Evening star., 1903-07-07

full nightmare: but when she persisted, and
questioned her. and found the horror true,
l was like man turned instantly into
stone, save for one fntolerable throb within.
I am still so; everything passes by me like
a dream She was so young, seemingly so
innocent and hght-hearted. I loved her!
Gentlemen. you have thought me guilty of
my wifes death-this young fairy-like crea-
ture to whom I ascribed all the virtues!
and l was willing, willing that you should
think so, willing even to face the distrust
and opprobrium Of the whole world-and so
was her sister, the noble woman whom you
see before you-rather than that the full
horror Of the crime should be known and a
name so dear be given up to execration.
We thought we could keep the secret-we
felt that we must keep the Secret-we took
an oath-in French-in the carriage-with
the detectives opposite US. She kept it-God
bless her! I kept 1t. But 1t was all useless
"a tiny bit of lace is found hanging to a
lfeless splinter, and an our efforts, all the
Eaught The world will soon know Of her
awful deed-and L"
He still loved her! That was apparent in
every look. In every word he uttered. We
marveled in awkward silence, and were
glad when the major said:
''The deed, as l take 1t, was an unpre-
meditated one on her part. Is that why her
honor was dearer to you than your own.
and why you could risk the reputation il
not the life of the woman who you say
sacrificed herself to it?'
''Yes. 1t was unprecedented; she hardly
! realized her act. II you must know her
heart through all this dreadful business, we
have her words to show you-words which
she spent the last miserable day of her life
in writing. The few lines which I showed
the captain and which have been published
to the world were an inclosure meant for
the public eye. The real letter, telling the
whole terrible truth. kept for myself and
for the sister who already knew her sin.
Oh, we did everything we couId!' And he
again moaned: But it was in vain; quite
in vain."
There were no signs of subterfuge in him
now, and we all, unless l except Durbin
pegan to yield him credence Durbin never
gives credence to anybody whose name he
has once heard associated with crime.
And this Pfeiffer was contracted to her?
man she had secretly married while
school girl and who at this very critical
instant had found his way to the house"
You shall read her letter. It was meant
for me. for me only-but you shall see 1t.
cannot talk Of him or of her crime. It is
enough that I have been unable to think
OF anything else since first those dreadful
words fell from her lips In sleep. thirty-six
hours before she died" Then with the in
consistency Of great anguish he suddenly
broke forth into the details he shrank from
and cried:
'She muttered, lying there, that she was
no bigamist That she had killed one hus-
band before she married the other Killed
him In the old house and by the method
her ancestors had taught her. And /, risen
on my elbow, listened. with the sweat ooz-
ing from my forehead, but not believing
her, oh. not believing her, any more than
any one of you would believe such words
uttered In dream by the darling of your
heart. But when, with a long-drawn sigh.
she murmured. Murderer and raised her
fists-tiny fists. hands which 1 had kissed a
thousand times-and shook them in the air
an awful terror seized me, and I sought to
grasp them and hold them down but was
hindered by some nameless inner recoii
under wnicn could not speak, nor
gasp. nor move. OF course, 1t was some
dream-horror she was laboring under 4
nightmare OF unimag1nable acts and
thoughts. but 1t was one to hold me back: