Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-03-04
CHAPTER vi.

CHAPTER vi.
WHAT JAMES KNEW ABOUT THE PAST.
YT is not necessary to describe in de-
tail the discovery Of the body Of
Burr Pendleton or the effect that
the discovery and its consequences
produced upon the community and par
ticularly upon those who knew him in
timately.
The mysterious disappearance Of the
servant James pointed the finger Of sus-
picion in his direction and naturally d.
verted it from other suggestions. Not
even q faint indication Of such thing
attaching to Craig Wyndham was heard
or thought.
The coroner's jury found that death
had been caused by dagger in the
hands Of one James Ferguson, valet to
the deceased. and every effort of the
police was exerted to bring about his
capture, but even such sensational
affair was soon partially forgotten, and
the newspaper comments diminished
from columns to paragraphs and then
ceased altogether.
The day after the funeral Pendle-
toms lawyer sent for Wyndham and
told him of a will In his possession by
which Craig Wyndham was made sole
legatee Of all the property that Pendle-
ton had owned. 1t directed him to pay
to james Ferguson a stated annuity as
long as he lived. and there were sew
eral minor bequests OF like nature. The
will also contained the following
clause:
81 make also the following express
wish: With this my last will and testa-
ment l will place in the hands Of my
attorney certain sealed envelope
which will be delivered into the hands
Of my legatee and executor, Craig
Wyndham. as soon as convenient after
he has been made aware Of the con-
tents Of this my will. The contents Of
the envelope aforesaid will explain to
INV executor certain duties which de-
sire him to perform in the event OF
my death and which believe he will
perform to the best of his ability and
which, for reasons of my own, do not
care 10 embody In this document. l
do, however. consider it just that
should here ask pardon for placing
such grave responsibilities upon him
and also for keeping secret from him
the fact that have done So"
The will was drawn and executed i'm
mediately l~Sre Pendleton departed
for Mexico, and only the lawyer who
drew it and Pendleton himself were
aware Of its contents. Inasmuch as
Burr Pendleton had no near relatives,
the will was probated without Objec-
ton, and Craig Wyndham found him
self suddenly very rich man.
In the meantime he met Escudera
frequently at the club, OH the street
and in divers places. Indeed it seemed
to him that 1t was the intention Of the
Mexican to throw himself constantly
In his way. but between them on the
occasion Of such meetings there was
Escudera retained his quasi member
ship in the club, and always Wyndham
watched him furtively while he await
ed replies to certain inquiries he had
sent out to Mexico and to other places.
1t seemed to him that Escuder& had
the air of one who was killing time as
best he could while he awaits the hap
pening of some expected event. but
what that event might be Wyndham
could not even conjecture.
The interview between Wyndham
and old james had taken place In
fact, several of them-but at this point
It is necessary only to refer to one OF
them.
They had, as usual, at such times
been engaged in discussing the incl
dents that had happened to Pendleton
In Mexico and for the third or fourth
time referred to the duel. Wyndham
had already connected the name Of Ro-
nero with that of Escudera and was
Of the opinion the two were related.
did you ever see the man with
whom your master fought the duelT
he asked of james.
"Yes. sir; l saw him two or three
times"
"Did the man who was with Mr..
Pendleton the evening we found him
resemble the duelist at all?"
"Not at all. that remember"
"Now, James. 20 back to the moment
you first knew that duel was to he
fought. How did you know about It"
"Mr. Burr told me-"
! "Tell me how he told you; tell me
just what he said"
"He asked me II l remembered an
incident that occurred one afternoon
on the Paseo when he defended a lady
from the attentions Of man who had
offended her. r.
Tell me about that incident. James"
1--WE were on the PaseO together,
walking. was q few feet behind MIR.
Pendleton. We were near what is
known as the Indian statue. which is
located rather farther up the avenue
than pedestrians usually go. A little
way in advance Of us was a lady and
her maidservant. When We got near
the statue. man appeared suddenly
from behind 1t or one of the big cypress
trees. don't know which. He walked
rapidly toward the lady. and she stop