The Miller sun. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 190?-19??, 1907-03-23
ed by despair, was gradually gaining the

ed by despair, was gradually gaining the
victory over Pierre, and then you stepped
in--yes; I saw you snatch Pierre's knife
from the back of his waist and stab Villiers
in the back. Then you put the knife into
Pierre's hand, all bloody, as Viiliers fell
dead, and / fled away"
She stopped, GREATNESS with her re-
cital, and Vandeloup, pale but composed,
would have answered her, when a cry
from Pierre startled them. He had come
close to them, and was looking straight
at Kitty.
Then !" he cried: Il am innocent?"
'You!" shrieked Kitty, falling back Oh
her bed who are you?"
The man pulled his hat off and came
step nearer.
Il am Randolph VilliSs"
Kitty shrieked again and covered her
face with her hands, while Vandeloup
laughed in a hooking manner, though his
pale face and quivering lip told that his
mirth was assumed.
YES" said Villiers, throwing his hat
on the floor of the cell, lit was Pierre
Lemaire, and not l, who died. The strug-
gle took place as you have described, but
he" pointing to Vandeloup, wishing to
get rid of Pierre for reasons of his own,
stabbed him, and not me, in the back. He
thrust the knife into my hand, and i, in
my blind fury, thought that | had muir
dered the dumb man. I was afraid Of be-
ing arrested for the murder, so, as sug-
gested by Vandeloup, l changed clothes
with the dead man and wrapped my own
up in a bundle. We hid the body and the
nugget in one of the old mining ghafts
and then came down to Ballarat. I was
similar to Pierre in appearance, except
that my chin was shaven. l went down
to the Waffle Tree Hotel as Pierre after
leaving my clothes outside the window Of
the bedroom which Vandeloup pointed out
to me. Then he went to the theater and
told me to rejoin him there as Villiers. L
got my own clothes into the ROOM dressed
again as myself then, locking the door
so that the people of the hotel might sup
pose that Pierre slept, l jumped out Of
the window of the bedroom and went to
the theater. There l played my part as
you know, and while we were behind the
scenes Mr.. Wopples asked me to put out
the gas in his room. | did so, and took
from his dressing table n black beard, IN
order to disguise myself as Pierre till
my beard had grown. We went to supper,
and then I parted with Barty at o'clock
in the morning, and went back to the
hotel. where | climbed into The bedroom
through the window and reassumed
Pierre's dress forever. 1t was by Nande-,
loup's advice did not go to the Pactolus,
where my wife would have recognized me.
Then I, as the supposed Pierre, was dis
charged, as you know. Nandeloup, aplng
friendship, drew the dead mans salary
and bought clothes and a box for me. In
the middle of one night |, still disguised
aS Pierre, slipped out of the window and
went up to Black Hill where | found the
nugget and brought it down to my room
at the Waffle Tree Hotel. Then Vande-
| loup brought in the box with my Clothes
and we packed the nugget in it, together
with the suit had worn at the time of
| the murder. Following his instructions, |
came down to Melbourne, and there dis
| posed of the nugget-no need to ask how,
as there are always people ready to do
things of that sort for payment. When
was paid for the nugget, and | only got
| eight hundred pounds, the man who melt
| ed it down taking the rest, | had to give
six hundred to Vandeloup, as | was in
| his power as l thought, and dare not re-
! fuse in case he should denOunce me for
| the murder of Pierre Lemaire. And now
l find that | have been innocent all the
| time and he has been frightening me with
a shadow. He, not l, was the murderer
, of Pierre Lemaire, and you can prove it, ,