Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-07-23

rest OF Mi. Beryl Mt once. l had learned
during tho day that no suspicion led to any
OF the men of tho militia or the depot Of
REGULARS" The deceased was universally
dlsliked; but the bullet which killed him
was a rpund ons, tirod from an old smooth
bore lhusket: That still might point
toward Beryl; but that woman,s shoes
rendered. me uneasy, and 1 could not satisfy
myself on the subject even when l dis
coveret that the prisoner and the dead
that hid nearly ended in a trip to B%oulogne
and a duel on the sands. or course this
came rom the love borne to Miss Brooks:
and after asking myself if the p~oetical
B7 5:1 in a fit of frenzy, concluded to
another query-Ls there another woman in
the Rse? n was the man the victim the
assassin intended?
Returning to the barracks, 1 got the
differs to come into the mess room again
The murdered man had been sitting with.
hisface to the w~indow-the blinds of which
whole row looked only on the blank walls
Der the m~oorland-and so it was plain that
tbs person who sat in the chair opposite
him would be in the line of fire. When 1
answer:
.sThe bride"
Standing up as the deceased had been
standing when he was shot, l asked the
shortest and slightest of the officers to sit
in the chat which had been occupied by
the unhappy lady.
The top OF 1.-THE brides head would be on
a line with the heart of the victim! He
was rising tb return thanks for the toast of
the evening when the shot was fired. Sup
pose the bullet was intended for the brain
man mightfvell make the hand Of the as
sassin shab and spoil the aim. 1t was
plain to mel that l must look for a woman,
some woman who felt herself injured by
the marriage, and who hated the girl who
The more I%pondered on this, the idea Of
Beryl's Innocence grew upon mo. And
yet, l ARGUED, on the other hand, what
English wdman would resort to such q
revenge!
lmade inquiries, however, and discovered
that Captain Mervyn's character had been
family, he lived in expectation of a title
and a fortune, and this, coupled with the
fact that hedid the bulk of the Colonel's
duties, led that gentleman to Sse all the in
iuence wild his niece to bring about the
marriage which was never to be consum-
mated.
The name most connected with Captain
Mervyn's vas that of Miss Inez Hartman,
the niece pf the %stipendiary magistrate.
The coronsr's inquest took place one day,
and the prisoner was brought before Mr..
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the SOLICITORS table, and was certainly not
in her first youth. She had been very
beautiful, and her eyes and hair were still
black aj night-the former large and
brilliant! l learned that her father, who
was the older brother of the magistrate,
had been in the consular service, and had
marrieda Spanish lady previous to being
transferred to Brazil. He died, and left his
only daughter to his brothers. care. During
the magistrates examination l became
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bride had persisted in being present, and
early in the proceedings l saw her gaze
upon the prisoner in such 4 way as proved
to me beyond doubt hat she lovedhim with
her whole heart and soul. An hour later
happened to glance at the magistrates
niece, and beheld her looking at Mrs.
Msrvyn, the bride, with such an expression
OF concentrated hate as l never saw before
or since on a human face, That look was
a revelation to me, anu that afternoon !
preston OF the woman's shoes in the
ruined hut. ! tried to trace them from the
old building, but the soil was s,ndy. and
the rain had obliterated all recognizable
traces of any foot-marks.
Communicated with headquarters, and
was ordered to remain at the disposal OF
the local authorities, who had applied for
the continuation Of my services. l made
the acquaintance of Miss Harman's maid,
and was not long before l got an oppor:
tunity OF comparing one of the ladies'
shoes with the cast I had made. Having
formed a mold from the cast, l fitted the
shoe i'll, and it was perfectly accurate.
Captain Clayton and Mr.. Bromley swore
positively to having seen a mana slight
one, probability from the scene of the
murder. and that set me thinking again.
A fortnight passed ove and l was al
most despairing of making the discovery l
desired. when an advertisement appeared
in the Times for q coacInan to be 'gener,
ally useful as an indoor servant" l al
most leaRed for JOY, whom read: sApply
road, Northampton" l wrote to the chief
to provide me with tirst.class references,
and then hurried up to town. From there
Iapplied tor the situation, and, having got
it, disguised myself by DOMINIC q close,cut
rei-brown wig and crepe hair s~ide-whisk
ers, glued so finely to my cheeks that
could comb them with %impunity. Next
day I arrived like a stranger in Midhamp'
ton, and on reaching the magistrates
house was, thanks to the excellency of my
testimonials, placed in a confidential posi-.
ton at once. Milton House was half q
mile further on the road than the barracks
and the route taken by the flying fugitive
on the night of the murder would leaC
right to the back gate OF the premises.
had provided myself with a complete SCI
of keys and ''picklocl' Instruments. Il
was my hope to be able to use them sue,
cessfully on the first Sunday. The day,
however, was wet, and 1 had to drive the
magistrate and his niece to church.
Next Sunday dawned beautifully, anc
the whole household, with the exception OF
the cook and myself, walked to church
The former was too busy to look after me
so I had ample time to ransack every
corner of Miss lneZ Harman's rooms. In 8
cupboard OFF the dressing-room | found 8
mud-stained sailor suit of clothing, which
1 afterward discovered had belonged to hel
cousin, the magistrates son, now, a sub
lieutenant in the royal navy. The gar
nsents were cast off when he was a mid
shipman, and had boon locked up in his
ROOM, to which lneZ. as mistress of the
house, had access, Of course. A pair OF
shriveled up shoes were rolled up in thu
trousers, and III one of the pockets of the
latter l discovered the remainder of The
proof of the poem Farewell" The bulneC
fragment had been used as wadding for thu
gun, and this l found at the bottom OF q
curious old box, which stood in a dark
corner of the Dire ssing-room. 1t was short
ornamental weapon of Spanish manutact'
ure, and several bullets exactly matching
the one taken from the dead mans wound
were found in a case beside it.. l carried
all the proofs of the woman's guilt into bel
sitting-room and placed them upon the
table. Then I went upstairs to my own
bedroom, and, changing my disguise, waltec
the return of the murderess.
She came upstairs lightly, and entered
the apartment humnling u hymn tune
The next ONE a terrible scream, OF
m ther ShrieE sEo rt1ei the whole house. j