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

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came the priestses Of . cult q star
worshipers, which included many Of
the more cultivated people Of this NJ
gion. Among them was a young Ger
man mystic and philosopher who had
ied to this country to escape punish
ment for political ofenses. Hermann
Won Miltz was bis nane."
That's why she called me Her
manu." broke in Preston In an awed
half whisper.
Don't jump to wild conclusions"
said Kent smilingly. "Some Of their
correspondence is still extant. She
signed herself Astraea in handwriting
similar to the signature Of that note Of
yours. Jax. There seems to have been
no guilt between them as the law
judges guilt. The boRd was a mystic
one. But 1t was non the less fatal.
1t eliminated in a tragedy of which
the details are lost. Perhaps it was
an elopement that they planned; per-
haps a double suicide. with the idea
that their souls would be united in
death. There are hints Of that in the
old letters in the historians possession
and in the library at Hedgerow house.
This much is known: The couple en-
barked together in a small boat. Won
Miltz was never again heard Of. Ca
milla G~rosvenor's body came ashore In
Lonesome Cove. She was the Cove's
earliest recorded victim. The sketch
which that mischief monger. Elder
bennett. left at your door. Sedgwick,
supposing it to be a likeness of the
unfortunate creature he had seen on
the road to your house. is IL Charles
Elliott sketch for the portrait OF Ca
milla GrosvenOr."
MY God!' LAX burst out WAS it a
ghost l met up with that night. on
Hawkill heightsY
"As near as you are ever likely IT,
encounter, probably" answered Kent.
Now, I'm going TO make Il long Jump
down to the present. First. til> II. |
want you to follow with me the course
Of a figure that leaves Hedserow
house on the late afternoon of July 5.
BY chance. the figure is not seen, ex-
cept at a distance by Gansett jim, who
suspected nothing then. Otherwise 1t
would have been stopped, as it wears
Mrs. Blair's necklace and rings.
Dressing the part Of Astraea,"
guessed Lawyer Balm.
''Precisely. Our jeweled figure. in a
dress that is an old one of Mrs. Blair's
and with a package in hand. makes its
way across country to the coast"
ITO join me-" said Preston Jax.
ITO join you. Chance brings the
wayfarer face to face with that gen.
tleman of the peekaboo mind. Elder
bennett. They talk. The stranger
a"ks-quite by chance, though the ell
der assumed it was Otherwise-abOut
the home of Francis Sedgwick. At
the entrance to Sedgwick's place the
pair met. There a a curious ell
counter, ending in Sedgwick's demand
ing an explanation of the rose topazes.
which he knew to be Mrs. Blair's."
How did he know that?" demanded
Alexander Blair.
Because l had worn them when 1
sat to him for my picture" said Mar
jorie Blair quietly.
1.-The stranger" continued Kent, re
fused to give Sedgwick any explana-
ton, and when he threatened to fol-
low stunned him with a rock and es-
capped. Some distance down the road
the w%ayfarer encountered Simon +.
GrOot, the itinerant merchant. Seug-
wick afterward met him and made in
Q~uiries, but obtained no satisfaction.
"Sedgwick was back in his house by
who was talking with the wearer of
the necklace at that hour. Jax. let us
have your statement" go
Holding the copy of the confession
in his hand in case of confusion of
memory, the starmaster told of his
rendezvous, Of the swift savage. at
tack, of the appalling incident Of the
manacles. of the wild race across the
heights and Of the final tragedy.
i've thought and wondered and fig.
ured day and night" he said in con-
c~lusiOn, land l can't get at what that
rope and the handouts meant"
'The handcuffs must have come from
that dreadful collection of Captain
Hogg's things in the big hallway at
Hedgerow house." said Marjorie Blair.
YES" assented Kent. land the dim
clew to their purpose goes back again.
| fancy. to the strange mysticism of
the original Astraea. The d~isordered
mind. with which we have to deal.
seems to have been guarding against
any such separation as divided in
death Astraea from her Hermann"
1T was the other man that killed
her." said Preston Jax. 1.-The man l
heard yell when she went over. But
what became Of him."
Simon Z. GroOt spoke of hearing
that mans scream. too" confirmed
Balm. Have you got any clew to him.
Professor Kent