The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-11-27
woman in the street laughed
shrllly. and the sound seemed

49, 4 SOoAA II
to arouse Adrian out OF the letharrv
INTO which he had fallen. A red mist
hoated before his eyes and his limbs
seemed paralyzed. Even when he
strove t cry out his voice died away
IN q hoarse whisper, and he stood
with q terrible look OF anguish on his
lace staring at the overturned card
table, the broken pieces of glass, and
the figure lying at his feet so still and
deathlike, with a thin red stream Of
blood flowing from an ugly wound in
the temple.
once more the woman laughed. and
Adrian rapidly sprang to the windows
IN a stealthy manner. closed them
and pulled down the blinds so as to
shut out this terrible sight from the
eyes of the prying world.
A sudden roll Of thunder startled
him, and with a hurried glance around
he crept toward the still form of his
friend.
Philip" he whispered. kneeling
beside Trevanna's BODY. .'Philip."
No answer! Adrian opened Ire
vanna's shirt and placed his hand on
the heart-it did not beat-he leaned
his face downward to the slightly
parted lips; there was no breath, ana
then, for the first time. a sense of
what he had done seemed to break on
him.
Dead" he whispered with ashen
gray lips. in a paroxysm of terror,
clasping his hands. 'Dead!-T've
killed him.
He arose slowly to his feet, looked
%vacantly round the room. at the still,
white face. at the stream of blood.
II can't stay here" he whispered
to himself, putting one hand up to
his throat they would arrest me for
MURDER would be hanged-Oh,
God, the disgrace-poor Olive"
There was no time to be lost, for at
any moment some one might come up
to his rooms and discover his crime;
he would have to hy-but where
could he fly to-? where, in all this
great city was there a refuge for a
murderer? Still he could not stay;
he could give no plausible explana-
ton, the evidence OF his guilt was too
strong; the police would come up, he
would be arrested. then the inquest
the trial, the verdict-with the rap
idity of lightning the possibility Of
these things flashed across his mind
and with a hoarse cry he sprang past
the body on the floor into his bed room.
Then he put On a heavy ulster
which. reaching nearly TO his feet,
etfectually hid the evening clothes he
had no time to change, Then he put
on a soft hat pulled it down over his
eyes. caught up a heavy stick
and stole out again into the
sitting room. half-thinking that it was
all some hideous dream. But no. it
was only too true-there on the floor
lay the body of the man he had
killed. and he, Adrian Lancaster, was
a murderer.
The clock struck twelve with a sill
very chime as he slowly pulled the
dead mans cloak off the back of a
chair, and with a sudden movement
flung 1t over the body as if terrified to
look upon his handiwork. He turned
out the gas which was 1aring in the
pink globes, and then crept toward
the door in the darkness, carefully
avoiding the place where the body
lay. Once outside the door. which
opened with a loud creek as if to de-
nounce him. he locked it. and, drop
ping the key into his pocket, stole
stealthily downstairs out into the
stormy night feeling that on his brow
burned the mark Of Cain, which.
from henceforth, would make him a
fugitive on the face of the earth.
He walked slowly down the street
toward Plccadilly. not needing the
direction, but only longing to get as
far away from the scene OF his crimes
as he could. and when a hanson sud-
denly drew up at the side of the pave
ment he felt a sudden CONFUSION of
terror at hearing the voice of the
driver asking him if he wanted a cab.
For a moment he hesitated. then.
without d word, sprang il and flung
himself back among the cushions,
closing the doors, as If he could thus
hide himself from the eyes of Justice.
Where to, sir?" asked the driver,
peering down through the trap door
in the roof of the cab.
Where to. indeed? Was there any
sanctuary in this mighty London
where he could hide? No. he could
think of mono; but with that instinct
of self preservation which is strong
in the breast OF every human being.
he wished to fly as far away as he
could, so said at a venture the first
name that came into his head.
'Hampstead!"
Right sir. said the driver, and