Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-06-18
CHAPTER XXX

The sun has broken gaily forth, and
driven away the rain clouds, and over the
London streets and London houses he
pours out his beams in a perfect flood Of
radiance.
He pours tbs m, too, on all the dingy
dusky houses around Linccil's Inn
Fields, making them look only duskier
and dingier by reason of such generosity,
and the jocund rays fit hither and thith-
er. and peep through cobwebbed windows
and play at hide-and-seek in mysterious
passages, and seem to mock the frown-
ing houses that look so close and grave
and dismal as If they were standing
tombstones Of mems secrets and mems
lives. as perhaps they are.
And following the sunbeams comes
the old crone who has charge of the
chambers. and looks after her solitary
ledger. She comes in armed with brooms
and brushes and goes TO the window and
draws up the blind and in rush the sun
beams like live things at play and race
and chase each other through the room,
in very mockery Of what their presence
brings to light.
The old woman does nothing to the
chamber that day; but the broOms and
brushes fall with a hideous CHATTER. and
the quiet house and the quiet street seem
alive in a moment with shrieks of ter
ror and tread of feet.
The news spreads fer and wire; spreads
only by the utterance of one hideous
whispered word-a word that carries its
own weight of terror along with tia
word that travels far and near through
out that day and brings investigation.
surmise. questions. wonder, all in its
train, and so leads on from point 70 point,
from theory to theory, from evidence to
inquest, from inquest to further evidence
to proof. shadowy and impalpabie at first,
but growing and strengthening aud wild
ening the circle of its condemnatory his
tory as a pebble thrown into still water
widens the circle whence it first touch
ed that waters surface.
The majesty of the law is at work
again on behalf Of John Marsden, and
the mighty engine works faster aud surer
now than 1t did. or seemed to do, when
he was a living man TO beueft-not
dead man 10 be avenged. At the close
of the previous day the living man had
sat in his solitary chamber broodiug over
the wealth and prosperity IN store for
him; the close of this day Sc only a
Z
dumo helpless FORM lying ana
straight upon It's narrow 'eh, "ef
whom no tears are shed' no loving mem
ories cherished and whose Fate VII be
orlehy summed up ny coroner jury
his was the evidence collected oy me
inteIlgent member OF the force. \ %.
atter tae discovery or the bedy ny tne
Old woman VINO attended on JoAn Mars
den:
FIRST thar the body had been STABBED
IN the PACK; second that me wound had
been caused py some ioaS ana narrow
| instrument -pt""apiS uaEse'' ''4' H.
that the deceased had o'7'h Nisitea III ms
| rooms the evening % 'he u'eFutr oE ~"
peopie~a mah ana a woman rue nlah
! foreigner WAC was IN the hao't OF CON
ing very frequently 70 see tue u''easeG :
! tne woman u Stranger 'loseF llu''i i'..l
VINO came "a S"o' stayed LOT Soiie qua
yer OF an npuF OF twenty HA'uS''s "''-
theh went aM"S III '"' s'"'' -
ne lL'e'' ,r", lie',I.'' -, !,
nau p'icA' W nls ta'S II ,le '', -
q "''J' Al
ger Woup - pu'E'"I OF Il To- ''t W.
to' nav a SuVn "SHp'' =" "'S ~
session i"''a'A,' - - -