Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-09-08

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J In the momentary pause that follow
! ed, the girl who kneeled without. real
lied without a word the whole truth
Il saw you kill her." said the wo
mans voice beyond. 20! Heavens, i
Only | might have saved her. but
was barely in time to see it, and tn
window was between
| LIAR he cried; say that you Your
self committed the crime. but mus
accuse ne 10 the end-but, thank God
nave found you at my very gate
after searching the world over. and Vol
Shall hang for her murder vet
Il would hang, willingly.' said tn,
voice, for the sin is mine. and sh,
never wronged me; my wicked weak
ness was at the root of all. and per
hhps You did well 10 slay her-she il
happier rs she is
What. You still persist in that hor
IrIhle lieE' he cried in q voice of fur,
the poisonous lie that drove Lore
loVel forth. that on his return YOU hay,
InSfilled into his ear drop by drop, til
his Very soul is dragged with its I'm
truth: Before my God / will sveal
that this right hand is innocent of he,
blood as
stay. cried the voice; edo not per
JHre yourself SO-these eyes saw thai
hand commit the crime and to avoid
giving evidence against YOU. ran
away but was drawn back by my love
for your child. and when YOU commit
ted me for trial resolved that, if con
vIcted, / would die SILENT
SILENT" cried Mr.. Eyre: then how
came Lord I4ovel by his knowledge? .
I'm your brain fever YOU revealed
everything" said the woman: until
then he believed me guilty-and | did
not unleceive him.
Mr.. Eyre laughed aloud. Does 4
man in brain fever speak the truth ?''
he said, contemptuously; land as to
your cyes-Who would trust them. with
Il knowledge Of your antecedents? The
brain that could plan murder. could
easily enough plan lie
There was no answer, no sound of
any kind but that of Mr. Eyre's steps
rs he paced to and fro about the mar
row room, but when those steps
stopped, Madcap's heart seemed stop
ped also, as she waited for his next
words
You have impressed your lie wildly
enough upon Lord Lovel-te,l it TO me,
ana with some circmStantial detail.
that | may the more readily appreciate
it,
Have YOU forgotten it?' cried the
woman, with 4 passion of wonder in
her voice: how you came up the wind
ing stair from the library. and, paus-
ing at sight Of the seated figure. snatch
ed 4 knife from the open dressing case,
stabbed her Savagely to the heart as
she sat asleep by the window. before
could cry out? You left her there
for dead. and thrust the knife away
in cabinet. and went down stairs as
one who walks in his sleep, and I was
frozen. and could not call out or stir:
but presently my senses came back.
was not dead"
And the scrap of your clothing found
caught to her chair-What of that?'
said Mr.. Eyre
II had forced my way through the
narrow window: T was feeling her
heart. her pulse, when the light of your
candle showed ZigZag on the private
stains. and at the same moment came
the sound of hurrying feet; some i'm
pulse made me snatch the knife from
the cabinet in which | had seen YOU
place it. and 7 escaped barely in time,
only to be Intercepted by Digges at it's
foot. I struggled with him and got
away. stumbling on for Miles till I
thought myself safe from pursuit. But
the child drew me back-suddenly it
was borne in upon me that he was
very i'll. and in the dead of night I
returned to find him dying in Lord
Lovers arms. But he died in mine
thank God for that-1ny little love. my
angel: and as he lay dead upon my
knees you entered with the officers of
the law. and ordered them to take me
to prison. charged with the murder I
had seen YOU commit"
Mr.. Eyre suddenly burst out into a
fit of violent. shocking laughter. that
revealed his state Of incipient madness
more clearly than q thousand other eX-
travagances could have done
$50 that is the story into which YOU
have persuaded Frank Lowell" he said.
This is the tissue of lies that you have
taken seventeen years to build up: but
a judge will find out these. for tomor-
row morning I will give myself up to
justice. on your evidence. as the muir
derer of my wife,
'No. no. cried Hester pasSiOnately
You have forced-wrllng the truth
from me: but for her sake-for the sake
of the VOW I made to her the day be
fore she died I would hang for your
crime rather than publicly accuse you
of it,
NO" said Mr.. Eyre. you would
only slay my soul. as my friend has
done: but each syllable that you and
he have spoken today shall be sifted
in Il court Of law: for by the God
against whom I have Sinned I swear
that this hand is innocent of my wife's
blood
In the awful silence that followed
Nadcaps heart seemed to cease to beat
and the very life-blo0d to ebh from hel
veins. Then came the sound of Il wo
mans sob-hard. anguished as the last
hopeless cry of a profound despair,
"Ay. weep if YOU can" said Mr. Eyre
in a terrible voice You. who destroy
ed the happiness. took the life of the
sweetest soul God ever made; for il
your hand hesitated to slay her. your