The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1904-07-14

front Of the house md thus to tn,
stairs Communicating with the uppe
floor.
II was on the rug lying at the foot o
these stairs that came upon the frs
Of dozen or more burned matches
which lay in a distinct trail up tn,
staircase and along the floors of th,
upper halls. As these matches 'wer,
all burned as short as fingers cOult
hold them, 1t was evident that the,
had been used to light the steps o
some one seeking refuge above. possi
bly, in the very room where we hat
seen the light which had first drawn
US to this house How thenl should
proceed. or await the coming of the
boys" before pushing In upon a pos
sible murderer? / decided to proceed
fascinated. ! think. by the nicely Of
the trail which lay before me.
But when after n careful following
in the steps of him who hnd so lately
preceded me ! cdme upon a tightly
closed door at the end Of a side pas
sage. ] gave slight push to the door
and, on seeing a crack Of light leap into
life along the jarnb. pushed the door
wider and wider till the whole room
stood revealed.
The instantaneous banging Of shut.
ter In one Of its windows proved the
room to be the very one which We had
seen lighted from below. Otherwise
all was still. nor was I able to detect
In my first hurried glance any other
token OF human presence than q can
die sputtering in its own grease at the
bottom Of tumblcr placed on one cor
ner Of an old fashioned dressing table.
This, the one touch Of incongruity in
room otherwise rich II not stately In
Its appointments. was loud in Its sug-
gestion of some hidden presence given
to expedients and reckless of conse-
quences, but Of this presence nothing
was to be seen.
Not satisfied with this short survey, I
turned my attention to my surround
ings. which had many points Of inter-
est. Foremost among these was the
big four poster which occupied large
space at my right. had never seen its
like In use before, and was greatly
attracted by It's. size and the air of
impaired to 1t by it's closely
drawn curtains of faded brocade.
dressing table laden with woman's
fxings and various articles Of the toi-
let. all Of on unexpected value and
richness, occupied the space between
the two windows, and on the floor. in.
in front Of high mahogany
mantel, there lay. amid a number OF
empty boxes, Gn overturned chair.
This chair and the conjectures it's 20.
sition awakened led me 20 lock up at
the mantel, with which IL seemed TO
be in some way connected, and thus I
became aware Of wan old drawing
hanging on the wall above IT, why
this picture, which was totally unin-
tcresting sketch OF simpering girl
face, should have held my eye after
the first glance cannot say even now.
II had no beauty. even of the sentimep-
tai kind, and very little If any mean
Ing. Its lines, weak at the best were
nearly obliterated snd in some places
quite faded out, yerI not only paused
to look at it, but in looking at it forgot
myself and well nigh my errand. Yet
there was no apparent reason for the
spell II exerted over me.
1t may seem both unnecessary and
out of character for man Of my call
Ing to acknowledge these chance sen.
sations. but only by doing so can ac-
count for the minutes which elapsed
before l summoned sufficient self DOS.
session to draw aside the closed cur
tains Of the bed and take the Quick
look inside which my present doubtful
position demanded. But. once I had
broken the spell and taken the look
Just mentioned. found my manhood
return and with it my old ardor for
clews. The bed held no gaping, chat
tering criminal, yet was II not quite
empty. Something lay there, and this
while commonplace in it.
self, was enough out OF keeping with
the place and hour to rouse my inter
est and awaken my coniectures. Il
was lady's wrap. SO rich I'm quality
and OF such festive appearance that
It was astonishing to find it lying in
neglected state in this crumbing old
house. Though | know little of the
cost OF women's garments. ] do know
he value of lace, and this garment
vas covered with It.
Interesting as was this find, II was
by one still more so. Nestled
n the folds of the cloak lay the with.
red remains of what could only have
,een the bridal bouquet. Unsightly
low and scentless, IL was once a beau
iful specimen of the florists art. As
loted how the main bunch of roses
nd lilies was connected by long satin
ibbons to the lesser clusters which
lung from II recalled with cOnceiva-
lie horror the use to which a similar
ibbon had been put In the room be-
ow. In the shudder called up by this
l forgot to speculate how
bouquet carried by the bride could
ave found Its way back to this up
tairs room when, as all accounts
gree, she had fed from the parlor be-
DIV without speaking or staying foot
be moment she was told of the catas-
rophe which had taken place In the
|brary. That her wrap should be ly-
ng here was not strange. but that the
Vedding bouquet
That 1t really was the wedding bou-
uet and that this was the room IN
'hich the bride had dressed for the
eremony was apparent to the most
usual observer But II became an es-
ablished fact when In my further