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| The Moorcroft Manor Mystery By J. R. WILMOT (Author of "Where There's a Will", ete. etched portrait of Mr, Richard ung over the fireplace in the bar-parlour, and had been commented upon by those ho ered over their pewter J 'slow, Yet it is on record that Tur. in did frequent She Croned Kens 1 regularly as his other pressing aties would permit, and whenever ¢ was not apprised of the fact that 1veral ambitious marshals of the law 'ere secreted at the Inn awaiting the leasure of a more conventional ins 'oduction, Peter Slade, the present landsord, ad inhercted a good deal of the l onhemie that characterised the inn- sepers of the old-fashioned hes- ilies and marked them off defin- ely from the stiff-shirted custodians f the typically modern hotel, Peter as, probably, fifty, His short. ropped hair was uniformly grey, his ice was rubicund and glowed with ealth which rather accentuated his 'lue eyes in which amusement lin. ered, The hospitality which he dispensed i ad a family flavour about it, The | nly trace of starch in Peter Slade's | fe was in his collar--when he wore ne, which was usually on Sundays | nd other ceremonial occasions. The asual patron was received with the me disarming friendliness as the gular customer whose nightly ordey 'as sufficiently well-known to re- uire no reiteration, * The oak-raftered parlour was als § I I 'ays comfortably filled but since the ge increase, ut wrder up at the Manor, the patron- as patronage will when i topic is found for dis. ussion, t was on rare occasions ach se when old Peter found increasingly awkward individually )» minister to his patrons' require. 0 1ents, that he called upon Julia to ssist him. i Now, Julia was singularly attrac. ve, She had the same rose-petal | omplexion as her father, though her , ves were deeper by far, and more ol istrous, Her fair hair was neatly in conformity with accepted ashion, and, in all, she was very | ood to look upon, It had often been ommented upon that old Peter night considerably improve his trade "it were generally known that his ascinating daughter had been ace orded a permanent place behind the rrror-like brasses of the bar, But 'eter Slade, though by no means a 'uritan, had strong views on women, nd it was only on the rarest occa- ions that the rose was allowed pub- cly to unfold her beauty for the enefit of patrons, For the t two days the cus. omers of Crossed Keys had een more of their landlord's charm. ng daughter than they had been vont to do for many a long day, But peculations concerning the crime de- racted considerably from the event, It was in the midst of unceasing the bar, odded courteous and aised his velour hat to Julia. It was he first time the 2 divertin re i i if it I, Jad, well, you mever know, wu?" "Good Lord! You don't think I'm BUTN] 1; 2 i to the Manor, He struck me a8 being a very young man, He spept a great deal of money; stood several rounds of drinks in the parlour nearly every night and was voted as being a very popular gentle- man," Did you, by any chance, see him on Christmas Eve?" pursued Merri- vale, The old man sat thinking for a few moments, "Now I come to think of it, he called in late during the afternoon on his way from the station, I be- lieve he said he had been up to Lon- don, He purchased a bottle of brandy and said he would most likely be down again about nine o'clock in the evening when he would require a room for an hour or so." "You didn't think it strange that someone who was known by ycu to be staying at Mooreroit Manor should want the use of a room 'at your inn?" "That I did, I thourht it very strange indeed, but it is not for an innkeeper to question his patrcns about matters which don't concern him. And after all, Mr, Merrivale, he was always a good customer, Most lavish, in fact," "Do you happen to know whether Mr, Morrell formed any attachments in Brindley--I mean are you aware whether or not he was friendly with any woman?" "That's a matter I'm not altogether qualified to discuss, Now Julie's the erson you want to see about thai. do believe I heard her meniion some gossip that had come to her ears, Just a moment, sir, while I bring her in" Peter Slade returned a minute later with the blusing Julia, "You will pardon me, Mr, Merri- vale, if I leave you for a little while, There's a bar to attend to, you know." As 3 matter of fact such an ar- rangement swited Clifiord Merrivale admirably, To be alone, if only for a few moments, with the innkeeper's charming daughter was a thing he had not sined for, Julia Slade seated herself in the chair at one side of the table which her father had vacated, "Father's mentioned to me that ig wish to know. something about r. Morrell's seputed love affair?" "F hadn't suggested that he had a loye affair at all," smiled Merrivale, "But since you've been so good as to hint at the possibility, I'm more than interested--I'm intrigued." "But I thought Father said that you'd come down specially to make enquiries about it)" "To be perfectly frank with you, Miss Slade, I want to find out as much about Mr, Montague Morrell #8 you can tell me. It only occurred to me this afternoon while he was down here, which might have some bearing upon his mysterious disap- ance and the fact that, as ye: ad Yard bave been unable t trace ' Julia Slade smiled. It was a per ingenious smile, yet, behind jt another aspect to either Merrivale who, at ti ache 8 28 41 it FEE ge E : i : iF rs § 2 : ; if i= 4 pif H id i 55 ii 7 i ¥ ] 8 » Ie 2 g £ E i : <3 8 4 | | F $F v 1X £ f i : 1 2 8 £ k | road--a big golden lamp hung high i a a d her marrative, but curiously enough, his thoughts were more concerned with this fragrant blossom from the garden of woman- hood who sat opposite him, and Mer. rivale, having what he was pleased to call an "inherent penchant foi charming women," found himself un nsciously capitulating before her naive attractiveness. He would have liked, very much, to have prolonged the interview con- siderably, but he felt that Julia had been thoroughly comprehensive in what she had to say, that there was lsile left for further discussion or :ulation, I am very much obliged for what a have told me" he expressed ...mself, lamely.. "It puts an entirely iresh complexion on the case, and I am quite sure that this new informa- tion will be very useful to us during the next few days. There is one point, however, if this M'ss Hardinge should raturn, I should be glad if you would let me know. I expect to > up at the Manor for a few days :zer, and I have no doubt that . er.n.endznt Nelson weuld like to ha. 2 a few words with the lady." "ou don't think thgt Susan had any ag to da with the murder, do you; '- Mirrivale saw a glimpse of horror ¢ youd Julia's eyes as she asked the question, "Not in the least," he assured her confidently, ""Ondy a man coyld hav been responsible Tor such an act, No I don't think ycur chambermaid ha anything to do with that side of th affair, But I'm not so sure whethe: she could prove herself guiltless as regards a-sisting her lover's escape-- and I presume from what you have told me, she was his lover." "It is hateful to imagine a wom~ being even associated with anythii so dreadful," said Julia ser'ously. ' do hepe it's not true, Put if I hea anything about her I'll be only to glad to let you know." "I'l hop along to-morrow," su gested Merrivale brightly, "I suppc you wouldn't be too busy to sce n if I came down?" "I'm not really as busy as all that, smiled Julia, with a suzzestion « coquetry which was wholly unintend ed, but which Merrivale was not sloy, to notice, Alter the exchange of a few econ ventional pleasantries, Merrivale bi adieu to Peter Slade and his charm ing daughter and stepped from th, warm comfort of the inn into the crisp night air, CCS It was a stiff walk from the Cross od Keys to Moorcroft Manor, an Merrivale broke into a pleasant tr along the dark, deserted road out « Brindley, He had stayed rath longer at the inn than he had intend ed, for he had promised to me Sinclair down amid the belt of pin trees at eight o'clock, to commenc their strange vigil. It was now wel ~{ter nine, and he wondered wha: 3'nclair would be thinking when he "4 not put in an appearance, But all the way along the dreary road, with the frost-edged wind stinging his cheeks, Clifford Merri vale's thoughts : | approach the belt of pine trees from %1ihe road, and not from the grounds a0 | which reposed the mysterious parcel this hod might, t to the course of than HR om had conelud were directed into t than those associated with countless vacilla- tions of criminal i vestigations. Fatctingin, Merrivale wondered what Julia really thought about i | He wondered whether dur- ing the short time he had been speak- ing to her, she saw in him someone who could possibly mean more to her than anyone else in the world. It was a bold thought, but bold- ness was one of Clifford Merrivale's characteristics, and what was more, he knew that quite suddenly he had fallen im love with her. It was strange how quickly one could fall in love, he thought, and just as quick. ly fall out of it again. "You've got to take a tight grip upon yourself, you fellow," he mused as, once again, he broke into a run, The moon had just emerged from the trees on the farther side of the in the velvet sky, It was not far, now, to the entrance to the Manor, but he had arranged with Sinclair to the Manor, He had noted that noon, that the tree beneath of 'cavalier's costume stood closer to the stone wall that skirted the road an any of the others. This had given him the idea that it had been selected so that it could be readily recognized by anyone approaching from the road rather than from the Manar side of the estate. He passed the great iron gates that guarded the red gravel drive leading to Moorcroft Manor, The moonlight was silvering their ancient filigrees that, in the daytime, were to be seen flaked with rust, A dozen yards further along the road, the young man halted suddenly. Some- where among the silhouetted shadows (BEAM TRAWLERS Fisheries Commission Hears Final Evidence at Yar- mouth, N.S, MARKZTING PROBLEM to Compete With Americans Yarmouth, N.S, Dee. 1\--Mar- keting of fish and difficulties en- countered as the result of the op- eration of beam trawlers, were re- counted before the Royal Com. trees began, a revolver shot rang out. There was no mistaking it, The report cleft the ghostly stillness of the night air like the sharp blade of a knife. ) A mu'titude of fears flooded the young man's brain as he dashed for- ward, Then, from out of the pine shadows, appearcd a figure--a grey- hooded phantom that paused awhile in the centre of the road and' then almost immediatcly melted away into the Stygian darkness of the trees. Heedless of danger, Merrivale raced to the spot where the figure had vanished, but there was nothing save the low grey wall of stone, and an eerie silence. that indicated where the row of pine (To be continued.) --- fo (HE OSHAWA High Echezl E to capab! -- Apply BOYS WANTED AS CARRIERS AND COLLECTORS Liberal commission and steady employment v L) y AR, BOYCE -- T = DAILY Ti oys P:elcrred nam MES e boys to -- Times Office ERE Srl E Vii Ly with inside EDISON From gaily-colored bulbs and holly-circled the for Lamps -- frosted on the LAMPS A CANADIAN GENERAL ELECTRIC PRODUCT LOWER PRICES OF | FSH ON MARKEY 255 Canadian Fishermen Have| of torial waters, been tered 4 month and that the the fourth was still pending, Another difBculty which Cana fishermen encountered at times was competition from the United States, and he sald that he had been in Montreal last year and had seen an offer from the Boston market to deliver fish in Montreal at a price lower than they coud be supplied by the Nova Scotia buyers, . 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