The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-02-07
CHAPTER K.


These are they which follow the Lamb whittier.
soever he goeth.
When DR. Bruce and the bishop en-.
tered the Sterling mansion. everything
In the usually well appointed household
was in the greatest confusion and ter.
ror The great rooms down stairs were
empty. but overhead were hurried foot.
steps and confused noises One of the
servants ran down the grand staircase
with look Of horror on her face Just
as the bishop and Dr. Bruce were start
ing to 60 up,
Miss Felicia is with Mrs. Sterling
the servant stammered in answer to
question and then burst into hyster.
ical cry aud ran through the drawing
room and out of doors.
At the top Of the staircase the two
men were met by Felicia.
She walked up to Dr. Bruce at once
and put both hands in his The bishop
laid his hand on her head. and the three
stood there moment in perfect silence
The bishop had known Felicia since
she was child He was the first to
break silence
1.-THE God Of all mercy be with you.
Felicia. in this dark hour Your moth.
err
The bishop hesitated. Out of the
buried past he had during his hurried
passage from his friends house to this
house Of death irresistibly drawn the
one tender romance of his young man
hood Not even Bruce knew that But
there had been time when the bishop
had offered the incense of a singularly
undivided affection upon the altar Of
his youth to the beautiful Camilla
Rclfe. and she had chosen between him
and the millionaire. The bishop carried
no bitterness with his memory. but it
was still memory. 4,
For answer to the bishops unfinished
query Felicia turned and went back
into her mothers room. She had not
said word yet, but both men were
struck with her wonderful calm. She
returned to the hall door and beckoned
to them. and the two ministers. with a
feeling that they were about to behold
something very unusual. entered
Rose lay with her arms outstretched
on the bed; Clara. the nurse. sat with
her head covered. sobbing in spasms of
terror. and Mrs Sterling. with 1.-The
light that never was on sea or land"
luminous on her face. lay there so still
that even the bishop was deceived at
first. Then as the great truth broke
upon him and DR.. Bruce he staggered,
and the sharp agony Of the old wound
shot through him. 1t passed and left
him standing there in that chamber Of
death with the eternal calmness and
strength that the children Of God have
a right to possess. and right we'll he
used that calmness and strength in the
days that followed.
The next moment the house below
was in u tumult. Almos: st the same
time the doctor. who had been sent for
Mt once. but lived some distance away,
came in. together with police officers
who had been summoned by the fright
ened servants. With them were four or
I've newspaper correspondents and sew
eral neighboIs. DIR. Bruce and the
bishop met this miscellaneous crowd Mt
the head Of the stairs and succeeded in
excluding all except those whose pres
ence was necessary. With these the two
friends learned all the facts ever known
about 1.-the Sterling tragedy" as the
papers in their sensational accounts
next day called it,
Mr. Sterling had gone into his room
that evening about 8 o'clock, and that
was the last seen Of him until in half
an hour shot was heard and u servant
who was in the hall ran into the room
and found the owner of the house dead
on the floor. killed by his own hand
Felicia Mt the time was sitting by her
mother. Rose was reading in the Ii
brary. She ran up stairs saw her father
as he was being lifted upon the couch
by the servants and then ran screaming
into her mOthHr's room. where she flung
herself down oQ the foot Of the bed in