The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-07-10
CHAPTER III,

CHAPTER III.
The reasons, however, remained for
n minute or two longer in his own pos
session. An idea, happy thought,
brought IL strange Sparkle to his eyes, as
he rose from his chair, crossed the room
and unlocked II dispatch box. From this
Ire drew Il red morocco case, which he
opened and handed silently to me. 1t
contained II beautiful miniatures.
AZ very lovely woman" said.
"My wife, sir"
glanced involuntnrily ut my hosts
wrinliled face. Was it possible that
once he had played the enchanting purt
of Romeo to such u Juliet rs this? Or
had she married him for his wealth?
lie held out his lean fingers for the
miniature, and, leaving il in the palm OF
his hand. continues:
II met her at Red Gulch, whore had
made SO much money. You have heard
of the Black Gulch excitement; and you
know, possibly, why the place cnme
to he rechristened. No? Well, I'll txLl
you. 1t was the scene of IL horrible
tragedy, one of those blood-curlling
crimes which shock the whole world
and then arc forgotten. Any oll-timer
will give you the particulars; but such
details are not to my taste; and to be
honest with you"-he sluddcred-"I
cannot trust myself to discuss them.
The crime"-his voice sank to Il whisper
-"made n coward of me for life Do
you know, Mr. Livingston. that one may
suddenly lose his grip and never re-
cover it? That happened to me. Tho
man who was murdered and so horri-
bly, mutilated was my partner. md
God!-my emotion will not surprise
you when add that he was killed by
mistake. The assassin intended to muir.
der me. My partner had arranged to
Visit San Francisco to buy some ma
chinery; but at the last moment he was
unable to undertake the journey, and
went in his stead. That night the deed
was done---done, too, in darkness,
which accounted for the blunder In den-
tity. But the ferocity of the murder
cannot be described. Only man In
splred by the most malignant hntred
could have butchered fcllow-crcature
u.s."
''He was caught red-handed, of
course?"
mo He is still Mt large"
sand you know him?"
eyes"
"But the motive. Mr.. Gcrnrd?"
He held up the miniature and sighed
"Your wife!" gnsped, overwhelmed
with surprise md curiosity.
"She was not then my wife. She was
married at that time to--to--the MAN.
the fiend, say, who killed my poor
friend Ferdinand Perkins. And, fool
that was, l never suspected the truth,
and the devilish cunning of the mon-
ster threw suspicion upon another.
When L learned the renl facts, months
after the tragedy had occurred, 1t was
too lnte--too late!"
His distress moved me profoundly.
"The motive WAS jealousy, the jeal.
pussy of an Othello. I had paid nttcn-
ton to his wife, blnmcless wo1nnn,
Mr.. Livingston, good as gold, and loyal
To the rutfan whose nlme she bore.
She must have known that I loved her,
for she came to me one night, two weeks
after the murder, and iInplored me to
take her away. jumped ut the oppor-
tnnity, and asked no questions then.
We left Red Gulch-it was called Red
Gulch bccalusc-you undcrstand-be-
hind the fastest team in the country,
but none pursued. The husband-I
didn't know it at the time-was down
with brain fever, and raving. Well,
sir, one year later / made that unhappy
lady my wife by the laws of the land,
but, ut her special request, secretly.
She easily obtained Il divorce from her
first husband, on the ground of deser-
ton and failure to provide. He had dis
appeared. But, to my nmazement, my
wife refused to live openly with luc.
She gave these reusons:"
He paused and wiped his forehead.
"This ficnd had killed Perkins be-
licving him to be me, and had betrayed
himself to his wife in his sleep. Small
wonder! She dared not tell u soul,
fearing for her own life; but she con-
suited confidential servant, Greek,
who was my right-hand man and en-
tirely Trustworthy. Between them they
unearthed the evidences of the crime,
the clothes he wore, the knife. The
davil-ha is alive. ma I told you-has .