Kootenai County Republican. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1899-1903, 1899-10-27
say what were the exact words he in

coJ "Aas were We exact words ne In
tended to write 4 am dying. mur-
dered by strange man. who forced his
way into the house. 1t might have
teen that. it might have been anything
after the word strange. the word in
the writing Of which and before he
could complete 1t death overlook him,
/ and his very handwriting condemned
the man whom he had tried to save. -
The more Darrent thought the more
moody became his reflections. Was it
possible he had blunderedf Was it pos
sible that the man now under sentence
OF death was only the victim Of series
OF circumstantial incidents that he
had 80 cleverly put togetherY He turned
to finish the breakfast that he had neg
lected. but all inclination for food had
vanished. and he pushed his plate aside
and stared out Of the window again,
and. IS he gazed. there continually
dinned in his ears one sentence: Sup
pose you've been mistakeni Suppose
you We been mistakeni''
The repetition grew simply madden
ing He could bear it no longer: he
would reteet every theory; he would
retrace his steps, 60 right back to the
beginning. follow every clew from q
different standpoint and see where il
'sed'himAsee if there was anything, no
matter how minute, that he had over
looked He turned to the newspaper
once more. and as he glanced down the
columns q chess diagram caught his
eye the usual weekly problem. white
to play and mate in two moves. In an
instant Darrent's mind was alert on q
new scent
So easy had been the trail that he had
followed. 80 clearly had it pointed to
the guilt Of Astray Marsden. that he
had quite overlooked the robbery of the
chessmen- They had seemed to have no
real connection with the actual murder.
and they had slipped from his memory
Now. and it came forcibly back to him,
hestad better try to trace them and find
what bearing they had upon the case
He recalled how he had built up a
theory that il he could only find those
chesslnen he would be very near achicv-
ing mate upon the murderer's game
What step should he take nowP He
somehow could not disabuse his mind
Of the uneasy feeling that had possessed
it-that perhaps he had put the hemp
round an innocent mans neck. and in
"a few weeks time, unless he proved
himself to have been wrong. to have
followed bad theory to false end,
the moose might be drawn and Astray
Marsden gone beyond recall.
He went mp stairs to his room and
took from his bag the odd pawn and
the piece Of tissue paper containing the
chip Of ivory. his new clews-
1t was big. manly task Darrent was
going to enter upon. because IL he
proved that the conclusions he had al
ready arrived at were false and that all
along he had followed false scent he
wrote for himself and his lauded ability
an awful denunciation. II, on tho other
hand. he only confirmed his first theory,
there was nothing further to go on
working for beyond self satisfaction
and content,pent. Was it worth while
after alli he pondered. Why not let
things take their course1
He stepped out into the street and
paused. irresolute. for few moments.
Then. suddenly making up his mind,
he walked rapidly to the railway eta
tion and took the train for Bideford
He had decided that the first new
step he must pursue WAS to ascertain
from Ethel Kingston anything he could
rs to the real relationship between
Astray Marsden and the murdered man
and. further. what were the grounds
upon which old Marsden had forbidden
the marriage of Astray with her Per
haps in that very refusal of consent to
the alliance there might be something
that would lead him on fresh scent.
something that would dull or satisfy
that aching that had taken possession
Of his mind. that would allay the
haunting fear that perhaps. after all.
he was wrong
When Darrent reached Bidcford. he
experienced but little trouble in finding
the abode Of Ethel Kingston. for upon
q tiny FURNISHED plate on door in
High street he read the name and IN
derncath the word "Milliner.
How. wondered Darrent. as he stood
awaiting an answer to his knock.
would he find the woman who had tax
en- that unrehearsed part in the dra-
matte scene at the trialf Would she be
Frustrated with grief ard refuse 10 see
him. or would she upbraid and assail
him for having 30 steadfastly pursued
and convicted the man she loved, the
man whom she believed 70 be innocent
and whom. if he were but free. she had
sworn before all men she would marry 7
While Darrent turned these possibili-
ties over In his mind the door was
opened by the girl herself. who could
i'll conceal start of establishment as he
raised his hat
".You have come from himf' she
'Queried
"Yes. answered Darrent as he ac-
cepted her invitation TO enter ~ have
come. Miss Kingston. he continued.
''because today l do not feel quite so
eatisfied as / have been all along about
the guilt Of Astray Marsden "
''And vet it is due to vou. and you