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CHAPTER XII
The Other Passenger
The inquiry into the death of Mr
Silas Burritt was held at the Wheat
sheaf in the long low room usually
dedicated to the flowing bowl and the
promotion of social intercourse
The same routine having been ob
served as on that previous occasion
Dr Jeremiah Cartwright was called
to prove the finding of the body its
position appearance and subsequent
removal to the vestry of the old
church and his examination of the
remains resulting in the discovery
of a wound with two orifices showing
that the bullet which had caused it
had traversed the head completely
Other scientific evidence followed
which is suppressed
Mr Edward Burritt was then called
and went through the form of identi
fying the deceased as his father Mr
Silas Burritt merchant of Timber
Lane Citj aged 50 He entirely nega
tived the theory of self destruction
stating that his father to his certain
knowledge had not only never pos
sessed anything in the shape of fire-
itfTiitLIS V juJTh -
wwMaftWmt8iiiWMiriiiiWifffiW ini iTrn i i im i
iTHE FATAL REQUEST j
I OR FOUND OUT I
I A L Harris Author of Mino Own Familiar Friend etc
ffi Pojyr 109 1 by Cat Mel I Publishing Company pjj
I Popy rtyA jgp 2 bystreet Smith p
CHAPTER XI Continued
Know me Of course ho docs
was the reply Didnt I buy him of
a drunken old Irish woman and mend
his broken leg for him And do you
think hes going to forget that though
he is only a duck
They remained pacing up and down
the garden paths until it was quite
dusk the doctor persistently con
versing on cheerful subjects and re
fusing to allow the conversation to
take a morbid turn
At nine oclock supper was served
consisting of boiled fowl and sau
sages
Youll take a leg and a wing and
a bit of the breast- said the hos
pitable little man as he piled his
visitors plate Youve got a trying
day before you to morrow
bic expressions and a torrent ot pro
fessional phraseology which swept
everyone off their feet but which on
being filtered down for the benefit of
the unlearned merely amounted to
the following facts viz that the edges
of the wound by which the bullet had
made its entrance were torn and
lacerated as well as blackened and
burnt by the action of the gunpow
der that the skin in the vicinity of
the wound was blistered the bleeding
slight and chiefly from the orifice of
exit and the two openings in the
scalp nearly opposite each other
Dr Cartwright having brought his
evidence to a conclusion row gave
place to another witness and one in
whose power it might be to help to
unravel the mystery This last was
the guard of the 430 train an in
telligent looking man who with a
bandage round his head and one arm
in a siing bore tokens of the injuries
he had received in jumping from the
train while it was in motion
On being questioned as to what he
knew of the matter ho replied with
hesitation that he remembered
out any
bered the fourth carriage from the
engine well and the passengers that
it contained in that particular com
partment
Was he sure that there was more
than one passenger in that compart
ment of the carriage referred to
Sure and certain he was There
were two of them He could swear
to it Didnt one of them the taller
of the two tip him handsome to lock
them in so that they might have the
carriage to themselves for the jour
ney
And did you lock them in and are
both together
quite sure that they were
gether in the carriage when the tram
started
Certain sure he was He see them
both together in the compartment as
the train passed him just before he
Dwuug himself into his van
Being ashsd whether there was any-
aiiyMrtmrwerTrw
thing about either of them that helped
to iix his attention upon them he an
swered that the taller and thinner of
the two though they were both of
them tall and well growed seemed
uncommon partickler about picking
out a carriage to his mind He no
ticed him looking Into several before
he fixed upon that identical compart
niant and when he had he beckons
to him the guard and says Look
here he says me and my friend we
dont want nobody else getting in
here We want this here carriage to
ourselves till we get to London Take
this he says and dont you let no
body else in whatever So I says All
right sir and locks the door and
thinks to myself Anybody would
think as it was a couple of honey
mooners instead of two elderly
gents
Could ho identify the body of the
gentleman who had been shot as the
companion of the other
He both could and would except
that there had been a sort of a smile
on his face then and he looked very
different now In fact he had struck
him the guard in spite of the tip
which the other party gave him as
being by far the agreeabler and most
pleasant spoken gentleman of the two
and he had been most uncommon sor
ry that he had on recognizing the
body because you see he had quite
made un his mind that he had
caped as well as the other one
Being asked to explain himself said
he didnt sec much what there was
to explain What he meant was that
he thought that if one gent got off
scot free the ether might have done
the same
What did he mean by the other
having got off scot free and what
was his authority for speaking as he
did
Why it was simple enough Being
in the rear of the train he was con-
scious of nothing until he found him
I self thrown violently on the lloor
Know me Of course he does
arms but had always been remark
able for an unusual amount of nerv
ousness almost amounting to horror
with regard to anything of the kind in
consequence of an accident with a
tragical termination which he had
once witnessed Dr Jeremiah Cart
wright recalled at this juncture here
stated his firm conviction that the
wound had not been self inflicted
which he proceeded to prove to his
own satisfaction and the entire
nf everybody else present
by the aid of a great many
Recovering himself he jumped from
his van and alighted on his feet but
was struck by a fragment of some
thing and knocked down He rose to
his feet again though suffering from
wounds in the head hand an knee
and saw a sight the like of which he
had never seen before With his keys
in his hand he ran up and down the
line hardly knowing what lie was
doing As scon as he began to get
his senses back which had been pret
ty well knocked out of him he un
locked all the doors of the carriages
that he came to though they were
already unlocked on one side After
he had done all he could he went and
sat down by the side of the line for
he began to turn faint and dizzy
While he sat there he saw a tall
rather thin elderly gentleman mak
ing his way slowly towards him who
limped a little as he walked As this
latter came nearer he recognized him
as being the same individual who ha
given him the tip and told him to
keep anyone else from getting into
the carriage
Witness noticed that his face wag
ghastly and that he breathed like a
man who had been running a race
but naturally put it down to the ter
rible shock and the fright caused by
the accident As he came up to him
he the guard spoke to him and
said Glad to see youre safe sir
hope the other gent is the same
But he only stared at him in a queer
dazed sort of way without making
any answer and passed on down the
line
At last after some debate the ver
dict agreed upon was
Wilful murder against some person
or persons unknown
Ted Burritt and his friend the doc
tor left the place together
What will be your next step in
the matter asked the latter
First to take my fathers body
home then to look for his mur
derer
CHAPTER XIII
Coming Home
Early in the evening of the same
day Dr Jeremiah was bidding his new
friend good bye as he saw him off
from the station
The train puffed slowly out of the
station -and the last view Ted had
of the little man showed him stand
ing at the end of the platform and
waving his spectacles after him He
gave him a parting salute out of the
window of the carriage and then drew
in his head sank back into his seat
with a sigh and began to review tho
events of the last few days
Wilful murder against some person
or persons unknown
And he had to break this as well
as all that went before it to those
two women at home A grewsome
task
Well so much the worse for the
man who had been the cause of it all
So much the worse for him when the
day came for reckoning up accounts
the day that would see him in the
criminals dock the day that would
place a noose round his neck And
the young man felt that that would
be a day well worth waiting for even
though it might be indefinitely pro
longed
But he would never rest and never
give up until he had helped to bring
it about for it seemed to him that
revenge would be incomplete and
robbed of half its sweetness unless it
were his foot that helped to dog the
murderer and his hand that helped
to hurry him to a felons doom Oh
yes he must be an agent if not the
chief at any rate an important one
He hoped among his fathers letters
and papers contained in a sealed
packet which ho carried about his
person to come upon something
which might help to set his feet in
the right track
Then the thought struck him if he
could find that letter The one that
came less than a week ago If it had
not been destroyed And why should
it have been Unless and he re
called that at the time distasteful al
lusion of Dr Cartwrights unless
there were something compromising
in it
But he rejected the idea now as
he had then No doubt he would bo
able to find the letter It was most
probable that it was included among
those other papers which were even
now in his possession
Meanwhile at Magnolia Lodge the
days had dragged heavily along Mrs
Burritt having once taken to her bed
a recumbent position being looked
upon by her as the most proper and
becoming one in which to encounter
affliction immediately upon receipt
of the sad tidings had not since suffi
ciently recovered herself to leave it
again Grief she said always had
a peculiar effect upon her spine and
she didnt know whether it was the
blinds being down or the sight of her
widows cap but she couldnt help
feeling that she was not long for this
world Anyhow they must not grieve
but be sure and bury her by the side
of their dear father All this could
scarcely be said to add to her daugh
ters spirits only there was so much
to be done that she had fortunately
little time in which to indulge iu
morbid reflections on her own behalf
There were letters to be written
dressmakers to be interviewed and a
host of other things which must be
done whether the house be one of
joy or mourning
It was about half past seven on
Tuesday evening when she heard the
sound of wheels She hastened into
the hall and met her brother The
first glance showed her the alteration
that had taken nlace in him He
looked very worn and full of trouble
much older and she thought much
sterner She had been in the habit
of regarding him as a boy was he
not barely three years her senior
now he looked a man every inch of
him A hasty greeting passed be
tween them and then she went to
prepare her mother for his arrival
Mrs Burritt was dozing and her
daughter hesitated for a moment be
fore rousing her As she stood wait
ing she heard heavy footsteps ascend
ing the staircase footsteps of men
who were carrying something of great
weight She knew what it was They
came on slowly past the door of the
room in which she was Then after
a short time she heard them descend
ing the stairs again the door of the
house was closed and at the same
moment her mother woke
To be continued
HIS RIGHTS IN THE CASE
How an Aggrieved Man Might Abolish
Cat Concerts
A retired citizen in the southeast
section has been greatly annoyed by
the howling on his own fence and
shed in the back yard oi a big black
cat in the neighborhood Not being
able to sleep he called upon his at
torneys the other day to discuss with
him what could be done in the way
of getting rid of the cats
There the cat sits every night on
my fence the sufferer explained
ami he yowls and yowls and yowls
Now I dont want to get into any
trouble with my neighbors for I am
a lover of peace but I would like to
know if I am not justified in putting
a stop to it
Certainly replied the lawyer
I am well within my rights if I
shest the cat then
Um well I would hardly like to
say that answered the lawyer The
cat does not belong to you as I un
derstand the case
No
And the fence does
Yes
Well then I think I may safely
say that you have a perfect right to
pull down the fence Washington
Times
Standard Oil Branches
The International Oil Company ot
Japan which is a branch of the Stan
dard Oil Company has a large refinery
at Navetsu besides owning important
wells on the western irovinces Si
tv eight native companies have been
forced to combine so that there are
now two competing companies neither
of whom has one fourth the capita
of the International company
THE FATAL REQUEST
OR FOUND OUT
By A L Harris Author of Mino Own Familiar Friend otc
Copyright l 3 9 l by G a a ell Publishing Company
Gov V right l 9 0 i b v Street cfc Smith
CHAPTER XIII Continued
May my dear she said I dreamt
your father had come home I made
sure I heard his footstep coming up
the stairs But it was only a dream
she sighed
On being told of her sons return
she at first decided that she would get
up but the thought of the exertion
proved too much for her
Ive brought him home mother
was the first thing he said after he
had been kissed and cried over
Yes my dear she answered you
said you would and I never doubted
it But its a sad sad home coming
And here the poor lady gave way
and wept abundantly
Her son consoled her to the best
of his ability wondering all the time
how she would take it when she came
to know the truth the truth which
must come out sooner or later
The presence of the dead is always
a subject more or less of superstitious
fear to the less educated classes
consequently Ted was hardly sur
prised when he observed a decided
disposition on the part of the domes
tic staff to avoid as much as possible
the upper portion of the house But
he was surprised to find himself giv
ing way to a feeling of nervousness
of anticipation when he was alone in
his room which was situated next to
the one in which his father lay in his
coffin that night
He had a good mind not to go to
bed at all but to sit up and read
read something humorous He sneered
at his own cowardice What on earth
made him feel like this He hud not
been afraid of his father living why
should he fear him dead dead jfl
lying in his coffin with the iil
screwed down and the door locked
He turned up the gas and chose a
volume The Innocents Abroad
After a short time he vas surprised
to find himself actually
rowing
rfmpngrawwsmTTreyTarrui
CHAPTER XIV
J
An Eye for An Eye
The room to which he referred was
the one which had been his fathors
private sanctum Consequently it
was full of memories to the two who
now found themselves alone in it
and wherever they turned their eyes
they lighted upou some token of his
presence or some silent witness of
those habits which were inseparably
connected with his name
A sheet of writing paper with some
thing written on it Jay upon the blot
ting pad and tbe pen which he had
last used lay beside it with tho ink
dried upon it Everything spoke of
the dead His spirit seemed to per
vade the room which he might only
that moment have quitted
Teds eye was caught by tho sheet
of paper lying upon the writing ta
ble with something written upon it
liere was the date April 2 tho
day before he left home and beneath
it
My dear Not half a dozen
words in all and nothing to show to
whom it was addressed cr why it was
left scarcely begun
If the blank paper could only
speak If the pen which lay beside
it could be made to cany out what
the hand had failed to complete
He turned to his sister who had
sunk upon a sofa by the half-darkened
window and was watching his
movements and the play of his coun
tenance with a gradually increasing
sensation of heaviness about the re
gion of the heart
May said her brother its no
use putting things oft it only makes
matters worse so listen attentively to
what I am going to tell you and be
have like the good little girl you can
be
It was ten minutes later and the
room looked just the same and yet
W Hi
its no use putting things off
sleepy He would shut up the book
and go to bed A prodigious yawn
followed and he nearly dropped his
book
The next moment a sound of some
thing heavy falling brought him broad
awake with the sensation of a cold
wind passing through his hair
What was it Was it in this room
or the next
The next moment he gave a short
harsh laugh as he saw that the bullet
irom the revolver which ne had
placed upon the bureau had fallen
from thence to the ground where it
had rolled seme way
He picked it up and deposited it in
a drawer which he locked for greater
security
I dont want to be disturbed that
way again he said to himself My
nerves must be awfully shaken to let
such a trifle as that knock me over
in the way it did I wonder whetner
it will be any good going to bed after
this It is no use trying to read any
more
After turning about uneasily for
some time he fell into a troubled
sleep There was net a sound or
movement of any sort in the house
and he had slept on for about two
hours when all at once without
any warning he awoke What had
roused him The same voice which
he had heard once before in tde very
early morning
Ted It seemed to come to him
through the dividing wall And this
time as before he answered back
without thinking his senses still half
under the influence of slumber
Yes father what is it
And the same voice whether it was
only his own brain or came from
some unknown source answered him
back again
Press the spring at the back of
the recess
Ted said his sister compassion
ately at breakfast the next morning
how bad you look Poor boy Tell
me With a shudder hew did fa
ther lock Do you really think he
did not suffer much Oh I wish 1
could have seen him once more just
for one last look Dear old dad
Dont you go on like that May
I cant stand it Whats more Ive
got to have a very serious talk with
you presently
What about v ith some curios
ity
Its something you ought to know
something you must know But
itll give you a shock Let us go
nto the study I cai tell you best
there
there was a difference The empty
chair the Bradshaw lying open
upon the table and even the waste
paper basket had become objects to
be regarded with bated breath and
a sense of shuddering awe
Murdered That dreadful word
which suggested such hideous possi
bilities to the mind of the hearer
She had listened in silence and hor
ror as he repeated the suspicions
which were now certainties as far
as he was concerned And now
you see May he concluded what
we have to do is to find the murderer
track him step by step and then
He paused significantly
And then in an awe struck voice
from his solitary listener
Then that depends was the
grim reply You know what the Bi
ble says in the case of the slayer
She shook her head
Thine eye shall not pity but life
shall go for life eye for eye tooth for
tooth hand for hand foot for foot
Its dreadful to hear you talk It
frightens me she murmured
Frightens ycu does it was the
angry repiy Perhaps you would like
to sit quietly down and do nothing
-No no she hastened to answer
But I thought the police
Just listen to her was the scorn
ful interruption The police Leave
it to them indeed What do they
care No I dont know what I shall
do I have thought of a plan and
I believe I know the man to go to
some one Ive heard of and who will
help to put me on the right track
They turned to leave the room to
gether He gave another last look
round before closing the door Then
turning to his sister as he put the
key in his pocket You will have to
break this to mother
Oh must I How dreadful
couldnt you
Of course not hastily Its
your place to do so and I couldnt
think of taking it upon myself
Very well she answered meekly
if I must I must How she did it
she never knew but somehow the
words were spoken and the dreadful
truth revealed
Mrs Burritt partly to her daugh
ters relief seemed hardly capable of
realizing it Hes dead dead
she cried hysterically It doesnt
make any difference to me how he
died What does it matter so long as
he is dead dead dead
The next was the day of the fune
ral
It was numerously attended either
j out of respect or curiosity and a3 he
reviewed the troops of friends and
acquaintances that assembled round
the gravo the son of the dead man
wondered for an instant whether it
were possible for that ono false friend
to be among them
But the idea was rejected as soon as
formed He looked in vahl for one
who corresponded with tho descrip
tion of the tall thin elderly man
with a drled up look and grey mouH
tache and who walked with a limp
when last seen by the guard
It was exactly nino oclock on the
night of the funeral when Ted Bur
ritt put the key In the door and ad
mitted himself Into the room which
had been his fathers study
He carried a lamp in his hand
which he placed upon the writing ta
ble Everything remained as it had
been on that former visit the only
difference lay in tho fact that tho
film of dust was a little thicker upon
the various contents of tho room
He was about to scat himself in tho
old leather chair in which his father
had always sat when apparently
changing his mind he pushed it back
against the wall and looked round
for another which ho dragged for
ward
He took the sealed packet from his
breast pocket and placed it on the
table before him It was sealed up
in a sheet of bine paper and in
dorsed
Papers found by me after the ac
cident on the person of the late Silas
Burritt Esq and preserved intact
Jeremiah Cartwright M D etc
It was of considerable bulk but
Ted knew that his father was in the
habit of carrying about him a mis
cellaneous assortment of documents
of no particular importancs For some
time he hesitated to brotik the seal
There might be after all something
there that the dead man would wish
no other eyes but hit own to look
upon something not exactly discred
itable lie would not acknowledge that
even to himself but something which
he might have wished kept private
and which no one else should seek
to pry into If that wore the case
He cast his scruples on one side
broke the seal and tore open the
wrapper At the first sight of the
contents thus revealed to view the
young man uttered an exclamation of
dismay for the first document which
met his eye was burnt and brown and
reduced almost to tinder
Were they all alike If so tho doc
tor would hardly have taken the pains
to preserve them so carefully
With delicate manipulation he re
moved the topmost paper and placed
it on one side But with all his care
the edge crumbled and broke away in
his hands
Beneath this one was another
equally injured but below this again
was a paper only partially singed so
that an idea of its contents might be
arrived at after careful inspection
From a few words that met his eye
he made it out to be a bill of lading
and put it aside with the others The
rest he spread out before him on the
table
To be continued
A Second Noahs Ark
An old lady recently bargained with
a London cabman standing outside a
railway station to take her into town
The sum being agreed upon the dame
returned into the station and soon
reappeared with two parrots in cages
which she handed up to the cabman
Again she journeyed to the platform
and brought out two cats A third
trip she made bringing back a dain
tily dressed fox terrier and a fourth
expedition was interrupted by cabby
exclaiming Beggin your pardon
maam but 3rou aint expecting a
flood I ope
Dear me no was the reply
whatever made you ask that ques
tion cabby
O its all right maam said
Jehu I thought Id ask cos I aint
certain as ow my horse Can swim
and I fancied by the look of your lug
gage that you wore a takin my lceb
for a Noahs ark Rams Horn
Virtues Many Has Olive Oil
It is invaluable as a medicine in
many cases and especially so for chil
dren
For a weakly child or one who is
just recovering from typhoid or some
debilitating fever salad oil will some
times work wonders The plan is to
rub the oil over the childs body espe
cially about the upper portion taking
a few drops in the palm of the hand
and rubbing it well into the issues
The nourishment the skin thus re
ceives is almost beyond belief and is
of the greatest possible service in
building up the childs strength
When suffering from a severe cold
it is a good thing to omit the childs
daily bath and to rub its back and
chest with oil To insure no further
cold being caught by the little one
wrap the child in a blanket and care
fully screen it from drafts while v
rubbing operation is in progress
Why Little Folks Are Big Eaters
It has been laid down as a physio
logical rule that the requirements of
adult diet depend not on the weight of
the eater but on the extent of his
bodily surface In the case of chil
dren this rule is further modified
An infant may weigh one eighteentr
as much as a grown man but its sur
fuce is more than one seventh a
great As the first requirement of tin
infants food is to replace the heat
that is continually being lost by ra
diation from all parts of the body
the latter fraction determines the
needed proportion of nourishment
rather than the former But in the
case of a growing child food is alsc
needed to supply the increase of bod
ily weight In all an infants ration
may be five times as mucli as would
be estimated from its actual weight
alone Succass