El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-23

|
burning, | had no difficulty in finding
her apartment. l knew it by the fol-
derols scattered about. But l did not
stop to look at them. | was on a
search for her slippers. and presently
l came upon them. thrust behind an
old picture in the din1mest corner of
the coom. Taking them down, | ex-
amined them closely. They were not
only soiled. gentlemen. but dreadfully
cut and rubbed. In short. they were
ruined: and. thinking that the young
lady herself would be glad TO be rid Of
them. l quietly put them into my
pocket, and carried them to my own
home. Abel has just been for them.
so you can see them for yourselves,
and, if your Judgment comedies with
mine, you will discover something
more on them than mud"
| DIR. Talbot though he stared a little
| at the young mans confessed theft,
| took the slippers Abel was holding out
and carefully turned them over. They
| were. as Sweetwater had said. griev-
ously torn and soiled and showed, be-
sides several deep earth stains, a mark
or two of a bright red color quite I'M
mistakable in character.
"Blood." declared the coroner. There
| is no doubt about it. Miss Page was
where blood was spilled last night"
81 have another proof against her."
| Sweetwater went on, in full enjoy
ment of his prominence among these
men who, up till now. had barely rec
| ogniZed his existence. when full of
| the suspicion that Miss Page had had q
hand in the theft. if not the murder Of
Mrs. Webb. l fastened down to the
scene of the tragedy, l met this young
woman issuing from the front gate.
She had just been making herself con-
spicuous by pointing out trail of
blood on the grass plot. DR.. Talbot
who was there, will remember how she
looked on that occasion, but l doubt
II ne noticed how Abel here looked, or
SO much as remarked the faded flower
the silly boy had stuck in his button
hole"
81 did not" calculated the coroner.
"Yet that flower has a very important
bearing on this case. He had found
1t, as he will tell you. on the floor near
Batsy's skirts. and as soon as 1 saw 1t
in his coat. l babe him take it out and
keep it, for. gentlemen. it was a very
uncommon flower, the like of which
can only be found in this town in Mr..
Sutherland's conservatory. l remember
seeing such a one i'm Miss Pages hair.
early in the evening. Have you that
flower about you, Abel?"
Abel had. and being filed with i'm
pOrtance. too, showed it to the doctor
and to Mr.. Fenton. 1t was withered
and faded in hue. but it was unmis-
takably an orchid of the rarest de-
scription.
at was lying near Batsy," explained
Abel. Il drew Mr.. Fenton's attention
to it at the time. but he scarcely no.
ticed it,
II will make up for my Indifference |
now said that gentleman. |
II should have been shown that flow
err" put in Knapp.
$50 you should acknowledged |
Sweetwater. but when the detective |
instinct is aroused it is hard for a |
man to be just to his rivals. Besides. |
l was otherwise occupied. had Miss |
Page to watch. Happily for me. it
had been decided that she should not
be allowed to leave town till after the |
inquest. and SO my task became easy.
This whole day l have spent in sight
of Mr.. Sutherland's house. and at
nightfall l was rewarded by detecting
her end a prolonged walk in the gar.
den by a hurried dash into the woods
opposite. / followed her and noted
carefully all that she did. AS she had
Just seen Frederick Sutherland and
Miss Holiday disappear up the road
together. she probably felt free to do
as she liked. for she walked very d.
rectly to the old tree we have just
come from and. kneeling down beside
II Dulled from the hole underneath |
something which ratified in her hand
with that peculiar sound we associate
with fresh bank notes. had approach
ed her as near as dared and was peer
ing around a tree trunk when she
stopped down again and plunged both
hands into the hole. She remained In
this position so long that l did not
know what to make of it. But she
rose at last and turned toward home.
laughing to herself in a wicked but
pleased way that did not tend to make
me think any more of her. The moon
was shining very brightly by this time.
and l could readily perceive every de-
tail of her person. She held her hands
out before her and shook them more
than once as she trod by me, so l was
sure there was nothing in them, and
this is why l was so confident we
should find the money still in the hole.
when l saw her enter the house. l
set out to find you, but the courthouse
room was empty, and 1t was long
lime before l learned where to look for
you. But at last a fellow at Brighton's
corner said he saw four men go by on
their way to ZabePs cottage, and on
the chance Of finding you among them