Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-05-16
STORY OF AN OPAL.
WHERE THE MISSING LINK IN A CHAIN
OF EVIDENCE WAS FOUND.
Ingenuity of murderer--A Husband h'''s
His wife and conceals the ono
Article which would Convict
Him In Cat.
nv " Uobbv IN The Atlanta Constitutional

A wild-eyed, nervous man told me tin
.;ob, "a we were coming mp on the
tain from Savannah did not know hin'
He said he lived In other lands from this'
hn, whore know not. He claimed 10 De
a fugitive from bis country's laws anu !
did not doubt him. He had nuh'eu
! look. ., .,,d
didn't know why be should have told
mo what he did. unless it was because l
was sitting nearest him. He came up anu
sat down softly by my side, ana A. tne
train sped on through dark WOODS nc iiaii
whispered his CHASTITY story. ,.,.Lo.T
Excuse me, sir, he said, but Ieei 'nsv -
,,,Ist talk 10 some one or else GO maj. ana
~ what shall / tell you except my own
da,L history? | think of nothing else
draam no other dreams, and can talk on no
otbor theme than The one black crime that
| follows me like Nemesis.
Tbree years ago was married toa young
woman in my native place. thihk we
would have lived happily together Dut ioI
| for one thing--a simple anu loo,lsn .nlns
| - u,;ll seem to you, but il created between
ne an impassable gulf. She delighted IN
wearing pair of CAV, dangling earrings
NTH onaIs IN them Now, strange as II may
seem 10 YOU, havealwGys had the Widest
nrciud,ce aGainst the custom OF wearing
ornanents pierced into the flesh. To me II
! looks barbarous. Yet while we were en-
Gagged. and Just after our marriage my
| wife seemed so attractive that was aoie
| TO endure them. But as time wore On nn. .l
| tbe first glamour of love passed away my
| old adherence for the senseless ornaments
returned. and even grew greater-tor she
bod a yav of shaking her head that maze
them look doubly hateful. She MAINTAIN;
| cd that my objections were toohsh, ana
| consequently there was anything out 10
mestic peace in our nome. >, IL
Day after day wequarreiieu. Day aitSr
! dav grew more sullen and she more OBJ
stinate and tOrmenting. Matters went on
| TINS until one Sunday morning, day
| that should have been filed with peace,
| Int AT the thought of which ! shudder
nova dav on which lost my soul and
every hope of Heaven.
THE DEMON OF MURDER.
We were ouarrelling as usual about the
| earrings, | was telling her how ! hated
the sight of them and that 1t had come to
| be a mania with me, and she was telling
me what q fool was and that she always
intended to wear them. 49,,
| And right then and there, sir, the demon
| of murder, coming it seemed to me from
out of the misty opals, entered my heart.
| And from that very hour | began 10 lay
| plans for her death-ah! most carefully
| and cunningly did ! plot to murder her.
| Never did deadly foe watch more warily
| his unconscious victim than did that I'M
suspecting woman. think if she had only
| taken off those barbara Jewels could have
spared her. But she blindly persisted and
| sealed her doom.
II was on wild and stormy night that
| carried out my plans-a night well suited
to my purposes and the black hell within
me. She had been working hard about the
house all day, and having lain down on the
| bed to rest had fallen asleep. No one else
| was on the place. 1t was 10 O'Clock, and
| the rain and wind and thunder and light
! ming were raging outside. II was hardly
| possible that any one would come to the
| house at that time of night and In such
weather. Our nearest neighbor lived q
mile away.
| crept softly, stealthily to the bed
| much as YOU have seen cat creep upon q
| bird. She was still asleep, and IN her ears
were those hated opals. | believe even
| then would have stopped II 1t had not
| been for those Jewels. But they were my
evil spirit and lured me on. II did not
| take long TO do the work. With some OF
| the bed-clothes | covered her face and
| smothered the breath from her body, She
struggled slightly, but with demon Gluten
| held her quiet, and soon she lay still ana
| lifeless.
Two hours later left the house with the
dead body in my arms. The storm was stu
fierce and the sky as black Us the night
that ragged in my heart. ! had gone several
| hundred wards into a wood when, be-
| coming wearied. put the CHASTITY burden
| down. As | did so a flash of Lightning
seemed to fall directly upon one OF the
opals in her ear, and the misty stone shonS
like brilliant fame, When 1t had gone
hastily tore the jewel from its place ano
put it i'll my pocket. just as ! had my
hand upon the other there was nash as II
the world was on fre-and / knewno more
THE COURSE TO PURSUE.
| When | recovered consciousness, after
| know not how long. saw by the OCCASION
| al flashes that the lightning had struck
tall tree not twenty feet away and had tori
il INTO atoms. Large pieces were lying
| around, and one had fallen across the deac
| body of my wife / was hOrror-strIcken
nj what had happened and fed from the
place. Ii seemed like the vengeance OF
heaven was pursuing me. But by the time
! I had reached the house / decided upon {
safe course topursue.
The body, reasoned. would be found,
and no one would for an instant suppose
that she had died any other way than iron
the electric bolt-they could not thlnH
otherwise. / would 90 away and return
some time the next day, ana VINO Woul1
ever know what / had done!
Saddlipg my horse, ! rode, at feariu
| sneed for mile upon miles-on through the
rain and darkness, far, far away fled from
the scene of my guilt. When morning
broke stopped to rest my horse for few
hours and then started slowly on the re
turn. In the early afternoon | reached my
nearest neighbor's house and stopped.
Gently, kindly, tenderly he broke to mi
the news that my wife was no more, ant
then related how she had been killed by
LIGHTNING and was found that morning by
the roadside. OF course / appeared very
much shocked at what he said, but IN my
heart | chuckled to think that it was nea
\ the road had left her-for ! knew theI
that the devil was helping his own. ~,
When we came to the place we found tina
the Coroner and large crowd had alread,
| collected, and at my request they helu az
| inuuest over the body. | was the only
witness besides the man who had discov
cred her swore that l had been away
| from home and had intended TO return tn
night before, but was unexpectedly dc
layed. NV wife. told them, was very ner
vus and being frightened probably at SOM
NOISE, had hastily left the house and starteI
for my neighbor's. The night being darl
she had doubtless lost the way and me
her death at the hands of more than mortal
The Jury of course found verdict III &C
cordance with my statement and VIVA
they saW--what else could they find!
SHE HAD BEEN MURDERED.
But there was young lawyer there from
the neighboring village who took q, de
cided interest in the case, and he looked
at me several times in way that made N.
guilty heart beat faster. He examined IN
body very closely, and taking the Sherii
and his deputy up 20 the spot pointed, on
something to them, and then the thre
conferred together.
But nobody doubted the truth OF tn
Coroner's verdict, and so my. wife wa
buried, and after the crowd dispersed
returned home.
That night the young lawyer:-curs
him-called on me in company with Tn
! two officials. He told me they were no
satisfied. that they believed my wife ha'
been murdered by some villain who was pro
badly even then lurking in the community
and that with my consent and help the.
would try TO ferret him out.
HIS open and candid manner CONVINCED
me at once that j was not suspected, and
cheerfully agreed to help them and thank
ed the lawyer for the interest he was takin!
in the case. | felt like taking devilisl