The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-07
THE SPIDER.
Continued From Page IS.


at o'clock Is not that enough?" he
cried, looking into the grave faces of his
neighbors. He would try to prove black
was white. ] find my wife in his arms,
her note in his pocket; it's all innocence
all purest friendship. Are we foois!" he
raved.
mo, we are not FOOLS" echoed Bell.
solemny.
"Then it's this; you come out IN the
bush and stand up at thirty PAGES, and
you kill me or l kill you. What do you
say?" painted Grimshaw, who was almost
beside himself.
II say no. said Talbot, steadily, though
he had grown rather pale. Evidence was
against him-the feeling was against him
how could he clear himself at the woman's
expense ?-the woman who, pestered him
with her love and her letters? No, for the
sake of communication the sake of his
mother and Madeline.
NO" ne repeated, "I am blameless
though you may not believe me. I don't
wish 10 take your life, nor risk my own,
which is of value to my father, and moth
er and my future wife, as well as my
self"
You scourdrel, if you don't stand up
like man you shall be bounded out of
Australia. You have committed the one
objectionable sin, and broken the laws of
hospitality. Also, 1 shall divorce my wife,
and all the papers in England shall ring
with your shame!
Fight" whispered David Porter; its
your only chance" David half believed
in, and wholly pitied this pale young Eng
lishman.
At daybreak a party of seven set out for
a lonely spot about three miles from the
station. But six returned; they left Wal
ser Talbot lying in the scrub face down
ward with a bullet in his breast. 1t had
al beep carried ont with dine rpSDapt ia
the obsolete rules of dueiing.
The six conspirators rode home, and
went TO bed. AT breakfast time Talbot
was missing. His absence created no sur
prise, but at ~ o'clock a black boy brought
in news that a dead man lay in the bush.
A search party set out at once and brought:
back with them the body OF
Walter Talbot, who had evil
IDENTIFY destroyed himself, but why?
Last night, barely twelve hours ago, who
so happy, so full of hope and vitality, and
Che 'join de vivre" as Walter Talbot?
A formal inquest was held on the re-
mains; there was no difficulty in pronounc-
ing it a case of death from suicide. Even
this was hidden from Talbots people at
home, who have been led 10 suppose that
he died of sunstroke Nor do they dream
that he died to save the maine of nOto-
riously worthless woman-a woman who
guessed the truth-a woman who did not
long survive MN, ana VINO, on nef Qedlu-
bed confessed that her infatuation for
poor Walter had led TO his untimely fate,
and that he, the innocent, had suffered for
the guilty. Mamie lies beside the first
Mrs Grmshaw, but no headstone marks
the spot where she is buried.
AS for Bernard Grimshaw he has sold
all interest in Linga Tonga and become a
taciturn wanderer upon the face of the
globe.
Sir John Talbot has no male heir. He
and a pretty, sad-faced girl occupy the
great family pew. above which has been
recently erected a white marble mOnu-
ment to the memory of Walter Talbot,
late Of this parish The man deplores a
son, the girl a lover, who lies far away
in a rude grave in the desolate Australian
bush. Little do they suppose that they
owe this mutual and irreparable loss to
a certain Mrs Bernard Grimshaw-other-
wise "the Spider"
The End,