The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1908-11-19

80
when riding to hounds they found
themselves far from the pack. Night
was coming on. beautiful moonlit
night that no lover could resist. AZ
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,
although she did not tell him this man
was tho Hon. Algernon Sidney Hop
IN. The marriage must be kept
= let because II Hoppington mar
ried against the wishes or without
the knowledge and consent Of the
great.uncle in America he forfeited
all right to his vast estate. Yes. she
had thought she loved him, but now
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 admittance 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 a 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 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"
lifted fist.
He failed to notice that she was
toying with keen-pointed hunting
knife, an ornament to his library table.
The captain rushed out, but he was
| too late. Involuntarily, Graham
maintained. and for the sake OF the
dead and the inability to disprove 1t
let us believe So she had raised the
knife, the whole force OF his body
came against 1t. and 1t sank into his
heart
| The countess gave 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 1t high over the
table, brought It down with all the
power OF his muscular right arm. The
blade sank through the wood up to
| the hilt.
There" he said, mo matter what
comes. darling, no womans hand
] did It,"
Though innocent In everything. the
very manner OF their being in the
house was against them. They planned
to return TO their hotels. keep close
for a day to avoid the suspicion OF q
quick departure and then leave Chi
cago with lis mystery unsolyed. But
the lost slipper on the stoop, the baby
orchid and Kismet willed otherwise.
And who sent the telephone mes.
sage TO the police? Was 1t the wom-
an they had seen who later returned
| and discovered the crime? Was II the
countess who shuddered to think OF
the man she once thought she Owed,
and whose name she had a right to
bear. lying there dead and alone? Gra-
ham did not know, and we did not
find out.
have no doubt but that Grahams
story, told as we heard II to the cor
oners jury would have set him scot
! free But some complication, some
fever doubtless that he had picked up
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 Hoppingtcn came into
his own. Chief Shipp got the credit
for the solution OF the mystery, Clarke
got the reward at least so suppose,
for he is uniformly silent on those
matters, and !, we'll | got the story,
and now you have that.
Copyright. 1905. by w. ca. Chapman,
1 n