Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-10-18

The notion of jack engaged in any
evil project was too preposterous &c
be entertained, and with a conviction
of the correctness OF her original sus-
picions Dolly opened the letter. 1t
ran thus:
| DEAR JAcE-Though delighted to hear
| from you again. | must admit that | am
very sorry for the reason which oecasioned
| your letter, and il l thought my remonstran-
ces wodld hove any effect should recommend
you most strongly to abandon your inten-
| ton altogether. l, however, promise to keep
| your secret and to give you my best advice
| on the professional point you put.
II should recommend arsenic. As your OBJ
| ject is to divert suspicion and to give he i'm
preston of accidental death. you should en-
ploy drug which is used both in medicines
| and vermin-killers. Arsenic, moreover, has IL
special advantage. from the fact that it is
often taken for the benefit of the complexion
l should suggest it's administration IN small
doses, ut considerable intervals. Too sud
den death might lead to investigation
which would lie avoided ii the symptoms
werc those of a gradual and progressive ILL
ness. This is important, because il your
beautiful helress becomes acquainted with
the suspicious circumstances attending the
death of No. /, she might naturally object to
becoming No-2. But once more, | advise you
to giveup your pro ect altogether. LISA very
heavy risk, especially to one in your posi-
ton. Yours ever.
ROBERT BALLANriNE
The room where Dolly was sitting
was light enough. The handwriting
OF the letter was legible enough; but
had it been traced in unknown
characters or studied in darkened
room, its meaning could not have
been less ineligible. What was
Jacks secret and what the heavy
risk he ran? What this mysterious
suggestion regarded from attendance
of suspicious circumstances "No. l
No. 2l' "Your beautiful heiress."
Then suddenly the whole truth stood
disclosed in n revelation surpas sing
in horror the widest of Dolly's PIE
vious apprehensions. She saw it at
last, and realized himself to be the
object of the detected conspiracy!
No wonder now at the alteration in
her husbands manner. No wonder
at his restless nights, and his moodi-
ness and irritably.
Your beautiful heiressl" How
dare her husband allow the use of
such terms! And about woman,
too. whose claims to good looks he
had always denied.
"lour beautiful heiress, indeed!"
Strange thatat sucha time these words
should rivet the attention of their
reader almost to the exclusion ofevery
other consideration; that at the mo-
ment OF the discovery of q deliberate
plot against her own life Dolly's mind
should dwell less on the awful nature
OF the contemplated crime than on
the motive of its commission.
The idea that Jack should plan her
death with the object OF marrving her
former rival seemed by far the dark
est feature in the terrible revelation.
For the meaning of the allusion was
easily aprehended. "Your beautiful
heiress" could have reference only
to the girl whose partiality for the
attractive Jack Rivers had been no.
torious.
Kate Argent, indeed, with her
face and fortune, had
been a seriously disturbing element
during Dolly's engagement,
and her existence had not been for
gotten. And thus in the first trans
ports of pique and jealousy the real
horror of the situation was over
looked. and the discovery accepted
rather with Indignation than alarm.
But not for long.
BY the time that she had restored
the letter to its envelope and replaced
it among her husbands other CORE
spondence she fully realized the dam
ger OF her position. And what should
she do? She had no friends in Lon
don whom she could confide in.
She had only few shillings in her
and, in any case, she
shrunk from the idea of presenting
herself at her fathers house as a run
away wife.
What should she do? Should she
make her discovery public, and throw
herself on the protection ofthe police,
or should she conceal her knowledge
OF her husbands intentions, and
await some more favorable oppor-
tunity of escape? Something, att any
rate, must be done. But what is
strange sensation which
seems first to numb her heart.
and thence to radiate through
every nerve and pulse? Dolly
was awake aud perfectly conscious of
her surrounding; she was sitting in
her own room, among her own tamil
ar furniture and ornaments. She
could see the sunlight on the wall
with the shadows of the la |
Durnum leaves. She could hear the
lick of the clock. the loud chirping of
The sparrows at the windows and the
Instant roar of the street traffic. She /
could smell the faint perfume of the
in the flower box on the
'ill. But she could neither stir nor
speak. No movement resulted from
Ter trenzied efforts to rise and when, |
n agony at the discovery, she tried |
% call for help. no sound followed.
Though accutely sensible of the hor-
or OF her position, and of her own
and danger, Dolly sat
iumb and motionless; and by degrees
he senses of sight and hearing,
hitherto clear and accurate, became
lin and distorted The we'll known
objects surrounding her took strange
md fantastic shapes, and the Gus
omary sounds assumed new and I'M
natural meanings. Dolly was no
onger in her own room in the little
odging in the borough. These BIOS