Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-12-07

range matters. II is norrlpie TO me TO
think of him still lying there" She
shuddered and buried her face in her
hands. AS she did so the loose gown
fell back from her forearms. Holmes
uttered an exclamation.
You have other injuries. madam.
What is this Two vivid red spots
stood on one Of the white, round
limbs, She hastily covered it.
ut is nothing. 1t has no connection
with this hideous business tonight. If
you and your friend will sit down. l
will tell You all | can.
Il aln the wife of Sir Eustace Brack-
enstall. l have been married about a
year. suppose there is no use of my at
tempting to conceal that our marriage
has not been 4 happy one. l fear that
all Il neighbors would tell you that.
ever If | we're to attempt to deny it.
Perhaps the fault may be partly mine.
I was brought up in the freer. less
conventional atmosphere of South Aus
tralia. and this English life, with its
proprietieS and its primneSs. is not CON
genial to me. But the main reason
lies in the one fact which is notorious
to every one. and that is that Sir EuS-
taco was q confirmed drunkard. TO he
with such a man for an hour is I'M
pleasant. Can you imagine what it
means for a sensitive and high spirited
woman to be tied to him for day and
night? 1t is a sacrilege. & crime, a
villainy, to hold that such Il marriage is
binding. | say that these monStrous
laws of yours will bring a curse upon
the land. God will not let such wicked
ness endure" For an instant she sat
up, her cheeks flushed and her eyes
blazing from under the terrible mark
upon her brow. Then the strong,
soothing hand of the austcre maid
drew her head down on to the cushion,
and the wild anger died away into
passionate sobbing. At last she con-
tinued:
II will tell you about last night. You
are aware. perhaps. that in this house
all the servants sleep in the modern
wing. This central block is made up
VI nv WV ching lCpIliN. WIN llic hllNllcIl
behind and our bedroom above. My
maid, Theresa, sleeps above my room.
There is DO one else, and no sound could
alarm those who are in the farther
wing. This must have been we'll known
to the robbers or they would not have
acted as they did.
Sir Eustace retired about half past
10. The servants had already gone to
their quarters. Only my maid was up,
and she had remained in her room at
the top of the house until | needed her
services. I sat until after II in this
room, absorbed in a book: then | walk
ed round to see that all was right be-
fore | Went ups" ~. It r.ls my Gus
tom to do IT,. 'r,f. ~. - | hay
explained, Sir III, :! la,
to be trusted. / went into the kitchen,
the buffers pantry. IL gun room, the
billiard room, the drawing room and
finally the dining room. AS l APP
preached the window, which is covered
with thick curtains, suddenly felt the
wind blow upon my face and realized
that it was open. l flung the curtain
aside and found myself face to face
with a broad s~houldered, elderly man,
who had just stepped into the room.
The window is a long French one,
which really forms a door leading to
the lawn. | held my bedroom candle
lit in my hand, and by its light behind
the first man l saw two others, who
were in the act Of entering. l stepped
back, but the fellow was on Inc in an
instant. He caught me first by the
wrist and then by the throat. | oDened
my mouth to scream, but he struck me
a savage blow with his fist Owe the
eye and felled me to the ground. /
must have been unconscious for a few
minutes, for when | came to myself
l found that they had torn down the
bell rope and had secured me tightly
TO the oaken chair which stands at the
head of the dining table. was so
nrn1lE bound that could not move, and
a handkerchief round my mouth pre-
vented me from uttering a sound. RI
was at THIS instant that my unfortu-
nate husband entered the room. He
had evidently heard some suspicious
sounds, and he came prepared for such
a scene as he found. He was dressed
in his shirt and trousers, with his fa.
vorltc blackthorn cudgel in his hand.
he rushed at the burglars, but an.
other-it was an elderly man-stooped
picked the poker out Of the CRATE and
struck him a horrible blow as he
passed. He fell, with a groan, and
never moved again.
Il tainted once more, but again if
could only have been for a very few
minutes during which l was insensi-
bic. When opened my eyes I found
that they had collected the silver from
the sideboard. and they had drawn a
bottle Of wine which stood there. Fa oh
of them had a glass in his hand. T
have already told you, have l not, that
n was elderly, with a beard, and the
others young, hairless lads? They
might have been a father with his two
sons. They talked together in wbis.
pers. Then they came over and made
sure that l was securely bound. ri
nally they withdrew, closing the win.
/ n - bH-a