The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-26
1 had not far away. was .. little an


noyed at not having been able to see
moro of him, but could scarcely blame
him for devoting himself to Mabel. III
had been put to good deal Of pains t.
secure her cociety. He first met her a
the house of his aunt in Chattanooga.
He made every effort to get his aunt t.
como to his fathers house for long
stay, and when he had succeeded pre-
vailed upon the aunt to invite Mabel
After such generalship, / said to my
self, he deserves his reward.
It was almost midnight and I wa.
| getting ready to go to bed, when saw
Fred coming out of an avenue of low
bushes which led to the main road. III
did not speak to me, but grasped my
hand with an earnestness that seemed
in some way intensely pathetic MJ
! lips were opened to question him, wher
he turned and hurried through The oper
door up the stairway.
Jealous l exclaimed.
Ny sleepiness forsook me, and sal
| thinking and smoking. heard foot
step behind me, and looking around
saw the red fire of lighted cigar.
guessed at once that my visitor was
| Randolph Jackson. from the peculia
| way in which the cigar burned. II
glowcd fiercely for little time and
then the light sank almost to invisible
ity. All this was with the slow regu.
larity of the ticking of a timepiece.
| Jackson was al inveterate smoker, and
he always puffed at his cigar in pre-
| cisely this manner, lighting fresh one
as soon as one was consumed
Gould you tell me-" he asked, chow
I can communicate with any of the
servants?"
1T is rather late" I answered, with
out making any effort not to seem short
81 realize that. but they have given
me such small pillows that l cannot
sleep. wish to get some large ones. %
l told him how to find the colored
housekeeper's door. and reflected that
Jackson was probably in dangerous
way. If had known him better and
liked him, would have felt sorry for
him. AS it was, l contented myself
with mental comment that when an
habitual tobacco consumer who had
sudden pains in the heart found him
self unable to sleep except with his
head high, it would be just as well for
him to be little careful 1t didn't
concern me, however; the chances were
in favor of his living long time, and
if he didn't-there would be no excuse
for my putting on mourning.
In an instant 1 confessed to myself
that this cold philosophy was the
merest assumption. Jackson's appear
ance had startled me very much; it had
seemed in some way the consequence of
the thought had been bending myself
to. He had been the subject of every
mental effort that I could command;
memory, logic, even imagination.
felt sure had seen him elsewhere. It
could not have been in New Orleans,
for had never visited that city. had
tried to recall one by one all the people
l ever knew; the effort was as fruitless
as it was tatiguing. I repeated his
name Randolph jackson" over and
over. In some way it brought back an
encounter of good many years before.
While was student Of medicine I
was a witness in a case which attract
ed great deal of attention for awhile.
l was going home from the college one
night. when heard a shot. 1 pressed
forward with the crowd and entered
the house from which the sound had
proceeded. A demand for medical as
sistance brought me to the immediate
scene of what had undoubtedly been
murder. It was the first time I had
ever come into contact with death in a
violent form, and all the circumstances
impressed themselves wildly upon my
memory. A man was seated on chair,
his head thrown forward on his arms,
which rested on the table before him.
When I made an examination bullet
hole stared at me from the base Of the
skull. He was past all assistance.
The room was very poorly furnished.
The walls had been newly white
washed, and little sheet-iron stove
stood near the wall on the left. There
was go little in the room that it had a
distinct character, and every detail
stood out in the memory like a cameo.
The murdered man had been a good
deal of scapegrace; had made living
by odd jobs of writing for the news
papers, but was known to have re-
ceived large sum of money from an
Inheritance. Only one man had been
known to visit him in this room. He
was known through some extensive
operations on the board of trade, and
the dead man was known to have
claimed an interest in some Of his deals.
They had quarreled quite bitterly once
or twice. This acquaintance was ar
rested, but there was not sufficient evil
dence to hold him. Very soon after
ward it was noted that he carried
through with ease some transactions
which had formerly been considered
moro than he could support-but that
camo from the Sossips. The name OF
this man was jock Randolph.
And "a sat on the porch repeating
the name Of the oolonel's guest over
and over in an effort to jog my memory,
it reminded me with sudden force of
this name, Jack Randolph" It seemed
very slight thing-the himsiest Of CO.
medicines And yet how naturally the
average man would select some such
expedient in devising an alias He
hates to give up all his name and, in
changing 1t, almost inva-iable clings to
some part OF the familiar appellation.
He wants to ouswit the world and at
the same time recall himself to himself
whom he hears the nana pronounced.
In this way Jack Randolph" would
very easily become Randolph jackson.
I determined to learn moro about his
letter OF introduction, sad with that
resolve arose asd traced my steps to