The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-09-10

gown and to wait and watch and see
what use l might make Of it. At that
time, please to remember, not the ghost
Of an idea entered my head that you
a stolen the diamond"
There 1 broke off in the reading of
the letter for the second time.
l had read those portions of the mis-
cradle woman's confession which re-
lated to myself with unaffected sur
prise and, l can honestly add, with
sincere distress. l had regretted, truly
regretted, the aspersion which ! had
thoughtlessly cast on her memory be-
fore l had seen a line of her letter. But
when l had advanced as far as the
passage which is quoted above l own l
felt my mind growing bitterer and bit
terer against Rosanna Spearman as l
went on. Read the rest for yourself"
said, handing the letter to Better
edge acros the table. 'If there is
anything in it that l must look at you
can tell me as you g on"
II understand you, Mr.. Franklin" he
answered. "It's natural, sir, in you.
And God help us all", he added in a
lower tone, cts no less natural in
her."
l proceed to copy the continuation OF
the letter from the original in my own
possession.
Having determined to keep the night
gown and to see what use my love or
my revenge, 1 hardly know which,
could turn it to in the future, the next
thing to discover was how to keep it
without the risk of being found out.
There was only one way-to make
another n%ightgown exactly like it be-
fore Saturday came and brought the
laundry woman and her inventory to
the house.
1.-The first thing to do after locking up
your nightgown in my drawer was to
go back to your bedroom, not so much
to put it to rights as to find out wheth-
er you had smeared off any of the
paint stain from your nightgown on
the bed, or on any piece of furniture in
the room.
IL examined every thing narrowly.
There were the stains, just visible, on
the inside Of the dressing gown. l
easily got rid Of these by scraping
away the stuff of the flannel. This
done, the only proof left against you
was the proof locked up in my drawer.
"When l got back to the servants
hall the bell was going for our dinner.
Afternoon already! and the materials
for making the new nightgown We're
still to be got. There was but one
chance of getting them. l slammed
i'll at dinner, and so secured the whole
Of the interval from then till tea time
to my own use.
"What I was about while the house
hold believed ME to be lying down in
my own room and how l spent the
night, after shamming i'll again at tea
time and having Deer sent up to bed,
there is no need to tell you.
"On the Friday morning, hours before
Sergeant Cuff entered the house, there
was the new n~ightgown-to make up
your number in place of the nightgown
that l had got-made. wrung out, dried,
ironed, marked and folded as the laun-
VIZ o1lAtt an ~ oAANAcy SAAC
in your drawer. There was no fear,
if the linen in the house was examined,
of the newness of the nightgoWn be-
traying me. All your underclothing
had been renewed when YOU came to
our house, suppose on your return
home from foreign parts.
1.-The next thing vas the arrival of
Snrrnoy f ('nff, and thn nnvt rroot ~.
prise was the announcement of what
he thought about the smear on the
door.
II had believed you to be guilty, as l
have owned, more because l wanted
you to be guilty than for any other
reason. And now the sergeant had
come around by Il totally different way
to the same conclusion as mine."
At that place Betteredge looked up
from the letter.
Not Il glimmer of light so far, Mr..
Franklin" said the old man, taking off
his heavy tortoise she'll spectacles and
pushing Rosanna Spearman's confess
sion a little away from him. Have
you come to any conclusion, sir, in
your own mind while l have been read
ing?"
Finish the letter first, Betteredge.
There may be something to enlighten
us at the end Of it. l shall have a
word or two to say to YOU after that"
Every good, sir. I'll just rest my
eyes. and then I'll go on again. In the
meantime. Mr.. Franklin-I don't want
to hurry you-but would you mind tell
ing mo in ono word whether yOn Goa