Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-15

lhtlt ANuohtu huh uuluU utANAN hlAAs atN
declared. "Sir Bernard Eyton, you are n
murderer!"
with my loves hand held i.i mine | stood
cpcechless at the staggering revelations |
sav Ethelwynn watched the contortlons Of
the old doctors face with secret salts
faction. for he had ever been her enemy,
just as he had been mine. He had ut
tered those libellious hints regarding her
! with view TO parting us, so as to give
him greater freedom TO work his will with
poor Mary. Then when he had feared that
through my love | had obtained knowledge
OF his dastnrdly offense he had made an
| attempt upon my life by means OF hired
ruffians. The woman who had been in his
drawing room at Hove on the occasion
OF my visit was Mary. as ! afterward found
out, and the attractive young person in
the Brighton train had also been a caller
at his house in connection with the at
tempt planned to be made upon me.
'You-you intend to arrest me-" he
gasped at last, with some difficulty. his
brow like ivory beneath tight drawn skin.
change had come over him, and he wac
| standing with his back to bookcase.
swaying unsteadily as though he must fall
IL certainly do was Amber Jevons'
prompt response. ''You have been the
means of committing a double murder for
the purposes of gain-because you knew
that your friend, Courtenay. had left a will
in your favor in the event Of his wife's
decease. That will has already been proved:
but perhaps It may interest you to know
| that the latest and therefore the valid
Will is in my own possession, / having
found II during a search Of the dead mans
| effects in company with my friend, Boyd
1t is dated only nine months ago, and
leaves the fortune to the widow, and in
the event Of her death to her sister, Ethel
wynn.
ITO mel" cried my love In surprise.
Yes, Miss Ethelwynn. Everything is
left to you unreservedly." he explained.
| Then, turning again to the clever impostor
before him, he added You will therefore
recognize that all your plotting so we'll
matured and so carefully planned that your
demoniacal ingenuity almost surpasses the
comprehension of man. has been in vain.
BY the neglect Of one small detail, namely,
to sufficiently disguise your identity when
dealing with Curtis, / have been enabled,
after a long and tedious search. to Ak the
man who on several occasions was made up
to present in the night the appearance of
| Courtenay. The work has taken me many
| tedious weeks. ! visited every wigmaker
and half the hairdressers in London un-
successfully, until by mere chance the ruff
| fan whom you employed to entrap my
| friend Boyd gave me a clue to the fact that
| Curtis made wigs as we'll as theatrical
| costumes. The inquiry has been a long
| and hazardous one,' he went on. But
! from the very first was determined to get
at the bottom of the mystery, cost me
what 1t might, and have fortunately sue
ceeded." Then, turning again to the cring-
| ing wretch upon whom the terrible denun-
| citation had come as a thunderbolt, he
added: THE forgiveness of man, Sir Ber-
nard Eyton, you will never obtain. 1t has
been ever a law that the murderer shall
die-and you will be>no exception"
The effect of those words upon the guilty
man was almost electrical. He drew him
! self up stifiy, his keen, wild eyes starting
! from his blanched face as he glared at his
accuser. His lips moved. No sound, how
ever, came from them. The muscles OF his
jaws seemed to suddenly become paralyzed,
for he was unable to close his mouth. He
stood for a moment, an awful spectacle, the
brand of Cain upon him. strange,
gurgling sound escaped him, as though he
were trying to articulate but was unable !;
then he made wild signs with both his
hands. clutched suddenly at the air and fell
forward in At.
went to him, loosened his collar, and
applied restoratives. but in ten minutes
saw that he was beyond human aid. What
] had at first believed to be a ht was a
sudden cessation OF the functions of the
heart-caused by wild excitement. and the
knowledge that punishment was upon him.
Within ten minutes OF that final accusa-
tion the old man lay back upon the carpet
lifeless, struck dead by natural causes at
the moment that his crimes had become
revealed.
Thus were the seven secrets explained
and thus was the Central Criminal court
and the public spared what would have
been one of the most sensational trials OF
modern times.
The papers on Monday reported with
deepest regret" the sudden death from
heart disease OF him whom they termed
'one Of the greatest and most skillful
physicians OF modern times"
Just three years have passed s.nce that
memorable evening.
You, my reader, are probably curious to
know whether have succeeded in obtain
ing the quiet country practice that was my
ideal Well, yes. have. And what is
more, l have obtained in Ethelwynn a wife
who is devoted to me and beloved by all
the countryside-a wife who is the very
perfection of all that is noble and good
in woman The Courtenay estate is ours,
but I am not an idle man. Somehow
cannot be.
My practice? Where is It? Well, It Is
in Leicestershire. / dare not be moro
explicit, for Ethelwynn has urged me to
conceal our identity. in order that we may
rot be remarked as couple whose wooing
was so strangely romantic.
Amber Jevons stil carries on his tea
blending business in the city, the most con-
frmed OF bachelors. and the shrewdest OF
all criminal Investigators. Even though
we have been so intimate for years, and
he often visits me at was nearly, by a
slip writing the name OF the Leicestershire
village-he has never explained to me his
methods. and seldom, II ever. speaks Of
those wonderful successes by which Scot
land Yard is so frequently glad to profit.
Only few days ago. while we were sit
| ting on the lawn behind my quaint. old
fashioned house awaiting dinner, chanced
! to remark upon the happiness which his in
genuty and perseverance had brought me;
whereupon he replied, turning to me with a
slight, reflective smile:
"Ah yes! Ralph. old fellow. ! gave up
that problem in despair fully q dozen times.
and It was only because l knew that the
future happiness Of you both depended upon