Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1911-11-03


not wish him to undertake my cause
blindfolded. He must understand its
difficulties while believing in my inno-
cence Then II he chose to draw back
well and good. should have to face
the situation alone.
Charles" said | as soon as could
perfectly control my speech, "you are
quite just in your remark. / am not
and cannot be perfectly open with
you. shall tell you no lies. but be-
yond that l cannot promise. l am
caught In net not altogether of my
own weaving. So far l will be frank
with you. A common question may
trip me up. Others find me free and
ready with my defense. You have
chanced upon one Of the former. I
was in a turmoil of mind from the
moment Of my entrance into that IA.
tai house. but l can give no reason
for it."
you say you cannot be open with
me. That means you have certain
memories connected with that night
Wnlcn you cannot dlVulge."
Fright. Charles, but not memories
of guilt-of active guilt. I mean.
am perfectly innocent so far as Ade-
ladies death is concerned You may
proceed on that basis without fear
that is, if you continue to take an in
terest in my case."
Il have accepted the case. and I
shall continue to interest myself in
It," he assured me. with dogged
rather than genial persistence. "But
l should like to know what l am to
work upon If 1t cannot be shown that
her call for help came before you en-
tered the building"
"That would be the best defense
possible, of course" l replied. but
neither from your standpoint nor mine
Is 1t feasible one. | have no proof
of my assertion. All know and can
swear to about the length of time
was In that building prior to the ar
rival Of the police is that it could not
have been very long. since she was
not only dead and buried under those
accumulated cushions. but in a room
some little distance from the tele-
phone"
THAT will do for me-" said he. 'but
| scarcely for those who are prejudiced
against you. Everything points so
lndisputably to your guilt The note
which you say you wrote to Carmel to
meet you at the station looks very
much more like one to Miss Cumber.
land to meet you at the clubhouse"
1t was thus | first learned which
part of this letter had been burned off.
1t was the top portion. leaving the rest
! to read:
Come, come, my darling, my life! She
will forgive when all is done. Hesitation
will only undo US. Tonight at l0:30
shall never marry any but you.
1t was also evident that | had fail
ed to add those expressions of affec-
ton linked to Carmels name which
had been in my mind and awakened
my keenest apprehension.
"Otherwise," pursued Clifton. what
could have taken her there? These
lines said Gomez and she went, for
reasons which may be clear to you.
who were acquainted with her weak
as well as strong points. Went how?
No one knows. By chance or by in
tention on her part or yours, every
servant was out Of the house by 8
o'clock. and her brother too. Only the
sister remained, the sister whom you
profess to have urged to leave the
town with you that very evening, and
she can tell us nothing-may die with
out ever being able to do so. Some
shock to her feeings-you may know
Its character and you may not-drove
her from state Of apparent health
Into the widest delirium in q few
hours. 1t was not your letter-if your
story is true about that letter-or she
would have shown its effect immedi-
ately upon receiving it-that is, in the
early evening. And she did not. Hell
en-, one of the maids, declares that she
saw her some time after you left. the
house and that she wore anything but
| tIOuDlCo tOOhs tuutt LII ldNt, hVt Souh-
tenance was beaming and beautiful"
Carmel, beaming and beautiful at an
hour | had supposed her suffering and
full of struggle! could not reconcile
It with the letter she had written me.
The lawyer proceeded with his pres
entation of my case as 1t looked to
hnprejudiced eyes.
"Miss Cumberland comes to the club
house; so do you. You have not the
keys and so go searching about the
building till you find an unlocked win.
dow, by which you both enter. There
are those who say you purposely left
this window unfastened when you
went about the house the day before;
that you dropped the keys in her house
where they would be sure to be found
Ind drove down to the station and
stood about there for good half hour
IN order to divert suspicion from your.
self afterward and create an alibi In
rase it should be wanted. do not
believe any of this myself, but there
IRE those who do. Your passion fol
Carmel, while not generally known. has
not passed unsupported by your OF
her intimates, and this in itself is
enough to give color to these suspi
cions even If you had not gone so faI
us to admit its power over you and
ihe extremes to which you were will
Ing to go to secure the wife you wish
I'd So much for the situation as II
appears to outsiders. Of the circum
stantial evidence which links you per
sonally to this crime we have already
spoken 1t is very strong and appar
emily unassailable."
Charles" | asked, "how do they
account for the cordial that was drunk
the two emptied glasses and the
AocIy which puoro foI1D1 in tha ad 10 nan'