Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-11-11
PART II-Chapter VI-Continued.

convulse his whole features, which
! showed me that he knew me.
Il had always known that ven
geance would be sweet, but had never
hoped for the contentment of sou
which now possessed me.
"'You dog!' / said, 4 have hunted
you from Salt Lake City to st. Pet
ersburg, and you have always escaped
me. Now at last your wanderings
have come to an end, foF either you
or I shall never see tomorrow's sur
rise.'
He shrank still further away as
l spoke, and could see on his face
that he thought l was mad So was
for the time. The pulses in my tenn
pies beat like sledgehammers, and
believe 1 would have had fit of some
sort If the blood had not gushed from
my nose and relieved me.
HE staggered back with livid face
and saw the perspiration- break out
upon his brow, while his teeth chat
tered. At the sight, leaned my back
against the door and laughed loud and
long.
What do you think of Lucy Fer
rier now? / cried, locking the door
and shaking the key in his face. Pun
ishment has been slow in coming, but
1t has overtaken you at last
Il saw his coward lips tremble as
spoke. He would have begged for his
life, but he knew well that it was use
less.
"'Would you murder me?' he STAN
mered.
There Is no MURDER l answered.
Who talks of numbering a mad dog?
What mercy had you upon my poor
darling when you dragged her from
her slaughtered father and bore her
away to your accursed and shameless
harem?'
1t was not who killed her father,
he cried.
but 1t was you who broke her in
nocent heart 1 shrieked, thrusting
the box before him. Let the high God
judge between us. Choose and eat
There is death in one and life in the
other. 1 shall take what you leave.
Let us see if there is justice upon the
earth, or If we are ruled by chance
He covered away with wild cries
and prayers for mercy, but l drew my
knife and held it to his throat until he
had obeyed me.
Then I swaIlowed the other, and
we stood facing each other in silence
for minute or more, waiting to see.
which was to live and which was TO
die.
Shall ever forget the look which
came over his face when the first
warning pangs told him that the pois-
on was in his system? 1 laughed as
1 saw it, and held Lucy's marriage
ring in front of his eyes.
"It was but for a moment, for the
action of the alkaloid is rapid. A
spasm of pain contorted his features;
he threw his hands out in front of
him, staggered and then, with
hoarse cry, fell heavily upon the
floor.
Il turned him over with my foot
and placed my hand upon his heart.
There was no movement. He was
dead! Il
THE blood had been streaming
from my nose, but had taken no no.
tice of it. 1 don't know what it was
that put 1t into my head to write up
on the wall with it.
Perhaps it was some mischievous
idea of putting the police upon a
wrong track, for I felt light hearted
and cheerful, remembered a Ger
man being found in New York with
'rache' written up above him, and it
was argued at the time in the news
papers that the secret societies must
have done it.
81 guessed that what puzzled the
New Workers would puzzle the Lon
doners, so l dipped my finger in my
own blood and printed it on a conven-
lent place on the wall.
Then I walked down to my cab
and found that there was nobody
about, and that the night was still
very wild. l had driven some dis
tance, when I put my nand into the
pocket in which l usually kept Lucy's
ring, and found that it was not there.
Il was thunderstruck at this, for it
was the only memento that had "f
her. Thinking that 1 might have
dropped it when I stopped over Dreb-
ber's body, drove back, and leaving
my cab in side street, I went boldly
up to the house-for I was ready to
dare anything rather than lose the
ring.
when 1 arrived there I walked
right into the arms of a police officer
who was coming out, and only man.
aged to disarm his suspicious by pre-
tending to be hopelessly drunk.
THAT was how Enoch Drebber came
to his end. All had to do then was
to do as much for Stangerson, and so
pay of John Terriers debt.
81 knew that he was staying at Hal
hday's private hotel, and I hung
about all day but he never came out, |
I fancy that he suspected something |
when Drebber failed to put in an ap-
pearance.
He was cunning, was Stangerson,
and always on his guard. If he |
thought he could keep me off by stay
ing in doors he was very much mis- |
taken. l soon found out which was
the window of his bedroom, and early |
next morning I took advantage of |
some ladders which were lying in the |
lane behind the hotel, and so made |
my way into his room in the gray of |
the dawn.
81 woke him up and told him that |
the hour had come when he was TO
answer for the life he uad taken so
long before. I described Drebber's |
death to him, and 1 gave him the
same choice of the poisoned pills.
Instead Of grasping at the chance
Of safety which that offered him, ne
sprang from his bed and flew at my
throat. In self-defense 1 stabbed him
to the heart. It would have been the |
same in any case, for Providence
would never have allowed his guilty I
hand to pick out anything but lne
poison. |