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EXPERIENCES CF N DETECOVE.…

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EXPERIENCES CF N DETECOVE. ..¡ BY JAMEStGOVAN. "B.OU.H1M BAT," » SrBAjfOB Cr,u«," and Tuaqm: ant* TRAew. No, I. THE specthe fiddler, GEFTEEL • mr-an ia spsctisciea apj eamd at the Central I one a taruocc a-ld asked excitedly j »°r ,nm' ".ppeareC to be about fifty, and was so S 'pW'iewly dressed that I took him for a lord at but when Le syoko A discovered that he was I only a draper earning abont tweuty-f.76 shillings 'D shop on tbe Bridge. tn -ilmr),it AsbRin(,d to iel you what I've I -Ole here about," ho maid, after lie had given hia I 5?1"8 a» Clai k an I bia address as a top flat in I f'ctwtaon-str^et; but this df starkly trick baa £ p!e too l-.ng already, and icnat be ended, or ^7 daughter will soon ba in a lunatia asylum. k bauntad by a epectfCj w'io o^teea into ber ■■oom in the midulo of the nifcht and plays on a £ o<;«t|. an(j has ended l:y steal<xjg from her a *h:e h she prizes sbovts everything in the f fid, because it was gtv?;; ier by sweetheart [■ Ot, :nto b; r room ia tit., night ?% I ex- ^•w&ed*incredalou••'y. ,I Ho", cioos be get in?" that's what I want you to find out. I cannot dentand it. Ti">e window is fastened every fi'fcbt,atid the door cksd on thq inside by he.self, Yet he appears in the dark flaying the very tunes sweetheart used to -md melting away through tha walla, still I as soon as she 1IC';&ms out. Of course she is terribly frightened, i beiultbut a ",oma.r.ad it'j that I'm most con- cerned about/' an"! he looked as if he himself was ^riiviteued. thovigh a man, 4It Inuet be Ali iroagiaation," I said at last. She is probably itilit a li v.le hysterical over the uealb of her lover, and pe.iapp reproaches herself i for some U fl OR ucikiodr JSS and broods over it I td; the fame;- z' him." "1 tSwGght that at brat myself, but I've changed tr was the g:-reply, for the truth «thnt she did not n»^ fc>tephei« Miller very well **»'* she had him, and I knew she was fretting 0¥«r it now that he's d?ad, Hat the fact is," and O"er it now that he's -liat the fact is," and my visitor wiped some ary real sweat from his or,}", at! he speke, leari bim playing myself *^he melted away I Flaying what ?" I Jessie the Flower ,) Dgfebkne. t 13 RURWer Was go id ■ crous and unexpected tnat I langbed uproariously. I '••exsiris acy dauphier's name, and Miller used often to play that to please her," said my *«tb digui'y, in grave rebuke of my levity. ^f'Jtioies he used to s'tig it, but the spectra dOeqÚ <1o that so far as I kuow he only plays." "Has lost his voice, probably 1" I suggested. 1 imovuation could not steal a gold ring let with pnarls," peraieted the draper. 44Attig, ring-of course-how did he take tP ■ at a« 'Itk -Mb 'thout ,If e.enkuowin¡¡; hnv it WAS d.)ntt," Play pg allthe timeT J "I dolilt, know abant the playiug-I just know 1 ^t it WLA taken," he answered a littlesnappisbly. lihe hid it at night, and it was gone in the Benin* after the spectra had been there." WbiZ good could a gold ring do to a spectre ?' ♦rgoed "It would not lltay OQ a tinger, of ^thing, even if he had a vanity that way." Wei, the rinff was gone,at any rate," pereiøted drape. "No#, look here, Mr Clark, Put the thing ia plaiatet form. What is it you wish we to iever Tbit a man-a real, breathing, living through the wall and stole four httr'd riPKf' „ I fitn't know what to 1;)el, but I want the Jing sapped and the ringgot back," he answered »little aelplessiy. WUt does your daughter believe it to be ?" A& Oki gjje j—humph; women, you know, will believeanvtbipg. She that W* the spirit of her iead sweetheart.' Ot, indeed. Was be a tufall man while he ^•1, »»«»,! of «.Tieo it's not fehat would become mean Wter, and none but a mean man would steal back arine which be had given,, and had now no »*« f„, Yoa look past him for the thief." I lon't kn<>w;" *^d ^e draper fidgetted "nneasiy, and faltered »little as he made his next "TTaTsU waS sr'v0Q 38 a engagement rinir aid she took it a» that, but after all aho tumw round and Baid «h« wouldn't bind herself to be Ms wife, and wouldn t have htm at all. Yon know rfomenV 6 ^7 wayS'r, ? ° had ao otber „rt and no one she liked better; bat that Waa hir freak, and she ftuck to it ao ettongly that b aot quite broken-hearted, and went off to Aman ■». But be °nly M f*r M ^'asgow when he w» taken ill. wd only lay about a fortnight befor« he died, never ^now of tiU was all ovtr • and then of course she cried, and wished she b«d treated h»« differently, but of course that •milfn't bring him back again. So you sea she reallj had no right to keep that ring, and, indeed, should neverhave taken it. M k A TrtU wish me to believe that the spirit of thi. tbtongf the wall, pl, «ddl., wl"kt>«ktb..»(?»!(«»«»' 'i°B »bich aoQinoa- n«ver b»ve worn ?* "t"l% y" to Wto™ lt»l »' »u." •» 1 Z^Ath* draper, looking a little ashamed of •nsvewdtbedrape^ £ rtl°:'nd expose the trick if t hWs any." Da'you^charge the spectre fiddler with the •i-r1^' «a°"y'bat 1 ch"e *°m* t 6rad out, wbo be is." "Would the spectro be likely to taks the ring to 4«m».^op I gravely inquired; bun that was too much even for the draper's gravity, for be laqghed outright, and the laugh seemed to do him good, f»* ha admitted shortly after that he beloved tb« «ti0]8 to be some cunning deception of which they were all being made the victims. The curious poiat of this description was that the fiddle which tha# &]] tjMrd play seemed to be a ..Vbog t fiddle —that ia, it had a small unearthly eeund as if or.ber world. At first only the d»"S'ltnr beard it, and when ber etfllieks brought bar pareuts into her room the aoonds ceased abruptly, but about the third or b time JIbe. managed t' ea»train herself till she bad called »n a »b<m the small stransre sound once gave him the impression 4h^t it was a,,Iddle bolug Played by someone in the bouse below. s« P0*1^the opinion, and ao d«terw'nad bottom of* the imporition, t>-t be *<»A and went down to the f*t below, m tenanted by ah v4d woman wi'° k8P !° f h<1'hRrl lhi» woman happened to be *»*! dB*fJ5a haci difficuUy ia^SJing bw, but at length she opao^ the doo iTrii-in *r wratj *«* ™ not a fiddle within ber..d.°fand would get the police to thelD if they annoyed her any pycift? • "If th» *otn*n >• 80 T*ry d6R^ how could she inow if there was « bouse?" 1 here asked, ,ie*P*s*liy f the s,-iund was so *°lioL wMtldn*1** draper admitted, but she Em«« fc°°* il aoy 01 her lodgers do Plar." "HOWJSO!" "Because "be 4M 41>am at it, or see the *dd!«." 1 did net tbiofr reasoning et all wand or bot rmetvtd my comment till I should -*ee daughter who was ao peculiarly haunted* Jfcv, pert «««»• pointa which I wi^ed ti on could throw no light. I therefore accompanied him back to bis home, where we found the young woman r birring away at a sewing machine, and looking as unlike a haunted person as possible. She was a little pale and hollow-eyed, but otherwise a very ordinary girl, with her hair done up in grand style, and all her ribbons and farthingales adjusted to the best possible advantage. She was very clear- headed, however, and was positive that the spirit of her dead lover was haunting her, and bad taken back the nng. Toe point which I bad wished cleared up was how she could in the dead of night, in a room pitch dark, see the spectre of Miller, bat when I put that to her she bad no very satisfactory answer. The spectre was not luminous, like those in the orthodox ghost story; neither did its eyes shine nor its voice sound nor its footsteps echo. The fiddle alone was heard, but I am not surd that either the form of the player or the fiddle itself was visible to the haunted girl. Nevertheless she was sure he was there; she felt him—not by touch, but by instinct, of some kiud of perception which was too ethereal to be reduced to words. I received these answers with suspicion and distrust, and if I could have conceived of any It possible motive I should have set down the girl as an artful conspirator and the sole creator of the I spectre. But I could discover no such motive, and tbegirL appeared perfeotly sincere. II] the I course of our conversation she had let out that they bad more than once eked out their income by keeping longers. Mtller him-elf, indeed, had beeu a lodger with them, and it struck me that I some lodger in an adjoining room might have ¡ been playing a trick upon her for a purpose of his own; but she speedily dispelled that hope by assuring me that they had kept no lodger siuco the departure of Miller, She was also positive that the spectre fiddler did not perform on the roof above, so in the end I was reduced to I thinking of the room below. She declared most I solemnly that she bad no other sweetheart, and that she knew of no one who could have any I purpose to serve by so tormenting her, but several i tarns in her answers led me to believe that the ¡' sounds might have come from below. The sound, she said, always began far, far away, and came gradually near her till it stopped close, to her bed, I when she generally could bear it no longer, and I screamed aloud to summon her parents. Even when close to her, however, the sound was not like that of a real fiddle, but a tiny spirit-like tone which seemed to belong' to another world. She could have borne the fiddle playing, she said, ) and rather liked it; but she was always m dre&d of the spectre stopping its delightful performance and putting a oold dead band down on her face. That was why sba shrieked and sprang up and called on her father.. When I had done with the haunted girl I went down and had a talk, I was oingto say—but rather a shout with thn lodging-keeper below. Sue was not neariy so snappish as I bail been led j to expect, but though she admitted being ,i little j deaf she was positive that if » fiddle hud beeu played in her house in the night tuna sho would j Euvet known of it and heard it. There was not a fiddle within the door, and «he had only one j lodger in the house—a quiet student lad, who was | always too bus, with his books to thmk of music. The word student routed me a little, for thougn ¡I Miller bad been a surgical instrument maker by trade be had known and consorted with students, I and it was just possible that there might be a connection. I o^ed to see the quiet student's ¡ room, and was obliged with the greatest readiness. I The lodger was out at college, but his books and papers were quite open to my inspection. There was no fiddle in the place that I could discover, and I left with many apologies to the old woman -delivered in a shout that must have been audible in the next land. There was only one course now open to me—I must hear the spectre fiddler at work. I went up I to the draper's half expecting to find some demur made by the girl, but to my surprise she expressed I the most lively satistaction and joy. You won't be frigbteoed by it like a weak woman." she remarked, and then if it is a spirit it won't do you any harm, for you never wronged I it," and she gave a sigh as she let out the last words, as if only too conscious of having done wrong herself. The spectre fiddler, like a true ghost, always wrong herself. The spectre fiddler, like a true ghost, always tuned up his fiddle about midnight, so it was at that hour that I took possession ot Jessie Clarke a I bedroom, after having had a jolly supper of very plain fare with her and her parents. Jessie was accommodated in another room, and in order to I secure perfect quiet and a fair field for the spectre, I had insisted on them all going to bed and putting out the lights as usual. I Ghosts are generally pretty punctual, but this one was ten minutes late. I was seated in the dark, with the door locked and the window I fastened, and, of course, expected to see a gentle light begin to ooze through the wall followed by a finely moustaoheil fiddler, but all that came was the sound of the fiddle itself pi tying Jessie, the Flower o' Dunblane." The sound exactly answered tha description given by the Claries. I It began tVr away as itseemed and got nearer, till it aimoet eeemed at my elbjw « bus even then ¡ it v.'as small and gh ;3d,k. Then- was no apedtre attached tø. mUfiie or fiddle either that I could tjiriiilifr it ■ sound, it med to me that if it not actually in the roots it was below it—nay, olofce to the I ceiling of the room underneath. Alter waiting reasonable time for r;s 'spectre to melt through tha walls and show himself, and finding him still bashful, I left the room. and with a mere passing word to Mr Clark, who joined me in the lobby, I got my hat and ran down to the door below and rang the bell so violently- that even the deaf old lady was rouaed. Without a word of explanation I brushed past her and ran into the room occupied by the Uq\1ie Student," Mr Wiliiam Rowefl. I expected, ot course, to find him with a fiddle in his hands but to my aston- I ishment be was seated at the table with quite a j pile of books around him, deep in hl8 stwÍles- i perhaps a trifh too deep. He looked up in apparent; surprise, but when I wet the glauco of his merry twinkling eyes I became more suspicious than ever. An ordinary student thus rudely disturbed would have stormed and sworn himself black in the face; but this one appeared fntalisingly cool and collected, wit.b a wicked Sparkle in his eye, which seamed to say, "Ob, what a fool you are I think I have the best of it" You're annoying th4>. folk above with that infernal fiddle of yours," I burst forth and it must be stepped,or you will get into trouble." "Fiddle! What fiddler" he exclaimed with the most elaborate astonishment. "I never touched a fiddle in my life, and don't know one note from another. In fact," he added as a eliticher, I'm timmer. if you understand— got no ear." Ihe expression on his sunny open face was so droil, and be appeared altogether such a clever act. that in spite of myself I relaxed into a smite, though trying my hardest to look ferocious. "N ow look here, I've been listening right abote your room, and I beard tho fiddle," I decii^vely remarked. Now that you mention it, I believe I heard a fiddle too," he said, with mooksy-lika gravity. "Have baen very much annoyed by it—can't get on with my studies, you know. Who's in the room,above ? I must get them to stop it or change I my lodging." I that I was bannd, and looked round the room in despair. Tliare was no fiddle iu eight, but tiere was his trunk, iu ydiich a fiddle might have tMen concealed. Then I looked at the table, and calculated that a tall lad like him could have I, got up on that, and then stood pn a pile of books, and so brought a fiddle pretty elose to the ceiling, There's an elaborate trick being played by t someone," I said as sternly as possible, but let me warn you that it's got to be stepped. I am one of the police, and have power "Not M'Grovap?" "Yes," I said it harshly, thinking to frighten bim, but he only brightened and warmly seized my band and worked it like a pump-handle in spite of my effort to get it free. What! Have I the pleasure of grasping the hand that has penned all tho lioa about M'Sweeny and those—ahem I-trntbs about your- self! This is truly a—" 1pusbed bim off with a fiharp dig in the ribs, quite (touvinced that I could make nothing of lijm. u You'rea good-for-nothingscamp," I laughingly remarked, and he bowed low and shook his curls at the compliment; but I should say that if you know anyone who has spirited away that girl's ring you d better get them to send it back. or it may do them harm." "Girl's ring?" he echoed with the first really sober look on his face. "I know ncth nar of any ring. I swear that ou my immortal soul 1" "Very well, swear away—swear what you please —but send back the ring, tint's all," I said warningiy, and in case he should say something to dissolve my sternness I turned and left him. I went upstairs and listened for another hour, but there was no more serenading of the spectre fiddler. The very next night, however, the spectre was there as lively as ever, and the hauated girl resolved to vacate the room altogether rather tbsn endure the horror of these visitations. I promised to see into it, but I could do nothing, though I had a hazy idea of charging the student Lowell with the theft of the ring, just to get power to search his trunk. Before 1 hau quite made np my mind on Ie course, I chanced to see Rowell going down tbé North Bridge in front of me one day, and saw him turn into a music ahop. The circumstance seemed ao odd with a man who knew nothing of music that paused and reconuoitered, and was considerably more surprised to see him buy some fiddle strings with the air of a man who knew what he wa* about. Aha now I have him was my thought, and without another instant's delay I turned and went straight to his lodgings in Nicholson-street. The old deaf woman received me grumpily, aud threatened all sorts of reprisals as I tried his trunk, aud on ficding it locked very cooliy pro- ceeded to open it with a contrivance of my own. Inside I found, as I had expected, both a fiddle and a fiddle stick. On the bridge ot the fiddle was stuck a strange Contrivance of brass, like a split comb with three broad teeth, the use of which I could not determine, as I had never seen one on a fiddle before. Just then, however, Rowell himself came in, aald I appealed to him to enlighten me. The ypung rascal did not look the leant disconcerted, smiled out pieasatrtiy and ftdoiiktod bbat he did try tw fiddle but added that be could uot play a note. "It's just scraping," ho ingeuuously added, but you see I take care not to annoy anybody with it, for I keep a mnte on the bridge, and then yoa could scarcely hear it in the next room." I stared at him, while his big, bright eyea rolled about at tlieir widest in over-acted innocence, but he did not wince or blush. ■ —J U Oø n you play 4 Jessie, the jftewer o' Dun- blane T" I 8ÏiPautlJ _ed, and jthen 4iJ look C¿ of grave thought would have done credit to a parson. Jessie, the Flower o' Dunblane ?'" he said reflectively. Well, uo; I never learned that one. "Impbm; can you play anytbioKt" I ened, trying to get savage. Not very well; I never can touch it except whtp there's nobody listening," he said with gigantic modesty, I'm too nervous." Ie I believe it—every word of it," I grimly responded. "I suppose you didn't know a fellow called Stephen Miller eIther f" Again he drew on that reflective look and then said—'• Miller, Miliar, the name seems familiar to me. What was he ?" I gave him a punch in the side to break through bis acting, i ad then we both laughed aaulJaughed till we could langh no more. "Now look here, Mr Rowell," I said, "I'm not going to say whether you or I are the winner ia this clever game Oh, you—you, of course," be interposed, with deep gravity. M'Govan always wins." I don t know whether yoa have come within reach of the law or not, or whether you have by some tystoirious means got the ring from that youug woman upstairs," Nay; I pledge you my word of honour that know nothing of the ring," he cried, with genuine earnestness. But this you must admit, that you have nearly frightened her to death." "How?" he exclaimed, with the old roll of innocent eyes. T a y°ur and your ingenious trickery. I don't know wiiai you've done it tor—whether you got a commission from Miller before he died to punish the girl who killed bim—but I appeal to you as a gentleman whether you don't think this panishmentbas gone far enough. If I were in your place I should think an apology due to the girl, and a promise that she should be annojed no more." These words appeared to touch him in the right spot at last, for be sobered down into real gravity, and then, after a few inomancs' hard thinking, he started up with the words— "Hang it J I believe you're right. ru (Coup now. We went upstairs and found Jesata Clark at* her machine as usual. She looked up in surprise, and then Rowell began an elaborate apology. He said that he had learned with the deepest re that his craze for fiddling at night bad led htr to believe that she was haunted, and he oro- mised that in future all his scraping should be done in decent hours, so that no one could mistake it for the performance of a spectre. The girl listened to it all wearily, and m evident distrust. She did net believe that it was he who bad caused the strange music; she had fancied she had felt the presenc* of her dead lover, and had heard him melt though the walls, and she did not oars to give np the belief. Indeed, her impression was that the whole apology was but a clever scheme of her father and myself to save her reason. "I with yon had never seen Stephen Miller" cried her mother impatiently, as she concluded. Ii I wish I could die and be with hims" she passionately returned, "for life i. notbing tome without him." "He was a sweetheart, I believe?" observed Howell, with a look of ignorance. Do you think you would baVe Carried him if be had lived?" Mnrrled him t I would have crawled right round the world to make him happy l" she cried, with all bersoul in her eyes. i "WeD, you wouldn't need to crawl ao far, if you will crawl, remarked the student after a pause, for hew in Glasgow now. I know Stephen MIller very well, and had a letter from him the other day in fact, we're old friende." slowly tottered towardtl tbe.stndent, er.ju'h.'h'dS?,bt "0b- r»n°Vh,r- aPwJr"^1 1 0r "0t t0 famt but it'3 riswcon, however, was not of a very that it w^0atD'iJvhen she ^covered and found and 1™ K a dream 8he clQD« to the student. aboufc hi,ll> ^d, I rather sS,«!^n?i m a Way thafc wo«ld ^ave made Salou'v hld ^r^^y^^rout of bis head with Olark fLi l.. 6!0 a,iyo"? bnt ^well. Jessie j write to Glasgow, but got the concessions and admissions to Miller that th«w whwTrt ?? Wifchin As for the rS was found inT to spirited away, it draweT w -t £ H ^dr?,OD?' Dnd*r » chit of rS? n had ^olI«l P*>bably off her entirely from th^ bSfrf Row^th* thTnlfe had1 been an^ad..ftuaUv saved his Ufa wnen ne naa beeu taken ill at Glasgow The SindSvliv4'1 CaUfed SUCb torror mada 'ampla

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