The Argosy — page 215: what you’re looking at

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

198 A Mystery. was the same man, what had he been doing to take two or three hours to get into the Evesham road? Dzid he bear any resemblance to William Brook, Lockett P—you would have known Brook.” ‘‘None at all that IT saw. As to knowing Brook, or anybody else, I can’t answer for it on such a night as that,” added the farmer after a pause. ‘“ Brook would have known me, though, I take it, daylight or dark, seeing me close to my own place, and all.” ‘It was the other man,” affirmed St. George exultantly, ‘‘and now we will find him.” An advertisement was next inserted in the local newspapers by Mr. St. George, and also in the 77mes. “Gentleman Wanted. ‘The traveller who got out of the Birming- ham train at Worcester railway station on the roth of last October, towards the close of the afternoon, and who spoke to a gentleman on the platform respecting the trains to Evesham and to Cheltenham, and who was subsequently overtaken a little way out of Worcester by the same gentleman and given a few miles’ lift in his gig, and was put down in a cross-country lane to continue his walk to Evesham: this traveller 1s earnestly requested to give an address where he may be communicated with, to Alfred St. George, Esquire, Timberdale, Worcester. By doing so, he will be conferring a great favour.” For two long weeks the advertisements brought forth no reply. At the end of that time there came to Mr. St. George a post-letter, short and sweet. “Tell me what I am wanted for.—R. W.” It was dated Post Office, Cheltenham. To the Post Office, Cheltenham, St. George, consulting with Mr. Delorane, wrote a brief explanation. ‘That he (R. W.) had been mistaken by some people who saw him that night in the gig, for a gentleman named Brook, a native of Timberdale, who had been missing since about that time. This, as R. W. might perceive, was not pleasant for himself, St. George ; and he begged R. W. to come forward and set the erroneous idea at rest, or to state where he could be seen. Expenses, if any, would be cheerfully paid. This letter brought forth the following answer :— “Dear Sir,—I regret that your courtesy to me that stormy night should have led to misapprehension. I the more regret it that I am not able to comply with your request to come forward. At present that is impossible. The truth is, I am, and have been for some months now, lying under a cloud, partly through my own credulous fault, chiefly through the designing faults of another man, and I dare not show myself. It may be many more months yet before I am cleared: that I shall be, in time, there exists no doubt of, and I shall then gladly bear personal testimony to the fact that — it was I myself who was with you. Meanwhile, perhaps the following statement will suffice: which I declare upon my honour to be true. ‘I was hiding at Crewe, when I got a letter from a friend at Eve- Gomichooks. co