Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-29

| wrote a pitful letter to father who
went over to Paris at once, and finally sue
| ceedsd IN buying the man off. Father paid
| him fifty thousand francs. / believe
| maps II was the fact that he knew he was
not really Ediths husband-that he himself
| had committed a crme-which made him
| take 1t. He agreed to leave the country.
| and In the following December he wrote
| father that he was about to sail for Martin
,a'ie IN snip called the Centaur. He said
| he intended to buy plantation al Martin
| iqle and make that his home In Febru-
| airy, we learned that the Centaur had been
/ lost with all on board. After eight years
| IT seemed certain that he was dead and
/ Edith felt free to marry again"
Was Mr.. Delroy informed of this early
| indiscretion?'
| Certainly-and forgave 1t, as any good
| man would"
! Pardon me for asking the question. Miss
Croydon; but 1t was necessary When was
| 1t you first learned that Tremaine was still
| alive?''
| ''One night nearly two months ago. Edith
brought his letter to me. She was wild dis
| tracted, ready to kill herself-that is what
| l nave feared every day since She loves
| Mr.. Delroy, Mr.. Godfrey: and vet she he
| lieved herself the wife of another man
| He demanded that she meet him In that
apartment house. L knew she could not
| Dear such a meeting, and yet he must be
| seen. | offered to go in her stead: | had
| some wild idea of appealing to his better
| nature, of persuading him"
She stopped. sienced by her own emotion.
| That, of course, would not have altered
| the fact that your sister was his Wife"
| observed Godfrey.
No; that was the terrible part of II:
! nothing could alter that There must. of
course De separation; but we thought we
would solve that problem after we had set
| tied the other. So | went. He opened the
| door for me. had never seen him. and I
| confess his appearance and manner were
| not at all what | expected. He did not
/ look in the least like a scoundrel. nor did
| he act like one. He listened TO me with
attention and seeming respect. He even
| appeared moved. Oh, / know now what a
| hypocrte he was; | know that he was
| laughing at me; that he was planning some
| thing deeper, more vilainous had brought
| 1890 with me-all that could gather to-
| gether at the moment-and pressed ii upon
| him, urging him to take it AMI go away
| and we would send him more He pre-
| tended to refuse the money, to protest that
| that was not in the least what he wanted
| but | compelled him to take It, And Just
! as | was hoping that | had prevailed with
| him, the door OF the bed room opened and
/ horrible drunken man staggered out
! Well. Vic he cried, so this is tn GAL IS
| it? Shes a likely piece. / wouldn't give
| her up Vic, no. not fer ten thousand"
" Go back to bed. you drunken bruter
| cried Tremaine, and took him roughly by
! the arm.
But the other shook him off
" Don't lay your hands on me, Vici' he
cried. Don't dare lay your hands on me"
Il saw very devil spring into Ire
=
! some weapon, and picked up a piece of
| pipe that lay beside the radiator. Thomp-
son saw the action and lurched heavily
toward him.
| You'd better try it. and he made a pass at
Tremaine and tried to snatch the pipe away.
| You try il on an I'll blow your game like
l did once before down at Sydney
/ He struck at Tremaine again, but the
| latter sprang away and in an instant had
| brought the pipe down upon his head.
| Thompson fell like log; then that fiendisb
| look flashed into Tremaine's face a second
| time; he snatched out a revolver-I dimly
| understood what was coming-indeed, I had
| my own revolver in my hand-and | fired at
! MIN; but my shot went wild, while his"
she stopped and buried her face in her
hands overcome for the moment by the
ten ible spectacle her words had evoked.
She controlled herself by an effort: took
down her hands
He put his pistol away and stepped over
very close to me.
Miss Croydon. he said rapidly, 1t will
be well for you to say you did. not know
ME. | have committed no crime-he was
the aggressor-what l did was done in self
defense. One thing more-your sister has
bother her again-I promise you that.
He was gone in an instant and then the
janitor came and you and the detectives"
Godfrey nodded thoughtfully.
THAT supplies the motive, Lester" he
said. Il have felt that my explanation of
the crime was not quite adequate. But it
was not only desire for revenge that urged
Tremaine OMIT was also the knowledge
that Thompson knew of his first marriage
and threatened, with a word. TO wreck his
plans second time"
Yes, 1 agreed, and sat silent. bordering
the story.
WHY did you take the clippings. Miss
, Croydon" asked Godfrey after a moment.
From what you read of them. l suspected
now vitality they concerned my sister. That
was a secret, l felt, which must be kept at
any hazard. 1t done without con-
sideration, the spur of the moment, or
should never have had the courage to do II
at all"
"And why did you hide them under the
carpet?"
She laughed outright-the load was lifted
she was fast becoming her usual self.
Il had wild idea that you were going
te search me- l saw that loose place in the
carpet the instant arose with the clippings
in my hand Once had put them there,
had no chance at all 10 get them again.
Godfrey nodded.
You tried to get them the day after the
inquest didn't your?
Yes; but the janitor was so afraid OF
me that he wouldn't even let me go up
stairs
and there weren't any papers?"
mo; that was a lie. l saw l must invent
one-that ! must offer some explanation OF
my presence there
ibid Tremaine keep his promise?"
Not to bother my sister? Yes; he men,
toned 1t again only TO assure me that the
past was dead-that he would never re-
Vive It."
But how could you admit his presence
here?"
How could we prevent It? It was
Mr.. Delroy, who brought him. We weren
strong enough to tell him the whole story"
You mean you told him part of it?'
There has been virtual separation ever
since Mr.. Tremaine appeared
Godfrey paused refecuvely.
"Why were you agitated?' he contin-
ued finally when you were asked to iden-
tify Jimmy the Dude al the inquest?"
Because / did identify him"
you did,
'Yes-as the man 1 had seen talking to
a T r-rrrT Z