Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-12-16
CHAPTER VII.
THE TRAGEDY.

lC "a VIZ AoSAhS
side by a dense growth of s~hrubbery,
and struggling through this, I found
myself on the g~ravelled path where L
had seen Marjorie Vaughan. Before
me, along this path. sped a shadow
which 1 knew to be Godfrey, and /
followed at top speed. AT the end OF a
moment, | caught a flash OF light
among the treet, and knew that we
were nearing the house; but I saw no
sign of Swain.
We came to the stretch of open lawn,
crossed it, and, guided by the light,
found ourselves at the end OF a short
avenue OF trees. At the other end, a
stream of light poured from an open
door, and against hat light a running
figure vas silhouetted. Even as l saw
it, it bounded through the open door
and vanished.
It's Swami" gasped Godfrey, and
then we, too, were at that open door.
For an instant. l thought the room
was empty. Then. from behind the
table in the centre, a demoniac, blood
stained figure rose into view, holding
in it's arms a white robed woman With
q sort of nervous shock. saw that the
man was Swain. and the woman Mar
jorie Vaughan. A thrill OF fear ran
through me as l saw how her head fell
backwards against her shoulder, how
her arms hung limp.
Without so much as a glance In
our direction. he laid her gently on a
couch, fell to his knees beside it, and
began to chafe her wrists.
1t was Godfrey who mastered himself
first. and who stepped forward to
SWANS side.
Us she dead?" he asked.
Swain shook his head impatiently.
without looking up.
How is she hurt%" Godfrey persist
ed, bending closer above the uncon-
scious girl.
Swain shot him one red glance.
She's not hurt" he said, hoarse1y.
-'She has fainted-that's all. Go away"
But Cooley did not go away After
one burning look at SWANS lowering
face, he bent again above the still fig
ure en- the couch. and touched his fin
gers to the temples. What he saw or
felt seemed to reassure him, for his
voice was more composed when he
spoke again.
81 think you're right, Swain" he said.
-But we'd better call someone"
Call away" snarled Swain.
You mean there's no one here?
Surely her father..-.'
He stopped, for at the words Swain
had burst into a hoarse laugh.
Her father!" he cried. "Oh. yes:
he's here! Call him! He's over there!"
He made a wild gesture toward q.
high backed easy chair beside the ia
bic, his eyes cleaning with an almost
fiendish excitement; then the CLEAN
faded, and he turned back to the girl.
Godfrey cast one astonished glance
at him and strobe to the chair. l saw
his face CULVER with sudden horror, /
saw him catch at h table for support,
and for an instant he stood staring
down. The he turned stiffly toward
me and motioned me to approach.
In the chair a nan sat huddled for
ward-a gray haired man. clad in a
white robe. His and were gripping
the chair arms al though in agony.
His head hung down almost upon his
knees.
Silently Godfrey reached down and
raised the hea And a cry of horror
burst from both of us.
The face was purple with congestad
blood. the tongue swollen and horribly
protruding. the eyes suffused and
starting from their sockets. n then,
at a motion from Godfrey's finger, 1
saw that about his neck a cord was
tightly knotted. The man had been
strangied.
Godfrey, after a breathless moment
in which he made sure that the man
was quite dead, let the head fall for
ward again. 1t turned me sick to see
how low it sagged, how limp it hung.
And l saw that the collar of the white
robe was spotted with blood.
l do not know was in Godfrey's
mind, but, by a Common impulse, we
turned and looked at Swain. He was
still on his knees beside the couch. APP
parently he had forgotten our pres
ence.
It's plain enough said Godfrey, his
voice thick with emotion. She came
in n found the body. No wonder
she screamed like that! But where are
the servants? Where is everybody"
The Same thought was in my own
mind. The utter silence of the house,
the fact that no one came, added. some
how, to the horror of the moment.
Those wild screams must have echoed
from cellar to garret-and yet no one
came!
Godfrey made a rapid scrutiny of the
room, which was evidently the library,
with a double door opening upon the
grounds and another opposite opening
into the hall. On the wall beside the
inner door. he found an electric but
ton, and he pushed it for some mo-
ments. but there was no response. If
It rang a bell. the bell was so far away
that we could not hear it.
A heavy curtain hung across the
- - Nyrs ~ -