Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1895-07-02

L - ACOc.
had obiyed me. Then swallowed tho
other, Ind we stood facing one another
| In sileire for minute or more, waiting
| to see which was to live and which was
TO die Shall / ever forget the look
which anne over his face when the first
warming pangs told him that the poison
was in his system? laughed as ! saw
it and held Lucy's marriage ring in
| front oil his eyes. Il was but for mo-
ment, Abr the action Of the alkaloid is
rapid. A spasm of pain contorted his
| featured He threw his hands out in
front otI him, staggered, and then, with
q hoars@ cry, fell heavily upon tho floor.
l turned him over with my foot and
placed |ny hand upon his heart. There
was no movement He was deadl
"Thc blood had been streaming from
my nosd but had taken no notice Of IL.
/ don't know what it was that put il in
to my hlad to write upon the wall with
IL. Perhaps it was some mischievous
idea Of letting the police upon wrong
track. ft)r felt light hearted and cheer
| full. | remembered German being
| found irI New York with 'Rache' written
up aboyL him, and il was argued at the
time in the newspapers that the secret
societies must have done IL. Iguessed
| that wllat puzzled the New Workers
would pbzzie the Londoners, so dipped
my fnglr in my own blood and printed
| IL on a lconvenient place oil the wall.
| Then IMalked down TO my cab and
| found that there was nobody about, and
that thehight was still very wild. / had
driven sbme distance when put my
hand intb the pocket in which l usually
kept Lu,y's ring and found that it was
not thor@. / was thunderstruck at this,
for it w,)s the only memento that ! had
Of her. Thinking that | might have
dropped lie WHEEL / stopped over Dreb-
ber's belly, i drove back, and leaving
my cab I'm a side street went boldly
up 10 thI house, for was ready TO dare
snythinJ rather than lose the ring.
When II arrived there, I walked right
into the trms Of police officer who was
coming lut and only managed 10 dis
arm his kuspicions by pretending to be
hopclessF drunk.
"Thatlwas how Enoch Drebber came
to his enil. All had TO do then was to
do ~ md ,h for Stangerson, and so pay
off Johnl Ferrier's debt | knew that
no was t,aying at Halliday's Private
hotel, anil hung about al day. but he
never caiie out fancy that he suspect
cd sometl ing when Drebber failed TO put
in an apJ|earancc. He was cunning, was
Stangersln. and always on his guard. II
he thought he could keep mo of by stay
ing indcbrs, he was very much mis-
taken. Ilsoon found out which was tho
window III his bedroom, and early next
morning \ took advantage Of some lad
ders whiJh were lying in tho lane be-
hind the hotel, and 20 made my way in.
TO his roem in the gray Of the dawn.
IL wolfe him up and toh him that
the hour had come when he was to an
swer for tho life ho had taken 80 long
before described Drebber's death to
him, and II gave him the same choice OF
tho poisoled pills Instead Of graSping
nj the cha jncc ot safety which that offer
cd him. ib sprang from his bed and flew
at my thljat In self defense | stabbed
him to tHb heart. IL would have been
the same in any case, for Providence
would nd lyer have allowed his guilty
hand TO Ilck out anything but the poi.
son.
II hay'l little more to say, and it's a
well, for i am about done up. went
on cabbin < il for dny or so, intending
to keep ut it until could save enough
10 take Ile back To America. ] was
standing hn tho yard when a ragged
youngs,cr asked il there was n cabby
there callld jefferson Hope and said
that his tab was wanted by gentle
man at % 10 Baker street went round,
suspectini no harm. and the next thing
| knew this young man here had the
bracelets pn my wrists and Us neatly
shackled as ever was in my life. That's
the whole iof my story, gentlemen. You
may consih Ter ne to DO murderer, but
hold thai / am just as much an officer
Of justice hs you are. y
So thrilling had the mans narrative
been, and his manner was SO impress
i've. that We had sat silent and absorb
ed. Event the professional detectives,
blase as they were in every detail of
crime. aplleared to be keenly interested
in the mal's story. When he finished,
we sat fot some minutes In stiffness
which wal only broken by the scratch
ing Of Le1trade's pencil as he gave the
finishing touches to his shorthand ac-
count
There lis only one point on which !
should likf a little more information,
Sherlock Holmes said ut last. WHO
was your ,jccomplice who came for the
ring which / advertised"
The iIbner winked at my friend jo-
cosely. "Ilcan toll my own secrets, " he
said, butt don't get other people in
to troubled / saw your advertisement
and l Thought it might be plant, or it
might be the ring wanted. My friend
volunteered to go and see. l think
you'll own he did it smartly."
Not q Eoubt Of that, said Holmes
heartily.
Now, Gentlemen. the inspector re-
marked gr;lvely, 1.-The forms OF tho law
must be cbmplied with. On Thursday
the prisont will be brought before the
magistratei and your attendance will be
required. Until then Twill be RESPONSE
BILE for him" He rang the bell as he
spoke, and Jefferson Hope was led of
by couplf of warders, while my friend
and madb our way out Of the station
and took q cab back to Baker street.