The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-05-05
CHAPTER II.

The reasons, however, remained Tor
minute or two longer in his own pos
session. An idea, happy thought,
brought strange sparkle to his eyes, as
he rose from his chair, crossed the room
and unlocked dispatch box. From this
Ire drew red morocco case, which he
opened and handed silently to me. 1t
contained beautiful miniature.
"A very lovely woman" l said.
'My wife, sir"
glanced involuntarlly at my hosts
wrinkled face. Was it possible that
once he had played the enchanting part
of Romeo to such Juliet as this? Or
had she married him for his wealth?
He held out his lean fingers for the
miniature. and, leaving it in the palm of
his hand, continued:
L ~ met her at Red Gulch, where had
made so much money. You have heard
of the Black Culch excitement; and you
know, possibly. why the place came
to be rechristened. No? Well, I'll tel!
you. 1t was the scene of a horrible
tragedy, one of those blood-curdling
crimes which shock the whole world
and then are forgotten. Any oldtimer
will give you the particulars; but such
details are not to my taste; and to be
honest with you"-he shuddered-"'I
cannot trust myself to discuss them.
The crime"-his voice sank to a whisper
-"made coward of me for life. Do
you know, Mr.. Livingston. that one may
suddenly lose his grip and never re-
cover it? That happened to me. The
man who was murdered and so horri-
bly, mutilated was my partner, and
God!-my emotion will not surprise
you when / add that he was killed by
mistake. The assassin intended to mur-
der me. My partner had arranged to
visit San Francisco to buy some ma
chinery; but at the last moment he was
unable to undertake the journey, and
went in his stead. That night the deed
was done-done, too, in darkness,
which accounted for the blunder in iden-
tity. But the ferocity of the murder
cannot be described. Only a man in
spired by the most malignant hatred
could have butchered fellow-creature
as"
"He was caught red-handed. of
course?"
mo. He is still at large"
sand you know him?"
"Yes."
"But the motive, Mr.. Gerard?"
He held up the miniature and sighed.
"Your w;fe!" l gasped, overwhelmed
with surprise and curiosity.
''She was not then my wife. She was
married at that time to-to-the man
the fiend, I say, who killed my poor
friend Ferdinand Perkins. And, fool
that l was, never suspected the truth;
and the devilish cunning of the mon
ster threw suspicion upon another.
When l learned the real facts, months
after the tragedy had occurred, it was
too late-too late!"
His distress moved me profoundly.
"The motive was jealousy, the jeal-
ousy of an Othello. l had paid atten-
ton to his wife, a blameless woman.
Mr.. Livingston, good as gold, and loyal
to the ruffian whose name she bore.
She must have known that loved her,
Tor she came to me one night, two weeks
after the murder. and implored me to
take her away. jumped at the oppor-
tunity, and asked no questions then.
We left Red Gulch-it was called Red
Gulch because-you understandable
hind the fastest team in the country,
but none pursued. The husband-I
didn't know it at the time-was down
with brain fever, and raving. Well.
a, lo@ 7 LoA 1,
lady my wife by the laws of the land.
but, at her special request, secretly.
She easily obtained divorce from her
first husband, on the ground of deser-
tion and failure to provide. He had dis
appeared. But, to my amazement, my
wife refused to live openly with me.
She gave these reasons:"
He paused and wiped his forehead.
'This iend had killed Perkins be-
lieving him to be me, and had betrayed
himself to his wife in his sleep. Small
wonder! She dared not tell a soul,
fearing for her own life; but she con-
suited a confidential servant, u Greek,
who was my right-hand man and en-
tirely trustworthy. Between them they
unearthed the evidences of the crime,
the clothes he wore, the knife. The
devil-he is alive. as told you-has a
streak of insanity in his makeup. He
has a madman's cunning. a madman's
strength, and a madman's ferocity."
l began dimly to understand my mis-.
sion. Sooner or later l might expect
to pit myself against this crazy Her
cules. The prospect was not pleas
Ing.
"Why did you not prosecute" ]
asked, when you learned the facts?"
prosecutor" he echoed. Not jury
In the land would have sent him to the
gallows. The testimony was purely
presumptive, and the fact that | had
eloped with and married the accused's
wife would have invalidated her evi
dence. / submitted the case. hypo,
thetically, to the greatest criminal law
yer in America. and he laughed at me-
~ understand"
II suppose" he continued. dreamily
II might have taken the law into my
own hands; l might had the oP
portunity more than once-have shot
him down; but Livingston, it's dis
graceful thing to admit. but, as told
you. ! am coward. That awful nights