Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-09
CHAPTER NIX.


What she did say was in seeming ex-
PLANTATION Of her previous sentence. at
was not the same old man l had seen on
the doorstep, and while / was looking at
him | became aware of some one leaving
the house and passing me on the road up
hill. OF course this ended my interest in
what went on within, and turning as
quickly as | could | hurried into the road
and followed the shadow l could just per-
ceive disappearing in the woods above me.
l was bound, gentlemen, as you see, to fol-
low out my adventure to the end. But my
task now became very difficult, for the
moon was high and shone down upon the
road so distinctly that | could not follow
the person before me as closely as l wished
without running the risk of being discovered
by him. l therefore trusted more to my
ear than to my eye, and as long as | could
hear his step in front of me ! was satisfied
But presently, as we turned up this very
hill, ceased to hear these steps and so be-
came confident that he had taken to the
woods. was so sure of this that I did
not hesitate to enter them myself, and,
knowing the paths we'll, as l have every
opportunity of doing, living as we do, di-
rectly opposite this forest, l easily found
my way to the little clearing that 1 have
reason to think you gentlemen have since
become acquainted with. But though from
the sounds l heard was assured that the
person | was following was not far in ad-
vance of me, l did not dare to enter this
brilliantly Illuminated space especially as
there was every indication Of this person
having completed whatever task he had set
for himself Indeed, was sure that heard
his steps coming back So, for the second
time, | crouched down in the darkest place
/ could find and let this mysterious person
pass me- When he had quite disappeared
made my own retreat, for 1t was late, and
was afraid of being missed at
the ball. But later, or rather the
next day. returned and began a
search for the money which l was confident
had been left in these woods by the person
I had been following. l found it, and when
the man here present, who, though mere
fiddler, has presumed to take leading part
in this interview, came upon me with the
bills in my hand. l was but burying deeper
the i'll gotten gains l had come upon
"Ah, and so making them your own"
quoth Sweetwater, stung by the sarcasm in
that word, fiddler.
But with suavity against which every
attack fell powerless, she met his sgnih-
cant look with one fully as significant, and
quietly said:
"lf | had wanted the money for myself
I would not have risked leaving it where
the murderer could find 1t by digging up a
few handfuls of mold and bunch of sodden
leaves. No, l had another motive for my
action, motive with which few, if any,
of you will be willing to credit me. l wished
to save the murderer, whom l had some
reason. as you see, for thinking knew, from
the consequences of his own action"
Mr. Courtney, DR.. Talbot and even Mr..
Sutherland. who naturally believed she re-
ferred to label and who, one and ALL had
a lingering tenderness for this unfortunate
old man, which not even this seeming act
OF madness ON his part could quite destroy,
felt species of reaction at this, and sur
veyed the singular being before them with
perhaps the slightest shade of reentlng in
their severity Sweetwater alone betrayed
restlossness, Knapp showed no feeling at
all. while Frederick stood like one petrifed,
and moved neither hand nor foot.
Crime that is the outcome OF forethought
is despicable." she went on, with a de-
iiberateness so hard that the more suscepti-
BILE of her auditors shuddered. "But crime
that springs from some imperative and over
powering necessity of the mind or body
might well awaken sympathy, and / am not
ashamed of having been sorry for this fren-
2ed and suffering man. Weak and impul-
siye as you may consider me, did not want
him to suffer on account of a moments s
madness. as he undoubtedly would IL he were
ever found with this money in his possess
son so / plunged 1t deeper into the soil
ana trusted to the confusion which crime
always awakens even in the strongest mind
for him not to discover my subterfuge."
"Ha! wonderful! Devilish subtle eh?
Clever, too clever!" were some of the
whispered eXclamations which this curious
explanation on her part brought out. Yet
only Sweetwater showed his open and entire
disbelief of the story, the others possibly
remembering that for such natures as hers
there is no governing law and no common
place Interpretation.
To Sweetwater, however, this was but so