Detective and mystery stories; Inheritance and succession -- Fiction
"I threw the comb; threw it from my window before I uttered that loud
shriek. It did not go very far; but I had to be satisfied with the fact
that it lay in the direction of the waterfall. But it was to Bela I
entrusted the flinging of the bag. I gave it to her when she left the
coach. I had explained to her long before just what a place she would
find herself in when she was set down at the foot of the lane; how she
was to make her way in the darkness till she came to where there were
no more trees, when she was to strike across to the stream, led by the
noise of the waterfall. I was very particular in my directions, because I
knew the danger she incurred of slipping into the chasm. It was her fear
of this and the more than ordinary darkness, I presume, which made her
throw the bag hap-hazard. I simply wanted it dropped on the bank above
the waterfall."
"I saw the girl," Mr. Harper broke in. "She wore a black skirt like the
one you now wear, a black blouse and a red-checked handkerchief knotted
about her throat. But the young woman who was seen leaving these parts
the next morning had on some kind of a red dress and wore a hat. Bela had
thrown away her hat; it was picked up where the coach stopped and
afterwards brought here."
"I know. My plans went deep; I foresaw the possibility of her being
recognized by her clothes. To guard against this, I had her skirt and
blouse made double, the one side black, the other a bright color. She had
simply to turn them. The extra hat she carried with her; it was small and
easily concealed. Her neckerchief she probably tucked away. I had its
mate in my pocket, and when I left my room by the window, as I did the
moment after I had locked the two rooms, it was with my hair pulled down
and this neckerchief about my shoulders. How did I dare the risk! I
wonder now; but it was life, life I was after; life and love; nothing
else would have made me so fearless; nothing else would have given me
such confidence in myself or lent such speed to my feet, running as I did
in the darkness."
"You ran around the house to the lane, and entered it by the turn-stile."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account