Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-03-16

yet. Suppose, as you say, tnat hne ulu
this in her delirium. She may yet be
wandering somewhere in the same state
and may know nothing Of what has
happened.
"The whole country is ringing with
news of the mans death. She could not
fail to hear of it if she were alive. |
tell you she is dead, and if her end were
peaceful it is best So. y" He sighed heav.
lily. ut is an awful thing that | should
ever have to say that about her, but l
would rather see her dead than mad,
and she must be one or the other. or
we are all out of our senses. ="
Beryl did not answer this at once,
but sat thinking out the problem as it
showed in the light of her own knowl-
edge.
ave may all be out of our senses in
that respect, Jaffray. We may be judg-
ing her without cause. "
81 would to God that could thin&
so!' he exclaimed, with fierce energy.
"I would give my life to feel sure of it,
but I can't Beryl, l can't. l have tried
to piece the things together that you
and I know and to find in them any
thing but the proofs of her deed, and l
can't. Look at the things as will,
they lead me nowhere but to one con-
clusion. There is not man in England
who if he knew what we know would
not think what we think. don't un-
derstand the thing: l can't, except on
the one supposition that she is mad,
and it breaks my heart to think that. F"
He paused, but Beryl did not break
the silence.
"The thing is all so horribly com-
plete I have talked it over and over
with Clifford, trying to get from him a
suggestion that may point in another
direction, but all his ingenuity cannot
offer hint that the evidence doesn't
utterly smash. 1t is perfectly clear that
she left the manor house before this
man was killed. 1t is quite as certain
that he wrote to her the letter telling
her to meet him. 1t is clear again that
she got the letter, and that she did 60
to see him, and just as clear that she
was there and dropped that bracelet in
the struggle with him and used that
dagger, and then on the top of all
comes this absolutely inexplicable flight.
1t would all be different if only she
were here. If she would come here and
lay her hand in mine and tell me she
knew nothing of all this, | would be.
lieve her and hold out for her innocence
against the whole world, mad or sane.
But she doesn't come. And yet l hate
and loathe myself for harboring the
thought that, mad or sane, she could
even think of taking this mans life.
And the strain of it all is enough to
kill one."
Beryl thought it best to let him speak
freely and without interruption.
"There is only the one thing that l
have often mentioned to you that can't
fatbom-whether there was any sort of
understanding between Lola and that
brute. have thought sometimes-in
fact, Clifford suggested the idea to me
that he may have had some kind of hold
over her, something that-but, there.
I won't try to think in that vein. l
wish to heaven I'd had the beggar out
and shot him before he caused all this
trouble!
"She says in her letter." he said,
barking back suddenly to the thought
which he had started and left and TAX
ing from his pocket Lola's last letter to
him, already thumbed and soiled from
constant reading, THAT she was within
all ace of telling me when something
said stopped her. What a tactless,
laundering dolt l must be! If hadn't
checked her, all this misery and trag-
edy and ruin might have been saved.
Oh, how I have cursed myself for that
clumsiness!' he cried angrily.
81 see no need for self reproach. 1"
said Beryl. 1T would have been better
if she had been led to speak, butt
She left the sentence unfinished, and
Sir Jatfray looked at her as though to
question her.
While he was thinking what to reply
the police inspector was announced.
Excuse my troubling you again, Sir
Jaffray," he said-he had already been
once that day at the manor house
"but am on my way to the adjourned
inquest, and l thought you would like
to know that have arranged to COM
plete the inquiry this afternoon and
not have another adjournment. "
"That is certainly what l wish, i'll
spector.
The inquiry had indeed been some
what hurried over in Difference to the
expressed wish Of the baronet, while
that course also fell in with the inspect
or's own desires. He had been pleased
enough to get the utmost publicity Civ
en- to the case and had himself secretly
helped to insure this end by spreading
some few unimportant but telling de-
tails.
But now the publicity was getting
much greater than he wished, and the
comments were taking quite different
form from what he wanted. The papers
were trying the case and were handling
him rather roughly in the process
Moreover. the details published were
such as could not fail TO put these
implicated, however dense, on their
guard and to keep them posted as to the
actions of the police; hence the i'll
spector's eagerness to stop the whole
thing and by limiting as much as pcs
sible the scope of the inquest to hide
the intentions and plans of the police.
His ambition was to burke the inquiry
ut the very moment when public curl
Dsity was at the highest fever point
and then suddenly and as if by kind