The Weiser semi-weekly signal. (Weiser, Washington Co., Idaho) 1904-1911, 1904-09-24

OPPAoDiiui Va VIC WuOle WOrlu, and so |
was her sister, the noble woman whom l
you see before you, rather than that !
the full horror Of her crime should he (
known and name SO dear be given nm ,
to execration. We thought we could I
keep the secret-we felt that we must
keep the secret We took an oath-in
French-in the carriage, with the detec-
dves opposite us. She kept it-God
bless herl l kept It, But It was all
useless-a tiny bit of lace is found
hanging to a lifeless splinter. and all
our efforts, all the hopes and agony
weeks, are gone for naught. The world
will soon know Of her awful deed-and
| r.
He still loved her. That was appar-
ent in every look, in every word Ihe ut
tered. We marveled in awkward 81
lence and were glad when the major
| said:
THE deed, as l take it, was an I'M
premeditated one on her part. Is that
why her honor was dAarer to you than
your own, and why you could risk the
reputation if not the life of the woman !
who you say sacrificed herself to itr'
Eyes, it was unprecedented. She
hardly realized her act. If you must
know her heart through all this dread
full business we have her words to
show you-words which she spent the
last miserable day of her life in writ
ing. The few lines which / showed
the captain and which have been pub
lished to the world was an Enclosure
meant for the public eye The real let
ter, telling the whole terrible truth,
kept for myself and for the sister who
already knew her sin. Oh, we did ev
erything we couldv' And be again
moaned. "But it was in vain; quite in
vain"
There were no signs of subterfuge in
him now, andwe all, unless exceptDur-
bin, began to yield him credence. Dur
bin never gives credence to anybody
whose name he has once heard asso-
ciated with crime.
And this Pfeiffer was contracted to
her? A man she had secretly married
while a schoolgirl and who at this
! very critical instant had found his way
to the house,
"You shall read her letter. 1t was
meant for me, for me only-but you
shall see it. l cannot talk of him OF
IL of her crime. 1t is enough that have
It been unable to think of anything else
since first those dreadful words fel
a. from her lips in sleep, thirty-six hours
is before she died" Then with the in
N consistency Of great anguish he SUD
denly broke forth into the details M
ct shrank from and cried:
at "She muttered, lying there, that sh
f. was no bigansst. That she had kille'
n one husband before she married tn
other. Killed him in the old hous
!" and by the method her ancestors ha
ly taught her. And I, risen on my elbow
listened. with the sweat oozing froI
do my forehead, but not believing her, OF
l." not believing her, any more than an
N. one of you would believe such WORD
ap uttered in a dream by the daring
ad YOUR heart. But when, with Ion
of drawn sigh, she murmured, Murderer
and raised her fists-tiny fists, hane
I'd. which | had kissed thousand time
he and shook them in the air, an avn
ISIS terror seized me, and sought 10 graz
them and hold them down, but WI
ell hindered by some nameless inner rece
ov- under which ! could not speak
We gasp or move. OF course, 1t was son
in dream horror she was laboring unoe
q nightmare of unimaginable acts al
tha thoughts. but it was one to hold L
an hack. and when she lay quiet aga
no ond her face resumed its old sweetne
hot in the moonlight, l found myself sta
orr ing at her almost as if 1t were trus
what she had said-that woru-tn
,rc. awful word which no woman COZ
Tod use with regard to herself even
dreams unless-something an &c
49,, from the discordant chord in our Z
weeks, married life, rose like the C
6rmation of a doubt in my shocked
10 rebellious breast.
re From that hour till dawn nothing
- that slowly Frightening room seem
~ real. not her face lying buried IN
ner Youthful locks upon the pillow, not
neI objects well known and well prizeu
mat Witch we were surrouDded-nol
No. self-most of all, not myself unless
n ,a lev dew oozing from the roots o.
lns lifted hair was real, unless tnat sn ,
no' fearsome, vague but persistent, wa
~ hovered in the shadows aDoNe
'ooA drawing line Of eternal sspa'a a.
ken between me and my wife, was u
D. which could be caught ana spans
me and Oh. raye' ! chatter lh .'
'e ere, madman, but ala not rave ,nal ,' ~,
pn' Nor did ! rave when ~ ips ' p,'
can broad sunlight her eyes slowly une
I'd and she started 70 see me pspl
? so near her but NOT Win ny uss .,
wss on glad good morning egs''
i'lq ouestlon Der thepi ! dared '9r
~ y fmile Which slowly lohs y ... n'd d
lIpt sss 100 plie0us Il showed eopNp n
pui waifed nu oftg breakihs', y
Il ..|