Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1910-05-27


took her because of what she paid, and
because she was so pretty. She slept
late mornings and Annie was going to
make her move tomorrow because she
slept SO late 1t made breakfast drag
along till noon. The women In the
house didn't like Miss Wayne. They
said she painted her face and smoked
cigarettes. The men made soft eyes
at her and the woman got jealous.
Annie said she had awful fine things
In her valise, and lots of jewelry. An
ME came up stairs to wake her, for 1t
was lunch time, and then 1t all hap
pened. There couldn't anybody have
rushed down the stairs. l was in the
hall when Annie fell, and Doherty was
with me, and he came right up here
after wc'd carried Annie to her room.
That was the only time the hall was
alone"
How long did that take you, Do
nerty?" 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. Desterle's 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, I
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
| tithe 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 yom II
you do not return to me before the
first Of the coming year. 1 will kill
you. Do you understand what 1 mean
when I write this? have never
| seemed able to make you comprehend
anything I 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 II 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 cage In the municipal geological
gardens, snarling, whining and max
ing the hours hideous. And 1t didn't
dispose of the story. That went flash
ing around the world on the wires,
while newspapers the country over
seized the scent to track the greatest
crime mystery Of the age"