Evening star., 1899-04-15
Synopsis of Preceding Chapters.

Synopsis of Preceding Chapters.
Just after ball at the Sutherland mansion
Agatha Webb and her servant found dead and
Philemon Webb. Agatbas husband, who for years
has been growing demented is discovered asleep at
the dinner table. A Of blood on his sleeve
points - him the murderer. Agatha Webb is
known tt out few rich woman. Miss Page,
the niece Of SutherIands honsekeeper persists in
Iema lining about the Webb premises and discovers
blood the grass. The money drawer is found TO
be empty, ard robbery is added to the mystery.
Frederick Sutherland. wayward youth calls his
father to witness his determination TO be a better
man. and promises to marry Miss Page by
whom ha. been fascinated. Miss Page tells
Frederick that she followed him the night Of the
mur,Ier and knew where he bad secreted thou
sand dollars. She gives him week to decide
whether marry her or be proclaimed as the muir
derer of Agatha Webb. 1t is learned that the
money was In lew bills. and the keeper of small
store produces that n strange man gave him
late the night of the murder for loaf of bread.
detective arrives from Boston and reports. simple
case: murdered for money. Find the man with a
flowing beard Suspicion falls upon one of the
Zabel brothers. Frederick visits the hollow tree.
Tie money is gone. watties. a Boston gambler.
arrives and demands $3.50 Of Frederick in payment
OF a gambling debt Frederick secures Il check for
the amount from his father. The label brothers
found dead If starvation, one of them eluchinS
the loaf bread. the other blood-stained knife.
The Boston detective declares the mystery solved,
but Young Sweetwater astonishes the company by
chain Of evidence pointing to another perIetra-
tor Of the terrible crime. This time Amabei Page
i suspected. Sweptwater fintS the money where he
has Mis- Page hide it. Miss Page is con-
fronted by the detectives and officers and tells
what she saw the night IF the murder. Frederick
oyerhears the talking and joins the group and Miss
Page tells just enough that later confession
will implioate Frederick if he refuses To marry her
ON the following day occurs the funeral Of Agatha
Oil, nd Iatp hat Ight Mr. Sutherland discovers
Frederick weeping her grave. On the way
home be leans of the death of Philemon, Agatha $
husband.
A man was coming up the road. young
man. Frederick AS Mr.. Sutherland rec
ocnized him he leaned forward with in
creased anxiety, till at the appearance OF
his son in front his scrutiny grew so
strained and penetrating that 1t seemed
to exercise magnetic influence upon the
passerby, for when directly opposite the
window Frederick invOluntarlly reused
from his abstraction and looked up. Inc
glance he gave the house was but momen-
tary. but in that glance the father saw All
that he had secretly dreaded. AS his son
eye fel on that fiutterinS bit of Grape tes-
tifying to another death in this already
much-bereaved community, he staggered
wildly, then in a pause of doubt drew
nearer and nearer till his fingers grasped
this symbol of mourning and clung there
Next moment he was far down the road,
plunSing toward home in a state of great
mental disorder
With sinking heart Mr.. Sutherland let his
eyes drop from this flying figure to search
for the man whom little while before he
had seen following Immediately behind his
son He was following him still and has
tened by the house just Mr.. Sutherland's
glance fell on him, so that whatever was
strange or pitiful in the foregoing scene
must have had this man for a witness
half hour afterward Mr.. Sutherland
reached home. He had not OVertaken Fred
erick again or even his accompanying
shadow. Ascertaining at his own door that
his son had not Yet come in. but had been
seen going further up the hill, he turned
back again into the road and proceeded
after him foot.
The next place to his own was occupied
by Mr. Halliday As he approached it he
caught sight of a man standing half in and
half out of the honeysuckle porch whom
he at first thought TO be Frederick But he
soon saw that IL was the fellow who
had been following his all the way
from Port Chester. and. controlling his
first movement of dislike, he stepped I'D to
him and quietly said:
Sweetwater. is this you?'
The young man fell back and showed a
most extraordinary agitation, quickly sup
pressed, however.
Yes. sir it is no one else. Do you know
what I doing here?'
Il fear l do. You have been to Portches-
ter. You have seen my SON.
Sweetwater made hurried, almost an
entreatng gesture.
Never mind that Mr. Sutherland 7 had
rathe" you wouldn't say anything about
that / am as much broken Up by what 1
lave seen as you are. / never suspected
hlm- sir; only the girl to whom he has so
unfortunately attached himself. But after
seeing him abandoned to grief in that place
over that grave. what am | to Think
What am l 10 do? 1 honor you l would not
ErieVe you: but-but-Oh. sir perhaps YOU
can help me out of the maze into which |
have stumbled Perhaps YOU can assure
me that Mr.. Frederick did not leave the ball
at the time she did. / missed him from
among the dancers. l did not see him be-
and
His voice broke. He was almost as pro-
foundly asitated as Mr.. Sutherland AS for
the latter. Who found himself unable to re-
assure The other this very vital point
having no remembrance himself of having
seen Frederick among his guests during
those fatll hours, he stood sIecchless lost
In abysses. the depth and horror of which
only father can appreciate. Sweetwater
respected his anguish. and for a moment
was silent himself. Then he burst ont.
\ Il had rather never have lived TO see this
day than be the cause of shame or suffering
deaf, dumb
Here Mr.. Sutherland found voice.
iou MAKE 100 much of what you saw"
sald ne. My boy has faults and has lived
anything but satisfactory life, but he is
not as bdd as your fears would show He
could ne er have taken l.fe That would he
IHSTtIlbic. monstroUs in one brought I'M
as NJ has been. Besides if he were so far
gone l! evil as to be willing to attempt
crime ne had no motive 20 do so: Sweet
Mater. he had no motive. A few hundred
collars But these he could have got from
me. and did. but W
Why did the wretched father ston? Did
n TScaH the circumstances under which
Frederlck mad obtained these last hundreds
from him? They were not ordinary circnrn-
stances. and Frederick had been in no or
o!nary strait Mr.. Sutherland could NOT bn.
acknowledge to himself that there xyas
something in the whOls matter which con-
tradicted the very plea he was making and
not being able 10 establish the conyiction
OF his sons innocence in his own mind he
was too honorable to try to establish il in
snOther- His next words showed the strug-
gle he was laboring under
II Is that girl-who has ruined him
Sweetwater. He loves her but he doubts
her. as who could help doing after tba
story she told us day before Yesterday. In
deed, he has doubted her ever since that
fatal night. and ii is this which has broken
MS heart, and nOt-nOt-' Again the old
gentleman paused; again he recovered him
self, this time with touch of his 1Isual dip