The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-10-30
CHAPTER xxxll.
Love Crowned at Last.

eyes," said Norman, glancing from
Christabel to the packet with look
of amazement. Il am my fathers
sole heir. Do you know what is in
side this packet, Christabel?" he
asked.
Il do not know, Norman" replied
Christabel, "but l hope-oh, 1 hope!
But never mind that. Please open the
packet" she begged him, with rising
excitement. And he complied.
The envelope was found to contain
two documents, each in separate en-
velope; one envelope was marked
"!ro be read first the other, ITO be
read second" Norman asked Christa-
bel to hold the second envelope while
he opened the first and drew from it
several sheets Of ordinary writing pa
per with Sir John Sisterson's crest
and Hans Square address stamped in
relief upon them.
Sir John in these sheets of paper
made statement remarkable alike as
to the facts set forth and the mind
of the unhappy man who had written
it, Norman Forde read it with mix
ture of emotions impossible to de-
scribe.
''In June of the year 1874 my part
ner, Thomas Forde, was killed." wrote
Sir John, "by falling accidentally. it
was believed, from a fifty-foot high
scaffolding into the street. His death
was not an accident, for catching him
unawares pushed him over. l had
no thought of murder the moment be-
compelled me to do it and the thing
was done.
'He had confided to me shortly be-
fore the details of a cement of his
own discovery and invention, the
enormous commercial value of which
l understood thoroughly from the first.
On that June day we had met, for the
sake of mutual convenience, in the
evening, and, reminding him that we
were partners, I asked him to give
me share in the fotation Of the new
cement, but he refused. This an
geTed and maddened me, and, the
temptation springing on me like a
deadly beast from a covert, I pushed
him off the scaffolding. Then, sure
that the fall must kill him, thought
that the secret of the cement was now
wholly my own.
LAS his body yielded to my hands
and pitched forward and down, I
Strengthened myself and looked has
tily around to see If had been OBJ
served. l knew that a Waterman,
named William Cross, was somewhere
about the building we were putting
up, but, not seeing him or any other
person, came to the conclusion that
what had taken place was known to
me alone. stepped down the lad
der inside the scaffolding as fast as
l could, and found Forde lying dead
On the pavement. as I expected. A
policeman came up, l gave him my
card. told him that it had been an
accident, and the body was removed.
Before the inquest William Cross
came to me and said that, seeing
Forde and myself together after hours
in the evening, his curiosity had got
the better of him; that from the in
terror of the building he had, unob-
served, followed us; that he had over.
heard the conversation regarding the
cement that had passed between
Forde and myself, and had seen me
push Fo.de over the edge of the scat
folding.
Fl gave myself up for lost, but soon
perceived that Cross had no intention
to hand me over to justice if offered
him satisfactory terms as the price
of his silence. A bargain was struck,
and Cross eventually became fore
man in the works on the Thames,
where he still remains. At the in
quest he declared that he had neither
seen nor heard anything. The jury
brought in a verdict of Accidental
Death
after overcoming considerable
difficulties l succeeded in obtaining
''u1ASAShI NcpAIo1 " UOSAA Luc
facture of the cement, and from that
day to this have had career of un-
broken prosperity, such as falls to
the lot of few men. My first wife hay
ing died from an affection of the
! heart which she has transmitted to
our only child, my daughter Mary,
l married as my second wife lady
of noble but impoverished family.
with view to lettering my social
position. I entered parliament and
was made baronet. There is a
prospect of my becoming a peer. I
am very rich man-rich among the
richest. have been successful
beyond my widest hopes.
| "But as my success has grown I
have never ceased to expect to be
overtaken by some sudden and over
whelming disaster or calamity which
would be proportionate to the black
ness of my crime and the incredible
measure of the prosperity that has
come from it, At first this haunting
anticipation was more easily borne,