The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-07-11

anne NIatteau, in her widows dress OF SOM
bre black
She was chilly with grief and excitement
and had drawn her chair close to the fire.
She shook violently from head to foot,
and her face was deadly pale as she turned
toward me and held out her hand
ooh, thank Heaven, you have come !"
she said 81 know you can save me- Is it
not horrible? How could | kill n man
Why should |? Why do people come to
my house to die To die horribly, with
black faces and starting eyes, as if some
one had choked them? Ugh and he was
pretty young man the night before. Oh,
good Heaven, how horrible !"
sat down beside her. | took her hand.
"Madame Matteau,' | said "be calm
collect yourself. AS your lawyer, | must
know all. Tell me, from first to last, what
happened-what was said, what was done.
If yOu--"
| paused her black eyes had flashed
upon me. | could not ask her whether she
had any confession to make, | saw that she
had not Unless she was the best actress
who ever lived, Madame Mattcau was innC-
cent of any crime
IF you have any suspicious" added
"tel them all TO me-"
"There is no one to suspect" sobbed the
poor woman
"ln the house were Gabrielle, my daugh-
Ter, whom you have seen old Hannah,
the cook Mr.. and Mrs. Beauchamp,
friends Of my poor, dear husband in his
boyhood the best, kindest people Mr..
Gray. very old man, too feeble to leave
the house poor dcformed Miss Norman.
and the librarian, Mr.. Bassford. None of
these would murder a mouse. See how
kind they are they remain in my house
.
of me. Oh, how can anybody
"Aud this man who began.
"Ies,' said Madame Mattcau, II will
tell you he was fair, young, handsomely
dressed; he asked Mr.. Bassfor1 at the de-
pot if he knew anyone who could accom-
modatc him. Mr.. Bassiord brought him
home. My only empty room was the one
in which those other two strangers died |
could not bear to put him there but Mr.
Bassford laughed at me. We had supper
atterwal. He talked long time to
Gabrielle. 1t was late when he retired
late for quiet household. Hannah had
made his fire. She came and told us that
she had done so. He said goodnight.
"Attcr he had gone we found that he
had left his watch ON the table. He wore
it only with bunch of seals, and he had
been setting it by the clock, and showing it
to us as something very handsome.
knocked at his door to restore it to him.
lie had not left us but fifteen minutes be-
fore but he must have been asleep already,
Tor lie made no answer. SO kept it for
the night and wore it down to breakfast
next morning. As ! came down | met Il
gentleman In live hall. lie inquired for
Mr. Glen. That was the newcomers
NAME | sent Hannah to wake him. She
could not do so, and grew alarmed. She
had key that would op3n the door, and
used it. The next thing knew we were
all in the room and the windows were wide
open, and the doctor had been sent for :
and the young man who had called was
screaming that his brother had been choked
to death and then there was the inquest,
and they arrested me. The brother said
The first thing he noticed was that wore
MIR. Glcn's watch and seals. had forgot
ten it in my terror.
80 Hannah had key to the room?"
said.
yes; at least it was IA key that would
open it, 1t was the key to Mr. Bassford's
door. She knocked the other ont with Il
stick and put that in.
The people who were there on that
night were your boarders when the other
men were found dead :" asked
"Oh, yes.
aunt Hannah was there ulso:"
"All my married life Hannah las lived
with me"
~ our daughter oversees your household
in your absence?"
Yes, poor child, with llannah's help. -
thought little while.
Madame | said, ''thcre is some strange
mystery in this affair. do not despair of
proving TO all the world your entire nno-
cence' Meanwhile, be as calm as possible,
and endeavor to remember everything CON
ncctcd with the sudden deaths that have
occurred in your house. The incident that
seems the least important may really be Of
the most immense value
SO ! left and went home. Strange
enough, on the way met the doctor who
had been called in. He was a dull, heavy
sort OF aperson, considerably given to beer
drinking, and my opinion of his ability
was not very great. However, ! question
cd him on the subject, and he replied:
'Well, You see, don't say the old wo-
man murdered him. If she did should
say it was by sitting on him, or smothering
him with the holsters. suppose the cause
of his death was asphyXia. We'll, then,
what is asphyXia? Why, too little breath
to keep one living. He died because he was
short of breath to keep one living. He
died because he was short of breath.
there's the watch that looks poor"
had learned nothing from the doctor.
: The coroner lived near me. His jury had
been twelve of the most ignorant men in
town.
This is all he told me:
Gle was smothcred, that man was; so
were the other Two. Men don't smother
themselves. We made it inscrutable
Providence tother time. Wemake it muir
der this time. That there watch, you
know"
Thus, without any new light, | went
home and formed my plans. There was
but one way in which to penetrate the myS-
terry. | must enter the house, must see
the people there; | must penetrate to the
room in which these men had died so sud
denly, and | must not be known in my real
character. That Madame Matteau was in
nocent fully believed, but that some one
beneath her roof was guilty | made no
doubt. 1t might be the librarian, Mr.. Bass
ford, whose key fitted the dead mans door
1t was possible; but no, would not harbor
a mad superstition. There could be no
supernatural power beneath which human
beings dropped and died. Death as it came
: to us was mystery enough. What had
been said to me by a woman who would
have been Spiritualst had she lived
to-day, was mere absurdiy.
Il believe that there is some horrible I'M
seen thing in the room" she had said,
some awful, shapeless spirit that when it
, is locked in with its victim murders him.
Let others believe what they will, believe
that"
The words haunted me, but laughed at
them, of course. Whatever it was, would
try to know. | had plan
AT dusk that day | went into my bed
room myself ! came out a strange man..
! wore white wig pair of green goggles
and an overcoat the tails of which reached
to my heels. | had q muller about my
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