Morris tribune., 1904-06-11

|
wife lay dying below. At all events
we will give him the opportunity to
do so and if possible to clear up mys-
teries which provoke the worst kind of
conjecture. 1t is time The ideas ad-
vanced by the papers foster superstl-
ton, and superstition is the devil. Go
and tell my man out there that | am
going to X street. You may say we
if you like" he added, with Il humor
more welcome to me than any serious
concession.
Did I feel set up by this? Rather.
Mr.. Jeffrey was expecting us. d, This
was evident from his first look. though
the attempt he made at surprise was
instantaneous and very well feiSned.
Indeed, I think he was in a constant
state of apprehension during these
days and that no inrOad Of the police
would have astonished him. But eX-
pectation does not preclude dread-in-
deed. it tends to foster it-and dread
was in his heart This he had no pow
er to conceal.
"To what am indebted for this sec
ond visit from you?" he asked Of Coro-
ner H., with an admirable presence of
mind care you not yet satisfied with
what we have been able to tell you OF
my poor wife's unhappy end?'
"We are not" was the plain re-
! sponse. "There are some things you
have not attempted to explain, Mr..
Jeffrey-for instance, why you went
to the Moore house previous to your
being called there by the death of your
wife,"
It was a shot that told. an arrow
! which found it's mark. Mr.. Jeffrey
flushed, then turned pale, rallied and
again lost himself in maze of con-
hicting emotions, from which he only
emerged to say:
'how do you know that I was there: !:
Have 1 said so. or do those old walls
! babble in their sleep?"
"Old walls have been known to do
this" was the grave reply. ''Whethar
they had anything to say in this ease
Is at present quite immaterial. That
you were where 1 charge you with be-
Ing is evident from your own manner.
Msy I then ask if you have anything
to say about this visit? When a per
son has died under such peculiar cir
cumstances as Mrs Jeffrey, everything
bearing upon the case is Of interest TO
the coroner"
''Mrs. Jeffrey's death was a strange
one" her husband admitted, with tar
dy self con:rol. II find myself as much
| at a loss 10 understand it as you do
and am therefore quite ready to All
swer the question you have so openly
broached not that my answer has any
| bearing upon the point you wish to
make, but because it is your due and
my pleasure l did visit the Moore
house, as 1 certainly had every right
to do. The property was my wife's,
and it was for my interest to learn if
could the secret of it's many crimes"
"Ah!"
Mr. Jeffrey looked quickly up. "You
think that an odd thing for me to do,::''
"At night-yes."
might is the time for such work. I
did not care to be seen pOtteriu Z
around there in daylight"
"No? Yet it would have been so
much easier. You would not have had
to buy candles or carry a pistol Or
81 did not carry a pistol. The only
pistol carried there was the one with
which my demented wife chose to take
. her life. l do not understand this aIlu-
sion"
ut grew out Of misunderstanding g
of the situation, Mr.. Jeffrey. Excuse
me if l supposed you would be likely
to provide yourself with some means
Of defense in venturing alone upon the
scene Of so many mysterious deaths"
81 took no precaution."
"And needed none, 1 suppose
'And needed none"
when was this visit paid, Mr.. JET
frey-before or after your wife pulled
the trigger which ended her life? You
need not hesitate to answer"
II do not" The elegant gentleman
before us had acquired certain 6arce-
ness. "Why should I? Certainly you
don't think that 1 was there at the
same time she was. 1t was not on the
same night even. So much the walls
| should have told you and probably did.
! or my wife's uncle Mr.. David Moore.
Was he not your Informant" .
mo. Mr.. Moore has failed to ca j.
our attention to this fact. Did you meet
Mr.. Moore during the course or your
visit to a neighborhood over whcn
| he seems to hold absolute sway"
"NOt to my knowledge. But his
house is directly opposite, and AS he
has little to do but amuse himself With
what he can see from his trout win
dow I concluded that he might have
observed me going in.''
"You entered by the front door,
thenY
"How elseY'
"And on what night?"
Mr.. Jeffrey made an effort. These
questions were visibly harassing him
"The night before the one-the one
which-ended all my earthly happi-
ness" he added in q low voice.