CHAPTER XLV.

A FEW WORDS BY SPENSER TAIT.

Whenthe case has been stated, when the witnesses for and against have given their evidence, when the counsel on both sides have delivered their speeches, it is then customary for the judge to sum up the entire matter for the direction of the jury. In this instance I am the judge, and here is the Larcher affair summed up for the understanding of the public. It has fallen to my share to wind up the story, so here I set down such results as happened from the confession of Mrs. Hilliston.

The immediate result of her death was the marriage of the widower to Mrs. Bezel, which took place, so to speak, when the latter was on her deathbed. She lingered out another two months, and died in the arms of her husband, at peace with all the world. Denis heartily forgave her, and the only bitter drop in her cup was the absence of her child. Yet when Captain Larcher suggested that Jenny should be told the truth, and brought to say good-by to her mother, Mrs. Bezel, with a self-denial for which I hardly gave her credit, refused to permit such a thing. She thought that Jenny would be happier if she was ignorant of the truth, and moreover, Mrs. Bezel shrank from letting her child know how she had lived during these many years. At all events Jenny never learned the truth,and Mrs. Bezel died without seeing her daughter. That she forgave Hilliston for having deprived her of the child is, I think, a proof of her goodness of heart, for there is no doubt that he acted selfishly and cruelly in doing so. But enough of Mrs. Bezel, her faults and virtues. She lies in Hampstead Cemetery under a plain stone of rose-colored granite, inscribed "To the memory of Mona Hilliston." So she had her wish at last, and died an honest woman.

Captain Larcher returned with Kerry to the cottage in Nightingale Lane, as he could not make up his mind to resume his own name, or tear himself away from the bookworm life of twenty-five years. No one knew the truth save Claude, Jenny, and myself, for Hilliston being absent from England does not count. The vicar was also enlightened on the subject, and expressed much astonishment at the strange series of events which had culminated in the death and confession of Mrs. Hilliston. Unwilling to lose his old crony he heartily approved of Larcher's determination to resume his usual life, and so the matter was settled. Captain Larcher will remain Mr. Ferdinand Paynton to the end of his days, and will still be a mystery to the gossips of Thorston; how great a one they can never guess.

But a notable change has taken place in his habits. He is no longer a recluse, a misanthrope. When I am at the Manor House he visits me there; he is a constant guest at the vicarage, and may be seen frequently fishing beside Kerry on the banks of the Lax. Following the example of his master, Denis Bantry also renounced his name, which he superstitiously regarded as one of ill-omen, and called himself Kerry for therest of his life. If he was grieved for his unhappy sister, her life and her death, he finds consolation in the society of Mrs. Claude Larcher, who conducts herself toward him as a niece should do. But the relationship is not known beyond the walls of Rose Cottage, lest it might lead to inquiries, and Jenny is still known as the daughter of Mr. Paynton.

That Claude should call Mr. Paynton "father" is of course only regarded as natural by the village. Has he not married Jenny, and does he not stand in the relation of a son to the old man? Thorston gossips think he is a most perfect son-in-law, and never guess that any nearer relationship exists between them.

Of course Jenny and Claude were married as speedily as possible, and I do not know a happier couple. Mrs. Larcher has quite converted me with regard to the fair sex, and plumes herself on her victory. She has the audacity to say that she will yet succeed in getting me married, but I think that is beyond her powers. Mr. Linton married them, and they spent their honeymoon at the Manor House, which I lent them for the occasion. Indeed, while at Thorston they invariably live with me, and I should be offended did they take up their quarters anywhere else. Not that they have any desire to do so, for Rose Cottage is rather small, and, besides, the Manor is within easy distance of it, so that Jenny can see her father—or, rather, her father-in-law—as often as she chooses.

Claude still goes to different parts of the world to build bridges and construct railways. Sometimes his wife goes with him, but she does not like to be so long away from Thorston. Paynton is now an old man, and cannot live long, so Mrs. Larcher wishes to benear him as much as possible. Besides, the cares of the nursery take up her attention, so I think that in a few months Claude will settle down to business in London, and make his home at Thorston, as he always intended to do. There is a pleasant little place not far from the Manor which I have been commissioned to buy for him, so I really think that next year Claude and Jenny will take up their residence among us.

The only person who disapproved of the marriage was Frank Linton, who accused Jenny of jilting him. This was utter nonsense, as she never had any intention of becoming his wife. However, the author considers himself badly treated, and has taken up his quarters in London, where he writes books, and poses in Chelsea circles. But I do not think he will ever write so excellent a book as "A Whim of Fate," perhaps because Mrs. Claude Larcher refuses to tell him any more plots. She has a good reason for so doing, as the troubles which arose out of her finding the murder papers in the garret of Rose Cottage have startled her in no small degree. Still, as I tell her, she must look on such troubles as a blessing in disguise, for, after all, they led to her marriage and present happiness. But Mrs. Claude does not see the matter in so amiable a light.

Finally, Hilliston! It is hard to say what has become of that gentleman. After the death of his second wife, he withdrew from business and went abroad. There I believe he is still, and from what I hear of him at odd times he seems to have developed into a kind of Wandering Jew. France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Russia, he has seen all these places, and is constantly traveling about, no doubt trying tolive down the past. Whether he will succeed in doing so it is hard to say.

After some consideration I have come to the conclusion that we have been rather hard on Hilliston. He did not love Mrs. Larcher, in spite of his wife's insane jealousy on the point, and I believe he was sincerely attached to Mona Bantry. The blot on his character is that he did not marry her when she first came to London, and seeing that he was in love with her, I profess my inability to explain why he did not do so. Perhaps it was on account of her low birth, or the circumstances which connected her with Jeringham, but at all events he did not marry her till it was too late for the poor creature's happiness. Otherwise I do not see how he could have acted differently. Louisa Sinclair was guilty of the murder, but as she did it on his account, and was wildly in love with him, it was to his honor that he protected her as he did. Whether he would have told the truth had Mrs. Larcher been convicted I do not know, but as Louisa Sinclair did not leave for America till Mrs. Larcher was released, I think Hilliston would have persuaded her to confess openly in the event of a conviction.

It is true that he married her for her money, but I think he was touched by her devotion, and gave her some love. No doubt it was Mrs. Hilliston's remorse for condemning his father to lifelong seclusion that made her so kind to Claude when he was a lad. Now it is easy to see why Hilliston was reluctant that Claude and I should investigate the case. He was afraid lest the truth should be found out, and his wife arrested. I was wrong in my surmise. Hilliston was not afraid for himself, but for the unhappy womanwho had killed Jeringham in mistake for him. The whole mystery would have been solved years ago had Dicky Pental spoken out as he should have done. But the fear of being shut up in an asylum closed his mouth, and so the case was at a standstill for five-and-twenty long years.

It was strange that Jenny, who set the ball rolling, should have been the indirect means of avenging her father's murder—or rather of solving the mystery which concealed it. Had she not discovered those papers in the garret, she would not have been able to give Frank Linton the plot of "A Whim of Fate." Had that novel not been written and published, Mrs. Bezel would not have read it, and thereby have been induced to write to Claude. Had she not done so, Hilliston would not have told Claude the truth, thence we would not have taken up the investigation and solved the mystery. It was Jenny who was responsible for the whole. After five-and-twenty years the child of the murdered man unconsciously enlightened us as to the person who had slain him. Fate works in strange ways.

But I do not wish to figure further as a detective. This one experience has been quite enough for me. The thought, the anguish, the trouble is too worrying. The next criminal case in the Larcher family can look after itself. I abandon the rôle of detective, and thus put the last word to my only criminal case.

THE END.

A SELECTED LIST OFNOVELS AND TALESPUBLISHED BYTHE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO.,31 E. 17th St.(Union Square),New York.

Alphabetically arranged by Authors.

Cloth PaperAbout, Edmond.Mother of a Marquise $0 75 $0 50Adee, David G.No. 19 State Street 75 75Alarçon, P. A. de.Moors and Christians 75 75" " The Child of the Ball 75 75" " The Three-Cornered Hat 75 75Allen, Grant.Blood Royal 75 75" The Scallywag 1 00 1 00Alexander, Mrs.Broken Links. A Love Story 1 00 1 00" The Snare of the Fowler 1 00 1 00Bain, R. N.Pretty Michal 75 75Barr, Robt.In a Steamer Chair 75 75Barrett, Frank.Out of the Jaws of Death 1 00 1 00" The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane 75 75Barrie, J. M.Auld Licht Idylls 1 00 1 00" A Window in Thrums 1 00 25" My Lady Nicotine 1 00 25Bazán, Emilia Pardo.A Christian Woman 75 75" " A Wedding Trip 75 75" " Morriña 1 00 1 00" " Swan of Vilamorta 75 75" " The Angular Stone 75 75Bazin, René.A Blot of Ink 75 75Beckett, C. H.Who is John Noman? 75 75Bethune, J. G.The Third Man 75 75Bierce, Ambrose.Can Such Things Be? 75 75Braddon, M. E.All Along the River 1 00 1 00Brehet, Alfred.Bras d'Acier 75 75Bryce, Lloyd.Friends in Exile 1 00 1 00Buchanan, Robert.The Wedding Ring 75 75Clifford, Mrs. W.K. A Wild Proxy 1 00 1 00

Cobb, Jr., Sylvanus.Bion, the Wanderer $0 75 $0 50" " Gunmaker of Moscow 75 75" " Karmel, the Scout 75 75" " Orion, the Goldbeater 75 75" " Painter of Parma 75 75" " Smuggler of King's Cove 75 75Daudet, Alphonse.Rose and Ninette 75 75Dale, Darley.Lottie's Wooing 1 00 1 00Dane, Daniel.Vengeance is Mine 1 00 1 00Debans, Camille.Gabriel's Vocation 75 75Eliot, Annie.An Hour's Promise 75 75Farjeon, B. L.A Fair Jewess 1 00 1 00" The Last Tenant 1 00 1 00Fawcett, Edgar.A New York Family 1 00 1 00Fenn, G. Manville.Commodore Junk 75 75" Nurse Elisia 1 00 1 00" Witness to the Deed 1 00 1 00Feuillet, Octave.An Artist's Honor 75 75Flammarion, Camille.Lumen 75 75" " Uranie 75 75Floyd, Isobel Henderson.Stolen America 75 75Francke, Paul M.A Blot of Ink 75 75Gautier, Théophile.Juancho the Bull-Fighter 75 75Gordon, Julien.His Letters 1 00 1 00" Marionettes 1 00 1 00Grand, Sarah.The Heavenly Twins 1 00 1 00Gréville, Mme. Henri.A Mystery 75 75Grigorovitch, Dimitry.The Cruel City 75 75Hake, Thos. St. E.Within Sound of the Weir 75 75Hale, Edward Everett.A New England Boyhood 1 00 1 00" " East and West 1 00 1 00" " Sybil Knox 1 00 1 00Hannan, Charles.A Swallow's Wing 75 75Harben, W. N.White Marie 75 75Harland, Henry.As it was Written 1 00 1 00" Grandison Mather 1 25 50" Latin-Quarter Courtship 75 75" Mrs. Peixada 1 00 1 00" The Two Voices 50 50" Two Women or One? 75 75" Yoke of the Thorah 1 00 1 00Harland, Marion.Mr. Wayt's Wife's Sister 1 00 1 00Harris, A. L.The Fatal Request 75 75Harrison, Mrs. Burton.A Daughter of the South 1 00 1 00" Flower de Hundred 1 00 1 00" The Anglomaniacs 1 00 1 00Hatton, Joseph.Under the Great Seal 1 00 1 00

Hawthorne, Julian.John Parmelee's Curse $0 75 $0 50Hope, Anthony.Father Stafford 75 75Hornung, E.Tiny Luttrell 1 00 1 00Hudson, W. C.Jack Gordon, Knight-Errant 75 75" On the Rack 75 75" The Diamond Button 75 75" The Dugdale Millions 75 75" The Man with a Thumb 75 75" Vivier 75 75Inca-Pancha-Ozollo.The Lost Inca 75 75Jokai, Maurus.Dr. Dumány's Wife 75 75" Pretty Michal 75 75Keeling, Elsa D'Esterre.Orchardscroft 1 00 1 00Keenan, Henry F.Trajan 1 50 50Keith, Leslie.'Lisbeth 1 00 1 00La Forest, Debut.Renée and Colette 75 75Landon, Melville D.Thirty Years of Wit, etc 1 50 50Lathrop, Geo. Parsons.Two Sides of a Story 75 75Lemaître, Jules.Prince Hermann, Regent 75 75Le Queux, Wm.Strange Tales of a Nihilist 75 75Loti, Pierre.The Book of Pity and of Death 75 75" Jean Berny, Sailor 1 00 1 00Mairet, Mme. Jeanne.An Artist 75 75Mallock, W. H.A Human Document 75 75Marryat, Florence.Parson Jones 1 00 1 00Mary, Jules.The Shadow of Roger Laroque 75 75McClelland, M. G.Burkett's Lock 75 75McClelland, M. G.Madame Silva 75 75McDougall, W. H.The Hidden City 75 75Meade, L. T.Out of the Fashion 1 00 1 00" The Medicine Lady 1 00 1 00Meredith, Wm. T.Not of Her Father's Race 75 75Mitford, Bertrand.'Tween Snow and Fire 75 75Molesworth, Mrs.Leona 1 00 1 00Montague, C. H., andC. W. Dyar. Written in Red 75 75Moore, Frank F.I Forbid the Banns 1 00 1 00Mouriot, Mlle. V.Madame Rosély 1 00 1 00Ohnet, Georges.A Debt of Hatred 75 75" Nimrod & Co 75 75" The Soul of Pierre 75 75Page, Anna Dyer.An Artist 75 75" " A Mystery 75 75Parr, Mrs.The Squire 1 00 1 00Potapeeko, N. E.A Russian Priest 75 75" The General's Daughter 75 75Quiller-Couch, A. T. ("Q").A Blot of Ink 75 75" " Blue Pavilions 75 75

Quiller-Couch, A. T. ("Q").Dead Man's Rock $0 75 $0 50" " I Saw Three Ships 75 75" " Noughts and Crosses 75 75" " The Splendid Spur 75 75" " The Astonishing Historyof Troy Town 75 75Quigg, L. E.Tin Types 1 50 50Rickett, J. Compton.The Quickening of Caliban 1 00 1 00Richebourg, Émile.Old Raclot's Million 75 75Roberts, Morley.Mate of the Vancouver 75 75Russell, W. Clark.List, Ye Landsmen 1 00 1 00" Romance of a Transport 1 00 1 00" The Emigrant Ship 1 00 1 00Sacher-Masoch, L. von.The New Job 75 75Sale, Pierre.The Price of a Coronet 75 75Shapcott, Reuben.Auto. of Mark Rutherford 1 00 1 00" Mark Rutherford's Deliverance 1 00 1 00" Revolution in Tanner's Lane 1 00 1 00Sherard, R. H.By Right, Not Law 75 75Souvestre, Émile.Man and Money 75 75Spencer, Mrs. G. E.A Plucky One 75 75Sterne, Stuart.The Story of Two Lives 75 75Stoddard, Elizabeth.Two Men 75 75" Temple House 75 75" The Morgesons 75 75Stretton, Hesba.Half-Brothers 1 00 1 00Sylva, Carmen.Edleen Vaughan 75 75Thomas, Annie.Utterly Mistaken 1 00 1 00Thompson, Maurice.At Love's Extremes 75 75" A Banker of Bankersville 75 75Tompkins, E. S. De G.An Honest Hypocrite 75 75Valdes, A. P.Faith 75 75Valentine, Jane.Time's Scythe 75 75Van Zile, Edward S.Last of the Van Slacks 75 75" " Don Miguel, etc. 75 75Verne, Jules.Cæsar Cascabel 1 00 1 00" Mistress Branican 1 00 1 00Walworth, Mrs. J. H.Baldy's Point 75 75" " Bar Sinister 75 75" " New Man at Rossmere 75 75" " Without Blemish 75 75Weyman, S. J.Story of Francis Cludde 1 00 1 00" The Man in Black 1 00 1 00Woolf, Philip, M. D.Who is Guilty? 75 75Wood, J. S.An Old Beau 1 00 1 00Zola, Émile.Doctor Pascal 1 00 1 00" The Downfall 1 50 50

Transcriber Notes:Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the speakers. Those words were retained as-is.Errors in punctuation and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected unless otherwise noted.On page 31, "Nevertheles" was replaced with "Nevertheless".On page 51, the comma after "John Parver herself" was replaced with a period.On page 53, "Hillison" was replaced with "Hilliston".On page 73, the period after "valued this spendor" was replaced with a question mark.On page 82, "fufilled" was replaced with "fulfilled/".On page 102, "CHAPER" was replaced with "CHAPTER".On page 107, "the the" was replaced with "the".On page 116, "was" was added before "by no means".On page 122, "Jerringham" was replaced with "Jeringham".On page 125, a quotation mark as added after "That's strange.".On page 127, "Hillston" was replaced with "Hilliston".On page 136, "was" was added before "now perfectly composed".On page 145, the period after "description of the scarfpin" was replaced with a question mark.On page 150, "bundle old newspapers" was replaced with "bundle of old newspapers".On page 162, "clever conversation that" was replaced with "clever conversation than".On page 162, "and like to" was replaced with "and liked to".On page 208, "idylic" was replaced with "idyllic".On page 210, the quotation mark was removed after "to their accomplishment.".On page 212, a comma was added after "he said".On page 224, the period after "only be Jeringham" was replaced with a comma.On page 267, "Jerringham" was replaced with "Jeringham".On page 280, the period after "with the case" was replaced with a comma.On page 284, a comma was added after "into the garden".On page 311, the period after "we ought to proceed" was replaced with a question mark.On page 323, the quotation mark after "not tended to improve it." was removed.On the first page of Selected List of Novels and Tales, a period was added after "Edmond".On the second page of Selected List of Novels and Tales, ".." was added in the line for "Farjeon, B. L."

Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the speakers. Those words were retained as-is.

Errors in punctuation and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected unless otherwise noted.

On page 31, "Nevertheles" was replaced with "Nevertheless".

On page 51, the comma after "John Parver herself" was replaced with a period.

On page 53, "Hillison" was replaced with "Hilliston".

On page 73, the period after "valued this spendor" was replaced with a question mark.

On page 82, "fufilled" was replaced with "fulfilled/".

On page 102, "CHAPER" was replaced with "CHAPTER".

On page 107, "the the" was replaced with "the".

On page 116, "was" was added before "by no means".

On page 122, "Jerringham" was replaced with "Jeringham".

On page 125, a quotation mark as added after "That's strange.".

On page 127, "Hillston" was replaced with "Hilliston".

On page 136, "was" was added before "now perfectly composed".

On page 145, the period after "description of the scarfpin" was replaced with a question mark.

On page 150, "bundle old newspapers" was replaced with "bundle of old newspapers".

On page 162, "clever conversation that" was replaced with "clever conversation than".

On page 162, "and like to" was replaced with "and liked to".

On page 208, "idylic" was replaced with "idyllic".

On page 210, the quotation mark was removed after "to their accomplishment.".

On page 212, a comma was added after "he said".

On page 224, the period after "only be Jeringham" was replaced with a comma.

On page 267, "Jerringham" was replaced with "Jeringham".

On page 280, the period after "with the case" was replaced with a comma.

On page 284, a comma was added after "into the garden".

On page 311, the period after "we ought to proceed" was replaced with a question mark.

On page 323, the quotation mark after "not tended to improve it." was removed.

On the first page of Selected List of Novels and Tales, a period was added after "Edmond".

On the second page of Selected List of Novels and Tales, ".." was added in the line for "Farjeon, B. L."

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