Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-04-11

down the blind a little way, and closed
the door.
The two men then returned to the
dining room; there they empted and
washed out the decanter, afterwards
retlling it and helping themselves.
They put up the cake, swept up the
broken glass, opened the window, and
went up stairs. Gustave first securing
Madam Dnmasque's keys from the
pocket of her dress.
Having opened the travelling bag,
ustave handed 1t to Jacob, with its
contents Of thousand pounds and
some valuable jewelry; and then. not
finding anything more to reward his
continued search, the coarser, more
debased ruffian was eager to get away.
DE had now an easy method OF bleed
ing his victim whenever he felt dis.
posed; but he was not DESTROYS of be-
ing seen in his company on the scene
OF the crime. So he soon trudged off
on the road to Fladgate, uncertain
whether TO turn evidence against the
criminal or not.
Gustave, left alone with the dead.
also longed to leave the horrible spec
taclc, and yet fingered; for he had
great difficulty in making up his mind
whether it would after all not be bet
ter to follow Jacobs advice and push
the body into the black depths OF the
mill-well Finally he decided to do
so, and went upstairs to bring down
Madame Dumasque's bonnet and man.
tie and other wraps. After little de-
lay he found the key of the mill-door
hanging against the wall in the kitch-
en-, and carrying the wraps over his
arm, went down the garden to the
gruesome building. He unlocked the
door, lighted candle he had taken
with him, and threw the garments
down the yawning chasm. Finding
that they descended into impenetrable
darkness, he determined, after some
hesitation, to try to dispose of the
dead body in similar manner, and
then lock up the mill and the house,
and leave it to be inferred that
Madame Dumasque had left the place.
This would give him time to escape.
While the murderer was thus DELHI
Grating, black shadow passed across
the floor.
Gustave darted to the door which he
had left open; but no one was to be seen,
no sound to be heard He waited.
listened, and presently heard a sound
above his head. He could not bear
the suspense, but mounted the ladder,
and, candle in hand, peered round the
empty chamber, only to discover a
stray cat which had wandered through
the don. IN hDl IL
felt that he dared not leave it in the
deserted building, lest it should attract
attention by its mewing; and so he
spent some time catching the animal,
and then, carrying it out, closed the
door behind him.
Leaving the light burning in the
mill, he went back to the house to finish
his desperate task, when the sight of
lights in the drawing-room filled him
unspeakable dread, and, creeping in,
he saw standing there the man who he
had been told was dead. and saw also
that he had discovered the dreadful
truth. Losing all command over him.
self-only conscious of the desire for
self-preservation at any cost, the de-
sire to destroy all evidence of his guilt
he did not stay to calculate the pos
sibility OF finding in Clifford fresh
victim on whom to fix the crime He
approached Clifford from behind, and
felled him to the ground in moment.
The next minute he was dragging the
unconscious man into the deserted
mill with the strength of a maniac.
He pushed and dragged the motionless
body to the brink of the black abyss.
and then sent it rolling down with all
his might. Guided by the iron ladder,
it disappeared without sound to tell
him whether his second victim lived,
and he paused, painting and exhausted
after his terrible task.
Gustave left the light burning as he
rushed from the mill to the house to
fetch his first victim, and he left the
mill door open as, without hat and
in the fast descending rain, he gained
the open doorway of the Mill House.
But the rising wind blew out the can
die burning in the mill and the door
shut with slam, as, shaking the rain
from his coat, he turned to enter the
room in which he had perpetrated his
second deed of cruelty. He must fin
ish all he had 10 do and leave the
place without delay; he must try and
get away from Fladgate that very
night.
He entered the room hastily and
found himself confronted by Judith,
who gazed upon him with stern and
menacing air.
The woman laid hand upon his
arm and held it as though in vice,
pointing with bony finger to her
dead mistress.
Murderer, she said fiercely, II
will avenge her death! l mistrusted
your face when | left her alone. Oh,
why did | not persuade her to go too!
Do not deny the deed-you have
killed your mother!'
my motherr cried Gustave with a
livid face, as he held his hands before
his eyes to shut out the dreadful sight
OF that form-''my mother!'
'Your MOTHER" repeated Judith.
"but | will avenge her death-it shall
be life for u life-you shall die! II
she sinned, did she not atone for it by
devoting all her life to you, her base
son? And this is her reward! / loved
her." went on the hard-featured wom-
AMI was with her in all her sorrow,
in all her bitter trouble; but you, her
snp 1ava,. ho1 op,- ,a4,,,ol fool;.- f..