Newport weekly independent., 1902-08-22

matter now lightly, on his brow or had hlS bovine countenance brown long and serious and less like the moon, or had he removed that smile put once from off his face, am sure | could have forgiven him for exist ing. But no, he grew only more cheerful under misfortune. lnsulted him. He looked at me in slow and smiling surprise.
 q fight you? Why?" he asked, slowly. And then he laughed. "You are so funny! Ho! ho! You'll be the death of me! He! he! he! Oh. Ho! no! ho."
 But l bethought me of his mort gage. What of his crops and barn destroyed, l knew he would be un- able to meet it. So l got shrewd, close-mouthed, tight listed money lender to get the mortgage trans 1erred to him. l did not appear, but through this agent forced the fore closure, and but few days (no more, believe me, than the law allowed were given John Claverhouse to re- move his goods and chattels from the premises. Then I strolled down to see how he took it, for he had lived there upward of 20 years. But he met me with his saucer-eyes twink ling, and the light glowing and spreading in his face till it was as a full-risen moon.
 ''Ha! ha! hav' he laughed. ''The funniest tyke, that youngster of mine. Did you ever hear the like? Let me tell you. He was down play ing by the edge of the river when piece of the bank caved in and splashed him. Q, papav he cried; a great big puddle Aewed up and hit me-
 He stopped and waited for me to join him in his internal glee.
 ''I don't see any laugh in it, ," said, shortly, and l know my face went sour.
 He regarded me with wonderment, and then came the damnable light, glowing and spreading, as 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! Ho! ho! ho! He doesn't see it.! Why, look here. You know pud- dle-"
 But I turned on my heel and left him. That was the last. could stand it no longer. The thing must end right there, l thought, curse him! The earth should be quit of him. And as 1 went over the hill l could hear his monstrous laugh re- verberatlng against the sky. Now, I pride myself on doing things neatly, and when I resolved to kill John Claverhouse I had it in my mind to do so in just such fashion that I should not look back upon it and feel ashamed. l hate bungling and I hate brutality. To me there is something repugnant in merely striking a man with ones naked fist -faugh! it is sickening! So, to shoot, or stab, or club John Claver- ! house co that nameD did not appeal to me. And not only was impelled to do it neatly and aristocratically, but also in such manner that not the slightest possible suspicion could be directed against me.
 To this end I bent my intellect. and. after a week of profound and strenuous incubation, l matched the scheme. Then I set to work. ] bought a water-spaniel D fitch, five months old, and devoted my whole attention to her training. Had any one spied upon nse, they would have remarked that this training consist ed entirely of one thing-retrieving I taught the dog, which l called "Bellona,' to fetch sticks l threw into the water, and not only to fetch but to fetch at once, without mouth ing or playing with them. Thepoin1