The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-03-05
WITNESS TO
THE DEED
By NJ. QUAD
copyright. 1914, by the Mcclure
Newspaper SyndiCate.l

My mistress in G%ainSbOrO road had
lost q IS note in the house. and the
thief was the parlor maid. | knew it
from her actions, and three months
after | left the house she was caught
in a similar offense and owned up to
the first theft However. the crime
was laid on me, and because l made
Indignant and perhaps impudent pro
test ! was flung out of the house ut
half an hours notice and refused a
character. l was idle for the next
three months. The first thing demand
ed when l applied for Il place was a
character. As soon as it was learned
that l had non it was useless to talk
further. It was for this reason that |
finally paid a fee to an intelligence
Office in Margate street and was at
length sent for to take a place at gen
eral homework. 1t was an old man
named Dyson who wanted me. He
was willing to take mt without a
character because he would have to
pay less wages and because, as he
grimly asserted. there was nothing ly-
ing around loose In his house for me
to steal. As we sat face to face |
sized him up as mean and pe%nurious.
but l did not SEE any evil in him. BE
had an aged and in1rm wife. be told
me, and l would be the only servant.
1t was not for me to pick and choose
l must have a place and hold it long
enough to get a character again. !
went with him miles and miles out Oh
the Holborn road. and we at last ar
rived at the cheaply built and cheap
looking cottage he occupied. 1t was a
place devoid of almost all conveniences
| and had been selected for it's cheap
rent. l found the old wife deaf. almost
blind and palsied. and 1t was apparent
that she had no al whatever.
l soon had evidence that he was in
love with a widow In the neighborhood.
or at least he desired to be free so that
he could marry her. My natural i'm
pulse on finding out how he felt toward
his wife vas to flee the house, but !
have explained how l was situated.
In the course of a couple Of weeks
be declared that the cellar was full of
rats and gave me money and command
ed me to buy arsenic. He recommend
ed me to &c to a store miles away an
to say that | wanted it for my com
plexion and to give my W name. |
went to a drug store only two blocks
away and gave his name, and when he
discovered this he was highly indi--
nant for a day. and | rather expected
to be thrown out. However. in the
course Of three or foul days he devei
oped another plan. After coaching the
old wife be left me alone with her for
the first time. and she begged me to
get her some laudanum for toothache
and not to mention the matter to him
1t was easy to tell that she had beel
coached what to say. and l refused tc
buy the drug. A few days later as
was preparing her a soup l had to leave
the kitchen for a minute. When l re
turned the soup was giving u g
strange odor. and being satisfied thai
her husband had poisoned it |, Of
course. threw 1t away. He scoldet
about my waste. but when l looked
him squarely In the eyes he dropped hi:
and had no more to say.
had been with the Dysons five year!
when the climax came. The old wo
man was holding her own If not get
ting better. and the husbands impa
thence had a savage edge to it. Thei
bedroom was or the north side Of tn
house. All along on that side was
deep excavation for a factory.
At 10 o'clock one night l lay wonder
ing ii he really meant to take her lif
and how he would finally accomplish
1t, when | heard a half suppresse'
scream from his Don l got softly on
Of bed and went to the farther door
and, looking through 4 crack, l say
that the window was up and that b
stood before it with his wife in hi
arms. She was hanging on to him Wit
fingers Of steel and making q grea
lstruggle. | heard him breathing he9N
ily and snarling and growing az b
tore her fingers loose. but ! did tnS
know what he planned 70 DO till q
aasasa g :~s.sgsr:e e sas open -