Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1901-02-27

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came TO be found under Batsy's feet.
That some one else must clear up"
Her little finger, lifted from the rail,
pointed toward Frederick, but no one
saw this unless 1t was that gentleman
himself. Il wore this orchid In my
hair that night, and there would be
nothing strange In Its being afterward
picked up in Mrs. Webb's house, be-
cause | was In that house at or lear
the time she was murdered"
you in that house"
Eyes, as far as the ground floor; no
farther" Here the little finger stopped
pointing. II am ready to tell you
about II, slrs. and only regret l have
delayed doing so so long, but wished
10 be sure II was necessary. Your
presence here aud your first question
show that II Is"
There was suavity In her tone now,
not unmlxcd with candor. Sweetwater
did not seem TO relish this, for he NOV
ed ~uueasily OF his feet and lost n shade
Of his self satisfied attitude. lie had
still to be made acquainted with all the
lns and outs Of the woman's remark
able nature.
1--WE are waiting" suggested Or. Tai.
bot.
She turned to face this new speaker,
and Frederick was relieved from the
sight Of her tantal!zlng smile.
81 will tell my story simply" said
she. "with the simple suggestion that
you believe me; otherwise you will
make n mistake. While | was resting
from n dance the other night | heard
two OF the young people talking about
the labels. One OF them was laughing
at the old men, and the other was try
Ing to relate some old story Of early
loye which had been the cause, she
thought. Of their strange and melan-
choly lives. | was listening to them,
but | did not take In much of what
they were saying till | heard behind
me an irascible voice exclalmlng: You
laugh. do you? I wonder If you would
laugh SO easily IL you knew that these
two poor old men haven't had n de-
cent meal In a fortnight | didn't
know the speaker, but | was thrilled
by his words. Not had n good meal,
these men. for n fortnight! ! felt rs II
personally guilty Of their suffering,
and, happening 10 raise my eyes at this
minute and seeing through an open
door the bountlful refreshments pre-
pared for us all In the supper room,
felt guiltier than ever. Suddenly !
took n resolution. Ii was a queer one
ana may serve 10 show you some of
the oddities of my nature. Though
was engaged for the next dance, and
though | was dressed In the llimsiest
garments suitable to the occasion, !
decided TO leave the hall and carry
some sandwiches down to these old
men in their cottage. Procuring n bit
of paper, | made up n bundle and stole
out OF the house without having said
a word TO anybody Of my intention.
Not wishing to be seen, | went out by
the garden door, which Is at the end Of
n dark hall"
"Just ms the band was playing
the 'tIarebcll Mazourka,'" intcrpolated
Swcetwater.
Startled for the first time from her
careless composure by an interruption
OF which II was impossible for her ut
that minute to measure either the mo-
tive or the meaning, she ceased to play
with her fingers on the baluster rail
and let her eyes rest for n moment on
the man who had thus spoken, as II
she hcsitatcd between her desire Ia an.
initiate him for his i~lspertinencc and d
fear Of the cold hate she saw actual
ing his every word aud look. Then she
went on. as If no II had spoken:
IL ran down the hill recklessly. !
was bent on my errand aud not at all
afraid of the dark. When | reached
that part OF the road where the streets
/, branch Off, | heard footsteps in front
Of me. ! had o%vertakcn some one,
: Slackening my pace 50 that ! should
!. not pass this person, whom | instinc'
lively knew to be n man. | followed
him till | came to a high board fence
, Ii was that surrounding Agatha Webb's
: house, and when | saw ii | could not
. help connecting the rather stealthy
gait OF the man in front OF me with
story | had lately heard of the large
: sum OF money she was known TO have
: i'm her house. Whether this vas before
' or after this person disappeared round
the corner | cannot say, but no soonel
bad | become certain that lie was bent
, upon entering this house than my i'm
/, pulse to follow him became greater
than my %precaution, and, turning aside
, All