New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-02-06

ssPoor Abbie! wonder what she thinks
of me now? I wonder if she believes me
guilty?n
caught upon the name at once. It occur
red to me that had seen my lady visitor
use handkerchief with a large CAP en-
broidered upon it,
s'Who is Abbie?' made bold to answer.
She was my promised wife, said he, in
voice broken with emotion; ssbut alas! |
This terrible charge against me has, fear,
turned her love for me into loathing.''
Has she visited you since your arrest?''
ssNo',
ooh, Well,'' said 1, assuringly, ssyour fears
may yet prove groundless. She may yet
call. and prove the steadfastness of her de-
votion.'
"Ah,'' said he with a mournful shake of
the head, ''you do not know who she is or
you would not say that
Perhaps not Who is shea''
"She is the daughter of the murdered man
-Abbie Vancourt?''
| started and could hardly repress an e7-
clamation of establishment. What new
phase would this strange case next assume?
I'VE as the fact of your engagement known
to her father?"
"Ies. And that adds another link to the
chain OF evidence against me. He knew OF
and bitterly opposed it, which, you can see,
affords the ground for belief that had a
strong motive in getting him out OF the
Way'
Yes; he was right Every step advanced
into the case, the deeper saw my client
stuck in the mire.
One thlng-though was not privileged to
tell him SOL was sure Of My pretty visit
or and Abbie Vancourt were unquestion-
ably, one and the same, and that her love
for the poor fellow was yet firm and unshak-
en-.
could now better understand her desire
not to be dragged into the case, too; but
these matters in no wise shed any new light
upon my course
There was one thing I could not under
stand, however, and it puzzled me NOT a lit
tie. II Abbie Vancourt had not visited the
accused, how could she relate to me, with
such minute eXactness, the doings and say
lngs OF young Hinton on the night of the
murder: From what source had she obtain
ed her information?
l left the Jail in maze of conflicting
thoughts and theories, and returned to nv
Office. Here, after a long, patient and ex-
haustlve analysis of the case, reached one
conclusion, and that was, to visit Miss Van
court, plead with her to release me from nv
promise, and tell what she knew upon the
witness stand. If my appeal failed would
return her retainer, and withdraw from the
case.
Before I could act upon this impulse,
however, other clients came in, and through
out the day I was kept so fully occupied
that was forced TO delay my purpose.
When the rush of business was over for
the day, it was too late to visit her, but,
feeling the need of breath of fresh air, 1
sauntered out for walk in the moonlight.
Through some unaccountable fatality my
course was so shaped that soon afterward
found myself in the verv neighborhood
where Justin Vancourt had met his fate.
For the first time, since my retention in
the case, it occurred to me to make crit.
cal survey of the locality, and see if could
not evolve some original theory which
might lead to the discovery of the real Grim
inal =,
Accordingly, I spent some time in my in
vestigations but with such little satisfac-
ton that was upon the point Of giving up
the task in despair, when my attention was
drawn to an object lying partly concealed
amid the refuse in the gutter and l stopped
to pick it up.
To my establishment it turned out to be a
large pocket dirk, and as held it up, under
the rays of a convenient street lamp, I was
Mortified to find it covered with blood!
From inquiries had made at the police
station, | had learned that the dagger found
by them contained no blood stains, and my
discovery put a new and wild thought into
my head.
The dirk had picked up was, of a GER
tainty, the one used by the assassin. Now,
if only could find its owner!
Late as it was, I hurried to the jail, and
sought an interview with Percy. Instinct,
rather than any particular reason, led me to
hope he could solve the problem.
My manner excited him, and he eagerly
asked the cause of my perturbation.
"Seew cried, holding aloft the blood
stained weapon! II have found the muir
derer's knife! Did you ever see it before?''
He took it from my hand with percepti-
BILE shudder. and held it up under the rays
of his dim light.
Hardly had he done so when he sprang
back as though stung by an adder, while his
face turned as white as marble
''See," cried he, hoarsely. There are
the owners initials, H. W.
'Who-what do they stand for?" I gasp
ed
Horace Vancourt, the murdered mans
SON 1t is surely his, for / have seen it
many times before.''
The words ran through me like an electric
shock, and were understood with equal sud
denness.
In an instant I saw through it all. He
had, with a well-defned purpose, led young
Hinton into making those thoughtless
threats; had purposely engaged in playful
encounter as a pretext to get the tell-tale
evidence of guilt from his pockets; and had
then Wantonly murdered his father, in the
hope of thus getting into possession of his
large fortune.
Abbie's position, too, was readily made
clear. She was placed between her brother
and her lover and to cling to the one would
have brought disgrace and death TO the
other.