The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-08-20


earth and laid him from sight. All
that night she toiled ut her unholy
task, and the morning saw no tell
tale marks of blood. Ever since she
had lived there alone close to the
ghost of her crime, and she had new
er repented. In the cellar they found
the traces of the dead man, as she
had said, although naught remained
but the crumbling bones.
But, had this been all, it would
have stillremained conceivable. More
she told and, though incredible, it
must be believed, for dying women
tell the truth.
SHE KILLED THE SQUIRE.
She was sorry for that. She adj
mitted that she had repented bitter
ly. It had all been mistake. She
also justified the reputation that she
possessed as thief; for it was on the
night of the murder that, having &C
casion to visit the hall on some err
rand, she had as an opportunity Of
fered, concealed herself within, in the
hope ofsecuring some booty-to com.
fort her declining years, she ingen-
iously added. When, in the darkness
of midnight, she entered the squirrels
room, she had heard him restless up
on the bed, and had saturated a
cloth upon the table with chloru-
form, which she always carried, and
then held it softly to his face. She
had no intention of killing him. 1t
was, as she said, before, a mistake
from overdose. It would have been
all right had she been a doctor in
stead of a thief. ..-...gs
When asked to explain the disap-
pearance of the body she confessed
that this occurrence was as myster-
ious to her as to anyone else. But
she limited sagely the one word:
"Burkers!'' $500 -. ....~-
Placards were on the walls in all
the leading towns of three Kingdoms
bidding Mrs. Reece Neville to return
to her home for her innocence was
established. But time passed on
and she came not. She had vanished
as completely as her husbands
corpse, and all search and inquiry
were in each case unavailing.
One night as Sister Leah, formerly
Mrs. Reece Neville, passed through
the accident ward of the hospital,
she suddenly threw up her hands in
a dead faint.
Much alarmed, the sisters and ply
sicians hurried to her and applied,
hastily, every possible restorative.
Soon her eyes YEARLY Enclosed and
gazed vacantly about her. Then, as
sense and memory returned, she
uttered a cry: ...
"Take me to him! Take me to him!'
she implored. They would have
soothed her, for they thought her
mad, but hespurned their entreaties
to remain, and breaking from them,
rushed back to the ward. When
they came upon her she was kneeling
BESIDE a couch upon which lay man
whose forehead was bound by a
bandage. With her head upon his
breast, Sister Leah was weeping tears
OF sweetest pain; for the dead wasbe-
come alive again, and her lips met
those of Reece. Badly wounded he
was and weak, but he lived and knew
her. He clasped his feeble arms about
her, and heart to heart each knew
that never more could discord come
between them.
AS soon as Reece was partially re-
covered husband and wife went to a
quiet placein the country, where they
could, unnoticed, enjoy their new
happiness. One day Reece, glancing
over an old city newspaper, was
astounded to see, underneath a
heavy headline, the notice issued for
his wife's eye telling her tina she was
safe,to return. AS. he read the notice
farther, he was amazed to. discover
that a death bed declaration had re-
vealed the true criminal. His wife,
as well, was unable to comprehend
what it could mean. They decided
to return home at once and solve the
mystery.
Reece's account of the whole affair,
as given to his wife, was as follows:
After the quarrel, from which he
left her SO overcome by his anger,
he had retired to his room,
and soon after had hastily un-
dressed and sought his bed.
Torn by his passion, he had at,last
sunk into a stupid, apathetic condi-:
tion and remembered no more until
late the next morning, when lie had
been awakened by a, cry of terror.
"When, however, I attempted to
move" he continued / found that I
could not. l was tettered and bound
down immovably by something that
| cannot define. Let it suffice now
to say that it was catalepsy. In this
trance I must have remained for some
hours although hearing was the only
sense at my command by which I
could determine the course of events,
Then, on a sudden, l experienced d.
curious thrill and soon afterward a
violent tremor agitated me and I
was again alive. All, the Joy Of that
moment! | staggered to my feet and
rushed madly from the house. Then
there is q long blank. Where l was,
~, hot T IiI on~r1% 4on