The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1901-04-25
WITNESS 70 THE DEED
BY M. QUAD.
COPYRIGHT, 1900, BIZ C. B. LEWIS.

My mistress in Gainsborough road
had lost f5 note in the house, and the
thief was the parlor maid. l knew it
| 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 l
made indignant and perhaps impu-
dent protest l was flung out of the
house at half an hours notice and re-
fused character. l was idle for the
next three months. The first thing de-
manded when l applied for place
| was q character. AS soon as 1t was
| learned that had none it was useless
| to talk further. 1t was for this reason
| that | finally paid a fee to an intelli-
gence office in Margate street and was
at length sent for to take place at
| general homework. 1t was an old
man named Dyson who wanted me.
| He was willing to take me without q
| character because he would have to
pay less wages and because, as he
grimly asserted. there was nothing
|
| to steal AS we sat face to face l
| 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 rot for me to pick and choose.
| must have place and hold it long
| enough to get a character again. l
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 it's 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 a
strap for saying that she was hungry.
AS he whipped her saw him look at
her in d way to give me chill. In the
course of three or four days l made up
my mind that he regarded her with de-
testation and adherence and was hour
ly hoping for her death. l 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. l
| soon had evidence that he was in love
with 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
| H. Ill
except in his presence and found fault
if cooked anything extra for her or
expressed my sympathy. He had a
way of whispering to himself. and a
dozen times over heard him say:
1--WE 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 fy
the house, but l have explained how
was situated. And. too, soon got the
feeling that ought to stay to protect
the poor old woman. | figured it out
that while he might thirst for her
death. he would not proceed to ex-
tremities while I 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. l didn't know the depth Of
his craft, however. He had brought
me there to work her death through
me. The first thing l 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