Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
I—A Cry on the Hill
II—One Night's Work
III—The Empty Drawer
IV—The Full Drawer
V—A Spot on the Lawn
VI—"Breakfast is Served, Gentlemen!"
VII—"Marry Me"
VIII—"A Devil That Understands Men"
IX—A Grand Woman
X—Detective Knapp Arrives
XI—The Man with a Beard
XII—Wattles Comes
XIII—Wattles Goes
XIV—A Final Temptation
XV—The Zabels Visited
XVI—Local Talent at Work
XVII—The Slippers, the Flower, and What Sweetwater Made of Them
XVIII—Some Leading Questions
XIX—Poor Philemon
XX—A Surprise for Mr. Sutherland
XXI—Sweetwater Reasons
XXII—Sweetwater Acts
XXIII—A Sinister Pair
XXIV—In the Shadow of the Mast
XXV—In Extremity
XXVI—The Adventure of the Parcel
XXVII—The Adventure of the Scrap of Paper and the Three Words
XXVIII—"Who Are You?"
XXIX—Home Again
XXX—What Followed the Striking of the Clock
XXXI—A Witness Lost
XXXII—Why Agatha Webb will Never be Forgotten in Sutherlandtown
XXXIII—Father and Son
XXXIV—"Not When They Are Young Girls"
XXXV—Sweetwater Pays His Debt at Last to Mr. Sutherland
The dance was over. From the great house on the hill the guests had alldeparted and only the musicians remained. As they filed out through theample doorway, on their way home, the first faint streak of early dawnbecame visible in the east. One of them, a lank, plain-featured youngman of ungainly aspect but penetrating eye, called the attention of theothers to it.
"Look!" said he; "there is the daylight! This has been a gay night for
Sutherlandtown."
"Too gay," muttered another, starting aside as the slight figure of ayoung man coming from the house behind them rushed hastily by. "Why,who's that?"
As they one and all had recognised the person thus alluded to, no oneanswered till he had dashed out of the gate and disappeared in the woodson the other side of the road. Then they all spoke at once.
"It's Mr. Frederick!"
"He seems in a desperate hurry."
"He trod on my toes."
"Did you hear the words he was muttering as he went by?"
As only the last question was calculated to rouse any interest, it alonereceived attention.
"No; what were they? I heard him say something, but I failed to catchthe words."
"He wasn't talking to you, or to me either, for that matter; but I haveears that can hear an eye wink. He said: 'Thank God, this night