Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1890-06-05
CHAPTER XXX.

fairly stopped beating. But he com
| pressed his lips together firmly, and
dipped his pen into the ink we'll.
Go on" he said, quietly, "and be as
concise as possible"
Mark groaned.
Let me begin at the beginning" he
said. II have known Gabrielle ST..
Cyr and her daughter all my life. l
have loved Adele ever since I was old
enough to know what love means
Gentlemen, would you know the
truth? She is La Belle, the famous
danseuse"
"That is no news to me, Mr.. Alleyne.
Go on!"
LA Bellies pretended death was all
. scheme of Gabrielle's to get posses
sion of the Lawrence fortune.
| "She knew that her child, once ele-
vated to the position of heiress to the
| great Lawrence fortune, must never
acknowledge her identity with the
| dancer.
Colbert Lawrence died believing
Gabrielle to be his lawful wife; but |
happen to know (and SO does she) that
| the priest who performed the cere-
mony had been accommodated before
It took place; he had no right to per-
form the ceremony; consequently it
| WAS not valid.
THAT makes Miss Ruby Lawrence
the lawful child of Gilbert Law
renee, and the true heiress of Lawrence
Park"
Arthur caught his breath with cry
bf JOY.
"Thank God!" he murmured, softly.
"Well," went on Mark, quite feebly,
Il was half mad with love for Adele,
and 1 promised to do anything to help
Gabrielle in her wild scheme.
II hired the girl, Maggie Willett, to
do all the dirty work. She it was who
placed in Ruby's room the supposed
evidences of her guilt-the blood
stained dagger and dress, and hand.
kerchief, the key in the pocket of the
dress, the pansies upon the floor be-
side the body. She did it all Course
herr, with wild hope that was going
to make her my wife.
"She had false key to Ruby's room,
and it was while she was placing a
bogus will in the grate-to be after
ward discovered as Ruby's crime-that
she lost the coral comb from her hair,
which so excited your suspicious. ]
took Ruby Lawrence out of her room
in the dead of night.
Maggie had already entered it, and
dressed the poor girl, making her be-
lieve, in her sick and half delirious
state, that you, Mr.. Wynne, had sent
for her.
II took her from the room by means
of ladder; it was the easiest matter
imaginable to drug the girl by means
OF an opiate, in brandy and the coast
was clear.
Il took her to Beechwood, as Gabri-
ellie babe me, and placed her in charss
of one Farmenti, in a private asylum
for the insane, where she is still con
fined"
Not much" muttered Arthur, be.
tween his set teeth. go on" he COM
manded once more, in low, ominous
voice.
Gentlemen, that is the whole Sc
cret. Now, will proceed to tell you
how Gilbert Lawrence died"
An awful hush fell over the room.
Arthurs pen was suspended, awaiting
his next words. Mark went on, weakly
Il was at Lawrence Park the night
of the tragedy" he continued, slowly
Il met Gabrielle coming from there
| wished to see Gilbert Lawrence, but
when reached the house / was at
tracted by a strange scene which met
my gaze, and so l did not ring for adj
mittance. This is what saw: The
curtains of the library window had not
been drawn, and Gilbert Lawrence sat
at his desk writing busily. I was so
impressed by the sight of his pale,
stern, hopeless face, that crouched
down below the window and watched
his movements. He finished writing
and locked the paper in drawer in his
escretoire. Then he arose, and going
over to the center table wrote those
words which were found there when
his body was discovered That done,
he lifted his hand and deliberately ex-
tingilished the gas, leaving the great
room half in freight, half in shadow.
by the Pickering shadows which
played across the dusky background
witnessed all that followed I saw it
all, gentleman: Ruby Lawrence is in
nocent- there was no murder donei
Gilbert Lawrence died by his own
hand!"
Arthur Wynne started to his feet,
pale and trembling, his eyes full ola
wild light. !
Are you in your senses?" he ASKED,
curtly.
Il ami" returned Mark Allkne,
calmly. colbert Lawrence, hliev.
ing himself guilty of wrong thich
could never be set right-to RUBY his
beloved T;lo. child.commisted supple;
with prussic acid; but with stlange
perversity, he dashed the phial Sside
before it had touched his lips and
stabbed himself instead with TIL dag
ger. / myself removed the blood
stained weapon from the hastly