The Man with a Secret

t by some trick of Fate we meet again; I pray thee, sir, let me go far away. And

n, with a tall hedge of yellow-blossomed gorse on the one side, and on the other a ragged, bro

the slope of which had been lately reaped, and was now covered with bris

. Beyond, towards the distant hills, stretched the damp, melancholy fen-lands, with their long lines of slimy ditches, still pools of black water, and scattered clumps of stunted trees. Still further away appeared a scanty fr

flared the fierce scarlet of the sunset, turning the slender line of the river and the sombre

ver the moist earth, and across the plain floated a vaporous white mist,

ce, took a cigarette out of h

hadow of Death." Then, replacing the cigarette, he continued contemplating

ack moustache twisted jauntily at the ends over tightly-closed lips. Curly hair, the colour of ebony, worn longer than usual, and touched at the temples with grey, appeared from under his soft wideawake, around w

e, clad in a rough suit of grey homespun, which he wore with a certain natural grace. His feet were wel

would stop at nothing to gratify those desires, in short, a man who had lived forty-five years in the world without making a single friend; which fact speaks for itself. A thorough scamp, ever on the edge of an abyss, yet by some miracle never losing his

, and night those deadly little rolls of paper were between his thin lips, and tho

e a luxury for the rich and foolish. Why should I have nerves? I don't drink; I don't run away w

ink, but he led others to do so, nor did he covet his neighbour's wife, yet he was by no means averse to pl

ion of his daily life on a small scale. He gambled with men as he gambled with cards, meeting varied fortunes in both, and risking his luck as recklessly in the game of Life as in the game of baccarat. He was a scamp, a scoundrel, a blackleg of

as Garsworth was a puzzle, but nevertheless a puzzle easy of solution. His object was two-fold. In the first place, he had left London to escape the demands of persist

was a dead and alive place where no one would think of looking for him, so he could stay there in safety until

somewhat suspicious of Basil Beaumont, his character having been none of the best when he left his native place to seek his fortune. So he lived quietly at the principal inn of the village, d

rowing away the stump, he took out his tobacco-pouch and a little book of rice paper, in o

ne is disagreeable, but the result will be excellent. What bad luck I've had lately--everything seems against me. I'll have to make a big effort to get some cash, or I'll end my days in a workhouse--ugh!" shivering again, "not that--God

en, lighting the cigarette, placed it

tances have been too strong for me. With a certain income I might have been an honest man, but Fate--pish!--why do I blame that unhappy deity whom men always make a scapegoat for their o

his quick ear caught the sound of footsteps coming briskly along the road, an

sh off his cigarette, "or perhaps not enough, se

w the still figure leaning indolently against the fence. A fair-haired ruddy-faced man, of medium

his stick on the ground, "h

he voice, then an evil smile crossed his face a

Nestley," he re

cry, and with a muttered oath spra

the sight of that mocking, Mephistophel

g his hands in his pockets. "And what are you doing

t as if he were turned into stone, but the other met hi

an old friend," he observed at leng

ep sigh, recovering himself. "Yes,

" asked the

nearly ruined my life," rep

led in a sat

ur. I would never dare to ruin so celebrated an individual as Duncan N

fists. The artist never blenched, but eyed his angry antagonist steadily. So Nestley, with

of a scoundrel, I see," h

ily. "Faith, it's something to have even one virtue in this degen

fiercely. "Anywhere, so lo

ffected surprise, then, shrugging

he time we reach Garsworth, which is the nearest village. I am staying there, but if you choose to

rated Nestley, resolutely, as t

torted Beaumont, with a sneer, saunter

owing colder while the mists lay over the fen lands like a thick white veil. He was cold and hungry, so the prospect of getting something to eat and a

umont can do me no harm now. After five years I hardly see

im. Even as he did so there flashed across his mind, with the rapidity of lightning, the phrase, "Lead us not into temptation," and a shiver, not caused by t