The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-07-26

II will not, as that is my privat
affair"
mo ones affairs are private whel
murder has occurred. However, sine
you refuse ! will tell you where 20
went. First, you met man in th
summer house, and then you crossed til
river to meet another man." The Law
yer paused, waiting to note the effect {
his words, but Virginia remained i'm
passive.
II will go further and tell you tina
the first was Harry Lucas, and, more
that you invited him to the meeting
Since I have shown you how much
know, you will doubtless see the foil
Of any attempt at ooncealment.
"Since you seem to be SO we'll In
formed, I cannot see why you appeal t
me at all. f"
"We do not claim to know every
thing. Will you please tell US why yo1
asked Mr.. Lucas to meet you?'
II had private commission to Civ
him."
"Do you refuse to give us any in
formation as to the nature Of this com
mission?''
II do"
Miss Lewis" said the lawyer, I"
have intimated that we have discover
ed the identity Of one of the men whom
you met that night, and 1t is perhap
as we'll to tell you that we also know
who the other was-''
"You appear to have learned grea
deal, " replied Virginia coldly.
ave have found out something, bu
not all that we wish to know. You me
Mr.. Lucas. Your conversation wa
overheard, and we therefore know tina
you sent for him to ask his aid. Yor
expected to meet Mr.. Marvel" Mr.
Topper spoke in his usual measured
tones, and both no and Mr.. Barnes
watched Virginia closely, but even a
this name she did not finch. Mr.
Barnes wondered how she would ac
when they would produce tho man him.
self, Mr.. Upper continued:
"You had been notified that he would
await you in the woods across the
stream that night, and you were to de.
termine whether or not you would elope
with him. This you concluded not tt
do. Therefore you feared that he
would become desperate, and you de-
cided to have his friend, Mr.. Lucas, op.
portunely meet him after you left him,
to see that he did no harm. Now will
you tell US what you feared he would
dof"
II see that you have managed to dis.
cover all that Miss Marvel knew. Will
not that suffice2"
1--WE wish to know why you were SO
fearful Of leaving this young man to
his own society"
II believe such thing az fear is
unknown to me, 80 you arc far from
the truth. No man Is in an enviable
frame of mind when a woman rejects
him. Was 1t extraordinary, then, that
should have wished his friend to join
him at such a timer" She spoke with
considerable feeling.
mo, Miss Lewis, your action under
the circumstances was very commenda-
BILE. But did you not have deeper mo-
tive9 Did you not think that be might
become desperate enough to take life3"
II admit that did,"
"Whose-your uncle's?''
"No, mol I thought he might commit
suicide; he is passionate and impulsive.
! thought that in moment Of despair
he might raise his hand against himself.
He would never take another's life.'
HE attempted to do 30 once before,
I believer"
To this Virginia made no reply, but
her face assumed an expression Of the
utmost contempt.
Miss Lewis" continued the lawyer,
twill you kindly tell us about how long
you remained at the interview with Mr..
Marvel? don't expect any exact reply.
An approximate one will do"
II cannot tell very closely, though I
know about when I reached the house
again. But Twill not answer unless you
explain why you wish to know"
Mr.. Topper had recognized at the
outset that Virginia was not to be
frightened into anything, and he de.
termined to deal with her openly.
II will do so willingly" said he.
"We have found that you left the sum-
mer house at or near 8 O'Clock. Soon
after several shots were fired, one at
least at the deceased. We are not sure,
however, that either of these killed
your uncle. Now, If you can give us
the time when you Returned, it may be
the means Of proving whether he was
alive or dead at that hour. These mat
ters Of time often prove of inestimable
value"
Very we'll. 1t was half past 10
when reached my room."
"Tbank you" 1t was his Que to con-
ciliate her as far as possible. when
you went in, did you pass through the
parlor2"
mo, sir. I entered my apartment by
the door opening into the dining room"
Mr.. Barnes believed that this was
true, for he had traced her footprints
from the steps Of the piazza by the din
ing room, and returning they reached
the same place. Thus she must have en-
tered the house at that point, and natu-
rally passed through the dining room
10 her own chamber. Resuming the ex-
Mr.. Upper asked:
During the night did you bear your
uncle moving about?"
"No, sir.''
Nov let US come to the discovery of
Tho crime. You will recall that when
The detectives accidentally disturbed
you in your room, the morning after,
you admitted. that you had already
'ound out that your uncle had been
murdered. Thus you were the first to
lc 80. Is that fact?'
II believe So At least 1t is true that
knew of the death Of my uncle at that
,ime."
Exactly You had gone into the
oarlor, and you had found the body,
which you recognized as that Of your
lncle, or I may say stepfather, before
he squire and tho others arrived?'