The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-01-29
IT am telling you all know" sail

Even now the remembrance Of the
| terrible sensation she had experienced
on that memorable occasion caused a
| frown of pain and distress to contract
| Nell's pretty features.
"Jem Stickels-the fisherman who"
She stopped.
"Who was murdered. Yes yes"
"He told me he-had seen the thief"
eyes. That came out at the inquest.
Well?"
"He told me that the thief was Miss
Bostal; that he had seen her come out
of the inn on the night that an attempt
was made to rob Mr.. Hemming."
when did he tell you this?"
"On the afternoon of the next day"
"Why did you not say this at the in
quest? Why did you let it be thought
he meant he had seen you"
Nell looked up with tears in her eyes.
Il was in great difficulty. I didn't
know what to think, even then. I
had always thought Miss Theodore so
good, and besides she had been SO kind
to me, that didn't know what to be-
lieve myself. 1t was all so dreadful.
and I asked myself what she could do
such things for. Besides, her manner
when I told her Jem Stickels had
threatened to tell the police was so
cool. She didn't seem to be In the
least concerned about it. How could
1 suppose it was because she meant to
get him out of the way? Oh, 1 can't
believe it even now, I can't, I can't.
Why should she do it, unless she was
mad? And there never seemed to be a
trace of madness about her. I always
thought she was very clever"
Sir Neville smiled little at her in
genuousness. Nell herself might not
be very clever, but assuredly she was
a loyal-hearted friend, to bear the OBJ
loquy which the affair had cast upon
her. without thought of clearing her
self by betraying her friend.
But this was not, Of course, the off,
cial view, which was the view he was
bound to take. He coughed severely,
and gave her a keen look.
Don't you think" he said, "that you
were bound, in the interests Of justice,
to be more frank?"
"Oh, sir, does one help the interests
of justice against ones friendsT"
Zone ought to-" was the prompt re-
ply.
"And then, too, nobody asked me
any questions implying any doubts Of
her, They took it for granted that I
was the thief, the jury did, and every
body. You remember that, don't you?"
Yes, Sir Neville did remember that.
And looking at the candid and sweet
face in front of him he wondered how
his brother magistrates had been such
asses, and he forgot that he had been
one of those asses himself.
"Well," he said, in a more pompous
manner than ever, "you really gave
your evidence so very badly, with such
an apparent absence Of straightfor-
wardness, that there was some excuse
for their mistake"
1T was because I was SO miserable,
sir, more miserable than anybody, be-
cause in q sort of way I knew the
truth"
"You should have let the jury know
it, too"
"Sir, if it had been only the thefts 1
would have done So" answered she,
earnestly. II was in so much trouble
with my suspicious that I had asked
one Of my friends"-hnr blush be-
trayed her-"to come and see me, that
I might ask his advice about it. But
before I had time to tell him what l
was afraid Of the murder happened.
And then I didn't dare"
well, well, it was great pity"
said Sir Neville, "You would have
saved yourself lot Of misery, and 1t
would have done the lady no harm, as
you see. And now I want some infor-
nation, If you please, as to the night
Of the murder. Did you, or did you
not, hear any one go out of the house
or come in, when you had come back
with Miss Bostal from your visit to
Jem Stickels at his lodgings?"
Ibid hear something" faltered
Nell.
What was it?'
"Almost as soon as Miss Bostal left
me in the kitchen 1 heard the back
door open and shut"
"Ah! Did you go to see who it was
that had opened the door?"
mo"
II suppose you had some idea in
your mind about the sounds. What
was it?'
To be Continued.