The Washington herald., 1912-04-07

upon couch, but her quick. observant
gaze, as we entered the room, and the
alert expression of her beautiful fea-
lures, showed that neither her wits nor
her courage had been shaken by her
terrible experience. She was enveloped
in a loose dressing-g gown of blue and
silver but black sequin-covered din
ner dress was hung upon the couch be-
side her.
"r have told you all that happened,
Mr.. Hopkins" she said, wearily; could
you not repeat it for me? Well, il you
think il necessary, | will tell these gen.
tlemen what occurred. Have they been
in the dining-room yet"
81 though they had better hear your
ladyship's story first"
Il shall be glad when you can arrange
matters 1t is horrible to me to think
Of him still lying there" She shudder-
ed and buried her face in her hands. AS
she did so, the loose gown fell back
from her forearms. Holmes uttered an
exclamation.
you have other injuries, madam
What is this?' Two vivid red spots
stood out on one Of the white, round
limbs. She hastily covered it.
1T is nothing. 1t has no connection
with this hideous business tonight. If
you and your friend will sit down, l
will tell you all | can.
81 am the wife of Sir Eustace Brack-
ensta1. | have been married about a
year. | suppose that it is no use my at
tempting TO conceal that our marriage
has not been a happy one. fear that
all our neighbors would tell you that,
even If | were to attempt to deny it.
Perhaps the fault may be partly mine.
| was brought up in the freer, less con-
ventional atmosphere of South Australia,
and this English life, with its proprieties
and its primness, is not congenial to ME.
But the main reason lies in the one fact.
which is notorious to every one, and that
is that Sir Eustace was a confirmed
drunkard. To be with such man for
an hour is unpleasant Can you imag'
inc what it means for a sensitive and
high-spirited woman to be tied TO him
for day and night? 1t is a sacrilege, a
crime. villainy to hold that such a
marriage is binding. | say that these
monstrous laws OF your will bring a
curse upon the land-God will not let
such wiclSedness endure" For an in
slant she sat up, her cheeks flushed, and
her eyes blazing from under the ter
rible mark upon her brow. Then the
strong. soothing hand of the austere
maid drew her head down onto the
cushion, and the wild anger died away
into passionate Sobbing At last she
continued:
Il will tell you about last night. You
are aware, perhaps, that IN this house
all the servants sleep in the modern
wing This central block is made up of
the dwelling-rooms, with the kitchen
behind and our bedroom above. My
maid, Theresa, sleeps above my ROOM
There is no one else, and no sound
could alarm those who are in the farther
wing, This must have been well known
to the ROBBERS, or they would not have
acted as they did. A.
'Sir Eustace retired about half-past
ten The Servants had already gone to
their quarters. Only my maid was up,
and she had remained in her room at
the top of the house until needed her
services. | sat until after eleven in this
room, absorbed in book. Then | walk
ed round to see that all was right be-
fore | went upstairs. 1t was my Gus
tom to do this myself, for, as | have
explained, Sir Eustace was not always
to be trusted. | went into the kitchen,
the buffers pantry, the gun room, the
billiard room, the drawing room, and
finally. the dining-room. As ! approach