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THE DOCTOR'S VICTIM: STORY OF THE BURKE AND HARE TRAGEDIES. 4u BY R. T. CASS ON, °r of "Bonnie Mary," "A Modern Ishmael," e ljoctoi'a Doom, Maggie Ray," "Dorcas Jane," "Faithless Florence," &c., &c. CHAPTER XIX. JfiE ROBBER CHIEF'S REMORSE. rk 8(. three members of the robber gang met rendezvous at the time upon, for the purpose of effecting an into the abode of the Liberton miser. ^'le captain had premised, all due had been made for their recep- Mrs. Heseldine had retired to her room Uher+r ^lan was her w'">nt, leaving Jessie at to carry out her part of the scheme. SQJ, °n Munro it ad supplied her with several °!" PreparedT liver, which the two eP c'°gs kept as house-guards readily ate from her hand, when she + 8''PP8d out after her mistress had kJCk ,0 htd. At the same time Jessie un- £ ?! £ *> ana then, returning to the j l^jj the guilty woman a,waited with tremb- nei,ves the coming of the burglars. 'ia<^ solemnly assured her that not the t<> ''arm would be done to the old lady nor ny inmate of the house; but, to prevent ^icion being attached to Jessie, she hound and gagged by the bur- w'hen they retired. t, !ladr gone to her room, and was trying j Hovel "r^e G^Psy Mother, a sentimental Hble kind then supposed to be fashion- ^hi4 V'^len the noise made by the burglars f, 1diking ■& light in the hall below with W l" an<^ steel, caused her to throw down rap;,| °k, and made her heart beat more *tin ^earing that some unforeseen circuiu- rap;,| °k, and made her heart beat more *tin ly, fearing that some unforeseen circum- }i&r 00 M',°«ld frustrate the scheme, and make an J ^^a,0b^ect of suspicion in the mind of her ress ?!)d'^entl'y t,l€y ascended the stairs slowly a. t* .y, but the unexpected creak of diua made such a noise that Mrs. Hesel- bse"' had either not been asleep or had steel tilie striking of the flint and she n startled, and springing out of bed out. a v opened her bedroom door, calling you, Jessie ?" .1.' J:e tack i In°ment she was violently pushed foll<j.v^,a room, and two of the burglars \v.&s j-v J?n e was Captain Blair; the other Oaptajne urn be r Three mentioned by t lie E the WiiS on the watch for any | eivouoi. ,1 V-a,nts who chanced to be courageous j ?inex^a., ven'tu!'e outside their rooms, the having' i aPP«ar«nce of Mrs. Heseldine tain. ° a tered the plans of the robber cap- f he as proved herself to be as brave :p.lSitiY \\omaIl would have been in a similar "W%, 0ha this intrusion? What- do "Tl *«pUe!f Stents of that cut*board, mistress, SI; AN'\ WLTL1 A BOW- Sui'Prisp +i sPrang forward, and, taken by ttea-rjj^ captain could not prevent her "It°- ? "ia,ck mask from his face. Pushed ara righteously ?°t fanim That sort of -aroe wil1 n nx- '-five me the keys of that cup- i- -t. Turn thai picture round, 'dt' at it, I pray you. ere vou commit '^Idjir^011 never forget,said Sirs. ■ ^Op > fj nion^er,t Captain Blair stood irreso- J'^stur- 'vent to the corner where the *vil) p \va3 hanging, with its face to the Port' ;i!f ^lriied it round. It was his own Ui y'p • r^; it was that of a man clad k&tof'e llV':Ar3r raiment of 35 or 40 years tljg tQd yet liow wonderfully alike was rai^ an<i the rna'n now gazing at it, me; and on vour life ctec^ive "'10 was that?" i;iust>and— your father f^uht. j.01" a foment did the robber captain oi 16 the startling answer she 'his t^en :T1- an^ the feelings that thronged tliat Fiun an- agitated iiis> breast showed still 'i (,u^:aw as he was^ Captain Biair was "Urnan. knevr you had a. son: how did you XI >'n*'■ Why have you not sought him? it that you are wealthy, and hPvaries—that is vwp whatever you &wat ^tharto been "called—if you will send be f tha-t man, and anv others who may a ri!>itlle house, I will tell you all you have cm,>2^ to know. They need not go sway they ^ded; see—I 'will give them what key), to obtain," and, taking the <I°or 0f0^ beneath her pillow, she opened the <J.J( "■ her treasure-house. ex^SiSht of the pa-clrtts of bank-notes hro^- 'the captain's .accomplice, whose goitvj. ^Pew" as lie realised that they were che^J"0' he afterwards t-old Burke, "be 5ti ( out of their big prize." But he was 1>2itH>nJ11"0*1 awa °f the captain to dare any hitri a ranee, and wh.en the old lady gave Presen^111^1' of no^3- ^ying that they re-. ^"iria»i ^ie ^°°ked at the leader in- "Oo s hile placing them in his pocket. ^ou anfi Number Five meet me in an '1.Jeagu'xT afc the CF0SS roads." f ap t ^taoduif listening near the door ot .^oino, rn-. could not understand what waa Q iQ ^er ndgfersss's room. There had \a ?:> ^Cr"'lIning', no acufBing what did it ''ftp y the burglars had not murdered of the'l And when the two members left the, house, believing that P1! 'out of hf8 ^Parted, Jessie c>-ept cautiously at.1"??111 into the corridor, and stood s at the door of hpr mistress's ruoin. "Gazing at it almost fascinated. f The old lady was talking, and in a voice that showed she was profoundly agitated; what was the secret beteen Mrs. Heseldine and- the person with whom she was conversing? Jessie would have given much to know; but the door was too thick for her to catch a single syllable, and, fearing to be caught playing the part of eavesdropper, she quietly returned to her room. "My marriage with your father, Charles, was a runaway match. He was a lieutenant in the army, of good family, but poor; I, the only daughter of an earl. When your father learnt that my father had cast me off, hi3 professed affection began to oool, and before you were born he had deserted me. I returned home, and was pardoned on the express con- dition that I had no further communication with my husband. Then you were born, a.nd your grandfather, the earl, became so fond of you by the time you were two years old that he made a new will, leaving to me all he could possibly bequeathe, the bulk of the property going with the title. You were four years old when my father died, and soon afterwards your father, who had been waiting for such an opportunity, managed to steal you from me. He wrote to me, declaring that unless I oonsented to live with him I should never sea you again. I liatad him as intensely as I had once loved him, and ignored his letters. Then he appealed to the law, but without success, for he had deserted me without cause. In retaliation I sought and obtained a, decree of divorce from him, and from that day never again saw or heard of him. That is my story, Charles. Do not fancy that I have never sought for you- never sorrowed for you. I did everything in my power to discover you, and have alwayc felt that we should meet again some day. Charlie, you will eome and live with me?" "Impossible, mother. I should not live a week if I deserted my companions. There is hut oii9 way out of the difficulty—to quit the country. In America, or in some distant part of England, we should probably be safe rom their veng&anos." "Then we will go. my eon; tc the other end of the world, if need be. "Tell me where to join you in a week or at such time as you care to fix, for I must not come here again. And do you get rid of your companion, Jessie Macdufl, as quickly as you can. It was she who opened the outer gate to let us in) after poisoning your dogs." "The wretch I will show her no mercy "Nay you must let her go without the least hint of the real reason. Say you are leaving this part of the country; she will be as glad to get away as you are to be rid of her. I must now go, to keep the appoint- ment I made with the two men who came here with me." I "I shall leave Edinburgh by the coaea for the South to-morrow week; join me at Car- lisle, my boy." "I will, mother. And, believe me, you will never have cause to regret having asitea me to look at that picture." "One moment, Charlie. Money will do almost anything. Take these notes there are £ 500; you will be enabled to appear if., your true position—as the grandson of an earl—when you join me." They parted without any outward show of affection, for the erewhile Captain Blair could not offer to kiss his newlv-found mother until they met again, as he hoped, under happier auspices. Mrs. Heseldine's courage was again shown by following her son down- stairs and then to the gate, which she locked after a whispered good-night. Jessie Macduff spent the rest of the night in a miserable fashion, dreading the morning, for she feared that her treachery had been Idiscovered. And when her mistress did net come down to breakfast Jessie's nervousness increased. But, although she approached the old lady's room with a feeling akin to terror, she knew it would appear suspicious if she kept away after breakfast. "I.j that you, Jessie ? I am not wall thio morning. I am so hot and feverish. Send for the doctor, please," said Mrs. Heseldine. Jessie was, morally, an awful coward. She trembled at the word "fever," and awaited the doctor's coming with arf anxiety she tried to conceal. And when he had been closeted, with the patient for a few minutes, and seek- ing Jessie, told her that the fever was ej: infectious one, Jessie sent a message to hsr mistress to the effect that she could no'^ possibly stay in the house. possibly stay in the house. She would have been much surprised could she have seen Mrs. Heseldine an hour after her companion had left, for the old lady was up and eating a good dinner. The knowledge that she was again wit.Ur>a5 a home, and but scantily supplied with money—only the sum she had earned in Mrs. mDmy-only the sum she had earned in Mrs. Heseidine's servioe—between her and actual want, did not trouble Jessie as much as would the risk of catching the fever if she stayed in what she believed to be an infected house. She sent a note to Gordon Munro, tebing him what had taken place, and anxiously looked for a reply, which did not oome. Munro had1 received bank-notes for £ 100 -js his share of the booty got at the miser s his share of tihe booty got at the miser's I house, and, hearing that Jessie had1 left, he 1 kne ,y there was no more to be gained by t keeping up the acquaintance. But Jessie had reason to be glad that she had left Mrs. Heseldine's service. Two days afterwards a stranger called upon her, at the house of her faithful friend, with whom she had taken lodgings when sent away from Thistleden. Jessie was alone in the house when her visitor arrived. "May I come in, Miss Macduff? I have some important questions to ask you," he said. She hesitated; but the stranger was well dressed, and his tone was courteous enough. "I am alone in the house, sir; if you couli state your business-" "No the subject is of too much importance to be discussed here. But one question— when were you in the neighbourhood cf Liberton last?" "Not since I left the house of Mrs. Hesel- dino." "You were there last night?" "No; Mrs. Robertson will tall you that I was not out of this house all day yesterday, and I slept with her—in the same room— last night." "Then you do not know what has hap- pened? Your late mistress has been burnt to death in her bedroom," a.nd Jessie noted with surprise that the stranger's voice indicated strong emotion. "Surely, sir, you did not think that I had aught to do with the accident?" "Did you part in a friendly manner?" "I did not see her at all the day I left. She was ill, and the doctor said it was an infectious fever, so I left the house. Mrs. Heseldine sent what was due to me by the cook. But how did the fire happen?" "No one knows yet. I am sorry to have troubled you. Miss Macduff. Guod morning. "My suspicions were not well founded," he soliloquised, as he walked slowly across "Yo.t, would rfpt <Jar<e!" I Bruntsneld Links. "My poor mother To meet with such a terrible fate within two days of my discovery that I had a, mother- it is my punishment. Bah Why should I thus give way to sentimentality? I have lost nothing by the affair. But T shall go mad if I continue to think of that cupboardful of notes not one of them now left. Even my father's portrait destroyed, too. It seems as though the fire intended to leave me without a scrap of evidence to prove my relationship to my own mother. The house was hers, and only her own bedroom is much damaged. And she must have possessed a large pro- perty; otherwise, how did she accumulate her money? What is the use of my thinking about it all? It is lost to me." It was even so. The servants of Mm Heseldine had been aroused by the noise of crackling wood and the smoke that found its way into their rooms. They soon found that their mistress's room was on lire, but all their efforts to break open the door, which was fast locked on the inside, were futile. The sheet-iron with which the walls and door were lined prevented the fire from spread- ing to the other rooms, but also made the bedroom as hot a-s a furnace, the old wooden wainscoting burning like tinder. When tho door was at last burst open by A blacksmith the charred body of the old lady wa;i found under the bed, where she had, doubtless, crept when she found herself unable to put out the fire. 1 Her oil lamp, empty, was in the grate, where it was supposed she had thrown it when the fire broke out. The procurator-fiscal, after a, prolonged in- vestigation, came to the conclusion that the fire was accidental, and the deceased lady's a.geat. a notary nained Thomson, took poeses- sfon of the house, in trust for the legatees, the old lady's will being in his possession. The robber chief attended the funeral, but dare not take the place rightfully belonging to him-that of dhief mourner. He was in disguise, with a wig and beard several shades darker than his own hair, for sad' ^a.tc cf the "lady miser of Liberton" had drawn a large concourse of spectators to the ceremony, and Captain Blair feared recognition by some of those he had from time to time defrauded or robbed. Any other member of the gang would have faxed hardly under the circumstances, for t'xe ca-ptain had1 deliberately abandoned a, schcme which would have enriched them all, and had not condescended to give them his reasons. Grumbling 'among the members was rife, but no one had the courage to "bell the cat" by questioning their leader. Had Blair gone boldly to his mother's agent, and disclosed his identity, he would have been spared what he looked upon as the necessity of resuming his predatory attacks upon society. Jessie Macduff deemed h?rsslf ul-nsed by the death of Mrs. Heseldine. She had be- r lieved it would not be difficult, after the old lady recovered from the fever, to regain the position she had deliberately thrown away, 'e for Jessie had always been imbued with en exalted opinion of her own acquirements. She was now under the. necessity of procuring another situation, for Mrs. Robertson ha-3 thrown out a broad hint that sh? could net afford to maintain hen without payment. Jessie was walking in Princes-street one evening, staring moodily at her boots, which were somewhat, shabby-looking, when she went full tilt at a gentleman. She stopped his apology on seeing that he was young and comparatively good-looking, by averring that it was she who ought to apologise, for her awkwardness and want of care. "I wonder who he is," she thought, as she furtively watched him for some distance. "He must be well to do, for that diamond ring could not have cost less than £ 100. I never saw a. finer stone." And for several evenings following she paraded Princes-street in hopes of seeing him. At last. her perseverance was rewarded, and they met. He smiled and bowed—she stopped, and seemed desirous of renewing the acquaintance. Robert Johnstone was timid and reserved with the ladies, but Jessie's frankness made him feel a little more at ease. "I was thinking of going up to Arthur's Seat, to watch the sunset," she remarked; "but it is scarcely safe for a girl to be out alone at dusk, especially in a spot so lonely." "I will gladly accompany you, Miss "Macduff my uncle is the Laird of Thistle- den." "Ah! Then probably you live with him?" "Not now. We quarrelled, una I left him some months since. I have been residing with an old; lady of whose terrible death you may have heard—Mrs. Kessldine. cf Liberton." "Was she also a relative?" "No; I was in her service as companion." "How strange My mother wants a com- panion. If you would accompany me to her this evening, and postpone the walk to Arthur's Seat, I should be so glad, Miss Mac- duff." And Jessie readily acquiesced. She found ¡,Mrs. Johnstone somewhat of an invalid and almost blind. Her task would be far more irksome than what she had been accustomed to when with the old lady miser; but there were abundant tokens of wealth at Hawks- craig, the home of the Johnstones, and when, after Robert Johnstone had explained the circumstances to his mother, and Jessie was asked if she would come and live there, she consented. And thus was Jessie brought into contact with Mary Paterson and her aunt Alice, for Hawkscraig was only half a mile further south than the village of Gilmerton.

CHAPTER XX. A FIENDISH MURDER. For some weeks all went well with Jessie Macduff. She had no wish to meet Gordon Munro, her resentment against him for his desertion of her being still strong. Notwith- standing her infirmity, Mrs. Johnstone was a ak&rp woman, and soon gathered that her son thought more of her new companion than she cared for him to do. But she said nothing to him, knowing that direct opposition would most probably fan the spark into a flame. She contrived, however, to leave them to- gether as little as possible, and. the yt&ang fellow being greatly attached to his mother, it was not very difficult to keep them apart. Every afternoon, however, the old lady was accustomed to take a short nap, and, unknown to her. Jessie and young Johnstone often met in the garden for a. few minutes. "Has mother ever showed you her jewels, Jessie?" he a.sked, one afternoon, as they slowly perambulated the garden paths. "No; I was not aware she had any." "But she has some of the finest diamonds in the country. Father got them during his residence in India. The stone in this ring is one of them. I often wish she would sell them, but she will not hear of if. Strange, is it not, that she should cling to such things, while never seeing them? They are only like so many scraps of glass to her eyes. She says my wife shall have them all at her death, but I hope the next owner will have sense enough to turn most of them into gold. If mother would do that we might live in a far better style than we do now." "Are they worth such a large sum V "They were pace <tt £ 70.0'SO, and

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are probably worth more now, for diamonds are more fashionable than they were ten years since, when the country had scarcely recovered from the drain upon its resources caused by the war with France." "I should like to see them," said Jessie, musingly. "Then never mention diamonds to her, or she will think I have told you about them, and that would make her angry with me." Young Johnstone proved to be right in his belief that his mother would show Jessie her treasures some day. One afternoon Jessia entered her mistress's dressing-room so quietly that Mrs. Johnstone, usually acute in hearing approaching footsteps, did not know that Jessie was standing on the threshold of the room, watching with eager eyes the old ladgj who was holding a splendid diamond necklace to the light of the window, turning it round with her fingers, trying to catch the glitter of the stones. Suddenly she thrust the necklace into her bosom, and, turning to the door, said, sharply: "Is that you, Miss Macduff ?" She had noticed the presence of the slight, and, to other persons, imperceptible, draught from the door. "Yes, Mrs. Johnstone," replied Jessie, who had been tempted to withdraw from the room, and hurry silently away. "Then you saw my necklace? I intended showing you my jewellery this afternoon, so it does not matter. But, please, promise me not to mention to anyone outside the house that I possess such costly ornaments." "I should never dream of doing such a thing, dear Mrs. Johnstone," said Jessie. From behind one of the oaken panels of the walls of her bedroom, so cunningly contrived that Jessie would never have guessed the. presence of such a secret hiding-place, the old lady drew forth an old-fashioned jewel-box, and, opening it, she took out tray after tray of jewels, the settings evidently of foreign workmanship, for they were not like anything the enraptured Jessie had seen before. It was an extremely risky proceeding, and Jessie's Whole frame trembled with excite- ment as she swiftly abstracted a pair of pearl- shaped diamond ear-rings from one of the travs. She expected every moment, when her mistress was handling, and apparently men- tally counting, the contents of that particular tray, that the ear-rings would be missed. But, to her intense relief, no such discovery took place, and Jessie was full of exultation at her success. Next day was Sunday, and, instead of accompanying her mistress and young John- stone to church, as she had done every Sun- day morning since her engagement, Jessie intimated to Mrs. Johnstone that she would like to go and see an old friend in the city. In reality, she had no intention of going anywhere in particular she merely wished to be seen wearing the magnificent dip.mond ear-rings. Crossing George IV. Bridge she CRme faco to face with Gordon Munro, who was any- thing but pleased at the meeting, until his eyes caught the glitter of the diamonds. Where could Jessie have obtained such costly ornaments ? He must find out. "You have again fallen on your feet, I see, Jessie," he said, with a laugh, touching one of the pendants lightly with his fore- finger. "As I usually do, Mr. Munro," she Replied, in a haughty tone. "A present from your lover. I suppose?" "Is it aught to you where or how I got them?" "That remains to be seen, Jessie. I shall be better able to answer your question when I know how you have managed to become. the custodian of gems worth, I should sav. couple of hundreds at least." "It will prove to be a task you cannot perform, Mr. Munro." "I fancy not. I think I will follow you discreetly to your new home; possibly I may there learn what I wish to know." "Follow me home? You would not dare?" "And why not, pray? The road is free to me to go whither I please." "But you will not ask any questions at the house of my mistress?" "Mistress, eh ? I see it all now. You have merely borrowed those jewels for an hour or so?" "You are right, Gordon; for pity's sake, do not betray me "It rests entirely with yourself, Jessie. Tell me all you know of your mistress and her jewels. Does she possess many suoh ornaments as those you are wearing? Now, do not attempt to deceive me. If tilave the least suspicion that you are doing that I shall do what I threatened. Who is she, ill the first place?" Oh, how bitterly Jessie now regretted that she had taken tin ear-rinsjs But there was no sign of relenting in the face of Gordon Munro. "Mrs. Johnstone; she lives at Hawkscraig, near Gilmerton." Ah The widow of that old Indian officer who used to dress so strangely in the streets. Has she much jewellery ?" "I refuse to tell you anything more. Dc your worst, Gordon Munro. Go to my mistress, and tell her I have borrowed hef diamond ear-rings. Better that than what you would coerce me into doing. Good morning." You poor fool You have already told me all I want to know. If your mistresf possessed only those ear-rings, you would have said so quickly enough he muttere^ as lie watched Jessie along the bridge. Gordon Munro was trying to formuuta; some scheme whereby he might put the it, formation he had obtained from Jessie ta; practical use when lie met Captain Blair, s< gorgeously attired in the uniform of a FrtncY officer that Munro did not know and woul) have passed him had not the captain civei, the mystic sign known only to members of the gang. I have some special and important inform mation for you, captain." said Munro :1 where can I see you to-night?" ''At the corner of the West Bow, niua ° ,rePhed Blair, passing onward. "That is the safest plan after all," mtifc, tered Munro to himself, "for, though I shall only get a small share of the proceeds it