The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1897-11-03

port, and their money was duly paid,
and fortune il was for two men OF no
moro expensive tastes than these who
left the bank, walked away and were
seen no more III La Hamidad
In reputable house in the town
where Bal Chico had been a youth and
been forgotten lived two old men to-
gether, two gray haired, harmless look.
ing old men of commonplace names
that you have not heard yet who tend
ed their cactuses and blooming vines and
the green paroquets that hung among
them in great cage, coucoctcd savory
stews and lived their simple lives
largely i'll sight of their neighhars III
tho outrageous garden behind their
houses, and whose only recreation seem.
ed to be to frequent thch1laza.
From their garden they could see the
rear of the house of the high and
mighty Don Pico, which rang with
laughter of manly sons and beautiful
daughters. hut the old men were to all
appearances injurious of the doings at
the great house II was known at tho
plaza where everything was known.
that Den Piea Oldest son would short.
ly celebrate his arrival at mans estate
and that the totrothal of his eldest
daughter had been announced But the
day before the festivities in honor of the
former occasion the son, Don Manuclo
had SIT III the plaza with Don Jose, his
sisters betrathcd who had left it, it
was easily proved, with IA merry party
At y,.tpl.nG L., .
IA merry goodhy Passershy saw him
sitting there alone. sunken down as if
resting, and there he was found some
what later, dead, evidently by strangu
lation There was the usual sensation
and moro than the usual search for the
murderer, Who had left no Glow
Three months after this event the
little lnnoceneia the year-old daugh.
ter of Don Pee, was found in a similar
condition in the grounds of Den Perez,
the father OF the betrothed Of Doua
Theresa Don Picos oldest daughter
The residence of Don Perez was hut "A
block from that of Don piea As in the
ease of her brother. tho police found
positively no elew
These calamitcs caused the postpone.
ment fer one wear of the nuptials of
Don jose and bona Theresa, at the end
Of which time they were celebrated with
all churchly and social ceremonies
Upon their return from the wedding
journey Don Iosc and his beautiful lady
took up their residence ut tho house Of
Don Perez Scarce fortnight had
elapsed when bona Theresa was found
dead III her hed-hlleWiso her husband =
bed Marks upon her tender neck show
ed that she had been garroted All drew
two cenelusions-Don Manuol0 and lit
tie lnnoecneia had hcpn garroted and
Don Jose was tho criminal His Irotca-
tations, denials and anguish awaited
nothing lie was hurried away tapriSou
An accident saved his life~~the shut.
ting of II window.
Dona Maria Theresa, the sarely
afflicted wife of Don picu, had become
| the victim Of insomnia since these re
poated family boreuvemontsnn and fancied
strange noises in thcir apartment at
| night Don Pico gave heed and listened
| for himself for few nights, hut heard
| nothing and attributed the noises to Il
| woman s fears but bona Maria Theresa
| arose enc night because she heard the
| noise and shut tho window As sho ap
| preached the window, hung with vines
| one Of the house eats jumped from the
sill to the thick vines and rustlcd away
among them. and the lady was rcas
sured and eept--slept all the longer
and more heavily because Of slcepless
nights
When she awollc in tho morning, she
| looked at Don piao Bnt wns it Don
Pica beside her that purple, swollen
| face with awful eyes The lady reason
fled in thlt awful look, and her screams
| aroused the household Investigation
seeHed at FIRST to offer no clcw, but ut
length at lhe back of the top of Il largo
frame containing an oil painting Of his
lady in her youth was found powcr-
full snaka whose bright eyes watched
the window and all whose efforts were
toward reaching it, which he never Aid,
dying as nonressiant AZ though III
trance
Don Jose WA liberated
The Old, ha4m4qa3 booking mon talked
and smoked ueNt evening and for many
evenings behind their little house and
sometimes boiled their sardincs over a
coal fire and looked across at the great
house Of Don Pico and tallicd--a3 who
did nett
Excitement was gradually depressed
after the source Of tho mysterious
deaths was indisputablc The snake had
oiled about them all, but Don Pico had
trcngth to struggle and had been bitten
II tead Of only stranglcd Some asked
why snake should discern only mem.
bers Of the Pico family. but nouo could
guess tho reason
And far away in the divine beauty Of
a Peruvian eordillcra two old men look
aloft toward the man stunning condor
two old brown men, grown harmless
and with no uncanny companions--hcrd
with Indian women and brown babies
and drink from rude golden bowls aud
go down 70 tho sea no more. "A +
Kalfus in San Francisco Argonaut