Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-11-19
BRISTOWES RUSE.

'hat study WINDOW. And, by Jove!
across tho carpet in there, sure
enough, lay still figure; his wife
hung over it with clasped hands, and
the servants were buzzing and whis-
pering behind. Murder? Well, the
old gentleman had been struck side
ways, it seemed, as he sat. There
was purple mark on his right temple,
and there was his own heavy ebony
ruler lying near by. And the man?
Well, Warehouse suddenly woke up to
the fact that they were pointing at
him and that the buzzing had stopped.
"There he is!" says some one.
"Don't let him got"
WHAT" He couldn't believe his
own eyes, of course, They were all
shrinking back from him-even his
own wife, he thought. as everyone
mad9' he asked. ''Kate, what does
il mean?"
"Mean?" says Silverley, stepping
up, why, it means murder, Mr..
Warehouse, and you mustn't leave
this house yet. Accuse you?-all of
us. You came here for money, stealth
lily; / was in the hall, and / heard
every word of your quarrel. When
you had gone l knocked several times,
but the door was locked. called
the others, and we broke in to find
him lying no, Miss Kate, you can'tr'
She had caught those words and
grasped what they meant. Woman
like, her first thought was for her hus-
bands safety; she got hold of Silver
ley's arms aud held him back by main
force, imploring Warehouse to go, to
escape, and leave the rest to Provi-
dence. OF course, he ought TO have
stood his ground, but the thought
that she believed him guilty fairly
paralyzed him, it seems. At any rate
he turned and went off without another
word-as bad a thing as he could have
done.
For the next two days it was all
chaos. People who called to sympa-
thize found Kate wandering about like
a ghost, and everyone was Whispering
OF her as a widow already. IL seemed
clear enough; Warehouse had struck
the blow in a temper and was missing;
his best friends could only hope that
he had got ahead of the hue -and-cry.
Two days; then came the news that
Warehouse had been arrested easily
few miles away, simply remarking
that he cared not a jot whether they
brought him in innocent or the re-
verse.
Miss Kate, she heard it about 7
o'clock that evening, and it seemed TO
put new life into her. She stood
staring at space, they said. for about
five minutes and then sent man gal
Looping off with q telegram. That tel
egram was addressed to me, and it
simply said: Come instantly, upon q
matter OF life and death"
l happened to be away from home
that night, but took train for VIM
bledon about 10 the next morning and
found that the inquest was afoot.
The jury had just been to view the
body, and most of the servants were
making ready to return with them
and give evidence. In the general ex-
element / had plenty of time to took
Il u
Grape band around my hat. In Is
minutes had heard good deal. Sill
verley was my best man. | managed
to buttonhole him, introduced myself
rs the undertaker's man and asked
how true it was that this Warehouse
had something to gain by Sir Gavin's
death.
Don't ask me-, he says, distracted
ly. That's the dreadful part of it
that everyone knows his wife comes
in for her uncle's money. I've to go
and give evidence against him! Iwish
to heaven I'd never spoken"
IL was all very hazy. thought for
a bit and then sent up card with the
word "Bristowe" only upon it, and l
didn't waste time. When presently
she comes down, with a pitiful white
face and dragging steps and looked 10
see why the study door was open, she
gave quite piteous cry at sight of
me down on my hands and knees be-
tween the desk and window there.
"Mr. Bristowe! You--you know oil,
then?"
"A good deal, madam; the newspa-
pers and the servants, you know"
told her cheerfully. "Er-of course
this room has not been disturbed in
any wayp HIM, find morsels of
earth and dry leaf just by the window,
but none near that desk. But that's
nothing, perhaps. want you to be
quite calm and tell me all you know"
She did so almost lifelessly. 'Oh,
you are clever, know" she ended, a
fair study in supplication. "If you
think-youil never say so! You'll go
and leave it to the policel'