The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-04-13

of second in a day--eight-forty five.
When next I looked at the face of
Rather Times trustiest accountant, it
/ was to mark the hour of the horrid
shrek that shook my soul; precisely
nlne-thirty~one. And later, when !
heard the dread news I realized that
my ears had thrilled to a death cry"
He looked about him with a face of
controlled emotion, His voice dropped
TO throaty and mesmeric gurgIe.
How frail," he continued: How
fran and uncertain is the life of man
kind Who of these happy faces be-
fore me may not tomorrow be bathed
in tears for the loss Of some loved
one? Best be prepared against the
time of sorrow. / show you here a
unique collection of framed notices.
suitable alike for the walls Of the
humblest home or the grandest pal
ace. Within these tasty frames are
/ enshrined comforting mortuary verses.
delicately ornamented by the hands of
our leading artists such poetry as dis
tiis Arrangement upon the wounded
heart; and these priceless objects of
art and agents Of mercy I am distrib-
uting at the nominal charge of one
dollar EACH
Kent moved away. his chin pressed
down upon his chest. He went TO the
office of Lawyer Adam Balm, and spent
an hour waiting, with his feet propped
up on the desk. When the lawyer en-
tered Kent remarked:
"You rather put our two official
friends In a hole this morning"
Just mite. maybe. But they've
crawled out. 1 guess ! spoke too
quick
How SOP"
Vigil II they'd gone ahead and
I buried the body as ii was, we could
+ have had it exhumed. And then we d
have seen what we'd have seen
True enough. And you didn't see
It as it was p
See what2 Did your
Kents quiet smile sided down from
the corner Of his mouth"
Suppose ne said, you give me
the fullest possible character sketch of
/ our impulsive friend, the sheriff"
Half an hour was Consumed in this
! process. At the end Of the time Kent
strOlled back TO the square where ST.
mon +. Gr0ot had been discoursing
There he found the ornate wagon
closed and its ornate proprietor whist
ling over some minor repairs that he
had been making An invitation to
take a ride in Kents car was prompt
ly accepted.
business first. said Kent You're
a seller I'm a buyer, You've got
some information that may want If
So. I'm ready to pay. Was any Of your
talk truce"
yep" replied Simon P. Groot aus
terely 1T was all true but the frills."
"Will you trim off the frills for ten
dollars ?"
Fair dealing for fair price is my
motto youll find 1t in gilt lettering
on the back Of the wagon. / will"
What were you doing on Hawkill
cliffs ?"
Sleeping in the wagon
And you really met this mysterious
wanderer?'
Sure as you're standing there"
What passed between you?"
Il gave her good evening, and she
spoke 10 me fair enough but queer,
and said that my childrens children
might remember the day Now, I
aIn't get ny children to have children,
SO I wouldn't have thought Of ii again
bur for the man that came inqUiring
after her
When YVES thatT''
"Not fifteen minutes after"
Did you tell the crowd here that >"
Yep ] sold TWO dozen wedding
rings on the strength and romance Of
that np3nt. From my desert ption they
allowed 1t was 4 painter man named
SedEwick. ! thought maybe Id call
in and have him touch up the wagon
a bit where she's rusty"
And you heard the woman cry out
less than an hour later?"
That's a curious thing. Id have
almost sworn it was a ma n $ voice that
yelled II went through me like a
rhaspcned icicle''
~tn this was night before last.
What have you been doing mean
tame r.
prove over to Marcus Corners TO
trade yesterday. There ] heard about
the murder and came back here to
make "A little business out of 1t. I've
done fine
You made no attempt to trace the
Look here" said Simon p. Groot
after a spell Of thoughtfuiness. Your
ten dollars is good, and you're gent,
all right but | think I've talked
ntfl4a too much with my mouth around
here, and I'm afraid they might dig up
this lady and start something new and
uae,t me for witness, Witnessing is
bad for business,
I'm safe" said Kent.
SO far So good. Now, would it be
worth five dollars 10 you, likely, relic
OF the murderer" suggested the old
man
quite likely"
MuIn's the word. then. for my part
Ia it. That next morning l followed
her trai ways. You see, the yell
In the night had got me interested.
III was an easy trail TO follow for a
man that's acquainted in the woods.
and used to be yarb-gruhber DO
little OF il now. sometimes She d
met somebody In a thicket. I found
the str!ug and the paper of the bum
die she was carrying. there. Then
there was a fight of some sort. for the
twigs were broken right To the edge
Of the thicket and the ground stamp
ed down One or both of EN- must
have broken out into the open, and
lost the trail Bur this is what | found
on hazel bush. Do l win the five
on it?'
kents eyes dropped, fixing them
selves on small object which the
other had laid on his knee His lips
pursed Nothing that could be inter
preted as an answer came from them.
simon p Groot waited with patience.
Finally he said;
That's an awful pretty tune you're
whistlin. mister, but sad, and terrible