The Portland daily press., 1898-10-19

him alone upon some suD1ecG tne nature
of which he could not, OF course. guess.
a,ne at the snot where he found her but
also of her dismounting and resting at
the gateway where they had discovered
the curious marks in the dust, ana for the
FRAGMENTS of the letter being recovered
near. ..4
A similar theory seppeared TO suggest
itself.to the minds OF the jury ioi
moment later the foreman asAeo. ,s;.
"Would the deceased have any uenn. .,
object in seeking an interview WIN youi
None whatever" he promptly replieus
puzzled nevertheless that the remains Eoi
LANES note should have been recoVereu
in Cross Lane.
"You assisted the police to searcn 9ne
road for any traces of the assassin, i pe-
lieve Mr.. Stratfeld," continued the Cor
oner. "Did you discover anything:
George raised his eyes and met the curl
GUS gaze of the woman he loved. At that
moment her veil failed to hide the strange
look of dread and apprehension in her
face, SO intense it was Her lips slightly
parted, Quivered. the pallor of her cheeks
was death-like, and her whole attitude
was that of one who feared the reVela1lon
Of some terrible truth.
During my search discovered lady,s
hairpin lying in the grass at the roao.
side" George replied, after silence, DrleI
but complete. He was not thinking OF
the question, but was sorely puzzled au
the extraordinary change in the woman
who hao promised to become his vile.
The Transformation was amazing.
"That pin is here" the Coroner ex-
t h,aln9i ns No tic will call Henry
Fawcett, .hairdresser, OF Reading. who
will give evidence regarding Is.
The man referred to was called IN, ana
in reply to formal question. TOOK tne
hairpin In his hands, saying
ri have, at the instigation OF the police
infinitely compared this pin with those
worn by the young lady at the time OF
her death, and also those found upon her
dressing.table / find that although ,ap-
paren tiy the same make 1t is nevertheless
entirely different Some OF them fouRd
unon her dressing. table were of similar
length and size, but while the pins she
used were of the ordinary kind such as
may be purchased at any draper THIS
one is of very superior quality. by the
shane of its points, together with its curve
i Judge that this is the pin manufactured
solely by Clark and Lister, OF birmingham
and sold by first-class hairdressers.
"Your theory is that this pin was never
worn by the deceasedp" the Coroner said,
thoughtfully stroking his grey beard.
al feel confident it never was for the
pin is quit new, and they are sold In
large boxes was the reply.
ssIn that case it seems probable that an
other woman was with her Immediately
before her DEATH" observed the foreman
to. his brother jurors.
George looked again at Liane. Her
ewes were still staring into space, ner lips
were trem bling, her face was ashen pale.
She started at the ominous words which
fell upon her ear, then feigned to BUSY
herself in re-buttoning the black glove
L. i fanfo a 0lth
stIt. of course, remains for the police to
prosecute further inquiries and to discover
the owner of that hairpin," the Coroner
said. "Most of US are aware that ladies'
frequently use various kinds OF pins in
dressing their hair. but in this case nos
a single one of the peculiar sort found on
the spot was discovered in the deceased's
nossession: and this fact In itself certain
iy.lends colour to suggestion that fmme-
diately prior to the tragedy MISS brldson
was not alone
George, having concluded his evidence.
had taken a seat beside his well-beloVed.
Only once she glanced at him, then evad"
ed his gaze, for in her grey eyes was an
expression as though she were still haunt
ed by some unknown yet terrible dread.
His statement regarding the halrp1n had
unneryed her. Did she, he wondered,
wear similar pins in her own dark, deity
coiled tresses?
Instantly, however, he laughed the
wild, absured idea to scorn. That she
feared lest some startling truth should De
Calculated was apparent; but the susplc-
ion that a pin from her own hair had
fallen unheeded upon the grass he dis
missed as utterly preposterous. Was she
not his enchantress? Surely he had no
right to suspect her, of all women, for he
loved her with all his soul. Yet neither
notice, jury, nor he himself had inquired
bo hol hoaY "a the hnnr tha trace
DIV was enacted. The thought held him
appalled,.
passed through his mind come words Of
the Coroner suddenly arrested his atten-
ton. The court was at once hushed In
expectation, every word being listened to
with eager attention.
sin the pocket of the deceased has
been found this letter, OF q somewhat ex-
traordinary character. AS 1t is written
in French may be best if l read an
English Translation" he said spreading
ont the missive before him. tIt is on
sunerior note-paper of English make
bears traces OF having been written by an
educated person, and was cent to the post
office, Strattield Mortimer, where the
police have ascertained that the deceased
called for it about ten days ago. No ad-
dress is given, and the envelope is missing
but the communication Is to the following
effect-"Dear N6lly,-Ine coro Is now
dra wn so tight that it must snap ere
long. England is safer than the south,
no doubt, but 1t will not be SO much
longer. Therefore remain here, but for
tunately not zen convalescence. Do
not tell Lame anything, but remember
that the matter must be kept profound
secret. or one or other of US must pay the
penalty. That would mean the end.
For myself, I do not care, but for you
it is, Of course. entirely different. We are
widely separated, yet our interests are en-
tirely identical. Remember me, and be
always on your guard against any sur
nrise. Au revoir." 1t will be noticed,
gentlemen. by those Of you who know
French, - the Coroner added, "that the
words ZEN convalescence' occur here in II
rather curious sense. 1t is, in fact, moth
ing less than thieves argot, meaning I'M
der police surveillance; and 1t is strange
that it should be written by one who
otherwise writes well and grammatically
The name of the dead girls mysterious
correspondent Is a rather uncommon one
-Mariette Lepage
"Mariette LepageP' George cried aloud
in a tone of dismay, causing not little
ron STARVATION among those Assem- HE'D