The Argosy — page 374: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

350 The Village Blacksmith. what became of that, and he bundled it back so roughly that the little creature woke and began to cry. Mark had no time to listen to the wailing infant; neither had he any further interest, for the present, in Vera and Reuben. His one thought was Janet, and he set off at once to the blacksmith’s cottage to find her. He did not go by the lane, but took a short cut through the Rectory grounds, which brought him out half-way up the hill, on the top of which was Reuben’s cottage. There was no light to be seen when he got there. The door was locked, and the cottage, to all appearance, was empty. Not a sound was to be heard inside, and no response was made to his knocks. He walked round to the back and peeped in at the window which he knew to be Reuben’s bedroom, and saw a faint glimmer in the fireplace from the smouldering ashes of the fire Janet had kindled before she went to bed. As he peered through the window, which was a lattice, he found it was unfastened ; and, pushing it open, he climbed into the house and groped about for matches. On striking a light he found Reuben’s bed had been slept in, but in that room there was no trace of Janet’s presence. He listened attentively, but not a sound was to be heard except the slow ticking of the clock in the kitchen, whither he next crept on tip-toe. It was empty, and, as far as Mark could judge, no one had been there but Reuben, whose chair by the fire- place stood just as he had left it. Mark, however, determined to pursue his investigations still further. If Janet were not in the house, he could not do better than make use of this opportunity to look for any letters from her in Reuben’s desk and pockets. First of all, though, he might as well go upstairs. Accordingly, up he went. The door of Janet’s room was open, and Mark not being troubled with any delicacy of feeling—reverence of any kind was foreign to his character—walked in and found his suspicions confirmed. Janet’s bed was open, just as, apparently, she had jumped out of it. There were articles of clothing lying about the room, for she had evidently made but a hasty toilet ; and there was— yes, there was a baby’s sock on the floor, a baby’s hood and cloak carefully folded on a chest of drawers. He picked up the pink sock and put it in his pocket. It was a piece of circumstantial evidence which might be useful after this night of surprises was over. Janet had been home, then, and the baby was hers. These two facts were clearly established. But what Reuben could be doing with the infant in the middle of the night was as great a mystery as ever. That, however, did not trouble Mark so much as the fact that, though she had evidently been in the house that night, Janet was not to be found. Where was she ? @ COMM NOOKS (GO) uf