Arizona republican., 1898-03-08
Continued From Yesterday,)

md Florence had lost all appetite and was intent only on him. waiting almost meekly for him to speak. Some of the papers declared the injuries mortal. Randy passed the papers one after an other without comment to her, as he read them. She took each as it came, obediently, helpfully. but folded and laid it by her side. then returned to her worthless study of his troubled face. At last the fourth sheet was finished, and with long sigh he turned and saw her. 'My darlingi my dar,ing!" he whispered. great shame and sorrow overpowering him as he noted the in tensity of her sympathy mingling with the mournful sense of her utter noth- ingness to him at the moment. "Oh, Florence, how could I be so forgetful of you? But I have had a dreadful shock. You do not know what this means, what it would mean if McLane should die now-and 1 cannot tell you"
 And all she said was: Hush! Randy, dear, don't wish you to tell me now"
 But McLane did not die-at once, at least. Three weeks the police worked at that clew and the doctors at him, and neither with much success-cer- tainly with little help from the victim, who was in woeful state of collapse much of the time, protesting ignorance of any excuse for shooting on the part of anybody, and consumed with dread ful fear of death. It was a wonder that under the circumstances he rallied suffi- ciently to be up and able to be moved. The March winds of Frisco were leagued against him. The doctors wished to take him back to Coronado, but he declared that any part of Cali fornia would be death to him. He wished to go home at once. Within the week of the shooting Ned Parry ar rived from Chicago, and had some long interviews with his sister-in-law, but was not allowed to see the patient; neither was she except at rare inter- vals, an affiiction which she bore with Christian resignation. Then Parry had to go back, but not before he had re- ceived note from Merriam, had visited him, and had shown every attention to and deep interest in his gentle bride, nand had had one long conference with the husband, alone.
 When MT. McLane was declared well enough to move they carried him aboard a steamer and sent him to Pana ma, Fanny, his wife, in attendance, as in duty bound. But even the best and biggest stateroom was close and stuffy, as she said, and her hours were mainly spent on deck. II was the nurse who : had to bear with Macs ceaseless plaints. He had grown suddenly old, childish, decrepit, fDarful. They had to stay some days at Panama, and had a wretched time, at least he did, being transferred thence to Havana. where he was enjoined to remain at least six weeks. But some morbid longing drew him irresistibly back to New York. Go he would, and in April they exchanged the summer seas, the soft perfume-ldden air, the warm sunshine of the tropics for 1he fogs and bluster of the North Atlantic seaboard. Pneu- monia set in and claimed the feeble wreck for its own. Several weeks be- fore the anniversary of that brilliant wedding and still more brilliant re- ception, Fanny McLane was weeping decorous!y in widows weeds and listen
 
 testament.
 Much. but not all, had been left to his beloved wife, Frances Hayward Me Lane, but even that much was curiously bestowed. Why should Uncle Mellen be so largely beneficiary? Why should he be placed in charge of her property? Was she not old enough to look after what was her own? Why should Uncle Melien here and Uncle Msllen there appear on page after page of that formidable document? With alarming suddenness the tears had van ished, dried off, presumably, by the hot flush on her lovely cheek. Some one had obtained undue influence over her husband in his last moments, she de- clared- Some one had swindled her. Some one should be given to understand she was ehild-a puppet-no longel and two some ones, Uncle and Auri Mellen, had tremendous scene wit the widow before the funeral baked meats were fairly cold-before theflov CTS began to droop about the nev filled grave. One row led to anothe, and then to litigation, and then Siste- charlotte had relented, sister love an tenderness triumphing over the sens, Of indignation which followed Fan repeated neglects of sisterly letters and sisterly advice. and she came 'eas with her impel turbable Ned, and fourd Fan looking whit : and i'll and troubled, and while Ned rema. ned for legal bat tie royal with the girls putativ' guardian, Charlotte took trances to :; charming resort in the W, ,st TOT Plaeid summer, and that fall tn, Q ioVelA wioow was domiciled in an apart. nei; or her own within view of the flasbi, 9 waves of Lake Michigan, within sound or the ceaseless roar of Chicago.
 Meantime the junior member of tbe great firm of Graeme, Rayburn & Parry had been doing yeoman service ;n plnch1ng' Uncle Mellen, and many valuable concession had bean 1e