Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1879-04-17

When awidow~ does marry second
time she generally contrives to make 8
fool of herself.
Mrs. Halifont had certainly not done
as foolishly as some widows do. She had
neither chosen little boy nor a titled
Italian without money enough to keep
himself in macaroni. Her future hus:
band was older than herself, and
too rich to be suspected of being q
fortune-hunter; but after all, no one
knew him. He came into the neighbor.
hood without letters of introduction to
anyone, and whether he won his fortune
by trade or came to it by inheritance re-
NAMED mystery.
There were those who shrugged their
shoulders, and declared that Mrs. Hall.
font would regret not having chosen
some one of whom mere was known
some retired merchant, some gentleman
of fortune, whose father had been known
to her friends. Nothing, to be sure,
could be said against this Spanisrd OF
Cuban with the English name; but who
knew anything in his favor?
| However, no one said this to Mrs.
Halifont, and, if any one had, words
never changed woman's fancy yet.
Mrs. Halifont believed in Colonel Hum.
phries, and meant to marry MIN.
Indeed, the treusseau was prepared
and the wedding day fixed, all was
ready, and Ida Halifont believed herself
to be very happy woman. She once
more built castles in the air. Her old
sorrow seemed to fade away in the dis
lance. She was girl again.
At last twenty.four hours lay between
her and hel wedding-day.
She was busy in her sewing-room on
this last day, finishing some ruft1es in
lace and ribbon, and singing softly to
herself, when suddenly the house was
filed with cries.
An old man-seSvant, while cutting the
grass upon the lawn, had wounded him.
self seriously. The doctor was sent for
st once, but he was not at home, and
meanwhile poor Zebedee was bleeding to
! death.
| Suddenly Ida Halifont remembered
that Mr.. HUMPHREYS had said that he
understood wounds as we'll as though he
had been bred surgeon. Without this
it would have been natural for her to
call on one who was soon to be her pro-
tector in moment of anxiety. She
would call him herself, that there might
be no delay, and Selling her garden-hat,
she ran along little path that led from
her ground to that Of Mr.. HUMPHREYS,
climbing low fence to save time which
would have been lost in reaching gate,
and SO gained the rear of the dwelling of
which tomorrow she would be mistress.
She thought herself terrified and dis
tressed. She felt rather injured that
such an unpleasant thing as the wound
ing of poor Zebedee should have hap
pened on the eve of her wedding day.
Ten minutes after she thought of herself
at that moment utterly at ease-wonder.
| ously happy-for as she reached those
windows and peeped half timidly
through the curtains, thing happened
that made all she had ever suffered appear
as nothing.
The room, the window of which she
had approached, was one that opened
out of conservatory. She saw Colonel
HUMPHREYS busy with some rare plants
he bad just set out to the warm sunshine
that fell through the glass. He had
taken off his coat and rolled up his
sleeves. Now he left the conservatory,
and coming forward proceeded to wash
his hands in a basin of water that had
been set ready for him. He was close to
Ida Halifont. He did not see her, but
she could have reached out her hand and
touched him.
Why did she not speak, and call him
by name? Why did she sink down upon
her hands and tremble like an aspen
leaf? Alas! the awful reason was this !:
Upon that arm which she was about to
give the right to clasp her in tenderest
embrace she saw terrible mark-a mark
she had seen once before. She knew it's
shape and size and color. Her eyes had
been riveted upon it as the sinewy hand,
at the wrist of which it ended, grasped
her dying husbands throat She had
learned it off by heart; she could not be
deceived. Though years had rolled
away, that horribly marked arm was not
to be forgotten or mistaken by any other.
Suddenly Colonel HUMPHREYS telt
himself grasped by hand that, small as
it was, had the fierce touch of a tigers
claws. The fingers closed over that red
mark-a white face came close to his.
"You are my husbands murderer"
Kissed voice in his ear.
Then the two stood staring at each
other.
He made no denial; he only looked
down at the red mark upon his arm and
cursed it aloud.
"How dare you to make love to met"
she gasped. "You -"
Because I love you," he said.
" Woman, if I had not fallen in love
with you that night, would have killed
you. 1t was risking my life to spare you,
with your screams calling men to hunt me
down -"
ooh, ify you had but killed me then!"
she moaned.
"Well, I am at your mercy now," he
said.
She answered:
"You can kill. I wish you would. I
pray you de it. You killed my husband.
The murderer of my husband must be
brought to justice, and yesterday,
nay, an hour ago-l loved you! 0 God,
pity mel have loved this man, this
thief, who came in the night to rob my
husband, and who murdered him."
She remembered saying this. After
ward a strange drowsiness overcame her.
She seemed to let go her hold upon the
world. She family recognized the fact
that Col. HUMPHREYS knelt at her feet
and kissed her hands. Then there were
bland hours, and strange, wild dreams,
and she awakened in the twilight and
found herself bound fast to great arm
chair, long cords about her arms tying
her hands and combining her feet.
So her servants found her; but she
was the only living being in the great
house. Col. Humphries and his two
black servants had vanished, no one
knew whittier.
The empty bottle of chloroform on the
f1oor-the fact that he had left little be-
hind him, and that he had always kept
his money in form that left him free
to leave the country at any time, all
proved that detection had been prepared
s.. NJ ],