The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-04-08


with me. and he came right up here
after we'd carried Annie to her room.
That was the only time the hall was
alone"
How long did that take you. Do
herty?" asked Johnny Johnson of the
newspaper coterie. He was thinking
that the Coroner was a shade too judi
cial and prosy about the inquiry.
Some six minutes or So" slowly an
swered Doherty. Mrs. OBSTETRICS a
weight to carry; she's pretty fat. you.
know, lately. Her room, too, it's clear
back on the second floor.
They read the letters aloud. The
enterprising newspaper boys had al
ready had them photographed so that
their papers might reproduce them.
The longer of the two was undated.
the other bore date Of eight months
previous, in mid-August and ran:
"Cerisse Dear-Heart of mine,
have so longed for a letter. Do you
still refuse to remember? VIII you
not forgive or must die without word
or sign from you? Forgive me. Cerisse.
dear, forgive me-"
The other, couched more formally,
though in the same writing, read:
"Cerisse-So the wander-lust still
pervades your heart? Can you calm
your restless mind and soul and body
sufficiently long to realize that home,
husband, children and the. develop
ment Of womanhood's ideals is the
1.-THE life exacts from each of your
sex?
You must pay now, Cerisse, or pay
at the end. If you defer payment Of
your indebtedness to the scheme of all
creation till the end you will find the
interest hard to handle. I shall ap-
peal no more. Entreaties do not
move you. Neither do threats and
commands are naught to you. But let
me impress one thing upon you. If
you do not return to me before the
first of the coming year, 1 will kill
You. Do you understand what I mean
when 1 write this? have never
seemed able to make you comprehend
anything 1 have ever written or said.
You won't understand this, you won't
realize that you will be- dead, murder
ed, before the blossoms weight the
orchards if you still persist in absent
ing yourself from H."
Seems to me that H. whoever H
is, must have been intoxicated, de-
ranged or doped on his correspondence
course" whispered Larry Morris to
Betty Lancey.
"Oh. don't joke" replied Betty.
How can you at such time? Such a
beautiful woman as she was, too. I'd
have loved to have seen her as she
must have been when she was alive"
Death from causes unknown. Prob
ably heart failure superinduced by
fright" came the Coroner's verdict.
This ultimatum disposed of the
body. which was buried next day. But
it didn't of the Monster. That was
in a cage in the municipal geological
gardens. snarling. whining and max
ing the hours hideous. And it didn't
dispose of the story. That went fash
ing around the world on the wires,
while newspapers the country over
seized the scent to track the greatest
crime mystery of the age"
CHAPTER Nv.
Early next morning Larry Morris
sat in LIE Roy's cafe, an all night res
taurant and rendezvous of the news
paper men, industriously disposing of
a roast beef sandwich.
Larry's forehead was twisted into
half a dozen cOrrugations. He was
hoping none of the boys would come
in till he had got this Wayne story a
little clearer in his head. Larry and
two photographers had made three
trips out to the Park to see the awful
Thing which some apt reporter had
christened the Man-aperilla.
One by one the boys came trooping
| in. And the Wayne murder was the
| topic of the night.
I'll tell you what it is, boys" said
| Hank Smith. THAT Man-Aperilla is
half human and I know it. When
those white and black eyes were turn
er upon me I felt my soul crawl out
from under me, and I was left there
hanging in space. Tell you what it is.
there's a story there"
"Cut it, Hank, cut IT,. called little
red headed John Johnston. the best
police reporter in town. Here, Ma
ME-" to the waitress, bring Hank
some eatings so the rest of us can
1
| take q rubber at the conversational
| game. Wasn't that girl a sumner,
though? And did you notice, too, what
dead match that her hair was for
| the color of the pelt on the beast?"
| Now every man at the table had
noted just that point. 1t was so OBJ
vious q point that it was startling.
Each had been loath to launch an opin-
ion on it. But Johnny had a way
with him OF pumping all you knew by
bold plays. Each man took counsel
with himself wondering what Johnny
| would do next For ten years these
boys and Johnny had met every Mon
day night, and the crowd had learned
when to give him rope.
But just now Johnny and his bowl
Of rice and milk relapsed into silence
while his companions ranged far ii,
wild theories of who III" was, what
part he had played in the life and
death Of Cerisse Wayne. whether she
was wife, widow. murdered or simply
another victim of the suicide list.
By and by Johnny dug down into
one of the ever bullying pockets Of his