Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1901-10-31
.eBr. are YOU really happyY,

80 49, ~ $3.50
Happy as a man can be and live. 1
adore my wife. and 1 think / can un-
derstand Adele now as / never have be-
fore. I viii not let Ter see how much I
love her, for i Gee that the unattain-
able is one of the charms for her in life.
Her father told me hat when she was
quite Convinced that she had lost T3y
love and that I had really left Mel
bourne forever, she was mad to follow
me, and declared that she Their knew for
the first time that she loved me beyond
everything else. : You smile, Shirley?
But, no matter; she does love me. and
/ am satisfied. And now, dear old fell
low, how can I serve your"
Shirley explained the result Of his
visit to Clarice, not emitting 10 state
the mysterious conduct Of the French
maid as he was about to leave the
house.
The more he had reflected on the mat
ter, the more certain he felt hat Clar-
ices message had been compulsory,
dictated, perhaps. by fear for his safe
ty: and he had determined to devote
himself to the discovery of the real
murderer, as being the best way to
prove his own innocence.
"In my first horror at being suspect
ed, i was almost afraid to think where
or how / had procured that miniature
OF Clarice; and If any one had Offered
me a proof that I was the man who
killed Philip Grayson. / would have
been afraid to protest my own inno-
cence.
"But, as my strength increases and
my memory returns, my mind has
cleared, and I can now remember, al In
a vision, the manner in which I OBJ
tanned the miniature. / cannot swear
to it, for it has returned to me like
something in a forgotten dream; but IL
is worth acting on, as it may afford a
clue to the murderer.
after leaving the church on that
miserable day when / saw my Clarice
the bride of another, I wandered aim
ltssly about the streets in such a con
dition that it is strange 1 was not ar
rested and locked up on a charge Of
drunkenness; doubtless l was quiet,
and that saved me.
Toward evening / found myself in a
crow ded and wretched part Of the city,
in the neighborhood of the tenements
inhabited by the hordes of poor foreign
ers who live in this city. Suddenly, in
the midst of a squalid group, I saw a
familiar face and form. 1t was that of
a strikingly handsome and extraordin-
airy man, whom 1 had last seen at the
diggings in Australia. 1t was face
and figure, once seen, never to be for
gotten, and / followed it mechanically,
because 1t was familiar. The man
pushed aside the squalid rabble about
him, and passed on like a prince, while
they fell back about him with a sort of
awe. / noticed even hen that they
seemed to know who he was, for they
called him 'Excelenza' among them
selves. After a while he paused at a
dark, narrow alley-way, and as he dis
appeared within IL, he cast something
from his hand with a careless gesture,
and 1T fell, face upward, at my feet.
II stopped and picked it up. 1t was
thu portrait of Clarice; / felt no sur
prise then; / was past being surprised
or curious. / just received it, pressed it
to my lips and then put it in my pock-
ct; and there, no doubt, 1t remained,
until Mrs. Martin found IL.
II am going to find the detective now,
and tell him my story. 1t is wild and
improbable, n he may refuse to be-
lleve 1t; but he may think it worth list
ening to, n he may be able to urn 1t
to account"
This is certainly extraordinary" said
DR.. Bethune, and you are right in los
Ing no time in talking the matter over
with the detective, as no clue-so far as
the public yet knows-has been found to
lead to the murderer. Here, Shirley Il
have written down the name and adj
dress of the detective, which I learned
in my capacity Of spy in your inter.
ests."
Austin took the slip Of paper and
FASTENED away in the direction pointed
out by 1t.
Hantlin was not at home when Shir-
ley first called, having already gone to
call or Mrs. Grayson; but Austin de-
cided to wait, and his patience was not
severely tried, for the detective re-
turned In about an hour, disappointed
and thoughtful, but determined as ever
to discover the whereabouts of the mar
quis of Castellani.
William Hantlin listened with all the
interest and attention that Shirley
could desire to the curious story. When
Ii was concluded, he said:
"Well, sir, IL you had told me all this
a week ago, | would have called YOU,
L.dinly, a stupid b%lunderer. Things
have come about strangely within that
time. 1 know now that you are not
suspected, even Of MI. Grayson's muir.
der, and ] have every reason to believe
e. cry wcrd OF your story, since I have
strong evidence against just such a
nan as you describe, calling himself the
Marquis del Castellani."
The same. without doubt" Shirley
said, with decision. There are prob
ably not two men in the world who
would fill the description. He was not
known as a marquis at the '~diggings,'
though he claimed to be a nohleman.
and probably Is. for he was a magnif-
cent parsonage altogether. Flung mon
ey about like water when he had 1t, and
TO obtain IT when he was cut of funds
would cut a mans throat without an
irstaiit's hesitation. He called himself
Ccstel when lie was gu there, and
claim ed to be al Englishman; but
there was always a foreign air about
him. However, he might have claimed
any nationality, for he spoke half a
dozen languages, and spoke all SO well
that II would have been difficult to
guess at his native tonp1Ie0