and
could not tell how long the old gentleman
might live in that silly childish way of
his."
"Then, I suppose, when Mrs. Englefield
brought her husband home he came back
to die, and she brought the child with her."
"That was just it," said the sexton.
The detective lingered some time longer
without adding materially to the stock-of
his information. Bnt he had obtained pos
session of a.body of facts which hejras not
slow inweavinginto'a working hypothesis
on which he depended for a solution of
Leyton's strange conduct; and slipping a
half crown into the sexton's hands he took
his way down the churchyard path inward
ly chuckling.
After the bar was closed that evening at
the Golden Lion, Doggett held a long con
versation with old John Lovatt The
gossipy old Boniface proved an easy man
to draw in the hands of a skillful examiner
like Doggett, and before the two parted for
the night honest John, who dearly loved to
hear himself talk, had completely un
bosomed himself of all he knew. He added
some unimportant details to the sexton's
account, but of most interest to Doggett was
to hear the story ot Martin Bobson's finan
cial difficulties, and how he had emanci
Sated himself at the price of his daughter's
appiness, and how, in John Lovatt's own
words, "Tom Xeyton went on terribly and
swore he'd be revenged."
Dr. Osborne rose the next morning re
freshed after a sonnd healthy sleep. He
had taken a great fancy to Doggett, and
somehow the detective's presence acted upon
him like a charm, soothing his mind and
tranquilizing his nerves. He was now in
formed of the particulars which Doggett
had gleaned, and declared himself ready to
leave Chelderton at once and accompany the
officer in his next step to discover the
movements of Mrs. Englefield when she
was in search of change of scene with her
sick husband.
"Mind I do not say that it is all plain
sailiDg even now," said Doggett warningly,
in luue mat muicaiea anxiety lest nis
theory of the proceedings of Leyton and his
wife should raise premature hopes in Os
borne's mind. "She will probably prove a
difficult woman to follow up, but sooner or
later I undertake to conduct you to vour
father's grave and restore your child to
y0n.
V.
The next day Doggett made for the pretty
little village of Sonning, that nestles so
cozily by the banks of the Thames a quiet
little place, dear alike to the oarsman and
the disciples ot Isaac Walton, who love "the
gentle craft."
But, as Doggett had forewarned his com
panion, it was anything but plain sailing.
The villagers remembered 'old Mr. Osborne
and his pretty little grandchild very wejl,
but none of them could throw any light on
the manner of their departure, nor even, ex
cept in the vaguest way, recall the date. No
one appeared to have'known that the resi
dents at Rose Cottaee had taken their de
parture, until a notice board, fastened to
the garden gate, announced to the chance
wayfarer that the cottage in which George
Osborne had established his father and child,
before setting out for the East, was "To Be
Let, Furnished."
"Who in the landlord and where does he
live?" inquired Doggett of a group of vil
lagers, whose cunsosity, once aroused by
the inquiries afoot, was not easy to be
alloyed.
"Oh, he is a Mister Green, and lives In
Reading," replied the village oracle. "He
is something in the outfitting line." And
with this Information Doggett was com
pelled to be content
Mr; Green, who turned out io be an un
dertaker, was found at last; but his informa
tion rather tended to add to the mystery
which surrounded the departure of Mr.
Osborne with his grandchild from Sonning.
Mr. Green haQ a great aversion to being
pinned down toa date it might be a Feb
ruary, but he would not be sure, for it might
turn out to be March and he could not
speak, to the year it might be two years
sine, or it mightba three, he could not be
particular but at some time unspecified
between January and December two dr three
vears back Mr. Green had a letter. The
purport of the letter was to tender six
months' rent for Green's acceptance, three
months for the quarter next falling due, 'and
three months ior the quarter after that in
lieu of notice.
Mr. Green could not remember whether
the letter was signed or unsigned, but he did
remember that it said thatMr. Osborne had
no further use for the cottage,
"Auything more?" asked Doggett "Don't
you keep a rent book? and would not a ref
erence tothat help you to fix the date?"
But bo, Mr. Green did not keep a rent
book, ne collected the rents himself, and
,aoae ot kit tenants were ever allowed to get I
'out is the word." Mr. Green was good
enough to explain, "and that plan sayes
book-keeping." But he had one piece of
information further to contribute. When
he went over to Sonning, after the receipt of
the letter, he found the cottage left in a,
furnished state, and as there had been no
further communication received from. Mr.
Osborne nor from anyone else on his behalf,
he had continued to let Rose Cottage ever
since, furnished, as the previous tenant had
left it.
To the question whether he had kept the
letter which accompanied the rent, Mr.
Green promptly replied that he had not
He explained that he had once been left ex
ecutor to an old Indv friend oi his who had
been in the habit of keeping every scrap of
paper that fell in her way, regardless of its
importance or otherwise, and it had in
volved him (Mr. Green) in so much trouble,
going through the accumulations of half a
century, that he had determined never to
keep a scrap of writing unless it manifestly
bore on the interests of himself or his fam
ily. As the letter announcing that Mr. Os
borne had vacated Rose Cottage had not
fallen under this category it had been de
stroyed. After much trouble Doggett was able at
last to strike a trail.
The driver of a fly at Twyford was found
who remembered driving the party from
Rose Cottage to the station at Twyford. He
stated that he 'had been engaged by a
"youngish man" to -drive himself and three
other persons, who turned ojit to be a very
old gentleman, who seemed half-witted, a
little child, and a very handsome lady.
His account was that, he was engaged
early in the morning it was his first fare,
and he remembered the incident very well;
for, in addition to the luggage, which con
sisted of two heavy boxes, he had a small
portmanteau with him on the box-seat,
bearing the label of a hotel in Clarges
street, London. He could remember it, he
explained, because of a little joke he had
about the name of the street with a pal of
his; and, besides that, he added, that he
was particularly struck with the appearance
of the lady, who was "a stunner and no
mistake." .Finally, the jarvey had seen
the entire party leave by the London train.
Asked to describe the lady and the "young
ish gentleman " who accompanied her. Dog
gett had no difficulty in' recognizing the
verbal picture which he drew with that fur
nished him a few evenings back by John
Lovatt of Mr. and Mrs. Leyton.
Only in one particular did the information
communicated by the driver of the fly at
Twyford prove misleading. Doggett 'could
nnd no trace of Jar. .Osborne having stayed
at a hotel in Clarges street. But further in
quiry in that neighborhood brought to light
a high-class boarding house situated in that
street, and patience was at last rewarded by
the discovery that the proprietress of this
establishment had had the honorof receiving
into her house Mr., and Mrs. Englefield, Miss
Bobson and Mr. Leyton, whom she was
given to understand was Mrs. Englefield's
brother, though she for her part could see no
likeness between them, "Mrs. Englefield being-dark
and Mr. Leyton being quite a fair
young man."
Then came the crowning fact, which went
far to establish the theory that Doggett had
formed alter his conversation with the sex
ton at Chelderton. The lady explained that
her guests remained with her a little more
than a month, all except Mr. Leyton, who
only remained on the night when "the party
arrived. They took the old gentleman away
at last on the representations of the propri
etress of the boarding house, who saw that
the old gentleman was failing very fast,and
objected to having a death in her house.
Now, Mr. Englefield had lived exactly one
month after his return home, and on refer
ence to dates furnished by the establish
ment they were found exactly to correspond.
It came to this, then, that ,Mr. Osborne
had been removed from- "Sifnlng,- with
health rapidly failing, and had been carried
off by Leyton and Mrs. Englefield (to speak
'Ofherbytbe name she bore then), and
passed off as Mrs. Englefield's husband, and
when the end seemed near, he was hurried
off to Chelderton to die in the Manor House
and be laid to .rest in the vaults beneath the
church at Chelderton Magna, in order to
allow the youthful Mrs. Englefield to take
a mate more nearly to her mind than the
feeble and decrepit old man who had been
suddenly smitten down with paralysis.
What'then had been done with the real
Mr. Englefield? Was he alive still? And
if so, where was he to be found?
The second and longer part of Doggett's
quest was devoted to finding a solution to
these questions. It was a long and difficult
task and well nigh a hopeless one, for the
detective had no clew to go upon. Every
effort to trace the movements of Mrs. Engle
field from the time that she set out from
Chelderton with her husband for change of
scene to the time she assisted in the re
moval of old Mr. Osborne from Sonning on
the day when she presented him as Mr.
Englefield at the boarding house in Clarges
street, resulted in failure.
Doggett had discovered, indeed, that Mr.
and Mrs. Englefield had spent the first
night of their sojourn from home at a hotel
in London, but there the trail was lost
Mrs. Englefield had not left her address be
hind herj nor stated where she was going.
She had employed two cabs off the ranks
for the removal of her husband and their
luggage, but to what station they had driven
no lniormation was to be obtained; nor,
after the length of time that had elapsed,
was it possible to discover who had driven
her. The scent was entirely lost
But Doggett had formed his theory of the
crime at an early stage of his inquiries,
and as everything that had been brought to
light had tended to confirm the theory on
which he began to work after his interview
with the sexton at Chelderton, he deter
mined that he would not abandon his search
until he had put his theory to a-final test by
lone and exhaustive inauiries. and. if ueeds
be, by employing several agents whom he
could trust to act under his superintendence
and assist him.
A reference to dates showed that Mr. En
glefield had been removed from his home
for change of scene in December, 1853.
Doggett accordingly determined that he
would obtain a list of all the private lunatic
asylums within .easy reach of the south
coast, arguing that Mrs. Englefield must
have taken her husband in the first placo to
one of the popular winter resorts on that
coast possibly selecting some place that
could ' boast of having a private asylum
within easy reach. From this list he select
ed four, and proceeded to lay siege to each
in turn.
By this time the Universal had become
no less interested than Dr. George Osborne
himself in the inquiries Doggett was insti
tuting, and money was freely spent in eluci
dating the mystery which surrounded Ley
ton and his wife. By a judicious use .of
bribery and treating in the village alehouse,
Doggett contrived to get at the keepers oi
these four asylums. But nothing came of
his attempts. There were old paralytic men
in plenty, but nope known by the names of
Osborne or Englefield.
Disappointed with the failure of his plan,
Doggett made a second selection, and this
lime committed the business to the hands-of
agents. Matters were in this state, and the
neaun ot ur. usoorne was Dreaking down
more and more under the tension of hope
too long deferred, when suddenly a Jiew idea
flashed across the detective's mind, as he sat
by his chimney corner smoking his evening
pipe and. revolving the affair in his mind
that had already occasioned him so much
vexation and disappointment
What Doggett's new scheme was will be'
seen in a moment. Be lost ho time in
patting his plan into execution. It occu
pied him the best part of three days. On
the morning ot the fourth day he entered
the room in which Dr. Osborne was sitting
at Woods Hotel (for the doctor bad re-
turueu io nis oiu quarters; wun nis 'iacc
.face aglow with triumph. He gently broke
thenews that the. end of the quest was now
arrived, and assisting Osborne into his coat,
he carried him off to a cab.
"Where are we going to?" asked Osborne,
as ineeB drove away, wakening tfre echoes
in the e-ate eearlyai
Ud Aj 4ha llflf fll
vre n wssrw trvveii -f
Mtitt m -ye v am . aad
;T.t' -2ftSLi.,esi.i.'
wait I want to try an experiment. If it
turns out all right and I believe it will
your daughter shall be delivered up to you
to-morrow."
The cab drew' up at last before' St.
James' Workhouse, and in a few moments
, Osborne stood in a large ward occupied
by a number of old men, with Doggett at
his side.
"Look round carefully." said the detec
tive, "and see if there Is any one here that
you know."
Osborne commenced a tour of the room,
whose bare, whitewashed walls gave him an
uncomfortable.chill. Suddenly he paused
-and was observed to be closely scanning the
face'of one oldman, who with bent nead
was engaged in knitting.
"Good morning," Doggett cried, and the
old man looked up ,at the sound of ,the
strange voice.
"Father!" cried Osborne, throwing his
arm round the old man's neckv whilst a sob
escaped him.
The old man laughed with childish glee,
but the next moment his brow became over
clouded. "Father," he repeated, "no, that name is
not for me. 1 had children seven of them
but the Lord took them took them all
and then my poor wile, and then. But
I forget everything now."
"Is this not my father?" asked. Osborne.
"Surely I cannot be mistaken. His face
his voice everything is like."
The detective shook his head.
"Who thenis this?" asked Osborne.
"This is Mr. Christopher Englefield," the
detective said gravely.
"Christopher Englefield yes, Christopher
Englefield that's me," the old. man piped.
"Who wants me? I have not time to stop.
The bank's credit must be saved! I must
travel, night and day. Night and day do
you hear, Madeline? There is not a moment
to lose. Madeline? Where is Madeline?
How slow she is comingl"
But the fitful gleams of memory vanished
with this outburst, and the old man resumed
his knitting, laughing and cooing to him
self like a little child.
"My GodI is this a dream?" asked the
doctor. "If this is Mr. Englefield, where
then is my father?"
"1 have promised to conduct you tohis
grave," the detective replied, "and X will do
so. He-lies buried in Chelderton church in
the vault containing the dead and gone
Englefields."
It was even so. By what means Tom
Leyton found his way to Madeline Engle
field's ear remains a secret lodged in their
own breasts. That he did so win her over
to his plans goes without saying. The senile
decav into which Mr. EnelefiMd fpll after
the shock to his reason, from the temporary
suspension of the operations of the bank
with which his name had been so long and
so honorably connected, rendered him an
easy prey to the schemers.
Advantage was taken of his removal for
change of scene to effect his disposal. Once
that was effected the rapidly sinking health
of old Mr. Osborne and thesingnlar like
ness he bore to Mr. Englefield, which had
long baffled Mr. Tom Leyton, but which,
when recalled, formed the germ idea ont of
which his vengeance grew, rendered the rest
easy.
How Mr. Englefield was disposed of is
bc3t told in the explanation that Doggett
subsequently gaveto-George Osborne.
"I was thinking over this case," he said,
"when suddenly the idea presented itself to
me, 'Now, if I were wanting to dispose of a
man, like Leyton did, how many ways
could I set about it?' It was a question
that took a' good deal of answering, tor
when once I began to think it is surprising
what a number of expedients came trooping
before my mind. Then I pnt another ques
tion, 'What would be-the best way to do it
that would involve least risk to myself?' I
could only think, of .one answer to that I
would lose him in some crowded thorough
fare and watch the.result. What would be
come of him? A thousand accidents might
befall an old man' who, with his wits
tone, was unable to take care of
imself. Who would be likely to take
care of him? The police are the guardians
of the poor. There is ho place like London
for a trick of that kind. Xput a man on at
once to search the newspapers to see if any
lunatic had been found wandering at large,
while I went round the workhouses. Your
description of your father was so vivid that
I knew I should recognize a face like his,
and it was impossible that Mr. Osborne
could have been taken down to Chelderton
unless he had borne a very striking resem
blance to Mr.Englefield.You know the rest."
We had clear evidence that your father
was brought from Sonning to the boarding
house in Clarges street, and thence conveyed
to Chelderton, in a dying state, to personate
Mr. Englefield. I had only to find Mr.
Englefield in order to complete the case,
and he is here as yon see. That yoa could
be taken in only shows how easy it must
nave Deen to practice tne deception at
Chelderton.
"How do you mean to proceed next?"
asked Osborne.
"A warrant put into the hands of the local
police on my sworn information for bigamy
will be the simplest There will be no diffi
culty in producing Mr. Englefield, and all
Chelderton will swear to him. After they,
are in custody it will be for our own people
to say whether that will content them. The
Universal wants its money back, and that
they will get. A charge of conspiracy to
defraud us might be difficult to establish;
but with Mr. Englefield alive and plenty
to swear to him we can sail straight ahead."
The next evening there was a roaring trade
done at the Golden Lion, for had not the
news got wind that Mr. Englefield had come
home again, and that Mr. and Mrs. T.pvtnn
were lodged in the town jail, and were to be
brought before the magistrates the following
morning? Dr. Badcliffe, who came in to
smoke his pipe and have his glass as usual,
was mercilessly chafed for his blnnder in
mistaking a stranger for Mr. Englefield;and
the merriment was kept up till late.
But a scene of a more touching order was
going on in a room upstairs, where the
cheerful light shone on two happy faces, as
George Osborne nursed his little Emily, who
answered his-looks of love with shy butglad
trust He felt that he had taken a new hold
on life now that his daughter was restored to
him.
The extraordinary news soon got abroad,
and witnesses' were forthcoming who abso
lutely confirmed the truth of Doggett's hy
pothesis in every point A hotel keeper
came forward and gave evidence showing
that Mr. and Mrs. Englefield, who were
strangers to him hitherto, had stayed in his
house for some days and had then left the
hotel in company with Tom Xeyton; return
ing, it was supposed, to their destination.
The cabman who drove them came forward
to prove that when on his way to the station
Leyton stopped the cab, and, saying that the
old gentleman wanted to walk, the two got
out together, and were soon lost to sight in
the midst of a crowded thoroughfare. The
railway porters and the guard of the train
were called to Show that Levton. accom
panied by Mrs. Englefield, went down to
Twyford on the evening of the same day,
with what results the reader already knows.
Evidence was not found wanting to 'sus
tain the charge of conspiracy which the di
rectors of the Universal decided to insti
tute, and no sympathy was felt in Chelder
ton for Tom Leyton and the beautiful girl
once known as Madeline Bobson, of the
Bed House farm, When it was understood
that these two, in pursuit of their own hap
piness, had not shrunk from, casting a help
less and. half-witted old mad on the streets
of London to gravitate to the lunatic ward
of a workhouse. Whether their cruelty in
abandoning Mr.Englefi'eld was greater than
thelrcruelty in denying to George Osborne
his child, was a question that long occupied
the minds of the gossips in the bar parlor of
the Golden Lion at Chelderton.
.Something like, a sigh, of relief went up
from the Cheldertoniaus when, at the ensu
ing assizes, an exemplary-sentence sent Ley
ton and the girl who had sinned with him
to a long term of imprIonment
The End.J
it,: N- 6atrt
A CHAEIOT FOR BABIy'.
' ' icvi.:
Why Papa is So Yery Particular- 1m
Purchasing It at the Store. - i
NEW MAMMAS ARE NOT SO POMPOUS
The Trials of a Wert in Selling Baby Carafe?
rlagesto Parents.
IT DISPLAYS- BOMB HUMAN ffATTJBB
An order for 5,000 tons of steel rails may
be written in six lines on an office letterhead
sheet, or if given orally, the transaction is
over in three minutes.
A Pittsburg iron manufacturer picks out
a $3,000 diamond without ceremony, and ,
hands the jeweler his check without com
ment The Pittsburg Club swell considers it 8 -bore
to be measured for his new full-dress
suit, and submits to the operation silently
and impatiently.
Even a fashionable woman selects the ma
terial for her princely trousseau with an' off-
handed air of business altogether foreign to
sentiment
But let the purchase be a baby's carriage
for $12 or $15, and the" purchaser a papa-for-the-first-time,
and the importance of the
transaction, the lordly manner of the buyer,
his pompons request to be shown the whole
stock, his disposition to point out a single
scratch on the little vehicle, and the ulti- -mate
pride with which he sets aside the car
riage as his wiy, it becomes a business
event of vastly more consequence than steel
rails, diamonds, and costly apparel all put
together in one package.
NEW PAPAS AEE PABTICTTLAB. .
"It's the most trying thing we have got
to pass through in the course of a day," said
the clerk of a variety store yesterday, in
speaking of the patience necessary to make
asaleot a baby buggy. "I would sooner
stand all day at the glove counter ot a dry-
foods store than: sell a single baby carriage,
f the purchaser is a man I can tell belore:
he has spoken three words whether he
has a family of children, or if he
is here on behalf of his first-born. Nine
cases out of ten It is the latter. Next time
a new baby-buggy is needed in that family
the wife has to come for it, the novelty of
making such a purchase has by that time
worn off for the father.
"Of all idiotic qnestions we have to an
swer the young father buying his first baby
carriage, no other article of commerce, trade
or manufacture would suggest 'Will
Tootsie not fall out of so big a bed?
'Won't red sunshades hurt Winnie's eyes?"
'Can't you put a mirror attachment in
front so I can see what the Bobby is doing
while I push behind?' 'I'm a traid the
tiny red-headed angel will push his big feet
through that thin flooring board and get
them caught in the wheels!
"In the last instance," said the clerk, "I
felt like telling the doting papa that for fear
the blessed seraph's whole body should slip
through the same hole, we would supply a
strap, fastened to the roof of the buggy, a
loop in which would nicely fit the baby's
neck, thus saving a precious life in case the
big feet should bore their way through the
floor.
ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT CASES.
"I like to wait on a man who has a family
of eight or nine children. He has bought
buggies before, and, as they eventually be
come kindling wood, he merely asks for an
extra-good 'quality of inflammable wood in
the buggy, pays for 'it and departs in a few
minutes.
"Now it's altogether different with the
mother-for-the-first-time who comes here to
select a triumphal chariot ior her Marling.
Ah, I like to attend her, and she may stay
all afternoon if she wishes. Coy, diffident
and cautious at first about making her ideas
and wants known, she gradually unfolds
like a flower of the morn
ing in her work oi love. It
is charming to watch her eagerness In the
matter, or the tenderness with which she
feels the downy cushions. Some young
mothers, still unable to control the blush of
commingled pleasure and shyness, that in
dicates unfamiliarity with her new experi
ence, bring their babies with them. It
simply surpasses the powers of an Amelia
Bives to gush over the pretty way she fits
the baby in the buggy andsoftlywheeIs.it
to and fro the whole length of the store to
see how it goes.
"Oh, yes, the world is the same all over.
Even that affectionate mother could have
foreseen her shadow in the.dim, distant fu
ture, were she to come back as some fat,
practical matron fn the most matter-of-fact
way leaves this order: 'Send to my resi
dence a new baby buggy, not quite so gor
geous as the last, a little heavier in axles,
and just about the same size as the one be
fore the last, which my husband purchased, ,
I am not particular about trimmings.' "
D1FFJEEEKCE IS STEHOSEAPflEES.
Terr Few Who Can Report a Speech Ver
ballm and Write It Out Afterward.
There is a vast difference in shorthand
writers) says an expert stenographer in the
St Louis Globe-Democrat. Of the 3,000 la
Chicago, where I am located, I don't sup
pose there are over 30 who can report a
speecn veroaum ana write n out aiterwara.
This statement may sound queer to the un
initiated, but it is true. And out of the
very small proportion of really competent
stenographers there are still very few who
can do the work of deliberative bodies com
posed of people of one profession, such as
doctors, architects and the like. 1 don't
claim to be anything more than a fairly
competent stenographer, and yet X am al
most constantly on the go taking care of
these special jobs.
Medical, surgical and denial conventions
are especially difficult to report, owing to
the technical language employed In nearly -all
their debates, and because of the addi
tional difficulty of obtaining the names of
the speakers as they secure the floor. Then,
too, as stenographic reports are ordered by
these bodies for the purpose of publication,
it is necessary to eliminate all really Un
important matters in writing out the manu
script. The verbatim work of court stenog- '
raphers would never do for a specialists
convention report, bat what we lose in cut
ting down space we make up on the extra
price allowed for doing all the work neces
sary to get the copy entirely ready for the
printers. I have five scientific conventions
on my list of patrons, and I can report and
transcribe the proceedings of each in a
week. Yet those five jobs alone afford me
a fair salary as much as some alleged
stenographers get for a year's work.
DangereBS Keallsa.
Ttae.1
Supe (to stage manager) Say, gur'ner,
have you got a life preserver?
Manager No; what's the matter.
Supe The Boman General fell overboard
into tbe tank with his helmet on and he's "
floatia around head down. -
METAMORPHOSIS,
the ncu novel
lAuka U carried forward in the Sunday tune
o the Dispatch. It growt in tnlereti teUA
each chapter. Jleailt.
VFHIftP JBeauttW. fa futtvieiertbtd
zl w W 3iaiV ' Holmcx, tfJ popular
authore, To-Mokbow's dispatch.
Z,7is.l17nmM uritith Clara. BtUe
mh a (UU-OMful lode for the Sundati bu nf
ITheDjwatch. CWoner-JrteH,,(rfrIor
JTJ'tT' v aiwjijraiiu mtnwir-f;
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iLi.vi.-'i