The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-02-02

cence Then II he chose 20 draw bach
well and good ! should have to face
the situation alone
"Charlcs." 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 cannot promise. am
caught In a net not altogether Of my
own weaving. So far / VIII be frdrk
with you. A common question may
trip me up. Others find me free and
ready with my defense. You have
CHANGED upon one of the former. !
was in n turmoil Of mind from the
moment OF my entrance into that IA
tai house. but can give no reason
for IT,"
you say you cannot be open with
me. That means you have certain
memories connected with that night
which you cannot divulge."
fright. Charles. but not memories
Of guilt-of active guilt. | mean. /
am perfectly innocent so far as AIDE
ladies death is concerned. You may
proceed on that basis without fear
that is, IL you continue TO take an in
terest in my case"
II have accepted the case. and
shall continue TO interest myself In
IT," he assured me. with a logged
rather than genial persistence. But
/ should like 10 know what / am 10
work upon II IT cannot be shown that
her call for help came before you en-
tered TIE building"
'That would be the best defense
possible. OF course" replied. but
neither from your standpoint nor mine
IS 1t a feasible one. / have no proof
of my assertion. All know and can
swear 10 about the length of time,
was In that building prior to the ar
rival OF the police is that 1t 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
indisputably TO your guilt The note
which you say you wrote to Carmel TO
meet you at the station looks very
much more like one 10 Miss Cumber.
land TO meet you at the clubhouse"
Ii was thus | first learned which
part of this letter had been burned OF.
II 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 1880.
shall never marry any but you.
IL was also evident that 1 had fail
ed TO add those expressions of affec-
ton linked to Carmers name which
had been in my mind and awakened
my keenest apprehension.
"Otherwise." pursued Clifton. what
could have taken her there? These
lines said Come" and she went, for
reasons which may be clear TO you.
who were acquainted with her weak
as we'll 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 feelings-you may know
its character and you may not-drove
her from state of apparent health
into the widest delirium in a few
hours. Ii 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
n troubled look; that. in fact. Der coun-
tenance was beaming and beautiful"
Carmel. beaming and beautiful at an
hour | had supposed her suffering and
full OF struggle. l could not reconcile
It with the letter she had written me.
The lawyer proceeded with his pres
entation of my case as IL looked 10
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
low. by which you both enter. There
ire those who say you purposely left
his window unfastened when you
went about the house the day before;
hat you dropped the keys In her house
where they would be sure 10 be found
Ind drove down TO the station and
stood about there for q good half hour
n order TO divert suspicion from your
'elf afterward and create an alibi I'm
'ase IL should be wanted. do not
'elieve any Of this myself. but there
ire those who do. Your passion for
carmel. while not generally known. has
lot passed unsupported by your or
Ter intlmates. and this In itself Is
'nough TO give color 10 these suspl-
ions even if you had not gone so far
Is TO admit its power over you and
he extremes TO which you were will
ne 10 so TO secure the wife you wish
d. SO much for the situation as Il
ppears to outsiders or the circum-
tantial evidence which links you per-
onally to this crime we have already