Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-09-06

uuIdHCe. by tue DloOu OF JUDAS, now
1 hated him. Then there was that
name-Claverhouse! What a namei
Wasn't it absurd? Claverhouse!
Merciful heaven, why Claverhouse?
Again and again l asked myself that
| question. l should not have minded
! Smith, or Brown, or Jones-but Cla-
verhouse! | leave it to you. Repeat
it to -Claverhouse. Just
listen to the ridiculous sound of it
Should man live with such a name?
l ask you. NO" you say. And
mo" said l.
But bethought me of his mortgage.
What of his crops and barn DESTROYED,
l knew he would be unable to meet it.
So | got a shrewd, close-mouthed,
tight-fsted money-lender to get the
mortgage transferred to him. I did
not appear, but through this agent
forced the foreclosure, and but few
days (no more, believe me than the
law allowed) were given John Claver-
house to remove his goods and chat
tells from the premises. Then stroll
| ed down to see how he took it, for he
| had lived there upward of twenty
years. But he met me with his saucer
| eyes twinkling, and the light glowing
and spreading in his face till it was as
full-risen moon.
"Ha! ha! hal" he laughed. "The
funniest tyke that youngster of mine!
Did you ever hear the like? Let me
tell you, He was down playing by the
edge of the river when piece of the
bank caved in and splashed him. %
papa!' he cried; "a great big puddle
flewed up and hit me-"
He stopped and waited for me to
| join him in his Internal glee.
Il don't see any laugh in it," 1 said,
shortly, and 1 know my face went
! sour.
| He regarded me with wonderment,
and then came the irritating light,
glowing and spreading, as 1 have de-
scribed it, till his face shone soft and
warm, like the summer moon, and then
| the laugh-"Ha! ha! That's funny!
You don't see it, eh? He! he! he!
Ho! no! no! He doesn't see it! Why,
look here. You know, a puddle"
But | turned on my heel and left
him. That was the last. | could
stand it no longer. The thing must
end right there, thought, curse him!
The earth should be quit of him. And
as l went over the hill, l could hear
his monstrous laugh reverberatlng
against the sky.
| Now, l pride myself on doing things
! neatly, and when l resolved to kill
John Claverhouse l had it in mind to
do so In such a fashion that | should
| not look back upon 1t and feel
ashamed. l hate bungling, and l hate
| brutality. To me there is something
repugnant in merely striking man
with ones naked fist-faugh! it is
sickening. So, to shoot or stab, or
club John Claverhouse 90 that nameD
did not appeal to me. And not only
was l impelled to do it neatly and ar
tistically, but also in such manner
that not the slightest possible sus-
picion could be directed against me.
To this end | bent my intellect, and,
after a week of profound and strenu-
Gus incubation, | Matched the scheme.
Then | set to work. l bought water
spaniel bitch, five months old, and de-
voted my whole attention to her train
ing. Had any one spied upon me,
they would have remarked that this
training consisted entirely of one
Ithing-retrieving. / taught the dog,
which | called "Bellona," to fetch
sticks threw into the water, and not
only to fetch, but to fetch at once with
out mouthing or playing with them.
The point was that she was to stop
for nothing, but to deliver the stick
in all haste made practice OF run
| ming away and leaving her to chase me
with the stick in her mouth, till she
caught me. She was bright animal
and took to the game with such eager
ness that | was soon content.
After that, at the first casual oppor-
tunity, l presented Bellona to John
| CIaverhouse. / knew what | was
about. for | was aware of little weak
ness of his, and of little private and
! civic SHINING of which he was regular
ly and inveterately guilty.
No." he said, when | placed the end
! of the rope to which she was tied in
his hand mo, you don't mean it,"
And his mouth opened wide, and he
grinned all over his damnable moon
| face.
Tt kind of thought, somehow, you
didn't like me-" he explained. Wasn't
it funny for me to make such mis-
take?" And at the thought he held
his sides with laughter
What is her name?" he managed to
ask between paroxysms.
"Bellona," l said.
HE! he!" he Uttered. What
funny name!"
gritted my teeth, for his mirth put
them on edge, and snapped out be-
tween them: "She was the wife of
Mars, you know.
Then the light of the full moon be-
gan to suffuse his face, until he ex-
ploded with: well, I guess she's a
widow now; Oh! Ho! no! e! he!