Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-10-13
CW.NPTl:R ri,

siicoi which had been thrown so rcvcr-
emily over IN" face of the dead: no cry.
no sob escaped her lips: she stood there
willie as the dcal-as cold and as still.
Tie chief constable came mp to her and
pointed to the fair. clustering hair that
wls thick with gravel and soil. pointed
10 II Hack hrniSc on the white forehead.
Plat shows" he said. gently. 'that
he fcll on his face. The shot must have
pierced his heart
SHE looked nj the beautiful. placid face.
s." calm. so still. so full of noble majesty
hooked AT it with II pain she would ncv-
or have known had she loved him Will,
her whole heart: then. bending her head.
she laid her living lips on his dead oncs.
Austin" she said. II would have died
To save YOU
The full realization of the fact that lc
was dead came over her in it's fullest
sense. as she raised hcr head from his.
She remembered his passionate delight il
ever She carr>sr,l him-how his face
slloHe. and his eyes. how bright they
grcw-how he had loved her. this man so
fonliy slain. That very night. even. how
tenlrrly he had badc her farewell. Then
she looked ut his neck. and cried out to
the chief constable:
"lic has been robbed as we'll as m,,r-
dcrcd.' she cried. Last evening l fast
encd II silk scarf. with Il pearl brooch,
round his throat. Where is it?"
The chief constable turned the sheet
still further down.
There ia no scarf here" he said: ''but
. is every sign of one having bccn
"iolcntly off"
the glossy plcats of cambria n
been torn with great violence.
! had been wrenchcd off. one of
suds was missing, the other two
S-studs that Lcnorc rcmcmbcr-
: She had given them to him
Oily looks like robbery" said the
istablc, "or why should these be
,ointcd as he spoke to the gold
to the rings ON the finger, to the
and chain.
cannot understand it," he said;
e can he no doubt of it's being 81
and unnatural murder. But for the
mt dragging off of the scarf one
Il imagine that he had been shot by
AXE"
ihc very word seemed to pierce her
lrt.
II Npuiu wv iii viz sShtOs
has not an enemy in the whole wide
-ld-not one"
gain she bent her head over the white,
face.
If you could but for once speak to
ne" she cried. but once, and tell me the
secret of your death"
But those white. rigid lips were never
more to unlock in this world. no laugh
tor was to part them. no smile to play
over them. no words to leave them-thev
were locked in the silence of death. Sud
denly she, his wife. looked up into the
pitying face of the head constable.
IL am quite sure of IL thing she
said. "tliat the person who shot him has
taken the scarf and brooch away, and
remember my words. although years may.
pass before they are verified, that brooch
and scarf will be the means of bringing
the murderer To Justice; remember my
words when they come to pass. Now go.
all Of you. and leave me alone with my
dead"
There was a sensation all over. the
lan,l: IL murder nj amy time fills the COM
mnnity with dread and awe: but this was
sic, II terrible murder: done in tho sweet.
soft -!ouin of the summer night, done in
The midst of sleeping flowers and rest
less leaves: near where the deer lazy rest
ing and the birds We're asleep: done.
seemingly. without the least %provocation.
1t MAS IL murder that no one could UNI
i!crstand. The sweetest of singers was
cruelty slain; II great poet. IL teacher of
the people. n writer of noble poems had
hccu most cruelty slain.
The horror OF il was dcrpcncd by the
knowledge of the fact that it seemed Very
unlikely Mrs. .Audlcy would ever recover
f.o,n the blow. She. like her daughter.
had thought and spoken much of the
Brooch and scarf: both seemed firmly
possessed with the same idea. that they
Would ultimately lead To the detection of
tho murderer. 1t WAS wonderful how
that idea haunted them.
The usual terrible routine was gone
through with all possible state and SOL
cmrity: Il coroner's inquest was held;
witnesses were cXamined: hut not even
the least trace of the crime could be
found.
The most commonly received opinion
was that some tramp passing by had
murdered him in order to rob him; then,
had been disturbed before his plumber
was complete. The only difficulty in the
way of this belief was that tramps did
HUI. 40 ~ wv. '"iis IlStois, uVIs' ~ tiSS
intend to commit II robbery, do they leave
it half done.
So round the coffin of Austin Chandos
ali these runnors grew and died away:
the mystery was one which it seemed
would never be solved; the only thing
was to wait.
Lenorc felt her trouble hard to bear.
If his death had been 1t natural one, it
would nave been hard; hut this most foul
and unnatural murder added such horror
to it. That which made it worse was,
Mrs. Audlcy never recovered from the
shock: Lenore tool her back to the Man
or Housc-she tried everything, but it
,7ns all in vain-three months after the