Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-04-19

louSHl anu hIlItu lnf IlldIl W uO
robbed his father"
But how and why did YOU kill
Capella?" asked Brett.
81 saw him in the station at Lon
don He followed me. puzzled
him. I suppose. He perceived the
cousins. We are like one another,
are we not, we Hume Frazers?"
He laughed mirthlcssly. and
stared at David and Robert altern-
ately. Winter broke in with a hasty
question:
IF be Is speaking tho truth about
the snake poison, shouldn't we send
for a doctor?"
No one had thought of this pre-
viously. Brett reproached himself for
his forgetfulness. SO strange are our
civilized notions that we strive to
save mans life in order to hang
him by due process Mt law.
1t was Coma who answered.
Doctor" he cried. Bring him
Bring the whole College of Surgeons.
They can watch me die and tell YOU
learpedlv why the blood curdles and
their science can beat the venom Of
tho little KARAT. It is an Indian
snake. more deadly than the cobra,
with mightier tooth than the tiger.
| meant 10 use that syringe on the
whole cursed brood of Frazers in
this country. No one would have
known what happened to them. But
look Won. Fate is TOO powerful. The
KARAT stored his poison for me only.
killed only one Of the race, and him
| stabbed with Ko-Katans OF my
own house"
messenger rcst-hasce for the village
doctor.
About Capella?" persisted Brett.
"Ah, Capella. He sought his own
death He looked at me so oddly
that | thought him a spy. ! vas
alone in n carriage when, halfway
here, he ran along the platform at a
small station and Joined mo. He be-
gan TO question me looked out OF
the window and saw that we were
coming 10 a viaduct over stream
between deep cliffs. so | took the 1T
tie man and cracked his neck. Then
I flung him over the bridge. It was
mistake. RE should have left mo
alone
He described this cold -blooded
murder of the unfortunate Italian
with the weary air of one who re
cites a tedious episode. The lids
dropped heavily over his eyes.
Il am tired" he said. THAT WAS
good little snake. He knew his
business. He could make the best Of
poison"
Surely" said the barrister SOL
EMMY, 'you are not so utterly inhu-
man that al the very point Of death
you still maintain the attitude of
disappointed avenger. What wrong
had all these people done you to de-
mand your murderous hate"
Coma seemed for a moment to
rouse himself from lethargy Once
again the black eyes sparkled with
their menacing CLEAN
1T is YOU" he cried, "the thinker.
who question me. | never gave
thought to you, or I would not now
be slowly sinking into death might
have guessed that a higher lntelli-
gence was at work than that which
saw the ko-Katana with its motto.
and yet failed TO read it's history.
You ask my motives. Can a man
explain heredity? Here"-and he
threw packet of papers on the
writing desk-"are the proofs of my
identity. 1t Is not long ago, only
one hundred and fifty years, since
David Hume was robbed Of his birth
right. and what Is such a period to
the old families Of England and ia
pan? There are men living in Japan
| am his lawful descendant ] came
to England and resolved 10 be an
Englishman. But needed money.
DO YOU remember our motto, "A
new field gives a small crop? The
first Japanese Hume did not pros
per. He was a good fighter. but he
saved no yen. SO | applied to my
family. came here on the New
Years Eve, and Sir Alan Hume
Frazer saw me walking up the ave-
nue.. He stepped out through that
window to meet me. He was sur
prised at my appearance. and
thought | was his cousin Robert,
whom he had not seen for years"
At this remarkable statement the
four listeners chiefly concerned
looked wonderingly at each other.
The main incidents OF the family
feud were repeating themselves in
ghostly manner.
Coma paid no heed to their amaze
ment. He staggered unQaadily to
chair and sank into ii Imply. II was
the chair which David Hume occu-
pied when he slept, and dreamed.
Not even Winter saw cause for sus-
picion In the act. Coma was dying
His yellow skin was now green. His
lips were white His whole frame
WAS sinking. At this phase he be-
came a Japanese. and lost all like
ness to the Fraxers.
He continued, with An odd cack,e:
Il kept up the error. demanded
money MS my right, and from his
words gathered that the Frazers
had been at their old tricks and de-
frauded another relative.
Robert started.