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"WHEN THE SEA QIVES UP ITS DEAD." .0 BY MR3, GEORGE CORBETT, ( AUTHOR OF V^Uoi-'g Life." "Pharisees UnTeiled, The •s*'ing Not- Cassandra," Secrets of a LO P, i'vat Enquiry Office," Experiences Of $Lady D/tectivu," The Mystery of Fajismere," CHAPTER III. £ LSS ANNIE CORY IS CONFIDENTIAL." jfW &^ter events narrated in the Mo J P*er> Margaret Cory was reading lust ^rom some manuscript which she had *fti ,.rece^ve<i V post. Her audience was With ^eing composed of two individuals »it u w^om we are already acquainted—to brother, Mr. Cory, and Hilton Rid- i • who both listened to her with curious t. Ou and I too, dear reader, will take the Si*ny of hearing what Miss Cory had to tl darling Auntie," she read, "I am lie •'r^ inftalled here, but, would you be- (jeVe it ? there are signs already that it will j0 Unnecessary for mo to remain here very t4 ?• I shall, however, do my utmost to re- to U ant*l h&ve learned all I want it ifnow- Short as my time here has been j already revealed much to me. Perhaps, a^j better begin my story at the beginning, aj l^en you can form your opinion. 1 must ttn° as 'ucid and explicit an possible, since what I learn and describe Hilton Piid- de-1 aotions in the near fature are depen- On presenling myself here yesterday morn- ac°ording to arrangement, I was admitted middle-aged servant, who regarded me ti r 1 considered effrontery. ( 'Wish to see Mrs Stavanger," I said. B ry was t*ie woman's answer. Wat* « ^ou prepare yourself for a long ait first." r^' Is she not in?" l yes, she's in. But she thinks people did n C believe her to be a swell, if she Iln t keep folks waiting a good bit." Ih Perhaps you will be good enough to tell t am here." I suppose you are tho new governess n0 W*H, you won't be here long, if you've ^sid'6 patience than the others. Lut come e> you can wait in tne ball. 4 ayjlJg this, the extraordinary specimen of rv hold,fit permitted me to cross the thres- arid 1 he cabman bad become impatient, ot)C "eg&n to bring my bit of luggage in at »0n' 't was quite ten minutes before the w "In, who, I learned afterwards, is called 411 ear, niade her re-appearance, and requested thja ? ^°Uow her to the drawing-room. By ROt) Ime the cabman bad been paid and had awav t»t t, 1 smarting under the peculiar treatment th 8nvanr, it was with some trepidation tt I aPproached the mistress. She was sit- an easy chair, and did not rise to V ^?e> as I naturally expected she would staiul °rn this trifling circumstance I in- ger Educed the opinion that Mrs. Stavan- "hicjjHs totally devoid of thosw finer instincts the ♦ n)ake up the being described by ^co'r* "la^y-" Subsequent observations me 111 0P'Ui011, Personal j-' a strong showy type, must at one ^r0 ave been IVIis. Ktavenger's to a great the p' would be handsome yet but for 'tl'cgt'I)reSSion of mingled ill-temper and feji^^51ce which perpetually disfigures her by es- She is, 1 think, a woman who has, t»h0s°ans of her good looks, secured a husband hera i Position in life is much higher than of been, and she is one of those people °Ia it is exprsssiv-Jy said that they ''m,P Carry corn"—in other words she is §h "^ar 011 horseback." 'reated me with scant courtesy, even a Wa'ting-maid had led me to expect. U Co PPa,'ently imagines that a woman who °r for e<^ to earn her living in any shape civijit 'S n° ^Onoer deserving of respeot or ^tel-v. Hers is a belief wniob, unfortu- Jlle re' as many followers, but which troubles 'Utje 'ittle, and would trouble me just as to *e,'e I really the poor governess I seem nl no'; the opinion of ua- *otfyfe People to be important enough to ja',0n(:* the time this interview was tltl bad been given to understand that my ad le "Ould be slightly more onerous than I St-"a htlolpated when being engaged by Mr. *0o ne ^er> who had spoken of his wife being twe\Verv°U8 to interview strangers, and of his ,lire ear-old daughter as a child who re- 1'he ]Very l)ttle discipline. ^arfQj]atler is a very bright girl, but she is *U<1 « y 8Poiled by alternate over-indulgence 8over '•'finding. She ha8 led her former a pretty dance by all accounts, and J|ke(j 'd me tbat she always did as* she • r» as h was no use tales of ^Vati er mother neTer believed them, but r-i y Punished the governess instead of ,l lv8rac^ory Pupil. r»>J?0 use y°ur setting me any lessons," °ftly prised yesterday afternoon, "1 shall when 1 like, just as I have always V Well," I replied coollv, "well be idle JT; s no use killing one's self to keep V0J is ifc ? ? seetf^^ ^ave keen highly amused if you j^ise, ojf 8.8 l*anny Stavanger's stare of sur- evident]y not u8ed qQ°n know," was her dubious answer to 0ti&ht you take your wages you fry to earn them. That is what This w ^Ways tells the other servants." i>e staVftaf Q a Pa'atable speech to hear. But » i 'ftip *0r "which I am playing is too big to the »°i • ^aunted by trifles, so I merely o scop t re8ted entirely with her whe- r n°t, A«l'IL my wages from her parents that if 8he refused to learn her I lessons there would be no alternative for me but to refuse. "Perhaps," I added, "you have been harassed over your lessons and have not been permitted to learn in your own way. If you like we will after all that. You shall study when you please, and give over the minute you are tired. Well, I call you real jolly," was Miss Fanny's rejoinder. Maybe you think me a fool, but if you'll help me nicely, you'll see what a lot I can really do." The little rebel was conquered. This morn- ing she was quite eager to begin studying with me, and 1 foresee little trouble with her in future. Already she begins to be confi- dential with me, and has told me something that will prove valuable. I am, I suppose, not yet quite innured to my duties as detec- tive, for I felt quite mean when listening to Fanny, until a picture of my poor innocent Harley rose before my mental vision, and my heart hardened against the wicked people who have ruined him. There are several members of this house- hold who would prove interesting to a student of human nature. Mr. Stavanger is purse- proud, ostentatiously religious, hard and un- charitable in his judgment of others fond of show, and yet mean in trifles. It needs no very keen observer to discover that much. Of Mrs. Stavanger you will already have formed your opinion. The eldest daughter is a conglomeration of both parents, with some of their defects slightly accentuated. The son I weed not describe to you, you saw him at the trial. But Fanny has told me that of late he has been very unsteady, and that be and his father have quarrelled a good deal. My pupil has also much to say about Wear, the parlourmaid. 1 never saw anybody change so," observed the child. Wear used to be so respectable, until those nasty thieves got into the shop, and nearly ruined papa and his partners. Since then she is impertinent all day long, and says such queer things, I can't imagine why she isn't packed off about her business. But when Ada told her the other day that she wou'd put up with her impudence no longer, Wear just laughed in her faoe, and said that it would take a cleverer body than Ada to turn her out of this house now. I made no comments to Fanny on this in- formation. But I feel sure of one thing, Wear has become possessed of some power over the Stavangers, of which she is making a very injudicious use, since it would pay her in the end much better to keep a civil tongue in her head, and merely to insist upon more liberal wages, instead of showing others that there is ground for suspicion. When onoe the source of her sudden accession of power li s a lie! You cannot have gone through the worth of all you took." over the Stavangers is discovered that power will irrevocably leave her. Coupling Fanny's remarks about those nasty thieves with our own previously formed opinion respecting the actual culprit in whose place Harley has been condemned and Wear's peculiar beha- viour, the inference that we are on the right track is obvious. With God's help, we shall yet be able to rescue Harley from his horrible fate. I wonder if you will think me wicked when I confess that I long for the time when his betrayers will be suffering the agony that has been meted out to him. Tell Hilton to hold himself in readiness for action at any moment, for I am sure that I am on the eve of further discoveries. Three days later another budget from A Dnie was discussed in Mr. Cory's drawing-room. This time Miss Cory had an additional listener. Mrs. liiddell had been persuaded to take up her abode here for an indefinite period. Her house had been let furnished until such time as she was likely to require it again. Hiiton was) also visiting here at present, and was ready to do anything or go anywhere to help to provo his brother's innocence. The fact that his mother was in such good hands, instead of being left to mope and grieve in childless loneliness, heartened him consider- ably for the work which he was convinced lay before him. Since writing to you last, read Mi:a Cory, I have made a wonderful discovery. I am quite sure that Hugh Stavenger, whose evi- dance was the principal means of ensuring Harley's condemnation, is the thief we are in search of. Last night at twelve o'clock, when all the household were supposed to be asleep, Mr. Stavenger was fuming in the dining-room at the belated return home of his hopeful son, who, I have gathered, has got into the habit of staying out late at night. At eleven o'clock 1 bad heard the hall door open, and someone ran upstairs to Hugh Staveoger's room, shutting the bedroom door behind him. The servants, not seeing the entrance of Mr. Hugh, but had heard the noisy run up to his room, concluded that it was he who had come in. Everybody else being at home, they locked and barred the doors for the night, and then went to bed. But I, who had resolved to let nothing esoipe my notice, if it could be helped, knew that a little pantomime was being enacted for the benefit of the unsus- picious servants, for it was Mr. Stavanger who had come noiselessly downstairs, and had imitated his son's manner of entering the house and going upstairs. The latter was still away from home. From this behaviour I drew certain deduc- tions. Mr. Stavenger wanted to speak pri- vately to his son; he did not want the ser- vants to witness the time of Hugh's arrival, nor the condition in which he arrived; and the matter about which he desired to speak must be of great importance, since it required to be discussed unseasonably. I I determined to be present at the interview. To do this, prompt action on my part was necessary, as I must be on the scene before either of the principal actors. There are three servants in the house. Wear was the last of these to go to bed, and the moment she had passed the landing on to which my room door opened, I slipped downstairs, and passed quietly into the dining-room, without being heard by anyone. Then I hid myself behind the window draperies, and awaited events. I had not long to wait. Scarcely two minutes had elapsed ere Mr. Stavanger, sl;ppei-less and cautious, came creeping into the room. Perhaps it was because he was nervous that he found it neoessary to help himself to a big drink of brandy. Having disposed of this, he stepped softly into the hall, and, an instant later, I heard him care- fully unfastening the front door, I was very glad that he did not return to the dining- room immediately, as this enabled me to change my position into a more comfortable one. I sat down on the floor, leaned my back against one of the window frames, and re- adjusted the ourtains. If there was to be an interview between father and son, I might expect them in this room. for they were not likely to be so indiscreet as to oarry on conversation in the hall, Nor was I mistaken. In about a quarter of an hour I heard someone ascend the front steps, and Mr. Stavenger, who had been waiting in the hall until then, opened the door before his son bad time either to ring the bell or to insert a latchkey. Keep yourself quiet," I heard him say in a low tene, "and go into the dining-room. Make no noise, for your life is in danger." Do you believe that, in cases of emergency, some of our faculties are strengthened to an enormous extent P I think that this must be so, and that I, for one have been the subject of this phenomenon. Otherwise, how shall I acoount for being able to hear Mr. Stavenger's words so distinctly P No doubt, the midnight quiet of the bouse and neighbourhood had something to do with it. Still, I shall always think that Providence thus showed its approval of my endeavours to save Harley Riddell from an unjust fate. Hugh's answer to his father's injunction was an ejaculation of which I did not catch, the import. But he was evidently sufficiently impressed by his manner to be obedient for once. 1 heard the door quietly fastened again, and when the two men came into the room in which I was playing the eavesdropper Mr. Stavenger, after turning up the gas. which he had previously lighted, seated him- self, and requested his son to do the same. "Now then," observed the latter," I would like to know what all this mystery is about, and what you mean by insinuating that my liberty is in danger." "Have you no idea?" questioned Mr. Stavenger. Not the slightest." Think again." Why the duce don't you out with it ? It isn't likely that 1 know just what you are driving at. and if I did, I am not fool enough to take the initiative." m Well I will tell you. I have all along sus- pected that you yourself were the thief for whom Riddell has been made the scapegoat. Perhaps it will be as well for me to tell you that I have from the first been sure of it. This was what made me so anxious to secure Riddell's conviction. I hoped thereby to save our own name from disgrace. lInt my efforts are likely to prove futile, because, besides being a thief, a perjurer, and a scoundrel, you are proving yourself a fool. You have been spending and gambling recklessly of late, and people are talking about the amount of money you are getting through. The gossip about you has come to Mr. Lyon's ears, and to-day I endured the greatest humiliation of my life, for I was told to my face that I had deli- berately sent an innocent man to gaol, knowing the while that my own son was guilty. It was in vain that I denied this Mr. Lyon vows that he has proofs of your guilt, and he has given me his positive orders to refund the value of the theft and to endorse some story which be is going to trump up to show that no theft has been committed, or to take the consequences." Meaning that he would make me ohangs places with Riddell! Good God what shall I do ? "1 can't give up the diamonds." But you must give them up! Do you think I will allow you to ruin us all ? And simply because you want money to squander in drinking and gambling hells! Tell me what you have done with your booty." It's all gone. I realised the diamonds for I a quarter their value, and paid my creditors with it. What! you were heavily in debt ? "Yes, I owed hundreds, and the monel melted like wax. What have you left ? About fifty pounds." It's a lie You cannot have gone through the worth of all you took." 1 tell you I have." I wonder what I have done that I should be cursed by a son like you I won't ruin myself to buy your freedom. You shall go to gaol, like the dog you are." And what about the mater and the girls ? If yon won't do it for me, you will perhaps wish you had done it for their sakes," "A b, you have me there! You are not worth stretching out a saving hand to. But it would be hard to make them suffer for you." li Yes, T kn, W I should bring you to reason. What do voa inflad to do in the matter? I Do you think your equal for shameless. ness could be found anywhere? Suppose you stick to business. What is going to be done ? Mr. Lyon sails for America to-morrow on very important business, as you already know. He will not remain there above a week. In three weeks, therefore, we may expect him baok. Before that time arrives two things must be done. I must place to the credit of Mr. Lyon and your uncle Samuel an equivalent for their share of the stolen property. And. you must have left the country before then, for he has forbidden your entering the shop again, and will not pledge himself not to denounce you if he sees you." But that is no reason why I should leave England ? There is another reason." What is that ? U Wear knows your secret. She saw the box of diamonds in your room on the day of the robbery. At first she did not think about it, but, after hearing of the robbery, she put two and two together and concluded that the fine things that were missing were the same which her prying eyes had seen hidden in the corner of one of your drawers. I can't imagine how a man in your position could be fool enough to leave his drawers unlocked. Any- how, Wear fathomed your secret, and tried to find the things again, but they were gone. Then she came to me, and threatened expo- sure unless I gave her fifty pounds to hold her tongue. This I did, hoping to hear no more of the matter from her. But she is a woman of such little sense that she is likely to ruin everything. Not content with demanding more money from time to time, she is vilely imper- tinent to us all, and behaves so very much like a person who holds us under her thumb that I shall find it necessary to make some provision for her further awav. But first you must clear out of the country, for your conduct is such as to awaken too much sus- picion." Does the mater know all P" No. She knows that Wear holds you in her power somehow, but doesn't know the actual facts. I am obliged to get up a plausible yarn, as wide of the real truth as I could, in order to induce her to keep Wear on, now that she is so impertinent, until I could get rid of her diplomatically." And when must I go P" "To-morrow night, at nine o'clock. A certain Captain Cochrane will call to escort you to his ship. You must have everything' in readiness to leave with him. But you will not be able to take any luggage with you, as Wear must not know you are going away." Send Wear out of the way somewhere. Pack her off to the Crystal Palace for the day." "It won't do. Our servants are not used to treats, and Wear would suspect something in a minute. Besides, I don't want anybody except Captain Cochrane t6 know that I am cognisant of your departure. It may save a good deal of awkwardness for me in the future." This conversation, as you may easily be- !ieve, was listened to by me with the greatest eagerness, and I was desperately afraid to miss a word. Here was full proof, to me, of < Harley's innocence. But my knowledge was, I knew, useless as evidence, since I had no < witness but myself to bring forward. True, ] there is Wear. But she may be bought over by the other side. And at present our task i must be the frustration of Hugh Stavanger's i attempt to escape with the diamonds. For, < in apite of his assertion to the contrary, I ] believe him to be still in possession of the greater part of the stolen property. If he i goes away with Captain Coohrane, he will contrive to take his booty on board with him. There is one thing that make3 my dis- coveries incomplete. Otherwise I would have i come home to tell you all this, never to return here, instead of sitting up all night to write this. The name of the ship in which Hugh i Stavanger is to sail did not transpire, so Hilton will not be able to do anything to help until to-morrow night. He must then watch < for the arrival of this captain and be prepared < to follow him and his intended companion wherever they may go. Jt may be necessary to try to obtain a passage with them. Is there any office on board a ship that Hilton can take ? To-morrow night, if I see an opportunity t of hearing what these bad people have to say to each other, I will try to gain some addi- tional information, for use in case Hilton ( fails to get on board with them, or to inter- ( cept Hugh Stavanger's attempt to escape. Perhaps J may learn something more during the day. But this meeting is too early for me to have any prospect of hiding unob- served, for the rest of the household will all be up and stirring. Kven if I could secrete myself again, 1 might not be able to escape detection and reach my own room unobserved, as I have beAn able to do this last night. 1 The fact is, I feel somewhat unnerved, and am afraid of betraying myself. In a few hours I musi: go through the faroo of teaoh- ing Fanny, although I feel dead tired aheady. I shall not need to feign a headache. Still, if needs were, I could spend many a night in the work of love upon which 1 have entered, and ( the day will wear away as others do. Then, 1 as soon as I feel that my further presence here is useless, will try to slip out un- observed and exchange experiences with J Hilton, if there is time before the two men leave the house. As you know, I brought very little luggage with me, and I will put on as many clothes as possible, leaving the few 1 things I cannot use. They are not marked, and I cannot be traced through them, II especially as I aJ) dvwd ar.il NI.¡1ted to look like somebody else for awhile. This was all. Annie bad left off abruptly. Possibly she bad feared interruption, or bad had only time enough to catch the early morning post. Anyhow, she had done her part of the investigations well, and had sent a very comprehensive report. "Isn't she a splendid girl ? "said Miss Cory, with enthusiasm. She is just wonderful," answered Hilton. No wonder my brother loves her so. I wish the world held more like her." There are heaps of brave and noble girls, my boy, if you only knew where to look for them. I wish my poor child was nicely out of that nest of scouudrels." To which remark of Mr. Cory's Afro. Rid- dell, wiping first her eyes and then her spec- tacles, gave answer—" Mr. Cory, that girl is too plucky and sensible to get into trouble through being indiscreet. And, as nothing else is likely to betray her identity, we may rest assured that she will get away all right. he will have no great distance to travel, but, of course, someone must be on the lookout for her." "I will go with Hilton," said Mr. Cory; and we will be within watching distance of Mr. Stavanger's house before half-past eight. Then, every thing being arranged that requires 1 to be arranged beforehand. Hilton will follow

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Convalescent (looking at his doctor's bill)! Good gracious! have I been as ill as all his, doctor? I wonder I'm alive ,I The words of a man's mouth tell no moro )f the meditations of bis heart than the voice )f a dinner beli tells of the quality of the linner. Master What became of the children of Agamemnon. Pupil (after mature deliberation): I think ibey're dead by this time. M. Zola insists that he is revolutionary Wht he wants is reforms without violence.' that is about the boy's idea of parental government. A piece of whalebone, fifty inches long, ten nches wide, and seven inches thick, has been lug up on the line of the Canadian Pacifia [iailroad. It is supposed to have belonged to he corset of an antediluvian belle. I wonder," said a hopeful of seven who ad been to a grand wedding in a stylish ;hurcb, I wonder why the organ played 'Lo- iie-grins'?" "How very stupid, Freddy," was the prompt reply of his young sister. "It wasn't Lo-he-grins' it was l,o-he's- *reen'! Doctor: 1 am afraid, sir, what your wife wants is a little change. Mr. Grind: Wh-a-t: Change! Good heavens, doctor Why, I've been supplying her with nothing but that ever since we were married. EITHER IS CORRKCT. Let's see, Henpeck, what is it we call a man who marries two wives—a bigamist P" Some call him that. I call him an idiot. 1 LUCKY MAN. Trivvet: The jury in Miss Keswiclet breach-of-promiae case against Ililow gave her 10,000 dollars damages. Dier: That's money in Hilow's pocket. If he had married her she would have cost him more than that in three yearp. GOOD ADVICE. A oertain old actor determined to get Mara ried to a chorus girl. The other actors rea- soned with him not to commit any such act of foolishness, but he refused to listen tcol them. Finally the prompter came to the enamoured tragedian and said :— Now, look here; you have always hereto* fore listened to me-listen to me now. Don fc marry that girl and make a biggar fool 04. yourself than you are already. You av never gone wrong heretofore when you nee my promptings."

-a the two men and find out what ship they are bound for, while I wait for Annie and bring her home with me." "Her suggestion that, if Hugh Stavangei gets to sea before the diamonds can be found,- as proof of what she says, I should try to em4 bark en board the same ship, with the object of recovering the things, or indicating their whereabouts to the authorities, is a good one. But 1 have no experience of sea-life beyond an occasional excursion for an hour or two from a seaside holiday resort. And I have not the slightest idea of anything I could do to excuse my presence on board a ship of any. sort. The sailors work above, and the firemen below. But even if I knew their duties, and oould get a job on board, my chances of find- ing the diamonds would be small. But t would take care to keep my man in sight after he left the ship, and it will take him all his time to baffle me then." So said Hilton, and this time it was Miss Cory who made the suggestions which were ultimately followed. J You couldn't go on board directly after the captain to ask for work. The time would be so unseasonable as to cause suspicion. But you might, perhaps, ascertain casually whether the ship is leaving at once or not. If it is, then you will have to risk trying to get on board, in spite of the lateness of the hour. If not, wait till morning, but keep watch lest there should be an attempt to slip away earlier than the time mentioned to you. You have several hours yet before you, ani yom have more than one disguise ready. Use one of these, and pack the others in your box for, use in emergencies. Go boldlv on board, and offer to pay for yourpassage. Comport yourself as one who has plenty of money, but; who has some reason for preferring to sail in a vessel that is not known as a passenger ship. The captain will at once jump to the conclusion that you are in some trouble, and you must humour his fancy. Hint something about a breaSh of promise action, and he will think you quite a hero." The last sentence was uttered with a scorn- ful accent which plainly indicated Miss Cory's opinion of man's peculiar notions of what is honourable in his dealings with the other sex. Bat her suggestion oaaght on," and formed tho basis of the tale with which Hilton liiddell was to hide his real motive in attempting to obtain a passage with Captain Cochrane. Thera was, of course, the possibility that his applica- ion would be refused. In this case, he would proceed by the quiokest route to whichever alace the merchant ship wboard for, and would be on the spot, ready to meet the dia. iiond thief, and to do his best to convict him )f the possession of some of the stolen pro- perty. When, at the time agreed upon, Mr. Cory md Hilton Riddell set off on their mission of love and vengeance, every detail of their plan? tiad been arranged. Hilton, not sure when of under what circumstances he would s<*e his mother again, had bidden her a fond good- bye, and had left her praying for Gods hel| in the enterprise which she hop?d woulo restore her banished son to her. Meanwhile the Stavangers, father and sork were also maturing their plans, feeling pretty confident now of success, and little dreaming that the avenger was already on their track. [To be continued Commenced March 4, 1893,J tt—————mmtmmm