Detective and mystery stories; England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
"In Chiswick Cemetery," said Hilliston, as the chaise stopped at the
railway station; "if you come up to London and call at my office I will
tell you where to find it."
Kerry was profuse in his thanks, and, touching his hat gratefully,
accepted the shilling which Hilliston put into his hand; but when the
train containing Hilliston started for Eastbourne, he threw away the
money, and shook his fist after the retreating carriages. Not a word did
he say, but the frown on his face grew deeper and deeper as he got into
the trap again, and drove slowly back to Thorston. Evidently he trusted
Hilliston no more than did Tait or Jenny.
It was now quite dark, for the daylight and afterglow had long since
vanished from the western skies, and the moon was not yet up. Only the
stars were visible here and there in the cloudy sky, and finding their
light insufficient to drive by, Kerry got down and lighted the carriage
lamp. Heaven only knows of what he was thinking as he drove along the
dusky lanes. The past unrolled itself before his eyes, and what he saw
there made him groan and heave deep sighs. But there was no use in so
indulging his memories, and thinking of his master, Kerry braced himself
up to see what could be done toward meeting the dangers which seemed to
threaten on all sides. When he delivered the trap again to the groom of
the vicar, he hit on an idea which he proceeded to carry out.
Instead of going back at once to Rose Cottage, he borrowed a piece of
paper and a pencil from the groom, and laboriously traced a few lines by
the light of the stable lantern. Putting this missive in his pocket, he
went off in the direction of the Manor House; but leaving the public
road he skirted the low stone wall which divided it from the adjacent
fields. Kerry knew every inch of the ground, and even in the darkness
had no difficulty in guiding himself to his destination. This was a
vantage point at the end of the wall, whence he could see into a sitting
room of the house. In a few minutes Kerry was perched on this wall,
busily engaged in tying his letter to an ordinary sized stone.
Almost immediately below him the mansion stretched in a kind of abrupt
right angle, in which was set two wide windows overlooking a bed of
flowers. These were open to the cool night air, and the blinds had been
drawn down, so that Kerry from his lofty hiding-place could see right
into the room. A tall brass lamp stood at one end, and under this sat
Claude Larcher, smoking and thinking. The glare of the lamp fell full on
his fresh-colored face and light hair, so that Kerry felt as though he
were gazing at a phantom out of that dread past.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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