The Natchitoches enterprise. (Natchitoches, La.) 1888-1965, 1899-01-12

! - ,,...uL, anu tndG bfings me- 20
the explanation you ask2dafora uouau,
ago Robertson, it appears, had had a
case before him in which native was
CHARGED with maItroatilgs his wife.
mere cEiIG barely II yeas Of age in
such a brutal manner es to casso her
death. Gases Of tuat kill4are far from
being uncommon, g yea ki.o. aid
Rubsrtson-acli he d.1FN ii al.uo:t
any other English Jndss HoaId have.
done under tie circumstaaeeS- gave the
scamp his deserts and secsenced hlm to
death.
"Now this occurred onlya few hours
before he was murdered, and you will
at ones suspect soma biddsn connection
between the two events sAna you are
right. In passing seatapCe Of death
upon the brutal native he virtually
passed sentence upon hi'4self
RQtETtson ,,7T77iSe1s2,gkrsfe ct the
time. amona other ssESfts, a butler
who was related to the man he had just
condemned. Whether he was aware of
the exact relationship existing between
the two don't know, but Ian inclined
to tlink not. AS matter Of fact, when
Robertson sat down to dinner that
night, after sentencing the native to
death, he was waited upon by the con
vict's own brother
"YOu observed riha on the dining
room wall. Lave no doubt, just oppu
Cif 70 TlignA at f.,l 10 II
that rife tie fatal Shot was fred
Not while Rtbottson was at dinner.
though. The butiC@ was too willy for
that He bided his tine until his mas
ter had seated himself in his usual place
here on the veranda, taken his coffee
and smoked his cheroot Then, when
these had begun to make him Growsy,
the fellow took The rifle from the wall
it was always hept ioaded-and Crept
through the bedrooms to the far end Of
tho veranda, where, as you see, the
shadow lies 50 deep.
"Sjtting as we are now, you observe
that the steps between the far ead Of
the veranda and the JalOusies with the
hole III it are concealed by the row of
pillars and you will readily understand
how bareIUOted native might creep
along those steps uDa,r cover Of the pill
lars and apply his eye to the hole with
out being either seen or heard. Well,
that is just what the butler did. Only
he did something moro
''After applying his eye to the hole
he noiseiessly inserted the muz1le Of
the rife in the aperture, took deliberate
aim at bis master S heart AID fred
Poor Robertsonl Ee nlyor knew what
hurt him.
StanfeId ceased ereaalzSiin.g.: and pain
full silence fell upon us b0th, HE
movement of lizard in the jalousies
through which the shot lad been fired
sent thrill Ct horror through my
nerves. fancied | could hear the but
ler's stealthy footsteps and sec the
CLEAN of the rife bart s-sn the moon
light: So awfully real was my concep-
tion Of the whole scene that at last, in
sheer desperation, l spoke and so broke
tie spell.
Hadn't Robertson wife? have an
idea that once met her in Madras.
"He had, and speaking Of her re-
minds me that my story is still unfn
ished. In fact, the most remarkable
part of it is yet to come.
about year before her husbands
death Mrs. Robertson, it seems, went |
home to England for her health, and
when last saw Robertson alive-the !
night he had the strange premonition,
You remember-he was daily expecting
her back. Well, it is a singular ooinci
dence, but perfectly true, that the
steamer she was passenger by entered
Bombay harbor on the very evening
and at the very hour when Robertson
was shot
Mrs Robertson had gathered all
ler traps together, intending to disem-
Dark that night, and as soon az she
leard the anchor dropped size left the
;abjn to go on deck. In her hand she
,arried small travelling clock, aud just
'sshe reached the foot of the companion
tairs she glanced at it and saw that
ne hour was exactly o'clock AT the
anne moment an indegcribable terror
eized her. She looked up quickly, and
mere on the steps above her stood her
husband
She sprang up the steps to meet him,
mt he suddenly and mysterioasly dis
ppeared. At the top of the steps she
an against the purser
There's no hurry, madam, said
9, tho tenders not alongside yet.
"'But ny husband + cried Mrs R.
saw him here just now. How did he
ONE aboard:'
Madam, replied the purser, you
lust be mistaken. Not i living soul
as boarded the ship tonight
"And he was right, FIR # Mrs r
Nv anything, as stetd.s llsaSvll44le did.
must have been 1plrit Of her dy
lg husband c,
"Let Us go in, 2~--A rising hastily
This n4Etret a ir has gwen ME chill
New York journal
The White NaR/Tn the Tropics.
Tho attc,,,- ~ ,ocli ruafi1 tbn ,-L;to