New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-08-09

was alone IN tns mouse. ana tnls ma,
have addsd to hse anxistisA. On Of til
Essfvants having gone TO the police
mems ball Il was on their return q
The early morning hours that sho bad
been discovered lying ~ and injured
bsfore be- SISTERS 6rsplaes.
One fact was mentioned which o.
No thinking. The keys Of Tho club
houss he'd bssn found lying o. . talk
n tAs Side hail Of the Cumberland
mansioo-ths keys which have o.
rsady mentioned %, missing from ny
psckst an alarming discovery which
might have acted % . clsw to the sus-
picious I feared II their presence there
had not been explained BY the walt
r0ss who had cleared tho table after
dinner. Coming upon these keys lying
on the door beside ono OF the chairs.
she had carried them out into the hall
and laid them where they would b
moDe readily seen She had not rec.
ognised the keys, but had taken It for
granted that they belonged to Mr..
Ranelagh. who had dined ct the house
that night.
They were my keys. ana have o..
ready related how I1came to drop them
on the door. Had they but stayed
thGrel Adelaide, or was It Carmel,
might not have seen them and been
led by some strange IL not tragic pur.
pose, incomprehensible to Us now and
possibly never to find full explanation,
to enter the secret and forsaken spot
where I later found them, the one
dead, the other fleeing In frenzy. but
not in such thoughtless frenzy as to
forget these keys or to fail to lock the
clubhouse door behind her. That she
on her return home should have had
sufficient presence Of mind to toss these
keys down in the same place from
which she or her sister had taken
them argued we'll for her clear head
edness up to that moment. The fever
must have come on later.
The next paragraph detailed fact
startling enough to rouse my deepest
interest. Zadok Brown, the Cumber-
lands coachman, declared that Ar
thurs cutter and what he called the
gray mare had been out that night.
They were both in place when he re-
turned to the stable toward early
but the signs were unmistak-
able that both had been out in the
snow Since he left the stable at about
B. He had locked the stable door
ut that time, but the key always hung
In the kitchen where any one could
get it. This was on account Of Ar
thur, who, If he wanted to 60 out
late, sometimes harnessed a. horse
himself. Zadok judged that he had
lone SO this night, though how the
horse happened to be back and in her
stall and no Mr.. Arthur in the house
t would take wiser heads than his to
explain.
There was some comment made on |
his because Arthur had denied using |
his cutter that night. He declared in
stead that he had gone out on foot
md designated the coachman's tale
- all bosh.
As for myself. felt inclined to be-
ieve that-the mare had been, out, that
,ne or both Of the women had har-
lessed her and that it was by these
means they had reached the Whisper
ng Pines. Adelaide was far from
'trong and never addicted to walking
lnder the most favorable conditions.
could understand now how Carmel
lad succeeded in returning in safety
o her home. She had ridden both
vays-a theory which likewise explain
d how she came to wear mans
(erby and possibly mans overcoat.
With her skirts covered by bearskin
he would present very fair figure of
man to any one who CHANGED to pass
Ter.
These were my deductions drawn
rom my own knowledge. Would 9th.
rs who had not my knowledge be in
nywise Influenced to draw the same?
let. If they let this point slip, where
hould be? Human nature is human
II the way through, and l could not
clip having moments when l asked
lyself if this young girl were worth
le sacrifice contemplated making
'r her. She was lovely to look at,
Unable and of womanly promise save
those rare and poignant moments
hen passion would seize her in gust
hich drove everything before it. That
1e had had provocation l did not {
oubt. Adelaide, for all her virtues, I
as not an easy person to deal with. f,
pright and perfectly sincere herself, [
le had no sympathy with or COM
iseration for any lack Of principle r
any display of selfishness in others. r
le was a little cold. little reserved, q
little lacking in spontaneity, though =
ways correct and always generous =
her gifts and often in her acts. =
CHAPTER V. n
II AM AN INNOCENT MAN." q