The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-01-16
And wherever he looked he saw n,

joke, too. Nothing like a joke"
The skull nodded.
Played q good joke on my wife, -
said Kelly, ut isn't every one that
can carry out thing like that. Shut
up in greenhouse with her lover all
highland that night the most wonder
fu flower on earth bloomed-a flower
containing strange juice, marvel.
Gus anaesthetic. They were suffo.
Gated. Had joke on me, though, for
they smashed the plant--End that was
all lived for, the fame that plant
might have brought to me-"
The skull looked expectant and Kel.
ly looked sorrowful.
But ! didn't mean to kill the other
woman You see, was to blame, in
a measure. Picked her up In the red
light district. You know, when mar.
ried | thought | had plucked little
white flower from a garden OF lurid
beauties. ] grasped a loathesome net.
tie. so when had destroyed the net
tie, said. I shall search among nox
ious growths and the thing pull can.
not be a disappointment because
will know It, Well, | transplanted
the weed--a sorry one 1t was and un.
der my care 1t sprung into rarely
beautiful blossom, lovely beyond my
widest desire.
Then a man, sort OF mower OF
weeds, who had known the weed
pulled It from the soil and held it be
fore my eyes so that its distorted
earthly roots were dangling there
Since he had killed the flower, | let
him have It; but the agony and the
humor of II wrangled in my brain and
held my heart in a terrible grip. A
plaything of fate, had been. Oh
It was bitter-and funny. Say, IT
makes me laugh even now. Why even
you are grinning!"
The skull seemed to crinkle up with
silent laughter, and it looked gray,
faced like Kelly.
The rest of II was in the papers
a man and woman and bottle OF
beer. Great mystery! Murderer es
capped. Police gave 1t up as bad job
A lot Of trouble that bottle OF beer cost
me. 1t taxed my nerves and my clev
erness. In the first place the man and
woman were hard to trace, for they
had pretty well covered up theiI
tracks. ! think they were afraid OF
me. found them AS ! had made
such a ripping success of my wife,
knew ] could handle the game.
4 IA.
days to copy the seal and label of an
other firm. Then | went way off and
bought the poison, and went to an
other place to dope the beer, and tC
yet another to have the package sent
From a distant western town ! wrote
might not fall on an innocent person
and by the time he got the letter,
was In Mexico.
I'm order to dope the bottle, hat
| to open IT, and that took the life ouI
of the beer somewhat: so | wrote {
letter explaining that this was a new
brand of beer especially put on tho
market for medicinal purposes and the
company was sending out trial bottles
to the leading physicians of the coun
| try. Would the esteemed doctor be 81
kind as to sample the beer and favor
us with criticism? knew he woulC
bite at leading physicians'-egotisti
cal chump!
1T was a very good test he gave
that beer as the papers stated
Il am sorry she died I did no
mean that she should She was toe
anxious to help him test It, | shal
always be sorry for that, AS say,
wrote to the coroner, stating the cir
cumstances, even to tho firm names
and towns and my motive. told hin
was sorry for the woman, as | wai
to blame for her. but it was probably
the best thing for her after all. AS foi
the man, | wished | could have killed
him with my hands That was ter
years ago. | am a clever man-for
am still free. The dead keep the Sc
cret for me. They are kind-the dead
II shall pluck no more flowers They
all spring from Hlth. ! am done, ant
have the satisfaction of knowing
did 1t well. II Ia but a strange mem
ory that you have made more clear
Well, | am too clever for even you
for tomorrow | am going to leave thii
room--and the next one will have cal
cimined walls-walls without RET
roses and white, that look like my owI
face mocking me with a grin like 1
gaping wound. Damn you!"
He fell back exhausted; then h
raised his eyes to the white face o
the nurse, who had been sleeping OF
the couch back of the screen.
BsVarian Distances.
In the Bavarian highlands sign