Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1914-10-21
The Secret
of
Lonesome Cove
By
Samuel Hopkins Adams
Copyright 1912, by the Bobbs-Merrill
Company.

# for half an hour before they took it
to the ball again. rather opined that
some one had changed bodies"
That's what made you SO cussed
curious, was 1t, Adam?" barked the
sheriff
There was no exchange Of bodies"
said Kent. But there was change
In the body itself"
"What kind Of a changer asked
Sedgwick.
HAS it ever occurred to you to think
1--WE beard it said" said Lawyer
Balm, that 1t grows faster than in
life"
"And that it grows not only On the
head, but on the face as well?'
1.-THE face! A womans face?" ex-
claimed Sedgwick.
"No-a mans"
what man?"
1.-The man in the coffin"
"Have you lost your mind, Chef?
The body In the coffin was that Of the
woman who met me at the entrance to
the Nook
mo. 1t was the body Of the man
who, dressed In womans clothing, met
you at the Nook and Knocked you
down with a stone flung overland as
not one woman In a thousand could
have thrown 1t. That, in itself, ought
TO have suggested the secret 10 me-
long before discovered It"
But how did you discover itT' In
Qutred Sedgwick in bew1he<ment
by the cut on the cheek. You seq
the sheriff had failed TO foresee that
telltale beard. They had the body
taken to the house and did the best
they could. That cut on the cheek was
razor cut Having realized that
much, had to deal thenceforth with
the mystery Of a dead man masquerad-
ing as a woman and being abetted
in the deception by the officers Of the
law
"Astraea a manp' broke in Preston
Jax, his chin in a spasm. "No wonder
she-he put up such a fight. Who
was he?"
"My son, Wilfrid Blair" said Alex
ander Blair.
"You see, Mrs. Blair" said Kent
very gently, ut isn't so bad as you
feared. There was no other woman in
the case, no disgrace, no shame You
feel nothing but pity for an unhappy,
wrecked mind. for which death was
the happiest refuge"
But the mans voice." exclaimed
Jax. 1.-The voice Of the man ON the
cHffr'
"Wilfrid Blairs," said Kent. I'm the
final moment he came to himself. At
last he resumed his voice. Up to then
he had been in voice, manner, thought,
purpose, unconsciously playing part ="
"Astraea" said sedgwtck and Jazz in
breath.
Yes. It was one Of those strange
and complete assumptions Of person
atty which puzzle the a1ienists. VIII
frid Blairs diseased mind had fasten-
ed upon the strange history Of his an
eestress and brooded on it until he be-
came convinced that her spirit was re-
incarnated in himself. Undoubtedly
bis striking likeness to the portrait Of
Camilla Grosvenor powerfully aided
the obsession."
1--WE thought it melancholia," said
Alexander Blair. "As you say, he had
been very secretive, very silent too.
We kept Gansett Jim with him as q
sort Of bodyguard."
II must understand this ALL" said
Marjorie. "Wilfrid's body is wherer'
I'm Annalaka churchyard"
''Then who-what Is buried In bis
grave at Hedgerow houseT
Nothing" said Alexander Bliar.
"a mock funeral!'
my DEAR" said the man-he seemed
to have grown suddenly old under the
unspoken arraignment-"I could not
tell you what I thought tho truth
thought then that Wilfrid had encoun
tered Mr.. Sedgwick and that-that
there had been fight, in which h<
was killed. Rather than face tho scan
1al OF murder trial, a scandal II
which the family name would have
been dragged through the mire Of thu
public prints again, chose the part o.
deceit"
But you made me believe that Mi
4edgwick killed W1lfridw she accused
II believed It myself" he retorted.
But what basis had you for sus
pecting me OF the crimer cried Sede
wick, turning to Marjorie Blair.
She flushed to her temples. IL
thought" she murmured, that b.
might have known OF our acQuaint
ance and have misconstrued; that b
might have gone to find you and at
tackled you and that you killed him
In self defense, I mean"
THANK you for that last at least,
said Sedgwick rather bitterly; then
as he saw her Vince, Forgive me!
asaan4.Ar--.-~sa.-.- ...