Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-05-25

1
all felt free to inhale the autumn air
and to enjoy the beauties of the place
without thought of lurking trouble in
| it's sweetest hooks and most attractive
coverts, gave to this short half hour q
distinctive delight aptly expressed by
Loreen when she said:
II never knew the place was so beau
tiful Why, l think l can be happy
here now" At which Lucetta grew
pensive, till l reused her by saying:
$50 much for q constitutional, girls.
Now we must to work. This house. as
you see it now, has to be prepared for
wedding. William, your business will
be to see that these grounds are put in
as good order as can be done in three
days. will bear the expense. and Lo-
REM
But William had o word to say for
himself.
miss Butterworth, said he, "you re
a right good sort Of woman, as Saracen
| has found out and we, too, in these last
few plaguy days Of our trouble here.
But I'm not such bad lot either, and
if l do like my own way, which may
not be other peoples way, and if / am
sometimes short with the girls for some
of their id nonsense, have little
| decency about me, too, and say will
fix these grounds, and out Of my own
money too. Now that nine-t enths Of our
income does not have to go abroad We'll
have chink enough to let us 60 respect
able once more in a place where one
horse, if he's good enough, will give a
| fellow standing and make him the
envy of even those who for some other
pesky reasons may think themselves
called upon to boot him. l don't be-
grudge the old place few dollars. es-
pccially as 1 mean to live and die in it
so look out, you three women folks, and
work lively as you can on the inside Of
the old rookery or the sickness of the
outside will put you to open shame,
and that would never please Loreen,
nor, as l take it, Miss Butterworth
either"
1t was a challenge we were glad to
accept, especially as from the number
of persons we now saw come flocking
into the lane it was very apparent that
we should experience no further diff
Guilty in obtaining any help we might
| need to carry out our undertakings.
Meantime my thoughts were not alto
| gether concentrated even upon these
pleasing plans for Lucetta's benefit
| There were certain points yet to be made
clear in the matter whose termination
still lay heavy on my heart, and there
was a confession for me to make, with
out which | could not face Mr.. Gryce
with all that unwavering composure
which our peculiar relations seemed to
demand
The explanations came first. They
We're volunteered by Mr.. Gryce, whom
l met in the course Of the morning at
Mother James cottage. She had been
perfectly happy all night, sleeping with
the coin in her hand and waking to
again devour it with her greedy but
loving eyes. AS we were looking at her
and Mr.. Gryce directing with his hand
the movements of the men who had
come to smooth down her garden and
make it presentable again the detective
spoke.
Il suppose you have been wondering
how this old woman came to have those
mementos of the crimes which took
| place up there. Well, we have figured
it out thus: The trinket from the ped
dler's pack she probably stole from that
pack before it was found by the villagers
and given up to the proper authorities
The other. the ring, has different his
tory, and the finding of it in Mother
James possession can only be explained
by series of causes so bizarre that
they must ever rank as among the most
remarkable that have ever adorned the
annals Of our police register. Should l
give it out as q puzzle you could never
answer it. How could ring which was
on the finger of Mr. - five minutes
before he vanished from the light of the
sun forever pass from the mouth of
that old we'll into Mother James hand
a half mile away without compromis-
ing Mr.. Trohm in the eyes of mortal
man, or even Mother Jane, who was as
innocent of wrong In this as we are?
You cannot tell. You might quote Scrip
ture and say, A bird of the air carried
it, But Miss Butterworth, you would
never believe the truth of your own
words, and yet that was the very way
it was done-a bird of the air carried
it, In those days-it Is three months
ago now-Mothor Jane kept two tame
pigeons They slept ON her house top
they ate from her hand and they flew
sometimes as far away as Mr. Trohm 8
garden. One day young man, equipped
for travelling, paused for glass of wa
these pigeons were picking up corn
which Mr.. Trohm had scattered for
them, for his tastes are confined to the
cultivation of fruits and flowers, but
extend to dumb animals, to whom he
is uniformly kind The young man wore
ring, and being nervous was fiddling
with it as he talked to the pleasant old
gentleman who was lowering the bucket
for him. AS he fiddled with it the
earth fell from under him, and as the
daylight vanished above him the ring
flew out of his up thrown hand and lay,
the only token of his now blotted out
existence, unOn the emerald sward he
had hut II moment before pressed with
his unsuspicious feet. 1t burned-this
ruby burned like a drop Of blood in
the grass when that demon came again
to his senses, and being a telltale evil
dence of crime to him who had allowed
nothing to ever speak against him Of
these matters, he stared at it as at a
| deadly thing directed against himself
and to be got rid of at once and by
| means which nv no nossihilitv cnnld