The Argosy — page 110: what you’re looking at

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

Mrs. Raven's Temptation. 95 He picked up the packet. It had no superscription; but when he turned it over, he saw that it had been sealed with his father’s ring; the red stone ring, which had dropped at his feet that morning at Daylight Villa, and which he now wore on his hand. In a few hasty words he strove to convey to Alice some of the significance of this: but she hardly understood. She could gather at least that the woman had professed to deliver messages from his dead father, and that, first of all, the ring, and now this sealed packet, had been brought forward to ratify their truth. It was sufficient to startle and shock her. ‘But you don’t believe it?” she said. ‘‘ Believe, I mean, that there can be in it anything supernatural P” “No,” answered Frank: ‘‘ and yet “Don’t open it,” she quickly interposed; ‘‘don’t proceed any farther in the matter, without taking such advice as you know your father would have liked to see you take.” _ “Whose advice can I seek?” he said, bewildered. “I cannot deal with this myself.” “Could you not ask it from Mr. Connell ?” suggested Alice, as she carefully restored the displaced plant to its pot. : ‘¢-Ves—I think I must,” rejoined Frank, slowly. ‘‘ Philip and he will come in together, I suppose. Under the circumstances, I could not speak to my uncle without first explaining to Philip, and getting his permission, as it were. Perhaps I have done too much without advice already. I went to the police.” ‘The police !” exclaimed Alice. ‘“‘T went to them upon quitting Daylight Villa, chiefly to ask them to keep an eye on this woman’s movements, and, if possible, find out where she comes from, and what her connections are. I cannot deny, Miss Cleare, that she told me strange things, and dvew stranger inferences from them. I wonder what can be in this envelope. It feels like money.” Alice Cleare touched it, and assented. ““T suppose,” said Frank, confidentially, “that you feel sure you make no mistake in thinking the figure you saw in the garden the night before last resembled the figure you saw in the lane at Ravenstoke P” “‘T think they were the same.” ‘“The woman alluded to the ghost to-day,” said Frank. ‘‘ But, in truth, we have enough mystery just now without ghosts. That shriek here—which nobody owns to, and nobody can fathom : what do you think of that P” ‘I try not to think about it,” she answered cheerily. ‘‘ There are sO many things not to be understood or explained that it is easy to tolerate one more.” ‘““But do you mean to say that you can keep from forming an opinion on these things?” asked Frank. 7) GOnnlGaooks (GO