The Cairo bulletin., 1904-05-12

on tie Iittll White sired. "The prov
idcnce Of God has found rs out We
have suffered, labored and denied in
vain"
yes" came in dreary echo from the
man none of us had understood till
now $50 great crime could not be
hid. God will have vengeance What
are we that we should hope to avert
it by any act or at any cost?'
The major, with his eyes fixed pierre
ingly on this miserable man, replied
with one pregnant sentence:
"Then you forced your wife to sui
cider"
mo" he began. But before another
word could follow Miss futile, re
splondent in beauty and beaming with
now life, broke in with the fcryid cry;
"You wrong him and you wrong her
by such a suggestion. 1t was not her
| husband, but her conscience. that
/ forced her to this retributiye act.
What Mr.. Jeffrey might have done had
/ she proved obdurate and blind to the
enormity of her own guilt | do not
| know, but that he is innocent of SO in
nucncing her is proved by the shock
he suffered at finding she had taken
her punishment into her own hands"
"Alr. Jeffrey will please answer the
question" insisted the major, where
upon the latter, with great effort. but
with the first appearance of real cam
dor yet seen in him, said earnestly:
81 did nothing to influence her. !
was in no condition TO do SO. was
benumbed- dead. When first she told
nett was in some words mnttered in
her sleep--I thought she was laboring
under some fearful nightmare, but
when she persisted and | questioned
her and found the horror true | was
like Il man turned instantly into stone
save for one intolerahle throb within
| am still So Everything passes by me
like dream She was so young, seem
'ingly so innocent and light hearted.
loved her. Gentlemen, you have
thought me guilty of my wife's death
this young fairylikc creature TO whom
| ascribed all the virtues, and | was
willing. willing that you should think
so. willing even to face the diStrust anC
opprobrium of the whole world and sc
was her sister. the noble woman whom
YOU see before you, rather than thai
the full horror of her crime should bt
known and name so dear be given NJ
TO cxecration. We thought we coul(
keep the secretwe felt that we mus
keep the secret. We took an oath-il
French in the carriage, with the dctec
tlves opposite us. She kept it-Go(
bless her. | kept IT, But 1t was al
useless-a tiny bit of lace is fount
hanging to a lfeless splinter, and al
our efforts, all the hopes and agony o
weeks. are gone for naught. The worl
will soon know of her awful deed-an
:, IT,
Tie still loved her That was appal
ent in every look, in every word he u
tered, We marvelcd in awkward S
: lence and were glad when the mayo
+ said:
"The deed. as | take it, was an III
c premeditatcd one on her part Is thi
Il why her honor was dearer to you ina
your own. ana why you could risk Il
y reputation If not the life of the womd
J. who you say sacrificed herself TO it|'
Y Eyes, 1t was unprecedented. NJ
Il hardly realized her act. If you mu
4 know her heart through all this drea
r ful business we have her words
II show you-words which she spent Il
II last miserable day of her life in wrl
inc. The few lines which ! shove
y the captain and which have been pm
n lishcd TO the world was an inclosu
Is meant for the public eye. The real Il
ter. telling the whole terrible truth.
Is Kept for myself and for the sister WI
II already knew her sin. oh. we did G
III erything we could" And he aga
v moaned. "But ii was in vain; quite
- vain
" There were no signs Of subtcrfuge
~ himnow, and we all, unless | except ID
= bin, began to yield him credence. ID
~ bin never gives credcnce to anybo
=. whose name lie has once heard as
-. ciatcd with crime.
- And this Pfeilier was contracted
her? \ man she had secretly marrl
=, while schoolgirl and who ut Il
20 very critical instant had found his "
-, TO the house
~. You shall read her letter. II "
~ meant for me, for me only but y
-, shall see 1t. | cannot talk of him
- of her crime. 1t is enough that ! ha
go been unable TO think Of anything @
since first those dreadful words
oo from her lips in sleep, thirty six ho
81. before she died" Then with the
io1 consistency Of great anguish he s
denly broke forth into. the details
"a shrank from and cried:
Tho "She muttered, lying there that
was no ,blgamist. That she had xii
one husband before size married
other. Killed hm in the old ho
and by the method her ancestors
10. 1,,l .tcf,t an NC qih