Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-07-14

| dkl Tie W llC VI OH I1uStdNC Ia AN n
enstall. 1 have been married about a
year. 1 suppose there IS no use of my at
tempting to conceal that our marriage
has not been a happy one. fear that
all our neighbors would tell you that,
even if l were to attempt to deny it.
| Perhaps the fault may be partly mine
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-
| tace was q confirmed drunkard. To be
| with such 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, q
villainy, to hold that such a marriage is
| binding l 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 austere 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
OF the dwelling rooms, with the kitchen
behind and our bedroom above. My
maid, Theresa, sleeps above my room.
There is no one else, and no sound could
alarm those who are in the farther
wing This must have been well 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 ut
the top Of the house until l needed her
services. | sat until after II in this
room, absorbed in a book; then l walk
ed round to see that all was right be-
fore | went upstairs. 1t was my GUS
tom to do this myself. for as l have
explained, Sir Eustace was not always
to he trusted. / went into the kitchen,
the buffers pantry, the gun room, the
billiard room, the drawing room and
finally the dining room. AS | APP
preached the window, which is covered
with thick curtains, l suddenly felt the
wind blow upon my face and realized
that it was open. ] flung the curtain
aside and found myself face to face
with n broad shouldered, 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. / stepped
back. but the fellow was on me in an
instant. He caught me first by the
wrist and then by the throat. / opened
my mouth to scream, but he struck me
a savage blow with his fist over the
eye and feIled me to the ground
must have been unconscious for CIV
minutes, for when I came to myself
l found that they had torn d,avn the
bell rope and had secured me tightly
TO the OakNl chair which stands at the
head of the dining table | was so
firmly bound that could not move, and
handkerchief round my mouth pre-
vented me from uttering a sound. 1t
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
scene as he found. He was dressed
in his shirt and trousers, with his IA
vOrite 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 horrible blow as he
passed He fell, with groan, and
never moved again.
Il tainted once more. but again il
could only have been for a very few
minutes during which l was insensi7
BILE. When / opened my eyes found
that they had collected the silver from
the sldeboard, and they had drawn a
bottle of wine which stood there Each
of them had a glass in iIis hand
have already told you, have / not, that
one 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 whis-
pers. Then they came over and made
sure that / was securely bound FL
nally they withdrew. closing the win
dow after them. 1t was quite quar-
ter of an hour before l got my mouth
free. When | did so my screams
brought the maid TO my assistance
| The other servants were soon alarmed
| and we sent for the local police, who
| instantly communicated with London
That is really all that | can tell you,
| gentlemen, and trust that il will not
be necessary for me to go over SO pain
/ fui a story again"
ANY questions. Mr.. Holmes ?" asked
/ Hopkins.
| Il will not impose any further tax
upon Lady BrackenstalFs patience and
/ time" said Holmes. Before go into
/ the dining room / should like to hear
/ your experience" He looked at the
maid