The Argosy — page 355: what you’re looking at

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

332 Mrs. Raven’s Temptation. It was long before he could realise whether it was fact or imagination that, while he stood beside the motionless, cowering figure of Mrs. Raven, he had heard her murmur, more than once: ‘‘ Theodore—Theodore Agate! you are avenged!” CHAPTER XLII. THE LAST OF POOR JAMES. Mr. CONNELL resolved to execute the latter part of his commission first. For there seemed to him to be no time to be lost in securing the presence of Cran. Nurse Hannah was very clever—almost too clever, he thought. Perhaps she was rash. The Minister was shocked to find himself conscious of a certain humour in his errand, as he stretched himself on tiptoe, and thrust over the railing-head the envelope of some charitable circular which he chanced to have in his pocket. Mr. Connell would never again be able to pass a dangling string or a chalk hieroglyphic without a secret wonderment. He made his way back to the house, and asked the first servant he met where Miss Evelyn was. ‘The servant chanced to be a great crony of James Sloam’s, and she was holding her apron to her eyes. She led him to Miss Evelyn’s room. Mr. Connell knocked boldly. There was a strange, shuffling sound in the room, as of some heavy article suddenly pushed along the ground. ‘Then there was a second’s pause, and then the voice of her he was seeking called ‘‘ Come in,” and at the same instant she un- locked the door. ‘Miss Agate,” he said, ‘‘there is terrible trouble in this house.” “Yes,” she answered quietly, ‘‘ I know that.” ‘The doctor will be here in a few minutes,” he went on, struck and chilled by something in her manner. ‘‘In the meantime, I re- gret to say that I think the nurse suspects Mr. Frank has been in some way poisoned. We must have Mrs. Raven out of her son’s chamber, before the medical man comes. I shall want your assist- ance to coax her downstairs, where we will both sit with her.” Evelyn did not answer him ; indeed, she scarcely seemed to follow his words. Only she glanced back into her room; and his eyes followed hers. And then Mr. Connell saw something trivial in itself, but significant under the circumstances. The drapings of the toilet-table were slightly caught up, and revealed the handle of a small portman- teau, with its unfastened strap trailing out upon the carpet. ‘This was the heavy thing whose hasty thrusting away Mr. Connell had heard. She had been preparing for an untimely departure. The Minister became at once cool and ready, _ It was one thing to follow up suspicions which might be ill-grounded, and quite another ECOMICMIOO KS, EO)