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MMEStHilMiM0Hfrtt4ftKSa SUBJ
THE FATAL REQUEST
Q R F O U N D OUT
By A L Harris Author of Mine Own Familiar Friend etc
Copyright 1891 by O a e t ell Publishing Oompany
vVfUtmUlLt 1 H 11 II r3J 9 JV a mr 4 t n
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vyjvGPIr U J
CHAPTER XIV Continued
All though still legible were more
or less injurod by tho fiery ordeal to
which they had been in some degree
subjected Tho fire which had stopped
before reaching the upper part of tho
body had been sufficient for this
He ran his eye over them again
What was that Something which
crackled as he laid his hand upon one
of tho papers nearest to him It was
a sheet of foreign note paper much
singed and written only upon one
side
He pushed all the other papers to
gether in a heap Then with the
burnt letter before him with an elbow
planted on each side and his head
supported between his hands he bent
himself to the task of deciphering
what still remained
At last after at least an hour spent
In this way he made a gesture of
despair
I suppose I must give it up The
task Is beyond me at least this por
tion of it
He cast his eye again over the
words
They tell me nothing as they are
They even serve to cast some implica
tion upon my fathers honor and
He broke off abruptly and the color
forsook his face What was it the
doctor had hinted at Something dis
creditable in the past
He glanced at the paper again
But this speaks of something
worse
He gave a hasty look round as
though he half feared the possibility
of the presence of a listener as he
whispered the words Something
criminal
He took up his pen again and once
more concentrated his whole attention
upon the burnt letter
The paper before him contained a
number of broken phrases the be
ginnings and fragments of sentences
The upper part of the letter had been
vcaling another compartment behind
the first
This at first seemed to contain noth
ing but a packet of old letters tied
round with a faded blue ribbon They
were his mothers letters written be
fore her marriage and treasured ever
since
A bundle of old love letters Was
that all
No there was something else A
photograph faded and yellow like the
letters A photograph of a young
man in the dress that now seemed
old fashioned and ridiculous of twen
ty or thirty years ago The features
were hardly distinguishable but on
the back was written a name and a
date James Ferrers taken June
1S58
CHAPTER XV
Something I can do for you
burned away and the first word which
was decipherable was his fathers
name Silas
Below this might be read with
some difficulty the following inco
herent scraps of sentences in which
after all there was a good deal of
guess work
Hrve not forgotten of
twenty years on receiving
this letter at once for Dover
expect to reach - There
is that between us which not
allow you to deny I ask
and many you alone can
If you refuse I shall
that you as the criminal
of your youth
Beneath this last sentence he could
make out what he took to be the
letter J which apparently stood for
the initial letter of the Christian
name but the rest of the signature
was burned and obliterated
At this moment something again re
called to him the mysterious words
which he had heard the night before
the funeral and he looked round for a
possible interpretation of them
His eye roamed from one object to
another and his tongue repeated the
words The spring at the back of
the recess What recess Where
He rose from his chair and took a
sharp turn round the room The
recess What was meant by the re
cess
Father he said as though ad
dressing some one present Show
me what you mean He drew up his
chai nd resumed his seat but there
was cnat in his behavior which sug
gested one under the control of some
mesmeric influence or who walked in
his sleep
Immediately in front of him his
eye rested upon a small door To
his surprise he now observed for the
first time that the key was in the
lock He turned it and saw papers
within tied up in bundles and en
dorsed Some were quite yellow with
age and some were more modern
He went to work deliberately until
he had quite cleared the spact It
large but now that it
was not very
was empty it formed a sort of
He did not fimsh the word even in
his own mil 1 but began to pass his
at the back
fingers over the panel
lowly backwards and forwards an
Inch at a time
t last something seemed to catch
His nail something which projected
ever so slightly
He pressed It the spring at the
taclc ol the recess firmly There
sound and the
was a little jarring
back of the Dartition fell forward re-
The New Client
Mr John Sharps offices were situ
ated off the Strand And at 11 oclock
one morning Mr John Sharp was
seated in his private room expecting
a visitor or as Mr Sharp would have
expressed it himself a client While
waiting for the latter to put in an
appearance he whiled away the time
with the morning paper
At the particular moment to which
we refer his attention was engaged
by something in the top right hand
corner of the outside sheet which
seemed to afford him a considerable
amount of satisfaction
It certainly does read well he re
marked to himself complacently I
cant deny that though I did draw it
up myself I wonder he continued
rasping his chin with his forefinger
whether the gent whos made the
appointment for 11 oclock came from
the advertisement or whether he was
recommended
The advertisement referred to was
as follows
Sharps Detective Agency Swift
sure and secret All inquiries con
ducted with the greatest skill and dis
cretion Evidence obtained on any
subject All communications regard
ed as strictly private and confidential
Mr John Sharp promises to all those
who honor him by seeking his aid the
experience of twenty years and the
secrecy of the confessional
Mr John Sharp as regarded his
outward appearance was somewhat
of the weasel order As he himself
often said Sharp was his name and
sharp was his nature
My new clients late he con
tinued looking at his watch He
opened a door of communication and
put his head through
Jennings
Yessir
When the gentleman comes dont
forget to tell him that Im engaged
for the moment but shall be at lib
erty shortly and mind you come in
when you hear me bang the door and
ask if I am disengaged and can see
the gentleman now
The faithful Jennings performed
his duty to the letter I think said
Mr Sharp rising and referring to a
memorandum as the gentleman was
ushered in that I have the pleasure
of addressing Mr Burritt Will you
be good enough to be seated
The visitor admitted that was his
name and took the seat indicated
Something I can do for you in
quired Mr Sharp placing the tips of
his fingers together interrogatively
The new client who had with him
a small leather bag opened it and
produced three articles which he
placed upon the table before him
They consisted of a square flat pack
age a photograph and a ball from a
revolver
Suppose you begin from the begin
ning and tell me all about it I shall
not interrupt you said Mr Sharp
as he opened the note book and mois
tened a stump of lead pencil with his
tongue
He kept his word though he made
copious notes and for some moments
there was only the monotonous sound
of the one voice as the new client re
capitulated all the circumstances
which had led to his seeking Mr
Sharps assistance and which have
already been fully gone into
When he had finished I thought
the name seemed familiar to me said
the other To be sure I remember
all the circumstances connected with
the sad affair And so you think you
have hit upon the guilty party
I am certain of it was the deter
mined answer I believe I knoT his
name and have proof in my own
mind that ho committed tho deed
What Iwantyou todois totracahim
for me or rather put mo on hla
track and let me run him down
Phow whistled Mr Sharp softly
under his breath This i3 something
quite out of the common this is Sup
pooe he said addressing tho young
man that wo examine the evidence
i This is the bullet you say and this
a photograph you found among tne
deceased gentlemans papers Might
I inquire what this is laying his
hand upon the other article
That is the letter I spoke of which
made the appointment which my
father kept and was thus indirectly
the cause of his death It is partly
destroyed but enough remains to
show that there was here he hesi
tated for the first time something
of the nature of a secret between
them
Mr Sharp ran his eye down the
page Humph he remarked
something vague and unsatisfactory
It certainly seems to hint at some
thing of a suspicious nature between
the two
Dont make any mistake put in
Toxl Burritt at this point whatever
there may be of that nature does not
cannot apply to my father
Probably not Probably not But
you must allow a certain amount of
ambiguity of cutting both ways If
we could prove the knowledge of some
nefarious some here he referred
to a sentence in the copy of the letter
some criminal proceedings con
cerning the writer on the part of the
er the unfortunate gentleman who
was shot something which lay be
tween those two alone Why then
we should be able to see our way
Suppose there was a strong provoca
tion Suppose those two to be alone
in a first class carriage Suppose
that a sudden quarrel arises between
them that the deceased as I have
just said is provoked to utter threats
as to what he may or may not do
Suppose the one threatened who car
ries a revolver makes up his mind to
silence him once for all by tfc
means of a bullet through his brain
His client nodded
Now continued Mr Sharp be
fore proceeding farther just let us
come to an understanding as to what
you want me to do
I want you was the answer to
trace this other from the time that he
was last seen
Very good from Mr Sharp
And to trace his history back
wards from that time
And the partys name
Ted handed him the photograph ant
showed him what was written on the
back
Very good sir I think we
each other And you would
wish me to begin my investiga
tions
At once
There was a little discussion here
about terms expenses etc which be
ing satisfactorily arranged the client
rose and prepared to take his depar
ture
You will leave me this the de
tective indicated the photograph
and your copy of the letter
Ted Burritt assented and replace
the other articles
I shall make a point said Mi
Sharp of going through the report
of the inquest again to refresh my
memory and in case there should be
any little fact that may have escaped
yours You have to prove checking
the items off on his fingers First
that the man we want wrote that let
ter secondly that he was the other
passenger and thirdly that he fired
that shot
The answer was firm and concise
I dont require you to prove the
murder so much as to trace the man
and when you have done so leave
him to me
To be continued
A Yankee Trade
The old Yankee skill at driving a
bargain is not being lost A woman
visitor at a fashionable resort on th
Maine coast last summer went to ths
Universalist church in the place the
first Sunday morning of her stay and
was politely shown to a -seat TherS
was no hymn book however but the
occupant of the pew behind her
reached over and placed one in her
hands At the close of the service the
visitor turned and thanked the person
saying as she was to attend that
church all summer she would like to
buy a hymn book Well said the
other woman I guess you can have
that book if youll give me a pair of
black gloves No 7- Very well
said the visitor The next day she
went to Portsmouth purchased the No
7 black gloves for 150 and duly re
ceived the use of the hymnal in ex
change for them on the following Sun
day Boston Herald
One Thing to Avoid
Yes said the great man I ant
going to write a book of personal rei
olicctions I think I am prominent
enough to do that dont you
Oh yes youre prominent enough
but Id like to caution you about on
thing
Whats that
For the purposes of publication
dont recollect anything about promi
nent men now living
But theyre just the people I wanz
to write about Those arc the kind
of reminiscences that will make the
book sell
Oh well suit yourself but remem
ber that I warned you
Whats the danger
Why just as soon as you begin to
recollect things about them they will
begin to recollect things about you
I hadnt thought of that remarked
the great man Cincinnati Post-
Women Inventors
The United States has granted 2500
patents to women
THE FATAL REQUEST
O R F O U N D OUT
By A L Harris Author of Mine Own Familiar Friond etc
Copyright 18 9 1 by G a s a e I I Publishing Oompany
Copyright l 9 o 3 bystreet A Smith
CHAPTER XVI
To Be Left Till Called For
Three weeks later and the curtain
rising discloses the same scene It is
the second interview between Mr
John Shary and his new client
So you had my letter sir said
the former I hope you didnt think
I was wasting time But the fact is
you gave me Tather a large order
I do not care how much time you
take over the affair so long as you
bring it to a successful Issue The
question is what have you been do
ing What have you discovered And
do you think that you are on the right
track
You shall see for yourself sir
said the detective To begin with I
had to discover at which hotel the
two gentlemen put up I went first
of all to the Lord Warden before
trying any of the others and in the
visitors book I found a couple of en
tries both under the same date
April 24th James Ferrers and S
Burritt
At this remarkable confirmation of
his suspicions the young man could
not restrain a violent start which
Mr Sharp received as a tribute to
the profession in general and himself
in particular
I had not expected that you would
discover it so easily murmured his
client It almost seems but never
mind go on with eagerness
That was the name of the gentle
man who arrived first and secured a
private sitting room mentioning at
the same time that he expected a
friend from London who would re
main for the night and would require
a bedroom Between six and seven
a gentleman did arrive who inquired
if anyone of the name of Ferrers were
stopping there The waiter told him
yes that a gentleman of that name
had arrived by the boat that morn
ing and directed him to the door of
But have you discovered anything
relating to the past anything to
show why ho left England and went
to America
Mr Sharp referred to another of
the documents before him I have
been hard at work ever since my re
turn to town trying to pick up the
thread At last It occurred to me to
try and find out the photographer
the one who took this photograph
selecting it from among the other ar
ticles before him Somewhat to my
surprise I found the same firm still
carrying on business I explained
matters and found them very obliging
and willing to give any assistance in
their power Of course it was too
much to expect that they would re
member anything about a customer
who came to them so far back as
1858 but they referred back to some
of their books and triumphantly
they found the name and an address
Here it is
Mr John Sharp handed him another
paper which had an address written
on it and continued I went to this
place No 23 South Street Penton
ville There happened to be a card in
the window announcing apartments
to let for a single gentleman I saw
the landlady an ancient party and
led her back by degrees to the date
in question and found that siie did
remember a Mr Ferrers or some such
name who was with her from fifty
eight to sixty But after that date
he left her anil went to the West End
to live and she did hear
What was the question short
and sharp which fell from the others
lips
She did hear continued Mr
Sharp though how she came by it
she didnt know that he subsequently
went abroad under a cloud -
And that is all
That is all at present and not so
bad I think
And what is to be done now was
Packages and cases with the initials J F
the private sitting room The waiter
also informed me that they dined to
gether at the table dhote and seemed
to all appearances on the most ami
cable terms The next morning they
breakfasted together in their private
room and left by the 430 train in
tho afternoon The waiter mentioned
a circumstance which I take to be of
considerable importance which was
that one of the chambermaids told
him that from the appearance of the
bed she believed that the gentleman
in No 37 meaning the one who had
crossed by that boat had slept with
a pistol or something under his pil
low Ah you see the importance of
that bit of evidence
The next thing I had to do con
tinued Mr Sharp was to discover
the boat by which the gentleman who
gave the name cf Ferrers had ar
rived This was easily done I
found that he had crossed from Calais
by the Black Eyed Susan that there
had been a large amount of luggage
which had all been sent ont to Lon
don to await the owners arrival As
soon as I ascertained this fact I came
back here directly I obtained per
mission to inspect the luggage depot
anj He paused for the sake of
effect
Go on go on exclaimed the
other
I found a number of large pack
ages and cases marked with the ini
tials J F still waiting to be claimed
From the marks and directions upon
them I made out that the party they
belonged to had come from America
that he had visited Paris and after
wards crossed to Dover via Calais
Now either he will claim his luggage
and by that means render detection a
mere matter of A B C or he may de
cide to relinquish his property what
ever its value as being after all less
precious than his own safety I in
cline to the latter view myself
His listeners face clouded
Then it all depends upon his ap
pearing to claim the luggage
A good deal depends upon that
and everything depends upon nothing
occurring to excite his suspicions
Above ail things we must keep quiet
and if the police authorities should
pay you a visit for the purpose of
making inquiries into the matter you
will remember to be cautious and not
give them the least hint or we shall
have it proclaimed in all the papers
that the police have a clue and that
will put our man on his guard at
once
Thd assented to this and asked
the impatient question
Well sir in my opinion there is
only one thing
And hat is
Wait and see what happens
CHAPTER XVII
At Twelve of the Clock
It is all very well to tell another
person to wait but it is not so easy
for the other person However Ted
Hurritt had plenty to keep him em
ployed
There were all his fathers affairs
to be settled and arrangements made
for carrying on the business in Tim
ber Lane
The words unknown to him which
his father had spoken such a very
short time before his death as to
how this event would affect his fam
ily were fully realized They were
at least spared any anxiety as to the
future and were not destined to suf
fer those pecuniary trials which often
add so much to the sorrows of a be
reavement
A reward had been offered by the
police authorities for any information
that might lead to the discovery of
the murderer in what was now gener
ally known as the affair of the Dover
express Copies were posted up out
side all the different police stations
and presented themselves prominent
ly to the view of anyone who hap
pened to pass by
One hundred pounds reward and
but for the detectives advice this
sum would have been doubled and
trebled by the son of the murdered
man
Wait and see what happens were
the words of the oracle in the person
of Mr John Sharp Let nothing be
done to excite the alarm of the in
dividual under suspicion
Ted had written to Dr Jeremiah
according to promise and the doctors
answer when it came contained the
news of an approaching flying visit
to London an expedition which was
to combine business with pleasure
Under these circumstances of
course he must be invited to make
Magnolia Lodge his headquarters
The invitation was dispatched and
accepted and in due time the doctor
arrived gold rimmed spectacles mil
itary bearing and all complete
It is hardly necessary to state that
he made himself quitG at home in an
astonishing short space of time
I like your doctor said May Bur
ritt to her brother I liked him be
fore I sa1 him from what you told
me about him but I IIUo him better
even than I thought I should now Ive
met him
Later on In tho retirement of tho
best spare bedroom Dr Cartwrlght
was communing with himself
I had an idea shed be a nico girl
and I wasnt far out If Id said an un
commonly nico girl I should haw
been nearer the mark Scorns a sensi
ble girl too this one I should say
her waist was quite twenty two Inches
and an appetite to match And her
names May Pretty namo that
short and sweet
At the same moment that the doc
tor was pursuing theso reflections
Ted Burritt was inserting tho key
into the lock of the study door Dur
ing all this time he had allowed nono
to enter the room except himself It
seemed io him to be full of mysteri
ous associations which no outsldo
influence should be allowed to dis
turb
Nothing had been moved His fath
ers chair pushed back against tho
wall remained just as he had left it
on the last time he had entered the
room The pen lay beside the blot
ting pad and the dust had accumulat
ed over everything Ho placed the
lamp upon the table nud drew up a
chair
Then he unlocked that same com
partment removed the bundles of pa
pers as before touched the spring
which opened the secret recesses and
took from it the burnt letter
Again he took a sheet of paper and
a pen from the desk he would not
use that other which lay beside him
with the ink dried upon it and be
gan again to write and re write the
words which he knew by heart
Have not forgotten of twenty
years on receiving this letter
at once for Dover expect to reach
There is that between us which
not allow you to deny I ask
and many you alone can If
you refuse I shall that you as
the criminal of your youth
After working at this for about hah
an hour without being able to add so
much as a single syllable to what he
had already deciphered he threw
down his pen
I would give anything to be able
to discover the missing words but it
is quite beyond the bounds of possi
bility And there is no hope this time
of any intervention any guiding in
fluence to direct me to point out tho
way of any spirit voice to speak to
me and toll me
Taking up the sheet of paper again
on which he had been employed ho
saw to his surprise as ho turned it
over that it was the same on which
his father had written thoso words
My dear The letter which had
never been finished It was strango
he had not observed this before
Then he took up tho pen which his
father must have last used with the
traces of ink dried upon it Should
he put it away carefully as a relic
Or should it remain where it was a
little longer He dropped it and gave
expression to something between a
yawn and a sigh Im uncommonly
sleepy he said and yet I dont feel
in the least inclined to go to bed I
have a sort of feeling as though I
had to sit up for someone He gavo
a short laugh Suppose I turn in on
the sofa for a bit I wonder what
makes me so sleepy I didnt tako
anything at dinner but a little
His eyes closed and in a few minutes
he was sound asleep A clock outside
in the hall struck the half hour with
out any change taking place in his
condition Another interval of time
passed and then the clock struck
again One two three four five
six seven eight nine ten elev
en twelve As it gave the last stroke
he started up
To be continued
OLIVE OF ANCIENT LINEAGE
Trees 2000 Years Old Are Still Bear
ing Fruit
The olive that the bartender drops
into tho popular cocktail is an old
campaigner Wine drinkers thousands
of years ago liked it and for centiries
no banquet has been considered com
plete without it
The tree olea Europea is not only
one of the oldest trees known to natu
ralists but its longevity and produc
tivity are astounding Several of
these trees over twenty feet in cir
cumference according to the scien
tific calculation of a foot for a cen
tury must have been bearing fruit bo
fore the Savior walked and talked on
the mount of Olives
The olive has been a symbol in
more than one mythology - The dove
bringing the branch to the ark gave
it to the imagination of the Orient as
an emblem of peace or confidence re
stored Among the Greeks it was the
sign of peace and the placid power of
wisdom
Though a native of Syria and pos
sibly of southern Greece the olive
flourishes anywhere in a mild climato
Western Asia southern Europe north
ern Africa southern England South
America Mexico in all these places
the olive grows readily taking on an
average seven years before bearing
fruit
Two hundred years ago it was in
troduced into California by priests
from Mexico and there it has thriven
mightily In South Carolina it Is
hardy and fruitful but unfortunatelj
the crop matures there just when all
labor is needed in the cotton fields
The fruit is too bitter to eat unless
pickled Ranging in size from an
acorn to a large plum it is gathered
green and placed in a strong solution
of potash or lye of wood ashes When
the olives change color this denotes
that the potash has struck through
the stone and they are placed in wat
er renewed several times a for
five days New York Herald
