The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-06-11
CHAPTER XII.
A DREADFUL MISTAKE.

pavement alone. Miss Maxey no longer
followed him
Instead of that she walked boldly up
from the area door into the street, as
ccnded the brownstone steps and pulled
the bell. This was tho result of her re-
Elections in the cold and dark. She
would see this high bred acquaintance of
the mysterious man, convince her of the
| urgency Of the case, threaten her if need
be and learn from her if she could who
and what he was.
1t was not without conscious dread
and shrinking that she took the initia-
| tive step in this determined project. She
had been rather inclined to consider
herself as lacking in executive ability,
but none of us exactly know ourselves
until an emergency arises to test u.s.
After she had let go the handle which
summoned the servant to the door she
was taken with a fit of trembling and
began to consider whether she had bet
ter not run away while there was yet
| time.
The instant the servant appeared and
| she had spoken TO her. her courage re-
turned, the trembling left her She could
not understand what had SO frightened
| her moment before. But the sentiment
which came to take the place Of the
dread and the fear was soca changed
from that of bravery to surprise and be-
| wilderment. As the house seemed desti-
tute of door plate, Miss Maxey had
made up her mind to ask, like peddler
or beggar, for the lady of the house.
Her ring had been answered with sur
=. prising alacrity by q maid in white
cap, who now, hardly waiting for her to
/ open her lips, said in a low voice:
-! You want to see my lady? Yes. She
is waiting for you. Come up. This
! way"
The next moment the door closed be-
hind her, and Miss Maxey was in the
house. Her heart was beating rapidly.
! What did this mean2 Had the woman
/ suspected her, watched herr Did she
I know how she had followed her carriage
/ and had hidden under the steps of the
adjoining house till Mr. Dye had come
out! 1t seemed preposterous, but it must
! be so.
Come right with me, =" said the maid
! in the same low tone when she had
| closed the door.
She began atonce to ascend the broad,
richly carpeted staircase which led to
the floor above. Miss Maxey, startled and
confused, followed. Having reached the
head of the flight the maid went along
the spacious hall toward the rear of the
house and turned into narrower pas
sage running at right angles. The light
was dim. 1t was with difficulty that the
artists sister could see her way The
maid knocked at door, Immediately
there was rustic Within followed by
the sound of q key turning in the lock.
The door opened cautiously little way,
and woman's voice said;
SIS it she?''
"Yes, the maid answered.
BE quick, " said the voice.
The maid laid her hand upon Miss
Maxey's shoulder, and in her eagerness
to enforce the order urged her, almost
pushed her, through the doorway. Miss
Maxey suddenly found herself in glare
of light that dazzled her eyes. This fact
| and the realization that the door was
instantly closed and locked constituted
her first impressions. Immediately the
strong and to her the siekening smell of
ether choked her with its intensity, and
she saw the room and all that it con.
tained.
1t was bedehamber, expensive and
luxurious in all its appointments. Great
mirrorsya costly dressing table, elegant
but sensuous pictures, rugs that would
have been wealth of delight and
warmth to the feet-nothing was want
ing that an eplcurean taste could suggest
and money could purchase But for all
that the furniture was disarranged and
disordered as if some unwonted disturb
ance had lately occurred there. The bed
had been drawn out into the center of
the floor. The lace curtains with which
it had been surrounded were torn from
their places and lay in confused heap
on the floor. A table stood near the bed.
Upon it We're several sponges, bowl
containing water deeply tinged with
blood a ehafing dish with redhot CURL
ing iron apparently forgotten in it.
The sight of this last instrument af-
fected Miss Maxey more deeply than any
thing else Despite the powerful fumes
of the ether she thought she detected
more dreadful odor still, as of burning
flesh. On the bed, not in it, dressed in
loose wrapper, which was still further
loosened at the neck to give her all pos
stblo ease of breathing, lay the pretty
young woman whom Miss Maxey had
seen with tho elder in the carriage, pale
now and leering about in silly, idiotic
way. Miss Maxey knew instinctiyely
that she was under the influence of
ether She was very seantily dressed and
had been covered with sheet apparent
ly, but in her conyulsiye motions had
displaced it. Miss Maxey's frightened
glance fancied she detected spots of
blood upon the cloth.
All this, not more the powerful total
than the smallest detail of the scene,
rushed in upon Miss Maxey's Mortified
sense with the suddenness and the pow
er of II thunderbolt. In these few mo-
ments she saw that which lifetime
will not etface
Then she became aware that another
face, as pale and startled as her own,
was at her side, regarding her i'll speech-
less CONSERVATION. Even before she
turned toward ii she knew that this face
was tho handsome, disdainful face that
had looked forth on the trembling Dye
from the carriage. She realized this in
one instant. In the next the woman had
caufrbt hpr Inv tbo yvriSt bnd with ny