Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-04-16

night passed without incident. I do not
expect that any of us slept much. l know
that did not close my eyes, although
shared Toms room and had the door
| locked and bolted and the windows
screwed up.
But, when in the morning DR.. Macpher,
! son announced that Cantyll did not ap.
pear to have been dosed since the depar.
| ture Of the servants, I, for one, began to
| feel little of my courage returning. The
holding of an informal police inquiry In
the dining room in the morning helped to
make us feel more matter Of fact, and we
grew quite cheerful in the evening over
Lilliths first attempt at dinner, which
was very successful Tom constituted him
self butler and brought In the dishes and
the wine. He had decanted fresh bottle
of port, he told us, In honor of his new
position, and walked round the table to
fill DR.. Macpherson's glass and mine az
we'll as his own-his fancee only took
water.
LET us drink to the restoration of Can
tyll and Dyne and the speedy clearing up
Of the mystery" said Tom when he seated
himself, and we were just raising our
glasses to our lips when the doctor startled
us by calling out with more excitement
than have ever seen him show before or
since: "Put your glasses down! For heav-
EMS sake, do not drink"
What Is the NATTER" asked Tom, and
], for one, was quite prepared for the an
swer. The doctor had regained his usual
calm, now that we had put our wine
down.
My glass contains plenty Of opium to
kill the lot Of us, he said quietly. II
fortunately smelled 1t just as was about
to drink. suppose your glasses are both
poisoned"
Tom Deverill' 8 face turned as white as
sheet.
'That means that the fend is still in
the house." he said II decanted that
wine this morning just before the police
came"
Macpherson rose from the table,
"Then cannot afford to leave Cantyll
alone for moment. We ought to take
turns at sitting in his room. We ought to
have done so from the first"
He left the table as he spoke, and we
three sat and stared blankly at each other.
This new discovery was terrible. For five
minutes we did not speak word, and
then poor Lillith began to cry Historically.
was surprised that she had not broken
down before
Her lover sprang up at once to try to
comfort her, and thinking that he would
be more likely to succeed if they were left
alone together went off to look for Mac
pherson.
walked warily, feeling that at any
moment I might be attacked by the mys-
FERROUS miscreant who had chosen to make
this peaceful country residence the scene of
his diabolioal crimes As reached the
foot Of the stairs, however, leading from
the hall changed my step and hurried up
three stairs at time, for on the floor
above could hear Macpherson calling my
name urgently, as if he were in need Of
my help. ran straight up to Cantyll's
room, from which the cry seemed to come,
my steps hastened If possible by the I'm
mistakable sounds Of struggle going on
In the sick mans room.
What expected to see when reached
1t do not know, but certainly it was not
the sight that actually met my eyes when
rushed into the sick chamber-the sight
of DR.. Macpherson and John Cantyll crap
ping together in life and death struggle
on the bed, the patient with formidable
knife in his hand, which the physician
was preventing him from using by holding
his wrist In viselike grip.
The fight had been pretty even one, I
believe, till came on the scene, for though
Cantyll was still half stupid with the
ho ho1 fol ho q of nh,
more powerful physique than his oppo-
nent My arrival decided the battle In
moment I had secured the knife, and
Cantyll had given up the hopeless strug-
gle. He lay back on the bed, glaring at
us, his face transformed into that of a
fend.
DR.. Macpherson drew long breath aft
or his exertions, and wiped drop of blood
from his wrist, where the point OF the
knife had cut him slightly.
We'll, we may congratulate ourselves,
believe, OH having cleared up the mystery
that has been bothering u.s." he said
quietly to me- "If you do not mind call
ing Deverill from the top of the stairs we
will get him to bring some rope and help
us tic up this patient Of mine until VIC
have decided how to dispose of him."
1t was not until we had left John Can
tyll bound hand and foot on the bed that
Macpherson explained to us, down in the
dining room, exactly what had happened.
''It occurred to me during the inquiry
this morning." he said, that Cantyll
might be dosing himself with opium to
remove himself from reach of suspicion,
while he killed the two men who stood be-
tween him and the enjoyment of the
whole Of his grandfather's fortune and
marriage with Miss Andrews, with whom
will do him the credit Of supposing him
to be in love- When left the dinner ia
BILE, I crept up silently to his room and
caught hm in the act Of preparing himself
another dose of the narcotic. He must
have considerable acquaintance with
opium to use 1t so daringly OH himself.
He seems to have stock Of bottles hidden
bo%1 In 80 hi 1,oJ IN