The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1901-05-22

| hard Shaking the water from MINI
self, the man asked the girl for a
nights lodging.
! She called the widow, who Informed
the arrival that the two rooms over the
shop which were let for lodgings by
her were full and that she could ac-
commodate no more. She was anxious
to gain the money which nights
lodging represented to her, she said,
but she could not help it.
Still the stranger did not go. He
asked several questions about the 9TH
err dodgers and about the location of
the various rooms in the house, leading
the widow on to talk until finally she
let slip the fact that there was anOth-
er room which she had not mentioned.
Hardly had she made the remark be-
fore she seemed to show signs of con-
fusion and tried to change the subject.
But the man, calling her attention
vehemently to the wildness of the
night, pressed her to let him have sleep
there. The maid listened with all her
ears. She was curious, like most maids,
and the little room overhead had been
a mystery to her for the ten years dur
ing which she had been in the widows
service. She never had seen the door
unlocked, yet many times in the night
she had heard her mistress creep soft
ly up stairs and enter it. Then she
could hear her treading around softly,
sometimes all night long, and twice
she was sure she had heard weeping
there.
So when the stranger came out bold
~ and asked for the room the maid
was intensely interested. She noted
that the widows voice trembled as she
replied that the rear room was not for
rent. that it was in great disorder and
never was used by any on@
Look! | can afford to pay you we'll
| have prospered. There is more mon
ey than your other dodgers would yield
you in some years. Only name your
price, and do not trouble to arrange
the room. will take it as it is, even
to sleeping on the floor. ! am sure
shall sleep soundly."
Madam gave another of those
strange starts when she saw the peck
etbook, which had a great sum in it,
and the moment after the man gave
it to her with the words: Here. keep
this till the morning safely. 1t is bet
ter with you than with me. | will
take the room and be as quiet as 4
dead man."
The maid. being curious about the in
side of the mysterious room, watched
eagerly and hoped madam would con-
sent. Consequently she noticed-or
now that it is over she says she noticed
that Kirol Bezeltek changed her
manner wonderfully. Instead of say
ing mo" she said Yes" and she took
the trouble to make a sort of mulled
wine for the stranger, saying it would
keep the cold from him. Then she I'M
locked the door to the room, the frs
time she had done this In the servants
presence and lighted the stranger in.
The place was in order, and, though
everything seemed old and smelled old
too, it was clean and busted, and the
coverlid on the bed was turned a.
though ready for a person to retire
The man looked at everything careful
ly, going about from one bit TO another
touching this and that and saying
Good. good" as if immensely pleased
Then he took the candle from madam
and, sayin Good night" madam ana
the maid went down stairs.
The maid does not know what hap
pened after this. for madam gave her {
draft of the mulled wine. and she was
asleep in her little room off madan's il
almost no time.
That night the Widow Bezeltek. aft
er looking long at the pocketboOk, crep
to the mysterious room and, so the Pc
lice say, stabbed her lodgtr to dealt
for greed of his money. thinking to dis
pose of his body afterward. Then sht
FASTENED to her room and counted on
| the bills in his pocketboOk, $500 il
all. Underneath the bills she fOunj
! carefully wrapped in paper ring Sh,
/ had given to her husband when they
! were married. Next to that was 4 soil
| ed document which she must have un
| folded with trembling hands, for it wa;
/ found afterward on the floor with the
money tumbled in pile on top Of il.
was her own wedding certificate.
Scarcely able to crawl, she went bach
to the room which she had kept sacred
all these years in the memory of bel
! lost husband. tore the quilt from the
body of the dead man and found upor
his arm the tattoo marks which identi
fed him as Fazekas Bezeltek, the mar
for whom she had mourned so long.
The next morning she was discovered
huddled over the murdered man. mum
bling unintelligibly. She was hopeless
~ insane.