The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-10-19

=.
when riding to hounds they found
themselves far from the pack. Night
was coming on, beautiful moonlit
night that no lover could resist. An
they logged their horses side by side
along the bride path he took her in
his arms across the saddle She strug-
gled feebly, yielded and their lips met
In one long, passionate kiss At last
she freed herself and told her pitiful
story. She could not marry him. She
could not in honor say that she loved
him. She was already the wife OF an
other welded before the registrar,
afhough she did not tell him this man
was the Hon. Algernon Sidney Hop
pington The marriage must be kept
secret because If Hoppington mar
ried against the wishes or without
the knowledge and consent Of the
4 greatuncle in America he forfeited
all ret. II ,..5 vast css1te. Yes, she
had thought she Lowell hi-7. t'it rcw-
but she might not say; honor sealed
her lips.
Then they executed their coup.
Capt. Graham went in first, leaving
the countess in the carriage and gain
ing easy admittanee through the po-
tency Of the name of the baby
orchid.
They bargained for awhile, and then
the captain got Hoppington out Of the
room for moment while he signaled
and admitted the countess. When
Hoppington returned he found himself
face to face with his wife. The orchid
seller was gone.
High words followed after his FIRST
surprise was over bitter words that
coupled the name of the countess with
that Of the captain in a way that made
Graham clench his fists and grit his
teeth to keep from dashing from the
dark corner behind the stairway where
she had his promise to remain no mat
ter what happened short of actual Yio-
lence.
Then she charged him with the
woman they had seen leaving the
door.
"And You know that, you she devil"
he shouted, rushing upon her with up
lifted fist
He failed to notice that she was
toying with q keen-pointed hunting
knife, an ornament to mis- library table.
The captain rushed out, but he was
too late Inyoluntarily, Graham
maintained. and for the sake of the
dead and the inability to disproye It
let us believe SO, she had raised the
knife, the whole force of his body
came against it, and It sank into his
heart
The countess gave a piercing scream,
and then the house was still They
were alone with the dead. When the
horror Of the deed had lifted sufficient
ly for them to think of the future,
Graham drew the knife from the
wound, and. lifting it high over tho
table, brought ii down with all the
power Of his muscular right arm. The
blade sank through the wood up 10
the hilt
There he said mo matter what
comes, darling, no woman's hand
did it,
e Though innocent in everything, tha
h very manner of their being in the
e house was against them. They planned
It to return to their hotels, keep close.
for day to. avoid the suspicion OF
3. quick departure and then leave Chi.
e cagO with its mystery unsolved. But
i the lost slipper on the stoop, the baby
( orchid and Kismet willed otherwise.
y And who sent the telephone mes.
y sage to the police? Was it the wom-
an they had seen who later returned
and discovered the crime? Was it1the
countess who shuddered to think OF
y the man she once thought she loved.
and whose name she had a right 60
bear, lying there dead and alone? Ora
E ham did not know, and we did noe
I find out
I have no doubt but that Graham'n
? story, told as we heard It to the cor
oner's jury would have set him scot
free. But some complication. some
,, fever doubtless that he had picked uD
/. in the tropics, set in and proved toO
much for his weakened body. The
law had no chance to correct the error
of his arrest.
Hon. BERTHE Hoppington came into
. . his own. Chief Shipp got the credls
for the solution Of the mystery, Clarke
got the reward, at least so | suppose.
/, for he is uniformly silent on those
matters, and !, wen | got the story.
and now you have that
Copyright, 1908, by w. G. chapmanl
Copyright in Great BTitain1