Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-08-22
HIDING A TRAGEDY.

gust as he stepped into the hallway
to put on his hat before starting out
on a round of Sunday afternoon calls.
The second of these brought him tC
the house of a woman whom he saw
oftener than any other that winter,
He wandered there on week days as
well as on Sundays, and he was there
occasionally in the evening for dinner
or small parties at the theater. So his
mind turned for a second to the little
thought hat he had never looked fat
ter in his life than he did on this par
ticular afternoon in his new London
coat.
When he entered the drawing room,
which was dark except for the faint
light that came from a gas log lit to
drive out the chill of the early spring
day, he heard a slight sound in the
chair behind him.
He seemed to hear 1t again as he
dropped into the large upholstered
| chair in front of the fire. At his back
was a soft pillow that made the
roomy chair even softer. He could
scarcely neal the soft sigh that seemed
to come from behind him in the room.
He turned to look, but as nobody was
In sight he decided that the noise
must have been caused by the crush
OF his weight on the pillow as he set
tied in the chair.
Il vas mistaken, SIR" said the but
Ter, entering the room with a card in
his hand. I'm sorry, but Mrs. Jones
is not at home. But she is likely to
come in, sir, at any minute now"
Smith said he would wait.
And you haven't. seen the dog,
sir?" said the butler. Mrs. Jones'
little dog. l can't find him high or
low"
Smith said he had not seen the ami
NAL, and the butler ceased to peer
under the chairs and tables. Smith
spoke with Indifference, as the animal
was his particular aversion. He did
not care il it vas never seen again.
He rose after a few minutes from
the chair to examine a photograph on
the other side of the room. The pillow
against which he had been leaning fell
forward. He looked back and a
CHASTITY sight met his eyes. Lying OF
his back, four diminutive paws in the
air, was the dog the butler had beer
seeking. Smith stared at the corpse
with a certain satisfaction mingled
with horror as he thought what the
feelings of the dogs owner toward him
would be.
1t was plain that the body must be
removed before Mrs. Jones returned
Whatever her emotions toward him
night be when she knew, it was GER
tain they would be intensified by the
sight of the remains. A plan of action
quickly formed itself in his mind. Ths
former owner of the dog need not only
be spared the sight of him, but there
was no reason why she should know
that the creature had met his end I'M
der Smiths 300 pounds. To take the
remains out of the house would solve
both problems of this tragedy.
Smith put his hand on the spot in
which he supposed the heart of the
animal must reside. There was no
movement. The mite was quite deal !.
His life had passed away in the sigh
that Smith had heard.
But 1t was only the trouble of get
ting rid of him that worried Smith.
Small as he was, the dog would at
tract attention. The sight of a gem
tleman carrying a dead toy terrier on
a Sunday afternoon was certain to at
tract attention, however small the
dog was. AS this difficulty clogged the
progress of Smiths plans, he caught
a view of himself in a mirror. The
sight drove the thought of the dog
out of his mind. 1t seemed he had
never looked fatter. Certainly this
new frock coat was too full.
But the skirt, u~nbecoming as it was,
would cover up that toy terrier. He
thought with a burst of gratitude of
that tailor whom only a short time be-
fore he had held anathema. He picked
up the diminutive corpse, held it un-
der his coat with one hand, and with
the other put on his hat and hurriedly
left the house, escaping the notice OF
the butler.
How long will l have to carry this
thing around?" he asked himself.
Ought | to take it to the morgue or
the dog pound?"
Fortune favored him, the street was
empty. Half way down the block
stood an ash barrel, opportunity COW
cred with a newspaper. Into that
dropped the deceased pet. The paper
seemed to shield him from the vulgar
gaze.
Smith breathed a sigh of relief.
Flushed with the thought of his sue
cess in coming out of the predicament,
he decided to turn back and finish the
call. But he was prudent enough,
even in the hour of victory, to walk
around the block.
81 stepped out for a few minutes"
he explained to the surprised butler.
rs Mrs. Jones back?Y
She was, and looking for the miss
ing pet. So were the butler, the sec
ond man, the maids and even the