The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-18

| StOOO nelpleSS, ike one turned TO
stone. ALI at once there rose, in the
awful silence, the weird howl of a be-
nighted dog. When this ceased, the
next thing remember was knock
ing at the door, and the cheerful voice
of Joyce calling me by name.
Come in, for PHYS saken' I cried
81 shall go out OF my senses if l stop
here much longer"
STEADY, Elder-what's amiss?
Hold up second"
He had brought his lantern with
him, and he turned its light full upon
me.
"Why, man alive, how pale you
are!" said he, clapping bottle to nv
mouth. ''Iry drop of brandy and
you IL perhaps feel BETTER
1 did feel better. The brandy sent
the blood back to nv heart, strength
ened my mind and nerves. restored
me, soul and body, to myself.
| When handed the bottle back to him
1 saw that he had barred his head, and
was steadily regarding the placid face
on the pillow.
"Deadr' he said.
Murdered, Joyce"
He lifted the lantern higher, and
| approached the bed.
"True. It's ghastly sight; no
wonder it upset you
"Ay, but that's not the worst" 1
answered. ''Let's go back, and I'll
tell you all"
He looked surprised, but his sur
prise was nothing to the amazement
that overcame him when he got out
side, and / related what had happen
ed.
''Strange!' he remarked. "Why
didn't you let me search the cottage
before we left?"
tIt would have been useless, Joyce
Whoever the lniscreant is, it is not
likely he would risk detection by stop
ping there longer than he could help.
We must hunt for him nearer home'
AS [ spoke, we arrived at bend in
the road, and | noticed a light in the
window of Coles house.
Look" said L; '.the farrier is up
late tonight.
He had heard US, and pre- sently ap-
peared at the door. His face showed
deep marks of care, and the lines
about his mouth were very noticeable.
Perhaps he was suffering from over
fatigue, or had other matters to worry
him of which we knew nothing. He
listened quietly to to my account of
the murder, and made no remark till
L had finished. Then he eyed me
closely, and came step nearer.
''Is there any one whom you sus-
pect?" he said.
.'No."
''Sad-very sad. Let us hope,
Mr.. Elder, that you may be fortu-
nate enough to discover the crimi-
nal"
We thanked him, and walked on.
I sat up all night to write out
my report of the case, and fell
asleep at last with the sunlight of
the new morning pouring into the
room.
The inquest was held tn rec days Ia
ter at a neighboring Inn, known as
the Spotted Dog, and was the first
witness examined. On the whole, I
would rather not state my opinion of
the proceedings, and if you ask me
what country inquest means, I treat
the question as a dismal conundrum
and give it up IN despair. There were
the usual villagers in greasy smock-
frocks; there was the usual old lady,
who always appears in her Sunday
clothes on such occasions; there were
the wheelwright, the blacksmith, and
the parish clerk, proud alike in the
consciousness that they were public
officials and not above the honor of
doing their duty in a noble and disin-
terested manner before the ewes of
their grateful countrymen. The Cor
oner was fat, pompous man, who
loved the sound of his own voice and
worried. everybody to distraction at
every stage of the inquiry. My inter- |
est was, however, languidly stirred
when Cole stepped forward in his
turn. Being sworn, the farrier de-
clared that he had first heard from me
of the old mans death and that he
knew absolutely nothing but what 1
had told him. The upshot of it all was
that the jury returned verdict of
''Willful murder against some person |
or persons unknown" and SO the mat |
ter ended.
Nothing occurred for some weeks |
afterward. The future was unknown,
the present was monotony; so pass
ed the weary hours. The events
of life are not evenly distributed |
over the whole of its course, but |
come unexpectedly as the advent of |
ghost.
The course of Time had not flowed
peacefully for Cole, either; he was
changed in more ways than one. The
strangest thing about it was, that the
change was hard to describe; it show
ed itself in a hundred little signs which |
a stranger would scarcely notice, but
which could not, on my part, mis-
interpret. At one period the curious
look in his eyes was more marked |
than ever, and he would stalk about,
moodily silent. with his hands crossed
behind him; at another he would be-
come tiercely irritable and grumble
in his room for hours together
This alienation between gloomy
dependency and wild excitement was
certainly remarkable, and taken in
connection with what had lately OBJ
served of him, it suggested to me one
plain explanation of the mystery--an
explanation which I secuted at first,
but ended by accepting conclusion
which it was impossible to resist.
The farrier was mad.