The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-28

was to emphasize rather than detract
from the extreme desolation OF the
great room. The settle was a fixture.
as I afterward found, and was almost
the only article Of furniture to be seen
on the wide expanse of uncarpeted
floor. There was a table or two in hid
ing somewhere amid the shadows at
the other end from where I stood, and
possibly some kind of stool or settee.
but the general impression made upon
me was that Of completely disman-
tied place given over to moth and rust.
The elegance Of the heavily succeed
ceiling. admitted to be one of the finest
specimens OF its kind in Washington,
al well as the richness of the carvings
ornamenting the mantel Of Italian
marble rising above the accursed
hearthstone. 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 its unhappy influence and
quite convinc, : that the place was in
deed at empty as it looked, I 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 was necessarily full. that
paused, baked in my advance and well
nigh uncertain whether / looked upon
q 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
serial delicacy and extreme refine
ment; and this form lay as only the
dead lie; the dead! And I had been
looking at the hearthstone for just
such a picture! No, not just such
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 i'm
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 spellbound than an I'M
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
fear OF blood. He did not show sur
prise at encountering It. but only at
the effect it appeared to produce on me.
''Shote' 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 q new experience for this
room. No wound had ever before dis
figured those who had fallen here, nor
found lying on any other spot than the
one over which that huge settle kept
guard. As these thoughts crossed my
mind I instinctively glanced again to-
ward the fireplace for what / almost
refused to believe lay outstretched at
my feet. When nothing more ap-
peared there than that old seat of sim |
lster memory. 1 experienced a 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 |
II the delicate wrists OF the girl before |
~ to the handle Of pistol which had |
fallen not far away from her side. 1T |
ooks rs il the pistol was attached to
her. That is something new in my |
experience. What do you think il
neans!'
Alas, there was but one thing it |
,ould mean. The shot to which she
lad succumbed had been delivered by |
ierself. This fair and delicate creature
vas suicide.