The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1905-02-01

The elegance of the heavily succeed

$500 ~. ! !. !. ]. !. ~
The elegance of the heavily succeed
ceiling, admitted to be one Of the finest
| specimens Of it's kind in Washington,
as well as the richness of the carvings
| ornamenting the mantel of italian
marble rising above the accursed
| hoarthstone, only served to make more
evident the extreme neglect into which
the rest of the room had sunk. Being
anything but anxious to subject myself
further to it's unhappy influence and
quite convinced that the place was in
deed as empty as it looked, turned to
leave when my eyes fell upon some
thing so unexpected and so extraordi-
nary, seen as it was under the influ-
ence of the old tragedies with which
my mind whssnecessarily full, that
paused, ballled in my advance and we'll
nigh uncertain whether / looked upon
a real thing or on some strange and
terrible fantasy of my aroused imagi-
nation
| A form lay before me, outstretched
ON that portion of the floor which had
| hitherto been hidden from me by the
half open door-a woman's form,
which even in that first casual look
impressed itself upon me as one of
aerial delicacy and extreme refine
ment; and this form lay as only the
dead lie; the dead And l had been
| looking at the hearthstone for just
such picture. No. not just such 4
picture, for this woman lay face upper
most, and, on the floor beside her was
| blood
A hand had plucked my sleeve. 1t
was Hibbard's. Startled by my inn
mobility and silence. he had stepped in
with quaking members, expecting he
hardly knew what. But no sooner did
| his eyes fall on the PROSTATE form
| which held me spelbound than an un5
| foreseen change took place in him.
| What had unnerved me, restored him
to full self possession. Death in this
shape was familiar to him. He had no
1 fear of blood. He did not show sur
prise at encountering it, but only ut
the effect it appeared to produce on me.
"Shot." was his laconic comment as
he bent over the PROSTATE body. shot
through the heart. She must have
died before she fell"
Shot!
That was a new experience for this
room. No wound had ever before dis
figured those who had fallen here, MOI
had any of the previous victims been
found lying on any other spot than the
one over which that huge settle kept
guard. As these thoughts crossed my
mind | instinctively glanced again To-
ward the fireplace for what | almost
refused to believe lay outstretched at
my feet. When nothing more APP
peared there than that old seat of sin
lister memory, | experienced thrill
which poorly prepared me for the cry
which l now heard raised by Hubbard.
Look here. What do you make of
this?"
He was pointing to what, upon closer
inspection, proved to be a strip of
white satin ribbon running from one
of the delicate wrists of the girl before
us to the handle of pistol which had
fallen not far away from her side. 1T
looks as if the pistol was attached to
her. That is something new in my
experience. What do you think ii
means?"
Alas, there was but one thing ii
could mean. The shot to which she
had succumbed had been delivered by
herself. This fair and delicate creature
was a suicide
But suicide in this place! How could
we account for that? Had the story
Of this rooms i'll acquired fame acted
ALPHABETICALLY on her, or had she STUN
bled upon the open door in front anC
been glad of any refuge where hel
misery might find a solitary tcrmina
ton? Closely scanning her upturnet
face, | sought an answer to this ques
ticn and while thus seeking received
+ fresh shock which did not hesitate
, to communicate to my now none too
sensitive companion.
Look at these features | cried. g
seem to know them. Do you?"
He growled out a dissent, but stoop
: ed at my bidding and gave the pitifu
young face q prolonged stare. Whel
he looked up again it was with a puz
zled contraction of his eyebrows.
I've. certainly seen it somewhere,
he hesitatingly admitted, edging slow
ly away toward the door. perhaps il
the papers. Isn't she like.
Like" l interrupted. at is Neroni
ca Moore herself, the owner of thi
house and she who was married her,
two weeks since to Mr.. Jeffrey. Eyi
IDENTIFY her reason was unseated by TIL,
tragedy which threw SO deep gloon
over her wedding
CHAPTER III.