Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-10-11

my arm was round her, and half car.
ried her across the room to a large
book closet.
.'Can you stay here?' I asked hasti.
ly. 81 will leave the door aiar for
air."
mo; shut it-lock it-take away
the key, or shall not feel safe. There
is plenty of air." and she sprang into
the recess.
For one moment her eyes met mine.
The next, had locked the door upon
my treasure, thrown the papers she
had brought into drawer. and was
apparently busy, pen in hand, when
my friend entered. He commenced in
a roundabout way to question me upon
sundry points of the law respecting
wills, etc., and, after tedious amount
of circum1ocution, he gave me to un-
derstand that all this regarded a de-
sired transfer of some property of his
niece's to his own hands. He had come,
in fact, upon the same errand as that
generous creature. He also had copy
of her relatives wills, and these / was
compelled to examine closely, for he
was desperately pertinacious, and
would not be put off. Twas mad at the
thought of what his poor niece must be
suffering, pent up in that narrow prison,
and felt that l could have kicked her
uncle out of doors for keeping her
there. At last he made move as if to
go. l started up and stood ready to
bow him out.
49," said he, tying his papers with
horrible elaboration, nothing, you
say, but my niece's death can put me
in possession of this money. want it
very much, but nobody will suspect me
of desiring her death for the sake OF
having it a little sooner"
He laughed at his own jest, and ]
made a sort of hyena chorus to it,
that sounded strange and hysterical.
even in my own ears. He went at last,
but stopped again on the stairs, and
detained me there talking for full five
minutes longer. My throat seemed
swelled, my forehead bursting. Great
Heavens! will he never be gomez Will
he stand there gossiping about the
weather and generalities of law, while
his lovely niece, who came to sacrifice
her individual interests for his sake,
dies a terrible and lingering death?
He is gone. / rush back to the room.
A step behind me makes me turn
around. tits my clerk-curses on him.
ground my teeth in unavailing rage.
could have hurled him headlong
down the stairs. But my violence
would have compromised her. In a
my brain was clear again.
Watson" I cried, 'tMr Simpson
has just left. He has gone up Broad
way, / think; run after him and ask
him to leave those papers with me.
Say 1 would like to examine them
more at my leisure. Run-run quick
ly, and you'll overtake him.
Watson disappeared. I turned the
key of the outer door and sprang to-
ward the closet. AS I unlocked it /
the look she had given
me as l shut it, and wondered with
beating heart whether the same ex-
preston would greet my enraptured
gaze when I opened it. There she
stood, with her eyes fixed calmly on
mine.
"You are safe, dearest!" murmured.
She did not rebuke me for calling
her so; and emboldened by her silence,
took her hand to lead her from her
narrow prison. She moved forward
and fell into my arms a corpse.
l can not well recall what followed.
only know I tried every means of re-
storing her to life, but, alas! without
success. OF one thing I was firmly
had not died from suf-
location. I had once seen the body of
= man who was killed by the falling in
Of the mouth of a pit. / recollected
MS swollen and purple face, and his
AK, warm limbs. She was pale, rigid,
cold. The tumult of her own emotions
must have killed her the moment that
the door was closed upon her. By
some means / kept my secret from the
knowledge of Watson and every body
else. ALI that night 1 was trying to re-
store her. Then I formed the project
Of shutting her up in the closet, lock-
ing up, the chambers and going abroad
Tor twenty years. But the idea was
rejected as soon as formed; for it
would be hardly possible that the pres
ence of a dead body in a house should
not be discovered before that time.
Next I thought of setting fire to the
place, burning all my books and papers,
and making a funeral pile of them and
running myself to preserve the dread
.ul secret. But that thought, too, was
dismissed. It might cause loss of life
ind property to many innocent people,
md would be but bungling proceed
ng after all; for if the fire were dis
severed early, policemen, firemen,
mob, all would break in, find her body
here, and all would be lost; for it was
more to save her reputation than my
life that was striving and plotting.
In the meantime was a prey to the
anxiety. was sure by that
ime she must be missed and sought
or. Perhaps she had been seen to en-
er my chambers. Every step that I
leard 1 feared might be that of a po-
iceman. In the morning stranger
allied on business; this was, of course,
Iothing extraordinary; but when he
vas gone felt convinced that he was
detective officer, and came there as a
DIV. / thrust a few clothes into a
arpet bag, intending to escape
o Europe. caught up box of
matches to set the place on fire. /
.rasped a razor and looked eagerly on