St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-08
is not much else to d." replied Almedo, with


shrug and forced laugh.
"Almedo which way Is the lookout from
here?"
Almedo's color became a sickly olive, his
lips were drawn back from his even, white
teeth, and there was an expression in the
black eyes that might mean fear, anger, sus-
picion, or blending of all three.
''Why, there is the lookout" he said, and
he turned and pointed in direction as OPP
posite to the targets as the mark of half-past
four on the face OF a clock would be to twelve.
Eyes, know where the lookout is. But
If you were shooting at the butts-the tar
gets. how did you come to discharge your
rifle at the lookout?" asked Lord Pelham, as
he struck another match, and surveyed Al
medo through the smoke.
"I?" then as if suddenly recalling some
thing, sob, yes, my rifle went of by accident,
a while ago.
"And shot Mr.. Ralph Holmes. who was at
the time with Miss Morton in the lookout?"
"What?" exclaimed Almedo.
"No need to repeat it, sir. I say you shot
Mr.. Holiness"
''I?" and Almedo laid his right hand on
his heart.
'Yes, YOU
"Oh, no; surely the bullet did not go there,
or if it did, it was an accident" cried Alme-
do.
sit was not an ACCIDENT"
"Lord Pelham, what do you meanr
81 mean that you deliberately tried to MUIR
der that young man, and probably have sue
ceeded.
ooh, you need not show your teeth or try
to play the staggering bravo with me- You
are not the first cabeliaro of your kind that
1 have met in my time, though I must con-
TESS that while all have been at heart coward
ly swaggerers l think you are the first I
have met who would sneak up on an unarmed
man and shoot him from ambush. Now, if
Holmes dies, and it looks very much to me
as if you had made sure work of your job I
will try the law on you, and if that fails, I'll
give you good chance to shoot at man
who can shoot back. You understands
Almedos courage, or the swagger that
passed with him for courage, vanished, but
he retained sufficient presence of mind to
deplore 'the accident" and to insist that he
knew nothing about it till Lord Pelham had
informed him.
He had just finished this denial when a
hooking laugh came from the dense under
growth to the right Following this, Mad
Inez appeared on the scene with the unex-
pected suddenness of character in panto-
mime, and pointing her staff at Almedo with
her left hand, while she threw back her long
hair with her right, she shrieked:
He lies he lies! he lies I saw him
creeping over near that rock !' and she in
Dictated the place with a sweep Of the staff
ST saw him kneeling down with his rife
pointed at the lookout; saw the flash, and
I heard the crack, and the cry Of the poor
girl whose heart was pierced to-day, as mine
has been in the past! That is the truth, but
Almedo denies it, for the man who does
murder, will not stop at lie!'
Inez turned and with her burning black
eyes looked at the covering Almedo for fully
minute, then, with a mocking laugh she
disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Waiting till he was sure Inez had gone out
of hearing, Almedo, his buster all gone, said:
"The woman is crazy; she is Mad Inez
and you will not take her word, Lord Pei
ham, against that of gentleman like me2''
and he laid his hand on his heart and bowed
I shall watch you, and may keep this as
secret"
''It was an accident 1t was, on my word
But if it was known, people would blame me
they always blame me. lam what you Amer
leans call born unlucky.' Why should I
want to do harm to this young man?'
"Ah that is the question the court will
ask, Almedo, if find it necessary to bring
you to trial; let me say, think I can satisfy
any jury as to your motive. But shall watch
you and keep silent. Not word of this
talk, you understand, to Colonel Morton or
Dr. Ellerton?"
sob, no, senior; not word to no one,"
said Almedo, and obeying Lord Pelham's
gesture, he walked on beside him to the
house.
From servant the men learned that Col
onel Morton who had been to Monterey, had
returned and was then with DR.. Ellerton in
the telegraph tower.