The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-08-21

tneEe WSS SlIenC0 them. Kent
broke t. 0 IS.
DO you see now the wisdom Of
::rahkness?"8 %& &
You mean that ! shall be accused
Of having hand In her death?' 4
STRONGLY suspected. at least.
ION what basis!"
you are the last person known to
have seen her alive"
Surely that isn't enough?"
Not Of itself. There's \ bruise back
Of your right ear"
Involuntarily Sedgwick's hand went
to the spot.
who gave 1t to your" pursued Kent.
You know it all without my telling
you" cried Sedgwirk: but l never
saw the woman before in my life,
Kent give you my. word Of honor!
She came and went. but who she h or
why she came or where she went l
have no more idea than you ~have-per.
haps not nearly 80 much"
There you r wrong. I'm depend.
ing on you to tell me about her."
Not II my life hung on It,, And
how could her being found drowned On
the beach be connected with mey"
II didn't say that she was found
drowned on the beach,"
You did-no: pardon me: 1t vas the
messenger boy. But you said that her
body was found in Lonesome Cove"
''That is quite 4 different matter"
"She wasn't drowned?"
II should be very much surprised
II the autopsy showed any water in
the lungs
But the boy said that the body was
dashed to Il grating. and there were
chains OH it's that true"
1T was dashed to a grating and man.
acled."
"Manacled: What n CHASTITY mys-
terry! Sedgwick dropped his chin in
meditation. IF she wasn't drowned
then she was murdered and thrown
overheard from a boat-is that 1T"
Chester Kent smiled. f%nscrutably.
Suppose you let me do the question
ing a while. You can give no clew
whatsoever to the identity of your yes
terday's visitOr?!"
There was the slightest possible hes.
itati0n before the artist replied. "None
at ALL"
III l find it difficult to believe that
what will the villagers think OF it
when Elder bennett returns from Ca
dystown and tells his story. as he Ia
sure to do?"
Does bennett know the woman"
NO: but 1t isn't his fault that he
doesn't. He did his best in the inter-
viewing line when he met her on her
way to your place"
"She wasn't on her way to my
place." objected Sedgwick.
bennett got the notion that she
was. He hid behind a bush and
watched"
did be Overhear our conversation
He was too far away. He saw the
attack on you. Now. just at together
these significant bits Of fact. The
body Of a woman. dead by violence. is
found on the beach not far from here.
The last person. as far rs is known. to
have seen her alive is yourself. She
called on you. and there was a colo
guy. apparently vehement. between
you. eliminating in the assault upon
you. She hurried away. One might
we'll guess that later you followed her
to her death"
II did follow her." said Sedgwick in
a low tone.
For what purpOse?"
ITO find out who she was"
(which you didn't succeed in doing?'
''She was too quick for me The
blow Of the rock had made me giddy.
and she got away among the thickets.'
That's a pity. One more point Of
suspicion. bennett. you say. saw your
picture. The Rough Rider He will
tell every d about It. you. may be
sure"
What Of it," ..
"'rhe strange coincidence of the sub.
Jet and the apparent manner Of the
unknown's DEATH"
People will hardly suspect that ]
killed her and set her adrift for Z
model. l suppose" said the artist bit
terly. particularly az bennett can tell
them that the picture was finished be
fore her death. l was sitting on my
wall when the oma came down the
road. 4 noticed her irst when she
stopped to look back. and her absurd
elegance of dress. expensive and Ill 1T
ting. attractive my closer attention
She was carrying a bundle wrapped II
strong paper. 1t seemed to be heavy
for she shifted it from hand to hand
When she came near | spoke to her,
You spoke IT, her irst?"
'Well. we spoke simultaneously. Sh'
asked me the time. She seemed n
| ious to know. In fact, | think sh'
used the word exact the exact time.
she said"
presumably she vas on her way tt
| an appointment. then"
Every likely. When ! told her sh'
| seemed relieved. might ven say relax
| ed. AS If from the strain Of nervOu
haste. You know"
Good: And them"