Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-11-26
CHAPTER Iy.-(Continued.J

nlgnL aWOke IN a great tremor, IOl
some one had come noiselessly into my
room. l don't know to this moment who
it was; for the instant | leard the sum
mons / rose and went to Miss Kate. Mr.
Arthur had gone for the doctor. Miss
Kate was pressing brandy through the
closed teeth, the old nurse was chatting
one hand; but | saw in a minute that
these things were too late.
When did it happen: l whispered to
the nurse And she whispered back, with
her bps quite white, / was asleep.
shall never forgive myself The doctor
came and went through some forms, but
We knew that nothing could be done now
But we all knew what it meant when he
took up the vial and found it empty. And
when he looked from it down upon the
old lady, we knew she had died Of poison
"On the third morning there was an in
quest called, and the young doctor made
il all clear enough, and we were all made
to help. l don't know what was said
but everybody soon knew that Mr.. Ar
thur was sOrely in need of the old lady :
money, and very tired of her tempers
and had to drop the poison because MISS
Kate had fallen asleep. Something pre-
vented its being possible to end the in
quest then-either the great London ply
stefan hadn't finished his examination,
or the sudden heavy fall of snow had kept
away somebody who was important-at
any rate, the inquest had to be adjourn
ed. When Mr.. Arthur came in, latest
of all of us. from this first inquest, l
was in the little sitting room a the foot
Of that east tower. sir-yOu see the two
narrow windows sitting with Miss
Kate. When Miss Kate heard his step.
she got up very quietly IrOm ner scat and
stood with her face hidden on the Chin
ney piece. Don't go, Rachel she said,
very low; but, though she'd been crying
a great deal. l saw she wasn't crying
then.
Mr.. Arthur came into The house 81
lently. He entered the room slowly and
quietly All! no wonder we'd all seen
the last OF any life or spirit about Mr..
Arthur! He went up TO the fire and
stood opposite Miss Kate, telling her
what I've said about the inquest. look
ed first at one pale face, and then at the
without a sound, and shut myself in my
BthEUOllls anu CIlcu lOI uOuIS.
AS l came down again from my room,
l stayed at one of the windows on the
stairs, and as | stood looking out, Miss
Hates old nurse came gently up and
stood behind me. What do you see?
she whispered, anxiously. | had seen
nothing then; but it made me watch, and
in i minute or two afterward l turned
sharply round. and, passing her, ran
nOiselessly downstairs and into the little
sitting room where | had left Miss Kate
and MIR. Arthur. Miss Kate was sitting
there alone, her face bowed in her hands;
and when / told her, whispering and
stammering, that the house was watched,
she only raised it very slowly and wear
lily, and looked me in the face dazed like.
Please tell Mr. Arthur L enueated;
please warn him You co. she said,
almost in her natural tones. He IS in the
library That's the room, sir, that l
told you with the wide window opening
to the steps. L knocked at the door again
and again, but got no answer; so at last
tried the handle, and found the door
was locked on the inside When | went
back to Miss Kate, l expected her to be
nervous and frightened; but, somehow, l
could not help fancying she was not sur
prised at all. But when | told this to
the nurse she cried like a baby. If he
to escape ON such a night as
this she said, 1t will be as if he walked
straight into prison of his own accord
"Of course ] knew, just as we'll as any
one, that no escape could be possible for
Mr.. Arthur That night The snow lay
4 Ia
house, and yet there was no hope of an
other storm which could hide the deep
marks which any footstep must make.
Hour after hour went on, and Miss Kate
seemed to have no thought of going to
bed; so nurse and l sat up, too, listening
keenly to every sound, Yet dreading,
above all, the opening of that one door
into Mr.. Arthur's room. 1t was still
about half an hour before the hour at
which we had calculated there would be
daylight, when long, sharp ring at the
hall bell startled US both. Miss Kate
had drawn the bolts even before reach
ed it, and was standing there with the
lamphght before her, with her head bent
forward, listening eagerly to a man who
had come up into the very doorway. /
SUM hueN Will II d. tAOuSu L Alatlh
heard the first words. This man had, as
me went round the house even before the
first gliIpmer of dawn, seen footmarks
in the snow, and had traced them from
that wide window of Mr.. Arthur room
down to the lake. There were no prints
of returning steps, and he must be al
lowed to enter that room. l don't know
what more he said. because that was
such a terrible morning for us all. Mr.
Arthur's door was broken open-for,
though we could easily have walked in
through tho window. it was not allowed.
because Of those footprints in the snow
and the room was empty.
They dragged the lake and once. from
quite the middle. they brought up Mr..
Arthur's coat; but the body was never
found. l remember Mr.. Arthur's cousin,
who came over soon after-he was the
gentleman who got the estate and all the
money-said the body was never likely to
be found, because the lake was full of
such dangerous holes, and l heard the
magistrate say so, too. Years and years
before one OF the children from the Hall
had been drowned there, and the body
never found. That's tie story. sir. DO
you wonder that we few servants who
had loved Mr.. Arthur should have left
when he died, even if we had had nc 9TH
er reasony'
And Miss Kate?"
Miss Kate returned the woman,
quietly, went away from the Han with
her old nurse. l don't know where they
are now. think her heart was broken
Poor Miss Hate"'
WAS there no faint chance OF this
crime having been committed by Miss
Kate or the nurseg' asked Mr.. Poynz.
"They thought of that, sir. as they
seemed to think Of everything" Rachel
Corr answered, simply; but they could
not think it long"
Il win not ask you any more said
Mark, his voice fun OF sympathy. as he
rose; land | am much obliged to YOU for
interesting me so. Ii l chance to stay in
Ireland over tomorrow may call IN
again? have a proposal to make Il
your son"
"To NGieSy, sir?'' inquired the woman
with a smile toward the sick lads chair
az l. 4 =