The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-11-23

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All last. IL her surprise, she xaw Kim
coming up Tie lawn from the outer road
with a man on either side Of him. She
slipped into Tie house again, and watched
the approaching figures from one Of the
drawing room windows.
While she did SO Natalie entered the
room. II see Gerald RaVelow coming
here, she broke out. with two men in
his company. Who are theyss7
II have no idea, answered Brenda,
turning from the window. why should
/ have?''
Natalie gave q slight laugh that was
like sheer made into sound. just then
steps were hesrd on the piazza. Moved
by a sudden impulse, Brenda flung open
the blinds Of the window near which
she had been standing.
This way, Gerald, she said.
Gerald catered soon afterward alone.
But Brenda saw that his two companions
waited just outside.
The young man put out his hand to-
ward Brenda while he fixed hard and
Geld stare at Natalie.
Il have piper. he said, written 8
dav or two before his death s,y your late
husband. Ia that paper he accuses yon
of TRYING to poison him. He detected
you. but said nothing. He preferred to
die by your hand, since he had loved you
so well that to live on would have been
horror. Iquote almost his exact words.
And there Is no doubt about the anthem
ticity Of this paper that he left. Bren-
da. here. received it from him and
placed it secretly within his breast after
he had been laid in his coffin. / found
it there. In 1t he also sEates that not
long ago he forced from you certain
confession regarding man named Ar
chibald Clay. and that he has reason to
believe you hide at the present time
packet of letters from this man and
one or more bottles Of poison as wen
within a particular cabinet upstairs
have secured a search warrant and must
therefores
At the word search warrant" Natalie
darted toward the door. Gerald followed
her, after swift sign through the wide
piazza window. He sprang up stairs,
knowing the house SO well that the cab
met to which his friends letter had al
luded and the apartment in which it
stood were both wen remembered by him.
But quick as he had been, Natalie
reached the cabinet before him. He saw
her knesling at one Of its open drawers.
The next instant he saw her lift sorne-
thing to her lips. Almost Immediately
after that she fell heavily backward.
There had lain o swifter poison here In
the cabinet than that stealthy one which
had doubtless wrought her husbands
death.
She was quite lifeless when they picked
her up. Afterward, when rigid exam
nations were made as to her previous
life, it seemed slight wonder that such
woman should have preferred to end by
suicide the final collapse Of her evil hopes.
She had undoubtedly been the wife of
certain disreputable English1nan called
Capt. Clay, and one Of whose aliases
was Leperidge, long before her marriage
with poor infatuated Louis Bond. From
some of the letters from this man found
in the cabinet it was only too evident
that she had planned Louis murder with
his full knowledge, and that the two ex-
pected at some future day to enjoy the
wealth which would thus vileiy have
been secured
During the following autumn occurred
Gerald's marriage with Brenda, greatly
to the delight of Mrs. Ravelow, whose
health had now regained It's usual gentle
state Of invalidisn. Some time before
this event Brenda had visited the vault
where her brother lay, and had first or
dered with her own hand what disarray
had been caI,sed fYv (4era1dss weird visit
and afterward quietly obtained aid for
the restoration of the injured coffin.
But Gerald could never be induced to
accompany her on either of the several
little pilgrimages which her task in
volved. ssNo, Brenda, be would say,
ssthere are memories connected with
that place which will haunt me till |
die. No need Of making them moro
vivid than they are sure to be already"
But once Brenda said: perhaps you
are quite wrong in believing, Gerald,
that anything supernatural really oc-