Catoctin clarion., 1897-09-30

lineament which men most admire in
woman.
When at rest, there were bard, set
lines about the mouth which, to the
physiognomist, enthusiastically proclaim
ed her possession Of that excessive will
power and dogged persistence which
Squire Olney had truly mentioned as
characteristic traits. Mr.. Barnes had said
that he would not expect to surprise her
again into betrayal Of herself or her
purposes, and in this he showed q keen
perception.
She had been very much startled by
the abrupt entrance Of the two men and
their subsequent announcement that
they were detectives She noticed that
Mr.. Barnes had kept the empty car
tridge she'll which had dropped from her
lap, but In the moment Of her surprise
she had not time to decide upon the
best course consistent with whatever
purpose she was bent upon accomplish
ing. When they left her, she sat down
and meditated for some time. Present.
ly she arose, and it was evident that her
plan had been formulated. She took the
pistol from the cabinet. where MI.
Barnes shrewdly guessed that IL was
Whatever had been her reason for re-
moving the shell which Mr.. Barnes had
taken It was plain that she now consid-
cred her purpose unattainable. Opening
the drawer OF her bureau, she took
therefrom small mahogany box, which
she unlocked. In 1t were several PASTE
board packages Of ball cartridges. One,
however, contained shells which had
been exploded. She next withdrew q
cartridge from the pistol, and In It's
stead inserted an empty shell, being
careful to see that the hammer exactly
rested upon the indentation in the rim.
Thus it is evident that II she had re-
moved from this pistol the empty shell
which Mr.. Barnes had picked up she
must have reloaded the weapon prior to
bis entrance Now she was restoring 1t
to its original condition. She threw the
pistol on the bed, as though desirous
that 1t should be readily found.
Next she opened drawer Of the cab
met and took ont two pieces Of folded
paper. One of these was duplicate OF
that found by the detectives, bearing
the words, III am dead in the morn
Ing, my murderer Is -" except
that, as Mr.. Barnes had guessed, this
one bore q name, the sentence being
completed. Virginia scrutinized this
for some moments, sighed deeply and
refolded it. The other was also half
sheet and bore a few lines addressed to
herself. She read this several times and
then folded it also, placing both papers
In her dress
Approaching the door which commu.
nicated with the parlor, she listened at
tentively for few moments and then
entered that apartment, which was
empty, the detectives, by this time, hav-
ing gone out upon the lawn. Peeping
from the window, careful that she her
self should be hidden from sight by the
curtains. she saw Mr.. Barnes and Bur-
rows near the summer house. She
watched them until they were again
approaching the house, whereupon she
returned to her own room. Here she re-
mained till the detectives had made the
map of the grounds and again sailed
forth toward the river. This time she
watched them from the window Of her
own room and realized from their ac-
tions that they were studying the foot
prints between the house and the river.
She also saw them get in the boat and
cross the river.
Once more she entered the parlor.
One would think from her repeated Wis
its to the place where lay the dead body
that it had some fascination for her. AS
though, indeed, this were the case, she
went straight to where it lay and, bend
ing down, gazed at 1t intently. Especial
ly did she look upon the disfgured face.
Finally she turned her attention to the
hand and examined ring on one fin
ger. This seemed to satisfy her. In ris.
Ing she stepped on the hem Of her dress
and fell to her knees, striking against
the corpse, which was thus slightly
turned over. This action brought into
view the other hand, which before had
been under the body. She shuddered as
she jumped up, and then, noticing that
the fist was doubled up tight. her curi-
osity was aroused, and she determined
to investigate further. She endeavored
to open the fingers, and, though they
were tightly clinched, she at length
succeeded in relaxing two. This enabled
her not only to see that there was some
thing within the dead mans grasp. but
also to withdraw 1t. This done. she evi-
IDENTIFY had enough Of the company Of
the corpse, for she hurried to the next
room and hastily closed the door after
her.
She then examined the article which
she had Just obtained and found it to be
small gold locket. Opening 1t, che saw
that 1t contained miniature Of herself
which had been made when she was yet
q child.
She was evidently disturbed at the
discovery, for she gazed at it long and
earnestly. Perhaps her conscience
troubled her, and the thought came to
her that even at the moment when he
was killed her uncle had just been look
ing ut this picture of herself, thinking
Of the time when, young and attract
I've child, she had been his idol, and
then of the past week, when. before all
their friends, they had antagonized
their wills. She threw herself on the
bed, buried her face in her hands, and
for some minutes she sobbed like one In
dire distress. Presently, rising from her
recumbent position, controlling her
emotions by an effort Of will, she first
hid the locket in her dress, as she had
done with the letters, and then bathed
her face and went to the window. She
looked toward the summer house. but
saw nothing of the detectives. Turning.