The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-24

me give him a dose OF the bromide.
He was so impatient and overwrought
that I hurried over to the medicine
table, picked up the bottle and
poured out a tablespoonful. He took
it, and then"
And them"
Editha shuddered.
81 went into my room and fell
asleep across the bed. I think that
it was a little past three when the
crash aroused me. Uncle had left
medicine table. Everything on it was
broken"
"Everything?"
Il think so. We sent William for a
physician and he brought DR.. Carney
"a young man. He said that nothing
could be done. Oh. Bobby. think Of
II! l must have seized that morphine
bottle in my excitement, instead of
the bromide-and l killed poor uncle!
l never realized what had happened
until found the label on my desk this
morning!"
Gunnison, during the narrative. had
regained some degree of composure
Palpably, she knew nothing of Car
ney's gruesome theory, nor of the IN
broken bottle. He turned to the girl
with what, under the circum-
stances. passed for a confident
smile.
''Editha, haven't you excited your
self a great deal about nothing? I
don't believe you ever confused those
two bottles"
But if I didn't-if I gave him the
bromide-why did he die?"
That might have happened any
other night, little girl Macgruder has
always said that, you know. His heart
was weak. When's Macgruder coming
back?"
Tomorrow night"
Then you may be quite sure that
he'll explode that foolish notion of
yours, Editha- He'll tell you that a
bad heart was responsible"
II hope SO. Butch, il I only
knew!" cried the girl.
.
The Graydon Mining matter could
not be postponed, so Gunnison did not
reach the laboratory, with its fateful
bottle, until 1 p. m. the next day.
Merriweather had left. The office
boy was holding the place in solitary
glory. Gunnison entered the labora-
tory and closed the door behind him.
On the table, as he had left 1t the
previous evening, stood the bottle He
snatched it up angrily, and raised his
arm as If to dash the thing to bits.
That would settle it. Either the bot
tie held morphine or it held bromide
of soda-death or life. Which? Neither
he nor any other mortal could tell
without analysis. Gunnison had re-
solved never TO learn.
But suddenly a new aspect of the
case flashed over him. Suppose that
he did shatter the thing? Might not
the very act later loom up as a trans
parent, damning trick?
Gunnison caught his breath. Inten-
tionally or otherwise. the bottle must
not break He replaced 1t upon the
table with the utmost care.
For an hour he paced the floor,
trembling at times in an agony of in
decision. He dared not destroy the
| stuff. Dare he analyze it?
The chemist uncorked the bottle
with a firm hand, selected clean test
tube and poured out a little of the
liquid, water white and enigmatic. He
reached for one Of the reagent walls
on the shetland paused again.
Suppose that il should prove to be
morphine? What then? The news
would be transmitted through Carney
| to the coroner. An inquest would GER
| tainly be held. Carney would give his
testimony. Ellen, the maid, might
positively identify the bottle and
swear that her mistress had given of
its contents to Golden. They would call
it murder. Then they would look for a
motive-and find it in Golden's will!
Almost with loathing, Gunnison
| sprang away from the table and the
| bottle.
The afternoon grew and waned.
Gunnison tramped on and on and on,
needless of the passing hours, wrest-