The Argosy — page 55: what you’re looking at

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

The Mystery of Allan Grale. 25 for any lengthened period, George contrived to get a few days’ absence more than once. On each of these occasions he went to Edinburgh, having previously written to someone in the far North to meet him there. Thus the weeks passed on, and the primroses and violets came out in the Dering lanes, and the trees were budding in the woods and hedges. It happened that about this time Dr. Palmer was in attendance upon John Brice, the former head gardener at the Court. The old man lived in one of the lodges, opposite to that occupied by. the gate-keeper and his family. He had been suffering from a smart attack of pleurisy, but was getting the better of it. One evening at dusk, when he was sitting up by fire-light in his easy chair, and Dr. Palmer had called in and was chatting with him, Allan Grale’s name chanced to be incidentally mentioned. Old Brice looked up suddenly. ‘‘ He stays away a good time, sir, don’t he?” remarked he. “Pretty long,” replied Dr. Palmer. “I—I suppose he’s all right, sir?” said the old man, hesitatingly. “T suppose so. All nght in what way do you mean?” “ [ve thought of it over and over again since he doesn’t come back ; but—you remember that half-witted fellow, Sam Towne, who comes here by fits and starts trying to get work, don’t you, sir?” Brice broke off to ask. Dr. Palmer did remember. | “Sam was about the neighbourhood last autumn, picking up a job at late harvesting, and what not. When that was over, he tried to get taken on by Mr. Grale’s gardeners to help in the greenhouses. One evening he came striding over here, right into this room, sir, to tell me he had lost the chance, for somebody else had been engaged. It was a little time after Mr. Allan Grale went away.” “Well?” cried Dr. Palmer, looking at the speaker. “ Perhaps talking of the Grales put him in mind of it, for he began tellmg me that one night, quite late, he had seen Mr. Allan and another gentleman at the Black Pool, having high words together. And he went on to say that they went on to blows, sir,” continued Brice, after a slight pause ; ‘‘ or, anyway, to scuffle with one another, and that the one jumped into the Pool, or was flung in, Towne couldn’t be sure which, for the moonlight shone on the other side of the Pool, and this side was in the shade; but he thought the one was Mr. Allan.” Dr. Palmer did not speak. He was recalling what Agnes had told him—that Miss Vivian feared Allan had committed suicide. “Towne said it frightened him out of his wits—as if the soft had any wits to be fnghtened out of !—and he hid himself back amongst the trees. And the other gentleman made off, he said, and the one was left drowning. “Twas a curious tale, sir!” GOMMGIO@ S (C(O) _d |