Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1904-07-29

the moment when it struck the floor
he declared. And consequently the
hour and the moment when Mrs. JEFF
frey FELL" finished Durbin.
Miss Tuttle said nothing. only gasped.
valuable evidence" Quoth the cap.
tain. putting the watch in his pock ct
Then. with kind look at her, called
forth by tia sight Of her misery. he
added. Does this hour agree with the
time of her leaving the house?"
Il cannot say. think so. 1t was
some time before or after Z. l don't
remember the exact minute"
1T would take fifteen for her to walk
here. Did she walkY'
Il do not know. l didn't see her
leave. My room is at the back of the
house."
you can say II she left alone or In
the company of her husband"
"Mr Jeffrey was not with her"
"Was Mr.. Jeffrey In the house,"
"He was not"
This last negative was family
spoken.
The captain noticed this and ven
tured upon interrogating her further.
"How long had he been gone"
Her lips parted; she was deeply
ag1tated, but when she spoke it was
coldly and with studied precision.
"Mr. jeffrey was not at home to
night at all. He has not been in oil
day"
Not at home? Did his wife know
that he was going to dine out?'
'She said nothing about It,"
The captain cut short his questions
and In another moment l understood
why. A gentleman was standing In
the doorway. whose face. once seen.
was enough to stop the words on any
mans lips. Miss Tuttle saw this gen.
tlsman almost as quickly as we did
and sank with an involuntary moan to
her knees.
1t was Francis Jeffrey come to look
upon his dead bride. Breathlessly we
awaited his first words. His eye,
which was fixed on the PROSTATE body
Of his bride. did not yield up its secret.
When he moved and came to where
she lay and caught his first sight of
the ribbon and the pistol attached to
II, the most experienced among US were
bafhed as to the nature of his feelings
and thoughts. One thing alone was
patent to all. He had no wish to
touch this woman whom he had SO
vOured her he shuddered and strovs
several times to speak. and. though
kneeling by her side, he did not reach
forth his hand nor did he let tear fall
on the appealing features SO pathetic.
ally turned upward as II to meet bis
look.
Suddenly he leaped to his feet.
Must she stay hereY he demanded.
looking about for the person most in
authority.
The captain answered by a question:
How do you account for her being
here at all? What explanation have
you, as her husband, to give for this
strange suicide Of your wifeT
For reply, Mr.. jeffrey. who was an
exceptionally handsome man, drew
forth small slip Of crumpled paper.
which he Immediately handed over to
the speaker.
LET her own words explain" said
he. Il found this scrap Of writing In
our upstairs room when l returned
home tonight. She must have written
1t just before-before"-
A smothered groan filed up the
break, but it did not come from his lips
which were fixed and set, but from
those Of the woman who crouched
among US. Did he catch this expires.
sion Of sorrow from one Of whose pres.
ence he as yet had given no token Of
recognizing? He did not seem to. His
eye was on the captain. who was slow.
~ reading. by the light Of a lantern
hello In a detectives hand, the almost
tllesible words which Mr.. Jeffrey had
Just said were his wife's last commu.
oicatlon.
Will they seem as pathetic to the eye
as they did to the ear in that room o,
awesome memories and present death
find that I do not love you a.
thought did. l cannot live, knowing thi,
TO pc SO. 1 pray God that you may for
give me. VERONICA
A gasp from the figure In the corner
then silence. We were glad to heal
the captains voice again.
"A woman's heart Is a great mys
terry" he remarked, with q short glance
at Mr.. jeffrey.
1t was sentiment we could all echo
FOR he to whom she had alluded In
these few lines as one she could moi
love was a man whom most women
would consider the embodiment Of all
that was admirable and attractive.
That one woman SO regarded him
was apparent to all. II ever the heart
spoke In a human face it spoke in that
OF Miss Tuttle as she watched her sis.
ter's husband struggling for composure
above the PROSTATE form of her who
but few hours previous had been the
envy Of all the fashionable young wo.
men In Washington. found 1t hard
to fix my attention ON the next cues.
ton, interesting and valuable as every
small detail was likely to prove In
case my theory of this crime should
ever come to be looked on as the true
one.
How came you to search here for
the wife who had written you this
vague and far from satisfactory fare
well! l see no hint in these lines of
the place where she intended to take
her life"
No! No." Even this strong man
shrank from this idea and showed a
very natural recoil as his glances few
about the Ill Omened room and finally
rested on the fireside over which 80 re-
peiient mystery hung in impene-
trable shadow. 'She said nothing of
her intentions; nothing! But the man
who came for me told me where she
was to be found. He was waiting at
the door Of my house. He had been on
search for me up and down the town.
We met on the stoop."