The Charles Mix new era. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1???-1911, 1908-12-18

- ~ = ] nansisa -, no.
WhicA IT, 5l3oai (esye was ripped. Her
srNn - kt1MSht IN The bushes, ard was
torn e s1teds and the water lowing 50
gently A snd ont amons Aer loosenec
hair was tfuxs4 With blood.
Her eyes wefs wid@ open, starins Wild
". and they he'd ! classy look already.
He knew that ssse was dead.
Ibid you re her faIl?s be asked the
mcn IN The boat. N they came near.
No." said one. II heard the guIls
scream and ! knew there was something.
And then ! looked about and raw some.
thing white tying there, under tbs cliff"
They lifted her gently into the boat,
and laid her on = folded saii at the bot.
tom. N gently and A. tenderly NJ II she
were still capable OF feeling. n IL she
were not past cure. George Ransome
asked no question, invited no opinion.
He sat IA the stern OF fhr host, dumb and
quiet. The horror Of this sudden doom
bad paralyzed him. What had he done
ta1af this thing should happen. this wild
revenge Of a woman's passionate heart
which, made him I murderer What had
he done? Had he not been patient and
forhcaring. indnlgent beyond the common
indulgence Of husbands 10 fretfmi wiyesg
Had he not hIunted the edge OK wrath
with soft answers? Had he not been af-
fcctionafe and considerate even when love
was deady And yet because of one hard
speech. wrunr from his irritafcd nerves,
this wild creature had slain herself.
The two fishermen locked Mt him Curl
onsly. He saw the dark southern eyes
watching him. raw gravity aud restraint
upon those fine olive faces which had
been wont to beam with friendly smiles.
He knew that they suspected eyil, but he
was In no mood to undeceive them. lie
sat In an apathetic silence, m~otionless.
stupefed almost, while the men rowcd
slowly round the point in the golden light
Of sundown. lie scarcely looked Il that
white still figure lying at the bottom of
the boat. the face hidden under q scarlet
kerhief which one Of the men had taken
from his neck. lie sat staring at the
rocky shore. the white cleaning light
house, the long ridge of healthy ground on
the crest of the hill, the villas. the gar
dcns with their glow Of light and color,
the dark masses of foliage clustering here
and there amidst the br~ight-hued rocks.
He looked at everything except his dead
wife, lying almost at his fset.
There was In inquiry that evening be-
fore the Judge d'Instruction At VILE
franche. and he was made to give an ac-
count Of his wife's death. He proved a
very bad witness. The minute and SEEM
ingiy frivolous questions added his brain.
lie told the magistrate how be had looked
round and found the path empty but he
could not say how his wife had fallen
whether she had flung herself over the
edge or had fallen accidentally, whether
her foot had slipped unawares, whether
she had fallen face forward, or whether
she had dropped backward from the edge
of the cliff.
II tell you again that | did not see her
fall" be protested impatientiy.
did you usually walk in advance Of
your wife:" asked the Frenchman. ut
was not very polite to turn your back
upon a lady"
II was worried and out OF temper"
For what reasony'
"My wife's unhappy Jealousy created
reasons where there were 0 The peo-
pie know that | was not habitually an
kind to her"
Yet you gave her an answer which so
maddaned her that she flung herself over
the cliff In her despair"
II fear that IL was So" he answered.
with the deepest distress depicted in his
haggard face. "She was In a nervous and
irritable condition. | had always borne
that fact in mind until that moment. She
stung me past endurance by her ground
less jealousies. | had been a true and
loyal husband to her from the hour of our
marriage. ! had never wronged her by SO
much a. q thought, and yet / could not
talk to q pretty peasant girl. or confess
my admiration for any nm I met in
society, without causing an outbreak of
temper that was almost madness. l bore
with her long and patiently. / remem-
hood and youth had been adverse, thar
her nature had been warped and pervert-
ed: l forgave all faults of temper in a
wife who loved me, but this afternoon
almost for the 6rst time since our mar
riage--I spoke unkindly. cruelty perhaps.
/ have no wish to avoid interrogation. or
to conceal any portion OF the truth
"You did not push her over the CLIFF"
II did not. Do | look like . murderer,
or bear the character OF a man likely to
commit MURDER
The examination went on. with cruel
reiteration Of almost the same questions.
The Judge dI~nstruction was a hard head
ed legal machine, who believed that THE
truth might be wrung out OF any criminal
By persistent questioning. He suspected
Ransosne, or deemed 1t his duty to sus-
pect him, and he ordered him to be ar
rested on leaving court. so George Ran
some passed the nigh. after his wife's
death In the lookup ut Villefranche.
What q night that was for a man to
live through. He sat on a stone bench,
listening d the level plash-plash Of that
tideless sea ever 30 far beneath him.
He heard footsteps going up and down
the steep stony street OF that wonderful
old seaport: he heard the scream Of the
gusis and the striking of the clock GU the
crest Of the hill as he sat m~otionless. with
his elbows on his knees, aud his head in
his hands. brooding over that swift, sud-
den horror Of yesterday.