The Cambria Daily Leader

Synopsis of Instalment 1.—Felix Masse- reene, returning homo unexpectedly I from India. finds in a deserted chapel near his home a girl apparently pre- pared for burial. Her appearance makes him think that she is not dead, and be succeeds in rousing her from the trance into which she has fallen. He- leaves her in the care of Rebecca Whitmore. I caretaker of the adjoining lodge, which was occupied by his mother before her I death. On arriving at Westwood Court he finds that his father, Lord West- wood. has disappeared, leaving an un- finlahed letter in which he refers to some secret that has overshadowed his life. I Two days' search by Keiller, the solici- tor, and Lupus, a detective, have failed to trace him. CHAPTER V. I A Clue. I Felix walked back to tho Court carry- ing the hook, and just before he got to the house, overtook Lupus, to wJlOm he landed it, explaining that lie had been through every room in the Lady's Lodge, and this was the solp result of his search. I don't know if you can make any- thing of it," he added, half interroga- tively, but Lupus did not reply to the, question, and he continued, Where have you been this morning ? I paid a visit to Lord Westwood's doctor, for it struck me that there was a possibility his lordship had suffered from some fatal disease, and, if so, it would partly explain why the unfinished letter was begun. But Doctor Sibley says Lord Westwood was a singularly healthy man, who in the natural course of events would have lived to a good old age, so that idea is disposed of." I daresay you have found another to take its place?'' Yes," returned the detective quietly. I come back to my former opinion that something in the nature of a warning had been given, but it will be difficult to prove unless we find some clue among his lordship's private papers." We will begin a search directly after lunch." ¡.;aid Felix, and accordingly, early in the afternoon he and the detective met iu the library, which was the room in which Lord Westwood habitually sat, and did his' writing. His desk was on the table, its contents having already been examined by r- Keiller, without yielding any result. The iron safe let in the wall was as yet un- touched, and this Felix opened. One by one he went through the papers until the last had been examined. None of them threw the smallest ray of light on their disappearance. No good," l'olix said, disappointedly, as he laid aside the last document, the safe is now quite empty, and I think I may claim to have read every sbrcd of writing it contained." Lupus struck a match, and lighted a candle, by whose aid he examined the in- terior—all smooth iron, painted green, and without an apparently irregularity on the surface. Suddenly he gave utter- ance to a low exclamation, and pointing to the upper portion of the safe on the left hand side, asked Captain Massereene if he saw anything out of the common, The young oiffcer, after a prolonged scrutiny, replied in the negative. "Your eyes aren't as well trained as mine," chuckled Lupus, delighted to score off the younger man. Look a little closer—here, and you'll see a grey hair. Felix did as he was bidden, I see it right enough now, but I don't understand why you should make such a fu-s about it You'll understand presently. See, Captain Massereene, I am pulling it gently, but it won't bridge, neither does it break—why is that Stuck to the paint perhape." Nothing of the sort. It's shut in, which means that there is a secret door to I tli(, and in closing it, one of Lord Westwood's hairs got shut in too. Lucky for us it did, otherwise I'm afraid we should have been sold, for the panel, off whatever it is, is most beautifully con- cea led. Now for a bux of tools, perhaps even a jemmy.' i The operation of opening took sonim." time, but eventually it was successful, and an inner receptacle about a foot square was revealed—to Hit huge delight of Lupus, whose pleasure in his own, alertness was almost childlike. Inside they iiund a carved brass coffer, and on the top of this an envelope. Felix, asr ho took these articles out, and laid them, on the table, felt a not unnatural thrill, of excitement. Here, most likely, was tlh key to his father's secret. The envelope was a thin foreign oneJ white, and without superscription; it held' a long narrow leaf, on which was, sketched in Indian ink, a curiously, shaped cross, having in- the middle w blood red disc. Below waa printed in Greek letters the word, Azrael." Now, what is the meaning of this, 11 wonder," murmured Lupus, bending; over it with a puzzled brow, and touch-* ing it with his Sngcr. tC I think I can explain," replied FelixW I In the East, Azrael is supposed to MI the anged of Death, and this must bSV4 been the warning sent to my father which.! caused him to write that letter. YOlI. see the ink of the drawing is quite fresh/* Lupus nodded intelljgently. Just as I expected! Now, as to that envelope. It has no mark, or address, so! it couldn't have come through the post,i and yet the leaf is a foreign one! More-( over, it and the envelope have a tiny h<? as if a string had gone through. ?ui let's open the brass box, sir, then w ujav have something jwsitive tOe/go npon. Felix was on the point of obeying when a sudden, and startling interrup- tion came. The French window Wruf' pushed farther open from the outside, and in the aperture stood the fignre of at Hindoo woman, dressed in the white gar< monts, and shrouding muslin veil of hell country. She was bent and old, and over her brown face strayed a few, grizzled locks of hair giving her at peculiarly elfin appearance. With ef gesture of command she lifted her right hand, and addressed herself to Felix in w dialect of Northern India with which hoj happened to be acquainted. In the name of Abdul TIafU, thaf Parsee, I greet you! You waste your time seeking for that which, without my, aid, you will never find. Invoke the wis- dom of the East, you who have seen it9 wonders, and the mystery shall be re- vealed before your eyes—yes, here in this; crystal which I present to you now"—I and in speaking she drew from under het ( veil a glass globe about the size of a.1 tangerine orange, upon which shet breathed before holding it out for his in- spection. Her utterance of the name of Abdul Haii? had compelled Massereene? attention, for the man was a dweller in Northern India, and a studrmt of the occult sciences, with whom he had only few months ago been brought into inti-i I mate contact, and for whose powers he" felt a profound admiration. He hesitated, and the woman boldly advanced, holding the crystal in 8.,h & I position that he could hardly avoid look- ing into it. Out of its opalescent depths a girl's face smiled up at hfair and delicate, none other than that of the girl whom he had left at the Lady's Lodge, only a few hours ago. Almost simultaneously, the Hindoo let fall the crystal which broke into frag- ments on the polished oak floor, and from. it arose a thick white vapour, which in- creased in volume witli. such extraordi- nary rapidity that in a few secqnds the: room seemed full of its milky exhala- tions. "Take care, ?r—take care! The woma? means mischief-1m sure of it!" cried the voice of the detective, which sounded strangely muffled and far off, and at tha same time Felix became conscious of a suffocating feeling that grew horribly op. ¡ pressive, and threatened to choke h im., The room was now so completely filled with vapour that he might have fancied, I himself in a cloud of white steam, which entirely concealed his companions from view. For the first time he feared treachery. He rushed to the window, both doors of which he threw widely open, thus letting in a fresh draught of air. Lupus was leaning against the OP}sitû wall, -asp, ?ing painfully for breath, but the Hindoo had disappeared! (To be Continued To-morrow.)