Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1909-05-06

l a.
@Played a good joke on my wife,"
said Kelly, 1T isn't every one tina.
| can carry out d thing like that smut
M in a greenhouse with her lover all
night-and that night the most wonder
full flower on earth bloomed-a flower
containing a strange Juice, a marvel
GUS anaesthetic. They were SUMO
Gated. Had joke on me. though, Tor
they smashed the plant-and that was
ali l lived for, the fame that plant
might have brought to me-"
The skull looked expectant and KEEL
ly looked sorrowful.
But l 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 l thought had plucked little
white flower from a garden Of lurid
beauties. grasped loathesome net
tie. So when had destroyed the net
tie, said, 4 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 a rarely
beautiful blossom, lovely beyond my
widest desire.
Then a man, sort of mower or
weeds, who had known the weed,
pulled 1t 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 1t wrangled in my brain and
held my heart in a terrible grip. A
plaything of fate, had been. Oh.
1t was bitter-and funny. Say, 1t
makes me laugh even now. Why even
you are grinning!"
The skull seemed to crinkle up with
silent laughter, and 1t looked gray
faced like Kelly.
1.-THE rest of 1t was in the papers.
A man and a woman and bottle OF
beer. Great mystery! Murderer es-
capped Police gave 1t up as a 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 their
tracks. l think they were afraid OF
me. found them. AS | had made
such a ripping success of my wife, l
| 7 IL In
AFTER bought the beer, 1t took me
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 to
yet another to have the package. sent.
From a distant western town wrote
letter to the coroner, that suspicion
might not fall on an innocent person,
and by the time he got the letter, l
was In Mexico.
I'm order to dope the bottle, had
to open it, and that took the life out
of the beer somewhat; so I wrote
letter explaining that this was new
brand Of beer especially put on the
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 so
kind as to sample the beer and favor
us with criticism? l knew he would
bite at leading physicians -egotistl'
cal chump!
at was very good test he gave
that beer as the papers stated.
81 am sorry she died. did not
mean that she should. She was too
anxious to help him test 1t. | shall
always be sorry for that. AS say,
wrote to the coroner, stating the cir
cumstances, even to the firm names
and towns and my motive. told him
was sorry for the woman, as was
to blame for her, but 1t was probably
the best thing for her after all. AS Tor
the man. wished / could have killed
him with my hands. That was ten
years ago. am a clever man-for l
am still free. The dead keep the Sc
cret for me. They are hnd-the dead.
II shall pluck no more flowers. They
all spring from filth. am done, and
I have the satisfaction Of knowing
did It well. It is but strange mem
ory that you have made more clear.
Well, l am too clever for even you'
for tomorrow I am going to leave this
rOom-and the next one will have cal.
cimined walls-walls without req
roses and white, that look like my own
face mocking me with grin like q
gaping wound. Damn you'll"
He fell back exhausted; then ne
raised his eyes to the white face OF
the nurse, who had been sleeping On
the couch back Of the screen.
Havarlan Distances.