San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-08-04


kindness was Mrs PercIval, the doctor S
wife. But that was before Maurice had
quarreled with DR.. Percival
She loved and trusted Leclerc, but she
could not repress the feeling that much
of his troubles-his troubles apart from
this which would arise out of the pres
emit tragedy-had been caused by her.
Indirectly, of course. But he had in his
eagerness to make home and position
for her got himself into difficulties from
which he now seemed unable to extricate
himself.
Ethel possessed no shadow of suspi-
cion of her lover in connection with the
crime which had been committed in the
room which was now almost at her feet
that awful room which would haunt
her forevermore. 1t was terrifying to
think of what had happened while she
had been asleep last night, what had
happened while she was so very near it
all How was it she had heard no sound
during the night; that nothing had dis
turbed her until the ringing Of the bell
in the early morning had aroused her
from sleep-the bell which had sum-
moned her to behold the most awful
sight her young eyes had ever witnessed?
She possessed morbid horror of death.
This morning, for the first time, she
had seen dead body, felt dead body
the dead body of her dear aunt
Mechanically she had commenced to
pack trunk which stood in her room.
For hours she had occupied herself ar
ranging and rearranging, packing and
unpacking, her thoughts scarcely occu-
pied with what she was doing, until at
last the waning light of the October aft
ernoon warned her that night was ap-
proaching-night which was to cover
with its cloak the dark deeds of wicked
mcknight which now possessed ter
rors for her which had never before
wandered into her troubled brain.
She crouched over the trunk, almost
afraid to move. She could not even col
lect her thoughts sufficiently to think Of
striking a light In half conscious
way she remembered she had left her
candle on the hall table. She could not
go down stairs past that hideous door
inside of which her aunt lay dead-mur-
dered-in the darkness She was pris-
oner in her room. Should she have to
spend another night in this house?
Could she live through such a night?
At last she stood up from her trunk,
and exhausted with her emotions she
had stumbled to a chair which stood at
the head of her bed She tottered to the
seat and sat staring at the door of the
room which faced the head of her bed
And now a new train of thought
forced itself upon her. There were duties
to perform to the dead How was she
performing her duties? Or what was to
be done? Tomorrow her aunt would be
taken from the house Perhaps tomor-
row she would find the courage to do her
duty, to forget her own selfish troubles,
Tonight she could not.
She had no idea how long she had
been seated at her bedside nor when she
had fallen asleep, but she was awakened
outof a pleasant dream-a dream which
was not overshadowed by any suspicion
Of sorrow or of death-by hearing her
self called in loud voice.
Miss Rodney! Miss Rodney"
With startled cry she sprang to her
feet, unconscious where she was. 1t was
some appreciate moments before she
could recollect where she was standing
or what had happened.
Then she opened the door, and an
swering the summons, again repeated,
with eyes, am here, she saw a
CLEAN of light ON the landing beneath
her,
H'SlsNn soundly. am glad to