Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-09-06
THE WOMAN IN THE ALcoVE.
Continued From Page Sikh

eeaSd fact that this substitution had
Mrs. Fairbrother's full cognizance. The
e6ectual way In which she had WELD
ed her fan between the glittering orna-
ment on her breast and the inquisitlvs
glances constantly leveled upon 1t
might at the time have been due TO
coQuetry, but to them it looked much
more like an expression of fear lest the
deception in which she was indulSing
should be discovered. No one dxed the
time where did; but, then. no one
but myself had watched the scene with
the eyes of love. BesideS-and this
must be remembered-most people,
among whom l ventured to count the
police officials, were mainly interested
In proving Mr.. Durand guilty, while
with contrary mind was bent on estab-
fishing such facts as confirmed the ex-
plantations he had been pleased to give
US, explanations which necesSitated q
conviction on Mrs. Fairbrother's part
OF the great value Of the jewel she
wore and the consequent advisability
Of Kidding herself Of it temporarily II.
as so many believed, the full letter OF
the warning should read: BE warned.
He means to be at the ball. Expect
trouble II you are found wearing the
| great diamond"
True, she may herself have been de-
ceived concerning 1t. Unconsciously to
| herself she may have been the victim
of a daring fraud on the part Of some
hanger on VINO had access to her jew
els, but as no such evidence had yet
come to life, as she had no recognized
or, so far as could be learned. secret
lover or dishonest dependent and,
moreover, as no gem OF such unusual
value was known to have been offered
within the year here or abroad, in
public or private market, could not
bring myself to credit this assumption,
possibly because l was so Ignorant as
to credit another and a different one
one which you have already seen grow
ing in my mind and which, presump-
tuous as 1t was, kept my courage from
| falling through all those dreadful days
Of enforced waiting and suspense. For
l was determined not to intrude my
suggestions, valuable as l considered
them, till all hope was gone of his be-
ing righted by the judgment Of those
who would not lightly endure the In
reference Of ouch an insignificant
mote in the great~scheme of justice as
myself.
The inquest, which might be trusted
to bring out all these doubtful points
had been delayed In anticipation OF
Mr.. Fairbrother's return. His testi.
mony could not but prove valuable, II
not in fixing the criminal, at least IN
settling the moot point as to whether
the stone which the estranged wife
had carried avwy with her on leavipe
the house had been the genuine one
returned to him from Tiffany's or the
we'll known imitation now in the hands
of the police. He had been located
somewhere In the mountains Of lower
Colorado; but, strange to say, 1t haC
been found impossible to enter int
direct communication with him. mo-
: WIS 1t known whether he was awar,
as yet Of his wife'S tragic death. 8,
) Affairs went slowly In New York. ana
' the case seemed to come to a stand
still, when public opinion was sudden
~ reawakened and a more definite
turn given to the whole matter by {
| dispatch from Santa Fe to the Asso
ciated Press. This dispatch was Il
the effect that Abner Fairbrother haC
, passed through that city some thre,
; days before on his way to his new
mining camp, the Placide: that he thel
showed symptoms of pneumonia anC
, from advices since received might b,
regarded as a very sick man.
: Ill-well, that explained matters. Hi
silence, which many had taken 70
, Indifference. was that of a man ply
sically disabled and unit for exertiol
Of any kind. Ill-a tragic circumstanc
which reused endless conjecture. wa
he aware, or was he not aware, Of hi
wife's death? Had he been taken
before or after he left Colorado 70
New Mexico? Was he suffering mainl
from shock, or, as would appear from
his complaint, from a too rapid chang
$ Of climate?
The whole country seethed with ez
/. element, and my poor little unthought
o of, Insignificant self burned with I'm
n patience, which only those who hav
h been subjected to a like suspense ca
properly estimate. Would the Pre-
4 ceedings which were awaited with S
t much anxiety be further delayed
s Would Mr.. Durand remain indefinitel
n in durance and under such a cloud @
h disgrace as would kill some men an
n might kill him? Should I be Gale
upon to endure still longer the suffer
ing which this entailed upon me, whe
:, l thought knew
But fortune was less obdurate than
; feared. Next morning a telegraph
statement from Santa Fe settled on
. of the points of this great dispute.
statement which you will find detaile
at more length in the following con
u munication, which appeared a fe'