Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-16

eager to seize upon anything tragic or
mysterious.
From Short | gathered a few additional
details. Not many. be 1t said. but sufficient
to make it quite clear that he was In
tensely antagonistic toward his mistress.
This struck me as curious, for as far as l
had seen she had always treated MIN
with the greatest kindness and consider
alton, had given him holidays and to ny
knowledge had, a few months BEFORE
raised his wages Of her own accord.
Nevertheless, the menage was a strange
one. incongruous in every respect.
My chief thoughts we're, however, with
my love. The shock to her must, l knew,
be terrible, especially as Mary was absent
and she was alone with the nurse and
servants.
When l sprang from the cab and entered
the house she met me in the hall. She
had dressed hastily and wore a light shawl
over her head, probably to conceal her
disordered hair, but her face was blanched
to the lips,
"oh, Ralph" she cried in a trembling
voice. II thought you were never coming.
It's terrible-terrible!"
Come in here" I said, leading her into
the dining room. Tell me all you know
Of the affair"
snort discovered nlm just dlleT Z v OiOSN'
He was then quite still"
But there may be life" I exclaimed
suddenly, and, leaving her. 1 rushed up the
stains and into the room where the old man
had chatted to me SO merrily not many
hours before.
The instant my gaze fell upon him l
knew the truth. Cadaveric rigidity had
supervened, and he had long been beyond
hope of human aid. His furrowed face
was as white as ivory and his lower jaw
had dropped in that manner that unmis-
takably betrays the presence Of death.
As the man had described. the sheet was
stained with blood. But there was not
much, and 1t was some momen before 1
discovered the wound. 1t was just beneath
the heart, cleanly cut and about three
quarters Of an inch long, evidently inflicted
by some sharp instrument. He had no
doubt been struck in his sleep, and with
such precision that he had died without
being able to raise the alarm.
The murderer, whoever he was, had car
ried the weapon away.
I turned and saw Ethelwynn, a pale, wan
figure in her light gown and shawl, stand
Ing on the threshold, watching me intently.
She stood there white and trembling, as
though fearing to enter the presence Of the
dead.
/ made a hasty tour Of the room, examin-
Ing the window and finding 1t fastened.
AS far as I could discover, nothing what
ever was disturbed.
Then l went out to her and, closing the
door behind me, said:
Short must go along to the police sta
ton. We must report It,"
But is 1t really necessary? ?" she asked
anxiously. Think of the awful exposure
In the papers. Can't we hush it up? Do,
Ralph, for my sake" she implored.
But I can't give a death certificate
when a person has been murdered" 1 ex-
planned. Before burial there must be a
post-mortem and an inquest"
Then you think he has actually been
murderer"
"of course, without a doubt. It GER
tainly isn't suicide"
The discovery had caused her to become
rigid, almost statuesque. Sudden terror
often acts thus upon women of her highly
nervous temperament. She allowed me to
lead her downstairs and back to the dining
room. On the way / met Short in the hall
and ordered him to go at once to the police
station.
Now, dearest" l said, taking her hand
tenderly in mine when we were alone to-
gether with the door closed, tell me
calmly all you know of this awful affair"
IL know nothing" she declared.
Nothing except what you already know.
Short knocked at my door and / dressed
hastily, only to discover that the poor old
gentleman was dead"
WAS the house still locked up?'
II believe so. The servants could, l sup
pose. tell that"
But is 1t not strange that Mary is still
absent?' I remarked, perplexed.
mo, not very. Sometimes she has missed
her last train and has stopped the night
with the Penn-Pagets or the Hennikers.
II is d%lfAcult, she says, to go to supper
after the theater and catch the last train.
1t leaves Charing Cross so early
Again, there seemed a distinct lnclina-
tion on her part to shield her sister.
The whole thing is a most profound
mystery she went on. II must have
slept quite lightly, for / heard the church
clock strike each quarter until / O'Clock,
yet not an unusual sound reached me.
Neither did nurse hear anything"
Nurse Kate was an excellent woman,
whom l had known at Guys through sew
eral years. Both Sir Bernard and myself
had every confidence in her. and she had
been the invalid's attendant for the last
two years.
1T certainly is a mystery-one which
we must leave to the police to investigate.
In the meantime, however, we must send
Short to Radcliffe square TO find Mary. He
must not tell her the truth, but merely
say that her husband is much worse. To
tell her OF the tragedy at once would prob
ably prove too great a blow"
she ought never to have gone to towr
and left him." declared my we'll beloved
In sudden condemnation of her sisters
|, conduct, she will never forgive herself
Regrets will not bring the poor fellow
to life again." / said with a sigh. wv,
must act-and act promptly-in order t
discover the identity Of the murderer anC
the motive OF the crime. That Their. is
motive is certain; yet it is indeed strang,
r that anyone should actually kill a MAJ
suffering from a disease which a few month
at most must prove fatal. The motive was
n therefore. his Immediate deeease, and tina
5 fact will probably greatly assist the polio
r In their investigations"
But who could have killed him?"
\ "Ahl That's the mystery. II, as 70.
e believe, the house was found to be still
e secured when the alarm was raised, the
It would appear that someone who slep
a beneath this roof was guilty"
A "oh! Impossible! Remember, there
"a only myself and the servant.
d You surely don't suspect either OF them?