Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-05-20

4 0Uul0 CybsAuS III winch n PERSIAN 01m
had invested. He was laughing con-
ceitedly, and stroking his carefully
waxed imperial with 8 self-satisfed air,
when Dirk came in, and was immedi-
ately hailed by man who was no
friend of his-the manager of some
ground which was always tumbling in
to Dirk's claims and smashing his
gear.
did not hear exactly what he said,
but my attention was suddenly ar
rested by seeing Dirk make q bound at
the Frenchman, and seize him by the
throat, while his eyes fairly blazed with
passion. The Frenchman tried to
elude his grasp, and in a moment Dirk
had dashed him to the floor, and was
standing over him raging with fury.
"4ou miserable liar and scoundrel,"
he cried, III ever hear of you men
tioning my wife's name again I'll kill
you" Then he strobe out of the
saloon.
A silence fell upon the company
standing round the fallen Frenchman,
and as he staggered to his feet and
skunk away into a side room, where
the rattle Of the dice went on all dav
long and far into the night, no one
found so much as g. word to throw
after him.
met Dirk ON several occasions after
this curious episode, but, as if by
mutual consent, we avoided the sub
ject. One night, however, when the
moon was sailing majestically over
head and lighting up the dusty road
between "the Pan" and Kimberly with
a flood of lambert light, l was riding
into camp when heard the rapid pat
tering of a horse behind me, and turn
ing i'll the saddle confronted Dirk. He
was agitated and angry, and without
a word OF greeting plunged into the
subject uppermost in his mind.
do you know, old fellow" he said.
'l've just been told by digger an
HALLS that that rascally little
Frenchman has been repeating his lies
about being intimate with my wife in
Paris before she came out here. Not
only that, but he says he has a minia-
ture OF her which she gave him set in
gold. The unmitigated liar! If 1 find
time I shall canter over to his cabin
the other side of the mine tonight,
and If he can't produce that souvenir
it will be hard for him. Ii he does, it
won't be in his possession long,"
s'Don't do anything rash, Dirk"
said. Remember, there is another to
think OF beside yourself"
'That's what it is that bothers me,
old fellow" he replied; and then, rein
ing in his horse, and jogging along by
! my side, he told me his trouble. It
appeared his wife denied any intima-
cy with the Frenchman, but stated
that her father tried to force his at
tentions on her in the old days when
he was half-starved ballet-master,
and she struggling aspirant at g.
Paris theater. The miniature was q
new feature in the story, and Dirk firm
ly believed it to be myth, but was
bent on finding out whether it was or
not.
After q while he grew calmer and
paid more attention to my entreaties
to him to proceed with caution.
On parting, he shook me by the
hand, and his last words, shouted to
me as he galloped off at the turning
for ''The Oasis, were
II shan't trouble the little French.
man tonight, but let him keep out of
my way!'
The next morning the body of Jules
Lacroix was found lying on the floor
OF his cabin, with an ugly hole in the
left temple. In one hand he grasped
tightly part of gold chain and the
swivel of a miniature. There was the
fresh spoor of a horse not far from the
door, and the bullet found in the brain
fitted Dirk's revolver to a nicely.
1t was rot long before Dirk was in
custody, and the case looked black
against him. His threat to shoot the
Frenchman was we'll remembered; his
excited demeanor in HALLS bar at the
Pan, when the news of the French
mans reiterated assertion of a. former
intimacy with his wife was brought to
him, was commented upon, and the
circumstantial evidence was strong.
As for Dirk himself, heutterly denied
going near the Frenchman's cabin on
the night OF the murder, and he &C.
counted for the fact that he did not
reach home for nearly an hour after
leaving me by saying that, feeling hot
and excited, he went for scamper
over the veldt, and the beauty of the
moonlit night caused him to stay out
longer than he intended.
He pressed me to tell all I knew
about the matter, and l reluctantly
did so, making the most of his ex-
pressed determination on leaving me
not to visit the Frenchman that even
ing.
The trial dragged on until late in the
night, and at IL O'CLOCK: the jury came
into court with a virdict of "Guilty."
shall never forget the look of mute
agony on his wife's face as Dirk stood
up to be sentenced to death, or the
calm, proud way in which he heard his
doom.
"Mark my words, boys, Sylvester's
wife will get him reprieved."
The speaker was lounging at the
counter of the "Yellow Bar" in the
Transvaal Road, and his words
evoked a murmer OF sympathy.
Ever since the conviction efforts had
been made in all directions to prevent
the dread sentence of the law being
carried out, and Sylvester's wife had
become the heroine of the camp.
There were few who did not believe
that he shot the Frenchman; but why
should he die for an offense which was
light compared with some which lay
quite easily on the consciences of not
a few of the inhabitants of Kimber-
ley?
As the hum of approval subsidized,
some one directed our attention to
a lady walking rapidly in the direction
OF the Jail. We recognized her at once,
and respectfully saluted as she drew
near. She stopped for a moment and
spoke to the foremost man, who, as
she hurried on. turned and gave a
great shout.
"Hurrah," he cried, 'Dirk's re-
prieved! The little lady has just had
a telegram from Cape Town. Three
cheers for Sylvester's wife!"
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