, 1889-08-08

49, Sf 1890 5N 80 hNO
skein of my life, he would now proceed
TO unravel it. Evidently he would enjoy
playing with me as a cat does with a
mouse.
~ want your particular attention."
said the man.
Had l been pretending to be an idiot?
Had 1, with devilish cunning, assumed
the cretinism of imperturbable innocence?
How clever / must be" / thought to
myself, ''to appear ~callousl' For the
moment my vanity was tickled. What
wonderful l must possess,
What sang froidi Here had l been
stretched on a mental rack, and yet with
such control over my twittering nerves
that l actually came up smiling. II
must SMILE" l said TO myself; cit be
longs TO the part" l did try to smile,
and was particular as to the putting in of
the least shading of mockery. l might
outwit him yet, IL l seemed perfectly at
my ease, and yet no squirming wretch in
the dark chamber of the Inquisition, lean
ing forward to catch the whispered mum
bling of the judge, could have given more
attention.
He was going to lay before me, in n
gradual way, all the sickening details of
my murders. 1t might nave been not
the last one, but some one before the last.
How many had l committed? Who knew
better than / that the preparation of
crime varies according TO circumstances,
the accidents of the surroundings? Icon
soled myself with the idea that there was
no fixed scheme for numbering.
Had 1, though, beer actuated by greed
or rayaupa2 What n hlorlr ra.orI hol
beer minel Which trait had been pre-
dominant-the cruelty of the tiger or
the maliciousness of the ape2 Had 1
been dull, inattentive as to the efTacing
of my tracks?
Could they NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
East river the-black handled-knife?
Was it black or white? We had eleven
kitchen knives-so my wife had told
me. Would that knife, of the precise
shape and form, make up the dozen?
But then salt water rusts steel so rapidly.
Yes, there had been corrosive sublimate
in the house, used for domestic
My wife might say that much to a V
me; but would she stick TO it under the
ordeal Of n rigid cross-examination2
There was motion on the part of the
n He drew n black, greasy note
book out of his pocket, and applied the
end of n stubby pencil to his lips. He
was prepared TO take down my deposit
ton.
"Silence is my only escape" l said.
"He never can extort n syllable from
me-" If l open my mouth, l was posi-
tive that l must criminate myself. Duff
was n precious villain and deserved
hanging, but Duff was no fool. dead
men tell no tales" and live ones would
not be dead ones had they the gift of
reticence.
81 never give any more trouble than
l a help, Mr.. Duff, " said the man.
He wanted to wheedle me. 1t was an
insidious attempt on his part to be spe-
cious. caught my tongue between my
teeth and bit it. / bit it harder than l
intended, until it hurt me. 1 felt men
tally abased at my inability to suffer so
little n pain without wincing. If 1 was
a villain, l was a poltroon. was losing
even my self respect, that heroistn which
any decent criminal should possess.
mot wanting to give trouble, Higgins
Sc Haggins must have their money, and
we expect you to pay it. The items are:
three-quarters of a dozen of shirts, and a
half dozen pairs of hose for Mrs. Duff,
with other things. Bill sold in 1885, and
you have been putting off the account for
some years"
l knew it. In my wild career of crime
l had the habit of rushing to fashionable
gents furnishing goods establishments,
and in magnificent style purchasing at
one time n shop windowful. With the
recklessness of n Brummel, / would buy
an assortment of ties, and never wear
the Same ''four-in-hand' twice. What
on earth had urged me to indulge in gor-
geous dressing gowns, smoking polo caps,
and eccentric tennis suits? What could
l have ever done with a gross OF shirt
studs and cuff buttons2 Had l beer pos
sessed of us many necks as Hydra, were
there not in my bureau drawers hun
dreds on hundreds of dozens of collars
sufficient to strangle that monster And
my wife? She had followed me headlong
In my reckless course. Could l ever re-
call having seen n hole in her stocking2
Evidently her extravaganza had been
fostered by me. l had carried her with
me over the precipice.
l understood it now. The worst had
come. / had been arrested ON the eve Of
hg suhhth iliBhb W NallStld. DuL an
hour more and would have foiled them.
Where had l secreted the carpet bag so
gorged with bank notes that it was diff
cult to lock it? / had bruised my fingers
in trying to force in the hasp. 1 had
cooked the accounts and dabbled in Wall
street. Oh, the orphans and widows 1
had beggaredl OF what avail to have
steered a boom, to ave breasted apanic2
And still, had l but a single week before
me, by means of our syndicate or a trust
1 should nave sucked the whole street
into my pool.
duff, you acknowledge the debt. You
will pay it," He had the same zone of
a~sseveration. "This day month there
shall be a settlement. See the figure.
You know it," he did not ask me to
look at the total. 1t was taken for grant
ed that l knew it. "You know it to a
cent, = he concluded. He built up his SEN
tence in granite blocks.
l felt convinced that l did know the
total, for when he snapped a rubber band
about the book the elastic closed to like