Evening star., 1903-07-07

being embodied there in whiting. Shaken in
my last lingering hope, but not yet quite
convinced that these words pointed to ou.-
rageous crime, / flew next to the CLOSET
and drew out the fatal drawer
You have been there and know what the
place is, but no one but myself can ever
realize what 1t was for me, still loving.
still clinging to a wild inconsequent belief
in my wife, to grope IN that mouth of hell
for the spring she had chartered about I'm
her sleep, to find II, press it, and then 10
hear down In the dark of the fearsome
recess, the sound of something deadly
strike against what / took to be the cush-
ions of the old settle standing at the edgo
of the library hearthstone.
Il think / must have tainted. For when
l found myself possessed of sufficient con-
sciousness to withdraw from that hole of
death. the candle in the candelabrum was
shorter by an inch than when / first thrust
my head into the gap made by the removed
drawers. In putting back the drawers 1
hit the candelabrum with my foot. upset
ting 1t and throwing out the burning cam
de- AS the flames began to lick the WORM
eaten boarding of the floor a moinen.ary
impulse seized me to rush away and leave
did not. With a sudden frenzy. 1
stamped out the flame, and then fni-
ing myself in darkness, groped my way
downstairs and out. II entered the library
do not remember it. Some lapses must be
pardoned a man involved as / was"
But the fact which you dismiss so
lightly is an important one." insisted the
major We must know positively whether
you entered this room or not
Il have no recollection of doing So"
Then you cannot tell us whether the lit
tie table was standing there, with the can
delabrum upon 1T. or"
II can tell you nothing about it"
The major, after long look at this sur
fering man, turned toward MISS Tuttle.
You must have loved your sister very
much" he sententiously remarked.
She flushed and fdr the first time her
eyes fell from their resting place on Mr..
Il loved her reputatsonl.' ~a,s her quiet
answer, 'and-" Hbe rest died In her
throat.
But we alI-such of us. mean. who were
possessed of the least sensibility or insight,
knew how that sentence sounded as fin
ished in her heart-"and 1 loved him who
asked this sacrifice of me-"
Yet was her conduct not quite clear.
And to save that reputation you tied the
pistol to her wrist?' insinuated the major.
NO" was her vehement reply II never
knew what i was tying to her. My testi-
mony in that regard was absolutely true.
of her dress. / did not dreamI could not
that she was contemplating any such end
to the atrocious crime to which she had
confessed. Her manner was too light too
airy and too frivolous-a manner adopted.
as I now see to forestall all questions and
hold back all expressions of feeling my
part Tie these hanging ends of ribbon to
my wrist were her words. Tie them tight:
a knot under and a bow on top. am go
ing out There, don't say, anything
What you want to talk about will keep till
tomorrow. For one night more am going
to make merry--to-to enjoy myself She
was laughing. I thought her horribly cal
lous and trembled with such an unspeak-
able repulsion that had difficulty In max
ing the knot To speak at all would havo
been impossible. Neither did 1 dare to
In her IA Il O hn q
that--and she kept on laughng-such-a a hoi-
low laugh covering up such an awful re-
solve! When she turned to give me that
last injunction about the note, this resotvs
glared still In her eyes"
(To be continued tomorrowl