Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1880-10-21

sassin. When they abandoned
the work he swore solemnly no
to relax his efforts to hunt tn
murderer down till he succeeded
OF was dead. This proceeding
| created an immense impression
at the time, and was the tow
talk.
One evening, the young man
returning to the house in whicl
he lived, found scrap of paper
folded like a letter and fastened
to the door with sharp thorn
1t was an assignation. The wri'
ter, who signed herself Rosa, pro.
fessed to have fallen in love with
him, and desired him to meet her
that night at street corner near
his house.
He complied. The street was
deserted. The night was dark,
and the air filled with prognos-
tications of a storm. There
were occasional flashes of light
ming. Frederic Forbes waited
the coming Of his unknown
sweetheart impatiently. Sud-
denly a vivid glare of sheet
lightning showed him, close be-
side him, stealthy figure, with
knife in its upliited hand.
With an exclamation Of alarm
Ihe threw out his arm as guard.
At the same time the figure,
with a savage cry, dashed at
him, and, striking his arm up
with one hand, plunged his knife
into his side under the armpit
with the other, and fed.
Fortunately for him his as
sailant, in his hurry and the
darkness, had only half perform
ed his work. In Two weeks the
young man was convalescent
and returned to his home.
AS young bachelors in the
West Indies commonly do, he
lived alone, with no other SER
want than all old woman, who
came every day to prepare his
meals and put the house in or
der, and who returned at night
to her own home. One day this
old woman gave him a basket
of fruit which had been left for
him in the name Of a friend, a
planter of the Demarara River.
He fed a couple of bananas TO a
pet monkey, and the brute cX-
pired with f!1ghtful convulsions.
The fruit had been pricked with
poisoned needle, and was
charged with sufficient manchi-
onel juice to kill a hundred men.
Up to this time he believed
the assault on him had been
made for the purpose ofrobbery.
Now, associa*iug with it this
generous gift, he became con-
vinced that his unseen enemies
were the murderersof his father.
He at once commenced to
search for them. Ills only guide
was the description of the girl
who had delivered The note, and
whom a neighbor had seen, and
that of the person who had left
the fruit, which he Obtained from
his housekeeper. They tailed
exactly. Both letter carrier and
messenger were a young girl of
seventeen, a light quadrGon with
reddish hair,whose face, although
very beautiful, was marred by
the deep scar of a knife wound
on the left lower jaw.
On New-Year's night he saw
man and woman emerge from
house in which dignity ball
was in full blast. The man he
recognized at once as an Irish
man named Hayes, disgraced
soldier, an adventurer and biz
lard sharp who for some years
had been well known in the
colony. The light of a street
lamp and q chance movement
which displaced the light veil
which she wore on her bare
head revealed the face of the
woman to him.
|: was the face of = woman
with reddish hair, who had a.
deep scar of a knife wound on
the left lower jaw.
lie tracked her to'a house in
the upper part of the city,which
she and her companion entered.
Very little inquiry sufficed to-
inform him that she lived there.
She was common woman OF
the town, and was known as
Rosa Nunez. Hayes was said
to he her lover.
Next day Forbes entered a
charge against her of attempted
murder. Hayes, who was in
bed with her when the police
man entered, was arrested with
her. TO all interrogations the
girl remained obstinately silent.
The man confessed. 8IU.l
A year before his death Mr..
Forbes had met Rosa Nunez, and
added her to his long list of
mistresses. Within two months
accident had led~to the horrible
revelation that she was his own
child, the forgotten result OF an