El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-02

John sat, saw that he was there alone
and asleep. and, creeping in by the
front door, laid on the table beside him
the $50 bill and the bloody dagger with
which she had just slain Agatha Webb.
Then she stole out again and in 20
minutes more was leading the dance
again in Mr.. Sutherland's parlor."
well reasonedr' murmured Abel.
expecting the others to echo him. But.
though Mr.. Fenton and DR.. Talbot
looked almost convinced, they said
nothing. while Knapp, Of course, was
quiet as an oyster.
Sweetwater, with a quiet smile cal
culated to hide his disappointment,
went on as if perfectly satisfied.
Meanwhile John awakes. sees the
dagger and thinks to end his misery
with it, but finds himself too feeble.
The cut in his vest, the dent in the
door. prove this, but If you call for fur
Their proof, a little fact, which some IL
not all of you seem to have overlooked,
will amply satisfy you that this one at
least of my conclusions is correct. Open
the Bible, Abel; open it not to shake 1t
for what will never fall out from be-
tween it's leaves, but to find In the b.
BILE itself the lines 1 have declared to
you he wrote as a dying legacy with
that tightly clutched pencil. Have you
found them?'
NO" was Abel's perplexed retort.
81 cannot see any sign of writing on
ny leaf or margin"
care those the only blank places In
the sacred book? Search the leaves
To ha 70 ilv- NnW
what do you find there?"
Knapp, who was losing some Of his
indifference. drew nearer and read for
himself the scrawl which now appear
ed to every eye on the discolored page
which Abel here turned uppermost.
almost illegible," he said. "One can
Just make out these words: Forgive
me. James-tried to use dagger-found
lying-but hand wouldn't-dying with
out-don't grieve-true men-haven't
disgraced ourselves-God bless That
Is ALL
THE effort must have overcome him."
resumed Sweetwater In a voice from
which he carefully excluded all signs
of secret triumph, land when James
returned, as he did a few minutes lat
er, he was evidently unable to answer
questions even if James was in a con-
dition to ask them. But the fallen dag
ger told its own story, for James pick
ed it up and put 1t back on the table,
and it was at this minute he saw. what
John had not, the $50 bill lying there
with its promise of life and comfort.
Hope revives. He catches up this bill,
flies down to Lotions, procures a loaf
of bread and comes frantically back,
gnawing it as he runs, for his own hum
ger is more than he can endure. Re
entering his brothers presence, he
rushes forward with the bread But
the relief has come too late. John has
died in his absence, and James, dizzy
with the shock, reels back and sue
cumbs to his own misery. Gentlemen,
have you anything to say In contradic-
ton of these various suppositionsY
For a moment DR.. Talbot, Mr.. Fen
ton and even Knapp stood silent; then
the latter said, with pardonable dry
ness:
''All this is Ingenious; but. unfortu-
nately, it is upset by little fact which
you yourself have overlooked. Have
you examined attentively the dagger Of
which you have so often spoken, Mr..
SweetwaterY"
Not as l would like to. but 1 noticed
it had blood on its edge and was of the
shape and size necessary to inflict the
wound from which Mrs. Webb died"
Very good. but there is something
else of interest to be observed on IL.
Fetch it. Abel"
Abel, hurrying from the room, soon
brought back the weapon in question.
Sweetwater. with a vague sense Of dis
appointment disturbing him, took it
eagerly and studied it very closely.
But he only shook his head.
Bring il nearer to the light" sug-
gested Knapp. land examine the little
scroll near the top of the handle"
Sweetwater did so and at once chang
ed color. In the midst of the scroll
were two very small but yet perfectly
distinct letters. They were -. r.
How did Amabel Page come by q
dagger marked with the label ini-
tialsY y Questioned <nsrP- .Re you
think her foresight went so far as to
provide herself with a dagger ostensi-
bly, belonging to one of these brothers?
And then have you forgotten that when
Mr.. Crane met the old man at Mrs.
Webb's gateway he saw In his hand
that gIistened? Now, what
was that if not this dagger"
Sweetwater was more disturbed than
he cared to acknowledge.
ence." he grumbled. Il thought 1 had