Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-06-30

Meeting every Wednesday evening at
1870, Castle Hall Nv water street.
Wednesday evening' June IL
+. c. FLETCHER. K. OF R. and S.
mon-tuwed,tf
all began talking at once about the
old bird having shot himself, and
/, they seemed to take it for granted
that l knew too-d'ye twig?-that
I'd been in the house, Of course, ana
had got up and dressed, having
heard the shots. The only play
! had was to keep my mouth shut
and let EN- think so-and listen to
them. It seems. as near as they
knew, that his nibs had been asleep,
and suddenly wakes up and goes
blind off his top. and runs upstairs
with revolver, and goes to Locke's
room and opens the door and begins
shooting, and all the time he's
screaming out at the top OF his
| lungs, You're one Of them, you're
one of them; but I'll kill you before
! you open it, Locke must have had
his nerve with him. Anyway, he
| jumped out of bed and tried to get
| the revolver away from the old fool.
| BY this time the whole house was
up, and some Of the black servants
LUX q idho ny tiyluS " COIidL HIS
nibs, but Marlin breaks away from
them somehow, and runs for the
stairs like mad bull. He must
! have tripped going down. or
| knocked his arm, or something,
anyway his revolver goes off and
when they got to him he was at the
| bottom Of the stairs with a hole in
his head" Runnells paused for a
moment, but, eliclting no comment,
| went on again: We'll, while l was
! getting all this information that 1
| was supposed to know. Locke comes
out on the veranda and spots me.
I've just been to your room, Run
| nells,' he says. DO you know where
Captain Newcombe is?" And says,
No, sir, 1 don't; leastways,' l says,
| I've been too excited to notice.
Then he says I'd better try and
find you, and that gave me the first
chance to get away and cop these
spades. sneaked around through
the woods at the back of the house
with them"
Captain Francis Newcombe light
| ed cigarette.
Sneak back with them then, the
same way" he said calmly.
Right" said Runnells.
"Now!" said Captain Francis New
combe. And YOU haven't been able
| to find me-"
Right" said Runnells again, and
started off at a run.
Captain Francis Newcombe began
TO walk leisurely across the beach
| toward the path leading to the
house. He pulled leisurely and
with immense content at his cigar
cite. In the light of certain know
ledge possessed by himself alone,
the whole thing was as clear as
oaylight: The old maniac had
! Weakened up, and in some way had
| discovered for the first time that his
| key and book were gone-that had
| set him off. 1t was rather rough
i on Locke to have been selected as
the thief! But there was no ac-
counting for what a lunatic would
| do.
He was chuckling to himself now.
An explanation Of his absence from
the house at this hour? 1t was too
simple. Polly would substantiate
1t: Polly's scruples about keeping
silent were now useless--to him!
He had thought the old madman
must have telephoned from the boat
house. He got up and dressed, and
gone down to see-and, Of course.
had seen nothing!
| He flicked his cigarette awav.
And now he laughed-laughed with
| the same evil Joy, ths>same saya ge
triumph, but magnifed a hundred
1old now, with which he had laugh.
ed a little while ago in the boat
mouse back there. Only the laughter
was silent now-it was his soul that
rocked win mirth. The gods were
| very good! The black of the night
had brought dawn Of incompa re- he
radiance! That was poetici Ha
ha! Well, why not poetry? He
was In exquisite humor. 1t was like
wine In his head-that, too. was
poetry, wasn't it?-somebody had
SAID 1t was-or something like A.
NOR God, nor the devil could stav
him now! He had only to be cir
cumspect in the house of death
and help himself. Almost poetry
again! Excellent! The old fool
dead! Even the trouble and an
noyance OF staging an accident was
now removed. The old fool dead
with his secret. They would hunt
long time-and 1t would forever be
| a secret.
Except to Shadow varne.
Howard Locke stood leaning with
MS shoulders against one Of the
veranda pillars. Behind him, in the
4 q
flushed commotion. Out on the
lawn In front Of him little groups OF
! Negroes stood staring at the house
with strained, uplifted faces, or
moved across his line Of visier, in
frightened. pathetically humorous
efforts to keep an unobtrusive sill
ence--walking on tiptoes In their
rare feet on the velvet lawn. Queer
Row the black faces were mellowcd
into softer colors in the early
morning light.
| Mr.. Marlin was dead. Locke's
eyes half closed; his lips drew to-
| gether. compressed In q hard line.
Strange! In one sense, he seemed
| still dazed with the events Of the
I last hour; In another sense, his
mind was brutally clear. He was
dazed because even vet 1t seemed
impossible to grasp the fact that "a
sorrowful. and dire. and unrecallabie
a tragedy was an actual, immut-
able. existent truth. 1t was not
that AR