Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-06-08
great room. The settle vas fixture

great room. The settle was fixture,
as afterward found, and was almost
the only article of furniture to be seen
on the wide expanse of uncarpeted
floor. There was table or two in hid
ing somewhere amid the shadows ut
the other end from where stood, and
possibly some kind of stool or scttee,
but the general impression made upon
me was that OF Il completely disman-
tied place given over to moth and rust.
The elegance OF the heavily succeed
ceiling admitted to be one of the finest
specimens of its kind in Washington,
rs we'll as the richness of the carvings
ornamenting the mantcl of Italian
marble rising above the accursed
hearthstonc, only served 10 make more
evident the extreme neglect into which
the rest of the room had sunk. Being
anything but anxious to subject myself
further to its unhappy influence and
quite convinced that tho place was in
deed as empty rs ii looked, turned to
leave when my eyes fell upon some
thlns so unexpected and so cXtraOrdi-
nary, seen as it was under the intlu-
cnce of the old tragedies with which
my mind was necessarily full. that l
paused, baked IN my advance and well
nigh uncertain whether l looked upon
II real thing or on some strange and
terrible fantasy of my aroused imagi
nation.
y form lay before me, outstretched
on that portion of the floor which had
hitherto been hidden from me by the
half open aoor--a woman's form,
which even in that first casual look
impressed itself upon me as one of
aerial delicacy and extreme refine
ment; and this form lay as only the
dead lie; the dead. And l had been
looking at the hearthstone for just
such Il picture! No. not just such Il
picture. for this woman lay face upper
most, and, on the floor beside her was
blood
A hand had plucked my sleeve. 1t
was IIibbard's. Startled by my i'm
mobility and silence, he had stepped in
with qualiins members, expecting he
hardly knew what. But 10 sooner did
his eyes fall on the PROSTATE form
which held me spellbound than an I'M
foreseen change took place in him.
to full self possession. Death In this
shape was familiar to him. He had no
fear of blood. He did not show sur
prise ut encountering it, but only ut
the effect 1t appeared to produce on me.
shot was his laconic comment as
he bent over the PROSTATE body. shot
through the heart! She must have
died before she fell"
Shot.
That was n new experience for this
room. No wound had ever before dis
figured those who had fallen here, nor
had any of the previous victims been
found lying on any other spot than the
one over which that huge settle kept
guard. AS these thoughts crossed my
mind instinctively glanced again to-
ward the fireplace for what almost
refused to believe lay outstretched ut
my feet. When nothing more APP
peared there than that old seat of sin
lister memory, l experienced thrill
which poorly prepared me for the cry
which now heard raised by Hibburd
Look here! What do you make of
thisl"
He was pointing to what, upon closer
inspection, proved to he strip of
white satin ribbon running from one
of the delicate wrists Of the girl before
us to the handle of pistol which had
fallen not far away from her side. 1T
looks as IL the pistol was attached to
her. That is something new in my
experience. What do you think it
means!"
Alas, there was but one thing it
could mean. The shot to which she
had succumbed had been delivered by
| herself. This fair and delicate creature
was suicide.
But suicide in this place! How could
we account for that? Had the story
| of this rooms i'll acquired fame acted
| hypnotically Oh her, or had she STUN
| bled upon the open door in front and
been glad of any refuge where her
misery might find II solitary termina-
ton? Closely scanning her upturned
face, sought an answer to this Qucs-
ton, and while thus seeking received
IL fresh shock which 1 did not hesitate
| to communicate to my now none too
| sensitive companion.
Look ut these features" cried. II
! seem to know them. Do your
| He growled out dissent, but stoop-
ed at my bidding and gave the pitiful
young face q prolonged stare. When
he looked up again it was with II puz-
zled contraction of his eyebrows.
i've certainly seen it somewhere"
he hesitatlngly admitted, edging slow
ly away toward the door. Perhaps in
the papers. Isn't she like
Like" interrupted. at is Vcroni-
en- Moore herself, the owner of this
house and she who was married here
two weeks since 10 Mr.. jeffrey. Evil
IDENTIFY her reason was unscatcd by the
tragedy which threw So deep gloom
over her wedding"