The Somerset reporter., 1900-11-22
WITNESS TO THE DEED
BY M. QUAD.

naQ lost to note III the mousse, ana the
thief was the parlor maid. | knew 1t
from her actions. and three months
after | left the house she was caught
in a similar offense and owned up to
the first theft. However the crime
was laid off on me. and because
made indignant and perhaps lmpu-
dent protest | was flung out of the
house at half an hours notice and re-
fused a character | was idle for the
next three months. The first thing de-
manded when applied for a place
was q character As soon as 1t was
learned that had none 1t was useless
to talk further. 1t was for this reason
that l finally paid a fee to an intelli-
gence office in Margate street and was
at length sent for to take a place at
general homework. 1t was an old
man named Dyson who wanted me.
He was willing to take me without a
character because he would have to
pay less wages and because, as he
grimly asserted. there was nothing
lying around loose in his house for one
sized him up as mean and penurious,
but did not see any evil In him. He
had an aged and infirm wife. he told
me, and | would be the only servant.
1t was not for Inc to pick and choose
/ must have a place and hold it long
enough to get a character again.
went with him miles and miles out on
the Holborne road, and we at last ar
rived at the cheaply built and cheap
looking cottage he occupied. 1t was
place devoid of almost all conveniences
and had been selected for its cheap
rent / found the old wife deaf. almost
blind and palsied, and it was apparent
that she had no care whatever. She had
become childish and petulant, and be-
fore | had been in the house half an
hour Mr.. Dyson whipped her with
strap for saying that she was hungry.
AS he whipped her | saw him look at
her in way to give me a chill. In the
course of three or four days l made up
my mind that he regarded her with de-
hesitation and adherence and was hour
ly hoping for her death. | wondered
that he had not pushed her down stairs
or found other means to bring about an
"accidentaP death, but the old man
was full of craft and cowardice. |
soon had evidence that he was in love
with d widow in the neighborhood, or
at least he desired to be free so that he
could marry her. The man had no oc-
cupation and seldom left the house.
During my first two weeks in the place
he never allowed me to see the wife
except ia his presence and found fault
If | cooked anything extra for her or
expressed my sympathy. He had
way of whispering to himself and a
dozen times over | heard him say:
i've waited for five years, but
won't wait much longer. I'll get rid Of
her and be happy"
My natural impulse on finding out
how he felt toward his wife was to fly
the house. but have explained how
was situated. And. too. soon got the
feeling that | ought to stay to protect
the poor old woman. | figured 1t out
that, while be might thirst for her
death, he would not proceed to ex-
tremities while | was in the house. 1t
seemed as If he would have lived on
alone as he had done for the last two
months, If he meditated anything of
that sort. didn't know the depth of
his craft. however. He had brought
me there to work her death through
me. The first thing suspicioned this
way was one morning when he asked
me to help her down stairs The stairs
were steep and shaky, and he had pried
one of the steps loose, that it might
slide from under our feet AS a mat
ter of fact. it did give way. but
caught myself and saved the woman
When old Dyson saw the failure of his
plot, he looked chagrined and savage
and presently found excuse for cutting
the poor wfe's ears.
In the course of q couple of weeks
he declared that the cellar was full OF
rats and gave me money and COM
manded me to buy arsenic. He recon-
mended me to go to store miles away
and TO say that | wanted 1t for my
complexion and to give my own name.
! went to drug store only two blocks
away and gave his name, and when
he discovered this he was highly in
dignant for a day. and / rather expect
ed to be thrown out. However. in the
course of three or four days he devel
oped another plan. After coaching the
old wife he left me alone with her for
the first time and she begged me to
get her some laudanum for toothache
and not mention the matter to him. 1t
was easy to tell that she had been
coached what to say. and refused to
buy the drug few days later, as
was preparing her a soup. | had to
leave the kitchen for minute. When
! returned, the soup was giving out
strange odor. and. being satisfied that
the husband had poisoned 1t. | OF
course threw il away. He scolded
about my waste. but when | looked
him square in the eyes he dropped his
and had no more to say.
/ had been with the Dysons five
weeks when the climax came. The old
woman was holding her own, If not
getting better, and the husbands inn
patience had savage edge to it. Their
bedroom was on the north side of the
house. All along on that side was a
deep excavation for factory and the
cellar was full of stones and water.
From the bedroom window the dis
lance to the cellar bottom was all OF 80
feet slept on the west side, with two