Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-05-14

"IIa! There is something more than
nee the ear in this reiterated ques-
ton, Whom 10 you mean
"Your own daughter. She who, but
for your black tre&chery. would now
be ruling in these halls, heiress of FL
verton, instead of lying in a prison
cell, a convicted felon!'
Great Heaven! This is most horri-
bic! Pvt then-but then--if this story
is true, the communication that you
made to my unhappy son. upon that
fatal night which drove him TO mad
ness from his home, a fugitive and a
wanderer over the face of the earth.
and turned the fair home into a Sc
henna of remo-s, and despair. was
false-must have been utterly false.'
exclaimed the baron. in uncomfortable
agitation between the horror he felt
at being told the Criminal he had just
condemned to death was his own dis
carded daughter, and the joy that
rushed upon him with the thought
that another and a deeper curse was
removed from his house.
His condition between these two eS-
ceSslve and an~tagonlstic emotions bor-
dered upon insanity.
"Ahw muttered the oma to her
self, with an expression OF perplexity
and pain traversing her fine features,
as she passed her hand over her brow;
81 did not mean TO betray that fact;
but my brain! my brain! 1 am not
Welt"
'Harrietter,' exclaimed the baron,
excited beyond all measure, as he
arose and dropped his hand upon her
shoulder. 'Harriette, as you hope for
Gods pardon in your dying hour
IL do not hope for his pardon" inter-
rupted the woman, gloomily.
Tell me, who is she that lies doomed
to death in yonder cell!' demanded
the baron, without noticing her inter-
ruption.
II have told you! Your daughter
and mine! the rightful heir of Elver-
ton, IL justice had been done!'
"And she whom my son married"
81 have unwillingly betrayed that Sc
cret, too! Take it, since you have it!
Your sons wife is the daughter of the
late Gen. de la Compile, by his first
wife, and was, therefore, not within
the prohibited degree of kindred ac-
cording to the marriage code. Our
daughter never married; she was des-
tined to another doom; TO work her
mothers will; TO avenge her mothers
wrongs. For this l kept her always
near me; won her whole heart; alb
sorbed her will; mastered her spirit.
Whatever she has done in this world
has been done for me and often
blindly by her. She had but n hui
nan affection-flial love. To-day the
daughter stood before the fathers face
TO receive from him the doom of
death. But the doom was unmerited."
Woman, what do you tell me?'
"She was guiltless of the death Of
the Leatonsn
who, then, was the Destroyer"
"I"' shouted the monomaniac. 81,
the Avenger! /, who, in the same hour
that l turned away from your trium-
plant wickedness, with my discarded
child pressed to my bleeding heart-I,
who, in the same hour that vas trans
formed from a woman TO a tiend,
vowed q VOW of eXterminating wrath
against two men, with all their race,
and sold my soul TO Satan for the
power of accomplishing the work!
Had not Satan failed me at the last,
the race of Leaton would have been
extinguished in blood and shame.
That of Elverton would have lived in
misery and dishonor-worse than
death and perdition."
"Woman, you wildly rave! Come
to your senses-collect yourself, ex-
plain: you say that your daughter was
guiltless; that you were the criminal;
if this is not a mere trick to attempt
TO defeat the ends of justice, how do
you explain away the direct evidence
of Antony More, who swore that he
was employed by the so-called Prime
ess Pezzilini to procure the drugs Of
which the Leatons died?" inquired
Lord Elyerton, who, amidst all the
violent emotions that shook the bosom
of the man, retained the mental calm
ness of the judge.
Antony More was n fool and a
beast; the slave of a slave; the mere
tool of her who was but the tool of her
mother. l put into the hands of my
daughter n card with the name of the
drug l wanted written on it. | said to
her: Give this card to your dog, An
tonic. and tell him to procure the drug
secretly and bring it to me- This was
DONE. Afterwards she privately adj
mitted me to the house on various oc-
casions by night; and so the work
was accomplished; and the last Lea
ton would have persisted on the scat
fold for the murder of the others, but
that Satan failed me at the very last!
1t was necessary to get rid Of Antony
More; but l was not quick enough
about 1t. He took the alarm and fed,
and you know the rest-a shipwreck, a
confession, and the arrest, trial and
conviction Of Agnes. But Agnes is
guiltless! guiltless even Of purloining
the jewels and documents Of Princess
Gentilescha Pezzilini, which were real
ly given into my hands for safe Gus
tody during the time of the trouble;
and only after the burning of the pal
ace and the death of the princess were
they used by me for the furtherance
of our plans. For the rest. whatever
Agnes might have suspected, she nev-
err certainly knew why / wanted the
Fabae Sancta Ignatll, or for what pur-
pose / kept myself concealed in the
neighborhood and gained admittance
to the abbey only at the dead of night.
That dolt, Antony More. complained
that she never took him into her conf
dence! How could she. when she had
nothing to confide TO him? But she Is
guiltless, and must not perish! She
- arxot,ro chat -a