Mr. Carrington

“ On the other hand, he knew women to be credited with the bump of loquacity, and it was far from his intentions that his father should get to know of the efforts he was making to unravel the mystery surrounding old Mr. Carrington's terrible dread. In a conversation he had had that morning with the Squire, on being pressed by Laurence to confess that his fear was of something more than burglars, Mr. Carrington had begged his son not to allude to the subject at all. He could not, he said, and he would not, explain what the secret of his life was. ”

“ I'll help you,” she added. Carrington gave her an incredulous glance. “You don't believe me? What's to hinder my calling for help? That would fetch our men up from the keel boat. No—yo'-all's knife wouldn't stop me!”
“Don't be too sure of that,” said Carrington sternly. The girl met the menace of his words with soft, fullthroated laughter.
“Why, yo' hand's shakin' now, Mr. Carrington!”
“You know me?”
“Yes, I seen you once at Boggs'.” She made an impatient movement. “You can't do nothing against them fo' men unless I help you. Miss Malroy's to go down river to-night ”

“ Carrington not only shared his own detective enthusiasm, but was vastly interested in his views on this particular mystery.
"Come along here, sir," said he, "we can just [Pg 186] have a look at the library and I'll explain to you the principles of the thing."
"I'd like to see the actual scene of the crime immensely!" cried Mr. Carrington eagerly. "You are sure that Lady Cromarty won't object?"
"Not her," said Bisset. "She's never in this part of the house now. She'll be none the wiser anyhow."
This argument seemed to assure Mr. Carrington completely, and they went along to the library. ”

“ Carrington. "By Jove, how curious! We really must look into that: in fact, I've got an idea I want you to help me with. By the way, it sounds an odd question to ask about Mr. Rattar, but have you ever seen any sign of a pipe or tobacco in the house?"
"Oh, never indeed!" said she. "The master has never been a smoking gentleman. Quite against smoking he's always been, sir."
"Ever since you have known him?"
"Oh, and before that, sir."
"Ah!" observed Mr. Carrington in a manner that suggested nothing whatever. "Well, Mary, I want this morning to have a look round the garden." ”

“ Carrington."
"Phyllis! what are you saying? It is the first duty of every woman to love her husband. You must try to regard Mr. Carrington in that light."
"I like him, and that is better. You were blind to papa's faults because you loved him; that was a mistake. Now, I shall not be blind to Marmaduke's; and if he does anything very horrid, or develops unpleasant symptoms, I shall be able to give him up before it is too late. If you had been fully alive to papa's little tempers, mother, I don't suppose you would ever have married him ”

“ Carrington asked another casual question or two and learned that Mr. Ison had been in the office since he was a boy. No man knew the house of Rattar throughout its two generations better than Mr. Ison, said Miss Peterkin; and she remembered afterwards that this information seemed to give Mr. Carrington peculiar satisfaction. ”

“ I cannot manage to forget Marmaduke Carrington." Then, abruptly. "You shall have the four-in-hand any day you wish, Phyllis, as it pleases you so much; remember that. Just name a day whenever you choose, and I shall only be too happy to drive you."
What a brother-in-law he will make! My heart throbs with delight. This day, then, is to be one of a series. I feel a wild desire to get near Billy, to give him a squeeze in the exuberance of my joy, but in default of him can only look my gratitude by smiling rapturously into Mr. Carrington's dark-blue eyes.
"It is awfully good of you," I say, warmly ”

“ I quite understand," Mr. Carrington assured her in his soothing voice, and there could be no doubt he was wondering just as hard as she.
"What o'clock does he generally go out?" he asked.
"At nine o'clock almost exactly every night, sir!"
Mr. Carrington looked thoughtfully out of the window into the garden, and then at last looked down at the ink and paper and pen. Not a word was written on the paper yet.
"Look here, Mary," he said very confidentially. "I am a friend of Mr. Rattar's and I am sure you would like me to try and throw a little light on this. ”

“ But I will make it a point to be at the bank at ten o'clock to-morrow morning and meet you there. It is impossible to do any more to-night."
The inspector nodded his head somewhat sadly. He quite saw the force of what Mr. Carrington was saying. He could do no more than make an appointment for the following day. He wished Carrington good-night and turned to go, followed by Masefield. In the corridor somebody called Jack by name. He turned to see a colleague of the junior Bar standing before him.
"Hullo!" the latter said, "where did you turn up from? ”

“ Carrington was silent for a few moments.
"Are the servants intelligent girls?" he enquired.
"Oh, quite average intelligent. In fact, the housemaid is a particular decent sort of a girl."
At this point, Mr. Carrington's interest in the subject seemed to wane, and after a few pleasant generalities, he thanked the Superintendent for his courtesy, and strolled down to the hotel for lunch. This time his air as he walked was noticeably brisker and his eye decidedly brighter.
About three o'clock that afternoon came a ring at the front door bell of Mr. Simon Rattar's [Pg 251] commodious villa. ”

“ Victor Carrington ordered a pint of brandy.
The parlour was a dingy little apartment, very much the worse for stale tobacco smoke, and adorned with gaudy racing-prints. Here Mr. Carrington seated himself, and told his companion to take the place opposite him.
"Fill yourself a glass of brandy," he said. And Mr. Hawkins was not slow to avail himself of the permission. "Now, I'm a man who does not care to beat about the bush, my friend Hawkins," said Victor, "so I'll come to business at once. I've taken a fancy to that bay horse, 'Wild Buffalo,' and I should like to have him ”

“ Jack enjoyed his dismay with a feeling of grim satisfaction. But Carrington was not quite done with yet; evidently he had not sat at the feet of Anstruther for nothing. He looked up presently, and smiled with the air of a man who is only too willing to do anything for his client.
"Will you take a seat for a moment, Lady Barmouth?" he said politely. "I see that you know Miss Helmsley and Mr. Masefield. I must go and speak to our cashier for a moment."
"You cannot get the jewels yourself?" Lady Barmouth asked.
"No," Carrington explained. "Of course, we are bound to take precautions. ”

“ Carrington? You must tell Mr. Durham,” declared the younger woman.
“About the handsome picture and what a sensible, thoughtful young man our rescuer must be?”
“Oh, Mrs. Carrington,” pleaded Frank. “I beg of you!—it is I who am being overwhelmed now. You will make me so vain I will really begin to think I did something of consequence. Why, there isn’t a young fellow anywhere who wouldn’t hasten to help ladies in distress.” ”

“ In “True Ghost Stories,” Mr. Carrington presents a number of startling cases of this character; but they are not the ordinary “ghost stories”—based on pure fiction, and having no foundation in reality. Here we have a well-arranged collection of incidents, all thoroughly investigated and vouched for, and the testimony obtained first-hand and corroborated by others. The chapter on “Haunted Houses” is particularly striking. The first chapter deals with the interesting question, “What is a Ghost?” ”

“ The lawyer's puzzled look remained, and the next instant Carrington broke into a hearty laugh.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Rattar," he cried. "What an owl I am! I have just been dealing lately with a case where that sum of money was involved, and for the moment I mixed the two up together!" He laughed again, and then resuming his businesslike air, asked: "Now, what else about this Mr. Cromarty? You say he is a relation. Near or distant?"
"Oh, quite distant. Another branch altogether."
"Younger branch, I presume."
"Poorer but not younger. He is said to be the head of the family." ”

“ She was positively vulgar, in consequence, to the mind of Miss Carrington, and Miss Carrington was drawn to think of a certain thing Ferdinand Laxley had said he had heard from the mouth of this lady’s brother when ale was in him. Alas! how one seed of a piece of folly will lurk and sprout to confound us; though, like the cock in the eastern tale, we peck up zealously all but that one!
The carriage rolled over the turf, attended by Andrew, and Lady Jocelyn, and the hunt was seen; Mr. George some forty paces a-head; Seymour gaining on him, Rose next. ”

“ Now you deny all connection with these murderous attacks on his life, and yet you profess to be in a position to reveal the cause of them, and to throw light upon the Squire's well-guarded secret."
"As I have said," explained Doctor Meadows, "fate plays strange tricks with us mortals. I am speaking the truth when I say that I think I know more about your father's secret than any living creature, except the Squire himself, and his assailant. Tell me, though, what do you know of Mr. Carrington's past?"
"Very little," replied Laurence ”

“ The Countess had sealed Miss Carrington's mouth by one of her most dexterous strokes. On leaving the dinner-table over-night, and seeing that Caroline's attack would preclude their instant retreat, the gallant Countess turned at bay. A word aside to Mr. George Uplift, and then the Countess took a chair by Miss Carrington. She did all the conversation, and supplied all the smiles to it, and when a lady has to do that she. is justified in striking, and striking hard, for to abandon the pretence of sweetness is a gross insult from one woman to another. ”

“ Carrington, too. She will have no opinion of me if she listens to all you say."
"I am only anxious to hear how you tore yourself away from their fascinations."
"Yes, do tell us, Mr. Thornton," says I. "We are so afraid that you have sacrificed yourself to oblige us."
"Don't you believe a word Marmaduke says, Mrs. Carrington: he is always representing me falsely. ”

“ CARRINGTON, CHARLES ROBERT WYNN-CARINGTON, 1st Earl (1843– ) , English statesman, son of the 2nd Baron Carrington (d. 1868) , was educated at Eton and Trinity, Cambridge, and sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal for High Wycombe from 1865 till he succeeded to the title in 1868. He was governor of New South Wales 1885–1890, lord chamberlain 1892–1895, and became president of the board of agriculture in 1905, having a seat in the cabinet in Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman’s and Mr Asquith’s ministries. He was created Earl Carrington and Viscount Wendover in 1895. ”

“ In the club entrance Presidio whispered, "Follow; don't walk with me. There's not much chance that any one here will recognize me, but if I was pinched on any old score you'd better not be in my company." He went ahead, and Carrington fol [Pg 1236] lowed. They had walked down Fifth Avenue several blocks when Mr. Francis Holt cut in between them, and shadowed Presidio with elaborate caution. Carrington saw this, and mused. "I think I know that young man who has so plainly got friend Presidio under observation. Surely, it's Holt, a year or two after me. What can he—Hello, I say!" ”

“ Who else would venture down without orders?’
“‘But, sir, he was sitting in your arm chair, fronting the door, writing on your slate. Then he looked up full in my face; and if ever I saw a man plainly and distinctly in the world I saw him.’
“‘Him! Who?’
“‘Heaven knows, sir; I don’t! I saw a man and a man I have never seen in my life before.’
“‘You must be going crazy, Mr. Bruce. A stranger, and we nearly six weeks out!’
“The captain descended the stairs, and the mate followed him. Nobody in the cabin! They examined the staterooms. Not a soul could be found. ”

“ Owen Nares could hardly hope to satisfy the exigent demands of adoration in the part of young Carrington. Who, indeed, could sustain his reputation as a figure of romance when addressed as "Arthur-John"? Mr. Fred Kerr, who played Martin Carrington, the cantankerous uncle, cannot help being workmanlike; but he was asked to repeat himself too much. The best performance was that of Miss Marion Lorne, in the part of the hero's one devout lover, Fancy Phipps; her quiet sense of humour, salted with a slight American tang, kept the whole play together.
O.S.
"Tea for Three." ”

“ An icy breath, which seemed to proceed from some invisible person at his side, extinguished each match as he lighted it. At this peculiarly terrifying turn of affairs Mr. Gunn would have left the house and forfeited the amount of his wager, a considerable one, but he was restrained by the fear of ridicule. He steadied himself in the dark with what calmness he could, and waited developments. ”

“ The bumps against the doors were so marked as to terrify a new servant, who had heard nothing of the haunting, into the belief that burglars were breaking into her room....
“During the year, at Mr. Myers’ suggestion, I kept a photographic camera constantly ready to try to photograph the figure, but on the few occasions [167] I was able to do so, I got no result; at night, usually only by candle light, a long exposure would be necessary for so dark a figure, and this I could not obtain. ”

“ Carrington clung on desperately to the fringe of society and confronted the world with a sweet, enigmatic smile. But there were moments, tense, panicky moments, when to herself she admitted the bitter truth. She had invariably just failed to secure her footing. Unless she could make good by a successful marriage, she was destined to remain always on society's outskirts, a precarious hanger-on, barely able to scrape along. ”