The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-10-30

Hoe trap. Her next words put me on.
""The stars! The starsr she whisper.
cd. See ours-how they light our path
way cross the sea the sea that awaits
u.s.
more breath came back to me. 1t
wasn't a trap. then. She was only 4
crazy woman that | had to get rid of.
! looked down ut the handcuff. It was
Of iron and had dull rusted edges. A
hammer would have made short work
Of It. but ! did not have any hammer.
! did not even have q stone. There
would be stones in the broken land
beyond the thicket. ! thought I saw
a way.
"'Yes, let's co. ! said.
I'VE set out. At the edge Of the
thicket was a 1attish rock with small
stones e 1t. Here l pretended to
slip. | fell with my right wrist across
a rock aud caught up q cobblestone
with my left hand. At the 6rst crack
Of the stone on the handcuY ! could
feel the old iron weaken. got no
chance for a second blow. Her hands
were at my throat. They bit in. Then
| knew it was a fight for my life.
"The next thing ! remember clearly
she was quiet on the ground and l was
hammering, hammering. hammering ut
my wrist with a blood stained stone.
I do not know If it was her blood or
mine. Both. maybe, for my wrist was
like pulp when the iron finally cracked
open and I was free. caught a
glimpse Of blood on her temple. l
suppose l had hit her there with the
stone. She looked dead.
"All l wanted was to think-to think
to think. l was pretty much dotty,
l guess.
"While | was trying to think she
came alive. She was on her feet be
fore I knew it and OF at a dead run.
The broken handcuff went jerking
and jumping around her as she ran.
That was an awful night full Of awful
things. But the one worst sight of all
worse even than the finding of her
afterward-was that mad figure leap
ing over the broken ground toward the
cliffs edge. l held my breath to listen
for her scream when she went over. l
never heard it.
But l heard something else. l
heard q mans voice. 1t was clear and
strong and high. There was death in
it, l tell you, Mr.. Kent. Living hor-
ror gripped at the throat that gave
that cry. Then there was a rush of
little stones and gravel down the face
Of the cliff. That was all.
Beyond me the ground rose. ran
up on it. 1t gave me a clear view of
the cliff top. l thought sure l would
zee the man who had cried out from
there. Not a sight Of him! Nothing
moved in the moonlight. l thought
he must have gone. over the cliff too.
l threw myself down and buried my
face.
How long l lay on the ground l do
not know. A wisp of cloud had blot
ted out the wOman's star. now, and by
that l knew she was dead. But the
moon was shining high. 1t gave me
light enough to see my way into the
gully, and l stumbled and slid down
through TO the Deacn.
Il found her body right away. 1t
hay with the head against a rock. But
there was no sign of the mans body.
the man who had yelled. | felt that
before l vent away from there l must
cOncea the cause of her death and
everything about it that l could. If 1t
was known how she was killed they
would be more likely to suspect me-.
II ven back and got the p l
got an old grating from the shore. |
dragged the body into the sea and let
it soak. l dashed it to the grating. l
stripped the jewelry from her, but !
could not take it. That would have
made me a murderer.
There is a rock in the gully that.
marked. Nobody else would ever no.
tice it. Under it l hid the jewelry. l
can take you to it. and l will.
II got on my coat and sunk my robe
in a creek and got myself to the rail-
road station for a morning train. And
when l got home l married Irene.
and l am through with the crooked
work forever. This is the whole truth.
II any human being knows more about
the death Of Astraea it must be the
man who shouted as she fell from the
cliff and who went away and did not
come back.
"(Signed, PRESTON JAX. s-M."