The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-12-27
, A - ID - counclIor b ~ ~

lus or magistrate. lt this lnnuite-
SINAI detail. which had surely gone I'M
noticed by a duller comprehension, had
escaped your attention there is no
doubt that the criminal would never
have been found cut.
ION what fine threads does the sword
OF Justice hand suspended And while
we are telling Of such things. can tell
you a story. even stranger than yours.
IN which L played part similar 10
your own.
Il also discovered a criminal under
such extraordinary conditions that the
whole thing savOred Of a miracle. I
do not say this TO exalt my own powers,
for 7 should never have discovered
anything had &c not been for the evil
dent collaboration of fate or Provi-
oence, whichever you choose to call it,
What you say awakens my lively
curiosity said the lawyer, lighting =
fresh cigar Pray begin immedi-
atcly."
Willingly; but first I must take you
into my library I know that you are a
lover Of rare books. and before ] begin
7 want TO show you mine. 1 am not
postpoTing my story, I assure you; I
am on leading the way to it, as you
shall see."
Every collector has his especial fad.
Herr Councillor Otto GrOtius delighted
in Bibles.
Il was his greatest boast that he
owned several editions that were lack
ing in the richest library I'm Germany,
that belonging to the ancient Univer-
sity of Gotungen. With infinite pride
be took his rare volumes from their
shelves, saving the last two books, Of
a modern and very shabby appearance.
AS he handed these to his guest he
said:
"Thls edition IS one Of my treasure"
What! This common reprint of the
century before last?"
Exactly. my dear sir, for two rea-
sons. First, the two books were given
to ono of my ancestors by Frederick
the Great himself, who annotated one
OF them upon the margin more wittily
than respectfully, as might have been
expected from friend Of VOltaire.
Secondly, and here I hope you viii
give me your closest attention, the first
volume, in place of a boolNmark, has
this little scrap Of yellowed paper, very
Insignificant i'm itself, but nothing in
the world would induce me TO move it
from its place, FOR ii was this little
slip Of paper that furnished me with a
clew to the mysterious event OF which
am about to tell YOU.
when I was married my ever re-
GREETED wife brought me- as part Of
her dowry, this little estate which we
Eladly made our home. You have been
so good as to admire our old garden,
with fits box bordered plots and bright
flowers, but did not dare 20 take you
further and descend from the beautiful
90 the useful. to 20 from the park to
the vegetable garden.
II am sorry did not, for &c is prob
able that you have never seen a haunt
ed house, and might have shown you
one. or one that is supposed to be
haunted.
Its appearance has nothing sinister
about it, this little house in which my
valet swears that he has seen wander
ing white rObed forms. 1t is a small.
Oue-stOry affair. covered with honey
suckle and clambering roses. As you
draw nearer however, you see that the
windows are broken. the chimney
stopped up and the walls inside dec
GRATED with wild growth of fungus.
When my wife and 7 first came here
this cottage was Inhabited by the gar
dener and his wife. The mans name
was Josias, and as he had formerly
worked for my father-in-laW, Kept
him 60 work for me. If I live TO be 100
years old ] shall never forget that
mans face.
"He must have been about 50 when
we came here; a tall. vigorous looking
AEAUNr al llNeNlIf Win Il AANelA AAAclA
can only describe as square. His eye
brows met i'm a straihgt Inc across ms
face. He had thick red hair and no
beard.
Ills face showed ambition, obstinacy
and callOusness He had il seemed
tried several times to free himself from
the state OF dependence in which be
was born. but his enterprises had al
been failures and he bewailed his LOT
bitterly.
I will be rich some day, though he
would always conclude. I don't know
when or how. but it viii come.
He was stern with other men and
harsh toward animals. He woult
strike the dogs, for example, not an
grily. but coldly. as If for his own sat
isfacti0n.
THE servants detested him and the
peasants feared him as one endowed
with powers of witchcraft. pretending
that ne had the evil eye and could fore,
any one 10 do his will.
"Josias married. very late in life. q
young girl. who. innocent herself. die
much to further the reports of hi:
power. FOR she was everywhere believed
20 be q victim of his witcacraft. How
else. they demanded, would he evel
have persuaded her to marry him?
Always deathly white. with yellow
hair and blue eyes. she trembled before
her husband like a bird fascinated by
a snake. Furthermore, she was sub
iect 20 strange periods Of Sethargy
She would remain several days in q
sleep so like death that the first tins
IL occurred she was nearly buried alive
"Such were the husband and VIE.
had, however, no fault to find witt
Josias personally, SO I kept him in ml
service, treating the rumors that
heard as false and Of no Importance.
In addition 20 his garden work, JO
sias had certain things 10 do about TIT
house. one Saturday. the day he wal
accustomed to wax the floor of my III
brary, I entered the room unexpectedly
and surprised him standing near thi
shelf with this same Bible in his hand
AT my entrance he closed the bool
hurriedly, but an interesting point, no
before he had marked the page with tn
slip of paper that 7 showed YOU. an ac
count OF the expenses for the first weel
OF July.
II said nothing 60 him about the Incl
dent seeing from his nervousness tina
he felt as If caught i'm fault. He pu
the volume back i'm its place. and as +
was not the one marked by the Grea
Frederick there was TO occasion To re
move the bookmark.
just here, my dear sir is where TIT
mystery begins.
THE next day. which was sunday
pray observe the date-the cook ap
peared anxious about Frau Josias
whom she said she had not seen ia
whole day. She finally went down u
The gardeners cottage, and found On