The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1889-10-31
A Chapter of Coincidence
A LARGE FORTUNE WAIVER
ING IN THE BALANCE.
THE MISSING HEIR.
.THE cAUCAsIAN's ORIGINAL STORY
BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE.
(Continued from last issue. !

seeming to be unconscious Of
outward objects. After passing
Filth avenue, We proceeded
about half way down the block
towards Sixth avenue, and there
she stopped at the door of a
rather dilapidated boarding
house. A quack doctar had
hung up his sign in the front
window. Miss Jadwin opened
the street door, and l followed
her down dark entry to an
other door at the further end Of
it. THE she opened with a
pass key, and Inotioned to me
IT, go In. | did so, and found
myself in a poorly furnished
but clean room, looking out on
back yard. There was a fire.
place with a small cooking
stove attachment to it, a couple
of chairs and a table, a book
rack with half a dozen books
in it, and a. bed. On the bed
lay a man, fully dressed; he lay
on his back, with his face turn
ed toward the wall. He made
no movement at our entrance !;
apparently he was asleep. l
approached and looked at him !;
there was something unnatural
in his attitude, and in the yell
low-pallor Of his face. I touch
ed his shoulder, and immedi-
ately sensation OF horror
crawled through my nerves.
The man was dead! And not
only was he dead-the hilt of a
dagger stuck out from his breast;
the blade was buried in his
heart. Beyond a doubt he had
been murdered.
1t took me some time to re-
cover my mental .equipoise.
This was even worse than the
chestnuts. In answer to my
questions, Ruth Jadwin stated
that, OIL her return home the
evening before, she had found
this corps in it's present posi-
ti0n. How it got there she
could only conjecture. Her
door had been fastened, but the
window was left open, and he
might have got in that way-or
been carried in, supposing him
to have been murdered outside.
On discovering him, her first
impulse had been to give the
alarm, but fear of her reputa-
tion, of losing her place al
Crashaw's, even of the charge OF
murder, had restrained her. She
was alone in the world; she
knew not what to do, to whom
to turn. She had ended by do.
ing the most foolish thing pos
sible-locking the body up in
her room and leaving the house
fShe had wandered about al
night, finally taking the resolu
tion that had resulted in her ap
peal to me- I watched hel
closely while she was tellins
this story. There was truth il
her every tone andgesture. Still
she had placed herself in a yer!
awkward if not dangerous po
s:tion. There was only. on
course to pursue, aud that wa
to give immediate notice to th,
police.
Leaving her in the room,
went out in the street and hail
ed an officer, who fortunateI,
happened tosb passing. Whel
we got back to tue room W
found Ruth unconscious on tn
!, floor. Hei powers Of enduranc
had reached their limit, aud sh
had tainted away.
The ordinary routine in sue
" cases was gone throug', will
but when I had an opportunit
to examine the features of th
corpse, something oddly fam
9 liar in their expression cause
ME to put my hand in my pocf
et and draw out the mornin
! paper. Yes, there could be n
doubt alb. nut it; the portrait {
> Simon Ferdinando's s face was a
!. accurate reproduction of til
. dead mans face. The body {
= the great political spy lay b.
o fore us. Further scrutiny Il
vealed the fact that the daggt
q that was buried in mis- heal
r had previously been passe
q through a card, on which WI
n written the wood Traitor, ar
! the initials Of the secret societ
n which he had betrayed. Certa.
papers found in his pockets co
h firmed the Identification,
J. But this was not all Amor
a the documents upon the bo(
x was a sealed envelope, whic
if being opened; proved to conta
ia a certificate of baptism aud OF
er papers, relating to one Fe
or dinand Asten-the self-sar
IN brother of the deceased Ambr
A. who had been one Of the !
h. jects Of my search. This W
or not, of itself, sufficient TO esta
lish the fart that Fedinand 4