Morris tribune., 1904-05-14

| which haQ Deen neSted under 1t
! Neither had the candelabrum been
standing there long, dust being found
under as well as around it. Had hel
hand brought it there? Hardly, if il
came from the top of the mantel
| toward which l now turned in my
course of investigation.
l have already mentioned this man.
| tel more than once. This I could hard
ly avoid, since in and about it lay the
heart of the mystery for which the
room was remarkable. But, though 1
have thus freely spoken of it and
though it was not absent from my
thoughts for moment, had not ven
tured to approach it beyond a certain
safe radius. Now in looking to see if l
might not lessen this radius l expert
enced that sudden and overwhelming
interest in it's every feature which at
taches to all objects peculiarly asso-
ciated with danger.
! even took a step toward it, holding
up my lamp so that stray ray struck
the faded surface of an old engraving
hanging over the fireplace. 1t was the
we'll known one, in Washington at
least, of Benjamin Franklin at the
court of France, interesting, no doubt
in general way, but scarcely caIcu-
lated to hold the eye at so critical an
instant. Neither did the shelf below
call for more than momentary atten-
ton, for it was absolutely bare So
was the time worn, if not blood stained,
hearth, save for the impenetrable
shadow cast over it by the huge bulk
of the great settle standing at it's edge.
1 have already described the impress
sion made on me at my first entrance
by this ancient and characteristic arti-
Gle of furniture.
It was intensified now as my eye ran
over the clumsy carving which added
to the discomfort of it's high, straight
back and as smelled the smell Of it's
moldy and possibly mouse haunted
cushions. A crawling sense of dread
took the place Of my first instructive
repugnance, not because superstition
had as,yet laid its grip. upon me, al
though the place, the hour and the near
and veritable presence Of death were
enough to rouse the imagination past
the bounds Of the actual, but because
Of a discovery had made-a discovery
which emphasized the tradition that all
who had been found dead under the
mantel had fallen as if from the end of
this monstrous and patriarchal bench.
Do you ask what this discovery was?
1t can be told in a word. This one
end and only this end had been made
comfortable for the sitter. For space
D,arcely wide enough for one the seat
and back at this special point had
been upholstered with leather, fastened
to the wood with heavy wrought nails.
The remaining portion stretched out
bare, hard and inexpressibly forbidding
to one who sought ease there or even
q moment of casual rest.
The natural inference was that the
owner of this quaint piece of furniture
had been very selfish man who
thought only of his own comfort. But
might he not have had some other rea-
son for his apparent niggardliness?
As I asked myself this question and
noted how the long and embracing
arm which guarded this cushioned re-
treat was flattened on top for the con-
venient holding of decanter and glass,
feelings to which I can give no name
and which had fondly believed my
self proof against began to take the
place of judgment and reason. Before
realized the nature of my own i'm
pulse or to what it was driving me l
found myself moving slowly and stead
lily toward this formidable seat under
an irresistible desire to fling myself
down upon these old cushions and
But here the creaking of some faroff
shutter, possibly the one 1 had seen
swaying from tie opposite side of the
street, recalled me to the duties of the
hour, and, remembering that my in
vestigations were but half completed
and that l might be interrupted any
moment by detectives from headquar-
tiers, broke from the accursed charm,
which Mortified me the moment es-
capped it, and, quitting the room by a
door at the farther end, sought to find
in some of the adjacent rooms the def
mite traces had failed to discover on
this the actual scene of the crime.
1t was a dismal search revealing at
every turn the almost maddened haste
with which the house had been aban- !
doned. l passed out into the kitchen !
and so on by close and narrow pas
sage to the negro quarters clustered in
the rear. Here I made discovery.
One of the windows in this long dis
used portion of the house was not only |
unlocked, but partly open. But, as I |
came upon no marks showing that this
outlet had been used by the escaping
murderer. I made my way back to the |
The candle in the tumbler
,,u M.lHILAIMz